Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Salento
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Bio-Inspired Interlocking Micro-Patterning for Tunable, Switchable and Selective Adhesion in Wet and Dusty Environments
Get PDFAchieving adhesion under unfavorable conditions, such as when van der Waals interaction is not available or in dust environments, is crucial in applications ranging from surgical sutures to wound-healing tapes, underwater adhesives, robotic grippers, and space grasping. Interestingly, plants, animals, and microorganisms living in such environmental conditions show surface morphological traits optimized to achieve mechanical interlocking. Thus, they achieve an effective work of adhesion thanks to the interplay of friction and interfacially-storable elastic energy, which otherwise typically suppress adhesion. In this work, the design and fabrication fundamentals for achieving tunable, switchable, and robust mechanical adhesion is provided under a general environmental condition, such as wet or dusty, bio-mimicking natural solutions. A theoretical framework for the design of mechanical adhesion, based on mean-field continuum contact mechanics, is suggested and validated experimentally. This study can pave the way for the development of new technologies to be employed in situations where conventional adhesives may be ineffective, such as for surfaces exposed to water, solvent vapors, lubricants, high temperatures, dusty environments, high vacuum, or aerospace applications, or processes where switching and selective adhesion is needed such as grasping and sorting applications in the semiconductor industry
α-Cyclodextrins for stability enhancement of bioactive-rich tomato oil extracted with supercritical CO2: Emulsion performance under thermal and UV-C treatments
Get PDFSupercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) extraction offers a sustainable method for obtaining solvent-free oils rich in bioactive molecules, valuable for nutraceutical and functional food products. However, the limited stability of certain extract components can hinder their application. This study explores α, β, and γ cyclodextrins (CDs) as emulsifiers to enhance SC-CO2-extracted tomato oil (TO) stability. TO/CD emulsions with high oil volume fractions (φ) of 60 %, 65 %, 70 %, and 75 % were prepared using the three types of CDs. Only α-CDs formed gel-like, stable emulsions up to φ = 70 %. Confocal microscopy revealed that increasing φ led to morphological changes, including reduced droplet size, decreased roundness, and larger coalescence zones, affecting stability and functionality. Emulsions at φ 60 % showed optimal performance with reduced phase separation, high viscosity, smaller droplet size, and lower coalescence. The stability of carotenoids and tocopherols was evaluated under heat (50 °C) and UV-C exposure to simulate accelerated aging and sterilization. Emulsions improved carotenoid stability at elevated temperatures compared to bulk TO. Tocopherols were highly stable in bulk TO and moderately stable in TO/α-CD emulsions. Under UV-C exposure, TO/α-CD emulsions enhanced carotenoid and tocopherol stability for up to 9 h, compared to pure TO. Further analysis with α-CDs and synthetic glyceryl trioctanoate (GTO) at φ = 60 %, 65 %, and 70 % replicated the concentrations of lycopene and α-tocopherol in TO. These results suggest that TO/α-CD emulsions can serve as stable, high-quality ingredients for nutraceutical and functional food applications
Political elections and market reactions: The ‘Trump effect’ on green stocks
No full textThe election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States and his sceptical positions on climate threaten the fight against climate change, potentially weakening investors’ green concerns. Through an event study approach, we aim to analyse the reaction of the U.S. stock market to the latest presidential election, exploring the investors’ reactions across sectors. We find a strong heterogeneous reaction across sectors. Moreover, we show that the worst performance in the short period is attributable to companies with better performance on environmental issues, which could mean an adjustment of investors’ assessment criteria in anticipation of President Trump's anti-climate policies, reduced transition risk for "brown" firms and lower benefits for firms excelling in environmental performance
Key drivers of innovation trajectories and catch-up in latecomer firms: absorptive capacity and opportunity capture
No full textThis paper investigates why some latecomer firms with substantial absorptive capacity fail during catch-up phases. It aims to clarify the performance effects of their incremental versus radical innovation trajectories propelled by potential and realized absorptive capacities and the interplay with opportunity capture. The empirical investigation was conducted with a sample of 166 manufacturing firms in Guangdong Province, China. The results indicate that both potential and realized absorptive capacities and opportunity capture are more effective in enhancing the performance of incremental innovations than those of radical innovations. However, a high level of opportunity capture can diminish the beneficial impacts of absorptive capacity on radical innovation performance to a greater extent. These findings enrich extant literature on latecomer firms’ catch-up strategies by combining the theoretical lens of absorptive capacity and opportunity capture. It offers implications for managers and policymakers, guiding strategy and policy formulation for firm catch-up endeavors
Combining IoT and AI technologies to improve safety in noisy industrial environments
No full textIndustry 4.0 requires new safety standards, especially for hearing protection, as prolonged exposure to industrial noise can cause irreversible damage. This highlights the need for innovative hearing protection. With the advent of the Smart Factory, enabling technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are being integrated to enhance worker safety and well-being. This work presents the design and development of a smart hearing protection system incorporating noise-cancelling headphones that dynamically filter harmful noise while allowing essential acoustic signals, such as alarms and voice alerts, to pass through for safety. The system is designed to send safety notifications directly to workers' headphones using MQTT and indoor positioning via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons. This ensures that alerts reach workers at risk, such as those near malfunctioning machinery. The developed prototype demonstrator allowed the validation of the proposed solution in a controlled environment
Diritto, legittimazione sociale e conservazione critica del patrimonio culturale. Una riflessione sul patrimonio dissonante a partire dal Muro di Berlino
No full textLa visione sociologica dell’oggetto culturale, della memoria o del patrimonio, è una visione che evidenzia la fragilità del concetto di cultura e il suo possibile adattamento a qualsiasi contenuto. In
questo senso, risponde alla necessità di uno sguardo critico sui valori e sui significati di ciò che si vuole risignificare. Pochi elementi del patrimonio culturale presentano una complessità concettuale simile
a quella del Muro di Berlino in termini di risignificazione e conservazione, e questo fatto richiede un’ampia riflessione e un cambio di paradigma da parte del settore della conservazione. È quindi inevitabile
combinare la prospettiva sociologico-giuridica con le basi e i metodi che la conservazione utilizza per analizzare i beni culturali
Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: A Systematic Review of Clinical Applications and Regenerative Outcomes
No full textGuerre, riforme e statualità nei domini sabaudi (1700-1748)
No full textIl saggio mira a porre in luce i profondi nessi tra le riforme politiche adottate dai Savoia nel corso della prima metà del XVIII secolo e le vicende belliche che interessarono i domini sabaudi.
Attraverso l’esame del ruolo dei Savoia in campo diplomatico e militare durante le Guerre di successione spagnola (1700-1713), polacca (1733-1738) e austriaca (1740-1748), sarà possibile analizzare il faticoso dipanarsi e affermarsi di un nuovo assetto degli spazi italiani, incentrato sul ruolo di stato cuscinetto del Regno di Sardegna tra i domini borbonici e quelli asburgici, nel quadro del più complessivo assetto continentale. A seguito della agognata conquista del titolo regio, si vedrà come la composita realtà subalpina fu interessata, sotto la spinta delle pressanti vicende belliche, da
un programma organico di riforme che interessarono innumerevoli ambiti della vita civile ed economica, di cui si darà conto nel corso del lavoro. Improntati ad un assolutismo di chiara derivazione francese e privo di slanci illuministici, le riforme adottate nella prima metà del XVIII
secolo consentirono al Regno di Sardegna di dotarsi di una amministrazione scrupolosa ed efficiente, permettendo infine che nei domini dei Savoia si avviasse una prima, decisa forma di civilizzazione statuale, testimoniata soprattutto dalla affermazione di uno spirito di servizio alla monarchia e da un
crescente sentimento di fedeltà allo Stato
Attitudes of psychiatric nurses toward restraint interventions in Italian mental health care: Implications for clinical practice
Get PDFBackground and aim: The practice of restraint raises a wide range of issues, including technical, clinical, organizational, deontological, ethical, legal, and medico-legal concerns. Clinical practice and numerous studies on the subject suggest that, in general, physical restraint is not effective for the main reasons it is applied. This study aimed to assess nurses’ knowledge and training levels regarding the application of restraint tools. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses working in mental health facilities using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire, specifically designed for this study, included five main sections: socio-demographic data, attitudes toward physical restraint, and de-escalation approaches among psychiatric nurses. Results: A total of 268 psychiatric nurses participated. Most had over six years of experience in mental health, and 80% had received training on physical restraint, primarily during their nursing degree and through post-graduate updates. Conflicting opinions emerged regarding physical restraints as safe tools for preventing skin injuries and the risks associated with their use. Nurses working in 24-hour facilities were more likely to disagree with restraint practices (36.9%), also advocating for constraints to ensure legal protection for both the nurse and the patient. Conclusions: Implementing educational programs for healthcare personnel is imperative. These programs should focus on equipping nurses with strategies to minimize the use of restraint and effectively adapt to the anticipated changes in contemporary psychiatry