Genomic Instability Is an Early Event in Aluminium-Induced Tumorigenesis

Genomic instability is generally considered as a hallmark of tumorigenesis and a prerequisite condition for malignant transformation. Aluminium salts are suspected environmental carcinogens that transform mammary epithelial cells in vitro through unknown mechanisms. We report here that long-term culture in the presence of aluminium chloride (AlCl₃) enables HC11 normal mouse mammary epithelial cells to form tumours and metastases when injected into the syngeneic and immunocompetent BALB/cByJ strain. We demonstrate that AlCl₃ rapidly increases chromosomal structural abnormalities in mammary epithelial cells, while we failed to detect direct modulation of specific mRNA pathways. Our observations provide evidence that clastogenic activity—a well-recognized inducer of genomic instability—might account in part for the transforming abilities of aluminium in mammary epithelial cells.     

Piperazine and methyldiethanolamine interrelationships in CO2 absorption by aqueous amine mixtures. Part II—Saturation rates of mixed reagent solutions

This work is a companion to a previous article, Part I, published in The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, dealing with CO₂ absorption in aqueous solutions containing a single aminic reagent (specifically methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) or piperazine (PZ)). In this second part, different PZ/MDEA mixtures are experimentally studied and their performances are compared with that of the single reagents. It is indeed well known that small quantities of PZ added to MDEA aqueous solutions are sufficient to obtain a significant improvement in the kinetics of the process. PZ is considered an activator or promoter for MDEA, but the mechanism of this synergy has still not been clearly demonstrated. The aim of this study is an attempt to understand how PZ and MDEA can interact by experimentally analyzing this beneficial mutual effect and by explaining it with the help of a suitable yet not complex model. We believe that the involved chemistry is not more complex than that reported in Part I for the single reagents. According to our findings, it is MDEA that enhances the action of PZ, as opposed to what many authors claim. Moreover, our results seem to rule out the existence of any PZ shuttle effect.     

Inequality and city size: An analysis for OECD functional urban areas

As cities grow, both the productivity of their inhabitants and the income distribution among them is expected to change. While the empirical literature has widely shown how productivity (and income) changes with city size, the empirical evidence on the effects on income inequality remains very limited. The few papers that study the relationship between city size and city-level inequality focus on a single country and do not provide international comparative evidence. In this paper, we study the relationship between city size and income inequality at city level for a sample of 153 functional urban areas (FUAs) across 11 OECD countries.     

Evaluation of direct light processing for the fabrication of bioactive ceramic scaffolds: Effect of pore/strut size on manufacturability and mechanical performance

Bioactive ceramic scaffolds for bone regeneration consisting of a three-dimensional mesh of interpenetrating struts with square section were fabricated via Digital Light Processing (DLP). The ability of the technique to manufacture 3D porous structures from β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) powders with different dimensions of struts and pores was evaluated, identifying the possibilities and limitations of the manufacturing process. Small pore sizes were found to seriously complicate the elimination of excess slurry from the scaffold’s innermost pores. The effect of the strut/pore size on the mechanical performance of the scaffolds under compressive stresses was also evaluated, but no significant influence was found. Under compressive stresses, the structures resulted weaker when tested perpendicularly to the printing plane due to interlayer shear failure. Interlayer superficial grooves are proposed as potential failure-controlling defects, which could also explain the lack of a Weibull size effect on the mechanical strength of the fabricated DLP scaffolds.     

计算机与建筑:非欧几里得空间的产生过程

首先做个假设,总体来说,讨论一个思想的起源几乎是不可能的。无论其是抽象或是具体的,它的产生过程总是被不确定性所掩盖。本文的主旨在于了解计算机如何生成建筑空间的一种新理念。特别是我们关注的非欧几里得空间,因为利用电子工具我们有可能借助软件容易地处理复杂的形状．从而释放出设计师的创造性。     

Environmental heterogeneity patterns and assessment of trophic levels in two Mediterranean lagoons: Orbetello and Varano, Italy

The management of coastal lagoons is of particular interest due to their high economical importance. In spite of their great productivity, coastal lagoons are often impacted by human pressure which produces water eutrophication. The aim of this paper is to assess the trophic state of the two Mediterranean lagoons taking into account chemical-physical parameters, nutrient concentrations and biological parameters. Two Italian lagoons, Orbetello and Varano (respectively located in Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coast, Italy) were studied between May 2003 and April 2005. Both these systems receive treated urban outflows, agricultural effluents and rivers freshwater inputs. Field collected data showed that studied lagoons were characterized by different human and natural pressures. Orbetello showed the highest water eutrophication, highlighted by the trophic index values, while Varano showed lower eutrophication levels except for the summertime. The values of physical, chemical and biological parameters measured in Orbetello and Varano lagoons indicate that a wide spatial and seasonal gradient of the water characteristics was established during the study period, but in particular in winter. This gradient, typical of estuarine systems, was essentially due to the mixing of freshwater, seawater and anthropogenic inputs. Orbetello lagoon seemed much more affected by the urban impact and the fish-farming activities than Varano lagoon, but the latter showed a greater agriculture activities impact as showed by the remote sensing images.     

Routine production or symbolic analysis? India and the globalisation of architectural services

Developments in information technology have reduced the need for spatial proximity in the geography of architectural employment: computer-based drafting allows for better standardisation and more efficient production of project information, whilst electronic communication links make the immediate transfer of this information possible across long distances. The ability to compress time and space may be paving the way to the relocation of architectural production facilities from higher-wage to lower-wage regions: numerous examples already exist of firms that have adopted this strategy to reduce their overheads.

Thus far, discussion of the viability and desirability of this emerging trend has been hampered by its close focus on the type of work carried out, and a consequently narrow view of its costs and benefits. Remote drafting is seen as a cheap form of professional north-south exploitation in architecture's intellectual circles that should be ignored if not deplored. By stressing the connection between the task and the culture in which it is developed, this paper seeks to produce a broader, alternative perspective, which identifies the several limitations of current off-shore collaborations but also points out possible future strengths, development strategies, and necessary environmental conditions.

The Indian context provides an opportunity to highlight analogies and differences between the recent growth of the export-oriented IT industry and the construction of a colonial professional practice at the turn of the twentieth century. If properly acknowledged by the domestic profession and considered by policy-makers, the development of a framework for distant architectural collaborations could be used not only to support the local design sector and bring the contested components of its post-colonial tradition in sharper focus and possibly closer together, but also to respond to the many challenges posed by the country's economic policies, growth, and infrastructural conditions.     

Atmospheric mercury depletion event study in Ny-Alesund (Svalbard) in spring 2005. Deposition and transformation of Hg in surface snow during springtime

A field campaign was conducted in Ny-Alesund (78 degrees 54'N, 11 degrees 53'E), Svalbard (Norway) during April and May 2005. An Atmospheric Mercury (Hg) Depletion Event (AMDE) was observed from the morning of April 24 until the evening of April 27. Transport of already Hg and ozone (O3) depleted air masses could explain this observed depletion. Due to a snowfall event during the AMDE, surface snow Hg concentrations increased two fold. Hg deposition took place over a short period of time corresponding to 3-4 days. More than 80% of the deposited Hg was estimated to be reemitted back to the atmosphere in the days following the event. During the campaign, we observed night and day variations in surface snow Hg concentrations, which may be the result of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) oxidation to divalent Hg at the snow/air interface by daylight surface snow chemistry. Finally, a decrease in the reactive Hg (HgR) fraction of total Hg (HgT) in the surface snow was observed during spring. We postulate that the transformation of HgR to a more stable form may occur in Arctic snow during spring.     

“会跳”的空爆手榴弹

<正>德国的RWM公司正在完成为瑞典研制取代目前手榴弹的新型空爆手榴弹的工作。2010年2月,瑞典国防装备管理局将一项研制、鉴定和批量生产该手榴弹的合同授予RWM公司。鉴定工作预计2011年3月进行,首批交付工作预计2011年底     

聚集与向心：传统佛教建筑对场所精神的延续

“场所精神”早在古罗马的传统信仰文化中就有所体现,古罗马人认为,每一种“独立的”本体（包括人和场所）都有自己的灵魂（genius）守护神灵,灵魂赋予本体以生命,如影随形,始终决定其外在的特征并反映其内在的本质。从“genius loci”这个词的组合上就可以看出,“genius”表示“What a thing is”,即“物之为何”,意味着理解力（intel igence）或精神技能的最高水平,而“loci”则为“地点”、“场所”之意,又“特定已知存在的地方”或“某事物的中心所在”,合起来就成为了一个标识场所本质的词条。而在某种意义上讲,场所也被认为是“一个人记忆的一种物体化和空间化”,或是“对一个地方的认同感和归属感”。著名的城市建筑学家诺贝格·舒尔茨（Christian Norberg-Schulz）在1979年明确提出“场所精神”的概念,认为场所是具有清晰特性的空间。如今,“场所精神”经常被用来指具有与众不同的氛围的场所或地点,或者是某种“精神性的场所（spirit of place）”,而不仅仅指某一位守护神。而在同种类型的建筑当中,其“场所精神”所表现出的气质往往是相同的,以至于每一类别的建筑都有其共通的“场所精神”,反映着相似的内在本质。这也在一定程度上诠释了为什么具备同种精神职能的建筑能够赋予人们同样的心灵体验。通常情况下,建筑艺术通过一些相类似的外在特征来表现这种近乎“同一”的内涵。例如,传统佛教建筑就常常通过“聚集”或“向心”的符号象征来重现佛陀讲经说法时的场景,并表达宇宙人生的真相。无论何时何地,只要不偏离符号象征的原型（prototype）,这种“场所精神”就能够得到有效的延续。