The symbolic power of the state: inheritance disputes and litigants' judicial trajectories in Cotonou

peer reviewedOver the last 10 years, scholars have started to focus on African states’ bureaucracies by investigating public servants’ relationships with the state, their professional ethos, how they appropriate reforms, and the way they interact with citizens. With inheritance disputes as a focal point, this article highlights the users’ perspective—which is often overlooked—and asks how litigants in Cotonou (Benin) see the state, appropriate legal reforms, and use the courts. It shows that citizens, despite a general sense that the court system is corrupt and ineffective, continue to use it because state institutions convey a form of authority that allows them either to legitimize or challenge family decisions in inheritance matters

Machine and Deep Learning Applications for Inventory Replenishment Optimization

openInventory replenishment is the process of obtaining the items, components, and raw materials required to make and sell products. It guarantees that items and resources are acquired and delivered in an efficient and timely manner. Poorly managed inventory replenishment can have a severe influence on customers and the overall health of a business, which may result in lost revenue, reduced profits and damaged reputation. Implementing the correct inventory replenishment helps manufacturers and sellers in avoiding major issues such as stock-outs, delayed deliveries and overstocking. Accuracy of forecasting is therefore crucial to retailers' profitability. Fashion businesses need precise and accurate sales forecasting tools to prevent stock-outs and maintain a high inventory fill rate. This thesis navigates the complex landscape of fashion retail forecasting, addressing the challenges posed by intermittent time series data and stock management. Advanced forecasting models have been implemented to account for the intermittent nature of fashion product demand, resulting in predictions more accurate and reliable.The study extends also to stock replenishment strategies, emphasizing the importance of the reorder point, the Cycle Service Level and the safety stock. Lastly, it culminates in the development of a replenishment algorithm aimed at reducing stock-outs, which is a modified version of the Periodic Review Policy: Order-Up-To-Level, now tailored to the sporadic nature of intermittent demand.Inventory replenishment is the process of obtaining the items, components, and raw materials required to make and sell products. It guarantees that items and resources are acquired and delivered in an efficient and timely manner. Poorly managed inventory replenishment can have a severe influence on customers and the overall health of a business, which may result in lost revenue, reduced profits and damaged reputation. Implementing the correct inventory replenishment helps manufacturers and sellers in avoiding major issues such as stock-outs, delayed deliveries and overstocking. Accuracy of forecasting is therefore crucial to retailers' profitability. Fashion businesses need precise and accurate sales forecasting tools to prevent stock-outs and maintain a high inventory fill rate. This thesis navigates the complex landscape of fashion retail forecasting, addressing the challenges posed by intermittent time series data and stock management. Advanced forecasting models have been implemented to account for the intermittent nature of fashion product demand, resulting in predictions more accurate and reliable.The study extends also to stock replenishment strategies, emphasizing the importance of the reorder point, the Cycle Service Level and the safety stock. Lastly, it culminates in the development of a replenishment algorithm aimed at reducing stock-outs, which is a modified version of the Periodic Review Policy: Order-Up-To-Level, now tailored to the sporadic nature of intermittent demand

Search for a Josephson-like effect in the 116Sn + 60Ni system

openThe pairing interaction, responsible for the two-nucleon correlation, plays a fundamental role in defining the low-energy spectra of atomic nuclei and the properties of their ground state. The effect of pairing correlations in the reaction dynamics can be explored by using heavy-ion reactions, in particular those involving a transfer of few nucleons. In this context, an interesting analogy between the nuclear pairing and the Cooper pairing in superconductors can be investigated through heavy-ion collisions, focusing on nucleon-pair transfer and searching for a possible effect, predicted by a BCS-like theory applied to nuclei: the Josephson Effect. The idea was already suggested in the ’70s, but only recently more quantitative calculations, assisted by promising experimental results, revived the interest on the subject and ignited a more systematic research. The transfer of neutron Cooper pairs was therefore studied through the interaction between two superfluid nuclei, 116Sn and 60Ni, using the Advances Gamma-Ray Tracking Spectrometer AGATA and the large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at Legnaro National Laboratorries, INFN. The work presented in this Master Thesis includes the analysis of the data obtained from the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and preliminary results for the γ-ray spectra from the AGATA array.The pairing interaction, responsible for the two-nucleon correlation, plays a fundamental role in defining the low-energy spectra of atomic nuclei and the properties of their ground state. The effect of pairing correlations in the reaction dynamics can be explored by using heavy-ion reactions, in particular those involving a transfer of few nucleons. In this context, an interesting analogy between the nuclear pairing and the Cooper pairing in superconductors can be investigated through heavy-ion collisions, focusing on nucleon-pair transfer and searching for a possible effect, predicted by a BCS-like theory applied to nuclei: the Josephson Effect. The idea was already suggested in the ’70s, but only recently more quantitative calculations, assisted by promising experimental results, revived the interest on the subject and ignited a more systematic research. The transfer of neutron Cooper pairs was therefore studied through the interaction between two superfluid nuclei, 116Sn and 60Ni, using the Advances Gamma-Ray Tracking Spectrometer AGATA and the large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer PRISMA at Legnaro National Laboratorries, INFN. The work presented in this Master Thesis includes the analysis of the data obtained from the PRISMA magnetic spectrometer and preliminary results for the γ-ray spectra from the AGATA array

A Comparison of Speech Amplification Devices for Individuals with Parkinson\u27s Disease and Hypophonia

One of the most prevalent speech impairments in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) is hypophonia, a reduction in intensity, which typically decreases intelligibility. Speech amplification devices are a potential solution; however, despite the availability of a broad range of devices, no previous studies systematically compare their efficacy in PD. This study examined the effects of speech task (Sentence Intelligibility Test versus conversation), background noise (no noise versus 65 dB SPL multi-talker noise), and selected devices (ADDvox, BoomVox, ChatterVox, Oticon, SoniVox, Spokeman, and Voicette) for 11 PD and 10 control participants, using outcome measures of speech intensity, speech-to-noise ratio, intelligibility, sound quality, and speakers’ experience. There were significant differences between the outcome measures for different device types, but experience scores did not always predict effectiveness according to the device hierarchy for the outcome measures. Future research is needed to determine performance and preference measures that will predict long-term device acceptance in PD

Editorial: Terrestrial Ecosystem Nitrogen Fluxes via the Atmosphere-Land System

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ruolo prognostico e predittivo del Body Mass Index nel tumore della mammella avanzato

L\u2019obesit\ue0 costituisce un noto fattore di rischio per lo sviluppo di carcinoma mammario e un fattore prognostico sfavorevole nella malattia precoce. Il nostro studio ha valutato il ruolo del Body Mass Index (BMI) in una serie di 400 pazienti affette da carcinoma mammario avanzato (ABC). Il sovrappeso non \ue8 risultato associato all\u2019Overall Survival e non sembra costituire un fattore prognostico sfavorevole nelle pazienti con ABC. Il sovrappeso \ue8 associato a migliore Progression Free Survival nelle pazienti con ABC endocrino responsivo trattate con terapia ormonal

In vitro culture from mature seeds of Passiflora species

The genus Passiflora comprises hundred species, mainly native of the South American tropics and rainforests, which are grouped into 21 subgenera. Some species are widely studied for their economic importance and are chiefly cultivated for production of fruit juice. To obtain a continuous source of material for a screening of secondary metabolites, zygotic embryo culture was attempted for 62 Passiflora species, starting from seeds mainly collected in the wild. Twenty nine of these species produced calli, which had very different growth rates. Plants were successfully regenerated from calli of 13 different species. For 25 of the responsive species this is the first report of in vitro culture