P.I.P.P.I.: What has changed? How and why? The empirical evidence

This paper provides a summary of the results of the P.I.P.P.I. Program in achieving the prefixed goals on the final, intermediate and proximal outcome variables, regarding children\u2019s development, the positive exercise of parental competences and the effective action of services respectively. Therefore, the main purpose is to describe the impact of the program on the overall well-being of children and families in relation to the processes implemented. This is possible thanks to the wealth of information gathered by professionals through the tools provided for the analysis, design and monitoring activities in the work with families

Managing Interval Resources in Automated Planning

In this paper RDPPLan, a model for planning with quantitative resources specified as numerical intervals, is presented. Nearly all existing models of planning with resources require to specify exact values for updating resources modified by actions execution. In other words these models cannot deal with more realistic situations in which the resources quantities are not completely known but are bounded by intervals. The RDPPlan model allow to manage domains more tailored to real world, where preconditions and effects over quantitative resources can be specified by intervals of values, in addition mixed logical/quantitative and pure numerical goals can be posed. RDPPlan is based on non directional search over a planning graph, like DPPlan, from which it derives, it uses propagation rules which have been appropriately extended to the management of resource intervals. The propagation rules extended with resources must verify invariant properties over the planning graph which have been proven by the authors and guarantee the correctness of the approach. An implementation of the RDPPlan model is described with search strategies specifically developed for interval resources

Nanomanufacturing of titania interfaces with controlled structural and functional properties by supersonic cluster beam deposition

Great emphasis is placed on the development of integrated approaches for the synthesis and the characterization of ad hoc nanostructured platforms, to be used as templates with controlled morphology and chemical properties for the investigation of specific phenomena of great relevance for technological applications in interdisciplinary fields such as biotechnology, medicine and advanced materials. Here we discuss the crucial role and the advantages of thin film deposition strategies based on cluster-assembling from supersonic cluster beams. We select cluster-assembled nanostructured titania (ns-TiO2) as a case study to demonstrate that accurate control over morphological parameters can be routinely achieved, and consequently over several relevant interfacial properties and phenomena, like surface charging in a liquid electrolyte, and proteins and nanoparticles adsorption

Absolute frequency measurement of the 1S0 - 3P0 transition of 171Yb

We report the absolute frequency measurement of the unperturbed transition 1S0 - 3P0 at 578 nm in 171Yb realized in an optical lattice frequency standard. The absolute frequency is measured 518 295 836 590 863.55(28) Hz relative to a cryogenic caesium fountain with a fractional uncertainty of 5.4x10-16 . This value is in agreement with the ytterbium frequency recommended as a secondary representation of the second in the International System of Units.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication/published in Metrologia. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1681-7575/aa4e62. It is published under a CC BY licenc

An Innovative Approach to Kinematic Analysis of Multibody Hydraulic Actuation Systems

The paper focuses on the development of an innovative methodology for the direct measurement of the main kinematic variables in multi-body hydraulic actuation systems. The analysis investigates how the motion capture technique has been applied to the experimental determination of position, velocity and acceleration of hydraulically controlled actuation systems for off-highway machineries. A number of earth-moving machines has been taken into account, in particular a mini-excavator articulated harm has been equipped with both a standard mechanical system for position and acceleration measurement (including different accelerometers, linear and angular transducers), and a set of IR markers for motion capture application. First, the hydraulically controlled boom-arm-bucket system has been operated using a control routine reproducing a reference operating condition, in order to define the accuracy of the motion capture system in detecting the kinematic quantities\u2019 variations. At the same time, the hydraulic variables have been also acquired to monitor the behavior during the machine working routine. Thus, the results obtained by the different experimental techniques have been compared, in order to state the reliability of the motion capture technique to predict the fast dynamics of pressure variations through the accurate measurement of mechanical devices\u2019 oscillation. Finally, the paper reports the main results obtained using the data from the motion capture characterization of the dynamic performance of the mini-excavator, with particular attention devoted to the dynamic analysis through lumped and distributed parameter numerical co-simulation

Bifidobacteria exhibit social behavior through carbohydrate resource sharing in the gut

Bifidobacteria are common and frequently dominant members of the gut microbiota of many animals, including mammals and insects. Carbohydrates are considered key carbon sources for the gut microbiota, imposing strong selective pressure on the complex microbial consortium of the gut. Despite its importance, the genetic traits that facilitate carbohydrate utilization by gut microbiota members are still poorly characterized. Here, genome analyses of 47 representative Bifidobacterium (sub)species revealed the genes predicted to be required for the degradation and internalization of a wide range of carbohydrates, outnumbering those found in many other gut microbiota members. The glycan-degrading abilities of bifidobacteria are believed to reflect available carbon sources in the mammalian gut. Furthermore, transcriptome profiling of bifidobacterial genomes supported the involvement of various chromosomal loci in glycan metabolism. The widespread occurrence of bifidobacterial saccharolytic features is in line with metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets obtained from human adult/infant faecal samples, thereby supporting the notion that bifidobacteria expand the human glycobiome. This study also underscores the hypothesis of saccharidic resource sharing among bifidobacteria through species-specific metabolic specialization and cross feeding, thereby forging trophic relationships between members of the gut microbiota.We thank GenProbio srl for financial support of the Laboratory of Probiogenomics. This work was financially supported by a FEMS Jensen Award to FT, and by a Ph.D. fellowship (Spinner 2013, Regione Emilia Romagna) to S.D. DvS and FT are members of The APC Microbiome Institute, while DvS is also a member of the Alimentary Glycoscience Research Cluster, both funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), through the Irish Government’s National Development Plan (Grant numbers SFI/12/RC/2273 and 08/SRC/B1393, respectively). This work was also partially supported by Fondazione Caritro, by the EU FP7 (PCIG13- GA-2013-618833), and by MIUR “Futuro in Ricerca” E68C13000500001 to NS. Furthermore, this project has been funded in part with funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN272200900018C.Peer Reviewe

Multi-phase and Multi-component CFD Analysis of a Load - Sensing Proportional Control Valve

The paper analyzes the flow through a directional control valve for load –sensing application by means of a multi-phase and multi-component CFD approach. Numerical modeling includes both cavitation and aeration; in particular, the Rayleigh-Plesset equation and the inertia controlled growth model for bubble formation are adopted. The effects of gas release and vapor formation as well as turbulence on the main valve metering characteristics are investigated. The results show a remarkable influence of the aeration phenomena on the recirculating zones downstream of the metering area and thus on the cavitation onset region

A Combined Methodology for Studying the Axial Balancing Mechanism of Orbit Annular Hydraulic Machines

A customized combined methodology, based on both 2D CFD and lumped parameters numerical modeling, useful for simulating the hydraulic behavior of orbit annular machines, has been developed and here presented. More in details, the predictive capabilities of this CAE tool can be applied for the study of both roller and gerotor architectures and considering both pumping and motoring operating mode. First of all, a in-house developed 2D CFD methodology, based on the integration of the stationary form of the Reynolds equation for the determination of the pressure distribution inside the lateral clearances bounded by the sides of the stator-rotor group and the valve plate, as well as the internal manifold surface, is firstly presented and applied. The same computational procedure has been also involved for the investigation of the leakages through the clearance between the valve plate and the balancing ring. After that, a lumped and distributed parameters numerical model has been involved for the simulation of a typical orbit roller motor operation. In this case, particular care has been devoted to the modeling of the axial leakage clearances, adopting analytical interpolation functions deducted from the numerical results calculated applying the previously described 2D CFD methodology. Finally, the whole CAE approach has been validated by means of a comprehensive numerical vs. experimental comparison, obtaining a general good accordance for the overall operating field of this particular type of hydraulic unit

Energy recovery of the biomass from livestock farms in Italy: the case of Modena Province

The energy recovery from manure of different Italian livestock farms is analysed by means of numerical simulation using an in-house developed code. In particular, the animal farming in the province of Modena is taken into account and biomass is exploited in an integrated system including different waste to energy technologies. In the considered system, the manure of a number of types of animals is fed into an anaerobic digester, while the digested sludge is separated into the solid and liquid fractions. The former is employed as a fuel in a downdraft gasifier, while the latter is purified by means of both forward and inverse osmosis. Finally, the obtained bio-gas and syngas are used in a cogeneration system based on a spark ignition internal combustion engine to produce electric and thermal power. The potential power production of the considered territory is estimated and compared with the energy requirements of the animal farms. Different strategies for the distributed exploitation of the manure versus a centralized solution are investigated and the relating plant size and production of electric energy and thermal energy are evaluated