SRA: a Salmon-like Approach to MANET Routing,

Wireless mobile ad-hoc networks are characterized by the lack of physical connections. Due to the mobility of nodes, interferences, multipath propagations and path losses, they do not exhibit a fixed topology; hence, dynamic routing protocols are required. In recent years, new approaches inspired by nature have been tried: among them, particular interest has been raised by ants and bees colonies. The characteristics inherited by the collective behaviors of social insects empower algorithms with features such autonomy, self-organization, adaptivity, robustness, and scalability. Here, we propose a salmon-based approach, that, although different since salmons do not show evidence of social behaviors, suggests interesting cues to solve the routing problem when observing salmons in their way from the birth river to the sea, and back at the spawning time

Brahms e la musicologia del secondo Ottocento attraverso il rapporto con Philipp Spitta e Gustav Nottebohm

Nessun compositore è in grado di guidarci attraverso la grande fioritura della musicologia del secolo diciannovesimo più di quanto possa farlo Johannes Brahms. L’interesse che egli nutriva per il passato andava oltre le esigenze poste dal suo mestiere: al di là del bisogno di consolidare, attraverso l’esempio degli antichi maestri, il proprio bagaglio tecnico di compositore. Brahms possedeva la curiosità, l’intuito, l’acribia che può avere un filologo e uno storico allorché interroga i documenti del passato per ricostruirli e interpretarli criticamente. Gli incontri di Brahms con alcuni tra i più importanti musicologi della sua epoca rappresentano un punto di vista esclusivo dal quale si può osservare lo sviluppo della musica colta occidentale non soltanto in virtù della grandezza del compositore, ma anche perché nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento, la musicologia è come se scoprisse sé stessa. Grazie a figure di studiosi quali Jahn, Nottebohm, Chrysander, Spitta, questa disciplina riconosce la vastità del proprio orizzonte conoscitivo, la ricchezza dei propri strumenti di ricerca, la problematicità della conoscenza storica dei fatti musicali. Dal suo punto di osservazione Brahms ha partecipato di questo processo sia come lettore attento sia stringendo con questi studiosi un rapporto di conoscenza diretta testimoniato anzitutto dal suo epistolario. Le lettere edite ed inedite tra il compositore e alcuni di questi musicologi sono dunque le fonti principali di questa ricerca. Allo stesso tempo, proprio per interpretare fonti così delicate, si è stati necessariamente richiamati ad uscire dalla loro dimensione ‘privata’ per collocarle all’interno di un ‘campo di tensione’ dove esse sono poste a dialogo da un lato con le composizioni musicali dell’artista, dall’altro con le stesse opere saggistiche realizzate dagli studiosi. Nel primo capitolo si è cercato di offrire una preliminare ricostruzione delle tematiche della musicologia austro-tedesca dando particolare risalto alla funzione esemplare svolta dalla filologia classica a partire dalla stessa formazione dei musicologi. Successivamente, nel capitolo secondo, dopo aver presentato la natura e l’estensione delle fonti per lo studio del rapporto fra Brahms e la musicologia del suo tempo si è discusso criticamente la letteratura specialistica sul tema. Il cuore della ricerca è costituito dalla ricostruzione di due incontri che si è valutato come i più significativi: quelli che hanno visto Brahms testimone partecipe delle ricerche di studiosi così diversi come Philipp Spitta e Gustav Nottebohm. Nell’ambito di studi prescelto, nel genere storiografico praticato, nello stile, questi autori erano come agli antipodi, eppure per entrambi Brahms fu una sorta di primo lector in fabula, l’incarnazione di una civiltà musicale e culturale in grado di comprendere e giustificare i loro sforzi. Proprio attraverso la ricostruzione di questi incontri, la ricerca vuole mostrare come si possa tornare alla musica di un così importante compositore per conoscerla da una nuova prospettiva.Es gibt keinen Komponisten, der wie Johannes Brahms fähig ist, uns durch die Blütezeit der Musikwissenschaft des 19. Jahrhunderts zu führen. Brahms rezipierte die Vergangenheit mit einer Leidenschaft, die jenseits der Bedürfnisse seines Metiers reichte, nämlich der Notwendigkeit als Komponist die eigenen technischen Fähigkeiten mit Hilfe der alten Meister zu vervollständigen. Brahms besaß die Neugier, den Scharfsinn und die Akribie, die ein Philologe oder ein Historiker brauchen, um die Zeugnisse der Vergangenheit zu rekonstruieren und kritisch zu interpretieren. Die Beziehungen zwischen Brahms und einigen der besten Musikgelehrten seiner Epoche sind einzigartig. Daraus kann man nicht nur die Entwicklung der klassischen Musik beobachten, sondern gleichzeitig auch an der Selbstentdeckung der Musikwissenschaft teilnehmen. Unter der Mitwirkung von Persönlichkeiten wie Jahn, Nottebohm, Chrysander, Spitta entdeckt diese Disziplin die Breite seiner Forschungsmöglichkeiten, sie verfeinert ihre Mittel und entdeckt die Problematik des Musikhistorischen Wissens wieder. Brahms war maßgeblich daran beteiligt sowohl als gewissenhafter Leser als auch durch seine enge Beziehungen mit diesen Historikern, wie die verschiedenen Briefwechsel bezeugen. Die Hauptquelle dieser Forschung sind also die veröffentlichten oder unveröffentlichten Briefe zwischen dem Komponisten und den Gelehrten. Aber es sind heikle Quellen: man muß von ihren eigenen nicht-öffentlichen Dimensionen ausgehen. Sie werden in ein Spannungsfeld gestellt, wo sie im Dialog einerseits mit den musikalischen Werken des Komponisten, andererseits mit den Essays der Historiker sind. Im ersten Kapitel wird eine Übersicht über die Hauptthemen der Musikwissenschaft in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts gegeben: im Vordergrund steht die Funktion des Vorbilds der klassischen Philologie für die Ausbildung der Musikgelehrten. Im zweiten Kapitel wird das Wesen und die Verbreitung der Primärquellen rekonstruiert; gleichzeitig wird eine kritische Analyse der sekundären Literatur entwickelt. Der Kern der Forschung besteht aus zwei bedeutungsvollen Begegnungen, die zwischen Brahms und Spitta, und die zwischen Brahms und Nottebohm. Diese zwei Musikgelehrten hatten verschiedene Forschungsbereiche, entgegengesetzte Methoden und Schreibstile, aber Brahms war für beide der erste lector in fabula, die Verkörperung einer musikalischen Kultur, die ihre Leistungen verstehen und verlangen konnte. Durch die Entdeckung dieser Beziehungen möchte diese Forschung einen anderen Weg zeigen zum Verständnis der Musik dieses bedeutenden Komponisten zeigen

Early Negativization of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Nasal Spray of Seawater plus Additives: The RENAISSANCE Open-Label Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: COVID-19 is an asymptomatic condition in 40% of cases, and most symptomatic patients present with mild/moderate disease not requiring hospitalization or intensive care, especially during the Omicron wave, when the hospitalization rate was estimated to be 0.3%. The main port of entry for SARS-CoV-2 in the human body is the nasal cavity and the upper respiratory tract is affected since the early stages of the infection. Nasal irrigation or aerosol by isotonic or hypertonic saline solution is a traditional therapeutic approach for respiratory or nasal inflammation, also featured by prophylactic properties against upper respiratory infections. Methods: We conducted a prospective open-label controlled study to assess the superiority of an already existing medication (Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800)-a sterile hypertonic solution containing seawater, xylitol, panthenol and lactic acid-to reduce the viral shedding time in patients affected by asymptomatic or mild COVID-19. COVID-19 patients (N = 108) were split into two groups: a treatment arm (50 participants receiving standard of care plus nasal spray 3 times/day with Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800) and a control arm (58 participants receiving standard of care but nasal spray with Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800). The two groups, both testing initially positive for SARS-CoV-2 at real-time PCR (RT-PCR) on nasal swab, were followed up over time to assess the daily number of positive swab tests turning negative (study endpoint). Treatment effectiveness at various time lags since the first positive RT-PCR swab test was measured by rate of events in the experimental arm (EER) and in the control arm (CER), absolute risk increase (ARI) = (EER - CER), and number needed to treat (NNT) = (1/ARI). To investigate the endpoint, we used logistic and Cox regression models, expressing the result as odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (95%CI), respectively. The symptoms recorded with a modified COVID-Q questionnaire at both diagnosis and first negative antigenic swab test were compared in each group (treated versus controls) by exact symmetry test. Results: During the first five days of treatment, COVID-19 patients treated with Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800 were more likely to become negative two days before controls. According to NNT, four subjects had to be treated for five days to achieve the study endpoint in one individual. The negativization rate in patients treated with Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800 was significantly higher than patients' treated with standard of care alone (OR = 7.39, 95%CI: 1.83-29.8; HR = 6.12, 95%CI: 1.76-21.32). There was no evidence of side effects. Conclusions: Nasal spray with Tonimer Lab Panthexyl 800 was effective against SARS-CoV-2, stopping viral shedding in the treatment arm two days before the control group. This treatment should be continued for at least five days after the first positive swab test for SARS-CoV-2

Modulation of guanylate cyclase activating protein 1 (GCAP1) dimeric assembly by Ca2+ or Mg2+: hints to understand protein activity

The guanylyl cyclase-activating protein 1, GCAP1, activates or inhibits retinal guanylyl cyclase (retGC) depending on cellular Ca2+ concentrations. Several point mutations of GCAP1 have been associated with impaired calcium sensitivity that eventually triggers progressive retinal degeneration. In this work, we demonstrate that the recombinant human protein presents a highly dynamic monomer-dimer equilibrium, whose dissociation constant is influenced by salt concentration and, more importantly, by protein binding to Ca2+ or Mg2+. Based on small-angle X-ray scattering data, protein-protein docking, and molecular dynamics simulations we propose two novel three-dimensional models of Ca2+-bound GCAP1 dimer. The different propensity of human GCAP1 to dimerize suggests structural differences induced by cation binding potentially involved in the regulation of retGC activity

Position-based dynamics simulator of vessel deformations for path planning in robotic endovascular catheterization

A major challenge during autonomous navigation in endovascular interventions is the complexity of operating in a deformable but constrained workspace with an instrument. Simulation of deformations for it can provide a cost-effective training platform for path planning. Aim of this study is to develop a realistic, auto-adaptive, and visually plausible simulator to predict vessels’ global deformation induced by the robotic catheter’s contact and cyclic heartbeat motion. Based on a Position-based Dynamics (PBD) approach for vessel modeling, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed for an auto-adaptive calibration of PBD deformation parameters and of the vessels movement due to a heartbeat. In-vitro experiments were conducted and compared with in-silico results. The end-user evaluation results were reported through quantitative performance metrics and a 5-Point Likert Scale questionnaire. Compared with literature, this simulator has an error of 0.23±0.13% for deformation and 0.30±0.85mm for the aortic root displacement. In-vitro experiments show an error of 1.35±1.38mm for deformation prediction. The end-user evaluation results show that novices are more accustomed to using joystick controllers, and cardiologists are more satisfied with the visual authenticity. The real-time and accurate performance of the simulator make this framework suitable for creating a dynamic environment for autonomous navigation of robotic catheters

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p < 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)