Search results for " behaviour."

How to track behaviours’ changes toward more sustainable mobility habits: the serious game of TrafficO2

2015

Social science and new communication technologies are influencing deeply the transportation domain and new models of urban sustainable development are constantly emerging as new possible solutions. One of the principal reasons is the capability to reach the motivations that foster us to choose one or other urban transportation systems. It’s already feasible to develop solutions to aim the implementation and the rooting of more efficient and sustainable habits in urban transportation. The present exploratory paper presents the activities conducted by innovation lab PUSH, with the Italian Ministry of Innovation and Research, for the development and the application of the social innovation pro…

Multi-Agent Systems as Effective Tools for the User-Based Thermal Comfort: an Introduction

2010

Through the paper the characterization of a comfort model, enriching that proposed by Fanger with an adaptive approach, is carried out using a Multi Agent System (MAS). This is a well suited coordinated set of Intelligent Agents, that are software applications interacting in order to follow user in his own needs and preferences in relation to indoor comfort, adapting to the changes of context variables. As a matter of fact, MAS are systems aware of the scenery where users live, following them in their own needs and preferences and adapting to their expectations. Indeed, thermal comfort conditions in the built environment are strictly related not only to the thermal and geometric building fe…

Energy load Behaviours of Sicilian Hotel: methods for reducing the annual consumptions of bungalow hotels in the Mediterranean area

2005

Starting from the analysis of the energy consumption of some typical Sicilian hotels, it has been possible to assess their annual energy load behaviours, by source type. In addition, it has been also developed a simple model of the annual consumption, by kind of energy load. This approach allowed the comparison of true load-type energy consumption with typical load-type benchmark values (e.g. lighting consumption). In turn, this allows the singling out of feasible methods for the reductions of the energy consumption; the found solutions take into account three fundamental issues: energy, economy and environment. Analysed buildings are represented by typical hotels of the Mediterranean area;…

Standard mechanical testing is inadequate for the mechanical characterisation of shape-memory alloys: Source of errors and a new corrective approach

2022

Thanks to its unique behaviour characterised by a superelastic response, Nitinol has now become the material of preference in a number of critical applications, especially in the area of medical implants. However, the reversible phase transformation producing its exceptional comportment is also responsible for a number of phenomena that make its mechanical characterisation particularly complex, by hindering the assumptions at the very basis of common uniaxial tensile testing. This necessarily reduces the level of safety and design optimization of current applications, which rely on incorrect mechanical parameters. In this study, the spurious effects introduced by the unconventional material…

DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR COMPARISON OF ROTATING SHAFT SUSPENDED BY TWO RADIAL ACTIVE MAGNETIC BEARINGS.

2012

Dynamic thermal rating for overhead lines: Self-adaptive protection device

2013

The increase in the consumption of electricity, the stringent environmental restrictions and the need to keep costs, make ever more meaningful the need for a flexible operation of existing overhead lines. This paper studies the possibility to use a dynamic thermal rating for overhead line starting from the analysis of the mathematical model and the ability of the latter to reflect the temperature of an overhead conductor in different ambient condition; then it simulates the thermal behaviour of a conductor both in steady state and dynamic one. Finally the paper shows a method for a self-adaptive thermal protection system.

Transient behaviour of a “mixed” overhead-cable EHV line under lightning events

2009

Recently, in many countries have been undergone or are planning links with AC extra-high voltage (EHV) underground cables. Cable lines offer the possibility of a reduced environment impact and for this reason they are often the only alternative for the reinforcement or the expansion of power system accepted by public opinion. The coexistence of overhead and cable line in the so called ¿mixed¿ lines, however, raises several questions regarding their behaviour both in steady state and in transient. The purpose of this work is to investigate the transient behaviour of a mixed overhead-cable EHV line under lightning events, describing the effects of the following overvoltages on the system. The…

The protein supplements consumption among people attending commercial gyms: The Protein Project

2015

Nowadays, in an European gym context we may find more than three people amongst ten who declare protein supplements consumption. Health, physical fitness, self-esteem, performance and muscle hypertrophy are usually the main reasons inducing such kind of consumption. It well documented that particularly active individuals use supplements to build muscle, gain strength or prevent future diseases and illnesses. Furthermore, scientific researchers have shown that in general people have different opinions about the use of supplements and the appropriate food to eat. As reported by Bianco and colleagues in 2011, proteins are the most widely ingested supplements in people attending commercial gyms…

Effect of the serotonin transporter gene and of environment on the continuity of anxiety and depression traits throughout adolescence

2014

Aims.Many studies of various stress reactive phenotypes suggest that 5-HTTLPR short allele carriers (S-carriers) are characterised by the stable trait of negative affectivity that is converted to psychopathology only under conditions of stress. In this study, we examined the moderating role of the 5-HTTLPR on the relationship between two objective chronic risk factors, i.e. socioeconomic status (SES) and family structure, and internalising symptoms across adolescence.Methods.A multigroup path analysis was employed in a general adolescent population sample of a 5-year follow-up study.Results.Internalising problems were significantly more stable in theS-carriers. The focus on the main dimensi…

Discovery of recurring behavioural sequences in Wistar rat social activity: Possible support to studies on Autism Spectrum Disorders.

2017

This study was undertaken to investigate whether, in rat interactive activities, recurring sequences of behavioural events might be identified and how and to what extent each component of the pair is involved. To this aim, the multivariate temporal-pattern (t-pattern) analysis was applied to the social interactions of 9 pairs of male Wistar rats tested in open field. Interactive activities were classified into intra- and inter-subjects. Quantitative evaluations showed that intra-subject behavioural elements represented 62.37% and inter-subject ones 37.63% of the comprehensive behaviour. T-pattern analysis revealed the presence of 221 different t-patterns organized in four different categori…