Human-Data Interaction in Healthcare

In this paper, we focus on an emerging strand of IT-oriented research, namely Human-Data Interaction (HDI) and how this can be applied to healthcare. HDI regards both how humans create and use data by means of interactive systems, which can both assist and constrain them, as well as to passively collect and proactively generate data. Healthcare provides a challenging arena to test the potential of HDI to provide a new, user-centered perspective on how data work should be supported and assessed, especially in the light of the fact that data are becoming increasingly big and that many tools are now available for the lay people, including doctors and nurses, to interact with health-related data.Comment: 10 pages, 4 Figure

Discovery and description of the first human Retro-Giant virus

Background: Robert Gallo reported the first human retrovirus HLTV in 1980. What we report here is the first human giant virus, Mimivirus-like, with a retroviral core. Methods: The isolation of human giant viruses from human T cells Leukaemia was performed on 25% sucrose gradient. The purified viral pellet was examined using electron microscopy (EM), after immunolabelling with anti-FeLV gag p27 moAb, used for its ability to bind conserved epitopes among different mammalian retroviruses. These human giant viruses were tested for reverse transcriptase activity. RNA extracted from the viral particles was initially amplified with the Pan Retrovirus PCR technique. In addition, a shotgun whole genome sequence was performed. Results: EM showed the presence of ~400 nm giant viruses, mimivirus-like, specifically labelled by anti-FeLV gag p27 Ab. The giant viruses had the reverse transcribing property. Whole genome sequence showed the presence of transforming retroviral genes in the large viral genome confirming that the Retro-Giant viruses are a distinct branch, missing from the current classification of retroviruses. Conclusions: Although sharing some of the morphological features with Mimiviruses, this human giant virus differs substantially from environmental DNA-giant viruses isolated so far, in that it manifests a unique mammalian transforming retroviral core and T cell tropism. The virus should not be confused with a classic human retrovirus nor even a large human retrovirus, but an ancestral human giant virus, mimivirus-like, with a mammalian retroviral core. Certainly, the oncogenic potential of the viral particle and its T cell tropism is of concern and further studies are needed to clarify the role of this giant virus in human diseases and evolution of archetypal retroviruses

Determination of the prosumer's optimal bids

This paper considers a microgrid connected with a medium-voltage (MV) distribution network. It is assumed that the microgrid, which is managed by a prosumer, operates in a competitive environment and participates in the day-ahead market. Then, as the first step of the short-term management problem, the prosumer must determine the bids to be submitted to the market. The offer strategy is based on the application of an optimization model, which is solved for different hourly price profiles of energy exchanged with the main grid. The proposed procedure is applied to a microgrid and four different its configurations were analyzed. The configurations consider the presence of thermoelectric units that only produce electricity, a boiler or/and cogeneration power plants for the thermal loads, and an electric storage system. The numerical results confirmed the numerous theoretical considerations that have been made

The Italian Domestic Stability “Pact”: its Perspectives and Framework Issues

Nella situazione attuale, gli effetti strutturali del patto di stabilità interno vanno considerati con ogni attenzione. Questi effetti sono “prociclici”: essi aggravano i fenomeni deflattivi che, dopo la crisi del 2008, sono oggi pesantemente in corso. L’analisi statistica condotta mostra una marcata differenziazione degli effetti sul territorio. Nel Centro-Nord prevale, strutturalmente una tendenza alla riduzione della spesa dei Comuni e ad un alleggerimento della pressione fiscale. Risulta, invece, una tendenza opposta nel Mezzogiorno. Ciò produce una rilevante riduzione del divario tra le risorse disponibili (divario che, nel 1999, è pari al 30% e, nel lungo periodo, si va via via riducendo fino ad arrivare al 10 %), riduzione che, per competenza, ma anche per cassa, è effetto di un peggioramento delle condizioni di vita dei lavoratori, attraverso imposte sensibilmente più elevate (tale incremento della pressione fiscale ha prodotto un incremento tendenziale delle entrate, che è pari, per gli anni a partire dal 1999, per competenza, al 25,4% nel Mezzogiorno, contro il 16,9% del Centro-Nord). Si mostrano, in secondo luogo, i gravi rischi che l’attuale situazione comporta per la tenuta finanziaria dei bilanci degli Enti. Sia nel Centro-Nord che nel Mezzogiorno, in termini di competenza, risulta una tendenza al formarsi di disavanzi (in realtà, in valore assoluto assai modesti). Il fenomeno preoccupante è tuttavia quello della mancata copertura degli oneri di ammortamento dei mutui, che dovrebbero essere coperti, nell’impianto del T.U.E.L. (cfr., in particolare, l’articolo 162, comma 6), nella parte corrente dei bilanci.Local Governments; Intergovernmental Fiscal Coordination Rules.

IGV Short Scale to Assess Implicit Value of Visualizations through Explicit Interaction

This paper reports the assessment of the infographics-value (IGV) short scale, designed to measure the value in the use of infographics. The scale was made to assess the implicit quality dimensions of infographics. These dimensions were experienced during the execution of tasks in a contextualized scenario. Users were asked to retrieve a piece of information by explicitly interacting with the infographics. After usage, they were asked to rate quality dimensions of infographics, namely, usefulness, intuitiveness, clarity, informativity, and beauty; the overall value perceived from interacting with infographics was also included in the survey. Each quality dimension was coded as a six-point rating scale item, with overall value included. The proposed IGV short scale model was validated with 650 people. Our analysis confirmed that all considered dimensions in our scale were independently significant and contributed to assessing the implicit value of infographics. The IGV short scale is a lightweight but exhaustive tool to rapidly assess the implicit value of an explicit interaction with infographics in daily tasks, where value in use is crucial to measuring the situated effectiveness of visual tools. View Full-Tex

Multi-Step Model Predictive Safety Filters: Reducing Chattering by Increasing the Prediction Horizon

Learning-based controllers have demonstrated superior performance compared to classical controllers in various tasks. However, providing safety guarantees is not trivial. Safety, the satisfaction of state and input constraints, can be guaranteed by augmenting the learned control policy with a safety filter. Model predictive safety filters (MPSFs) are a common safety filtering approach based on model predictive control (MPC). MPSFs seek to guarantee safety while minimizing the difference between the proposed and applied inputs in the immediate next time step. This limited foresight can lead to jerky motions and undesired oscillations close to constraint boundaries, known as chattering. In this paper, we reduce chattering by considering input corrections over a longer horizon. Under the assumption of bounded model uncertainties, we prove recursive feasibility using techniques from robust MPC. We verified the proposed approach in both extensive simulation and quadrotor experiments. In experiments with a Crazyflie 2.0 drone, we show that, in addition to preserving the desired safety guarantees, the proposed MPSF reduces chattering by more than a factor of 4 compared to previous MPSF formulations.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. Accepted to IEEE CDC 2023. Code is publicly available at https://github.com/Federico-PizarroBejarano/safe-control-gym/tree/smooth_mpsc_pape

HETTANGIAN AMMONITES AND RADIOLARIANS IN THE MT. CAMICIA (GRAN SASSO, CENTRAL APENNINES)

The Vallone di Vradda stratigraphic section is situated in the eastern part of the Gran Sasso range and shows the transition from Late Triassic euxinic facies to Early Liassic open pelagic facies. This paper describes Middle and Late Hettangian ammonite and radiolarian assemblages found in the upper part of the succession. The existence of an anoxic event below the Middle Hettangian beds is noted. Assemblages of small-sized Middle Hettangian ammonites suggest some taxonomic innovation within the early Lytoceratina: gen. n. (Pleuroacanthitidae) and Analytoceras n. sp. indet. Radiolarians found together with ammonites improve the knowledge of Hettangian radiolarian assemblages of the western Tethys

Traffic management system for smart road networks reserved for self-driving cars

A model of a smart road network consisting of unsignalised intersections and smart roads connecting them is considered in this work with the aim of presenting a traffic management system for self-driving cars (or, more generally, autonomous vehicles) which travel the network. The proposed system repeatedly solves a set of mathematical programming problems (each of them relative to a single intersection or to a single road stretch of the network) within a decentralised control scheme in which each local intersection controller and each local road controller communicates with the fully autonomous vehicles in order to receive travel data from vehicles and to provide speed profiles to them once determined the optimal solution of the problem. In order to reduce the computational effort required to provide the optimal solution, a discrete-time approach is adopted so that, in each time interval, a limited number of vehicles are taken into consideration; in this way, solutions can be determined in a very short time thus making the proposed model compatible with a practical application to real traffic systems. The proposed model is general enough, and can be adapted to different scenarios of smart road networks reserved for self-driving cars

Infusione continua di detomidina durante chirurgia laparoscopica nel cavallo

RIASSUNTO L’anestesia in stazione quadrupedale è una pratica che permette l’esecuzione di diverse manualità mediche e chirurgiche nel cavallo, senza dover sottoporre il soggetto ai maggiori pericoli di un’anestesia generale. Questa tecnica anestesiologica prevede l’impiego di sedativi in associazione con una tecnica analgesica (somministrazione sistemica, anestesia loco-regionale) qualora la manualità da eseguire comporti l’insorgenza di uno stimolo dolorifico. La laparoscopia prevede l’inserimento intraddominale dei trocar e dello strumentario necessario per eseguire la tecnica. Per evitare danni agli organi da parte dello strumentario in addome, il soggetto deve mantenere una posizione adeguata e non deve effettuare movimenti bruschi. Nello studio è stato formulato un protocollo che ha previsto la sedazione del soggetto mediante la somministrazione di detomidina in associazione con buprenorfina per via endovenosa ed anestesia loco-regionale della porzione interessata dalla chirurgia mediante lidocaina. Per il mantenimento è stata attuata l’infusione endovenosa continua di detomidina con lo scopo di ottenere un livello di sedazione costante nel tempo ed adeguato alla manualità. Infatti la somministrazione di un farmaco per via endovenosa continua permette di variare più rapidamente il livello ematico di questo e, conseguentemente, di poterne modulare gli effetti. La detomidina è un farmaco che produce un accumulo nell’organismo, per cui è stato adottato un protocollo che prevede il dimezzamento il dosaggio dell’infusione ogni quindici minuti. L’impiego di questo protocollo anestesiologico ha permesso di effettuare la procedura laparoscopica senza difficoltà da parte del chirurgo. Il piano analgesico ottenuto è risultato efficace ed adeguato per lo svolgimento della manualità chirurgica. A fine intervento tutti i soggetti hanno ripreso la capacità di deambulare in breve tempo, non presentando complicazioni. SUMMARY Standing horse anesthesia is a practice that allows the execution of medical and surgical techniques, without applying to general anesthesia that is a very stressful and more dangerous event for a horse. In this kind of anesthesia, sedatives are employed in association with an analgesic technique (sistemic analgesia or loco-regional anesthesia) when the practice is supposed to be painful. The abdominal introduction of trocars and of laparoscopic tools is necessary in order to perfom a laparoscopic surgery; for this reason the patient is expected to stand motionless and it is important that it does not make roguh movements during the procedure. The wording of the anesthesia protocol for this study implied the use of detomidine for sedation in association with intravenous buprenorphine as analgesic and loco-regional anesthesia with lidocaine of the surgical area. For the maintenance, detomidine by intravenous continuous infusion was employed with the purpose to obtain a constat sedation level and adequate to the procedure. In fact the constant infusion of drugs permits to change blood concentration more rapidly and consequently it is possible to easily modulate the effects of drugs. Detomidine is a sedative that can accumulate in the organism, so the anesthestic protocol foresaw to halve the dosage every fifteen minutes. This anesthetic protocol provided a good sedation and the laparoscopic technique was performed without problems. The obtained analgesic plan resulted efficacious and adequate for the course of the surgery. At the end of the procedure all the subjects were able rapidly to walk and did not present complications

Introduction: non-theatrical film festivals

The idea for this publication stemmed from the Reframing Film Festivals conference that the curators of this special issue were organised in Venice in February 2020, which was conceived to foster research engagement with the histories of film festivals and their relationship with film historiography and canons. During this two-day event, among the contributions dedicated to the micro-histories of a variety of festivals based in Central and Eastern Europe, South America and South-East Asia, several artists, curators, archivists and historians from France, Austria, Italy, Chile and Spain presented research focused on non-theatrical cultures and related festivals. This strand of research ranged 10 from historical analysis of international competitions for amateur filmmakers to theorisations of the festivals dedicated to analog video art and time-based art, from the study of the historical developments of national non-fiction festivals to the mapping of ethnographic film festival circuits. Hence, in this special issue dedicated to non-theatrical film festivals, readers will find a combination of voices representing film cultures that have been developing outside of movie theatres and away from the logic of theatrical distribution, as the title implies