Existence and approximation of probability measure solutions to models of collective behaviors

In this paper we consider first order differential models of collective behaviors of groups of agents based on the mass conservation equation. Models are formulated taking the spatial distribution of the agents as the main unknown, expressed in terms of a probability measure evolving in time. We develop an existence and approximation theory of the solutions to such models and we show that some recently proposed models of crowd and swarm dynamics fit our theoretic paradigm.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur

Kidney Diseases and Pregnancy: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Improving Care by Involving Nephrology, Obstetrics, Neonatology, Urology, Diabetology, Bioethics, and Internal Medicine

This multidisciplinary series is aimed at offering readers many opportunities to appreciate how a clinical and ethical approach to pregnancy has changed in patients with kidney diseases and with related conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and immunologic diseases. Furthermore, this series aims to focus on the fact that many issues remain unreslved, that there are enormous gaps in knowledge, and that the bioethical approach needs to integrated in the clinical practice, which would allow for a deeper appreciation of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Much still needs to be done to allow women suffering from all stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and those with predisposed conditions, so that they may experience safe pregnancies, starting from an increased awareness of the importance of CKD, even in its early stages, to the detection of risk factors. Women who have experienced preeclampsia or acute kidney injury in pregnancy need to have follow-up checks. The role of urinary infections, kidney stones, and urinary malformations is not fully acknowledged, nor have univocal control schedules and treatment schemas yet been defined for the different kidney diseases. In this regard, the fight for equitable treatment for all women with acute or chronic kidney disease in pregnancy and for the widespread prevention of adverse pregnancy-related and long-term outcomes is ultimately a battle for equitable healthcare

Design and Fabrication of Terahertz Metallic Gratings on a Two-Wire Waveguide

In this study, we present the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of waveguide-integrated gratings operating at THz frequencie

Women and unpaid family work in the EU

This study provides an analysis of the size and value of unpaid family care work at the European Union level. It proposes a method which relies on harmonised European surveys. It also compares two EU member States, Italy and Poland, whose time use data contain additional detailed information on child care and elderly care work. The study aims at improving the existing indicators in order to have a reliable quantitative picture to use in discussions on unpaid family care work at EU level

Effective photodarkening suppression in Yb-doped fiber lasers by visible light injection

Al-silicate fibers have excellent manufacturing quality. Unfortunately, high-Yb doping concentration may be limited by severe losses induced by photodarkening phenomenon. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time that Al-silicate Yb-doped fibers with highinversion and doping concentration above 1 wt% can be successfully used by implementing a simple optical bleaching scheme. A co-injection into the active fiber of a few mW of light at around 550 nm wavelength successfully eliminates almost all photodarkening induced losses. We demonstrate operation at above 90% of the pristine output power level in several lasers with up to 30% Yb ions in the excited state. These results may allow to use Yb-doped Al-silicate fibers with doping level increased by one order of magnitude. Finally, we provide a comprehensive picture of main parameters affecting photobleaching performance and, to the best of our knowledge, we report the first quantitative measurement of the Ytterbium excited state absorption cross-section in the visible range. © 2014 Optical Society of America

A Cognitive Look at the "Invisibility" of Older Gay Men Within the Categories 'Gay Man' and 'Elderly Man'

Two studies analyzed whether, at the cognitive level, 'Elderly gay man' is "invisible" both when processing the labels 'Gay man' and 'Elderly man'. We suggest that 'Gay man' is conflated with 'Young man', and that 'Elderly man' is conflated with 'Heterosexual man'. Contact with elderly gay men did not alter the perception of 'Gay man' as prevalently young but weakened the perception of 'Elderly man' as heterosexual by default

Vittone 250. L'atelier dell'Architetto

Gli undici saggi che compongono questa speciale raccolta denotano una certa diversità. Si fondano infatti su metodi di analisi storica radicati nei vari percorsi professionali dei loro autori (storia dell'architettura, storia dell'arte, storia medievale e dell’età moderna, musicologia...). Eppure, un obiettivo comune c’è e ha guidato la selezione: offrire ai lettori di Archistor approfondimenti su aspetti specifici dell’opera e del percorso professionale di Bernardo Vittone. Scegliendo di gettare uno sguardo più attento su specifici eventi, testi e documenti, sono emersi nuovi elementi sia da episodi poco noti della carriera dell'architetto, sia da scenari ritenuti già sufficientemente indagati. Tra i temi affrontati ci sono i libri proibiti nascosti nell’inventario della biblioteca di Vittone, la complessa rete di riferimenti visivi incorporata nelle illustrazioni delle Istruzioni, le nuove coordinate da assegnare alla formazione di Vittone, le sue competenze musicali, la sequenza di eventi che spiegano la dispersione del suo lascito grafico in diversi fondi archivistici. Un saggio finale fornisce un’utile sintesi e una valutazione della letteratura critica. Grazie a questi nuovi approfondimenti, alcuni dei quali sfuggono a definizioni ristrette di storia dell'architettura, la nostra valutazione del ruolo di Vittone nell'Italia del XVIII secolo, a 250 anni dalla sua morte nel 1770, diventa più complessa e più contraddittoria

Investigation of the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Cymbopogon martini on S. aureus and E. coli biofilms

Biofilms are sessile communities of microbial cells embedded in an exopolymeric secreted matrix that can adhere both to abiotic and living surfaces, serving as a permanent source of contamination. Essential oils (EOs) have different characteristics depending on the plant due to a large number of compounds (eugenol, citral, carvacrol, among others). It has been noticed that EOs have promising antibacterial activity that can be explored as an effective alternative to control biofilms. The aim of this study was to assess the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Cymbopogon martini against pre-established single biofilms developed by Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Biofilms were developed in 96-well microtiter plates for 24 h at 37 ºC, in an orbital shaker at 120 rpm, being afterwards submitted to EOs aggression for 15, 30 e 60 minutes. The essential oil were dissolved in DMSO (2.0 %) and saline water (0.85 %) with tween 80 (0.5 %) in order to obtain final concentrations of 0,12, 0,48, 0,96 and 1,92 %. Biofilms were characterized, before and after EO treatment, by total biomass, through crystal violet (CV), and number of cultivable bacterial cells, expressed as Log CFU per cm2. The C. martini essential oil did not have any effective antimicrobial action against S. aureus biofilms, since there was no significant reduction of the biofilm cultivable cells and biomass. Conversely, this essential oil showed a promising antimicrobial activity against E.coli biofilms as it was observed a significant reduction of the cultivable biofilm-growing cells, in general, for all the concentrations tested and exposure time periods. Similarly to S.aureus biofilms, the C. martinii essential oil was not effective in reducing the biomass of E. coli. From the data, it can be concluded that under the conditions tested, the C. martinii essential oil was more effective in the inhibition of the bacterial cells entrapped in E. coli biofilms than in the removal of biofilm mass. This inability to remove biofilm s from surfaces can be a drawback since the viable cells remaining within the biofilms after EOs treatment are protected by the exopolysaccharides matrix, allowing its multiplication. To overcome this situation, it would be interesting to assess the anti-biofilm potential of the C. martinii essential oil, as well as its synergistic activity with an antimicrobial agent with biofilm disrupting properties