The convexity-cone approach to comparative risk and downside risk.

Based on Jewitt (1986) we try to find a characterization of comparative downside risk aversion and love. The desired characterizations involve the decomposition of the dual of the intersection of two convexity cones. The decomposition holds in the case of downside risk love, but not in the case of downside risk aversion. A counterexample is provided.Convexity cones; risk; downside risk; risk aversion; dual cones

The relationships of the enigmatic gastropod Tritonoharpa (Neogastropoda): New data on early neogastropod evolution?

In this paper, the relationships of Tritonoharpa Dall, 1908, within Neogastropoda are discussed. Tritonoharpa is indeed similar to Colubraria in the morphology of its head-foot, pallial complex, reproductive and excretory systems, in the presence of an extremely long and coiled proboscis, and a very large stomach. However, it differs from Colubraria in the rest of its foregut anatomy, revealing a cancellariid affinity, and a typical nematoglossan radula. The molecular data confirms Beu and Maxwell's placement of Tritonoharpa in the Cancellariidae, close to Plesiotriton. It is also suggested that cancellariids may be the sister-group to the rest of neogastropods. Tritonoharpa has a rather large and well developed midgut gland, resembling the gland of Leiblein. As previously studied cancellarioideans have been shown to lack a well differentiated gland of Leiblein, the present study raises some interesting questions about the evolution of the foregut in Neogastropoda. In fact, if this glandular structure were confirmed as a true homologue of the gland of Leiblein, and the cancellarioideans proved to be the sister group to the remaining neogastropods, the possession of the gland should be considered a synapomorphy of the Neogastropoda

The convexity-cone approach to comparative risk and downside risk

Based on Jewitt (1986) we try to find a characterization of comparative downside risk aversion and love. The desired characterizations involve the decomposition of the dual of the intersection of two convexity cones. The decomposition holds in the case of downside risk love, but not in the case of downside risk aversion. A counterexample is provided.Based on Jewitt (1986) we try to find a characterization of comparative downside risk aversion and love. The desired characterizations involve the decomposition of the dual of the intersection of two convexity cones. The decomposition holds in the case of downside risk love, but not in the case of downside risk aversion. A counterexample is provided.Non-Refereed Working Papers / of national relevance onl

An assessment of the genus Columbella Lamarck, 1799 (Gastropoda: Columbellidae) from eastern Atlantic

Three species of the neogastropod genus Columbella Lamarck, 1799 are recognised from the northeastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. One is the common Mediterranean C. rustica (Linnaeus, 1758), with paucispiral protoconch, extending its range in the Atlantic South to Senegal and North to Portugal. Columbella adansoni Menke, 1853, with multispiral protoconch is restricted to the Macaronesian archipelagoes. A third species, also with multispiral protoconch, from West Africa is recognised through molecular methods, and the name C. xiphitella Duclos, 1840 is employed by correcting the original erroneous locality (“Californie”) to Gabon. Except for protoconch features, no major morphological characters are available to separate the three species; however diagnostic species-level differences in specific positions in the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences are present between all three species

A Comparative Analysis of Gibrat’s and Zipf’s Law on Urban Population

The regional economics and geography literature on urban population size has in recent years shown interesting conceptual and methodological contributions on the validity of Gibrat’s Law and Zipf’s Law. Despite distinct modeling features, they express similar fundamental characteristics in an equilibrium situation. Zipf’s law is formalized in a static form, while its associated dynamic process is articulated by Gibrat’s Law. Thus, it is likely that both Zipf’s Law and Gibrat’s Law share a common root. Unfortunately, empirical investigations on the direct relationship between Gibrat’s Law and Zipf’s Law are rather rare and not conclusive. The present paper aims to answer the question whether (a generalisation of) Gibrat’s Law allows us to infer Zipf’s Law, and vice versa? In our conceptual and applied framework, particular attention will be paid to the role of the mean and the variance of city population as key indicators for assessing the (non-) validity of the generalised Gibrat’s Law. Our empirical experiments are based on a comparative analysis between the dynamics of the urban population of four countries with entirely mutually contrasting spatial-economic and geographic characteristics: Botswana, Germany, Hungary and Luxembourg. We arrive at the following results: if (i) the mean is independent of city size (first necessary condition of Gibrat’s law) and (ii) the coefficient of the rank-size rule/Zipf’s Law is different from one, then the variance is dependent on city size

School Infrastructure Spending and Educational Outcomes in Northern Italy

We explore whether investment in public school infrastructure affects students' achievement. We use data on extra funding to public high schools after the 2012 Northern Italy earthquake and apply a quasi-experimental design and an instrumental variable strategy. We find that spending on school infrastructure increases standardized test scores in mathematics and Italian language, and the effect is stronger for lower-achieving students and in mathematics. These results provide evidence in favor of a positive impact of capital spending in improving the learning environment and performances of high school students

Web interactive non intrusive load disaggregation system for active demand in smart grids

A Smart Grid combines the use of traditional technology with innovative digital solutions, making the management of the electricity grid more flexible. It allows for monitoring, analysis, control and communication within the supply chain to improve efficiency, reduce the energy consumption and cost, and maximize the transparency and reliability of the energy supply chain. The optimization of energy consumption in Smart Grids is possible by using an innovative system based on Non Intrusive Appliance Load Monitoring (NIALM) algorithms, in which individual appliance power consumption information is disaggregated from single-point measurements, that provide a feedback in such a way to make energy more visible and more amenable to understanding and control. We contribute with an approach for monitoring consumption of electric power in households based on both a NILM algorithm, that uses a simple load signatures, and a web interactive systems that allows an active role played by users

Economic landslide susceptibility under a socio-economic perspective: an application to Umbria Region (Central Italy)

AbstractAn accurate understanding of physical and socio-economic effects of landslides is fundamental to develop more refined risk management, mitigation strategies and land use policies. In this paper we develop a measure to consider the interconnection between physical and economic exposure, i.e. what we call the economic landslide susceptibility, namely the probability of landslide occurrence in an area weighted for its socio-economic exposure considering the real-estate market values. The economic landslide susceptibility is estimated through a method designed for large areas that we applied to the Umbria Region (Central Italy). The method makes use of landslide susceptibility maps and a real estate market value map for any given area under analysis. The innovative concept of economic landslide susceptibility (that is de facto an ex ante landslide cost assessment) may be interpreted as the potential loss that an area might suffer in terms of its propensity for landslides. Useful applications of the proposed method lie in a better territorial management and in the land use planning

Neurophysiological Profile of Antismoking Campaigns

Over the past few decades, antismoking public service announcements (PSAs) have been used by governments to promote healthy behaviours in citizens, for instance, against drinking before the drive and against smoke. Effectiveness of such PSAs has been suggested especially for young persons. By now, PSAs efficacy is still mainly assessed through traditional methods (questionnaires and metrics) and could be performed only after the PSAs broadcasting, leading to waste of economic resources and time in the case of Ineffective PSAs. One possible countermeasure to such ineffective use of PSAs could be promoted by the evaluation of the cerebral reaction to the PSA of particular segments of population (e.g., old, young, and heavy smokers). In addition, it is crucial to gather such cerebral activity in front of PSAs that have been assessed to be effective against smoke (Effective PSAs), comparing results to the cerebral reactions to PSAs that have been certified to be not effective (Ineffective PSAs). &e eventual differences between the cerebral responses toward the two PSA groups will provide crucial information about the possible outcome of new PSAs before to its broadcasting. &is study focused on adult population, by investigating the cerebral reaction to the vision of different PSA images, which have already been shown to be Effective and Ineffective for the promotion of an antismoking behaviour. Results showed how variables as gender and smoking habits can influence the perception of PSA images, and how different communication styles of the antismoking campaigns could facilitate the comprehension of PSA’s message and then enhance the related impac