Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Pavia
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Definition of differential seismic input motions for out-of-plane dynamic testing of unreinforced masonry gable walls considering different roof configurations
No full textUnreinforced masonry gables are widely present in low-rise existing buildings and are particularly vulnerable to seismic events, as demonstrated by the several observed out-of-plane collapses of these structural elements during earthquakes. Since the structural behaviour of gable walls has been scarcely investigated in the literature, a large-scale testing programme (ERIES-SUPREME) has been initiated by research institutions in the Netherlands (TU Delft, TNO) and Italy (EUCENTRE, University of Pavia, IUSS Pavia), to dynamically characterise the gable out-of-plane seismic response. Shake-table tests on full-scale masonry gables are being conducted at the 9D LAB facility in EUCENTRE (Pavia, Italy), incorporating the effects of different ground motions, structures and roof stiffnesses. This facility features both a top and a bottom shake table, allowing for separate input motions: therefore, the effect of the roof dynamic behaviour can be accounted for by applying differential signals. This work presents the procedure used to define such input motions. While for tectonic signals direct earthquake recordings at floor level are accessible from existing monitored masonry buildings in Italy, for induced signals in the Netherlands such data are not available. Thus, in the latter case, numerical analyses are conducted considering a reference unreinforced masonry building subjected to induced earthquakes, with three roof configurations representing flexible, semi-flexible, and stiff diaphragms. Based on the obtained outcomes, input signals are derived for both induced and tectonic earthquake scenarios, leading to the final definition of the testing protocol for the ERIES-SUPREME experimental campaign. The findings of this study are also broadly applicable for the derivation of input motions in the planning of benchmark experiments where parts of the structural system cannot be explicitly reproduced due to testing constraints
Enhancing Transplanting Success in Restoration of Degraded Areas Using Peat-Free Substrates
No full textNative plant species used for ecological restoration in urban and degraded areas are typically cultivated by ornamental and forestry nurseries. In the face of climate change, it is crucial to produce plants that can withstand transplant stress while promoting the use of sustainable materials, such as peat-free substrates. Replacing peat with locally sourced organic materials offers a promising strategy to enhance plant resilience to abiotic stress while improving sustainability. This study evaluated the effects of alternative growing media on the growth and post-transplant performance of Viburnum lantana L. under standard nursery conditions. Three substrate mixtures were tested: (i) peat:pumice 70:30 v:v (PP); (ii) coconut coir dust:pumice 70:30 v:v (CP); (iii) coconut coir dust:green compost 55:45 v:v (CGC). After one year in the nursery, half of the plants were sampled in late spring for biometric, eco-physiological, and nutrient analyses, while the remaining plants were transplanted into a degraded area providing only a single irrigation event during the trial. Approximately 100 days after transplant, biometric and eco-physiological parameters were assessed. Plants grown on CGC demonstrated the highest transplant success, while those grown on PP and CP exhibited greater leaf necrosis, with PP plants also showing significant defoliation. These findings highlight CGC as a viable and sustainable alternative to peat-based substrates, particularly for post-transplant survival in degraded areas prone to drought stress
Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality of Opportunity
Get PDFThis thesis addresses two fundamental and related aspects of social mobility in separate chapters: Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality of Opportunity (IOp). Both chapters use data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), covering from 1991 to 2023. The objective of the first chapter has been estimating intergenerational persistence of permanent income between parents and offspring in the UK while pursuing a theoretically motivated search for non-linearities. As a second step the role of capital and labor income has been considered. This to study possible difference in persistence due to the composition of total income. The functional form of the relationship between parental and offspring income is investigated using polynomial regression models, while the potential linkage between the combination of high incomes from both capital and labour sources and the presence of non-linearity has been investigated through a threshold regression model. The economic interpretation that can be attributed to the empirical evidence is that total parental income becomes increasingly relevant along its distribution in explaining offspring outcomes but the composition of total income is also significant. Greater persistence is observed where capital income and labour income are both present. Higher levels of total parental income are less influential in explaining offspring income if the primary source is labour income with no capital income. The second chapter contributes to the understanding of inequality of opportunity by proposing the introduction of latent variables for effort and cognitive ability. Working within the framework of Structural Equation Modeling (MIMIC model), the analysis attempts to disentangle effort and cognitive ability from circumstances and estimate their respective contributions to total income inequality. The use of SEM has not only enabled to provide a more nuanced decomposition of inequality, but also facilitates the analysis of the interrelationships between effort, circumstances, and cognitive ability. This approach allows to distinguish between the direct effects of circumstances on income and the indirect effects operating through effort. Such a distinction has then been assessed under different ethical perspectives. The results confirm the limitations of standard methods, that primarily focus on circumstances while treating effort
as unobservable. Estimates of IOp are consistently higher when exploiting the MIMIC model compared to standard regression methods. Under the proposed method the unexplained part of income inequality decreases considerably, to the extent that can be interpreted as luck.This thesis addresses two fundamental and related aspects of social mobility in separate chapters: Intergenerational Mobility and Inequality of Opportunity (IOp). Both chapters use data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), covering from 1991 to 2023. The objective of the first chapter has been estimating intergenerational persistence of permanent income between parents and offspring in the UK while pursuing a theoretically motivated search for non-linearities. As a second step the role of capital and labor income has been considered. This to study possible difference in persistence due to the composition of total income. The functional form of the relationship between parental and offspring income is investigated using polynomial regression models, while the potential linkage between the
combination of high incomes from both capital and labour sources and the presence of non-linearity has been investigated through a threshold regression model. The economic interpretation that can be attributed to the empirical evidence is that total parental income becomes increasingly relevant along its distribution in explaining offspring outcomes but the composition of total income
is also significant. Greater persistence is observed where capital income and labour income are both present. Higher levels of total parental income are less influential in explaining offspring income if the primary source is labour income with no capital income.
The second chapter contributes to the understanding of inequality of opportunity by proposing the introduction of latent variables for effort and cognitive ability. Working within the framework of Structural Equation Modeling (MIMIC model), the analysis attempts to disentangle effort and cognitive ability from circumstances and estimate their respective contributions to total income inequality. The use of SEM has not only enabled to provide a more nuanced decomposition of inequality, but also facilitates the analysis of the interrelationships between effort, circumstances, and cognitive ability. This approach allows to distinguish between the direct effects of circumstances on income and the indirect effects operating through effort. Such a distinction has then been assessed under different ethical perspectives. The results confirm the limitations of standard methods, that primarily focus on circumstances while treating effort as unobservable. Estimates of IOp are consistently higher when exploiting the
MIMIC model compared to standard regression methods. Under the proposed method the unexplained part of income inequality decreases considerably, to the extent that can be interpreted as luck
La Costituzione e gli attori della parità di genere
No full textCome riconosce la stessa Convenzione di Istanbul, la violenza contro le donne si ingenera in
contesti giuridici dove ancora esistono discriminazioni e diseguaglianze tra le persone. Il capitolo, pertanto, offre un inquadramento della tutela costituzionale della donna e una riflessione sul grado di attuazione della piena eguaglianza tra persone di sesso diverso. Dopo un preliminare sguardo alla posizione giuridica della donna in epoca pre-repubblicana, il contributo mette in risalto il ruolo centrale che ha avuto il riconoscimento del diritto di voto alle donne per la definitiva consacrazione costituzionale dell’eguaglianza con gli uomini nella titolarità dei diritti. La disamina prosegue con l’analisi del cd. “statuto costituzionale della donna” e offre una ricostruzione dell’apporto che, dopo l’entrata in vigore della Costituzione, hanno offerto tanto il legislatore quanto la Corte costituzionale per la progressiva affermazione della parità
Immunization information systems’ implementation and characteristics across the world: a systematic review of the literature
No full textIntroduction: Immunization Information Systems (IISs) are essential public health tools, supporting the management and analysis of vaccination data to aid clinical and strategic decision-making. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review investigated global state and operational characteristics of IISs. A comprehensive search across multiple databases up to 6th of June 2023, identified 2,612 articles, with 238 included. Results: A significant increase in IIS research was observed in recent years, with a strong preference (84.5%) for electronic immunization registers (EIRs). Notably, 36% of IISs operate at the national level, and 47.7% meet the U.S. CDC definition, 17.0% are interoperable with personal health records, and 11.7% provide direct access to vaccination data for vaccinees or their guardians. Other key features include automated reminder systems for recipients and providers (12.1%), near real-time or real-time data entry (11.0%), the inclusion of demographic and socioeconomic data (16.7%), and the capacity to document vaccine refusal or hesitancy (10.2%). Conclusions: IISs contribute to improving population-level surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases. Persistent limitations related to data standardization, interoperability, and cost-effectiveness evaluation must be addressed. Strengthening these aspects is crucial to fully harness the potential of IISs in various healthcare settings, where enhanced vaccination tracking and targeting are most urgently needed
Spatio-temporal dynamics of sound-induced vestibular processing: insights from stereo-EEG recordings
No full textNumerous functions rely on the activation of the vestibular system, resulting in widespread activation of cortical brain regions. However, although the topographical organization of vestibular processing is relatively well understood, the temporal dynamics of this information processing remain insufficiently explored. In this study, we conducted an in-depth analysis of intracerebral recordings from 107 patients (123 implanted hemispheres) to investigate the cortical response to acoustic and sound-induced vestibular stimuli (SVS), thus unveiling the spatiotemporal dynamics of vestibular processing. Our findings revealed the existence of distinct early components (phasic peak, 20–40 ms) localized in Heschl's area, planum temporale, retroinsula, posterior insular cortex, PFcm, parietal operculum, and structures above the Sylvian fissure. Moreover, we identified later, tonic components (peaking at 50–80 ms) characterized by an extended duration, returning to baseline between 200 and 300 ms. Remarkably, these latter components exclusively involved the perisylvian cortices. The findings demonstrated that the early stages of human otolithic vestibular information processing involve both parallel and hierarchical pathways distributed across the perisylvian and peri‐Rolandic regions, rather than being restricted to a single primary cortical area. Furthermore, two distinct streams reminiscent of the dorsal/ventral dichotomy with specific spatio-temporal characteristics were identified. Collectively, our study uncovers a complex and interconnected cortical network that underlies vestibular processing, shedding light on the temporal dynamics of this essential sensory system. These findings pave the way for a deeper understanding of the functional organization of the vestibular system and its implications for sensory perception and motor control
On the integrality gap of small Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problems: A polyhedral and computational approach
No full textIn this paper, we investigate the integrality gap of the Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (ATSP) with respect to the linear relaxation given by the Asymmetric Subtour Elimination Problem (ASEP) for instances with n nodes, where n is small. In particular, we focus on the geometric properties and symmetries of the ASEP polytope (PASEPn) and its vertices. The polytope's symmetries are exploited to design a heuristic pivoting algorithm to search vertices where the integrality gap is maximized. Furthermore, a general procedure for the extension of vertices from PASEPn to PASEPn+1 is defined. The generated vertices improve the known lower bounds of the integrality gap for 16≤n≤22 and, provide small hard-to-solve ATSP instances
IQ and socio-occupational functioning in relation to obsessive-compulsive symptoms severity in a clinical sample of adolescents
No full textObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is often comorbid with other psychiatric conditions, leading to severely impaired functioning and poor quality of life. Until now, the relationship between obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and functioning has been studied mainly through a categorical approach (i.e., presence/absence of the disorder), leaving more dimensional analyses almost unexplored. Therefore, the present study investigates the association between OCS and both intellectual functioning (IQ) and socio-occupational functioning across different levels of OCS severity. 341 help-seeking adolescents (65% female, mean age = 15.37 years, SD = 1.37) with different psychopathologies underwent an in-depth clinical examination using the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS), through which OCS were also evaluated, and the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia - Present and Lifetime – DSM-5 (K-SADS-PL). Cognitive functioning was assessed using a full IQ test (WISC-IV or WAIS-IV), and socio-occupational functioning was assessed using the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS). A negative quadratic curvilinear (i.e. inverted U-shape) relationship was found between OCS severity and IQ (β=-1.11, p <.05), and a negative linear relationship was observed between OCS severity and socio-occupational functioning (β=-1.32, p <.01). While the association with IQ remained significant after controlling for sociodemographic variables and psychopathology symptoms (β=-0.471, p =.005), the association with socio-occupational functioning did not (β=-0.034, p =.487). These results indicate that OCS are differentially associated with IQ depending on their severity within the adolescent psychiatric population. In particular, mild OCS appear to be associated with a higher IQ relative to no OCS or severe OCS