2,623 research outputs found
Kinostudio - Një pol kulturor për kryeqytetin!
No full textTirana's metamorphosis of the last decades is particular and its dimensions make it an unprecedented development for the capital. There are different opinions on this transformation and the innumerable constructions that keep consuming the urban space. Regardless on whether the viewpoint is positive or critical, it is unanimously perceived as an unavoidable outcome. This article weighs in on this discussion by adopting an alternative approach that builds on an eventual dialogue among the city and its suburbs, using the Kinostudio area as a case study
Analysis of the quality of measurements with used prisms
No full textV diplomski nalogi smo izvedli analizo kakovosti merjenih količin na rabljene prizme, ki so že dalj časa v uporabi. V analizo smo vključili tri različne tipe merskih prizem in sicer precizne prizme Leica GPH1P, prizme Leica GPR121 in mini prizme Goecke 46-MP. Referenčne merjene količine predstavljajo meritve na precizne prizme, meritve proti prizmam tipa Leica GPR121 in Goecke 46-MP smo obravnavali kot testne meritve. Poleg predstavitve izvedbe meritev na testnem polju, obdelave meritev in rezultatov izračuna razlik v nalogi kot glavne rezultate predstavljamo analizo ter statistično vrednotenje rezultatov. Vse rezultate analiz smo prikazali numerično v preglednicah ter grafično s pomočjo grafov. Ugotovili smo, da se odstopanja testnih prizem tipa Leica GPR121 glede na referenčne vrednosti le malo razlikujejo, zato lahko testne prizme tudi v bodoče uporabljamo za inženirske meritve. Vpliv izpostavljenosti najrazličnejšim vplivom na mini prizme Goecke 46-MP je bil tolikšen, da niso več uporabne za precizne inženirske naloge.In the diploma thesis, we carried out a quality analysis of the measured quantities on used prisms that have been in use for a long time. Three different types of prisms were included in the analysis, namely the Leica GPH1P precision prism, the Leica GPR121 prisms and the Goecke 46-MP mini prisms. The reference measured quantities represent measurements on precise prisms, measurements against Leica GPR121 and Goecke 46-MP prisms were treated as test measurements. In addition to the presentation of the implementation of measurements on the test field, the processing of measurements and the results of the calculation of differences in the task, the main results are the analysis and statistical evaluation of the results. All the results of the analyses were presented numerically in tables and graphically with the help of graphs. We found that the deviations of test prisms Leica GPR121 with respect to the reference values differ only slightly, so test prisms can be used for engineering measurements in the future. The impact of exposure to a wide variety of influences on the Goecke 46-MP mini prisms was such that they were no longer useful for precision surveying engineering measurements
Measuring Innovation Quality: A Patent Analysis
No full textPatents have been widely used in innovation literature as a reliable and meaningful measure of innovation performance. However, existing research has mostly used the mere number of patents as a rough indicator of innovation success, lacking to provide insights on innovation quality. Additionally, less is known about how firms are grouped in highly competitive markets and which are the strategies adopted in their inventive activities. To better understand these dynamics, this paper aims to investigate the innovation quality of firms operating in a high-tech industry employing multiple patent-based indicators. Explorative findings on patent strategies as well as patent trends are discussed
Improving Energy Efficiency, reducing air pollution. Intervening in Public Service Areas to save energy and reduce gas emissions.
No full textIt is no longer possible to ignore the Climate Changes we are facing and that carbon emissions
are the responsible for them. Carbon emissions are mainly caused by the use of energy and its
production. Energy efficiency measures offer many opportunities to help rapidly growing cities
achieve energy security, energy savings, and reduce costs and emissions. Energy savings,
nowadays is a high-priority concern in many countries. Therefore energy-efficient measures
are being increasingly implemented in all sectors.
Rapid urbanization has led to massive demand for energy to power economic activity, expand
basic infrastructure, and deliver municipal services. Cities now consume about two-thirds of
the world’s energy, and are responsible for about 70 percent of the world’s GHG emissions.
Energy efficiency can play a key role in helping meet growing energy demand in cities; it
can offer practical, cost-effective solutions to expand and improve urban services, while
contributing to cities’ efforts to be more competitive and address climate change.
Prishtina faces steady population and economic growth, which requires an expansion of
reliable energy and delivery of municipal services. Also the city is one the most polluted capital
cities in Europe and that is because of Obiliq Power Plant. Its emissions are about 74 times
above the European standard. About 15% of energy in Prishtina is produced by Obiliq Power
Plant. Improving the energy efficiency would reduce the energy loss, so the need for energy
and by that, for Obiliq, would be lower. Reducing the Obiliq emission will cause the reduction
of air pollution.
The methodology used for the energy retrofits comprises three steps, namely assessment of
the energy performance, prioritization of sectors having the highest energy savings potential,
and giving recommendation for the EE plan. This EE plan must be in line with the strategies
and targets set at the national and local level to reduce energy consumption and improve
performance in most sectors, including public services.
The priority areas of Intervention will be the public building, street lighting and urban public
transport since the public administration has high control of these areas.
Recent studies such as the assessment of the energy performance of Astana and Almaty
(Kazakhstan) found that targeted interventions in energy-efficiency in municipal service
sectors - including public buildings, district heating, transport, street lighting, waste and water
supply – can lead to significant energy savings annually, including 43% savings (3,7 billion
kWh) in Astana and 34% savings (3,1 billion kWh) in Almaty.
The aims of this study will be the retrofit for improving the energy efficiency; how much can
we save energy from service areas and what effects will it have in reducing gas emissions
Interactions of airway pathogens and inflammatory processes
No full textThe clinical history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is punctuated by recurrent episodes of increases in dyspnea, cough, or sputum production named exacer- bations. In addition to increasing COPD-associated morbidity and mortality, exacerbations contribute to loss of lung function and impaired health status in COPD patients (1).
Although it is often assumed that exacerbations are associated with increased airway inflammation, there is little information on the nature of the acute-on-chronic inflammation that characterizes these episodes. Most of the data currently available refer to soluble indirect markers of airway inflammation rather than inflammatory cell infiltration per se (2).
Infections of the tracheobronchial tree, together with air pollution, are considered the most common causes of COPD exacerbations (1). Whether different patterns of airway inflammation correspond to different etiologies is largely unknown. Better understanding of these relationships and of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms would give the opportunity to identify relevant targets (pathogens and inflammation) for the treatment and prevention of COPD exacerbations.
Many exacerbations are associated with symptoms of infection of the tracheobron- chial tree, and bacteria have been considered the main infective cause of exacerbations (1). Determining the contribution of bacteria to exacerbations is difficult, as COPD patients are often colonized with bacteria even when clinically stable (3). The proportion of patients with positive bacterial cultures and a high bacterial load increases during exacerbations in most, although not in all, studies (4–6). Newer molecular techniques have recently shown that colonization is not a static condition and there is a frequent turnover of different strains of bacteria evoking specific host responses (7). Thus, it is likely that a change in the strain but not the organism may be responsible for the exacerbations. Therefore, previous studies lacking in the molecular characterization of bacterial strains may have missed evidence of a new infection. Indeed, it has been documented that the acquisition of a new strain of colonizing bacteria increases the risk of an exacerbation (8). In the last few decades, the use of highly sensitive diagnostic methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), to evaluate the association between respiratory virus infections and COPD exacerbations has shown that viruses are responsible for a much higher proportion of exacerbations than was previously realized. In a study of the East London COPD cohort, respiratory viruses were detected in 39% of exacerbations, the most common being rhinoviruses that accounted for 58% of viruses (9). A respiratory virus was detected in around 50% of patients with severe COPD exacerbation admitted to hospitals in Germany and Italy, with rhinovirus again being the most common (5,10). In patients with very severe COPD exacerbations requiring intubation and mechanical ventilation, viruses were identified in 47% of patients (11). At variance with bacterial infections, the respiratory viruses more commonly found at exacerbations were virtually absent in stable state (5,12), suggesting that they play a relevant role in the etiology of the acute episodes
Incorporation of Glycerol and Ethanolamine intoGlycerophospholipid in Rat Brain Areas DuringBicuculline-Induced Convulsive Seizures
No full textThe effect of bicuculline-induced convulsive seizures
on lipid metabolism has been studied in four brain
areas (cerebellum, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and
brainstem) using [2-3H]glycerol and [ I ,2-14C]ethanolamine
as radioactive lipid precursors administered simultaneously
with bicuculline. Twelve minutes after the administration,
the uptake of radioactivity depended both on brain area
and treatment, being generally higher in convulsing rats.
The uptake of glycerol was influenced to a larger extent
than that of ethanolamine and increased during convulsions,
but its incorporation into lipids did not. In contrast,
the amount of ethanolamine incorporated into lipids increased
during bicuculline-induced seizures. The difference
in behavior of glycerol and of ethanolamine is also indicated
by the decrease of the 'H/I4C ratio of phosphatidylethanolamine
in various brain areas during convulsions. It
is, therefore, evident that the metabolism of the two precursors
is affected differently by seizures. Key Words: Bicuculline-
Convulsions-Brain areas-Phospholipid-
Phosphatidylethanolamine. Marku N. et al. Incorporation
of glycerol and ethanolamine into glycerophospholipid in
rat brain areas during bicuculline-induced convulsive seizures.
J. Neurochem. 50,7-10 (1988)
Strategy and innovation dynamics in the high-tech industry: an empirical study of technological M&A
No full textIdentities of a peri-urban habitat : The potential for agricultural cluster development in Tirana
No full textBook of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Definite Space – Fuzzy Responsibility, Prague, 13-16th July, 2015As often the case with the newly formed peri-urban areas in the outskirts of expanding cities, the territories that surround Tirana face the pressure of converting agricultural fields into urbanized land, resulting in identity loss, environmental deterioration, and high unemployment companioned by poverty and ultimately a low quality of life. Besides the challenges, the proximity to the capital city provides also advantages, such as economies of scale and scope deriving from the agglomeration of the activities, good access to labor force, market, infrastructure, as well as educational and research facilities, constituting therefore the basics for cluster development. This paper explores the evolution and present state of one of the first environments, in sequence, encountered by the visitors approaching the capital of Albania, Tirana. Once a carefully planned agricultural landscape, today it’s a hybrid urban-rural spatial continuum, a peri-urban habitat searching for a proper identity. We will try to elaborate on the potential of the area to host cluster development, with a specific attention paid to agricultural clusters that would have an important effect not only to its economic performance but also on the preservation of the territory and landscape.Published Versio
Marku Ribas: encruzilhadas afro-sônicas através da diáspora
No full textEste ensaio pretende explorar a música do cantor, compositor e multi-instrumentista Marku Ribas. Utilizando-se das chaves teóricas propostas por Paul Gilroy, assim como de correntes epistemológicas como a Negritude[1] e o pan-africanismo, para abarcar o conteúdo estético e político da obra de Marku, situada numa estrutura rizomórfica da afrodiáspora, assim como de reafirmação de uma identidade negra. O texto está dividido em três seções. O ensaio primeiro discute a trajetória do músico antes de sua viagem, em 1968, à França. Posteriormente, há a análise do disco do grupo em que Marku Ribas participou em Paris, o Batuki. E, por último, uma discussão sobre seus dois primeiros discos solo, gravados em 1972 e 1975.Palavras-chave: Marku Ribas - exílio - música do Atlântico negro - afrodiáspora; pan-africanismo. Abstract:This essay explores the music of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Marku Ribas. By using theoretical ideas proposed by Paul Gilroy, and epistemological lines of thought such as Négritude and pan-Africanism, this essay illustrates the expression of a rhizomorphic structure of African diaspora and a reaffirmation of black identity as seen in Marku’s oeuvre. Divided into three sections, the essay first discusses the musician’s trajectory before his trip to France in 1968. The analysis then turns to the group Batuki’s homonymous album, of which Marku participated in Paris. Lastly, the essay closes with an examination of his first two solo albums, which were recorded in 1972 and 1975.Keywords: Marku Ribas – exile – music of the black Atlantic – African diaspora – pan-Africanism.[1] Neste artigo utilizamos as palavras “Negritude” e “negritude” com diferentes significados: a primeira com “N” maiúsculo se refere ao movimento da Négritude de Cesáire, Senghor e Damas, movimento político-literário da década de 1930 desenvolvido pelos autores em Paris, França. Já a grafia com “n” minúsculo se refere a um conceito multifacetado: “negritude passou a ser um conceito dinâmico, o qual tem um caráter político, ideológico e cultural. No terreno político, negritude serve de subsídio para a ação do movimento negro organizado. No campo ideológico, negritude pode ser entendida como processo de aquisição de uma consciência racial. Já na esfera cultural, negritude é a tendência de valorização de toda manifestação cultural de matriz africana. Portanto, negritude é um conceito multifacetado, que precisa ser compreendido à luz dos diversos contextos históricos.”. Petrônio Domingues, “Movimento da negritude: uma breve reconstrução histórica”, Mediações – Revista de Ciências Sociais, Londrina, v. 10, n. 1 (2005), pp. 25-40. É também uma alternativa de tradução do termo blackness
ITINERARIES – Through the traces of Tirana’s different authorities
No full textThis research is built upon the analysis of the spatial manifestation of authority in Tirana. Adopting a phenomenological approach, the author analyses the relation between authority and space, passing through Tirana’s main itineraries and the centralities that connect them, in different points in time.
The history of Tirana is made of subsequent historic layers, juxtaposed, often antagonizing or negating each other. They belong to different authorities that have placed their respective signs in the urban fabric, in the places and architecture of the capital, probably once carefully designed remnant traces.
The research is organized along the main itineraries of the city in four specific moments, in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the regimes that shaped them. Successively, the traces of the ottoman rule, of the first years after the independence, the first historicist structure designed by the Albanian king and the consequent [again historicist] structure envisioned and partially implemented by Italy during the World War II, are analyzed.
The itineraries, describing the actual state of the city in a determined period, are narrated in first person and present tense. This is a conscious choice aiming to a more vivid expression of the sensation experienced by the viewer along the walk through Tirana’s itineraries.
The objectives of this thesis are:
1. The understanding of the evolutionary process of the complex constellations of spaces making the center of Tirana;
2. The analysis of interconnected pieces of the city in continuity with each other, seen as contiguous systems inside the city, as itineraries rather than separated centralities;
3. The un-concealment of the symbolic behind the signs and traces along the capital’s main itineraries.
The traces of the past and sign of the present will help a better understanding of Tirana and of the relevant influential authorities that have shaped it.
This work will not be only a mere remark of the symbolic of power expressed through signs but also an analysis of the potentially limiting influence of political ideologies and signs on the extensive use of the public spaces by the citizens.
This thesis will try to shed some light on the unfamiliar past of Tirana and to contribute to a further understanding of the universal relationship in between man and authority.Questa ricerca si sviluppa in torno all’analisi della manifestazione spaziale del potere [politico/economico] a Tirana. Con un approccio che ha aspetti fenomenologici, l’autore analizza le relazioni tra autorità e spazio, passando attraverso gli itinerari principali della città, e le centralità da loro connesse, in tempi diversi.
Tirana e fatta di stratificazioni storiche diverse, sovrapposte, spesso in mutuale antagonismo e perfino negazione. Questi sono segni del passato, divenuti trace del presente, appartenenti alle diverse autorità e da loro posti sulla città, nei suoi luoghi e architetture.
Questa ricerca si organizza lungo gli itinerari principali di Tirana in quattro momenti specifici nel periodo immediato al crollo dei regimi che gli hanno dato forma. In successione si va lungo le tracie del domino turco-ottomano, i primi anni del dopo indipendenza, lungo la prima struttura storicista disegnata per il Re Albanese, e l’ultima struttura [sempre storicista] progettata durante gli anni del occupazione Italiana.
Gli itinerari che descrivono lo stato di fatto della città nei diversi periodi vengono raccontati in prima persona e nel presente. Questa è una scelta voluta, con lo scopo di dare un’ impressione più vivida delle sensazioni che il passaggio lungo i luoghi di Tirana scaturiva sul osservatore.
Fra gli obbiettivi dell tesi sono:
1. La compressione dell evoluzione della complessa costellazione di spazi che compongo il centro di Tirana.
2. L’analisi interconnessa delle parti contigue della città. Loro verranno considerate come sistemi continui dentro l’abitato, come itinerari e non come centralità separate.
3. Lo svelamento delle simbologie e significati latenti nei segni e trace lungo gli itinerari principali della capitale Albanese.
Le tracie del passato e i segni del presente, evidenziati negli diversi itinerari, aiuteranno una migliore compressione di Tirana e delle autorità di rilievo che l’hanno plasmata.
Lo studio vuole essere più di una semplice osservazione della simbolica espressione del potere tramite segni costruiti ma anche un’ analisi di una influenza che ha il potenziale di limitare l’uso dello spazio pubblico dall parte dell cittadino.
In fine, questa tesi cercha di gettare luce su un passato poco noto di Tirana e di contribuire ad una ulteriore compressione della relazione universale fra l’uomo e il potere
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