STUDIO DI UNO SFIORATORE DI SUPERFICIE PER GRANDI DIGHE IDROELETTRICHE

Questo lavoro riguarda lo studio dello scarico di superficie di una diga idroelettrica di grandi dimensioni. Lo scarico viene effettuato per mezzo di uno sfioratore di superficie che serve a smaltire la portata di massima piena pari a 29.316 m3/s, con la particolarità che sulla stessa struttura sia presente uno scarico di fondo per smaltire le portate del fiume in fase di costruzione degli sbarramenti della diga. Lo studio comprende: La definizione della struttura stessa Analisi idraulico Analisi di stabilità Analisi Strutturale

A Complex Systems Perspective of Risk Mitigation and Modeling in Development and Acquisition Programs

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Progra

Risk Quantification of Acquisition Programs Through Systems Complexity Measures

Acquisition Research Program Sponsored Report SeriesSponsored Acquisition Research & Technical ReportsThe objective of this research is to mathematically formulate and manage the relationship between the quantitative complexity level of an acquisition or engineering development program and its relationship to the increased technical and programmatic risk, respectively. This research builds upon the PIs previous research experience and grants (NPS BAA 14-002, NPS BAA 15-001, NPS FOA 16001). This research aims to discover and determine the relationship between the quantitative complexity value of an acquisition program (at various points in its lifecycle) as a measure of increased actual technical and programmatic risk respectively. The main goal is to improve the current inaccurate subjective practice of assessment of risk in different stages of a wide range of engineered system development programs as well as acquisition programs. Currently lifecycle risk assessment methodologies such as color-coded risk matrix are heavily subjective in their nature and therefore weak in the assessment of the actual risk. As a result, acquisition programs frequently are exposed to unforeseen technical and programmatic risks and failures; cost and schedule overruns that are due to inaccurate risk identification and assessments. This research proposal focuses on expanding and examining the novel set of new complexity measures that are recently created by our team (with the PIs previous NPS research grants) as pre-indicators of emergence of risks at different stages of a systems development process and lifecycle. The detailed set of created complexity measures, will be modified and categorized based on their application category in physical/hardware/software systems as well as DoD System of Systems level studies. The refinement and categorization of the complexity/risk measures will be applied to and examine several historical case studies of engineered systems success or failures. The focus of this part of research will be on discovering the suitability of each of the 12 complexity/risk measures for application to the right type and category of subsystem/system/SoS of acquisition programs or complex engineered systems. The focus of the case studies chosen will be at refinement and choice of complexity/risk metric to appropriately fit a particular complex engineered system to various manifestation of increased (or decreased) technical as well as some programmatic risks. Multiple historical and theoretical cases of design of complex engineered systems will be studied. The results of this research project will have a broad public purpose in systems development community in various domains of engineering by improving the quantitative assessment of risk from the preliminary and critical design phase, manufacturing and testing, implementation, operation and the retirement of the system. The research result is expected to be applied to a variety of cyber-physical systems as well as DoD systems of Systems (SoS). The complexity-based risk assessment can be applied to various domains of applications such as telecommunication satellite design, regional power infrastructure design and operation, and the next generation of human spaceflight vehicle and many more. The suggested improved methodology can warn the program manager and the other stakeholders on assessing the alternative courses of action at each stage in systems lifecycle as well as reduction and management of the complexity content to mitigating some of the technical risk that a system is facing.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Chlamydia psittaci infection in canaries heavily infested by Dermanyssus gallinae

Dermanyssus gallinae is a haematophagous ectoparasite responsible for anemia, weight loss, dermatitis and a decrease in egg production. Dermanyssus gallinae may play a role in the modulation of the host immune system, maybe predisposing the host to some bacterial infections such as chlamydiosis. This is an important zoonosis. Humans are exposed to Chlamydia psittaci through inhalation of the agent dispersed from the infected birds. In this study, a syndrome observed in an aviary of canaries was investigated. A heavy infestation by D. gallinae was reported. Simultaneously, a C. psittaci infection was molecularly confirmed in the canaries. Combined therapy was applied successfully. The association of C. psittaci with the examined mites has been confirmed. Therefore, we think that D. gallinae have played a role in the spreading of C. psittaci infection among the canaries. Moreover, D. gallinae could have played an important role predisposing the canaries to the development of chlamydiosis, by inducing anemia and debilitation. The control of mites in the aviaries may represent a crucial step for the prevention of important infection such as chlamydiosis in birds and humans

Correlates of calcaneal quantitative ultrasound parameters in patients with diabetes: the study on the assessment of determinants of muscle and bone strength abnormalities in diabetes

OBJECTIVE: Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) provides an estimate of bone mineral density (BMD) and also evaluates bone quality, which has been related to increased fracture risk in people with diabetes. This study aimed at assessing the correlates of calcaneal QUS parameters in diabetic subjects encompassing various degrees of micro and macrovascular complications and a wide-range of peripheral nerve function. METHODS: Four hundred consecutive diabetic patients were examined by QUS to obtain values of broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), the speed of sound (SOS), quantitative ultrasound index (QUI), and BMD. RESULTS: Among surrogate measures of complications, sensory and motor nerve amplitude and heart rate response to cough test and standing correlated with QUS parameters at univariate analysis, together with age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, lipid profile, and renal function. Multivariate analysis revealed that BUA, SOS, QUI, and BMD were independently associated with age, male gender, hemoglobin A1c, BMI (or fat, but not fat-free mass), and somatic and autonomic nerve function parameters. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that peripheral nerve dysfunction is associated with worse QUS parameters, possibly contributing to increased fracture risk in diabetes. The positive relation of QUS measures with adiposity needs further investigation. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01600924)

Investors' expectations around quantitative easing: does liquidity injection affect European banks equally?

AbstractThe role of liquidity in the banking industry is increasingly under the spotlight since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2007. Prior evidence offers contrasting findings on the role played by liquidity in banks: whilst it ensures systemic financial stability, at the same time it raises agency costs. Notwithstanding this, European banks benefited from a generous liquidity injection following the launch of the Quantitative Easing (QE) programme by the European Central Bank (ECB) in 2015–2016. We leverage on the release of the QE and investigate whether investors' reactions to the announcements of new liquidity injections vary according to bank-level characteristics of the European banks: namely, their financial soundness, asset portfolio quality and the level of transparency. Our findings document an overall negative market reaction to the QE announcements; at a more fine-grained level of analysis we highlight that banks falling short of the regulatory requirements are not expected to benefit from additional liquidity. This study contributes to the literature on the role of liquidity in banks by showing important boundary conditions to the beneficial role of liquidity in banks, that is—because of the regulatory capital requirements—liquidity is only valuable to investors if it can be reinvested once constraints are overcome

Pet Therapy in geriatrics: a social and medical relationship

Pet therapy is an innovative science that finds valid intervention strategies not only for treating psycho-physical diseases but also for improving the quality of life. The areas of intervention concern various fields: pedagogical, psychological, social and health care. Improving the welfare state of certain categories of people, including the elderly. The contact with the animal demonstrates not only positive influence on social and individual parameters, such as interaction and communication, but is also effective on behavioral parameters, reducing agitation, stimulating creativity, curiosity and observation capacity, And affectivity with improved depression and anxiety. In complementary therapies, pet therapy, either animal assisted activity (AAA) or animal assisted therapy (AAT), is able to modify the state of the present by providing some well-being in the elderly in treatment. A therapy that goes beyond From the severity of the patient's status but could also benefit in those cases of particular gravity as Alzhaimer's. The use of this therapy in elderly people who can record a physiological aging of their functions, such as dementia and Alzheimer's, also has a strong emotional, cognitive and relational stimulation, a recovery of autobiographical memory, an increase in sense of Self-esteem and self-efficacy, a push towards eagerness and social interaction. A therapeutic geriatric, which works mainly on emotions, modifies quantitatively the behavioral and cognitive changes of patients and, by integrating with traditional drugs, improves the state of well-being and quality of life

The economics of arbitration: rational choice and value creation

Este texto analisa a arbitragem e suas relações com a jurisdição a partir do conceito de custo de transação. Seu objetivo é mostrar como a arbitragem é capaz de reduzir os custos de transação de um determinado ambiente normativo e contribuir para aperfeiçoar as instituições. Os custos relacionados ao uso da arbitragem e da jurisdição funcionam como um preço: quanto maior o custo, menor a procura por eles (e viceversa). Potencialmente, a arbitragem pode permitir a redução dos custos de transação em razão (a) da relativa agilidade com que é concluída, (b) da relativa imparcialidade do árbitro e (c) da especialização dos árbitros. Além disso, a utilização da arbitragem pode criar melhores incentivos para o adimplemento das obrigações contratuais. Isso porque a inclusão da cláusula arbitral em um contrato dá às partes a possibilidade de regular o ambiente normativo a que se submeterão em caso de disputas. A falta de clareza sobre a legalidade dos procedimentos arbitrais aumenta os custos de transação impostos pelo ambiente normativo. Quanto maior o grau de incerteza, tanto maiores serão os incentivos para que os indivíduos alterem seus padrões negociais ou simplesmente reduzam sua participação em atividades econômicas, reduzindo-se, conseqüentemente, o potencial de geração de riqueza para a sociedade.This article examines the institute of arbitration and its relationship with court activities from the perspective of transactions costs. Its objective is to show how arbitration can reduce the transactions costs in a certain normative environment and contribute to institutional improvement. The costs related to the use arbitration and court proceedings work like a price mechanism: the bigger the cost, the lower the demand (and vice-versa). The institute of arbitration can potentially engender a reduction of transactions costs because of (a) the relative quickness with which it is carried out, (b) the relative neutrality of arbiters, and (c) the specialization of arbiters. Moreover, the use of arbitration can create better incentives for the fulfillment of contractual promises. This is so because the use of an arbitration clause in a contract allows the parties to regulate the normative environment to which they will be bound in case of a dispute. The lack of clarity about the lawfulness of arbitration proceedings increases the transactions costs imposed by the normative framework. Higher levels of uncertainty create incentives for the individuals to change their negotiating patterns or simply to reduce their participation in economic activities, thereby reducing the potential for generating wealth for society

Kinematics of the Maierato Landslide (Calabria, Southern Italy)

Abstract On 15 February 2010, a landslide of great dimensions occurred at Maierato (Southern Italy) after a long rainy period. Although the zone was continuously affected by movements, no monitoring system was installed before the landslide. However, many photos were taken to document the occurrence of deformations and two videos were filmed during the paroxysmal phase of the event. Photos and videos are used in the present study to reconstruct the kinematics of the landslide. A geotechnical model of the slope is also defined on the basis of the results from field and laboratory tests