Advancing the Boundaries of Formal Argumentation: Reflections on the AI3 2021 Special Issue

This article reflects on the Special Issue based on invited papers from the 5th Workshop on Advances in Argumentation in Artificial Intelligence (AI3 2021), showcasing the latest advancements in the field made by the Italian community on argumentation, as well as other researchers worldwide. This Special Issue highlights the importance of advancing logical-based AI approaches, such as formal argumentation, in the continuously expanding landscape of Artificial In- telligence. Papers in this Special Issue cover a diverse range of topics, including argument game-based proof theories, analysis of legal cases, decomposability in abstract argumentation, meta-argumentation approaches, explanations for model outputs using causal models, representation of natural argumentative discourse, and Paraconsistent Weak Kleene logic-based belief revision. By em- phasizing these innovative research contributions, this article underscores the need for continued progress in the field of Formal Argumentation to complement and enhance the ongoing developments in AI

Video display operator complaints: A 10-year follow-up of visual fatigue and refractive disorders

Visual fatigue and discomfort are very common complaints for video display operators (VDTs). The aim of our study was to study work-related visual symptoms in relation to refractive disorders and psychosocial factors in 3054 public employees by way of follow-ups for 10 years with periodic medical examinations with eye evaluation in the period 2000-2009. Factors related to visual fatigue were evaluated in the follow-up using generalized equation estimation. Visual fatigue was very common in VDT operators (64.03%). During the follow-up, no relationship between visual fatigue and age, sex, seniority of work, visual acuity and refractory disorders was found. Visual fatigue was significantly associated with anxiety perception in a dose-related matter (odds ratio (OR) 7.40, confidence interval (CI) 95% 1.77-31.3), psychosocial factors (OR 1.03, CI 95% 1.01-1.07), use of lenses (OR 1.34, CI 95% 1.09-1.64) and time of VDT usage (OR 1.27, CI 95% 1.04-1.53). This study confirmed that visual fatigue is common in VDT users and is related to anxiety perception, time of VDT usage, use of lenses and stress. No relationship was found between visual fatigue and refractory disorders or visual acuit

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers of Trieste (North-Eastern Italy), 1 October 2020-7 February 2022: Occupational Risk and the Impact of the Omicron Variant

Vaccination coverage against COVID-19 among health care workers (HCWs) of the University Health Agency Giuliano-Isontina (ASUGI) of Trieste (North-eastern Italy) by 1 January 2022 was 90.4% with at least one vaccine dose, 84.9% with at least 2 doses, and 75.1% with 3 doses, 98.2% with Comirnaty (Pfizer BioNtech, New York, NY, USA) versus 1.8% with Spikevax (Moderna, Cambridge, MA, USA). From 1 October 2020 to 7 February 2022, 1652 SARS-CoV-2 infections were notified in HCWs of ASUGI Trieste. Although the overall risk of SARS-CoV-2 contagion increased over time, the rate of occupational infections progressively declined, from 42.5% during the second COVID-19 wave to 15.6% in the fifth. Between 1 January-7 February 2022 (a period dominated by the Omicron variant), albeit no COVID-19-associated hospitalizations were recorded in HCWs of ASUGI Trieste, 669 SARS-CoV-2 infections were counted against 367 cases observed from 1 October to 31 December 2020, the 3 months preceding the implementation of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19. Job tasks and health care settings turned out to be the most significant risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the effect of workplace prevailed over job task on the biological risk, with greater rates of SARS-CoV-2 infections observed among HCWs operating in areas with higher levels of circulation of the virus, particularly COVID-19 dedicated units

Diaminodiphenylmethane Sensitization in north-eastern Italy from 1996 to 2012

BACKGROUND: 4,4'-Diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) is an aromatic amine used as a hardener, insulator and anticorrosive. Exposure implies risk of being sensitized and developing contact dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of contact sensitization to DDM among patients with contact dermatitis and the role of occupational exposure. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From 1996 to 2012, 24 056 consecutive patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis were patch tested in north-eastern Italy. Individual characteristics were collected through a standardized questionnaire in eight departments of dermatology and occupational medicine. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of DDM sensitization was 2.5% (n = 599) with a decreasing trend in considered years. Trieste area had the higher prevalence of sensitization (3.2%). Mechanics and chemical industry workers had a significant higher risk of being sensitized to DDM. CONCLUSION: DDM sensitization is decreasing in years and is associated with some occupational exposures

Contact allergy to methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone in north-eastern Italy: a temporal trend from 1996 to 2016

BACKGROUND: Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI)/methylisothiazolinone (MI) (Kathon\uae CG) is a common preservative used in industrial products, owing to its strong biocide effect. Contact allergy to MCI/MI has been reported in different occupations, including mechanics, hairdressers and healthcare workers. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyse the temporal trend of MCI/MI sensitization in north-eastern Italy and to evaluate the associations with occupations in our geographical area. METHODS: From 1996 to 2016, 27 381 patients with suspected allergic contact dermatitis were patch tested in eight departments of Dermatology or Occupational Medicine in north-eastern Italy. Individual characteristics were collected through a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of MCI/MI sensitization was 4.2%, with the highest prevalence found in women and in patients younger than 25 years. MCI/MI sensitization was significantly associated with atopic eczema (OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.10-1.70), hand/forearm dermatitis (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.05-1.36) and face dermatitis (OR 1.30, 95% CI: 1.10-1.40). There was a significant association between MCI/MI sensitization and chemical processing workers (OR 1.74, 95% CI: 1.03-2.94), while mechanics and healthcare workers resulted more sensitized to this hapten only in the last 3 years. CONCLUSIONS Sensitization to MCI/MI is rising in the last years in Triveneto region, the 'epidemic' of sensitization to MCI/MI is mainly driven by extra-occupational dermatitis, and sensitization in some occupational groups is emerging only in the last years. A full labelling is compulsory for all products that contain isothiazolinones, to permit to identify the culprit agent

Hydraulic and stability analysis of the supporting layer of wedge-shaped blocks

Presented at the Protections 2016: 2nd international seminar on dam protection against overtopping: concrete dams, embankment dams, levees, tailings dams held on 7th-9th September, 2016, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. The increasing demand for dam and levee safety and flood protection has motivated new research and advancements and a greater need for cost-effective measures in overtopping protection as a solution for overtopping concerns at levees and dams. This seminar will bring together leading experts from practice, research, development, and implementation for two days of knowledge exchange followed by a technical tour of the Colorado State University Hydraulic Laboratory with overtopping flume and wave simulator. This seminar will focus on: Critical issues related to levees and dams; New developments and advanced tools; Overtopping protection systems; System design and performance; Applications and innovative solutions; Case histories of overtopping events; Physical modeling techniques and recent studies; and Numerical modeling methods.Includes bibliographical references.Wedge shaped blocks (WSB) are attracting increasing attention as protection against overtopping for earth and rock-fill dams. However, there are limited examples of application and some aspects of the technology merit additional research and improvement. One key issue is the design of drainage and supporting layer for WSB protections. During overtopping, part of the overflow leaks through the joints between blocks, hence circulating through the granular material. The permeability and thickness of the supporting layer must be sufficient to prevent the flow from generating pressure on the bottom side of the blocks, which contributes to its destabilization. However, it must also be structurally stable to avoid undesirable deformations on the downstream face. Both the material permeability and the layer thickness determine the hydraulic behavior of this element. These, together with the weight of the blocks and the slope of the downstream face, directly influence mass and block stability. These aspects should be taken into account for the numerical modeling of seepage through the supporting layer. To this end, an application of the open source software Kratos Multi-physics was employed. A parametric study was conducted to quantify the influence of each design variable in the safety factor against mass sliding of the supporting and drainage layer

In vitro permeability of silver nanoparticles through porcine oromucosal membrane

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can come in contact with human oral mucosa due to their wide use infood industry and hygiene devices. We evaluate transmucosal absorption of 19 nm AgNPs using excisedporcine buccal mucosa applied on Franz diffusion cells. Two donor solutions were used: one containingAgNPs (0.5 g/L) and one derived from the ultrafiltration of the former and containing only Ag in its solubleform. Experiments were carried out separately for 4 h. Silver flux permeation was demonstrated throughoral mucosa, showing similar values for AgNPs (6.8 \ub1 4.5 ng cm 122h 121) and Ag ions (5.2 \ub1 4.3 ng cm 122h 121).Our study demonstrates that silver can permeate the oromucosal barrier and that absorption is sub-stantially due to Ag ions, since no permeation difference was found using the two solutions. Mucosalabsorption has to be considered in further risk assessment studies

Skin contamination as pathway for nicotine intoxication in vapers

Growing warnings on health effects related to electronic cigarettes have met inconclusive findings at present. This study analyzed the in vitro percutaneous absorption of nicotine resulting by skin contamination with two e-liquids (refill 1 and 2) containing nicotine at 1.8%. Donor chambers of 6 Franz cells for each refill liquid were filled with 1 mL of nicotine e-liquid for 24 h; at selected intervals, 1.5 mL of the receptor solutions were collected for nicotine concentration analysis by mean gas chromatography\u2013mass spectrometry (LOD: 0.01 \u3bcg/mL). The experiment was repeated removing the nicotine donor solution after 10 min from the application and rinsing the skin surface three times with 3.0 mL of milliQ water. A total of 12 cells with 24 h exposure and 12 cells washed were studied. The mean concentration of nicotine in the receiving phase at the end of the experiment was 54.9 \ub1 29.5 and 30.2 \ub1 18.4 \u3bcg/cm2 for refill 1 and 2 respectively and significantly lower in washed cells (4.7 \ub1 2.4 and 3.5 \ub1 1.3 \u3bcg/cm2). The skin absorption of nicotine can lead to minor health illness in vapers, while caution must be paid to dermal contamination by e liquids in children. The skin cleaning significantly reduced the transdermal absorption kinetic and intradermal deposition of nicotine