105 research outputs found

    ANALYSIS OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING 3D MODELS RESOLUTION – APPLICATION TO THE RECORDING OF VAULTS IN SANGALLO'S HOUSE

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    The paper will present the extraction of information from a laser scanning survey aimed to support historical studies on the Sangallo's house in Florence. In order to verify some study's hypothesis related to the building history and constructive techniques, high resolution models were needed. The meaning of "resolution" applied to 3D scanning will be briefly discussed stressing the difference between resolution and accuracy. Starting from the analysis of technical specifications of the used instruments, the expected performance of the model is described. The results obtained from acquired data are shown and the paper will conclude proposing some answers to the historian's questions

    Influence of morning maternal care on the behavioural responses of 8-week-old Beagle puppies to new environmental and social stimuli

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    In mammals, maternal care represents a major constituent of the early-life environment and its influence on individual development has been documented in rodents, non-human primates, humans and recently in adult dogs. The quality and quantity of mother-offspring interactions exerts a multilevel regulation upon the physiological, cognitive, and behavioural development of the offspring. For example, in rats variations in maternal behaviour, such as mother-pup body contact and the amount of licking towards pups in the nest during the early days after parturition, influences the endocrine, emotional, and behavioural responses to stress in the offspring. This produces long-term consequences, which may remain into adulthood and can be transmitted to subsequent generations. Literature about maternal care in dogs and its effect on puppy behaviour is still scarce, although the topic is receiving a growing interest. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of morning maternal care on behavioural responses of puppies to new environmental and social stimuli. In order to achieve this, maternal care (licking, ano-genital licking, nursing and mother-puppy contact) was assessed in eight litters of domestic dogs living in standard rearing conditions during the first three weeks post-partum. Puppies were subjected to two behavioural tests (arena and isolation tests) at 58-60 days of age, and their behavioural responses were video recorded and analysed. Data was analysed using multivariate analyses (PCA, PLS).During the isolation test, a higher level of maternal care was associated with more exploration and a higher latency to emit the first yelp; on the contrary, a lower level of maternal care was associated with increased locomotion, distress vocalisations and destructive behaviours directed at the enclosure.These results, comparable to those reported in laboratory rat models and to some extent to those recently reported in dog literature, highlight the importance of maternal care on the behavioural development of domestic dog puppies

    Volunteering and learning in HE: exploring and acknowledging student experience

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    This small-scale study seeks to gain understanding of the experiences and learning opportunities presented by students’ participation in a volunteering project at a post-1992 city university. The participating students were all drawn from an undergraduate programme in the field of special educational needs (SEN). This research focuses on the development of students’ professional confidence, personal skills and subject-related understanding in the context of considering the values and benefits of student volunteering. Pre-volunteering (n = 32), mid-point (n = 23) and post-volunteering (n = 26) questionnaires were completed by participating students. In-depth interviews were also conducted following the 12-week volunteering period (n = 6). Statistical analysis of questionnaires was carried out using SPSS analytics software, facilitating the production of tables and charts, while open-ended responses and in-depth interviews were analysed by hand and coded using themes. The findings of the study support the linking of volunteering activity to higher education (HE) programme outcomes to facilitate accreditation and recognition for students

    Combined resistance to oxidative stress and reduced antenna size enhance light-to-biomass conversion efficiency in Chlorella vulgaris cultures

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    Background: Microalgae are efficient producers of lipid-rich biomass, making them a key component in developing a sustainable energy source, and an alternative to fossil fuels. Chlorella species are of special interest because of their fast growth rate in photobioreactors. However, biological constraints still cast a significant gap between the high cost of biofuel and cheap oil, thus hampering perspective of producing CO2-neutral biofuels. A key issue is the inefficient use of light caused by its uneven distribution in the culture that generates photoinhibition of the surface-exposed cells and darkening of the inner layers. Efficient biofuel production, thus, requires domestication, including traits which reduce optical density of cultures and enhance photoprotection. Results: We applied two steps of mutagenesis and phenotypic selection to the microalga Chlorella vulgaris. First, a pale-green mutant (PG-14) was selected, with a 50% reduction of both chlorophyll content per cell and LHCII complement per PSII, with respect to WT. PG-14 showed a 30% increased photon conversion into biomass efficiency vs. WT. A second step of mutagenesis of PG-14, followed by selection for higher tolerance to Rose Bengal, led to the isolation of pale-green genotypes, exhibiting higher resistance to singlet oxygen (strains SOR). Growth in photobioreactors under high light conditions showed an enhanced biomass production of SOR strains with respect to PG-14. When compared to WT strain, biomass yield of the pale green+ sor genotype was enhanced by 68%. Conclusions: Domestication of microalgae like Chlorella vulgaris, by optimizing both light distribution and ROS resistance, yielded an enhanced carbon assimilation rate in photobioreactor

    Phosphorus fractions in sandy soils of vineyards in Southern Brazil.

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    As aplicações de fósforo (P) em vinhedos podem causar o acúmulo desse nutriente no solo e maximizar seu potencial poluente. Este trabalho objetivou quantificar as frações de acumulação de P em solos arenosos cultivados com videiras na região Sul do Brasil. Para isso, amostras de solo foram coletadas nas camadas de 0-5, 6-10 e 11-20 cm em uma área de campo nativo e em dois vinhedos: um com 14 anos de cultivo (vinhedo 1) e outro com 30 anos (vinhedo 2), localizados no município de Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brasil. As amostras foram secas, moídas e submetidas ao fracionamento químico de P. Os resultados evidenciaram que os teores de P inorgânico aumentaram até 20 cm de profundidade, principalmente no vinhedo 2, em especial nas frações lábeis extraídas por resina de troca aniônica e por NaHCO3, na fração moderadamente lábil, extraída por NaOH 0,1 e 0,5 mol L-1, e na fração não lábil, extraída por HCl 1 mol L-1, representando potencial de eutroficação das águas. As aplicações de fertilizantes fosfatados na adubação de correção e de manutenção nos vinhedos com maior tempo de cultivo aumentaram os teores de P na fração orgânica extraída por NaHCO3 na camada de 0-5 cm, e na fração moderadamente lábil extraída por NaOH 0,1 mol L-1, até 20 cm de profundidade

    A three-day forest-bathing retreat enhances positive affect, vitality, optimism, and gratitude: An option for green-care tourism in Italy?

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    Forest-bathing experiences can be seen as guided recreational activities led by non-clinical trained practitioners in the context of green, slow, and mindful tourism. Notwithstanding its growing practice, there is a lack of research on the psychological benefits which can help support nature-based tourism destination managers in unlocking the potential of this emerging tourism demand. This study will fill in this gap by testing the hypothesis that a three-day forest-bathing retreat, which fits with the most common type of holidays in Europe, will enhance positive affect, vitality, optimism, and gratitude as indicators of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Forty-four adults were involved in the residential program and filled-in self-report questionnaires before and after the experience to assess the well-being dimensions considered. Results showed a significant increase for all the assessed variables. We conclude that forest bathing as a mindful tourism practice carried out in natural settings dominated by forests can favor hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, thus becoming a potential source of attractiveness for nature-based touristic destinations, but more transdisciplinary efforts are needed to exploit this potential. In particular, research gaps still exist in Europe on cause-effect relations between forest features and psychological benefits, how forests could be managed to guarantee these benefits to the advantage of a tourism destination, and how tourism and forest management sectors could collaborate in this direction

    La completezza della documentazione sanitaria: ruolo dei Link Professional nel miglioramento continuo

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    INTRODUZIONE \u2013 premesse e scopo dello studio: La completezza della Cartella Clinica (CC) \ue8 un indicatore della qualit\ue0 delle cure erogate, per questo la valutazione regolare del contenuto rientra nelle attivit\ue0 di miglioramento continuo. Scopo di questo studio \ue8 valutare se il coinvolgimento e la formazione specifica di professionisti gi\ue0 impegnati nell\u2019attivit\ue0 assistenziale e clinica abbia un effetto sulla completezza della CC introdotta presso le due Strutture Operative Complesse (Medicina Fisica e Unit\ue0 Spinale, Medicina Fisica e Unit\ue0 delle Gravi Cerebro-lesioni acquisite) del Dipartimento Medicina Fisica e Riabilitazione (IMFR) di Udine. MATERIALI E METODI: Nel dicembre 2017 \ue8 stata adottata dall\u2019IMFR una nuova CC integrata multidisciplinare e ne \ue8 stato valutato l\u2019impatto in termini di completezza a gennaio 2018 (T0). Contestualmente sono stati formati sulla corretta compilazione della CC 17 link professional che, fungendo da raccordo tra i colleghi operatori e direzione ospedaliera, nelle settimane successive hanno promosso incontri periodici di formazione e approfondimento sul tema coinvolgendo tutto il personale sanitario. La completezza della CC \ue8 stata rivalutata a maggio 2018 (T1), a valle degli incontri formativi. Le misurazioni sono state effettuate mediante valutazione da parte dei link professional su 38 CC (20 a T0 ed 18 a T1) di pazienti in ricovero ordinario, utilizzando la medesima griglia composta da 10 sezioni, articolate in 59 voci. Per valutare l\u2019eventuale miglioramento \ue8 stata calcolata la completezza complessiva e la differenza tra T0 e T1 (\uf044T1-T0) in termini percentuali ed \ue8 stata effettuata una verifica del test d\u2019ipotesi con \uf0632. RISULTATI: La completezza complessiva della CC delle due strutture \ue8 aumentata significativamente (p<0,01), passando dal 62% (T0) all\u201980% (T1). A T1 \ue8 stata raggiunta, con un miglioramento significativo (p<0,01), una completezza pari al 100% nella sezione consensi (\uf044=29%), al 98% nella valutazione riabilitativa (\uf044=20%), al 92% nella lettera di dimissione (\uf044=29%), all\u201985% nella valutazione infermieristica (\uf044=13%), all\u201982% nel progetto riabilitativo individuale (\uf044=24%), al 74% nel piano integrato di cura (\uf044=15%) e al 77% nella grafica e scheda terapia (\uf044=34%). Un miglioramento, anche se non significativo, \ue8 stato registrato nelle rimanenti sezioni: valutazione medica (completezza: 82%, \uf044=6%), diario integrato (65%, \uf044=17%) e varie (64%, \uf044=8%). CONCLUSIONI: Il modello adottato si \ue8 dimostrato efficace nel supportare il processo di miglioramento della completezza della cartella clinica
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