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La simulazione termoenergetica dinamica del sistema edificio-impianti applicata a un caso studio:l'azienda ospedaliera "G. Brotzu"
Get PDFThis research has developed a first part that involved the validation test of building energy
modeling software, in order to compare calibrate numerical solution to experimental
measures of energy demand and thermo-hygrometric parameters. Once installed in the
Internal Medicine Department (of the AOB Hospital in Cagliari) a building management
system for monitoring that measures, this study has developed the use of a data-driven
modeling, for implement numerical models with the aid of DesignBuilder software.
The management of the input variables, the monitoring data and the building performance
simulation output, allow to create an effective tool for the design and the operation of
buildings. The final aim of this research is to use in current practice that useful and
effective tool in operational support, in order to direct the choice of best energy efficiency
and energy saving solutions
Conoscenza e azione. La teoria delle intentiones nella Escuela de Salamanca (XV‐XVI secolo)
Get PDFThe main goal of this work is the reconstruction of the concepts of knowledge and intentionality, as stated by some ‘voces significativae’ of the Escuela de Salamanca, starting from the second part of XV century. We will consider some texts of different scholars belonging to the Order of the Dominicans that, by developing their own theories in the Convent of San Esteban, bring them to fruition and spread in the University of Salamanca. This university is the motor center of the spread of the Iberian culture between the fifteenth and sixteenth century, both in Spain and throughout Europe of the time. This culture, inheriting also the medieval reflections on the theme of knowledge and intentionality, will transpose it and will reach it to full maturity. On this line, the height of the issue will be the Aristotelis Logica Magna of the Dominican Juan Sánchez Sedeño (1552-1615), published in Salamanca in 1600, in which these issues are dealt with in the light of the whole of tradition brought by returning a complete and mature cross to what the Escuela de Salamanca meant by knowledge and theory of intentionality. To achieve full understanding of such insight, the work will be divided into three chapters, each devoted to a particular historical-conceptual stage of the development of these theories. The first chapter will reconstruct some stages of the problem in the Middle Ages. In particular, in this chapter we will consider the theories of Thomas Aquinas, of Hervaeus Natalis and Duns Scotus, among the leaders of the deepening of the theory of knowledge and the formulation of intentiones as instruments for the apprehension. These authors analyze the most significant quaestiones of their works, including, respectively, the Summa Theologica, the Tractatus de secundis intentionibus and commentary on Aristotle's De Anima, in which the three scholars in a widespread manner shall consider modalities of access to the world the man and like the latter may have been aware of and act in it. At first, it will be understood as is a knowledge from the physiological point of view, showing how the theme of intentionality engages in matters related to the operation of the senses and how they allow the intellect to be familiar. Next, it will investigate the importance of the theory of knowledge and intentionality to understand fully human existence in the world. Finally, we will proceed to the analysis of the anthropological structures, individual and social, that allow humans to live fully, thus making possible knowledge and action.
In the second chapter, we show how the questions on knowledge and intentionality analyzed in the first chapter are inherited by salmantini scholars, representatives of the homonymous Escuela, kind university in the second half of the fifteenth century, especially with the new directives of the statutes that Pope Martin V gives off to adjust the Spanish operation of the university. Of these scholars, they will be studied Lope de Barrientos, Bartolomé de Las Casas, Melchor Cano and Domingo Báñez, which will resume the medieval tradition, but gives original interpretations to the problem. Barrientos, in Clavis Sapientiae, consider the matter by analyzing the terms cognitio and
intentio, declining them with a view to their membership in the theory of knowledge, according to the new interpretative demands on man as a person who knows and acting, fate in Salamanca since the second half of the fifteenth century. Las Casas, in De vocationis unique way up the problem of human knowledge in connection to the Thomistic concept of 'belief', indicating the reasons for which to know is to join the world in order to understand how it can be learned in a analog perspective, neither unequivocal nor equivocal. Cano, in De locis theologicis and the introduction to the Tratado de la victoria de sí mismo, examines the issue of knowledge in connection to land the role of man, he understood as the person fully realizes himself by knowing and acting in the world. Thus, Cano proves deep knowledge of medieval theories and keen observer of those developed in the Council of Trent, in which he took part. Báñez, in the commentary on the Summa Theologica of Thomas, incorporates the theories of medieval tradition and its surroundings cultural and reworks in an original way, having as a result a homogeneous theory that explains the knowledge and intent, taking into account both the logical side of that the volitional problem.
In the third chapter, we show you how all the theories of medieval voces and representatives of the Escuela de Salamanca should come to Sánchez Sedeño, which processes in its Aristotelis Logica Magna a 'summa cognitionis et intentionalitatis', analyzing in detail the problem of knowledge according to tradition and, from this, we are creating a personal theory that defines best the previous
Prepulse inhibition come strumento diagnostico per lo studio del comportamento impulsivo-aggressivo nella schizofrenia
Get PDFSensorimotor gating is a perceptual process aimed at filtering out irrelevant information. In humans and animal models, this function can be operationally measured through the prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle reflex. Notably, PPI deficits are associated with numerous neuropsychiatric conditions characterized by gating disturbances and personality aggressive traits, including schizophrenia and Tourette syndrome. Nevertheless, the mechanism underlying the physiopathology is poor understood, principally by the lack of valid animal models. Given the genetic and environmental interplay in schizophrenia background onset, we tested a (endo)phenotype of schizotypal behavior associated with aggression, provided by a MAO-A deficient mice line subjected to early psychosocial stress. Interestingly, these animals represent an isomorphic model of human condition of MAO-A polymorphism, related to antisocial personality and increased aggression. We investigated drug sensibility on sensorimotor gating function across different rat and mice strains to elicit differences due to genetic background in PPI response. Furthermore, we tested MAO-A deficient mice mutant with resident-intruder test to asses early stress impact on aggressive and antisocial behavior
Assessment of cardiac autonomic nervous system during sleep and sleep stability in patients affected by Amyotrofic Lateral Sclerosis
Get PDFObjective: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative
disease, associated with an almost exclusive involvement of upper and lower motor neurons,
although autonomic impairment has also been described. Often patients affected by ALS complain
of disturbed sleep and sudden death during sleep has been reported. To date, few overnight
polysomnographic studies have been performed and a complete evaluation of autonomic nervous
system (ANS) during sleep has never been performed before in ALS subjects. The aim of our study
was to assess macro- and microstructure of sleep, detect any sleep disorders and evaluate cardiac
ANS in a cohort of ALS patients, in order to better characterize the disease and identify novel
strategies to improve quality of life and possibly prolong life expectancy.
Methods: 23 patients affected by ALS (16M/7 F, age 26-79, mean 61) were compared to 15
healthy controls matched for age and sex. Each subject underwent a full-night videopolysomnography.
Sleep staging was performed according to AASM criteria, assessment of sleep
stability was made by means of both CAP detection and CPC (cardiopulmonary coupling),
evaluation of ANS was made with assessment of HRV.
Results: Compared to controls, ALS patients showed a significant reduction of sleep efficiency and
of total sleep time, longer sleep latency than controls, together with an increased number of WASO,
increased N1 sleep and decreased N2, N3 and REM sleep. Moreover patients showed a significant
reduction of CAP rate mainly due to a significant reduction in phase A1 and A2. Compared to
controls, patients showed significant reductions in: total HRV power during non-REM (p=0.005),
LF in non-REM (p=0.01) and REM (p=0.003) sleep, and wake after sleep onset (WASO) (p=0.06)
and also in HF during non-REM (p=0.04) and REM (p=0.05) sleep and WASO (p=0.03). CPC
analysis showed the patients with the most advanced pathology, i.e. those with ALS-FRS<30, had
the most unstable sleep patterns, with high percentage of LFC and low percentage of HFC (<4%).
Interpretation: Our results confirm that sleep structure and stability of ALS patients is altered, and
that there is a subclinical alteration of cardiac autonomic control in both sleep and wakefulness,
with an impairment of both vagal and sympathetic systems. Moreover reduction of CAP rate,
analogously to the reduction of HRV, may reflect an alteration of cortical circuits wich underlie to
the organization of sleep and autonomic functions, which are strongly interconnected, that in these
patients seem to be characterized by a marked rigidity, with poor reactivity and reduced adaptability
to external or internal stimuli. These findings suggest the potential importance of assessment of
autonomic nervous system and sleep in ALS, in conjunction with standard motor system
evaluations
Studio di formulazione e caratterizzazione di nanoparticelle a base di trimetil chitosano e sodio alginato per il rilascio mirato di farmaci
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to develop positively charged nanoparticles (NPs) based on trimethyl chitosan (TMC) and sodium alginate (SA) as drug delivery systems able to interact with the sialic residues of the mucous membranes. The TMC has been synthesised in our laboratory slightly modifying literature procedure, and characterised by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. NPs were prepared with the ionotropic gelation method, using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as cross-linking agent. Ten different nanoparticle formulations were developed by varying the concentration of one component, while keeping constant the other two, or by varying the ratio between the components. The aim of this formulation study was to determine the effect of both polymers and cross-linker concentrations and their ratios on nanoparticle dimensional parameters, such as mean size, size distribution, and surface charge. Overall results of the formulation study indicated that samples prepared with 2 mg/mL TMC concentration and different SA concentrations, namely 1 or 2 mg/mL, showed the best dimensional features, while the optimum concentration of cross-linking agent was 1 mg/mL. Moreover, nanoparticles showed a positive charge surface, suitable to interact with mucous membranes. Preliminary morphological examination of NPs was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the interactions between polymers were examined by FTIR and 1H-NMR spectroscopy.
The formulations which show best results in terms of size, size distribution, and surface charge have been used for the encapsulation of two model drugs for
nose to brain drug delivery, progesterone (PG-NPs) and levodopa (LD-NPs), at different concentrations. Indeed, recent developments have proved the possibility of using the nasal pathway for direct transport of drugs from nose to brain. Both PG-NPs and LD-NPs have positive zeta potential (~ + 30 mV) and particle size dependent on the drug concentration. Encapsulation efficiency (EE%) has been calculated for both series, and the obtained data demonstrated that the average EE% values are ranging around 85-90% for PG-NPs and less than 20% for LD-NPs. Therefore, the studied drug delivery system seems to be more suitable for the encapsulation of lipophilic drugs (as PG) than hydrophilic drugs (as LD). We deeper characterised PG-NPs, in terms of stability and drug release profile. We found out that the release of the drug is constant and prolonged and that NPs are almost stable in solution for a 30-day period.
In conclusion, this study reports on the preliminary results on TMC/SA NPs that could represent a promising strategy for nose to brain drug delivery. Further studies are required to confirm the potentiality of these systems, as cytotoxicity and ex-vivo permeation studies, and to evaluate their efficacy in vivo
La democrazia partecipativa:tendenze all’istituzionalizzazione
Get PDFThis thesis aims to analyse the participatory democracy taking the perspective of one
of the tendencies that cross it: the institutionalisation. Given the premise of a juridical
approach to this multidisciplinary subject, the work suggest the adoption of a strict
concept of participatory democracy and his instruments, than follows its path over the
years throughout different experiences. Having found various degrees of
institutionalisation as well as an opposing tension in order to not overregulate the
participation, the analysis focus on the French débat public as one of the most
accomplished examples of how a participatory instrument with a strong legislative
basis can maintain, at the same time, a flexible procedure.
Proceeding along this trace the attention shifts to the peculiar status of the
participatory democracy in the Italian system. The work sustains the positive value of
an institutionalisation’s process, suggesting the introduction of a national law on the
citizens’ participation to the public policy-making process. Furthermore it is given an
evaluation of the e-democracy set of problems as a consequence of the growing
impact of the ICT in this field.
In conclusion this research confirms the existence of some strong tendencies to the
institutionalisation. These should be carefully balanced, whenever it is decided to
begin a participatory experience, so that its instruments could actually reach, in
concrete, the theoretical premises brought by the participatory democracy
Le azioni dell’UE per l’informatizzazione. Dagli strumenti di base ai procedimenti telematici
Get PDFIn
the
EC
and
EU
Treaties
(at
present
Lisbon
Treaty
that
includes
TEU
and
TEUF),
the
ICT
is
not
the
subject
of
specific
provisions.
However
it
has
been
held
in
high
regard
by
the
European
Institutions.
This
study
therefore
examined
the
provisions
of
the
above
mentioned
Treaties
considered
more
or
less
directly
or
indirectly
linked
to
the
computerization
in
general
and
that
of
P.A.
in
particular,
on
the
basis
of
which
have
been
issued
documents
of
various
types,
programmatic
or
binding.
The
European
Union
has
placed
the
development
of
the
ICT
among
the
seven
flagships
initiatives
of
the
"Europe
2020"
prospectus.
This
program
was
set
for
the
purpose
to
influence
the
social
and
economic
development
of
Europe
and
to
fight
the
crisis
that
began
in
2008.
This
initiative,
issued
by
the
European
Commission
in
its
communication
COM/2010/0245
f/2,
was
called
the
European
Digital
Agenda.
It
is
divided
into
subprograms
wide-‐ranging,
aimed
at
the
development
of
networks
and
digitization
in
all
areas
of
social
life,
from
e-‐
commerce
to
the
Public
Administration.
As
part
of
the
Digital
Agenda
actions
have
been
developed
in
order
to
establish
the
substantive
and
legal
conditions
to
allow
legal
activities
in
electronic
form
to
develop
the
basic
technical
tools.
The
second
aim
of
this
program
is
the
reliability
of
the
operations
normally
carried
out
at
a
distance.
Particular
attention
was
paid
to
the
activity
of
the
Public
Administration,
always
from
the
point
of
view
of
interoperability
at
European
level.
At
present
we
have
the
ISA2
program
which
6
aims
to
encourage,
also
by
specific
funding,
the
administrations
to
develop
advanced
interoperable
systems,
indicating
as
a
solution
also
the
one
stop
shop.
These
acts
are
planning
documents
(which
have
the
characteristics
of
soft
law
acts)
whose
objectives
should
be
implemented
by
the
administrations
of
the
EU
member
States.
A
key
legal
instrument
was
approved
July
23,
2014:
the
Regulation
910/2014,
called
eIDAS,
which
regulates
the
conditions
of
security
in
all
its
aspects
(not
only
for
electronic
signature),
giving
a
lead
role
to
the
trust
service
providers.
The
doctrine
both
on
the
ISA2
programme
and
on
the
eIDAS
Regulation
is
currently
very
limited.
While
the
solutions
stimulated
by
ISA2
are
entrusted
to
the
spontaneous
initiatives,
different
is
the
setting
of
the
law
sources
discussed
in
Chapter
3:
these
are
two
directives
containing
very
advanced
solutions
governed
directly
by
European
Law.
The
Directive
2006/123/EC
on
services
in
the
internal
market,
which
provides
the
one
stop
shop.
The
Directive
2014/24/EU
on
public
procurement,
in
which
the
digitization
and
online
management
tools
are
essential
to
ensure
competition
and
transparency.
Finally,
we
examine
two
sources
connected
to
each
other,
the
object
of
which
impact
significantly
on
the
subject
of
our
investigation:
Directive
2013/37/EU
on
the
reuse
of
public
sector
information
and
the
regulations
being
approved
on
the
protection
of
privacy
La funzione conoscitiva delle amministrazioni pubbliche nell'era dei Big Data
Get PDFBig data we mean a huge set of data in heterogeneous sources and forms, continuously fed in real
time, which requires processing technologies and different management, better than traditional
technologies, able to change the decision-making processes, methods production of knowledge and
the cultural approach to the data value.
The processing of big data gives the opportunity to those who are in possession of these particular
types of data to collect an unprecedented amount of data, to gain a predictive capability on social,
economic or political phenomena already in place or under development to others foreclosed and
the tendency to use and continually reuse the data in such a way as to derive new information and
new knowledge about reality.
One can not ignore, therefore, the potential impact of these new technological and cultural
possibilities inherent in the data and their management on the action and administrative
organization. Govern with the Big Data means knowing produce, process and reprocess data from
public sources and private owned by public administrations so as to enhance knowledge of the
factual situations to which the administration must intervene, the speed and effectiveness of ' public
intervention, efficiency and good management of public services. The processing of big data sets
all'amministrativista the issues of no small moment: their use during the administrative action
changes the traditional canons procedural investigation? Approaching the administrative decision to
the optimal decision? It makes it increasingly relevant to the principle of material truth that must
tend the administrative action?
Govern with the Big date includes, however, the ability to govern the Big Date, ie the ability to
equip public authorities the right technological infrastructure in order and to organize the internal
information systems and the coordination of information between the administrations just as
appropriate: ultimately to be able to organize the management of data held by public authorities.
The management of big data sets, the same way, relevant legal issues: how we collect and how we
retain this data? Which data quality can be achieved and what quality you have to ensure that these
data? Which of these files you make reusable?
The Big Date, ultimately, emphasize that it is necessary to rethink the cognitive function of
government, understood in its dynamic sense (administrative action), both in its static sense
(organizational): a cognitive function more and more autonomous because highly technical and
difficult to place as assets only instrumental administrative action
The nature of corporate entrepreneurship: theoretical and empirical insights
Get PDFThis thesis consists of three essays linked to each other by perspectives of entrepreneurship,
openness, and innovation, through which I sought to give an answer to a specific research question.
Starting from the premise that corporate entrepreneurship should be understood as a renewal process of
the existing organization that is aimed at maintaining and improving the competitive potential of a
company in its environment, I have developed my research in order to give an answer to the following
question: how does the evolution of the relationship between a company and external agents effect the
inclination of the first one to innovate? According to this premise, in the first essay I analyzed the
conceptual structure of corporate entrepreneurship in order to discover the core themes and limitations.
In the second essay, according to results that emerged from the previous research, I have delivered a
theoretical framework aimed to fulfill the limitations that emerged. In the third and last essay, I sought to
demonstrate empirically the theoretical results that emerged in the previous essays, analyzing how
relationships with external agents could affect the strategic innovation of a company.
More specifically, the first essay aimed to reveal the conceptual structure map of the corporate
entrepreneurship research field during the period 1992-2015. By adopting a co-word analysis approach
and following the most rigorous methodological prescriptions, 43 main concepts were detected by
filtering the co-occurrence of 654 normalized author’s keywords extracted from the Scopus database.
Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling (MDS) were applied in order to gather and detect the
concepts’ positioning, densities, distances, and gaps cartography. Based on these multivariate analyses, the
following conclusions can be drawn: (i) the five main keyword groups of concepts are located in three
areas: central, semi-peripheral and peripheral; (ii) innovation and strategy related concepts are central in
the field; (iii) entrepreneurial leverages and entrepreneurialism focused on SME’s concepts are semiperipheral;
(iv) organizational concepts related to learning and absorptive capacity, culture, human
resources and cognition are largely decentralized and represent the emerging, hidden or peripheral topics.
The second essay deals with the collaborative nature of corporate entrepreneurship and deepens the
limitations that emerged from the previous analysis. In particular, the starting point has been the
perspective that collaborative innovation with customers or external agents is increasingly important for
the development of company innovation processes. Despite this critical role, how a customer’s
collaborative relationship with a firm can be used to manage the innovation processes has received
relatively little attention in the current corporate entrepreneurship literature. This analysis aims to reveal a
theoretical framework that helps to fill a specific gap that has emerged in previous studies in this field,
offering a theory of innovation that links this field of study with value co-creation and open innovation.
By adopting a bibliometric analysis approach and following the most rigorous methodological
prescriptions, the main concepts have been detected by the literature review of each field of study and a
frequency of keywords analysis has been applied. Based on these analyses, the essay is divided into two
studies. The first study provides a review of the literature from three existing fields of studies: corporate
entrepreneurship, value co-creation, and open innovation, placing emphasis on how companies engage in
collaborative innovation with external agents. The second study, using a multiple qualitative case study,
shows how companies’ innovations are shaped by relationships with customers.
The goal of the last essay is to demonstrate empirically the results that emerged in the previous essays
in the field of companies’ openness. Since the last century, the increasing adoption of more open
approaches to innovation has required firms to revise their traditional views of strategy. However,
relatively little is known about how managers can go about achieving this transformation, and how—and
to what extent—strategy should be adapted. This study, using a grounded-theory approach, investigates
how and why forms of open strategy occur as a result of open innovation approaches. In particular, we
identify the key dimensions that underpin open strategy. We discuss them in terms of innovation strategy,
business complementarities, strategic fit and bidirectional communication. We also identify three different
possible levels of open strategy: corporate, functional and business area. The results of our analysis: (i)
highlight that the open innovation approach is a starting point for the process of open strategy, (ii) show
to what extent an open innovation approach tends to influence and shape the strategy of a firm, and (iii)
provide researchers with a framework that seeks to explain the key dimensions of open strategy
Crystal engineering of MOF based on polypyridyl ligands and coordinatively unsatured NiII ions
Get PDFThe thesis reports on the synthesis, structural and spectroscopic characterization of coordination polymers obtained by reacting dithiophosphato [((RO)2PS2)2Ni] and dithiophosphonato [Ni(ROpdt)2] NiII complexes [ROpdt = (RO)(4-MeOC6H4)PS2; R = Me, Et] with a variety of polypyridyl donors prepared and characterized as a part of the PhD work, selected according to their rigidity, topology, number and position of donor atoms.
Chapter 1 An introductory part is presented which reports the main concepts of supramolecular chemistry and crystal engineering. The objectives of the research are outlined and the square planar NiII phosphorodithioato complexes used as the building blocks in the building up of the polymers introduced. The tendency of these coordinatively unsaturated complexes to axially bound two additional donor molecules by reaching octahedral coordination geometry in a quite predicable way, is discussed. Chapter 2 A discussion of the results is presented mainly focused on structural description motifs and crystallographic datasets obtained through the deliberate construction of coordination polymers obtained by reacting NiII phosphorodithioato complexes with various bi-pyridyl donors. Three different typologies of ligands were prepared: bidentate rigid spacers such as the 1,4-bis(3-pyridyl)-butadiyne ligand; semi-rigid bidentate spacers such as the 2,5-bis(4-pyridyl)-4-thia-1,3-thiazolidine and 2,5-bis-(3-pyridyl)-4-thia-1,3-thiazolidine ligands, and a set of tridentate spacers such as 1 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid-1,3-bis-4-pyridyl ester. The ligands were synthesized following different synthetic routes here described. The self-assembly process is based on the capability of the coordinatively unsaturated NiII ion of the square-planar phosphorodithioato complexes to bind suitable bipyridyl and tripyridil-based spacers thus forming 1D and 2D coordination polymers with different geometrical and topological features. It has been demonstrated that the primary structural motif of the polymers depends mainly on the features of the pyridyl-based spacers such as length, rigidity, number and orientation of the donor atoms, whereas the substituents on the phosphorus atoms play a crucial role in determining the final network through secondary intermolecular interactions involving the polymeric chains.
Chapter 3 The experimental procedures and spectroscopic characterizations are here reported along with all the materials, instruments, synthetic procedures, crystallization methods, and technical parameters used for the spectroscopic investigations.
Chapter 4 The conclusions about this research work and new perspectives in coordination polymers building-up are here reported