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Academic scholarship has scrutinised the triangle connecting creativity, locality and economic activity in three ways. First, the clustering of firms has been found to promote creativity in an urban environment (cf. clustering theories). Second, and indicating an inverse course of action, creative individuals have been found to foster the economic growth of cities by attracting employers to places where the former want to reside (cf. creative class theory). Third, the specific attributes of a location, in particular urban environments, have been shown to have a positive impact on individual creativity. Our study adds to this fascinating liaison by exploring: the economic and non-economic features that lead to designers establishing their businesses in Athens’ city centre; and the perceived direct and indirect benefits of these locational factors in relation to the creative labour of these entrepreneurs. In this way, we merge micro and macro perspectives on the relationship between creative entrepreneurship and place, but in a potentially experimental setting, given that the urban fabric in Athens had to be reconstructed after it experienced economic and social turbulence following the 2008/2009 economic crisis and the austerity measures that were the result

Hierarchical zeolites have been identified as special catalytic materials with improved catalytic properties. In this study, hierarchical bifunctional ZSM5 based catalysts were prepared by desilication for controlled mesoporosity development and have been modified by Co doping. Their performance in the catalytic pyrolysis of oak in a lab scale reactor was evaluated. Desilicated counterparts were proven more active in deoxygenation of bio oil, while carbon deposition on the catalysts reduced compared to non-desilicated counterparts. Increased Lewis acidity favors decarboxylation reactions, while higher olefins as well as PAH content indicate easier diffusion within and from the porous network and interactions in the mesopores. The conversion of bulky lignin molecules (alkoxy phenols) is enhanced by the mesopores, while acidity is of secondary importance. Coke deposition inside the pores is more profound in the desilicated catalysts due to larger pore size. Carbon deposition on the catalysts is reduced in the following order: HZSM5 > Co/HZSM5 > Ds-HZSM5 > Co/Ds-HZSM5. GC–MS characterization of the CH2Cl2 soluble coke indicated that for the desilicated counterparts the main coke precursors are the bulky lignin molecules which are partially deoxygenated., QC 20190903

[EN] Mesopore-modified mordenite zeolitic materials with different Si/Al ratios have been repared and tested in the biomass pyrolysis and catalytic cracking of vacuum gasoil. Alkaline treatment was carried out to generate mesoporosity. Severity of alkaline treatment was found to be of paramount importance to tune the generated mesoporosity, while it significantly affected the crystallinity of treated mordenites. It was moreover observed that the alkaline treatment selectively extracted Si decreasing the Si/Al ratio of treated samples. Catalytic activity of parent and alkaline treated mordenites was studied in the pyrolysis of biomass. All zeolitic based materials produced less amounts of bio-oil but of better quality (lowering the oxygen content from ∼40% to as much as 21%) as compared to the non-catalytic pyrolysis experiments. On the other hand, it was found that the combination of mesopore formation and high surface area after alkaline treatment of the mordenite with a high Si/Al ratio resulted in the enhancement of its catalytic activity, despite the reduction of its acidity. The increment of the decarboxylation and dehydration reactions, combined with a reduction of carbon deposition on the catalyst, resulted in a remarkable decrease in the oxygen content in the organic fraction and therefore, resulted in a superior quality liquid product. Alkaline treated mordenites were additionally acid treated targeting dealumination and removal of the extra framework debris, thus generating mesopore-modified mordenite samples with stronger acid sites and higher total acidity, as candidate catalysts for catalytic cracking of vacuum gasoil. Desilicated and especially desilicated and dealuminated mordenites exhibited the highest activity and selectivity towards LCO with the best olefinicity in gases and higher bottoms conversion. Therefore, an optimized desilicated dealuminated mordenite additive could be an interesting candidate as a component of the FCC catalyst for a

HER-2/neu oncoprotein contains several major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted epitopes, which are recognised by cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) on autologous tumours and therefore can be used in immune-based cancer therapies. Of these, the most extensively studied is HER-2(9(369)). In the present report, we used dendritic cells pulsed with HER-2(9(369)) to stimulate, in the presence of IL-7 and IL-12, the production of IFN-gamma by patients' CTL detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot-assay. Frequencies of peptide-specific precursors were estimated in HLA-A2, HLA-A3 and HLA-A26 patients with HER-2/neu-positive (+) breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal and prostate cancers and healthy individuals. We found increased percentages of such precursors in HLA-A2 (25%) and HLA-A26 (30%) patients, which were significantly higher (60%) in HLA-A3 patients. Our results demonstrate for the first time that pre-existing immunity to HER-2(9(369)) occurs in patients with colorectal, lung and prostate cancer. They also suggest that HER-2(9(369)) can be recognised by CTL, besides HLA-A2, also in the context of HLA-A3 and HLA-A26, thus increasing the applicability of HER-2(9(369))-based vaccinations in a considerably broader patients' population., Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, info:eu-repo/semantics/published