Bell, a textual language for the bach library

International audienceIn this paper we introduce bell, a new, small programming language included in the bach package for Max. The main design goals of bell are ease of integration with Max and bach and maximum compatibility with pre-existing syntaxes and conventions bach users are already acquainted to. The language is mainly exposed in Max through a new object named bach.eval, but other, older objects have been updated so as to take advantage of it. In this article, we shall discuss the main choices underlying the development of bell, and give a brief outline of its syntax and the way it integrates within Max

Comment on “early efficacy of intra-articular HYADD® 4 (Hymovis®) injections for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis”

We read with great interest the study by Priano titled“Early efficacy of intra-articular HYADD® 4 (Hymovis®) injections for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.” 1 The author would like to explore the efficacy of intra-articular HYADD 4 (Hymovis) injections for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Results from this study are very interesting and promising from a clinical aspect; however, we believe that studying patient’sclinical status with visual analog scale and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index scale should be supported by biomechanical information. From this point of view, to have more data that could influence the clinical practice, it is important to note the possible action that intraarticular injections of different kinds of hyaluronic acid could have on walking biomechanics using an objective measurement tool as gait analysis. In our opinion, the work by Priano1 is promising because it investigates the efficacy of a new formulation of hyaluronic acid. Nowadays, many hyaluronic acid formulations are approved for clinical use in Europe and the United States. Furthermore, hyaluronic acid injections’ efficacy has been demonstrated also in hip osteoarthritis. 2 However, even if these formulations differ in their chemical– physical properties, joint space half-life, rheological properties, and clinical efficacy, there are few studies that investigate hyaluronic acid’s possible action from a biomechanical point of view. 3,4 From this point of view, we believe that osteoarthritis management and rehabilitation should be prescribed after an objective analysis of functional walking alterations using gait analysis instrumentations. The use of gait analysis should be desirable during diagnosis and follow-up. In fact, it is capable to identify different walking patterns in patient with osteoarthritis of the lower limbs, whereas the radiology can evaluate the status of the joint’s structures

Multiple gait patterns within the same Winters class in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy

Abstract Background Previous literature hypothesized that Winters type I are mainly characterized by a hypo-activation of dorsiflexors and type II by hyperactivation of plantarflexors around initial contact. However, it is currently not known if hemiplegic children belonging to the same Winters class really share the same muscle activation patterns, although this information might have relevant clinical implications in the patient management. Methods Gait data of 38 hemiplegic cerebral palsy children (16 Winters type I, 22 Winters type II) were analyzed, focusing on the foot and shank. A 2.5-minute walk test was considered, corresponding to more than 100 gait cycles for each child, analyzing the muscle activation patterns of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius lateralis. The large stride-to-stride variability of gait data was handled in an innovative way, processing separately: 1) distinct foot-floor contact patterns, and for each specific foot-floor contact pattern 2) distinct muscle “activation modalities”, averaging only across gait cycles with the same number of activations, and obtaining, in both cases, the pattern frequency-of-occurrence. Findings At least 2 representative foot-floor contact patterns within each Winters group, and up to 4–5 distinct muscle activation patterns were documented. Interpretation It cannot be defined a predominant muscle activation pattern specific for a Winters group. For a correct clinical assessment of a hemiplegic child, it is advisable to record and properly analyze gait signals during a longer period of time (2–3 minutes), rather than (subjectively) selecting a few “clean” gait cycles, since these cycles may not be representative of the patient’s gait

New Constraints on Supersymmetry Using Neutrino Telescopes

We demonstrate that megaton-mass neutrino telescopes are able to observe the signal from long-lived particles beyond the Standard Model, in particular the stau, the supersymmetric partner of the tau lepton. Its signature is an excess of charged particle tracks with horizontal arrival directions and energy deposits between 0.1 and 1 TeV inside the detector. We exploit this previously-overlooked signature to search for stau particles in the publicly available IceCube data. The data shows no evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model. We derive a new lower limit on the stau mass of $320$ GeV (95\% C.L.) and estimate that this new approach, when applied to the full data set available to the IceCube collaboration, will reach world-leading sensitivity to the stau mass ($m_{\tilde{\tau}}=450\,\mathrm{GeV}$)

A procedure to map subsidence at the regional scale using the persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) technique

In this paper, we present a procedure to map subsidence at the regional scale by means of persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI). Subsidence analysis is usually restricted to plain areas and where the presence of this phenomenon is already known. The proposed procedure allows a fast identification of subsidences in large and hilly-mountainous areas. The test area is the Tuscany region, in Central Italy, where several areas are affected by natural and anthropogenic subsidence and where PSI data acquired by the Envisat satellite are available both in ascending and descending orbit. The procedure consists of the definition of the vertical and horizontal components of the deformation measured by satellite at first, then of the calculation of the “real” displacement direction, so that mainly vertical deformations can be individuated and mapped

The conspiracy phenomenon: Are we predisposed to fake news?

openLa tesi si compone di uno studio riguardo alla tematica del complottismo/ cospirazionismo, in particolare legata al Covid-19, che è stata indagata mediante l'utilizzo di un questionario creato appositamente per l'occasione sulla piattaforma Qualtrics e successivamente diffuso online. Le domande prendono piene a partire dalla linea teorica elaborata da K.M. Douglas circa le motivazioni che stanno dietro alla scelta di adesione alle teorie del complotto. Partendo da una ricerca teorica circa il fenomeno in sé e la sua diffusione mediante le fake news sui social media, lo studio si è posto l'obiettivo di indagare l'effettiva esistenza di tali bisogni primari da soddisfare mediante l'impiego di una mentalità complottista e se fosse possibile stimolare una credenza di questo tipo attraverso l'esposizione a determinati input di natura scientifica o cospirazionista. I risultati prodotti non mostrano una significativa differenza tra chi era stato esposto ad uno stimolo e chi all'altro nel grado di accordo e/o disaccordo con le domande, ma dimostrano che chi ha un'ideazione complottista di base tenderà a soddisfare i bisogni fondamentali con l'impiego di una modalità di pensiero complottista. I risultati prodotti potrebbero contribuire a future ricerche circa l'origine della credenza a tali teorie e alle fake news

Fault architecture in the Main Ethiopian Rift and comparison with experimental models: Implications for rift evolution and Nubia-Somalia kinematics

The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) offers a complete record of the time–space evolution of a continental rift. We have characterized the brittle deformation in different rift sectors through the statistical analysis of a new database of faults obtained from the integration between satellite images and digital elevation models, and implemented with field controls. This analysis has been compared with the results of lithospheric-scale analogue models reproducing the kinematical conditions of orthogonal and oblique rifting. Integration of these approaches suggests substantial differences in fault architecture in the different rift sectors that in turn reflect an along-axis variation of the rift development and southward decrease in rift evolution. The northernmost MER sector is in a mature stage of incipient continental rupture, with deformation localised within the rift floor along discrete tectono-magmatic segments and almost inactive boundary faults. The central MER sector records a transitional stage in which migration of deformation from boundary faults to faults internal to the rift valley is in an incipient phase. The southernmost MER sector is instead in an early continental stage, with the largest part of deformation being accommodated by boundary faults and almost absent internal faults. The MER thus records along its axis the typical evolution of continental rifting, from fault-dominated rift morphology in the early stages of extension toward magma-dominated extension during break-up. The extrapolation of modelling results suggests that a variable rift obliquity contributes to the observed along-axis variations in rift architecture and evolutionary stage, being oblique rifting conditions controlling the MER evolution since its birth in the Late Miocene in relation to a constant post ca. 11 Ma ~ N100°E Nubia–Somalia motion.Published479-4923.2. Tettonica attiva3.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della TerraJCR Journalreserve