4,884 research outputs found

    Graduate Catalog of Studies, 2023-2024

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    Occupational health and safety issues in human-robot collaboration: State of the art and open challenges

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    Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) refers to the interaction of workers and robots in a shared workspace. Owing to the integration of the industrial automation strengths with the inimitable cognitive capabilities of humans, HRC is paramount to move towards advanced and sustainable production systems. Although the overall safety of collaborative robotics has increased over time, further research efforts are needed to allow humans to operate alongside robots, with awareness and trust. Numerous safety concerns are open, and either new or enhanced technical, procedural and organizational measures have to be investigated to design and implement inherently safe and ergonomic automation solutions, aligning the systems performance and the human safety. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis and a literature review are carried out in the present paper to provide a comprehensive overview of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues in HRC. As a result, the most researched topics and application areas, and the possible future lines of research are identified. Reviewed articles stress the central role played by humans during collaboration, underlining the need to integrate the human factor in the hazard analysis and risk assessment. Human-centered design and cognitive engineering principles also require further investigations to increase the worker acceptance and trust during collaboration. Deepened studies are compulsory in the healthcare sector, to investigate the social and ethical implications of HRC. Whatever the application context is, the implementation of more and more advanced technologies is fundamental to overcome the current HRC safety concerns, designing low-risk HRC systems while ensuring the system productivity

    Metabolic pathways and therapeutic opportunities in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia microenvironment

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    This study delves into the intricate metabolic dynamics of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) within the tumour microenvironment (TME) of lymphoid tissues. Unlike the traditional focus on quiescent CLL cells in peripheral blood, this study aims to unravel complex metabolic behaviour of CLL cells in the lymph node compartment, where CLL cells divide and become activated.Utilizing state-of-the-art methods, such as metabolomics, transcriptomics, and fluxomics, we found that interaction of CLL cells with adjacent cells within the TME results in significant metabolic alterations. Particularly, we discovered a shift towards glutamine dependency of CLL cells upon TME-related stimulation. Such metabolic alterations impact sensitivity of these leukaemia cells to treatments, especially to specific apoptosis inducing agents, such as venetoclax, which has become the cornerstone of CLL treatment. The study demonstrates that by targeting specific metabolic pathways, such as the electron transport chain, CLL cells can be sensitized to venetoclax treatment. This finding can be exploited for the development of innovative strategies in order to overcome drug resistance.Additionally, the thesis explores the effects of mitochondrial glutamine transporters and the broader implications of lipid metabolism alterations in CLL. It also probes into the role of key genetic factors, such as p53, in the metabolic regulation of CLL and other B cell malignancies, unveiling new insights into potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.Conclusively, this research not only fills critical gaps in our understanding of CLL metabolism within the TME but also paves the way for novel, targeted therapeutic interventions. By linking metabolic alterations to treatment responses, it sets the stage for more effective, personalized approaches in the management of CLL

    Graduate Catalog of Studies, 2023-2024

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    Multidisciplinary perspectives on Artificial Intelligence and the law

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    This open access book presents an interdisciplinary, multi-authored, edited collection of chapters on Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) and the Law. AI technology has come to play a central role in the modern data economy. Through a combination of increased computing power, the growing availability of data and the advancement of algorithms, AI has now become an umbrella term for some of the most transformational technological breakthroughs of this age. The importance of AI stems from both the opportunities that it offers and the challenges that it entails. While AI applications hold the promise of economic growth and efficiency gains, they also create significant risks and uncertainty. The potential and perils of AI have thus come to dominate modern discussions of technology and ethics – and although AI was initially allowed to largely develop without guidelines or rules, few would deny that the law is set to play a fundamental role in shaping the future of AI. As the debate over AI is far from over, the need for rigorous analysis has never been greater. This book thus brings together contributors from different fields and backgrounds to explore how the law might provide answers to some of the most pressing questions raised by AI. An outcome of the Católica Research Centre for the Future of Law and its interdisciplinary working group on Law and Artificial Intelligence, it includes contributions by leading scholars in the fields of technology, ethics and the law.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Climate Change and Critical Agrarian Studies

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    Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to humanity today and plays out as a cruel engine of myriad forms of injustice, violence and destruction. The effects of climate change from human-made emissions of greenhouse gases are devastating and accelerating; yet are uncertain and uneven both in terms of geography and socio-economic impacts. Emerging from the dynamics of capitalism since the industrial revolution — as well as industrialisation under state-led socialism — the consequences of climate change are especially profound for the countryside and its inhabitants. The book interrogates the narratives and strategies that frame climate change and examines the institutionalised responses in agrarian settings, highlighting what exclusions and inclusions result. It explores how different people — in relation to class and other co-constituted axes of social difference such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and occupation — are affected by climate change, as well as the climate adaptation and mitigation responses being implemented in rural areas. The book in turn explores how climate change – and the responses to it - affect processes of social differentiation, trajectories of accumulation and in turn agrarian politics. Finally, the book examines what strategies are required to confront climate change, and the underlying political-economic dynamics that cause it, reflecting on what this means for agrarian struggles across the world. The 26 chapters in this volume explore how the relationship between capitalism and climate change plays out in the rural world and, in particular, the way agrarian struggles connect with the huge challenge of climate change. Through a huge variety of case studies alongside more conceptual chapters, the book makes the often-missing connection between climate change and critical agrarian studies. The book argues that making the connection between climate and agrarian justice is crucial
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