showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Magnetically excited breather modes in an overlap-geometry Josephson tunnel junction
2022
A scheme for the controlled generation of single traveling sine- Gordon breathers in a long Josephson junction is described. In the presence of dissipation, a direct current source, and thermal fluctuations, the theoretical analysis shows that, through the nonlinear supratransmission effect, tailored magnetic pulses at the junction’s edge can effectively yield breather modes only.
Institutions and training: A case of social franchising in Africa
2022
Predictability of PD inception in defects included in HVDC cables by conductivity models calibrated through experiments
2022
To date, there are several methods for calculating the electric field distribution within a dielectric layer subjected to HVDC voltage. However, experimental techniques for evaluating the accuracy of models for calculating the electric field, such as space charge measurement, are often not precise enough to be used for this purpose. At the same time, the knowledge of Partial Discharge (PD) phenomenon occurring under HVDC stress is also not as developed as that of PD under HVAC voltage. The main goal of this research is to study the effectiveness of dielectric conductivity models to forecast the inception condition for PD under load and HVDC voltage stress. This study has been carried out by…
Performances of a PCB-based Loop Antenna Inductive Sensor for Partial Discharges Detection
2022
This paper presents the test results of an electrically small loop antenna sensor towards detecting the radiated magnetic field due to partial discharge (PD) activities. The loop antenna prototype was printed on an FR-4 substrate with a thickness of 1.6 mm, featuring a compact size of 20 mm times20 mm times1.7 mm. The proposed sensor, initially simulated with Ansys HFSS software, has a resonant frequency of about 100 MHz. Its detection capability for three types of partial discharges (i.e., corona, surface and internal PDs) has been evaluated. Laboratory experiments showed that the evaluated loop spiral antenna is appropriate for the detection of the three types of PDs. Indeed, the results …
Obesity and HFpEF.
2022
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has represented a therapeutic challenge in recent decades [...]
Statistical analysis techniques for Partial Discharges measurement under DC voltage
2022
Partial discharges (PD) phenomenon for HVAC (High-Voltage-Alternating-Current) systems has already been widely studied in literature and from this it has been possible to produce a regulatory document that provides indications for description and identification of the different types of discharges. However, the growing diffusion of HVDC (High-Voltage-Direct-Current) systems makes necessary the development of analysis techniques also for DC case. In this paper data obtained from PD measurement under DC voltage were analyzed through the time-frequency map combined with a density-based clustering algorithm. The results show that, with this approach, it's possible to perform a noise rejection a…
MODELLING OF THE GROWTH OF NANNOCHLOROPSIS GADITANA IN DIFFERENT REACTOR GEOMETRIES, EXPERIMENTAL KINETIC PARAMETERS FROM BATCH CULTURES AND BIOCHEMI…
2022
Microalgae are unicellular and photosynthetic microorganisms that grow using inorganic salts, CO2 and light, and are applied in numerous industrial sectors due to their variety and properties. Due to the lack of information on how microalgae respond to external inputs and to the different environments in which they grow, today the industrial application is not exploited as it should. It is therefore necessary to create models that allow to predict microalgal growth in different photobioreactors to improve our knowledge, still poorly investigated. In this work the Monod equation for the specific growth rate was combined with the Lambert-Beer law for the non-homogeneous light distribution in …
Implementing citizen science programmes in the context of university gardens to promote preservice teachers' scientific literacy: a study case on soil
2022
This work presents an assessment of pre-service teachers' argumentative practice, after implementing a novel teaching-learning sequence on soil health including a citizen science programme, which was applied outdoors at the university garden. The sequence was implemented at five Spanish universities with 351 undergraduates studying Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Education. It posed a final assessment task consisting in a real-world situation that involved making decisions on science-related issues: students needed to argue whether it was possible to use a piece of land as a school garden, based on soil data provided in a variety of formats. To assess participants' level of achievement,…
Asthma Comorbidities: Frequency, Risk Factors, and Associated Burden in Children and Adolescents
2022
Identifying asthma comorbidities in children is fundamental for improving disease management. We aimed to investigate the frequency of allergy-related comorbidities in children and adolescents with asthma, and to identify associated risk factors and disease burden. Between September 2015 and December 2018, 508 asthmatic patients (5–17 years) were consecutively enrolled. Parents answered a standardized questionnaire on the history of disease and risk factors. Comorbidities were classified based on the involvement of respiratory and/or extra-respiratory districts: asthma only (A, 13%), asthma with respiratory comorbidities (AR, 37%), asthma with extra-respiratory comorbidities (AER, 10%…
‘Something’s Not Right in Silverhöjd’: Nordic Supernatural and Environmental and Species Justice in Jordskott
2022
In the Swedish/Finnish/British/Norwegian television series Jordskott (2015–17) child victims’ mysterious disappearances signal that ‘something’s not right’ in Silverhöjd, a Swedish town. Three detectives uncover a conflict between the locals who depend on a local industry and preternatural human-like but non-human forest creatures familiar from Nordic tradition and fairylore. Both humans and semi/non-humans are ambivalent, but what sets the latter apart is their implication in caring for nature, protecting it, and punishing those who harm it. We analyse this series’ instantiation of a folkloristic popular green criminology, based in the idea that popular discourses’ representations of crime…
A juridical-canonical perspective of internal criticism in the Church: Act of service or treason?
2022
In the last decade, we have witnessed a progressive increase in criticism of the Pope, the hierarchy, and the Roman Curia from within the Church itself. In this context of growing contestation and polarization, this paper addresses the legal-canonical admissibility of internal criticisms of the Church hierarchy. To this end, after first delimiting the concepts of criticism and hierarchy, the normative framework applicable to criticism is then described. This framework is essentially composed of canon 212 § 3 (which recognizes freedom of expression) and the canons 209 § 1, 212 § 1 and 223 § 1 (which establish the duties of communion and obedience). Then, the opportunities and dangers of inte…
The Uprooting in the Narrative Language of Foreign Land by Jonathan Raban
2022
The language and narrative style of Jonathan Raban, a contemporary English writer author of the novel Foreign Land (1985), seem to find in the themes of uprooting and self-searching a metaphorical and existential interpretation that in the search for identity alternates the desire to return to the origins, recovering lost affections and beloved places, with the attraction to the unknown. In this oscillation, masterfully rendered by the metaphorical and figurative language of the novel, Raban tells the awareness that the return to the origins is not always a point of arrival but a further turning point in life. The article focuses on some particularly effective linguistic and semantic aspect…
The last of the large-sized tortoises of the Mediterranean islands
2022
Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya Altres ajuts: Operational Programme Research, Development and Education Project (CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_027/0008360) Archaeological investigations carried out in the cave Zubbio di Cozzo San Pietro, Bagheria, Sicily, revealed the presence of a few skeletal elements of a large-sized tortoise in a funerary area dating to the Copper/Bronze Age. The tortoise has been AMS-dated revealing an age of 12.5 ± 0.5 kyr BP and therefore it pre-dates the funerary activities. The morphology of the retrieved skeletal elements differs from that of the only native tortoise currently living in Sicily, Testudo hermanni. The tortoise's size significantly exc…
Assessing the conservation priority of freshwater lake sites based on taxonomic, functional and environmental uniqueness
2022
Aim We propose a novel approach that considers taxonomic uniqueness, functional uniqueness and environmental uniqueness and show how it can be used in guiding conservation planning. We illustrate the approach using data for lake biota and environment. Location Lake Puruvesi, Finland. Methods We sampled macrophytes and macroinvertebrates from the same 18 littoral sites. By adapting the original “ecological uniqueness” approach, we used distance-based methods to calculate measures of taxonomic (LCBD–t), functional (LCBD–f) and environmental (LCEH) uniqueness for each site. We also considered the numbers and locations of the sites needed to protect up to 70% of total variation in taxonomic, fu…
Multipotential Role of Growth Factor Mimetic Peptides for Osteochondral Tissue Engineering
2022
Articular cartilage is characterized by a poor self-healing capacity due to its aneural and avascular nature. Once injured, it undergoes a series of catabolic processes which lead to its progressive degeneration and the onset of a severe chronic disease called osteoarthritis (OA). In OA, important alterations of the morpho-functional organization occur in the cartilage extracellular matrix, involving all the nearby tissues, including the subchondral bone. Osteochondral engineering, based on a perfect combination of cells, biomaterials and biomolecules, is becoming increasingly successful for the regeneration of injured cartilage and underlying subchondral bone tissue. To this end, recently,…
RC beams retrofitted by FRP oriented in any direction: Influence of the effectiveness factors
2022
Shear strength of FRP-retrofitted RC beams is usually influenced by different brittle failure modes characterizing the collapse of the FRP reinforcement. The most significant analytical models for assessing the shear strength of FRP-retrofitted RC beams reflect the effect of brittle failure through an effectiveness factor “R”, which reduces the ultimate tensile strength of FRP. The brittle collapse of FRP reinforcement often leads to a lower shear contribution by steel stirrups due to hindering of the yielding of all stirrups involved by critical cracking. Some analytical models consider this phenomenon introducing a further effectiveness factor “r”, which reduces the yielding strength of s…
Evaluación participativa del territorio con enfoque de equidad: adaptación y validación de la Place Standard al contexto español
2022
OBJECTIVE Translation and cross-cultural adaptation to the Spanish context of the Place Standard tool to undertake participatory evaluations in place-based communities. METHOD A back-translation method was used to obtain an adapted version of the original Place Standard tool. The translated version was reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee of experts and validated using the Delphi method. RESULTS The final version of the adapted Place Standards tool (Entornos de Vida in Spanish) consists of 14 dimensions and 99 items. 21% of the items presented semantic difficulties during the translation. Total consensus through the Delphi panel was reached on 72% of the items. The analysis resulted in…
In vivo localized gastrocnemius subtendon representation within the healthy and ruptured human Achilles tendon
2022
The Achilles tendon (AT) is composed of three distinct in-series elastic subtendons, arising from different muscles in the triceps surae. Independent activation of any of these muscles is thought to induce sliding between the adjacent AT subtendons. We aimed to investigate displacement patterns during voluntary contraction (VOL) and selective transcutaneous stimulation of medial (MGstim) and lateral (LGstim) gastrocnemius between ruptured and healthy tendons, and to examine the representative areas of AT subtendons. Twenty-eight patients with unilateral AT rupture performed bilateral VOL at 30% of the maximal isometric un-injured plantarflexion torque. AT displacement was analysed from sagi…
Study of forming mechanics of magnetic field–assisted single point incremental forming
2022
This paper describes the forming characteristics and mechanics of magnetic field–assisted single point incremental forming (M-SPIF) in which an Nd-Fe-B magnet ball tool is placed on top of a piece of sheet metal and is driven by an Nd-Fe-B magnet placed below the workpiece. To gain an understanding of the force mechanics that power M-SPIF, the tool motion and forming force were experimentally analyzed. In M-SPIF, the forming force is applied multi-directionally, and the resultant force direction is nearly colinear with the polarity of the permanent magnet ball tool. This suggests that the forming characteristics in M-SPIF may be controllable by controlling the magnetic polarity of the tool.
Estimates, trends, and drivers of the global burden of type 2 diabetes attributable to PM2·5 air pollution, 1990–2019: an analysis of data from the G…
2022
Background: Experimental and epidemiological studies indicate an association between exposure to particulate matter (PM) air pollution and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. In view of the high and increasing prevalence of diabetes, we aimed to quantify the burden of type 2 diabetes attributable to PM2·5 originating from ambient and household air pollution.Methods: We systematically compiled all relevant cohort and case-control studies assessing the effect of exposure to household and ambient fine particulate matter (PM2·5) air pollution on type 2 diabetes incidence and mortality. We derived an exposure–response curve from the extracted relative risk estimates using the MR-BRT (meta-regress…
Variable Selection with Quasi-Unbiased Estimation: the CDF Penalty
2022
We propose a new non-convex penalty in linear regression models. The new penalty function can be considered a competitor of the LASSO, SCAD or MCP penalties, as it guarantees sparse variable selection while reducing bias for the non-null estimates. We introduce the methodology and present some comparisons among different approaches.
Sostenibilità nelle global supply chains: uno schema di analisi della letteratura
2022
Il presente lavoro si pone l’obiettivo di ricercare quali siano i differenti livelli di governance impegnati nell’implementazione di pratiche di sostenibilità aziendale e come questi siano influenzati e, allo stesso tempo, influenzino distinti contesti istituzionali. A tal fine, viene offerta una revisione della letteratura interpretando la ricerca con due chiavi di lettura, attinenti rispettivamente agli studi di International Corporate Governance e Institutional Theory. Vengono utilizzate due chiavi di lettura distinte per analizzare come, le multinazionali, coinvolte in strutture di governance multilivello e, operanti in contesti istituzionali caratterizzati da sistemi di capitalismo dif…
Non-commutative Ring Learning with Errors from Cyclic Algebras
2022
AbstractThe Learning with Errors (LWE) problem is the fundamental backbone of modern lattice-based cryptography, allowing one to establish cryptography on the hardness of well-studied computational problems. However, schemes based on LWE are often impractical, so Ring LWE was introduced as a form of ‘structured’ LWE, trading off a hard to quantify loss of security for an increase in efficiency by working over a well-chosen ring. Another popular variant, Module LWE, generalizes this exchange by implementing a module structure over a ring. In this work, we introduce a novel variant of LWE over cyclic algebras (CLWE) to replicate the addition of the ring structure taking LWE to Ring LWE by add…
Coralli e amuleti. Objets de vertu a misura di bambini
2022
The essay investigates the attention towards childhood in the creation of jewels and amulets, especially in coral, with defensive- protective e magical-therapeutic functions in Sicily and in the territories culturally linked to it in the modern era.
La reparación integral del daño a víctimas de desaparición forzada. Análisis y propuesta metodológica: un enfoque particular al caso mexicano
2022
In assenza di meccanismi specifici per determinare le misure di riparazione delle vittime della scomparsa, l'obiettivo di questo lavoro è quello di proporre un protocollo d'azione per le autorità preposte alla consulenza e all'accompagnamento delle vittime. In altre parole, l'ipotesi di questa tesi è che, con un protocollo che stabilisce i percorsi che l'autorità deve seguire per determinare le misure di riparazione, le vittime della scomparsa saranno in grado di accedere più facilmente alla giustizia, saranno in grado di superare l'atto carnefice e torneranno al loro progetto di vita. In the absence of specific mechanisms to determine reparation measures for victims of disappearance, the o…
Il nemico è la guerra. Una prospettiva nonviolenta
2022
L'articolo mostra alcune alternative nonviolente concretamente percorribili per fare cessare l'attuale guerra in Ucraina. The paper shows some non-violent alternatives that are practically feasible to end the current war in Ukraine.
Internet Related Technologies in the auditing profession: A WOS bibliometric review of the past three decades and conceptual structure mapping
2022
Research on Internet-Related Technologies in the auditing profession has grown substantially over the past three decades; however, it is very fragmented. This study seeks to synthesize and provide a comprehensive overview of the literature. Using bibliometric techniques and content analysis, this study provides an exhaustive overview of the research on Internet-Related Technologies in the auditing profession. The study utilized bibliography from the Web of Science database spanning for three decades from 1990 to 2019. A total of 236 academic documents, written by 478 authors from 102 sources was retrieved and used for the analysis. HistCite and Biblioshiny in R were used to run the citation…
Le quote di genere nelle società a controllo pubblico
2022
Starting from the statistical data on female participation in the bodies of the Italian publicly controlled companies – unfortunately worse that those relating in general to listed companies –, the article aims to identify some weaknesses of the current legislation of gender quotas in unlisted publicly controlled companies, recently amended by Article 6 of Law no. 162/2021. In this perspective, some proposals de iure condendo are formulated, also in the light of the most recent Italian legislative initiatives.
Exploring the factors influencing the use of public transport by commuters living in networks of small cities and towns
2022
The use of public transport is directly associated with a reduced environmental impact for satisfying daily mobility needs. Current research has focused on identifying the factors affecting the use of public transport, elements such as age, car ownership, travel distance, or parking availability having been associated with a direct impact on an individual’s transport mode choice. However, most of these studies focused on the travel behaviour of individuals living in large cities, where the population density is high, and public transport is usually more developed than in small cities and towns. The present study provides additional insights into the impact of eleven different factors on the…
Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study …
2022
Background: The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. Methods: For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose-response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and …
Suddenly Working From Home!
2022
Abstract. The Corona crisis and the lockdown in the spring of 2020 had various effects on working life in Europe. In this three-wave study, we assessed the trajectories of job demands and resources of 302 employees 2 weeks before the lockdown, over 1 week after lockdown start, and 6 weeks following the beginning of the lockdown. We applied a pre-post follow-up design with 129 employees who switched to telecommuting and a control group of 173 employees who remained in their on-site workplace. Results from the repeated-measures MANCOVA indicate that, despite various general changes to job characteristics because of the Corona crisis, telecommuting changes contributed to significant changes on…
Quality recognition as a prescriber against disinformation
2022
El contexto mediático híbrido y la infodemia han incrementado el peligro de la desinformación, sobre todo entre los jóvenes, que mayoritariamente consumen contenidos digitales. Este artículo tiene como objetivo conocer las competencias y habilidades para detectar contenidos de baja calidad vinculados con la desinformación por parte de estudiantes de Periodismo y Comunicación de Argentina, Chile y España. A partir de un doble estudio comparativo, por países y nivel de formación, se pretende determinar las destrezas de futuros periodistas en el reconocimiento de información falsa. A través de un cuestionario online, los participantes (N=300) evaluaron la calidad observada (mínima, media o exc…
Evidence, and replication thereof, that molecular-genetic and environmental risks for psychosis impact through an affective pathway
2022
AbstractBackgroundThere is evidence that environmental and genetic risk factors for schizophrenia spectrum disorders are transdiagnostic and mediated in part through a generic pathway of affective dysregulation.MethodsWe analysed to what degree the impact of schizophrenia polygenic risk (PRS-SZ) and childhood adversity (CA) on psychosis outcomes was contingent on co-presence of affective dysregulation, defined as significant depressive symptoms, in (i) NEMESIS-2 (n = 6646), a representative general population sample, interviewed four times over nine years and (ii) EUGEI (n = 4068) a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, the siblings of these patients and controls.ResultsT…
Depresión, baja autoestima y ansiedad como factores de riesgo de dismorfia muscular: revisión sistemática
2022
La dismorfia muscular es la preocupación patológica por no estar suficientemente musculados, la cual produce gran malestar. Se ha relacionado con otras patologías como los trastornos de depresión y ansiedad o baja autoestima. Se estima que su prevalencia es mayor entre los hombres y los que se dedican a realizar ejercicios de desarrollo de masa muscular. El objetivo es analizar la relación de la dismorfia muscular con los trastornos de ansiedad, depresión y autoestima, en culturistas y otros atletas de mayor riesgo. Se ha realizado una revisión sistemática siguiendo las directrices PRISMA durante el proceso, incluyendo 16 investigaciones encontradas en diferentes bases de datos (ProQuest y …
Corporate social responsibility: Does it really matter in the luxury context?
2022
The impact of CSR in the luxury sector has been less investigated than in the non-luxury context, and the findings in the luxury context are not unidirectional. In recent years, researchers have begun exploring the link between CSR and luxury. These efforts have attempted to overcome the gap between theory and practice while also acknowledging that luxury and CSR can be considered conflicting concepts. This mixed picture underscores the need for further investigations. The current study aims to illuminate CSR in the luxury context by examining business model development and financial performance. In particular, we conducted an in-depth longitudinal and qualitative analysis of a leading luxu…
La “Sala S. Rosalia” del Museo Diocesano di Palermo
2022
Il saggio prende in esame l'assetto museologico del Museo Diocesano di Palermo soffermandosi sulla sala tematica dedicata alla Patrona di Palermo e sul percorso scientifico che, per tappe, conduce a quell'ambiente. Il percorso museologico prende le mosse dalle prime manifestazioni artistiche presenti in collezione e legate agli episodi epidemici del 1527 e del 1575 in Sicilia, e ai santi taumaturghi, nonché specificatamente protettori contro la peste. Il contributo intende porre all'attenzione l'assetto scientifico che non vuole essere solo di natura storico-artistica e retrospettiva, ma anche proporsi in senso contemporaneo per l'evidente nesso con la condizione epidemiologica di questi an…