On a parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation degenerating at the boundary

We derive the long time asymptotic of solutions to an evolutive Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in a bounded smooth domain, in connection with ergodic problems recently studied in \cite{bcr}. Our main assumption is an appropriate degeneracy condition on the operator at the boundary. This condition is related to the characteristic boundary points for linear operators as well as to the irrelevant points for the generalized Dirichlet problem, and implies in particular that no boundary datum has to be imposed. We prove that there exists a constant $c$ such that the solutions of the evolutive problem converge uniformly, in the reference frame moving with constant velocity $c$, to a unique steady state solving a suitable ergodic problem.Comment: 12p

Pretexts of Friendship. Introduction to Philosophical Counseling

In this essay I will bring together a number of pretexts related explicitly or implicitly to the theme of friendship – experiences and concepts (§ 1), case studies (§ 2), exercises (§ 3), and again patterns (§ 4), variations (§ 5), and styles (§ 6) – which raise significant issues that I will use as an introduction to philosophical counseling. The aim is an original introduction to philosophical counseling starting from philosophical counseling itself and to show concretely, I hope also effectively, what a pretext function means

Un modello multidimensionale per lo studio delle Felt Obligation : implicazioni generazionali, individuali, e familiari

Questo lavoro di tesi ha come obiettivo generale quello di indagare attraverso un modello multidimensionale come le Felt Obligation, definite nelle dimensioni del mantenimento dei contatti e dei rituali familiari, del ricambiare nella relazione per ciò che si è ricevuto e del personal sharing, si delineano e si costruiscono nelle relazioni familiari. Il primo studio è di carattere strettamente psicometrico ed è volto a definire la struttura fattoriale della Felt Obligation Measure nel contesto italiano. La Felt Obligation Measure rappresenta a tutt’oggi l’unico strumento presente in letteratura che permette di valutare ciò che le persone sentono (felt) essere gli obblighi da assolvere nelle loro relazioni familiari. Il secondo studio è volto ad indagare le possibili implicazioni a livello generazionale e individuale delle Felt Obligation in due differenti generazioni (generazione di mezzo e giovani adulti); sono quindi indagate sia variabili di outcome qualificanti le relazioni familiari quali la soddisfazione e l’identità familiare sia variabili di adattamento individuale come autostima, depressione e benessere psicologico. Infine, il terzo studio è dedicato allo studio delle Felt Obligation nelle famiglie di giovani adulti. La transizione all’età adulta nel contesto italiano è caratterizzata da una prolungata co-abitazione di due generazioni adulte. Obiettivo del lavoro è pertanto approfondire il ruolo delle Felt Obligation per capire come esse diventino parte qualificante della relazione genitori – figli in questa fase del ciclo di vita e come siano legate a specifiche variabili del funzionamento familiare, quali soddisfazione e identità familiare.The general aim of this research is to investigate, through a multi-dimensional model, how Felt Obligation, defined in the dimensions of maintenance contacts and family rituals, repayment in the relationship and personal sharing, are delineated and build in family relationships. First study’s aim is to identify the factorial structure of Felt Obligation Measure in the Italian context. Felt Obligation Measure is the only instrument in literature by which people could report feelings about their obligations to fulfill in their family relationships. Second study’s aim is to investigate the generational and individual implications of Felt Obligation into two different generations (middle – adults and young adults). Finally, the third study is aimed to examine Felt Obligation in young adults’ families . The transition to adulthood in Italy is characterized by a prolonged co-habitation of two generations of adults; therefore the aim is to enhance the role of Felt Obligation in this specific phase of the life cycle and how they are linked to specific variables of family functioning (family satisfaction and family identity)

Can policy design help organizations improve their networking capabilities? An empirical analysis on a regional policy

In parallel with the interest in networks of innovation on the part of the academic literature, policymakers are increasingly recognizing the important systemic nature of innovation processes, involving many agents often engaged in networks of relationships (OECD, 1997; Mytelka and Smith, 2002; European Commission, 2003; Nauwelaers and Wintjes, 2008), and they are increasingly supporting the creation of networks among firms and other types of organizations. Examples are the EU Framework Programmes (Breschi and Malerba, 2009; Tindemans, 2009) as well as the many national and regional policies launched in the past decade or so (Branstetter and Sakakibara, 2002; Caloghirou et al, 2004; Russo and Rossi, 2009; Bellandi and Caloffi, 2010; Cunningham and Ramlogan, 2012). Policies for innovation networks usually aim to support joint R&D, technological development or technology transfer projects or even, sometimes, networking per se (with a view to create a “critical mass” of experts or users in a certain technology). At the same time, these policy interventions may also help the participants improve their ability to perform collaborative innovation, by allowing them to gain experience in working with external partners on a specific activity. Such behavioural outcomes, while not generally considered the main objective of these policies, have the potential to generate long-lasting beneficial changes in the participants’ competences and abilities (Gök and Edler, 2012). An important question for policy design is what kind of networks should be supported, if the objective of the policy is not just to fund “successful” innovation projects, but also to increase the participants’ ability to engage in collaborative innovation. Should policies simply provide funding to innovation networks on the basis of an assessment of the project they intend to realize, or should they promote the setup of networks with specific features, in order to increase the agents’ innovative potential through networking

The roles of different intermediaries in innovation networks: A network-based approach to the design of innovation policies

Greater understanding of what factors promote the formation of innovation networks and their successful performance would help policymakers improve the design of policy interventions aimed at funding R&D projects to be carried out by networks of innovators. In this paper, we focus on the organizations that can play the role of network intermediaries, facilitating the involvement of other participants and promoting communication and knowledge flows. Based on an original empirical dataset of organizations involved in five publicly-funded policy programmes in support of innovation networks, we identify different types of intermediaries based on an analysis of their positions within networks of relationships. We observe that agents that occupy broker positions \u2013 linking agents that are not connected to each other \u2013 are more likely to be found in technologically turbulent environments, while the agents that occupy intercohesive positions \u2013 bridging cohesive communities of network agents \u2013 operate in more stable contexts. Intermediaries in general are more likely to be local associations and governments. However, besides this, it is not possible to clearly identify types of organizations that are more likely to be either brokers or intercohesive agents: different innovation networks may require different organizations to mediate relationships between the other participants

Accelerated aging in perinatally HIV-infected children: clinical manifestations and pathogenetic mechanisms

BACKGROUND: Premature aging and related diseases have been documented in HIV-infected adults. Data are now emerging also regarding accelerated aging process in HIV-infected children. METHODS: A narrative review was performed searching studies on PubMed published in English language in 2004-2017, using appropriate key words, including "aging", "children", "HIV", "AIDS", "immunosenescence", "pathogenesis", "clinical conditions". RESULTS: Premature immunosenescence phenotype of B and T cells in HIV-infected children is mediated through immune system activation and chronic inflammation. Ongoing inflammation processes have been documented by increased levels of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS), increased mitochondrial damage, higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a positive correlation between sCD14 levels and percentages of activated CD8+ cells. Other reported features of premature aging include cellular replicative senescence, linked to an accelerated telomeres shortening. Finally, acceleration of age-associated methylation pattern and other epigenetic modifications have been described in HIV-infected children. All these features may favor the clinical manifestations related to premature aging. Lipid and bone metabolism, cancers, cardiovascular, renal, and neurological systems should be carefully monitored, particularly in children with detectable viremia and/or with CD4/CD8 ratio inversion. CONCLUSION: Aging processes in children with HIV infection impact their quality and length of life. Further studies regarding the mechanisms involved in premature aging are needed to search for potential targets of treatment

Do innovation and financial constraints affect the profit efficiency of European enterprises?

This paper investigates the relationship between profit efficiency, finance and innovation. By adopting stochastic frontiers, we pioneer the use of a novel dataset merging firm level survey data with balance sheet information for a large sample of European companies. We find that firms having difficulties in access to finance as well as firms introducing product innovation display an incentive to improve their efficiency. While innovation produces benefit for firms’ profitability, financial constraints impose a discipline to the firms forcing them to cut unproductive costs that reduce the profitability. We document nuanced differences between firms in industry and services, while they are more pronounced when we look at disaggregation across High-Tech and Low-Tech companies. From a policy perspective, our results enrich the understanding on the link between innovation, financial constraints and efficiency, which goes beyond the idea that easier access to finance is the panacea to get higher performance

Testing the Conjugative Properties of Benzodithiophene and Benzotrithiophene in Charge Transfer Multi(ferrocenyl) Systems

The charge transfer properties of the mono-, di-, and tricationic derivatives of bis(ferrocenyl)benzodithiophene and tris- (ferrocenyl)benzotrithiophene were investigated. The cations were generated by chemical oxidation using ferrocenium(BF4) and acetylferrocenium(BF4) as the oxidative agents and monitored in the visible and NIR regions. By changing the supporting electrolyte from [nBu4N][PF6] to [nBu4][B(C6F5)4], we were able to selectively generate the monocationic species of bis- and triferrocenyl complexes. The redox and optical properties of the cationic derivatives were rationalized by an in-depth electrochemical and optical study. The comparison with the results previously obtained for the structurally related bis(ferrocenyl)-s-indacene and tris(ferrocenyl)-trindene allowed for the evaluation of the huge influence of thiolation on the metal 12metal electronic coupling

Public innovation intermediaries and digital co-creation. Research contribution to the OECD TIP Co-creation project

The emerging digital technologies pose new challenges to innovation intermediaries. In this chapter we build on a case base of evidence on selected public intermediaries in France (pôles de compétitivité) and in the UK (digital catapults), to argue that public innovation intermediar-ies, which carry public policy mandates, have a specific role to play, particularly in the context on the emerging, complex, and yet not fully commoditised set of technologies underpinning the ‘fourth industrial revolution’. In particular, we reveal that by connecting a plurality of actors on the demand and supply side, public innovation intermediaries facilitate co-creation of complex technological solutions, and that in doing so, they create both social and economic value. The goals of examined co-creation activities revolve around finding highly innovative solutions to complex problems triggered by the digital transformation. The co-creation initiatives that we study take place at the national level, but their outputs have broader impact on the activities of the parties involved. Our evidence suggests that, when co-creating a complex technological solution, the intermediary is involved in two complementary, often intertwined, but distinct processes that bring together organisations that demand technology and those that supply technological solutions. On the demand side, the intermediary helps the organisation looking for a technological solution (a large company, an SME, or a municipality) to articulate their demand, and eventually find it as well. We call this ‘demand-led’ co-creation. On the supply side, the intermediary brings together a system of technology providers (large companies, SMEs, universities and public research or-ganisations) able to devise, develop and implement a technological solution to match the needs of the organisation on the demand side. We call this ‘supply-led’ co-creation. The intermediary is present from the beginning to the end of the co-creation processes, with its activities extending beyond co-creation processes to ensure post-project continuity between the involved actors. Among demand-led co-creation processes, we identified at least two different approaches devised by Catapults and Pôles de compétitivité - the development of an open challenge, and the development of a proof-of concept. On the supply side, we noted the creation of the so-called ‘groupement’ of SMEs by pôles de compétitivité, whereby the pôle facilitates the creation of a value-chain that is able to respond to complex demands of organisations looking for technolog-ical solutions. Our study shows that public intermediaries are able to play their unique role in co-creation processes thanks to several factors: the legitimacy they have to act as intermediaries, as they are endowed with public mandates; the presence of long-term public funding that enables interme-diaries to be perceived as neutral agents, to gain reputation and trust over time; the networks of trusted experts on whom they can rely to successfully complete their mission; a well functioning evaluation process that spurs intermediaries to act effectively and efficiently and to be respon-sive to demands from their stakeholders