1,721,105 research outputs found
La direttiva europea sul whistleblowing e la sua trasposizione nell’ordinamento italiano (d.lgs. n. 24/2023)
No full textIl saggio propone una riflessione critica in merito alla direttiva (UE) n. 1937/2019, attuata in Italia con il d.lgs. 10 marzo 2023, n. 24, riguardante la protezione delle persone che segnalano violazioni del diritto dell’Unione. Dopo qualche cenno alla situazione attuale delle procedure di trasposizione nei 27 Stati membri dell’Unione, il contributo affronta le premesse culturali della direttiva e s’interroga sulla legittimità della sua base giuridica, sulla estraneità del modello da essa accolto ai princìpi
delle due convenzioni internazionali contro la corruzione attuate dalla legge 190/2012, nonché sul possibile (già avvenuto) esaurimento della sua funzione.
Le conclusioni si riallacciano al tema della “effettività” del whistleblowing e alla dottrina (minoritaria) sull’importanza di vederlo pienamente affermato nonostante l’assenza dei whistleblowers
«Malheureux Proscrits»: The View on the Italian Political Emigrants in July Monarchy France
No full textIn recent years, historiography has paid increasing attention to political exile during the 19th century. Indeed, in the 1830s and 1840s, as well as throughout the whole Risorgimento period, many political activists left Italy to pursue their political engagement abroad. France was among the most favoured destinations. The analysis of French public opinion and its attitude in welcoming those exiles is of great interest. The cultural universe of the dense years of the July Monarchy, marked especially by the rise of the press, allow the analysis of the at times changing, contradictory and overlapping positions taken by French society towards the Italian exiles. Specifically, I argue that political contrasts and sensibilities, the succession of events inside and outside the French borders, and the persistence of stereotypical representations about foreigners contributed to shaping a precise image of Italian exiles and thus influencing public opinion. By retracing the perceptions about Italian political emigrants, it is possible to consider the attitude of French society and its transformations and, at the same time, to adopt an external view on a precise moment of the Risorgimento history, placing it in a broader network of transnational circulations
A diffuse interface model for electro-chemo-mechanical systems
No full textElectro-chemo-mechanics plays a critical role in the performance and longevity of energy storage systems, such as lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen energy storage. These systems involve multi-material composites comprising both liquid and solid phases, with their behavior influenced by processes in the bulk phases and at their interfaces. Traditional multi-phase theoretical and numerical models often adopt a discrete representation of material interfaces, introducing discontinuities in the problem's fields. The numerical implementation is carried out using special interface elements, a methodology that requires conformal meshes and is not always supported by open-source computing platforms. This paper introduces a novel modeling framework that employs a diffuse representation of material interfaces, inspired by the phase-field method. From a modeling perspective, this approach allows for the consistent coupling of bulk and interface electro-chemo-mechanical processes, adhering to thermodynamic principles. Numerically, the proposed model is particularly suited for simulating real material microstructures using regular meshes, facilitating advanced numerical implementations. The methodology is detailed for a generic multi-material electro-chemo-mechanical system and applied specifically to Li-ion batteries. Numerical examples demonstrate the model's effectiveness in simulating coupled interface processes without resorting to interface elements. This work provides a significant advancement in the simulation of electro-chemo-mechanical systems, offering a robust tool for studying the complex interplay of bulk and interface processes
A new formulation of collagenase ointment (Iruxol (R) mono) in the treatment of ulcers of the lower extremities - A randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study
No full textThe efficacy and tolerability of a new formulation of collagenase ointment (Iruxol(R) mono) was determined in a placebo-controlled randomised double-blind study. 30 patients with chronic ulcers of the lower extremities were treated with either Iruxol(R) mono or placebo ointment base for a minimum of 14 days. Treatment efficacy was determined by evaluating wound debridement, granulation, epithelisation and inflammation using 5-point scales and by measuring wound size. All parameters were assessed daily for the first 2 weeks of treatment and weekly thereafter. For all efficacy parameters, Iruxol(R) mono was significantly superior to placebo (p < 0.01). Differences reached statistical significance after 6 days of treatment for both debridement and inflammation, and after 4, 5 and 8 days for granulation, epithelisation and wound size, respectively. In addition to individual parameters, an investigator's rating of clinical global efficacy also demonstrated the superiority of Iruxol(R) mono (p < 0.001). Iruxol(R) mono and placebo were both well tolerated. Adverse events were minor and consisted of a burning sensation following ointment application in 3 patients in each group and erythema in a further 2 patients in each group. There were no withdrawals as a result of adverse events in either group. The relationship between adverse event and treatment was considered unlikely in all cases. In conclusion, Iruxol(R) mono was significantly superior to placebo in all estimates of efficacy in wound healing. Iruxol(R) mono was well tolerated with an adverse event profile similar to that of placebo
A coupled model of transport-reaction-mechanics with trapping. Part I – Small strain analysis
No full textA fully coupled model for mass and heat transport, mechanics, and chemical reactions with trapping is proposed. It is rooted in non-equilibrium rational thermodynamics and assumes that displacements and strains are small. Balance laws for mass, linear and angular momentum, energy, and entropy are stated. Thermodynamic restrictions are identified, based on an additive strain decomposition and on the definition of the Helmholtz free energy. Constitutive theory and chemical kinetics are studied in order to finally write the governing equations for the multi-physics problem. The field equations are solved numerically with the finite element method, stemming from a three-fields variational formulation. Three case-studies on vacancies redistribution in metals, hydrogen embrittlement, and the charge–discharge of active particles in Li-ion batteries demonstrate the features and the potential of the proposed model.Applied Mechanic
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Particle size effects in ductile composites: An FFT homogenization study
No full textWe present a computational homogenization study on the particle size effect in ductile composites. The micromechanical formulation is based on non-local models through (i) the incorporation of a lower-order strain gradient plasticity model and (ii) the application of an implicit gradient regularization technique to the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman ductile damage model for metals. In this way, the extended model is equipped with two length-scale parameters, one for each non-local extension, which modulate the size dependent character of the formulation. The problem consists of a system of partial differential equations in which two Helmholtz-type equations for the damage regularization are coupled with the balance of linear momentum through the stress, which depends on the non-local variables and on the plastic strain gradient. A series of numerical simulations are conducted to investigate the behavior of three-dimensional microstructures representative of particle reinforced metal matrix composites. The change in strengthening and ductility, as a function of the particle size, is first analyzed by means of a parametric study in which the considered non-local extensions act both independently and together. Finally a comparative study with experimental results demonstrates that the particle size induced strengthening in metal matrix composites can be quantitatively captured by the considered model
Optimal surface clothing with elastic nets
Full text linkThe clothing problem aims at identifying the shape of a planar fabric for covering a target surface in the three-dimensional space. It poses significant challenges in various applications, ranging from fashion industry to digital manufacturing. Here, we propose a novel inverse design approach to the elastic clothing problem that is formulated as a constrained optimization problem. We assume that the textile behaves as an orthotropic, nonlinear elastic surface with fibers distributed along its warp and weft threads, and we enforce mechanical equilibrium as a variational problem. The target surface is frictionless, except at its boundary where the textile is pinned, imposing a unilateral obstacle condition for the reactive forces at the target surface. The constrained optimization problem also accounts for an elongation condition of the warp and weft fibers, possibly with bounded shearing angle. We numerically solve the resulting constrained optimization problem by means of a gradient descent algorithm. The numerical results are first validated against known clothing solutions for Chebyshev nets, taking the limit of inextensible fibers. We later unravel the interplay between thread and shear stiffness for driving the optimal cloth shape covering the hemisphere and the hemicatenoid. We show how the metric of these target surfaces strongly affects the resulting distribution of the reaction forces. When considering the limit of covering the full sphere, we show how clothing with elastic nets allows to avoid the onset of singularities in the corresponding Chebyshev net, by developing corners at the cloth boundary
Formal and thematic analysis of universal TAT plates responses: young adults vs middle-aged (17-40 vs 41-60 years old)
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