484 research outputs found
Analisi comparativa di due casi di studi di progetti di ricerca sugli Organismi Geneticamente Modificati in Italia e Inghilterra
Questo articolo esplora due casi di studio di progetti di ricerca, Farm Scale evaluation e OGM in Agricoltura, sugli Organismi Genticamente Modificati, e si domanda quali fattori politici, sociali ed economici hanno contribuito a costruire le risposte della scienza alla resistenza del pubblico verso gli OGM. I dati che vengono utilizzati includono, articoli di giornale, documenti governativi, articoli accademici, siti web e interviste con giornalisti e ricercatori che hanno partecipato direttamente o indirettamente a questi progetti. Paragonando questi progetti emergono sei fattori dominanti che sembrano maggiormente influire sulla capacitĂ degli scienziati di ascoltare il pubblico. Questi includono: il governo, la posizione della scienza nel contesto culturale italiano, le aziende private, i tipi di pubblico, il ruolo dei mass media nella comunicazione scientifica, e la natura del dibattito relativo al Public Understanding of Science. In conclusione, come suggerisce Brian Wynne (2006), i discorsi relativi alla comunicazione della scienza si collocano in stretta relazione alla cultura locale relativa alla comunicazione e politica della scienza
Applying a Change-Point Detection Method on Frequency-Magnitude Distributions
A method based on nonparametric statistics (hereafter called "Median-Based Analysis of the Segment Slope,(MBASS)) is applied for the detection of change-points in Frequency Magnitude Distributions (FMD). The determination of the lowest magnitude for which the Gutenberg-Richter relation still applies is a key point for the computation of reliable b-values. The change-point detection method presented here is used to determine automatically this threshold magnitude (called m0 in this study) for large subsets extracted from four seismic catalogues. Results are successfully compared to those of a previous benchmark study from other authors. Moreover, the MBASS procedure is able to detect a magnitude artifact in the FMD of a regional catalogue. The results of the MBASS procedure confirm that a break in slope in a cumulative frequency distribution may be misleading when FMDs are analyzed by eye
From public understanding of GMOs to scientistsâ understanding of public opinion: a case study of the listening capacity of scientists in the UK and Italy
Genetically
modified
organisms
have
been
accompanied
by
hopes
and
concerns
regarding
the
potential
of
this
technology
to
reshape
agricultural
practices,
our
environment
and
the
food
we
eat.
The
controversy
surrounding
GMOs
raised
questions
regarding
the
present
and
future
relationship
between
science
and
society.
This
thesis
contributes
to
this
debate
by
exploring
GM
scientistsâ
thoughts
about
public
opinion
and
its
influence
on
their
work.
I
contend
that
how
scientists
listen
to
public
opinion
is
mediated
by
national
context,
which
I
explore
through
a
comparison
of
the
United
Kingdom
and
Italy.
Within
the
public
understanding
of
science,
and
social
studies
of
science
more
generally,
the
listening
capacity
of
scientists
has
largely
been
ignored.
Asking
if,
how
and
under
what
conditions
GM
scientists
listen
to
public
opinion
on
GMOs,
I
address
this
gap
in
the
literature.
A
mixed
method
approach
is
used
to
answer
these
questions.
This
combines
descriptive
statistics
with
a
range
of
qualitative
methods,
including
narrative
analysis,
case
study
and
situational
analysis.
This
methodological
approach
is
meant
to
bridge
qualitative
and
quantitative
methodologies,
historically
polarised
within
PUS
scholarship.
This
thesis
is
structured
by
my
own
changing
understanding
of
the
listening
process.
Initially,
I
assumed
a
stimulus-Ââresponse
model
of
scientistsâ
listening,
in
which
the
public
talks
and
scientists
respond.
Following
my
data
collection
and
analysis,
I
developed
a
new
model
for
listening
that
includes
three
moments:
hearing
public
opinion,
interpreting
it,
and
responding
to
it.
Using
this
model,
I
identify
two
typical
patterns
in
GM
scientistsâ
listening
process.
Both
of
these
patterns
are
associated
with
the
âdeficit
modelâ,
which
scientists
used
differently
according
to
their
national
contexts.
Drawing
on
Jasanoffâs
(2005)
concept
of
civic
epistemology,
I
contend
that
these
patterns
are
indicative
of
scientistsâ
civic
epistemologies,
which
are
informed
by
a
number
of
different
factors
Optimal Cost-Preference Trade-off Planning with Multiple Temporal Tasks
Autonomous robots are increasingly utilized in realistic scenarios with
multiple complex tasks. In these scenarios, there may be a preferred way of
completing all of the given tasks, but it is often in conflict with optimal
execution. Recent work studies preference-based planning, however, they have
yet to extend the notion of preference to the behavior of the robot with
respect to each task. In this work, we introduce a novel notion of preference
that provides a generalized framework to express preferences over individual
tasks as well as their relations. Then, we perform an optimal trade-off
(Pareto) analysis between behaviors that adhere to the user's preference and
the ones that are resource optimal. We introduce an efficient planning
framework that generates Pareto-optimal plans given user's preference by
extending A* search. Further, we show a method of computing the entire Pareto
front (the set of all optimal trade-offs) via an adaptation of a
multi-objective A* algorithm. We also present a problem-agnostic search
heuristic to enable scalability. We illustrate the power of the framework on
both mobile robots and manipulators. Our benchmarks show the effectiveness of
the heuristic with up to 2-orders of magnitude speedup.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in International Conference on
Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 202
Emotional virtual agents: How do young people decode synthetic facial expressions?
Given the need of remote learning and the growing presence of virtual agents within online learning environments, the present research aims at investigating young peopleâ ability to decode emotional expressions conveyed by virtual agents. The study, involves 50 healthy participants aged between 22 and 35 years (mean age=27.86; SD= ±2.75; 30 females) which were required to label pictures and video clips depicting female and male virtual agents of different ages (young, middle-aged and old) displaying static and dynamic expressions of disgust, anger, sadness, fear, happiness, surprise and neutrality. Depending on the emotional category, significant effects were observed for the agentsâ age, gender, and type of administered (static vs dynamic) stimuli on the young peopleâ decoding accuracy of the virtual agentsâ emotional faces. Anger was significantly more accurately decoded in male rather than female faces while the opposite result was observed for happy, fearful, surprised, and disgusted faces. Middle aged faces were generally more accurately decoded than young and old emotional faces except for sadness and disgust. Significantly greater accuracy was observed for dynamic vs static faces of disgust, sadness, and fear, in contrast to static vs dynamic neutral and surprised faces
High-resolution resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering as a probe of the crystal electrical field in lanthanides demonstrated for the case of CeRh2Si2
The magnetic properties of rare earth compounds are usually well captured by
assuming a fully localized f shell and only considering the Hund's rule ground
state multiplet split by a crystal electrical field (CEF). Currently, the
standard technique for probing CEF excitations in lanthanides is inelastic
neutron scattering. Here we show that with the recent leap in energy
resolution, resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering has become a serious
alternative for looking at CEF excitations with some distinct advantages
compared to INS. As an example we study the CEF scheme in CeRh2Si2, a system
that has been intensely studied for more than two decades now but for which no
consensus has been reached yet as to its CEF scheme. We used two new features
that have only become available very recently in RIXS, high energy resolution
of about 30 meV as well as polarization analysis in the scattered beam, to find
a unique CEF description for CeRh2Si2. The result agrees well with previous INS
and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Due to its strong resonant character,
RIXS is applicable to very small samples, presents very high cross sections for
all lanthanides, and further benefits from the very weak coupling to phonon
excitation. The rapid progress in energy resolution of RIXS spectrometers is
making this technique increasingly attractive for the investigation of the CEF
scheme in lanthanides
Humanoid and android robots in the imaginary of adolescents, young adults and seniors
This paper investigates effects of participantsâ gender and age (adolescents, young adults, and seniors), robotsâ gender (male and female robots) and appearance (humanoid vs android) on robotsâ acceptance dimensions. The study involved 6 differently aged groups of participants (two adolescents, two young adults and two seniorsâ groups, for a total of 240 participants) requested to express their willingness to interact and their perception of robotsâ usefulness, pleasantness, appeal, and engagement for two different sets of females (Pepper, Erica, and Sophia) and male (Romeo, Albert, and Yuri) humanoid and android robots. Participants were also requested to express their preferred and attributed age ranges and occupations they entrusted to robots among healthcare, housework, protection and security and front office. Results show that neither the age nor participants and robotsâ gender, nor robotsâ human likeness univocally affected robotsâ acceptance by these differently aged users. Robotsâ acceptance appeared to be a nonlinear combination of all these factors
The Effect of Metabolic Substrate on ROS Production During Muscle Contraction
Many different disease states are characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction, which results in excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In contrast muscle contraction induces ROS generation suggesting there is an optimal range of ROS production necessary for proper cell function. It is unclear if ROS production is influenced by metabolic substrate flux as a result of the energetic demand of contraction. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate and source of ROS production in contracting single muscle fibers (SMF) cultured with different metabolic substrates. ROS production was assessed in SMF isolated from adult male mice exposed to different stimulation conditions and/or different sources of metabolic substrate. Mitochondrial membrane potential was also assessed in SMF under similar conditions. The results of this study demonstrate ROS generation is significantly influenced by metabolic substrate and larges increases in ROS do not affect mitochondrial membrane potential in intact SMF
- âŠ