The Downtown Area of Jonestown, Texas.

The objective was to assess Jonestown's value and potential using the Quadruple Net Value metrics.Three projects are focused on the city of Jonestown. The first being a Quadruple Net Value Analysis report generated by undergraduate Land and Property Development students. The second is a public sewer feasibility study to generate creative solutions to septic and environmental conditions by undergraduate capstone Civil Engineering students. Finally, a graduate student will complete a transportation plan for the city to address connectivity and walkability.Texas Target Communitie

Jonestown Quadruple Net Value Report- Breaking Barriers

The team objective was to visit Jonestown, TX on October 3, 2014 to experience it first hand and assess its value and potential using the Quadruple Net Value metrics. The town’s most valuable features are its Hill Country backdrop and friendly small town appeal. Conveniently located north of Austin, the town sits on the upper most part of Lake Travis. It is the ideal location for a community to grow and thrive.Texas Target Communitie

The immunomodulatory glycan LNFPIII initiates alternative activation of murine macrophages in vivo

The early pathogen–macrophage interactions that help drive macrophage maturation towards classically or alternatively activated are largely unknown. To examine this question we utilized the immunomodulatory glycan Lacto-N-fucopentaose III (LNFPIII), which contains the Lewis X (LeX) trisaccharide, to activate murine peritoneal macrophages in vivo. Because LNFPIII is known to induce anti-inflammatory responses, we asked if LNFPIII stimulation of macrophages in vivo initiates alternative activation events such as upregulation of Arginase 1, Ym1, FIZZ-1, MGL-1 or macrophage mannose receptor (MMR). Examination of peritoneal exudate cells from mice 20 hr post-LNFPIII injection demonstrated increased Arginase 1 activity, at the mRNA and protein levels, coincident with undetectable inducible nitric oxide synthase expression or nitric oxide production. In addition to Arginase 1, Ym1 expression was also significantly upregulated at 20 and 48 hr after LNFPIII exposure in vivo. However, the expression of FIZZ-1, MGL-1, and MMR was not changed in these macrophages. In an attempt to determine activation requirements for functional activity, we adoptively transferred antigen-pulsed, in vivo LNFPIII activated macrophages into naïve recipients and found that they were capable of triggering recipient T cells to secrete elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-13 compared to mice receiving control macrophages. Together, these data demonstrate that upregulation of expression of Arginase 1 and Ym1 occur very early in activation of macrophages, and can be independent of other alternatively activated (AA) macrophage markers. Importantly, these early events appear to be IL-4/IL-13-independent in our model. In the future we hope to determine if upregulation of these initial AA maturational events is sufficient for these macrophages to exert immunoregulatory activity in vivo