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Electrically assisted POCS-catalytic reactor with integrated dense Pd-Ag membrane for low-carbon hydrogen production via dry reforming of methane
No full textBIOCHEMICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE CELIAC CELLULAR PHENOTYPE
No full textCELIAC DISEASE (CD) IS AN ENTEROPATHY CHARACTERISED BY AN IMMUNE RESPONSE TO DIETARY GLUTEN. EMERGING EVIDENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE EXISTENCE OF A CONSTITUTIVE CELLULAR PHENOTYPE THAT PERSISTS INDEPENDENTLY OF GLUTEN EXPOSURE. THIS THESIS PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THIS PHENOTYPE USING, AS STUDY MODELS, PRIMARY FIBROBLASTS DERIVED FROM SKIN AND INTESTINAL BIOPSIES OF CD PATIENTS, COMPARED WITH MATCHED HEALTHY CONTROLS.
SKIN FIBROBLASTS FROM CD PATIENTS DISPLAYED REDUCED SENSITIVITY TO THE ER STRESS-INDUCER THAPSIGARGIN, PROLONGED UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE, AND IMPAIRED AUTOPHAGIC FLUX, LINKED TO ALTERED CALCIUM HOMEOSTASIS AND DECREASED ACTIVATION OF TYPE 2 TRANSGLUTAMINASE 2 (TG2). SIMILAR DEFECTS WERE OBSERVED IN INTESTINAL FIBROBLASTS, INDICATING THAT THESE ALTERATIONS MAY BE SYSTEMIC AND NOT TISSUE RESTRICTED. OMICS APPROACHES FURTHER HIGHLIGHTED SHARED MOLECULAR SIGNATURES IN BOTH MODELS. PROTEOMICS IDENTIFIED AN CD CELLS CONSISTENT DYSREGULATION OF PROTEINS LINKED TO EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX ORGANIZATION, EXOSOMES, VESICULAR TRAFFICKING, CYTOSKELETAL REMODELLING, CA2+ HOMEOSTASIS, UPR SIGNALLING, INTERESTINGLY, AMONG PROTEINS DOWNREGULATED IN BOTH CELL SYSTEMS, WE ALSO FOUND TG2, THUS UNDERLINING THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THIS ENZYME IN THE CELIAC PHENOTYPE. IN ADDITION, SEVERAL PROTEINS APPEARED DIFFERENTIALLY PHOSPHORYLATED IN SKIN FIBROBLASTS. ON THE OTHER HAND, A METABOLOMIC ANALYSIS, CONDUCTED ON INTESTINAL FIBROBLASTS, REVEALED DISTINCT ENERGY METABOLISM DEFECTS, INCLUDING ALTERED LEVELS OF GLUCOSE, GLUTAMINE, AND DIHYDROXYACETONE, SUPPORTING IMPAIRED GLYCOLYSIS AND AMINO ACID METABOLISM. FINALLY, TRANSCRIPTOMIC PROFILING OF CD INTESTINAL FIBROBLASTS TREATED WITH THE CLINICALLY RELEVANT IRREVERSIBLE TG2 INHIBITOR ZED1227 COULD PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO TG2-DEPENDENT TRANSCRIPTIONAL NETWORKS, WITH DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION ANALYSIS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. ALTOGETHER, THESE FINDINGS UNCOVER A MULTI-LAYERED CELLULAR PHENOTYPE IN CD ACROSS DISTINCT TISSUE-DERIVED FIBROBLAST POPULATIONS, COMPRISING ALTERED STRESS RESPONSES, AUTOPHAGY, CA2+ HOMEOSTASIS, VESICULAR TRAFFICKING, AND METABOLIC PATHWAYS. IN CONCLUSION, THIS THESIS CONTRIBUTES TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CELIAC CELLULAR PHENOTYPE E MAY PAVE THE WAY FOR THE RESEARCH OF NEW DISEASE BIOMARKERS AND THERAPEUTIC TARGETS
Study Motivation, Self-Esteem and Stress in University Students with Special Educational Needs: A Comparative Analysis with Normotypical Students
No full textThis study examines the relationship between self-esteem, study motivation, attentional difficulties, and perceived stress among university students with special formative needs, including specific learning disorders and disabilities), certified by public healthcare institutions. The research aims to compare these students (n. 150) with their typically developing peers (n. 150) to identify differences in academic and psychological factors. Results indicate that students with special needs demonstrate similar organizational study skills but exhibit higher metacognitive awareness and information processing abilities, likely as a compensatory mechanism. However, they face greater challenges in planning and structuring their learning process. While their perceived stress levels are slightly higher, their self-esteem is unexpectedly higher than that of typically developing students, possibly due to the resilience developed through overcoming academic difficulties. These findings highlight the importance of tailored support programs, including tutoring, digital tools, and psychological support, to enhance study strategies and stress management for both student groups. Addressing these challenges effectively could lead to a more inclusive and successful academic experience for all students
OBSCURITAS. RICERCHE SULL'OSCURITÀ ESPRESSIVA NELLA COSCIENZA LETTERARIA GRECA E LATINA
No full textLA TESI AFFRONTA LA CATEGORIA DI 'OSCURITÀ' (NONCHÉ QUELLA DI 'PERSPICUITÀ') IN ALCUNI MOMENTI SALIENTI DELLA PRODUZIONE LETTERARIA GRECA E LATINA: ARISTOTELE, LA SCOLIOGRAFIA, LA RETORICA GRECA E LATINA, GALENO, ORIGENE, LUCREZIO, CICERONE, SENECA; DUE APPENDICI TRATTANO DEL NESSO OSCURITÀ/TRADUZIONE E DEL GIUDIZIO GERONIMIANO SULL'OSCURITÀ DEL TIMAEUS CICERONIANO.THE DISSERTATION EXAMINES THE CATEGORY OF “OBSCURITY” (AS WELL AS THAT OF “CLARITY”) IN SEVERAL KEY MOMENTS OF GREEK AND LATIN LITERARY PRODUCTION: ARISTOTLE, SCHOLIA WRITING, GREEK AND LATIN RHETORIC, GALEN, ORIGEN, LUCRETIUS, CICERO, AND SENECA. TWO APPENDICES ADDRESS THE LINK BETWEEN OBSCURITY AND TRANSLATION, AND JEROME’S JUDGMENT ON THE OBSCURITY OF CICERO’S TIMAEUS
La filosofia (alto)medievale ama nascondersi
No full textRenato de Filippis, in La filosofia (alto)medievale ama nascondersi, prova a indagare le motivazioni
per cui, nella percezione comune del ‘grande pubblico’ e degli stessi specialisti di storia della
speculazione dell’Età di Mezzo, si ritenga comunemente che non esista una filosofia altomedievale;
in questa lettura, circa cinque secoli della storia intellettuale dell’Occidente, dal VI all’XI,
non avrebbero praticamente prodotto alcun ‘contenuto filosofico’. La proposta interpretativa è
che questa filosofia sia rimasta in qualche modo nascosta, e che (in massima parte) non si esprima
attraverso costruzioni originali del pensiero, pure presenti in questa fase (basti pensare a
Giovanni Scoto detto ‘Eriugena’), ma per mezzo di una tecnica argomentativa, quella delle sette
‘arti liberali’, messa di volta in volta a disposizione delle differenti tesi (soprattutto teologiche,
ma anche etiche, politiche e via dicendo) che si intende dimostrare
A search for transit-timing variations in the transiting hot-Jupiter systems HIP 65, NGTS-6, NGTS-10, and WASP-173
No full textHot Jupiters are Jupiter-mass planets with orbital periods of less than 10 d. Their short orbital separations make tidal dissipation within the stellar host especially efficient, potentially leading to a measurable evolution of the orbit. One possible manifestation of this is orbital decay, which presents itself observationally through variations in the orbital period and thus times of transit. Here, we select four promising exoplanetary systems for detecting this effect: HIP65, NGTS-6, NGTS-10, and WASP-173. We present 33 new transit light curves taken with the 1.54m Danish Telescope, and analyse these alongside photometric data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and transit-timing data from the literature. We construct two ephemeris models for each target: a linear ephemeris and a shrinking orbital period due to tidal decay. The linear ephemeris is preferred for three of the four models – the highest significance for the quadratic ephemeris is over 3 for WASP-173. We compare these results to theoretical predictions for tidal dissipation of gravity waves in radiation zones, and find that wave breaking is predicted only in WASP-173, making rapid decay plausible in this system but unclear in the other three. The sensitivity of transit timings to orbital decay depends on the square of the time interval covered by available observations, so our results establish a useful baseline against which future measurements can be compared. NGTS-6 and NGTS-10 are important objects for future study as they are in the first field to be observed by the upcoming PLATO mission
THERMO-MECHANICAL AND FRACTURE ASSESSMENT BY FE MODELING FOR THE CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF THE DEMO NUCLEAR FUSION REACTOR
No full textNUCLEAR FUSION REPRESENTS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING PATHWAYS TOWARD SUSTAINABLE, LARGE-SCALE, AND LOW-IMPACT ENERGY PRODUCTION. HOWEVER, THE EXTREME OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS WITHIN FUSION REACTORS, CHARACTERIZED BY ELEVATED TEMPERATURES, INTENSE NEUTRON IRRADIATION, AND SEVERE MECHANICAL AND MAGNETIC LOADS, POSE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES FOR THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AND LONG-TERM RELIABILITY OF REACTOR COMPONENTS.
THIS DOCTORAL WORK HAS BEEN DEVELOPED ALONG TWO COMPLEMENTARY AND PARALLEL RESEARCH LINES, CONDUCTED RESPECTIVELY WITHIN THE ACADEMIC FRAMEWORK OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SALERNO AND IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ENGINEERING COMPANY LT CALCOLI AS PART OF AN INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP.
WITHIN THE ACADEMIC RESEARCH, THE FOCUS WAS PLACED ON FRACTURE MECHANICS APPLIED TO THE DIVERTOR OF THE DEMO FUSION REACTOR, ONE OF ITS MOST CRITICAL STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS. A COMPREHENSIVE FINITE ELEMENT (FE) MODEL WAS DEVELOPED TO CAPTURE THE THERMO-MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF THE DIVERTOR UNDER REALISTIC OPERATING LOADS. USING SUBMODELING AND LINEAR ELASTIC FRACTURE MECHANICS (LEFM) APPROACHES, STATIONARY SEMI-ELLIPTICAL CRACKS WERE INTRODUCED TO ASSESS STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS (SIFS) AND IDENTIFY THE MOST CRITICAL REGIONS. THE STUDY WAS FURTHER EXTENDED TO SIMULATE CRACK PROPAGATION UNDER MULTI-STEP LOADING CONDITIONS, ALLOWING FATIGUE LIFE ESTIMATION THROUGH PARIS’ LAW AND THE PREDICTION OF THE NUMBER OF CYCLES REQUIRED TO REACH CRITICAL CRACK SIZES. ADDITIONALLY, AN ELASTOPLASTIC MATERIAL MODEL WAS IMPLEMENTED TO EVALUATE THE DEVIATION OF THE STRUCTURAL RESPONSE FROM THE LINEAR ELASTIC ASSUMPTION, WHILE A MULTI-CRACK GROWTH ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED TO INVESTIGATE THE SIMULTANEOUS PRESENCE OF TWO CRACKS LOCATED IN ADJACENT CRITICAL REGIONS. THE OBTAINED RESULTS IDENTIFIED THE MOST VULNERABLE DIVERTOR ZONES AND DEMONSTRATED THE SENSITIVITY OF CRACK GROWTH TO THERMAL GRADIENTS AND COMBINED LOADING EFFECTS.
IN PARALLEL, THE INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED WITH LT CALCOLI FOCUSED ON THE THERMO-MECHANICAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A ROBOTIC ARM INTENDED FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DEMO BREEDING BLANKET, OPERATING UNDER SEVERE THERMAL CONDITIONS. THE STUDY ASSESSED THE STRUCTURAL RESPONSE OF THE MANIPULATOR TO HIGH HEAT CONDUCTIVE AND CONVECTIVE FLUXES ORIGINATING RESPECTIVELY FROM THE BLANKET AND THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT, AND EXPLORED DESIGN AND MATERIAL OPTIMIZATION STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE HEAT RESISTANCE AND ACHIEVE A MORE UNIFORM TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION.
BEYOND THE SPECIFIC RESULTS OBTAINED IN EACH RESEARCH LINE, THE ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION OF THIS WORK LIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSING THE STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY OF FUSION REACTOR COMPONENTS UNDER REALISTIC OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS. THE COMBINED USE OF THE SUBMODELING TECHNIQUES, FRACTURE MECHANICS AND LIFETIME ASSESSMENT ANALYSES ESTABLISHES A PREDICTIVE FRAMEWORK CAPABLE OF CAPTURING COMPLEX LOADING INTERACTIONS AND REALISTIC OPERATING CONDITIONS MORE ACCURATELY THAN CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES.
THE INTEGRATION OF THESE TWO RESEARCH DIRECTIONS YIELDS A COMPREHENSIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE STRUCTURAL SAFETY, DURABILITY, AND MAINTAINABILITY OF NEXT-GENERATION FUSION REACTORS, SUPPORTING THEIR RELIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Dal mare alla terra: il compost di Posidonia spiaggiata incrementa la biodiversità microbica del suolo e favorisce il ripristino ecologico
No full textLa "sinistra" secondo gli elettori. Un'analisi esplorativa attraverso le inchieste elettorali
No full textLa destra e la sinistra politica si distinguono negli ultimi decenni non tanto per uno specifico e definito orientamento ideologico, ma per la maggiore o minore attenzione ad alcune questioni che appaiono di volta in volta, in ciascun periodo, più rilevanti. In questo contributo si osserva la maggiore attenzione su alcuni temi soprattutto guardando all'orientamento degli elettori che si percepiscono come di sinistr
Analysis of systems with dependent components through a variance-based index and regression importance signature
No full textThis paper extends a recent regression importance index in reliability theory to subgroups of components, introducing the regression importance signature. This measure identifies, for any fixed number of components, the subgroup of size whose joint state most significantly influences system lifetime variability. In addition to this extension, we investigate new properties of the index that enhance understanding of how component reliability and structural role jointly affect system importance. Unlike traditional single-component indices, the measure captures heterogeneity and interactions, reducing them to intuitive behaviours in series or parallel systems and revealing subsystems or dependencies that cannot be detected by individual measures. General results for dependent components are provided, with conditions for comparing individual components and subgroups