196,118 research outputs found
Car Stickiness: Heuristics and Biases in Travel Choice
No full textWe conduct a laboratory experiment to investigate the factors determining travel mode choice. Two different scenarios are considered. In the first scenario, subjects have to decide whether to commute by car or by metro. Metro costs are fixed, while car costs are uncertain and determined by the joint effect of casual events and traffic congestion. In the second scenario, subjects have to decide whether to travel by car or by bus, whose costs are determined by a different combination of chance and traffic congestion. Subjects receive feedback information on the actual travel times of both modes. We find that individuals show a marked preference for cars, are inclined to confirm their first choice and exhibit travel mode stickiness. We conclude that travel mode choice is subject to cognitive heuristics and biases leading to robust deviations from rational behaviour
Turin Shroud-like Electric Imaging Connected to Earthquakes
No full textA large amount of long lasting experiments, carried out by the first author with
the supervision of coauthoring experts in electrical imaging and Turin Shroud (TS) studies,
was addressed to obtain TS-like impressions. To this end, the experiments was especially
performed by using conducting objects previously enveloped in two-folded cloths, then
inserted into a gap bounded by a pair of rocky plates. The prerequisite for image formation
seems to be an especially abundant emission of radon, related to earthquakes, ultimately
giving rise to a macro-scale background electric field of the order of 1 kV/m in the gap and,
more importantly, to micro-scale field amplification. This additional field is localized in the
air filled interstices of the exposed fabric, thus causing consequent aging. In spite of the
complicate and unpredictable character of the natural phenomenology under examination,
the investigators succeeded in categorizing different kinds of impressions and selecting one
of them as being thoroughly successful. Specifically, the images of the selected category do
exhibit basic physicochemical and optical features distinctive of the figure impressed on the
Turin Shrou
La sanità nel Pnrr. Risorse, governance e offerta di servizi.
No full textDurante l’emergenza da Covid-19, il buon funzionamento dei sistemi sanitari regionali nel nostro Paese è stato messo a dura prova. L’evento pandemico ha dato nuova centralità al tema della salute, rispetto al benessere della popolazione, e al ruolo dell’offerta pubblica per la capacità di risposta agli shock esogeni. In questo contesto, si è inserito il Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) che, in particolare, con la missione Salute, ha l’obiettivo complessivo di rafforzare la prevenzione e i servizi sanitari sul territorio, modernizzare e digitalizzare il sistema sanitario e garantire equità di accesso alle cure. Su questi temi il PNRR interviene sia con importanti riforme dell’assetto organizzativo dell’offerta, sia con rilevanti risorse destinate agli investimenti nel settore volti a rafforzare la dotazione infrastrutturale e a riequilibrarla all’interno del territorio nazionale. Nell’ambito della missione Salute, gli enti territoriali, e in particolare le Regioni, compaiono come soggetti attuatori; essi però sono chiamati anche a svolgere funzioni di pianificazione e programmazione e a realizzare molteplici obiettivi
SMaRT M-Seq: an optimized step-by-step protocol for M protein sequencing in monoclonal gammopathies
No full textIn patients with monoclonal gammopathies, tumor B cells or plasma cells secrete a monoclonal antibody (M protein) that not only serves as a biomarker for tumor tracking but can also cause potentially life-threatening organ damage. This damage is driven by the patient-specific sequence of the M protein. Methods for sequencing M proteins have been limited by their high cost and time-consuming nature, and while recent approaches using next-generation sequencing or mass spectrometry offer advancements, they may require tumor cell sorting, are limited to subsets of immunoglobulin genes or patients, and/or lack extensive validation. To address these limitations, we have recently developed a novel method, termed Single Molecule Real-Time Sequencing of the M protein (SMaRT M-Seq), which combines the unbiased amplification of expressed immunoglobulin genes via inverse PCR from circularized cDNA with long-read DNA sequencing, followed by bioinformatic and immunogenetic analyses. This approach enables the unambiguous identification of full-length variable sequences of M protein genes across diverse patient cohorts, including those with low tumor burden. Our protocol has undergone technical validation and has been successfully applied to large patient cohorts with monoclonal gammopathies. Here we present the step-by-step protocol for SMaRT M-Seq. By enabling the parallel sequencing of M proteins from a large number of samples in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner, SMaRT M-Seq facilitates access to patient-specific M protein sequences, advancing personalized medicine approaches and enabling deeper mechanistic studies in monoclonal gammopathies
New Power Quality Assessment Criteria for Harmonic Disturbances
No full textThis chapter presents an overview of the main disturbances affecting the electrical power system operation. It also investigates the harmonic issues and outlines the contents of the major international standards in this context. The problem of controlling power quality is becoming more relevant because of the widespread use of non-linear and time-varying single-phase or three-phase loads. These affect the operation of distribution networks in residential, commercial, and industrial areas. Power quality deterioration is due to transient disturbances and steady-state disturbances. This chapter describes the main causes of such disturbances as well as the detrimental effects they have on the electrical systems. Some definitions relevant to non-sinusoidal systems are also presented. The chapter then outlines the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standards guidelines, which deal with harmonic disturbances. It emphasizes that the responsibility for the power quality deterioration should be shared between the supplier and the customer. Such information can be provided by indices in a straightforward and simple way. However, the traditional indices used by the international standards cannot satisfy these specifications. In this context, the chapter provides discusses a new index to evaluate the harmonic distortion phenomena in the supply electrical networks
Biomimicry in Love-cage Design: Boosting Black Soldier Fly Mass Production
No full textThis study employs a biomimicry design approach to optimise egg production in industrial black
soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens L.) breeding by enhancing love-cage environments. Two experiments assessed the impact of increasing resting surface area and altering surface colour to egg production, promoting lekking behaviour, in 1 m3 cages with a sex ratio (M:F) of 1.45:1 and fly
density of ~16,000 flies. The first trial tested surface area/volume ratios (3.33, 3.99, 5.11, 7.17 m−1). A ratio of 3.99 m−1 significantly increased egg production (18.6±4.42 g) by reducing male
competition for lekking spaces. The second trial evaluated surface colours (white, green, mixed).
White elements achieved the highest egg output (19.4±4.85 g), likely due to superior light reflection, enhancing BSF conspecific detection for mating. No significant differences in hatching rates were
observed across treatments (from 29.4±14.87% to 53.2±21.71% in trial one and 32.1±15.13% to
60.0±36.47% in the second one). Findings highlight the value of designing breeding systems that
align with natural BSF behaviours to improve reproductive efficiency. Future research should explore factors like light spectrum and sex ratios for further optimisation of BSF breeding
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