2,675 research outputs found
E. Righi s/m R. Rahn pour souvenir d'amitié
No full textDedikationssilhouette nach rechts von E. Righi, gewidmet Johann Rudolf Rahn (1841-1912)Anonyme/r Künstler/inHandschriftliche Widmung unterhalb des Porträts "E. Righi s[eine]m R. Rahn pour souvenir d'amitié
Management and stereotypies of thoroughbreds in Central- Northern Italy
No full textManagement and stereotypies of thoroughbreds in Central- Northern Italy
Francesca Martuzzi*, Stefania Pagot°, Federico Righi*
* Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy;
° Veterinario Libero Professionista
Corresponding author: [email protected]
The study deals with horse management and incidence of behavioural anomalies, considering 504 thoroughbreds for flat and national hunter races, housed in 30 barns located in 3 racecourse and training facilities: Merano, Pisa, Livorno. The horses were examined by one of the authors, veterinary surgeon employed in the racecourses. Two kinds of questionnaire were used to collect further information asking owners and personnel. Form 1 considered housing (type of box, bedding); feeding (number of meals, concentrates and hay); training (sessions frequency and intensity, use of horse-walker, paddock). Form 2 provided clinical and management information about each horse evidencing behavioural problems. Twenty-eight horses (5.5%) showed stereotypic behaviours: 17 crib biting (3.4%), 8 weaving (1.6%), 3 box circling (0.6%). These percentages are lower than findings in other studies. In 8 cases the stereotypy appeared during a period of inactivity after an incident. The results showed trends in accordance with other studies: higher incidence of behavioural anomalies was evidenced when horses were individually housed in box with internal window compared to horses in box with external window; feeding 3 meals/day caused more anticipation anxiety, expressed especially by weaving, than 2 meals/day. All stereotypic horses were fed 6-8 kg of concentrate, with a low hay/concentrate rate (1:1 - 1.5:1): this was confirmed a risk factor especially for crib biting. The use of horse-walker and individual paddocks of small dimensions seems to cause more frustration, expressed equally by crib biting or weaving, than distraction.
Training sessions on short distances at fast canter cause an increase, even if not significant, of the incidence of behavioural anomalies than sessions on long distances at slow canter, performed in national hunter racing (4.1% vs 3.1%, P=0.345). Nevertheless in two cases weaving appears after daily heavy work on short distances. In one case box circling disappeared after changing training from short to long distances.
These management aspects are considered of concern for poor welfare by scientists, but often these notions aren’t applied into practice in the farms. Moreover, the complexity and interconnection of factors affecting horse welfare suggest that evaluation is necessary for each horse: in two cases after management changes the stereotypy disappeared
Investigation of route to martensitic transition in Ni-Mn-In shape memory alloys
No full textThe temperature dependent x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements on the off stoichiometric Ni2Mn1+xIn1-xalloys have confirmed the appearance of martensite at critical Mn concentration of x=0.35. The high temperature phase of all the alloys have cubic L21structure with the lattice constant steadily decreasing with increase in Mn concentration. Martensitic transition begins to appear in Ni2Mn1.35In0.65at about 197K and the structure seems to adopt two phases including the major cubic along with the modulated monoclinic phase. This has been explained on the basis of number of Mn-Ni-Mn hybridized pairs that are responsible for inducing martensitic transition
Anacroneuria amargosa Righi-Cavallaro & Froehlich 2013
No full textAnacroneuria amargosa Righi-Cavallaro & Froehlich, 2013 (Figs. 2A–C) Anacroneuria amargosa Righi-Cavallaro & Froehlich in Righi-Cavallaro et al., 2013: 1; Duarte & Lecci, 2016: 293; Gonçalves et al., 2017: 146. Material examined. BR, GO. Pirenópolis, Córrego do Inferno, 15°47'34.1"S 48°50'40.0"W, 13.xi.1993, LGO, 1 male (CLBA). Morphometric data. Male (n=1), anterior wing length: 9.1 mm. Remarks. Anacroneuria amargosa was collected at Serra dos Pireneus and is a new record for Goiás state. This species was originally described in Mid-South Mesoregion of the Bahia state, and the present study expands the distribution to Central Brazil. The collected specimen is similar to the holotype described by Righi-Cavallaro & Froehlich in Righi-Cavallaro et al. (2013) and agrees in color, size, and penial armature shape. As commented by Righi-Cavallaro et al. (2013), the penial armature resembles Anacroneuria boraceiensis Froehlich, 2004.Published as part of Miguel, Marina, Almeida, Lucas Henrique De, Novaes, Marcos Carneiro & Bispo, Pitágoras Da Conceição, 2022, Anacroneuria (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Central Brazil: new species, new geographic records, and taxonomic notes, pp. 487-506 in Zootaxa 5162 (5) on pages 488-490, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.5.2, http://zenodo.org/record/681675
The miracle of peer review and development in science: an agent-based model
No full textIt is not easy to rationalize how peer review, as the current grassroots of science, can work based on voluntary contributions of reviewers. There is no rationale to write impartial and thorough evaluations. If reviewers are unmotivated to carefully select high quality contributions, there is no risk in submitting low-quality work by authors. As a result, scientists face a social dilemma: if everyone acts according to his or her own self-interest, the outcome is low scientific quality. We examine how the increased relevance of public good benefits (journal impact factor), the editorial policy of handling incoming reviews, and the acceptance decisions that take into account reputational information, can help the evolution of high-quality contributions from authors. High effort from the side of reviewers is problematic even if authors cooperate: reviewers are still best off by producing low-quality reviews, which does not hinder scientific development, just adds random noise and unnecessary costs to it. We show with agent-based simulations why certain self-emerged current practices, such as the increased reliance on journal metrics and the reputation bias in acceptance, work efficiently for scientific development. Our results find no proper guidelines, however, how the system of voluntary peer review with impartial and thorough evaluations could be sustainable jointly with rapid scientific development
Campaign Spending and Rents in a Probabilistic Voting Model
No full textHow the levels of corruption and embezzlement of a political system are influenced by electoral campaigns? How rent extraction can be reduced with anti-corruption policies? We answer these questions in the context of a probabilistic voting model characterized by the absence of political pressure groups and by the presence of ideological voters whose preferences can be manipulated by political candidates through campaign spending. Our main innovation is the introduction of an analysis of candidates’ campaign choices in the literature on the agency costs of political delegation. Moreover, we contribute to the literature establishing a direct link between campaign expenditures and the utility of the voters. We find that campaigning choices are orthogonal to decisions about rent extractions and that candidates always invest a significative amount of their resources of their expected rents in advertisements. As the electoral competition itself does not suffices to reach an efficient outcome, we then study how welfare policies can reduce the inefficiencies of the electoral competition. We show that limitations of campaign expenditures are, in absence of lobbies, always welfare decreasing for voters. Indeed, our main policy suggestion is to introduce an anti-corruption, i.e. a policy that reduces the ability of candidates to extract rents by abating the incentives to rent accumulation. We show that the introduction of such tax can make the citizens better off. Surprisingly, it may also make the candidates better off if the policy is not sufficiently funded. Finally, we establish the conditions under which a policy of this kind can achieve the popular support required for an effective implementation and we show that these conditions are difficult to achieve in countries with large income inequalities
Response to Tilic and Bartolomaeus's Commentary on the original Research Paper “Unravelling the ultrastructure and mineralogical composition of fireworm stinging bristles” (Zoology, 144)
No full textIn their Commentary to our paper recently published in Zoology (Righi et al., 2021a), Tilic and Bartolomaeus question our findings that the chaetae of Hermodice carunculata (Annelida) are hollow and able to store and deliver venoms. They sustain the idea that inflammatory chemicals are secreted through epidermal glands and possibly exposed to predator trough wounds caused by the brittle chaetae. We provide evidence-based arguments in support of our considerations. The sample preparation procedures did not affect the native inner structure of unfixed fireworm chaetae, which is clearly hollow as supported by both ultrastructure observation and crystal-chemical analysis of constituents. Furthermore, our previous and more recent feeding bioassays and chemical analysis indicate both that chaetae retain strong deterrent capacities even when isolated from the body of H. carunculata, and that they contain venoms. The cellular mechanisms involved in fireworm chaeta storage and deliver of chemicals are still unstudied. We strongly believe that this lack of knowledge should draw further attention on H. carunculata biology, pursuing new hypotheses and studies based on the noteworthy information which has been obtained so far
XPS, single crystal X-ray diffraction and cyclic voltammetric studies on 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2 '-bipyridine adducts of bis(piperidinecarbodithioato-S,S ')cadmium(II) with CdS(4)N(2) environment - A stereochemical and electronic distribution investigation
No full text(1,10-Phenanthroline)bis(piperidinecarbodithioato-S,S')cadmium(II), [Cd(pipdtc)(2)(1,10-phen)] (1) and (2,2'-bipyridine)bis(piperidinecarbodithioato-S,S')cadmium(II), [Cd(pipdtc)(2)(bipy)] (2) adducts were prepared and the crystal structures are reported. Cd-S and Cd-N distances and the angles subtended at cadmium are almost the same in both complexes but the Cd-S distances in the adducts are longer than those in Cd(pipdtc)2 (3) complexes due to the presence of an additional neutral ligand. Thioureide C-N distance in 1 and 2 are supported by vC-N bands observed at 1471 and 1470 cm(-1), respectively. S2p binding energies for the adducts show a significant reduction in value compared to the parent dithiocarbamate indicating the weakening of the Cd-S bond on adduct formation. The observed reduction in binding energy is due to the increased electron density on the metal in the adducts. The cyclic voltammetric study on the complexes also show an increase of electron density on cadmium in the adducts compared to Cd(pipdtc)(2). (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Applicazione pilota dell’OEF alla società di gestione dell’Aeroporto Internazionale “Falcone e Borsellino” di Palermo
No full textQuesto lavoro si propone di valutare l’applicabilità dello strumento OEF (Organization Environmental Footprint) ad una società di gestione aeroportuale. L’articolo presenta l’impostazione metodologica dello studio: la fase di raccolta dati, L’impostazione di un modello tramite il software di Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) GaBi ts ed i risultati ottenuti. L’aeroporto è
considerato come una “black box” all’interno della quale è definito il portfolio di prodotti e servizi. Lo studio presenta una analisi di screening degli impatti provocati dall’organizzazione esaminata ed evidenzia le criticità riscontrate durante l’applicazione della metodologia. La metodologia utilizzata viene quindi proposta come possibile punto di partenza per la creazione delle Organization Environmental Footprint Sector Rules (OEFSR) per il calcolo dell’impronta ambientale di questo tipo di organizzazioni che servono per avviare uno studio comparativo
Complexity of Behavioural Strategies and Cooperation in the Optional Public Goods Game
No full textThe problem of collective action where—beside the standard options of cooperating and defecting—there is also the possibility of opting out has been extensively studied through the optional public good game (OPGG). Within this and other social dilemma games, reputation systems, composed of a social norm—assigning reputations to agents—and a set of behavioural strategies using this information to condition their behaviour, are able to sustain cooperation. However, while the relationship between the complexity of social norms and cooperation has been extensively studied, the same cannot be said with respect to behavioural strategies, due to high dimensionality of the strategy spaces involved. We deal with this problem by building an agent-based model where agents adopt simple social norms, play the OPGG and learn behavioural strategies through a genetic algorithm. We show that while social norms which assign different reputations to defectors and to agents opting out achieve the highest levels of cooperation, the social norms that do not distinguish between these actions do improve cooperation levels with respect to the baseline when behavioural strategies are sufficiently complex. Furthermore, we find that cooperation increases when the interaction groups are small enough for agents to accurately distinguish between different behaviours
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