Perceptions of Local People Regarding Istanbul as a European Capital of Culture

Istanbul has been declared the European Capital of Culture in 2010, due to its past as the cradle of many civilizations and host to various cultures. Today, Istanbul still includes a variety of cultures, ethnic backgrounds, religions and socio-cultural levels. People with different origins, languages, beliefs and traditions are living together in the city. As Istanbul has received in recent years large numbers of migrants from other parts of Turkey, the gap between the lifestyles of residents has widened. Therefore, this research aims to determine the perceptions of Istanbul’s inhabitants, who have highly diversified identities and lifestyles, regarding the city as a European Capital of Culture. A scale to measure the construct of European Capital of Culture is also proposedEstambul ha sido declarada Capital Europea de la Cultura para el año 2010, debido a su pasado como cuna de diferentes civilizaciones y dueña de diversas culturas. Hoy Estambul incluye aún una gran variedad de culturas, etnias, religiones y niveles socioculturales. Gente de diversos orígenes, len-guas, creencias y tradiciones viven juntos en la ciudad. Debido al gran número de inmigrantes de otras partes de Turquía que Estambul ha recibido en los últimos años, la diferencia entre los estilos de vida de los residentes se ha incrementado. Por lo tanto, esta investigación aspira a determinar las percepciones de los habitantes de Estambul que gozan de diversas identidades y estilos de vida, en relación a esta ciudad como Capital Europea de la Cultura. También se propone una escala para medir el concepto de Capital Europea de la Cultura

A fast and versatile method for spectral emissivity measurement at high temperatures

International audienceIn this paper, the development of a new device for high temperature emissivity measurement is described. This device aims at measuring both spectral and total emissivity for a thermal range of 600–1000 °C. The main targeted properties of this device are versatility and simplicity. To achieve this, a rigorous selection of components such as heating systems, heat sources, sample holders, and measuring devices was made. Sample dimensions and the corresponding sample holder were optimized through a ray tracing model computation. Selection of sensors to compute the total emissivity was also discussed. A near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer and two mid-infrared (MIR) cameras equipped with optical filters covering the bandwidth of 3–5 and 7.5–13 μm were chosen for spectral measurements. The major impediment was the separation of the sample signal and various spurious signals emitted by the environment. A specific measurement methodology was then made for each bandwidth to resolve this issue. Platinum was chosen as the reference material for the device validation. Spectral emissivity measurements were then compared to values from a commercial spectrometer. A good agreement was found between NIR and MIR band I measurements, and a higher error rate was seen in MIR band II which is explained by a less favorable signal to noise ratio. Integrated emissivity is then calculated and compared to values found in the literature. A good agreement between these values is found, and similar trends with temperature are observed. The device is then validated for spectral and total emissivity measurements. Device versatility and simplicity allow for an easy adaptation to a large area of applications

A hypomorphic Cbx3 allele causes prenatal growth restriction and perinatal energy homeostasis defects

Mammals have three HP1 protein isotypes HP1β (CBX1), HP1γ (CBX3) and HP1α (CBX5) that are encoded by the corresponding genes Cbx1, Cbx3 and Cbx5. Recent work has shown that reduction of CBX3 protein in homozygotes for a hypomorphic allele (Cbx3 hypo) causes a severe postnatal mortality with around 99% of the homozygotes dying before weaning. It is not known what the causes of the postnatal mortality are. Here we show that Cbx3 hypo/hypo conceptuses are significantly reduced in size and the placentas exhibit a haplo-insufficiency. Late gestation Cbx3 hypo/hypo placentas have reduced mRNA transcripts for genes involved in growth regulation, amino acid and glucose transport. Blood vessels within the Cbx3 hypo/hypo placental labyrinth are narrower than wild-type. Newborn Cbx3 hypo/hypo pups are hypoglycemic, the livers are depleted of glycogen reserves and there is almost complete loss of stored lipid in brown adipose tissue (BAT). There is a 10-fold reduction in expression of the BAT-specific Ucp1 gene, whose product is responsible for non-shivering themogenesis. We suggest that it is the small size of the Cbx3 hypo/hypo neonates, a likely consequence of placental growth and transport defects, combined with a possible inability to thermoregulate that causes the severe postnatal mortality

Buffering and the evolution of chromosome-wide gene regulation

Copy number variation (CNV) in terms of aneuploidies of both entire chromosomes and chromosomal segments is an important evolutionary driving force, but it is inevitably accompanied by potentially problematic variations in gene doses and genomic instability. Thus, a delicate balance must be maintained between mechanisms that compensate for variations in gene doses (and thus allow such genomic variability) and selection against destabilizing CNVs. In Drosophila, three known compensatory mechanisms have evolved: a general segmental aneuploidy-buffering system and two chromosome-specific systems. The two chromosome-specific systems are the male-specific lethal complex, which is important for dosage compensation of the male X chromosome, and Painting of fourth, which stimulates expression of the fourth chromosome. In this review, we discuss the origin and function of buffering and compensation using Drosophila as a model

A MSFD complementary approach for the assessment of pressures, knowledge and data gaps in Southern European Seas : the PERSEUS experience

PERSEUS project aims to identify the most relevant pressures exerted on the ecosystems of the Southern European Seas (SES), highlighting knowledge and data gaps that endanger the achievement of SES Good Environmental Status (GES) as mandated by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). A complementary approach has been adopted, by a meta-analysis of existing literature on pressure/impact/knowledge gaps summarized in tables related to the MSFD descriptors, discriminating open waters from coastal areas. A comparative assessment of the Initial Assessments (IAs) for five SES countries has been also independently performed. The comparison between meta-analysis results and IAs shows similarities for coastal areas only. Major knowledge gaps have been detected for the biodiversity, marine food web, marine litter and underwater noise descriptors. The meta-analysis also allowed the identification of additional research themes targeting research topics that are requested to the achievement of GES. 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.peer-reviewe

Understanding labor market discrimination against transgender people: Evidence from a double list experiment and a survey

This is the author accepted manuscriptUsing a double list experiment designed to elicit views free from social desirability bias, we find that support in the United States for transgender people in the labor market is significantly overreported by 8 to 10 percent. After correcting for this overreporting, we still find that over twothirds of respondents would be comfortable with a transgender manager and support employment non-discrimination protection for transgender people. However, respondents severely underestimate this level of support. We also show that stated labor market support for transgender people is lower than support for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. Our results advance our understanding of employment discrimination against transgender people.Vanderbilt LGBTQ+ Policy La