How Coronary Perforation Looks at Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

Coarctation of the aorta is an unusual finding in an adult person during their sixth decade of life. We present a 52-year-old male who presented with left ventricular failure with low ejection fraction and atrial fibrillation who was incidentally detected to have critical coarctation of the aorta, which was successfully managed with balloon angioplasty. The patient had a favorable result at 6 months of clinical follow-up

HPV impact on oropharyngeal cancer radiological staging: 7th vs 8th edition of AJCC TNM classification

Purpose: To evaluate the agreement between pathological and radiological staging in oropharyngeal cancer by comparing the 7th and the 8th edition of the AJCC TNM system. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 57 cases of oropharyngeal cancer with lymph node metastases staged with the 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC TNM system. Comparison between clinical and radiological features and differences in agreement rates were calculated between radiological and pathological staging for the primary tumor (T) and lymph nodes (N) in HPVpos and HPVneg cases. Results: Comparison of HPVpos and HPVneg revealed a significantly different distribution between early and advanced stages in the 8 th edition, with a relevant number of HPVpos patients redefined from advanced stages whit the 7 th ed. to early stages with 8 th ed. (p < 0.01); no significant differences were found when comparing all diagnostic methods for T and N. Conclusions: The 8th edition of the AJCC TNM seems to lead to better pretreatment staging. For both HPVpos and HPVneg, the agreement between pretreatment radiological and pathological staging

Politica e giustizia in una comunità del patriarcato di Aquileia: Udine tra i secoli XIV e XV

La ricerca si focalizza sugli intrecci tra politica e giustizia a Udine tra XIV e XV secolo. Si è analizzata la dimensione strutturale in un’ottica di storia delle istituzioni coniugata con la storia sociale (la procedura delle assemblee giudiziarie e la loro composizione). Quindi si è preso in esame il momento congiunturale – gli ultimi decenni del patriarcato di Aquileia (1380-1420) – evidenziando, da un lato, le politiche giudiziarie repressive in funzione della lotta politica; dall’altro, la funzione legittimante della giustizia comunitaria esercitata secondo i dettami malleabili della consuetudine.This research focuses on the links between politics and justice in Udine during the fourteenth and early fifteenth century. First of all, I analyse the political and judicial institutions of the community from the point of view of social history. In this respect, I chose to study in deep their composition (family networks and personal careers). Then, I examine some specific critical junctures of the last decades of the patriarchate of Aquileia (1380-1420). I highlight two main aspects: on the one hand, the repressive judicial policies as a function of the political struggle; on the other, the legitimizing function of community justice exercised according to the malleable dictates of custom. I demonstrate that since the 1380s the urban elite started emancipating from patriarchs’ authority, exceeding the traditional boundaries that characterized the juridical structure of the prince-bishopric

Digital building management through Digital Twins and Data Science technologies

The management of buildings has been currently gaining momentum in the construction industry. Public and private organisations which deal with managing facilities are interested in and needy to use any means to run their business as best as possible. Indeed, the life cycle of buildings is distributed in an asymmetric way, where the longest part regards the operational phase, leading to a huge importance to this stage. Traditionally, buildings used to be managed by using paper-based documents, personal experience, and manual analysis approaches. This implied loss of data and separated data silos, insights potentially biased in favour of knowledge, and time-consuming tasks. With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, technology has boosted the opportunities to exploit disruptive tools to effectively manage buildings in a digital way and data has been put in the centre of attention. Although the digital building management can be extremely useful to manage the usage of data, organisations need appropriate methods, tools and skills to handle it. Nevertheless, most of organisations are not ready or capable to embrace innovations and still use old and traditional practices, even if error-prone and less efficient. As a result, the digital building management is not conducted at a reasonable and effective level. In addition to it, not only the abundance of data might be problematic, but also its format, as data is often stored using unstructured formats, leading to the impossibility to effectively exploit it. This leads to the following research questions: What are the methods and technologies that can be exploited in order to improve the building management? How should they be implemented and applied to reach such result? To what extent is data exploitable for the building management enhancement? The manuscript aims to improve the management of buildings. The first research objective concerns implementing the BIM method, defining crucial FM system features and describing how to generate digital models to lay the foundation for an effective digital management of buildings. The second one focuses on proposing solutions for space and maintenance management exploiting innovative technologies and techniques, namely Digital Twins and text-mining algorithms, in order to improve the management of buildings. The outcome of this research is a series of guidelines, which both public and private organisations can use, for enhancing building management.The management of buildings has been currently gaining momentum in the construction industry. Public and private organisations which deal with managing facilities are interested in and needy to use any means to run their business as best as possible. Indeed, the life cycle of buildings is distributed in an asymmetric way, where the longest part regards the operational phase, leading to a huge importance to this stage. Traditionally, buildings used to be managed by using paper-based documents, personal experience, and manual analysis approaches. This implied loss of data and separated data silos, insights potentially biased in favour of knowledge, and time-consuming tasks. With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, technology has boosted the opportunities to exploit disruptive tools to effectively manage buildings in a digital way and data has been put in the centre of attention. Although the digital building management can be extremely useful to manage the usage of data, organisations need appropriate methods, tools and skills to handle it. Nevertheless, most of organisations are not ready or capable to embrace innovations and still use old and traditional practices, even if error-prone and less efficient. As a result, the digital building management is not conducted at a reasonable and effective level. In addition to it, not only the abundance of data might be problematic, but also its format, as data is often stored using unstructured formats, leading to the impossibility to effectively exploit it. This leads to the following research questions: What are the methods and technologies that can be exploited in order to improve the building management? How should they be implemented and applied to reach such result? To what extent is data exploitable for the building management enhancement? The manuscript aims to improve the management of buildings. The first research objective concerns implementing the BIM method, defining crucial FM system features and describing how to generate digital models to lay the foundation for an effective digital management of buildings. The second one focuses on proposing solutions for space and maintenance management exploiting innovative technologies and techniques, namely Digital Twins and text-mining algorithms, in order to improve the management of buildings. The outcome of this research is a series of guidelines, which both public and private organisations can use, for enhancing building management

Ultrafast Dynamics of the Topological Semimetal GdSbxTe2-x-δ in the Presence and Absence of a Charge Density Wave

Time-resolved dynamics in charge-density-wave materials have revealed interesting out-of-equilibrium electronic responses. However, these are typically only performed in a single material possessing a CDW. As such, it is challenging to separate subtle effects originating from the CDW. Here, we report on the ultrafast dynamics of the GdSbxTe2–x–δ series of materials where EF can be tuned, resulting in a change from an undistorted tetraganal phase to a CDW with a wavevector that depends on x. Using mid-infrared, near-infrared, and visible excitation, we find the dynamics are sensitive to both EF and the presence of the CDW. Specifically, as the Sb content of the compounds increases, transient spectral features shift to higher probe energies. In addition, we observe an enhanced lifetime and change in the sign of the transient signal upon removing the CDW with high Sb concentrations. Finally, we reveal fluence- and temperature-dependent photoinduced responses of the differential reflectivity, which provide evidence of transient charge density wave suppression in related telluride materials. Taken together our results provide a blueprint for future ultrafast studies of CDW systems

RISULTATI FUNZIONALI ED ESTETICI E LORO IMPATTO PSICOLOGICO IN PAZIENTI ADULTI SOTTOPOSTI AD URETROPLASTICA PER LA CORREZIONE DELL'IPOSPADIA IN ETÀ PEDIATRICA. DATI PRELIMINARE.

Introduzione: L'ipospadia è una malformazione congenita del pene. La chirurgia è necessaria per tre ragioni: funzionale, sessuale ed estetica. L'obiettivo principale è stato determinare il tasso di complicanze complessivo, mentre il secondario è stato valutare i risultati funzionali e cosmetici a lungo termine e l'impatto psicologico dell'uretroplastica per la correzione dell'ipospadia nei pazienti adulti. Materiali e Metodi: La nostra popolazione di studio ha incluso casi consecutivi di due Istituti Italiani di Urologia Pediatrica ad alto volume ed esperienza (Milano e Padova) tra il 1 gennaio 1984 e il 1 gennaio 2002. Criteri di inclusione: uomini adulti (di età superiore ai 18 anni) sottoposti a uretroplastica per riparazione dell'ipospadia prima dei 18 anni. Risultati: Sono stati identificati 942 pazienti, 359 pazienti hanno soddisfatto i criteri di inclusione. 77 pazienti (21%) hanno completato i test psicologici e sessuologici, 94 (26%) i questionari sulla percezione peniena e solo 52 (15%) la valutazione urologica. Dopo un follow-up mediano di 21 anni (18-35), è stato riscontrato un tasso di complicanze generale del 30%: 12 pazienti (9%) hanno presentato una deiscenza ventrale, 8 (6%) una stenosi del meato/neo-uretrale, 10 (8%) una fistola uretrocutanea, 3 (2%) una curvatura ventrale ricorrente e 6 (5%) difetti cutanei. La forma della curva uroflussimetrica era a campana in 17 (33%) e Plateau 35 (67%). Analizzando i questionari, 1/3 dei pazienti ha definito il proprio stato di salute ottimo con un buon stato di salute mentale generale con una minima depressione e lieve grado di ansia. La prevalenza della disfunzione erettile era (15%) con grado lieve in 3 pazienti (12%) e bassa ansia per all’approccio sessuale. Conclusione: Il tasso complessivo di complicanze sembra essere leggermente superiore a quello riportato in letteratura. I dati preliminari mostrano una bassa ansia all’approccio della sfera sessuale e più della metà dei soggetti è soddisfatto della qualità della propria vita sessuale. Il nostro studio ha evidenziato un buon tasso di soddisfazione per il risultato estetico in più della metà dei pazienti, coerente con i dati riportati in letteratura. Possiamo concludere inoltre che l'uroflussometria rimane uno strumento utile, insieme alla clinica, nello screening delle complicanze in un follow-up a lungo termine dopo intervento chirurgico per ipospadia.Introduction: Hypospadias is a penile congenital malformation. Surgery is needed for three reasons: Functional, Sexual and Esthetical. The primary aim was to determine the overall complication rate whereas the secondary was the long term functional, cosmetic results and the psychological impact of urethroplasty for hypospadias repair in the adult patients. Material and Methods: Our study group included consecutive cases from two Italian high volume and experienced Paediatric Urology Institutions (Milan and Padua) between January 1st 1984 to January 1st 2002. Inclusion criteria: Adult men (older than 18 years) who underwent a urethroplasty for hypospadias repair before 18 years old. Results: 942 patients were identified, 359 patients met the inclusion criteria. 77 patients (21%) completed the psychological and sexuological tests, 94 (26%) questionnaires about penile perception and only 52 (15%) the urological evaluation. After a median follow-up of 21 years (18-35), we found an overall complication rate of 30%: 12 patient (9%) reported ventral dehiscence, 8 patients (6%) presented meatal/neourethral stenosis, 10 patients (8%) developed a urethrocutaneous fistula, 3 (2%) a recurrent ventral curvature and 6 (5%) skin defects. Uroflowmetry curve shape was bell in 17 (33%) and Plateau 35 (67%). Analysing the questionnaires 1/3 of patients defined their health excellent with a good overall state of mental health with a minimal depression and mild grade of anxiety. The prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) was (15%) with mild grade in 3 patients (12%) and low anxiety to approach sexual. Conclusion: The overall complication rate seems to be slightly higher than those reported in literature. Preliminary data show a low anxiety to approach sexual aspects and more than half of the subjects are satisfied by the quality of their sexual life. Our study highlighted a good satisfaction rate for the cosmetic result, in more than half patients, consistent with the data reported in the literature. We also conclude that uroflowmetry remains a useful tool in screening and prevent complication in a long term follow-up after hypospadias surgery

Italian artistic culture in the Far East. Galileo Chini at the Siamese court in the early twentieth century

he context of the exchanges between East and West from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries, this chapter addresses the nature, meaning and cultural impact regarding the presence in Bangkok of Galileo Chini, sent for, in 1911, by Rama VI to create the great decorative panels for the new Throne Hall, the Ananda Samakhom, which had just been finished by Italian architects and engineers hired by the Siamese sovereigns to “modernize” the urban fabric of the capital. The aim is to investigate the effects of these experiences in the Italian cultural context (such as the impact of the Siamese pavilion at the 1911 Turin Exhibition, designed in Bangkok by Turin architect Mario Tamagno, or that of Chini's sceneries, inspired by Siamese art, for the first memorable staging of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot). In addition to the Siamese aspect, the chapter explores, by way of comparison, the events relating to the earlier presence in Japan, between the 1870s and 1880s, of the sculptor Vincenzo Ragusa and the painter Antonio Fontanesi, invited to teach at the imperial academy

Schemi per la produzione di impulsi di luce ultracorti (sub-10fs) nel Laser ad Elettroni Liberi FERMI

Free-electron lasers (FELs) are capable of generating intense pulses of a few fs from VUV to hard X-rays. This possibility is opening a wide range of new scientific opportunities. The time scale of a few fs allows probing ultrarapid, out-of-equilibrium dynamics, driving transitions in regimes where excitation is not exhausted by fast decaying side channels, such as the Auger effect. Ultrashort pulses can probe THz-stimulated dynamics, such as coherent phonons or collective excitations in condensed matter, paving the way for the observation of coherent, field-dependent phenomena. When sort pulses are combined with a correspondingly high peak power, nonlinear optics is possible at EUV/soft X-ray wavelengths. These are examples showing the importance of generating short intense pulses at a FEL facility such as FERMI. In this thesis work, we discuss some of the schemes available to produce ultrashort photon FEL pulses. The work starts from a briefly review from analytical and theoretical point of view, highlighting the limitation in the short pulse generation due to the finite gain bandwidth of a FEL. FERMI, as a seeded FEL source, aims at generating close to the Fourier limit pulses. The interplay between pulse duration, spectral purity, and quality of the electron beam longitudinal phase space are analyzed. Several options available for the production of short pulses are then addressed from a computational point of view. In some promising cases it was finally possible to carry out experiments which were compared to the theoretical predictions. In the last three years, we have deepened the analysis of mainly two schemes: the superradiance cascade scheme, consisting in multiple harmonic jumps, with a small harmonic number, to quickly saturates the bunch, reaching the overbunched condition and to allows just the first peak to fully evolve in the superradiant evolution. This condition allows to reach a few fs pulses, due to the shortening of the bunching factor and the overbunched condition. The second peak is cleared by the out-of-resonance condition. The second one is the scarpered beam condition, in which the longitudinal length is reduced by the implementation of the scraper, which is composed by two blades that scatter away the tails of the electron charge distribution. By removing the outer charge, only the core distribution is allowed to propagate, resulting in a shorter electron bunch. We have proved that this will also reduce the FEL pulse duration. The first method, superradiance, was tested experimentally at FERMI in several conditions. This method has some limitations in terms of applicability, requiring specific undulator configurations to properly work, but it is now considered sufficiently mature to be applied in user experiments. The second method seems promising and applicable in the long wavelength range of FERMI but is still in the stage of simulation work. Before discussing the FEL proprieties, we want to briefly review some of the major schemes and concepts that concerns the production of ultrashort FEL pulses.Free-electron lasers (FELs) are capable of generating intense pulses of a few fs from VUV to hard X-rays. This possibility is opening a wide range of new scientific opportunities. The time scale of a few fs allows probing ultrarapid, out-of-equilibrium dynamics, driving transitions in regimes where excitation is not exhausted by fast decaying side channels, such as the Auger effect. Ultrashort pulses can probe THz-stimulated dynamics, such as coherent phonons or collective excitations in condensed matter, paving the way for the observation of coherent, field-dependent phenomena. When sort pulses are combined with a correspondingly high peak power, nonlinear optics is possible at EUV/soft X-ray wavelengths. These are examples showing the importance of generating short intense pulses at a FEL facility such as FERMI. In this thesis work, we discuss some of the schemes available to produce ultrashort photon FEL pulses. The work starts from a briefly review from analytical and theoretical point of view, highlighting the limitation in the short pulse generation due to the finite gain bandwidth of a FEL. FERMI, as a seeded FEL source, aims at generating close to the Fourier limit pulses. The interplay between pulse duration, spectral purity, and quality of the electron beam longitudinal phase space are analyzed. Several options available for the production of short pulses are then addressed from a computational point of view. In some promising cases it was finally possible to carry out experiments which were compared to the theoretical predictions. In the last three years, we have deepened the analysis of mainly two schemes: the superradiance cascade scheme, consisting in multiple harmonic jumps, with a small harmonic number, to quickly saturates the bunch, reaching the overbunched condition and to allows just the first peak to fully evolve in the superradiant evolution. This condition allows to reach a few fs pulses, due to the shortening of the bunching factor and the overbunched condition. The second peak is cleared by the out-of-resonance condition. The second one is the scarpered beam condition, in which the longitudinal length is reduced by the implementation of the scraper, which is composed by two blades that scatter away the tails of the electron charge distribution. By removing the outer charge, only the core distribution is allowed to propagate, resulting in a shorter electron bunch. We have proved that this will also reduce the FEL pulse duration. The first method, superradiance, was tested experimentally at FERMI in several conditions. This method has some limitations in terms of applicability, requiring specific undulator configurations to properly work, but it is now considered sufficiently mature to be applied in user experiments. The second method seems promising and applicable in the long wavelength range of FERMI but is still in the stage of simulation work. Before discussing the FEL proprieties, we want to briefly review some of the major schemes and concepts that concerns the production of ultrashort FEL pulses

Innovative approach for soil-structure interaction assessment

The severe damage caused by the Ms 8.1 Michoaćan earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 highlighted the potential effects of soil-structure interactions (SSI) during strong ground motion. Although SSI studies have been carried out for years, so far little attention has been paid to the analysis of the polarization of the wavefield radiated from a vibrating structure into its surroundings, which is necessary for a better characterization of the seismic wavefield. In the framework of this thesis, a novel approach for soil-structure interaction assessment based on waveform analysis is proposed. The approach is an innovative combination of deconvolution and polarization analysis of earthquakes recorded in a building and its surroundings. It allows the identification of the wave types of the radiated waves and the estimation of the energy of the radiated wavefield. The approach consists of four main steps: 1) evaluation of the dynamic behavior of the building, 2) deconvolution of the data recorded in the building and its surroundings, 3) identification of the seismic phase associated with the energy transmitted from the building to the ground and reconstruction of the radiated wavefield, and 4) polarization analysis. The proposed approach was tested using earthquake recordings from two experiments conducted in Italy. The first was carried out in 2019 in Matera, Italy, where a 7-story building and a nearby sports field were instrumented with three-component sensors. The second was conducted in 2022 at the test site in Piana di Toppo, Italy, where a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure was built to validate the approach in a simpler and more controlled environment. The frequency band containing most of the vibrational energy of the building in the Matera building was estimated using the spectral ratio method. Then, the earthquake data were deconvolved using a sensor at the top of the building as a reference. In order to identify the seismic phases of the complex deconvolved wavefield, a simple analytical transfer function was calculated based on a simplified geometry of the test site. In the analytical deconvolved wavefield, a peak related to the energy transmitted from the building to its surroundings was identified. The reconstructed radiated wavefield was significant compared to the signal recorded in the surroundings of the building and its energy was calculated to be up to 59~\% of the field signal. The polarization of the wavefield transmitted from the building to its surroundings was estimated as mostly linear in the analyzed frequency band. This could be explained, for example, by quasi-Rayleigh waves characterized by three planes in which radial and transverse components have a phase shift and the particle motion in the horizontal plane is elliptical. The built structure of the Piana di Toppo experiment did not transmit shaking energy back to the ground. This prevented the successful identification of the types of waves radiated and the amount of related energy amount. The results suggest that such an experimental design may not be suitable for an SSI experiment. The wavefield radiated from the building in Matera consisted of unconventionally polarized surface waves. Moreover, the energy radiated back from the building showed that the influence of the building on the ground motion was significant for the horizontal components in the considered frequency band. However, for the second experiment, no wavefield radiated from the built structure could be identified, and the results obtained in this thesis are limited to the recordings of only one earthquake. Therefore, more data need to be analyzed to confirm these observations. Further analysis with different data sets will be performed in the future to validate the proposed approach and the obtained results.The severe damage caused by the Ms 8.1 Michoaćan earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 highlighted the potential effects of soil-structure interactions (SSI) during strong ground motion. Although SSI studies have been carried out for years, so far little attention has been paid to the analysis of the polarization of the wavefield radiated from a vibrating structure into its surroundings, which is necessary for a better characterization of the seismic wavefield. In the framework of this thesis, a novel approach for soil-structure interaction assessment based on waveform analysis is proposed. The approach is an innovative combination of deconvolution and polarization analysis of earthquakes recorded in a building and its surroundings. It allows the identification of the wave types of the radiated waves and the estimation of the energy of the radiated wavefield. The approach consists of four main steps: 1) evaluation of the dynamic behavior of the building, 2) deconvolution of the data recorded in the building and its surroundings, 3) identification of the seismic phase associated with the energy transmitted from the building to the ground and reconstruction of the radiated wavefield, and 4) polarization analysis. The proposed approach was tested using earthquake recordings from two experiments conducted in Italy. The first was carried out in 2019 in Matera, Italy, where a 7-story building and a nearby sports field were instrumented with three-component sensors. The second was conducted in 2022 at the test site in Piana di Toppo, Italy, where a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) structure was built to validate the approach in a simpler and more controlled environment. The frequency band containing most of the vibrational energy of the building in the Matera building was estimated using the spectral ratio method. Then, the earthquake data were deconvolved using a sensor at the top of the building as a reference. In order to identify the seismic phases of the complex deconvolved wavefield, a simple analytical transfer function was calculated based on a simplified geometry of the test site. In the analytical deconvolved wavefield, a peak related to the energy transmitted from the building to its surroundings was identified. The reconstructed radiated wavefield was significant compared to the signal recorded in the surroundings of the building and its energy was calculated to be up to 59~\% of the field signal. The polarization of the wavefield transmitted from the building to its surroundings was estimated as mostly linear in the analyzed frequency band. This could be explained, for example, by quasi-Rayleigh waves characterized by three planes in which radial and transverse components have a phase shift and the particle motion in the horizontal plane is elliptical. The built structure of the Piana di Toppo experiment did not transmit shaking energy back to the ground. This prevented the successful identification of the types of waves radiated and the amount of related energy amount. The results suggest that such an experimental design may not be suitable for an SSI experiment. The wavefield radiated from the building in Matera consisted of unconventionally polarized surface waves. Moreover, the energy radiated back from the building showed that the influence of the building on the ground motion was significant for the horizontal components in the considered frequency band. However, for the second experiment, no wavefield radiated from the built structure could be identified, and the results obtained in this thesis are limited to the recordings of only one earthquake. Therefore, more data need to be analyzed to confirm these observations. Further analysis with different data sets will be performed in the future to validate the proposed approach and the obtained results

Il futuro dell’Europa sociale e le dimensioni del social mainstreaming

The essay analyzes the current trends of social mainstreaming implemented through several tools, including the strengthening of social issues in the European Semester, the systems for monitoring social indicators (social scoreboard) in the Member States and the enhancement of the Horizontal Social Clause under article 9 TFEU. The paper examines the state of application of the European Pillar of Social Rights also following the outcome of the social mainstreaming tools and in the light of the proposals emerged from the Conference on the Future of Europe, which ended in May 2022