Search results for " fisica"

“AD HOC” MODIFIED CLAYS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Nowadays, the scientific community has to face with cogent problems strictly linked to the improvement of quality of live. Among the different tasks to achieve the prefixed objective the focus has been put on the drug administration, i.e., attention has been paid to propose an appropriate solution to improve the performance of a drug delivery system and to eliminate both the side effect and drawbacks. With the aim to achieve the design, synthesis, and characterization of versatile systems, with peculiar characteristics, based on clays and clays modified with a biocompatible surfactant, able to adsorb and release organic substances of pharmaceutical interest the present PhD thesis has been u…

Microemulsion encapsulated into halloysite nanotubes and their applications for cleaning of a marble surface

2018

Halloysite nanotubes were used to incorporate anionic surfactant micelles and an organic solvent to generate a cleaning system to be applied in Cultural Heritage restoration. The targeted adsorption is driven by electrostatic interactions based on the nanotubes peculiar charge separation. Namely anionic species are driven to the positively charged inner surface while being prevented from interacting with the halloysite outer surface that possesses a positive charge density. The hybrid organic/inorganic emulsion was characterized by dynamic light scattering. Analysis of the autocorrelation function allowed us to define the presence of surfactant aggregates inside/outside the nanotube lumen a…

A Study on Outdoor and Indoor Climate to satisfy particular Requisites in Museum. The case of the Punic Ship in the Marsala's Archaeological Museum

2003

In the Archaeological Museum in Marsala are keept many archaeological finds discovered in the sea near the city. The most important is the wooden hull of an ancient punic ship found some years ago. The rests of the ship have been submitted to impregnation with PEG, to eliminate the water and the salts absorbed the sea mud, and then is exposed inside a protective awning of plastic material, build up in one of the rooms, in order to contain as much as possible the indoor climatic variations. The responsibles of the museum wants now expose the finds in an free environment in which fixed and steady conditions can be kept. The authors have been requested to study an air condition system that can…

Climate change in the building sector: a scenario analysis in the Mediterranean basin

The paper presents an energy simulation-based study to investigate the impacts of climate change on the building energy use for heating and cooling in the Mediterranean basin.

Energy saving in airports by trigeneration. Part I: Assessing economic and technical potential

2006

Airports are very energy-intensive areas, because of the large buildings (both terminals and non-passengers areas) equipped with heating and air-conditioning systems, the high power demand for lighting and electric equipment and the energy requests from many facilities within the airport area. The contemporaneous and high demand for power and heat makes cogeneration to represent a viable solution for energy saving; in southern climate zones, however, combined heating, cooling and power (CHCP) systems can lead to even better results. This paper constitutes the first part of a work in two parts; starting from an analysis of typical energy demand profiles in airports, economical and technical …

Assessing the impact of copy number variants on miRNA genes in autism by Monte Carlo simulation.

2014

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are childhood neurodevelopmental disorders with complex genetic origins. Previous studies have investigated the role of de novo Copy Number Variants (CNVs) and microRNAs as important but distinct etiological factors in ASD. We developed a novel computational procedure to assess the potential pathogenic role of microRNA genes overlapping de novo CNVs in ASD patients. Here we show that for chromosomes # 1, 2 and 22 the actual number of miRNA loci affected by de novo CNVs in patients was found significantly higher than that estimated by Monte Carlo simulation of random CNV events. Out of 24 miRNA genes over-represented in CNVs from these three chromosomes only …

Salinity gradient engines

2016

Abstract This chapter is devoted to the description of a new class of heat engines based on salinity gradient technology and able to convert low-grade heat into power. The salinity gradient power (SGP) process is employed within a closed loop composed of two different sections: (i) the SGP unit devoted to the energy production, and (ii) a regeneration unit fed by the solutions exiting from the SGP unit and able to restore the initial concentration, thus regenerating the salinity gradient. The main features, limits and perspectives of this novel heat engine are described along with an overview of the state of the art presented in the literature and an example of exergetic analysis of the cyc…

A study on science teaching efficacy beliefs during pre-service elementary training

2020

Two science teaching workshops for students of the elementary teacher education degree course at the University of Palermo, Italy are discussed, one based on inquiry-based methods and the other on "traditional" teaching methods. A questionnaire aimed to understand the teaching styles preferred by students, their reasons for learning/teaching science, and their beliefs about the difficulties a teacher faces when planning and trying out science teaching activities in the class were completed by the students before the first workshop, at its end, and the end of the second workshop. The answers given by the students were studied using cluster analysis methods. The results of the analysis of ans…

Individuazione di cavità attraverso tomografie elettriche e sismiche

2020

Le tecniche geofisiche sono i metodi più efficienti per ottenere informazioni sulle strutture presenti nel sottosuolo. Ad oggi, la tomografia di resistività elettrica (ERT) è il metodo più utilizzato per il rilevamento di vuoti sotterranei, tuttavia, la combinazione con dati derivanti da diversi metodi geofisici è l’approccio più adatto per la determinazione delle cavità. Negli ultimi anni, la ERT è stata sempre più spesso congiunta alla tomografia sismica a rifrazione (SRT) al fine di ottenere interpretazioni più robuste anche utilizzando un approccio di tipo statistico. La cluster analysis eseguita su unità statistiche definite da valori di resistività elettrica, velocità delle onde P e d…

Millstone coastal quarries of the Mediterranean: A new class of sea level indicator

2014

The coasts of Italy still preserve several remnants of coastal quarries built in antiquity, that now provide insights into the intervening sea-level changes occurred during the last millennia. In this paper, we show and discuss a new class of sea level indicator consisting of millstones carved along the rocky coast of southern Italy since 2500 BP, that are currently submerged. They were extracted from beachrocks, sandstones or similar sedimentary rocks, easier for carving by ancient carving tools. Our study focuses on 10 coastal sites located at Capo d'Orlando, Avola, and Letojanni, in Sicily; Soverato, Tropea, and Capo dell'Armi, in Calabria; Castellabate, Palinuro, and Scario, in Campania…