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Role of the RNA-binding protein au-richelement factor-1 (AUF-1) in human airway epithelial senescence and inflammatory response
No full textVernacular Rural Architecture with Extradosed Vaults. Case Studies from the Inland Areas of Southern Italy
No full textThis paper examines rural dwellings characterized by extradosed vaults, a vernacular architectural typology prevalent throughout the Mediterranean basin. From the Berber ghorfas to coastal residences, and from rural complexes in the Vesuvian area to the traditional structures of the Sorrentine Peninsula, this architectural form has a rich history. While often associated with coastal regions, this typology also manifests inland, as demonstrated by the municipality of Santa Maria a Vico in the Caserta hinterland. Here, many surviving examples- despite frequent alterations - retain essential original features, shedding light on a broader, often overlooked diffusion of this architectural tradition. These structures typically consist of load-bearing masonry walls made from local limestone and vaulted roofs, with the extrados frequently visible. Arranged in south-facing rows, their layouts commonly include shared elements such as courtyards, cisterns, ovens, and rainwater harvesting systems, which are vital in areas lacking natural springs, reflecting a profound adaptation to local environmental conditions. This study focuses on several settlements within Santa Maria a Vico, evaluating their state of conservation through archival research, on-site inspections, as well as detailed metric and material surveys. This methodology has uncovered a wide range of transformations over time, including the enclosure of extradosed vaults and reconfigurations of internal spaces. Ultimately, the research aims to establish guidelines and best practices for interventions that not only preserve the physical integrity of these dwellings but also maintain the intangible heritage they represent - such as historical memory, cultural identity, and traditional construction techniques - while accommodating contemporary functional needs
Exploring students' acceptance of Pedagogical Agents: A Pilot Study
No full textThe present study aims to investigate factors' influencing students' acceptance of different types of interactive dialogue systems (such as virtual agents and voice chatbots) designed to support learning, taking into account the gender of the system (male/female) and the age they represent (adult/peer). 20 students aged 11-13 years were presented with human voice recordings and video clips of potential pedagogical agents and asked to complete a modified version of the Virtual Agent Voice Acceptance Questionnaire, adapted for learning purposes (VAVAQ-RL). Specifically, the study explores how these factors affect students' acceptance and perception of pedagogical agents in terms of willingness to interact, pragmatic qualities, attractiveness and intelligibility of the voice. Results show that female participants expressed a greater willingness to interact with female voices and female agents compared to male voices and male agents. Female students also rated female voices and female agents as more pragmatic and attractive than male voices and male agents. Finally, female voices were rated as more intelligible than male voices
Effective and Simple Identification Indicators of Different Rolling Bearing Fault Types
No full textThe paper presents some effective frequency indicators of rolling bearing faults. These indicators are used to diagnose localized faults in rolling bearing elements. These faults usually cause strong frequency peaks with harmonics in the envelope spectrum of the vibration signal. In the paper, we proposed a new type of indicator and compared it with the often used the log ratio of fault amplitudes. This relative value of characteristic fault frequencies works very effectively in the case of only one type of faults. In the case of simultaneous occurrence of several faults, this indicator often fails. We proposed a robust frequency indicator that correctly detects characteristic fault frequencies in such a situation. The conducted experiment in which we simulated the inner and outer faults race of a rolling bearing confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed indicator and its better identification properties in relation to the used logarithmic amplitude factor
Social Distance and Informal Employment Reporting
No full textMeasuring illicit behavior such as tax evasion and underground economy through surveys is challenging due to social desirability bias. We examine how interviewer–respondent social distance affects the reporting of informal employment in an anonymous survey conducted by university students. Using variation in the relationship between interviewer and respondent, we estimate probit models and find that disclosure is lowest when the interviewer is a relative or friend, and higher when the interviewer is either an immediate family member or someone with no prior connection. This non-monotonic pattern suggests that both trust and anonymity facilitate truthful reporting, while intermediate social proximity increases self-censorship. The findings highlight a previously overlooked source of measurement error in survey-based estimates of informal labor
Chitosan-Based Schiff Bases (CSBs) and Their Metal Complexes: Promising Antimicrobial Agents
No full textThe scientific interest in the chemical modification of chitosan to increase its solubility and application has led to its conjugation with Schiff bases, which are interesting scaffolds endowed with diverse biological properties. The resultant chitosan-based Schiff bases (CSBs) are widely studied in scientific literature due to the myriad of activities exerted, both catalytic and biological, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and especially antimicrobial ones. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the major public health challenges of the twenty-first century because it represents a threat to the prevention and treatment of a growing number of bacterial, parasitic, viral, and fungal infections that are no longer treatable with the available drugs. Thus, in this review, we present a brief outline of the biological activities of CSBs as well as their complexes with metals, with a particular focus on the recent literature regarding the antimicrobial effect of these captivating derivatives
The Effect of Copper Adsorption on Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles Embedded in a Sodium Alginate Bead
No full textThe preparation and use of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles for water remediation is a widely investigated research field. To improve the efficacy of such nanomaterials, different synthetic processes and functionalization methods have been developed in the framework of green chemistry to exploit their magnetic properties and adsorption capacity in a sustainable way. In this work, iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles embedded in cross-linked sodium alginate beads designed to clean water from metal ions were magnetically characterized. In particular, the effect of copper adsorption on their magnetic properties was investigated. The magnetic characterization in a DC field of the beads before adsorption showed the presence of a superparamagnetic state at 300 K—a state that was also preserved after copper adsorption. The main differences in terms of magnetic properties before and after Cu2+ adsorption were the reduction of the magnetic signal (observed by comparing the saturation magnetization) and a different shape of the blocking temperature distribution obtained by magnetization versus temperature measurements. The evaluation of the reduction in magnetization can be important from the application perspective since it can affect the efficiency of the beads’ removal from the water medium after treatment
