Critical current and topology of the supercooled vortex state in NbSe2

We study the behavior of the critical current, Ic(H,T), of pure and Fe doped NbSe2 crystals in the denominated disordered vortex region, limited by the critical field Hc2(T) and the field Hp(T) at which the peak effect in Ic(H,T) is detected. The critical current follows an individual pinning response as demonstrated by its field independent universal function of the superfluid density. Transport measurements combined with Bitter decorations show no evidence of the existence of an amorphous phase in the high temperature region.Comment: 7 pages, figures included. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

A letter by the Editor-in-chief

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From practical geometry to the laboratory method. The search for an alternative to Euclid in the history of teaching geometry

This paper wants to show how practical geometry, created to give a concrete help to people involved in trade, in land-surveying and even in astronomy, underwent a transformation that underlined its didactical value and turned it first into a way of teaching via problem solving, and then into an experimental-intuitive teaching that could be an alternative to the deductive-rational teaching of geometry. This evolution will be highlighted using textbooks that proposed alternative presentations of geometry

The new market challenges and the strategies of the wine companies

In my new role as editor-in-chief of WEP Journal, I would like to share with you a brief summary of the experience of these early years. In this editorial, I will focus on certain significant data and highlight several topics that, more than others, have inspired the authors of the published papers, since they reflect the major concerns of the wine industry in this period

Experimental building techniques in the 1930’s: the “Pater” system in the Ex- Circolo Skanderbeg of Tirana

The subject of this study concerns the constructive experimentation developed in Italy and in its areas of influence around the '30s, in a period of autarchic economy. We investigate some techniques, many of which still poorly understood, applied in buildings for housing, industry and the provisional architecture, which included the use of wood as the main construction material, often in collaboration with the concrete. The case of study is the ex-Circolo Italo-Albanese Skanderbeg (now Theatre Kombetar), a building constructed in the period of the Italian protectorate in Tirana. The building was commissioned in 1938 at the company Pater Costruzioni Edili Speciali of Milano. For its economic and fast realization was applied an experimental construction system, which used different materials: concrete, wood and an innovative material, product in prefabricated slabs, called Populit. This was a lightweight material consisting of cement and scraps of wood, produced by SAFFA. The vertical structure consists of a load-bearing skeleton in weakly reinforced concrete. A double plugging inside and outside made in Populit panels collaborated with the structure, as it was used as formwork. This structural system is similar to the platform frame system for the use of prefabricated elements of wood, but the use of enclosing structure collaborating seems to anticipate the latest 'panels' systems. In addition to the technical aspects of the building’s realization, analyzed through some critical re-designs, this study intends to address the issue of the formal and spatial implications arising from the use of new building techniques. This study, developed in a Laboratory of Thesis in the Faculty of Architecture of Bari, wants to contribute to the knowledge of this yet existing building, which we believe be enhanced and restored, for its important role in the urban context, and its historical and documentary value

Sustainability and Well-Being: The Perception of Younger Generations and Their Expectations

The paper aims at analyzing the level of knowledge and the perception of the concepts of sustainability and well-being of high school students in Tuscany. It is an explorative study carried out during specific events held in high schools with the support of the teachers; during the events, students were asked to fill a questionnaire designed to elicit their relation with these topics as well as the level of involvement of their families. The results provide an interesting starting point for a debate about what the expectations of younger generations are and what we can do to match them. The debate moves from the assessment of the importance of sustainability and well-being indicators and the relevance of perceived threats. Moreover, the results put the role of institutions (and in particular that of public schools) under scrutiny to develop the level of awareness and to promote knowledge transfer