FearNot! An Anti-Bullying Intervention: Evaluation of an Interactive Virtual Learning Environment

Original paper can be found at: http://www.aisb.org.uk/publications/proceedings.shtm

Using photo-elicitation to explore social representations of community multimedia centers in Mozambique.

Ten Mozambican Community Multimedia Centers (CMCs) were investigated by analyzing Social Representations of users and staff members. Photo-elicitation, an underexplored methodological approach in the domain of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D), was employed to conduct the study, and a three-step qualitative content analysis was performed on both visual and textual data. Results tend to confirm and build upon outcomes from the existing literature on Public Access Venues (PAVs). Local communities value these centers because they bring social recognition to people working or learning there. The venues are associated with a symbolism that extends from the social recognition of the individual to the development and social inclusion of the whole community, which, because of the presence of the venue, does not feel left behind. In this vein, the study also shows that the importance of CMCs is often not related to the newest technology available, but to the technology that reaches the most of the community. The study also highlights neglected dimensions of CMCs, such as the importance of the exterior appearance of the venue, and the perception of a switch in their nature from static centers funded by third parties towards more entrepreneurial-driven ones. The presented research also contributes to the ICT4D field by proposing a promising research protocol, which is able to elicit representations otherwise difficult to obtain

Exploring the meanings of community multimedia centers in Mozambique: a social representation perspective

This article presents extensive research conducted in Mozambique that aims to deeply understand how different social groups understand community multimedia centers (CMCs), which are structures combining a community radio and a telecenter. The social representations theory was adopted to interpret narratives of 231 interviewees from 10 Mozambican provinces. Interviewees included representatives of initiating agencies, local staff members, CMC users (both the radio and telecenter components), users of only the community radio, and community members not using the CMCs. Following the analysis of transcribed interviews, six main clusters were identified, each of them shedding light on a specific understanding of a CMC. These are discussed according to a set of sociodemographic variables. This study suggests that the social representations theory is a valuable framework to provide an integrated view of ICT4D interventions by giving a voice to local perspectives without overlooking the initiating agencies' expectations

Exploring the meanings of community multimedia centers in Mozambique : a social representations perspective

This article presents extensive research conducted in Mozambique that aims to deeply understand how different social groups understand community multimedia centers (CMCs), which are structures combining a community radio and a telecenter. The social representations theory was adopted to interpret narratives of 231 interviewees from 10 Mozambican provinces. Interviewees included representatives of initiating agencies, local staff members, CMC users (both the radio and telecenter components), users of only the community radio, and community members not using the CMCs. Following the analysis of transcribed interviews, six main clusters were identified, each of them shedding light on a specific understanding of a CMC. These are discussed according to a set of sociodemographic variables. This study suggests that the social representations theory is a valuable framework to provide an integrated view of ICT4D interventions by giving a voice to local perspectives without overlooking the initiating agencies’ expectations

Exploitation of an olive oil industry by-product: olive pomace as a source of food aroma compounds

Italy is the second largest producer in the world of olive oil, preceded only by Spain. Although olive oil can be considered as a “green gold” all over the world, the treatment of its by-products is a critical aspect to cope with. Indeed, the polluting character of such by-product together with its high costs for an effective disposal strongly penalize the olive oil industry. In particular, 50 % of oil production costs depend on its waste disposal. In this context, the aim of this work was to evaluate a potential exploitation of olive pomace as a feedstock for the production of flavours of interest for the food industry

Electrophysiology of glioma: a Rho GTPase-activating protein reduces tumor growth and spares neuron structure and function

Background. Glioblastomas are the most aggressive type of brain tumor. A successful treatment should aim at halting tumor growth and protecting neuronal cells to prevent functional deficits and cognitive deterioration. Here, we exploited a Rho GTPase-activating bacterial protein toxin, cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1), to interfere with glioma cell growth in vitro and vivo. We also investigated whether this toxin spares neuron structure and function in peritumoral areas. Methods. We performed a microarray transcriptomic and in-depth proteomic analysis to characterize the molecular changes triggered by CNF1 in glioma cells. We also examined tumor cell senescence and growth in vehicle-and CNF1-treated glioma-bearing mice. Electrophysiological and morphological techniques were used to investigate neuronal alterations in peritumoral cortical areas. Results. Administration of CNF1 triggered molecular and morphological hallmarks of senescence in mouse and human glioma cells in vitro. CNF1 treatment in vivo induced glioma cell senescence and potently reduced tumor volumes. In peritumoral areas of glioma-bearing mice, neurons showed a shrunken dendritic arbor and severe functional alterations such as increased spontaneous activity and reduced visual responsiveness. CNF1 treatment enhanced dendritic length and improved several physiological properties of pyramidal neurons, demonstrating functional preservation of the cortical network. Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that CNF1 reduces glioma volume while at the same time maintaining the physiological and structural properties of peritumoral neurons. These data indicate a promising strategy for the development of more effective antiglioma therapies

Bio-based furan-polyesters/graphene nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization

In situ intercalative polymerization has been investigated as a strategic way to obtain poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF) and poly(hexamethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PHF) nanocomposites with different graphene types and amounts. Graphene (G) has been dispersed in surfactant stabilized water suspensions. The loading range in composites was 0.25–0.75 wt %. For the highest composition, a different type of graphene (XT500) dispersed in 1,3 propanediol, containing a 6% of oxidized graphene and without surfactant has been also tested. The results showed that the amorphous PPF is able to crystallize during heating scan in DSC and graphene seems to affect such capability: G hinders the polymer chains in reaching an ordered state, showing even more depressed cold crystallization and melting. On the contrary, such hindering effect is absent with XT500, which rather induces the opposite. Concerning the thermal stability, no improvement has been induced by graphene, even if the onset degradation temperatures remain high for all the materials. A moderate enhancement in mechanical properties is observed in PPF composite with XT500, and especially in PHF composite, where a significative increase of 10–20% in storage modulus E’ is maintained in almost all the temperature range. Such an increase is also reflected in a slightly higher heat distortion temperature. These preliminary results can be useful in order to further address the field of application of furan-based polyesters; in particular, they could be promising as packaging materials

Protein extraction from grape tissues by two-dimensional electrophoresis

At the onset of proteomic studies protein samples have to be accurately separated by two dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE); subsequently polypeptides are identified. Grape tissues, in particular roots, can be very problematic due to their hardness and to the high content of compounds that interfere in classical protein extraction. We have used a phenol-based extraction method in the presence of a protease inhibitor and Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP). In this paper we demonstrate that this extraction method gives satisfactory and reproducible protein separation allowing the identification of some proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS).