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Prevention of binge drinking in young adolescents through the promotion of a balanced level of psychological well-being: be-dry
Get PDFThis doctoral thesis presents a project carried out in secondary schools located in the city of Ferrara with the primary objective of demonstrating the effectiveness of an intervention based on Well-Being Therapy (Fava, 2016) in reducing alcohol use and improving lifestyles.
In the first part (chapters 1-3), an introduction on risky behaviors and unhealthy lifestyle in adolescence is presented, followed by an examination of the phenomenon of binge drinking and of the concept of psychological well-being.
In the second part (chapters 4-6), the experimental study is presented. A three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial including three test periods was implemented. The study involved eleven classes that were randomly assigned to receive well-being intervention (WBI), lifestyle intervention (LI) or not receive intervention (NI). Results were analyzed by linear mixed model and mixed-effects logistic regression with the aim to test the efficacy of WBI in comparison with LI and NI. AUDIT-C total score increased more in NI in comparison with WBI (p=0.008) and LI (p=0.003) at 6-month. The odds to be classified as at-risk drinker was lower in WBI (OR 0.01; 95%CI 0.01–0.14) and LI (OR 0.01; 95%CI 0.01–0.03) than NI at 6-month. The odds to use e-cigarettes at 6-month (OR 0.01; 95%CI 0.01–0.35) and cannabis at post-test (OR 0.01; 95%CI 0.01–0.18) were less in WBI than NI. Sleep hours at night decreased more in NI than in WBI (p = 0.029) and LI (p = 0.006) at 6-month. Internet addiction scores decreased more in WBI (p = 0.003) and LI (p = 0.004) at post-test in comparison with NI. Conclusions about the obtained results, limitations of the study, and future implications are discussed.
In the seventh chapter, the data of the project collected during the pandemic are presented and compared with those from recent literature
Production and characterization of novel thermoplastic (nano)composite materials for additive manufacturing applications
Get PDFThe increasing environmental global regulations have directed scientific research towards more
sustainable materials, even in the field of composite materials for additive manufacturing. In this
context, the presented research is devoted to the development of thermoplastic composites for FDM
application with a low environmental impact, focusing on the possibility to use wastes from different
industrial processes as filler for the production of composite filaments for FDM 3D printing. In
particular carbon fibers recycled by pyro-gasification process of CFRP scraps were used as
reinforcing agent for PLA, a biobased polymeric matrix. Since the high value of CFs, the ability to
re-use recycled CFs, replacing virgin ones, seems to be a promising option in terms of sustainability
and circular economy. Moreover, wastes from different agricultural industries, i.e. wheat and rice
production processes, were valorised and used as biofillers for the production of PLA-biocomposites.
The integration of these agricultural wastes into PLA bioplastic allowed to obtain biocomposites with
improved eco-sustainability, biodegradability, lightweight, and lower cost. Finally, the study of novel
composites for FDM was extended towards elastomeric nanocomposite materials, in particular TPU
reinforced with graphene. The research procedure of all projects involves the optimization of
production methods of composite filaments with a particular attention on the possible degradation of
polymeric matrices. Then, main thermal properties of 3D printed object are evaluated by TGA, DSC
characterization. Additionally, specific heat capacity (CP) and Coefficient of Linear Thermal
Expansion (CLTE) measurements are useful to estimate the attitude of composites for the prevention
of typical FDM issues, i.e. shrinkage and warping. Finally, the mechanical properties of 3D printed
composites and their anisotropy are investigated by tensile test using distinct kinds of specimens with
different printing angles with respect to the testing direction
The puppet and its drama. Dramaturgies for contemporary puppet theatre in France and Italy (1980-2020)
Get PDFLe théâtre de marionnettes a connu, depuis la fin du XXe siècle, de profondes mutations, tant sur le plan esthétique que sur celui du dispositif dramaturgique. Si en France des expériences plurielles de collaboration entre écrivains et marionnettistes se sont développées, en Italie ont émergé des expérimentations dramatiques de la part des marionnettistes eux-mêmes, auteurs de textes aux qualités littéraires. Au fil des rencontres avec la scène marionnettique, la posture de l’auteur devient « fluide », allant de l’écrivain extérieur répondant à une commande, au dramaturge et au co-créateur des spectacles. Une attention accrue aux enjeux dramaturgiques a renforcé les relations des arts de la marionnette avec le théâtre d’acteurs. En vertu de cette osmose, certaines caractéristiques du régime contemporain de l’écriture pour la scène, comme la « rhapsodisation » des textes mise en évidence par Jean-Pierre Sarrazac et les traits « postdramatiques » décrits par Hans-Thies Lehmann, sont à l’œuvre dans les pièces pour marionnettes écrites depuis les années 1980. La comparaison des créations françaises (par Daniel Lemahieu et François Lazaro, Jean Cagnard et la Cie Arketal, Kossi Efoui et Théâtre Inutile, Dennis Cooper et Gisèle Vienne) et italiennes (par Guido Ceronetti, Giuliano Scabia, Gigio Brunello et Gyula Molnár, Marta Cuscunà, Fabiana Iacozzilli, entre autres) montre comment elles exploitent la marionnette afin d’agencer la parole aux images suscitées par l’objet. Bien que l’on puisse observer un plus grand élan innovateur en France, tandis que les relations avec les différentes traditions régionales restent ancrées en Italie, l’analyse de textes nous apprend que les motifs les plus récurrents sont communs aux deux territoires, en vertu des possibilités de figuration qu’offre la marionnette : la confrontation avec les problèmes actuels et les traumatismes de l’histoire, la plongée dans l’esprit humain, l’imagination de territoires post-anthropocentriques, la rencontre avec le trouble et la mortSince the end of the 20th century, puppet theatre has undergone profound changes, both in terms of aesthetics and dramaturgy. While in France there have been many experiences of collaboration between playwrights and puppeteers, in Italy there have been playwriting experiments by the puppeteers themselves, composing texts of a more literary quality. In the course of these encounters with the stage, the position of the author of puppet theatre becomes “fluid”, going from the external writer answering a commission, to the dramaturge, to the co-creator of the shows. A greater attention to dramaturgical issues has strengthened the relationship between puppetry and acting. By virtue of this osmosis, certain characteristics of the contemporary regime of writing, such as the “rhapsodisation” of texts, highlighted by Jean-Pierre Sarrazac, and some features of the postdramatic theatre described by Hans-Thies Lehmann, are at work in the puppet plays composed since the 1980s. The comparison of French creations (by Daniel Lemahieu and François Lazaro, Jean Cagnard and Cie Arketal, Kossi Efoui and Théâtre Inutile, Dennis Cooper and Gisèle Vienne) and Italian ones (by Guido Ceronetti, Giuliano Scabia, Gigio Brunello and Gyula Molnár, Marta Cuscunà, Fabiana Iacozzilli, among others) shows how they exploit the puppet and its multiple techniques of manipulation in order to interweave the word to the images generated by the object. Although a greater innovative impulse can be observed in France, while the relations with the different regional traditions remain more anchored in Italy, the analysis of several texts attests that the most recurrent poetics and motifs are common to both territories, by virtue of the possibilities of figuration offered by puppets: the confrontation with current problems and the traumas of history, the dive into the human mind, the imagination of post-anthropocentric territories, the encounter with disorder and death
Homological and Hodge-theoretic aspects of matroids and polymatroids
Get PDFIn the first part of this thesis, we study the action of the automorphism group of a matroid on the homology space of the co-independent complex. This representation turns out to be isomorphic, up to tensoring with the sign representation, with that on the homology space associated with the lattice of flats. In the case of the cographic matroid of the complete graph, this result has application in algebraic geometry: indeed De Cataldo, Heinloth and Migliorini use this outcome to study the Hitchin fibration. In the second part, on the other hand, we use ideas from algebraic geometry to prove a purely combinatorial result. We construct a Leray model for a discrete polymatroid with arbitrary building set and we prove a generalized Goresky-MacPherson formula. The first row of the model is the Chow ring of the polymatroid; we prove Poincaré duality, Hard-Lefschetz theorem and Hodge-Riemann relations for the Chow ring
R.P.C.M. Apulia (Reconstructing Prehistoric Communities’ Mobility in Apulia)
Get PDFThe research originates in the necessity to bring a new systematic archaeological perspective to the prehistoric background of northern Apulia. Therefore, the aim of the R.P.C.M. Apulia project is to shed new light on a specific chronological arch, from the Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, of the northern part of the Apulia, because the related studies resulted updated to the 70-80’s with some sporadic exception.
Moreover, addressing the investigation to the relationship between the communities and the landscape, so how they could exploit the lands and how they could move into this area keeping in touch. To reconstruct the Prehistorical dynamics, it has been necessary first of all to create a database containing all the information about the sites thus to validate them and classifying them according to a model specifically built. The storing operation has been conducted with the software ArcGIS v.10.1 and the sites have been georeferenced on the map as points. It provided the basis on which developing the analysis concerning the mobility (Least Cost Path) and landscape perception (Fuzzy Viewshed Analysis).
The first one has been considered to evaluate the mobility into the study area. Therefore, to generate sample paths on the base of the time in reaching a specific point and the terrain trend. The gained information has been collected to hypothesize how they could keep in touch across the chronological changes for purposes related to trading/idea/people exchanges.
The visibility analysis has been led to grasp how the groups perceived the landscape through the sight. This datum covered an important role, especially from the Copper Age, concerning the domain and control of the trading ways.
The data coming from the mentioned analysis have been used to read into the settlement choices according to the development of the new socio-economic relationships and plan survey activity
The place of effective management in national, conventional and European law
Get PDFL’elaborato mira ad analizzare la nozione di sede della direzione effettiva o place of effective management (PoEM) sia come criterio di collocazione della residenza fiscale utilizzato dalla maggior parte degli ordinamenti contemporanei, sia come regola convenzionale volta alla risoluzione dei possibili conflitti derivanti da “doppia residenza fiscale” (c.d. tie breaker rule).
Nonostante l’Action 6 del progetto BEPS abbia sensibilmente modificato detta tie breaker rule, sostituendo il PoEM con le Mutual Agreement Procedures, la sede della direzione effettiva rimane a tutt’oggi criterio fondamentale per determinare l’effettiva ubicazione di enti e società.
Tuttavia, la natura fattuale del criterio, congiuntamente alla progressiva crescente globalizzazione e dematerializzazione del mercato economico globale, ha determinato alcune significative divergenze interpretative sia a livello nazionale che convenzionale, minandone sensibilmente l’efficacia.
Il presente lavoro mira, quindi, ad analizzare gli elementi caratteristici della nozione, al fine di individuare una concezione del PoEM il più possibile condivisa ed unitaria.
L’indagine dovrà essere compiuta seguendo tre direttive.
In primo luogo, a seguito della descrizione delle ragioni che rendono ancora oggi necessario un collegamento territoriale, si procederà ad una ricostruzione della sede di direzione effettiva da un punto di vista comparato, valutando le sue differenti interpretazioni in alcuni ordinamenti europei ed extra-europei.
In secondo luogo, si analizzerà il PoEM nel diritto comparato, valutandone le differenze rispetto ai criteri nazionali e come questo sia mutato a seguito delle modifiche apportate al modello di convenzione OCSE nel 2017.
Da ultimo, si valuterà la prospettiva eurounionale valutando, oltre all’influenza delle libertà fondamentali, l’incidenza dell’introduzione dei nuovi modelli collaborativi (es. scambio di informazioni automatico, procedure di risoluzione delle controversie ecc.).
L’obiettivo finale sarà quindi quello di quello di comprendere quali siano i punti di contatto fra le varie concezioni di sede dell’amministrazione effettiva e come le eventuali divergenze interpretative impattino sull’applicazione di tale concetto.The paper aims at analyzing the of place of effective management (PoEM) both as a criterion for the location of tax residence used by most contemporary jurisdictions and as a conventional rule aimed at resolving possible conflicts arising from "double tax residence".
Despite the fact that Action 6 of the BEPS project has significantly modified the tie breaker rule, replacing PoEM with Mutual Agreement Procedures, the PoEM still remains the fundamental criterion for determining the actual location of entities and companies.
However, the factual nature of the criterion, together with the increasing globalization and dematerialization of the global economic market, has led to some significant divergences of interpretation both at national and conventional level, significantly undermining its effectiveness.
This aims to analyze the characteristic elements of the notion, in order to identify a concept of PoEM that is as shared and unified as possible.
The investigation will have to be carried out following three guidelines.
Firstly, following a description of the reasons why a territorial link is still necessary today, a reconstruction of the actual place of management will be carried out from a comparative point of view, evaluating the different interpretations of this concept in some European and non-European legal systems.
Secondly, the PoEM in comparative law will be analyzed, assessing its differences from domestic criteria and how this has changed following the amendments made to the 2017 OECD Model Convention.
Finally, the EU perspective will be assessed by evaluating, in addition to the influence of fundamental freedoms, the impact of the introduction of collaborative models (e.g. automatic information exchange, dispute resolution procedures, etc.).
The final objective will therefore be to understand what the points of contact between the various conceptions of the PoEM are and how any differences in interpretation impact on the application of this concept
Clinico-pathologic and molecular analysis of myxofibrosarcoma of the extremities.
Get PDFAIM
The aim of this study was to perform a molecular analysis and to identify class of risk, in terms of local recurrence and survival, in patients affected by myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) of the extremities.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 166 patients (>18 years) affected by primary MFS of the extremities were included. Immunohistochemistry expression of MET, RET, p53 and Rb1 was evaluated on tissue MicroArray (TMA) in the whole series. Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis was performed on 20 samples. Differences in p53 mutations were observed among relapsed and not relapsed cases. Thus, Sanger sequencing was performed on a total of 83 samples. Somatic copy number variations (CNV) of analyzed genes were hypothesized based on allelic frequencies observed. A digital assay of p53 and Met was therefore performed to confirm and characterize them as amplifications or deletions.
RESULTS
HIC was positive for MET protein in 81.9% and positive for p53 in 19.3%. Point mutations in Tp53 were observed in 25.3%.ses. Point mutations alone were observed in only two cases (2.3%), whereas in 19 (22.9%) they were associated with a gene deletion. Most of the cases (52, 61.9%) presented a Tp53 gene deletion. Cases with overexpression of MET had a higher risk of local recurrence (LR) (p=0.047), Tp53 point mutations increased the risk of LR (p=0.032).
CONCLUSIONS
We confirm that Tp53 and MET are frequently altered genes in MFS of the extremities. Both CNV and point mutations appear to play important roles in MFS tumorigenesis. Point mutations in Tp53 seem to influence the risk of both local recurrence and survival
Genomic characterisation of pigmentation related traits in livestock
Get PDFWith the intense use of high throughput genomic technologies, our knowledge about the cattle and pig genomes has rapidly evolved. Over the last years, many investigations have been already carried out to identify major genes and mutations underlying different morphological, productive, and reproductive traits in cattle and pigs.
This thesis is the result of research activities focused on the investigation of genomic features to find novel candidate gene markers associated with pigmentation in two Italian local cattle breeds (Reggiana and Modenese) and in an Italian heavy pig breed, the Italian Large White breed.
In the first study that we proposed, we detected signatures of selection in the genome of these two autochthonous cattle breeds using genome-wide SNP information in comparative FST analyses. Results show top FST values detected for the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene region on BTA18, and for the agouti signalling protein (ASIP) gene region on BTA13.
The second aim of this thesis was to investigate the pigmentation process of the iris in the Italian Large White pig breed. This is a white-coloured breed not affected by albinism. For this aim, we carried out several genome-wide association studies using high density SNP datasets and designed to contrast groups of pigs with different colour of iris. The results indicated that the eye pigmented patterns, the total absence of pigmentation in the both eyes, and heterochromia iridis defect were associated with SNPs close to the SLC45A2 (on chromosome 16, SSC16), EDNRB (SSC11) and KITLG (SSC5) genes, respectively. In addition, other associated genomic regions with eye depigmented patterns were also identified.
This thesis demonstrates how population genomic approaches designed to take advantage from the diversity between livestock genetic resources could provide interesting hints to explain pigmentation related traits not yet completely investigated in these species
Automotive Radars:towards smarter vehicles
Get PDFRadars are expected to become the main sensors in various civilian applications, especially
for autonomous driving. Their success is mainly due to the availability of low
cost integrated devices, equipped with compact antenna arrays, and computationally
efficient signal processing techniques. This thesis focuses on the study and the development
of different deterministic and learning based techniques for colocated multiple-input
multiple-output (MIMO) radars. In particular, after providing an overview on the
architecture of these devices, the problem of detecting and estimating multiple targets
in stepped frequency continuous wave (SFCW) MIMO radar systems is investigated and
different deterministic techniques solving it are illustrated. Moreover, novel solutions,
based on an approximate maximum likelihood approach, are developed. The accuracy
achieved by all the considered algorithms is assessed on the basis of the raw data
acquired from low power wideband radar devices. The results demonstrate that the
developed algorithms achieve reasonable accuracies, but at the price of different computational
efforts. Another important technical problem investigated in this thesis concerns
the exploitation of machine learning and deep learning techniques in the field of
colocated MIMO radars. In this thesis, after providing a comprehensive overview of the
machine learning and deep learning techniques currently being considered for use in
MIMO radar systems, their performance in two different applications is assessed on the
basis of synthetically generated and experimental datasets acquired through a commercial
frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) MIMO radar. Finally, the application
of colocated MIMO radars to autonomous driving in smart agriculture is illustrated
Manufacturing and experimental characterization of electro adhesive devices
Get PDFElectro Adhesive Devices (EADs) are innovative actuators deployable for many applications, such as robotic grippers, locomotion systems for climbing and crawling robots, haptic devices, and gadgets for space applications. The most relevant advantageous features of EADs are the low energy consumptions and the lightweight and compact embodiment.
An EAD always includes an electrode couple and one or more dielectric layers, which host and insulate the electrodes. The working principle is based on the electrostatic attraction that takes place between the device and the object once the electrodes are connected to a voltage source, propagating an electric field. Due to the high dependency of the phenomenon on a huge number of physical variables, an analytical approach for estimating EAD performance is always complex. Therefore, an experimental approach leading to the definition of empirical models seems to be the most effective way for the evaluation of the performances and to address the design and fabrication process of EADs.This thesis proposes the Drop on Demand (DoD) Inkjet printing as the manufacturing method for the electrodes. A statistical systematic methodology based on Design of Experiment and ANOVA validates DoD Inkjet for the specific application by correlating the printing parameters to the geometry quality. An experimental characterization is carried out on EAD of two different types, one having PEEK and another having Polyimide (PI) thin films as the adhering surface, which also act as the electrode printing substrate. For PI-based EADs, an explanatory gripper prototype was developed. The characterization process assesses the Electro Adhesive Shear Stress (ESS) performance of such devices on different adhering materials, along with their consumptions and time responses during the gripping tests.
Due to its high ESS results, PI-based EADs have been subjected to a manufacturing optimization process aiming to further increase adhesive force performances and dielectric strength