Inter-Organizational Learning and Collective Memory in Small Firms Clusters: an Agent-Based Approach

Literature about Industrial Districts has largely emphasized the importance of both economic and social factors in determining the competitiveness of these particular firms\' clusters. For thirty years, the Industrial District productive and organizational model represented an alternative to the integrated model of fordist enterprise. Nowadays, the district model suffers from competitive gaps, largely due to the increase of competitive pressure of globalization. This work aims to analyze, through an agent-based simulation model, the influence of informal socio-cognitive coordination mechanisms on district\'s performances, in relation to different competitive scenarios. The agent-based simulation approach is particularly fit for this purpose as it is able to represent the Industrial District\'s complexity. Furthermore, it permits to develop dynamic analysis of district\'s performances according to different types of environment evolution. The results of this work question the widespread opinion that cooperative districts can answer to environmental changes more effectively that non-cooperative ones. In fact, the results of simulations show that, in the presence of turbulent scenarios, the best performer districts are those in which cooperation and competition, trust and opportunism balance out.Firm Networks, Collective Memory, Agent Based Models, Uncertainty

Eplerenone for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy

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Endocannabinoid-related compounds in gastrointestinal diseases

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is an endogenous signalling pathway involved in the control of several gastrointestinal (GI) functions at both peripheral and central levels. In recent years, it has become apparent that the ECS is pivotal in the regulation of GI motility, secretion and sensitivity, but endocannabinoids (ECs) are also involved in the regulation of intestinal inflammation and mucosal barrier permeability, suggesting their role in the pathophysiology of both functional and organic GI disorders. Genetic studies in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease have indeed shown significant associations with polymorphisms or mutation in genes encoding for cannabinoid receptor or enzyme responsible for their catabolism, respectively. Furthermore, ongoing clinical trials are testing EC agonists/antagonists in the achievement of symptomatic relief from a number of GI symptoms. Despite this evidence, there is a lack of supportive RCTs and relevant data in human beings, and hence, the possible therapeutic application of these compounds is raising ethical, political and economic concerns. More recently, the identification of several EC-like compounds able to modulate ECS function without the typical central side effects of cannabinomimetics has paved the way for emerging peripherally acting drugs. This review summarizes the possible mechanisms linking the ECS to GI disorders and describes the most recent advances in the manipulation of the ECS in the treatment of GI diseases

Stu­dio e programmazione di un sistema di ac­quisizione e control­lo per gallerie del vento

Il seguente elaborato si colloca all'interno dello studio del moto turbolento, in cui è specializzato il laboratorio CICLoPE (Center for International Cooperation in Long Pipe Experiments). Il principale obiettivo è stato creare un programma in grado di misurare la pressione e di controllarne l'acquisizione tramite l'utilizzo di una particolare strumentazione che consentisse di ottenere risultati affetti da incertezze di entità sempre minore. Questa necessità è dovuta al forte legame che ha la caduta di pressione, lungo un condotto, con le grandezze caratteristiche della turbolenza, quali velocità ed attrito, per esempio. Gli strumenti utilizzati finora presentavano errori variabili per ogni punto lungo il pipe, riconducendo il tutto ad un'alta inesattezza nella misurazione della pressione. E' stato dunque necessario sviluppare un programma da adattare ad un nuovo sistema di acquisizione, che comprendesse anche la movimentazione di un connettore circolare (Scanivalve). In questo modo è possibile ottenere dei valori di pressione viziati da un'imprecisione minore ma, soprattutto, costante. Una volta implementato lo schema base del programma sul software LabVIEW sono state individuate diverse ipotesi per effettuare l'acquisizione e per imprimere la rotazione alla Scanivalve. Sono state, quindi, specificate le modalità che potrebbero essere utilizzate al centro CICLoPE per testare il programma in maniera sperimentale. Altre modalità sono state descritte per casi più generali, in modo da poter adattare lo schema in base alle necessità ed alla strumentazione del singolo caso

Computational analysis of cooling dynamics in photonic-crystal-based thermal switches

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Resistant Hypertension in Nondialysis Chronic Kidney Disease

Resistant hypertension (RH) is defined as blood pressure (BP) that remains above the target of less than 140/90 mmHg in the general population and 130/80 mmHg in people with diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease (CKD) in spite of the use of at least three full-dose antihypertensive drugs including a diuretic or as BP that reaches the target by means of four or more drugs. In CKD, RH is a common condition due to a combination of factors including sodium retention, increased activity of the renin-angiotensin system, and enhanced activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Before defining the hypertensive patient as resistant it is mandatory to exclude the so-called “pseudoresistance.” This condition, which refers to the apparent failure to reach BP target in spite of an appropriate antihypertensive treatment, is mainly caused by white coat hypertension that is prevalent (30%) in CKD patients. Recently we have demonstrated that “true” RH represents an independent risk factor for renal and cardiovascular outcomes in CKD patients

energy refurbishment of a university building in cold italian backcountry part 1 audit and calibration of the numerical model

Abstract The study provides a methodological approach for designing energy refurbishment measures of buildings, enabling to understand the uncertainty of using numerical modelling and the real impacts due of adopting some energy efficiency technologies. The case study is a University building of the centre of Italy, and the reference scenario has been supported by various in-situ surveys, investigations and evaluations of the indoor comfort. Collected data, together with a comparison with energy bills, has allowed a proper calibration of a numerical model simulated by means EnergyPlus. All this phase is described in this paper, while a second part will discuss the energy retrofit and the building energy optimization