1,569 research outputs found
Mapping Urban Water Balance to support the integrated design of water cycles in the peri-urban areas
The paper tests the effectiveness of a methodology used to analyze the water element
in the urban context, in supporting design choices oriented toward sustainable water
management. In particular, it presents a mapping technique of the variables used for calculating
the UWB (Urban Water Balance) using the open data available for Milan. The methodology is
applied to a peri-urban area of the city's southern outskirts, the Corvetto/Chiaravalle district. The
availability of the data has allowed identifying the minimum spatial area on which to carry out a
balance of water flows using open-source GIS in the census block (CB). The methodology's
effectiveness in supporting the design choices was verified on two specific census blocks, the
first representing the diffuse residential built area, the second an existing farmhouse no longer
productive with residential functions. The main design strategy's goal was to reduce water
withdrawal from the aqueduct and reuse part of the outgoing water to limit the discharge into the
sewage system as much as possible
All that glitters is not gold: polarization amid poverty reduction in Ghana
Ghana is an exceptional case in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) landscape. Together with a handful of other countries, Ghana offers the opportunity to analyze the distributional changes in the past two decades, since four comparable household surveys are available. In addition, unlike many other countries in SSA, Ghana's rapid growth translated into fast poverty reduction. A closer look at the distributional changes that occurred in the same period, however, suggests less optimism. The present paper develops an innovative methodology to analyze the distributional changes that occurred and their drivers, with a high degree of accuracy and granularity. Looking at the results from 1991 to 2012, the paper documents how the distributional changes over time hollowed out the middle of the Ghanaian household consumption distribution and increased the concentration of households around the highest and lowest deciles; there was a clear surge in polarization indeed. When looking at the drivers of polarization, household characteristics, educational attainment, and access to basic infrastructure all tended to increase over time the size of the upper and lower tails of the consumption distribution and, as a consequence, the degree of polarization
An experience with teaching squares
Teaching Squares is a technique which was developed in 2001, is now used at numerous
universities worldwide, and is aimed at informing and improving teaching [1]. It uses a process of
classroom observation combined with personal and group reflection, while being free from the pressure of
peer observations typically performed for the purpose of evaluation. For the initial trial of this technique
at Nazarbayev University, three groups of four professors each (3 squares) were selected from across the
university. We report the experience of our square
Relativistic coupled-cluster calculations of Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe: correlation energies and dipole polarizabilities
We have carried out a detailed and systematic study of the correlation
energies of inert gas atoms Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe using relativistic many-body
perturbation theory and relativistic coupled-cluster theory. In the
relativistic coupled-cluster calculations, we implement perturbative triples
and include these in the correlation energy calculations. We then calculate the
dipole polarizability of the ground states using perturbed coupled-cluster
theory.Comment: 10 figures, 6 tables, submitted to PR
Modal parameters identification with environmental tests and advanced numerical analyses for masonry bell towers: a meaningful case study
Abstract In the first part, a dynamic monitoring for non-destructive evaluation of heritage structures is discussed with reference to a case study, namely the Pomposa Abbey belfry, located in the Ferrara Province (Italy). The main dynamic parameters constitute an important reference to define an advanced numerical model, discussed in the second part, based on Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics (NSCD) method. Schematised as a system of rigid blocks undergoing frictional sliding and plastic impacts, the tower has exhibited complex dynamics, because of both geometrical nonlinearity and the non-smooth nature of the contact laws. First, harmonic oscillations have been applied to the basement of the tower and a systematic parametric study has been conducted, aimed at correlating the system vulnerability to the values of amplitude and frequency of the assigned excitation corroborated by the dynamic identification results. In addition, numerical analyses have been done to highlight the effects of the friction coefficient and of the blocks geometries on the dynamics, in particular on the collapse modes. Finally, a study of the tower stability against seismic excitations has been addressed and 3D simulations have been performed with a real earthquake
Factors influencing on Job decision of Management Undergraduates in North and East Universities of Sri Lanka
This paper attempts to investigate the preferences on taking the decision of Job and to find out the factors influencing on Job decision of the management undergraduate in North and East Universities of Sri Lanka. A closed ended questionnaire was developed as tool for data collection. A total number of 400 third and final year management students from 3 Universities and 2 Campuses located in North and East of Sri Lanka have been responded to the questionnaire. The quantitative analyses were conducted with the help of SPSS. The result reveals that majority of the respondents’ preferred for future career developments are public sector and private sector organizations. One third of the total respondents plan to seek employment in their chosen field specially after obtaining the bachelor's degree. Further Salary, interesting job, job security and educational opportunity are the major factors for the management graduates in Job decision. Keywords: Job decision, Management, Undergraduate, Universit
Discontinuous vs continuous approaches for the nonlinear dynamics of an historic masonry tower
The present paper investigates, from an advanced numerical point of view, the progressive damage of the Amatrice (Rieti, Italy) civic clock tower, after a long sequence of strong earthquakes that struck Central Italy in 2016. Two advanced numerical models are here used to provide an insight into the modalities of progressive damage and the behaviour of the structure under strong dynamic excitations, namely a Discrete Element Method (DEM), the Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics (NSCD) method, and a FE Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) model. In both cases, a full 3D detailed discretization is adopted. From the numerical results, the role played by both the actual geometries and the insufficient resistance of the constituent materials are envisaged, showing a good match with actual crack patterns observed after the seismic sequence
iconic crumbling of the clock tower in amatrice after 2016 central italy seismic sequence advanced numerical insight
Abstract The present paper investigates from an advanced numerical point of view the progressive damage of the Amatrice (Rieti, Italy) civic clock tower, after a long sequence of strong earthquakes that struck central Italy in 2016. Two advanced numerical models are here utilised to have an insight into the modalities of progressive damage and the behaviour of the structure under strong non-linear dynamic excitations, namely a Non-Smooth Contact Dynamics (NSCD) and a FE Concrete Damage Plasticity (CDP) models. In both cases, a full 3D detailed discretization is adopted. From the numerical results, both the role played by the actual geometries and the insufficient resistance of the constituent materials are envisaged, showing a good match with actual crack patterns observed after the seismic sequence
Src family kinases as therapeutic targets in advanced solid tumors. What we have learned so far
Src is the prototypal member of Src Family tyrosine Kinases (SFKs), a large non-receptor kinase class that controls multiple signaling pathways in animal cells. SFKs activation is necessary for the mitogenic signal from many growth factors, but also for the acquisition of migratory and invasive phenotype. Indeed, oncogenic activation of SFKs has been demonstrated to play an important role in solid cancers; promoting tumor growth and formation of distant metastases. Several drugs targeting SFKs have been developed and tested in preclinical models and many of them have successfully reached clinical use in hematologic cancers. Although in solid tumors SFKs inhibitors have consistently confirmed their ability in blocking cancer cell progression in several experimental models; their utilization in clinical trials has unveiled unexpected complications against an effective utilization in patients. In this review, we summarize basic molecular mechanisms involving SFKs in cancer spreading and metastasization; and discuss preclinical and clinical data highlighting the main challenges for their future application as therapeutic targets in solid cancer progression
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