100 research outputs found
Text mining e network science per analizzare la complessitĂ della lettura. Principi, metodi, esperienze di applicazione.
This paper proposes some reflections concerning the practice of reading, its conceptual structure and its transformations, the blurred profile of the information ecology in which it is inserted. At the same time illustrates some outcomes of a research project conducted with tools of text mining and network science on the social reading platform aNobii. The paper presents these main topics: a) general overview of reading's context; b) short discussion reading as a complex system; c) presentation of some central concepts of network science and of its applications; d) introduction to text mining with some results of analysis of aNobii's reviews; e) conclusions and prospectives
La Rete degli editori. Modelli di text-mining e network analysis a partire dai dati di aNobii
Obiettivo di questo contributo Ăš quello di esaminare e discutere presupposti, metodi e risultati dellâanalisi
di dati estratti dalla piattaforma di social reading aNobii (http://www.anobii.com/) nellâambito del progetto
âLeggere in rete. Analisi delle pratiche di lettura in ambiente digitaleâ, in collaborazione tra UniversitĂ
degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza e UniversitĂ degli Studi di Torino. Qui vengono presentati in particolare
i risultati relativi allâanalisi degli editori a partire non dai classici dati relativi sulla produzione editoriale
rilevati annualmente da Istat ma a partire dalle recensioni dei libri inserite dai lettori sulla piattaforma
aNobii. La ricerca Ăš stata condotta secondo due prospettive tra loro integrate: una orientata a definire e
visualizzare, in forma di grafo, la rete degli editori, e si avvale di strumenti ed euristiche situati nel campo
della network science; lâaltra, a partire dalla segmentazione degli editori realizzata attraverso le metriche
di rete, analizza i vocabolari relativi a ciascun editore e ne individua le specificitĂ , attraverso le tecniche
dellâanalisi automatica dei testi
Long-Term Macular Vascular Changes after Primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Surgery Resolved with Different Tamponade or Different Surgical Techniques
Simple Summary Primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is an acute threat to visual impairment due to a retinal break that allows the passage of vitreous fluid into the subretinal space. Although it is clear that functional results are influenced by retinal detachment extension and surgical timing, we do not have definitive indications on post-operative changes in macular microcirculation and how they might affect visual performance. The study aims to evaluate the long-term macular vascular changes and their correlation with functional recovery in patients successfully treated for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. We found a reduction of the vascular density in the operated eyes, not influenced by surgical techniques, independently from the pre-operative detachment extension. However, we found that functional recovery is influenced by different intraoperative choices. In conclusion, such visual acuity and microvascular changes can be considered biomarkers that highlight the relevance of careful management of this sight-threatening disease. Background: The aim of this study was to assess long-term macular vascular changes and their correlation with functional recovery in patients successfully treated for Macula-ON and Macula-OFF rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD). Methods: This retrospective observational study included 82 eyes of 82 patients who received primary successful retinal detachment surgery, 33 Macula-ON and 49 Macula-OFF. Superficial and deep capillary plexuses (SCP and DCP) were evaluated by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), and were correlated with visual acuity (VA), surgical technique and tamponade at 12 months after surgery. The fellow eyes were used as controls. Results: At 12-month follow-up, there was a significant decrease in the vessel density (VD) in the SCP in the operated eyes compared to control eyes (p < 0.05) in both the Macula-ON and Macula-OFF groups. Vessel length density (VLD) decrease in SCP was more extended in the Macula-OFF group. No difference in the DCP perfusion parameters was found, compared to controls. Subgroup analysis dependent on the type of surgery or tamponade showed no significant differences of VD and VLD. An inverse correlation was found between the SCP VD and the duration of silicone oil (SO) tamponade (p = 0.039). A significant correlation was observed between parafoveal SCP VD and final best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (p = 0.028). The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that only the type of tamponade was significantly correlated with the final BCVA in the Macula-ON group (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Our study described long-term perfusion changes in RRD after surgery, with lower SCP VD and VLD in the operated eyes compared to the fellow ones, not influenced by type of surgery or tamponade. The choice of tamponade and SO removal timing may affect functional outcomes, especially in Macula-ON RRD. In conclusion, such functional and perfusion changes can be considered biomarkers that highlight the relevance of careful management of this sight-threatening disease
Evaluation of an interprofessional education intervention in partnership with patient educators
Background and aim of the work: Patient involvement in interprofessional education is a novel approach to building collaborative and empathic skills in students. However, this area of teaching is lacking in
rigorous studies. The project aimed to evaluate whether an interprofessional education intervention in partnership with patient educators (IPE-PE) would increase readiness for interprofessional learning and empathy
in health sciences students. Methods: This is the report of a didactic innovation project. Participants included
310 undergraduate health sciences students who took part in an IPE-PE intervention. Data were collected
before and after the training, using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the
Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student version ( JSE-HPS). Only at the end of the intervention, a data collection form was administered to explore the value of the patient educator in the training and
to investigate the socio-demographic variables. Results: The mean age of participants was 21±3.2 SD years and
76% were female. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant changes from before to after the IPE-PE
in the RIPLS total score (m=42.7±5.8 SD vs 44.62±5.9 SD, z=-4.168, P<0.001) and in the JSE-HPS total
score (m=112.7±12.5 SD vs 116.03±12.8 SD, z=-4.052, P<0.001). Conclusions: Our students reported that
IPE-PE had helped them to become more effective healthcare team members, to think positively about other
professionals, and to gain an empathic understanding of the perspective of the person being cared for. The
results of the project confirm that the intervention promoted the development of empathy, fostering a better
understanding of the patient-centred perspective
Quality Control Platform for the Standardization of a Regenerative Medicine Product
Adipose tissue is an attractive source of stem cells due to its wide availability. They contribute to the stromal vascular fraction (SVF), which is composed of pre-adipocytes, tissue-progenitors, and pericytes, among others. Because its direct use in medical applications is increasing worldwide, new quality control systems are required. We investigated the ability of the Non-Equilibrium Earth Gravity Assisted Dynamic Fractionation (NEEGA-DF) method to analyze and separate cells based solely on their physical characteristics, resulting in a fingerprint of the biological sample. Adipose tissue was enzymatically digested, and the SVF was analyzed by NEEGA-DF. Based on the fractogram (the UV signal of eluting cells versus time of analysis) the collection time was set to sort alive cells. The collected cells (F-SVF) were analyzed for their phenotype, immunomodulation ability, and differentiation potential. The SVF profile showed reproducibility, and the alive cells were collected. The F-SVF showed intact adhesion phenotype, proliferation, and differentiation potential. The methodology allowed enrichment of the mesenchymal component with a higher expression of mesenchymal markers and depletion of debris, RBCs, and an extracellular matrix still present in the digestive product. Moreover, cells eluting in the last minutes showed higher circularity and lower area, proving the principles of enrichment of a more homogenous cell population with better characteristics. We proved the NEEGA-DF method is a "gentle" cell sorter that purifies primary cells obtained by enzymatic digestion and does not alter any stem cell function
A Comprehensive Microstructural and Compositional Characterization of Allogenic and Xenogenic Bone: Application to Bone Grafts and Nanostructured Biomimetic Coatings
Bone grafts and bone-based materials are widely used in orthopedic surgery. However,
the selection of the bone type to be used is more focused on the biological properties of bone
sources than physico-chemical ones. Moreover, although biogenic sources are increasingly used
for deposition of biomimetic nanostructured coatings, the influence of specific precursors used on
coatingâs morphology and composition has not yet been explored. Therefore, in order to fill this gap,
we provided a detailed characterization of the properties of the mineral phase of the most used bone
sources for allografts, xenografts and coating deposition protocols, not currently available. To this aim,
several bone apatite precursors are compared in terms of composition and morphology. Significant
differences are assessed for the magnesium content between female and male human donors, and in
terms of Ca/P ratio, magnesium content and carbonate substitution between human bone and different
animal bone sources. Prospectively, based on these data, bone from different sources can be used
to obtain bone grafts having slightly different properties, depending on the clinical need. Likewise,
the suitability of coating-based biomimetic films for specific clinical musculoskeletal application may
depend on the type of apatite precursor used, being differently able to tune surface morphology and
nanostructuration, as shown in the proof of concepts of thin film manufacturing here presented
Innovative consolidating products for stone materials: field exposure tests as a valid approach for assessing durability
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Virtual Surgical Planning, 3D-Printing and Customized Bone Allograft for Acute Correction of Severe Genu Varum in Children
Complex deformities of lower limbs are frequent in children with genetic or metabolic skeletal disorders. Early correction is frequently required, but it is technically difficult and burdened by complications and recurrence. Herein, we described the case of a 7-year-old girl affected by severe bilateral genu varum due to spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. The patient was treated by patient-specific osteotomies and customized structural wedge allograft using Virtual Surgical Planning (VSP) and 3D-printed patient-specific instrumentation (PSI). The entire process was performed through an in-hospital 3D-printing Point-of-Care (POC). VSP and 3D-printing applied to pediatric orthopedic surgery may allow personalization of corrective osteotomies and customization of structural allografts by using low-cost in-hospital POC. However, optimal and definitive alignment is rarely achieved in such severe deformities in growing skeleton through a single operation
Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in âs = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fbâ1 of protonâproton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at âs = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements
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