Travel preferences for electric sharing mobility services:Results from stated preference experiments in four European countries

Electric sharing mobility services (ESMS) are gaining popularity as a promising solution for green transport. For sustainable mobility planning, it is important to understand the factors affecting the use behavior of ESMS and the substitution patterns of conventional transport modes. To that end, we carried out a stated preference experiment to elicit travel preference toward ESMS considering various alternatives, contexts, and traveler characteristics. Results from a scaled error component model applied to a large sample of respondents from four European countries (France, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain) show that ESMS have the potential to reduce dependency on private cars. While heterogeneity is found across countries, people at young ages, highly educated, with high income, and living in city centers are commonly associated with a higher probability of adopting ESMS for urban mobility. The substitution patterns reveal a relatively lower preference for ESMS from private car users compared to users of public transport and active modes. Operational implications are discussed for sharing mobility planners and operators to avoid unintended substitution effects

Transitional behavioral intention to use autonomous electric car-sharing services: Evidence from four European countries

Electric car-sharing services (ECS) have been promoted as a solution to combat negative urban mobility externalities and are expected to be facilitated by fleets of autonomous vehicles. There is little evidence regarding the behavioral intention to use autonomous ECS (AECS), especially on the transition from using ECS. This paper investigates the behavioral intention to use AECS using psychological constructs partially from the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) and an additional one expressing safety concern. A novel behavioral intention model is presented to capture the transitional behavioral intention to use two adjacent generations of sharing mobility services. Results of structural equation models applied to a survey sample of 2154 respondents from France, Italy, Netherlands, and Spain show that the introduction of AECS is very likely to be accepted by ECS users. Hedonic motivation is found to be a much stronger predictor of behavioral intention to use AECS as opposed to safety concern, while performance expectancy and social influence are strong drivers of intention to use ECS and have indirect effects on the intention to use AECS. Multigroup analysis indicates heterogeneous behavioral intention across countries. The multi-faceted empirical results generate insights into the deployment and management of AECS in various contexts

MiR-146a and ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY: A Novel Player in the Regulation of Normal Immune function and Inflammation

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to affect haematopoietic differentiation, acting as important determinants of cellular fate specification. The aim of this work is to investigate the role of miRNAs in the activation of T lymphocytes. By microarray analysis, we observed differential expression of miRNAs in distinct subclasses of T lymphocytes: CD8+ naïve, CD8+ memory effector, CD8+central memory; CD4+ naïve, CD4+ memory effector and CD4+ central memory. We found that miR-146a is expressed in separated primary T cells, in both CD4+ and CD8+ cells, but not in naïve T cells. Furthermore, a significative up-regulation of miR-146a expression levels was also obtained in the Jurkat T cell line, stimulated with αCD3-αCD28 antibodies, or with PMA and ionomycin, which are stimuli that mimic antigen recognition by TCR. Therefore, we attempted to discover the mechanisms of miR-146a transcriptional regulation. Some indications about the pathways possibly involved were obtained by treatment of induced Jurkat cells with specific pharmacological inhibitors of pathways triggered by TCR signalling.. We found that Cyclosporine (CsA), a Calcineurin inhibitor, significantly impaired miR-146a up-regulation, thus suggesting that the pathways affected by CsA play a key role in the induction of miR-146a upon TCR engagement. This observation prompted us to further investigate with molecular tools the transcription factors which are responsible for miR-146a expression in T lymphocytes. A deeper investigation to carefully characterize the cis regulatory elements involved in miR-146a regulation was performed through a bioinformatic analysis of miR-146a promoter and a luciferase assay. These approaches allowed us to identify conserved consensus sites for T lymphocytes-specific transcription factors, which are involved in pathways triggered by TCR signalling and are required for miR-146a induction. The results obtained indicate that NF-κB and c- ETS are involved in miR-146a induction in T cell activation pathway. Moreover, we also demonstrated that miR-146a is also induced in Jurkat cells by an inflammatory stimulus, TNF-α treatment, and NF-κB is the main transcription factor responsible of miR-146a induction. Another intriguing aspect of miRNAs study is the identification of miRNAs biological role in a cell. We identified miR-146a targets 5 taking advantage of a 3’-untranslated region (UTR) luciferase reporter assay. We tested a number of predicted miR-146a targets, relevant for T cell physiology. In particular, we report here that miR-146a downmodulates the apoptosis process via translational inhibition of FADD and it reduces AP-1 transcriptional activity, through the downregulation of c-FOS Altogether, our findings reveal miR-146a involvement in T cell activation process, significantly affecting key properties of lymphocytes

MicroRNAs as Molecular Switches in Macrophage Activation

The efficacy of macrophage- mediated inflammatory response relies on the coordinated expression of key factors, which expression is finely regulated at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. Several studies have provided compelling evidence that microRNAs play pivotal roles in modulating macrophage activation, polarization, tissue infiltration, and resolution of inflammation. In this review, we highlight the essential molecular mechanisms underlying the different phases of inflammation that are targeted by microRNAs to inhibit or accelerate restoration to tissue integrity and homeostasis. We further review the impact of microRNA-dependent regulation of tumor-associated macrophages and the relative implication for tumor biology

Understanding preferences for night trains and their potential to replace flights in Europe. The case of Sweden

Possible strategies to mitigate the climate impact of tourism transport include encouraging tourism to closer destinations and supporting more sustainable modes of transport, including trains. Today international trips by railways only have a small market share but night trains are considered an important part of a future green Europe. However, little is known about travelers\u27 preferences for night trains for long-distance travel in Europe. The results of an integrated choice and latent variable model (ICLV) applied to stated preference (SP) data collected from 1691 residents of Sweden show that, depending on place of origin in Sweden, in response to a set of innovations, including reduced travel time emanating from ongoing infrastructure investments, and the introduction of new, more comfortable trains, the share of plane users willing to switch to night trains to Central Europe could reach 20–30% and to Southern Europe, 6–10%

Carbon footprint effects of shifting from flights to night trains for Swedish tourism

Changes in travel behaviour are needed to tackle the climate impact associated with long-distance flights, including a switch to sustainable transport modes. In this paper, we analyse scenarios of carbon footprint reduction associated with a switch from flights to night trains for holidays in Europe for the case of Sweden, including outbound, inbound and domestic tourism. We use a prospective lifecycle assessment framework combined with results from a stated preference experiment to determine the impact of future mode shift behaviours. Our results indicate that a mode shift could be triggered by progressive night train policies resulting in (i) fewer transfers and (ii) price levels similar to those of flights. The shifts from flights to night trains could result in 9% lower cumulative carbon footprint in relation to a baseline travel demand scenario for the period 2025–2050. Decarbonization of long-distance travel in line with the Paris Agreement would likely require a combination of many different types of measures including a shift to low-carbon fuels

Multi-Step Regulation of the TLR4 Pathway by the miR-125a~99b~let-7e Cluster

An appropriate immune response requires a tight balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. IL-10 is induced at late time-points during acute inflammatory conditions triggered by TLR-dependent recognition of infectious agents and is involved in setting this balance, operating as a negative regulator of the TLR-dependent signaling pathway. We identified miR-125a~99b~let-7e as an evolutionary conserved microRNA cluster late-induced in human monocytes exposed to the TLR4 agonist LPS as an effect of this IL-10-dependent regulatory loop. We demonstrated that microRNAs generated by this cluster perform a pervasive regulation of the TLR signaling pathway by direct targeting receptors (TLR4, CD14), signaling molecules (IRAK1), and effector cytokines (TNFα, IL-6, CCL3, CCL7, CXCL8). Modulation of miR-125a~99b~let-7e cluster influenced the production of proinflammatory cytokines in response to LPS and the IL-10-mediated tolerance to LPS, thus identifying this gene as a previously unrecognized major regulatory element of the inflammatory response and endotoxin tolerance

Role of the employment status and education of mothers in the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in Mexican rural schoolchildren

<p><b>Background:</b> Intestinal parasitic infections are a public health problem in developing countries such as Mexico. As a result, two governmental programmes have been implemented: a) "National Deworming Campaign" and b) "Opportunities" aimed at maternal care. However, both programmes are developed separately and their impact is still unknown. We independently investigated whether a variety of socio-economic factors, including maternal education and employment levels, were associated with intestinal parasite infection in rural school children.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> This cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 rural communities in two Mexican states. The study sites and populations were selected on the basis of the following traits: a) presence of activities by the national administration of albendazole, b) high rates of intestinal parasitism, c) little access to medical examination, and d) a population having less than 2,500 inhabitants. A total of 507 schoolchildren (mean age 8.2 years) were recruited and 1,521 stool samples collected (3 per child). Socio-economic information was obtained by an oral questionnaire. Regression modelling was used to determine the association of socio-economic indicators and intestinal parasitism.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> More than half of the schoolchildren showed poliparasitism (52%) and protozoan infections (65%). The prevalence of helminth infections was higher in children from Oaxaca (53%) than in those from Sinaloa (33%) (p < 0.0001). Giardia duodenalis and Hymenolepis nana showed a high prevalence in both states. Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and Entamoeba hystolitica/dispar showed low prevalence. Children from lower-income families and with unemployed and less educated mothers showed higher risk of intestinal parasitism (odds ratio (OR) 6.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6–22.6; OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.5–8.2; OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.5–7.4 respectively). Defecation in open areas was also a high risk factor for infection (OR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0–3.0).</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Intestinal parasitism remains an important public health problem in Sinaloa (north-western Mexico) and Oaxaca (south-eastern Mexico). Lower income, defecation in open areas, employment status and a lower education level of mothers were the significant factors related to these infections. We conclude that mothers should be involved in health initiatives to control intestinal parasitism in Mexico.</p&gt