Un contributo allo studio della geografia dei distretti industriali

Abstract. Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der norditalienischen Regionen weist in letzter Zeit einige charakteristische Züge auf, die ein besonderes Territorialmodell darstellen. Es basiert auf einem Industrialisierungsprozeß im peripheren Raum und widerspricht in gewissen Punkten dem klassischen raumwirtschaftlichen Paradigma, das sich vorwiegend auf eine starke Urbanisierung abstützt. Dieses Produktionsmodell kann kurz folgendermaßen beschrieben werden: Gruppen von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen, die vorwiegend im landlichen Raum angesiedelt sind, haben Zonen von integrierter Industrialisierung geschaffen. Die einzelnen Betriebe sind über Zuliefer- und Absatzbeziehungen voneinander abhängig. Auf diese Weise entstehen die sog «industrial districts». Der Erfolg und die Verbreitung dieser »industrial districts» beruhen auf besonderen geschichtlichen, soziologischen und ökonomischen Voraussetzungen. Sie haben meist an Standorten Fuß gefaßt, wo schon früher das Handwerk neben der landwirtschaftlichen Subsistenzwirtschaft existierte. Es kann nachgewiesen werden, daß sich bereits damals aus Handwerksproduktionsgruppen kleinere Industrien bildeten, für welche die Anfangsinvestitionen nicht allzu hoch waren. Als Fortsetzung dieser Entwicklung finden wir heute diese «industrial districts» fast ausschließlich in den Sektoren der sog. Leichtindustrie (Holz-. Textil- und Lebensmittelindustrie). Obwohl diese «industrial districts» eine sehr komplexe Innenstruktur besitzen, wurden sie bis heute in Untersuchungen fast immer ausschließlich als einheitliche Räume erfaßt. Aus einer Analyse, basierend auf statistischen Daten und einfachen empirischen Beobachtungen, wird ersichtlich, daß sie ein Phänomen von räumlicher und zeitlicher Dynamik darstellen. Es scheint deshalb zweckmäßig, geographische Untersuchungsmethoden anzuwenden. In diesem Artikel wurde als Untersuchungsraum Ostfnaul gewählt, wo sich die Unternehmen auf etwa 10 Gemeinden mit einer Gesamtflachevon 400 km konzentrieren. Es handelt sich dabei um einen mittleren «industrial district» mit etwa 10 000 Beschäftigten in 1300 Betrieben, alle fast ausschließlich auf die Herstellung von Holzstuhlen spezialisiert, mit einem Umsatz von etwa 1000 Milliarden Lire (Stand 1990). Die Studie hat sich vor allem diese Spezialisierung mit den entsprechenden Zuliefer- und Absatzbeziehungen zur Aufgabe gestellt. Sie kann sicher kein vollständiges Bild vermitteln, erscheinen doch gewisse Produktionsfunktionen teils dispers, teils konzentriert, was mit den unterschiedlichen Standortfaktoren erklärt werden kann Interessant ist die daraus resultierende Tatsache, daß sich innerhalb dieser «industrial districts» oft »subdistricts» bilden, zwischen welchen sich hierarchische Beziehungsfaktoren etablieren

Freeze Texturation of Proteins: Effect of the Alkali, Acid and Freezing Treatments on Texture Formation

The effects of alkali extraction, isoelectric precipitation, and rate of ice crystal formation on protein interaction in the freeze texturization process were studied , The protein isolate was obtained from mechanically deboned poultry meat residues by extraction with NaOH at pH 10.5 and precipitation by HCl at pH 5, 0, The presence of large molecular weight subunits in the protein isolate was revealed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated the nature of the fiber formation and protein cross-linking as affected by freezing at -25\u27C or -196\u27C. The transformation of the level of protein organization from the lumpy or granulated nature of the unfrozen sample to the highly spongy and randomly oriented protein mass (-196\u27C) or to the highly organized, parallel sheets of interconnected, unidirectionally frozen protein (-25 C) was illustrated

Grassroots Roma women organizing for social change : a study of the impact of 'Roma women student gatherings'

This investigation complies with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, and resolution P7_TA 0312 of 9 September 2010, of the European Parliament on the Situation of the Roma People and Free Movement in the European Union [44,45]. To protect the participants' identities and personal data, pseudonyms have been used. Consent forms with detailed information about the study and an explanation that they have the right to withdraw from it at any time were provided to all the persons participating in the research.Scientific literature has focused on the constraints that Roma women have faced to overcome the racism and inequalities that they and the Roma people as a whole have suffered. However, less attention has been paid to how Roma women organize to challenge this reality. Drawing on a qualitative case study about the Roma Association of Women Drom Kotar Mestipen (Barcelona) and specifically on the analysis of one of its activities, the 'Roma women student gatherings' (known as 'Trobades' in Catalan), this article contributes evidence to show how Roma women are fighting to improve their own living conditions and those of their people by organizing at the grassroots level. The communicative analysis reveals the impacts that these gatherings have on the individual and societal levels. First, the gatherings have impacts on the individual level, as many of the women who participate in them are exposed to and embrace new educational projects, thus acquiring more skills to be better prepared to later access the labor market. Second, their impact is also evidenced on the societal level, as the gatherings enhance Roma women's associational life, resulting in new mobilizations and often making women who were once in the shadows become community leaders

Effect of Statistical Fluctuation in Monte Carlo Based Photon Beam Dose Calculation on Gamma Index Evaluation

The gamma-index test has been commonly adopted to quantify the degree of agreement between a reference dose distribution and an evaluation dose distribution. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has been widely used for the radiotherapy dose calculation for both clinical and research purposes. The goal of this work is to investigate both theoretically and experimentally the impact of the MC statistical fluctuation on the gamma-index test when the fluctuation exists in the reference, the evaluation, or both dose distributions. To the first order approximation, we theoretically demonstrated in a simplified model that the statistical fluctuation tends to overestimate gamma-index values when existing in the reference dose distribution and underestimate gamma-index values when existing in the evaluation dose distribution given the original gamma-index is relatively large for the statistical fluctuation. Our numerical experiments using clinical photon radiation therapy cases have shown that 1) when performing a gamma-index test between an MC reference dose and a non-MC evaluation dose, the average gamma-index is overestimated and the passing rate decreases with the increase of the noise level in the reference dose; 2) when performing a gamma-index test between a non-MC reference dose and an MC evaluation dose, the average gamma-index is underestimated when they are within the clinically relevant range and the passing rate increases with the increase of the noise level in the evaluation dose; 3) when performing a gamma-index test between an MC reference dose and an MC evaluation dose, the passing rate is overestimated due to the noise in the evaluation dose and underestimated due to the noise in the reference dose. We conclude that the gamma-index test should be used with caution when comparing dose distributions computed with Monte Carlo simulation

Dysregulation of principal cell miRNAs facilitates epigenetic regulation of AQP2 and results in nephrogenic diabetes insipidus

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs), formed by cleavage of pre-microRNA by the endoribonuclease Dicer, are critical modulators of cell function by post-transcriptionally regulating gene expression. Methods Selective ablation of Dicer in AQP2-expressing cells (DicerAQP2Cre1 mice) was used to investigate the role of miRNAs in the kidney collecting duct of mice. Results The mice had severe polyuria and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, potentially due to greatly reduced AQP2 and AQP4 levels. Although epithelial sodium channel levels were decreased in cortex and increased in inner medulla, amiloride-sensitive sodium reabsorption was equivalent in DicerAQP2Cre1 mice and controls. Small-RNA sequencing and proteomic analysis revealed 31 and 178 significantly regulated miRNAs and proteins, respectively. Integrated bioinformatic analysis of the miRNAome and proteome suggested alterations in the epigenetic machinery and various transcription factors regulating AQP2 expression in DicerAQP2Cre1 mice. The expression profile and function of three miRNAs (miR-7688-5p, miR-8114, and miR-409-3p) whose predicted targets were involved in epigenetic control (Phf2, Kdm5c, and Kdm4a) or transcriptional regulation (GATA3, GATA2, and ELF3) of AQP2 were validated. Luciferase assays could not demonstrate direct interaction of AQP2 or the three potential transcription factors with miR-7688-5p, miR-8114, and miR-409-3p. However, transfection of respective miRNA mimics reduced AQP2 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated decreased Phf2 and significantly increased Kdm5c interactions at the Aqp2 gene promoter in DicerAQP2Cre1 mice, resulting in decreased RNA Pol II association. Conclusions Novel evidence indicates miRNA-mediated epigenetic regulation of AQP2 expression

Measurement of inclusive D*+- and associated dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA

Inclusive photoproduction of D*+- mesons has been measured for photon-proton centre-of-mass energies in the range 130 < W < 280 GeV and a photon virtuality Q^2 < 1 GeV^2. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 37 pb^-1. Total and differential cross sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum and pseudorapidity are presented in restricted kinematical regions and the data are compared with next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations using the "massive charm" and "massless charm" schemes. The measured cross sections are generally above the NLO calculations, in particular in the forward (proton) direction. The large data sample also allows the study of dijet production associated with charm. A significant resolved as well as a direct photon component contribute to the cross section. Leading order QCD Monte Carlo calculations indicate that the resolved contribution arises from a significant charm component in the photon. A massive charm NLO parton level calculation yields lower cross sections compared to the measured results in a kinematic region where the resolved photon contribution is significant.Comment: 32 pages including 6 figure

Measurement of Jet Shapes in Photoproduction at HERA

The shape of jets produced in quasi-real photon-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies in the range $134-277$ GeV has been measured using the hadronic energy flow. The measurement was done with the ZEUS detector at HERA. Jets are identified using a cone algorithm in the $\eta - \phi$ plane with a cone radius of one unit. Measured jet shapes both in inclusive jet and dijet production with transverse energies $E^{jet}_T>14$ GeV are presented. The jet shape broadens as the jet pseudorapidity ($\eta^{jet}$) increases and narrows as $E^{jet}_T$ increases. In dijet photoproduction, the jet shapes have been measured separately for samples dominated by resolved and by direct processes. Leading-logarithm parton-shower Monte Carlo calculations of resolved and direct processes describe well the measured jet shapes except for the inclusive production of jets with high $\eta^{jet}$ and low $E^{jet}_T$. The observed broadening of the jet shape as $\eta^{jet}$ increases is consistent with the predicted increase in the fraction of final state gluon jets.Comment: 29 pages including 9 figure

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN