Exploration and mortification: Fragile infrastructures, imperial narratives, and the self-sufficiency of British naval "discovery" vessels, 1760-1815.

Eighteenth-century naval ships were impressive infrastructures, but subjected to extraordinary strain. To assist with their "voyage repairs," the Royal Navy gradually established numerous overseas bases, displaying the power, reach, and ruthless logistical efficiency of the British state. This article, however, is concerned with what happened where no such bases (yet) existed, in parts of the world falling in between areas of direct British administration, control, or influence. The specific restrictions imposed by technology and infrastructures have been studied by historians interested in naval strategy, but they can also help to reframe national narratives of power or observe the transnational interactions surrounding access to knowledge and resources. This paper discusses the material, cultural, and diplomatic constraints that could appear when vessels, and especially "discovery ships," sailed in strange waters or sought technical assistance in allied ports. I argue that the "mortification" of some commanders at their vessels' unfitness for service was an important - and often neglected - element on the palette of emotions undergone by voyagers, capturing their strong sense of ultimate material powerlessness. Such frustration even became embedded in imperial cartography, as shown by the case study of Matthew Flinders. This perspective highlights the limits of naval technology, complicating imperialistic "success stories" and better reintegrating the navy into the history of maritime travel and transportation, from which it is often singled out.Institute of Historical Research Scouloudi Fellowship. Institute of Historical Research Power and Postan Fund

Relations among corporate governance, codes of conduct, and the profitability of public utilities: an empirical study of companies on the Italian Stock Exchange

This research examines the relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance through the findings of an empirical longitudinal investigation of public utilities listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (2000 -2008). The data for the measurement of the corporate governance variables are taken from the latest edition of the Italian Preda Code of Best Governance Practices (2006). Standard ratios (Return on Assets, Return on Equity, Return on Sales, Tobin’s Q and Book to Market Ratio) were used to assess the performance variables. The results are not conclusive. Specifically, whereas most relationships with the performance variables were statistically significant, different relationships were found between the same corporate governance variables and different indicators of performance. These ‘conflicting’ findings suggest that further research is needed for the impact of corporate governance practices on the performance of firms to be fully understood

Digital resource design as a problem solving activity: the key-role of monitoring processes

In this paper we analyse upper secondary school students’ design of digital resources by interpreting digital resource design as a problem solving activity strongly influenced by the process of instrumental genesis. Our research questions concern the monitoring processes activated by students-designers. Through our analysis, we identified different levels of monitoring during digital resource design, highlighting how monitoring processes are influenced by the students’ systems of conceptual and procedural knowledge and by the artifact’s constraints

USE OF SUPERCRITICAL CO2 AS DISSOLVED GAS FOR THE ATOMIZATION OF ETHANOL

Supercritical dissolved gas atomization (SDGA) is an atomization process in which carbon dioxide at temperatures and pressures above its critical point is used as atomizing gas. In this work SDGA has been experimentally studied when ethanol is used as the liquid to be atomized. The spray characteristics in terms of droplets size and distribution have been investigated using a droplet size analyzer based on a laser diffraction method. Very narrow droplet size distributions were produced down to 2.5 μm. The main parameter that influences the droplets size is the gas to liquid mass ratio. From the point of view of the atomization mechanism, mean droplet diameter is mainly influenced by the two phase (gas liquid) flow formed within the atomization nozzle. The overall analysis of the experimental data confirms that dissolved gas atomization allows the formation of micrometric droplets that can be useful in fine-particles production processes

Special Issue "Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancers: Novel Strategies for of Diagnosis and Treatments"

In recent years, hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) cancers have been increasing their incidence [...]

Liderazgo y educación Reflexiones en tiempos de pandemia

El concepto de liderazgo posee diferentes interpretaciones tanto a nivel general comoen el campo específico de la educación. En medio de la pandemia del COVID-19,reflexionamos sobre el vínculo entre liderazgo y educación. Metodológicamente, exploramosel campo de significación de cada uno de estos términos para vincular laevolución de su connotación con ideas y aportes teóricos desde la psicología de laeducación. En la necesidad de abordar problemas difíciles e inéditos en educación,¿de qué modo puede ser útil la práctica de liderazgo? ¿Puede concebirse un liderazgopedagógico con el propósito de comprometer activamente a docentes y a estudiantescomo responsables de sostener un proceso de aprendizaje? Hacia el final, planteamosuna hipótesis conceptual de liderazgo pedagógico a la luz de las necesidades que lapandemia ha puesto de relieve y que atienden al capital educativo que porta cada estudiantey cada docente, propios de cada comunidad educativa. &nbsp

Distributive/Integrative Negotiation Strategies in Cross-Cultural Contexts: A Comparative Study of the USA and Italy

Integrative and distributive negotiation strategies are a key paradigm of practice, teaching, and research. Are these US-formulated negotiation prototypes valid in the rest of the world? Adopting a cross-cultural view, we analyze a sample of 214 foreigners who detailed the negotiation behavior they faced in Italy (134) and in the United States (80). Implementing latent class analysis, we identify three clusters of negotiation prototypes. Our findings show how the Country is clearly a predictor for cluster membership, and peculiar cultural traits of the two groups contribute to explain the differences in negotiation strategies. Three prototypes emerged: a typically distributive, an emotional integrative (mostly Italian), and an impersonal integrative (mostly American). Results show how the handling of emotions is a crucial part of the interaction for Italian negotiators, regardless of their orientation towards negotiation strategies, implying a cultural influence toward emotions in negotiations

CA19.9 Serum Level Predicts Lymph-Nodes Status in Resectable Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis

BackgroundThe choice between upfront surgery or neoadjuvant treatments (NAT) for resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (R-PDAC) is controversial. R-PDAC with potential nodal involvement could benefit from NT. Ca (Carbohydrate antigen) 19.9 and serum albumin levels, alone or in combination, have proven their efficacy in assessing PDAC prognosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of Ca 19.9 serum levels in predicting nodal status in R-PDAC.MethodsPreoperative Ca 19.9, as well as serum albumin levels, of 165 patients selected for upfront surgery have been retrospectively collected and correlated to pathological nodal status (N), resection margins status (R) and vascular resections (VR). We further performed ROC curve analysis to identify optimal Ca 19.9 cut-off for pN+, R+ and vascular resection prediction.ResultsIncreased Ca 19.9 levels in 114 PDAC patients were significantly associated with pN+ (p <0.001). This ability, confirmed in all the series by ROC curve analysis (Ca 19.9 >= 32 U/ml), was lost in the presence of hypoalbuminemia. Furthermore, Ca 19.9 at the cut off >418 U/ml was significantly associated with R+ (87% specificity, 36% sensitivity, p 0.014). Ca 19.9, at the cut-off >78 U/ml, indicated a significant trend to predict the need for VR (sensitivity 67%, specificity 53%; p = 0.059).ConclusionsIn R-PDAC with normal serum albumin levels, Ca 19.9 predicts pN+ and R+, thus suggesting a crucial role in deciding on NAT

Secrecy Capacity and Secure Distance for Diffusion-Based Molecular Communication Systems

The biocompatibility and nanoscale features of Molecular Communication (MC) make this paradigm, based on molecules and chemical reactions, an enabler for communication theory applications in the healthcare at its biological level ( e.g. , bimolecular disease detection/monitoring and intelligent drug delivery). However, the adoption of MC-based innovative solutions into privacy and security-sensitive areas is opening new challenges for this research field. Despite fundamentals of information theory applied to MC have been established in the last decade, research work on security in MC systems is still limited. In contrast to previous literature focused on challenges, and potential roadmaps to secure MC, this paper presents the preliminary elements of a systematic approach to quantifying information security as it propagates through an MC link. In particular, a closed-form mathematical expression for the secrecy capacity of an MC system based on free molecule diffusion is provided. Numerical results highlight the dependence of the secrecy capacity on the average thermodynamic transmit power, the eavesdropper's distance, the transmitted signal bandwidth, and the receiver radius. In addition, the concept of secure distance in an MC system is introduced and investigated for two different techniques of signal detection, i.e. , based on energy and amplitude. The secrecy capacity can be used to determine how much secure information (bit/sec/Hz) can be exchanged and within which operative range, while the secure distance can be used to set the transmit power to obtain a secure channel at a given distance. We envision these metrics will be of utmost importance for a future design framework tailored to MC systems and their practical applications