BIM SYSTEM FOR THE CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE MOSAICS OF SAN MARCO IN VENICE

The Basilica of San Marco in Venice is a well-known masterpiece of World Heritage. It is a real multi-faceted architecture. The management of the church and its construction site is very complicated, and requires an efficient system to collect and manage different kinds of data. The BIM approach appeared to be the most suitable to collect multi-source data, to monitor activities and guarantee the well-timed operations inside the church. The purpose of this research was to build a BIM of the Basilica, considering all aspects that characterize it and that require particular care.Many problems affected the phase of the acquisition of data, and forced the team to establish a clear working pipeline that allowed the survey simultaneously, hand in hand, with all the usual activities of the church. The fundamental principle for the organization of the whole work was the subdivision of the entire complex in smaller parts, which could be managed independently, both in the acquisition and the modelling stage. This subdivision also reflects the method used for the photogrammetric acquisition. The complexity of some elements, as capitals and statues, was acquired with different Level of Detail (LoD) using various photogrammetric acquisitions: from the most general ones to describe the space, to the most detailed one 1:1 scale renderings. In this way, different LoD point clouds correspond to different areas or details.As evident, this pipeline allows to work in a more efficient way during the survey stage, but it involves more difficulties in the modelling stage. Because of the complexity of the church and the presence of sculptural elements represented by a mesh, from the beginning the problem of the amount of data was evident: it is nonsense to manage all models in a single file.The challenging aspect of the research job was the precise requirement of the Procuratoria di San Marco: to obtain the 1:1 representation of all the mosaics of the Basilica. This requirement significantly increased the effort in the acquisition stage, because it was necessary to reach a submillimetre resolution in the photographic images sufficient to distinguish perfectly each single tessera, also in the highest domes (28 meters). Furthermore, it introduced a new problem about the management of the gigapixel - orthophotos.The BIM approach presented in this paper tries to offer a solution to all these problems. The BIM application is based not on commercial software, but on a self-implemented system, which was previously tested on the Main Spire of Milano Cathedral. The multi-scale and multi-area approach have also been maintained in the BIM construction phase.In the case of Basilica di San Marco, the most important requirement was the management of the orthophotos of each single element. It was necessary to give the user the possibility to recover, for each item, not only the geometric model, but also the raster representation -orthophoto- of its surface: in order to do it, the BIM model acts as a three-dimensional catalogue

Sleep Quality through Vocal Analysis: a Telemedicine Application

Voice is a reservoir of valuable health data. Recent studies highlighted its efficacy in predicting sleep quality, and its potential as biomarker of neurodegeneration. This study assesses the feasibility of a Telemedicine system for the evaluation of sleep quality through brief vocal recordings. Machine Learning models were employed in the binary classification between good and poor sleepers, with great performance in scoring poor sleep quality - 88% and 85% F-1 score on a 5-fold Cross Validation (CV) for females and males, respectively. Moreover, the correlation between perceived sleep quality and a validated global score was studied, as well as the influence of external factors and sleep-wake schedule

CREATING, VISUALIZING AND SHARING HIGH-POLY AND MULTI-TEXTURES MODELS ON THE WEB

In many Cultural Heritage cases study, where usually the shapes to be reproduced have complex and irregular geometries there is a growing demand to create and use very high-resolution polygonal models that represent the real objects with great accuracy and level of detail. In archaeological field, for example, it is fundamental to create a virtual reconstruction that is as close as possible to the reality, because the digging operations are often destructive and it is necessary to track and preserve for the future as much as possible. This requirement leads to three relevant problems: 1) the elaboration of high-poly and high-resolution models, 2) the management of these models, 3) their sharing and access. In this paper, both a scientific approach for realizing the accurate and detailed models and a system to manage, share and visualize these models on the web will be shown. Moreover, a multi-texture digital model elaboration is proposed for the correct definition of the geometrical and texture resolution in relation to the survey level of detail, the physical size of the object and the project requirement. In particular, a web-system that allows the sharing of very high-resolution models, with multi-textures support will be presented

Cannula tip intravascular migration in an infant

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Integration of historical GIS data in a HBIM system

The integration between BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Geographic Information System) is currently a highly debated research topic. However, the effective integration of the two workflows in a unique information system is still an open research field, especially when dealing with Cultural Heritage (CH). The paper describes an ongoing research on the development of a web information system able to integrate BIM and GIS data, with particular focus on the analysis of the historicized city and its main buildings over time. Three main aspects, in particular, are considered more relevant: (i) conceptual data organization to integrate GIS and BIM in a single environment; (ii) integration of data belonging to different historical periods for analyses over time (4D); (iii) integration into the system of datasets already structured in pre-existing HGIS and HBIM. Most (if not all) of the attributes must be linked with both 2D and 3D entities. The system should be queryable and with the possibility to edit the information regardless of the actual focus of the current user, either if he is more BIM or GIS oriented. This is one of the main requirement for the system not to be just a simple viewer of BIM and GIS data in a unique software environment. The system can manage, from a spatial point of view, different scales of detail, allowing the connection between data from the architectural scale to the territorial one and, from a temporal point of view, data belonging to different periods. All these features have been designed to meet, in particular, the requirements of CH and realize a Historical BIM-GIS system. Besides, the web architecture allows sharing information even between actors with different digital skills, without the need for specific software installed, and ensures portability and access from mobile devices

advanced digital technologies for the conservation and valorisation of the unesco sacri monti

Information technology touches all the main activities that orbit Cultural Heritage, including management, communication, monitoring and conservation. In particular, advanced digital tools can help the process of preservation, fostering a participatory process connecting diverse experts with various skills and educational backgrounds, and empowering the maintenance activities. The practical example of this statement is its application to the Sacri Monti site. Thanks to its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the needs of the site are highlighted in the Periodic Report, a tool useful for monitoring the existing condition of the site. The research presented here attempts to develop a solution for the conservation issue, using advanced technology as a tool for managing the safeguarding activities, creating a product that actively involves users and stakeholders, contributing to the valorisation process

Impaired immunogenicity to COVID-19 vaccines in autoimmune systemic diseases. High prevalence of non-response in different patients’ subgroups

Autoimmune systemic diseases (ASD) may show impaired immunogenicity to COVID-19 vaccines. Our prospective observational multicenter study aimed to evaluate the seroconversion after the vaccination cycle and at 6-12-month follow-up, as well the safety and efficacy of vaccines in preventing COVID-19. The study included 478 unselected ASD patients (mean age 59 ± 15 years), namely 101 rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 38 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 265 systemic sclerosis (SSc), 61 cryoglobulinemic vasculitis (CV), and a miscellanea of 13 systemic vasculitis. The control group included 502 individuals from the general population (mean age 59 ± 14SD years). The immunogenicity of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) was evaluated by measuring serum IgG-neutralizing antibody (NAb) (SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant antibody test kit; Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL) on samples obtained within 3 weeks after vaccination cycle. The short-term results of our prospective study revealed significantly lower NAb levels in ASD series compared to controls [286 (53–1203) vs 825 (451–1542) BAU/mL, p < 0.0001], as well as between single ASD subgroups and controls. More interestingly, higher percentage of non-responders to vaccine was recorded in ASD patients compared to controls [13.2% (63/478), vs 2.8% (14/502); p < 0.0001]. Increased prevalence of non-response to vaccine was also observed in different ASD subgroups, in patients with ASD-related interstitial lung disease (p = 0.009), and in those treated with glucocorticoids (p = 0.002), mycophenolate-mofetil (p < 0.0001), or rituximab (p < 0.0001). Comparable percentages of vaccine-related adverse effects were recorded among responder and non-responder ASD patients. Patients with weak/absent seroconversion, believed to be immune to SARS-CoV-2 infection, are at high risk to develop COVID-19. Early determination of serum NAb after vaccination cycle may allow to identify three main groups of ASD patients: responders, subjects with suboptimal response, non-responders. Patients with suboptimal response should be prioritized for a booster-dose of vaccine, while a different type of vaccine could be administered to non-responder individuals

Evaluation of pseudoephedrine pharmacy sales before and after mandatory recording requirements in Western Australia: a case study

Background: A community pharmacy real-time electronic recording program, ProjectSTOP, enables Australian community pharmacists to verify pseudoephedrine requests. In Western Australia the program was available for voluntary use from April 2007 and became mandatory November 2010. This case study explores the effectiveness of the program by reviewing the total requests for pseudoephedrine products, and the proportion of requests which were classified as ‘denied sales’ before and after mandatory implementation. Seasonal and annual trends in these measures are also evaluated. Methods: ProjectSTOP data recordings for Western Australia pharmacies between 1 December 2007 and 28 February 2014 were analysed. Data included a de-identified pharmacy number and date of each pseudoephedrine product request. The total number of requests and sale classification (allowed, denied, safety, or not recorded) were calculated for each month/pharmacy. The potential influence of mandatory reporting using ProjectSTOP was investigated using a Regression Discontinuity Design. Correlations between sales from the same pharmacy were taken into account by classifying the pharmacy number as a random effect. The main effects of year (continuous variable), and season (categorical variable) were also included in the model. Results: There was a small but steady decline in the total requests for pseudoephedrine per month per 100,000 population (per pharmacy) from the time of mandatory reporting. The number of denied sales showed a steady increase up until mandatory reporting, after which it showed a significant decline over time. Total sales were heavily influenced by season, as expected (highest in winter, least in summer). The seasonal pattern was less pronounced for denied sales, which were highest in winter and similar across other seasons. The pattern over time for safety sales was similar to that for denied sales, with a clear change occurring around the time of mandatory reporting. Conclusion: Results indicate a decrease in pseudoephedrine product requests in Western Australia community pharmacies. Findings suggest ProjectSTOP has been successful in addressing suspicious sales and potential diversion however ongoing data review is recommended

Endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy in well-developed countries. Biologically and clinicopathologically, endometrial carcinomas are divided into two types: type 1 or estrogen-dependent carcinomas and type 2 or estrogen-independent carcinomas. Type 1 cancers correspond mainly to endometrioid carcinomas and account for approximately 90 % of endometrial cancers, whereas type 2 cancers correspond to the majority of the other histopathological subtypes. The vast majority of endometrial cancers present as abnormal vaginal bleedings in postmenopausal women. Therefore, 75 % of cancers are diagnosed at an early stage, which makes the overall prognosis favorable. The first diagnostic step to evaluate women with an abnormal vaginal bleeding is the measurement of the endometrial thickness with transvaginal ultrasound. If endometrial thickening or heterogeneity is confirmed, a biopsy should be performed to establish a definite histopathological diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging is not considered in the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics staging system. Nonetheless it plays a relevant role in the preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma, helping to define the best therapeutic management. Moreover, it is important in the diagnosis of treatment complications, in the surveillance of therapy response, and in the assessment of recurrent disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio