INDUSTRIES OF ANGKOR PROJECT: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF IRON PRODUCTION AT BOENG KROAM, PREAH KHAN OF KOMPONG SVAY

The Industries of Angkor Project (INDAP) is the first intensive investigation into the history and role of iron production at Preah Khan of Kompong Svay (Preah Khan), the largest regional enclosure complex built by the Angkorian Khmer (9th to 15th c. CE) in Cambodia. We present the initial multidisciplinary research of the primary iron smelting sites located on Boeng Kroam, a large reservoir located north of Preah Khan’s central temple complex. Ground-penetrating radar surveys and excavation at Location 1, a slag concentration on top of the reservoir bank, revealed that it is a deposit of metallurgical waste from a nearby furnace. Multiple radiocarbon dates from Location 1 indicate that the smelting activities took place in the early 15th century during the time of Angkor’s ultimate collapse as the political centre of the Khmer world. This indicates a re-use of spaces by iron workers after the primary occupation of Preah Khan between the 11th and 13th centuries

Nexus between nature-based solutions, ecosystem services and urban challenges

Nature-based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly promoted to support sustainable and resilient urban planning. However, design and planning urban NBS targeted at the needs of the local context require knowledge about the causal relationships between NBS, ecosystem services (ES) and urban challenges (UC) This paper aims at contributing to this knowledge, by systematically identifying nexuses (i.e. qualitative links) between UC, ES and NBS, and describing plausible causal relationships. A conceptual UC-ES-NBS criteria framework was built, and used to guide a two-step systematic literature review on current UC and on the supply of ES by urban NBS. This was followed by a non-systematic literature review, which complemented the previous one by unveiling knowledge gaps on the biophysical and social processes and attributes on which specific ES classes depend. The non-systematic review was also used to identify additional NBS. The UC review identified 18 UC and 58 sub-challenges, and illustrated which UC were more studied, according to the type of literature and environmental and socio-economic attributes of urban contexts. The ES review led to the development of an urban NBS classification, and supported the identification of UC-ES and ES-NBS nexuses, which were analysed and classified into four groups of causal relationship. For the nexuses identified as direct plausible causal relationship, the main processes and attributes on which the supply of specific ES depend were pointed out. Relationships between UC, ES, NBS, processes, and attributes were represented in the form of network diagrams. Our results can be used to support urban policies aimed at mainstreaming NBS and as a basis to further understand UC-ES-NBS relationships

Assessing habitat loss, fragmentation and ecological connectivity in Luxembourg to support spatial planning

The increasing global population requires new infrastructure and urban development, and these land use changes have an impact on habitats and their ecological connectivity. To anticipate and minimise these impacts, environmental and urban planners require tools and methods that they can use at early planning stages. This paper investigates and selects landscape ecology techniques that can be used by planners to assess the effects in terms of changes in habitat loss, fragmentation and ecological connectivity due to expected land use changes. The selected techniques were tested in Luxembourg. Twelve landscape metrics, four connectivity indices, and one connectivity model were selected based on their straightforwardness, widespread application, and accessibility. Land cover maps and proposed areas of urban development up to 2030 were used as input data, together with adapted resistance surfaces from previous studies and a matrix of presence/absence for six target species. The combined analysis reveals a trend of increasing habitat fragmentation and loss of habitats, as well as a reduction of ecological connectivity with regard to all the targeted species, and suggests that this trend will likely continue in the near future. The selected landscape metrics, connectivity indices, the connectivity model and the software used to run them makes the abovementioned techniques easy to use by non-experts, and their combination helps to reduce some of the limitations of each individual technique. Both aspects might be useful in order to mainstream the use of landscape ecology techniques in spatial planning processes

Modelling the net environmental and economic impacts of urban nature-based solutions by combining ecosystem services, system dynamics and life cycle thinking: An application to urban forests

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are gaining relevance as sustainable urban actions because of their potential to provide multiple benefits in the form of ecosystem services (ES), and thus mitigate urban challenges. This paper presents an original semi-dynamic modelling framework that simultaneously considers i) ES supply and demand dynamics, ii) negative environmental impacts, externalities, and financial costs derived from NBS, and iii) life cycle NBS impacts beyond the use phase. Compared to other models, it also aims to be valuable for urban planning actions at site level, i.e., for evaluating the net impacts of specific urban NBS projects. To validate the modelling framework, a proof-of-concept model for urban forests is developed and tested for a case study in Madrid (Spain). The modelling framework is split in two interrelated parts: foreground (dynamic modelling) and background (static modelling). In the foreground, the environmental impacts derived from the use phase of an NBS project are quantified considering its spatio-temporal dynamism, by making use of system dynamics. In the background, the environmental impacts derived from the rest of the life cycle phases of the NBS are quantified making use of steady state life cycle impact assessment. The net economic impact of the NBS project, considering both financial values and externalities, is eventually calculated in the background encompassing all the life cycle phases. Results from the case study illustrate how planning, design, and management decisions over the entire life cycle of an urban forest can influence the net environmental and economic performance of this type of NBS. A discussion is provided to inform on how the modelling framework can help moving beyond the state-of-the-art, and how the derived model can be used for sustainability assessments of urban NBS projects

Evaluation of the LEP Centre-of-Mass Energy Above the W-Pair Production Threshold

Knowledge of the centre-of-mass energy at LEP2 is of primary importance to set the absolute energy scale for the measurement of the W-boson mass. The beam energy above 80 GeV is derived from continuous measurements of the magnetic bending field by 16 NMR probes situated in a number of the LEP dipoles. The relationship between the fields measured by the probes and the beam energy is calibrated against precise measurements of the average beam energy between 41 and 55 GeV made using the resonant depolarisation technique. The linearity of the relationship is tested by comparing the fields measured by the probes with the total bending field measured by a flux loop. This test results in the largest contribution to the systematic uncertainty. Several further corrections are applied to derive the the centre-of-mass energies at each interaction point. In addition the centre-of-mass energy spread is evaluated. The beam energy has been determined with a precision of 25 MeV for the data taken in 1997, corresponding to a relative precision of 2.7x10^{-4}. This is small in comparison to the present uncertainty on the W mass measurement at LEP. However, the ultimate statistical precision on the W mass with the full LEP2 data sample should be around 25 MeV, and a smaller uncertainty on the beam energy is desirable. Prospects for improvements are outlined.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures, Latex, epsfig; replaced by version accepted by European Physical Journal

Comparative evaluation of the treatment efficacy of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and paclitaxel in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer cells from patients

BACKGROUND: In most patients with ovarian cancer, diagnosis occurs after the tumour has disseminated beyond the ovaries. In these cases, post-surgical taxane/platinum combination chemotherapy is the "gold standard". However, most of the patients experience disease relapse and eventually die due to the emergence of chemotherapy resistance. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are novel anticancer agents that hold promise to improve patient outcome. METHODS: We compared a prototypic histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), and paclitaxel for their treatment efficacy in ovarian cancer cell lines and in primary patient-derived ovarian cancer cells. The primary cancer cells were isolated from malignant ascites collected from five patients with stage III ovarian carcinomas. Cytotoxic activities were evaluated by Alamar Blue assay and by caspase-3 activation. The ability of SAHA to kill drug-resistant 2780AD cells was also assessed. RESULTS: By employing the cell lines OVCAR-3, SK-OV-3, and A2780, we established SAHA at concentrations of 1 to 20 μM to be as efficient in inducing cell death as paclitaxel at concentrations of 3 to 300 nM. Consequently, we treated the patient-derived cancer cells with these doses of the drugs. All five isolates were sensitive to SAHA, with cell killing ranging from 21% to 63% after a 72-h exposure to 20 μM SAHA, while four of them were resistant to paclitaxel (i.e., <10% cell death at 300 nM paclitaxel for 72 hours). Likewise, treatment with SAHA led to an increase in caspase-3 activity in all five isolates, whereas treatment with paclitaxel had no effect on caspase-3 activity in three of them. 2780AD cells were responsive to SAHA but resistant to paclitaxel. CONCLUSION: These ex vivo findings raise the possibility that SAHA may prove effective in the treatment of paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer in vivo

Histone deacetylases as new therapy targets for platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer

Introduction: In developed countries, ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Due to the nonspecific symptomatology associated with the disease many patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed late, which leads to significantly poorer prognosis. Apart from surgery and radiotherapy, a substantial number of ovarian cancer patients will undergo chemotherapy and platinum based agents are the mainstream first-line therapy for this disease. Despite the initial efficacy of these therapies, many women relapse; therefore, strategies for second-line therapies are required. Regulation of DNA transcription is crucial for tumour progression, metastasis and chemoresistance which offers potential for novel drug targets. Methods: We have reviewed the existing literature on the role of histone deacetylases, nuclear enzymes regulating gene transcription. Results and conclusion: Analysis of available data suggests that a signifant proportion of drug resistance stems from abberant gene expression, therefore HDAC inhibitors are amongst the most promising therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Together with genetic testing, they may have a potential to serve as base for patient-adapted therapies

Structure–activity relationships and the cytotoxic effects of novel diterpenoid alkaloid derivatives against A549 human lung carcinoma cells

The cytotoxicity of three alkaloids from the roots of Aconitum yesoense var. macroyesoense as well as 36 semi-synthetic C20-diterpenoid atisine-type alkaloid derivatives against A549 human lung carcinoma cells was examined. Ten acylated alkaloid derivatives, pseudokobusine 11-veratroate (9), 11-anisoate (12), 6,11-dianisoate (14), 11-p-nitrobenzoate (18), 11,15-di-p-nitrobenzoate (22), 11-cinnamate (25) and 11-m-trifluoromethylbenzoate (27), and kobusine 11-p-trifluoromethylbenzoate (35), 11-m-trifluoromethylbenzoate (36) and 11,15-di-p-nitrobenzoate (39), exhibited cytotoxic activity, and 11,15-dianisoylpseudokobusine (16) was found to be the most potent cytotoxic agent. Their IC50 values against A549 cells ranged from 1.72 to 5.44 μM. In the occurrence of cytotoxic effects of atisine-type alkaloids, replacement by an acyl group at both C-11 and C-15 resulted in the enhancement of activity of the parent alkaloids compared to that from having hydroxy groups at this position, and the presence of a hydroxy group at the C-6 position was required for the cytotoxic effects. These acylated alkaloid derivatives inhibit cell growth through G1 arrest

Life Cycle Management of Infrastructures

By definition, life cycle management (LCM) is a framework “of concepts, techniques, and procedures to address environmental, economic, technological, and social aspects of products and organizations in order to achieve continuous ‘sustainable’ improvement from a life cycle perspective” (Hunkeler et al.\ua02001). Thus, LCM theoretically integrates all sustainability dimensions, and strives to provide a holistic perspective. It also assists in the efficient and effective use of constrained natural and financial resources to reduce negative impacts on society (Sonnemann and Leeuw\ua02006; Adibi et al.\ua02015). The LCM of infrastructures is the adaptation of product life cycle management (PLM) as techniques to the design, construction, and management of infrastructures. Infrastructure life cycle management requires accurate and extensive information that might be generated through different kinds of intelligent and connected information workflows, such as building information modeling (BIM)