Il sostantivo SMR nell'iscrizione breve di Kilamuwa (KAI 25): proposte d'interpretazione

The short Kilamuwa inscription KAI 25 needs more attention for its first term smr. It is written over a cylindrical gold object and a careful study made by the French scholar Lemaire has convincingly demonstrated, from an iconographical point of view, it was an amulet-holder. Many scholars has made efforts in time to reveal the significance of this term. This article proposes some possible interpretations taken from different languages. First of all the Amorite language, as proto-Aramaic, could be the linguistic substratum in the Yaudi state. The root smr in this language means "to see" so "to protect to preserve" and the shift s>s has preserve itself in time in Aramaic dialects during the centuries. Secondly the Phoenician language had a strong reduction within consonants and s sound was reproduced by s sound so we may supposed a consonantal shift s>s to render the word smr which meaning in north west Semitic was "to protect" Finally a possible shift s>s, as a characteristic of many words from Babylonian to Assyrian languages, could be another explanation for a term found on the KAI 25 inscription written by Kilamuwa whose kingdom was under the political pressure of the Assyrian state.El primer término de la breve inscripción de Kilamuwa KAI 25, smr, necesita un especial análisis. Dicha inscripción fue realizada sobre un objeto cilíndrico de oro, y un cuidadoso estudio llevado a cabo por el estudioso francés Lemaire ha demostrado, desde un punto de vista iconográfico, que se trataba de un estuche para amuletos. Muchos estudiosos han intentado repetidamente descubrir el significado del término en cuestión. El presente artículo propone algunas interpretaciones posibles a la luz de diversas lenguas. Para empezar, el amorreo, como proto-arameo, podría haber sido el substrato lingüístico presente en el estado arameo que tenía por capital Sam 'al. La raíz smr significa en esta lengua "mirar", es decir "proteger, preservar", y el cambio de la s por la s se ha conservado a lo largo de siglos en los dialectos arameos. En segundo lugar, el fenicio se caracteriza por una consistente reducción de las consonantes, por lo que la s podría haberse reducido a un sonido s, de forma que podríamos suponer un intercambio consonántico s>s para escribir la palabra smr, que en semítico noroccidental significaba "proteger". Por último, un posible intercambio s>s propio de muchas palabras babilonias en la lengua asiria podría ser otra explicación del término que aparece en la inscripción KAI 25 realizada por Kilamuwa, cuyo reino sufría la presión política del estado asirio

PSYCHOACOUSTICS: a comprehensive MATLAB toolbox for auditory testing

PSYCHOACOUSTICS is a new MATLAB toolbox which implements three classic adaptive procedures for auditory threshold estimation. The first includes those of the Staircase family (method of limits, simple up-down and transformed up-down); the second is the Parameter Estimation by Sequential Testing (PEST); and the third is the Maximum Likelihood Procedure (MLP). The toolbox comes with more than twenty built-in experiments each provided with the recommended (default) parameters. However, if desired, these parameters can be modified through an intuitive and user friendly graphical interface and stored for future use (no programming skills are required). Finally, PSYCHOACOUSTICS is very flexible as it comes with several signal generators and can be easily extended for any experiment

Characterization of dust activity on Mars from MY27 to MY32 by PFS-MEX observations

We present spatial and temporal distributions of dust on Mars from Ls = 331 in MY26 until Ls = 80 in MY33 retrieved from the measurements taken by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) aboard Mars Express. In agreement with previous observations, large dust opacity is observed mostly in the southern hemisphere spring/summer and particularly over regions of higher terrain and large topographic variation. We present a comparison with dust opacities obtained from Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) - Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) measurements. We found good consistency between observations of two instruments during overlapping interval (Ls = 331 in MY26 until Ls = 77 in MY27). We found a different behavior of the dust opacity with latitude in the various Martian years (inter-annual variations). A global dust storm occurred in MY28. We observe a different spatial distribution, a later occurrence and dissipation of the dust maximum activity in MY28 than in other Martian years. A possible precursor signal to the global dust storm in MY 28 is observed at Ls = 200 - 235 especially over west Hellas. Heavy dust loads alter atmospheric temperatures. Due to the absorption of solar radiation and emission of infrared radiation to space by dust vertically non-uniformly distributed, a strong heating of high atmospheric levels (40 - 50 km) and cooling below around 30 km are observed.Comment: in press in Icarus. 47 pages, 15 figure

Efficienza d'uso dell'acqua e nutrienti nella coltura a ciclo chiuso del pomodoro in serra.

Le coltivazioni fuori suolo possono svolgere un ruolo importante sotto alcuni aspetti quali, la legislazione ambientale, la proibizione del bromuro di metile, la richiesta di produzioni di qualità, la carenza idrica e la progressiva salinizzazione dei terreni. In particolare l'applicazione dell'idroponica a ciclo chiuso, può rappresentare una tecnica utile per ridurre il consumo di acqua e/o fertilizzanti e conseguentemente l'impatto ambientale. Nella gestione dei sistemi sistemi chiusi oltre al rischio di diffusione di patogeni radicali, la salinità dell'acqua di irrigazione rappresenta la principale difficoltà, che porta ad un accumulo di ioni non essenziali nella soluzione nutritiva ricircolante. In tal senso risulta utile sviluppare procedure di controllo e reintegrazione della soluzione nutritiva per gestire al meglio possibili strategie di fertirrigazione nei sistemi chiusi. Obbiettivo del lavoro è stato il confronto tra tre differenti strategie di fertirrigazione a ciclo chiuso, utilizzando acqua relativamente salina (circa 9 mmoli/L di sodio) con lo scopo di verificare eventuali differenze sulla quantità e qualità di produzione e sui consumi idrici-minerali della coltura, tra le diverse strategie. A tal fine, sono state condotte due prove sperimentali su piante di pomodoro (Lycopersicum esculentum cv jama), allevate su lana di roccia all'interno di una serra in ferro-vetro: la prima, svoltasi nel 2005, con ciclo colturale breve (88 giorni di coltivazione, 6 palchi raccolti) e la seconda nel 2006, con ciclo colturale lungo (167giorni di coltivazione, 13 palchi raccolti). Durante le prove sono stati effettuati rilievi sui consumi idrici della coltura, sulla produzione dei frutti e le caratteristiche qualitative delle bacche (contenuto dei solidi solubili, acidità titolabile, residuo secco). Ad ogni rinnovo della soluzione nutritiva è stata effettuata l'analisi chimica degli elementi minerali della soluzione nutritiva ricircolante, per effettuare un bilancio complessivo tra i nutrienti somministrati e quelli persi durante i periodici rinnovi. Il risultato ottenuto ha dimostrato che l’adozione di una opportuna strategia di fertirrigazione può ridurre sensibilmente l’impatto ambientale di questa (in termini di run-off nutritivo e idrico), senza modificazioni significative sulla produzione ottenuta e sulla sua qualità

A comparative analysis of MAIDS and ISO13232 databases for the identification of the most representative impact scenarios for powered 2-wheelers in Europe

Objective: The ISO13232 standard provides guidelines and methodologies for research on the effectiveness of protective devices fitted to motorcycles. The accident database used to develop the standard was composed of 2 data sets from Hannover and Los Angeles, dating from 1996. This study aims to apply the methodology outlined in the standard to a more recent European accident database to determine whether the set of the 7 most relevant impact configurations identified in the ISO13232 are representative of the European context. Methods: The ISO13232 database was rebuilt from the data tables attached to the standard and processed according to the procedure described in ISO13232-Part 2, to ensure reproducibility of the results. The comparison data set was extracted from the Motorcycle Accidents In-Depth Study (MAIDS) database. Data were then coded, processed, and analyzed using the ISO13232 methodology. To eliminate any subjectivity in the selection process of the configurations, a new ranking criterion (configuration risk index, CRI) was implemented. The CRI combined the evaluation of an accident configuration's frequency of occurrence and its harmfulness. Results: Comparison of the frequency ranking of the impact configurations from the 2 databases revealed some notable differences. Five of the 10 most important configurations were common to both databases, although ranking order differed. CRI-based selection led to differences in ranking orders. The CRI allowed better identification of the most important configurations and it was employed to define the proposed new set of configurations. Conclusion: A new set of 7 accident configurations was defined by applying the ISO13232 procedure to the MAIDS data and ranking the results with a newly proposed method. The final set had only one configuration in common with those defined in the ISO13232, testifying to the importance of defining an updated and more representative set of configurations for the European context

Laparoscopic peritoneal lavage. Our experience and review of the literature

NTRODUCTION: Over the years various therapeutic techniques for diverticulitis have been developed. Laparoscopic peritoneal lavage (LPL) appears to be a safe and useful treatment, and it could be an effective alternative to colonic resection in emergency surgery. AIM: This prospective observational study aims to assess the safety and benefits of laparoscopic peritoneal lavage in perforated sigmoid diverticulitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We surgically treated 70 patients urgently for complicated sigmoid diverticulitis. Thirty-two (45.7%) patients underwent resection of the sigmoid colon and creation of a colostomy (Hartmann technique); 21 (30%) patients underwent peritoneal laparoscopic lavage; 4 (5.7%) patients underwent colostomy by the Mikulicz technique; and the remaining 13 (18.6%) patients underwent resection of the sigmoid colon and creation of a colorectal anastomosis with a protective ileostomy. RESULTS: The 66 patients examined were divided into 3 groups: 32 patients were treated with urgent surgery according to the Hartmann procedure; 13 patients were treated with resection and colorectal anastomosis; 21 patients were treated urgently with laparoscopic peritoneal lavage. We had no intraoperative complications. The overall mortality was 4.3% (3 patients). In the LPL group the morbidity rate was 33.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Currently it cannot be said that LPL is better in terms of mortality and morbidity than colonic resection. These data may, however, be proven wrong by greater attention in the selection of patients to undergo laparoscopic peritoneal lavage

Do we still need financial intermediation? The case of decentralized finance – DeFi

Purpose Decentralized finance (DeFi), enabled by blockchain, could bring about a new financial system, where peers will interact directly, with little or no place for traditional intermediation. However, some crucial tasks cannot be left solely to an algorithm and, consequently, most DeFi applications still require human decisions. The aim of this research is to assess the role of intermediation in the light of DeFi, analysing how humans and algorithms will interact. Design/methodology/approach The authors based their work on a twofold qualitative methodology, first analysing publicly available secondary data, particularly from white papers and DeFi Pulse (a website providing data on DeFi solutions) and then running two focus group discussions. Findings DeFi does not eliminate financial intermediation, but enables it to be performed in new ways, where decentralization means that no single entity can hold too much power or monopoly. DeFi has, however, inherited risks from the underlying technologies that unintentionally facilitate illegal behaviour and can hamper the authorities' supervision. The complex duality algorithm- vs human-based actions will not be solved indisputably in favour of the former, as DeFi solutions can range from requiring algorithms to play a dominant role, to enabling greater human interaction by actively involving more people. Originality/value This research contributes to the emerging debate between algorithm- and human-based intermediation, especially in relation to the standing literature on financial intermediation, where considerations made in the light of the newest theories on blockchain and DeFi are still scarce

Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy as a management tool for late-maturing nectarine supply chain

The absorption coefficient of the fruit flesh at 670 nm (mu(a)), measured at harvest by time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) is a good maturity index for early nectarine cultivars. A kinetic model has been developed linking the mu(a), expressed as the biological shift factor to softening during ripening. This allows shelf life prediction for individual fruit from the value of mu(a) at harvest and the fruit categorization into predicted softening and usability classes. In this work, the predictive capacity of a kinetic model developed using mu(a) data at harvest and firmness data within 1-2 d after harvest for a late maturing nectarine cultivar ('Morsiani 90') was tested for prediction and classification ability. Compared to early maturing cultivars, mu(a) at harvest had low values and low variability, indicating advanced maturity, whereas firmness was similar. Hence, fruit were categorized into six usability classes (from 'transportable-hard' to 'ready-to-eat-very soft') basing on mu(a) limits established analyzing firmness data in shelf life after harvest. The model was tested by comparing the predicted firmness and class of usability to the actual ones measured during ripening and its performance compared to that of models based on data during the whole shelf life at 20 degrees C after harvest and after storage at 0 degrees C and 4 degrees C. The model showed a classification ability very close to that of models based on data of the whole shelf life, and was able to correctly segregate the 'ready-to-eat-transportable', 'transportable' and 'transportable-hard' classes for ripening at harvest and after storage at 0 degrees C, and the 'ready-to-eat-very soft' and 'ready-to-eat-soft' classes for ripening after storage at 4 degrees C, with lower performance of models for fruit after storage at 4 degrees C respect to those of the other two ripening

Response to Cognitive impulsivity and the behavioral addiction model of obsessive–compulsive disorder: Abramovitch and McKay (2016)

In our recently published article, we investigated the behavioral addiction model of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), by assessing three core dimensions of addiction in patients with OCD healthy participants. Similar to the common findings in addiction, OCD patients demonstrated increased impulsivity, risky decision-making, and biased probabilistic reasoning compared to healthy controls. Thus, we concluded that these results support the conceptualization of OCD as a disorder of behavioral addiction. Here, we answer to Abramovitch and McKay (2016) commentary on our paper and we support our conclusions by explaining how cognitive impulsivity is also a typical feature of addiction and how our results on decision-making and probabilistic reasoning tasks reflect cognitive impulsivity facets that are consistently replicated in OCD and addiction