323,699 research outputs found
Video-Analysis of Player's Kinematics in Running out of Boundaries in Association Football Fields
No full textAbstractThe risk of injury following a player's impact with objects in sport facilities is a growing problem, as shown by serious accidents that happen when players have head impacts with obstacles and barriers installed around the play area. At present, no experimental data are available about the kinematics of football (soccer) players during a running-out of playing areas scenario. Experimental tests on a sample of 14 skilled football players, aged between 17 and 19 years, were conducted to investigate athletic performances in common gaming actions of running, considered potentially-damaging when they occur near the boundary lines of the regular pitch. In the current research, a player's motion was captured with a high-frequency camera and kinematic data were video-analysed. The experimental trials resulted in kinematic data plots, characterised by a decelerating trend of the speed versus the distance covered by the players during the required movements. A section at the starting point and three sections at consecutive distances (a total amount of four sections in correspondence of 0 m and consecutive 1.5 m, 2.5 m, 3.5 m on the lane covered by players) of the decelerating trends of data were analysed. Findings of this pilot study should be useful for the improvements of passive safety in sports fields, allowing the correlation of the potential impact energy of players with the installation distances of protective devices
Innovazione, R&S e incentivi fiscali nel retail. Una prospettiva economico aziendale
No full textIn un contesto economico dinamico, l’innovazione tecnologica rappresenta una importante leva strategica per la competitività delle aziende. Questo volume esplora il ruolo degli incentivi fiscali nel promuovere l’innovazione, con declinazione al credito d’imposta per attività di ricerca e sviluppo. Attraverso un’analisi della letteratura, della normativa e di un caso studio nel settore del retail, trattiamo l’efficacia delle politiche di incentivazione e il loro impatto sulle performance aziendali. Il progetto O.S.A. Innovation Store, presentato nel volume, dimostra come gli investimenti in R&S e l’uso di tecnologie, tra le quali l’intelligenza artificiale, possano ottimizzare la gestione dei punti vendita e migliorare l’esperienza del cliente. Il testo si rivolge a manager, professionisti e studiosi interessati all’innovazione nel settore retail, e offre spunti per comprendere come coniugare trasformazione tecnologica e sostenibilità economica attraverso gli investimenti in R&S e gli strumenti di agevolazione fiscale
Toward a New Approach for Passive Safety Assessment of Gymnastic Equipment
No full textPurpose: Aim of the paper is to propose a new approach for the assessment of passive safety of gymnastic
equipment that allows technicians to optimize the choice of protection devices.
Design/methodology/approach: According to different standard procedures, EN 913 and EN 1177 with an
additional control on the acceleration parameter, experimental tests on polymer foam materials were performed
using cylindrical and hemispherical missiles connected to a flexible impact testing apparatus realized at
Chemnitz University of Technology.
Findings: Impact tests carried out using cylindrical and hemispherical missiles have shown, for the same impact
energy, different acceleration peak values, always greater for hemispherical missile than cylindrical one. So
considering EN 913 procedure, the severity of head impacts, in term of acceleration peak can be underestimated
when a cylindrical missile is used. For this reason to correctly assess the head injuries is necessary to take into
account in addition to the acceleration peak value, also HIC parameter.
Research limitations/implications: The research described in the paper was carried out taking into account
only the human head impacts (the most severe injuries) and not other parts of the human body.
Practical implications: The new approach proposed in the paper can be useful for the choice of the protective devices
to improve the passive safety of gymnastic equipment. It represents a starting point to define new standards.
Originality/value: On the base of experimental tests, the authors show that the safety threshold of peak
acceleration defined in the EN913 standard is poor. For this reason it is necessary to modify the current
standards, in order to guarantee an adequate passive safety and to allow the technicians to optimize the choice
of protection devices on the base of impact absorption properties, that are evaluated using all together the
parameters: acceleration peak, drop height and Head Injury Criterion (HIC)
The Multidimensional Nature of Consensus in Business Economics: From Social Contract to Digital Transformation
No full textThe contribution addresses consensus in business economics, analyzing its
theoretical foundations, empirical manifestations, and strategic implications.
Consensus is defined as an invisible infrastructure that supports the modern
enterprise, configured not only as a formal agreement but as a social construct
that permeates internal and external organizational relationships. The analysis
begins with the theoretical roots of consensus, traceable to contractualist and
institutionalist traditions, and then examines the fundamental contribution of
stakeholder theory. The document illustrates how consensus manifests concretely
in organizational dynamics through governance systems, decision-making
processes, communication strategies, and change management. Particularly
significant is the conceptualization of consensus as a strategic resource capable
of generating sustainable competitive advantage, characterized by value, rarity,
and non-substitutability according to the Resource-Based View. The contribution
also addresses challenges and opportunities for consensus management in the
digital era, highlighting how technologies and social media have transformed the
architecture of corporate communication and accelerated the processes of
consensus formation and dissolution. A new paradigm of organizational consensus
is outlined, characterized by the need to balance potentially conflicting requirements
(univocality and pluralism, stability and innovation, control and participation),
emphasizing the importance of developing contextual approaches that recognize
the diversity of legitimate practices and distinguish between authentic consensus
and manipulation
Conversion of Enkephalin and Dermorphin Into Delta-selective Opioid Antagonists By Single-residue Substitution
No full textThe properties of di- and tri-peptides containing 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (Tic) in second position suggest that the message domain of opioid peptides can be composed of only two residues [Temussi, P. A., Salvadori, S., Amodeo, P., Guerrini, R., Tomatis, R., Lazarus, L. H., Picone, D. gr Tancredi, T. (1994) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 198, 933-939]. As a crucial test of the possibility that the Sr-Tic segment be a message domain in longer peptide sequences, we have inserted it in the sequences of two typical opioid peptides: [Leu]enkephalin, a non-selective agonist, and dermorphin, a selective mu agonist. Here we report the synthesis and biological activity of [L-Tic(2)]enkephalin, [L-Tic(2)]dermorphin, [L-Tic(2)]dermorphin carboxylic acid and [D-Tic(2)]dermorphin: all [L-Tic(2)]peptides were converted from agonists to delta-selective antagonists. The NMR conformational study in a dimethylsulfoxide/water cryoprotective mixture at low temperature shows diagnostic side-chain - side-chain NOEs in the spectra of all [L-Tic(2)]peptides and hints that the 90 degrees arrangement of the the two aromatic rings found in the cis-Tyr-L-Tic moiety, typical of N-methyl naltrindole and other delta-selective opiate antagonists, is responsible for the antagonist activity of all these peptides
Unusual Case of Indolent Choroidal Alterations Mimicking Neurofibromatosis Type 1
No full textIndolent, non-progressive choroidal alterations can be strongly suggestive of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) but are also rarely of unknown aetiology. A 63-year-old man presented for a routine examination. Comprehensive ophthalmological examination and retinal imaging was performed. Visual acuity was 20/20. The anterior segment and fundus were unremarkable. Near-infrared reflectance (NIR) with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography showed unilateral hyperreflective areas in the left posterior pole, corresponding to choroidal nodules on enhanced depth imaging and hypofluorescent areas on indocyanine green angiography. Dermatological evaluation and genetic testing for NF1 were negative. Chest computed tomography, liver function, HLA-A29, and angiotensin-converting enzyme level were negative. The patient has remained in good health and the choroidal alterations have remained non-progressive for 3 years. Choroidal alterations observed with NIR could be a manifestation of somatic mosaicism or a variation of a new unclassified correlated condition that may be better elucidated in the future, given the use of novel imaging techniques that are currently available in ophthalmology
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