La grammaticalizzazione dell'it. fa

Abstract It. fa 'ago' represents a rare case of grammaticalization of a finite verbal form and a typical example of what we call 'preadaptive change'. Its present categorical status, however, is an object of dispute between the different approaches of historical and theoretical linguistics: on the one hand fa is considered an adverbial, on the other hand a postposition, becoming a sort of test of the explanatory power of both the approaches. After a reconsideration of the data throughout the history of Italian and a scrutiny of the literature, we come to the conclusion that in the case of a grammaticalization process both the structural features and the inherited properties are necessary to assign the categorial status and in the case in question converge towards the adverbial function

The Birth of New Languages in Contemporary Europe

The birth of a language is a historical process, which develops through almost six stages corresponding to six main properties (genetic distance, geographical isolation, adoption of a writing system, elaboration of a literary koine, national consciousness, official status), which are specific to Western civilization and limited to our concern, i.e. the languages in contemporary Europe. The two last properties are the most important and conclusive in achieving the full status of language in contrast with dialect, speech, idiom, vernacular and so on. Consequently, in this perspective the birth of a language can be stated when its use is felt as a token of national identity and its official status is recognized by politic power. The history of some interesting cases during the 20th century, such as Luxemburgish, Feroese and Macedonian will throw a light on the possible future scenario of the languages of the Former Yugoslavia. Other disputed, although not so dramatic cases, like Sardinian, Aranese, Moldavian and Ruthenian, are dealt with together with recurrent topics on minority languages. The conclusion is that, unlike the worldwide tendency, the number of languages will probably increase within the greater European Union in the course of the 21st century

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing to monitor grapevine leaf stripe disease within a vineyard affected by esca complex

Foliar symptoms of grapevine leaf stripe disease (GLSD, a disease within the esca complex) are linked to drastic alteration of photosynthetic function and activation of defense responses in affected grapevines several days before the appearance of the first visible symptoms on leaves. The present study suggests a methodology to investigate the relationships between high-resolution multispectral images (0.05 m/pixel) acquired using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and GLSD foliar symptoms monitored by ground surveys. This approach showed high correlation between Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) acquired by the UAV and GLSD symptoms, and discrimination between symptomatic from asymptomatic plants. High-resolution multispectral images were acquired during June and July of 2012 and 2013, in an experimental vineyard heavily affected by GLSD, located in Tuscany (Italy), where vines had been surveyed and mapped since 2003. Each vine was located with a global positioning system, and classified for appearance of foliar symptoms and disease severity at weekly intervals from the beginning of each season. Remote sensing and ground observation data were analyzed to promptly identify the early stages of disease, even before visual detection. This work suggests an innovative methodology for quantitative and qualitative analysis of spatial distribution of symptomatic plants. The system may also be used for exploring the physiological bases of GLSD, and predicting the onset of this disease.

On the Use of Modern Engineering Codes for Designing a Small Wind Turbine: An Annotated Case Study

While most wind energy comes from large utility-scale machines, small wind turbines (SWTs) can still play a role in off-grid installations or in the context of distributed production and smart energy systems. Over the years, these small machines have not received the same level of aerodynamic refinement of their larger counterparts, resulting in a notably lower efficiency and, therefore, a higher cost per installed kilowatt. In an effort to reduce this gap during the design of a new SWT, the scope of the study was twofold. First, it aimed to show how to combine and best exploit the modern engineering methods and codes available in order to provide the scientific and industrial community with an annotated procedure for a full preliminary design process. Secondly, special focus was put on the regulation methods, which are often some of the critical points of a real design. A dedicated sensitivity analysis for a proper setting is provided, both for the pitch-to-feather and the stall regulation methods. In particular, it is shown that stall regulation (which is usually preferred in SWTs) may be a cost-effective and simple solution, but it can require significant aerodynamic compromises and results in a lower annual energy output in respect to a turbine making use of modern stall-regulation strategies. Results of the selected case study showed how an increase in annual energy production (AEP) of over 12% can be achieved by a proper aerodynamic optimization coupled with pitch-to-feather regulation with respect to a conventional approach

On the Connectivity of Bluetooth-Based Ad Hoc Networks

We study the connectivity properties of a family of random graphs which closely model the Bluetooth’s device discovery process, where each device tries to connect to other devices within its visibility range in order to establish reliable communication channels yielding a connected topology. Specifically, we provide both analytical and experimental evidence that when the visibility range of each node (i.e., device) is limited to a vanishing function of n, the total number of nodes in the system, full connectivity can still be achieved with high probability by letting each node connect only to a “small” number of visible neighbors. Our results extend previous studies, where connectivity properties were analyzed only for the case of a constant visibility range, and provide evidence that Bluetooth can indeed be used for establishing large ad hoc networks

On the connectivity of bluetooth-based ad hoc networks

Abstract. We study the connectivity properties of a family of random graphs which closely model the Bluetooth’s device discovery process, where each device tries to connect to other devices within its visibility range in order to establish reliable communication channels yielding a connected topology. Specifically, we provide both analytical and experimental evidence that when the visibility range of each node (i.e., device) is limited to a vanishing function of n, the total number of nodes in the system, full connectivity can still be achieved with high probability by letting each node connect only to a “small ” number of visible neighbors. Our results extend previous studies, where connectivity properties were analyzed only for the case of a constant visibility range, and provide evidence that Bluetooth can indeed be used for establishing large ad hoc networks.