Synthesis and Physical-Chemical characterization of Metallic Nanoparticles

The stabilization of nanoparticles against their irreversible particle aggregation and oxidation reactions. is a requirement for further advancement in nanoparticle science and technology. For this reason the research aim on this topic focuses on the synthesis of various metal nanoparticles protected with monolayers containing different reactive head groups and functional tail groups. In this work cuprous bromide nanocrystals haave been synthetized with a diameter of about 20 nanometers according to a new sybthetic method adding dropwise ascorbic acid to a water solution of lithium bromide and cupric chloride under continuous stirring and nitrogen flux. Butane thiolate Cu protected nanoparticles have been synthetized according to three different syntesys methods. Their morphologies appear related to the physicochemical conditions during the synthesis and to the dispersing medium used to prepare the sample. Synthesis method II allows to obtain stable nanoparticles of 1-2 nm in size both isolated and forming clusters. Nanoparticle cluster formation was enhanced as water was used as dispersing medium probably due to the idrophobic nature of the butanethiolate layers coating the nanoparticle surface. Synthesis methods I and III lead to large unstable spherical nanoparticles with size ranging between 20 to 50 nm. These nanoparticles appeared in the TEM micrograph with the same morphology independently on the dispersing medium used in the sample preparation. The stability and dimensions of the copper nanoparticles appear inversely related. Using the same methods above described for the butanethiolate protected copper nanoparticles 4-methylbenzenethiol protected copper nanoparticles have been prepared. Diffractometric and spectroscopic data reveal that decomposition processes didn’t occur in both the 4-methylbenzenethiol copper protected nanoparticles precipitates from formic acid and from water in a period of time six month long. Se anticarcinogenic effects by multiple mechanisms have been extensively investigated and documented and Se is defined a genuine nutritional cancer-protecting element and a significant protective effect of Se against major forms of cancer. Furthermore phloroglucinol was found to possess cytoprotective effects against oxidative stress, thanks to reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are associated with cells and tissue damages and are the contributing factors for inflammation, aging, cancer, arteriosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes. The goal of our work has been to set up a new method to synthesize in mild conditions amorphous Se nanopaticles surface capped with phloroglucinol, which is used during synthesis as reducing agent to obtain stable Se nanoparticles in ethanol, performing the synergies offered by the specific anticarcinogenic properties of Se and the antioxiding ones of phloroalucinol. We have synthesized selenium nanoparticles protected by phenolic molecules chemically bonded to their surface. The phenol molecules coating the nanoparticles surfaces form low ordered arrays as can be seen from the wider shape of the absorptions in the FT-IR spectrum with respect to those appearing in that of crystalline phenol. On the other hand, metallic nanoparticles with unique optical properties, facile surface chemistry and appropriate size scale are generating much enthusiasm in nanomedicine. In fact Au nanoparticles has immense potential for both cancer diagnosis and therapy. Especially Au nanoparticles efficiently convert the strongly adsorbed light into localized heat, which can be exploited for the selective laser photothermal therapy of cancer. According to the about, metal nanoparticles-HA nanocrystals composites should have tremendous potential in novel methods for therapy of cancer. 11 mercaptoundecanoic surface protected Au4Ag1 nanoparticles adsorbed on nanometric apathyte crystals we have successfully prepared like an anticancer nanoparticles deliver system utilizing biomimetic hydroxyapatyte nanocrystals as deliver agents. Furthermore natural chrysotile, formed by densely packed bundles of multiwalled hollow nanotubes, is a mineral very suitable for nanowires preparation when their inner nanometer-sized cavity is filled with a proper material. Bundles of chrysotile nanotubes can then behave as host systems, where their large interchannel separation is actually expected to prevent the interaction between individual guest metallic nanoparticles and act as a confining barrier. Chrysotile nanotubes have been filled with molten metals such as Hg, Pb, Sn, semimetals, Bi, Te, Se, and with semiconductor materials such as InSb, CdSe, GaAs, and InP using both high-pressure techniques and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Under hydrothermal conditions chrysotile nanocrystals have been synthesized as a single phase and can be utilized as a very suitable for nanowires preparation filling their inner nanometer-sized cavity with metallic nanoparticles. In this research work we have synthesized and characterized Stoichiometric synthetic chrysotile nanotubes have been partially filled with bi and monometallic highly monodispersed nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 1,7 to 5,5 nm depending on the core composition (Au, Au4Ag1, Au1Ag4, Ag). In the case of 4 methylbenzenethiol protected silver nanoparticles, the filling was carried out by convection and capillarity effect at room temperature and pressure using a suitable organic solvent. We have obtained new interesting nanowires constituted of metallic nanoparticles filled in inorganic nanotubes with a inner cavity of 7 nm and an isolating wall with a thick ranging from 7 to 21 nm.

Sicurezza dei prodotti alimentari e la responsabilità civile nell'Unione europea e negli Stati Uniti: tecniche a confronto

Le profonde trasformazioni che hanno interessato l’industria alimentare, unitamente alle accresciute capacità delle scienze mediche ed epidemiologiche di individuare nessi causali tra il consumo di determinate sostanze e l’insorgere di patologie, hanno imposto al legislatore di intervenire nella materia della c.d. sicurezza alimentare mettendo in atto sistemi articolati e complessi tesi a tutelare la salute dei consociati. Quest’ultimo obiettivo viene perseguito, da un lato, mediante disposizioni di natura pubblicistica e di carattere preventivo e, dall’altro lato, dallo strumento della responsabilità civile. Le due prospettive di tutela della salute delle persone costituiscono parti distinte ma al tempo stesso fortemente integrate in una logica unitaria. Questa prospettiva emerge chiaramente nel sistema statunitense: in quel ordinamento la disciplina pubblicistica della sicurezza degli alimenti – definita dalla Food and Drug Administration – costituisce un punto di riferimento imprescindibile anche quando si tratta di stabilire se un prodotto alimentare è difettoso e se, di conseguenza, il produttore è chiamato a risarcire i danni che scaturiscono dal suo utilizzo. L’efficace sinergia che si instaura tra la dimensione pubblicistica del c.d. Public Enforcement e quella risarcitoria (Private Enforcement) viene ulteriormente valorizzata dalla presenza di efficaci strumenti di tutela collettiva tra i quali la class action assume una importanza fondamentale. Proprio muovendo dall’analisi del sistema statunitense, l’indagine si appunta in un primo momento sull’individuazione delle lacune e delle criticità che caratterizzano il sistema nazionale e, più in generale quello comunitario. In un secondo momento l’attenzione si focalizza sull’individuazione di soluzioni interpretative e de iure condendo che, anche ispirandosi agli strumenti di tutela propri del diritto statunitense, contribuiscano a rendere maggiormente efficace la sinergia tra regole preventive sulla sicurezza alimentare e regole risarcitorie in materia di responsabilità del produttore.

Schriftlicher Text im Film und seine Übersetzung : die Inserts der BBC-Serie Sherlock (2010-12) ; aus der Perspektive von Untertiteltheorie, Comictheorie und Translationspraxis

Die BBC-Serie SHERLOCK war 2011 eine der meistexportierten Fernsehproduktionen Großbritanniens und wurde weltweit in viele Sprachen übersetzt. Eine der Herausforderungen bei der Übersetzung stellen die Schrifteinblendungen der Serie (kurz: Inserts) dar. Die Inserts versprachlichen die Gedanken des Protagonisten, bilden schriftliche und digitale Kommunikation ab und zeichnen sich dabei durch ihre visuelle Auffälligkeit und teilweise als einzige Träger sprachlicher Kommunikation aus, womit sie zum wichtigen ästhetischen und narrativen Mittel in der Serie werden. Interessanterweise sind in der Übersetztung alle stilistischen Eigenschaften der Original-Inserts erhalten. In dieser Arbeit wird einerseits untersucht, wie Schrifteinblendungen im Film theoretisch beschrieben werden können, und andererseits, was sie in der Praxis so übersetzt werden können, wie es in der deutschen Version von Sherlock geschah. Zur theoretischen Beschreibung werden zunächst die Schrifteinblendungen in Sherlock Untertitelungsnormen anhand relevanter grundlegender semiotischer Dimensionen gegenübergestellt. Weiterhin wird das Verhältnis zwischen Schrifteinblendungen und Filmbild erkundet. Dazu wird geprüft, wie gut verschiedene Beschreibungsansätze zu Text-Bild-Verhältnissen aus der Sprachwissenschaft, Comicforschung, Übersetzungswissenschaft und Typografie die Einblendungen in Sherlock erklären können. Im praktischen Teil wird die Übersetzung der Einblendungen beleuchtet. Der Übersetzungsprozess bei der deutschen Version wird auf Grundlage eines Experteninterviews mit dem Synchronautor der Serie rekonstruiert, der auch für die Formulierung der Inserts zuständig war. Abschließend werden spezifische Übersetzungsprobleme der Inserts aus der zweiten Staffel von SHERLOCK diskutiert. Es zeigt sich, dass Untertitelungsnormen zur Beschreibung von Inserts nicht geeignet sind, da sie in Dimensionen wie Position, grafische Gestaltung, Animation, Soundeffekte, aber auch Timing stark eingeschränkt sind. Dies lässt sich durch das historisch geprägte Verständnis von Untertiteln erklären, die als möglichst wenig störendes Beiwerk zum fertigen Filmbild und -ablauf (notgedrungen) hinzugefügt werden, wohingegen für die Inserts in SHERLOCK teilweise sogar ein zentraler Platz in der Bild- und Szenenkomposition bereits bei den Dreharbeiten vorgesehen wurde. In Bezug auf Text-Bild-Verhältnisse zeigen sich die größten Parallelen zu Ansätzen aus der Comicforschung, da auch dort schriftliche Texte im Bild eingebettet sind anstatt andersherum. Allerdings sind auch diese Ansätze zur Beschreibung von Bewegung und Ton unzureichend. Die Erkundung der Erklärungsreichweite weiterer vielversprechender Konzepte, wie Interface und Usability, bleibt ein Ziel für künftige Studien. Aus dem Experteninterview lässt sich schließen, dass die Übersetzung von Inserts ein neues, noch unstandardisiertes Verfahren ist, in dem idiosynkratische praktische Lösungen zur sprachübergreifenden Kommunikation zwischen verschiedenen Prozessbeteiligten zum Einsatz kommen. Bei hochqualitative Produktionen zeigt ist auch für die ersetzende Insertübersetzung der Einsatz von Grafikern unerlässlich, zumindest für die Erstellung neuer Inserts als Übersetzungen von gefilmtem Text (Display). Hierbei sind die theoretisch möglichen Synergien zwischen Sprach- und Bildexperten noch nicht voll ausgeschöpft. Zudem zeigt sich Optimierungspotential mit Blick auf die Bereitstellung von sorgfältiger Dokumentation zur ausgangssprachlichen Version. Diese wäre als Referenzmaterial für die Übersetzung insbesondere auch für Zwecke der internationalen Qualitätssicherung relevant. Die übersetzten Inserts in der deutschen Version weisen insgesamt eine sehr hohe Qualität auf. Übersetzungsprobleme ergeben sich für das genretypische Element der Codes, die wegen ihrer Kompaktheit und multiplen Bezügen zum Film eine Herausforderung darstellen. Neben weiteren bekannten Übersetzungsproblemen wie intertextuellen Bezügen und Realia stellt sich immer wieder die Frage, wieviel der im Original dargestellten Insert- und Displaytexte übersetzt werden müssen. Aus Gründen der visuellen Konsistenz wurden neue Inserts zur Übersetzung von Displays notwendig. Außerdem stellt sich die Frage insbesondere bei Fülltexten. Sie dienen der Repräsentation von Text und der Erweiterung der Grenzen der fiktiv dargestellten Welt, sind allerdings mit hohem Übersetzungsaufwand bei minimaler Bedeutung für die Handlung verbunden.

Recycling the city: a sustainable planning framework to reduce, reuse and recycle urban residual spaces

Cities are key locations where Sustainability needs to be addressed at all levels, as land is a finite resource. However, not all urban spaces are exploited at best, and land developers often evaluate unused, misused, or poorly-designed urban portions as impracticable constraints. Further, public authorities lose the challenge to enable and turn these urban spaces into valuable opportunities where Sustainable Urban Development may flourish. Arguing that these spatial elements are at the centre of SUD, the paper elaborates a prototype in the form of a conceptual strategic planning framework, committed to an effective recycling of the city spaces using a flexible and multidisciplinary approach. Firstly, the research focuses upon a broad review of Sustainability literature, highlighting established principles and guidelines, building a sound theoretical base for the new concept. Hence, it investigates origins, identifies and congruently suggests a definition, characterisation and classification for urban “R-Spaces”. Secondly, formal, informal and temporary fitting functions are analysed and inserted into a portfolio meant to enhance adaptability and enlarge the choices for the on-site interventions. Thirdly, the study outlines ideal quality requirements for a sustainable planning process. Then, findings are condensed in the proposal, which is articulated in the individuation of tools, actors, plans, processes and strategies. Afterwards, the prototype is tested upon case studies: Solar Community (Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna) and Hyllie Sustainable City Project, the latter developed via an international workshop (ACSI-Camp, Malmö, Sweden). Besides, the qualitative results suggest, inter alia, the need to right-size spatial interventions, separate structural and operative actors, involve synergies’ multipliers and intermediaries (e.g. entrepreneurial HUBs, innovation agencies, cluster organisations…), maintain stakeholders’ diversity and create a circular process open for new participants. Finally, the paper speculates upon a transfer of the Swedish case study to Italy, and then indicates desirable future researches to favour the prototype implementation.

Interest in a national research network in surgery in Switzerland

Networks are known to improve performance and create synergies. A research network can provide a significant advantage for all parties involved in research in surgery by systematically tracking the outcome of a huge number of patients over a long period of time. The aim of the present study was to investigate the experiences of surgeons with respect to research activities, to evaluate the opinions of surgeons with regard to the development of a national network for research in the field of surgery in Switzerland and to obtain data on how such a network should be designed.

A Departmental Focus on High Impact Undergraduate Research Experiences

Undergraduate research experiences have become an integral part of the Hamilton College chemistry experience. The major premise of the chemistry department’s curriculum is that research is a powerful teaching tool. Curricular offerings have been developed and implemented to better prepare students for the independence required for successful undergraduate research experiences offered during the academic year and the summer. Administrative support has played a critical role in our ability to initiate and sustain scholarly research programs for all faculty members in the department. The research-rich curriculum is built directly upon or derived from the scholarly research agendas of our faculty members. The combined strengths and synergies of our curriculum and summer research program have allowed us to pursue several programmatic initiatives.

Global biomass burning: a synthesis and review of Holocene paleofire records and their controls

We synthesize existing sedimentary charcoal records to reconstruct Holocene fire history at regional, continental and global scales. The reconstructions are compared with the two potential controls of burning at these broad scales – changes in climate and human activities – to assess their relative importance on trends in biomass burning. Here we consider several hypotheses that have been advanced to explain the Holocene record of fire, including climate, human activities and synergies between the two. Our results suggest that 1) episodes of high fire activity were relatively common in the early Holocene and were consistent with climate changes despite low global temperatures and low levels of biomass burning globally; 2) there is little evidence from the paleofire record to support the Early Anthropocene Hypothesis of human modification of the global carbon cycle; 3) there was a nearly-global increase in fire activity from 3 to 2 ka that is difficult to explain with either climate or humans, but the widespread and synchronous nature of the increase suggests at least a partial climate forcing; and 4) burning during the past century generally decreased but was spatially variable; it declined sharply in many areas, but there were also large increases (e.g., Australia and parts of Europe). Our analysis does not exclude an important role for human activities on global biomass burning during the Holocene, but instead provides evidence for a pervasive influence of climate across multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Wildlife health investigations: needs, challenges and recommendations.

In a fast changing world with growing concerns about biodiversity loss and an increasing number of animal and human diseases emerging from wildlife, the need for effective wildlife health investigations including both surveillance and research is now widely recognized. However, procedures applicable to and knowledge acquired from studies related to domestic animal and human health can be on partly extrapolated to wildlife. This article identifies requirements and challenges inherent in wildlife health investigations, reviews important definitions and novel health investigation methods, and proposes tools and strategies for effective wildlife health surveillance programs. Impediments to wildlife health investigations are largely related to zoological, behavioral and ecological characteristics of wildlife populations and to limited access to investigation materials. These concerns should not be viewed as insurmountable but it is imperative that they are considered in study design, data analysis and result interpretation. It is particularly crucial to remember that health surveillance does not begin in the laboratory but in the fields. In this context, participatory approaches and mutual respect are essential. Furthermore, interdisciplinarity and open minds are necessary because a wide range of tools and knowledge from different fields need to be integrated in wildlife health surveillance and research. The identification of factors contributing to disease emergence requires the comparison of health and ecological data over time and among geographical regions. Finally, there is a need for the development and validation of diagnostic tests for wildlife species and for data on free-ranging population densities. Training of health professionals in wildlife diseases should also be improved. Overall, the article particularly emphasizes five needs of wildlife health investigations: communication and collaboration; use of synergies and triangulation approaches; investments for the long term; systematic collection of metadata; and harmonization of definitions and methods.

Inventory of veterinary syndromic surveillance initiatives in Europe (Triple-S project): current situation and perspectives.

Within the current context that favours the emergence of new diseases, syndromic surveillance (SyS) appears increasingly more relevant tool for the early detection of unexpected health events. The Triple-S project (Syndromic Surveillance Systems in Europe), co-financed by the European Commission, was launched in September 2010 for a three year period to promote both human and animal health SyS in European countries. Objectives of the project included performing an inventory of current and planned European animal health SyS systems and promoting knowledge transfer between SyS experts. This study presents and discusses the results of the Triple-S inventory of European veterinary SyS initiatives. European SyS systems were identified through an active process based on a questionnaire sent to animal health experts involved in SyS in Europe. Results were analyzed through a descriptive analysis and a multiple factor analysis (MFA) in order to establish a typology of the European SyS initiatives. Twenty seven European SyS systems were identified from twelve countries, at different levels of development, from project phase to active systems. Results of this inventory showed a real interest of European countries for SyS but also highlighted the novelty of this field. This survey highlighted the diversity of SyS systems in Europe in terms of objectives, population targeted, data providers, indicators monitored. For most SyS initiatives, statistical analysis of surveillance results was identified as a limitation in using the data. MFA results distinguished two types of systems. The first one belonged to the private sector, focused on companion animals and had reached a higher degree of achievement. The second one was based on mandatory collected data, targeted livestock species and is still in an early project phase. The exchange of knowledge between human and animal health sectors was considered useful to enhance SyS. In the same way that SyS is complementary to traditional surveillance, synergies between human and animal health SyS could be an added value, most notably to enhance timeliness, sensitivity and help interpreting non-specific signals.

The German business and information technologies project

The Business and Information Technologies (BIT) project strives to reveal new insights into how modern IT impacts organizational structures and business practices using empirical methods. Due to its international scope, it allows for inter-country comparison of empirical results. Germany — represented by the European School of Management and Technologies (ESMT) and the Institute of Information Systems at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin — joined the BIT project in 2006. This report presents the result of the first survey conducted in Germany during November–December 2006. The key results are as follows: • The most widely adopted technologies and systems in Germany are websites, wireless hardware and software, groupware/productivity tools, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The biggest potential for growth exists for collaboration and portal tools, content management systems, business process modelling, and business intelligence applications. A number of technological solutions have not yet been adopted by many organizations but also bear some potential, in particular identity management solutions, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biometrics, and third-party authentication and verification. • IT security remains on the top of the agenda for most enterprises: budget spending was increasing in the last 3 years. • The workplace and work requirements are changing. IT is used to monitor employees' performance in Germany, but less heavily compared to the United States (Karmarkar and Mangal, 2007).1 The demand for IT skills is increasing at all corporate levels. Executives are asking for more and better structured information and this, in turn, triggers the appearance of new decision-making tools and online technologies on the market. • The internal organization of companies in Germany is underway: organizations are becoming flatter, even though the trend is not as pronounced as in the United States (Karmarkar and Mangal, 2007), and the geographical scope of their operations is increasing. Modern IT plays an important role in enabling this development, e.g. telecommuting, teleconferencing, and other web-based collaboration formats are becoming increasingly popular in the corporate context. • The degree to which outsourcing is being pursued is quite limited with little change expected. IT services, payroll, and market research are the most widely outsourced business functions. This corresponds to the results from other countries. • Up to now, the adoption of e-business technologies has had a rather limited effect on marketing functions. Companies tend to extract synergies from traditional printed media and on-line advertising. • The adoption of e-business has not had a major impact on marketing capabilities and strategy yet. Traditional methods of customer segmentation are still dominating. The corporate identity of most organizations does not change significantly when going online. • Online sales channel are mainly viewed as a complement to the traditional distribution means. • Technology adoption has caused production and organizational costs to decrease. However, the costs of technology acquisition and maintenance as well as consultancy and internal communication costs have increased.

Socio-economic atlas of Kenya: Depicting the national population census by county and sub-location

The Socio-Economic Atlas of Kenya is the first of its kind to offer high-resolution spatial depictions and analyses of data collected in the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census . The combination of geographic and socio-eco - nomic data enables policymakers at all levels, development experts, and other interested readers to gain a spatial understanding of dynamics affecting Kenya. Where is the informal economic sector most prominent? Which areas have adequate water and sanitation? Where is population growth being slowed effectively? How do education levels vary throughout the country? And where are poverty rates lowest? Answers to questions such as these, grouped into seven broad themes, are visually illustrated on high-resolution maps. By supplying precise information at the sub-location level and summarizing it at the county level, the atlas facilitates better planning that accounts for local contexts and needs. It is a valuable decision-support tool for government institutions at different administrative levels, educational institutions, and others. Three organizations – two in Kenya and one in Switzerland – worked together to create the atlas: the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the Nanyuki-based Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development (CETRAD), and the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) at the University of Bern. Close cooperation between KNBS, CETRAD, and CDE maximized synergies and knowledge exchange.