191 research outputs found
Evaluation of Radiation Thermal Resistances in Industrial Motors
Get PDFThis paper deals with the role of the radiation thermal resistances in industrial motors and describes a test set useful for the resistance evaluation. The test set is based on a vacuum chamber and on a numerical acquisition system, and the resistances are obtained by monitoring motor temperatures during a heating test. An analytical model that describes how the radiation resistance depends on the motor temperature is also provided. Experimental results obtained on a totally enclosed fan-cooled 150-W induction motor are shown and discussed
Teoria della scelte di portafoglio e teoria della liquidita': un confronto sulla metodologia e sui principi dell'intermediazione finanziaria
No full textDottorato di ricerca in economia politica. 7. ciclo. Coordinatore Giuliano Conti. Supervisore Alberto NiccoliConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome; Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale - P.za Cavalleggeri, 1, Florence / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal
Il socialismo morale di Aldo Capitini (1918-1948)
No full textThis monograph is focused on the reconstruction of the socialism of Aldo Capitini (1899-1968). As the author shows, Capitini’s socialism is a very atypical one. It stems from an attempt to overcome that cultural, philosophical and religious crisis which culminates in the First World War and that is due to the end of the faith in progress. Therefore, Capitini’s socialism is peculiarly nourished by a religious perspective which cannot be reduced to Catholicism, nor to any other version of the reformed Christian churches existing in Europe. In a similar way, Capitini’s socialism rejects all those ideologies, such as communism and liberalism, which are based on the assumption that history is led by progress. Capitini’s socialism underlines the importance of individual responsibility seen as a fundamental crossroads able to promote change and revolution in a world which has become indifferent to any metaphysical reference to progress. Lots of manuscripts and unpublished materials have been consulted with a view both to uncovering the sources of Capitini’s socialism and to finding an answer to some theoretical knots, such as that – which Norberto Bobbio himself did not manage to solve in a satisfactory way - of the relationship between this kind of socialism and the institutional framework. According to this reconstruction, Capitini's socialism favours some form of integration between its moral and religious inspiration and the state
On the role of bacterial gut microbiota from supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator (Montagu, 1808) in bioplastic degradation
No full textDespite the promise of a reduced environmental impact, bioplastics are subjected to dispersion and accumulation similarly to traditional plastics, especially in marine and coastal environments. The environmental impact of bioplastics is attracting increasing attention due to the growing market demand. The ability of the supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator to ingest and survive on pristine starch-based bioplastic has already been assessed. However, the involvement of the gut microbiota of this key coastal species in making bioplastics a dietary supplement, remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the modification of T. saltator gut microbiota following bioplastic ingestion and the effect of this change on the modification of their chemical composition. Groups of adult amphipods were fed with: 1 — two different kinds of starch-based bioplastic; 2 — a 50 %/50 % chitosan-starch mixture; and 3 — paper and dry-fish-food. Freshly collected, unfed individuals were used as control group. Faecal pellets from the amphipods were collected and characterized using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. DNA was extracted from gut samples for metagenomic analysis. Spectroscopic investigation suggested a partial digestion of polysaccharide components in the experimental polymeric materials. The analysis of the gut microbiota revealed that bioplastic feeding induced modification of sandhopper's gut microbial communities, shifting the abundance of specific microbial genera already present in the gut, towards bacterial genera associated with plastic/bioplastic degradation, especially in groups fed with starch-based bioplastics. Overall, our results highlight the involvement of T. saltator's gut microbiota in bioplastic modification, providing new insights into the potential role of microbial consortia associated to sandhoppers in bioplastic management. © 2025 The Author
Early onset smoking theory of compulsivity development : a neurocognitive model for the development of compulsive tobacco smoking
Get PDFFunding: This manuscript has been supported by a self-funded PhD scholarship and by a University of St Andrews endowment fund.According to the literature, individuals who start tobacco smoking during adolescence are at greater risk of developing severe tobacco addiction and a heavier smoking behaviour in comparison to individuals who uptake tobacco smoking during subsequent developmental stages. As suggested by animal models, this may be related to the unique neuroadaptive and neurotoxic effects of nicotine on adolescents’ fronto-striatal brain regions modulating cognitive control and impulsivity. Previous research has proposed that these neuroadaptive and neurotoxic effects may cause a heightened reward-oriented impulsive behaviour that may foster smoking relapses during quit attempts. However, developments in the field of Addiction Neuroscience have proposed drug addiction to represent a type of compulsive behaviour characterised by the persistent use of a particular drug despite evident adverse consequences. One brain region that has received increased attention in recent years and that has been proposed to play a central role in modulating such compulsive drug seeking and using behaviour is the insular cortex. Lesion studies have shown that structural damages in the insular cortex may disrupt the smoking behaviour, while neuroimaging studies reported lower Gray Matter volume in the anterior insular cortex of chronic smokers compared to non-smokers, in addition to correlations between Gray Matter volume in the anterior insular cortex and measures of compulsive cigarette smoking. Based on the finding of our recent study reporting early onset smokers (mean age at regular smoking initiation= 13.2 years) to display lower Gray Matter and White Matter volume in the anterior insular cortex compared to late onset smokers (mean age at regular smoking initiation=18.0 years), we propose that the anterior insular cortex may play a central role in mediating the association between smoking uptake during adolescence and smoking heaviness/tobacco addiction during adulthood.Peer reviewe
The efficacy of real versus sham external Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation (eTNS) in youth with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) over 4 weeks: a protocol for a multi-centre, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, phase IIb study (ATTENS)
No full textBackground: attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), if severe, is usually treated with stimulant or non-stimulant medication. However, users prefer non-drug treatments due to side effects. Alternative non-medication treatments have so far only shown modest effects. External trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) is a minimal risk, non-invasive neuromodulation device, targeting the trigeminal system. It was approved for ADHD in 2019 by the USA Food and Drug administration (FDA) based on a small proof of concept randomised controlled trial (RCT) in 62 children with ADHD showing improvement of ADHD symptoms after 4 weeks of nightly real versus sham eTNS with minimal side effects. We present here the protocol of a larger confirmatory phase IIb study testing efficacy, longer-term persistency of effects and underlying mechanisms of action.Methods: a confirmatory, sham-controlled, double-blind, parallel-arm, multi-centre phase IIb RCT of 4 weeks of eTNS in 150 youth with ADHD, recruited in London, Portsmouth, and Southampton, UK. Youth with ADHD will be randomized to either real or sham eTNS, applied nightly for 4 weeks. Primary outcome is the change in the investigator-administered parent rated ADHD rating scale. Secondary outcomes are other clinical and cognitive measures, objective hyperactivity and pupillometry measures, side effects, and maintenance of effects over 6 months. The mechanisms of action will be tested in a subgroup of 56 participants using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before and after the 4-week treatment.Discussion: this multi-centre phase IIb RCT will confirm whether eTNS is effective in a larger age range of children and adolescents with ADHD, whether it improves cognition and other clinical measures, whether efficacy persists at 6 months and it will test underlying brain mechanisms. The results will establish whether eTNS is effective and safe as a novel non-pharmacological treatment for ADHD.Trial registration: ISRCTN82129325 on 02/08/2021, https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN82129325
Emilio Ghione and the Mask of Za La Mort
Get PDFThis study aims to examine the cultural impact of Emilio Ghione's Za La Mort films (1914-1924) on Italian culture. These films constitute a significant Italian combination of several early cinema genres and sub-genres, such as the apache film, the traces of which have almost entirely disappeared. More broadly, the changing interpretations of Za La Mort figure allow us to understand wider shifts in Italian and European popular culture.
The first chapter of the study considers the wealth of influences from European popular culture that Emilio Ghione merged into the apache films, such as the apache sub-culture in Paris. The second chapter of the study then reconstructs the Za La Mort filmography, most of which has now been lost, from film viewings and archival documents. The third chapter considers Emilio Ghione's Za La Mort novels and theatrical productions in the years 1922-1930, and Ghione's attempts to make Za La Mort a more Fascist and nationalistic figure. The fourth chapter considers the enduring figure of Za La Mort in Italian popular culture, especially in Raffaele Matarazzo's Fumeria D'Oppio and a 1940's fumetti series. The fifth chapter considers the audience reception of the Za La Mort films from the limited remaining evidence and, positioning the series between the Cinema of Attractions of the 1900s and the Classical Cinema of the mid-1920's, analyses how the Za La Mort films were constructed to please a predominantly working class audience that valued spectacular thrills and great acting performances over narrative consistency and stable characterisation.
This research re-establishes the importance of one of Italian cinema's most important film-makers of the silent period, and his enduring importance as a popular cultural figure in Italy
Chronic tobacco smoking, impaired reward-based decision-making, and role of insular cortex : a comparison between early-onset smokers and late-onset smokers
Get PDFFunding: This study was supported by the University of St. Andrews Endowment fund.Introduction: The literature suggests that tobacco smoking may have a neurotoxic effect on the developing adolescent brain. Particularly, it may impair the decision-making process of early-onset smokers ( 0.05) in reward-based decision-making were detected between early-onset smokers and late-onset smokers. VBM results revealed early-onset smokers to present lower GM volume in the bilateral anterior insular cortex (AI) in comparison to late-onset smokers and lower WM volume in the right AI in comparison to late-onset smokers. Conclusion: Impairments in reward-based decision-making may not be affected by tobacco smoking initiation during early adolescence. Instead, lower GM and WM volume in the AI of early-onset smokers may underline a vulnerability to develop compulsive tobacco seeking and smoking behavior during adulthood.Peer reviewe
On pre-emptive vehicle stability control
Get PDFPublisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Future vehicle localisation technologies enable major enhancements of vehicle dynamics control. This study proposes a novel vehicle stability control paradigm, based on pre-emptive control that considers the curvature profile of the expected path ahead in the computation of the reference direct yaw moment and braking control action. The additional information allows pre-emptive trail braking control, which slows down the vehicle if the predicted speed profile based on the current torque demand is deemed incompatible with the reference trajectory ahead. Nonlinear model predictive control is used to implement the approach, in which also the steering angle and reference yaw rate provided to the internal model are varied along the prediction horizon, to account for the expected vehicle path. Two pre-emptive stability control configurations with different levels of complexity are proposed and compared with the passive vehicle, and two state-of-the-art nonlinear model predictive stability controllers, one with and one without non-pre-emptive trail braking control. The performance is assessed along obstacle avoidance tests, simulated with a high-fidelity model of an electric vehicle with in-wheel motors. Results show that the pre-emptive controllers achieve higher maximum entry speeds – up to ∼34% and ∼60% in high and low tyre-road friction conditions – than the formulations without preview.Peer reviewe
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