Development of a road transport emission inventory for Greece and the greater Athens area: Effects of important parameters

Traffic is considered one of the major polluting sectors and as a consequence a significant cause for the measured exceedances of ambient air quality limit values mainly in urban areas. The Greater Athens Area (located in Attica), the most populated area in Greece, faces severe air pollution problems due to the combination of high road traffic emissions, complex topography and local meteorological conditions. Even though several efforts were made to construct traffic emission inventories for Greece and Attica, still there is not a spatially and temporally resolved one, based on data from relevant authorities and organisations. The present work aims to estimate road emissions in Greece and Attica based on the top down approach. The programme COPERT 4 was used to calculate the annual total emissions from the road transport sector for the period 2006–2010 and an emission inventory for Greece and Attica was developed with high spatial (6 × 6 km2 for Greece and 2 × 2 km2 for Attica) and temporal (1-hour) resolutions. The results revealed that about 40% of national CO2, CO, VOC and NMVOC values and 30% of NOx and particles are emitted in Attica. The fuel consumption and the subsequent reduction of annual mileage driven in combination with the import of new engine anti-pollution technologies affected CO2, CO, VOC and NMVOC emissions. The major part of CO (56.53%) and CO2 (66.15%) emissions was due to passenger cars (2010), while heavy duty vehicles (HDVs) were connected with NOx, PM2.5 and PM10emissions with 51.27%, 43.97% and 38.13% respectively (2010). The fleet composition, the penetration of diesel fuelled cars, the increase of urban average speed and the fleet renewal are among the most effective parameters towards the emission reduction strategies

Lorentz-Lorenz Coefficient, Critical Point Constants, and Coexistence Curve of 1,1-Difluoroethylene

We report measurements of the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient density dependence, the critical temperature, and the critical density, of the fluid 1,1-difluoroethylene. Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient data were obtained by measuring refractive index and density of the same fluid sample independently of one another. Accurate determination of the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient is necessary for transformation of refractive index data into density data from optics-based experiments on critical phenomena of fluid systems done with different apparatus, with which independent measurement of the refractive indes and density is not possible. Measurements were made along the coexistence curve of the fluid and span the density range 0.01 to 0.80 g/cc. The Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient results show a stronger density dependence along the coexistence curve than previously observed in other fluids, with a monotonic decrease from a density of about 0.2 g/cc onwards, and an overall variation of about 2.5% in the density range studied. No anomaly in the Lorentz-Lorenz coefficient was observed near the critical density. The critical temperature is measured at Tc=(302.964+-0.002) K (29.814 C) and the measured critical density is (0.4195+-0.0018)g/cc.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, MikTeX 2.4, submitted to Physical Review

High resolution structural evidence suggests the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum forms microdomains with acidic stores (lysosomes) in the heart

Nicotinic Acid Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate (NAADP) stimulates calcium release from acidic stores such as lysosomes and is a highly potent calcium-mobilising second messenger. NAADP plays an important role in calcium signalling in the heart under basal conditions and following β-adrenergic stress. Nevertheless, the spatial interaction of acidic stores with other parts of the calcium signalling apparatus in cardiac myocytes is unknown. We present evidence that lysosomes are intimately associated with the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in ventricular myocytes; a median separation of 20 nm in 2D electron microscopy and 3.3 nm in 3D electron tomography indicates a genuine signalling microdomain between these organelles. Fourier analysis of immunolabelled lysosomes suggests a sarcomeric pattern (dominant wavelength 1.80 μm). Furthermore, we show that lysosomes form close associations with mitochondria (median separation 6.2 nm in 3D studies) which may provide a basis for the recently-discovered role of NAADP in reperfusion-induced cell death. The trigger hypothesis for NAADP action proposes that calcium release from acidic stores subsequently acts to enhance calcium release from the SR. This work provides structural evidence in cardiac myocytes to indicate the formation of microdomains between acidic and SR calcium stores, supporting emerging interpretations of NAADP physiology and pharmacology in heart

MATERNAL-BEHAVIOR OF DAMS TREATED WITH ACTH DURING PREGNANCY

Experimental female rats were injected with ACTH during the last third of their pregnancy. This treatment resulted in prolongation of gestation and in abnormal development of the young. The number of resorptions, stillbirths, and congenitally malformed pups was increased and those that appeared normal had lower body weights. The experimental treatment also severely affected the ability of the dams to exhibit normal maternal behavior. Significant individual differences were noted in the sensitivity of the dams to the experimental treatment. Cross-fostering experiments revealed that experimental dams exhibited normal maternal behavior towards control foster pups, after an initial delay of 24 h. When experimental pups, born after a prolonged gestation, or delivered by caesarian section after the normal duration of gestation, were given to control mothers, normal maternal behavior was observed, but the survival rate of the young was not increased

Effects of hyperactivity of the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during pregnancy on the development of the HPA axis and brain monoamines of the offspring

Offspring of mothers with adrenal hyperactivity during pregnancy have been reported to have changes in brain monoamines and altered emotional, reactive, sexual and maternal behavior. Since the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is known to be involved in the expression of such behaviors and is itself under monoaminergic control, we examined the development of the HPA axis and brain monoamines in pups whose mothers had adrenal hyperactivity, reflecting administration of ACTH during the last third of their pregnancy. The adrenals of the experimental animals weighed less and had aberrant morphology. The abnormal histology was more pronounced in the adrenals of the experimental females than of the males, suggesting that females were more vulnerable to the prenatal treatment. In both experimental males and females, basal plasma corticosterone levels were higher compared to the controls, while after exposure to stress, experimental animals attained lower plasma corticosterone levels than the controls. In the brain of the experimental animals, dopaminergic activity appeared to be decreased, while serotonergic activity increased. Our results indicate that the prenatal treatment affected brain development in the offspring and as a consequence programmed the developing HPA axis in such a way as to hyperfunction under basal conditions, leading to its exhaustion and its inability to react properly to stress. © 1994

Sex differences in the control of neuronal nitric oxide synthase by GABA-A receptors in the developing rat diencephalon

The nitric oxide free radical (NOradical dot), which is synthesized by neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), is known to play an important morphogenetic role in the developing rat brain. In the cortex, the levels of nNOS are regulated by phosphorylated cAMP response element binding protein (pCREB) downstream of GABA-A receptor activation. During early stages of neonatal development, binding of GABA to its type A receptors leads to depolarization of the neuronal membrane. One of the developmental processes mediated through GABA-A receptors is the sexual differentiation of the brain. In the present work, we investigated the effect of GABA-A receptor activation on nNOS and pCREB immunoreactivity in the developing diencephalon of 5-day-old male and female rats. Our results showed that in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis activation of GABA-A receptors leads to increased numbers of nNOS, and pCREB as well as nNOS-pCREB doubly immunopositive cells only in the males while in the posterior hypothalamus this effect is observed in both sexes. The GABA-A receptor-mediated increase in nNOS and pCREB is abolished when L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels are blocked. These results indicate that the following mechanism could be operating in a gonadal hormone-dependent and brain area-specific manner during neonatal rat brain development: Depolarization following GABA-A receptor activation leads to opening of L-type voltage-gated calcium channels, resulting in an increased Ca2+ influx, which in turn leads to phosphorylation, and thus activation of the transcription factor CREB; the phosphorylated CREB can then induce nNOS. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Diritto alla vita e Diritto all\u27ambiente nel lessico costituzionale e nella dottrina giuridica. Strumenti e metodi per l\u27analisi linguistico-concettuale

No abstract availabl

Demographic status and genetic tagging of endangered Capercaillie in NW Spain

Counting rare and elusive animals and evaluating their demographic status, are fundamental yet challenging aspects of population ecology and conservation biology. We set out to estimate population size (Nc), genetic effective population size (Ne gen), sex ratio, and movements based on genetic tagging for the threatened Cantabrian capercaillie. We used 9 microsatellite loci to genotype 134 droppings collected at 34 display areas during the breeding season. Using genetic capture-mark-recapture, we estimated 93 individuals (Nc, 95% CI: 70-116) in an area of about 500 km 2, with sex ratio biased towards males (1:1.6). Estimated N e gen (35.5) was 38% of Nc, notably higher than the published average in wild populations. This capercaillie population is small and well within concern in terms of population viability. By genetic tagging, we detected mostly short movements; just a few males were recaptured between contiguous display areas. Non-invasive surveys of endangered populations have a great potential, yet adequate sample size and location are key to obtain reliable information on conservation status. © 2014 Morán-Luis et al.Peer Reviewe