Localisation and characterisation of auditory perception through Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

In the last few years, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) has been widely accepted as an effective tool for mapping brain activities in both the neurosensorial and the cognitive field. The present work aims to assess the possibility of using fMRI methods to perform a non-invasive evaluation of the human auditory function. To this end the cortical response to different non speech stimuli (pure tones, pulsed tones) was examined for ten subjects with no audiological impairment. Our findings point out some remarkable differences in both the spatial and the temporal features of the primary auditory cortex response to pulsed tones and to pure tones.     

Efficacy Beliefs as Determinants of Teachers' Job Satisfaction.

Self- and collective-efficacy beliefs were examined as main determinants of teachers' job satisfaction. In 103 Italian junior high schools, 2,688 teachers filled out self-reports to assess self-efficacy beliefs, their perceptions of the extent to which other school constituencies, namely, the principal, colleagues, staff, students, and families, were behaving in accordance with their obligations toward school well-functioning, their collective-efficacy beliefs, and their job satisfaction. Multilevel structural equation functioning, modeling analyses corroborated a conceptual model in which individual and collective-efficacy beliefs represent, respectively, the distal and proximal determinants of teachers' job satisfaction. The perceptions that teachers have of other constituencies' behavior largely mediated the links between self- and collective-efficacy beliefs. Collective-efficacy beliefs, in turn, partially mediated the influence that teachers' perceptions of other school constituencies' behavior exerts on their own job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Damage Accumulation in Glass Plates

This paper examines the glass cladding damage accumulation caused by wind loading. The primary focus is the effect of the non-Gaussian nature of wind pressure fluctuations. The damage is estimated using the Monte Carlo methodology and Brown’s integral formulation. The pressure time histories are generated by a numerical procedure based on the translation model, which is calibrated on experimental data. The stress field in the glass is calculated using the von Kármán plate model. A sensitivity analysis is performed estimating the damage statistical moments, up to the fourth order, and its probability density function. The obtained results demonstrate that the classical Gaussian assumption used to model wind pressure is unsafe. The accurate modeling of the non-Gaussian features produces a significant amplification of the damage mean value and higher variability of the damage distribution.     

Simulation of wind loading and response of geometrically non-linear structures with particular reference to large antennas

The study of the response of wind-loaded flexible structures generates several problems, related to the collection of significant experimental data and the modelling of the random wind velocity field, fluid-structure interaction and actual structural behaviour. This paper presents some results of recent research on these problems.

The first part of the paper tackles the modelling and simulation of wind velocity and presents the treatment of some direct measurements on the site of an important broadcasting antenna located on Monte Nerone (Appennine Mountains) on the Italia watershed, 1500 m above sea level.

The second part deals with the problem of determining structural response under wind loading. Because of the impracticability of operating in the frequency domain in the presence of non-linearities, simulation and direct step-by-step integration in the time domain have been chosen. Two specific examples are presented, both pertaining to guyed antennas, for which non-linearities have been shown to be significant. The effects of ice formations on the mast and / orthe stays have also been investigated.     

Use of phenolic compounds from olive mill wastewater as valuable ingredients for functional foods

ABSTRACT

Olive mill wastewater (OMW) is a pollutant by-product from the virgin olive oil production. Its high content in phenolic compounds makes them play an important role for their use in foods, for their high antioxidant significance. The present paper gives an overview on the techniques for OMW valuable ingredient separation, focusing on the most effective ones for their use in food products as functional ingredients. We report on effective methods to recover OMW phenolics, and give several examples on the use these extracts in foods. When added into vegetable oils, their effect on retarding lipid oxidation improves the oxidative status of the product, whilst several challenges need to be faced. OMW phenolic extracts were also used in food emulsions, milk products or other model systems, showing promising results and little or no negative impact on the sensory characteristics or other properties. Their possible use as antimicrobial agents is also another promising approach, as positive results were obtained when applied in meat products. Other examples of using natural phenolic extracts from other sources are suggested also for OMW extracts, to expand their use and thus to improve the nutritional and technological quality of foods.     

Two-dimensional photonic crystal resist membrane nanocavity embedding colloidal dot-in-a-rod nanocrystals

A novel technique for the fabrication of photonic crystal (PC) nanocavities coupled with colloidal nanocrystals is presented. A waveguiding resist membrane embedding highly emitting dot-in-a-rod nanocrystals was patterned through e-beam lithography and released through wet etching process. The proposed approach makes the PC structure independent of fabrication imperfections induced by etching steps. Micro-photoluminescence spectra revealed degenerated resonant modes (Q-factor approximately 700) whose fabrication-induced spectral splitting is comparable to the full width at half-maximum of the peaks. Active nanocavities tunable from visible to infrared spectral range on GaAs or Si substrates can be easily implemented by this technique.     

Optical control of energy-level structure of few electrons in AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dots

Optical control of the lateral quantum confinement and number of electrons confined in nanofabricated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots is achieved by illumination with a weak laser beam that is absorbed in the AlGaAs barrier. Precise tuning of energy-level structure and electron population is demonstrated by monitoring the low-lying transitions of the electrons from the lowest quantum-dot energy shells by resonant inelastic light scattering. These findings open the way to the manipulation of single electrons in these quantum dots without the need of external metallic gates.     

Geography,market potential and industrialization in Italy 1871–2001

This paper deals with industrialization in Italy between 1871 and 2001, and is based on data on the labour force per province (NUTS 3) from population censuses. Particular attention is devoted to long‐term trends and North–South disparities. After the analysis of the geographic spread of industry and its changes, we test the role of access to markets on the distribution of the labour force in manufacturing. The results show that access to markets played a main role in Italian industrialization and in the evolution of inequalities among Northern and Southern regions.