Search results for "REGIONS"
showing 10 items of 1521 documents
Planning
2022
The chapter seeks to explore the role urban planning can play in the decision-making process within large urban areas. In the first part, the concept of planning is explored through different theoretical perspectives, while in a second section how urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas are viewed in the planning literature are analyzed. In the last sections the paper describes how urban and regional planning has evolved faced with the development issues of large urban areas and some ways to give planning an appropriate role in shaping metropolitan development are suggested.
Pleasurable music affects reinforcement learning according to the listener.
2013
Mounting evidence links the enjoyment of music to brain areas implicated in emotion and the dopaminergic reward system. In particular, dopamine release in the ventral striatum seems to play a major role in the rewarding aspect of music listening. Striatal dopamine also influences reinforcement learning, such that subjects with greater dopamine efficacy learn better to approach rewards while those with lesser dopamine efficacy learn better to avoid punishments. In this study, we explored the practical implications of musical pleasure through its ability to facilitate reinforcement learning via non-pharmacological dopamine elicitation. Subjects from a wide variety of musical backgrounds chose…
Total mercury and methyl-mercury contents and accumulation in polar microbial mats.
2014
Although polar regions are considered isolated and pristine areas, the organisms that inhabit these zones are exposed to global pollution. Heavy metals, such as mercury, are global pollutants and can reach almost any location on Earth. Mercury may come from natural, volcanic or geological sources, or result from anthropogenic sources, in particular industrial or mining activities. In this study, we have investigated one of the most prominent biological non-marine communities in both polar regions, microbial mats, in terms of their Hg and methyl-mercury (MeHg) concentrations and accumulation capacities. The main hypotheses posed argued on the importance of different factors, and to test them…
Global patterns of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil
2007
Abstract Recent findings suggest a higher natural contribution to PAH concentrations in soil than previously thought. I hypothesized that the PAH pattern in soil is dominated by two main types, which are indicative of background conditions on the one side (i.e., by biological and diffuse PAHs) and a strong impact by atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic emissions on the other side. To test this hypothesis, concentrations of 20 PAHs in 225 topsoil samples from 12 geographic regions were evaluated. The Σ20PAHs concentrations ranged between 4.8 and 186,000 μg kg− 1. In soils with low concentrations of Σ20PAHs, naphthalene (NAPH), phenanthrene (PHEN), and perylene (PERY), together defined as …
Genetic Analysis of Sequences in the 3′ Nontranslated Region of Hepatitis C Virus That Are Important for RNA Replication
2002
ABSTRACT The genome of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a plus-strand RNA molecule that carries a single long open reading frame. It is flanked at either end by highly conserved nontranslated regions (NTRs) that mediate crucial steps in the viral life cycle. The 3′ NTR of HCV has a tripartite structure composed of an about 40-nucleotide variable region, a poly(U/UC) tract that has a heterogeneous length, and a highly conserved 98-nucleotide 3′-terminal sequence designated the X tail or 3′X. Conflicting data as to the role the sequences in the 3′ NTR play in RNA replication have been reported. By using the HCV replicon system, which is based on the self-replication of subgenomic HCV RNAs in hu…
HPMC-salicylate conjugates as macromolecular prodrugs: Design, characterization, and nano-rods formation
2009
The design, characterization, and nano-rods formation of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)-salicylate conjugates as macromolecular prodrugs, was described. HPMC, obtained from Zhejiang Zhongbao Imp and Exp Corp, was dried under vacuum at 110°C for 8 hr. Nanoparticles were prepared using dialysis process in which 170 mg of HPMC-salicylate sample was dissolved in 5 mL of purified DMSO and was dialyzed against distilled water for 4 days. HPMC-salicylic acid conjugates reveal the absence of sulfur in all of the samples showing that there is no introduction to tosylate groups either covalently bounded or as an impurity.
pH-responsive physically and chemically cross-linked glutamic-acid-based hydrogels and nanogels
2018
Abstract Given the great demand for polymers prepared from renewable materials, the synthesis of a glutamic-acid-based hydrogel by solution and inverse miniemulsion polymerization is herein presented. Free radical initiated homopolymerizations of N-acryloyl- l -glutamic acid (l- AGA) resulted in either a readily water-soluble polymer or a physically cross-linked hydrogel, being the formation of physical cross-linking junctions closely related to monomer concentration and mixture viscosity. Chemically cross-linked poly( l -AGA-co-BIS) hydrogels were also synthesized by copolymerization of l -AGA and N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS). Both poly (l- AGA) and poly( l -AGA-co-BIS) swelling beh…
Resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin present in red wine, enhances expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
2002
Background— Estrogens can upregulate endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in human endothelial cells by increasing eNOS promoter activity and enhancing the binding activity of the transcription factor Sp1. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin found in grapes and wine, has been reported to act as an agonist at the estrogen receptor. Therefore, we tested the effect of this putative phytoestrogen on eNOS expression in human endothelial cells. Methods and Results— Incubation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and HUVEC-derived EA.hy 926 cells with resveratrol for 24 to 72 hours upregulated eNOS mRNA expression in a time- and concentration-dependent manner (up to 2.8-fold)…
"Writing biochips": high-resolution droplet-to-droplet manufacturing of analytical platforms.
2022
The development of high-resolution molecular printing allows the engineering of analytical platforms enabling applications at the interface between chemistry and biology, i.e. in biosensing, electronics, single-cell biology, and point-of-care diagnostics. Their successful implementation stems from the combination of large area printing at resolutions from sub-100 nm up to macroscale, whilst controlling the composition and the volume of the ink, and reconfiguring the deposition features in due course. Similarly to handwriting pens, the engineering of continuous writing systems tackles the issue of the tedious ink replenishment between different printing steps. To this aim, this review articl…
International student mobility in Southern-Latin Europe: beyond the EU logics, towards a new space
2018
This paper discusses international student mobility (ISM) in Southern-Latin Europe, specifically Italy, Portugal, and Spain, analysing the inflow of international students as reflected in the UNESCO, OECD and European Commission databases. Only recently Italy, Portugal and Spain, as latecomers, have become more actively involved in ISM dynamics. This trend has been a response to EU pressures to internationalization, instrumented through the consolidation of the Bologna process and the need to build a common space of higher education. The analysis shows that at the intra-European level Italy, Portugal and Spain share similar ISM patterns; however, in the global context other logics shape ISM…