3,774 research outputs found
Neurophysiological correlates of sleep leg movements in acute spinal cord injury
No full textAbstract not availableRaffaele Ferri, Paola Proserpio, Francesco Rundo, Andrea Lanza, Katrina Sambusida, Tiziana Redaelli, Fabrizio De Carli, Lino Nobil
To Feel, to Understand, to Act. Sustainability on Display
No full textThis essay describes the exhibition project Sostenibilart promoted by CYLAND MediaArtLab and the Centre for Studies in Russian Art (CSAR). Starting from an analysis of what is normally described with the term ‘sustainability’, we will examine how this concept is developed by the artists identified as ambassadors of sustainability. Their reflection on the theme is also expressed through the answers to three questions posed by the Author that allow a transversal reading of the project. The text will therefore consider the ideas that emerged in this interrelated exchange. Finally, we will consider participation in contemporary art to verify the significance of the contribution of the artists-ambassadors of sustainability to stimulate in the public a reflection – and eventually action – on the issues
Technical Note: Year, season, and parity effect on weaning performance of the Carmagnola Grey Rabbit breed
No full textTo evaluate the main environmental factors in the productivity of Carmagnola Grey rabbits, an endangered breed indigenous to northern Italy, data collected over 8 years were analysed. Production data on the pure closed nucleus herd of the University of Turin were used. Effects of parity, season and age of weaning on the number of rabbits born alive and weaned, litter weight and individual average weight at weaning were studied. The following average performance rates over the 8 years period were determined: 8.1 live born and 7.2 weaned kits per litter and a litter weight at weaning of 7287 g or 1024 g individual weaning weight. Year and season both had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on all the traits studied as well as weaning age (P < 0.001).Lazzaroni, C.; Biagini, D.; Redaelli, V.; Luzi, F. (2012). Technical Note: Year, season, and parity effect on weaning performance of the Carmagnola Grey Rabbit breed. World Rabbit Science. 20(1):57-60. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2012.1031SWORD576020
Infrared Thermography (IRT) in nude mice : an alternative method for body temperature measurement
No full textResearchers at Milan University and Mario Negri Institute in Italy have developed an alternative method for body temperature measurement, using infrared thermography (IRT) in nude mice. At the 2010 Scand FELASA meeting, Fornasier et Al., showed that baseline recordings (5 min) of Tmax (the time after administration of a drug where maximum plasma concentration is achieved) showed an acceptable variability within the same animal with a coefficient of variability (CV%) ranging between 0.8–1.21. Tmax (39.0°C) was always located in the intrascapular region, in the area of brown adipose deposits (IBAT) which is normally involved in thermogenesis in rodents.
In another trial2,3, researchers studied stress in C57BL/6j and BALB / c mice housed in different individually ventilated cages (IVCs). To ensure the highest state of welfare of laboratory animals, they evaluated the behavioural and physiological (surface temperature) response of mice maintained in two different IVCsystems characterised by different points of air injection (cover or animal level) to determine any possible difference in the anxiety levels of the animals.
64 C57Bl6/J and 64 BALB/c 6 weeks old SPF, female mice were used; the animals were maintained at 22± 2 °C and 55± 10% RH with food and water provided ad-libitum. The animals were housed four per cage in two different IVC cages with different air inlet solutions at cover (75 ACH) or animal (50 ACH) level and observed for seven weeks.
They found significant differences in anxiety-related behaviour between strain and housing systems. These results suggest that, in addition to influencing mouse choice4, different IVC housing systems can influence mouse behaviour, with mice of both strains, exhibiting more anxiety-related behaviour when housing in cage systems where the air entry is at “animal” level at 50 ACH.
The same Milan University team2 showed the use of IRT analysis in immunodeficient mice’s nest (Figures 1 and 2). Through the use of IRT, they evaluated the temperature of the nest during the cage change, showing a decrease of about 3°C, as shown in Figure 3. The thermographic technique ensured a strict SPF status and limited operator intervention and invasiveness, improving animal welfare.
CONCLUSION
InfraRed thermography is a non-invasive method to monitor the health status of laboratory animals. In the future, the thermographic technique could be optimised in order to detect temperature of the animals in the least invasive way possible. This technique has to be further investigated to determine the correlation between superficial (as measured by thermography) and internal body temperatures in different species and in different physiological conditions.
REFERENCES
Fornasier M., Redaelli V., Tarantino A., Luzi F., Verga M. “Infrared Thermography (IRT) in nude mice: alternative method for body temperature measurement. SCAND FELASA 2010, Helsinki, June 14-17 2010.
Freschi M. Thermographic analysis of immunodeficient mice’s nest. Degree Thesis Diss (2012). Medicine Veterinary Faculty. Università di Milano. Italy.
Burman O., Buccarello L., Redaelli V., Cervo L. The effect of two different Individually Ventilated Cages systems on anxiety-related behavior and welfare in two strains of laboratory mouse. 12nd FELASA SECAL Congress, Barcelona, 10-13 June 2013.
Baumans, V., Schlingmann, F., Vonck, M., Van Lith, H.A., 2002. Individually ventilated cages: Beneficial for mice and man? Contemporary Topics 41, 13–19
My Boyfriend Came Back From The War: una narrazione visiva di Olia Lialina
No full textThe contribution proposes the analysis of Net Art’s world-famous masterpiece
of one of its founders: My Boyfriend Came Back from the War (1996) by Olia Lialina.
Combining black and white images and words, it evokes the encounter of two lovers who
have been separated so long by the war. With her work, Lialina shows us the potential for
interaction of the new screen – that of the computer. She experiments with a non-linear
narration, where users edit the story frames thanks to hypermedia platform, resulting in
a new relationship between author and public. Considering such operations, the paper
aims to highlight the work’s ludic connotation beside the impact of filmic narrative on
the web
Le prescrizioni nella UNI-EN 206:2016 per il progetto della durabilità: il ruolo del tipo di cemento
No full textAd oggi, per garantire la durabilità di una struttura in calcestruzzo armato si deve fare ricorso all’approccio prescrittivo fornito dalle normative, quali la UNI EN 206-2016 e l’Eurocodice 2. In particolare la UNI EN 206 fornisce le prescrizioni sul calcestruzzo, in termini di massimo rapporto acqua/cemento, minimo dosaggio di
cemento e minima resistenza a compressione, mentre l’Eurocodice 2 indica i valori minimi di spessore di copriferro, al fine di garantire una vita di servizio di circa 50 anni per un determinato ambiente di esposizione. Nella nuova versione del 2016 della UNI EN 206 le prescrizioni sono valide per qualunque tipo di cemento
conforme alla UNI EN 197. Se già, in passato, quando le prescrizioni facevano riferimento al solo CEM I (cemento Portland di classe 32.5) erano sorti dubbi sull’applicabilità della norma per garantire la vita di servizio negli ambienti più aggressivi (in particolare quelli con cloruri), l’averle ora estese a tutti i tipi di cemento, senza nessuna prescrizione aggiuntiva, pone ulteriori interrogativi. È infatti risaputo che i cementi non sono tutti uguali, almeno in termini di resistenza alla penetrazione degli agenti aggressivi. Questa nota si pone l’obiettivo di valutare, attraverso un approccio prestazionale probabilistico, se le prescrizioni fornite dalle normative richiamate sono in grado di garantire una vita di servizio di 50 anni per strutture in calcestruzzo armato, soggette a corrosione da carbonatazione esposte all’esterno, in ambiente riparato dalla pioggia, che corrisponde alla classe di esposizione XC3 così come definito nella UNI EN 206. A tal fine si considerano dati sperimentali ottenuti su calcestruzzi confezionati con 6 tipi di cemento e 3 rapporti acqua/cemento ed esposti per più di 12 anni in ambiente naturale riparato dalla pioggia.Nowadays to guarantee the durability of a structure in reinforced concrete it is possible to use the prescriptive approach, provided by the European standards, i.e. the EN 206 and the Eurocode 2. In particular, the EN 206 provides the prescription on the concrete, in terms of maximum water/cement ratio, minimum cement content and minimum compressive strength, whilst the Eurocode 2 suggests the minimum concrete cover thickness, in order to guarantee a service life of the order of 50 years for a specific environmental exposure. In the last version of the EN 206, the prescriptions are valid for any type of cement conforms to the EN 197. If in the past, when prescriptions referred only to CEM I (Portland cement of class 32.5), some doubts arose on the applicability of the standards to guarantee the service life in the most aggressive environments (in particular those with chlorides), now that prescriptions refer to any type of cement, without any additional prescription, further questions raise. As a matter of fact, it is well known that the performances of different types of cement are not equal, at least in terms of resistance to the penetration of aggressive agents. This paper aims to evaluate, by means of a probabilistic performance-based approach, if prescriptions provided by the standards allow to guarantee a service life of the order of 50 years, for reinforced concrete structures, subjected to carbonation-induced corrosion exposed outdoor in sheltered conditions, that correspond to the XC3 exposure class, as defined in the EN 206. At this regard experimental data obtained on concretes made with six different types of cement and three water/cement ratio and exposed for more than 12 years in sheltered conditions from rain are considered
Service life of reinforced concrete structures made with blended cements and exposed in urban environment
No full textCarbonation-induced corrosion is one of the main causes of degradation of reinforced concrete (RC) structures exposed outdoor in urban environment. To prevent steel corrosion, a durability design, that considers both the initiation and the propagation time, is of fundamental importance. At this aim, the resistance to carbonation of concrete and the steel corrosion rate in the exposure environment need to be known. This paper reports the carbonation coefficient and the corrosion rate of 7-day cured RC specimens made with different binders and exposed outdoor in Milan in unsheltered conditions. Corrosion rates in laboratory conditions with different temperatures and relative humidities are also reported. Experimental data were used to evaluate the service life in unsheltered condition. RC specimens made with Portland cement exhibited the lowest carbonation coefficient and corrosion rate, while specimens with 30% limestone and with 70% ground granulated blast furnace slag the highest
Carbonation of blended cement concretes after 12 years of natural exposure
No full textIn urban environments, the durability of reinforced concrete structures is limited by carbonation-induced corrosion. To prevent steel corrosion, the selection of a proper concrete in terms of type of binder, water/binder ratio and curing time, is of fundamental importance. At this aim the knowledge of the resistance to carbonation in the exposure environment is required. Usually carbonation is evaluated from accelerated tests, however natural exposure tests are needed to validate short-term tests and make reliable predictions of the behaviour in a real environment. This paper reports the carbonation of concretes with different binders, water/binder ratios and curing, exposed for more than twelve years outdoor in Milan in sheltered conditions. Concretes with Portland cement exhibited a higher carbonation in comparison with concretes with limestone and pozzolanic cements. Curing seemed to be less effective than the type of binder and the water/binder ratio
Corrosion rate of carbon steel in carbonated concrete made with different supplementary cementitious materials
No full textCarbonation-induced corrosion limits the durability of reinforced concrete structures exposed in urban environments. In these exposure conditions, the propagation phase of corrosion can be an important part of the service life and, hence the knowledge of the corrosion rate is essential for the design. However, data regarding the corrosion rate in carbonated concrete are scarce and mainly refer to Portland cement concrete. This paper reports the corrosion rate and corrosion potential of steel bars embedded in concretes with different binders and water/binder ratios, exposed both outdoor in unsheltered conditions and in laboratory conditions characterised by different temperatures and relative humidities. Concrete resistivity at different depths is also reported and correlations among these parameters are discussed. Corrosion potential, corrosion rate and concrete resistivity were strongly influenced by the relative humidity, while temperature played an important role only at high relative humidity. Steel in Portland cement concrete showed the lowest corrosion rate
- …
