130 research outputs found
Measuring Political Commitment in Statistical Models for Evidence-based Agenda Setting in Nonmotorized Traffic
When investigating national and international transport policies of the last decade, an ever increasing
emphasis on promoting non-motorized transport modes such as walking or cycling can be identified, aiming
at reaching multiple political targets (eg. reducing pollution, increasing health or lowering land
consumption). However, despite substantial financial efforts being put into infrastructural or awarenessraising
activities, achieving the desired modal shift towards active mobility remains a challenge. This is
frequently due to unclear cause and effect patterns between active mode shares and their determinants, which
in turn leads to uncoordinated or highly fragmented initiatives that impede target-oriented planning.
An internationally adopted approach to overcome this problem is applying aggregated statistical models that
explain modal choice involving multiple regression techniques and hypothetical covariates. Still, general
critique against these models points out that important intangible soft factors such as attitudinal
characteristics of the local population or mind-sets and political commitment of decision makers are not duly
reflected. Also, for Austria there is currently no systematic holistic approach to explain spatial variance in
active travel shares on the scale of municipalities.
Hence the main objective of our research is to design a comprehensive macroscopic model-based approach
for the quantitative explanation of modal split shares in active travel modes in Austria. In our approach we
attach great importance to the inclusion of soft factors in order to contribute novel findings on the dynamics
behind active travel. The research outcomes will aid decision makers and planners in their question where
and more specifically, how to effectively invest into active mobility by revealing key soft factors and
intangible determinants of active travel mode shares alongside a broad range of more known, traditional
factors. Based on this evidence-based decision support approach it is possible to simulate impacts of actions
when aiming at locally promoting active travel modes
Vinculin potentiates E-cadherin mechanosensing and is recruited to actin-anchored sites within adherens junctions in a myosin II–dependent manner
Vinculin localizes to tension-bearing cell–cell junctions to help transmit signals from E-cadherin to the actin cytoskeleton in response to mechanical stress
Single domain antibody multimers confer protection against rabies infection
Post-exposure prophylactic (PEP) neutralizing antibodies against Rabies are the most effective way to prevent infection-related fatality. The outer envelope glycoprotein of the Rabies virus (RABV) is the most significant surface antigen for generating virus-neutralizing antibodies. The small size and uncompromised functional specificity of single domain antibodies (sdAbs) can be exploited in the fields of experimental therapeutic applications for infectious diseases through formatting flexibilities to increase their avidity towards target antigens. In this study, we used phage display technique to select and identify sdAbs that were specific for the RABV glycoprotein from a naïve llama-derived antibody library. To increase their neutralizing potencies, the sdAbs were fused with a coiled-coil peptide derived from the human cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP48) to form homogenous pentavalent multimers, known as combodies. Compared to monovalent sdAbs, the combodies, namely 26424 and 26434, exhibited high avidity and were able to neutralize 85-fold higher input of RABV (CVS-11 strain) pseudotypes in vitro, as a result of multimerization, while retaining their specificities for target antigen. 26424 and 26434 were capable of neutralizing CVS-11 pseudotypes in vitro by 90–95% as compared to human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG), currently used for PEP in Rabies. The multimeric sdAbs were also demonstrated to be partially protective for mice that were infected with lethal doses of rabies virus in vivo. The results demonstrate that the combodies could be valuable tools in understanding viral mechanisms, diagnosis and possible anti-viral candidate for RABV infection
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