An examination of who is eligible and who is receiving bariatric surgery in England : secondary analysis of the Health Survey for England dataset

Background: Over 2 million people in England were estimated to be eligible for bariatric surgery in 2006. In 2014, clinical guidelines were updated, widening potential eligibility, meanwhile, obesity prevalence rose. However, numbers receiving surgery decreased, and concerns exist of inequalities in access between population groups. This study is aimed at estimating the number of adults eligible for surgery in England and to compare demographics with those that receive surgery. Methods: BMI and comorbidity status were used to determine eligibility for bariatric surgery within participants of the 2014 Health Survey for England dataset (6938 adults), based on the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Results were scaled up using national population estimates. The demographics of eligible participants were compared against 2014/2015 hospital episode statistics for sex and age group using a chi-squared analysis. Results: Of the total population of England, 7.78% (95% CI 7.1–8.6%), or 3,623,505 people, could have been eligible for bariatric surgery in 2014; nearly a million more than if previous guidelines applied. Eligibility peaked at ages 45–54, with most in the 35–64 age group (58.9%). 58.4% of those eligible were women. Patients receiving surgery were far more likely to be female than male (76.1%) and the distribution skewed towards younger ages when compared with those eligible. Conclusion: Bariatric surgery may benefit many people in England; significant investment is required so that service provision is adequate for demand. Differences between demographics of those eligible and receiving surgery may be explainable; however, the potential health inequality should be investigated

Acquisition of Surface Light Fields from Videos

La tesi presenta un nuovo approccio per la stima di Surface Light Field di oggetti reali, a partire da sequenze video acquisite in condizioni di illuminazione fisse e non controllate. Il metodo proposto si basa sulla separazione delle due componenti principali dell'apparenza superficiale dell'oggetto: la componente diffusiva, modellata come colore RGB, e la componente speculare, approssimata mediante un modello parametrico funzione della posizione dell'osservatore. L'apparenza superficiale ricostruita permette una visualizzazione fotorealistica e in real-time dell'oggetto al variare della posizione dell'osservatore, consentendo una navigazione 3D interattiva

Models and Methods for Network Selection and Balancing in Heterogeneous Scenarios

The outbreak of 5G technologies for wireless communications can be considered a response to the need for widespread coverage, in terms of connectivity and bandwidth, to guarantee broadband services, such as streaming or on-demand programs offered by the main television networks or new generation services based on augmented and virtual reality (AR / VR). The purpose of the study conducted for this thesis aims to solve two of the main problems that will occur with the outbreak of 5G, that is, the search for the best possible connectivity, in order to offer users the resources necessary to take advantage of the new generation services, and multicast as required by the eMBMS. The aim of the thesis is the search for innovative algorithms that will allow to obtain the best connectivity to offer users the resources necessary to use the 5G services in a heterogeneous scenario. Study UF that allows you to improve the search for the best candidate network and to achieve a balance that allows you to avoid congestion of the chosen networks. To achieve these two important focuses, I conducted a study on the main mathematical methods that made it possible to select the network based on QoS parameters based on the type of traffic made by users. A further goal was to improve the computational computation performance they present. Furthermore, I carried out a study in order to obtain an innovative algorithm that would allow the management of multicast. The algorithm that has been implemented responds to the needs present in the eMBMS, in realistic scenarios

Can bank interaction during rating measurement of micro and very small enterprises ipso facto Determine the collapse of PD status?

This paper begins with an analysis of trends - over the period 2012-2018 - for total bank loans, non-performing loans, and the number of active, working enterprises. A review survey was done on national data from Italy with a comparison developed on a local subset from the Sardinia Region. Empirical evidence appears to support the hypothesis of the paper: can the rating class assigned by banks - using current IRB and A-IRB systems - to micro and very small enterprises, whose ability to replace financial resources using endogenous means is structurally impaired, ipso facto orient the results of performance in the same terms of PD assigned by the algorithm, thereby upending the principle of cause and effect? The thesis is developed through mathematical modeling that demonstrates the interaction of the measurement tool (the rating algorithm applied by banks) on the collapse of the loan status (default, performing, or some intermediate point) of the assessed micro-entity. Emphasis is given, in conclusion, to the phenomenon using evidence of the intrinsically mutualistic link of the two populations of banks and (micro) enterprises provided by a system of differential equation

A SURVEY ON MACROECONOMIC DATA IN THE EUROZONE AND A CONTROL DASHBOARD MODEL BASED ON THE KAM AND NEKHOROSHEV THEOREMS AND THE HÉNON ATTRACTOR

Starting from the examination of the main macroeconomic parameters that have characterized the structure of the Eurozone in the last decade – and their systemization – our aim was to apply a model suitable for describing its dynamics. In particular, the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theorem was adapted to the question, up to low level perturbations caused by negative economic conditions, the first symptoms of financial or exogenous crises, and other turbulence affecting the economy. We then applied Nekhoroshev's theorem to represent the phenomena characterized by the occurrence of stronger resonance as well as the reactions of the system to the control and recovery measures implemented by the ECB Governing Council. The goal of the paper is to propose the adoption of a systemic stability planning and control dashboard – also suitable for the support and stimulation of growth cycles – with attention to optimal performance, which can be identified in compliance with (or restoration of) the macroeconomic trajectories determined in the model by the Hénon Attractor. The proposed scheme may find useful application – both for evaluation and operational purposes – in the current period, characterized by the complex and compromised scenario brought about by the SARS-COVID2 pandemic emergency, which has obviously imposed structured measures to support the economy

Kinetic modelling of the gas-phase water oxidation of light hydrocarbons

The conversion of solid and liquid fuels to gas, whenever possible, is an important way for improving the efficiency and cleanness of processes. This paper presents the kinetic modelling of the water oxidation of light hydrocarbons in the gas phase at 500 °C with mixtures of heptane and water in different amounts. The aim of the work was to find information about kinetics of the homogeneous chemical reactions which take place in the gas phase during the biomass processing, particularly pyrolysis, performed with water steam as the oxidizing reactant. The experimental data here used were obtained by a continuous stainless steel reactor placed inside a heated muffle oven and maintained at a constant temperature. The gaseous product, after separation of the condensable components, was analysed by an in-line gas chromatograph. The apparatus showed to be effective for future operations with different experimental conditions (temperature and feed). The obtained data will be integrated with those coming from parallel studies about the biomass wet pyrolysis for gas production

Industrial Landscapes Between Environmental Sustainability and Landscape Constraints: The Case Study of Euralluminia in the Sulcis Area of Sardinia (Italy)

In Italy, industrialization had a remarkable development in the 1950s and 1960s, and aimed with priority of ensuring economic growth and development. The location of the industrial complexes was determined by the dynamics of the production that required a territory equipped to supply specific infrastructures such as water connections, sewers, gas pipelines and the electricity grid, and above all areas where to build transport terminals capable of mitigating the costs of handling the product. This led Italy to locate industrial activities in many coastal sites, close to pre-existing urban contexts, resulting in a well-defined coastal industrial landscape especially in the areas of Southern Italy that were chosen as centers of development. Today, the determining factor for location choices is the cost of the workforce and this has made more and more frequent the processes of delocalization of the companies with worrying repercussions both for the direct and induced occupation and for the degradation of the landscape. This process, linked to the safety regulations, to the updating of the systems and to an increasingly more rigorous landscape legislation, makes critical the framework of the existing and not yet abandoned disused industrial realities. For these reasons, the main objective of this article is to evaluate the compatibility between existing industrial areas at risk of delocalization and new interpretations of the environment and the landscape to be reconstituted, in order to allow the realization of goods that maintain the levels of industrial production within a framework ofecological protection rules and recently adopted landscape constraints. In this regard, in this paper the authors use the Eurallumina industry in Sulcis in Sardinia (Italy) as a case study, in order to analyze the problem that concerns the uses in the territories with an industrial vocation and the landscape components, that deserve particular attention to safeguard not only for the economic and social context but also for the quality of the coastal environment. The case study is particularly significant because the Euralluminia industry for some years was at risk of delocalization because it needs of a conversion of some parts of the plants, blocked due to the landscape regulation imposed by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage ofSouthern Sardinia for the expected changes in the coastal environment. Therefore, keeping in mind the theories of localization and the pushes for the delocalization of the industrial contexts, the study discusses the importance of the interconnection between economic and landscape factors paying particular attention to the coastal areas

Experimental determination of the particle dynamics into a rotating tube

This paper reports the procedure for analysing the biomass powder bed characteristics realized in an experimental pyrolysis reactor. The reaction apparatus is made of a quartz tube which can rotate, horizontally or slightly inclined, with different speeds. Depending on the tube inclination and rotation, different motion conditions (regime, hold-up, residence time and advancing rate) are possible; also the particle characteristics (nature, shape and size, humidity) and the flow rate affect the bed behaviour. After taking some pictures of the bed from the discharge side, they can be analysed by means of the geometry rules; this procedure is here described. In this way the bed profile can be obtained, and this information can be used to calculate the parameters of a proper model, already developed. The methodology here presented will be used in the future to find data to be used in the development of a whole pyrolysis process model including also heat exchange, gas fluid dynamics and pyrolysis reaction kinetics