Universal Design and Communication Rights: Meeting the Challenge of Linguistic and Communicative Diversity

This essay discusses Universal Design (UD) with respect to language and communication rights. Because Universal Design approaches aim at meeting human variability from the get-go, they must be able to address linguistic and communicative variability. Variability must individual variation in language functions and communication activities in the absence of disability and variability when speech, language or communicative disorders are present. Current conceptualizations of speech, language and communication disabilities take a person-centered approach and a bio-psycho-social framework of health and disease (WHO-ICF) that encompass three ontological domains: body functions and structures, activities, and participation. The framework crucially lists environmental factors that interact with each domain. I illustrate how UD can successfully be integrated with an ICF framework in the domain of speech, language and communication impairments; I then propose that the ICF model can be extended beyond disability to non-clinical populations and settings, to meet the communication rights for all

Transforming our World through Universal Design for Human Development

An environment, or any building product or service in it, should ideally be designed to meet the needs of all those who wish to use it. Universal Design is the design and composition of environments, products, and services so that they can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. It creates products, services and environments that meet people’s needs. In short, Universal Design is good design. This book presents the proceedings of UD2022, the 6th International Conference on Universal Design, held from 7 - 9 September 2022 in Brescia, Italy.The conference is targeted at professionals and academics interested in the theme of universal design as related to the built environment and the wellbeing of users, but also covers mobility and urban environments, knowledge, and information transfer, bringing together research knowledge and best practice from all over the world. The book contains 72 papers from 13 countries, grouped into 8 sections and covering topics including the design of inclusive natural environments and urban spaces, communities, neighborhoods and cities; housing; healthcare; mobility and transport systems; and universally- designed learning environments, work places, cultural and recreational spaces. One section is devoted to universal design and cultural heritage, which had a particular focus at this edition of the conference. The book reflects the professional and disciplinary diversity represented in the UD movement, and will be of interest to all those whose work involves inclusive design

A doctor's life in the army

For this issue, MARIKA AZZOPARDI meets up with COLONEL CHEVALIER DRRAYMOND BENCINI to talk about his long and rewarding career in the British Army. The first time she met him was in 2002 when she reviewed his book "Hitler's Deputy was One of my Patients - A Maltese Doctor in the British Army:' This time round, Dr BenCini speaks candidly about his personal experiences as a military doctor.peer-reviewe

Spin and exchange coupling for Ti embedded in a surface dipolar network

We have studied the spin and exchange coupling of Ti atoms on a Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface using density functional theory. We find that individual Ti have a spin of 1.0 (i.e., 2 Bohr Magneton) on the Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface instead of spin-1/2 as found by Scanning Tunneling Microscope. We suggest an explanation for this difference, a two-stage Kondo effect, which can be verified by experiments. By calculating the exchange coupling for Ti dimers on the Cu$_2$N/Cu(100) surface, we find that the exchange coupling across a `void' of 3.6\AA\ is antiferromagnetic, whereas indirect (superexchange) coupling through a N atom is ferromagnetic. We confirm the existence of superexchange interactions by varying the Ti-N angle in a model trimer calculation. For a square lattice of Ti on Cu$_2$N/Cu(100), we find a novel spin striped phase

design and preliminary testing of an haptic handle for powered two wheelers

In the last decade European accidentology data, divided per mode of transport, have shown the increasing relevance of safety for Vulnerable Road User (VRU). In particular Powered Two-Wheeler (PTW) accidents are increasing both as number of events and as percentage of the total fatalities. The European Community has promoted and co-financed several research projects to promote the development and implementation of viable technical solutions to reduce fatalities and mitigate accident consequences. Most of the proposed devices and systems require the interaction with the rider through Human Machine Interface (HMI) devices. This work focuses on the design of an innovative haptic HMI device to communicate information/warnings to the rider in a reliable and intuitive way. An in-depth state of the art on HMI devices for PTWs is presented. The design phase is illustrated since the initial concept stage, through the preliminary experiments to characterise the human action, until the experimental validation of a mock-up and discussion of the results

Spin electric effects in molecular antiferromagnets

Molecular nanomagnets show clear signatures of coherent behavior and have a wide variety of effective low-energy spin Hamiltonians suitable for encoding qubits and implementing spin-based quantum information processing. At the nanoscale, the preferred mechanism for control of quantum systems is through application of electric fields, which are strong, can be locally applied, and rapidly switched. In this work, we provide the theoretical tools for the search for single molecule magnets suitable for electric control. By group-theoretical symmetry analysis we find that the spin-electric coupling in triangular molecules is governed by the modification of the exchange interaction, and is possible even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling. In pentagonal molecules the spin-electric coupling can exist only in the presence of spin-orbit interaction. This kind of coupling is allowed for both $s=1/2$ and $s=3/2$ spins at the magnetic centers. Within the Hubbard model, we find a relation between the spin-electric coupling and the properties of the chemical bonds in a molecule, suggesting that the best candidates for strong spin-electric coupling are molecules with nearly degenerate bond orbitals. We also investigate the possible experimental signatures of spin-electric coupling in nuclear magnetic resonance and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, as well as in the thermodynamic measurements of magnetization, electric polarization, and specific heat of the molecules.Comment: 31 pages, 24 figure

Mandible reconstruction with iliac crest graft and implant assisted prosthesis after resection of mandibular myxoma

La reconstrucción de los maxilares luego de las resecciones por tumores odontogénicos agresivos sigue siendo un tema de debate entre los cirujanos bucomaxilofaciales, en cuanto a la técnica a emplear y los momentos oportunos para implementarla. En nuestra experiencia, ante la presencia de tumores odontogénicos agresivos, la resección con margen de seguridad es mandataria, y de ser posible la reconstrucción inmediata con injerto de cresta ilíaca para una posterior rehabilitación oral implanto-asistida. En el presente trabajo reportamos un casos clínico de una paciente con un mixoma mandibular resecado y reconstruido en forma inmediata con injerto de cresta ilíaca y su posterior rehabilitación protética implanto asistida.Mandible reconstruction after resection due to aggressive odontogenic tumors continues to be a subject of discussion among buco-maxillofacial surgeons, especially regarding the technique used and the appropriate time to implement it. In our experience, in the presence of aggressive odontogenic tumors, resection with safety margins is compulsory, if possible, accompanied by the immediate reconstruction with iliac crest graft for subsequent implantassisted oral rehab. A case report of a patient with resected mandibular myxoma immediately reconstructed with iliac crest graft and implant-assisted prosthetic rehab is described in this paper.Facultad de Odontologí

Study of the deactivation of a commercial catalyst for ethylbenzene dehydrogenation to styrene

The catalytic performance and characteristics of an industrial catalyst, fresh and spent, i.e. downloaded from an industrial reactor after a normal lifetime cycle, were compared. Some different causes of catalyst deactivation, such as loss or redistribution of promoters, active phase modification, Fe 3+ reduction, coke deposition on catalyst surface and physical modifications, were evidenced by means of several techniques. All the mentioned causes of deactivation showed strictly interconnected and concurred to the decrease of conversion. However, the key factors leading to irreversible deactivation showed potassium migration towards the inner part of the extrudate particle, its agglomeration into concentrated spots and its volatilisation from the surface, together with the progressive Fe3+ reduction to Fe 2+. These modifications led to the enhancement of coking activity and to the loss of mechanical properties, so making deactivation irreversible