Search results for "Liberation"
showing 10 items of 198 documents
Habitual initiation of media use and a response-frequency measure for its examination
2014
When measuring media habits, most scholars rely on retrospective self-reports about behavioral frequency, context stability, or automaticity of the performance. This article develops a new implicit measurement for media research to complement existing approaches, which focuses on measuring the initiation of general, goal-related habits. In the response-frequency measure of media habit (RFMMH), participants are presented with several media use goals and are asked to choose quickly and without deliberation which media device (television set, radio set, newspaper, computer, mobile device) they would use. The more often a media device is chosen, the stronger the mental script to choose this dev…
Opinion Dynamics and Collective Decisions
2021
We expect that democracy enables us to utilize collective intelligence such that our collective decisions build and enhance social welfare, and such that we accept their distributive and normative consequences. Collective decisions are produced by voting procedures which aggregate individual preferences and judgments. Before and after, individual preferences and judgments change as their underlying attitudes, values, and opinions change through discussion and deliberation. In large groups, these dynamics naturally go beyond the scope of the individual and consequently might show unexpected self-driven macroscopic systems dynamics following socio-physical laws. On the other hand, aggregated …
Reconciling credibility and accountability: how expert bodies achieve credibility through accountability processes
2018
Arguments about the legitimate role of expert bodies in Europe often centre on the following question: Does their independence help to make policies credible or should they be made democratically accountable to principals and stakeholders? This article claims this is a false dichotomy. It does so by arguing theoretically that credibility can be achieved through accountability processes. Then, drawing on exemplary case studies, this article identifies distinctive accountability processes for ensuring credibility: revisable competencies, deliberation over institutional design, and engagement in public justification. Credibility and accountability are thus not conflicting, but co-constitutive …
A POLYCARBOXYLIC/AMINO FUNCTIONALIZED HYALURONIC ACID DERIVATIVE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF pH SENSIBLE HYDROGELS IN THE PREVENTION OF BACTERIAL ADHESION …
2014
A graft copolymer derivative of hyaluronic acid bearing pendant amino and short polymethacrylate portions (HA-EDA-BMP-MANa) has been employed for the production of a pH sensible vancomycin releasing hydrogel and studied in vitro to test its potential anti adhesive property against Staphylococcus aureus colonization. The copolymer obtained through atom transfer radical polymerization bears chargeable (carboxyl and amino groups) portions and it could be formulated as a hydrogel at a concentration of 10% w/v. The HA-EDA-BMP-MANa hydrogels, produced at three different pH values (5, 6 and 7, respectively), were formulated with or without the addition of vancomycin (2% w/v). The vancomycin releas…
eParticipation:Designing and Managing Political Discussion Forums
2010
Author's version of an article published in Social Science Computer Review, 2010, 28 (4), 403-426. Also available from the publisher: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0894439309341626 eParticipation is the extension and transformation of participation in political deliberation and decision-making processes through information and communication technologies (ICTs). The most commonly found examples of eParticipation systems are political discussion forums. Although much of the discussion of these technologies is conducted in the eGovernment and eDemocracy literature, political discussion forums present a distinct set of design and management challenges, which relate directly to information systems c…
Hydrogels for potential colon drug release by thiol-ene conjugate addition of a new inulin derivative.
2008
Inulin was chosen as a starting polymer for biocompatible, pH-sensitive and biodegradable hydrogels. Three INUDVSA-TT hydrogels were obtained by crosslinking inulin derivatives with trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) under varying conditions. The resulting hydrogels were cell compatible, as demonstrated by MTS and trypan blue exclusion assays acting on Caco-2 cells, and were biodegraded by inulinase and esterase, thus suggesting their use as colonic drug delivery systems. 2-Methoxyestradiol, an anti-cancer drug, was soaked in INUDVSA-TT hydrogels and its in vitro release and apoptotic effect on Caco-2 cells were evaluated.
Exploring the Link between ICT and Development in the Context of Developing Countries : A Literature Review
2014
Published version of an article in the journal: Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. Also available from the publisher at: http://www.ejisdc.org/ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/view/1332. Open Access The article contributes to the ongoing discussion on relating information and communication technology (ICT) to development (D). The quest to relate ICT to D is a topic of open deliberation and critical scrutiny in ICT4D research communities. To enhance the understanding in this regard, we conducted a literature review. The review examines 80 articles to identify various development theories and the role of technologies in the development process. While scanning the …
Role of three isoforms of phospholipase A2in capacitative calcium influx in human T-cells
2002
The present study was conducted on human Jurkat T-cell lines in order to elucidate the role of phospholipase A2 in capacitative calcium entry. We have employed thapsigargin (TG) that induces increases in [Ca2+]i by emptying the calcium pool of endoplasmic reticulum, followed by capacitative calcium entry. We designed a Ca2+ free/Ca2+ reintroduction (CFCR) protocol for the experiments, conducted in Ca2+-free medium. By employing CFCR protocol, we observed that addition of exogenous arachidonic acid (AA) stimulated TG-induced capacitative calcium influx. The liberation of endogenous AA and its autocrine action seems to be implicated during TG-induced capacitative calcium influx: TG potentiate…
Development and characterization of co-loaded curcumin/triazole-halloysite systems and evaluation of their potential anticancer activity.
2014
Abstract Positively charged halloysite nanotubes functionalized with triazolium salts (f-HNT) were employed as a carrier for curcumin molecules delivery. The synthesis of these f-HNT new materials is described. Their interaction with curcumin was evaluated by means dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV–vis spectroscopy in comparison with pristine unmodified HNT (p-HNT). The curcumin load into HNT was estimated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements, while the morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Release of curcumin from f-HNT, at three different pH values, by means of UV–vis spectroscopy was also studied. Furthermore, different cancer cell …
Pharmaceutical properties of supramolecular assembly of co-loaded cardanol/triazole-halloysite systems
2015
Halloysite nanotubes were explored as drug carrier for cardanol, which is considered as a promising natural anticancer active species. To this aim, besides the pristine nanoclay, a chemical modification of the nanocarrier was performed by attaching triazolium salts with different hydrophobicity at the outer surface of the hollow nanotubes. The interaction between cardanol and nanotubes was highlighted in solution by HPLC. This method proved the loading of the drug into the nanotubes. The solid dried complexes formed by pristine and modified halloysite with the cardanol were characterized by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis as well as water contact angle to evidence the structure,…