12,837 research outputs found
The formation and function of ER-endosome membrane contact sites
No full textRecent advances in membrane contact site (MCS) biology have revealed key roles for MCSs in inter-organellar exchange, the importance of which is becoming increasingly apparent. Roles for MCSs in many essential physiological processes including lipid transfer, calcium exchange, receptor tyrosine kinase signalling, lipid droplet formation, autophagosome formation, organelle dynamics and neurite outgrowth have been reported. The ER forms an extensive and dynamic network of MCSs with a diverse range of functionally distinct organelles. MCSs between the ER and endocytic pathway are particularly abundant, suggesting important physiological roles. Here, our current knowledge of the formation and function of ER contact sites with endocytic organelles from studies in mammalian systems is reviewed. Their relatively poorly defined molecular composition and recently identified functions are discussed. In addition, likely, but yet to be established, roles for these contacts in lipid transfer and calcium signalling are considered. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: The cellular lipid landscape edited by Tim Levine and Anant K. Menon
Gedragsinzichten bieden meer beleidskansen dan er nu worden benut
No full textGedragsinzichten zijn onontbeerlijk om te komen tot effectief beleid, de mens is immers geen homo economicus. Dat geldt echter niet alleen voor uitvoeringsvraagstukken, maar ook voor het ontwerpen van beleid. Hier ligt er nog een groot onbenut potentieel.Policy Analysi
Ocena autentyczności dziedzictwa: Ramy ilościowe
No full textAuthenticity has long been regarded as an essential criterion for valuing heritage. While the Venice Charter presents a paradigm for international conservation policies aimed at general heritage protection, the Nara Document advances this by emphasizing the importance of authenticity with respect to context-oriented concerns. However, in both frameworks, assessment of authenticity remains a qualitative matter. In fact, current practices reveal that there are no quantitative assessment systems, which, if available, could provide measurable metrics to evaluate the level of authenticity of heritage with contextual objectivity. In this context, recently, the author, as part of a doctoral research, developed a framework referred to as the Quantitative Architecture Authenticity Metrix (QAAM) to assess authenticity of heritage buildings. It combines a quantitative metric with the cultural context to capture both tangible and intangible values, including community perceptions. This paper examines the possibility of quantitatively assessing heritage authenticity by employing this framework. The study evaluates the ability of the framework to assess and quantify authenticity by pilot testing of selected heritage buildings from different contexts. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework in quantitatively evaluating various aspects of heritage authenticity. They also provide evidence for the appropriateness and validity of the framework in evaluating authenticity of heritage.Autentyczność od dawna uważana jest za podstawowe kryterium wartościowania dziedzictwa. Podczas gdy Karta Wenecka stanowi paradygmat dla międzynarodowych polityk konserwatorskich mających na celu ogólną ochronę dziedzictwa, Dokument z Nara rozwija go, podkreślając znaczenie autentyczności w odniesieniu do kwestii kontekstowych. Jednak w obu ramach ocena autentyczności pozostaje kwestią jakościową.
W rzeczywistości obecne praktyki ujawniają, że nie istnieją ilościowe systemy oceny, które mogłyby zapewnić wymierne wskaźniki do oceny poziomu autentyczności dziedzictwa z obiektywizmem kontekstowym. Autor, w ramach badań doktoranckich, opracował ramy określane jako Quantitative Architecture Authenticity Metrix (QAAM) służące do oceny autentyczności budynków należących do dziedzictwa. Metoda łączy metrykę ilościową z kontekstem kulturowym, aby uchwycić zarówno wartości materialne, jak i niematerialne. Niniejszy dokument analizuje możliwość ilościowej oceny autentyczności dziedzictwa poprzez zastosowanie tej struktury. Badanie ocenia zdolność ramy do oceny i ilościowego określenia autentyczności poprzez pilotażowe testowanie wybranych budynków dziedzictwa z różnych kontekstów. Wyniki pokazują skuteczność ram w ilościowej ocenie różnych aspektów autentyczności dziedzictwa. Dostarczają również dowodów na stosowność i ważność ram oceny autentyczności dziedzictwa
Embedding research (ER) led by nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHPs): the NMAHP-ER model.
No full textPrevious embedded researcher models have focused predominantly on an individual being a temporary team member and embedded for a project-limited short-term placement. To develop an innovative research capacity building model to address the challenges of developing, embedding and sustaining, research led by Nurses, Midwives, and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs) in complex clinical environments. This healthcare and academic research partnership model offers an opportunity to support the 'how' of enabling NMAHP research capacity building from within the researchers' clinical area of expertise. Collaboration between three healthcare and academic organisations and the iterative process of cocreation, development and refinement took place over 6 months during 2021. The collaboration relied on virtual meetings, emails, telephone calls and document review. A codesigned NMAHP embedded research (ER) model is ready for trialling with the individual being an existing clinician working collaboratively within the healthcare setting and with academia to develop the skills to become the ER. This model supports NMAHP-led research activity in clinical organisations in a visible and manageable way. As a shared, long-term vision, the model will contribute to research capacity and capability of the wider healthcare workforce. It will lead, facilitate and support research in and across clinical organisations in collaboration with higher education institutions. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Coastal Scenic Quality Assessment of Moroccan Mediterranean Beaches: A Tool for Proper Management
No full textThis paper focuses on the study of landscape quality of Moroccan Mediterranean coastal areas, with a view to distinguishing exceptional beaches with high scenic value. The main characteristics of 50 beaches along the studied coast were assessed using a coastal scenic evaluation system based on a set of 26 selected parameters, including physical (18) and human (8) parameters. Each parameter was examined via a five-point rating scale, ranging from presence/absence or poor quality (1) to excellent quality (5). A decision index (D) is afterward obtained and used to classify sites into five classes: Class I: D ≥ 0.85, which included 9 sites (18%); Class II: 0.85 > D ≥ 0.65, 10 sites (20%); Class III: 0.65 > D ≥ 0.40, 8 sites (16%); Class IV: 0.40 > D ≥ 0.00, 16 sites (32%); and Class V: D < 0.00, 7 sites (14%). The sites of Belyounech 2, Maresdar, El Hwad, and Dalya are the best examples of Class I and represent extremely attractive coastal landscapes. The sites of Ghandouri, Tangier Municipal, M’Diq, Martil, and Tangier Malabata are examples of degraded urban sites that are very unattractive due to high human pressures. Management efforts in Moroccan coastal landscapes can strengthen the control of human activities and improve the scenic value of the sites. Class II beaches, such as Mrisat, Souani, Taourirt, and Sfiha, could improve and upgrade to Class I through litter cleaning and a regular maintenance program. Using the same principle, Class III sites, such as Sidi Amer O Moussa and Sidi Driss, could improve and upgrade to Class II. Indeed, litter and sewage appear as the main factors of degradation of Moroccan coasts, and many excellent beaches are strongly affected by them. This should be a wakeup call to the Moroccan authorities to take urgent and appropriate management measures
The Sector Analysis as a Coastal Management Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco
No full textBeaches are ecologically valuable ecosystems and sites that attract many tourists from all over the world, therefore, knowledge of their environmental conditions to establish sound management strategies is of extreme relevance. This study aims to assess and classify 50 beaches through an innovative coastal management approach called “Sector Analysis”, which integrates Litter grading, the coastal scenic quality and beach typology in order to classify sites into one of three sectors: Green (high value sites), Red (low value sites) and Yellow (sites with contradictory values). Litter Grade makes it possible to classify a site according to the quantity of litter using four grades from “A” (low) to “D” (high amount). The Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES) allows to classify sites into five classes, ranging from extremely attractive natural sites (Class I) to unattractive degraded and urbanized sites (Class V). This innovative methodology for sustainable coastal area management can be easily applied to any beach in the world. The results on Litter Grade and CSES considered in this paper were obtained from previous studies and used to obtain the Sector Analysis that showed only 8 sites (16%) are in the Green sector, 18 sites (36%) in the Red sector and 24 sites (48%) in the Yellow sector. The significant percentage of sites in the Red sector (one third of the sites studied) clearly indicates the degradation that the Moroccan Mediterranean coast has undergone due to considerable anthropogenic activities and the lack of adequate coastal management programs. In this study, various management interventions were proposed to conserve and improve the aesthetic quality of beaches and reduce the impact and presence of litter in the coastal areas
A Novelty Methodological Approach to Coastal Scenic Quality Evaluation—Application to the Moroccan Mediterranean Coast
No full textMany tourists around the world are interested in coastal sites of exceptional scenic quality. This paper aims to assess the landscape quality of 50 sites along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast based on a novelty Coastal Scenic Quality Evaluation (CSQE) method able to classify the attractiveness of the sites and to distinguish exceptional ones with high tourist potential. This proposed methodology relies on evaluating coastal areas through easily obtainable indicators in order to simplify its application to other regions around the world. Four landscape dimensions were selected: Substratum, Sea-Coastal Area, Vegetation and Scenic Background. Each dimension was numerically assessed and ranged from 0 to 1. The values of each dimension along the sites were classified as: <0.2 (very low); 0.2 to <0.4 (low); 0.4 to <0.6 (medium); 0.6 to <0.8 (high) and ≥0.8 (very high). The results show that the overall scenic quality score of the Moroccan Mediterranean coast is 0.6 (high quality), reflecting a potential tourist destination of high scenic value. Substratum, Sea-Coastal Area and Vegetation dimensions obtained a high quality score (0.6 to <0.8), while the Scenic Background dimension recorded medium quality (0.4 to <0.6). Urbanization, the presence of litter and sewage evidence were the main factors of degradation of the Moroccan coastal landscapes, i.e., 32 out of 50 sites (64%) obtained low scores (from 0 to 2) for these three variables. Sound management actions have to be taken to reduce their impacts, in order to preserve and improve the natural landscape, and strength its capacity to host the various tourist activities
Presence, Spatial Distribution, and Characteristics of Microplastics in Beach Sediments Along the Northwestern Moroccan Mediterranean Coast
No full textMicroplastics (MPs) (<5 mm) are recognized as an emerging global problem in all oceans and coastlines around the world. This paper provided the quantification and characteristics of microplastics found on fourteen beaches along the northwestern Moroccan Mediterranean coast. A total of 42 samples were gathered at a depth of 5 cm along the shoreline using a quadrant of 1 m × 1 m. Microplastics were detected in all sediment samples. The average abundance was 59.33 ± 34.38 MPs kg−1 of dry weight (median: 48.33 MPs kg−1), ranging from 22 ± 7.21 to 135.33 ± 38.80 MPs kg−1. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences between sampling sites. All observed microplastics were classified according to their shape, color, and size. The microplastic shapes comprised fibrous MPs (77.61%), fragments (15.65%), films (4.49%), foams (1.85%), and pellets (0.40%). Microplastic particles in the sediment samples ranged from 0.063 to 5 mm in length and were composed of small (54.3%, <1 mm) and large sizes (45.7%, 1–5 mm). The size fractions with the greatest percentage of MPs were 1–2 mm (24.9%). The dominant color of the microplastics was transparent (43.2%), followed by black (15.8%) and blue (13.3%), with shapes that were mainly angular and irregular. The present results indicate a moderate level of microplastic contamination on the beaches throughout the northern Moroccan Mediterranean coast, and tourism, fishing activities, and wastewater discharges as the most relevant sources
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No full textN.B.: When citing this work, cite the original article. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Radiation Protection Dosimetry following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version
Valt er geld te verdienen aan het voorspellen van Voetbaluitslagen?
No full textIn dit verslag is onderzocht of er geld te verdienen valt aan het spelen van online voetbaltoto. Er zijn twee modellen onderzocht; één op basis van onderlinge resultaten en de ander op basis van achtergrondvariabelen. Vervolgens zijn deze getest op fictieve en historische data en met elkaar vergeleken. Als conclusie is er gevonden dat er zeker een kans bestaat dat de modellen winstgevend kunnen zijn, maar dat er te weinig data is om dit met zekerheid te zeggen.StatisticsApplied mathematicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
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