Political institutions and central bank independence revisited

We build on earlier studies regarding Central Bank independence (CBI) by relating it to political, institutional and economic variables. The data suggest that CBI is positively related to the presence of federalism, the features of the electoral system and parties, the correlation between the shocks to the level of economic activity in the countries included in the sample and, for a sub-sample of economies, the convergence criteria to join the European Monetary Union (EMU).ICentral Bank independence; institutional systems; variable selection

Static and dynamical properties of frustrated spin models

This thesis is devoted to the numerical investigation of quantum spin models which describe the low-energy physics of frustrated magnets. At extremely low temperatures, these systems can host the so-called spin liquid phase, an unconventional state of matter characterized by a high degree of quantum entanglement and the absence of magnetic order. The experimental identification of the spin liquid phase in actual materials relies on the detection of its distinctive excitations (named spinons), which possess fractional quantum numbers and can be probed by inelastic neutron scattering experiments. From the theoretical point of view, variational methods have been largely employed to tackle ground state properties of frustrated spin models. In particular, variational Monte Carlo techniques based on Gutzwiller-projected fermionic wave functions have been shown to provide accurate results for several frustrated systems. In this thesis, we pursue an extension of this variational scheme to target dynamical spectra, which are directly measured by inelastic neutron scattering experiments. Specifically, we compute the dynamical structure factor by constructing approximate excited states, which are obtained by applying two-spinon operators to the ground state wave function. Our results prove that this variational method can accurately describe the spectral features of different spin systems. Focusing on prototypical frustrated models on the square and triangular lattices, we observe how the dynamical structure factor reflects the phase transition between a magnetically ordered phase with spin wave excitations, to a spin liquid state with fractional degrees of freedom. In addition to spectral properties, we also explore new directions to improve the accuracy of Gutzwiller-projected states by the application of a neural network correlator, in the form of a restricted Boltzmann machine. While this hybrid variational scheme provides a considerable improvement of the variational energy in the case of unfrustrated spin models, less satisfactory results are obtained for frustrated systems, which call for further refinements of the neural network variational Ansätze

Functionalized biodegradable electrospun scaffolds and nanoengineered particles as innovative tools for vascular medicine

In the Western World, atherosclerosis-related diseases, including coronary and peripheral arterial pathologies, are one of the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. In some cases, in order to restore the blood flow, preserving all the functions of the downstream tissue, is necessary to introduce an arterial bypass or substitute in the patient. If autologous veins or artery are not available for different reasons (previous harvest, anatomical defects and anomalies, disease progression, other vascular problems etc.), artificial vascular constructs are required

A Quick Method for the Texture Mapping of Meshes Acquired by Laser Scanner

The methodology described in this article was developed in connection with two different projects and entails texture mapping by time-of-flight laser scanner. In order to verify its operational effectiveness and applicability to other contexts, sites with extremely different morphological characteristics were studied. The basic rationale of this simple method derives from the need to obtain different types of mapping – including RGB real colour images, infra-red images, false colour images from georadar scans, etc. – from the same scanned surface. To resolve this problem, we felt that the most appropriate step was to obtain a UVW mapping based on the high resolution real colour images and then use the samecoordinates to rapidly map the false colour images as well. Thus we fitted a device to the camera to determine its trajectory (similar to a gunsight); when scanned by the laser scanner in the same context as the monument, it makes it possible to know the exact coordinates of the viewpoint

The relationship between corruption and chronic diseases: evidence from Europeans aged 50 years and older

Objectives: Do people living in more corrupted countries report worse health? We answer this question by investigating the relationship between country-level corruption and the number of chronic diseases for a sample of Europeans aged above 50. Methods: We link a rich panel dataset on individual health and socio-demographic characteristics with two country-level corruption indices, analyse the overall relationship with pooled ordinary least squares and fixed-effect models, explore heterogeneous effects driven by country and individual factors, and disentangle the effect across different public sectors. Results: Individuals living in more corrupted countries suffer from a higher number of chronic diseases. The heterogeneity analysis shows that (1) health outcomes are worsened especially for respondents living in relatively low-income countries; (2) the health of females and people with poor socio-economic status is more affected by corruption; (3) the corruption-health negative link mainly occurs for cardiovascular diseases and ulcers; (4) only corrupted sectors linked with healthcare are associated with poorer health. Conclusions: We inform the policy debate with novel results in establishing a nexus between corruption and morbidity indicators

Thermo – Photo – Voltaic Generator Development☆

Abstract The growing demand of energy coupled with an increasing attention to the environmental impact have forced, in the last decades, toward the study and the development of new strategies in order to reduce primary energy consumptions. The cogeneration (CHP) and the on-site generation (also known as distributed generation) could be the key strategy to achieve this goal; CHP systems allow to reduce the fuel consumption and pollutant emissions (in particular the greenhouse gases) compared to separate generation; moreover on-site-generation contributes to the reduction of the energy which is lost in electricity transmission, and increases the security in the energy supply. In this scenario the Thermo–Photo–Voltaic generation (TPV) is obtaining an increasing attention; TPV is a system to convert into electrical energy the radiation emitted from an artificial heat source (i.e. the combustion of fuel) by the use of photovoltaic cells. A domestic gas furnace based on this technology can provide the entire thermal need of an apartment and can also contributes to satisfy the electrical demand. In this paper, the main research activities on thermophotovoltaic generation developed in the last years at Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (IMEM) of Italian National Research Council (CNR), of will be presented and discussed

The relationship between corruption and chronic diseases: evidence from Europeans aged 50 years and older

Objectives: Do people living in more corrupted countries report worse health? We answer this question by investigating the relationship between country-level corruption and the number of chronic diseases for a sample of Europeans aged above 50. Methods: We link a rich panel dataset on individual health and socio-demographic characteristics with two country-level corruption indices, analyse the overall relationship with pooled ordinary least squares and fixed-effect models, explore heterogeneous effects driven by country and individual factors, and disentangle the effect across different public sectors. Results: Individuals living in more corrupted countries suffer from a higher number of chronic diseases. The heterogeneity analysis shows that (1) health outcomes are worsened especially for respondents living in relatively low-income countries; (2) the health of females and people with poor socio-economic status is more affected by corruption; (3) the corruption-health negative link mainly occurs for cardiovascular diseases and ulcers; (4) only corrupted sectors linked with healthcare are associated with poorer health. Conclusions: We inform the policy debate with novel results in establishing a nexus between corruption and morbidity indicators

Kohn Anomalies and Electron-Phonon Interaction in Graphite

We demonstrate that graphite phonon dispersions have two Kohn anomalies at the Gamma-E_2g and K-A'1 modes. The anomalies are revealed by two sharp kinks. By an exact analytic derivation, we show that the slope of these kinks is proportional to the square of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC). Thus, we can directly measure the EPC from the experimental dispersions. The Gamma-E_2g and K-A'1 EPCs are particularly large, whilst they are negligible for all the other modes at Gamma and K.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

VIDEOS AUTOEXPLICATIVOS PARA EL MUSEO EGIPCIO DE TURÍN

[EN] In the present project for the setting of the new Museo Egizio of Turin the “cultural message” has been charged to make a few specific 3D computer graphic (CG) movies, and aims to introduce the topics dealt with the rooms dedicated to queen Nefertari, the chapel of the painter Maia and the tomb of Kha, respectively. In these movies, the passivity of viewing is counteracted with an emotional approach that involves the visitor within an informative path where, despite of the inactive kind of interaction, the viewer is somehow involved in the events because he or she is emotionally invested in them. Thanks to this passive and “self-explaining” approach, the visitor will be enabled to understand the relations between different objects, some of which are not directly visible. Moreover, the visitor will be able to virtually insert the tombs within their original context and above all will have the possibility to visit them as they appeared at the moment of their discovery. This has been made possible thanks the use of integrated technologies of representation, able to enhance the virtualization process to a verisimilar level allowing a hyper-realistic and “participative” vision. The high level of realism of the virtual reconstruction, the visual effects and the cinematographic representation, with added emotions to the scientific contents, positively contribute to the “dreamlike displacement” of the visitor between the real and the virtual dimensions.[ES] En este proyecto para la construcción del nuevo Museo Egipcio de Turín el mensaje cultural fue dado a tres películas específicas en gráficos 3D, destinados a la introducción de los temas tratados en las salas dedicadas a la reina Nefertari, la capilla del pintor Maia y la tumba de Kha. En estas películas, la pasividad de la visión se ve compensado por un enfoque emocional que implica el visitante en un trayecto de información en el que, a pesar de la falta de actividad de disfrute, él es en realidad participante, porque emocionalmente involucrado. Gracias a este método, pasivo y “autoexplicativa” el visitante puede comprender las relaciones entre diferentes objetos, algunos no directamente visibles, como la momia de Kha y su esposa Merit, a ser posible reconstruir las tumbas en su contexto original, pero sobre todo la posibilidad de visitar, gracias a las técnicas de la arqueología virtuales, tales contextos como aparecieron en el momento de su descubrimiento. Todo esto es posible gracias a la utilización de tecnologías integradas para el estudio y la representación, capaz de llevar el proceso de virtualización a un grado de verosimilitud hiperrealista y “participativa”. El alto grado de realismo de las reconstrucciones virtuales, efectos visuales y técnicas de representación cinematográfica, añadiendo emoción al contenido científico, contribuyen positivamente a la “pérdida” del visitante entre el real y el tamaño dimensión virtual.Gabellone, F.; Ferrari, I.; Giuri, F.; Chiffi, M. (2016). SELF-EXPLAINING VIDEOS FOR THE MUSEO EGIZIO IN TURIN. En 8th International congress on archaeology, computer graphics, cultural heritage and innovation. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 132-137. https://doi.org/10.4995/arqueologica8.2016.3550OCS13213