1,721,111 research outputs found
Power, Mobility and the Economic Vulnerability of Borderlands
No full textThe political boundary between Italy and Yugoslavia, superimposed after the Second World War, extended through lands with a common historical, cultural and economic trajectory. The boundary constituted an ideological divide but the pre-existence of deeply entrenched relations promoted, from the outset, the establishment of a local permeable border. This article explores how, in the context of freedom of movement, borderland residents experience the convenience of border proximity and—by expressing their preference for the foreign market—create major drawbacks for their own domestic economy. Specifically, the low excise duty in Slovenia incentivizes Italian consumers to refuel abroad. How does an open border impact on the dynamics of the fuel market in the high-tax country? Applying the Global Production Network analytical framework, I assess how the attractiveness of the foreign fuel market poses specific challenges both to Italian institutions and economic actors who have vested interests in the local economy. This analysis also reveals how daily international shopping practices are a mass behavior difficult to eliminate. The explicit inclusion of non-corporate actors into the study of the fuel production network offers an important contribution to current understandings of international market outcomes. In fact, the border management policy does not restrict residents’ mobility and the redistribution of competencies and functions amidst multiple institutional actors make it difficult to develop a policy able to defend borderland needs
Assessing the positional accuracy of perceptual landscape data: A study from Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy
Full text linkOnline GIS-based applications that combine mapping and public participation to collect citizens' voices on their surrounding environment are a way to collect original spatial data that do not already figure in authoritative data sets. However, these applications, relying on non-expert users, might produce spatial data of insufficient quality for the purpose for which they are collected. This article presents an approach for assessing the positional accuracy of vague landscape features, using the results from a map-based survey completed by a group of volunteers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The spatial section of the survey, gathering both georeferenced data and textual information on the mapping activity, allows the assessment of whether there is a correspondence between the mapped features and the intended map locations. The findings reveal a greater accuracy among participants in completing the mapping activity relating to degraded sites than to those of beauty
Identification of a TGF-beta responsive element in the human elastin promoter
No full textIn a previous report (Marigo, V., Volpin, D., and Bressan, G. M. (1993) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1172, 31-36) it was shown that the elastin promoter contains a region mediating transcriptional activation by TGF-β in aorta cells, but not in tendon fibroblasts from chick embryos. In this paper we have identified the sequence responsible for this effect by a combination of CAT assays with mutant constructs, DNase I footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays. This TGF-β responsive element binds different nuclear proteins in chick embryo aorta and tendon cells. Whereas association of the aorta protein(s) to the element is necessary for TGF-β activation, binding of the tendon protein(s) has apparently no effect on promoter stimulation by the cytokine
Emilin, a component of elastic fibers preferentially located at the elastin-microfibrils interface.
No full textThe fine distribution of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein emilin (previously known as glycoprotein gp115) (Bressan, G. M., I. Castellani, A. Colombatti, and D. Volpin. 1983. J. Biol. Chem. 258: 13262-13267) has been studied at the ultrastructural level with specific antibodies. In newborn chick aorta the protein was exclusively found within elastic fibers. In both post- and pre-embedding immunolabeling emilin was mainly associated with regions where elastin and microfibrils are in close contact, such as the periphery of the fibers. This localization of emilin in aorta has been confirmed by quantitative evaluation of the distribution of gold particles within elastic fibers. In other tissues, besides being associated with typical elastic fibers, staining for emilin was found in structures lacking amorphous elastin, but where the presence of tropoelastin has been demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy. This was particularly evident in the oxitalan fibers of the corneal stroma, in the Descemet's membrane, and in the ciliary zonule. Analysis of embryonic aorta revealed the presence of emilin at early stages of elastogenesis, before the appearance of amorphous elastin. Immunofluorescence studies have shown that emilin produced by chick embryo aorta cells in culture is strictly associated with elastin and that the process of elastin deposition is severely altered by the presence of antiemilin antibodies in the culture medium. The name of the protein was derived from its localization at sites where elastin and microfibrils are in proximity (emilin, elastin microfibril interface located protein)
Using photographs to collect and study citizens’ perceptions of landscape degradation: a regional case in Italy
No full textPeople’s perceptions play a key role in defining landscape, which is much more than the combination of visually distinctive features. In fact, as recognized by the European Landscape Convention, the character of a landscape is the result of the action and interaction of not only its natural features, but also human ones. What can we learn about landscape degradation from the way locals look at the landscapes around them? We argue that respondent-produced photographs offer an opportunity to transmit to others one’s personal view of what degradation is, and to promote critical reflection on the present state of local landscapes. This work illustrates the implementation and outcomes of a photography competition, which allowed photography lovers to capture, in a picture, not only the beauty of natural landscapes in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (Italy), but also the aspects of everyday surroundings which were perceived to be degraded. The photography competition, complemented by photo-elicitation interviews, made the co-production of geographical knowledge possible. The photographs revealed the presence of varying, sometimes unexpected sites considered to be degraded, and the conduction of photo-elicitation interviews stimulated the collection of values and meanings attributed by informers to the landscapes selected in their pictures
Sustainable investing and climate transition risk: A portfolio rebalancing approach
Full text linkThe authors studied how greenness can be combined with other investment criteria to construct sets of corporate bond portfolios with decreasing exposure to climate transition risk. They apply the methodology to the European Central Bank’s asset purchase program. They define a weaker market neutrality principle as investing proportionally to the bond amount outstanding within Climate Policy Relevant Sectors. The portfolio rebalancing leads to a 10% reduction of exposure to climate transition risk. Then, the authors studied the relationship between bonds’ rebalancing and issuers’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) characteristics and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Bonds issued by firms with low (high) ESG risk and GHG emissions are more likely to be bought (sold) in the rebalancing. Finally, they analyzed the implications of portfolio rebalancing on financial markets, finding that changes in yields would be limited to less than 80 basis points on individual bonds. The approach can contribute to inform climate-aware portfolio rebalancing and sustainable investment strategies
Using citizen science to understand the recreational fishing impact on elasmobranchs along the Italian Northern Adriatic coast
Full text linkMarine recreational fishing has significantly increased in recent years, especially in the Northern Adriatic Sea, where it accounts for equivalent up to 45% of artisanal fishery catches. Despite its relevance, few studies have investigated the potential impact of recreational fishing, particularly on vulnerable elasmobranch species, some of which are commercially targeted but face significant conservation problems. In this study, through online questionnaires administered to recreational fishers, we collected information on recreational fishing activities and their interaction with the most common demersal elasmobranchs along the western coast of the Northern Adriatic Sea. The responses revealed an intense fishing effort throughout the coastal area, especially around port entrances. The target species resulted primarily in those with high commercial value, while elasmobranchs are mostly bycatch, particularly Mustelus spp. Although 83% of fishers claimed to release them alive, the lack of studies on post-release survival rates makes it difficult to assess the impact of this fishing activity on elasmobranch populations
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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