HEBE: Highly Engaging eBook Experiences

Despite more and more books are made available in electronic format and technology is increasingly present in children’s everyday life, thus far the potential of the electronic book (eBook) medium has been only partially exploited. With the Highly Engaging eBook Experiences (HEBE) project we studied how to design and evaluate eBooks for children with the goal of making the reading experience more engaging. The project began with an investigation of the many facets that characterize the reading experience of children in order to understand how it could possibly be enhanced by electronic books. In a later stage an intergenerational design team used different techniques of Cooperative Inquiry to explore a range of design ideas. Then, based on those ideas, we developed a prototype of enhanced eBook and elaborated a shortlist of design recommendations that are intended to help designers in creating more engaging eBooks. The research project ended with a stage of evaluation where children’s User Experience with the eBook prototype was assessed. We took inspiration from Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow theory to define a benchmark for evaluating the reading experience. Then, by means of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), we investigated and collected data on the reading experience of two groups of children, one of which read an eBook enhanced following our design recommendations while the other read a basic version of the same eBook. Following a mixed-method approach, with quantitative analysis we verified whether participants who read the enhanced eBook had a better reading experience, while with qualitative analysis we tried to understand why. The results of the evaluation showed that that an eBook designed following our design recommendations may have a positive effect on children’s reading experience by making it more engaging

Dal commercio alla finanza e viceversa: la presenza svizzera a Milano e a Bergamo tra ‘500 e ‘600

L\u2019importanza degli investimenti e dell\u2019imprenditorialit\ue0 svizzera nell\u2019economia milanese ottocentesca ha proiettato fino ad ora un cono d\u2019ombra sulla presenza elvetica nella citt\ue0 durante la prima et\ue0 moderna. Il determinante contributo, sia finanziario che industriale, portato dagli imprenditori svizzeri nella prima fase dell\u2019industrializzazione lombarda ha finito per catalizzare finora tutta l\u2019attenzione dei ricercatori. A questa sottovalutazione (che pure ha finito per trascurare il ruolo degli svizzeri nella stessa formazione dello Stato regionale visconteo) si \ue8 aggiunta poi l\u2019ostica dispersione delle fonti disponibili per la storia economica ambrosiana dell\u2019et\ue0 spagnola, che solo recentemente ha incominciato ad occuparsi del ruolo dei forestieri nell\u2019economia del Ducato. Anche per il caso di Bergamo, dove la straordinaria documentazione relativa alla colonia svizzera riformata, costituita nel 1608, ha consentito di tracciare la storia della comunit\ue0 elvetica fin dalle origini, il focus analitico \ue8 stato indirizzato, proprio dalla natura della stessa documentazione, sugli aspetti confessionali lasciando meno indagate le dinamiche economiche dell\u2019et\ue0 moderna. Di fatto, le prime evidenze che sono apparse seguendo alcune tracce archivistiche per il caso di Milano, approfondendone altre gi\ue0 note per il caso di Bergamo, consentono di portare alla luce la funzione che alcuni operatori dei territori svizzeri svolsero, durante il Seicento, nel consolidamento del modello di riorganizzazione economica (basato sul passaggio dalla centralit\ue0 manifatturiera a quella finanziario-mercantile) all\u2019interno del dominio spagnolo, e nella crescita in controtendenza (centrata sull\u2019intensificazione produttiva e commerciale del settore tessile) della citt\ue0 della Serenissima. Ruolo che per la citt\ue0 ambrosiana si configur\uf2 nell\u2019evoluzione della presenza svizzera da una funzione prettamente commerciale ad una pi\uf9 centrata sull\u2019attivit\ue0 finanziaria e creditizia, mentre per la citt\ue0 orobica segu\uec un percorso inverso passando dall\u2019iniziale offerta dei capitali zurighesi allo sviluppo di iniziative mercantili nel campo della seta, ponendosi cos\uec all\u2019origine della genealogia di quel percorso di sviluppo bergamasco in cui, un secolo e mezzo dopo, i discendenti di questi primi confederati rivestiranno un ruolo tanto evidente quanto finalmente riconosciuto

Per una storia della retribuzione : lavoro, valore e metodi di remunerazione dall’antichità ad oggi

Il volume ripercorre a grandi tappe la storia della valorizzazione e della remunerazione del lavoro umano, nel lungo periodo che va dall\u2019antichit\ue0 ai giorni nostri e alla luce delle culture che hanno maggiormente valorizzato lo sviluppo economico globale. A partire dal passaggio da un\u2019economia naturale a un\u2019economia monetaria, remunerazione in denaro e remunerazione in natura si sono fino a oggi variamente combinate, anche a seconda del grado di libert\ue0 di erogazione del lavoro. Dall\u2019affascinante riepilogo qui proposto emerge come la tensione tra mero compenso dello sforzo erogato e necessit\ue0 di sopravvivenza del lavoratore e della sua famiglia \ue8 stata fin da subito presente nella pratica e discussa a livello teorico-morale, con importanti implicazioni sulla struttura delle remunerazioni

Author response to: Survival after active surveillance versus upfront surgery for incidental small pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

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Vivisecting galaxies with BANG: an automated morpho-kinematical decomposition of the SDSS-DR17 MaNGA survey

From a purely photometric perspective galaxies are generally decomposed into a bulge+disc system, with bulges being dispersion-dominated and discs rotationally-supported. However, recent observations have demonstrated that such framework oversimplifies complexity, especially if one considers galaxy kinematic.To address this issue we introduced with the GPU-based code \textsc{bang} a novel approach that employs analytical potential-density pairs as galactic components, allowing for a computationally fast, still reliable fit of the morphological and kinematical properties of galaxies. Here we apply \textsc{bang} to the SDSS-MaNGA survey, estimating key parameters such as mass, radial extensions, dynamics, for both bulges and discs of +10,000 objects. We test our methodology against a smaller subsample of galaxies independently analysed with an orbit-based algorithm, finding agreement in the recovered total stellar mass. We also manage to reproduce well-established scaling relations, demonstrating how a proper dynamical modelling can result in tighter correlations and provide corrections to standard approaches. Finally, we propose a more general way of decomposing galaxies into "hot" and "cold" components, showing a correlation with orbit-based approaches and visually determined morphological type. Unexpected tails in the "hot-to-total" mass-ratio distribution are present for galaxies of all morphologies, possibly due to visual morphology misclassifications.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Human protein C concentrate in pediatric septic patients

Severe sepsis and septic shock are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. Unlike what is suggested for the adult population, recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) is contraindicated in children. Long before rhAPC was considered for use in pediatric patients, case reports appeared on the safe administration of protein C zymogen. Therefore, we conducted a systemic review of currently available data on protein C zymogen (PC) use among children affected by severe sepsis or septic shock. A total number of 13 case series or case reports and a dose-finding study were found on the use of PC in the pediatric intensive care unit, reporting on 118 treated children, with an overall survival of 84%. There was no bleeding complication, the only reported complication being a single mild allergic reaction. These studies show that PC is safe, not associated with bleeding and possibly useful for improving coagulation abnormalities of sepsis

Decreasing mortality with drotrecogin alfa in high risk septic patients A meta-analysis of randomized trials in adult patients with multiple organ failure and mortality >40%

Objective. Sepsis is a complex inflammatory disease, rising in response to infection. Drotrecogin alfa, approved in 2001 for severe sepsis, has been withdrawn from the market. The aim of this study was to assess if drotrecogin alfa-activated can reduce mortality in the more severe septic patients. Methods. We searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, BioMedCentral, and in Clinicaltrials. gov databases to identify every randomized study performed on drotrecogin alfa-activated in any clinical setting in humans, without restrictions on dose or time of administration. Our primary end-point was mortality rate in high risk patients. Secondary endpoints were mortality in all patients, in patients with an Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) 2 score ≥ 25 and in those with an APACHE 2 score ≤25. Results. Five trials were identified and included in the analysis. They randomized 3196 patients to drotrecogin alfa and 3111 to the control group. Drotrecogin alfa was associated with a reduction in mortality (99/263 [37.6%] vs 115/244 [47.1%], risk ratios (RR) = 0.80[0.65; 0.98], p = 0.03) in patients with multiple organ failure and a mortality risk in the control group of >40%, but not in the overall population or in lower risk populations. Conclusions. In high risk populations of patients with multiple organ failure and a mortality of >40% in the control group, Drotrecogin alfa may still have a role as a lifesaving treatment. No beneficial effect in low risk patients was found. An individual patient meta-analysis including all randomized controlled trial on sepsis is warranted, along with new studies on similar drugs such as protein C zymogen

Human protein C concentrate in pediatric septic patients

Severe sepsis and septic shock are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. Unlike what is suggested for the adult population, recombinant human activated protein C (rhAPC) is contraindicated in children. Long before rhAPC was considered for use in pediatric patients, case reports appeared on the safe administration of protein C zymogen. Therefore, we conducted a systemic review of currently available data on protein C zymogen (PC) use among children affected by severe sepsis or septic shock. A total number of 13 case series or case reports and a dose-finding study were found on the use of PC in the pediatric intensive care unit, reporting on 118 treated children, with an overall survival of 84%. There was no bleeding complication, the only reported complication being a single mild allergic reaction. These studies show that PC is safe, not associated with bleeding and possibly useful for improving coagulation abnormalities of sepsis

The Ancient Varieties of Mountain Maize: The Inheritance of the Pointed Character and Its Effect on the Natural Drying Process

The introduction of mechanized agricultural practices after the Second World War and the use of productive hybrids led to a gradual disappearance of local maize varieties. However, 13 landraces are still cultivated in North-Western Italy, in the Lombardy region; those that are cultivated in mountainous areas (roughly up to 1200 m in altitude) are often characterized by the pointed shape of their seeds (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”, “Spinato di Gandino” and “Scagliolo di Carenno”) and the presence of pigments (i.e., “Nero Spinoso”, “Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta”). The pointed shape of the seeds is an ancient characteristic of maize-ancestors, which negatively affects the yield by not allowing optimal “filling” of the ear. This study reports work on four different Italian varieties of pointed maize in order to assess the genetic bases of the “pointed character” and to try to explain the reasons for this adaptation to the mountain environment. The data obtained by genetic analysis, seed air-drying modeling and thermographic camera observations demonstrated that the “pointed trait” is controlled by the same genes across the different varieties studied and suggested that this peculiar shape has been selected in mountainous areas because it promotes faster drying of the seed, with the presence of pigments implementing this effect

CT Enhancement and 3D Texture Analysis of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

To evaluate pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (panNENs) grade prediction by means of qualitative and quantitative CT evaluation, and 3D CT-texture analysis. Patients with histopathologically-proven panNEN, availability of Ki67% values and pre-treatment CT were included. CT images were retrospectively reviewed, and qualitative and quantitative images analysis were done; for quantitative analysis four enhancement-ratios and three permeability-ratios were created. 3D CT-texture imaging analysis was done (Mean Value; Variance; Skewness; Kurtosis; Entropy). Subsequently, these features were compared among the three grading (G) groups. 304 patients affected by panNENs were considered, and 100 patients were included. At qualitative evaluation, frequency of irregular margins was significantly different between tumor G groups. At quantitative evaluation, for all ratios, comparisons resulted statistical significant different between G1 and G3 groups and between G2 and G3 groups. At 3D CT-texture analysis, Kurtosis resulted statistical significant different among three G groups and Entropy resulted statistical significant different between G1 and G3 and between G2 and G3 groups. Quantitative CT evaluation of panNENs can predict tumor grade, discerning G1 from G3 and G2 from G3 tumors. CT-texture analysis can predict panNENs tumor grade, distinguishing G1 from G3 and G2 from G3, and G1 from G2 tumors