L’oggetto del desiderio conteso fra Darwall e Rawls

The practice of reason-giving normally belongs to our everyday life. People involved in this practice acknowledge each other as persons, and in turn reasonably ask each other for justification regarding our respective actions. However, if we ask why these persons provide reasons for their respective actions, or in what grounds they should do certain things, the answer is neither easy nor obvious. In this paper I want to consider the meaning of “desire”, “will”, and “autonomy” within Darwall’s and Rawls’s respective works. I claim that both Darwall and Rawls hold that moral psychology plays a fundamental role in grounding justified reasons for acting (and for coming into the reason-giving practice). Furthermore, I suggest that Darwall differently grasps Rawls’s moral psychology, placing more value on the will, rather than desire, as well as envisioning a more or less robust notion of “autonomy”. My aim is to show that, pace Darwall, Rawls has a different position about desire, its object, and the value of the will, one which enables us to ground the reason-giving practice on “weaker” assumptions

Application of Uncertainty Quantification techniques to CFD simulation of twin entry radial turbines

L'argomento principale della tesi \ue8 l'applicazione delle tecniche di quantificazione dell'incertezza (UQ) alla simulazione numerica (CFD) di turbine radiali twin entry impiegate nella turbosovralimentazione automobilistica. Lo studio approfondito di questo tipo di turbomacchine \ue8 affrontato nel capitolo 3, finalizzato alla comprensione dei principali parametri che caratterizzano e influenzano le prestazioni fluidodinamiche delle turbine twin scroll. Il capitolo 4 tratta di una piattaforma per l'analisi UQ sviluppata internamente tramite il set di strumenti open source \u2018Dakota\u2019. La piattaforma \ue8 stata testata dapprima su un caso di interesse industriale, ovvero un ugello de Laval supersonico (capitolo 5); l'analisi ha evidenziato l'utilizzo pratico delle tecniche di quantificazione dell'incertezza nella previsione delle prestazioni di un ugello affetto da condizioni di fuori progetto con complessit\ue0 fluidodinamica dovuta alla forte non linearit\ue0. L'esperienza maturata con l'approccio UQ ha agevolato l'identificazione di metodi idonei per applicare la propagazione dell\u2019incertezza alla simulazione CFD di turbine radiali twin scroll (capitolo 6). In tal caso sono state studiate e messe in pratica diverse tecniche di quantificazione dell'incertezza al fine di acquisire un'esperienza approfondita sull\u2019attuale stato dell'arte. Il confronto dei risultati ottenuti dai diversi approcci e la discussione dei pro e dei contro relativi a ciascuna tecnica hanno portato a conclusioni interessanti, che vengono proposte come linee guida per future applicazioni di quantificazione dell\u2019incertezza alla simulazione CFD delle turbine radiali. L'integrazione di modelli e metodologie UQ, oggi utilizzati solo da alcuni centri di ricerca accademica, con solutori CFD commerciali consolidati ha permesso di raggiungere l'obiettivo finale della tesi di dottorato: dimostrare all'industria l'elevato potenziale delle tecniche UQ nel migliorare, attraverso distribuzioni di probabilit\ue0, la previsione delle prestazioni relative ad un componente soggetto a diverse fonti di incertezza. Lo scopo dell\u2019attivit\ue0 di ricerca consiste pertanto nel fornire ai progettisti dati prestazionali associati a margini di incertezza che consentano di correlare meglio simulazione e applicazione reale. Per accordi di riservatezza, i parametri geometrici relativi alla turbina twin entry in oggetto sono forniti adimensionali, i dati sensibili sugli assi dei grafici sono stati omessi e nelle figure si \ue8 reso necessario eliminare le legende dei contours ed ogni eventuale riferimento dimensionale.The main topic of the thesis is the application of uncertainty quantification (UQ) techniques to the numerical simulation (CFD) of twin entry radial turbines used in automotive turbocharging. The detailed study of this type of turbomachinery is addressed in chapter 3, aimed at understanding the main parameters which characterize and influence the fluid dynamic performance of twin scroll turbines. Chapter 4 deals with the development of an in-house platform for UQ analysis through \u2018Dakota\u2019 open source toolset. The platform was first tested on a test case of industrial interest, i.e. a supersonic de Laval nozzle (chapter 5); the analysis highlighted the practical use of uncertainty quantification techniques in predicting the performance of a nozzle affected by off-design conditions with fluid dynamic complexity due to strong non-linearity. The experience gained with the UQ approach facilitated the identification of suitable methods for applying the uncertainty propagation to the CFD simulation of twin entry radial turbines (chapter 6). In this case different uncertainty quantification techniques have been investigated and put into practice in order to acquire in-depth experience on the current state of the art. The comparison of the results coming from the different approaches and the discussion of the pros and cons related to each technique led to interesting conclusions, which are proposed as guidelines for future uncertainty quantification applications to the CFD simulation of radial turbines. The integration of UQ models and methodologies, today used only by some academic research centers, with well established commercial CFD solvers allowed to achieve the final goal of the doctoral thesis: to demonstrate to industry the high potential of UQ techniques in improving, through probability distributions, the prediction of the performance relating to a component subject to different sources of uncertainty. The purpose of the research activity is therefore to provide designers with performance data associated with margins of uncertainty that allow to better correlate simulation and real application. Due to confidentiality agreements, geometrical parameters concerning the studied twin entry radial turbine are provided dimensionless, confidential data on axes of graphs are omitted and legends of the contours as well as any dimensional reference have been shadowed

Analysis of potential immunological markers associated with anti-PD-1 therapy in non- small cell lung cancer patients

Background: Immune checkpoint blockade represents a major breakthrough in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) therapy. However, success is limited to a subset of patients and identification of robust biomarkers associated with clinical response is strongly requested. In this study, we assessed whether pre-existing immunological features, as well as immune parameters measured during treatment, might result informative in providing clinical guidance. Methods: Starting from a cohort of advanced NSCLC patients (n=74) treated with nivolumab, we investigated blood samples collected at baseline and during treatment. Frequency of various circulating lymphocyte subsets was analyzed by flow cytometry. Potential blood cellular biomarkers were then correlated with overall survival (OS) as well as clinical response, assessed by RECIST criteria, by which patients have been stratified in partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). Soluble factors in plasma samples were evaluated using MILLIPLEX\uae MAP Kits (Luminex Technology) in 10 CD and 10 PD patients at different time points. Results: Patients characterized by longer OS displayed higher frequency of CD3+ T cells (p =0.048) but lower amounts of NK cells (p = 0.002), at baseline. Moreover, they displayed a statistically significant lower expression of PD-1 on both CD3+ and CD8+ T cells (p=0.013 and p=0.033, respectively). With regard to pretreatment level of exhausted T cells, patients grouped as controlled disease (CD), including PR and SD patients, showed a significant lower frequency than PD group (p=0.046). Notably, in CD patients, the frequency of exhausted CD8+ T cells further decreased during treatment (p=<0.0001, p=0.0032, and p=0.0239, respectively). With regard to plasma samples, we found an increase of IP-10 and MCP-1 levels during nivolumab therapy in CD patients. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the distribution of lymphocyte subsets and expression of PD-1 on T cells before treatment could indicate the outcome of anti-PD-1 treatment in NSCLC patients. In addition, assessing the initial amount of exhausted T cells as well as their decrease upon treatment could also predict response and clinical outcome. Furthermore, the modulation of IP-10 and MCP-1 soluble factors in NSCLC patients during nivolumab therapy may represent novel circulating biomarkers of controlled or uncontrolled disease

Optimal Exchange Rate Policy Under Collateral Constraints and Wage Rigidity

Existing literature on small open economies has studied separately two opposite effects of currency depreciation during crises: in the presence of nominal wage rigidity, exchange rate depreciation reduces unemployment; in the presence of collateral constraints that link external debt to the value of income, exchange rate depreciation tightens the collateral constraint and leads to higher consumption adjustment. This paper shows that in a model that includes both frictions, exchange rate policy faces a “credit access - unemployment trade-off," i.e., a trade-off between reducing involuntary unemployment and relaxing the external credit limit. A quantitative study of this model shows that during financial crisis episodes, optimal policy features large nominal and real exchange rate depreciation. This is because, while containing real exchange rate depreciation can have welfare gains related to second moments (lower consumption volatility) its costs are related to first-moments (higher average unemployment rate). The optimal policy implies a lower currency depreciation than that necessary to achieve full employment, which is consistent with “managed-floating" exchange rate policy, typically observed during financial crises in emerging economies. Sudden Stops (or large current account adjustments) are part of the endogenous response under the optimal exchange rate policy to large negative shocks

Durkheim’s idea of society backlit

Desde los años ochenta la sociología ha visto el nacimiento de una creciente resistencia y crítica a las conceptualizaciones herederas de Émile Durkheim según las cuales la sociedad es una totalidad. Estas críticas, desarrolladas por Eric Wolf, Frederic Barth y, en los últimos años, Bruno Latour, enfatizan la necesidad de reemplazar el concepto orgánico o sistémico de sociedad por uno que permita mayor énfasis en sus aspectos relacionales. El presente artículo recorrerá estos argumentos críticos buscando definir cuáles son los elementos considerados en la búsqueda de un nuevo entendimiento de lo social, y al hacerlo propondrá a su vez, a modo de contrapeso, una mirada crítica respecto a los posibles riesgos de este nuevo anti-durkheimnianismo, valiéndonos para ello de algunos aportes de Norbert Elías.In the ninety-eigth decade the sociology faced the rising of growing resistances and critics to the ideas of Émile Durkheim according to which the society was a total unity. This critics, developed by Eric Wolf, Frederic Barth and, in the recent years, Bruno Latour, empathizes that it is necessary to abandon the organic and systemic conceptions of society in order to think the social considering it relational aspects. This article will summarize those critic arguments and, while doing so, as a counterbalance, we will propose a critic regard of some possible problems of this new anti-durkheimnianism.Fil: Ottonello, Rodrigo Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentin

The automation of the \"Welding Machine\" for the DUs integration in the KM3NeT experiment

This note describes some technical aspects, in particular the control system, of one of the tools used during Process-1 of the integration of the Detection Units (DUs) in the KM3NeT experiment. In particular, the device is designed to seal the Break-out-box (BOB). The BOB is a box interface between a Digital Optical Module (DOM) and the electro-optical cable (VEOC) for power and optical connection of each optical module (DOM) to the DU. The original manual version of the tool developed by NIKHEF was then automatized by INFN-LNS in order to guarantee a replicable operation in the recursive process of the DU integration and two samples have been developed for the integration sites at LNS and Genova respectively. The general principle and performances of the automated welding machine will be presented shortly in a dedicated INFN report. Here we summarize the cycle of the operations performed by the machine and how they are managed by corresponding control program and related electronics boards

Society, Crime, and Reality: The Distinctions Between Magic and Religion in the Works of the Durkheimian School

La pertinencia de la distinción entre fenómenos mágicos, religiosos y jurídicos fue una preocupación central de las investigaciones emprendidas por los miembros de L’Anée sociologique a fines del siglo XIX e inicios del XX y continuadas hasta nuestros días por los trabajos de Georges Dumézil y Giorgio Agamben. A partir de la lectura de algunos textos fundamentales de Marcel Mauss, Henri Hubert, Émile Durkheim y Paul Huvelin, este artículo repondrá los sentidos de esa distinción para, a continuación, pensar cuál puede ser el aporte de la sociología durkheimiana a una serie de preocupaciones actuales en torno a los límites mismos de nuestras sociedades.The pertinence of the distinction between magical, religious and juridical phenomena was a central issue for the investigations developed by the members of L’Anée sociologique towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th and continued until our days by the works of Georges Dumézil and Giorgio Agamben. Starting from readings of some fundamental studies from Marcel Mauss, Henri Hubert, Émile Durkheim and Paul Huvelin, this article will review the different meanings of that distinction in order to consider what could be the role of the durkheimian sociology in a series of contemporary problems referred to the limits of our societies.Fil: Ottonello, Rodrigo Oscar. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Chemical interactions and configurational disorder in silicate melts

The Thermodynamics of quasi-chemical and polymeric models are briefly reviewed. It is shown that the two classes are mutually consistent, and that opportune conversion of the existing quasi-chemical parameterization of binary interactions in MO-SiO2 joins to polymeric models may be afforded without substantial loss of precision. It is then shown that polymeric models are extremely useful in deciphering the structural and reactive properties of silicate melts and glasses. They not only allow the Lux-Flood character of the dissolved oxides to be established, but also discriminate subordinate strain energy contributions to the Gibbs free energy of mixing from the dominant chemical interaction terms. This discrimination means that important information on the short-, medium- and long-range periodicity of this class of substances can be retrieved from thermodynamic analysis. Lastly, it is suggested that an important step forward in deciphering the complex topology of the inhomogeneity ranges observed at high SiO2 content can be performed by applying SCMF theory and, particularly, Matsen-Schick spectral analysis, hitherto applied only to rubberlike materials

The system to fill with oil the empty Break Out Boxes (BOBs) of the KM3NeT Detection Units

The KM3NeT collaboration aims to construct the largest underwater neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean sea. The detector is located in two sites, one in front of Toulon at 2500m sea depth and one SE Capo Passero in Sicily at 3500m depth. On both sites, one or two blocks of 115 Detection Units (DU) are connected to shore , each Du being composed by a Vertical Electro-Optical Cable (VEOC) connecting 18 Digital Optical Modules (DOMs). In this report we describe the integration of the DU carried out in our INFN laboratory in Genova, in particular one important phase of the process where some components in the VEOC have to be carefully filled with oil before connection to the DOMs