The role of public policy in stimulating radical environmental impact reduction in the automotive sector: The need to focus on product-service system innovation

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 InderscienceProduct-service system (PSS) innovation is a promising approach to address sustainability challenges in the automotive industry. Starting form this assumption, this paper presents and discusses the potential contribution that policy measures can have in fostering the automotive sector in innovating on a PSS level. A set of policy instruments (general instruments and specific PSS-targeted ones) are presented and classified, underlining the effects they could produce at the company and environmental levels. In order to effectively support sustainable PSS diffusion in the automotive industry, the paper suggests the integration of general policy measures (such as internalisation of external costs, extended producer responsibility programmes and informative policies), with the PSS-targeted ones (such as Green Public Procurement focused on sustainable PSS, support of companies in acquiring information related to PSS, support of demonstrative pilot projects). In addition, the paper suggests the necessity to involve actively universities and research centres

Actionable Recourse in Linear Classification

Machine learning models are increasingly used to automate decisions that affect humans - deciding who should receive a loan, a job interview, or a social service. In such applications, a person should have the ability to change the decision of a model. When a person is denied a loan by a credit score, for example, they should be able to alter its input variables in a way that guarantees approval. Otherwise, they will be denied the loan as long as the model is deployed. More importantly, they will lack the ability to influence a decision that affects their livelihood. In this paper, we frame these issues in terms of recourse, which we define as the ability of a person to change the decision of a model by altering actionable input variables (e.g., income vs. age or marital status). We present integer programming tools to ensure recourse in linear classification problems without interfering in model development. We demonstrate how our tools can inform stakeholders through experiments on credit scoring problems. Our results show that recourse can be significantly affected by standard practices in model development, and motivate the need to evaluate recourse in practice.Comment: Extended version. ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency [FAT2019

Analytical Determination of the Attack Transient in a Clarinet With Time-Varying Blowing Pressure

This article uses a basic model of a reed instrument , known as the lossless Raman model, to determine analytically the envelope of the sound produced by the clarinet when the mouth pressure is increased gradually to start a note from silence. Using results from dynamic bifur-cation theory, a prediction of the amplitude of the sound as a function of time is given based on a few parameters quantifying the time evolution of mouth pressure. As in previous uses of this model, the predictions are expected to be qualitatively consistent with simulations using the Raman model, and observations of real instruments. Model simulations for slowly variable parameters require very high precisions of computation. Similarly, any real system, even if close to the model would be affected by noise. In order to describe the influence of noise, a modified model is developed that includes a stochastic variation of the parameters. Both ideal and stochastic models are shown to attain a minimal amplitude at the static oscillation threshold. Beyond this point, the amplitude of the oscillations increases exponentially, although some time is required before the oscillations can be observed at the '' dynamic oscillation threshold ''. The effect of a sudden interruption of the growth of the mouth pressure is also studied, showing that it usually triggers a faster growth of the oscillations

The gut microbiota, bile acids and their correlation in primary sclerosing cholangitis associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis associated with inflammatory bowel disease (PSC-IBD) have a very high risk of developing colorectal neoplasia. Alterations in the gut microbiota and/or gut bile acids could account for the increase in this risk. However, no studies have yet investigated the net result of cholestasis and a potentially altered bile acid pool interacting with a dysbiotic gut flora in the inflamed colon of PSC-IBD. AIM: The aim of this study was to compare the gut microbiota and stool bile acid profiles, as well as and their correlation in patients with PSC-IBD and inflammatory bowel disease alone. METHODS: Thirty patients with extensive colitis (15 with concomitant primary sclerosing cholangitis) were prospectively recruited and fresh stool samples were collected. The microbiota composition in stool was profiled using bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing. Stool bile acids were assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The total stool bile acid pool was significantly reduced in PSC-IBD. Although no major differences were observed in the individual bile acid species in stool, their overall combination allowed a good separation between PSC-IBD and inflammatory bowel disease. Compared with inflammatory bowel disease alone, PSC-IBD patients demonstrated a different gut microbiota composition with enrichment in Ruminococcus and Fusobacterium genus compared with inflammatory bowel disease. At the operational taxonomic unit level major shifts were observed within the Firmicutes (73%) and Bacteroidetes phyla (17%). Specific microbiota-bile acid correlations were observed in PSC-IBD, where 12% of the operational taxonomic units strongly correlated with stool bile acids, compared with only 0.4% in non-PSC-IBD. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PSC-IBD had distinct microbiota and microbiota-stool bile acid correlations as compared with inflammatory bowel disease. Whether these changes are associated with, or may predispose to, an increased risk of colorectal neoplasia needs to be further clarified.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Information Guide: United Kingdom. November 2016

A guide to information sources on the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with hyperlinks to information within European Sources Online and on external websites (For other language versions of this record click on the original url

Information Guide: United Kingdom [Italian] - Guida Informativa: Regno Unito

Guida alle risorse informative sul Regno Unito di Gran Bretagna e Irlanda del Nord

Optimal control theory : a method for the design of wind instruments

It has been asserted previously by the author that optimal control theory can be a valuable framework for theoretical studies about the shape that a wind instrument should have in order to satisfy some optimization criterion, inside a fairly general class. The purpose of the present work is to develop this new approach with a look at a specific criterion to be optimized. In this setting, the Webster horn equation is regarded as a controlled dynamical equation in the space variable. Pressure is the state, the control being made of two parts: one variable part, the inside diameter of the duct and one constant part, the weights of the elementary time-harmonic components of the velocity potential. Then one looks for a control that optimizes a criterion related to the definition of an {oscillation regime} as the cooperation of several natural modes of vibration with the excitation, the {playing frequency} being the one that maximizes the total generation of energy, as exposed by A.H. Benade, following H. Bouasse. At the same time the relevance of this criterion is questioned with the simulation results.Comment: To appear in Acta Acustica united with Acustica, 201

Information Guide: United Kingdom [Polish] - Przewodnik informacyjny: Zjednoczone Królestwo

Podręcznik zawiera źródła informacyjne dotyczące Zjednoczonego Królestwa Wielkiej Brytanii oraz Irlandii Północnej