A New Method for Characterization of Natural Zeolites and Organic Nanostructure using Atomic Force Microscopy

In order to study and develop an economic solution to environmental pollution in water, a wide variety of materials were investigated. Natural zeolites emerge from that research as the best in class of this category. Zeolites are natural materials relatively abundant and non biodegradable, economic and good to perform processes of environmental remediation. This paper contains a full description of a new method to characterize superficial properties of natural zeolites of exotic provenience (Caribbean Islets) with atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM works with the optical microscope simplicity and the high resolution typical of a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Structural information of mesoporous material is obtained using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), only if the sample is conductive, otherwise the sample has to be processed through the grafitation technique, but this procedure induces errors of topography. Therefore, the existing AFM method, to observe zeolite powders, is made in a liquid cell-head scanner, but this work puts in evidence and confirms that it is possible to use an ambient air-head scanner to obtain a new kind of microtopography. Once optimized, this new method allows investigating of organic micelles, very soft nanostructure, of cetyltriammonium bromide (CTAB) upon an inorganic surface such as natural zeolites. It is shown some correlation between SEM microphotographies and AFM 3D images

The Prejudicial Effects of Cameras in the Courtroom

The Supreme Court recently held in Chandler v. Florida, that absent a showing of actual prejudice, it is not per se unconstitutional to televise trials over the objection of the defendant. This decision has a direct bearing on state court procedures, as over one-half of the states currently permit television coverage of trials in one form or another. However, sheer numbers supporting a proposition do not make that proposition right , nor does a Supreme Court decision upholding its constitutionality imply an unqualified stamp of approval. In fact, previous Supreme Court decisions have overturned convictions because the defendant\u27s right to a fair trial had been violated as a result of media coverage of his case

Adaptive multibeam phased array design for a Spacelab experiment

The parametric tradeoff analyses and design for an Adaptive Multibeam Phased Array (AMPA) for a Spacelab experiment are described. This AMPA Experiment System was designed with particular emphasis to maximize channel capacity and minimize implementation and cost impacts for future austere maritime and aeronautical users, operating with a low gain hemispherical coverage antenna element, low effective radiated power, and low antenna gain-to-system noise temperature ratio

Insulin-like growth factor-1 is a negative modulator of glucagon secretion

Glucagon secretion involves a combination of paracrine, autocrine, hormonal, and autonomic neural mechanisms. Type 2 diabetes often presents impaired glucagon suppression by insulin and glucose. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) has elevated homology with insulin, and regulates pancreatic β-cells insulin secretion. Insulin and IGF-1 receptors share considerable structure homology and function. We hypothesized the existence of a mechanism linking the inhibition of α-cells glucagon secretion to IGF-1. Herein, we evaluated the association between plasma IGF-1 and glucagon levels in 116 nondiabetic adults. After adjusting for age gender and BMI, fasting glucagon levels were positively correlated with 2-h post-load glycaemia, HOMA index and fasting insulin, and were negatively correlated with IGF-1 levels. In a multivariable regression, the variables independently associated to fasting glucagon were circulating IGF-1 levels, HOMA index and BMI, explaining 20.7% variation. To unravel the molecular mechanisms beneath IGF-1 and glucagon association, we investigated whether IGF-1 directly modulates glucagon expression and secretion in an in vitro model of α-cells. Our data showed that IGF-1 inhibits the ability of low glucose concentration to stimulate glucagon expression and secretion via activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt/FoxO1 pathway. Collectively, our results suggest a new regulatory role of IGF-1 on α-cells biological function

Porous liquids – Future for CO2 capture and separation?

Abstract Porous liquids form a new class of materials, which are liquid at room temperature and possess permanent porosity. The latter is a characteristic generally associated with solid-state only. Since the idea of porous liquid was exploited over a decade ago, the researchers see an opportunity of solving the solid material's limitation in gas capture and separation. In this discussion, we present the most recent developments on porous liquids and, in our perspectives, how they can tackle energy and environmental issues by their coupling with membrane technology. In a broader context, the need to reduce greenhouse gas, chlorofluorocarbons and other gaseous emissions is essential for tackling climate change and to achieve the 2015 Paris Agreement goals. In addition, the energy used for chemical separations in industrial processes accounts for 10–15% of the world's energy consumption. Thus, improved separation technologies will reduce energy consumption and the spreading of negative-emission technologies such as carbon capture sequestration and utilization (CCSU). Despite the imperative necessity of CCSU, many candidates are still considered the key technology due to the complex balancing between economic, technical and ecological advantages and drawbacks. Porous materials, which are usually solids, are of great interest for absorption due to the presence of permanent cavities, but liquids are easier to handle at the industrial scale. Porous liquids are a good compromise between these two traditional classes of materials

Il teatro del mondo. Per un’estetica relazionale: SUQ Festival

The SUQ Festival has been recognized by the European Union as one of the best practices for the dialogue between the local and foreign communities of the city. It is a people's bazaar unmatched in Italy. According to the definition of Ball, we may say that the SUQ Festival achieves a concrete form of social unification by means of a performative dimension. Thus, in the present article, I will examine the spontaneous origin of the SUQ Festival and its development in the form of a performative and theatrical practice aimed at establishing new modes of existence and new action models in the context in which it takes place. I will focus on the strategies that the festival has adopted for the social multicultural inclusion and for the artistic transformation of the area in the last twenty years by explicitly following the key principle of Bourriaud's relational aesthetics: namely, the slippage of the creative attention from the production.Il SUQ Festival, riconosciuto come best practiceper il dialogo tra le diverse comunità stranieri e locali presenti in città dalla Commissione Europea, è un bazar dei popoli unico in Italia, interstizio sociale in cui attraverso la dimensione performativa si concretizza la costruzione civile e l’unificazione sociale. Si analizzerà l’origine spontanea del festival genovese – specchio del multiculturalismo quotidiano contemporaneo – la sua evoluzione come pratica performativa e teatrale atta a costituire modi d’esistenza e modelli d’azione, all’interno della realtà in cui ha luogo. Si presenteranno gli strumenti d’inclusione sociale utilizzati in un’ottica interculturale e di urbanizzazione artistica del territorio e i risultati raggiunti nel ventennio di attività partecipative, svolte seguendo la principale linea di cambiamento dichiarata nell’estetica relazionale di Bourriaud: lo slittamento dell’attenzione creativa dalla produzione di oggetti alla formazione di comunità

It’s All Relative: Sibling and Parent Teaching in Early Childhood

Research investigating family teaching is limited, and the recent focus on teaching in naturalistic settings has examined sibling-directed teaching when parents do not take an active role. Additionally, the family teaching literature has been widely devoted to studying teaching strategies. Examining conceptual and procedural knowledge provides insight on the ways families co-construct meaning and scaffold learning. The goal of this study was to compare parents’ and siblings’ conceptual and procedural knowledge use during naturalistic teaching episodes in the home. Thirty-seven middle-class families from southwestern Ontario, Canada were observed over two years as they engaged in six 90-minute interaction sessions. The present study examined data from the second time point, when children were four and six years of age. Parental teaching sequences were identified; previously coded sibling teaching sequences were also employed. Parental and sibling teaching sequences were coded for conceptual subcategories (social conventional behavior; game discussions; discussions surrounding language, literacy, and math concepts; and explaining concepts) and procedural knowledge subcategories (game procedures; other procedures). Results demonstrated no significant differences between mothers and fathers in their conceptual and procedural teaching. However, parents taught proportionally more conceptual knowledge than siblings, and siblings taught proportionally more procedural knowledge compared to parents. Parents taught more social conventional behaviors, whereas siblings taught more language, literacy, and math concepts. Siblings also taught more other procedures than parents. Findings surrounding parents’ and siblings’ knowledge use, overall and by subcategory, across context and initiation are further discussed in light of current theory about teaching