Brand Network Booster: A New System for Improving Brand Connectivity

This paper presents a new decision support system offered for an in-depth analysis of semantic networks, which can provide insights for a better exploration of a brand's image and the improvement of its connectivity. In terms of network analysis, we show that this goal is achieved by solving an extended version of the Maximum Betweenness Improvement problem, which includes the possibility of considering adversarial nodes, constrained budgets, and weighted networks - where connectivity improvement can be obtained by adding links or increasing the weight of existing connections. We present this new system together with two case studies, also discussing its performance. Our tool and approach are useful both for network scholars and for supporting the strategic decision-making processes of marketing and communication managers

On the relationship between kk-planar and kk-quasi planar graphs

A graph is $k$-planar $(k \geq 1)$ if it can be drawn in the plane such that no edge is crossed more than $k$ times. A graph is $k$-quasi planar $(k \geq 2)$ if it can be drawn in the plane with no $k$ pairwise crossing edges. The families of $k$-planar and $k$-quasi planar graphs have been widely studied in the literature, and several bounds have been proven on their edge density. Nonetheless, only trivial results are known about the relationship between these two graph families. In this paper we prove that, for $k \geq 3$, every $k$-planar graph is $(k+1)$-quasi planar

Dataspaces: Concepts, Architectures and Initiatives

Despite not being a new concept, dataspaces have become a prominent topic due to the increasing availability of data and the need for efficient management and utilization of diverse data sources. In simple terms, a dataspace refers to an environment where data from various sources, formats, and domains can be integrated, shared, and analyzed. It aims to provide a unified view of heterogeneous data by bridging the gap between different data silos, enabling interoperability. The concept of dataspaces promotes the idea that data should be treated as a cohesive entity, rather than being fragmented across different systems and applications. Dataspaces often involve the integration of structured and unstructured data, including databases, documents, sensor data, social media feeds, and more. The goal is to enable organizations to harness the full potential of their data assets by facilitating data discovery, access, and analysis. By bringing together diverse data sources, dataspaces can offer new insights, support decision-making processes, and drive innovation. In the context of European Commission-funded research projects, dataspaces are often explored as part of initiatives focused on data management, data sharing, and the development of data-driven technologies. These projects aim to address challenges related to data integration, data privacy, data governance, and scalability. The goal is to advance the state of the art in data management and enable organizations to leverage data more effectively for societal, economic, and scientific advancements. It is important to notice that while dataspaces offer potential benefits, they also come with challenges. These challenges include data quality assurance, data privacy and security, semantic interoperability, scalability, and the need for appropriate data governance frameworks. Overall, dataspaces represent an approach to managing and utilizing data that emphasizes integration, interoperability, and accessibility. The concept is being explored and researched to develop innovative solutions that can unlock the value of data in various domains and sectors

ALS5/SPG11/KIAA1840 mutations cause autosomal recessive axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a group of hereditary peripheral neuropathies that share clinical characteristics of progressive distal muscle weakness and atrophy, foot deformities, distal sensory loss, as well as diminished tendon reflexes. Hundreds of causative DNA changes have been found, but much of the genetic basis of the disease is still unexplained. Mutations in the ALS5/SPG11/KIAA1840 gene are a frequent cause of autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia with thin corpus callosum and peripheral axonal neuropathy, and account for similar to 40% of autosomal recessive juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The overlap of axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease with both diseases, as well as the common autosomal recessive inheritance pattern of thin corpus callosum and axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in three related patients, prompted us to analyse the ALS5/SPG11/KIAA1840 gene in affected individuals with autosomal recessive axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. We investigated 28 unrelated families with autosomal recessive axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease defined by clinical, electrophysiological, as well as pathological evaluation. Besides, we screened for all the known genes related to axonal autosomal recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT2A2/HMSN2A2/MFN2, CMT2B1/LMNA, CMT2B2/MED25, CMT2B5/NEFL, ARCMT2F/dHMN2B/HSPB1, CMT2K/GDAP1, CMT2P/LRSAM1, CMT2R/TRIM2, CMT2S/IGHMBP2, CMT2T/HSJ1, CMTRID/COX6A1, ARAN-NM/HINT and GAN/GAN), for the genes related to autosomal recessive hereditary spastic paraplegia with thin corpus callosum and axonal peripheral neuropathy (SPG7/PGN, SPG15/ZFYVE26, SPG21/ACP33, SPG35/FA2H, SPG46/GBA2, SPG55/C12orf65 and SPG56/CYP2U1), as well as for the causative gene of peripheral neuropathy with or without agenesis of the corpus callosum (SLC12A6). Mitochondrial disorders related to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 were also excluded by sequencing POLG and TYMP genes. An additional locus for autosomal recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2H on chromosome 8q13-21.1 was excluded by linkage analysis. Pedigrees originated in Italy, Brazil, Canada, England, Iran, and Japan. Interestingly, we identified 15 ALS5/SPG11/KIAA1840 mutations in 12 families (two sequence variants were never reported before, p.Gln198* and p.Pro2212fs*5). No large deletions/duplications were detected in these patients. The novel mutations seemed to be pathogenic since they co-segregated with the disease in all pedigrees and were absent in 300 unrelated controls. Furthermore, in silico analysis predicted their pathogenic effect. Our results indicate that ALS5/SPG11/KIAA1840 is the causative gene of a wide spectrum of clinical features, including autosomal recessive axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease

On the upward book thickness problem: Combinatorial and complexity results

Among the vast literature concerning graph drawing and graph theory, linear layouts of graphs have been the subject of intense research over the years, both from a combinatorial and from an algorithmic perspective. In particular, upward book embeddings of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) form a popular class of linear layouts with notable applications, and the upward book thick-ness of a DAG is the minimum number of pages required by any of its upward book embeddings.A long-standing conjecture by Heath, Pemmaraju, and Trenk (1999) states that the upward book thickness of outerplanar DAGs is bounded above by a constant. In this paper, we show that the conjecture holds for subfamilies of upward outerplanar graphs, namely those whose underlying graph is an internally -triangulated outerpath or a cactus, and those whose biconnected components are st-outerplanar graphs.On the complexity side, it is known that deciding whether a graph has upward book thickness k is NP-hard for any fixed k >= 3. We show that the problem, for any k >= 5, remains NP-hard for graphs whose domination number is O(k), but it is fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) in the vertex cover number

On the Upward Book Thickness Problem: Combinatorial and Complexity Results

A long-standing conjecture by Heath, Pemmaraju, and Trenk states that the upward book thickness of outerplanar DAGs is bounded above by a constant. In this paper, we show that the conjecture holds for subfamilies of upward outerplanar graphs, namely those whose underlying graph is an internally-triangulated outerpath or a cactus, and those whose biconnected components are st-outerplanar graphs. On the complexity side, it is known that deciding whether a graph has upward book thickness k is NP-hard for any fixed k≥ 3. We show that the problem, for any k≥ 5, remains NP-hard for graphs whose domination number is O(k), but it is FPT in the vertex cover number

Planar Drawings with Few Slopes of Halin Graphs and Nested Pseudotrees

The planar slope number psn (G) of a planar graph G is the minimum number of edge slopes in a planar straight-line drawing of G. It is known that psn (G) ∈ O(cΔ) for every planar graph G of degree Δ. This upper bound has been improved to O(Δ5) if G has treewidth three, and to O(Δ) if G has treewidth two. In this paper we prove psn (G) ∈ Θ(Δ) when G is a Halin graph, and thus has treewidth three. Furthermore, we present the first polynomial upper bound on the planar slope number for a family of graphs having treewidth four. Namely we show that O(Δ2) slopes suffice for nested pseudotrees

Transcatheter cerebral embolic protection in open heart surgery: our initial experience in Ancona, Italy

BACKGROUND: Neurological events after cardiac surgery or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) have a dramatic effect on patients' prognosis. Recent development of transcatheter cerebral protection systems aims to reduce their incidence, even if their use is currently limited to TAVI. Here we report our initial experience with transcatheter cerebral protection devices used in patients at high brain embolic risk undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: Between December 2018 and March 2020, at the Cardiac Surgery Unit of Lancisi Cardiovascular Center in Ancona, Italy, 9 patients (mean age 77 years; median EuroSCORE II: 2.2%) underwent cardiac surgery using a transcatheter cerebral protection system (Sentinel, Claret Medical, Santa Rosa, CA, USA). In all cases, a preoperative computed tomography scan highlighted the presence of severely calcified ascending aorta. RESULTS: The brain protection system was successfully implanted in all patients. Total time for device implantation and removal was less than 10 min in all cases. Four patients underwent aortic valve replacement, 2 mitral surgery, whereas 3 received combined valve surgery. Calcified debris were found within filters in 100% of patients. Postoperatively, there were neither neurological events nor major complications. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, transferring transcatheter brain protection techniques and technologies to cardiac surgery allowed us (with excellent results) to avoid palliative percutaneous or medical management in patients with severe aortic calcifications. Waiting for more solid evidence, we believe that our example supports the concept of hybrid surgery as a therapeutic approach capable of extending traditional surgical indications with improved patients' outcomes