Design of an Intrinsically Motivating AR Experience for Environmental Awareness

Augmented Reality seems a promising tool to provide engaging and effective educational experiences, thanks to its potentiality in stimulating intrinsic motivation, that could influence the learning process and the attitude of the users towards behaviours. This paper presents the Resized Plastic Augmented Reality learning experience, designed on the basis of Dunleavy's framework to provide a systemic overview of the microplastics issue to allow users to understand its mechanisms, educate them about their role in the system and help them to connect this information to their everyday actions

Innovative solutions for the wine sector: the role of startups

The economic globalisation has opened new pathways for commerce and triggered a logistical revolution, which in turn has produced enormous technological innovations. In this context, the role of startups is becoming increasingly crucial since they are positioning themselves as innovation enablers among large and small companies. Between these innovations, IoT, Big Data Analytics and Blockchain can be used in various domains, among which the logistics of the whole wine supply chain. Here we will consider some of the issues and needs that arise in this market sector, showing how Wenda, a startup born in Bologna in February 2015 that works to improve sustainability and traceability in Food & Beverage supply chains, has been able to leverage IoT, Big Data Analytics and Blockchain to empower the wine supply chain with solutions that enable wine traceability throughout the distribution and the after-buying-in preservation and commercialisation phases

Adiponectin levels are reduced in children born small for gestational age and are inversely related to postnatal catch-up growth

Adiponectin is an adipocytokine with insulin-sensitizing and antiatherogenic properties. Reduced concentrations of adiponectin precede the onset of type 2 diabetes and the development of atherosclerosis. Our aim was to quantify adiponectin concentrations in small for gestational age (SGA) children. Fifty-one SGA children, 24 obese, and 17 short-normal children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age (short-AGA) were studied. The statures of the SGA children were corrected for their midparental height and subdivided into two groups according to their corrected height: catch-up growth group, children with corrected height of 0 z-score or greater (n = 17); and noncatch-up growth group, subjects with corrected height less than 0 z-score (n = 34). SGA children showed adiponectin levels significantly lower than short-normal children (35.2 +/- 3.5 vs. 80.4 +/- 26.6 mug/ml; P < 0.0001) and obese children (77.5 +/- 39.4 μg/ml; P < 0.0001). Catch-up growth children showed adiponectin levels significantly lower than noncatch-up growth subjects (29.4 +/- 10.3 vs. 38.1 +/- 11.5 mug/ml; P = 0.01). Adiponectin concentrations were inversely related to height z-score, corrected stature, weight, and body mass index and were positively related to birth weight. Our results suggest that adiponectin levels are reduced in SGA children and are even lower in those with postnatal catch-up growth. Whether this finding implies a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis remains to be established

Augmented Reality to Engage Visitors of Science Museums through Interactive Experiences

In the last years, interactive exhibitions based on digital technologies have become widely common, thanks to their flexibility and effectiveness in engaging visitors and creating memorable experiences. One of the topics in which digital technologies can be particularly effective is the communication of abstract concepts that are difficult for the human mind to imagine. An emblematic example is the astronomy discipline, which requires us to imagine and understand phenomena far away from our everyday life. In this paper, the authors present a research project, MARSS, in which digital technologies are used effectively to enhance the Users' Experience of the Museo Astronomico di Brera located in Milan. Specifically, the MARSS project aims at designing and developing a new digital journey inside the museum to allow different categories of visitors to enjoy the exhibition in an engaging and interactive way. The paper presents the design and development phases of the experience and its evaluation with users. The results of the evaluation indicate that the digital interactive experience is appreciated by users and is successful in translating the content of high scientific value into more engaging and easily understandable elements

Calcium Looping for Thermochemical Storage: Assessment of Intrinsic Reaction Rate and Estimate of Kinetic/Transport Parameters for Synthetic CaO/Mayenite Particles from TGA Data

Mayenite-supported CaO represents an affordable and safetycompliant candidate material for thermochemical storage processes. We here analyze the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) performance of synthetic CaO/mayenite micrometric powder under carbonatation/calcination looping and develop a model to interpret and analyze the experimental results. In the experimental campaign, calcination is run at 900 degrees C, while the carbonatation temperature is varied between 600 and 800 degrees C. For the carbonatation reaction, a generalized shrinking core model assuming a thermodynamically consistent first-order kinetic and a conversion-dependent diffusivity of CO2 inside the porous CaCO3 layer is validated through TGA carbonatation tests conducted with CO2/N-2 mixtures at different compositions. Interestingly, the kinetic constant of this reaction is found to be relatively insensitive to the temperature in the interval considered. In contrast, diffusion-limited regimes are never found for the calcination reaction so that this phase of the cycle can be predicted based on a single kinetic constant of the heterogeneous reaction. This constant is found to follow the typical Arrhenius-type dependence on temperature. Sizably different kinetic and transport parameters are obtained in the first carbonation performed on virgin CaO/mayenite particles with respect to those associated with subsequent cycles. When different parameters are afforded for the first and following cycles, the shrinking core model proposed closely predicts the TGA data over five CaO/CaCO3 cycles. The results found constitute an essential preliminary piece of information for designing equipment geometry and operating conditions of industrial-scale reactors. In this respect, knowledge of the parameters defining the intrinsic reaction rates and diffusive transport is essential in defining the optimal conversion of the material associated with minimal looping time

Antidepressant-like effects of pharmacological inhibition of FAAH activity in socially isolated female rats

Pharmacological inhibition of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which terminates signaling of the endocannabinoid N-arachidonoylethanolamine (or anandamide, AEA), exerts favourable effects in rodent models of stress-related depression. Yet although depression seems to be more common among women than men and in spite of some evidence of sex differences in treatment efficacy, preclinical development of FAAH inhibitors for the pharmacotherapy of stress-related depression has been predominantly conducted in male animals. Here, adult female rats were exposed to six weeks of social isolation and, starting from the second week, treated with the FAAH inhibitor URB694 (0.3 mg/kg/day, i.p.) or vehicle. Compared to pair-housed females, socially isolated female rats treated with vehicle developed behavioral (mild anhedonia, passive stress coping) and physiological (reduced body weight gain, elevated plasma corticosterone levels) alterations. Moreover, prolonged social isolation provoked a reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and AEA levels within the hippocampus. Together, these changes are indicative of an increased risk of developing a depressive-like state. Conversely, pharmacological inhibition of FAAH activity with URB694 restored both AEA and BDNF levels within the hippocampus of socially isolated rats and prevented the development of behavioral and physiological alterations. These results suggest a potential interplay between AEA-mediated signaling and hippocampal BDNF in the pathogenesis of depression-relevant behaviors and physiological alterations and antidepressant action of FAAH inhibition in socially isolated female rats

N-(Anilinoethyl)amide Melatonergic Ligands with Improved Water Solubility and Metabolic Stability

The MT2-selective melatonin receptor ligand UCM765 (N-(2-((3-methoxyphenyl)(phenyl)amino)ethyl)acetamide), showed interesting sleep inducing, analgesic and anxiolytic properties in rodents, but suffers from low water solubility and modest metabolic stability. To overcome these limitations, different strategies were investigated, including modification of metabolically liable sites, introduction of hydrophilic substituents and design of more basic derivatives. Thermodynamic solubility, microsomal stability and lipophilicity of new compounds were experimentally evaluated, together with their MT1 and MT2 binding affinities. Introduction of a m-hydroxymethyl substituent on the phenyl ring of UCM765 and replacement of the replacement of the N,N-diphenyl-amino scaffold with a N-methyl-N-phenyl-amino one led to highly soluble compounds with good microsomal stability and receptor binding affinity. Docking studies into the receptor crystal structure provided a rationale for their binding affinity. Pharmacokinetic characterization in rats highlighted higher plasma concentrations for the N-methyl-N-phenyl-amino derivative, consistent with its improved microsomal stability and makes this compound worthy of consideration for further pharmacological investigation

The digital whomanities project. Best practices for digital pedagogy in the pandemic era

This paper aims to enter the ongoing debate about the critical issues of digital pedagogy through the presentation of Digital WHOmanities, a series of online conferences and workshops held at the University of Bologna. Distance learning has become one of the most discussed topics in educational institutions during the spread of Covid-19, revealing a discrepancy between the rapid development of technology and the ability of learning environments to adapt to this turn. In view of this ongoing debate, Digital WHOmanities tried to define the complex and multifaceted figure of the digital humanist and to provide a methodological framework that could foster further online academic initiatives. Specifically, the accurate organization of timing and contents and the adoption of synchronous and asynchronous approaches have highlighted the effectiveness of flexible digital didactics