Search results for "plasticity"

2018

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that allows the modulation of cortical excitability as well as neuroplastic reorganization using a weak constant current applied through the skull on the cerebral cortex. TDCS has been found to improve motor performance in general and motor learning in particular. However, these effects have been reported almost exclusively for unimanual motor tasks such as serial reaction time tasks, adaptation tasks, or visuo-motor tracking. Despite the importance of bimanual actions in most activities of daily living, only few studies have investigated the effects of tDCS on bimanual motor skills. The objectives …

ROLE OF BEHAVIOUR IN MARINE ORGANISMS: POTENTIAL EFFECTS UNDER FUTURE OCEAN CONDITIONS.

2021

Over the last 250 years, the intensive burning of fossil fuels along with industrial processes and land uses (e.g. clearing forests and agriculture) has contributed to an increase in atmospheric CO2 from approximately 280 to 410 ppm, with a further increase (from 730 to 1020 ppm) projected by the end of this century. About 30% of the anthropogenic CO2 has been absorbed by the ocean, with a consequent decrease of the ocean’s surface pH causing a phenomenon better known as Ocean Acidification (OA). The average pH of the surface ocean has declined from 8.2 by 0.1 units since pre-industrial times as a result of CO2 emissions and a further reduction of 0.3–0.5 pH units is expected to occur by th…

Trophic adaptability shapes isotopic niche of the resident fish Aphanius fasciatus across lagoon habitats

2022

Abstract Coastal lagoons are characterized by high habitat heterogeneity where natural habitats coexist with artificial ones, historically set up to support human activities. Increasing anthropogenic pressure may lead to progressive degradation of the most vulnerable lagoonal habitats and the associated biological communities. One of the strictly estuarine-dependent fish species that may be affected by the degradation of lagoon habitats is the South European toothcarp Aphanius fasciatus, archetype of Mediterranean lagoon residents. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were used to disentangle the influence of habitat types (natural vs artificial) and fish community (multi-trophic context) on…

Orally administered indicaxanthin is able to modulate human motor cortical excitability and plasticity

Opuntia Ficus Indica contains Indicaxanthin (IX), an antinflammatory and antioxidant betalaine pigment. This phytochemical is also able to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) in rats and modulate neuronal activity. Considering these evidence, we aimed at investigating if orally administered IX could affect human brain tissue. 8 healthy and right-handed male subjects were recruited (20-45 years) with no history or clinical signs of neurological diseases, brain trauma or use of drugs acting on neuronal process, as assessed by a clinical neurologist. Non invasive Brain Stimulation and Neuromodulation (NIBS and NIN) instructions were applied in basal condition (T0) and 2 hours after having assu…

Effect of the mineralogical composition on the elastoplastic hydromechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale

2021

Abstract Opalinus Clay is the shale currently under investigation as the host formation for geological radioactive waste disposal in Switzerland. Its hydromechanical response has been widely studied, and the experimental results show a range of values whose dispersion needs to be clarified. This work aims to explain the dispersion in the literature results by correlating the hydro-mechanical response to the mineralogical variability of the tested specimens . Based on published microstructural studies, the Opalinus Clay shale is herein schematised as a sequence of two kinds of layers: the shaly (high in clay-mineral content) and the sandy (low in clay-mineral content) layers. The mineralogic…

Finite element modeling of the shear behavior of hybrid steel trussed concrete beams

2015

The development and calibration of a three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear Finite Element (FE) model is presented with the aim of investigating the shear behavior of steel-concrete composite beams realized with a steel truss embedded into a concrete core and named Hybrid Steel Trussed-Concrete Beams (HSTCBs). The model is calibrated on the results of a reference experimental campaign of three-point bending tests on HSTCBs realized at the Laboratory of Structures of the University of Palermo. The actual behavior at the steel-concrete interface has been introduced in the model through the implementa-tion of a cohesive constitutive relationship. Furthermore, the damaged plasticity of concrete has b…

FE modeling of Partially Steel-Jacketed (PSJ) RC columns using CDP model

2018

This paper deepens the finite element modeling (FEM) method to reproduce the compressive behavior of partially steel-jacketed (PSJ) RC columns by means of the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) Model available in ABAQUS software. Although the efficiency of the CDP model is widely proven for reinforced concrete columns at low confining pressure, when the confinement level becomes high the standard plasticity parameters may not be suitable to obtain reliable results. This paper deals with these limitations and presents an analytically based strategy to fix the parameters of the Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model. Focusing on a realistic prediction of load-bearing capacity of PSJ RC column…

Il progetto di una morfologia plastica

2019

The present contribution aims to examine the perspectives of a “plastic” morphology, that is, attentive to the theorization of a metamorphosis understood as a radical questioning of the substance and the individuality of the form; starting from Goethe, through the Warburg school and up to Malabou’s research, we intend to illustrate and briefly verify the possibility of such a line of research.

Autobiografie interrotte. Plasticità distruttrice, riconfigurazioni estetiche e identità accidentali

2023

Che relazione esiste tra il corpo di ciascun individuo e la sua identità individuale? La nostra identità rimane immutata nel tempo, permettendoci di narrare un’autobiografia lineare, o possono sopraggiungere eventi accidentali che contribuiscono a modificarla radicalmente, dando vita a una nuova versione di noi stessi, a una nuova storia? In questo articolo ci proponiamo di rispondere a tali domande partendo dalle riflessioni della pensatrice francese Catherine Malabou. Affronteremo il problema della costruzione e della decostruzione dell'identità individuale alla luce dell'ontologia dell'incidente, analizzando il concetto di plasticità negativa e cercando di delineare come un evento accide…

Plasticity

2023

Although the expression πλαστική τέχνη has Greek origins, the derivative term Plasticity enters European languages only in the Modern Age and it is strictly linked to the domain of art. Notably, Plasticity is the art of manipulating a ductile substance (like wax) to create a work of art or a three-dimensional preparatory model. Aesthetics was concerned with this concept mostly referring to that definition, the fulcrum of a key text of eighteenth-century reflection, the Plastik of Herder. Today this concept has again become central in the aesthetic field thanks to Catherine Malabou – a student of Derrida and one of the most influential thinkers in contemporary French debate –, in whose refle…