Can urban metabolism models advance green infrastructure planning? Insights from ecosystem services research

Urban metabolism studies have gained momentum in recent years as a means to assess the environmental performance of cities and to point to more resource-efficient strategies for urban development. Recent literature reviews report a growing number of applications of the industrial ecology model for Material Flow Analysis (MFA) in the design of the built environment. However, MFA applications in green infrastructure development are scarce. In this article, we argue that: i) the use of MFA in green infrastructure practice can inform decision-making towards more resource-efficient urban planning; ii) the ecosystem service concept is critical to operationalize MFA for green infrastructure planning and design, and, through this, can enhance the impact of urban metabolism research on policy making and planning practice. The article draws from a systematic review of literature on urban ecosystem services and benefits provided by green infrastructure in urban regions. The review focuses on ecosystem services that can contribute to a more energy-efficient and less carbon-intensive urban metabolism. Using the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services as a baseline, we then discuss opportunities for integrating energy provision and climate regulation ecosystem services in MFA. Our discussion demonstrates that the accounting of ecosystem services in MFA enables expressing impacts of green infrastructure on the urban energy mix (renewable energy provision), the magnitude of energy use (mitigation of building energy demand), and the dynamics of biogeochemical processes in cities (carbon sequestration). We finally propose an expanded model for MFA that illustrates a way forward to integrate the ecosystem service concept in urban metabolism models and to enable their application in green infrastructure planning and design

Transcription Initiation Studies With Bacillus Subtilis Promoters Containing Curved DNA.

Many promoters contain a curved DNA component essential for high levels of transcription activity. The present work approached the study of these unusual DNA structures in a twofold manner. First, promoter binding by RNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli was examined using a collection of promoters containing DNA curvature. Promoter binding by both RNA polymerases was governed primarily by the nucleotide sequence at the highly conserved $-$10 and $-$35 regions of the promoters. However, the presence of curved DNA, immediately upstream of the $-$35 region of the promoter, predictably increased binding to those promoters which contained curved DNA by the B. subtilis RNA polymerase. Binding by the E. coli RNA polymerase was modestly affected by DNA curvature. The second approach was to characterize the mechanism involved in transcription stimulation by this curve or intrinsically bent DNA. Generally, the proposed mechanisms for transcription initiation include enzyme conformational changes leading to strand separation. Formation of RNA polymerase-promoter complexes that entail significant conformational changes is sensitive to changes in temperature. A goal in the second part of this work was to test if curved DNA influenced a step in transcription initiation that was sensitive to temperature changes. The formation of open promoter complexes was measured using a B. subtilis phage promoter containing curved DNA upstream of the $-$35 region, the Alu156 promoter, and mutants of Alu156 in which the curved DNA sequences were displaced upstream. Open promoter complexes were measured by (1) a run-off transcription assay limited to a single round of initiation and (2) the direct detection of single stranded DNA using potassium permanganate cleavage. Promoters with properly aligned curved DNA formed open promoter complexes at lower temperatures than promoters with misaligned curved DNA. Also, curved DNA enhanced formation of open promoter complexes as measured by actual strand separation. A model describing the effect of curved DNA on open promoter complexes was proposed

Distress tolerance and mental health outcomes

This literature review has compiled research on two related subjects: the construct of distress tolerance and the treatment of mental health issues for which low distress tolerance is an underlying factor. The purpose of this work is to not only examine a central mechanism in the onset and maintenance of select psychopathologies, but also to examine ways in which treatment focused on raising an individual\u27s distress tolerance can help in symptom reduction. This review also proposes that a better understanding of stress and an individual\u27s reaction to it can lead to both more effective treatment and towards the future fulfillment of two goals: the mitigation of the symptoms and effects of a mental health disorder, and the prevention of the onset of stress-related psychopathologies

Selective medium for culture of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

The fastidious porcine respiratory pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae has proven difficult to culture since it was first isolated in 1965. A reliable solid medium has been particularly challenging. Moreover, clinical and pathological samples often contain the fast-growing M. hyorhinis which contaminates and overgrows M. hyopneumoniae in primary culture. The aim of this study was to optimise the culture medium for recovery of M. hyopneumoniae and to devise a medium for selection of M. hyopneumoniae from clinical samples also containing M. hyorhinis. The solid medium devised by Niels Friis was improved by use of Purified agar and incorporation of DEAE-dextran. Addition of glucose or neutralization of acidity in liquid medium with NaOH did not improve the final yield of viable organisms or alter the timing of peak viability. Analysis of the relative susceptibility of M. hyopneumoniae and M. hyorhinis strains to four antimicrobials showed that M. hyopneumoniae is less susceptible than M. hyorhinis to kanamycin. This was consistent in all UK and Danish strains tested. A concentration of 2 μg/ml of kanamycin selectively inhibited the growth of all M. hyorhinis tested, while M. hyopneumoniae was able to grow. This forms the basis of an effective selective culture medium for M. hyopneumoniae.(Résumé d'auteur

Immunotherapy with tumor antigenspecific T cells in ret transgenic mouse melanoma model

Metastatic melanoma is a severe disease with a high rate of lethality. It is known to be resistant to current therapies. Since melanoma is immunogenic the development of an immunotherapy can be a promising possibility to enhance an antitumor effect in vivo. Memory T cells (MTC) have abilities to respond quicker to antigens and to release a broader spectrum of cytokines than naïve T cells. The ret transgenic mouse melanoma model was used in this study since it resembles the pathological situation of human melanoma in contrast to transplantation models. It has been previously shown that the bone marrow (BM) is a major site for the persistence of tumor-specific MTC in cancer patients. In addition, melanoma-specific MTC were also found in the BM of ret transgenic mice without macroscopic tumors. Therefore, we isolated CD3+ cells from the BM of ret transgenic mice with and without tumors. Therefore, we isolated CD3+ T cells from the BM of ret transgenic mice with and without tumors. After a 40 h ex vivo stimulation of bone marrow-derived T cells with melanoma antigen-loaded DC, which were treated with anti-PD-L1 antibody overnight, T cells revealed a higher IFN-γ production and an increased T cell activation in vitro. Moreover, activated CD8+ T cells displayed mainly a central memory phenotype and an increased level of CD69 expression after 40 h of co-culture with DC. Labeled melanoma-specific, stimulated memory T cells from ret transgenic mice migrated to skin tumor lesions, metastatic lymph nodes (LN), BM and spleen after adoptive transfer into ret transgenic tumor-bearing mice. A similar migration pattern was detected using stimulated TRP-2 TCR transgenic effector T cells. Furthermore, migrated CD8+ T cells showed an increase in effector memory (TEM) and effector phenotype at day 7 post injection and a decrease of central memory and naive CD8+ T cells within tumor lesions, whereas at day 3, central memory, effector memory, naive and effector CD8+ T cells were equally distributed. To investigate the anti-tumor activity of melanoma-specific memory T cells in vivo we adoptively transferred MTC, which were prior activated with DC, into tumor-bearing mice by i.c. injections. Mice receiving memory T cells showed a significantly longer survival compared to the control group. Mice receiving the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil and adoptive transfer of MTCs displayed a significantly higher survival rate than mice treated with sildenafil or PBS only. We suggest that an adoptive transfer of melanoma-specific memory T cells activated with antigen-loaded DC, which were pre-treated with anti-PD-L1 antibodies, can enhance an anti-tumor response and therapeutic efficacy in vivo

Computerized capacity planning

The purpose of this project is to apply the concepts and techniques of capacity planning. The specific technique used is known as Capacity Requirements Planning. To avoid complication, this program is designed to be only part of a more complex manufacturing information system. Capacity planning aims to plot the required resources to produce a certain amount of product against the resources available. This is accomplished by calculating, in hours, the the required time to produce a product and the available machine time. The major inputs used to accomplish this task are the part routings, work center files, and the part requirements per period. The outputs are detailed comparisons of required hours and available hours at each work center for each time period.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

Starmount vespers: an oratorio for voices and strings

Starmount Vespers is an oratorio-style composition for SATB choir and string orchestra on the subjects of cyclicity and self-similarity. Cyclical phenomena are widespread in the natural world (day and night, sleeping and waking, seasons, tides, etc.) and occur on many structural levels. Starmount Vespers seeks to exemplify these harmonious relationships in both text and music, drawing influence from other cyclical works (such as Orff's Carmina Burana and Vivaldi's Gloria), the Prouhet-Thue-Morse sequence, and the compositional approaches of Danish composer Per Nørgård. Nørgård's third symphony, in particular, is a mature representation of his melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic self-similar structures and informed much of Starmount Vespers' composition. The texts were selected from the poetry of Thomas Hardy, H.P. Nichols, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and were adapted by the composer to better fit the narrative. The resulting fourteen-minute composition both delivers a textual narrative on self-similarity and, through fractal patterns embedded in the musical parameters, embodies the text

PI3K Pathway Mutations and PTEN Levels in Primary and Metastatic Breast Cancer

The purpose of this work was to determine whether there are differences in PIK3CA mutation status and PTEN protein expression between primary and matched metastatic breast tumors as this could influence patient management. Fifty-micron paraffin sections were used for DNA extraction and 3-micron slides for immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). ER, PR and HER2 IHC were repeated in a central laboratory for both primary and metastasis. PTEN levels were assessed by IHC and PI3K pathway mutations detected by a mass spectroscopy-based approach. Median age was 48 years (range, 30 to 83 years). Tumor subtype included 72% hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative, 20% HER2-positive, and less than 7.8% triple receptor negative. Tissues were available for PTEN IHC in 46 primary tumors and 52 metastases. PTEN was lost in 14 (30%) primary tumors and 13 (25%) metastases. There were 5 cases of PTEN loss and eight cases of PTEN gain from primary to metastasis (26% discordance). Adequate DNA was obtained on 46 primary tumors and on 50 metastases for PIK3CA analysis. PIK3CA mutations were detected in 19 (40%) of primary tumors and 21 (42%) of metastases. There were five cases of PIK3CA mutation loss, and four cases of mutation gain (18% discordance). There was an increase of the level of PIK3CA mutations in four cases, and decrease in one from primary to metastasis. There is a high level of discordance in PTEN level, PIK3CA mutations, and receptor status between primary and metastatic disease that may influence patient selection and response to PI3K-targeted therapies

A novel AKT3 mutation in melanoma tumours and cell lines

Recently, a rare activating mutation of AKT1 (E17K) has been reported in breast, ovarian, and colorectal cancers. However, analogous activating mutations in AKT2 or AKT3 have not been identified in any cancer lineage. To determine the prevalence of AKT E17K mutations in melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, we analysed 137 human melanoma specimens and 65 human melanoma cell lines for the previously described activating mutation of AKT1, and for analogous mutations in AKT2 and AKT3. We identified a single AKT1 E17K mutation. Remarkably, a previously unidentified AKT3 E17K mutation was detected in two melanomas (from one patient) as well as two cell lines. The AKT3 E17K mutation results in activation of AKT when expressed in human melanoma cells. This represents the first report of AKT mutations in melanoma, and the initial identification of an AKT3 mutation in any human cancer lineage. We have also identified the first known human cell lines with naturally occurring AKT E17K mutations