IRIS - UNIRSM (Univ. degli Studi della Repubblica di San Marino)
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Static finite element analysis of thin laminated strain gradient nanoplates in hygro-thermal environment
No full textThe manuscript aims to investigate the static behavior of laminated nanoplates in hygro-thermal environment. The theoretical framework is based on the Kirchhoff hypothesis for thin structures including the effect of material length scales, which is described by a nonlocal model. For this purpose, the plane stress constitutive laws for laminates are enriched by a size-dependent parameter according to the principles of strain gradient theory. The variational form of such a peculiar theoretical formulation is developed to obtain the corresponding finite element (FE) model, due to the lack of similar numerical approaches in the literature. The difficulties arisen by the presence of higher-order derivatives of the displacements are overcome by using Hermite interpolating polynomials. Conforming and nonconforming FE formulations are presented to this aim. A broad validation procedure is carried out in terms of displacement and stress analysis to verify the accuracy of the approach. The comparison is accomplished taking into account the analytical solution given by the Navier methodology for cross-ply and angle-ply simply supported plates in hygro-thermal environment. The general model allows to extend the analysis to various boundary conditions and lamination schemes
Contre un ennemi disparu? Tyrans et tyrannicides dans les Déclamations du pseudo-Quintilien
No full textThe Calcium Channel Blocker Gabapentin, a Benchmark Drug in Pain Studies, Inhibits Translocation of the Epsilon Isoform of Protein Kinase C in Cultured Nociceptors: A Novel Mechanism of Action
No full textGabapentin is a well-established anticonvulsant drug which is also effective for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Gabapentin, a structural analogue of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, was originally developed in the early nineties as a third-generation antiepileptic drug. Although the exact mechanism leading to relief of allodynia and hyperalgesia caused by neuropathy is not known, the blocking effect of gabapentin on voltage-dependent calcium channels has been proposed to be involved. In order to further evaluate its analgesic mechanisms, we tested the efficacy of gabapentin on translocation of protein kinase C epsilon (PKC????) in cultured peripheral neurons isolated from rat dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). We found that gabapentin significantly reduced PKC???? translocation induced by the pronociceptive peptides bradykinin and prokineticin 2, which are involved in both inflammatory and chronic pain. We recently showed that paracetamol (acetaminophen), a very commonly used analgesic drug, also produces inhibition of PKCepsilon. We tested the effect of the combined use of paracetamol and gabapentin, and we found that the inhibition of translocation adds up in a non-cooperative fashion. Our study provides a novel mechanism of action for gabapentin in sensory neurons and suggests a rationale and a mechanism of action for the combined use of paracetamol and gabapentin, which has recently been shown to be effective, with a cumulative behavior, in the control of postoperative pain in human patients
Software-based shielding for real-time inventory count in different store areas: A feasibility analysis in fashion retail
No full textRFID is an established technology and its implementation has been increasing steadily in different industries in the last decades. An important and relatively recent RFID breakthrough has been that of moving the level of tagging from pallet- or case-level, to item-level. This development has opened up a new set of use cases and benefits, especially in retail. One of these new use cases is the estimation of items' location by positioning and tracking the tags attached to them. This problem is often seen as a classification problem, especially when tags that are read at the retail store must be located either in the sales floor or in the backroom area. The typical approach to ease this classification consists of physically shielding the interested areas via hardware installations, although this solution is expensive and lacks flexibility. In this paper, we present a different solution, namely a software-based shielding approach, to address the classification problem. Our solution makes use of item-level RFID tags and is based on the well-known logistic regression. Whenever a reading session is performed by means of a handheld reader, the classification model estimates in real-time (i.e. within a few seconds) which tagged items are in the same area of the reader and which are not, with no need of any shielding hardware installation. According to the validation preliminary tests presented in this paper, in which we simulated a fashion retail store, the proposed approach has an overall average accuracy of 95.5%
The chain reaction. How to design a process for transforming museums by rethinking personnel skills
No full textThe museum system is changing. The change affects the approaches, methodologies and practices involved in all the museum’s established functions: research, acquisition, conservation, communication and exhibition of man’s cultural heritage and environment. In this renovation process, to which the adoption of digital technologies has made a significant contribution, the design practice becomes more central every day. The involvement of different types of audiences led to a significant disconnection between the museum and its operators. When not involved in the transformation process, the museum personnel remain estranged, isolated by a use of languages unfamiliar to them. In this context, can the activation of co-design processes lead operators to be triggers in the management of the museum renovation process? Based on the preceding assumptions, is it possible to design an adaptive process to enhance the contemporary museum
Business Model validation for a marketplace of lab network initiatives
No full textIn the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) the use of laboratories to support teaching is a common requirement, not just a possibility. With the rise of the internet, teaching laboratories have changed from 'traditional' hands-on equipment to configurations that allow remote use of the experiment materials. In recent years, online labs (e.g., laboratories of universities or research institutes) have gradually been integrated into 'networks' of labs, with the objective of making them more economically viable, otherwise they would have been short-lived due to the high cost for their development and maintenance. While research on online labs has focused on didactic and technical aspects, there seem to be no in-depth studies on the financial sustainability of technical solutions developed. Moreover, online solutions subvert the traditional pattern of access being limited to individuals engaged in the practice of organizations. Indeed, online laboratories can also be used by professionals and companies interested in research and development, testing, and training activities. The authors of this article frame the problem from the perspective of the servitization of labs of universities and research institutions, through a new business model of a marketplace capable of coordinating the network of labs. To do this, an analysis of the intention to use an online lab marketplace and the activities made available by the online labs is conducted. The analysis involves entrepreneurs and practitioners of various companies from diverse industries in the northern Italy. The analysis is twofold. Firstly, it proposes a survey of intention to use university labs and LNIs in business environment. Second, it seeks to assess the usefulness of a marketplace service that technically manages the relationship between service provider and buyer beyond the mere educational aspects
Per evitare gli scandali e colpire gli eccessi. Il contrasto alla criminalità ecclesiastica in Terra di Lavoro nel XIV secolo
No full textQuesto articolo intende proporre una riflessione sul tema del controllo e della repressione del crimine degli ecclesiastici nella Terra di lavoro nella prima metà del XIV secolo, con un focus specifico sugli anni Venti e Trenta.This paper intends to propose an overview about the control and the repression system of the ecclesiastical crimes in the Terra di Lavoro in the first half of the fourteenth century, with a special attention to the second and the third decades
Special issue: “advances in structural mechanics modeled with fem”
No full textThe current Special Issue entitled "Advances in Structural Mechanics Modeled with FEM" aims to collect several numerical investigations and analyses focused on the use of the Finite Element Method (FEM) [...]