Parthenope University of Naples
Archivio della ricerca - Università degli studi di Napoli "Parthenope"Not a member yet
29604 research outputs found
Sort by
SDG Awareness, Behavioral Factors, and Economic Barriers: An Exploratory Study of Sustainable Policies in Academia.
No full textDo behavioral factors and awareness of sustainable development goals (SDGs) affect sustainable policies in academia? Implementing sustainable activities at the academic level requires an understanding of individual and organizational behavior, as psychological factors might undermine technical solutions. We thus extend the standard theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to include SDG awareness in order to investigate how psychological factors influence the sustainable activities of heads of universities and research centers in Europe. We also include economic barriers in the model as a moderating effect on the relationship between Intention and Positive Behavior. We estimate the model using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that behavioral models are effective at explaining decision-making in academia. Specifically, subjective norms, moral attitudes, and SDG awareness play a significant role in how sustainable practices are implemented in academia. In contrast, perceived control behavior does not significantly affect academic decisions. Finally, economic barriers have a significant moderating effect
Knowledge spillovers and public investment in innovation: empirical evidence from the United Kingdom
No full textReal Scale Experimental Assessment of Pile Group Dynamic Impedance
No full textThis work presents ongoing research activities conducted as part of the RESPOND (REal Scale experimental assessment of Pile grOup dyNamic impedance) project, funded under the EU ERIES Transnational Access (TA) initiative. The project focuses on investigating the dynamic behavior of full-scale pile groups embedded in the well-documented subsoil of the EuroSeistest site, located in the tectonically active Mygdonian basin, 30 km NNE from Thessaloniki, Greece. A 2x2 pile group consisting of four identical bored piles, each with a diameter of 0.60 m and a length of 10 m, was realized. These piles are connected to a 3x3x0.4 m pile cap, serving as the foundation for a 5 m high model structure. The experimental results have a remarkable value for a reliable design and analysis of structures founded on piles in seismic areas, since soil-structure interaction (SSI) may have a prominent role in the dynamic behaviour of the superstructure. The project is therefore expected to provide a better understanding of fundamental mechanisms associated with dynamic SSI problems, to validate existing formulae for pile group impedances and eventually propose modifications and indications for applications involving moderate non-linearities in the soil
Abnormal electroencephalographic rhythms from quiet wakefulness to light sleep in Alzheimer's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment
No full textObjectives: Alzheimer's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment (ADMCI) show abnormal resting-state eyes-closed electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha rhythms (8–12 Hz) and may suffer from daytime sleepiness. Our exploratory study tested the hypothesis that they may present characteristic EEG rhythms from quiet wakefulness to light sleep during diurnal recordings. Methods: Datasets of 34 ADMCI and 22 matched healthy elderly (Nold) subjects were obtained from international archives. EEG recordings lasted approximately 30 min. Transitions of EEG activity from quiet wakefulness (alpha-dominant) to light sleep (theta-dominant ripples) were scored according to Hori's vigilance stages. Cortical source activities were computed using the eLORETA software. Results: ADMCI (t-ADMCI, N = 18) over Nold (t-Nold, N = 11) participants were characterized by greater frontal EEG delta source activities and a lesser reduction (reactivity) in the posterior alpha source activities from quiet wakefulness to ripples. Notably, EEG delta source activities during quiet wakefulness were also greater in the ADMCI group transitioning to light sleep as compared to patients without said vigilance reduction. Conclusions: These results suggest that ADMCI patients with a greater susceptibility to daytime sleepiness may show characteristic EEG delta and alpha rhythms in the transition from quiet vigilance to daytime sleep. Significance: Our study showed a derangement of EEG rhythms during the transition to sleep possibly specific to AD
Prurigo Nodularis at Ultra-High-Frequency Ultrasound
No full textHere, we describe the case of a 48-year-old female patient with prurigo nodularis, where B-mode and color-Doppler ultrasound of one nodule was performed; this revealed hypoechoic dermal and hyperechoic epidermal thickening with lesion hypervascularity. To the best of our knowledge, no previous published articles have reported ultra-high-frequency ultrasound images of this disease, so this case can encourage prurigo nodularis studies in order to better assess ultrasound features and their usefulness in supporting clinical diagnosis and in distinguishing prurigo nodularis from other diseases
Oil spill model in the Gulf of Naples following collision events
No full textCrude oil plays a crucial role in all modern economies and its transport is a key element of the global energy supply chain. Oil spill accidents cause serious damage to the marine ecological environment and coastal areas are particularly susceptible to pollution, requiring the development of accurate predictive models to evaluate their impacts and planning prompt response. This paper describes the development of an oil spill modelling system that can be employed for forecast simulations and probabilistic risk analysis based on wind and surface current data. Particularly, an improved outflow model for oil tankers following collision events is employed to evaluate the transport and fate of oil spills in the Gulf of Naples (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea), using the GNOME model to simulate hypothetical scenarios during seasonal weather conditions. This integrated approach permits to investigate the concurrent effects of surface dynamics and wind forcing in determining the distribution of passive tracers over the area of interest and providing a significant support for the emergency responses
Nonlinear Optimal Control for Supply Chain Networks Under Time-Delays
No full textThe paper proposes a nonlinear optimal control method for treating the control and stabilization problem of supply chain networks and inventories under time-delays. The state-space model of the supply chain network is considered to have as state variables the customer’s demand and the inventories of the manufacturer, of the retailers and of the distributors. The control inputs of the model are the manufacturer’s production and the retailer’s ordering quantities. The model is subject to time-delays. It is proven that the dynamic model of the supply chain is differentially flat and a nonlinear optimal control method is applied to it. To implement this control method, approximate linearization is performed with the use of Taylor-series expansion while an algebraic Riccati equation has to be solved at each sampling instance. The proposed control method avoids complicated changes of state variables and state-space model transformations while the control inputs it computes are applied directly on the initial nonlinear model of the controlled system. It achieves optimality because of enabling convergence of the state variables of the supply chain network to the targeted setpoints under minimal variations of the control inputs. The article’s nonlinear optimal control method is novel when compared to past approaches for treating the optimal control problem in nonlinear dynamical systems. Unlike Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC), the proposed nonlinear optimal control scheme ensures convergence to optimum without dependence on initialization and empirical selection of the controller’s parameters
