L’effetto della pressione e della temperatura sul (dis)comfort percepito nella human artefact interaction

2015 - 2016The aim of this PhD work is to provide indications on comfort in the case of the Man-Machine interface and to guarantee all the tools for evaluating them. In order to analyze comfort, it was necessary to carry out a bibliographic survey on ergonomics and subsequently on comfort, identifying the shortcomings and all the aspects not considered. After these studies, a model of comfort perception was created that summarizes the concept that comfort and discomfort are the measure of the degree of appreciation linked to expectations and to the interaction between the person and the environment. Since comfort and discomfort related to the sitting are widely studied in the automotive field, the model of comfort perception has been applied to this case, identifying all the elements of the model that participate in the comfort / discomfort experiences. The expectation factor was also analyzed, in order to understand the mechanism of the influence of the expectation on general comfort; to prove it, an experimental test was carried out using the "placebo" effect. In the final phase of the discussion, attention was focused on two aspects that influence comfort in the Man-Object interaction, that is, the temperature and the pressure distribution at the interface. For both factors (temperature and pressure) we started from a deep bibliographic research in order to identify the most significant variables, extrapolated from pressure distributions and the temperature of the skin to the body-object interface, which must be considered when wants to evaluate how pressure and temperature at the interface affect perceived comfort. Subsequently, through case studies it was possible to verify all the significant correlations that these variables have with the level of perceived comfort by the subjects who participated in the tests. [edited by author]XV n.s. (XXIX ciclo

Il Regolamento europeo privacy: una svolta storica, ma siamo pronti?

In the article a summary of the most important and interesting novelties, starting from the assumption that the proposal of GDPR proposes a model of organization, management and control of privacy, and no longer a mere static and formalistic fulfillment. The regulation confirms the big four basic principles which inspire the discipline of privacy in its entirety: necessity principle, the principle of proportionality, the principle of purpose, and the principle of legality, together with the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), a plan for the assessment of impact on the protection of personal data, an absolute novelty contained within the regulation. The new obligations of the regulations allow a consequential strengthening of two fundamental instruments for the protection of the persons concerned, information and consent. The idea of this article is to demonstrate that ones privacy is not a suitable subject to be treated with approximation, and how much the entire privacy system should be handled with awareness to all the management both public and privat

Effects of Cadmium Exposure on Gut Villi in Danio rerio.

In aquatic organisms, cadmium exposure occurs from ovum to death and the route of absorption is particularly wide, being represented by skin, gills and gastrointestinal tract, through which contaminated water and/or preys are ingested. It is known that cadmium interferes with the gut; however, less information is available on cadmium effects on an important component of the gut, namely goblet cells, specialized in mucus synthesis. In the present work, we studied the effects of two sublethal cadmium concentrations on the gut mucosa of Danio rerio. Particular attention was paid to changes in the distribution of glycan residues, and in metallothionein expression in intestinal cells. The results show that cadmium interferes with gut mucosa and goblet cells features. The effects are dose- and site-dependent, the anterior gut being more markedly affected than the midgut. Cadmium modifies the presence and/or distribution of glycans in the brush border and cytoplasm of enterocytes and in the goblet cells’ cytoplasm and alters the metallothionein expression and localization. The results suggest a significant interference of cadmium with mucosal efficiency, representing a health risk for the organism in direct contact with contamination and indirectly for the trophic chain

Comfort Driven Redesign: The Case of Library Chairs

AbstractUniversity students spend most of their time in a sitting position. Prolonged sitting on ill-fitted furniture and the resulting lousy posture is making students having different musculoskeletal disorders and is strictly related to students learning outcomes. This study aims to improve postural comfort of chairs placed inside the Science & Technology Library at the University of Salerno. A previous study about these library chairs showed that the lumbar area was the most suffering part while perceived (dis)comfort was dependent on time. Based on this, an ergonomic redesign and, consequently, manufacturing of the chair has been done. A perceived-comfort comparison between the library chair and the redesigned one has been performed. A statistical sample of 28 healthy students performed a 20-min experiment two times, alternatively on the library chair and the redesigned one. The 20-min experiment was divided into two 10-min tasks ("Reading & Writing" and "Laptop use") to simulate a study day. The participants' postures were acquired non-invasively using cameras and processed by Kinovea; questionnaires were used to rate the perceived subjective (dis)comfort. A procedure for improving an existing product through a comfort-driven redesign is proposed. Results showed the redesigned library chair lead on increasing postural comfort (particularly in the lumbar area) thanks to the new design and modifications

Acute Delta Hepatitis in Italy spanning three decades (1991–2019): Evidence for the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccination campaign

Updated incidence data of acute Delta virus hepatitis (HDV) are lacking worldwide. Our aim was to evaluate incidence of and risk factors for acute HDV in Italy after the introduction of the compulsory vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 1991. Data were obtained from the National Surveillance System of acute viral hepatitis (SEIEVA). Independent predictors of HDV were assessed by logistic-regression analysis. The incidence of acute HDV per 1-million population declined from 3.2 cases in 1987 to 0.04 in 2019, parallel to that of acute HBV per 100,000 from 10.0 to 0.39 cases during the same period. The median age of cases increased from 27 years in the decade 1991-1999 to 44 years in the decade 2010-2019 (p < .001). Over the same period, the male/female ratio decreased from 3.8 to 2.1, the proportion of coinfections increased from 55% to 75% (p = .003) and that of HBsAg positive acute hepatitis tested for by IgM anti-HDV linearly decreased from 50.1% to 34.1% (p < .001). People born abroad accounted for 24.6% of cases in 2004-2010 and 32.1% in 2011-2019. In the period 2010-2019, risky sexual behaviour (O.R. 4.2; 95%CI: 1.4-12.8) was the sole independent predictor of acute HDV; conversely intravenous drug use was no longer associated (O.R. 1.25; 95%CI: 0.15-10.22) with this. In conclusion, HBV vaccination was an effective measure to control acute HDV. Intravenous drug use is no longer an efficient mode of HDV spread. Testing for IgM-anti HDV is a grey area requiring alert. Acute HDV in foreigners should be monitored in the years to come

Ebook e dati della lettura

L’occasione del ventennale del Centro Bibliotecario dell’Università degli studi di Salerno è stato lo spunto per riflettere su due temi importanti: la lettura in Italia e nel mezzogiorno e la rivoluzione annunciata e non del tutto compiuta dell’ebook. La riflessione sui dati della lettura restituisce un quadro che può definirsi deprimente rilevando segnali di una vera e propria emergenza sociale, formativa e culturale. La riflessione sulla progressiva e incruenta evoluzione degli ebook mette in luce più di un ostacolo alla piena concretizzazione

Shed Light on the Path of Human-Machine Interaction in Autonomous Vehicles: Where Did We Come from, Where We Are Going? Part I, State of the Art

As vehicles have become more complicated, Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) is becoming crucial. Nowadays, HMI is a substantial element in autonomous vehicles (AVs). Numerous studies are lately being published regarding significant parameters of AVs which can affect HMI. Hence, it is imperative to have a comprehensive prospect, to improve people’s acceptance of AVs. In AVs, the driver’s role will change to a passenger, however, it can be switched in some special situations. This work is divided in two parts: the first study has mapped from 299 papers in this area and found the most impressive concerns of people in using AVs. Regarding the researchers’ expertise and aim(s), each study has investigated the interactions between human and vehicle from a specific facet. In general, it can be claimed that a dramatic shift from physical parameters to psycho-emotional ones can be observed in recent years. The results showed that trust and comfort are ranked first and second in the reviewed articles, respectively. The second part is dedicated to the explanation of methodology, the synthesis of findings and the perspectives about the future scenarios. Finally, a novel model named 3p is proposed which includes personal, psycho-emotional, and physical parameters, and states the current trend of momentous features affecting HMI in AVs

Comfort seat design: Thermal sensitivity of human back and buttock

In recent years, comfort seat design has received widespread attention from researchers. One of the factors that could contribute to comfort is the thermal influence due to the interaction between the human and the seating surface, for which literature is limited. In this paper, a laboratory experimental setup was used to detect and analyse the temperature changes at interface between seated subjects and a sensorized automotive seat. Acquired temperatures were processed in order to identify a mathematical model for describing the temperature changes at the interface. The main target of the study was the identification of the most sensitive areas of the human body to temperature variation while seated and its effect on local and overall perceived thermal comfort. Statistical analysis showed that the effects of temperature were most perceived in the “Upper Body” (UB) and less in the “Lower Body” (LB). The shoulders, the sides of the back, the back and the buttocks were most sensitive to temperature changes at the interface. Differences have been highlighted also between male and female subjects. Relevance to industry: The identification of the most sensitive areas of the human body to temperature variation, while seated, and the identification of the logarithmic model for describing the temperature changes should allow seat designers to define targets and strategies in developing cooling and heating systems for car seats, taking into account, in a preventive evaluation, the most probable perceived thermal comfort