Position estimation delays in signal injection-based sensorless PMSM drives

The causes of position estimation delays and their effects on the sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motor drives are investigated. The position of a permanent magnet synchronous machine is estimated via the injection of high frequency voltage signals. The delays under investigation are due to the digital implementation of the control algorithm and to the digital filters adopted for decoupling the inspection signals from the fundamental components of the stator current measures. If not correctly modeled and compensated, such delays can reduce the performance of the control scheme. Experimental results are provided, proving the accuracy of the modeling approach and the effectiveness of the related compensation strateg

Having Children in Europe: The Role of Social Capital

We explore the role of social capital in explaining reproductive behaviour and its differences among the European countries. We adopt a comprehensive concept of social capital that combines several elementary indicators and estimate its impact on the probability of having a first or a further child among reproductive-age women currently in a partnership union. We cluster countries in four groups and discuss the results in terms of different welfare state regimes. Data come from the 2014 EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey (N=15,735) which we analysed through a generalized ordered logit model. Our findings support the hypothesis that women who can count on higher level of social capital show higher chance to give birth to a baby and this holds both for each country group and for Europe as a whole. By showing the importance of operationalize a complex and multivariate definition of social capital we contributed to the debate about its relationship with individual reproductive behaviour

Evaluation of biodentine in pulpotomies of primary teeth with different stages of root resorption using a novel composite outcome score

This study aimed to assess the success of pulpotomy in primary molars using Biodentine, new-developed tri-calcium, di-calcium-based silicate cement, at 6 and 12 months. The hypothesis was that stages of root resorption could influence the treatment success. A novel composite score was used based on five clinical and radiographic outcomes: soft-tissue pathology, pain to percussion, pathologic mobility, radiolucency and pathologic root resorption. Patients’ compliance and intraoperative pain experience were recorded using the Frankl scale and the Wong–Baker scale. A total of 22 primary molars, 9 in stage S (stability) and 13 in stage R (resorption) were submitted to pulpotomy using Biodentine and restored with composite resin. The success rate was 92.3% in the R group compared to 100% in the S group at both 6 and 12 months (p = 0.850). There was no statistically significant effect of type of molar, tooth position and type of carious lesions on the composite outcome (all p > 0.05). Overall, 73% of the children experienced no or mild/moderate pain and 77% had a cooperative attitude. Children younger than 7 years old experienced more pain (p = 0.04). Biodentine is a promising biomaterial for pulpotomy of primary teeth regardless of the stage of root resorption

Mean or green? Values, morality and environmental significant behavior.

In most cases, pro-environmental behavior does not maximize individual interests, but mainly benefits other people or the environment. We propose that although acting on the basis of egoistic considerations may result in pro-environmental behavior, altruistic and biospheric considerations provide the most stable basis for pro-environmental behavior. We present two strategies to promote stable pro-environmental behavior. The first way is increasing the saliency of altruistic and biospheric values in specific situations, thereby reducing the relative strength of egoistic values. The second way is making the often “anti-environmental” egoistic values compatible with “pro-environmental” altruistic and biospheric values. We explain these options and translate it to possible interventions, policy implications, and follow-up research to promote “green” behavior

Two-part model with measurement error. Modello a due parti con errore di misura

In many applications, there are positive-valued phenomena which show a very high frequency at zero. One major difculty with this type of data is that the existence of a point-mass at zero makes common distributions unsuited for modeling the data. To cope with these difculties, some models have been developed. A popular example is the two-part model in which two stochastic models are assumed: the rst governs whether the response variable is zero or positive an the second, conditional on its being positive, models the level. We extend the two-part model to cope with measurement error on the dependent variables of both stochastic parts. This situation is common in many applied works

Bilingualism and cognitive development: a study on the acquisition of number skills

Growing up as bilingual seem to exert some positive and negative effects on general cognitive functioning. Positive gains concern a earlier maturation of the attentional system in childhood and its later decline in adulthood. Bilinguals have been shown to be advantaged , compared to their monolingual peers in tasks requiring control of attention: they are more accurate in judging the grammaticality of sentences (Bialystok et al.1986); faster in the Attentional Network Test and in the Simon task (Costa et al 2007; Bialystok et al.2005).On the other hand bilinguals are disadvantaged in t asks requiring speech production : they are slower in acceding to the lexical representation of words (Ivanova, Costa,2007); they exhibit more tip of the tonguge states (Gollan & Silvenberg, 2001) and they show lower rates in retrieving verbal stimuli (Gollan,2002).If bilingualism can exert these influence sin boosting and hampering these so general cognitive functions, bilinguals children might also show these effects across domains.We surveyed the presence of these advantages and disadvantages in a domain so relevant as it is speaking two languages that is the number field. Bilinguals and monolinguals children were asked to perform three different number tasks: number Stroop, verification and dot counting.Unlike in the study of Bialystok et al. (2004; 2005) who employed a classical Stroop task, no difference was found between mono- and bilinguals as for the number Stroop effect. In the verification task, an associative confusion effect was found in the bilingual but not in the monolingual group. Finally, when children were asked to count, bilinguals performed equally well as their monolingual peers in counting items in the subitizing range only, whereas they were slower than their peers when they counted from 4 to 9 dots. This latter result, in particular, is consistent with many psycholinguistic studies claiming that bilinguals are disadvantaged in tasks requiring lexical access (Costa & Caramazza, 1999), and extend them to the number processing domain

A Value-Belief-Norm Theory of Support for Social Movements: The Case of Environmentalism

We present a theory of the basis of support for a social movement. Three types of support (citizenship actions, policy support and acceptance, and personal-sphere behaviors that accord with movement principles) are empirically distinct from each other and from committed activism. Drawing on theoretical work on values and norm-activation processes, we propose a value-belief-norm (VBN) theory of movement support. Individuals who accept a movement\u27s basic values, believe that valued objects are threatened, and believe that their actions can help restore those values experience an obligation (personal norm) for pro-movement action that creates a predisposition to provide support; the particular type of support that results is dependent on the individual\u27s capabilities and constraints. Data from a national survey of 420 respondents suggest that the VBN theory, when compared with other prevalent theories, offers the best available account of support for the environmental movement