\u201cMay the Force move you\u201d: Roles and actors of information sharing devices in urban mobility

The innovation recently brought into the market for mobility innovation (by apps, social networks and sharing economy practices) impacts upon the economic appeal of urban areas and strongly influences the preferences of individuals in happiness, lifestyles and related aspect of urban consumption. Several sharing devices are nowadays producing such effects, offering innovative solutions to support the availability of mobility supply. They do so by conveying useful tools to the whole community of users, by proposing new ways of producing knowledge and services, and by favoring symmetric information in the urban mobility market. The paper aims to discuss the impact of these innovation devices in shaping individual\u2019s mobility preferences, by drawing on a wide set of experiences that have introduced new technologies and shared mobility practices that provide significant information related to mobility. Drawing on a literature review referred to a wide set of new technologies and shared mobility practices based on significant information related to mobility, the paper draws its discussion on three analytical dimensions: the role that information has in shaping individual mobility choices, and how it may interact with individual preferences and needs; the varied forms of relevant mobility information made available by information-sharing devices; the many actors (corporations, public administrations, community groups\u2026) who produce information collecting data and making them available in different forms. Drawing on these elements, a policy framework is discussed, to define suitable operational approaches to urban mobility that are more attentive to individual needs and more effective in terms of sustainability

Exact out-of-equilibrium steady states in the semiclassical limit of the interacting Bose gas

We study the out-of-equilibrium properties of a classical integrable non-relativistic theory, with a time evolution initially prepared with a finite energy density in the thermodynamic limit. The theory considered here is the Non-Linear Schrodinger equation which describes the dynamics of the one-dimensional interacting Bose gas in the regime of high occupation numbers. The main emphasis is on the determination of the late-time Generalised Gibbs Ensemble (GGE), which can be efficiently semi-numerically computed on arbitrary initial states, completely solving the famous quench problem in the classical regime. We take advantage of known results in the quantum model and the semiclassical limit to achieve new exact results for the momenta of the density operator on arbitrary GGEs, which we successfully compare with ab-initio numerical simulations. Furthermore, we determine the whole probability distribution of the density operator (full counting statistics), whose exact expression is still out of reach in the quantum model.Comment: 42 pages, 9 figures, resubmission to SciPost Physic

The construction of a trading zone as political strategy: a review of London Infrastructure Plan 2050

The recent London Infrastructure Plan 2050 appears as an attempt for coming up with innovative answers to infrastructure issues, aiming at providing new spaces where different actors can collaborate, defining adequate visions and governance bodies. Our hypothesis is that the plan can be interpreted through the relevant and yet ambiguous concept of ‘trading zone’, which highlights the setting up of new spaces for confrontation but also shows their use as political vehicles to advocate for increased powers and resources. To investigate the issue, the paper reviews the literature on the concept of trading zone in order to discuss in this perspective the London Infrastructure Plan planning process. The analysis is developed as follows: after a theoretical discussion of trading zones and their relationship with infrastructure planning processes, two significant aspects of the London Infrastructure Plan are examined: the stakeholders’ engagement required by strategic planning processes, and the ongoing planning processes of London, influenced by the Localism agenda. Consequently, the London Infrastructure Plan 2050 is described and reviewed in the light of its political strategic meaning, providing a discussion of its vision, contents and planning process. The analysis uses and rediscusses the concept of trading zone by observing how local authorities may use planning processes to strategically position themselves and influence the complex governance of infrastructure planning

Evaluation of wound healing and postoperative pain after oral mucosa laser biopsy with the aid of compound with chlorhexidine and sodium hyaluronate: a randomized double blind clinical trial

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate secondary intention healing process and postoperative pain of oral soft tissues after laser surgery with the use of a compound containing chlorhexidine and sodium hyaluronate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This double-blind, randomized clinical study included 56 patients affected by benign oral lesions and subjected to excisional biopsy with diode laser and randomly divided into three groups. Study group (SG) received 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate and 0.2% sodium hyaluronate treatment; control group (CG) received 0.2% chlorhexidine digluconate; and placebo group (PG) followed the same protocol, taking a neutral solution having the same organoleptic characteristics. Wound healing was evaluated using percentage healing index (PHI). Numeric rating scale (NRS) was used to evaluate postoperative pain. RESULTS: PHI (T1 = 7 days) was 67.25% for SG, 58.67% for CG, and 54.55% for PG. PHI (T2 = 14 days) was 94.35% for SG, 77.79% for CG, and 78.98% for PG. A statistically significant difference was between the groups for PHI at T2 p = 0.001. No difference was detectable for pain index. CONCLUSIONS: A solution containing sodium hyaluronate and chlorhexidine is a good support to increase wound healing by secondary intention after laser biopsy, but no differences were in postoperative perception of pain. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of the tested solution can be recommended after laser oral biopsies, to achieve a healing without suture. About the postoperative pain, the compound has not showed the same results and did not have measurable effects

SVILUPPI RECENTI NEL SISTEMA EUROPEO DEI VISTI: PROFILI CRITICI E ANALISI NORMATIVA

Le materie contenute all’interno dello “Spazio di Libertà, Sicurezza e Giustizia” del Trattato di Lisbona non hanno paragone con le altre politiche europee, sono probabilmente tra le più dinamiche, sensibili e discusse all’interno del panorama comunitario: le politiche dell’immigrazione, dell’asilo e dei visti rientrano tuttora, infatti, tra le competenze concorrenti dell’Unione, formano ancora parte essenziale del tradizionale concetto di sovranità nazionale e sono cariche di paure nazionali, ideologie rivali e sensibilità politiche contrastanti. Nel caso specifico la politica dei visti rappresenta un esempio illuminante di come gli Stati membri e l’Unione abbiano tuttora notevoli difficoltà nel portare avanti una politica comune in questo delicato settore del processo d’integrazione. L’analisi qui proposta mira a definire il concetto di mobilità ed i limiti legali che ne caratterizzano l’operatività nello spazio comune europeo rispetto ai paesi terzi, ricostruendo i principali aspetti teorici e pratici della complessa gestione rafforzata delle frontiere esterne dell’Unione europea. L’enfasi posta sulla sicurezza e la fiducia nella razionalità e nell’affidabilità delle banche dati elettroniche si scontra però, nelle considerazioni svolte, da un lato, con la non completa affidabilità del sistema, dall’altro, con l’estrema complessità del sistema europeo dei visti, che, nonostante gli sviluppi degli ultimi anni, risulta ancora piuttosto confuso e farraginoso. Il visto è sicuramente uno strumento tecnico ma con significative implicazioni politiche e giuridiche. Come si è avuto modo di analizzare, la proposta di modifica del codice visti avanzata dalla Commissione nel 2014 ha cercato di risolvere le criticità del sistema riuscendoci solo in parte, in quanto l’unitarietà del quadro normativo definito dal legislatore europeo continua ad essere limitata da elementi interni ed esterni all’Unione. I tassi di rifiuto di rilascio dei visti dimostrano che, nonostante le regole comuni e i criteri comuni per il rilascio dei visti, definiti dal legislatore europeo, l’applicazione di essi da parte degli Stati membri risulta alquanto differenziata nei diversi contesti regionali e nazionali dei paesi terzi interessati. La natura politica della questione non può essere trascurata. La conclusione cui si addiviene è duplice: da un lato, le prospettive per il futuro possono privilegiare un ritorno alla gestione della politica dei visti su scala nazionale, anche se tale prospettive pare improbabile; dall’altro, si può immaginare che al fine di sviluppare una politica dei visti effettivamente comune e rispondente alle esigenze dei paesi membri, nei prossimi anni si possa assistere ad un’ulteriore armonizzazione della materia e ad un cambiamento dei rapporti di forza tra gli attori che partecipano alla cooperazione rafforzata di Schengen in materia di visti in favore della Commissione europea

The Actuator Design and the Experimental Tests of a New Technology Large Deformable Mirror for Visible Wavelengths Adaptive Optics

Recently, Adaptive Secondary Mirrors showed excellent on-sky results in the Near Infrared wavelengths. They currently provide 30mm inter-actuator spacing and about 1 kHz bandwidth. Pushing these devices to be operated at visible wavelengths is a challenging task. Compared to the current systems, working in the infrared, the more demanding requirements are the higher spatial resolution and the greater correction bandwidth. In fact, the turbulence scale is shorter and the parameter variation is faster. Typically, the former is not larger than 25 mm (projected on the secondary mirror) and the latter is 2 kHz, therefore the actuator has to be more slender and faster than the current ones. With a soft magnetic composite core, a dual-stator and a single-mover, VRALA, the actuator discussed in this paper, attains unprecedented performances with a negligible thermal impact. Pre-shaping the current required to deliver a given stroke greatly simplifies the control system, whose output supplies the current generator. As the inductance depends on the mover position, the electronics of this generator, provided with an inductance measure circuit, works also as a displacement sensor, supplying the control system with an accurate feed-back signal. A preliminary prototype, built according to the several FEA thermo-magnetic analyses, has undergone some preliminary laboratory tests. The results of these checks, matching the design results in terms of power and force, show that the the magnetic design addresses the severe specifications

Infinite index extensions of local nets and defects

Subfactor theory provides a tool to analyze and construct extensions of Quantum Field Theories, once the latter are formulated as local nets of von Neumann algebras. We generalize some of the results of [LR95] to the case of extensions with infinite Jones index. This case naturally arises in physics, the canonical examples are given by global gauge theories with respect to a compact (non-finite) group of internal symmetries. Building on the works of Izumi, Longo, Popa [ILP98] and Fidaleo, Isola [FI99], we consider generalized Q-systems (of intertwiners) for a semidiscrete inclusion of properly infinite von Neumann algebras, which generalize ordinary Q-systems introduced by Longo [Lon94] to the infinite index case. We characterize inclusions which admit generalized Q-systems of intertwiners and define a braided product among the latter, hence we construct examples of QFTs with defects (phase boundaries) of infinite index, extending the family of boundaries in the grasp of [BKLR16].Comment: 50 page

Cronaca dal convegno: ‘Verso un codice di condotta per i parlamentari. Le esperienze internazionali a confronto’

[Chronicle from conference: ‘Towards a code of conduct for members of Parliament. An overview on international experience’. Parliamentary seminar, Camera dei deputati, 4th of June 2015] This paper summarizes reports presented during the international meeting on parliamentary code of conduct, held at the Italian Parliament on the 4th of June 2015

Health risk perception, consumption intention, and willingness to pay for pig products obtained by immunocastration

Surgical castration without the use of anaesthesia and/or analgesia is considered to be detrimental for the welfare of pigs and for this reason its abandonment is advocated. Immunocastration is a more welfare-friendly alternative method; however, stakeholders in the pork sector fear consumer rejection due to perceived safety issues of immunocastrated meat. This work aimed to analyse whether Italian consumers perceive a health risk arising from the use of this technique and, if so, how the perceived risk may influence the purchase choices and the willingness to pay for products derived from immunocastrated animals. To achieve this objective, a survey was carried out on a representative sample of the Italian population. The results highlight that consumers perceive different levels of risk related to the use of immunocastration and that this influences purchasing behaviour and willingness to pay. Moreover, it should be noted that the willingness to pay is also influenced by certain demographic factors, since this is positively associated with younger respondents with lower incomes and less knowledge of farming systems, who live in rural areas and have a greater sensitivity to animal welfare. Given the concerns expressed by consumers, particular attention must be paid to the information transmitted if this technology will be widely implemented in pig husbandry