228 research outputs found

    Spooky black holes : gravitational self energy and space curvature

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    It is shown that space curvature can be disposed of by properly taking into account gravitational self energies. This leads to a parameter free modification of Newton's law, violating Gauss theorem, which accounts for the crucial tests of gravitation in a flat space. Strong gravitational fields entail opposing big gravitational self energies. The negative gravitational self energy of a gravitational composite object, which results in a mass defect with respect to the sum of the constituents, thus cancels out the latter at the Schwarzschild radius. Hence a black hole, possible end result of the radiative shrinkage of a star, having zero total energy cannot any longer interact with other objects. Baryon number non conservation may result

    Musei e Intersezionalità. Nuove sfide culturali e la riflessione italiana di Distretto X: Sguardi Plurali sui Musei / Museums and Intersectionality. New cultural challenges and the Italian reflection of "District X: multiple views on Museums"

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    The new reflections on museums raise questions about contemporary demands which, as expressed in the Faro Convention, tend to recognize individual and col- lective responsibility towards cultural heritage. Museum narration requires partic- ipatory actions and an intersectional comparison that considers mechanisms of in- clusion and exclusion of multiple identities. The article aims to reflect on inter- sectionality as a tool with which to conceive a subjectivity / identity other than the singular in the museum reality. Intersectionality is embraced by museums through participation and involvement actions: approaches that address the challenges arising from the cultural debate on inclusion. These actions show how involvement, participation and reflection from an intersectional point of view can transform attitudes and beliefs. In Italy, an example of involvement action is the project District X. Plural Looks on Muse- ums. Reflections on gender identity, which was promoted by the Cultural Depart- ment of the Municipality of Milan and by the School of Cultural Heritage and Activ- ities Foundation. The project was developed in a participatory framework that directly related the commitment of the communities and the new stories that are told in the institution from an intersectional perspective

    Autonomía - Equilibrio - Armonía de 0 a 3 años

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    Nuestra cultura, como otras, está convencida que debe enseñar todo al niño. Que debe sentarlo, pararlo y hacerlo caminar pues de otra manera, no lo aprenderá. La experiencia de más de 100 años de la Dra. Pikler (Budapest), más de 30 años en Argentina y más de 10 años en La Plata nos demuestra no solo que no es necesario enseñarles todo, sino que haciéndolo por ellos mismos logran un desarrollo postural armonioso, distendido, con una relación social diferente, con una actitud abierta al entorno y un desarrollo intelectual apoyado en el respeto por el equilibrio y la concentración. El desarrollo de la atención que se logra en estos primeros años de vida, se ve favorecido gracias al respeto por los tiempos de juego que el adulto aprende a tener, preparando el espacio, los objetos, observando y valorando las potencialidades y satisfaciendo las necesidades en la medida que aparecen. El adulto cambia su mirada y su actitud, logrando una relación vincular profunda durante los cuidados cotidianos y respetando las actividades autónomas.Eje temático: Prácticas, saberes y experiencias del cuerpo y la culturaDepartamento de Educación Físic

    Through Engineering 4.0 the Safe Operating Block for Patients and Medical Staff

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    The Paper deals with the management of the operating block in its many activities. By a new approach and with innovative machinery specific several problems were thus studied and overcome, such as the control of hospital infections, the operations of washing and sterilization of surgical instruments, the planning of interventions, the tracking of drugs and medical devices entering the operating block, the management of stocks, the bed management, the monitoring of environmental parameters for patient comfort and safety, the monitoring of machines and the interlocking of doors, etc. Furthermore, it is proposed a wide use of the analytical tools to support decision making, extended to the most modern Cyber-Physical Systems and Digital Twin, alongside Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence algorithms. Concluding with the new services that can be offered following the digital transformation 4.0 process of the operating block. Using the tools made available by the most advanced Engineering, an operating block was redesigned, safer for patients and medical staff and more efficient from a conduction point of view. This is done using an administration model that was first conceptualized, designed and then implemented adopting what is made available by Industry 4.0, as well as a series of Management Engineering methodologies aimed at an optimized government of complex systems. Through the data collected by appropriate sensors and translated by the software into usable information, there is an optimal use of the available resources, furthermore, the activities for which improvements can be made with the benefit of patients and structures are identified

    Engineering Solutions 4.0 in the fight against the spread of Covid 19 A new Methodology including processes, procedures and devices

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    Thanks to the principles and technologies made available by Industry 4.0, the authors conceptualized and modeled a new strategy, capable of making an effective contribution to the problem of limiting contagion from Covid19 today, and tomorrow from any possible other type virus, bacteria or pathogen agent introduced by subjects who, although unaware of being vectors, develop the infection only after their access to the places of stay (Hotel, office, Infrastructure, etc.) where they go to reside. The key point of the strategy is a 4.0 thermoscanner, created by the authors, which is positioned in appropriately chosen locations of the settlement and an innovative method of disinfection of the same implemented by means of UV-C rays and Ozone in the gaseous state, produced by a machine, also conceptualized and developed by the authors, capable of reproducing the Chapman Cycle with the associated advantages. Therefore, it is operated an absolute disinfection based on a reversible cycle Oxygen-Ozone-Oxygen, with a prompt re-habitability of the treated rooms, with minimal treatment costs and without the use of expensive and unhealthy chemicals or wet water vapor (incompatible with paper and electronics). This technology was described in the paper “Sanitizing of Confined Spaces Using Gaseous Ozone Produced by 4.0 Machines” presented by the authors to the WCE 2021 IAENG Congress and awarded with the “Best Paper Award of the 2021 International Conference of Systems Biology and Bioengineering”. In the presence of a Person with a fever, the thermoscanner automatically launches an alert to the site Safety officers, who confine him to an isolated place and make the Health Institutions intervene and take it over

    An Application of Engineering 4.0 to Hospitalized Patients

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    In this paper the authors address the problem of surveillance of bedridden patients in hospitals and residences for elderly. Unfortunately, patients cannot be supervised by operators 24 h a day, given the associated costs. An attempt to solve this problem is already provided by wearable devices. This paper describes a 4.0 system implemented to overcome the limits (identified by interviewing a sample of nurses belonging to different facilities) of the wearable devices available on the market. The system proposed consists in monitoring the bed, instead of the patient, through applied sensors. By centralizing and analyzing the data collected it is possible to promptly inform the operative center of the occurrence of risky events to which bedridden patients are normally subjected. The scope of the system is preventing such risks, where possible, or mitigating their effects with a real time intervention. A case study on an active facility, conducted as a pilot project, confirms the humanitarian and economic benefits for patients and facility

    Smart Inventory 4.0: Advanced version

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    The Authors of this paper had first conceptualized and then developed the automated picking plant described in the paper “A 4.0 Automated Warehouse Storage and Picking System for Order Fulfillment”, presented by the Authors to the WCE 2021 IAENG Congress and awarded with the “Best Paper Award of the 2021 International Conference of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management”. In the perspective of the continuous improvement of Industry 4.0 they have brought to this first system the significant functional improvements object of this paper. In particular, having found that the loading of the goods in the individual boxes was carried out by the Operators in this factory by using ladders on which they climbed, without the necessary PPE and carrying the load manually, with the consequent risk of falling from such heights (3-6m) to cause even serious physical damage, the Authors first studied and then implemented an automatic loading system. A second problem was then highlighted for the storage of special products such as Food and Pharma, that, unlike what happens in the Beauty Sector (for which the plant was designed), need to remain in specific conditions of temperature and relative humidity. The paper describes how, in this new version, the two parameters are monitored in each single box by means of appropriate sensors that send alerts to the centralized control system when these parameters are outside the preset threshold. In this way, prompt remedial intervention is possible, avoiding the deterioration of the contents of the boxes and the consequent economic damage deriving from their alienation. All this is made possible at acceptable costs thanks to the technologies offered by Industry 4.0 such as modern robotics and Data Centralization via IIoT for monitoring and control

    Dystroglycan mediates clustering of essential GABAergic components in cerebellar Purkinje cells

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    Muscle dystrophin–glycoprotein complex (DGC) links the intracellular cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. In neurons, dystroglycan and dystrophin, two major components of the DGC, localize in a subset of GABAergic synapses, where their function is unclear. Here we used mouse models to analyze the specific role of the DGC in the organization and function of inhibitory synapses. Loss of full-length dystrophin in mdx mice resulted in a selective depletion of the transmembrane β-dystroglycan isoform from inhibitory post-synaptic sites in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Remarkably, there were no differences in the synaptic distribution of the extracellular α-dystroglycan subunit, of GABAA receptors and neuroligin 2. In contrast, conditional deletion of the dystroglycan gene from Purkinje cells caused a disruption of the DGC and severely impaired post-synaptic clustering of neuroligin 2, GABAA receptors and scaffolding proteins. Accordingly, whole-cell patch-clamp analysis revealed a significant reduction in the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous IPSCs recorded from Purkinje cells. In the long-term, deletion of dystroglycan resulted in a significant decrease of GABAergic innervation of Purkinje cells and caused an impairment of motor learning functions. These results show that dystroglycan is an essential synaptic organizer at GABAergic synapses in Purkinje cells

    IGF-IR Internalizes with Caveolin-1 and PTRF/Cavin in Hacat Cells

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    BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) is a tyrosine kinase receptor (RTK) associated with caveolae, invaginations of the plasma membrane that regulate vesicular transport, endocytosis and intracellular signaling. IGF-IR internalization represents a key mechanism of down-modulation of receptors number on plasma membrane. IGF-IR interacts directly with Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the most relevant protein of caveolae. Recently it has been demonstrated that the Polymerase I and Transcript Release Factor I (PTRF/Cavin) is required for caveolae biogenesis and function. The role of Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin in IGF-IR internalization is still to be clarified. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have investigated the interaction of IGF-IR with Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin in the presence of IGF1in human Hacat cells. We show that IGF-IR internalization triggers Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin translocation from plasma membrane to cytosol and increases IGF-IR interaction with these proteins. In fact, Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin co-immunoprecipitate with IGF-IR during receptor internalization. We found a different time course of co-immunoprecipitation between IGF-IR and Cav-1 compared to IGF-IR and PTRF/Cavin. Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin silencing by siRNA differently affect surface IGF-IR levels following IGF1 treatment: Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin silencing significantly affect IGF-IR rate of internalization, while PTRF/Cavin silencing also decreases IGF-IR plasma membrane recovery. Since Cav-1 phosphorylation could have a role in IGF-IR internalization, the mutant Cav-1Y14F lacking Tyr14 was transfected. Cav-1Y14F transfected cells showed a reduced internalization of IGF-IR compared with cells expressing wild type Cav-1. Receptor internalization was not impaired by Clathrin silencing. These findings support a critical role of caveolae in IGF-IR intracellular traveling. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data indicate that Caveolae play a role in IGF-IR internalization. Based on these findings, Cav-1 and PTRF/Cavin could represent two relevant and distinct targets to modulate IGF-IR function

    Evaluation and Diagnostic Potential of Serum Ghrelin in Feline Hypersomatotropism and Diabetes Mellitus

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    BACKGROUND: Ghrelin is a growth hormone secretagogue. It is a potent regulator of energy homeostasis. Ghrelin concentration is down‐regulated in humans with hypersomatotropism (HS) and increases after successful treatment. Additionally, ghrelin secretion seems impaired in human diabetes mellitus (DM). HYPOTHESIS: Serum ghrelin concentration is down‐regulated in cats with HS‐induced DM (HSDM) compared to healthy control cats or cats with DM unrelated to HS and increases after radiotherapy. ANIMALS: Cats with DM (n = 20) and with HSDM (n = 32), 13 of which underwent radiotherapy (RT‐group); age‐matched controls (n = 20). METHODS: Retrospective cross‐sectional study. Analytical performance of a serum total ghrelin ELISA was assessed and validated for use in cats. Differences in serum ghrelin, fructosamine, IGF‐1 and insulin were evaluated. RESULTS: Ghrelin was significantly higher (P < .001) in control cats (mean ± SD: 12.9 ± 6.8 ng/mL) compared to HSDM‐ (7.9 ± 3.3 ng/mL) and DM‐cats (6.7 ± 2.3 ng/mL), although not different between the HSDM‐ and DM‐cats. After RT ghrelin increased significantly (P = .003) in HSDM‐cats undergoing RT (from 6.6 ± 1.9 ng/mL to 9.0 ± 2.2 ng/mL) and the after RT ghrelin concentrations of HSDM cats were no longer significantly different from the serum ghrelin concentration of control cats. Serum IGF‐1 did not significantly change in HSDM‐cats after RT, despite significant decreases in fructosamine and insulin dose. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ghrelin appears suppressed in cats with DM and HSDM, although increases after RT in HSDM, suggesting possible presence of a direct or indirect negative feedback system between growth hormone and ghrelin. Serum ghrelin might therefore represent a marker of treatment effect
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