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Purpose Starting from a critical analysis of the main criteria currently used to identify marginal areas, this paper aims to propose a new classification model of such territories by leveraging knowledge discovery approaches and knowledge visualization techniques, which represent a fundamental pillar in the knowledge-based urban development process. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted in this study relies on the design science research, which includes five steps: problem identification, objective definition, solution design and development, demonstration and evaluation. Findings Results demonstrate how to exploit knowledge discovery and visualization to obtain multiple mappings of inner areas, in the aim to identify good practices and optimize resources to set up more effective territorial development strategies and plans. The proposed approach overcomes the traditional way adopted to map inner areas that uses a single indicator (i.e. the distance between a municipality and the nearest pole where it is possible to access to education, health and transportation services) and leverages seven groups of indicators that represent the distinguishing features of territories (territorial capital, social costs, citizenship, geo-demography, economy, innovation and sustainable development). Research limitations/implications The proposed model could be enriched by new variables, whose value can be collected by official sources and stakeholders engaged to provide both structured and unstructured data. Also, another enhancement could be the development of a cross-algorithms comparison that may reveal useful to suggest which algorithm can better suit the needs of policy makers or practitioners. Practical implications This study sets the ground for proposing a decision support tool that policy makers can use to classify in a new way the inner areas, thus overcoming the current approach and leveraging the distinguishing features of territories. Originality/value This study shows how the availability of distributed knowledge sources, the modern knowledge management techniques and the emerging digital technologies can provide new opportunities for the governance of a city or territory, thus revitalizing the domain of knowledge-based urban development.

The astrophysical journal / Supplement series 266(2), 37 (2023). doi:10.3847/1538-4365/acc181, We study the broadband emission of Mrk 501 using multiwavelength observations from 2017 to 2020 performed with a multitude of instruments, involving, among others, MAGIC, Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT), NuSTAR, Swift, GASP-WEBT, and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. Mrk 501 showed an extremely low broadband activity, which may help to unravel its baseline emission. Nonetheless, significant flux variations are detected at all wave bands, with the highest occurring at X-rays and very-high-energy (VHE) $γ$-rays. A significant correlation (>3σ) between X-rays and VHE $γ$-rays is measured, supporting leptonic scenarios to explain the variable parts of the emission, also during low activity. This is further supported when we extend our data from 2008 to 2020, and identify, for the first time, significant correlations between the Swift X-Ray Telescope and Fermi-LAT. We additionally find correlations between high-energy γ-rays and radio, with the radio lagging by more than 100 days, placing the γ-ray emission zone upstream of the radio-bright regions in the jet. Furthermore, Mrk 501 showed a historically low activity in X-rays and VHE $γ$-rays from mid-2017 to mid-2019 with a stable VHE flux (>0.2 TeV) of 5% the emission of the Crab Nebula. The broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of this 2 $γ$r long low state, the potential baseline emission of Mrk 501, can be characterized with one-zone leptonic models, and with (lepto)-hadronic models fulfilling neutrino flux constraints from IceCube. We explore the time evolution of the SED toward the low state, revealing that the stable baseline emission may be ascribed to a standing shock, and the variable emission to an additional expanding or traveling shock., Published by Institute of Physics Publ., London

To describe the methods for the in-person musculoskeletal (MSK) assessment of the RISE FOR HEALTH (RISE) study, a population-based multicenter prospective cohort study designed to identify factors associated with bladder health (BH) conducted by the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Research Consortium (PLUS).A subset of RISE participants who express interest in the in-person assessment are screened to ensure eligibility (planned n = 525). Eligible consenting participants are asked to complete a standardized MSK assessment to evaluate core stability (four component core stability test, lumbar spine pain (seated slump test), pelvic girdle pain, (sacroiliac joint, anterior superior iliac spine, pubic symphysis tenderness, and pelvic girdle pain provocation test), hip pain (flexion, abduction, internal rotation and flexion, adduction and external rotation) and pelvic girdle function (active straight leg raise). Participants are also asked to complete the Short Physical Performance Battery to measure balance, gait speed, lower extremity strength, and functional capacity.Detailed online and in-person MSK training sessions led by physical therapy were used to certify research staff at each clinical center before the start of RISE in-person assessments. All evaluators exceeded the pre-specified pass rates.The RISE in-person MSK assessment will provide further insight into the role of general body MSK health and dysfunction and the spectrum of BH.

It has come to our attention that the name of one of the authors in our manuscript was incorrectly spelled ‘Jinyoung Byan’; the correct spelling is ‘Jinyoung Byun’ as in the author list above. In addition, the excel files of the supplementary tables were not included during the online publication of our article. These have now been made available online. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Publication

Astrocytes play a significant role in the pathology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Nevertheless, for ethical reasons, most studies in these cells were performed using the Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis model. As there are significant differences between human and mouse cells, we aimed here to better characterize astrocytes from patients with MS (PwMS), focusing mainly on mitochondrial function and cell metabolism.We obtained and characterized induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes from three PwMS and three unaffected controls, and performed electron microscopy, flow cytometry, cytokine and glutamate measurements, gene expression, in situ respiration, and metabolomics. We validated our findings using a single-nuclei RNA sequencing dataset.We detected several differences in MS astrocytes including: (i) enrichment of genes associated with neurodegeneration, (ii) increased mitochondrial fission, (iii) increased production of superoxide and MS-related proinflammatory chemokines, (iv) impaired uptake and enhanced release of glutamate, (v) increased electron transport capacity and proton leak, in line with the increased oxidative stress, and (vi) a distinct metabolic profile, with a deficiency in amino acid catabolism and increased sphingolipid metabolism, which have already been linked to MS.Here we describe the metabolic profile of iPSC-derived astrocytes from PwMS and validate this model as a very powerful tool to study disease mechanisms and to perform non-invasive drug targeting assays in vitro. Our findings recapitulate several disease features described in patients and provide new mechanistic insights into the metabolic rewiring of astrocytes in MS, which could be targeted in future therapeutic studies. ANN NEUROL 2022;91:652-669.

During grinding with forged steel media, sulphides such as pyrite undergo surface changes due to the occurrence of oxidation–reduction reactions, which affect its depression during the concentration process. For this reason, in this work, the surface modification of pyrite during grinding was studied; FTIR, ICP-OES, XRD and SEM-EDS were used for the materials’ characterisation. It was found that the pyrite obtained during grinding showed magnetic susceptibility due to the absorption and superficial formation of magnetite Fe3O4, Fe–O bonds identified by FTIR at 598 cm−1, and of other species, such as oxy-hydroxy-sulphates at 696 cm−1 and goethite α-FeOOH at 875 cm−1. This caused the reversal of the zeta potential magnitude (ζ) from positive to negative at pH 8.3 and 30 min of grinding. The ζ of the pyrite throughout the studied pH ranges was, overall, positive, i.e., +5 mV. However, at pH 10.5 and 15 min of grinding, the ζ turned negative. This was associated with the formation of Fe–CO3 (−2) bonds in the siderite, which were identified with the absorption bands corresponding to 756, 1448 and 1493 cm−1.

Il rapido sviluppo ed evoluzione delle tecnologie digitali degli ultimi dieci anni sta disegnando uno scenario di innovazioni e rivoluzioni il cui impatto è paragonabile a quello che ha avuto la macchina a vapore nel tessuto economico e sociale della fine del 1700, e per lo sviluppo tecnologico dei secoli successivi. Infatti, così come la macchina a va-pore ha consentito di superare radicalmente il grande limite della “forza muscolare” che rappresentava l’unica fonte di energia propulsiva per l’economia del tempo, analogamente, nell’attuale economia della conoscenza, in cui il motore propulsore è rappresentato dalla “forza intellettuale” degli individui, le tecnologie digitali stanno dimostrando la loro capacità di elaborare in tempi rapidissimi grandi quantità di da-ti ed informazioni per automatizzare l’esecuzione delle attività (anche complesse), migliorare le capacità di apprendimento, valutare in pochi secondi innumerevoli scenari possibili nella prospettiva di selezionare ed attuare le decisioni più efficaci. Così, le tecnologie e i sistemi digitali stanno diventando sempre più intelligenti, autonomi e capaci di attuare in modo efficace un processo decisionale. In questo scenario, la capacità delle organizzazioni di adottare rapidamente ed in modo efficace tali sistemi, rappresenta la chiave di successo affinché le tecnologie digitali possano riattivare una fase di ulteriore sviluppo tecnologico, economico e sociale, introducendo significativi miglioramenti nella vita degli individui e delle organizzazioni, e contribuendo ad aumentare il valore delle risorse e sistemi fisici che vanno così ad integrarsi con quelli digitali. Oggi, quindi, le tecnologie digitali e i sistemi ICT costituiscono allo stesso tempo un’opportunità ed un rischio per le organizzazioni che operano nell’Economia Digitale. La crescente disponibilità e diffusio-ne di sistemi ERP, suite di CRM, soluzioni di social media, applicazioni mobile, sistemi di gestione documentale e workflow manage-ment, ambienti di business analytics, infrastrutture cloud, tecnologie RFID, sistemi di simulazione, impianti di automazione, soluzioni di Big Data, strumenti per l’Internet of Things, sistemi integrati di Knowledge Management e collaboration, etc. rischiano di soffocare e tra-volgere sul nascere iniziative che mirano ad innovare la struttura, i processi interni e le relazioni esterne delle organizzazioni. È fonda-mentale quindi fornire un metodo e alcuni strumenti di cui le organiz-zazioni possono dotarsi per cavalcare lo tsunami tecnologico odierno ed attivare così un processo di trasformazione e cambiamento che possa portare le organizzazioni ad operare da protagonisti negli scena-ri dell’Economia Digitale.

In the last decades, academic and managerial literatures have paid great attention by about the notion of the business model (BM). Accordingly, a wide range of literature was created to identify and acknowledge the capacity to create and renew organizational BM as one of the fundamental sources of competitiveness and value creation. However, until now, the notion and application of business model innovation (BMI) research has mostly been developed in relation to large companies and organizations. Very limited studies have explored what and how context-specific characteristics and knowledge asset management may have effects on BM development and organizations’ sustainability. This latter aspect is particularly true for technological start-ups. Until now, research and managerial practice have been not aligned with national and international policies’ great emphasis on technological start-ups, as well as about the role of the BMI to support organizational performance improvement and stimulate entrepreneurship. From this perspective, technological start-ups represent an interesting basis for analyzing business model mapping and BMI along a knowledge-based perspective. The creation, survival, development, and market success of such organizations are mainly based on the identification, acquisition, and exploitation of their knowledge-based assets. Therefore, it can be relevant to study and analyze how such knowledge assets significantly drive organizational performance and value creation by leveraging innovative technology breakthroughs, highly qualified and distinctive competencies, and implicit knowledge embedded into valuable networks of relationships. Based on a set of theoretical assumptions and some first empirical insights, this chapter aims to link the notions and the tools of business model (BM) mapping and business model innovation (BMI) with intellectual capital (IC) management issues. It provides a set of empirical cases of common and different patterns that technological start-ups follow for innovating their BM by leveraging their IC assets, as well as the enabling conditions that may support and sustain the overall process. The study relies on exploratory research based on analysis of three case studies with data gathered through personal interviews with the companies’ founders.

The emergence of exponential technologies, along with the affirmation of a collective intelligence paradigm, is creating new competitive pressures and entrepreneurial opportunities for organizations aiming to generate a spectrum of diverse outputs ranging from product innovation to large-scale corporate renewal. The entrepreneurial process designed and realized within the organization has traditionally been referred to as corporate entrepreneurship. Today, the affirmation of open innovation and the increasing role of employee creativity and initiative as drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship activities in companies are giving rise to a new concept of “crowdventuring.” In particular, exponential organizations, which are able to leverage disruptive technologies to create socioeconomic value, are well positioned in the emerging competitive scenario. Based on a number of internal and external drivers, these organizations can excel within their markets operating as Excelerators, i.e., organizations where people can think and act differently, embrace radical change, and create more sustainable outcomes. This chapter describes the evolution towards crowdventuring and presents the attributes of exponential organizations that act as entrepreneurial accelerators.

Poupak Fallahi,1 Silvia Martina Ferrari,2 Giusy Elia,2 Francesca Ragusa,2 Sabrina Rosaria Paparo,2 Ilaria Ruffilli,2 Armando Patrizio,2 Gabriele Materazzi,3 Alessandro Antonelli21Department of Translational Research and of New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 2Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; 3Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, Pisa, ItalyCorrespondence: Alessandro AntonelliDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Savi, 10, Pisa I-56126, ItalyTel +39 05 099 2318Fax +39 05 099 3472Email alessandro.antonelli@med.unipi.itAbstract: Medullary thyroid cancers (MTCs) are neuroendocrine tumors, which secrete calcitonin and carcinoembryonic antigen, both of which can serve as tumor markers. Extensive and accurate surgical resection is the primary treatment for MTC, whereas the use of external beam radiotherapy is limited. Moreover, since MTC is derived from thyroid parafollicular cells or C cells, it is not responsive to either radioiodine or thyroid-stimulating hormone suppression, and therefore, theycannot be considered as treatment strategies. Traditional therapies for advanced or metastatic progressive medullary thyroid cancer (pMTC) are poorly effective. Among the new approaches tested in clinical trials, targeted chemotherapies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are now available and they represent effective interventions for progressive disease, with additional investigational options emerging. This paper reviews the efficacy and safety of vandetanib in patients with a pMTC, as it has been shown to improve progression-free survival (30.5 vs 19.3 months in controls). Vandetanib is approved by the FDA and EMA for symptomatic or progressive MTC in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease in adults, adolescents, and children older than 5 years. The most common adverse events in vandetanib-treated patients are diarrhea, rash, folliculitis, nausea, QTc prolongation, hypertension, and fatigue. More data are required to deepen our knowledge on molecular biology of tumor and host defense, with the aim to achieve better prognosis and higher quality of life for affected patients.Keywords: MTC, pediatric MTC, vandetanib, RET, VEGFR, AEs

Additional file 1: Table S1. Clinical characteristics in T2DM women with and without established coronary artery disease (CHD). Table S2. Factors independently associated with established coronary artery disease in T2DM women participating to the study.

Objectives. Sustainability is today a key challenge for decision makers and management both in the public and private sectors. Disruptive trends and technologies such as collaborative innovation and digital platforms are creating new opportunities for sharing and pursuing sustainability goals across a wide range of projects and initiatives worldwide. The goal of this article is to derive a conceptual framework of multi-sided platform as a promising paradigm and techno-organizational approach to support sustainable development and the resolution of complex societal issues. Methodology. A design science approach is used to derive the conceptual framework, also based on a specialized literature review. A single case study is adopted to provide an illustrative application of the defined model. Findings. The multi-sided platform presented includes four key dimensions related to what, how, why and who aspects, which are discussed and illustrated also using an application of collective intelligence to identify solutions to the climate change problem. Research limits. The framework needs further theoretical development and practical validation in order to strengthen the robustness of conceptual design and the potential of application in real-life scenarios. Practical implications. The model represents a knowledge platform, which can drive further applications in the field and a management model to support design of initiatives and projects aimed to use multi-sided platform as operational model to improve sustainability. Originality of the study. The main value added of the study is to apply an emerging management paradigm to define new ways of using collective intelligence for enhanced social development.

Recently, a phaseless near-field antenna characterization approach has been proposed. It exploits an "effective" representation of the unknowns, able to reduce the overall number of parameters to be sought for and with signicant beneficial effects on both accuracy and reliability. At the same time, on taking advantage of the a priori information on the scanning geometry through a non-uniform sampling of the near-field, beneficial effects are obtained on the stability of the inversion process, on the rejection of the environmental clutter and on significantly reducing the overall number of near-field phaseless measurements to be performed.Experimental results at 75 and 94GHz concerning the near-field phaseless characterization of millimetre-wave antennas are presented. The results results show the feasibility of phaseless antenna characterization also in the millimetre frequency range. The aim of this paper is to numerically point out the accuracy and reliability of the proposed algorithm, with particular reference to millimeter-wave applications

The exponential growth of data existing on the web and generated by organizations and individuals, computer systems and digital devices, is opening new scenarios and opportunities for their exploitation, and new technological and managerial challenges are arising about the collection, transformation, storage, processing, usage, and visualization of such huge amount of data. The Big Data paradigm has therefore emerged as a socio-technical system that allows for offering innovative services in many data-intensive applications and domains. Within the Big Data field, the Big Social Data concept emerged as a relatively new phenomenon with multiple meanings and applications. According to the literature, the Big Social Data paradigm still lacks of a clear and shared definition. Thus, through a Systematic Literature Review, this paper aims at fulfilling this gap by providing a conceptualization of the Big Social Data paradigm that includes a possible definition, the distinguishing characteristics and properties, and some applications in real-life settings. Furthermore, by leveraging an existing taxonomy of data types, this paper proposes an extension that is specific for the Big Social Data domain, by introducing a new category of data type, namely “Digital Context Data”, which includes data related to the patterns of digital context dynamics. Finally, specifically for this new category of data type, two example applications in data-intensive domains (i.e. smart tourism and e-health) have been provided to demonstrate how the Big Social Data paradigm can describe, both explicitly and implicitly, the patterns of digital context dynamics.

A method for the synthesis of reconfigurable reflectarray antennas with sub-array clustering is here presented. The approach is made up by two stages: an aperture synthesis devoted to the determination of the optimal clustering, common to all the beam configurations, and a reflectarray synthesis wherein the reflecting element belonging to the same cluster are driven with the same command phase.

About 50% of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have metastatic disease at initial diagnosis, which limits their treatment options and, consequently, the 5-year survival rate (15%). Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), either alone or in combination with chemotherapy, have become standard of care (SOC) for most good performance status patients. However, most patients will not obtain long-term benefit, and new treatment strategies are therefore still needed. We previously demonstrated clinical safety of the tumour-selective immunocytokine L19-IL2, consisting of the anti-EDB scFv L19 antibody coupled to IL2, combined with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Within this phase II ImmunoSABR trial, the combination of SABR with or without ICI and the immunocytokine L19-IL2 will be tested as 1st, 2nd or 3rd line treatment in stage IV NSCLC patients. This bi-modal and triple treatment approach is based on the direct cytotoxic effect of radiotherapy, the tumour selective immunocytokine L19-IL2, the abscopal effect observed distant from the irradiated metastatic site(s), and the memory effect. This investigator initiated, multicentric, randomised controlled open-label phase II clinical trial (NCT03705403) will test the hypothesis that the combination of SABR and L19-IL2 increases the progression free survival (PFS) in patients with limited metastatic NSCLC. Patients will be stratified according to their metastatic load (oligo-metastatic: up to 5, or poly-metastatic: 6 to 10 metastases). Patients will be randomised by minimisation to the experimental (E-arm) or the control arm (C-arm). The C-arm will receive SOC, according to the local protocol. E-arm oligo-metastatic patients will receive SABR to all lesions followed by L19-IL2 therapy; radiotherapy for poly-metastatic patients consists of irradiation of at least one (symptomatic) to a maximum of 5 lesions (including ICI in both arms if this is the SOC). ImmunoSABR consists of 14 participating centres located in 6 countries. The accrual period will be 2.5 years, starting after the first centre is initiated and active. Primary endpoint is PFS at 1.5 years based on blinded radiological review, and secondary endpoints are overall survival, toxicity, quality of life and abscopal response. Associative biomarker studies, blood and tumour cell immune monitoring, CT-based radiomics, stool collection, iRECIST, and tumour growth rate will be performed. The first results are expected end 2023.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. The androgen receptor (AR) antagonist enzalutamide is an FDA-approved drug for treatment of patients with late-stage prostate cancer and is currently under clinical study for early-stage prostate cancer treatment. After a short positive response period to enzalutamide, tumors will develop drug resistance. In these studies, we uncovered that NOTCH signaling and DNA methylation are a deregulated in enzalutamide-resistant cells. NOTCH2 and c-MYC gene expression positively correlated with AR expression in samples from patients with hormone refractory disease in which AR expression levels correspond to those typically observed in enzalutamide-resistance. The expression of Notch signaling components was upregulated in enzalutamide-resistant cells suggesting the activation of the pathway. Inhibition of this pathway in vitro and in vivo promoted an increase in the sensitivity to enzalutamide with an impact on AR expression. On the other hand, DNMT activity and DNMT3B expression were upregulated in resistant lines. Enzalutamide induced the expression of DNMT3A and DNMT3B in prostate cancer cells with a potential role for p53 and pRB in this process. The overexpression of DNMT3B3, a DNMT3B variant, promoted an enzalutamide-resistant phenotype in C4-2 cells. DNA methylation inhibition, using low-concentration decitabine, and DNMT3B knockdown induced a re-sensitization of resistant prostate cancer cells and tumors to enzalutamide. Decitabine treatment in enzalutamide-resistant induced a decrease in the expression of AR-V7 and changes in genes from the apoptosis, DNA repair and mRNA splicing pathways. Decitabine plus enzalutamide treatment of 22RV1 xenografts induced a decrease in tumor weight, KI-67 and AR-V7 expression and an increase in Cleaved-Caspase3 levels. All the above suggest that Notch signaling and DNA methylation pathways are deregulated after enzalutamide resistance onset, and targeting these pathways restores the sensitivity to enzalutamide.

Activities carried out by the Italian Aerospace Research Centre, concerning studies about hybrid rocket engine technology with paraffin-based fuels, are described in this paper. The work has been performed in the framework of the HYPROB project, Demonstrators Line. Preparatory activities, including experimental firing tests on a subscale breadboard of 200 N thrust class, are first described. These tests allowed evaluating the paraffin-based grain characteristics, in terms of regression rate and mechanical properties, and validating numerical models adopted to support the demonstrator design. The hybrid demonstrator, which is a 1000 N thrust class, is later described in detail. Main results of the analyses, carried out with engineering tools and numerical codes, are presented and discussed. The status of the manufacturing activities and future works are finally reported.

This work presents the kinetic study of the decomposition in NaOH medium of mercury jarosite whose approximate formula is [Hg0.39(H3O)0.22]Fe2.71(SO4)2.17(OH)4.79(H2O)2.09. The reaction progress takes place on the surface of the compound with diffusion of the hydroxyl ions (OH−) from the solution to the particle surface moving the reaction front toward the interior of the particle, with the release of ions SO42− and Hg2+ from the core to the reaction medium. The decomposition curve can be described by three kinetics stages: an induction period followed by a progressive conversion period and ending the reaction in the stabilization zone. The results of X−ray diffraction showed that as the decomposition reaction progresses the partially decomposed solids lost its crystallinity ending as amorphous solids. For the induction period, the reaction order (n) was 0.52 for [OH−] 0.0187 mol L−1 n = 1.48, whereas the calculated activation energy (Ea) was 81.7 kJ mol−1. For the progressive conversion period n = 0.99 for [OH−] > 0.0057 mol L−1 and for lower concentrations n ≈ 0, with Ea = 56.9 kJ mol−1, confirming that the decomposition process is controlled by the chemical reaction. Based on the calculated kinetic parameters, the partial and global kinetic expressions of the decomposition process were proposed. These models were compared with the experimental results, and it was favorably proven and described the decomposition process of the mercury jarosite in alkaline medium.

he paper presents an analysis of PM2.5 related air pollution in Ploiesti city, based on datasets with measurements of PM2.5 concentration and some meteorological variables at PH-2 monitoring station, taken from the RNMCA public site (www.calitateaer.ro) and AirBase, and the dataset with in situ measurements of PM2.5 concentration and some meteorological variables acquired through the ROKIDAIR project monitoring campaigns run during the period August 2014 – November 2016, in the Ploiesti city. PM2.5 most correlated meteorological variables are highlighted and the Ploiesti city map with seasonal PM2.5 air pollution distribution is provided. The paper experiments highlight that the PM2.5 concentration evolution analysis must be done taking into consideration the other atmospheric and seasonal parameters, in order to obtain the most appropriate results.

Generally, in planetary gearbox diagnostics, vibration transducers are placed on the gearbox case near the ring gear. The relative angular position of the planet gears with respect to the transducer is a useful information for the evaluation of vibration signals related to planet/sun gears. This angular position is usually unknown, or it is known with a large tolerance causing serious difficulties in both gears and bearing diagnostics. In fact, noise and spurious component from healthy planets could overhang the informative content about incipient faults. The present work seeks to propose two alternative methods for the identification of the angular position of the planet gears with respect to the transducer. The first one is based on the study of how the power flows inside the Time Synchronous Average of the ring gear, whilst the second method is based on a modified statistical parameter such as the Crest Factor. The effectiveness of these methods is assessed on the basis of actual vibration signals acquired from a faulty planetary gearbox. The knowledge of the exact angular position of the planet gears allows the diagnostics of both gears and bearings, as proven by extensive experimental activities reported in the paper.

The presence of hazardous jarosites causes a serious environmental problems, releasing potentially toxic elements, principally heavy metals such as Pb, As, Tl, Cr among others to the environment. Thus, the dissolution process of jarosites has to be monitored to assess the environmental impact. In the present work, the different hazardous jarosites were prepared, and characterized by analytical techniques (XRD, SEM, EDS, etc.), and the composition of jarosites was determined by induction-coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP). Shrinking core kinetic model (SCKM) was employed to understand the stability of hazardous jarosites, studying a complete kinetic analysis of the jarosite dissolution process under different conditions (temperatures and pH). The results show that temperature has the highest effect on stability followed by pH, requiring extreme parameters for high dissolution. The batch experiments show that the results are in good agreement with the SCKM forming a solid layer as by-products. The chemical reaction, i.e. dissolution process performs through mostly controlling stage at extreme pH values and then moved to mass transport in the fluid layer. After analyzing the results, a kinetic equation has been proposed to describe adequately the dissolution process, and it predicts the lifetime of the hazardous jarosites.

Jarosites are widely used in the hydrometallurgical industry of zinc to eliminate iron and other impurities contained in the concentrates. However, these compounds can also incorporate elements of significant environmental concern such as Tl+, Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr(VI), and As(V). In this work, the characterization of a synthetic mercury jarosite and its thermal decomposition kinetics are reported. XRD and FTIR analyses confirm that a mercury jarosite&mdash, Hg0.40(H3O)0.2]Fe2.71(SO4)2.17(OH)4.79(H2O)0.44&mdash, was successfully synthesized. Four mass loss events were observed by thermogravimetric analysis at 290 &deg, C, 365 &deg, C, 543 &deg, C, and 665 &deg, C. The third event corresponds to mercury decomposition into mercury oxide, whilst the forth is related to the jarosite to hematite transformation determined by X-ray diffraction starting at around 600 &deg, C. According to the kinetic parameters (activation energy and frequency factor) of the thermal decomposition process, the fourth stage required the highest energy (Ea = 234.7 kJ∙mol&minus, 1), which corresponds to elimination of sulfur and oxygen from the jarosite lattice. Results show that jarosite-type compounds have the capability to incorporate heavy metals into their structure, retaining them even at high temperatures. Therefore, they can be used as a remediation strategy for heavy metals, such as mercury and others elements of environmental concern.

In the last few years blind deconvolution techniques proved to be useful in order to extract impulsive patterns related to bearing fault from noisy vibrational signals. Recently, a novel blind deconvolution method based on the generalized Rayleigh quotient has been proposed and an iterative algorithm related to the maximization of the cyclostationarity of the source has been defined. This paper presents a new condition indicator that exploits the Fourier-Bessel series expansion for the computation of a new cyclostationarity index that drives the maximization problem for the extraction of the excitation source. This work compares the proposed indicator with the classical one, based on the Fourier transform, in term of computation efficiency. The comparison between the application of the two different methods involves both simulated and real signal taking into account a bearing fault.The results prove the capability of the new indicator to extract the impulsive source without the need of a complete set of cyclic frequencies but only with the fundamental one, with a strong reduction of the computational time.

The paper presents novel results from the advanced numerical modelling of the effect of cycling pore water pressures on landslide processes. It combines the sta-bility analysis of a prototype natural slope through a hydro-mechanical non-linear fi-nite element approach with the calibration of a kinematic hardening model against rep-resentative laboratory data, to draw conclusions of significance to both researchers and designers. The analyses have been carried out for two permanent hydraulic steady-state conditions representing the average pore water pressure regime at the end of the winter and summer season, thus replicating in a simplified way the seasonal fluctua-tions of the piezometric levels resulting from transient seepage processes generated by the slope-atmosphere interaction. The work shows the ability of the constitutive law, seldom used in these kind of analyses, to predict a progressive accumulation of plastic deformations during the cyclic fluctuation of pore water pressures associated to cli-mate. More importantly, the output of the advanced modelling are useful to support the phenomenological interpretation of the landslide processes associated to natural haz-ards and to provide guidance for the sustainable management of marginally stable slopes affected by a constant evolution of permanent displacements.

This paper investigates the optimum extraction temperature for enhanced total phenolic yields extracted from avocado fruit flesh (Persea americana) using subcritical water extraction, as well as the impact of fruit ripeness on phenol extraction efficiency. Additionally, extraction yield against extraction time was investigated for time intervals of 10 min over an overall extraction time of 30 min. The subcritical water conditions studied were 18 bar, 87 mL/min, and temperatures of 105 &deg, C, 120 &deg, C, and 140 &deg, C. The total phenolic compounds content was compared for week one avocado flesh and ripe (week four) avocado flesh, with a four-week ripening period between the two samples. The results show that extracting with subcritical water at 105 &deg, C provides the highest phenolic compounds yields of 0.11% and 0.26% by dried mass for week one and ripe fruit (week four), respectively. The experimental results also indicate that the implementation of lower extraction temperatures on week four avocado (i.e., following the selection of week one avocados and allowing them to ripen over a period of one month) enhances the phenolic compounds extraction yields by more than four times relative to the first week&rsquo, s sample extract, specifically during the first 20 min of extraction.

Manganese is a widely used element in the steel industry, its main source is a mineral named rhodochrosite (MnCO3). For industrial usage, rhodochrosite is reduced to different manganese oxides by means of nodulation furnaces. In this study, rhodochrosite was thermally analyzed at temperatures ranging from 100 &deg, C to 1200 &deg, C. XRD (Powder X-ray diffraction), XRF (X-ray fluorescence), AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrometry), and FESEM-EDX (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry) were used to characterize the mineral and the residues were analyzed by XRD and FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) to determine the stoichiometry of the thermal decomposition reactions. Three mass losses were observed, the first attributed to the transformation from carbonate to manganese (III) oxide, the second to the reduction to manganese tetroxide, and the third to the decomposition of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) present as a contaminant in the studied mineral. Thermal decomposition kinetics shows that the first mass loss required 17.91 kJ mol&minus, 1, indicating a control by mass transport-controlled process. For the second and third mass loss, the apparent activation energy of 112.41 kJ mol&minus, 1 and 64.69 kJ mol&minus, 1 was obtained respectively, indicating that both mass loss events were rate-controlled.

Successful businesses demand high-performing Human Resource Management Practices (HRMP) and effective Knowledge Management Capacities (KMC) in order to enhance the overall organizational performance. HRMP represent a system that attracts, develops, motivates, and retains employees to ensure the effective implementation and the survival of the organization and its members, whereas KMC are the key factors for gaining and sustaining a competitive advantage by leveraging on knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing processes. This study intends to investigate the influence of HRMP on KMC, with the final aim to find out the logical connections through which these two concepts meet each other. More specifically, the objective of this article is to identify specific HRMP supporting the development of KMC, with a focus on Indian Information Technology (IT) industry, which is a sector not deeply studied from this perspective. Based on the existing research contributions in this field, five key HRMP (i.e. recruitment and selection, training and development, compensation and reward, employee retention, and career development) and two crucial KMC (i.e. knowledge acquisition, and knowledge sharing) have been selected for this study. The article adopts a qualitative research method based on a single case study of an Indian IT company and uses primary and secondary data collected through desk research and field interviews. Results show how HRMP enhance the individual learning, motivation, and retention for knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing, with the aim to improve organizational performance. This study provides a twofold contribution: from a research perspective, it contributes to deepening the analysis of the relation between HRMP and KMC, with a specific focus and an applicative case into the Indian IT industry; from a practitioner point of view, the results could be helpful to HR managers for motivating the employees to undertake learning processes, as well as to acquire and share knowledge resources useful for the organization to remain innovative and stay competitive.

We report a novel strategy for the synthesis of magnetic nano-platforms containing free thiol groups. It first involves the synthesis of a poly(acrylic acid) copolymer containing disulfide bridges between the linear chains through di-ester linkages, followed by the anchoring of this new ligand to magnetite nanoparticles using a ligand exchange reaction. Finally, free SH groups are obtained by treating the resulting disulfide-functionalized magnetic nano-system with tributyl phosphine as reducing agent. The characterization of the resulting 17 nm nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 @PAA-HEDred) by FTIR and TGA confirms the attachment of the copolymer through iron carboxylates. XRD, TEM and magnetic measurements indicate an increase in the inorganic core diameter and the occurrence of strong magnetic inter-particle interactions during the exchange reaction, although coercitivity and remanence drop to near zero at room temperature. Afterwards, Fe 3 O 4 @PAA-HEDred nanoparticles were tested as sorbent for Pb 2+ and Cd 2+ cations in aqueous media. XPS measurements were performed in order to unravel the role of both carboxyl and thiol functions in the adsorption process. For the sake of comparison, the same study was performed using bare Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and a nanosystem with disulfide groups (Fe 3 O 4 @DMSA). The joint analysis of the Pb 4f, Cd 3d, Fe 2p and S 2p high resolution spectra for the nanostructured materials indicates that metal-sulfur interactions are dominant if free SH groups are present, but if not, the main adsorption route entails metal-carboxyl interactions. Even in presence of unbound thiol moieties, carboxyl groups participate due to favoured steric availability.

This work seeks to study the potential effectiveness of the Blind Signal Extraction (BSE) as a pre-processing tool for the detection of distributed faults in rolling bearings. In the literature, most of the authors focus their attention on the detection of incipient localized defects. In that case, classical techniques (i.e. envelope analysis) are robust in recognizing the presence of the fault and its characteristic frequency. However, when the fault grows, the classical approach fails, due to the change of the fault signature. De facto, in this case the signal does not contain impulses at the fault characteristic frequency, but more complex components with strong non-stationary contents. Moreover, signals acquired from complex machines often contain contributions from several different components as well as noise; thus the fault signature can be hidden in the complex system vibration. Therefore, pre-processing tools are needed in order to extract the bearing signature, from the raw system vibration. In this paper the authors focalize their attention on the application of the BSE in order to extract the bearing signature from the raw vibration of mechanical systems. The effectiveness and sensitivity of BSE is here exploited on the basis of both simulated and real signals. Among different procedures for the BSE computation, the Reduced-Rank Cyclic Regression algorithm (RRCR) is used. Firstly a simulated signal including the effect of gear meshing as well as a localized fault in bearings is introduced in order to tune the parameters of the RRCR. Next, two different real cases are considered, a bearing test-rig as an example of simple machine and a gearbox test-rig as an example of complex machine. In both examples, the bearings were degreased in order to accelerate the wear process. The BSE is compared with the usual pre-processing technique for the analysis of cyclostationary signals, i.e. the extraction of the residual signal. The fault detection is carried out by the computation of the Integrated Cyclic Modulation Spectrum on the extracted signals. The results indicate that the extracted signals via BSE clearly highlight the distributed fault signature, in particular both the appearance of the faults as well as their development are detected, whilst noise still hides fault grow in the residual signals.

The paper presents the preliminary results of a numerical investigation of the effect of cycling pore water pressures on landslide processes. The stability conditions of a natural slope in Volturino (FG, Italy) have been studied using hydro-mechanical finite element simulations implementing an advanced kinematic hardening soil model, which able to account for the degradation of the initial soil structure induced by changes in the water table. The model has been calibrated against available data obtained from laboratory tests on representative soil samples of the Volturino slope. The analyses have been carried out for two permanent hydraulic steady-state conditions. These represent the average pore water pressure regime at the end of winter and summer, which replicate in a simplified way the seasonal fluctuations of the piezometric levels resulting from transient seepage processes generated by the slope-atmosphere interaction. The results demonstrate the ability of the numerical approach to capture the development of deep landslide mechanisms within the slope and the evolution of permanent displacements associated to the continuous accumulation of plastic deformations during the cyclic fluctuation of pore water pressures.