118,218 research outputs found
AN IMPROVED FRAMEWORK FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF HOLOCENE RELATIVE SEA-LEVEL CHANGES ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN AND BLACK SEA COASTS: PROXIES, VARIABILITY AND THE CLIMATOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
No full textAfter the analysis of more than 1200 radiocarbon dated Relative Sea-Level (RSL) data-points we present here the first quality-controlled database constraining the Holocene sea-level histories along the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts.
We reviewed and standardized the geological RSL data-points using a new multi-proxy methodology based on: (1) modern taxa assemblages in Mediterranean lagoons and marshes; (2) beachrock characteristics (cement fabric and chemistry, sedimentary structures); and (3) the modern distribution of Mediterranean fixed biological indicators (Vacchi et al., 2016b).
These RSL data-points were coupled with the large number of archaeological RSL indicators available for the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Such standardized methodology allowed the robust assessment of the spatial variability of RSL histories among the different regions and the comparison with the ICE-5G (VM2) Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) model (Spada and Stocchi, 2007). In the western Mediterranean, RSL rose continuously for the whole Holocene with a sudden slowdown at ∼7.5 ka BP and a further deceleration during the last ∼4.0 ka BP, after which time observed RSL changes are mainly related to variability in isostatic adjustment (Vacchi et al., 2016a,b). The sole exception is southern Tunisia, where data show evidence of a mid-Holocene high-stand compatible with the isostatic impacts of the melting history of the remote Antarctic ice sheet. In the eastern Mediterranean, we depicted the role of the right-lateral North Anatolic Fault in controlling the Late Holocene RLS variation in Northern Aegean Sea (Vacchi et al., 2014) and we better constrain the subsidence rates in the broad Nile delta area (Khan et al., 2015). Current analysis are focused on Black Sea coasts where compaction-related subsidence plays a major role in controlling the Holocene sea-level variability, notably in the Danube delta and in the Taman peninsula (Giaime et al., 2016)
Our results indicate that late-Holocene sea-level rise was significantly slower than the current one. First estimates of GIA contribution indicate that, at least in the northwestern sector, it accounts at least for the 25-30% of the ongoing sea-level rise recorded by Mediterranean tidal gauges (Vacchi et al., 2016b). Such contribution is less constrained at lower latitudes due to the lower quality of the late Holocene index points. Future applications of spatio-temporal statistical techniques are required to better quantify the gradient of the isostatic contribution and to provide improved context for the assessment of 20th century acceleration of sea-level rise along the coasts of Mediterranean and Black Sea
IL TEATRO MUSICALE DI FABIO VACCHI : ANALISI DELL'OPERA 'LO SPECCHIO MAGICO'
No full textThe research project focused on the analysis of the work of Fabio Vacchi, born in Bologna in 1949, one of the most famous living Italian composers performed in Italy and abroad. The research was conducted mainly on the analysis of his musical theatre and in particular on the various stages of gestation of his new Opera “The Magic Mirror”, libretto by Aldo Nove. This Opera is going to be staged in 2016, based on a heterogeneous writing that involves even the urban vocal style used by rappers. The composer Vacchi used ethnic and folk matrices of the past and the present with reference to areas of the Western repertoire, merging the different materials in a contemporary and personal style. His musical language is communicative, evocative and emotional as consistent and rigorous
Geomagnetically trapped light isotopes observed with the detector NINA
No full text[1] The detector New Instrument for Nuclear Analysis (NINA) aboard the satellite Resurs-01-N4 detected hydrogen and helium isotopes geomagnetically trapped, while crossing the South Atlantic Anomaly. Deuterium and tritium at L shell < 1.2 were unambiguously recognized. The He-3 and He-4 power law spectra, reconstructed at L shell = 1.2 and B < 0.22 G, have indices equal to 2.30 +/- 0.08 in the energy range 12-50 MeV nucleon 1 and 3.4 +/- 0.2 in 10-30 MeV nucleon(-1), respectively. The measured He-3/He-4 ratio and the reconstructed deuterium profile as a function of L shell bring one to the conclusion that the main source of radiation belt light isotopes at Resurs altitudes (similar to800 km) and for energy greater than 10 MeV nucleon(-1) is the interaction of trapped protons with residual atmospheric helium
Pseudo-Differential Time-to-Amplitude Converter for LGAD Based Particle Detectors
No full textThis work is concerned with the design of a pseudo-differential Time-to-Amplitude Converter (TAC). The TAC has been developed to achieve low-jitter and low-INL performance and provide two selectable output full-scale ranges (FSRs), namely 100 ns and 1 μs. The pseudo-differential TAC, with a power consumption of 0.26 mW and a total area of 100 x 126 μm2, has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology as part of the front-end circuit for the readout of Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) based particle detectors for the next generation of space-borne experiments. The paper will present and discuss the proposed TAC architecture and the relevant post-layout simulation results
Charge Sensitive Amplifiers with Bi- and Trilinear Signal Compression Feature for LGAD Detectors
No full textThis work is concerned with the design of Charge Sensitive Amplifiers (CSAs) featuring dynamic signal compression. Two different CSA variants have been developed to reach low-noise performance while dealing with signals covering more than three decades in dynamic range. The CSAs have been designed in a 65 nm CMOS technology as part of the front-end circuit for the readout of Low Gain Avalanche Diodes (LGADs) based particle detectors for the next generation of space-borne experiments. The paper will discuss the proposed CSA architectures and the relevant simulation results
The cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra between 0.4 and 200 GV
No full textWe report on the hydrogen nuclei (protons and deuterons) spectrum from 0.15 to 200 GeV and on the helium nuclei spectrum over the energy range from 0.2 to 100 GeV nucleon(-1) at the top of the atmosphere measured by the balloon-borne experiment Cosmic Antiparticle Ring-Imaging Cerenkov Experiment (CAPRICE), which was flown from Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada, on 1994 August 8-9. We also report on the proton spectrum over the energy range from 0.15 to 4.2 GeV. The experiment used the NMSU-WiZard/CAPRICE balloon-borne magnet spectrometer equipped with a solid radiator Ring-Imaging Cerenkov (RICH) detector and a silicon-tungsten calorimeter for particle identification. This was the first time a RICH was used together with an imaging calorimeter in a balloon-borne experiment. These detectors allowed for clear particle identification, as well as excellent control of the detector efficiencies. The data were collected during 18 hr at a residual mean atmospheric depth of 3.9 g cm(-2). With this apparatus 516,463 hydrogen and 32,457 helium nuclei were identified in the rigidity range 0.4 to 200 GV and 1.2 to 200 GV, respectively. The observed energy spectrum at the top of the atmosphere can be represented by (1.1 +/- 0.1) x 10(4) E-2.73+/-0.06 particles (m(2) GeV sr s)(-1) for hydrogen (E in GeV) between 20 and 200 GeV and (4.3 +/- 0.9) x 10(2) E-2.65+/-0.07 particles (m2 GeV nucleon(-1) sr s)(-1) for helium nuclei (E in GeV nucleon-l) between 10 and 100 GeV nucleon(-1). These spectra are in good agreement with other recent measurements above 10 GeV. The observed spectra flatten below 10 GeV due to solar modulation and are consistent with earlier measurements when solar modulation is taken into account. Between 5 and 200 GV the hydrogen to helium ratio as a function of rigidity was found to be approximately constant at 6.1 +/- 0.1
Underwater geomorphology of the rocky coastal tracts between Finale Ligure and Vado Ligure (western Liguria, NW Mediterranean Sea)
No full textThe western part of the Liguria Region (NW Mediterranean Sea) has been reported as tectonically stable to slowly uplifting since the Late Pleistocene. Despite good knowledge of the coastal geomorphological features above sea level, very little information is available on the characteristics of the underwater coastlines. Direct and indirect underwater surveys carried out in the area between Vado Ligure and Finale Ligure (Western Liguria) allowed the identification of several surfaces of marine origin, in four sites, at three depth intervals: 8-13. m, 17-23. m and 27-30. m. These values appear to be in bathymetric analogy with those reported by other authors along the Italian coastlines, in areas where the tectonic movements along the Late Quaternary are considered negligible on the basis of the elevation of the MIS 5.5 shoreline. Although few chronological constraints are possible due to the lack of dateable material, the marine morphologies identified in this study constrain their ages to the Middle and Late Quaternary. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA
What is "conventional therapy"? A 10-years systematic review on physical rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis
No full textBackground. In controlled studies on physical rehabilitation, the term “conventional therapy” is generally used in referring to the nonexperimental
group. It seems to indicate a unique and usual practice, commonly known and widely accepted. However, what is
“conventional therapy” in practice? Our aims were to determine whether exists a univocal and homogeneous definition of this
expression, to analyze its meaning and to define its specific features. To do so, we focused on the physical rehabilitation for people with
multiple sclerosis (MS) and we systematically reviewed published clinical trials on this topic. Methods. A systematic literature search was
conducted using MEDLINE from 2008 to 2018. Inclusion criteria were: controlled clinical trials on MS physical rehabilitation;
“conventional therapy” or synonyms that are commonly used to classify the treatment program in the control group (e.g., “traditional
physical therapy”, “standard rehabilitation program”, “conventional rehabilitation”); people with MS recruited both in experimental
group and in control group. Results. Of 884 references identified through electronic searching, 122 were eligible for evaluation. The
84% of papers did not fulfil the inclusion criteria. One third of these did not provide a specific description for “conventional therapy” or
synonyms. Thus, we totally screened 19 clinical trials. Only 2 studies specified the use of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials
(CONSORT) Statement guidelines. The present review enabled to highlight a situation of heterogeneity in the definition of “conventional
therapy”, including a multitude of interventional strategies, with differences in volumes and intensities of therapies. A remarkable
difference was also found in the number of interventions assigned as conventional rehabilitation, which ranged from 1 to 7; the 58% of
studies administered at least 4 treatments. This heterogeneity was reflected in studies that took place in different countries, as well as in
studies conducted within the same country, emphasizing the lack of a common line of intervention also at national level. Conclusion. To
date, the umbrella term “conventional therapy” seems not to provide a univocal definition for the control treatment in MS physical
rehabilitation trials. This heterogeneity in definition and specific features may lead to reduce the quality of the studies, limiting the
comparability between trials and decreasing the reproducibility of the protocol. The present review focuses on the need to find new
standardised, uniform and shared protocols for MS conventional rehabilitation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Tellurium Vanadate Glasses: V4+colorimetric Measure and Its Effect on Conductivity
No full textThis research comes as part of a broader resurgence of study on the electrical conductivity of glasses—and the mechanism for electronic motion in the amorphous network—spurred by interest in using glasses as matrices for solid-state batteries, taking advantage of the glasses’ tailorable conductivity, chemical durability, and mechanical strength. The work presented in this study regards the preparation and characterization of some binary glasses belonging to the TeO2–V2O5 system. In particular, we focused on the glasses’ electrical conductivity at room temperature and at higher temperatures as a function of the V4+ ion content in the glass structure. The amount of V4+ in the glass was determined by a colorimetric method. Moreover, density and thermal properties (Tg, Cp) were measured, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed as well
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