Emotional availability, neuropsychological functioning, and psychopathology. The context of parental substance use disorder

Parental Substance Use Disorder (SUD) constitutes a high-risk condition for parent-child interactions and child development. Empirical evidence indicates high rates of psychopathology and neuropsychological impairments in individuals with SUD. Despite research indicating that parenting skills are related to psychological well-being and cognitive/neuropsychological functioning, prior studies have not examined the associations between these areas of parental functioning and the quality of parent-child interactions in the context of SUD. Aim(s). The present study adopts an integrated perspective to investigate the way in which maternal neuropsychological functioning and psychopathology are associated with mother-child emotional availability (EA), in the context of parental Substance Use Disorder. Methods. Twenty-nine mothers with SUD were assessed in interaction with their children, as well as with respect to their neuropsychological functioning and psychopathology. Results. In this group, high rates of maternal neuropsychological impairments and psychopathology, as well as generally low levels of EA, were uncovered. Regression analyses showed that maternal neuropsychological functioning was significantly associated with mother-child EA, specifically sensitivity; the role of maternal psychopathology, however, was only marginally significant. Conclusion. In the context of SUD, maternal neuropsychological impairments are significantly associated with mother-child EA. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed

Valutazione energetica di un sistema PVT per il riscaldamento e la produzione di ACS in ambito residenziale

Mediante simulazioni con il software TRNSYS sono state studiate alcune configurazioni di sistemi che utilizzano una determinata tipologia di collettori PVT. L’obiettivo è quello di quantificare il contributo dei sistemi analizzati al fabbisogno energetico per la produzione di ACS e per la climatizzazione invernale di un edificio residenzialeopenEmbargo per motivi di segretezza e/o di proprietà dei risultati e informazioni di enti esterni o aziende private che hanno partecipato alla realizzazione del lavoro di ricerca relativo alla tes

Experimental and theoretical energy and comfort analyses on radiant systems

When dealing with emission systems, energy and comfort aspects should be considered simultaneously since the terminal units directly affect the indoor thermal environment. The present work focuses on radiant systems and presents both experimental and theoretical energy and comfort analyses. Simulations taking into account the dynamic behaviour of the building structures and the transient operation of water in the embedded pipes were carried out to analyse the seasonal emission efficiency of radiant systems in buildings with different levels of insulation and thermal mass and, with constant and variable supply water temperature. Their energy performance when supplied by a water to water heat pump and overheating risk were also investigated. A better performance of the radiant systems was found with a better quality of the envelope, the climatic control was confirmed to ensure a lower overall energy consumption and overheating effects were found to be not especially due to radiant system but happening in any case also with ideal convective systems. In the second activity field measurements in a building were carried out to compare the performance of a wet floor radiant system with a reduced thickness of the screed with the performance of a traditional floor radiant system. First air and surface temperature data along with water temperature and thermal power recorded by the energy meters were analyzed. Then simulations under the same boundary conditions were performed, in continuous and intermittent operation and limited and unlimited available thermal power. No significant difference was found in the thermal energy need neither comparing the two systems, nor comparing continuous and intermittent operation. As regards comfort, two activities involving test rooms are presented. Thermal global and local sensations were assessed by means of questionnaires during experimental investigations in a test room. The surface temperatures of the upper and lower parts of the room were progressively increased and decreased, while inlet air temperature was kept constant. Air stratification and vertical radiant asymmetry were analysed in the two kinds of tests, along with air velocity. No relevant asymmetry problem resulting in opposite sensations on head and feet at the same time was found in the analysis of the answers, while other factors played a significant role. For more comprehensive analyses on well-being of people, perception of the indoor environment and productivity, a novel test room equipped with radiant systems on all the surfaces and fresh air with controlled flow rate, supply temperature and relative humidity has been designed. The design and partial realisation are presented in the thesis as well as some hints on future research activity

Biocontrol Ability and Action Mechanism of Starmerella bacillaris (Synonym Candida zemplinina) Isolated from Wine Musts against Gray Mold Disease Agent Botrytis cinerea on Grape and Their Effects on Alcoholic Fermentation

Gray mold is one of the most important diseases of grapevine in temperate climates. This plant pathogen affects plant growth and reduces wine quality. The use of yeasts as biocontrol agents to apply in the vineyard have been investigated in recent years as an alternative to agrochemicals. In this work, fermenting musts obtained from overripe grape berries, therefore more susceptible to infection by fungal pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, were considered for the selection of yeasts carrying antifungal activity. Thirty-six isolates were identified as Starmerella bacillaris, a species recently proven to be of enological interest. Among them 14 different strains were studied and antifungal activity against B. cinerea was demonstrated, for the first time, to be present in S. bacillaris species. The production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), tested in vitro, was found to be the main responsible of S. bacillaris antifungal effects. All the strains were able to reduce B. cinerea decay on wounded grape berries artificially inoculated with gray mold. The colonization level of wound was very high reaching, after 5 days, a concentration of 10(6) cells per ml of grape juice obtained after berry crushing. At this cell concentration S. bacillaris strains were used to ferment synthetic and natural musts. The sequential yeast inoculation, performed by adding S. cerevisiae 48 h after S. bacillaris, was needed to complete sugar consumption and determined a significant increase in glicerol content and a reduction of ethanol and acetic acid concentrations. The high wound colonization ability, found in this work, together with the propensity to colonize grape berry and the interesting enological traits possessed by the selected S. bacillaris strains allow the use of this yeast as biocontrol agent on vine and grape berries with possible positive effects on must fermentation, although the presence of S. cerevisiae is needed to complete the fermentation process. This work introduces new possibilities in wine yeast selection programs in order to identify innovative wine yeasts that are simultaneously antifungal agents in vineyards and alternative wine starters for grape must fermentation and open new perspective to a more integrated strategy for increasing wine quality

Collisions of self-bound quantum droplets

We report on the study of binary collisions between quantum droplets formed by an attractive mixture of ultracold atoms. We distinguish two main outcomes of the collision, i.e. merging and separation, depending on the velocity of the colliding pair. The critical velocity $v_c$ that discriminates between the two cases displays a different dependence on the atom number $N$ for small and large droplets. By comparing our experimental results with numerical simulations, we show that the non-monotonic behavior of $v_c(N)$ is due to the crossover from a compressible to an incompressible regime, where the collisional dynamics is governed by different energy scales, i.e. the droplet binding energy and the surface tension. These results also provide the first evidence of the liquid-like nature of quantum droplets in the large $N$ limit, where their behavior closely resembles that of classical liquid droplets

Low-cost sensors for rapid mapping of cultural heritage: first tests using a COTS Steadicamera

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