Self-report and behavioural approaches to the measurement of self-control: Are we assessing the same construct?

The capacity for self-control has been consistently linked to successful execution of health behaviour. However, a lack of consensus remains in the conceptualisation and measurement of the construct. Notably, self-report measures relate to behavioural measures of self-control only weakly or not at all. The aim of the current research was to examine the relationship between self-report and behavioural measures of self-control to determine whether these differentially relate to health behaviour. Participants (N = 146) completed questionnaire and behavioural measures of self-control, and reported their physical activity. A direct effect of self-reported self-control on physical activity was observed, qualified by an interaction between self-reported self-control and behavioural measures, whereby greater self-reported self-control was associated with greater engagement in physical activity among those who performed poorly on the stop-signal task and those who performed well on the Stroop task. These results appear to indicate that the combination of trait self-control and behavioural factors leads to facilitative or debilitative effects on behaviour. Self-report and behavioural measures of self-control do not appear to assess the same elements of self-control and should not be used interchangeably. It is suggested that these measurement modes reflect a difference between trait self-control and specific self-control processes

The Challenges of O2 Detection in Biological Fluids: Classical Methods and Translation to Clinical Applications

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is deeply involved in preserving the life of cellular tissues and human beings due to its key role in cellular metabolism: its alterations may reflect important pathophysiological conditions. DO levels are measured to identify pathological conditions, explain pathophysiological mechanisms, and monitor the efficacy of therapeutic approaches. This is particularly relevant when the measurements are performed in vivo but also in contexts where a variety of biological and synthetic media are used, such as ex vivo organ perfusion. A reliable measurement of medium oxygenation ensures a high-quality process. It is crucial to provide a high-accuracy, real-time method for DO quantification, which could be robust towards different medium compositions and temperatures. In fact, biological fluids and synthetic clinical fluids represent a challenging environment where DO interacts with various compounds and can change continuously and dynamically, and further precaution is needed to obtain reliable results. This study aims to present and discuss the main oxygen detection and quantification methods, focusing on the technical needs for their translation to clinical practice. Firstly, we resumed all the main methodologies and advancements concerning dissolved oxygen determination. After identifying the main groups of all the available techniques for DO sensing based on their mechanisms and applicability, we focused on transferring the most promising approaches to a clinical in vivo/ex vivo settin

Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions from Different Stages of Liquid Manure Management Chains: Abatement Options and Emission Interactions

Farm livestock manure is an important source of ammonia and greenhouse gases. Concerns over the environmental impact of emissions from manure management have resulted in research efforts focusing on emission abatement. However, questions regarding the successful abatement of manure-related emissions remain. This study uses a meta-analytical approach comprising 89 peer-reviewed studies to quantify emission reduction potentials of abatement options for liquid manure management chains from cattle and pigs. Analyses of emission reductions highlight the importance of accounting for interactions between emissions. Only three out of the eight abatement options considered (frequent removal of manure, anaerobic digesters, and manure acidification) reduced ammonia (3-60%), nitrous oxide (21-55%), and methane (29-74%) emissions simultaneously, whereas in all other cases, tradeoffs were identified. The results demonstrate that a shift from single-stage emission abatement options towards a wholechain perspective is vital in reducing overall emissions along the manure management chain. The study also identifies some key elements like proper clustering, reporting of influencing factors, and explicitly describing assumptions associated with abatement options that can reduce variability in emission reduction estimates. Prioritization of abatement options according to their functioning can help to determine low-risk emission reduction options, specifically options that alter manure characteristics (e.g., reduced protein diets, anaerobic digestion, or slurry acidification). These insights supported by comprehensive emission measurement studies can help improve the effectiveness of emission abatement and harmonize strategies aimed at reducing air pollution and climate change simultaneously

Il Futuro della Cybersecurity in Italia: Ambiti Progettuali Strategici

Il presente volume nasce come continuazione del precedente, con l’obiettivo di delineare un insieme di ambiti progettuali e di azioni che la comunità nazionale della ricerca ritiene essenziali a complemento e a supporto di quelli previsti nel DPCM Gentiloni in materia di sicurezza cibernetica, pubblicato nel febbraio del 2017. La lettura non richiede particolari conoscenze tecniche; il testo è fruibile da chiunque utilizzi strumenti informatici o navighi in rete. Nel volume vengono considerati molteplici aspetti della cybersecurity, che vanno dalla definizione di infrastrutture e centri necessari a organizzare la difesa alle azioni e alle tecnologie da sviluppare per essere protetti al meglio, dall’individuazione delle principali tecnologie da difendere alla proposta di un insieme di azioni orizzontali per la formazione, la sensibilizzazione e la gestione dei rischi. Gli ambiti progettuali e le azioni, che noi speriamo possano svilupparsi nei prossimi anni in Italia, sono poi accompagnate da una serie di raccomandazioni agli organi preposti per affrontare al meglio, e da Paese consapevole, la sfida della trasformazione digitale. Le raccomandazioni non intendono essere esaustive, ma vanno a toccare dei punti che riteniamo essenziali per una corretta implementazione di una politica di sicurezza cibernetica a livello nazionale. Politica che, per sua natura, dovrà necessariamente essere dinamica e in continua evoluzione in base ai cambiamenti tecnologici, normativi, sociali e geopolitici. All’interno del volume, sono riportati dei riquadri con sfondo violetto o grigio; i primi sono usati nel capitolo introduttivo e nelle conclusioni per mettere in evidenza alcuni concetti ritenuti importanti, i secondi sono usati negli altri capitoli per spiegare il significato di alcuni termini tecnici comunemente utilizzati dagli addetti ai lavori. In conclusione, ringraziamo tutti i colleghi che hanno contribuito a questo volume: un gruppo di oltre 120 ricercatori, provenienti da circa 40 tra Enti di Ricerca e Università, unico per numerosità ed eccellenza, che rappresenta il meglio della ricerca in Italia nel settore della cybersecurity. Un grazie speciale va a Gabriella Caramagno e ad Angela Miola che hanno contribuito a tutte le fasi di produzione del libro. Tra i ringraziamenti ci fa piacere aggiungere il supporto ottenuto dai partecipanti al progetto FILIERASICURA

Dynamic Modelling of an Off-Road Vehicle for the Design of a Semiactive, Hydropneumatic Spring-Damper System

In this paper a tool integrating a multibody full car model of a tractor and the hydraulic model of the suspension system is presented as a virtual tool able to help the designer and also the control tuning of the system. The full car approach is chosen in order to be able to describe all the vehicles movements (roll, yaw, pitch) while the detailed lumped parameters model of the hydraulic suspensions allows to consider the role of the electrohydraulic valves, accumulator, hydraulic actuator on the vehicle dynamic behaviour. The hydraulic model and the multibody model exchange forces and displacements at the joint points: one between actuator and sprung mass (chassis) and the other one between actuator and unsprung mass (front axle and wheels). Experimental test have been performed (suspension leveling maneuvers, tests on ISO 50008 track, bump tests) and the results of the numerical model have been compared with the experimental data, allowing the understanding of the influence of the numerous design and control parameters involved in the determination of the vehicle dynamic behaviour. The influence of mechanical and geometrical parameters on the damping force hysteresis measured during levelling test are shown and described. Finally, the dynamic behavior of the suspension is analyzed making reference to a dynamic test over a bump

Expression Pattern and Sub-Cellular Distribution of Phosphoinositide Specific Phospholipase C Enzymes After Treatment With U-73122 in Rat Astrocytoma Cells

Phosphoinositidc specific. phospholipase C (PI-PLC) enzymes interfere with the metabolism of inositol phospholipids (PI), molecules involved in signal transduction, a complex process depending on various components. Many evidences support the hypothesis that, in the glia, isoforms of PI-PLC family display different expression and/or sub cellular distribution under non-physiological conditions such as the rat astrocytes activation during neurodegeneration, the tumoural progression of some neoplasms and the inflammatory cascade activation after lipopolysaccharide administration, even if their role remains not completely elucidated. Treatment of a cultured established glioma cell line (C6 rat astrocytoma cell line) induces a modification in the pattern of expression and of sub cellular distribution of PI-PLCs compared to untreated cells. Special attention require PI-PLC beta3 and PI-PLC gamma2 isoforms, whose expression and sub cellular localization significantly differ after U-73122 treatment. The meaning of these modifications is unclear, also because the use of this N-aminosteroid compound remains controversial, inasmuch it has further actions which might contribute to the global effect recorded on the treated cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 110: 1005-1012, 2010. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc