Tribocorrosion Properties of PEO Coatings Produced on AZ91 Magnesium Alloy with Silicate- or Phosphate-Based Electrolytes

In this work, the tribocorrosion behavior of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO)-coated AZ91 samples was studied. In particular, two different coatings were produced and compared. One was obtained with an alkaline electrolyte containing sodium phosphate, whereas the other one was produced with an alkaline electrolyte containing sodium silicate. The coatings were characterized with SEM-EDS and XRD techniques, and after the tribocorrosion tests, the wear scars were analyzed with SEM-EDS. The tribocorrosion behavior was evaluated measuring the OCP during a pin on disk test performed in an aggressive environment. Moreover, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests were performed, to evaluate the corrosion resistance of the different samples in the absence of wear phenomena. The behavior of all the PEO-treated specimens was compared with the one of the untreated sample. A remarkable increase in the tribocorrosion performances after the PEO treatments was observed. Moreover, the samples obtained with the electrolyte containing silicates showed higher tribocorrosion performances

The history of written language disorders: reexamining Pitres’ case (1884) of pure agraphia

The first clinical description of pure agraphia was reported by the French neurologist Pitres in 1884. Pitres used the case study evidence to argue for modality-specific memory representations and the localization of writing. This article reviews Pitres’s contribution to the study of acquired writing disorders, the components of writing models and the cerebral localization which subserve writing, in light of the views entertained by his contemporaries and current authors. Although numerous cases have been reported throughout this century, the view that writing can be impaired while other language functions and motor activities remain intact is still challenged

The Influence of Directionality on the Giovanelli Illusion

In the Giovanelli illusion, some collinear dots appear misaligned, when each dot lies within a circle and the circles are not collinear. In this illusion, the role of the frame of reference, determined by the circles, is considered a crucial factor. Three experiments were carried out to study the influence of directionality of the circles on the misalignment. The adjustment method was used. Participants changed the orthogonal position of each dot, from the left to the right of the sequence, until a collinear sequence of dots was achieved. The first experiment verified the illusory effect of the misalignment. In the second experiment, the influence of two different directionalities of the circles (-0.58\ub0 and +0.58\ub0) on the misalignment was tested. The results show an over-normalization on the sequences of the dots. The third experiment tested the misalignment of the dots without any inclination of the sequence of circles (0\ub0). Only a local illusory effect was found. These results demonstrate that the directionality of the circles, as a global factor, can increase the misalignment. The findings also indicate that directionality and the frame of reference are independent factors in explaining the Giovanelli illusion

Graph databases and their application to the Italian Business Register for efficient search of relationships among companies

We studied and tested three of the major graph databases, and we compared them with a relational database. We worked on a dataset representing equity participations among companies, and we found out that the strong points of graph databases are: the purposely designed storage techniques; and their query languages. The main performance increments have been obtained when heavy graph situations are queried; for simpler situations and queries, a relational database performs equally wellope

Perceptual Organization within Temporal Displacement

The psychological present has an actual extension. When a sequence of instantaneous stimuli falls in this short interval of time, observers perceive a compresence of events in succession and the temporal order depends on the qualitative relationships between the perceptual properties of the events. Two experiments were carried out to study the influence of perceptual grouping, with and without temporal displacement, on the duration of auditory sequences. The psychophysical method of adjustment was adopted. The first experiment investigated the effect of temporal displacement of a white noise on sequence duration. The second experiment investigated the effect of temporal displacement, along the pitch dimension, on temporal shortening of sequence. The results suggest that the temporal order of sounds, in the case of temporal displacement, is organized along the pitch dimension

The Meaning of Sustainability for Design. A Comparison Between Users, Design-Educated and Professionals

The necessary dialogue between users, students, and professionals in the field of sustainable design requires a precise understanding of the conceptual meaning of the term ‘sustainability’. This concept is multi-componential, and different categories of actors on the design scene attribute varying components and varying degrees of importance to each component. This research, conducted on a sample of 304 participants, employed qualitative analysis to map the differences between the groups, both for the static definition of the concept and the definition anchored in perceptual data. It is interesting to note that the specific materials used, and the impact of the product’s life cycle on the environment emerged as the most frequently cited topics by all participants. Furthermore, our research finds significant differences in conceptualization between the different groups: the idea of sustainability is substantially different for professionals, individuals with design education and general users. The differences identified by this study are essential for designers who aim to create in a way that aligns with the categorization of users

Early

Arthritis Rheum. 2004 Dec;50(12):3934-40. Early response to immunosuppressive therapy predicts good renal outcome in lupus nephritis: lessons from long-term followup of patients in the Euro-Lupus Nephritis Trial. Houssiau FA, Vasconcelos C, D'Cruz D, Sebastiani GD, de Ramon Garrido E, Danieli MG, Abramovicz D, Blockmans D, Mathieu A, Direskeneli H, Galeazzi M, Gül A, Levy Y, Petera P, Popovic R, Petrovic R, Sinico RA, Cattaneo R, Font J, Depresseux G, Cosyns JP, Cervera R. Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. [email protected] Abstract OBJECTIVE: In the Euro-Lupus Nephritis Trial (ELNT), 90 patients with lupus nephritis were randomly assigned to a high-dose intravenous cyclophosphamide (IV CYC) regimen (6 monthly pulses and 2 quarterly pulses with escalating doses) or a low-dose IV CYC regimen (6 pulses of 500 mg given at intervals of 2 weeks), each of which was followed by azathioprine (AZA). After a median followup of 41 months, a difference in efficacy between the 2 regimens was not observed. The present analysis was undertaken to extend the followup and to identify prognostic factors. METHODS: Renal function was prospectively assessed quarterly in all 90 patients except 5 who were lost to followup. Survival curves were derived using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: After a median followup of 73 months, there was no significant difference in the cumulative probability of end-stage renal disease or doubling of the serum creatinine level in patients who received the low-dose IV CYC regimen versus those who received the high-dose regimen. At long-term followup, 18 patients (8 receiving low-dose and 10 receiving high-dose treatment) had developed permanent renal impairment and were classified as having poor long-term renal outcome. We demonstrated by multivariate analysis that early response to therapy at 6 months (defined as a decrease in serum creatinine level and proteinuria <1 g/24 hours) was the best predictor of good long-term renal outcome. CONCLUSION: Long-term followup of patients from the ELNT confirms that, in lupus nephritis, a remission-inducing regimen of low-dose IV CYC followed by AZA achieves clinical results comparable with those obtained with a high-dose regimen. Early response to therapy is predictive of good long-term renal outcome. PMID: 15593207 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

Il design dei caratteri tipografici centrato sui segni e sulle qualità espressive

Le proprietà formali dei caratteri tipografici veicolano signi- ficati che impattano sui lettori oltre la funzione di leggibilità. Lo studio del processo di espressione di significati implica variabili cognitive e percettive. Nel testo si tratta la differenza tra significati mediati dai segni o mediati da qualità espres- sive, allo scopo di individuare una base intersoggettiva per la progettazione. Sono analizzati tre presupposti epistemo- logici: la mediazione cognitiva, l’universalità, il ruolo delle conoscenze pregresse nella comunicazione basata sui segni rispetto a quella basata sulle qualità espressive. Infine si propone uno schema sperimentale per dissociare le due modalità, per consentire al designer di progettare un ca- rattere distinguendo operativamente il piano segnico dalle qualità espressive.---The formal properties of typeface make it possible to convey meanings that have an impact on readers that goes far beyond the function of readability and legibility. The study of the process of expression of meanings involves cognitive and perceptual variables. This paper deals with the difference between meanings mediated by signs or mediated by expressive qualities, in order to identify an intersubjective basis for design. Three epistemological presuppositions are then analyzed: cognitive mediation, universality, the role of past knowledge in communication based on signs compared to communication based on expressive qualities. Finally, an experimental scheme is proposed to dissociate the two communication modalities, in order to allow the designer to design a typeface distinguishing the sign level from the level of expressive qualities