Using state-dependent local projections and historical US data, we find that government spending multipliers are considerably larger in periods of private debt overhang. In particular, while ...multipliers are below or close to one in low private debt states, we find significant crowding-in of private spending in periods of debt overhang, resulting in multipliers that are much larger than one. In high private debt episodes, more government purchases even reduce the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product. These results are robust for the type of shocks, and when we control for the business cycle, financial crises, deleveraging episodes, government debt overhang, and the zero-lower-bound.
Noise maps and action plans represent the main tools in the fight against citizens' exposure to noise, especially that produced by road traffic. The present and the future in smart traffic control is ...represented by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which however have not yet been sufficiently studied as possible noise-mitigation tools. However, ITS dedicated to traffic control rely on models and input data that are like those required for road traffic noise mapping. The present work developed an instrumentation based on low-cost cameras and a vehicle recognition and counting methodology using modern machine learning techniques, compliant with the requirements of the CNOSSOS-EU noise assessment model. The instrumentation and methodology could be integrated with existing ITS for traffic control in order to design an integrated method, which could also provide updated data over time for noise maps and action plans. The test was carried out as a follow up of the L.I.S.T. Port project, where an ITS was installed for road traffic management in the Italian port city of Piombino. The acoustic efficacy of the installation is evaluated by looking at the difference in the acoustic impact on the population before and after the ITS installation by means of the distribution of noise exposure, the evaluation of G
and G
, and the calculation of the number of highly annoyed and sleep-disturbed citizens. Finally, it is shown how the ITS system represents a valid solution to be integrated with targeted and more specific sound mitigation, such as the laying of low-emission asphalts.
•Mapping road traffic noise is fundamental for preventing health effects on citizens.•Noise models need to react to social changes and future scenarios.•CNOSSOS-EU coefficients for electric vehicles ...have been calculated starting from Controlled Pass-By measurements in urban scenarios.•The obtained results, with uncertainties, are compared to scientific literature.
Road traffic noise mapping is a fundamental step in the prevention and mitigation of citizens' exposure to noise, which is the cause of well-known and widespread health issues. The most current noise simulation models are not yet ready to adapt to the present and future scenarios of sustainable mobility, manifested by the increasing of electric vehicles. To improve the accuracy of the simulated noise level results, the European CNOSSOS-EU model uses different calculation coefficients for the sound power for each car category. However, for electric vehicles (EVs), such coefficients have not been defined yet, and it is deliberately left open in the decree pending studies dedicated to their definition. In order to fill this gap, the present study defines the CNOSSOS-EU coefficients for calculating the sound power of EVs starting from the Controlled Pass-By measurements in a real case scenario. The analysis performed with four different EVs, considering two different pair of tyres and two different pavements such as reference (RP) and crumb rubber (CRP). A peculiarity of the work is that measurements were deliberately carried out in urban roads since they represent the case where the road traffic noise maps will be used the most to investigate citizens’ exposure to noise. However, this real case scenario implied measurement difficulties which required a specific adaptation of the data analysis procedure. The results are compared with similar studies thus defining values that can be taken as a reference in road noise simulations. Results are the coefficients for the open category (category 5) of CNOSSOS-EU for both RP and CRP, but also a methodology applicable into urban area under real conditions that could act as a basis for other future studies aimed at broadening its applicability and statistical value.
Acoustic cameras (ACs) have become very popular in the last decade as an increasing number of applications in environmental acoustics are observed, which are mainly used to display the points of ...greatest noise emission of one or more sound sources. The results obtained are not yet certifiable because the beamforming algorithms or hardware behave differently under different measurement conditions, but at present, not enough studies have been dedicated to clarify the issues. The present study aims to provide a methodology to extract analytical features from sound maps obtained with ACs, which are generally only visual information. Based on the inputs obtained through a specific measurement campaign carried out with an AC and a known sound source in free field conditions, the present work elaborated a methodology for gathering the coordinates of the maximum emission point on screen, its distance from the real position of the source and the uncertainty associated with this position. The results obtained with the proposed method can be compared, thus acting as a basis for future comparison studies among calculations made with different beamforming algorithms or data gathered with different ACs in all real case scenarios. The method can be applicable to any other sector interested in gathering data from intensity maps not related to sound.
Distinguishing between meningeal-based and intra-axial lesions by means of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings may occasionally be challenging. Meningiomas and gliomas account for most of the ...total primary brain neoplasms in dogs, and differentiating between these two forms is mandatory in choosing the correct therapy. The aims of the present study are: 1) to determine the accuracy of a deep convolutional neural network (CNN, GoogleNet) in discriminating between meningiomas and gliomas in pre- and post-contrast T1 images and T2 images; 2) to develop an image classifier, based on the combination of CNN and MRI sequence displaying the highest accuracy, to predict whether a lesion is a meningioma or a glioma.
Eighty cases with a final diagnosis of meningioma (n = 56) and glioma (n = 24) from two different institutions were included in the study. A pre-trained CNN was retrained on our data through a process called transfer learning. To evaluate CNN accuracy in the different imaging sequences, the dataset was divided into a training, a validation and a test set. The accuracy of the CNN was calculated on the test set. The combination between post-contrast T1 images and CNN was chosen in developing the image classifier (trCNN). Ten images from challenging cases were excluded from the database in order to test trCNN accuracy; the trCNN was trained on the remainder of the dataset of post-contrast T1 images, and correctly classified all the selected images. To compensate for the imbalance between meningiomas and gliomas in the dataset, the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) was also calculated. The trCNN showed an accuracy of 94% (MCC = 0.88) on post-contrast T1 images, 91% (MCC = 0.81) on pre-contrast T1-images and 90% (MCC = 0.8) on T2 images.
The developed trCNN could be a reliable tool in distinguishing between different meningiomas and gliomas from MR images.
The notion of the Anthropocene has become a popular (and contested) term to describe the times we live in; among other things, it alerts us to the damage mainstream Western-centred anthropocentrism ...has wreaked on nature: in so doing, the Anthropocene signals that for life as we know it to continue, a more sustainable relationship with nature must be urgently implemented. The article will discuss a project that emerged as part of a teacher education programme in the UK where selected insights elaborated by Donna Haraway have been used to inform a Bee Hotel project. The resulting ‘Harawayan’ Bee Hotel (HBH) was used as a catalyst to help trainee teachers to both blend climate education into the standard curriculum to be delivered during their placements and, importantly, to introduce them to a new conceptualisation of nature. Specifically, trainee teachers were presented with, and encouraged to integrate into their teaching practices, a vision of nature that recognises and respects its uniqueness, agency and worth, and that accepts that some level of ecological instrumentalisation and destruction is necessary for human life. The article will argue that the HBH acts as a microcosm where it is possible to forge and practice, for both present and future generations, an ethics that encourages the establishment of a respectful relationship with nature, facilitating the meeting of SDGs and offering the thinking tools to go beyond them.
After the European Environmental Noise Directive prescribed noise maps and action plans, wide scientific literature and a consistent number of mitigation strategies emerged for road, railway, ...airport, and industrial noise. Unfortunately, very little attention has been paid to the noise produced by ports in their surroundings, even though there could be many areas affected by it. At present, more attention seems to be paid to noise produced underwater, mostly for military and security reasons and for its interference with wildlife, rather than airborne noise and its influence on human health. In the framework of a project aiming to shed more light on a topic so far under-investigated, this paper presents an acoustical characterization of different small vessels at various speeds that move around on a daily basis in every type of port, produced by means of short- and long-term measurements. The new information acquired was used to produce a map of noise generated by vessels moving in Livorno’s canals, which branch off in a densely inhabited area. The simulations were validated using long-term measurement. The number of citizens exposed was also estimated and used to calculate the number of highly annoyed people according to the recent curve for road traffic noise proposed by Guski et al. In order to prevent citizen exposure to noise and possible complaints about small boats, different scenarios and possible future situations such as various vessel speeds, limited flow, restricted areas for some categories, or new residential areas were studied.
The prevalence of idiopathic epilepsy and structural epilepsy in Boxer dogs is unknown. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prevalence of structural and idiopathic epilepsy in the ...Boxer population. A total of 74 Boxer dogs were included in the study from the database of one referral hospital and the following were recorded: signalment, history, clinical findings and results of advanced diagnostic imaging. Five dogs (6.8%) were diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, of which one was in the <6 months age group, three were in the 6–72 months age group and one was in the >72 months age group. Sixty-nine dogs (93.2%) were diagnosed with structural epilepsy. Sixty-six had a suspected intracranial neoplasia: Eight were in the 6–72 months age group and represent 66.7% of the dogs in that age group. The other fifty-eight were in the >72 months age group and represent 96.7% of the dogs in that age group. In our Boxer population, 81.8% of the patients had a suspected intra-axial tumor and 22.7% of dogs with an intracranial pathology nevertheless had a normal neurological examination. In conclusion, in the majority of boxer patients the cause of epilepsy is a suspected intracranial neoplasia regardless of the age at presentation. Considering the finding in this study of a low prevalence of presumed idiopathic epilepsy in the Boxer breed, it is recommended that patients who satisfy Tier I confidence level of the “International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force” (IVETF) also undergo an MRI study of the brain.
A 2‐year‐old female cat was referred for progressive neurological signs indicative of involvement of the prosencephalon, cerebellum, and brainstem. Magnetic resonance imaging identified multifocal, ...bilateral, symmetrical lesions with strong contrast enhancement, affecting multiple areas of the brain. Neuropathology at necropsy showed demyelination, necrotic lesions, spongiosis, and neuropil edema with reactive astrogliosis and neovascularization. Ultrastructural study indicated mitochondrial polymorphism. Genetic investigations outlined 2 polymorphisms within the tRNA‐Leu(UUR) gene of mitochondrial DNA. Imaging and neuropathological findings were consistent with selective symmetrical necrotizing encephalopathy, for which genetic investigations support mitochondrial pathogenesis.
Hemifacial microsomia (HFM) was diagnosed in a 9‐day‐old Romagnola calf. The condition was characterized by microtia of the left ear, anotia of the right ear, asymmetry of the face, and deafness. ...Magnetic resonance imaging revealed agenesis of the right pinna and both tympanic bullae, asymmetry of the temporal bones and temporomandibular joints, and right pontine meningocele. Brainstem auditory evoked responses confirmed the impaired auditory capacity. At gross post mortem examination, there was agenesis and hypoplasia of the right and the left external ear, respectively. No histological abnormalities were detected in the inner ears. A trio whole‐genome sequencing approach was carried out and identified a private homozygous missense variant in LAMB1 affecting a conserved residue (p.Arg668Cys). Genotyping of 221 Romagnola bulls revealed a carrier prevalence <2%. This represents a report of a LAMB1‐related autosomal recessive inherited disorder in domestic animals and adds LAMB1 to the candidate genes for HFM.
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