Characterization of the interface between composites and embedded Fiber Optic sensors or NiTiNOL wires

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Measurement of thermal properties of biological tissues and tissue-mimicking phantom with a dual-needle sensor

This work presents the measurement of the thermal properties of ex vivo biological tissues (i.e., porcine liver and kidney tissues) as a function of temperature, along with the thermal characterization of a tissue-mimicking agar-based phantom. The evaluation of the thermal properties was performed by the dual needle technique, adopting a sensor equipped with two needles, capable to deliver thermal energy to the biomaterial and monitor the related tissue thermal behavior. Measurements of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and volumetric heat capacity were conducted at room temperature and at temperatures relevant from a biological point of view, namely, body temperature and temperatures of similar to 60 degrees C- 65 degrees C, which are typically correlated to instantaneous thermal damage in tissue. Thermal properties of biological tissue remained rather constant at the investigated temperatures: average values of thermal conductivity ranged from 0.515 W/(m.K) to 0.575 W/(m.K), thermal diffusivity ranged from 0.144 mm(2)/s to 0.163 mm2/s, whilst the average volumetric heat capacity was from 3.48 MJ/(m(3).K) to 3.72 MJ/(m(3).K). Furthermore, the thermal properties of the realized agar phantom were comparable to the ones of biological tissues. The results of this study provide valuable information for the characterization of porcine liver and kidney tissues, in terms of their thermal properties, to be used in predictive mathematical models of thermal therapies and validate the usage of agar phantoms as tissue-mimicking materials

Acerca del criterio de optimización basado en la maximización de la utilidad esperada

Se analizan la validez y los alcances de la definición de esperanza matemática y las condiciones formales que debe satisfacer la función de utilidad a fin de garantizar la validez del criterio de optimización basado en la maximización de la utilidad esperada. En particular, se realiza un análisis crítico de las justificaciones de la aparente preferencia por la violación del axioma de independencia de Von Neumman-Morgenstern y una corrección a los postulados del teorema de Menger a partir de las funciones de preferencias suavizadas

Red Blood Cell Exchange as a Valid Therapeutic Approach for Pregnancy Management in Sickle Cell Disease: Three Explicative Cases and Systematic Review of Literature

Pregnancy in women with sickle cell disease (SCD) is a high-risk situation, especially during the third trimester of gestation and in the post-partum period, due to chronic hypoxia and vaso-occlusive phenomena occurring in the maternal–fetal microcirculation: as a result, unfavorable outcomes, such as intra-uterine growth restriction, prematurity or fetal loss are more frequent in SCD pregnancies. Therefore, there is a consensus on the need for a strict and multidisciplinary follow-up within specialized structures. Transfusion support remains the mainstay of treatment of SCD pregnancies, whereas more targeted modalities are still controversial: the benefit of prophylactic management, either by simple transfusions or by automated red blood cell exchange (aRBCX), is not unanimously recognized. We illustrate the cases of three SCD pregnant patients who underwent aRBCX procedures at our institution in different clinical scenarios. Moreover, we carried out a careful literature revision to investigate the management of pregnancy in SCD, with a particular focus on the viability of aRBCX. Our experience and the current literature support the use of aRBCX in pregnancy as a feasible and safe procedure, provided that specialized equipment and an experienced apheresis team is available. However, further research in this high-risk population, with appropriately powered prospective trials, is desirable to refine the indications and timing of aRBCX and to confirm the advantages of this approach on other transfusion modalities

Comments on Inan’s Notions of Objectual and Propositional Curiosity

In this paper I comment on Inan’s notions of propositional and objectual curiosity. Even though Inan offers an interesting and intuitive distinction between propositional and objectual curiosity, I want to question two aspects of his theory of curiosity. One aspect concerns his thesis that propositional curiosity is interdependent on epistemic attitudes such as belief, certainty and interest. Another aspect of his theory that I discuss is his thesis that objectual curiosity is not reducible to propositional curiosity. In more detail, in the fi rst part, I start off by explaining what propositional curiosity is according to Inan and I bring up two worries that I call: (i) over-complexity as a result of subjectivity and (ii) overcomplexity as a result of dynamics for the above mentioned epistemic attitudes. Both worries stress the problem of over-complexity of Inan’s theory of propositional curiosity. In the second part, I argue that objectual curiosity is, contrary to Inan’s hypothesis, reducible to propositional curiosity. I further argue that the object of wh- questions that, according to Inan, express objectual curiosity can either be about the truth value of general or singular proposition. In addition, I suggest that only the reading where wh- questions express curiosity in a form of de re reading and have a singular proposition as their content is the one that is compatible with Inan’s notion of objectual curiosity