Organizational Anthropology, Organization Theory, and Management Practice

How has the study of organizations as culturesincreased our capacity to design and manageorganizations? The author examines this question,noting first the growing use of the culturalapproach in both the academic and themanagerial communities, and discusses thereasons for the split between theory and practice,warning that this split will continue to widen. Tobridge this gap the author believes antifunctionalist prejudice must be renounced. Thiswill move practitioners and academics closer tothe goal of the cultural approach which is toemploy greater wisdom in organizing rather thanto create a new science of organization. To thisend, the author makes a plea for more applied research

Retinitis pigmentosa: evaluation of the vestibular system with cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and the video head impulse test

OBJECTIVE: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) represents a group of inherited disorders in which abnormalities of the photoreceptors lead to progressive visual loss. Night blindness, peripheral visual field loss, and eventual total blindness represent typical visual damage of such disease. No study has previously evaluated the presence of a "latent" vestibular deficit in patients with RP. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study with caloric test, cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (C-VEMPs), ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (O-VEMPs), and video head impulse test (v-HIT). SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: 16 patients suffering from RP. INTERVENTION: Evaluation of vestibular dysfunction with caloric test, C-VEMPs, O-VEMPs, and the measurement of the vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR) using the v-HIT. RESULTS: Only five patients with RP showed normal values in all the vestibular tests performed. Three patients had an evident deficit at the caloric test, whereas eight (50%) of them had a normal caloric test but a pathological response in at least one of the other vestibular tests performed. No patient of the study showed a bilateral otolith or ampullary dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Our patients with RP unexpectedly showed pathological responses in at least one of the vestibular tests performed. Nowadays, in patients affected by RP, a vestibular diagnostic protocol must include VEMPs and v-HIT to confirm the vestibular damage and to identify selective damage of the vestibular nerve

Absolute frequency measurement of molecular transitions by a direct link to a comb generated around 3-µm

A 3-microm continuous-wave difference-frequency source is directly referenced to a mid-infrared optical frequency comb synthesizer by measuring their beat-note signal by a fast HgCdTe detector. Absolute frequency metrology of molecular vibration spectra is demonstrated by locking the 3-microm coherent radiation to the nearest comb tooth and tuning the comb mode spacing across the Doppler-broadened absorption profile of a CH(4) ro-vibrational transition

Strobilurin Effects on Nitrogen Use Efficiency for the Yield and Protein in Durum Wheat Grown under Rainfed Mediterranean Conditions

In wheat, the increase in nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and optimization of the nitrogen doses to be used are both very important aspects for improving sustainable and productive agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate, under rainfed Mediterranean conditions, the influence of strobilurin treatment and N fertilization on durum wheat N use efficiency for yield (NUEy) and protein (NUEp) and on the contribution of their components, nitrogen uptake efficiency (UPE) and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE). Two durum wheat cultivars (Saragolla and Sfinge) were grown for two years in field conditions under five nitrogen treatments (60 kg ha−1 N60; 90 and 120 kg ha−1 given two and three times; N90, N90T3, N120 and N120T3) comparing a control without strobilurin treatment (ST0) and one application of strobilurin (STaz). In Sfinge, STaz caused a decrease in UPE and NUEp and an increase in NUtE and NUEy. In Saragolla, the opposite behavior was observed. Moreover, strobilurin positively affected the contribution of UPE and negatively that of NUtE to NUEy only in Saragolla. Furthermore, strobilurin determined higher NUEy and NUEp values under most of the N treatments adopted in the drier year. With this study, we supported the hypothesis that in Mediterranean conditions, the possibility of reducing N rate application from 120 to 90 kg ha−1 with a strobilurin-based treatment, even in the absence of fungal diseases, could represent a useful agronomic strategy for durum wheat grown under drought conditions as those predicted under the ongoing climate change

PM10 and PM2.5 Qualitative Source Apportionment Using Selective Wind Direction Sampling in a Port-Industrial Area in Civitavecchia, Italy

The possibility to discriminate between different emission sources and between natural and anthropogenic contributions is a key issue for planning efficient air pollution reduction and mitigation strategies. Moreover, the knowledge of the particulate matter (PM) chemical composition for the different size fractions is recognized as increasingly important, in particular with respect to health effects of exposed population. This study is focused on the characterization of PM10 and PM2.5 main sources located in the Civitavecchia harbor-industrial area (Central Italy), namely a large coal-fired power plant, a natural gas power plant, the harbor area, the vehicular traffic (due to both the local traffic and the highway crossing the area) and small industrial activities. The approach was based on PM10/PM2.5 samples monthly collected for one year and a further relative chemical characterization of organic and inorganic fractions. Wind-select sensors, allowing a selective PM10 and PM2.5 sampling downwind to specific emission sources, were used for the overall sampling. This methodology manages to explain specific emission patterns and to assess the concentration levels of the micro pollutants emitted by local sources and particularly toxic for health. A descriptive statistical analysis of data was performed, also verifying the occurrence of legislative threshold exceedances. Moreover, in order to highlight the contribution of specific sources, the differences in the measured micro pollutants concentrations between wind directions, PM size fractions and sampling sites have been investigated, as well as the seasonal trends of pollutants concentrations. These results allow to highlight that the applied methodology represents a valid support in source apportionment studies

PCDH19 mutations in female patients from Southern Italy

AbstractPurposeMutations in PCDH19, encoding protocadherin 19 on chromosome X, cause familial epilepsy and mental retardation limited to females or Dravet-like syndrome. We wished to explore the causative role of PCDH19 gene (Xq22) in female patients with epilepsy, from Southern Italy.MethodsDirect sequencing of PCDH19 gene was conducted in 31 unrelated female patients with early onset (<1 year of age) epilepsy and a wide spectrum of phenotypes including febrile seizures, focal and generalized forms, with either sporadic or familial distribution.ResultsWe identified two de novo heterozygous novel mutations of PCDH19 gene (p.Arg550Pro, Ile508ProfsX59) in two of 31 unrelated female patients. We also identified a novel silent mutation p.Ser856=.ConclusionsThe present findings confirm that PCDH19 is a major causative gene for infantile onset familial or sporadic epilepsy in female patients with or without mental retardation

Performances Analysis of Titanium Prostheses Manufactured by Superplastic Forming and Incremental Forming

Abstract Titanium and its alloys are widely used in cranioplasty because they are biocompatible with excellent mechanical properties and favor the osseointegration with the bone. However, when Titanium alloys have to be worked several problems occurred from a manufacturing point of view: the standard procedure for obtaining Titanium prostheses is represented by the machining processes, which result time and cost consuming. The aim of this research consist to introduce alternative flexible sheet forming processes, i.e. Super Plastic Forming (SPF) and Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF), for the manufacturing of patient-oriented titanium prostheses. The research activities have already highlighted the potentiality of the investigated forming processes that can be alternatively used taking into account both the damage morphology and the need of urgency operation. In the present work, the way of manufacturing the Ti prostheses by SPF and SPIF is described. A comparative analysis has been performed, thus highlighting the peculiarities of the investigated processes and the prostheses feasibility

Duodenal and faecal microbiota of celiac children: molecular, phenotype and metabolome characterization

BACKGROUND: Epidemiology of celiac disease (CD) is increasing. CD mainly presents in early childhood with small intestinal villous atrophy and signs of malabsorption. Compared to healthy individuals, CD patients seemed to be characterized by higher numbers of Gram-negative bacteria and lower numbers Gram-positive bacteria. RESULTS: This study aimed at investigating the microbiota and metabolome of 19 celiac disease children under gluten-free diet (treated celiac disease, T-CD) and 15 non-celiac children (HC). PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses by universal and group-specific primers were carried out in duodenal biopsies and faecal samples. Based on the number of PCR-DGGE bands, the diversity of Eubacteria was the higher in duodenal biopsies of T-CD than HC children. Bifidobacteria were only found in faecal samples. With a few exceptions, PCR-DGGE profiles of faecal samples for Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria differed between T-CD and HC. As shown by culture-dependent methods, the levels of Lactobacillus, Enterococcus and Bifidobacteria were confirmed to be significantly higher (P = 0.028; P = 0.019; and P = 0.023, respectively) in fecal samples of HC than in T-CD children. On the contrary, cell counts (CFU/ml) of presumptive Bacteroides, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Shighella and Klebsiella were significantly higher (P = 0.014) in T-CD compared to HC children. Enterococcus faecium and Lactobacillus plantarum were the species most diffusely identified. This latter species was also found in all duodenal biopsies of T-CD and HC children. Other bacterial species were identified only in T-CD or HC faecal samples. As shown by Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-PCR analysis, the percentage of strains identified as lactobacilli significantly (P = 0.011) differed between T-CD (ca. 26.5%) and HC (ca. 34.6%) groups. The metabolome of T-CD and HC children was studied using faecal and urine samples which were analyzed by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry-solid-phase microextraction and 1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. As shown by Canonical Discriminant Analysis of Principal Coordinates, the levels of volatile organic compounds and free amino acids in faecal and/or urine samples were markedly affected by CD. CONCLUSION: As shown by the parallel microbiology and metabolome approach, the gluten-free diet lasting at least two years did not completely restore the microbiota and, consequently, the metabolome of CD children. Some molecules (e.g., ethyl-acetate and octyl-acetate, some short chain fatty acids and free amino acids, and glutamine) seems to be metabolic signatures of CD

Beyond words: Aesthetic knowledge and knowing in design

Aesthetic knowledge comes from practitioners understanding the look, feel, smell, taste and sound of things. It is vital to work in many organizational contexts. In this paper, we explore aesthetic knowledge and knowing in organizations through detailed observation of design work in the architectural practice Edward Cullinan Architects. Through our research, we explore aesthetic knowledge in the context of architectural work, we unpack what it is, how it is generated, and how it is applied in design projects, shared between practitioners and developed at the level of the organization. Our analysis suggests that aesthetic knowledge plays an important part in organizational practice, not only as the symbolic context for work, but as an integral part of the work that people do. It suggests that aesthetic reflexivity, which involves an opening up and questioning of what is known, is experienced as part of practice as well as a `time out' from practice

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure