Spatiotemporal neurodynamics of automatic temporal expectancy in 9-month old infants

open2noAnticipating events occurrence (Temporal Expectancy) is a crucial capacity for survival. Yet, there is little evidence about the presence of cortical anticipatory activity from infancy. In this study we recorded the High-density electrophysiological activity in 9 month-old infants and adults undergoing an audio-visual S1-S2 paradigm simulating a lifelike "Peekaboo" game inducing automatic temporal expectancy of smiling faces. The results indicate in the S2-preceding Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) an early electrophysiological signature of expectancy-based anticipatory cortical activity. Moreover, the progressive CNV amplitude increasing across the task suggested that implicit temporal rule learning is at the basis of expectancy building-up over time. Cortical source reconstruction suggested a common CNV generator between adults and infants in the right prefrontal cortex. The decrease in the activity of this area across the task (time-on-task effect) further implied an early, core role of this region in implicit temporal rule learning. By contrast, a time-on-task activity boost was found in the supplementary motor area (SMA) in adults and in the temporoparietal regions in infants. Altogether, our findings suggest that the capacity of the human brain to translate temporal predictions into anticipatory neural activity emerges ontogenetically early, although the underlying spatiotemporal cortical dynamics change across development. © 2016 The Author(s).openMento, Giovanni; Valenza, EloisaMento, Giovanni; Valenza, Elois

Assessing the Effectiveness of the EU’s and Russia’s Cultural Diplomacy towards Central Asia. EL-CSID Working Paper Issue 2018/9 • February 2018

This paper attempts to analyse the European Union’s (EU) cultural diplomacy (CD) efforts in five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, hereinafter ‘Central Asia’). Beginning in the early 2000s, EU Member States looked at the region with increased interest. Aside from major engagements on trade, energy and security, education and intercultural dialogue were stressed as priority areas in the 2007 EU Strategy for Central Asia. To measure EU effectiveness as a CD actor in Central Asia, a comparative dimension is proposed by analysing the role Russia has pursued. At law and policy level, since Putin’s return to the Presidency in 2012, Russia has reaffirmed its ambitions to strengthen both hard and soft presence in Central Asia, viewing the region within its sphere of influence. This engagement was reiterated in the 2015 Strategy of National Security and in the 2016 Foreign Policy Concept. To draw a comparison, actors’ CD effectiveness is measured in terms of willingness, capacity, and acceptance, based on the theoretical framework proposed by Kingah, Amaya and Van Langenhove1. This paper finds that European CD efforts had mixed results due to an inconsistent policy towards the region. Although EU cultural heritage and educational influence are widely acknowledged, Russia remains today the major foreign actor in Central Asia, displaying strong levels of attractiveness among citizenry and elites. Historical and cultural ties, but also institutional and economic efforts allowed Moscow to keep its leading position. However, Russia’s future regional leadership should not be taken for granted, as all Central Asian states have been looking at Moscow’s cultural engagement with increased scepticism

A model for the analysis of security policies in service function chains

Two emerging architectural paradigms, i.e., Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), enable the deployment and management of Service Function Chains (SFCs). A SFC is an ordered sequence of abstract Service Functions (SFs), e.g., firewalls, VPN-gateways,traffic monitors, that packets have to traverse in the route from source to destination. While this appealing solution offers significant advantages in terms of flexibility, it also introduces new challenges such as the correct configuration and ordering of SFs in the chain to satisfy overall security requirements. This paper presents a formal model conceived to enable the verification of correct policy enforcements in SFCs. Software tools based on the model can then be designed to cope with unwanted network behaviors (e.g., security flaws) deriving from incorrect interactions of SFs in the same SFC

EU’s civil society bias in the neighbourhood : a case study on culture

This article attempts to analyse the European Union's (EU) financial and technical support to cultural actors in EU Neighbourhood countries. In particular, it enquires whether the boundaries of what cultural sector means for the EU are based on a Eurocentric understanding of civil society or rather on a more inclusive definition mediated with partner countries' societies. The work hypothesises that the EU tends to support cultural civil society organisations on the basis of their closeness to European standards, norms and values. Findings highlight a mixed picture. On the one hand. a Eurocentric understanding of civil society tends to prevail in EU discourses and is enforced by technical means addressing the status and capacity of the organisations involved, with some exceptions. On the other hand, the EU does not seem to impose strong prerequisites concerning the agenda of organisations and aims to be as inclusive as possible

The New EU Strategy for Central Asia: A Case for Cultural Diplomacy. IES Policy Brief No. 6, April 2018 Issue

In June 2017, on the tenth anniversary of the first Central Asia Strategy, the Council of the European Union invited High Representative Federica Mogherini and the European Commission (EC) to draw a proposal for a new Strategy by late 2019. The Council's decision provides a pivotal opportunity to review the significant shortcomings of the previous Strategy and to assess the evolving regional environment, in which Russia and China have consolidated their influence. By presenting four possible strategies for future EU engagement, this policy brief argues that rather than increasing or reducing ‘hard’ commitments or keeping the same agenda, the new Strategy should enhance EU cultural diplomacy in the region. In line with the increased emphasis on the role of culture in European external action, EU cultural diplomacy should meet local citizenry’s aspirations and demands, and give Brussels a comparative advantage over other regional powers

An aging evaluation of the bearing performances of glass fiber composite laminate in salt spray fog environment

The aim of the present paper is to assess the bearing performance evolution of pinned, glass-composite laminates due to environmental aging in salt-spray fog tests. Glass fibers/epoxy pinned laminates were exposed for up to 60 days in salt-spraying, foggy environmental conditions (according to ASTM B117 standard). In order to evaluate the relationship between mechanical failure mode and joint stability over increasing aging time, different single lap joints, measured by the changing hole diameter (D), laminate width (W) and hole free edge distance (E), were characterized at varying aging steps. Based on this approach, the property-structure relationship of glass-fibers/epoxy laminates was assessed under these critical environmental conditions. Furthermore, an experimental 2D failure map, clustering main failure modes in the plane E/D versus W/D ratios, was generated, and its cluster variation was analyzed at each degree of aging

Taranta e iatromusica in Spagna. I poteri taumaturgici della musicoterapia nella cura del tarantismo in terra ispanica. Traduzione del trattato Tarantismo observado en Espa?a di Francisco Cid.

Il tarantismo è un importante fenomeno culturale nato in Puglia, ma diffusosi nel resto del Mediterraneo. In questa tesi verrà fatta una continua comparazione fra il tarantismo originario e la sua "versione" spagnola. Attraverso il testo di Francisco Cid, si dimostrerà come non solo in Puglia, ma anche in terra spagnola si usava la musica per curare coloro che erano stati morsi dalla mitica taranta

Frequency-dependent attenuation and elasticity in unconsolidated earth materials: effect of damping

We use the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to understand the underlying attenuation mechanism in granular media, with special applicability to the measurements of the so-called effective mass developed earlier. We consider that the particles interact via Hertz-Mindlin elastic contact forces and that the damping is describable as a force proportional to the velocity difference of contacting grains. We determine the behavior of the complex-valued normal mode frequencies using 1) DEM, 2) direct diagonalization of the relevant matrix, and 3) a numerical search for the zeros of the relevant determinant. All three methods are in strong agreement with each other. The real and the imaginary parts of each normal mode frequency characterize the elastic and the dissipative properties, respectively, of the granular medium. We demonstrate that, as the interparticle damping, $\xi$, increases, the normal modes exhibit nearly circular trajectories in the complex frequency plane and that for a given value of $\xi$ they all lie on or near a circle of radius $R$ centered on the point $-iR$ in the complex plane, where $R\propto 1/\xi$. We show that each normal mode becomes critically damped at a value of the damping parameter $\xi \approx 1/\omega_n^0$, where $\omega_n^0$ is the (real-valued) frequency when there is no damping. The strong indication is that these conclusions carry over to the properties of real granular media whose dissipation is dominated by the relative motion of contacting grains. For example, compressional or shear waves in unconsolidated dry sediments can be expected to become overdamped beyond a critical frequency, depending upon the strength of the intergranular damping constant.Comment: 28 pages, 7 figure

Amélioration des carcasses par l'embouche

Le poids moyen des carcasses dans les abattoirs d'Afrique est très faible. La qualité des carcasses est définie par leur poids, l'indice de muscle, l'indice de gras et l'indice de viande. Les boeufs âgés engraissés, d'un poids vif de 400 kg donnent des carcasses lourdes de 220 kg. L'indice de gras, seul, est nettement augmenté. Les boeufs de 3 à 5 ans engraissés, d'un poids vif de 350 kg doIU1ent- des carcasses de 180 à 200 kg. L'indice de muscle est augmenté. Pour tous les boeufs, l'embouche accroît le poids de carcasse de 20 à 25 p. 100. Avec des taureaux, le poids des carcasses augmente dans des proportions encore plus fortes et les trois indices sont améliorés. (Résumé d'auteur

A two-way challenge: Enhancing EU cultural cooperation with Russia. Policy Contribution. June 2019

At a time of cooling relations, culture is arguably the European Union’s most powerful instrument to shape positive long-term relations with Russia. Against a convoluted international and domestic background, EU cultural action in the country is at present supported through a variety of financial instruments and programmes. Stakeholders and cultural operators agree that EU engagement in the cultural sphere plays a vital role in breaking civil society isolation and fostering long-term openness in Russia. However, in spite of considerable improvements, EU action in the cultural realm has still underutilised potential. To help the EU overcome this and thus unleash the transformative potential of culture, this policy brief proposes the following: The EU should develop a country-based strategic approach to the role of culture in external relations with Russia. Building on the recently developed EU strategic approach to international cultural relations and drawing inspiration from the policy towards the Western Balkans, this new document should enhance EU ambitions and adjust current policies to the aspirations and needs of cultural operators and local authorities. This country-specific strategy should involve Russian public authorities as partners, with a focus on local administrations and higher education institutions (HEIs), leading to a two-way and mutual approach to cultural relations. This rests on the principle that, without their involvement, EU cultural action in Russia is limited in scope. Increased focus on mutuality should lead to adopting ‘cultural cooperation’ as a suitable label to refer to cultural action in Russia, instead of the currently used terms ‘international cultural relations’ and ‘cultural diplomacy’. EU member states should agree on a bilateral framework on cultural cooperation and on a new programme co-funded by both the EU and Russia. This could be pursued in the framework of the new Creative Europe programme (2021-2027). Within Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) programmes, funding to support cultural initiatives should be increased and diversified, allowing non-public entities to benefit from a larger share of funding than the current framework allows. This could be done with specific calls for proposals targeting civil society organisations (CSOs) working in the arts, tourism, cultural heritage, and education. At the same time, more flexible requirements should be adopted to broaden the boundaries of civil society and thus involve entities other than CSOs in the cultural field (e.g. non-registered organisations, for-profit entities, individuals and artists). Support for smaller projects (under €50,000) should be increased within CBC programmes. CBC programmes should all adopt a 2-step submission of concept notes and full applications to ease the administrative burden of smaller organisations