Zilker Park cultural landscape report

textZilker Park is a large municipal park in Austin, Texas, and while currently an active recreational zone for the city, the parkland is full of historic and natural resources with a period of significance dating back at least 9,000 years. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under two nominations from 1985 and 1997. These nominations document much of the early history of the park, including archaeological sites, historic buildings, objects, and structures. While these reports provide a descriptive history of the parkland, a further study was conducted to understand the park through its cultural and natural systems. This study, known as a cultural landscape report (CLR), examined the park through a defined set of landscape characteristics such as: topography and hydrology, circulation, land use, vegetation, buildings and structures, viewsheds, habitat, archaeological sites, and small scale features. This data was organized to match and compliment the already existing research found within the NRHP nominations, including periods and areas of significance, integrity evaluations, and property types. The CLR was also based on new archival and field research and the report culminated in a set of guiding principles and methodologies for future park management. Thus, the Zilker Park CLR is a site specific planning guide, designed to function as both a descriptive and prescriptive tool for best practices for historic landscape management and stewardship.Architectur

C5a Enhances Dysregulated Inflammatory and Angiogenic Responses to Malaria In Vitro: Potential Implications for Placental Malaria

Placental malaria (PM) is a leading cause of maternal and infant mortality. Although the accumulation of parasitized erythrocytes (PEs) and monocytes within the placenta is thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of PM, the molecular mechanisms underlying PM remain unclear. Based on the hypothesis that excessive complement activation may contribute to PM, in particular generation of the potent inflammatory peptide C5a, we investigated the role of C5a in the pathogenesis of PM in vitro and in vivo.Using primary human monocytes, the interaction between C5a and malaria in vitro was assessed. CSA- and CD36-binding PEs induced activation of C5 in the presence of human serum. Plasmodium falciparum GPI (pfGPI) enhanced C5a receptor expression (CD88) on monocytes, and the co-incubation of monocytes with C5a and pfGPI resulted in the synergistic induction of cytokines (IL-6, TNF, IL-1beta, and IL-10), chemokines (IL-8, MCP-1, MIP1alpha, MIP1beta) and the anti-angiogenic factor sFlt-1 in a time and dose-dependent manner. This dysregulated response was abrogated by C5a receptor blockade. To assess the potential role of C5a in PM, C5a plasma levels were measured in malaria-exposed primigravid women in western Kenya. Compared to pregnant women without malaria, C5a levels were significantly elevated in women with PM.These results suggest that C5a may contribute to the pathogenesis of PM by inducing dysregulated inflammatory and angiogenic responses that impair placental function