Cover Image,Volume 93, Issue 8

The cover image, by Marie AF Delgove et al., is based on the Research Article Application of a thermostable Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase for the synthesis of branched polyester precursors, DOI: 10.1002/jctb.5623 .

     

The role of indicators in the assessment of integrated land‐use and transport policies in European cities

This paper reviews the integration of land‐use and transport indicators in current European planning practice. Integrated land‐use and transport planning is considered to be one of the instruments to reduce car dependency in European cities and regions and to promote economic, social and environmental improvement. Within the framework of the TRANSPLUS project more than 20 cities were analysed in depth about their integrated transport and land‐use monitoring activities. The cities were selected taking into account geographical spread, size, innovative character of policies and the availability of information. It is found that most cities acknowledge the interrelation between land‐use planning and mobility planning, but in most cases an integrated monitoring system has not yet been set up. The general tendency in the cities investigated is a dominance of transport‐oriented monitoring. In a number of cities, ad hoc projects have been set up, involving both the transport and the land‐use department. In other cities, efforts in relation to integrated land‐use and transport monitoring are stimulated by higher policy levels. Whereas a number of cities try to combine land‐use and transport data, only a few of them monitor the institutional integration of the land‐use and transport departments. Integrated land‐use and transport models are hardly used, and efforts are directed mainly at developing integrated indicators. A number of good practices have been identified and two are discussed in this paper. The Cologne case illustrates the use of land‐use and transport data, combined with indicators, to monitor the planning and implementation of a car‐free neighbourhood project and the potential for the reduction of parking places. In Orléans the development of a mobility observatory acts as an instrument to monitor the implementation of the PDU (Plan de développement urbain) in an integrated way.     

Dietary Lipid Intake only Partially Influences Variance in Serum Phospholipid Fatty Acid Composition in Adolescents: Impact of Other Dietary Factors

The present study aimed to assess the correlation between food and fatty acid (FA) intake and the serum phospholipid (PL) FA status in European adolescents and explored the percentage of variation in serum PL FA that could be attributed to dietary habits. Participants included 528 adolescents recruited in the HELENA Study. Dietary intake was assessed by two, self-administered, non-consecutive 24-h recalls. PL FA concentrations were measured in fasting venous serum samples. Reduced rank regressions were applied to examine the combined effect of food intakes. Results indicated that the variance in serum PL FA in adolescents, that could be explained by diet varied from 7.0 % for MUFA to 14.2 % for n-3FA. The variance in the long-chain n-3FA was mainly explained by fish intake but also by coffee and tea consumption. In conclusion this study indicated that dietary intake influences the serum PL FA status to a limited amount but that also other factors interfere. However, dietary intake is important as it is among those factors that could be modified. Furthermore, the results suggest that the overall dietary habits should be considered instead of only the consumption of single foods or nutrients, as the medium of the food or concomitant intake of foods and nutrients might interact and as such influence absorption or metabolism.     

Arsenic-doped Ge-spiked monoemitter SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistors by low-temperature trisilane based chemical vapor deposition

In this work we optimized the Ge-spiked monoemitter for the SiGe:C heterojunction bipolar transistor by using low-temperature trisilane based chemical vapor deposition to meet the requirements of high growth rate and high electrically-active doping levels of arsenic. The resultant devices show improvement of open-base breakdown voltage and no degradation of cutoff frequency with incorporation of a Ge spike in the monoemitter.     

Strain amplification in bone mechanobiology: a computational investigation of the in vivo mechanics of osteocytes

The osteocyte is believed to act as the main sensor of mechanical stimulus in bone, controlling signalling for bone growth and resorption in response to changes in the mechanical demands placed on our bones throughout life. However, the precise mechanical stimuli that bone cells experience in vivo are not yet fully understood. The objective of this study is to use computational methods to predict the loading conditions experienced by osteocytes during normal physiological activities. Confocal imaging of the lacunar–canalicular network was used to develop three-dimensional finite element models of osteocytes, including their cell body, and the surrounding pericellular matrix (PCM) and extracellular matrix (ECM). We investigated the role of the PCM and ECM projections for amplifying mechanical stimulation to the cells. At loading levels, representing vigorous physiological activity (3000 µɛ), our results provide direct evidence that (i) confocal image-derived models predict 350–400% greater strain amplification experienced by osteocytes compared with an idealized cell, (ii) the PCM increases the cell volume stimulated more than 3500 µɛ by 4–10% and (iii) ECM projections amplify strain to the cell by approximately 50–420%. These are the first confocal image-derived computational models to predict osteocyte strain in vivo and provide an insight into the mechanobiology of the osteocyte.     

Protein‐Release Behavior of Self‐Assembled PEG–β‐Cyclodextrin/PEG–Cholesterol Hydrogels

This paper reports on the degradation and protein release behavior of a self‐assembled hydrogel system composed of β‐cyclodextrin‐ (βCD) and cholesterol‐derivatized 8‐arm star‐shaped poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG₈). By mixing βCD‐ and cholesterol‐derivatized PEG₈ (molecular weights 10, 20 and 40 kDa) in aqueous solution, hydrogels with different rheological properties are formed. It is shown that hydrogel degradation is mainly the result of surface erosion, which depends on the network swelling stresses and initial crosslink density of the gels. This degradation mechanism, which is hardly observed for other water‐absorbing polymer networks, leads to a quantitative and nearly zero‐order release of entrapped proteins. This system therefore offers great potential for protein delivery.     

α-particle emission probabilities in the decay of U

²³⁵U decays by α-particle emission to ²³¹Th. The decay scheme of this nuclide is very complex, with more than 20 alpha branches. Recommended values for P_α of this nuclide are based on measurements carried out in 1975. This work presents the results of new measurements made with Si detectors and sources of enriched uranium in the frame of the EUROMET 591 cooperation project. The use of improved measurement techniques and numerical analysis of spectra allowed a new set of P_α values for 13 lines with improved uncertainties to be obtained.