Array phasing device Patent

Apparatus for generating microwave signals at progressively related phase angles for driving antenna arra

IL GIOCO DEGLI SCACCHI NELL\u2019APPRENDIMENTO DELLE ABILITA\u2019 VISUO-SPAZIALI: UN INTERVENTO SPERIMENTALE NELLA SCUOLA PRIMARIA

Pu\uf2 un corso strutturato di scacchi migliorare la percezione e la manipolazione degli elementi geometrici? Se s\uec, in che modo? Questo \ue8 stato l\u2019interrogativo che ha accompagnato l\u2019intero percorso sperimentale, realizzato all\u2019interno di una Scuola Primaria di Palermo e discusso di seguito. Prendendo in considerazione alcune delle difficolt\ue0 che i bambini di Scuola Primaria hanno nei confronti della geometria, discusse in letteratura, \ue8 stato pianificato un progetto didattico che sviluppasse le potenzialit\ue0 di un artefatto come gli scacchi. Ci\uf2 soprattutto in riferimento allo sviluppo delle capacit\ue0 visuo-spaziali e quale importante fattore trasversale di motivazione all\u2019apprendimento. Tale attivit\ue0 di ricerca, frutto di un\u2019intensa collaborazione tra un\u2019insegnante di scuola primaria, autrice di questo paper e un Maestro di Scacchi e Istruttore Giovanile Qualificato della Federazione Scacchistica Italiana, coautore del paper, ha visto come protagoniste due classi quarte di scuola primaria, una sperimentale e l\u2019altra di controllo. L\u2019attivit\ue0 di ricerca iniziata con la somministrazione in entrambi i gruppi, di un questionario socio-culturale e di un pre-test sulle capacit\ue0 e competenze in ambito geometrico \ue8 poi proseguita con l\u2019applicazione di un protocollo sperimentale realizzato ad hoc che ha permesso una prima definizione di alcuni risultati significativi sul potenziamento delle abilit\ue0 visuo-spaziali sottese all\u2019attivit\ue0 scacchistica. Il presente lavoro si inserisce in quadro di riferimento pi\uf9 ampio relativo al progetto di ricerca condotto dal G.R.I.M. di Palermo \u201cEdutainment\u201d (EDUCAZIONE E INTRATTENIMENTO NELLA DIDATTICA LABORATORIALE PER COMPETENZE) finalizzato allo studio delle abilit\ue0 logico-spaziali e matematiche attraverso il gioco degli scacchi

HISTORICAL SENTIENT – BUILDING INFORMATION MODEL: A DIGITAL TWIN FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF MUSEUM COLLECTIONS IN HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURES

Abstract. This paper investigates the application of the Digital Twin approach to get a Sentient building able to acquire the ability to perceive external inputs and develop strategies to support its management and/or conservation. The experimentation foresees the integration of an H-BIM model with a Decision Support System based on Artificial Intelligence (in this case Machine Learning techniques) for the management of museum collections in historical architectures. The innovative aspect of this methodology resides in the change of paradigm regarding the relations between the historical building under consideration and the professional figures who deal with the management, conservation and architectural restoration. This work tries to contextualize the novel HS-BIM methodology within the theoretical discussion of the disciplines mentioned above and to participate in Digital Twin's debate. HS-BIM can be seen as a possible path that leads to creating digital twins for cultural heritage. The reflection inspired by this experience aims to revise the concept of Digital Twin as a parallel/external digital model in favour of an artificial evolution of the real system augmented by a "cognitive" apparatus. In this vision, thanks to AI application, future buildings will be able to sense "comfort and pain" and learning from their own life-cycle experience but also from that one of elder sentient-buildings thanks to transfer learning already applied in AI's fields

The choice of gadolinium-based contrast agents: a radiologist’s responsibility between pharmaceutical equivalence and bioethical issues

Contrast Agents (CA) are among the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide, and are used, with a variety of techniques, to increase and intensify the differences between body tissues and to help radiologist make diagnoses in a fast and precise way. In recent decades, advancements in research have resulted in significant improvements in their composition, and have made them safer and better-tolerated by patients; this notwithstanding, although the currently available CA are generally considered to be safe, their use is not completely without risk. The use of CA faces the radiologist with economic considerations, bioethical dilemmas, and possible profiles of professional responsibility. In fact, to achieve the best results in diagnostic imaging, radiologists have to focus on making an appropriate choice of CA, in consideration of efficacy, safety and appropriateness. Moreover, besides by cost/benefit models widely introduced in health management, radiologists are also influenced by their responsibility of appropriate use for the various diagnostic tests and, finally, the choice of best CA to utilise for each individual patient. Thus, the dilemma of choosing between the best and the most cost-effective tests and procedures is occurring more frequently every day. Different variables, such as the patient, examinations, and technology available, can affect the choice of CA in terms of obtaining the highest diagnostic quality, minimum impact on higher-risk patients, and optimisation of used volumes and injection flow

Donor selection for allogenic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation: clinical and ethical considerations

Allogenic hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an established treatment for many diseases. Stem cells may be obtained from different sources: mobilized peripheral blood stem cells, bone marrow, and umbilical cord blood. The progress in transplantation procedures, the establishment of experienced transplant centres, and the creation of unrelated adult donor registries and cord blood banks gave those without an human leucocyte antigen- (HLA-) identical sibling donor the opportunity to find a donor and cord blood units worldwide. HSCT imposes operative cautions so that the entire donation/transplantation procedure is safe for both donors and recipients; it carries with it significant clinical, moral, and ethical concerns, mostly when donors are minors. The following points have been stressed: the donation should be excluded when excessive risks for the donor are reasonable, donors must receive an accurate information regarding eventual adverse events and health burden for the donors themselves, a valid consent is required, and the recipient’s risks must be outweighed by the expected benefits. The issue of conflict of interest, when the same physician has the responsibility for both donor selection and recipient care, is highlighted as well as the need of an adequate insurance protection for all the parties involved

Mortars and plasters - How to characterize mortar and plaster degradation

AbstractThe degradation of mortars and plasters can represent a threat for their preservation. That is why a deep understanding of the degradation mechanisms and the identification of degradation patterns is strongly recommended for who is in charge of conservation of archaeological sites and of built heritage in general. Here, it has been described what are the main degrading agents that can be detected on mortars and plasters and how they act to produce degradation. Moreover, an overview of the analyses which can be carried out directly on site and in laboratory as well has been reported. The knowledge that can be achieved by using such methods represents an essential tool to set up a suitable conservation plan. In addition, a more detailed analysis can also have a research purpose, since they can be useful to clarify some mechanisms and interactions that still remain unclear

Impaired Oxidative Status Is Strongly Associated with Cardiovascular Risk Factors

The main target of primary prevention is the identification of cardiovascular risk factors aimed at reducing of the adverse impact of modifiable factors, such as lifestyle and pharmacological treatments. In humans, an alteration of the oxidative status has been associated with several pathologies, including diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. However, the prognostic relevance of circulating oxidative stress biomarkers remains poorly understood. Our study explored, in a healthy population (n=322), the relationship between oxidative status and cardiovascular risk factors. Here, we were successful in demonstrating that plasmatic oxidative status is significantly associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We revealed a significant depletion in the efficacy of total plasma antioxidant barrier in high cardiovascular risk categories, and we confirmed an age-related alteration of oxidative status. The efficacy of total plasma antioxidant barrier is significantly depleted in relation to metabolic disorders. Interestingly, the cholesterol imbalance is the main factor in depleting the efficacy of total plasma antioxidant barrier. The oxidative status is also influenced by hypertension, and a slight increase in systolic blood pressure determines a highly significant effect. We showed that the first detectable event of a redox disturbance is the repairing intervention of the antioxidant barrier that is thus decreased as overutilized

Designing a Corpus-Based Syllabus of Italian Collocations: Criteria, Methods and Procedures

Lexical combinations are central to language learning because they can be processed quickly (Siyanova-Chanturia 2013) and their use gives the idea of fluency in production (Nattinger and DeCarrico 1992). However, the acquisition of L2 phraseological competence is difficult for learners. This is particularly true for collocations, “sequences of words that tend to occur in stable and privileged combinations” (Simone 1990: 440). The difficulty is partially due to the fact that, unlike other types of lexical combinations, such as idiomatic phrases and proverbs, collocations are usually not emphasized in language courses, so learners do not notice them and do not assimilate them as complex lexemes (Bini et al. 2007). To fill this gap and provide teachers with a useful reference point for teaching collocations in language courses, we designed a corpus-based syllabus of Italian collocations. In this article, we illustrate the methodological choices and criteria followed for the realization of the syllabus.PRIN-PHRAME Project (20178XXKFY) Phraseological Complexity Measures in learner Italian – Integrating eye-tracking, computational, and learner corpus methods to develop second language pedagogical resource

Medicina legale e diritto sanitario: la garanzia della "sicurezza delle cure" attraverso i Comitati Valutazione Sinistri. Analisi dell'esperienza maturata presso il Policlinico Umberto I e l'Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Sant'Andrea.

Il lavoro che viene di seguito presentato sviluppa il tema della responsabilità professionale medico-sanitaria alla luce dell’ultima riforma apportata con la legge dell’8 marzo 2017, la cosiddetta “Gelli-Bianco” e dei suoi elementi di novità rispetto all’esistente quadro normativo, nonché all’attesa decretazione attuativa, declinandolo nel contesto specifico delle attività del Comitato Valutazione Sinistri (CVS) delle due aziende ospedaliere in convenzione con l’Università Sapienza nella Città di Roma. In premessa sono stati analizzati i passaggi di interesse della legge, quindi la puntualizzazione sulle attività di risk mangement aziendale e l’attuale definizione dei diversi obblighi assicurativi di settore, con una particolare attenzione alla ricostruzione storica del complesso e composito iter legislativo che ha sviluppato nell’ultimo decennio il diritto su entrambi gli argomenti. In quanto alla prima tematica è importante sottolinearne l’attualità che emerge assai chiaramente dall’entità degli sforzi internazionali che si stanno compiendo per un globale ripensamento da parte delle Amministrazioni, ma soprattutto delle politiche di governo, alla luce di un comune obiettivo di elevazione degli standard di sicurezza delle cure che, grazie alla nuova legge, assurge a piena integrazione del più generale diritto alla salute . Il problema del “rischio” correlato all’erogazione delle prestazioni sanitarie, infatti, si è rapidamente ingrandito, quasi paradossalmente, proprio per l’incremento complessivamente inteso della qualità, perlomeno potenziale, dell’assistenza. Da un lato, infatti, le competenze si sono ampliate ed approfondite, seppur secondo una direttrice prevalentemente settoriale, dall’altro la complessità di sistema è incrementata su tutti i livelli, dalla maggior definizione dei bisogni assistenziali del singolo paziente alla sofisticazione degli “strumenti”, estensivamente contemplati, sia diagnostici che terapeutici, passando per le dinamiche di partecipazione multidisciplinare e multi-professionale grazie al coinvolgimento di figure nuove con competenze specifiche al fianco di medici ed infermieri. In questo scenario la dimensione di rischio verso cui si orientano le attività di clinical risk management è quella che descrive la probabilità dell’evento avverso o dell’incidente, e più specificamente quello che può essere messo in dipendenza da un errore o “quasi-errore”. L’oggetto e l’obiettivo di queste attività, dunque, è proprio l’indagine sistematica di tali problematiche e la pianificazione ed attuazione delle misure necessarie al contenimento di quanto prevenibile e, quindi, evitabile. Strettamente embricato al problema della “sicurezza” e, ancor più in generale, della “qualità” è il tema del dilagante contenzioso medico-legale, comunemente riassunto nel sintagma anglosassone di “med-mal”, abbreviazione per medical malpractice. Tralasciando i pur legittimi argomenti sul semplicismo di simile definizione sintetica, nell’esame delle fonti e nell’inquadramento della norma è stato di primo interesse l’analisi dell’introduzione di un regime compiuto di assicurazione obbligatoria anche nell’ambito della responsabilità professionale medica, per cui è immediato un parallelismo, seppur limitato, con il settore della RC-auto . Il piano condiviso, d’altronde, tra gestione del rischio clinico e del contenzioso inerente presunta responsabilità medico-sanitaria ben si esplica all’interno dei CVS in qualità di organismi collegiali multidisciplinari afferenti a tutte le aree direttive aziendali competenti

REMOTE SENSING AND CITY INFORMATION MODELING FOR REVEALING THE COMPLEXITY OF HISTORICAL CENTERS

Abstract. Historical centers represent the outcome of transformations and stratifications of the cities across the centuries. The knowledge of a historical urban environment requires an analytical methodology articulated on several interconnected levels of investigation to model a multi-layered complexity that encompasses the geometric and stylistic features of places (blocks irregularities, narrow streets, stratified buildings), the accessibility (pedestrial zone, no flyzone), the use of existing data (GIS, cartographies). Today the challenge for historical centers is dual: on the one side to make use of expeditious technologies to acquire data, on the other one to create 3D city models that allow to manage, visualize, enquire and use these data in a unique digital ecosystem. Our research deals with a multi-sensor data acquisition, evaluation and integration with the aim of creating informed and responsive 3D city models (CIM) that constitute a synthesis of the survey conducted and become the support for simulations in various contexts (seismic risk, hydraulic, energy performance)