Bus Operator Awareness Research and Development Training Program

This training is designed to enhance the abilities of bus operators to: Quickly and effectively evaluate suspicious and dangerous activities Take actions to protect yourself and your passengers, and Provide timely and accurate information to law enforcement through your control center This summary and the full instructor-led course were developed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in cooperation with the National Transportation Security Center of Excellence (NTSCOE), managed through the Science and Technology Directorate of DHS. Through the intensive efforts of four universities and two federal agencies, the team conducted extensive research both nationally and abroad to identify appropriate countermeasures and related skill sets for bus operators relative to identifying suspicious and dangerous activity and reacting appropriately with a focus on life safety concerns

Formulating a Strategy for Securing High-Speed Rail in the United States, Research Report 12-03

This report presents an analysis of information relating to attacks, attempted attacks, and plots against high-speed rail (HSR) systems. It draws upon empirical data from MTI’s Database of Terrorist and Serious Criminal Attacks Against Public Surface Transportation and from reviews of selected HSR systems, including onsite observations. The report also examines the history of safety accidents and other HSR incidents that resulted in fatalities, injuries, or extensive asset damage to examine the inherent vulnerabilities (and strengths) of HSR systems and how these might affect the consequences of terrorist attacks. The study is divided into three parts: (1) an examination of security principles and measures; (2) an empirical examination of 33 attacks against HSR targets and a comparison of attacks against HSR targets with those against non-HSR targets; and (3) an examination of 73 safety incidents on 12 HRS systems. The purpose of this study is to develop an overall strategy for HSR security and to identify measures that could be applied to HSR systems currently under development in the United States. It is hoped that the report will provide useful guidance to both governmental authorities and transportation operators of current and future HSR systems

PMSF and SFN Reduce Alpha-synuclein Aggregation in a Yeast Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Noah Kozub ’22 Major: Biology Faculty Mentor: Fr. Nicanor Austriaco O.P, Biolog

La Grange Comprehensive Plan 2018 - 2038

In the Fall of 2017, the City of La Grange and Texas Target Communities partnered to create a task force to represent the community. The task force was integral to the planning process, contributing the thoughts, desires, and opinions of community members—as well as their enthusiasm about La Grange’s future. This fifteen-month planning process ended in August 2018. The result of this collaboration is the La Grange Comprehensive Plan, which is the official policy guide for the community’s growth over the next twenty years.La Grange Comprehensive Plan 2018 - 2038 provides a guide for the future growth of the City. This document was developed by Texas Target Communities in partnership with the City of La Grange.Texas Target Communitie

Transit Bus Operator Distraction Policies

The objective of this publication is to provide transit agencies with information about transit bus operator distraction policies and outcomes to aid them in developing their own policies and programs to address and prevent distracted driving incidents. Transit bus operations continue to be an increasingly “distracted” occupation, based on a variety of conditions, and further study is suggested to help address and mitigate conditions. A review of the relevant literature of a variety of state and federal government, academic, and professional publications was conducted for this effort. Thirty-five of 39 transit agencies surveyed responded, a 92% response rate. Case examples further document the efforts of three transit agencies (New York City Transit/NYMTA; Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta; and Metro Transit, Minneapolis) to identify and catalog their processes and results. These examples highlight more in-depth and additional details on successful practices, challenges, and lessons learned

Practices for Wayside Rail Transit Worker Protection

The purpose of the synthesis was to report the state of the practice to aid transit agencies and other entities in deciding how to develop successful wayside rail track worker protection practices. The topic panel directed the consultant to conduct in-depth telephone interviews and site visits with selected transit agencies’ staffs to provide a comprehensive look at how representative agencies provide successful wayside worker safety programs, covering multiple items. The goal was to aid streetcar, light and heavy rail providers, and other stakeholders in deciding how to proceed in developing and/or revising track worker protection practices. A review of the relevant literature was conducted to identify available and relevant documents and resources drawn from the FTA, GAO, and NTSB reports; FRA regulations and APTA standards resources; as well as numerous state, regional, and local agency issued publications. Thirty-nine publications are listed. It was determined that in-depth case studies for SF-15 would provide more thorough synthesis reporting of subject areas at select agencies and be more beneficial and useful to other transit agencies than cursory synthesis survey reporting of numerous subject areas across a larger number of agencies. The transit agencies studies were part of a Track Safety Task Force formed by New York City Transit as a result of track worker fatalities to evaluate safety culture, identify deficiencies and strengths, and develop recommendations for improvement. This task force was later joined by the Toronto Transit Commission in a Track Level Safety Team and charged with further improvements for workers at track level. Other systems soon formed or reconstituted “Rules Committees.” Thus, these five transit agencies afforded the SF-15 panel with a range of modal, operational demographic, size, and historical context from which to look at proven practices and processes in implementing wayside rail track worker protection

U-Pb and trace element zircon and apatite petrochronology of eclogites from the Scandinavian Caledonides

The petrochronological records of eclogites in the Scandinavian Caledonides are investigated using EPMA and LA-ICPMS of zircon and apatite for U-Pb geochronology, combined with major and trace element characteristics. Metamorphic zircon from two eclogites from the Lofoten-Vesteralen Complex (Lofoten Archipelago region) collectively yielded a Concordia age 427.8 & PLUSMN; 5.7 Ma and an upper intercept U-Pb age 425 & PLUSMN; 30 Ma. Apatites from the same eclogites provided U-Pb lower intercepts at 322 & PLUSMN; 28 Ma and 354 & PLUSMN; 33 Ma, with the latter also yielding a younger age of 227 & PLUSMN; 24 Ma. Two eclogites from the Lower Seve Nappe (Northern Jamtland) demonstrate different zircon and apatite age records. Metamorphic zircon provided Concordia ages of 467.2 & PLUSMN; 5.9 Ma and 444.5 & PLUSMN; 5.5 Ma, which resolve the age of prograde metamorphism and zircon growth during retrogression, respectively. The lower intercept U-Pb ages of apatites from the same eclogites are 436 & PLUSMN; 18 and 415 & PLUSMN; 25 Ma, respectively. In combination with their geochemical characteristics, they suggest two separate stages of exhumation of eclogite bodies in the Lower Seve Nappe. Zircons from an eclogite from the Blaho Nappe (Nordoyane Archipelago) yielded a continuum of concordant U-Pb dates from ca. 435 to 395 Ma, which suggests several cycles of HT metamorphism within short intervals. Distinctive trace element characteristics of apatites from the Blaho Nappe eclogite suggest formation coeval with zircon and garnet during HT metamorphism, but Pb diffusion behaved as an open system until cooling during exhumation of the nappe at 390 & PLUSMN; 12 Ma (lower intercept U-Pb age of apatite). To summarize, this study presents the high potential of coupled zircon and apatite petrochronology of eclogites in resolving their metamorphic evolution, particularly with respect to using trace element characteristics of apatites to constrain the records of their growth, alterations and the meaning of their U-Pb age record