Planning for cycling in the West Midlands

The issues involved in planning for pedal cyclists are examined with reference to the West Midlands County. Working with a local cycling campaign group, the researcher uses action research methods to investigate and influence the campaign. Development of cycle planning is traced through the literature, focusing on bicycle ownership, bicycle use and cycling policy. UK practice is contrasted with the integrated approach of other countries. An extensive bibliography is provided. Local authority cycle planning through the TPP process is systematically assessed over three years. This provides a context for the information regarding cycling in the West Midlands. Existing data is presented from the 1981 Census and local police road accident and bicycle theft records. The developing relationship between the local authority and the cycle campaign group is narrated in detail, explaining the problems that can beset efforts to improve conditions for cyclists. The researcher was closely involved in this interaction, particularly with policy and a major public inquiry. A survey of the Cycle Campaign Network indicates that the local group was not atypical. To provide information relevant to the local campaign and for effective local planning, a survey of 3,500 West Midlands residents was conducted using a novel combination of questionnaires and interviews. It shows that 1) Bicycle ownership and use is considerably higher than indicated by the 1978/9 National Travel Survey 2) Cycling is most import to certain disadvantaged sections of the community, particularly the young, those without access to a car and in the lower SEGs. The broader issues of transport policy are discussed, concluding that cycling is regarded as a marginal activity and that changes in general transport policy, land use planning and fiscal arrangements are necessary conditions for cycle planning to succeed. An integrated package of cycling measures involving engineering, education, enforcement and encouragement is also required. Recommendations are made concerning central government, local authorities and cycle campaign groups. Subjects for further research are identified.

Manufacturing sourcing practices and relationships

Product-sourcing practices can impact the competitiveness of an organization's products and services. Many sourcing practices exist and the challenge is to find the right practice, for the right product, at the right time. This paper describes a survey of 3,500 of UK companies, and reports on current and intended manufacturing sourcing practices; the associated decision-making processes; and, the principal motives behind sourcing decisions. Key findings demonstrate a strong and ambitious trend towards open, integrated relationships between manufacturers and their principal suppliers; sourcing decisions increasingly based on well-structured analysis of business needs and capabilities; and, the chief motivators being financial and market factors.

Studies on the neurotoxicity of 6,7-dihydroxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (salsolinol) in SH-SY5Y cells

We have studied the hypothesis that 6,7-dihydroxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline (salsolinol) is neurotoxic. Salsolinol induced a significant time and dose related inhibition of 3[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide; thiazoyl blue (MTT) reduction, and increased lactate dehydrogenase release (LDH) release from human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, at concentrations within the range of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) cytotoxicity, in vitro. Cytotoxicity was not inhibited by the addition of antioxidants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors or imipramine. In confluent monolayers, salsolinol stimulated catecholamine uptake with EC50 values of 17 muM and 11 muM, for noradrenaline and dopamine, respectively. Conversely, at concentrations above 100 muM, salsolinol inhibited the uptake of noradrenaline and dopamine, with IC50 values of 411 muM and 379 muM, respectively. The inhibition of catecholamine uptake corresponded to the increase displacement of [3H]nisoxetine from the uptake 1 site by salsolinol, as the Ki (353 muM) for displacement was similar to the IC50 (411 and 379 muM) for uptake. Salsolinol stimulated catecholamine uptake does not involve the uptake recognition site, or elevation of cAMP, cGMP, or inhibition of protein kinase C. Salsolinol also inhibited both carbachol (1 mM) and K+ (100 mM, Na+ adjusted) evoked released of noradrenaline from SH-SY5Y cells, with IC50 values of 500 muM and 120 muM, respectively. In conclusion, salsolinol appears to be cytotoxic to SH-SY5Y cells, via a mechanism that does not require uptake 1, bioactivation by monoamine oxidase, or membrane based free radical damage. The effects of salsolinol on catecholamine uptake, and the mechanism of toxicity require further investigation.

Secure key distribution over a 500 km long link using a Raman ultra-long fiber laser

In traditional communication systems the transmission medium is considered as a given characteristic of the channel, which does not depend on the properties of the transmitter and the receiver. Recent experimental demonstrations of the feasibility of extending the laser cavity over the whole communication link connecting the two parties, forming an ultra-long fiber laser (UFL), have raised groundbreaking possibilities in communication and particularly in secure communications. Here, a 500 km long secure key distribution link based on Raman gain UFL is demonstrated. An error-free distribution of a random key with an average rate of 100 bps between the users is demonstrated and the key is shown to be unrecoverable to an eavesdropper employing either time or frequency domain passive attacks. In traditional communication systems the transmission medium is considered as a given characteristic of the channel, which does not depend on the properties of the transmitter and the receiver. Recent demonstrations of the feasibility of extending the laser cavity over the whole communication link connecting the two parties, forming an ultra-long fiber laser (UFL), have raised groundbreaking possibilities in communication. Here, a 500 km long secure key distribution link based on Raman gain UFL is demonstrated. © 2014 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Dual-polarization multi-band optical OFDM transmission and transceiver limitations for up to 500 Gb/s uncompensated long-haul links

A number of critical issues for dual-polarization single- and multi-band optical orthogonal-frequency division multiplexing (DPSB/ MB-OFDM) signals are analyzed in dispersion compensation fiber (DCF)-free long-haul links. For the first time, different DP crosstalk removal techniques are compared, the maximum transmission-reach is investigated, and the impact of subcarrier number and high-level modulation formats are explored thoroughly. It is shown, for a bit-error-rate (BER) of 10-3, 2000 km of quaternary phase-shift keying (QPSK) DP-MBOFDM transmission is feasible. At high launched optical powers (LOP), maximum-likelihood decoding can extend the LOP of 40 Gb/s QPSK DPSB- OFDM at 2000 km by 1.5 dB compared to zero-forcing. For a 100 Gb/s DP-MB-OFDM system, a high number of subcarriers contribute to improved BER but at the cost of digital signal processing computational complexity, whilst by adapting the cyclic prefix length the BER can be improved for a low number of subcarriers. In addition, when 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) is employed the digital-toanalogue/ analogue-to-digital converter (DAC/ADC) bandwidth is relaxed with a degraded BER; while the 'circular' 8QAM is slightly superior to its 'rectangular' form. Finally, the transmission of wavelength-division multiplexing DP-MB-OFDM and single-carrier DP-QPSK is experimentally compared for up to 500 Gb/s showing great potential and similar performance at 1000 km DCF-free G.652 line. © 2014 Optical Society of America.