Recognizing greenway network for quantifying students experience on campus-based universities : assessing the campus outdoor spaces at San Diego State University

This paper evaluates the potential of creating a green infrastructure – more specifically, an urban greenway – and its contribution the students’ campus experience, with emphasis on the outdoor university activities. To achieve best value for money – particularly in the current financial climate, with severe budget cuts constraining universities – justifying investments on campus outdoor spaces such as greenways, relies on a clear demonstration of their link to the overall success of the campus. Attempts of quantify the benefits from investments on such spaces are challenged by the scarcity of studies on the relationship between students’ experience and design (and related cost) of different types of campus landscape settings. This paper fills this gap by offering a thorough examination of a variety of extant campus developments and by measuring the performance of some selected open spaces against a ‘price-tag’ mechanism. The case study of the San Diego State University has been chosen as core case study and supplemented by 16 sub-cases across California State. The assessment has been conducted through three steps. First, a site inventory of the physical characteristics and landscape features has been conducted, focusing on 7 typologies of campus outdoor spaces (COS). Second, four main use patterns (Individual-customized, Group-social, Programmed-scheduled, and Active experiences) have been assessed by calculating the intensity of use (function of the frequency and duration of use) for each of them. The data collected was based on syntax observation methods with photos and maps of COS as prompts. Third, a Campus-Experience-Score (C-E-C) has been calculated and normalized to the size and population of the university, matching it against the actual development costs of each COS setting. The C-E-C allows measuring the link between types and features of COS and related students’ experience. Findings were discussed and verified through six in-depth interviews with local and international academics and developers/practitioners. This paper offers valuable benchmark to designers and planners seeking to maximize the value for money of investments on COS such as greenways

Efficacy of Rhus coriaria (sumac) juice in reducing muscle pain during aerobic exercise

The main target of this study was to measure the influence of sumac juice drink on muscle indices and pain during an acute, intense exercise for 30 days. Forty healthy volunteers (15–25 years) were involved in aerobic exercise program for 4 weeks. Participants ingested sumac juice or placebo drink twice daily for 30 days. All participants were subjected for the evaluation of pain and estimation of serum: creatine kinase (CK), lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH), troponin I, hydroxyproline (hyp), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and in vitro antioxidant activity of sumac juice using pre-validated visual analog scale, colorimetric and immunoassays. The participants of both groups, placebo and sumac, showed an increment in pain scores both during exercise and post-exercise intervals. However, the sumac juice group showed a significant smaller increase in the pain scores compared to the placebo group. Participants in the sumac juice group were more willing to use the drink in the future. They achieved a higher satisfaction of sumac juice in ameliorating and the reduction of pain. Also, the sumac group showed a significant enhancement in the level of CK, LDH, troponin I, hyp, along with significant increase in serum (TAC) compared to the placebo group. The protective activity of muscle may relate to the antioxidant activity of phenolic component(s) in sumac juice as measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging (87.9%) and β-carotene–linoleic acid (68.7%) assays. These data suggest that oral administration of sumac juice may have a beneficial effect on muscle performance among athletes

Biomechanics of porcine renal arteries and role of axial stretch.

International audienceIt is known that arteries experience significant axial stretches in vivo. Several authors have shown that the axial force needed to maintain an artery at its in vivo axial stretch does not change with transient cyclical pressurization over normal ranges. However, the axial force phenomenon of arteries has never been explained with microstructural considerations. In this paper we propose a simple biomechanical model to relate the specific axial force phenomenon of arteries to the predicted load-dependent average collagen fiber orientation. It is shown that (a) the model correctly predicts the authors' experimentally measured biaxial behavior of pig renal arteries and (b) the model predictions are in agreement with additional experimental results reported in the literature. Finally, we discuss the implications of the model for collagen fiber orientation and deposition in arteries

GENO PROTECTIVE AND ANTI-APOPTOTIC EFFECT OF GREEN TEA AGAINST PERINATAL LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-EXPOSURE INDUCED LIVER TOXICITY IN RAT NEWBORNS

published_or_final_versio

EGFR tyrosine kinase targeted compounds

In this study, we illustrate computer aided drug design of new benzothiazole and pyrimido[2,1-b]benzothiazole derivatives as epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK) inhibitors. Compounds 1-5 were screened at NCI, USA, for antitumor activity against non-small cell lung cancer (NCI-H522), colon cancer (HCT-116, HCT-15 and HT29) and breast cancer (MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231/ATCC) cell lines in which EGFR is overexpressed in varying levels. Results indicated that these compounds are more potent antitumor agents compared to erlotinib against HT29 and MDA-MB-231/ATCC cell lines. Compound 3 showed GI50 value of 22.3 nM against NCI-H522 cell line, while erlotinib exhibited GI50 value of 1 μM against the same cell line. In addition, these compounds were studied for their EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitory activity. Virtual screening utilizing molecular modeling and QSAR techniques enabled the understanding of the pharmacophoric requirements for antitumor activity. Docking the designed compounds into the ATP binding site of EGFR-TK domain was done to predict the analogous binding mode of these compounds to the EGFR-TK inhibitors

Microspectromètre SPIR : modèles de prédiction multispécifiques des propriétés de bois de plusieurs espèces forestières de Madagascar

Les spectromètres Proche InfraRouge de laboratoire avec une large gamme spectrale et une résolution élevée sont connus pour être performants, mais ils sont très onéreux. D'où l'intérêt d'utiliser des spectromètres moins onéreux, de taille plus petite, portatifs et pouvant être utilisés directement sur terrain. Mais ces microspectromètres portatifs sont généralement moins performants que les spectromètres de laboratoire. Cette étude va comparer la performance en prédiction d'un spectromètre de laboratoire qui est le Spectromètre VECTOR de Bruker et un microspéctromètre portatif microNIR 1700 de VIAVI. Il s'agit d'établir des modèles PLS pour quatre propriétés de bois : taux d'extractibles, taux de phénols, la durabilité naturelle des bois à travers les pertes de masse obtenus par attaque de champignons Coriolus versicolor et Coniophora puteana. Les bois utilisés appartiennent à 8 espèces provenant de Madagascar dont Agauria sp., Cedrela odorata, Garcinia sp., Neotina isoneura, Nuxia capitata, Streblus dimepate, Tambourissa tricophylla, Weinmannia rutenbergii. Les spectres ont été collectés sur des poudres de bois stabilisées à 12% d'humidité. Pour chacune de ces propriétés, les modèles multispécifiques comparés sont ceux basés sur les spectres du VECTOR dans la gamme 11494-4000 cm-1 (M1), puis 10526-6060 cm-1 (M2), et finalement le modèle basé sur les spectres du microNIR (M3 : 10526-6060 cm-1). Les modèles présentés ont été établis avec la méthode PLS, sans sélection de longueurs d'onde, en utilisant les meilleurs prétraitements et testés en validation croisée répétée. Pour chacune des propriétés, les modèles M3 ont des RMSECV faibles mais peu différents des modèles M1 selon les propriétés analysées bien que la résolution spectrale et la technologie des deux appareils soient très différentes. En perspective, nous allons tenter d'améliorer les modèles en sélectionnant les longueurs d'onde selon les propriétés à étalonner

Microwave-assisted synthesis and antitumor evaluation of a new series of thiazolylcoumarin derivatives

A new series of thiazolylcoumarin derivatives was synthesized. The designed strategy embraced a molecular hybridization approach which involves the combination of the thiazole and coumarin pharmacophores together. The new hybrid compounds were tested for in vitro antitumor efficacy over cervical (Hela) and kidney fibroblast (COS-7) cancer cells. Compounds 5f, 5h, 5m and 5r displayed promising efficacy toward Hela cell line. In addition, 5h and 5r were found to be the most active candidates toward COS-7 cell line. The four active analogs, 5f, 5h, 5m and 5r were screened for in vivo antitumor activity over EAC cells in mice, as well as in vitro cytotoxicity toward W138 normal cells. Results illustrated that 5r has the highest in vivo activity, and that the four analogs are less cytotoxic than 5-FU toward W138 normal cells. In this study, 3D pharmacophore analysis was performed to investigate the matching pharmacophoric features of the synthesized compounds with trichostatin A. In silico studies showed that the investigated compounds meet the optimal needs for good oral absorption with no expected toxicity hazards