Fe microenvironments in heat treated rare-earth exchanged montmorillonites

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Building an entrepreneurial environment in rural regions: a possible way to develop human and social capital

The main hypothesis behind the paper is that creating an entrepreneurial team learning environment is a way to increase human and social capital in rural regions. Our work, based on literature review and primary research, tries to show that this process could support a shift in people’s attitudes from being reactive to creative and also interdependent. The results of a Delphi survey show that all four ‘spheres’ of the Quadruple Helix model in rural development (government, science/university, business/industry and civil society) should play a role in the development of a learning environment, but that more importance should be attached to ‘pull’ type of learning designed to draw out people and resources as needed to address opportunities and challenges. In a second survey, among farmers in the Hungarian settlements of Mezőcsát, we found significant differences in the use of information channels by different age groups. Personal meetings are preferred by older farmers and the Internet by young farmers. With regard to the Quadruple Helix model spheres, from the government sphere farmers’ advisors play the most important role while from the business/industry sphere the most important relationship for farmers is with their peers. We conclude that the four spheres must create an ‘outside-in’ and ‘inside-out’ partnership. As creating entrepreneurial culture is a slow process, existing elements, such as the LEADER programme, building on those farmers who are ready to take part in rural development and the preferred usage of the Internet by the younger generation, have to be used

Diet as a moderator in the association of sedentary behaviors with inflammatory biomarkers among adolescents in the HELENA study

AIM: To assess if a healthy diet might attenuate the positive sedentary-inflammation relation, whereas an unhealthy diet may increase the effect of sedentary behaviors on inflammatory biomarkers. METHODS: In 618 adolescents (13-17 years) of the European HELENA study, data were available on body composition, a set of inflammation markers, and food intake assessed by a self-administered computerized 24 h dietary recall for 2 days. A 9-point Mediterranean diet score and an antioxidant-rich diet z-score were used as dietary indices and tested as moderators. A set of low-grade inflammatory characteristics was used as outcome: several cytokines in an inflammatory ratio (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, TGFβ-1), C-reactive protein, three cell-adhesion molecules (sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, sE-selectin), three cardiovascular risk markers (GGT, ALT, homocysteine) and three immune cell types (white blood cells, lymphocytes, CD3). Sedentary behaviors were self-reported and analyzed as total screen time. Multiple linear regression analyses tested moderation by diet in the sedentary behaviors-inflammation association adjusted for age, sex, country, adiposity (sum of six skinfolds), parental education, and socio-economic status. RESULTS: Both diet scores, Mediterranean and antioxidant-rich diet, were significant protective moderators in the effect of sedentary behaviors on alanine-transaminase enzyme (P = 0.014; P = 0.027), and on the pro/anti-inflammatory cytokine ratio (P = 0.001; P = 0.004), but not on other inflammatory parameters. CONCLUSION: A higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet or an antioxidant-rich diet may attenuate the onset of oxidative stress signs associated by sedentary behaviors, whereas a poor diet seems to increase inflammation

Precision measurement of the structure of the CMS inner tracking system using nuclear interactions

The structure of the CMS inner tracking system has been studied using nuclear interactions of hadrons striking its material. Data from proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded in 2015 at the LHC are used to reconstruct millions of secondary vertices from these nuclear interactions. Precise positions of the beam pipe and the inner tracking system elements, such as the pixel detector support tube, and barrel pixel detector inner shield and support rails, are determined using these vertices. These measurements are important for detector simulations, detector upgrades, and to identify any changes in the positions of inactive elements