The anatomy of a collaborative writing tool for public participation in democracy

Two approaches to online collaborative writing for the formulation of norms (laws, bills) are discussed: a Wikipedia-like approach and a structured approach

8. Book Reviews

Reviews of Coyer and Shuttleton (eds.), Scottish Medicine and Literary Culture, 1726-1832, Rodopi 2014; Poggi, L’anima e il cristallo. Alle radici dell’arte astratta, 2014.

Mortality in celiac disease.

Although the prevalence rates of celiac disease tend to be very similar in different Western populations, mortality rates for this disease vary widely. In this Review we focus on the papers that have addressed this issue so far. We evaluated mortality rates in different forms of celiac disease, such as symptomatic celiac disease, unrecognized celiac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis and refractory celiac disease. We also evaluated the role of possible protective factors, such as adherence to a gluten-free diet, early diagnosis and severity of clinical presentation. Finally, we noticed that the mortality rate for celiac disease seems to be higher in Southern than in Northern Europe and seems to correlate with 'national' gluten consumption. To explain these differences, we propose a hypothesis that links mortality rates to the amount of gluten consumed not only after but also before the diagnosis of celiac disease

Spreading and focusing of gluten epitopes in celiac disease

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Evaluation of the pH of solid residues generated in the cellulose industry adequate to the sludge hygienization for use in agriculture

This paper looks into the possibility of using solid residues generated in the cellulose production process to hygienize sewage sludge for fertilization. During the cellulose fabrication process, dregs, grits and vegetable biomass ashes are generated. Seven experiments were conducted in the Hydraulic Research Institute´s laboratory at UFRGS, in order to determine the pH values of the three residues in analysis-ashes, dregs, grits and the combinations of sludge/ash, sludge/grits and sludge/dregs- at the beginning (IT) and at the end (after two hours-FT). The preparation of the dregs, grits and ash solutions consisted of the weighing of 20 g of each residue and its dissolution in 80 ml of water, thus obtaining the solutions of grits, dregs and ashes. The pH values of the samples were analyzed using bench pH-meter. The ashes, grits, the mixture sludge/ash and sludge/grits displayed an accentuated basic character due to their pH values which were ≥12. The dregs and the mixture sludge/dregs presented a less accentuated basic character than the ashes and the grits, with a pH equal to 9. The results show that the ashes and the grits can be used in the hygienization of sewage sludge

Transapical off-pump mitral valve repair with Neochord Implantation (TOP-MINI): step-by-step guide

open10openColli, Andrea; Zucchetta, Fabio; Torregrossa, Gianluca; Manzan, Erica; Bizzotto, Eleonora; Besola, Laura; Bellu, Roberto; Sarais, Cristiano; Pittarello, Demetrio; Gerosa, GinoColli, Andrea; Zucchetta, Fabio; Torregrossa, Gianluca; Manzan, Erica; Bizzotto, Eleonora; Besola, Laura; Bellu, Roberto; Sarais, Cristiano; Pittarello, Demetrio; Gerosa, Gin

Efecto de la aplicación de un probiótico comercial sobre la supervivencia de Penaeus vannamei cultivado en un sistema de producción larvaria de Santa Elena

En Ecuador, el cultivo de camarón se desarrolló empíricamente a inicios de 1967. Desde entonces, la producción del camarón blanco Penaeus vannamei es considerada una de las mayores fuentes de ingresos económicos. En los sistemas de producción larvaria se han reportado enfermedades de origen bacteriano, particularmente documentadas en las primeras fases de metamorfosis del camarón. Al momento, el uso de probióticos representa la mejor estrategia para enfrentar las enfermedades de origen bacteriano por su bajo impacto ambiental y sus beneficios a la salud del consumidor. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el efecto de la aplicación del probiótico comercial en poblaciones larvarias de P. vannamei, mediante su suministro vía inmersión, respecto a su supervivencia bajo condiciones de cultivo. Al concluir el experimento se determinó que los tratamientos con aplicación del probiótico comercial (tratamiento A: 5 ppm y tratamiento B: 10 ppm) mostraron una mayor supervivencia que el control (sin probiótico) al llegar a PL12. Las supervivencias finales alcanzadas por los tratamientos y el control correspondieron a: Tratamiento B con 90 ± 0,7%, Tratamiento A con 80 ± 1,3% y el control con 23 ± 0,8%. La aplicación del producto probiótico comercial mejoró notoriamente la supervivencia final de las poblaciones larvarias de P. vannamei que conformaron los tratamientos A y B, respecto del control. El tratamiento B, con dosis de 10 mg/L de probiótico comercial , presentó la mejor supervivencia durante el desarrollo del experimento, lo cual es atribuible a la mayor presencia del principio activo del producto en el agua de cultivo

Evolutionary Dynamics and Accurate Perception. Critical Realism as an Empirically Testable Hypothesis

none5sìAbstract: Mathematical models can be profitably used to establish whether our perception of the external world is accurate. Donald Hoffman and his collaborators have developed a promising mathematical framework within which this question can be addressed and which is based on an exhaustive taxonomy of the different possible relations between perceptual representations and the external world. After reformulating their framework by means of an improved formal system, we discuss their application of evolutionary game theory, which appears to show that an essentially anti-realistic perceptual strategy would in the long run biologically outcompete its rivals. We argue that their model does not take the crucial biological significance of environmental changes into due consideration and propose alternative models which do. We conclude that a partially realistic representation would be favoured in our models.openVincenzo Fano; Adriano Angelucci; Gabriele Ferretti; Roberto Macrelli; Gino TarozziFano, Vincenzo; Angelucci, Adriano; Ferretti, Gabriele; Macrelli, Roberto; Tarozzi, Gin

Prevalence and fatality rates of COVID-19: What are the reasons for the wide variations worldwide?

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic