112,369 research outputs found
Cesare Balbo v Ljubljani
No full textOne of the ideologists of the Italian Risorgimento Cesare Balbo (1789—1853) spent in the years 1811 and 1812 some months in Ljubljana as a member of the commission for debts liquidation in the territory of the Illyrian Provinces. Balbo didn\u27t feel well in Ljubljana and could hardly wait to get rid of that thankless work. One can only guess if he had any contacts with the Slovenes in Ljubljana. His later political activity and publicity don\u27t indicate exactly any searching knowledge of the problem of the Slav nations living in the Illyrian Provinces.Eden izmed ideologov italijanskega Risorgimenta Cesare Balbo (1789 —1853) je v letih 1811 in 1812 preživel nekaj mesecev v Ljubljani kot član komisije za likvidacijo dolgov na ozemlju Ilirskih provinc. Balbo se v Ljubljani ni počutil dobro in komaj je čakal, da se reši nehvaležnega dela. Če je v Ljubljani prišel v stike s Slovenci, je mogoče le ugibati. Njegovo kasnejše politično delovanje in publicistika ne kažeta na kako poglobljeno poznavanje problema slovanskih narodov, ki so živeli v Ilirskih provincah
Kiri M. V. G. Malacarnele
No full textBalbo, Prospero, 1762-1837, itaalia poliitikMalacarne, Michele Vincenzo Giacinto, 1744-1816, itaalia meedik,anatoomia ja kirurgia professorTänukiri saadud väljaande ees
Preparation and biodegradation of clay composites of PLA
No full text[EN] Purpose: Perspective applications of nanocomposites in biomedical applications are investigated in this work by producing intercalated dispersions of clays into a biodegradable polymer matrix. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was selected being produced from renewable resources and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use.
In order to improve PLA mechanical properties and to accelerate its degradation, different layered silicate nanoclays are added: montmorillonites and fluorohectorites, without or with organic modifiers. Preparation, characterization, mechanical properties and biodegradation in blood plasma are evaluated. Results: New biodegradable materials were obtained, with improved mechanical properties (Young modulus, Peak stress and Strain at break) and with increased degradation rate (weight loss and lactic acid release).Nieddu, E.; Mazzucco, L.; Gentile, P.; Benko, T.; Balbo, V.; Mandrile, R.; Ciardelli, G. (2009). Preparation and biodegradation of clay composites of PLA. Reactive and Functional Polymers. 69(6):371-379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2009.03.002S37137969
PPP. Progetto, Paesaggi, Penisola: 1000 Km di vastità di paesaggi di conflittualità, eccellenze, degradi
No full textCorrosion behaviour of ZrN/Ti ceramic solid solution in fluids simulating biological inflammatory conditions
No full textWhen an implant is inserted into a living tissue, the response of the organism is al-ways associated with an inflammatory process caused by the surgical intervention and/or the foreign materials. Therefore, for the evaluation of the biocompatibility, it is important to investigate the behaviour of materials under such conditions.
In the current study the corrosion behaviour of a ZrN/Ti (ZNT) ceramic solid solution under inflammatory conditions was investigated and compared with CP Ti.
The ZNT ceramic material was prepared by hot pressing and the presence of tita-nium in the solid solution showed some beneficial effect on sinterability and on me-chanical properties, mainly hardness, if compared to monolithic ZrN.
A phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution (pH 7.4) and a PBS/0.1M H2O2 (pH=4) solution were used to simulate the body fluids in the absence and in the presence of inflammatory conditions respectively. The corrosion behaviour of the materials was monitored by linear polarization resistance measurements and polarization curves for two weeks. After the first week the PBS/H2O2 solution was replaced by fresh PBS solution in order to simulate the normalization process after the acute inflammatory phase. The behaviour of the tested materials under inflammatory conditions was compared with that in the absence of an inflammatory process.
For ZNT solid solution exposed to inflammatory conditions the results showed a bet-ter corrosion behaviour than that observed on CP Ti, as an effect of the formation of a more protective surface oxide layer.
The electrochemical results and the mechanical properties of ZNT ceramic material suggest that it is a promising candidate for biomedical applications where high corrosion and wear resistance are required
Grandparenting, education and subjective well-being of older Europeans
No full textWe study whether grandparenthood is associated with older people’s subjective well-being (SWB), considering the association with life satisfaction of having grandchildren per se, their number, and of the provision of grandchild care. Older people’s education may not only be an important confounder to control for, but also a moderator in the relation between grandparenthood-related variables and SWB. We investigate these issues by adopting a cross-country comparative perspective and using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe covering 20 countries. Our results show that grandparenthood has a stronger positive association with SWB in countries where intensive grandparental childcare is not common and less socially expected. Yet, this result is driven by a negative association between grandparenthood without grandparental childcare and SWB that we only found in countries where intensive grandparental childcare is widespread. Therefore, in accordance with the structural ambivalence theory, we argue that in countries where it is socially expected for grandparents to have a role as providers of childcare, not taking on such a role may negatively influence SWB. However, our results show that grandparental childcare (either intensive or not) is generally associated with higher SWB. Overall, we do not find support for a moderating effect of education. We also do not find striking differences by gender in the association between grandparenthood and SWB. The only noteworthy discrepancy refers to grandmothers being often more satisfied when they provide grandchild care
A reference data access service in support of emergency management. Data quality assessment protocol, publication and exploitation of the results
No full textIn the field of natural disasters recovery and reduction and of emergency management geo-referenced information is strongly needed. In my personal experience obtained in the three years period spent at ITHACA, during the shorter at GFDRR Labs and through the work done indirectly with UN-WFP, after a natural disaster occurs, the experts in geomatics are often asked to provide answers to questions such as: where did it occur? How many people have been involved? How many infrastructures have been damaged and to what extent? How much is the economical loss? Geomatics can give answer to all these questions or give significant help in addressing operations in order to get the answers. The goal can be reached both with the use of base reference data, the ones usually contained in the classic cartography, and by exploiting value added information coming from satellite and aerial data processing, classic surveys and GPS/GNSS acquisition on the field. The activities object of this thesis have been performed in the framework of a European project that aim to provide services for Earth Observation: it is called Global Monitoring for Environment and Security. The document is organized in order to follow the project logical line rather than covering the respective timelin
New biocompatible, low stiffness, BETa-Ti ankle EndopRostheses manufactured by Laser Powder Bed fusion with functionally graded lattice (FGL) structure – BETTER
No full textThe project aims at applying an innovative beta-Ti alloy (Ti-Nb-Zr) for the design and manufacturing of a novel talar component (NTC) for total ankle replacement (TAR) fabricated by Laser-based Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF). TAR is increasingly preferred to other treatments and the application of LPBF and beta-Ti alloys to TAR could overcome current limitations, like poor bone adaptation leading to long-term implant instability. The beta-Ti alloy is considered in substitution of the Ti6Al4V alloy, a gold standard orthopaedic implant material widely used for its strength, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility (used as benchmark in the present proposal).
A limitation of the Ti6Al4V alloy, in fact, is the mismatch between its elastic modulus (100–110 GPa) and that of the bone (10–30 GPa), leading to the stress-shielding phenomenon which, in the long term, causes bone resorption and implant loosening. Moreover, it has been recently reported that elements such as V and Al have potentially cytotoxic effects.
Extensive studies have been performed to develop novel beta-Ti alloys suitable for biomedical applications, characterized by lower elastic modulus (up to 50 GPa) and non-toxic alloying elements, thus ensuring improved biocompatibility properties. Moreover, by focusing on the personalised design and manufacturing, the reduction of stress shielding issues can be enhanced using functionallygraded lattice structures (FGL), with tailored porosity gradients, fabricated by AM technologies, like LPBF.
The development of the Project (Fig.1) will be achieved by:
• Optimization of the LPBF manufacturing parameters and post process heat treatment by preliminary characterization of beta-Ti alloy (composition, density, hardness, microstructure).
• Characterization of samples produced under optimized process conditions, including tensile, wear and corrosion tests, as well as microstructural and fractographic analyses. The LPBF Ti6Al4V alloy will be used as reference alloy.
• Medical imaging of three ankle specimens which will undergo TAR, to design the NTC and validate the overall customization procedure.
• Customization of the TAR positioning and of the cutting jigs. The positioning of a commercial endoprosthesis will be optimized on the specimens, using a personalized ankle model.
• Customization of the NTC internal structure. Topological Optimization (TO) of a finite element method (FEM) model will be performed, defining FGL that replicates stiffness of the talus.
• Production by LPBF of customized implant produced with the innovative beta-Ti alloy. Fabrication and test of the NTC. The component is printed, finished and heat treated and then geometrically and mechanically tested to validate the feasibility and
reliability of the entire production cycle.
• Surgical implant of the TAR on the three ankle specimens to validate the overall customization procedure
author-bios-SRD-19-0063.R1 – Supplemental material for The Network Structure of Police Misconduct
No full textSupplemental material, author-bios-SRD-19-0063.R1 for The Network Structure of Police Misconduct by George Wood, Daria Roithmayr and Andrew V. Papachristos in Socius</p
Endothelial response boosted by platelet lysate: the involvement of calcium toolkit.
No full textWound repair is a dynamic process during which crucial signaling pathways are regulated by growth factors and cytokines released by several kinds of cells directly involved in the healing process. However, the limited applications and heterogeneous clinical results of single growth factors in wound healing encouraged the use of a mixture of bioactive molecules such as platelet derivatives for best results in wound repair. An interesting platelet derivative, obtained from blood samples, is platelet lysate (PL), which has shown potential clinical application. PL is obtained from freezing and thawing of platelet-enriched blood samples. Intracellular calcium (Ca2+) signals play a central role in the control of endothelial cell survival, proliferation, motility, and differentiation. We investigated the role of Ca2+ signaling in the PL-driven endothelial healing process. In our experiments, the functional significance of Ca2+ signaling machinery was highlighted performing the scratch wound assay in presence of different inhibitors or specific RNAi. We also pointed out that the PL-induced generation of intracellular ROS (reactive oxygen species) via NOX4 (NADPH oxidase 4) is necessary for the activation of TRPM2 and the resulting Ca2+ entry from the extracellular space. This is the first report of the mechanism of wound repair in an endothelial cell model boosted by the PL-induced regulation of [Ca2+]i
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