Spinoza, B., Obras.

Sin resume

Geometry in Action: A Curriculum Unit Utilizing Dynamic Geometry Software to Enhance Students’ Comprehension

The paper identifies two critical obstacles to student success in a traditional geometry classroom and examines the role dynamic geometry software can play in overcoming these obstacles

The safety profile of drotrecogin alfa (activated)

Continued safety assessment is essential for any newly approved therapy. Drotrecogin alfa (activated; DrotAA), which is approved for use in severe sepsis, has undergone clinical trials with corresponding safety analyses since 1995. However, the only comprehensive review of all trials is that reported in 2003 by Bernard and coworkers. This is an important review that focuses on the safety profile of DrotAA in all published studies (six randomized clinical trials and five national registry studies) and in previously unpublished data. DrotAA treatment is associated with an increased risk for bleeding (which in general is manageable). Nevertheless, the available evidence shows that any adverse effects of DrotAA are outweighed by its benefits in patients with severe sepsis who are at high risk for death. So far, more than 9,000 patients have been enrolled in clinical trials involving DrotAA, providing a valuable safety database. It is of note that although DrotAA does increase the risk of bleeding, this has not been associated with an overall increase in the rate of all severe adverse events

Experimental study of bitumen emulsion–cement mortars: mechanical behaviour and relation to mixtures

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Correction to: Experimental study of bitumen emulsion–cement mortars: mechanical behaviour and relation to mixtures

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Peripheral arterial blood pressure monitoring adequately tracks central arterial blood pressure in critically ill patients: an observational study

INTRODUCTION: Invasive arterial blood pressure monitoring is a common practice in intensive care units (ICUs). Accuracy of invasive blood pressure monitoring is crucial in evaluating the cardiocirculatory system and adjusting drug therapy for hemodynamic support. However, the best site for catheter insertion is controversial. Lack of definitive information in critically ill patients makes it difficult to establish guidelines for daily practice in intensive care. We hypothesize that peripheral and central mean arterial blood pressures are interchangeable in critically ill patients. METHODS: This is a prospective, observational study carried out in a surgical-medical ICU in a teaching hospital. Fifty-five critically ill patients with clinical indication of invasive arterial pressure monitoring were included in the study. No interventions were made. Simultaneous measurements were registered in central (femoral) and peripheral (radial) arteries. Bias and precision between both measurements were calculated with Bland-Altman analysis for the whole group. Bias and precision were compared between patients receiving high doses of vasoactive drugs (norepinephrine or epinephrine >0.1 μg/kg/minute or dopamine >10 μg/kg/minute) and those receiving low doses (norepinephrine or epinephrine <0.1 μg/kg/minute or dopamine <10 μg/kg/minute). RESULTS: Central mean arterial pressure was 3 ± 4 mmHg higher than peripheral mean arterial pressure for the whole population and there were no differences between groups (3 ± 4 mmHg for both groups). CONCLUSION: Measurement of mean arterial blood pressure in radial or femoral arteries is clinically interchangeable. It is not mandatory to cannulate the femoral artery, even in critically ill patients receiving high doses of vasoactive drugs

Spinoza, B., Obras.

Sin resume

Intrinsic innervation and dopaminergic markers after experimental denervation in rat thymus

The aim of this study was to examine rat thymus innervation using denervation techniques and to explore the related micro-anatomical localization of dopamine, D1, D2 receptors and dopamine membrane transporter (DAT). In the thymus subcapsular region, the parenchymal cholinergic fibers belong exclusively to phrenic nerve branching. No somatic phrenic nerve branching was detected in any other analysed thymus lobule regions. In rats subjected to sympathetic or parasympathetic ablation, it was observed that catecholaminergic and cholinergic nerve fibers respectively contributed to forming plexuses along vessel walls. In the subcapsular and septal region, no parenchymal nerve branching, belonging to sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system was noted. Instead, in the deep cortical region, cortico-medullary junction (CM-j) and medulla, catecholaminergic and cholinergic nerve fibers were detected along the vessels and parenchyma. Dopamine and dopamine receptors were widely diffused in the lobular cortico-medullary junction region and in the medulla, where the final steps of thymocyte maturation and their trafficking take place. No variation in dopamine and DAT immune reaction was observed following total or partial parasympathectomy or phrenic nerve cutting. After chemical or surgical sympathectomy however, neither dopamine nor DAT immune reaction was noted again. Instead, D1 and D2 dopamine receptor expression was not affected by thymus denervation. In rats subjected to specific denervation, it was observed the direct intraparenchymal branching of the phrenic nerve and sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers into thymus parenchyma along vessels. These findings on the dopaminergic system highlight the importance of neurotransmitter receptor expression in the homeostasis of neuroimmune modulation

Integration of high-temperature electrolysis in an HVO production process using waste vegetable oil

The production of substitutes for liquid fossil fuels is of utmost importance for the decarbonization of the transport sector. This paper assesses the economic feasibility of producing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) using waste vegetable oils as feedstock. The supply of hydrogen for the upgrading of the oil is obtained through a high-temperature electrolysis process, fed by low-carbon electricity. The use of waste materials eliminates the competition with food crops (e.g. soybean or rapeseed) and promotes the recycle of substances that should be treated for disposal. The results of the study show that the production cost of HVO with the considered plant are around 33% higher than that of fossil diesel. Moreover, the variable that has the strongest impact on the production cost of HVO is the price of the waste vegetable oil, which affects the final results more than the electricity price and the cost of the electrolyser

Small Enterprises great Bologna? Spaces of production and labor culture of self-employment in bolognese area (1960s-1970s)

L’idea intramontabile di una «grande Bologna» informa, negli «boom» economico, l’azione politico-amministrativa che fa del capoluogo il fulcro di una regione economica forgiata attorno all’espansione delle industrie. Con l’intento di studiare i risvolti socio-culturali dell’industrializzazione dell’area negli anni Sessanta e Settanta, la ricerca tenta di intrecciare tre piani distinti di analisi: a) il processo di trasformazione socio-economica nei due decenni, nel tentativo di coglierne i caratteri di fondo – economici, dimensionali, territoriali – e le connessioni extra-locali; b) il ruolo che il Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI), in quanto attore egemone locale, ha assunto nel mettere a punto una strategia di governo dello sviluppo, evidenziandone i rapporti con altri attori locali (Camera di Commercio e Confederazione Nazionale dell’Artigianato, CNA) e la complessa dialettica fra centro e periferia dello stesso; c) la ricostruzione di specifiche traiettorie soggettive e individuali come analisi capace di restituire complessità prospettica a una storia che, altrimenti, rischia di rimanere schiacciata su un quadro interpretativo consolidato che ha teso a rintracciare molto più spesso le continuità e la coerenza interna al sistema, piuttosto che le eventuali aporie e le fratture storicamente date. A fronte di un lettura consolidata, la ricerca critica così la categoria di «modello emiliano» come formula che ha assolto a una precisa funzione ideologica e continua ad essere influente anche nella più recente storiografia. Tramite una griglia con al centro tre nodi di discussione – identità professionale, appartenenza politico-culturale, desiderio di autonomia – la ricerca mira, inoltre, a ridefinire una ‘cultura del lavoro autonomo’ in maniera non ontologica, ma come tentativo di mettere in luce aporie e contraddizioni che entrano in relazione problematica con i tratti culturali che la narrazione prevalente attribuisce alla piccola imprenditoria della Terza Italia.The everlasting idea of a «great Bologna» shapes, during the «economic miracle» years, local political and administrative action that put the city at the midst of a economic region made by industrial expansion. With the aim of studying socio-political implications of industrialization during the 1960s and 1970s, this research’s aim is to weave three separate level of analysis: a) the process of socio-economic transformation during those decades with the purpose of understanding the general features – in terms of economics, dimensional, spatial – within it extra-local connections; b) the role played by the Italian Communist Party (PCI), as local hegemonic actor, while developing a specific territorial political economy, seen in respect to other local actors (Chamber of Commerce and National Artisans’ Federation, CNA) and in the complex dialectics between party’s center versus Emilian periphery; c) the study of specific trajectories of subjective and individual patterns as a way to give complex historical perspective otherwise collapsed within a well established narrative usually concerned in emphasizing continuity and inner coherence instead of crafting a specific place for aporias and historical cleavages. Against this established narrative , the research criticize the category of «Emilian model» as a precise ideological formula which continues to have strong influence in present time. Furthermore, by using a framework shaped into three different topics – professional identity, cultural-political belonging, autonomy research –, the dissertation aims at redefine a non-ontological ‘labor culture of self-employment’ as an attempt of shed lights on aporias and contradictions within its problematic relationship with Third Italy’s narrative of small entrepreneurship