Analisi e realizzazione di procedure per il workflow management in un'azienda certificata ISO:9001

La necessità di avere un riferimento internazionale, attraverso il quale stabilire la qualità dei prodotti, ha determinato, nel 1987, l’emanazione, da parte dell’ISO (International Organization for Standardization), di una famiglia di norme internazionali. Tale famiglia è meglio conosciuta con il nome di ISO 9001 e contiene un insieme di regole il cui scopo è garantire che un’azienda implementi un sistema di gestione interna in grado di garantire la qualità dei prodotti. Sebbene la volontà di intraprendere un percorso di certificazione, con lo scopo di beneficiarne, sia spesso dettata da logiche di mercato, va ricordato che rivedere l’asset aziendale per renderlo adatto allo standard ISO, e il lavoro per mantenerlo tale, può, spesso, richiedere un’overhead notevole ai dipendenti aziendali. Per fronteggiare tale problema vengono, generalmente, impiegati strumenti al fine di automatizzare il più possibile il lavoro di produzione della documentazione necessaria. Le aziende si trovano, quindi, costrette ad adottare strumenti, in particolare software, che spesso impongono la loro struttura, la quale obbliga chi li utilizza a modificare, anche pesantemente, il proprio modo di lavorare. Questa tesi è il risultato di un lavoro svolto da più studenti del corso di Laurea Specialistica in Ingegneria Informatica che pone come obiettivo la realizzazione di un sistema di WorkFlow Management utilizzabile da aziende che lavorano in conformità alle norme ISO 9001 o che hanno come obbiettivo tale certificazione.openEmbargo per motivi di segretezza e di proprietà dei risultati e informazioni di enti esterni o aziende private che hanno partecipato alla realizzazione del lavoro di ricerca relativo alla tesi

Domestic dog invasion in an agroforestry \ud mosaic in southern Bahia, Brazil

Although the value of agroforests for biodiversity conservation has been frequently highlighted, little is known about the \ud susceptibility of this production system to biological invasions. Drawing on a camera-trap dataset obtained in 39 sites in an \ud agroforestry mosaic in southern Bahia, Brazil, we investigated whether the conversion of native forests into agroforests and \ud management intensification in agroforests favor the invasion by the most common carnivore worldwide, the domestic dog. We \ud also examined whether domestic dog invasion is more associated with human activity in agroforests than in native forests. While \ud the number of invading dogs was higher in agroforests than in native forests (11 compared to 7 dogs per site), management \ud intensification in agroforests led to a higher mean number of visits per dog. In both habitats (not only agroforests) visits by \ud domestic dogs tended to be concentrated on times of the day (around midday) and days of the week (Monday to Saturday) when \ud there is greater human activity. Despite being permeable to native species, agroforests may act as sink or trap areas given their \ud higher susceptibility to invasion, potentially limiting the value of this production system for biodiversity conservation. Moreover, \ud local management intensification, which has been expanding worldwide, increases the intensity of such invasions, further \ud decreasing the value of agroforests. The value of agroforestry mosaics for conservation thus depends on the management of \ud invasive species and at least in the case of dogs, one of the most common and widely distributed invasive species, this \ud management should focus on the habits and behavior of humans.EF was granted a MSc scholarship and CRC a PhD scholarship from FAPESP (2011/03113-5 and 2007/54888-1, respectively), and RP had a research fellowship from CNPq (306715/2011-2) during the development of this wor

Effective Interactive Visualization of Neural Relightable Images in a Web-based Multi-layered Framework

Relightable images created from Multi-Light Image Collections (MLICs) are one of the most commonly employed models for interactive object exploration in cultural heritage. In recent years, neural representations have been shown to produce higherquality images, at similar storage costs, with respect to the more classic analytical models such as Polynomial Texture Maps (PTM) or Hemispherical Harmonics (HSH). However, their integration in practical interactive tools has so far been limited due to the higher evaluation cost, making it difficult to employ them for interactive inspection of large images, and to the difficulty in integration cost, due to the need to incorporate deep-learning libraries in relightable renderers. In this paper, we illustrate how a state-of-the-art neural reflectance model can be directly evaluated, using common WebGL shader features, inside a multiplatform renderer. We then show how this solution can be embedded in a scalable framework capable to handle multi-layered relightable models in web settings. We finally show the performance and capabilities of the method on cultural heritage objects

Generalized reproduction numbers and the prediction of patterns in waterborne disease

Understanding, predicting, and controlling outbreaks of waterborne diseases are crucial goals of public health policies, but pose challenging problems because infection patterns are influenced by spatial structure and temporal asynchrony. Although explicit spatial modeling is made possible by widespread data mapping of hydrology, transportation infrastructure, population distribution, and sanitation, the precise condition underwhich awaterborne disease epidemic can start in a spatially explicit setting is still lacking. Here we show that the requirement that all the local reproduction numbers R 0 be larger than unity is neither necessary nor sufficient for outbreaks to occur when local settlements are connected by networks of primary and secondary infection mechanisms. To determine onset conditions, we derive general analytical expressions for a reproduction matrix G0, explicitly accounting for spatial distributions of human settlements and pathogen transmission via hydrological and human mobility networks. At disease onset, a generalized reproduction number Λ0 (the dominant eigenvalue of G0) must be larger than unity.We also show that geographical outbreak patterns in complex environments are linked to the dominant eigenvector and to spectral properties of G0. Tests against data and computations for the 2010 Haiti and 2000 KwaZulu-Natal cholera outbreaks, as well as against computations for metapopulation networks, demonstrate that eigenvectors of G0 provide a synthetic and effective tool for predicting the disease course in space and time. Networked connectivity models, describing the interplay between hydrology, epidemiology, and social behavior sustaining human mobility, thus prove to be key tools for emergency management of waterborne infections

Spatially explicit conditions for waterborne pathogen invasion

Waterborne pathogens cause many possibly lethal human diseases. We derive the condition for pathogen invasion and subsequent disease outbreak in a territory with specific, space-inhomogeneous characteristics (hydrological, ecological, demographic, and epidemiological). The criterion relies on a spatially explicit model accounting for the density of susceptible and infected individuals and the pathogen concentration in a network of communities linked by human mobility and the water system. Pathogen invasion requires that a dimensionless parameter, the dominant eigenvalue of a generalized reproductive matrix J0, be larger than unity. Conditions for invasion are studied while crucial parameters (population density distribution, contact and water contamination rates, pathogen growth rates) and the characteristics of the networks (connectivity, directional transport, water retention times, mobility patterns) are varied. We analyze both simple, prototypical test cases and realistic landscapes, in which optimal channel networks mimic the water systems and gravitational models describe human mobility. Also, we show that the dominant eigenvector of J0 effectively portrays the geography of epidemic outbreaks, that is, the areas of the studied territory that will be initially affected by an epidemic. This is important for planning an efficient spatial allocation of interventions (e.g., improving sanitation and providing emergency aid and medicines)

Nonlinear optical properties of intriguing Ru σ-acetylide complexes and the use of a photocrosslinked polymer as a springboard to obtain SHG active thin films

This work reports on the design, synthesis and photo-physical properties of two ruthenium σ-alkynyl complexes. It is shown that, despite similar optical absorption features recorded in solution, the introduction of a benzaldehyde moiety leads to an improved non-linear optical (NLO) response as measured by Electric Field Induced Second Harmonic (EFISH) generation and Third Harmonic Generation (THG) at 1.907 μm, both related to the second order hyperpolarizability. These structure–property relationships are rationalized based on few state modelling. Complex 2 is subsequently processed to afford composite films that demonstrate a χ2 of 1.4 pm V−1, quite remarkable given the ease of film processing implemented in this work

Cholera in the Lake Kivu region (DRC): Integrating remote sensing and spatially explicit epidemiological modeling

Mathematical models of cholera dynamics can not only help in identifying environmental drivers and processes that influence disease transmission, but may also represent valuable tools for the prediction of the epidemiological patterns in time and space as well as for the allocation of health care resources. Cholera outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 1970s. They have been ravaging the shore of Lake Kivu in the east of the country repeatedly during the last decades. Here we employ a spatially explicit, inhomogeneous Markov chain model to describe cholera incidence in eight health zones on the shore of the lake. Remotely sensed data sets of chlorophyll a concentration in the lake, precipitation and indices of global climate anomalies are used as environmental drivers in addition to baseline seasonality. The effect of human mobility is also modelled mechanistically. We test several models on a multiyear data set of reported cholera cases. The best fourteen models, accounting for different environmental drivers, and selected using the Akaike information criterion, are formally compared via proper cross validation. Among these, the one accounting for seasonality, El Niño Southern Oscillation, precipitation and human mobility outperforms the others in cross validation. Some drivers (such as human mobility and rainfall) are retained only by a few models, possibly indicating that the mechanisms through which they influence cholera dynamics in the area will have to be investigated further. Key Points Markov chain model of cholera dynamics in the Lake Kivu area (DRC) Global climate anomalies are the main drivers, together with rainfall The influence of mobility and remotely sensed chlorophyll a were also teste

On the probability of extinction of the Haiti cholera epidemic

More than three years after its appearance in Haiti, cholera has already caused more than 8,500 deaths and 695,000 infections and it is feared to become endemic. However, no clear evidence of a stable environmental reservoir of pathogenic Vibrio cholerae, the infective agent of the disease, has emerged so far, suggesting the possibility that the transmission cycle of the disease is being maintained by bacteria freshly shed by infected individuals. Should this be the case, cholera could in principle be eradicated from Haiti. Here, we develop a framework for the estimation of the probability of extinction of the epidemic based on current information on epidemiological dynamics and health-care practice. Cholera spreading is modeled by an individual-based spatially-explicit stochastic model that accounts for the dynamics of susceptible, infected and recovered individuals hosted in different local communities connected through hydrologic and human mobility networks. Our results indicate that the probability that the epidemic goes extinct before the end of 2016 is of the order of 1 %. This low probability of extinction highlights the need for more targeted and effective interventions to possibly stop cholera in Haiti

SEO di siti web per la prenotazione online di hotel in UK

La relazione finale si riferisce al tirocinio lungo svoltosi dal 21 ottobre 2008 al 21 aprile 2009 in Inghilterra presso l'azienda Studio92 Ltd, dove ho potuto fare esperienza nel campo del web design e della Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Più precisamente ho avuto modo di progettare e curare numerosi siti web orientati al booking online di Hotel e Bed&Breakfast situati nel terriorio britannico e principalmente a Londra, sia dal punto di vista grafico, che da quello del posizionamento sui motori di ricerca (principalmente Google) col fine di aumentarne visibilità e conseguentemente numero di prenotazioni andate a buon fin

Soil consumption and logistics: the case of the Municipality of Zevio

reservedLa pianificazione urbanistica risulta profondamente legata alla politica e alle scelte che vengono prese da piccoli gruppi di persone appartenenti a colori politici diversi e con differenti visioni di sviluppo del territorio. La tesi non auspica l’esaustività sul difficile tema del consumo di suolo, ma piuttosto cerca di intercettare le relazioni tra esso, le scelte politiche che lo riguardano e le dinamiche territoriali che può innescare, attraverso analisi, interviste ai diversi stakeholders locali, studio delle normative e della recente letteratura scientifica. In questo elaborato, verrà analizzato lo sviluppo di Zevio, comune di circa quindici mila abitanti localizzato nella Provincia di Verona, prettamente vocato all’agricoltura e attraversato dalla strada SS434 – Transpolesana, nel quale le grandi aziende logistiche hanno in programma di insediarsi con la conseguente realizzazione di un polo logistico di 12 ettari. Negli ultimi anni, infatti, nelle aree ai confini dei grandi centri urbani, si è assistito ad una rapida costruzione di enormi cattedrali di cemento, atte al deposito merci. Alcune problematiche relative allo sviluppo di queste strutture riguardano l’espansione senza freni dei confini cittadini, con la conseguente perdita di aree agricole invece di proporre il riuso di area già cementificate e azioni di depavimentazione. La metodologia del presente elaborato prende in considerazione la ricognizione della bibliografia scientifica di ISPRA e ARPAV, lo studio dei dati e l’osservazione del caso studio di Zevio con analisi trasversali sull’impatto della logistica sul sistema agro-ambientale e interviste per la raccolta diretta di dati alla comunità locale. Attraverso le analisi svolte sul Capitale Territoriale si dimostrerà come il progetto incida sugli ambiti in esame ma allo stesso tempo, esaminando alcune proposte migliorative che potevano essere prese in considerazione in fase progettuale. Tale Capitale è Territoriale è stato suddiviso in: i) capitale naturale, in termini di aree naturali e agricole, ii) capitale culturale, in termini di presenze di manufatti storico-culturali caratteristici del luogo e iii) capitale sociale ed economico, in termini di benefici e impatti economici. La seguente tesi, perciò, pone la necessità di un confronto attivo tra la comunità scientifica e i diversi stakeholders locali, quali gli enti pubblici, gli agricoltori, la comunità locale, affinché si arrivi a formare amministratori che sappiano governare questi fenomeni, mettendo al primo posto le competenze e il bene comune