Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage

This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athens’ cultural tourism and the city’s potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athens’ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athens’ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the city’s identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host city’s tourism development

Commentary on a combined approach to the problem of developing biomarkers for the prediction of spontaneous preterm labor that leads to preterm birth

INTRODUCTION: Globally, preterm birth has replaced congenital malformation as the major cause of perinatal mortality and morbidity. The reduced rate of congenital malformation was not achieved through a single biophysical or biochemical marker at a specific gestational age, but rather through a combination of clinical, biophysical and biochemical markers at different gestational ages. Since the aetiology of spontaneous preterm birth is also multifactorial, it is unlikely that a single biomarker test, at a specific gestational age will emerge as the definitive predictive test. METHODS: The Biomarkers Group of PREBIC, comprising clinicians, basic scientists and other experts in the field, with a particular interest in preterm birth have produced this commentary with short, medium and long-term aims: i) to alert clinicians to the advances that are being made in the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth; ii) to encourage clinicians and scientists to continue their efforts in this field, and not to be disheartened or nihilistic because of a perceived lack of progress and iii) to enable development of novel interventions that can reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with preterm birth. RESULTS: Using language that we hope is clear to practising clinicians, we have identified 11 Sections in which there exists the potential, feasibility and capability of technologies for candidate biomarkers in the prediction of spontaneous preterm birth and how current limitations to this research might be circumvented. DISCUSSION: The combination of biophysical, biochemical, immunological, microbiological, fetal cell, exosomal, or cell free RNA at different gestational ages, integrated as part of a multivariable predictor model may be necessary to advance our attempts to predict sPTL and PTB. This will require systems biological data using “omics” data and artificial intelligence/machine learning to manage the data appropriately. The ultimate goal is to reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with preterm birth

Desfolha parcial em videiras e seus efeitos em uvas e vinhos Cabernet Sauvignon da região da Campanha do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil Partial de foliation on vines and its effects on Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and wines from the southwest of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

A desfolha no vinhedo tem como principais objetivos aumentar a radiação solar e a aeração na região dos frutos, para melhorar a coloração e a maturação das uvas tintas, além de reduzir a incidência de podridões, visando, com isso, obter vinhos de qualidade superior. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da desfolha nos parâmetros físico-químicos das uvas e dos vinhos Cabernet Sauvignon de Dom Pedrito, região da Campanha, Rio Grande do Sul (RS). As uvas foram colhidas em março de 2008, sendo provenientes de um vinhedo comercial cultivado em espaldeira. A desfolha foi realizada na base dos ramos, somente no lado que recebe o sol da manhã, com intensidade de aproximadamente 20%, no estádio fenológico grão "ervilha". As microvinificações foram feitas com controle de temperatura, em tanques de vidro em triplicata, com oito dias de maceração. Os resultados mostraram que o tratamento com desfolha apresentou mostos com pH significativamente mais baixo e maior acidez total. As cascas das uvas e os vinhos do tratamento com desfolha apresentaram aumento significativo no teor de polifenóis totais. A desfolha também propiciou vinhos com maior intensidade de cor, antocianinas totais, extrato seco e açúcar redutor, e menor teor de nitrogênio. Nos vinhos, não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os tratamentos para acidez total e volátil, pH, álcool, densidade, extrato seco reduzido e teor de potássio. Conclui-se que a prática da desfolha em vinhedos da região da Campanha melhora a qualidade dos vinhos.<br>The practice of partial defoliation in vineyards has as main objectives increase sunlight and ventilation for the fruit, aiming to improve color and maturity in red grapes and helping to reduce fungal diseases, which should result in better wine quality. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of partial defoliation on the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and wines from Dom Pedrito, on the southwest of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The grapes were harvested in March 2008 from a commercial vineyard planted in the trellis system. The defoliation intensity was of 20% and performed only on the side of the vineyard that received the morning sun and when the berry was in the pea-size. The musts were fermented in small lots, in triplicate, with temperature control and remained on the skins for eight days. The results showed that musts of the treatment with defoliation had lower values of pH and higher total acidity. The phenolic content of grape skins and wines was significantly higher for those submitted to defoliation. The defoliation also resulted in wines with greater color intensity, anthocyanins, extract content and reducing sugar, and lower nitrogen content. In wines, there were no significant differences between treatments for total and volatile acidity, pH, alcohol, density, reducing extract and potassium content. As a conclusion, these results might suggest that partial defoliation, as it was done in this vineyard, improves wine quality

Segregation models

Many antigen receptors of the immune system belong to the family of multichain immune recognition receptors (MIRRs). Binding of ligand (antigen) to MIRR results in receptor phosphorylation, triggering downstream signaling pathways and cellular activation. How ligand binding induces this phosphorylation is not yet understood. In this Chapter, we discuss two models exploring the possibility that kinases and phosphatases are intermingled on the cell surface. Thus, in resting state, MIRR phosphorylation is counteracted by dephosphorylation. Upon ligand binding, phosphatases are removed from the vicinity of the MIRR and kinases, such that phosphorylated MIRRs can accumulate (segregation models). In the first model, clustering of MIRRs by multivalent ligand leads to their concentration in lipid rafts where kinases, but not phosphatases, are localized. The second model takes into account that the MIRR-ligand pair needs dose apposition of the two cell membranes, in cases where ligand is presented by an antigen-presenting cell. The intermembrane distance is too small to accommodate transmembrane phosphatases, which possess large ectodomains. Thus, phosphatases become spatially separated from the MIRRs and kinases (kinetic-segregation model)