The Impact of Transit-Oriented Development on Social Capital

This paper focuses on the ability of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to improve social capital and interactions within a community. The expectation is that TOD has a positive impact on the lifestyle and activities of individuals who reside, work, and frequent these locations, and that this can include increases in social capital. Using data from a survey of transit station locations in New Jersey, the authors examine how proximity to the station and various built environment variables are associated with different measures of social capital, derived from responses to survey questions. These questions inquire about respondents’ perceptions of their neighborhood as a place to live, sense of community, knowing their neighbors, trust, and whether their community is a good place to raise a child. The authors also include a question on volunteering in the community. These questions reflect various domains of social capital as established in the literature. Results generally do not support the hypothesis that social capital is associated with transit station proximity and TOD. Features of the built environment, proxied by population and employment density, are also not associated with increased social capital, and in some cases have a negative association. While there are some limited positive associations with some of the social capital variables, one of the strongest indicators is living in a detached family home

Improving Pathways to Transit for Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities can achieve a greater degree of freedom when they have full access to a variety of transit modes, but this can only be achieved when the pathways to transit – the infrastructure and conditions in the built environment – allow full access to transit stops, stations, and vehicles. Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, many transit agencies and governmental jurisdictions have made significant progress in this area. Policy initiatives, incremental enhancements, modifications, and other measures undertaken by transit agencies and their partners have significantly improved access to transit for persons with disabilities, others who rely on public transportation, and individuals who chose to utilize these services. This research study explores, through case study work, efforts that have been effective in improving pathways to transit. Interviews and site visits were conducted with five transit agencies, along with their partners, that are actively engaged in improving pathways to connect transit consumers – particularly people with disabilities – with transit stations and stops. These agencies are: Broward County Transit (Broward County, FL), Memphis Area Transit Authority (Memphis, TN), NJ TRANSIT (Newark and New Brunswick, NJ), Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Portland, OR), and Link Transit (Wenatchee, WA). Promising practices and/or lessons were identified through the case study analysis; these should be considered by any transit agency seeking to create improved access to its services for persons with disabilities

A FAP46 Mutant Provides New Insights into the Function and Assembly of the C1d Complex of the Ciliary Central Apparatus

Virtually all motile eukaryotic cilia and flagella have a \u279+2\u27 axoneme in which nine doublet microtubules surround two singlet microtubules. Associated with the central pair of microtubules are protein complexes that form at least seven biochemically and structurally distinct central pair projections. Analysis of mutants lacking specific projections has indicated that each may play a unique role in the control of flagellar motility. One of these is the C1d projection previously shown to contain the proteins FAP54, FAP46, FAP74 and FAP221/Pcdp1, which exhibits Ca(2+)-sensitive calmodulin binding. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii null mutant for FAP46. This mutant, fap46-1, lacks the C1d projection and has impaired motility, confirming the importance of this projection for normal flagellar movement. Those cells that are motile have severe defects in phototaxis and the photoshock response, underscoring a role for the C1d projection in Ca(2+)-mediated flagellar behavior. The data also reveal for the first time that the C1d projection is involved in the control of interdoublet sliding velocity. Our studies further identify a novel C1d subunit that we term C1d-87, give new insight into relationships between the C1d subunits, and provide evidence for multiple sites of calmodulin interaction within the C1d projection. These results represent significant advances in our understanding of an important but little studied axonemal structure

Risk Factors of Sexual Assault Victimization within the U.S. Military

INTRODUCTION: Sexual assault (SA) victimization affects thousands of service members in the military each year and identifying risk factors of SA is essential to inform prevention efforts. AIM: To synthesize literature on SA within the military to determine risk factors of SA incidence. METHODS: Risk factors from 6 epidemiological studies were compared via meta-analysis using R. Odds ratios and tests of heterogeneity were calculated to illustrate the collective odds of SA given each risk factor across the studies and to show variability. Odds ratios were calculated separately for risk factors only mentioned in one study. RESULTS: Women (OR =16.37), persons reporting sexual harassment during service (OR = 14.54), persons with a SA history (OR = 3.99), enlisted rank (OR = 2.47), non-married persons (OR = 2) and persons with no college experience were at greater risk of SA (OR = 1.32). Being White was found to be a protective factor (OR = 0.76). Our descriptive analysis found that experiencing stalking (OR = 11.84), being a sexual minority (OR = 2.15) or transgender increased the risk of SA (OR = 1.91). However, transgender womxn were at lower risk of SA than transgender mxn (OR = 0.42). DISCUSSION: It may be useful to develop tailored prevention programs for those identified as at risk according to our findings. Further, more needs to be done to address the environmental and cultural factors specific to the military that perpetuate SA incidence

Transit-oriented development and the frequency of modal use

JTLU, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 21-44Transit-oriented development (TOD) is assumed to be effective at changing the travel behavior of individuals, particularly in increasing the use of public transit, but also by increasing walking activity while decreasing driving. The analysis presented here examines the frequency of using these modes of travel for those living in TODs and proximate to a train station versus those living more distantly. Household survey data was collected for the area surrounding eight rail stations in the state of New Jersey in the United States. The models developed include factors that control for attitudes about the neighborhood where respondents reside and how long they have lived at their current residence. Other control variables to represent the urban design of the neighborhood are also included. A factor analysis of the attitudinal variables produces five factors that are used as controls in an ordered structural equation model of frequency of using public transit, walking, and driving. Results suggest that those living in TODs and closer to the train station use public transit and walk more frequently than those living farther out; they also drive less frequently than those living farther out

Evidence of a Large-Scale Functional Organization of Mammalian Chromosomes

Evidence from inbred strains of mice indicates that a quarter or more of the mammalian genome consists of chromosome regions containing clusters of functionally related genes. The intense selection pressures during inbreeding favor the coinheritance of optimal sets of alleles among these genetically linked, functionally related genes, resulting in extensive domains of linkage disequilibrium (LD) among a set of 60 genetically diverse inbred strains. Recombination that disrupts the preferred combinations of alleles reduces the ability of offspring to survive further inbreeding. LD is also seen between markers on separate chromosomes, forming networks with scale-free architecture. Combining LD data with pathway and genome annotation databases, we have been able to identify the biological functions underlying several domains and networks. Given the strong conservation of gene order among mammals, the domains and networks we find in mice probably characterize all mammals, including humans

Pcdp1 is a central apparatus protein that binds Ca2+-calmodulin and regulates ciliary motility

A complex that localizes to the C1d central pair projection of cilia controls flagellar waveform and beat frequency in response to calcium