259 research outputs found
Cerebellar and Spinal Direct Current Stimulation in Children: Computational Modeling of the Induced Electric Field
No full textRecent studies have shown that the specific application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the cerebellum can modulate cerebellar activity. In parallel, transcutaneous spinal DC stimulation was found to be able to modulate conduction along the spinal cord and spinal cord functions. Of particular interest is the possible use of these techniques in paediatric age, since many pathologies and injuries, which affect the cerebellar cortex as well as spinal cord circuits, are diffuse in adults as well as in children. Up to now, experimental studies of cerebellar and spinal DC stimulation on children are completely missing and therefore there is a lack of information about the safety of this technique as well as the appropriate dose to be used during the treatment. Therefore, the knowledge of electric quantities induced into the cerebellum and over the spinal cord during cerebellar tDCS and transcutaneous spinal DCS, respectively, is required.This work wants to address this issue by estimating, through computational techniques, the electric field distributions induced in the target tissues during the two stimulation techniques applied to different models of children of various ages and gender. In detail, we used four voxel child models, aged between 5- and 8-years.Results revealed that, despite inter-individual differences, the cerebellum is the structure mainly involved by cerebellar tDCS, whereas the electric field generated by transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation can reach the spinal cord also in children. Moreover, it was found that there is a considerable spread toward the anterior area of the cerebellum and the brainstem region for cerebellar tDCS and in the spinal nerve for direct current spinal stimulation. Our study therefore predicts that the electric field spreads in complex patterns that strongly depend on individual anatomy, thus giving further insight into safety issues and informing data for paediatric investigations of these stimulation techniques
Assessing rainfall-runoff models for the management of Lake Verbano
No full textGrowing human pressure and potential change in precipitation pattern induced by climate change require a more efficient and sustainable use of water resources. Hydrological models can provide a fundamental contribution to this purpose, especially as increasing availability of meteorological data and forecast allows for more accurate runoff predictions. In this article, two models are presented for describing the flow formation process in a sub-alpine catchment: a distributed parameter, physically based model, and a lumped parameter, empirical model. The scope is to compare the two modelling approaches and to assess the impact of hydrometeorological information, either observations or forecast, on water resources management. This is carried out by simulating the real-time management of the regulated lake that drains the catchment, using the inflow predictions provided by the two models. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.</p
Framing of issues across actors: Exploring competing discourses in digital arenas
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how the strategic selection of discursive and interactive strategies generates specific framings of an issue to advocate opposite positions, embodying a struggle of power between parties with their own agendas.
Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on literature within framing, digital issue arenas and critical discourse, this study analyses qualitative hypermodal data retrieved from two websites: Protect Mauna Kea, and Maunakea and Thirty Meter Telescope. These two websites frame the internationally renowned telescope’s construction on Mauna Kea Mountain in Hawaii from alternative perspectives.
Findings – On each website, frame articulation attempts to connect the event to specific concerns, values and beliefs in order to construct alternative versions of reality which can possibly fit with those of supporters. Simultaneously, this is reinforced by frame amplification concretized in selected discursive and interactive
strategies that highlight or downplay the issue from particular perspectives.
Originality/value – The study offers a deep insight into the complexity and dynamic nature of framing, in particular into how framing can vary and compete across actors. It also responds to “the need for critical awareness of discourse in contemporary society” (Fairclough, 2010, p. 554) by revealing how the power positions of “challengers and powerholders” (Steinberg, 1998, p. 846) are discursively reproduced and reinforced through distinctive discursive and interactive strategies. Finally, this study adopts a critical approach to hypermodal discourse.
Keywords - Digital media, Strategic communication, Issues management, Framing
Paper type - Research pape
Modeling cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation in children: potential for future applications
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Numerical Dosimetry of Pregnant Woman models exposed to ELF-Magnetic Field: Compliance to the current Exposure Regulation for the Occupational Exposure at 50 Hz
No full textModified Hargreaves-Samani equation for the assessment of reference evapotranspiration in Alpine river basins
No full textDeriving accurate estimates of reference evapotranspiration is required for water resources management, irrigation water requirement computations and successfully hydrological modelling. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recommended the Penman‐Monteith equation as the standard for estimating reference evapotranspiration. Alternative method for application at sites where only air temperature measurements are available is the Hargreaves‐Samani equation. The main objective of this study is to investigate the possibility for application of Hargreaves‐Samani equation in Alpine area for computing daily reference evapotranspiration. An evaluation of the Hargreaves‐Samani equation and its modifications proposed in literature is made by comparing daily estimates with Penman‐Monteith results at 51 meteorological stations in the upper Po river basin (Italy) and the Rhone river basin (Switzerland). Significant error was encountered in all methods based on Hargreaves‐Samani equation. A relationship for adjusting Hargreaves‐Samani coefficient based on local elevation is proposed, calibrated and validated. The resulting modified Hargreaves‐Samani equation showed a significant reduction of error for estimating daily reference evapotranspiration. The proposed equation is not intended for replacement of Penman‐Monteith method but to be used for application in Alpine river when only air temperature data are available
Numerical estimation of the current density in the heart during transcranial direct current stimulation
No full textAnalisi di affidabilitá del sistema di preallerta di piena in tempo reale MIMI per il bacino del fiume Arno
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