Per una scuola che guarda all’Europa e al plurilinguismo

En Vallée d’Aoste l’école est de plus en plus ouverte au bi-plurilinguisme et à l’emploi de pratiques didactiques innovantes. L’évolution de son modèle d’éducation bi-plurilingue découle d’une série de normes régionales qui, en application de son Statut d’autonomie, ont permis d’adapter le système scolaire national ainsi que les curriculums de tous les niveaux scolaires aux nécessités locales, notamment pour ce qui concerne l’enseignement des langues. L’article présente les traits essentiels de cette réforme.In the Aosta Valley, schools are more and more open to bi- and multilingualism and to the use of ground-breaking didactic methods. The evolution of its bi-multilingual educational model is the outcome of a series of norms which, thanks to the implementation of its status as an autonomous region, allowed adapting the national education system as well as the curricula at all levels to local needs, particularly as concerns language teaching. The article presents the main features of this reform

Mathematical formulation and comparison of solution approaches for the vehicle routing problem with access time windows

The application of the principles of sustainability to the implementation of urban freight policies requires the estimation of all the costs and externalities involved. We focus here on the case of access time windows, which ban the access of freight vehicles to central urban areas in many European cities. Even though this measure seeks to reduce congestion and emissions in the most crowded periods of the day, it also imposes additional costs for carriers and results in higher emissions and energy consumption. We present here a mathematical model for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Access TimeWindows, a variant of the VRP suitable for planning delivery routes in a city subject to this type of accessibility restriction.We use the model to find exact solutions to small problem instances based on a case study and then compare the performance over larger instances of a modified savings algorithm, a genetic algorithm, and a tabu search procedure, with the results showing no clear prevalence of any of them, but confirming the significance of those additional costs and externalities.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad EC2013-47286-C3-3-

Surface characterization of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene modified by swift heavy ion beam bombardment

The damage processes induced by swift heavy ions (SHI), can be very different to those induced by classical low ionising particles. This is dueto the high electronic stopping power of SHI. Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) was irradiated with 6.77 MeV helium and12.5 MeV carbon beams and fluences ranging from 1011 to 1013 cm−2 and 2×1010 to 5×1013 cm−2, respectively. Structural changes at thepolymer near surface region were studied by means of infrared spectroscopy measurements and wear resistance tests. With FTIR spectroscopy westudied the changes in crystallinity, double bond C_C, trans-vynilene and graphite formation and the evolution of methylene group as a functionof fluence. The experiments have determined that exists an optimum ion fluence value, that depends on the ion mass and energy, at which the wearresistance increases of about 85% respect to the unirradiated polymer. For helium this value is 2×1012 cm−2 and for carbon 4×1011 cm−2. Atthese fluence values no sign of graphite was found by FTIR studies. Using a Monte Carlo simulation program we determined that the surface areaaffected by the track core of the incoming ions was less than 19 and 35% for helium and carbon respectively.Fil: del Grosso, Mariela Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Chappa, Veronica Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Bermudez, Gerardo Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Forlerer, Elena. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica; ArgentinaFil: Behar, M.. No especifíca

Formaldehyde, Oxidative Stress, and FeNO in Traffic Police Officers Working in Two Cities of Northern Italy

Personal air formaldehyde (air-FA) was measured as risk factor of airways inflammation and oxidative stress (SO) induction. Overall, 154 police officers were enrolled from two differently urbanised Italian cities, Turin and Pavia. Urinary F2t-isoprostane (15-F2t-IsoP), a prostaglandin-like compound, was quantified as a biomarker of general OS in vivo and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) was measured for monitoring local inflammatory processes. Urinary cotinine was quantified as a biomarker of tobacco smoking exposure. Traffic police officers living in Turin showed an increased level of log air-FA (p < 0.001), equal to +53.6% (p < 0.001). Log air-(FA) mean values were 3.38 (C.I. 95% 3.33–3.43) and 2.84 (C.I. 95% 2.77–2.92) in Turin and Pavia, respectively. Log (air-FA) was higher in “outdoor workers” (3.18, C.I. 95% 3.13–3.24, p = 0.035) compared to “indoor workers”, showing an increase of +9.3%, even controlling for sex and city. The analyses on 15-F2t-IsoP and FeNO, both adjusted for log air-FA, highlighted that OS and inflammation were higher (+66.8%, p < 0.001 and +75%, p < 0.001, respectively) in Turin traffic police officers compared to those from Pavia. Our findings suggest that even low exposures to traffic-related emissions and urbanisation may influence both general oxidative stress levels and local inflammation

A rolling horizon framework for the operating rooms planning under uncertain surgery duration

We consider the Advanced Scheduling Problem (ASP) assuming a block scheduling strategy. A set of patients and the related surgery waiting list are given, together with a set of Operating Room (OR) blocks and a planning horizon. The problem asks to determine the subset of patients to be scheduled and their assignment to the available OR blocks. We consider a so-called rolling horizon approach in order to solve the ASP over a planning horizon of several weeks. The approach is iterative and readjusts the schedule each week: at each iteration the mid-term schedule over the next $n$ weeks is generated by solving an optimization problem, minimizing a penalty function based on patients' delay and tardiness; the first week schedule is then implemented. Unpredictable extensions of surgeries and new arrivals may disrupt the schedule. The schedule is then repaired in the next week iteration, again optimizing over $n$ weeks the penalty function while limiting the number of disruptions from the previously computed plan. The total delay and tardiness minimization problem is formulated as an ILP model and solved with a commercial solver. A deterministic formulation and a robust one are proposed and compared over different stochastic realization of surgery times

Eficácia da Suplementação de citrulina para diminuir o risco de hipertensão pulmonar após cirurgia de cardiopatia congênita: Uma experiência local

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a major cause of morbi-mortality among patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and also a potentially severe complication after surgical repair. Oral citrulline, a precursor to NO synthesis, is safe and efficacious for decreasing the risk of postoperative PH. Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate in pediatric patients the changes of plasma citrulline, arginine, homocysteine and nitric oxide (NO) metabolites and pulmonary artery pressures (PAP) pre-post cardiac surgery in order to describe our population status with regard to the risk of pulmonary hypertension and look for potential biomarkers for early detection and treatment. Main results/Discussion: 16 Argentine pediatric patients with CHD undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass were randomized in two groups: (A) with and (B) without perioperative citrulline supplementation. We found that plasma citrulline median levels before surgery were lower in both groups respect to referential values, probably due to the poor nutritional status of our patients; only group A surpassed post-surgery the minimum recommended level to avoid PH. Furthermore, none of the patients in group A showed mean PAP higher than 20 mmHg, whereas in group B, 67% of the measurements were ≥ than the reference level. Conclusions: We reaffirm that citrulline supplementation it is effective in reducing postoperative pulmonary hypertension and biomarkers could evidence patient status as a translational medicine application.La hipertensión pulmonar (HP) es una causa importante de morbimortalidad entre pacientes con cardiopatía congénita (CHD) y también una complicación potencialmente grave después de la reparación quirúrgica. La citrulina oral, precursora de la síntesis de óxido nítrico, es segura y eficaz para disminuir el riesgo postoperatorio de HP. Objetivo: El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo investigar en pacientes pediátricos los cambios plasmáticos de los metabolitos citrulina, arginina, homocisteína y óxido nítrico y la presión arterial pulmonar (PAP) antes y después de la cirugía cardíaca para describir el estado de nuestra población con respecto al riesgo de HP y buscar posibles biomarcadores para su detección y tratamiento temprano. Resultados principales / Discusión: 16 pacientes pediátricos argentinos con CHD sometidos a bypass cardiopulmonar fueron aleatorizados en dos grupos: (A) con y (B) sin suplementación perioperatoria de citrulina. Encontramos que los niveles medios de citrulina en plasma antes de la cirugía fueron más bajos en ambos grupos con respecto a los valores referenciales, probablemente debido a un estado nutricional deficiente de nuestros pacientes; solo el grupo A superó el nivel mínimo recomendado para evitar la HP. Además, ninguno de los pacientes en el grupo A mostró una PAP media superior a 20mmHg, mientras que en el grupo B, el 67% de las mediciones fue mayor que el nivel de referencia. Conclusiones: Reafirmamos que la suplementación con citrulina es efectiva para reducir la HP postoperatoria y que los biomarcadores podrían evidenciar el estado del paciente como una aplicación de medicina traslacional.A hipertensão pulmonar (HP) é uma das principais causas de morbimortalidade entre pacientes com cardiopatia congênita (DCC) e também uma complicação potencialmente grave após o reparo cirúrgico. A citrulina oral, precursora da síntese do NO, é segura e eficaz para diminuir o risco de HP pós-operatória. Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar em pacientes pediátricos as alterações dos metabólitos plasmáticos da citrulina, arginina, homocisteína e óxido nítrico (NO) e pressões da artéria pulmonar (PAP) pré-pós-cirurgia cardíaca, a fim de descrever nosso status populacional com com relação ao risco de hipertensão pulmonar e procure potenciais biomarcadores para detecção e tratamento precoces. Principais resultados / Discussão: 16 pacientes pediátricos argentinos com DCC submetidos à circulação extracorpórea foram randomizados em dois grupos: (A) com e (B) sem suplementação peri-operatória de citrulina. Descobrimos que os níveis médios de citrulina plasmática antes da cirurgia eram menores nos dois grupos em relação aos valores referenciais, provavelmente devido ao mau estado nutricional de nossos pacientes; somente o grupo A superou no pós-operatório o nível mínimo recomendado para evitar HP. Além disso, nenhum dos pacientes do grupo A apresentou PAP média superior a 20 mmHg, enquanto no grupo B, 67% das medidas foram ≥ acima do nível de referência. Conclusões: Reafirmamos que a suplementação com citrulina é eficaz na redução da hipertensão pulmonar no pósoperatório e os biomarcadores podem evidenciar o status do paciente como aplicação de medicamento translacional.Fil: Silvera Ruiz, Silene Maite. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios de las Metabolopatías Congénitas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Grosso, Carola L.. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Est.de Las Metabolopatias Congenitas. Cátedra de Clinica Pediatrica; ArgentinaFil: Tablada, Margot. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Marcelo. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; ArgentinaFil: Dodelson de Kremer, Raquel. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Est.de Las Metabolopatias Congenitas. Cátedra de Clinica Pediatrica; ArgentinaFil: Juaneda, Ernesto. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; ArgentinaFil: Laróvere, Laura Elena. Gobierno de la Provincia de Cordoba. Ministerio de Salud. Hospital de Niños de la Santísima Trinidad; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Est.de Las Metabolopatias Congenitas. Cátedra de Clinica Pediatrica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; Argentin