Search results for "structural model"
showing 10 items of 18 documents
A Grain Boundary Formulation for the Analysis of Three-Dimensional Polycrystalline Microstructures
2013
A 3D grain boundary formulation is presented for the analysis of polycrystalline microstructures. The formulation is expressed in terms of intergranular displacements and tractions, that play an important role in polycrystalline micromechanics, micro-damage and micro-cracking. The artificial morphology is generated by Hardcore Voronoi tessellation, which embodies the main statistical features of polycrystalline microstructures. Each crystal is modeled as an anisotropic elastic region and the integrity of the aggregate is restored by enforcing interface continuity and equilibrium between contiguous grains. The developed technique has been applied to the numerical homogenization of cubic poly…
Perceived Value in Tourism: A PLSPM Approach
2015
This paper examines the concept of perceived value in rural tourism referred to the specific context of Sicilian holiday farms. Herein main dimensions composing the rural tourist perceived value (RTPV) are discussed. Using Partial Least Squares Path Modelling (PLSPM) –a statistical technique especially suitable for exploratory purposes with small samples – a theoretical structural model of the multidimensional structure of RTPV is tested and the causal relationships among RTPV and its dimensions (Functional, Convenience, Emotional and Educational) and among RTPV and tourists’ satisfaction and loyalty are explored. Results from a field survey on 350 tourists give a contribution in terms of i…
New insights into the pharmacology of the short-chain free fatty acid receptors 2 and 3
2011
Metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia or obesity, are more and more weighing on public health expenses in developed countries. Despite active research, these widespread diseases remain difficult to handle. Promising new therapeutic strategies against metabolic diseases include the development of drugs targeting the free fatty acid receptors, as key players in metabolism homeostasis. In this context, the current PhD thesis focuses on the study of two G protein-coupled receptors, namely the short-chain free fatty acid receptors 2 (FFA2) and 3 (FFA3). First, we investigated the expression of the two receptors of interest in a variety of cell types. Then, in order to study the phar…
Procedure for Safety Assessment and BIM Modelling of an Historical Complex Structure through a Macroelement Approach: The Building “Molino-Pastificio…
2022
The structural assessment of existing historical structures is a complex task due to the inner main difficulty in making up reliable models for structural analysis, able to include mechanical and geometrical nonlinearities, existing damage, complex configurations and arrangements of materials. This task becomes more difficult in mixed RC-masonry structures, which structural modelling can be particularly tough due to the different connections and interactions between structural members and materials. This paper presents the case study of a multi-storey mixed Reinforced Concrete (RC)- masonry historical structure, namely the former mill “Molino-Pastificio Soresi” building, located in Partinic…
Toward an update of the structural model in Italian submerged areas: contributions from the EMODnet Geology Project
2016
The European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODNet) Project aims at the collection of as many existing data as possible on European Seas to be represented on digital maps at the 1:250,000 scale, accessible via web through a dedicated portal. It is articulated into different Lots concerning Bathymetry, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Physical Habitats, Human activities. The Geology Lot is realized by a Consortium in which the Geological Survey of Italy is partner. EMODnet Geology requires the compilation of a number of layers subdivided into Work Packages (WP), referring to seafloor sediments grainsize, sedimentation rates, Quaternary geology, pre-Quaternary geology and stratigr…
Examining the critical factors that influence the success of construction and demolition waste reverse logistics operations
2022
The reverse logistics (RL) performance of construction and demolition waste (C&DW) differs significantly between countries. Although some countries are successfully circular, other countries are still far behind; with C&DW being largely directed to landfills or being illegally dumped. There is a lack of guidelines on the requirements for transitioning countries towards C&DW diversion, and little attention has been given to the factors that influence the success of C&DW RL and increased circularity. This study aims to develop a framework that helps in structuring and assessing the success of C&DW RL on a regional level and serves as a guide for transitioning developing co…
The Employment Effect of Reforming a Public Employment Agency
2015
By how much does an increase in operating effectiveness of a public employment agency (PEA) and a reduction of unemployment benefits reduce unemployment? Using a recent labour market reform in Germany as background, we find that an enhanced effectiveness of the PEA explains about 20% of the observed post-reform unemployment decline. The role of unemployment benefit reduction explains just about 5% of the observed decline. Due to disincentive effects resulting from the reform, the reform of the PEA could have had an even higher impact on unemployment reduction if there had been less focus on long-term unemployed workers.
User Activity Recognition for Energy Saving in Smart Homes
2015
Abstract Energy demand in typical home environments accounts for a significant fraction of the overall consumption in industrialized countries. In such context, the heterogeneity of the involved devices, and the non negligible influence of the human factor make the optimization of energy use a challenging task; effective automated approaches must take into account basic information about users, such as the prediction of their course of actions. Our proposal consists in learning customized structural models for common user activities for predicting the trend of energy consumption; the approach aims to lower energy demand in the proximity of predicted peak loads so as to keep the overall cons…
A Structural Model of the Human α7 Nicotinic Receptor in an Open Conformation
2015
International audience; Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAchRs) are ligand-gated ion channels that regulate chemical transmission at the neuromuscular junction. Structural information is available at low resolution from open and closed forms of an eukaryotic receptor, and at high resolution from other members of the same structural family, two prokaryotic orthologs and an eukary- otic GluCl channel. Structures of human channels however are still lacking. Homology modeling and Molecular Dynamics simulations are valuable tools to predict structures of unknown proteins, however, for the case of human nAchRs, they have been unsuccessful in providing a stable open structure so far. This is du…
Rapid automatized naming in early literacy
2019
Esta comunicación se encuentra disponible en la siguiente URL: http://www.infad.eu/RevistaINFAD/OJS/index.php/IJODAEP/article/view/1465/1274 Este número está dedicado a la "Psicología de la Educación y Saberes Originarios". Although the relation between Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and Reading is clear, there is no a standardized test to measure the speed of naming in early literacy. The aim is to explore and confirm the factorial structure of the RAN test developed by Wolf and Denkla (2003) in children. RAN test was administred to 442 children aged 4-5 years. Results highlighted two factors: a “nonalphanumeric components” factor which includes “RAN colors” and “RAN images” and an “alphan…