Research Report - October 2009. Elaboration of the Module: Definition of the Programme

Alternative innovative didactic methodology is needed to reduce premature school drop out,particularly of young people at risk of exclusion, such as migrants, ethnic groups and children/teenagers from difficult socio-economic background). The key point is to modify the way to deliver learning. Cultural enrichment through young interestas such as music and art, use of technologies, social competencies, problem-solving skills incomputer science, autonomy and sense of purpose may help childhood and adolescence to achieve an improved engagement in school and a sense of educational accomplishmen

Comparison of three measurement methods of saturated hydraulic condutivity

International audienceAfter pointing out the importance of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (ks) measurements and the difficulties and uncertainties that are present, and after recalling salient aspects of three well-known measurement methods of this parameter (i.e. constant-head tension infiltrometer (TI) method, constant-head pressure infiltrometer (PI) method and soil core (SC) estimates method), the results of an investigation on data which were obtained during a measurement campaign on an area of 800 m2, on a sandy loam hillslope, located in Southern Italy, were carried out again here. Three sets of values of ks, obtained with these measurement methods, were analyzed statistically, verifying that the log-normal distribution describes these better than the normal one; moreover, the more significant statistical parameters of each set were compared (average value , amplitude A, coefficient of variation CV and standard deviation SD), individualizing the more significant differences. The greatest value of hydraulic conductivity was found with method (PI), while the smallest with (SC) and the intermediate with (TI); these differences were translated into macroporosity and into the influence of the single measurement method. Moreover, referring to the possible factors affecting the results, the importance can be noted of the structure, the texture and the soil events, in terms of utilization, which can affect the measure of ks leading often to very different values even for similar soils, but with a different history, independently of the coincidence of the measurement points and they can be determining to explain the differences affecting the results obtained in analogous investigations by other researchers. Having confirmed that generalization is not possible, the need was emphasized to adopt the necessary devices relating to the specific measurement method, case by case, and to carefully explain the obtained results, in the light of the peculiarities and the limits of each situation. Finally, the results of similar statistical analysis carried out on a greater number of ks values, measured through the (TI) and (PI) methods are shown in this paper, with some statistical considerations on the increasing of the measurements number

Characterization of the field saturated hydraulic conductivity on a hillslope: measurement techniques, data sensitivity analysis and spatial correlation modelling

International audienceIn the context of studies aiming at the estimation of effective parameters for unsaturated zone modelling, this work tackles the problem of experimental data quality, considering the large collection of data gathered at an experimental site equipped for unsaturated zone hydraulic monitoring in the alluvial basin of a Calabrian river, in the South of Italy. Focusing attention on field saturated hydraulic conductivity, the in-site measurement techniques by tension disc and pressure ring infiltrometers are considered, pointing out the main indications for the correct use of each measuring approach; laboratory techniques are also considered. Statistical data analysis showed that the measurements performed by tension disc infiltrometer supplied values of hydraulic conductivity which are on average lower and more homogeneous than the values provided by the other measurement techniques considered. Sensitivity analysis was then carried out by Monte Carlo simulation on the parameter sampling achieved by field measurement techniques in order to evaluate the influence of any possible small measurement errors on the data. Sensitivity analysis showed that both ring and disc infiltrometer are tools reliable enough for the in situ measurements of field saturated hydraulic conductivity. Finally, after a data merging procedure giving origin to different sets of data, the spatial correlation structure of field saturated hydraulic conductivity is investigated, using well-known geostatistical techniques

Cloud Chamber: A Performance with Real Time Two-Way Interaction between Subatomic Particles and Violinist

‘Cloud Chamber’ - a composition by Alexis Kirke, Antonino Chiaramonte, and Anna Troisi - is a live performance in which the invisible quantum world becomes visible as a violinist and subatomic particle tracks interact together. An electronic instrument was developed which can be “played” live by radioactive atomic particles. Electronic circuitry was developed enabling a violin to create a physical force field that directly affects the ions generated by cosmic radiation particles. This enabled the violinist and the ions to influence each other musically in real time. A glass cloud chamber was used onstage to make radioactivity visible in bright white tracks moving within, with the tracks projected onto a large screen

JOINT ALIGNMENT OF UNDERWATER AND ABOVE-THE-WATER PHOTOGRAMMETRIC 3D MODELS BY INDEPENDENT MODELS ADJUSTMENT

The surveying and 3D modelling of objects that extend both below and above the water level, such as ships, harbour structures, offshore platforms, are still an open issue. Commonly, a combined and simultaneous survey is the adopted solution, with acoustic/optical sensors respectively in underwater and in air (most common) or optical/optical sensors both below and above the water level. In both cases, the system must be calibrated and a ship is to be used and properly equipped with also a navigation system for the alignment of sequential 3D point clouds. Such a system is usually highly expensive and has been proved to work with still structures. On the other hand for free floating objects it does not provide a very practical solution. In this contribution, a flexible, low-cost alternative for surveying floating objects is presented. The method is essentially based on photogrammetry, employed for surveying and modelling both the emerged and submerged parts of the object. Special targets, named Orientation Devices, are specifically designed and adopted for the successive alignment of the two photogrammetric models (underwater and in air). A typical scenario where the proposed procedure can be particularly suitable and effective is the case of a ship after an accident whose damaged part is underwater and necessitate to be measured (Figure 1). The details of the mathematical procedure are provided in the paper, together with a critical explanation of the results obtained from the adoption of the method for the survey of a small pleasure boat in floating condition

The role of food transfers in wild golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia) : support for the informational and nutritional hypothesis

Funding; The research was supported in part by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (40128) and the European Research Council (232823), to KN Laland, and is in compliance with ASAB and ICMBio guidelines.Callitrichidae is a unique primate family not only in terms of the large number of food transfers to infants but also for the prevalence of transfers that are initiated by the adults. It has been hypothesized that, as well as provisioning infants, callitrichid food transfers might function to teach the receiver what food types to eat. If food provisioning has a teaching function, we would expect successful food transfers to be more likely with food types that are novel to the juveniles. We would also expect juveniles to learn about foods from those transfers. We introduced different types of food (some familiar, some novel) to wild groups of golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia). While novel foods were not more successfully transferred than familiar food in the experiment, transfers were more successful (i.e., the receiver obtained food) when the donor had previous experience with that food. Moreover, we found evidence suggesting that food transfers influenced the future foraging choices of juveniles. Our findings are consistent with the first and third criteria of the functional definition of teaching, which requires that tutors (the adults) modify their behavior in the presence of a naïve individual (a juvenile), and that the naïve individual learns from the modified behavior of the demonstrator. Our findings are also consistent with the provisioning function of food transfer. Social learning seems to play an important role in the development of young tamarins’ foraging preferences.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Cosmological model with Born-Infeld type scalar field

The non-abelian generalization of the Born-Infeld non-linear lagrangian is extended to the non-commutative geometry of matrices on a manifold. In this case not only the usual SU(n) gauge fields appear, but also a natural generalization of the multiplet of scalar Higgs fields, with the double-well potential as a first approximation. The matrix realization of non-commutative geometry provides a natural framework in which the notion of a determinant can be easily generalized and used as the lowest-order term in a gravitational lagrangian of a new kind. As a result, we obtain a Born-Infeld-like lagrangian as a root of sufficiently high order of a combination of metric, gauge potentials and the scalar field interactions. We then analyze the behavior of cosmological models based on this lagrangian. It leads to primordial inflation with varying speed, with possibility of early deceleration ruled by the relative strength of the Higgs field.Comment: 27 page

Continuum and atomistic description of excess electrons in TiO2

The modelling of an excess electron in a semiconductor in a prototypical dye sensitised solar cell is carried out using two complementary approaches: atomistic simulation of the TiO2 nanoparticle surface is complemented by a dielectric continuum model of the solvent–semiconductor interface. The two methods are employed to characterise the bound (excitonic) states formed by the interaction of the electron in the semiconductor with a positive charge opposite the interface. Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the excess electron in TiO2 in the presence of a counterion is not fully localised but extends laterally over a large region, larger than system sizes accessible to DFT calculations. The numerical description of the excess electron at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface based on the continuum model shows that the exciton is also delocalised over a large area: the exciton radius can have values from tens to hundreds of Ångströms, depending on the nature of the semiconductor (characterised by the dielectric constant and the electron effective mass in our model)