0000000001324838
AUTHOR
N Pizzolato
Design of an open-lab activity for engineering students: A case study
Project- or discovery-based learning activities promote curiosity, enjoyment, and interest deriving from the stimulating context in which students operate. Providing a concrete contextualization of laboratory activities could improve student motivation and learning outcomes. In this contribution, a case study related to a workshop on laboratory activities proposed for Engineering Master students is presented, and designed with the aim of developing practical competencies, increasing problem-solving skills, and providing design abilities. Using the facilities available in the Measurements and Control Laboratory, the students, starting from concept knowledge acquired in basic subjects, such …
Ruolo del rumore ambientale in sistemi complessi di natura biologica
La Fisica dei Sistemi Complessi ha recentemente assunto un ruolo sempre più importante nella descrizione dei sistemi biologici a causa delle interazioni, sia deterministiche sia rumorose o “randomiche”, di tali sistemi con l’ambiente. La presenza del rumore diviene particolarmente rilevante nella trattazione dei sistemi biologici in ambito medico. In questo lavoro vengono presentati due diversi sistemi: i) un modello di dinamica di popolazioni che descrive lo sviluppo delle cellule tumorali responsabili della Leucemia Mieloide Cronica (CML); ii) un modello stocastico che riproduce la crescita di batteri in alimenti di origine animale. Nel primo sistema viene utilizzato un approccio Monte Ca…
Nonlinear relaxation in quantum and mesoscopic systems
The nonlinear relaxation of three mesoscopic and quantum systems are investigated. Specifically we study the nonlinear relaxation in: (i) a long Josephson junction (LJJ) driven by a non-Gaussian Lévy noise current; (ii) a metastable quantum open system driven by an external periodical driving; and (iii) the electron spin relaxation process in n-type GaAs crystals driven by a fluctuating electric field. In the first system the LJJ phase evolution is described by the perturbed sine-Gordon equation. Two well known noise induced effects are found: the noise enhanced stability and resonant activation phenomena. We investigate the mean escape time as a function of the bias current frequency, nois…
Stochastic modelling of imatinib-treated leukemic cell dynamics
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a slowly progressing cancer that makes the body produce too many cancerous myeloid white blood cells. The molecular characteristics of CML is the presence of a Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome, created by a reciprocal translocation of chromosomes 9 and 22 which generates the fusion oncogene BCR-ABL. The introduction of the ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib (Gleevec) for the treatment of CML represents the first example of a successful targeted therapy. Despite its striking efficacy, however, the developement of resistance to imatinib is observed in a proportion of patients, expecially those with advanced-stage CML. In the present work, the dynamics of the …