Introduction by the School of Design of Politecnico di Milano

In the contemporary panorama of design, materials are gained an important role. We are the witnesses of an incredible acceleration in the evolution of the design practices and processes related to materials developments and applications. In the present issue, we want to introduce and formalised the concept of “diffuse materiality” for describing these significant changes in the field of materials for design. In fact, all the classes of materials are transforming in something different: plastics become bio, composite materials change into smart, agricultural wastes turn into growing materials and those of industrial production in advanced materials, and the organic material becomes the border of the future design. For defining the concept of diffuse materiality we focused on the European context, and we collected various contributions from scholars describing their personal approach to materials. In the following introduction, there is a short description of all these articles.En el panorama contemporáneo del diseño, los materiales ganan un papel preponderante. Somos testigos de una increíble aceleración en la evolución de las prácticas de diseño y de los procesos relacionados con los desarrollos de materiales y aplicaciones. En este paper queremos introducir y formalizar el concepto de “materialidad difusa”, con el objetivo de describir estos cambios significativos en el campo de los materiales para el diseño. De hecho, todas las clases de materiales se están transformando en algo diferente: los plásticos se convierten en bio, los materiales compuestos se convierten en inteligentes, los residuos agrícolas se convierten en materiales de cultivo, los de producción industrial en materiales avanzados y el material orgánico se convierte en frontera del diseño futuro. Para definir el concepto de materialidad difusa nos hemos centrado en el contexto europeo, y hemos recogido varias contribuciones de los académicos que describen su perspectiva personal acerca de los materiales. En la siguiente introducción, hay una breve descripción de todos estos artículos.No panorama contemporâneo do design, materiais adquiriram um papel de liderança. Somos testemunhos de uma aceleração incrível na evolução das práticas de design e processos relacionados com o desenvolvimento de materiais e aplicações. Neste artigo apresentamos e formalizamos o conceito de “materialidade difusa” para descrever essas mudanças significativas no campo de materiais para o projeto. Na verdade, todos os tipos de materiais estão sendo transformados em algo diferente: plásticos são transformados em bio; materiais compostos em inteligentes; resíduos agrícolas em materiais de cultivo; aqueles de produção industrial em materiais avançados; e o material orgânico no futuro do design. Para definir o conceito de materialidade difusa focamos no contexto europeu, e recolhamos várias contribuições de estudiosos que descrevem a sua perspectiva pessoal sobre os materiais. Na seguinte introdução, há uma breve descrição de todos esses itens

Enhancing human cognition with cocoa flavonoids

Enhancing cognitive abilities has become a fascinating scientific challenge, recently driven by the interest in preventing age-related cognitive decline and sustaining normal cogni-tive performance in response to cognitively demanding environments. In recent years, cocoa and cocoa-derived products, as a rich source of flavonoids, mainly the flavanols sub-class, have been clearly shown to exert cardiovascular benefits. More recently, neuromodulation and neuroprotective actions have been also suggested. Here, we dis-cuss human studies specifically aimed at investigating the effects of acute and chronic administration of cocoa flavanols on different cognitive domains, such as executive func-tions, attention and memory. Through a variety of direct and indirect biological actions, in part still speculative, cocoa and cocoa-derived food have been suggested to possess the potential to counteract cognitive decline and sustain cognitive abilities, particularly among patients at risk. Although still at a preliminary stage, research investigating the relations between cocoa and cognition shows dose-dependent improvements in general cognition, attention, processing speed, and working memory. Moreover, cocoa flavanols administration could also enhance normal cognitive functioning and exert a protective role on cognitive performance and cardiovascular function specifically impaired by sleep loss, in healthy subjects. Together, these findings converge at pointing to cocoa as a new interesting nutraceutical tool to protect human cognition and counteract different types of cognitive decline, thus encouraging further investigations. Future research should include complex experimental designs combining neuroimaging techniques with physiological and behavioral measures to better elucidate cocoa neuromodulatory properties and directly compare immediate versus long-lasting cognitive effects

Cost-Optimal Analysis for nearly Zero Energy Buildings design and optimization: A critical review

Since the introduction of the recast of the EPBD European Directive 2010/31/EU, many studies on the cost-effective feasibility of nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) were carried out either by academic research bodies and by national bodies. In particular, the introduction of the cost-optimal methodology has given a strong impulse to research in this field. This paper presents a comprehensive and significant review on scientific works based on the application of cost-optimal analysis applications in Europe since the EPBD recast entered into force, pointing out the differences in the analyzed studies and comparing their outcomes before the new recast of EPBD enters into force in 2018. The analysis is conducted with special regard to the methods used for the energy performance assessment, the global cost calculation, and for the selection of the energy efficiency measures leading to design optimization. A critical discussion about the assumptions on which the studies are based and the resulting gaps between the resulting cost-optimal performance and the zero energy target is provided together with a summary of the resulting cost-optimal set of technologies to be used for cost-optimal NZEB design in different contexts. It is shown that the cost-optimal approach results as an effective method for delineating the future of NZEB design throughout Europe while emerging criticalities and open research issues are presented

Finanza locale: modelli di gestione di tributi ed altre entrate

2016 - 2017The object of the research is the management of local revenues, mainly of the own taxes of the Entities; the analysis has led us through a series of fundamental steps to arrive at understanding the effectiveness or otherwise of the various management models. After having made an historical-normative (as well as political) excursion of local finance, we focused on the concept of tax autonomy of the Entity, on the limits of the regulatory power in tax matters. The federalist impulse, which began with the reform of Title V of the Italian Constitution, has not then translated into full local autonomy in terms of taxation, just think that the institution can not yet set up its own taxes in the absence directives dictated by a hierarchically superior law. The situation of the Administrations if on the one hand is characterized by powers and faculties on the front of exemptions, facilities, methods of collection, on the other hand, however, presents strong limits established by the state legislator that do not allow the full development of local taxation. One of the moments of the tax procedure left to the discretion of the Administrations is certainly that of collection: the regulatory power of local authorities finds full expression in the phase of the collection of tax credit, it does not meet significant limits in law as the organizational autonomy of the Entity concerns all aspects of the phase of liquidation, assessment and collection of local taxes. The Administrations can choose whether to manage the collection service internally, with its own offices or through in-house companies, or whether to rely on the National Tax Agency for Collection-Receipt (which took over following the extinction of the Equitalia Company in July 2017), and finally, they can choose to externalize the service through a private concessionaire, registered in the appropriate registers. Local Administrations are very heterogeneous (due to their geographical position, number of inhabitants, average income, types of economy, political guidelines, etc.) there is no better management model for collection in absolute terms; the examination of the single collection systems will show how everyone can bring benefits or disadvantages depending on the type of local authority. [edited by author]XVI n.s. (XXX ciclo

Bilateral 5 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation on fronto-temporal areas modulates resting-state EEG

Rhythmic non-invasive brain stimulations are promising tools to modulate brain activity by entraining neural oscillations in specific cortical networks. The aim of the study was to assess the possibility to influence the neural circuits of the wake-sleep transition in awake subjects via a bilateral transcranial alternating current stimulation at 5 Hz (theta-tACS) on fronto-temporal areas. 25 healthy volunteers participated in two within-subject sessions (theta-tACS and sham), one week apart and in counterbalanced order. We assessed the stimulation effects on cortical EEG activity (28 derivations) and self-reported sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale). theta-tACS induced significant increases of the theta activity in temporo-parieto-occipital areas and centro-frontal increases in the alpha activity compared to sham but failed to induce any online effect on sleepiness. Since the total energy delivered in the sham condition was much less than in the active theta-tACS, the current data are unable to isolate the specific effect of entrained theta oscillatory activity per se on sleepiness scores. On this basis, we concluded that theta-tACS modulated theta and alpha EEG activity with a topography consistent with high sleep pressure conditions. However, no causal relation can be traced on the basis of the current results between these rhythms and changes on sleepines

A correlational analysis of the relationships among intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, subjective sleep quality, and insomnia symptoms

In this study, we used structural equation modeling to investigate the interplay among Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), Anxiety Sensitivity (AS), and sleep problems. Three hundred undergraduate students completed the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, the Intolerance of Uncertainty Inventory, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Insomnia Severity Index. 68% and 40% of the students reported poor sleep quality or sub-threshold insomnia problems, respectively. Depression and anxiety levels were above the cut-off for about one-fourth of the participants. Structural equation modeling revealed that IU was strongly associated with AS, in turn influencing both insomnia severity and sleep quality via depression and anxiety. Significant indirect effects revealed that an anxious pathway was more strongly associated with insomnia severity, while a depression pathway was more relevant for worsening the quality of sleep. We discussed the results in the frameworks of cognitive models of insomnia. Viewing AS and IU as antecedents of sleep problems and assigning to AS a pivotal role, our study suggested indications for clinical interventions on a population at risk for sleep disorders

Effects of total and partial sleep deprivation on reflection impulsivity and risk-taking in deliberative decision-making

Study Objectives: To evaluate the effects of total and partial sleep deprivation on reflection impulsivity and risk-taking in tasks requiring deliberative decision-making processes. Participants and Methods: Seventy-four healthy young adults were selected to participate in two independent experiments, each consisting of a crossover design. In Experiment 1, 32 participants were tested after one night of regular sleep (RS), and after one night of total sleep deprivation (TSD). In Experiment 2, 42 participants were tested following five nights of RS and after five nights of partial sleep deprivation (PSD), implying five hours of sleep per night. In both the experiments, two deliberative decision-making tasks were administered, involving different decision-making constructs. The Mosaic Task (MT) assessed reflection impulsivity, the tendency to gather information before making a decision. The Columbia Card Task cold version (CCTc) evaluated risk-taking propensity in a dynamic environment. Results: Unlike TSD, PSD led to an increment of reflection impulsivity and risk-taking. Nevertheless, analyses taking into account the individuals’ baseline (RS) performance showed consistent results between the two experimental sleep manipulations. Participants who gathered more information to make decisions in the MT when well-rested, then relied on less evidence under sleep loss, and more cautious participants in the CCTc tended to make riskier decisions. Conclusion: Results pointed to differential consequences of sleep deprivation depending on the habitual way to respond during decision-making involving deliberative reasoning processes. Results were interpreted according to a putative interaction between sleep loss effect and individual difference factors

Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is the most common motor neuron disease in adults and primarily targets upper and lower motor neurons. The progression of the disease is mostly mediated by altered intercellular communication in the spinal cord between neurons and glial cells. One of the possible ways by which intercellular communication occurs is through extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are responsible for the horizontal transfer of proteins and RNAs to recipient cells. EVs are nanoparticles released by the plasma membrane and this review will describe all evidence connecting ALS, intercellular miscommunication and EVs. We mainly focus on mutant proteins causing ALS and their accumulation in EVs, along with the propensity of mutant proteins to misfold and propagate through EVs in prion-like behavior. EVs are a promising source of biomarkers and the state of the art in ALS will be discussed along with the gaps and challenges still present in this blooming field of investigation

Is GN-z11 powered by a super-Eddington massive black hole?

Observations of z∼6 quasars powered by super-massive black holes (SMBHs, MBH∼108−10M⊙) challenge our current understanding of early black hole formation and evolution. The advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has enabled the study of massive black holes (MBHs, MBH∼106−7 M⊙) up to z∼11, thus bridging the properties of z∼6 quasars to their ancestors. JWST spectroscopic observations of GN-z11, a well-known z=10.6 star forming galaxy, have been interpreted with the presence of a super-Eddington (Eddington ratio ≡λEdd∼5.5) accreting MBH. To test this hypothesis we use a zoom-in cosmological simulation of galaxy formation and BH co-evolution. We first test the simulation results against the observed probability distribution function (PDF) of λEdd found in z∼6 quasars. Then, we select in the simulation those BHs that satisfy the following criteria: (a) 10106 M⊙. Finally we apply the Extreme Value Statistics to the PDF of λEdd resulting from the simulation and find that the probability of observing a z∼10−11 MBH, accreting with λEdd∼5.5, in the volume surveyed by JWST, is very low (<0.5%). We compare our predictions with those in the literature and further discuss the main limitations of our work. Our simulation cannot explain the JWST observations of GN-z11. This might be due to (i) missing physics in simulations, or (ii) uncertainties in the data analysis