Thermodynamic entropy as an indicator for urban sustainability?

As foci of economic activity, resource consumption, and the production of material waste and pollution, cities represent both a major hurdle and yet also a source of great potential for achieving the goal of sustainability. Motivated by the desire to better understand and measure sustainability in quantitative terms we explore the applicability of thermodynamic entropy to urban systems as a tool for evaluating sustainability. Having comprehensively reviewed the application of thermodynamic entropy to urban systems we argue that the role it can hope to play in characterising sustainability is limited. We show that thermodynamic entropy may be considered as a measure of energy efficiency, but must be complimented by other indices to form part of a broader measure of urban sustainability

DataSheet1.docx

<p>Toll receptors are involved in innate immunity of invertebrates. In this study, we identify and characterize two Toll genes (named HcToll4 and HcToll5) from triangle sail mussel Hyriopsis cumingii. HcToll4 has complete cDNA sequence of 3,162 bp and encodes a protein of 909 amino acids. HcToll5 cDNA is 4,501 bp in length and encodes a protein of 924 amino acids. Both deduced HcToll4 and HcToll5 protein contain signal peptide, extracellular leucine rich repeats (LRRs), and intracellular Toll/interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor domains. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that HcToll4 and HcToll5 were largely distributed in the hepatopancreas and could be detected in the gills and mantle. HcToll4 and HcToll5 expression could respond to Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) or Poly I:C challenge. RNA interference by siRNA results showed that HcToll4 and HcToll5 were involved in the regulation of theromacin (HcThe) and whey acidic protein (HcWAP) expression. Based on these results, HcToll4 and HcToll5 might play pivotal function in H. cumingii innate immune response.</p

Sup_Fig-5 – Supplemental material for Prognostic significance of pretreatment plasma fibrinogen level in patients with digestive system tumors: a meta-analysis

<p>Supplemental material, Sup_Fig-5 for Prognostic significance of pretreatment plasma fibrinogen level in patients with digestive system tumors: a meta-analysis by Rui Ji, Qian Ren, Suyang Bai, Yuping Wang and Yongning Zhou in The International Journal of Biological Markers</p

Prospective Study of Optimal Obesity Index Cut-Off Values for Predicting Incidence of Hypertension in 18–65-Year-Old Chinese Adults

<p>The manuscript entitled "Prospective Study of Optimal Obesity Index Cut-Off Values for Predicting Incidence of Hypertension in 18–65-Year-Old Chinese Adults" was accepted by journal "PLoS ONE", with a doi of "10.1371/journal.pone.0148140". The file "k2" was the primary dataset of the manuscript.</p

Characteristics of 18- to 65-y-old, normotensive participants in 2006¹.

<p>Characteristics of 18- to 65-y-old, normotensive participants in 2006<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0148140#t001fn002" target="_blank">¹</a>.</p

Sex-specific AUC by different anthropometric indices for the prediction of hypertension.

<p>Sex-specific AUC by different anthropometric indices for the prediction of hypertension.</p

Cx46G143R enhances gap junctional plaque formation.

<p><i>A)</i> Lysates of HeLa cells expressing exogenous wild-type Cx46 or Cx46G143R were prepared, and the Triton X-100-soluble and insoluble fractions were separated by centrifugation and analyzed by western blotting using anti-Cx46 antibody. <i>B)</i> The ratio of Triton X-100-insoluble fraction to total Cx46 protein was quantified using densitometry. Cx46G143R verses wild-type Cx46, ^**, <i>P</i><0.01. n = 4.</p