Abstract:The Ag deposition on TiO 2 nanoparticles (Ag-TiO 2 NPs) and N-TiO 2 nanoparticles (Ag-N-TiO 2 NPs) has been made by electrochemical methodology in view of improved antibacterial properties and enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The particle size in powder and in dispersion showed similar values and good stability in aqueous medium which made them suitable for use in leather surface covering for new multifunctional properties development. The diffuse reflectance spectra of Ag-TiO 2 NPs, Ag-N-TiO 2 NPs and TiO 2 NPs have been investigated and correlated with their photocatalytic performances under UV and visible light against different silver concentrations. The leather surfaces treated with Ag-N-TiO 2 NPs showed advanced self-cleaning properties under visible light exposure through the hydrophilic mechanism of organic soil decomposition. Moreover the bacterial sensitivity and proven fungitoxic properties of Ag-N-TiO 2 NPs leads to the possibility of designing new multifunctional additives to extend the advanced applications for more durable and useable materials.

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The paper presents the antimicrobial performances of leather surfaces treated with ZnO nanoparticles as alternative to the use of volatile organic biocide materials. The hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is described as an efficient and easy to control method compared to sol-gel methods. The characterization of crystallite morphology and size were measured by XRD, the nanopowder particles were assessed by TEM and the dispersion stability in water and in film forming polymers by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The ZnO nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on leather surface by conventional technologies based on sprayed layers and were available for direct contact with bacteria and fungi. The treated leather surfaces were tested according to adapted diffusion standard methods and proved sensitivity against bacteria and resistance to fungi. The modification of dynamic contact angle of water on leather surface exposed to UV and visible light irradiation confirmed the photocatalytic generation of oxygen reactive species attributed to antimicrobial efficiency.

Contemporary research on immigrant settlement and adaptation emphasizes the interactions of ethnic-immigrant resources and local economic contexts. Yet, understandably, most research in this field continues to focus on major urban centers, truncating our view of the range of these interactions and the extent to which theories and concepts emerging from immigrant "magnets" generalize to more peripheral regions of the country. To address this shortcoming, we use census data from the postwar period to examine immigrant settlement trends in The Deep South Triad of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. Findings indicate that this peripheral region of an otherwise booming South is extremely diverse in terms of its foreign-born population and that the largest groups (British, Vietnamese, Indians and Hondurans) exhibit strong, yet distinct, patterns of concentration in the regional economy. These findings suggest that many of the same immigrant-adjustment processes documented in core immigrant cities generalize reasonably well to very different regional contexts with substantially lower rates of immigration and employment growth. In this study we examine patterns of immigrant settlement and employment in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana-three states that comprise what we call the "Deep South Triad" and that constitute the nation's oldest peripheral region in terms of demographic and industrial development. In examining this understudied region of postwar immigration, we seek to contribute broadly to the "interactionist" paradigm now current in studies of immigrant adjustment, particularly with respect to employment. This paradigm traces back to the general complaint, articulated by Waldinger, Ward and Aldrich (1985), that prevailing cultural explanations of ethnic-immigrant concentration in the labor market pay inadequate attention to the local economic contexts in which immigrants are inserting themselves. The solution to this analytical problem, Waldinger and colleagues argued, is to pursue an "interactive approach" that focuses on the "congruence between the demands of the economic environment and the informal resources of the ethnic population" (p. 589). According to Light and Gold (2000), this position has now become axiomatic in research on ethnic economies, directing attention to variation in regional context as well as to variation among specific immigrant groups.To date, empirical and speculative work in this "interactionist" paradigm has focused on variation in opportunity structures among major urban centers, specifically New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami (e.g., Light and Rosenstein 1995; Logan, Alba and McNulty 1994; Razin and Light 1998; Waldinger 2001; Wilson 2000). While this line of multilocality research has proven invaluable, it has also unintentionally truncated our view of the 2 range of local contexts in which immigrants are inserting themselves. Consequently, we know relatively little about immigrant settlement and work patterns in more peripheral regions of country...

The paper is presenting the results of the evaluation of a model to address the water-food-energy-ecosystem security nexus on islands from the perspective of structuring circular aquatic bioeconomy loops. The scientific research activities have been based on the achievements made in the ROMANA project on the establishment of a methodology for hierarchical EEA in some geographical control volumes. Specifically, there were taken into consideration two scales as the National economy of Romania and the regional economy of the Constanta County that is part of the Dobrogea Region. Using the results and the validation of the multi-scale approach from ROMANA project, in the present paper, there are presented the results of the possible extrapolation of the method for the case of a country with islands like it is the case of Spain.