Spatial planning for landscape: mapping the pitfalls

While welcoming the European Landscape Convention and acknowledging the successes of conservation organizations such as the National Trust in Britain, the Czech Village Restoration Scheme and the French eco‐musées, this paper identifies some of the pitfalls that must be avoided if the fine words of the Convention are to be translated into effective action. These include problems with designation, conflicts between different types of conservation, and the side effects of gentrification and increased tourism. There is a call for more research to break down barriers to understanding between countries, between disciplines, and between academics and practitioners.     

The Role of Farm Advisors in Multifunctional Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Three Danish Areas, 1995 and 2008

This study investigates the influence of farm advisors on farmers’ decisions regarding ‘Multifunctional landscape commons’, a concept covering environmental and landscape values that benefit the public but which depend on farmers’ management practices. The influence of advisors is analysed by combining data about the source of advice with evidence of land use and landscape changes and participation in subsidy schemes. The study compares three agricultural areas in Denmark. Structured interviews were carried out with all farmers possessing more than 2 ha land in 1995–6 and in 2008. Vertical, production and business-oriented advisory services predominate, together with legal and organisational spatial competence networks. A new group of hobby farmers and pensioned farmers tend not to be included in traditional advisory networks, leaving them to carry out landscape changes and multifunctional landscape commons without professional guidance and consultancy. This means the horizontal coordination among farmers, that is, the territorial competences, decrease.     

Core‐Shell Nanoblends from Soy Protein/Polystyrene by Emulsion Polymerization

Novel soy protein/polystyrene nanoblends with core‐shell structures were successfully prepared by introducing nano‐sized PS into soy protein through emulsion polymerization. The nanoblends showed core‐shell structures, with the core being of PS and the shell of sodium dodecane sulfonate and soy protein polypeptides, when investigated by electron microscopy. Nanoblends containing high levels of PS (>30%) exhibited characteristic infrared spectrum bands, X‐ray diffraction peak, and glass transition, since PS microsphere aggregated to form independent PS domains. Mechanical strength and water resistance were effectively improved by introducing PS. An effective structure‐performance relationship was thereby established to describe the nanoblends.

     

3- Instead of 4-helix formation in a de novo designed protein in solution revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering

De novo design and chemical synthesis of proteins and their mimics are central approaches for understanding protein folding and accessing proteins with novel functions. We have previously described carbohydrates as templates for the assembly of artificial proteins, so-called carboproteins. Here, we describe the preparation and structural studies of three alpha-helical bundle carboproteins, which were assembled from three different carbohydrate templates and one amphiphilic hexadecapeptide sequence. This heptad repeat peptide sequence has been reported to lead to 4-alpha-helix formation. The low resolution solution structures of the three carboproteins were analyzed by means of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD). The ab initio SAXS data analysis revealed that all three carboproteins adopted an unexpected 3+1-helix folding topology in solution, while the free peptide formed a 3-helix bundle. This finding is consistent with the calculated alpha-helicities based on the SRCD data, which are 72 and 68 % for two of the carboproteins. The choice of template did not affect the overall folding topology (that is for the 3+1 helix bundle) the template did have a noticeable impact on the solution structure. This was particularly evident when comparing 4-helix carboprotein monomers with the 2x2-helix carboprotein dimer as the latter adopted a more compact conformation. Furthermore, the clear conformational differences observed between the two 4-helix (3+1) carboproteins based on D-altropyranoside and D-galactopyranoside support the notion that folding is affected by the template, and subtle variations in template distance-geometry design may be exploited to control the solution fold. In addition, the SRCD data show that template assembly significantly increases thermostability.     

Dietary Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Are Protective Against Metabolic Syndrome and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Over 50 years of research has sought to define the role dietary fat plays in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Although optimal dietary fat quantity has been keenly pursued over past decades, attention has recently centered on the value of dietary fat quality. The purpose of the present review is to provide a critical assessment of the current body of evidence surrounding efficacy of dietary monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) for reduction of traditional risk factors defining metabolic syndrome (MetS) and CVD. Due to existing and emerging research on health attributes of MUFA rich diets, and to the low prevalence of chronic disease in populations consuming MUFA rich Mediterranean diets, national dietary guidelines are increasingly recommending dietary MUFA, primarily at the expense of saturated fatty acids (SFA). Consumption of dietary MUFA promotes healthy blood lipid profiles, mediates blood pressure, improves insulin sensitivity and regulates glucose levels. Moreover, provocative newer data suggest a role for preferential oxidation and metabolism of dietary MUFA, influencing body composition and ameliorating the risk of obesity. Mounting epidemiological and human clinical trial data continue to demonstrate the cardioprotective activity of the MUFA content of dietary fat. As the debate on the optimal fatty acid composition of the diet continues, the benefit of increasing MUFA intakes, particularly as a substitute for dietary SFA, deserves considerable attention.     

Simple and Straightforward Synthesis of Porous Ionosilica for Efficient Chromate Adsorption

We report a very simple synthesis strategy for the formation of moderately porous ionosilica materials containing ammonium groups. We synthesized an ionosilica xerogel and an ionosilica aerogel, either via conventional or supercritical work‐up. The synthesis scheme of both precursor and ionosilica materials could easily be up‐scaled to a 100 g scale. All syntheses and work‐up procedures are sustainable as no additional agent and very low quantities of solvents were used, and no additional purifications steps were necessary. Although both materials show excellent anion exchange properties for chromate adsorption, noticeable differences were found regarding the thermodynamics of the exchange process. We attribute these differences to different surface chemistries of the materials, induced by the different work‐up procedures. Due to the easy availability of high quantities of material, ionosilicas can be implemented as functional ion exchange materials in larger scale processes, thus opening new fields of applications.     

Determination of the performance of solar systems with the calorimetric method

A calorimetric method is applied to determine the solar system performance by in-situ measured data. The heat store is interpreted as a calorimeter and the information on charge and discharge is extracted from the shape analysis of the heat store’s temperature profile. The method is applicable to any heating system which includes a heat store. In the present paper, this procedure is presented and applied to determine the solar gain for a large solar system for domestic hot water preparation and a solar combisystem. The uncertainty of this method is in the range of ±10%. The results obtained by the calorimetric method are compared to TRNSYS simulations.     

The processing of exogenous cholesterol in the alveolar compartment of the rat lung

We have examined the esterification of [³H]cholesterol following the intratracheal instillation of a tracer amount into the isolated rat lung perfused with Krebs bicarbonate containing 4.5% albumin. At 5, 30 and 60 min after instillation, lungs were lavaged at 2°C with 3×10 ml of 0.15 M NaCl, each volume instilled and withdrawn three times. Each lung was lavaged at only one time point. The saline recovered was centrifuged at 150 g (5 min) to sediment the macrophage-rich fraction, leaving the surfactant in the supernatant. The amounts and specific activity of cholesterol and cholesteryl ester were measured following isolation by high performance liquid chromatography of the free cholesterol and the hydrolyzed ester-derived cholesterol. There was a rapid fall in [³H]cholesterol in the surfactant fraction, accompanied by a reciprocal increase in [³H]cholesteryl ester. Likewise, there was a rapid increase in [³H]cholesteryl ester in the macrophage-rich fraction, while the level of free [³H]cholesterol in that fraction remained very low. These data are consistent with exogenous cholesterol being rapidly esterified in the alveolus, and the ester then being cleared by the macrophages. We were unable to locate the actual site of esterification. Lipids     

Elevated-Temperature-Delayed Failure of Alumina Reinforced with 20 vol% Silicon Carbide Whiskers

Alumina composites reinforced with 20 vol% SiC whiskers were exposed to applied stresses in four-point flexure at temperatures of 1000°, 1100°, and 1200°C in air for periods of up to 14 weeks. At 1000° and 1100°C, an "apparent" fatigue limit was established at stresses of ∼ 75% of the fast fracture strength. However, after long-term (>6 weeks) tests at 1100°C, some evidence of crack generation as a result of creep cavitation was detected. At 1200°C applied stresses as low as 38% of the 1200°C fracture strength were sufficient to promote creep deformation and accompanying cavitation and crack generation and growth resulting in failures in times of <250 h.