GCM solver (ver. 3.0): a {\it Mathematica} notebook for diagonalization of the Geometric Collective Model (Bohr hamiltonian) with generalized Gneuss-Greiner potential

The program diagonalizes the Geometric Collective Model (Bohr Hamiltonian) with generalized Gneuss–Greiner potential with terms up to the sixth power in β . In nuclear physics, the Bohr–Mottelson model with later extensions into the rotovibrational Collective model is an important theoretical tool with predictive power and it represents a fundamental step in the education of a nuclear physicist. Nuclear spectroscopists might find it useful for fitting experimental data, reproducing spectra, EM transitions and moments and trying theoretical predictions, while students might find it useful for learning about connections between the nuclear shape and its quantum origin. Matrix elements for the kinetic energy operator and for scalar invariants as β 2 and β 3 cos ( 3 γ ) have been calculated in a truncated five-dimensional harmonic oscillator basis with a different program, checked with three different methods and stored in a matrix library for the lowest values of angular momentum. These matrices are called by the program that uses them to write generalized Hamiltonians as linear combinations of certain simple operators. Energy levels and eigenfunctions are obtained as outputs of the diagonalization of these Hamiltonian operators

Unrestrained power and deception in the parable of Silvio Berlusconi

The article investigates the last 20 years of Italian politics through the philosophy of Vasugupta’s Śiva-sūtra and Guy Debord’s La Société du spectacle

The role of camera convergence in stereoscopic video see-through augmented reality displays

In the realm of wearable augmented reality (AR) systems, stereoscopic video see-through displays raise issues related to the user's perception of the three-dimensional space. This paper seeks to put forward few considerations regarding the perceptual artefacts common to standard stereoscopic video see-through displays with fixed camera convergence. Among the possible perceptual artefacts, the most significant one relates to diplopia arising from reduced stereo overlaps and too large screen disparities. Two state-of-the-art solutions are reviewed. The first one suggests a dynamic change, via software, of the virtual camera convergence, whereas the second one suggests a matched hardware/software solution based on a series of predefined focus/vergence configurations. Potentialities and limits of both the solutions are outlined so as to provide the AR community, a yardstick for developing new stereoscopic video see-through systems suitable for different working distances

Exploring the Fashion Visiting Experience: a Content Analysis about the “Boncompagni Ludovisi Museum”

Fashion represents a multi-disciplinary and to some extent a cross-disciplinary field of research, spanning economic and industry studies, cultural, heritage and sociological research, geographical and tourism reflections.Fashion is a hallmark of Italian exports: through the fashion products, Italy exports its outstanding sense of beauty and aesthetics, the artisanal manufacturing expertise and a certain artistic value. Furthermore, fashion characterizes the cultural and touristic image of Italy, affecting and/or enriching the tourists’ experience.The aim of the work is exploring the experience of visitors of the “Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum” in Rome, through a content analysis of the posts published on the Facebook Official Page and the reviews shared on TripAdvisor.More in details, after a literature review about the ‘museification’ trends in the fashion tourism, the work will deeply explore through a content analysis the several dimensions of post visiting experience, in order to understand the mutual roles of core attractions (collections and location’s architecture) and museum’s quality of welcome.Tourism management and policy’s implications will be discussed.La moda rappresenta un campo di ricerca multidisciplinare e, in una certa misura, interdisciplinare, che abbraccia studi economici e industriali, ricerche culturali, storiche e sociologiche, riflessioni geografiche e turistiche.La moda è un capitolo cruciale dell'export italiano: attraverso i prodotti della moda, l'Italia esporta il suo eccezionale senso di bellezza ed estetica, la competenza artigianale manifatturiera e un certo valore artistico. Inoltre, la moda caratterizza l'immagine culturale e turistica dell'Italia, influenzando e / o arricchendo l'esperienza turistica.L'obiettivo del lavoro è quello di esplorare l'esperienza dei visitatori del "Museo delle arti decorative Boncompagni Ludovisi" a Roma, attraverso una “analisi del contenuto” dei post pubblicati sulla Pagina ufficiale di Facebook e delle recensioni condivise su TripAdvisor.Più in dettaglio, dopo una revisione della letteratura sulle tendenze alla  “museificazione” nel settore del fashion, il lavoro esplorerà profondamente le diverse dimensioni dell'esperienza di visita, al fine di comprendere il ruolo delle principali attrazioni (collezioni e location) e la qualità dell'accoglienza del museo.Verranno inoltre discusse le principali implicazioni di gestione e policy

Nucleosided derived antibiotics to fight microbial drug resistance: New utilities for an established class of drugs?

Novel antibiotics are urgently needed to combat the rise of infections due to drug-resistant microorganisms. Numerous natural nucleosides and their synthetically modified analogues have been reported to have moderate to good antibiotic activity against different bacterial and fungal strains. Nucleoside-based compounds target several crucial processes of bacterial and fungal cells such as nucleoside metabolism and cell wall, nucleic acid, and protein biosynthesis. Nucleoside analogues have also been shown to target many other bacterial and fungal cellular processes although these are not well characterized and may therefore represent opportunities to discover new drugs with unique mechanisms of action. In this Perspective, we demonstrate that nucleoside analogues, cornerstones of anticancer and antiviral treatments, also have great potential to be repurposed as antibiotics so that an old drug can learn new tricks

Perspective Preserving Solution for Quasi-Orthoscopic Video See-Through HMDs

In non-orthoscopic video see-through (VST) head-mounted displays (HMDs), depth perception through stereopsis is adversely affected by sources of spatial perception errors. Solutions for parallax-free and orthoscopic VST HMDs were considered to ensure proper space perception but at expenses of an increased bulkiness and weight. In this work, we present a hybrid video-optical see-through HMD the geometry of which explicitly violates the rigorous conditions of orthostereoscopy. For properly recovering natural stereo fusion of the scene within the personal space in a region around a predefined distance from the observer, we partially resolve the eye-camera parallax by warping the camera images through a perspective preserving homography that accounts for the geometry of the VST HMD and refers to such distance. For validating our solution; we conducted objective and subjective tests. The goal of the tests was to assess the efficacy of our solution in recovering natural depth perception in the space around said reference distance. The results obtained showed that the quasi-orthoscopic setting of the HMD; together with the perspective preserving image warping; allow the recovering of a correct perception of the relative depths. The perceived distortion of space around the reference plane proved to be not as severe as predicted by the mathematical models

Challenges in the development and growth of small for gestational age newborns

Introduction: Being born with low birth weight (less than 2.500 gr) is considered a public health problem, with an overall world rate of about 14%. Low birth weight may result from a premature birth (< 37 weeks of gestation), from several causes of intra-uterine growth restriction or from a combination of both. Areas covered: We described how, if weight and/or length at birth are not adequate for gestational age, the newborn is considered ‘small for gestational age’ and may present several growth, hormonal and developmental peculiarities, possibly due to the growth restriction developed during pregnancy. Expert commentary: We provide a description of the possible mid-term consequences of being born small for gestational age and how to follow and provide care for these babies from a multidisciplinary point of view

Intermuscular pocket for subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator: Single-center experience

AbstractThe subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) is a novel device now accepted in clinical practice for treating ventricular arrhythmias. In 14 consecutive patients, S-ICD devices were placed in the virtual space between the anterior surface of the serratus anterior muscle and the posterior surface of the latissimus dorsi muscle. During a mean follow up of 9 months, no dislocations, infections, hematoma formations, or skin erosions were observed. Intermuscular implantation of the S-ICD could be a reliable, safe, and appealing alternative to the standard subcutaneous placement

Augmented reality in open surgery

Augmented reality (AR) has been successfully providing surgeons an extensive visual information of surgical anatomy to assist them throughout the procedure. AR allows surgeons to view surgical field through the superimposed 3D virtual model of anatomical details. However, open surgery presents new challenges. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the available literature regarding the use of AR in open surgery, both in clinical and simulated settings. In this way, we aim to analyze the current trends and solutions to help developers and end/users discuss and understand benefits and shortcomings of these systems in open surgery. We performed a PubMed search of the available literature updated to January 2018 using the terms (1) “augmented reality” AND “open surgery”, (2) “augmented reality” AND “surgery” NOT “laparoscopic” NOT “laparoscope” NOT “robotic”, (3) “mixed reality” AND “open surgery”, (4) “mixed reality” AND “surgery” NOT “laparoscopic” NOT “laparoscope” NOT “robotic”. The aspects evaluated were the following: real data source, virtual data source, visualization processing modality, tracking modality, registration technique, and AR display type. The initial search yielded 502 studies. After removing the duplicates and by reading abstracts, a total of 13 relevant studies were chosen. In 1 out of 13 studies, in vitro experiments were performed, while the rest of the studies were carried out in a clinical setting including pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and urogenital surgeries. AR system in open surgery appears as a versatile and reliable tool in the operating room. However, some technological limitations need to be addressed before implementing it into the routine practice

Social architecture and the emergence of power laws in online social games

This paper explores the concept of the “social architecture” of games, and tests the theory that it is possible to analyse game mechanics based on the effect they have on the social behaviour of the players. Using tools from Social Network Analysis, these studies confirm that social activity in games reliably follows a power distribution: a few players are responsible for a disproportionate amount of social interactions. Based on this, the scaling exponent is highlighted as a simple measure of sociability that is constant for a game design. This allows for the direct comparison of social activity in very different games. In addition, it can act as a powerful analytical tool for highlighting anomalies in game designs that detrimentally affect players’ ability to interact socially. Although the social architectures of games are complicated systems, SNA allows for quantitative analysis of social behaviours of players in meaningful ways, which are to the benefit of game designers