Study and production of polybenzimidazole billets, laminates, and cylinders

Mechanical properties and physical, chemical, and thermal tests of polybenzimidazole and carbon fabric laminates for spacecraft thermal insulatio

Traps of multi-level governance. Lessons from the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Italy

During recent decades, different patterns of multi-level governance (MLG) have spread across Europe as a consequence of Europeanisation of public policies, which have increasingly adopted decentralized and participatory procedures conceived as a tool of more effective and accountable policy-making. It appears, however, that the implementation of operational designs based on MLG may be rather problematic and it does not necessarily bring to the expected performance improvements. Referring to the case of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC), which conceives the creation of new multi-level institutional settings as a key tool for enacting a new holistic approach to water management and protection, this article explores the difficulties that the implementation of such settings has brought in Italy, despite some favorable pre-conditions existing in the country. Evidence is provided that along with institutional and agency variables, the implementation effectiveness of MLG arrangements promoted by the EU can be challenged by their inherent characteristics

Geobase Information System Impacts on Space Image Formats

As Geobase Information Systems increase in number, size and complexity, the format compatability of satellite remote sensing data becomes increasingly more important. Because of the vast and continually increasing quantity of data available from remote sensing systems the utility of these data is increasingly dependent on the degree to which their formats facilitate, or hinder, their incorporation into Geobase Information Systems. To merge satellite data into a geobase system requires that they both have a compatible geographic referencing system. Greater acceptance of satellite data by the user community will be facilitated if the data are in a form which most readily corresponds to existing geobase data structures. The conference addressed a number of specific topics and made recommendations

Effects of progesterone on mammary carcinogenesis by DMBA applied directly to rat mammae.

The effects and site(s) of action of progesterone on DMBA mammary carcinogenesis in the rat, when a small dose of the carcinogen was applied directly to the inguinal mammary gland, were investigated. No reduction in tumour yield was apparent when progesterone was administered s.c. for 18 days before dusting DMBA. This finding contrasts with a previously reported inhibitory effect on carcinogenesis when hormone treatment was followed by intragastric administration of DMBA. When progesterone injections were begun either 2 days before or 2 days after direct application of DMBA, and were continued until the end of the experiment (135 or 195 days) an enhancement in carcinogenesis was observed similar to that previously demonstrated after gastric intubation of DMBA. These findings, together with previously reported observations, suggest that progesterone may exert its inhibitory effect on carcinogenesis by acting at a site outside the breast, perhaps on the liver. However, it is likely that the hormone acts directly on the mammary tissue to exert its enhancing effect on tumorigenesis

Tuberculosis and Mental Health in the Asia-Pacific

Objective: This opinion piece encourages mental health researchers and clinicians to engage with mental health issues among tuberculosis patients in the Asia-Pacific region in a culturally appropriate and ethical manner. The diversity of cultural contexts and the high burden of tuberculosis throughout the Asia-Pacific presents significant challenges. Research into tuberculosis and mental illness in this region is an opportunity to develop more nuanced models of mental illness and treatment, while simultaneously contributing meaningfully to regional tuberculosis care and prevention. Conclusions: We overview key issues in tuberculosis and mental illness co-morbidity, highlight ethical concerns and advocate for a regional approach to tuberculosis and mental health that is consistent with the transnational challenges presented by this airborne infectious disease. Integrating tuberculosis and mental health services will go a long way to addressing the needs of vulnerable populations and stopping the transmission of one of the world’s biggest infectious killers. tuberculosis mental illness mental health depression psychosis Asia-Pacifi

Surface-reconstructed Icosahedral Structures for Lead Clusters

We describe a new family of icosahedral structures for lead clusters. In general, structures in this family contain a Mackay icosahedral core with a reconstructed two-shell outer-layer. This family includes the anti-Mackay icosahedra, which have have a Mackay icosahedral core but with most of the surface atoms in hexagonal close-packed positions. Using a many-body glue potential for lead, we identify two icosahedral structures in this family which have the lowest energies of any known structure in the size range from 900 to 15000 lead atoms. We show that these structures are stabilized by a feature of the many-body glue part of the interatomic potential.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Immigrant integration policy-making in Italy. Regional policies in a multi-level governance perspective

This article contributes to the debate on the local governance turn' by considering a recent immigration context: the Italian case. We analyse integration policies and governance processes in three regions: Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. The aim is to shed new light on the multi-level governance relations that shape immigrant integration policies, taking into account the interdependencies of the vertical and horizontal dimensions of multi-level governance. The analysis points out the emergence of different multi-level governance arrangements and highlights the relevance of institutional and organisational factors in accounting for local differentiation. General traditions and established public-non-governmental organisation relations in the social policy field, the internal organisation of the regional administration (specialised staff versus general bureaucratic apparatus), and the role of ideology appear to make a difference. The implications of this analysis for multi-level governance scholarship are discussed, emphasising the need for a middle-range theory approach. Points for practitioners Multi-level governance is considered by policy scholars as a promising approach to make sense of increasingly complex policymaking processes, implying the interaction between different levels of government and between public and non-public actors. By considering the politically sensitive immigrant integration issue, this article attempts to point out how multi-level governance relations concretely take shape at the regional level in Italy, and which factors account for regional differentiation. Our study suggests that contextual and organisational factors are particularly relevant, that is, social policy traditions, the regions' internal organisation and the individual civil servants' attitudes. Nevertheless, politics should also be carefully taken into account