Modeling of water droplets response in a time- and space-dependent light-induced electric field

openIt has been observed that droplets under electric fields change shape and this phenomenon plays an important role in tailoring the droplet size. This aspect is one of primary importance, allowing the droplet to become a resonator cavity for the light therein coupled. Light amplification as well as fluorescence enhancement induced by efficient light confinement in a droplet have attracted great attention in medical and biological applications, where luminescent molecules are often attached to the biounit under investigation for sorting, targeting and dynamical responses investigations. Bio activity, as well as efficiencies in medical treatments, require online monitoring and are eager to find systems in which it is possible to isolate the bio unit to be investigated and measure its response. Microfluidics has been addressed as a perfect tool for handling small quantities of bio units at a time but requires the implementation of a suitable physical tool to probe and analyze the physical response. The crucial factor is the synergic combination of the functionalities of integrated optics with microfluidics: this is achieved integrating on the same lithium niobate (LN) substrate a microfluidic stage and an optical one, i. e., an array of waveguides in Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) configuration. Such a device is able to illuminate and detect the transmitted light of droplets, measuring their speed, refractive index and size. This thesis is focusing on a new theoretical modeling oriented to the phenomenology of the response of microfluidic water droplets to a time-varying, spatially non-uniform electric field, identifying the key parameters that control the droplet deformation. The photoinduced electric field acts in the microchannel of the platform by exploiting the photo-inducing properties of lithium niobate, a widely employed material in the photonic and integrated optics industry thanks to its excellent properties. In addition to the electrohydrodynamic problem, this thesis proposes a novel approach to describe an observed novel interaction between the electric field and the water droplets. The research is relying on a wide-ranging scientific project that has already developed several new methods of real-time detection and monitoring of micro and sub-micrometric objects dispersed in fluid media.It has been observed that droplets under electric fields change shape and this phenomenon plays an important role in tailoring the droplet size. This aspect is one of primary importance, allowing the droplet to become a resonator cavity for the light therein coupled. Light amplification as well as fluorescence enhancement induced by efficient light confinement in a droplet have attracted great attention in medical and biological applications, where luminescent molecules are often attached to the biounit under investigation for sorting, targeting and dynamical responses investigations. Bio activity, as well as efficiencies in medical treatments, require online monitoring and are eager to find systems in which it is possible to isolate the bio unit to be investigated and measure its response. Microfluidics has been addressed as a perfect tool for handling small quantities of bio units at a time but requires the implementation of a suitable physical tool to probe and analyze the physical response. The crucial factor is the synergic combination of the functionalities of integrated optics with microfluidics: this is achieved integrating on the same lithium niobate (LN) substrate a microfluidic stage and an optical one, i. e., an array of waveguides in Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) configuration. Such a device is able to illuminate and detect the transmitted light of droplets, measuring their speed, refractive index and size. This thesis is focusing on a new theoretical modeling oriented to the phenomenology of the response of microfluidic water droplets to a time-varying, spatially non-uniform electric field, identifying the key parameters that control the droplet deformation. The photoinduced electric field acts in the microchannel of the platform by exploiting the photo-inducing properties of lithium niobate, a widely employed material in the photonic and integrated optics industry thanks to its excellent properties. In addition to the electrohydrodynamic problem, this thesis proposes a novel approach to describe an observed novel interaction between the electric field and the water droplets. The research is relying on a wide-ranging scientific project that has already developed several new methods of real-time detection and monitoring of micro and sub-micrometric objects dispersed in fluid media

Polymerization process and Brownian yet non Gaussian diffusion

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Is Vivaldi smooth and takete? Non-verbal sensory scales for describing music qualities

Studies on the perception of music qualities (such as induced or perceived emotions, performance styles, or timbre nuances) make a large use of verbal descriptors. Although many authors noted that particular music qualities can hardly be described by means of verbal labels, few studies have tried alternatives. This paper aims at exploring the use of non-verbal sensory scales, in order to represent different perceived qualities in Western classical music. Musically trained and untrained listeners were required to listen to six musical excerpts in major key and to evaluate them from a sensorial and semantic point of view (Experiment 1). The same design (Experiment 2) was conducted using musically trained and untrained listeners who were required to listen to six musical excerpts in minor key. The overall findings indicate that subjects\u2019 ratings on non-verbal sensory scales are consistent throughout and the results support the hypothesis that sensory scales can convey some specific sensations that cannot be described verbally, offering interesting insights to deepen our knowledge on the relationship between music and other sensorial experiences. Such research can foster interesting applications in the field of music information retrieval and timbre spaces explorations together with experiments applied to different musical cultures and contexts

Sowing the Seeds of is Cultivation in Public Service Organisations

This paper aims to highlight the relevance of a cultivation approach with the goal of exploring the concrete implications it may have for public administrations (PA) involved in projects of organisational change. We suggest that adopting an approach to change that reflects the cultivation perspective is an unavoidable choice for PA, much more so than it is for the corporate world. The claim is that public-sector organisations design and implement organisational solutions that find it hard to move away from the ‘maintenance’ logic of legacy systems. Compared with the rational perspective, which is geared entirely to establishing optimal relations between means and ends, the cultivation approach enables us to make valuable advances at the interpretive level. We argue that the value of the processual and incremental perspective can be useful in creating a more realistic and less illusory reconstruction of the relationship between technological change and organisational change. In this paper, we discuss how combining policy studies with ICT social studies can help empower the cultivation logic, originating new tools for analysing and evaluating e-government results

fuchs endothelial and myotonic dystrophies corneal dystrophy in myotonic patients

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Mozart is still blue: a comparison of sensory and verbal scales to describe qualities in music

An experiment was carried out in order to assess the use of non-verbal sensory scales for evaluating perceived music qualities, by comparing them with the analogous verbal scales. Participants were divided into two groups; one group (SV) completed a set of non-verbal scales responses and then a set of verbal scales responses to short musical extracts. A second group (VS) completed the experiment in the reverse order. Our hypothesis was that the ratings of the SV group can provide information unmediated (or less mediated) by verbal association in a much stronger way than the VS group. Factor analysis performed separately on the SV group, the VS group and for all participants shows a recurring patterning of the majority of sensory scales versus the verbal scales into different factors. Such results suggest that the sensory scale items are indicative of a different semantic structure than the verbal scales in describing music, and so they are indexing different qualities (perhaps ineffable), making them potentially special contributors to understanding musical experience

Normality in medicine: an empirical elucidation

Background Normality is both a descriptive and a normative concept. Undoubtedly, the normal often operates normatively as an exclusionary tool of cultural authority. While it has prominently found its way into the field of medicine, it remains rather unclear in what sense it is used. Thus, our study sought to elucidate people's understanding of normality in medicine and to identify concepts that are linked to it. Methods Using convenient sampling, we carried out a cross-sectional survey. Since the survey was advertised through social media, we employed an online survey. We performed descriptive and inferential analyses. Predictors were chosen in a theory-driven manner. Results In total, 323 persons from 21 countries completed the survey. Analysis revealed that the overall acceptance of normality in medicine was associated with notions of injustice, authority, discrimination, and with having a medical profession. More precisely, for the field of mental health, injustice insensitivity, genderism and transphobia, and authority were positively associated with a person's acceptance of normality; and, for the field of physical health, injustice insensitivity and having a medical profession were positively associated with a person's acceptance of normality. Finally, participants' acceptance of the use of normality in the area of mental health was lower than in the area of physical health. Conclusions What is considered normal has implications for clinical practice, both at an individual and at a policy-level. Acknowledging its normalistic condition, the discipline of medicine has to confront itself with its own contribution to the augmentation of social inequalities through the excessive reliance on the concept of normality. Research that centers the lived experiences of those who are being systematically marginalized because they are deemed abnormal is needed. By empirically elucidating the conceptual relationships between normality in medicine and other variables, we provide points of leverage to deprive normality of its normative power. For medicine, this is needed to first do no harm

Event tree analysis and comparison for mountain roads under rockfall hazard

Rockfall is one of the most hazardous and dangerous landslide phenomena, which can significantly affect mountainous roads. To the knowledge of the Authors, limited studies focus on the quantitative risk assessment to pedestrians and vehicles along mountain little traffic roads. A method tailored to these elements at risk is herein presented and applied to a real case. The calculation method is based on the Event-Tree Analysis, through which all the scenarios which can lead to a fatality or injuries are investigated. An application on a study case in the Italian Alps illustrates the potentialities of the methodology