Blue Lines, Greenbelts, and the Effects of Growth Management: The Geographical Effects of Growth Management Policies in Boulder, Colorado

This study evaluates and describes the effects of growth management policies, established by the city of Boulder, Colorado, for the city and the surrounding region. A variety of techniques contribute to this evaluation, including remote sensing analysis of land-use change for the region, mapping of commuter flow patterns, and analysis of the distribution of housing values, housing units, number of jobs, and income values. Growth management policies focus on planning for development to ensure continuous, adjacent growth, while preventing haphazard, leapfrog development. In cases such as Boulder, when planning is implemented unilaterally by a city as opposed to on a regional level, growth tends to be funneled to new locations, thereby perpetuating sprawl and all its negative implications. Boulder has had a long history of employing a variety of policies to manage growth, including a service area boundary as well as a tax to preserve open space that results in a greenbelt that defines the extent of the city. The result has been the formation of a sharp edge between the urban and rural landscape, with increased commuters from the surrounding area, a mismatch between jobs and housing, and a worker earning/housing cost mismatch for Boulder. This has funneled growth to the surrounding area, as documented by steady increases in the built environment

Beetle Outbreaks and Wildfires: Drivers of Fire Severity, Recruitment, and Structural Legacies for Sub-boreal Forests in British Columbia

Bark beetle outbreaks have left a legacy of tree mortality across fire-prone landscapes of western North America that could influence how these forests will burn and regenerate. While research has been focused on forests in the western United States, the potential interactions between mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreaks and wildfires have yet to be investigated in the sub-boreal forests of British Columbia that have pervasive tree mortality. In this dissertation, I explored the relationships between MPB outbreaks and wildfires through field-based approaches that evaluate the drivers of fire severity, legacy structures, and seedling recruitment, and through satellite-based approaches that evaluated the drivers of burn severity. The majority of this research focused on three fires that burned in 2012, 2013, and 2014 across two provincial parks in central interior British Columbia that are managed as wilderness, are dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), and situated at the epicenter of the outbreaks in these sub-boreal forests. I examined the influence of outbreak severity on fire severity using typical first-order fire effects measured in the field as well as legacy structure related to the consumption of woody biomass on snags/trees. I evaluated post-fire seedling recruitment across a gradient of fire severity, including fire refugia - areas only affected by MPB outbreaks and absent of recent fire. I conducted a landscape-scale assessment of MPB outbreak and fire by developing satellite maps of outbreak and fire severity to evaluate the drivers of high burn severity across these landscapes. I supplemented this research with a chemical analysis of pyrogenic carbon on snags from the Pole Creek Fire that burned through lodgepole pine forest with outbreak mortality in the eastern portion of the Cascade Range in Oregon. In my field study, MPB outbreak severity did not influence fire severity as it related to immediate first-order fire effects, with the exception of a high probability of formation of deep char. Related to this increased formation of deep char, outbreak severity substantially influenced fire severity by affecting postfire legacy structure in these forests. My findings indicate that fire weather and topography are largely influencing fire severity related to first-order fire effects, while biomass consumption related to the architecture of structural legacies that remain post-fire is strongly linked to the status of trees at time of fire (live trees versus deadwood). These results highlight important synergistic effects of outbreak severity and fire severity. Post-fire recruitment density of lodgepole pine was related to fire severity and the abundance of serotinous cones on nearby lodgepole trees, demonstrating that fire is a key mechanism for seed release. Comparison of burned sites to fire refugia with substantial MPB outbreak mortality showed that fire is critical for regeneration of these forests. The landscape-scale assessment based on satellite data indicated that high burn severity was driven predominantly by spatial patterns in fuels and weather, with prefire vegetation conditions having the greatest relative influence on high burn severity overall. The mixture of live and dead fuels associated with post-outbreak landscapes and characterized by remote sensing indices suggested that intermediate levels of outbreak generate a fuel arrangement that supports the greatest probability of high severity fire on these landscapes. My small field study focused on the chemical characterization of carbon legacies generated by MPB and wildfire showed that the concentration of pyrogenic carbon was higher in samples from charred snags compared to scorched snags. These findings indicate a difference in the carbon legacy that remains on landscapes where fire burns through forests with substantial prefire tree mortality versus those where fire burns through stands dominated by live trees. Overall, this research provides insights into the disturbance and fire ecology for forests dominated by lodgepole pine with substantial prefire tree mortality from previous, recent disturbance. These forests with pervasive tree mortality burn differently than forests dominated by live trees, leaving an altered legacy structure, but dominant species, lodgepole pine, is generally resilient when MPB outbreaks and wildfire occur in short intervals. This research can inform future research and forest management as it relates to fire severity and forest resilience at the epicenter of the MPB outbreaks

The Kids Are Alright (?). Infants’ Development and COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: The study aimed to assess and compare the global development in six-month-old infants before and during the pandemic restrictive social distancing measures. Methods: This cross-sectional nested study involved infants assessed through the Griffiths Scales of Child Development (GSCD) between September 2019 and April 2021. Infants were classified in a pre-COVID or a COVID group, considering the evaluation date and the restrictive measures in place. GSCD subscales and General Development Scores (GDS) were calculated and compared. Results: One hundred and four healthy term-born infants were evaluated. GDS in the COVID group (n:70; median: 94; IQR: 90–100) appeared significantly lower than in the pre-COVID group (n:34; median: 98; IQR: 97–103; p < 0.001). Language and personal-social-emotional subareas scores appeared the most affected. A decreasing trend of GDS along with the severity of restriction was observed. Conclusion: A reduction in infant development scores was observed during pandemic social distancing. Further studies are needed to systematize these findings and to address effective public health policies for infants and families during long-term forced isolation periods

Antitumor activity of the PI3K δ-sparing inhibitor MEN1611 in PIK3CA mutated, trastuzumab-resistant HER2 + breast cancer

PI3K inhibitor; PIK3CA mutations; Trastuzumab resistanceInhibidor de PI3K; Mutacions PIK3CA; Resistència al trastuzumabInhibidor de PI3K; Mutaciones PIK3CA; Resistencia a trastuzumabPurpose Dysregulation of the PI3K pathway is one of the most common events in breast cancer. Here we investigate the activity of the PI3K inhibitor MEN1611 at both molecular and phenotypic levels by dissecting and comparing its profile and efficacy in HER2 + breast cancer models with other PI3K inhibitors. Methods Models with different genetic backgrounds were used to investigate the pharmacological profile of MEN1611 against other PI3K inhibitors. In vitro studies evaluated cell viability, PI3K signaling, and cell death upon treatment with MEN1611. In vivo efficacy of the compound was investigated in cell line- and patient-derived xenografts models. Results Consistent with its biochemical selectivity, MEN1611 demonstrated lower cytotoxic activity in a p110δ-driven cellular model when compared to taselisib, and higher cytotoxic activity in the p110β-driven cellular model when compared to alpelisib. Moreover, MEN1611 selectively decreased the p110α protein levels in PIK3CA mutated breast cancer cells in a concentration- and proteasome-dependent manner. In vivo, MEN1611 monotherapy showed significant and durable antitumor activity in several trastuzumab-resistant PIK3CA-mutant HER2 + PDX models. The combination of trastuzumab and MEN1611 significantly improved the efficacy compared to single agent treatment. Conclusions The profile of MEN1611 and its antitumoral activity suggest an improved profile as compared to pan-inhibitors, which are limited by a less than ideal safety profile, and isoform selective molecules, which may potentially promote development of resistance mechanisms. The compelling antitumor activity in combination with trastuzumab in HER2 + trastuzumab-resistant, PIK3CA mutated breast cancer models is at the basis of the ongoing B-Precise clinical trial (NCT03767335).This work was supported by Regione Lazio, POR FESR 2014–2020 Bando “Life 2020_Progetti. integrati” for the project “PISTA (PI3K for Solid Tumor therApy)” (CUP F57H18000070007)

Priority Traffic Modeling in Multicellular Communication Networks

In this paper we analyze a cellular communication environment which offers specific users priority access to network resources. We foresee a finite number of widespread disparate mobiles moving in a geographical region covered by a finite set of cells. Each user belongs to a class characterized by a specific service, load and mobility profile. In this paper we will consider two classes, namely high priority class and low priority class. The developed analytical network model, validated by simulation experiments, allows us to evaluate the main system performance parameters in terms of new call blocking probability, hand-off blocking probability and forced termination probability

Le competenze infermieristiche avanzate nel trattamento dello stroke in fase acuta in Italia. Strategia per l’identificazione (I parte)

Introduction: the goal of this study was to describe advanced nursing competences indicators for identification strategy in the stroke care in Italy and develop a survey tool. Problem: the new structure of the NHS and the needs expressed by patients increasingly require an advancement of the skills of health professionals. To this end the authors have identified and described a method for the detection of advanced nursing skills. Starting from the theoretical structure of AB Hamric have been identified analyzed and compared documents of a professionalizing and clinical from which have identified some categories. For each indicator have been identified one or more items and has been developed ad hoc questionnaire. At the end this was validated. Discussion: the methodology for the identification of the indicators has been efficacy in achieving the objectives. The strategy used in the study is reproducible, since traced to a theoretical model, and contextualized to any clinical setting, where there are secondary sources of evidencebased. It can also be adapted to post basic training course of a single reality. Conclusions: advanced clinical knowledge and skills, frequently without a formal recognition because of the complexity and instability of the patient, are used in the stroke care. Itís hoped to use the tool to verify the effectiveness and then play back the path in other clinical setting

Proposal of a survey-based methodology for the determination of the energy consumption in the residential sector

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Power saving and energy optimization techniques for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks have become increasingly popular due to their wide range of applications. Energy consumption is one of the biggest constraints of the wireless sensor node and this limitation combined with a typical deployment of large number of nodes have added many challenges to the design and management of wireless sensor networks. They are typically used for remote environment monitoring in areas where providing electrical power is difficult. Therefore, the devices need to be powered by batteries and alternative energy sources. Because battery energy is limited, the use of different techniques for energy saving is one of the hottest topics in WSNs. In this work, we present a survey of power saving and energy optimization techniques for wireless sensor networks, which enhances the ones in existence and introduces the reader to the most well known available methods that can be used to save energy. They are analyzed from several points of view: Device hardware, transmission, MAC and routing protocols.Sendra Compte, S.; Lloret, J.; García Pineda, M.; Toledo Alarcón, JF. (2011). Power saving and energy optimization techniques for Wireless Sensor Networks. Journal of Communications. 6(6):439-459. doi:10.4304/jcm.6.6.439-459S4394596

Annual and Seasonal Patterns of Burned Area Products in Arctic-Boreal North America and Russia for 2001-2020

Boreal and Arctic regions have warmed up to four times quicker than the rest of the planet since the 1970s. As a result, boreal and tundra ecosystems are experiencing more frequent and higher intensity extreme weather events and disturbances, such as wildfires. Yet limitations in ground and satellite data across the Arctic and boreal regions have challenged efforts to track these disturbances at regional scales. In order to effectively monitor the progression and extent of wildfires in the Arctic-boreal zone, it is essential to determine whether burned area (BA) products are accurate representations of BA. Here, we use 12 different datasets together with MODIS active fire data to determine the total yearly BA and seasonal patterns of fires in Arctic-boreal North America and Russia for the years 2001–2020. We found relatively little variability between the datasets in North America, both in terms of total BA and seasonality, with an average BA of 2.55 ± 1.24 (standard deviation) Mha/year for our analysis period, the majority (ca. 41%) of which occurs in July. In contrast, in Russia, there are large disparities between the products—GFED5 produces over four times more BA than GFED4s in southern Siberia. These disparities occur due to the different methodologies used; dNBR (differenced Normalized Burn Ratio) of short-term composites from Landsat images used alongside hotspot data was the most consistently successful in representing BA. We stress caution using GABAM in these regions, especially for the years 2001–2013, as Landsat-7 ETM+ scan lines are mistaken as burnt patches, increasing errors of commission. On the other hand, we highlight using regional products where possible, such as ABoVE-FED or ABBA in North America, and the Talucci et al. fire perimeter product in Russia, due to their detection of smaller fires which are often missed by global products