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Some systems approaches tend to conceptualize social systems as collective entities, in which emergent properties of the whole can render individuals within a social system invisible. As critical systemic thinkers, however, we choose to see a social system as an emergent property of the interactions between unique individuals whose social relations are of interest. Thus, within the field of critic
The main function of CAs (carbonic anhydrases) is to participate in the regulation of acid-base balance. Although 12 active isoenzymes of this family had already been described, analyses of genomic databases suggested that there still exists another isoenzyme, CA XV. Sequence analyses were performed to identify those species that are likely to have an active form of this enzyme. Eight species had
The receptive field of a neuron reflects its function. For example, for parallel fiber (PF) inputs in C3 zone the cerebellar cortex, the excitatory and inhibitory receptive fields of a Purkinje cell (PC) have different locations, and each location has a specific relationship to the location of the climbing fiber (CF) receptive field of the PC. Previous studies have shown that this pattern of input
Voiding is mediated by muscarinic receptors in urinary bladder smooth muscle cells. Lipid rafts and caveolae are cholesterol enriched membrane domains that modulate the activity of G protein-coupled receptors and second messenger systems. Conflicting findings regarding sensitivity of muscarinic signalling to cholesterol desorption, which perturbs lipid rafts and caveolae, have been reported, and n
Engine tests have been performed on a 9.6 liter spark-ignited engine fueled by natural gas and a mixture of 25/75 hydrogen/natural gas by volume. The scope of the work was to test two strategies for low emissions of harmful gases; lean burn operation and stoichiometric operation with EGR and a three-way catalyst. Most gas engines today, used in city buses, utilize the lean burn approach to achieve
Southern Africa suffers from an acute lack in skilled capacities for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The region, with its unique disaster risk profile, is mostly bound by its inability to effect change and transformation for sustainable development and resilience building. Reasons for these limitations are largely due to the lack of capacities in disaster risk reduction with
This account of genocide in the twentieth century contains a) a description of cases, b) an interpretation of different mechanisms of genocide and c) a comparative analysis of genocides as a historical phenomenon in the modern era. The text is divided into sections that are interrelated. The introduction gives a general background to the concept, describes the Genocide Convention and defines the
An improved understanding of the response of forest ecosystems to elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere is crucial because atmospheric CO2 concentration continues to increase at an accelerating rate and forests are an important sink in the global carbon cycle. Several CO2-enrichment experiments have now been running for more than 10 years, with highly variable short-term results after the first
Popular culture and tourism are intertwining. The use of film and literature amongst destination marketing organisations is a global trend, but how can we understand this phenomenon and all the processes involved? Up to now popular culture and tourism have been researched mainly from a single media perspective. However, it is difficult to separate the impact of one media product from that of anoth
With a worldwide increase in disasters, the effects of climate change are already being felt, and it is the urban poor in developing countries that are most at risk. There is an urgent need to better understand the factors that determine people’s capacity to cope with and adapt to adverse climate conditions. This paper examines the influence of formal education in determining the adaptive capacity
We present progress in the development of artificial photosynthesis, as a means to harvesting and storage of solar energy. The plan is to compose molecular systems that combine known photochemistry with emerging functional model compounds. A photochemical device for solar energy conversion contains a photosensitizer, an electron acceptor system and a donor system that prevents charge recombination
Efficient design of urban drainage systems is based on statistical analysis of past rainfall events at fine time scales. However, fine time scale rainfall data are usually lacking in many parts of the world. A possible way forward is to develop methods to derive fine time scale rain intensities from daily observations. This paper applied cascade-based disaggregation modeling for generation of fine
Conjugated polymers have been widely studied as flexible, versatile semiconductors in organic electronics. However, the material stability is one of the problems limiting their applications. Thus, understanding the degradation process of conjugated polymers is crucial. In this work, we monitored the chain scission of the model polymer MEH-PPV in chloroform solutions under different conditions by a
To acquire a deeper understanding of malignant melanoma (MM), it is essential to study the proteome of patient tissues. In particular, phosphoproteomics of MM has become of significant importance because of the central role that phosphorylation plays in the development of MM. Investigating clinical samples, however, is an extremely challenging task as there is usually only very limited quantities
The receptor tyrosine kinase FLT3 is expressed almost exclusively in the hematopoietic compartment. Binding of its ligand, FLT3 ligand (FL), induces dimerization and activation of its intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity. This leads to autophosphorylation of FLT3 on several tyrosine residues which constitute high affinity binding sites for signal transduction molecules. Recruitment of these signal t
Insect migrations are spectacular natural events and resemble a remarkable relocation of biomass between two locations in space. Unlike the well-known migrations of daytime flying butterflies, such as the painted lady (Vanessa cardui) or the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), much less widely known are the migrations of nocturnal moths. These migrations - typically involving billions of moths f
As a novel coolant, the ethylene glycol-water (50 wt.%:50 wt.%) with graphene nanoplatelets nanofluids (GnP-EGW) were prepared at four weight concentrations (0.01, 0.1 0.5 and 1.0 wt.%), and heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in a miniature plate heat exchanger (MPHE) were investigated. All nanofluid samples were prepared and diluted by ultrasonic vibration, and their thermal conducti
