Incorporating Biogeographical Principles in Horticulture :

The design and creation of the Ionian Islands Unique Rock Garden (IIURG), an innovative plant display in Thessaloniki, Greece, is described. This includes seven naturalistic rock gardens hosting twenty-two plant taxa of conservation priority. The unique nature of the IIURG is based on two features: the emulation of the natural geographic characteristics of the Ionian Islands (Greece) and the integration of the endemic elements of the islands’ native flora, focusing on the biogeographical significance of each. In this way, the IIURG represents an innovative concept in the horticulture of botanic gardens which embodies the natural biogeography and its basic concepts such as ‘islands’, ‘native’ and ‘endemism’. In aesthetic terms the garden looks like a natural sculpture and functions as a focal point. It is a carefully constructed plant display using environmentally sustainable principles with low levels of maintenance and irrigation required. The aim is that the IIURG should be used as a useful tool for awareness-raising on the conservation of prioritised plants

Neuron-specific proteasome activation exerts cell non-autonomous protection against amyloid-beta (Aβ) proteotoxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Proteostasis reinforcement is a promising approach in the design of therapeutic interventions against proteinopathies, including Alzheimer's disease. Understanding how and which parts of the proteostasis network should be enhanced is crucial in developing efficient therapeutic strategies. The ability of specific tissues to induce proteostatic responses in distal ones (cell non-autonomous regulation of proteostasis) is attracting interest. Although the proteasome is a major protein degradation node, nothing is known on its cell non-autonomous regulation. We show that proteasome activation in the nervous system can enhance the proteasome activity in the muscle of Caenorhabditis elegans. Mechanistically, this communication depends on Small Clear Vesicles, with glutamate as one of the neurotransmitters required for the distal regulation. More importantly, we demonstrate that this cell non-autonomous proteasome activation is translated into efficient prevention of amyloid-beta (Αβ)-mediated proteotoxic effects in the muscle of C. elegans but notably not to resistance against oxidative stress. Our in vivo data establish a mechanistic link between neuronal proteasome reinforcement and decreased Aβ proteotoxicity in the muscle. The identified distal communication may have serious implications in the design of therapeutic strategies based on tissue-specific proteasome manipulation

Quest for Bioactive Compounds in Our Diet with Anti-Ageing and Anti-Aggregation Properties

Ageing is a complex process affected by both genetic and environmental factors, characterized by a gradual failure of functionality, reduced stress response and resistance, leading to enhanced probability for age-related diseases and mortality. During the last decades, natural compounds have attracted the attention of researchers in the quest of bioactive phytochemicals with anti-ageing properties. For a few of these compounds an extra advantage appears; many of them have been shown to decelerate the progression of age-related diseases with emphasis on aggregation-related diseases. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans along with the replicative senescence model of human primary fibroblasts, we have identified compounds that are part of our diet with anti-oxidation, anti-ageing and anti-aggregation activities. Some of the identified compounds promote their anti-ageing activity through activation of the proteasome, others through the activation of Nrf2 transcription factor, while others through inhibition of glucose transporters (GLUTs). Our work identifies new bioactive compounds with anti-ageing and/or anti-aggregation properties or reveals additional beneficial properties on already known bioactive compounds

Cyclodextrins for the Delivery of Bioactive Compounds from Natural Sources: Medicinal, Food and Cosmetics Applications

Cyclodextrins have gained significant and established attention as versatile carriers for the delivery of bioactive compounds derived from natural sources in various applications, including medicine, food and cosmetics. Their toroidal structure and hydrophobic cavity render them ideal candidates for encapsulating and solubilizing hydrophobic and poorly soluble compounds. Most medicinal, food and cosmetic ingredients share the challenges of hydrophobicity and degradation that can be effectively addressed by various cyclodextrin types. Though not new or novel—their first applications appeared in the market in the 1970s—their versatility has inspired numerous developments, either on the academic or industrial level. This review article provides an overview of the ever-growing applications of cyclodextrins in the delivery of bioactive compounds from natural sources and their potential application benefits

Removing shared faces in 3D datasets for numerical simulations

Currently more than 4 billion people live in urban areas around the globe, a trend that is expected to be increased in the upcoming years. While urbanisation provides the space for innovation and new opportunities, in the meantime physical, technical and social challenges are rising and the cities’ vulnerability is increasing. A tool to tackle these issues are Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD) simulations, which can provide insight in various topics.CFD simulations are valuable for modelling complex urban phenomena such as wind flow, microclimates and thermal comfort. A CFD requires as an input a 3D geometric dataset that represents objects in the urban environment which are most commonly buildings and then according to this input the air flow is simulated around it.When creating geometries automatically for CFD simulations, several clean up tasks must be completed for them to be usable without any issues. One of the problems arising is related to the redundant faces shared between adjacent buildings, which have no purpose for outdoor flow simulations and cause complications when creating the mesh that is needed for the CFD. Thissynthesis project focuses on addressing the aforementioned issue by removing the shared faces.The ultimate goal of this project was to create an open-source product that can efficiently and in an automated way remove the adjacent faces between buildings. The benefits will be imminent during the meshing process, as we strive to reduce the time that consultancies spend fixing the input geometries before running a CFD simulation, along with an overall improved user experience.This report is organised in four main sections. The first section is the general introduction of the issue that needs to resolved. The second section defines more in depth the problem and sets the research questions, in accordance to that, in the third section the research methodology is developed. In the fourth section the results of both methods are presented. The fifth sectionfocuses on a reflection of the project, while the sixth section presents the final conclusions. Finally, the seventh section contains the specifics of the project management itself.The project was carried out in cooperation with Dassault Syst`emes and is developed in the context of the GEO1101 course in MSc Geomatics TU Delft. In addition to this report we have created a GitHub repository (https://github.com/Fabisser/facesBgone) that contains the source code of the two methods.https://github.com/Fabisser/facesBgone R GitHub Repository of "facesBgone" project.Geomatic

Prioritizing Plants around the Cross-Border Area of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia: Integrated Conservation Actions and Sustainable Exploitation Potential

Plants know no political borders and some of them are restricted to small geographical territories of different countries in which they are endemic. In this study, we prioritized plants (PPs) of the cross-border area of Greece and the Republic of North Macedonia that are already threatened or nearly so (PPA), those which occur exclusively on either side of borderline and/or nearby countries (PPB), or those which are uncommon and rare in this region (PPC) with the aim to document in-situ the species-specific risks-threats; offer ex-situ conservation for them as a back-up solution for future re-introductions and sustainable exploitation; and raise public awareness and alertness about the importance of local biodiversity. In the framework of the project Conse-pp, 20 botanical expeditions were performed in 75 selected areas to collect samples and suitable propagation material from 130 PPs (147 accession numbers), also recording all types of threats-identified in-situ for each of them. No ex-situ conservation was detected for 40 PPs worldwide while for another 12 PPs only limited attempts have been made to date. The fully documented PPs are currently maintained under ex- situ conservation and acclimatization in the Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia (BBGK). In total, 156 propagation trials (sexual or asexual) have been made for these PPs to develop species-specific propagation protocols. Consequently, the production of new plant stocks raised ex-situ was achieved (n = 3254 individuals; first-time ex-situ conservation for 40 taxa), and this has enabled the establishment of three awareness-raising sites with PPs: (i) 1000 plants of 70 PPs in the newly designed Kardia Botanical Park in Thermi (Greece); (ii) 850 plants of 104 PPs in the phytodiversity awareness spot in BBGK and 130 individual PPs in the Garden of Environmental Awareness; and (iii) 42 plants of 14 PP taxa delivered to the botanic garden of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. This project outlines the necessity of the development of common plant conservation strategies for threatened plants in cross-border areas of neighboring countries and presents an integrated approach allowing for sustainable development and future in-situ protection measures and actions in the studied cross-border area