Cluster Generation and Cluster Labelling for Web Snippets: A Fast and Accurate Hierarchical Solution

This paper describes Armil, a meta-search engine that groups into disjoint labelled clusters the Web snippets returned by auxiliary search engines. The cluster labels generated by Armil provide the user with a compact guide to assessing the relevance of each cluster to her information need. Strik- ing the right balance between running time and cluster well- formedness was a key point in the design of our system. Both the clustering and the labelling tasks are performed on the ?y by processing only the snippets provided by the auxil- iary search engines, and use no external sources of knowl- edge. Clustering is performed by means of a fast version of the furthest-point-?rst algorithm for metric k-center cluster- ing. Cluster labelling is achieved by combining intra-cluster and inter-cluster term extraction based on a variant of the information gain measure. We have tested the clustering ef- fectiveness of Armil against Vivisimo, the de facto industrial standard in Web snippet clustering, using as benchmark a comprehensive set of snippets obtained from the Open Di- rectory Project hierarchy. According to two widely accepted external\u27 metrics of clustering quality, Armil achieves bet- ter performance levels by 10%. We also report the results of a thorough user evaluation of both the clustering and the cluster labelling algorithms. On a standard 1GHz ma- chine, Armil performs clustering and labelling altogether in less than one second

Correlation between blood and oral fluid psychoactive drug concentrations and cognitive impairment in driving under the influence of drugs

The effects of drugs on driving performance should be checked with drug concentration in the brain and at the same time with the evaluation of both the behavioural and neurophysiological effects. The best accessible indicator of this information is the concentration of the drug and/or metabolites in blood and, to a certain extent, oral fluid. We sought to review international studies on correlation between blood and oral fluid drug concentrations, neurological correlates and cognitive impairment in driving under the influence of drugs. Methods : Relevant scientific articles were identified from PubMed, Cochrane Central, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE up to April 2017. Results : Up to 2010, no epidemiological studies were available on this matter and International scientists suggested that even minimal amounts of parent drugs in blood and oral fluid could affect driving impairment. More recently, epidemiological data, systematic reviews and meta-analysis on drugged drivers allowed the suggestion of impairment concentration limits for the most common illicit drugs. These values were obtained comparing driving disability induced by psychotropic drugs with that of established blood alcohol limits. Differently from ethyl alcohol where both detection methods and concentration limits have been well established even with inhomogeneity of ranges within different countries, in case of drugs of abuse no official cut-offs have yet been established, nor any standardized analytical protocols. Conclusion : Multiple aspects of driving performance can be differently affected by illicit drugs, and even if for few of them some dose/concentration dependent impairment has been reported, a wider knowledge on concentration/impairment relationship is still missin

General purpose readout board {\pi} LUP: overview and results

This work gives an overview of the PCI-Express board $\pi$LUP, focusing on the motivation that led to its development, the technological choices adopted and its performance. The $\pi$LUP card was designed by INFN and University of Bologna as a readout interface candidate to be used after the Phase-II upgrade of the Pixel Detector of the ATLAS and CMS experiments at LHC. The same team in Bologna is also responsible for the design and commissioning of the ReadOut Driver (ROD) board - currently implemented in all the four layers of the ATLAS Pixel Detector (Insertable B-Layer, B-Layer, Layer-1 and Layer-2) - and acquired in the past years expertise on the ATLAS readout chain and the problematics arising in such experiments. Although the $\pi$LUP was designed to fulfill a specific task, it is highly versatile and might fit a wide variety of applications, some of which will be discussed in this work. Two 7$^{th}$-generation Xilinx FPGAs are mounted on the board: a Zynq-7 with an embedded dual core ARM Processor and a Kintex-7. The latter features sixteen 12.5$\,$Gbps transceivers, allowing the board to interface easily to any other electronic board, either electrically and/or optically, at the current bandwidth of the experiments for LHC. Many data-transmission protocols have been tested at different speeds, results will be discussed later in this work. Two batches of $\pi$LUP boards have been fabricated and tested, two boards in the first batch (version 1.0) and four boards in the second batch (version 1.1), encapsulating all the patches and improvements required by the first version.Comment: 6 pages, 10 figures, 21th Real Time Conference, winner of "2018 NPSS Student Paper Award Second Prize

The Peach RGF/GLV Signaling Peptide pCTG134 Is Involved in a Regulatory Circuit That Sustains Auxin and Ethylene Actions

In vascular plants the cell-to-cell interactions coordinating morphogenetic and physiological processes are mediated, among others, by the action of hormones, among which also short mobile peptides were recognized to have roles as signals. Such peptide hormones (PHs) are involved in defense responses, shoot and root growth, meristem homeostasis, organ abscission, nutrient signaling, hormone crosstalk and other developmental processes and act as both short and long distant ligands. In this work, the function of CTG134, a peach gene encoding a ROOT GROWTH FACTOR/GOLVEN-like PH expressed in mesocarp at the onset of ripening, was investigated for its role in mediating an auxin-ethylene crosstalk. In peach fruit, where an auxin-ethylene crosstalk mechanism is necessary to support climacteric ethylene synthesis, CTG134 expression peaked before that of ACS1 and was induced by auxin and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatments, whereas it was minimally affected by ethylene. In addition, the promoter of CTG134 fused with the GUS reporter highlighted activity in plant parts in which the auxin-ethylene interplay is known to occur. Arabidopsis and tobacco plants overexpressing CTG134 showed abnormal root hair growth, similar to wild-type plants treated with a synthetic form of the sulfated peptide. Moreover, in tobacco, lateral root emergence and capsule size were also affected. In Arabidopsis overexpressing lines, molecular surveys demonstrated an impaired hormonal crosstalk, resulting in a re-modulated expression of a set of genes involved in both ethylene and auxin synthesis, transport and perception. These data support the role of pCTG134 as a mediator in an auxin-ethylene regulatory circuit and open the possibility to exploit this class of ligands for the rational design of new and environmental friendly agrochemicals able to cope with a rapidly changing environment

Arthroscopic treatment of early glenohumeral arthritis

Background: The articular cartilage of the shoulder is not endowed with intrinsic repair abilities, so the detection of chondral lesions during arthroscopy may indicate that additional articular procedures are needed. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the benefits of arthroscopy in patients with early shoulder arthritis, and to assess which clinical and radiological features are correlated with better arthroscopic outcomes. Materials and methods: Out of a total of 2,707 shoulders, 61 arthroscopies were performed on patients aged 30-55 years suffering from a painful early arthritic shoulder. We performed a retrospective study of 47 of those 61 patients with osteoarthritis at Samilson-Prieto stage I or II. SST and Constant score were used as outcome measures. Arthroscopic circumferential capsulotomy was performed to release the soft tissues and increase the joint space. Glenoid chondral lesions were caregorized according to location (anterior, posterior, centered) and size (small, large, total) and treated with microfractures; in the last 11 patients, we placed a engineered hyaluronic acid membrane, Hyalograft® C, on the surface of the glenoid. Postoperative care included mobilization the day after surgery, with the arm protected in a sling for two weeks. Follow-up examinations were performed at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery. The clinical and radiographic data collected were compared with those obtained at the last examination. Results: The mean Constant score increased from 43.8 points to 79.1, and the mean SST score increased from 4.9 points to 9.4 points. Clinical outcomes improved significantly in 44 patients (93.6 %). The three patients (6.4 %) with the lowest scores showed progression of arthritis. Age, gender, glenohumeral distance, and presence of engineered hyaluronic acid membrane were not related to clinical scores. Recovery of range of motion as well as small and centered cartilage lesions were statistically associated with improved outcome. Conclusion: The main finding was that soft tissue procedures (including capsulotomy and synovectomy) associated with glenoid microfractures are only suitable for patients with early arthritis and preserved humeral head shape, particularly in cases with small and centered glenoid cartilage lesions. © 2012 The Author(s)

River Morphodynamic Evolution Under Dam-Induced Backwater : An Example from the Po River (Italy)

Peer reviewedPostprin

Quantum phase transitions in antiferromagnets and superfluids

We present a general introduction to the non-zero temperature dynamic and transport properties of low-dimensional systems near a quantum phase transition. Basic results are reviewed in the context of experiments on the spin-ladder compounds, insulating two-dimensional antiferromagnets, and double-layer quantum Hall systems. Recent large N computations on an extended t-J model (cond-mat/9906104) motivate a global scenario of the quantum phases and transitions in the high temperature superconductors, and connections are made to numerous experiments.Comment: 11 pages; half-plenary talk at LT22, Helsink

Treatment of clavicle fractures

Clavicle fractures are very common injuries in adults (2-5%) and children (10-15%) (1) and represent the 44-66% of all shoulder fractures (2). Despite the high frequency the choice of proper treatment is still a challenge for the orthopedic surgeon. With this review we wants to focus the attention on the basic epidemiology, anatomy, classification, evaluation and management of surgical treatments in relationship with the gravity of injuries. Both conservative and surgical management are possible, and surgeons must choose the most appropriate management modality according to the biologic age, functional demands, and type of lesion. We performed a review of the English literature thought PubMed to produce an evidence-based review of current concept and management of clavicle fracture. We finished taking a comparison with our survey in order to underline our direct experience

Role of the ENPP1 K121Q Polymorphism in Glucose Homeostasis

OBJECTIVE— To study the role of the ENPP1 Q121 variant on glucose homeostasis in whites from Italy

STATO DI SALUTE DELLE POPOLAZIONI RESIDENTI NELLE AREE GEOTERMICHE DELLA TOSCANA

Objective The limited scientific knowledge on relationship between exposure and health effects in relation to geothermal activity motivated an epidemiologic investigation in Tuscan geothermal area. The study aims to describe the health status of populations living in Tuscany municipalities where concessions for exploitation of geothermal resources were granted. Design This is an ecological study, so it is not useful to produce evidence to sustain a judgment on the cause-effect link. The major limits of this type of study are the use of the residence at municipal level as a proxy of exposure to both environmental and socioeconomic factors and the use of aggregated data of health outcomes that can lead to the well-known ecological fallacy. Setting and participants Sixteen municipalities were included in the study area: eight are part of the so-called "traditional" geothermal area, defined as Northern Geothermal Area (NGA) and eight located in the Amiata Mountain defined as Southern Geothermal Area (SGA). In 2000-2006, the average resident population in the overall area was approximately 43,000 inhabitants. Thirty-one geothermal power plants were active, with a production capacity of 811 MW, 5 of them with 88 MW located in the SGA. Statistical analyses on the entire geothermal area, NGA and SGA subareas, and the sixteen municipalities were performed. Main outcome measures Mortality data were obtained from Tuscany Regional Mortality Registry for the 1971-2006 period, analysing 60 causes of death, of interest for population health status or consistent with "Project SENTIERI" criteria. Hospital discharge records of residents in Tuscany Region in 2004-2006, anywhere admitted to hospital, were analyzed considering only the main diagnosis, excluding repeated admissions for the same cause. The causes taken into account are the same analysed for mortality were considered. Age-standardized mortality rates (TSDM) and the temporal trends of TSDM for four periods (1971-1979, 1980- 1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2006) were computed. Age-standardized mortality/hospitalization ratios (SMR/SHR), with and without adjustment for the deprivation index based on 2001 census data, were calculated: mortality in the years 2000-2006 and hospitalization in 2004-2006. The expected number of events were computed using rates of residents in neighbouring municipalities (municipalities included in 50 km radius circle centred on the study area). Bayesian estimates of mortality/hospitalization ratios (BMR/BHR) at municipal level only and relating maps of the Bayesian risk estimators were elaborated. Congenital malformations (MC) were analysed using data from Tuscan Registry of Birth Defect in 1992-2006 period, relative to outcomes of pregnancies in women resident in the municipalities of study area, wherever the birth or termination of pregnancy occurred. The ratio between observed and expected cases (O/A), with expected defined according to regional rate, were calculated and O/A Bayesian estimates (BMR) are showed only at municipal level . The low weight and the males/females ratio at birth were analysed using data from Tuscany Birth Certificates, covering period 2001-2007, excluding biths occurred in facilities outside Tuscany Region. For Low birth weight (<2,500 grams), very low birth weight (<1,500 grams), low birth weight in women with normal gestational age or greater than 36 weeks, gestational age less than 36 weeks, and the frequency of males, the observed/expected ratio was calculated, with the expected number defined according to regional rate. Results Environmental background High levels of arsenic in drinking water distribution emerges as a critical element, so that several municipalities resorted to granting exemptions for the parameters laid down by the Legislative Decree in force (DLgs 31/01). However, during the final phase of the study, new blast systems activated in the SGA decreased the arsenic levels in the water supply, reaching values not requiring derogations, which, instead, are still effective in some NGA municipalities. Air quality data, from Tuscany Regional Agency for Environmental Protection-ARPAT, show that geothermal activities are able to affect air quality, especially with hydrogen sulphide in NGA, and hydrogen sulphide and mercury in SGA. A significant contribution to the presence of mercury in air is due to previous metallurgical sites. Although mercury levels are belowWHO guideline values, in SGA nearby Siena, values were significantly higher than in other geothermal areas, because of power plant PC2 (turned off in July 2011) in Piancastagnaio municipality. The hydrogen sulphide concentration levels were generally lower than WHO reference values, with occasional excesses over guideline value for health protection (150 &#956;g/m3 as average of the 24 hours). Olfactory pollution was more critic with values exceeding 7-10 &#956;g/m3 range even in areas without geothermal plants.Obiettivo Le limitate conoscenze scientifiche sui rapporti tra esposizione a fattori ambientali correlati all\u27attivit? geotermica e lo stato di salute della popolazione esposta hanno motivato la conduzione di una indagine epidemiologica nell\u27area geotermica toscana basata sull\u27analisi dei dati ambientali e sanitari disponibili negli archivi regionali. Lo studio ha lo scopo di descrivere lo stato di salute delle popolazioni residenti nelle aree geotermiche toscane, identificate con i territori comunali per i quali sono state rilasciate concessioni di sfruttamento della risorsa geotermica. Disegno Lo studio ? di tipo ecologico e quindi non adatto a produrre evidenze che permettano di esprimere un giudizio sul nesso causa-effetto. I maggiori limiti degli studi ecologici derivano dall\u27assunzione che la residenza anagrafica a livello comunale rappresenti una valida misura di esposizione a fattori sia ambientali sia socioeconomici e dall\u27utilizzo di dati aggregati degli esiti sanitari che possono portare a risultati affetti da fallacia ecologica. Setting e partecipanti I comuni inclusi nell\u27area geotermica dello studio sono 16, di cui 8 compresi nell\u27area geotermica cosiddetta ?tradizionale?, che include le localit? di Larderello, Val di Cornia e Radicondoli-Travale (area geotermica Nord) e gli altri 8 situati nella zona dell\u27Amiata senese e grossetana (area geotemica Sud). Nel periodo 2000-2006 la popolazione media residente nell\u27area geotermica complessiva era di oltre 43.000 abitanti. Al momento dello studio erano attive 31 centrali geotermoelettriche con capacit? di produzione di 811 MW, di cui 5 con 88 MW totali nell\u27area geotermica Sud. Le analisi statistiche sono state effettuate a livello di intera area geotermica, delle due subaree geotermiche (Nord e Sud) e dei 16 comuni. Principali misure di outcome La mortalit? ? stata analizzata utilizzando i dati del Registro di mortalit? regionale della Toscana per l\u27intero periodo disponibile (1971-2006), con dettaglio per 60 cause, scelte in quanto di interesse generale per il profilo di salute della popolazione o perch? coerenti con i criteri adottati dal Progetto SENTIERI. L\u27ospedalizzazione ? stata valutata analizzando i dati delle schede di dimissione ospedaliera (SDO) della Re-gione Toscana nel periodo 2004-2006, includendo i ricoverati residenti in Toscana ovunque abbiano effettuato un ricovero, considerando solo la diagnosi principale di ricovero, escludendo i ricoveri ripetuti degli stessi soggetti per la stessa causa. Le cause di ospedalizzazione selezionate per l\u27analisi dei ricoveri sono le stesse utilizzate per l\u27analisi della mortalit?. Per la mortalit? sono stati calcolati i tassi di mortalit? standardizzati per et? (TSDM) e i trend temporali dei TSDM in quattro periodi (1971- 1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2006). Sia per la mortalit? del periodo 2000-2006, sia per l\u27ospedalizzazione del periodo 2004-2006,sono stati calcolati: &#61692; i rapporti di mortalit?/ospedalizzazione standardizzati per et? (SMR/SHR), con e senza aggiustamento per l\u27indice di deprivazione (ID), utilizzando per il calcolo dell\u27ID i dati del censimento 2001, con gli attesi calcolati usando il tasso di mortalit?/ospedalizzazione della popolazione residente nei comuni limitrofi (comuni con la coordinata geografica del municipio compresa in un cerchio con raggio di 50 km centrato sull\u27area in studio); &#61692; le stime bayesiane dei rapporti di mortalit? (BMR) e di ospedalizzazione (BHR) a livello esclusivamente comunale; &#61692; le mappe (disease mapping) dei rischi bayesiani di mortalit?/ospedalizzazione comunali. Le malformazioni congenite (MC) sono state analizzate utilizzando i dati del Registro toscano dei difetti congeniti (RTDC) nel periodo 1992-2006, relativi a esiti di gravidanze di donne residenti nei comuni dell\u27area in studio, ovunque sia avvenuto il parto o l\u27interruzione di gravidanza. Per le MC ? stato calcolato il rapporto tra casi osservati e casi attesi (O/A), con gli attesi definiti in base al tasso regionale e vengono fornite le stime bayesiane del rapporto O/A (BMR) a livello esclusivamente comunale. Per valutare il basso peso e il rapporto tra maschi e femmine alla nascita sono stati utilizzati i dati dei certificati di assistenza al parto della Regione Toscana, relativi al periodo 2001-2007, con esclusione degli eventi occorsi in presidi di altre regioni. L\u27analisi ? stata condotta considerando i nati con: basso peso alla nascita (LW: peso <2.500 grammi), bassissimo peso alla nascita (VLW: peso <1.500 grammi), basso peso alla nascita nelle donne con et? gestazionale normale e maggiore di 36 settimane (LW36), et? gestazionale inferiore a 36 settimane, e il numero di maschi osservato. Per tutti gli indicatori ? stato calcolato il rapporto osservato/atteso, con l\u27atteso definito in base al tasso regionale. Risultati Il contesto ambientale Dalla descrizione del contesto ambientale, per quanto riguarda l\u27acqua, emerge come elemento di criticit? il riscontro talvolta di elevati livelli di arsenico nelle acque della rete di distribuzione degli acquedotti, tanto che in diverse realt? comunali si ? dovuto far ricorso alla concessione di deroghe ai parametri previsti dal decreto legislativo vigente (DLgs 31/01). Comunque, durante la fase conclusiva dello studio, nell\u27area geotermica Sud i nuovi sistemi abbattitori hanno ridotto i livelli di arsenico nella rete idrica fino a valori tali da non dover pi? ricorrere alle deroghe, ancora attive, invece, in alcuni comuni dell\u27area geotermica Nord. Le informazioni dell\u27ARPAT sui dati dell\u27aria evidenziano che l\u27attivit? geotermica ? in grado di modificare la qualit? dell\u27aria, soprattutto per l\u27acido solfidrico nell\u27area geotermica Nord, e per l\u27acido solfidrico e il mercurio nell\u27area geotermica Sud, in particolare nel versante senese dell\u27Amiata. Per il mercurio nell\u27aria, un contributo rilevante ? legato anche alle emissioni dagli ex siti metallurgici. Sebbene i livelli di mercurio nelle postazioni di monitoraggio rientrino sempre al di sotto dei valori guida raccomandati dall\u27OMS, le concentrazioni riscontrate nell\u27aria dell\u27Amiata senese, e perlopi? legate alla centrale PC2 di Piancastagnaio (spenta nel luglio 2011), sono significativamente superiori a quelle rilevate nelle altre aree geotermiche che, al contrario, sono assestate sugli stessi livelli registrati nei territori non geotermici. I livelli di concentrazione di acido solfidrico sono inferiori ai valori di riferimento, con occasionali superamenti del valore guida di tutela sanitaria OMS (150 &#956;g/m3 come media delle 24 ore). Pi? critici sono i dati di inquinamento olfattivo, che si verifica con il superamento del valore di 7-10 g/m3 di acido solfidrico nell\u27aria, riscontrato con vario grado di intensit? in tutte le postazioni di monitoraggio, anche in aree dove non sono presenti impianti geotermici. In alcune aree con insediamenti produttivi geotermici la frequenza, la persistenza e l\u27intensit? dei cattivi odori sono tali da comportare condizioni di qualit? dell\u27aria scadente