On the Hermitian curve and its intersections with some conics

We classify completely the intersections of the Hermitian curve with parabolas in the affine plane. To obtain our results we employ well-known algebraic methods for finite fields and geometric properties of the curve automorphisms. In particular, we provide explicit counting formulas that have also applications to some Hermitian codes.Comment: This article is contained in previous article "On the Hermitian curve, its intersections with some conics and their applications to affine-variety codes and Hermitian codes" (arXiv:1208.1627

Studio e riproduzione delle ombre elettriche di Augusto Righi

In questa tesi si riscopre la figura di Augusto Righi (1850-1920), fisico bolognese di prestigio e fama internazionale. In occasione del centenario della sua morte, si vuole omaggiare e diffondere i contributi dati alla scienza da questo illustre predecessore. Righi è stato capace di esplorare gran parte degli ambiti della fisica noti al suo tempo, sia a livello teorico che pratico; inoltre era rinomato per essere un gran insegnante, chiaro e comprensibile, merito anche della scelta di utilizzare esperimenti dimostrativi nel corso delle sue lezioni. Fu il fondatore dell’Istituto di Fisica di Bologna, all’interno del quale riservò un ampio spazio ai laboratori e al museo composto prevalentemente da strumenti e apparecchiature da lui utilizzate. Infine si approfondiscono i fenomeni da lui studiati delle “ombre elettriche”, per poi riprodurli in laboratorio e interpretarli in chiave moderna. Tali ombre si ottengono per mezzo di un oggetto inserito all’interno di un campo elettrico e sono costituite da particolari polveri che si dispongono su una superficie parallela all’oggetto, disegnandone il contorno

Trans Forms: Gender-Variant Subjectivity and First-Person Narration

Ph. D. ThesisMy thesis argues for the ‘gender-variant’ narrator as a key figure in contemporary Anglophone literature. I examine first-person narratives from the past five decades in a range of genres (memoir, literary fiction, science fiction, historical fiction) that explore gender identities that are other than binary or fixed. The purposes and impacts of these narratives vary according to their different engagement with feminist, queer and trans theory and activism. These differences can be ultimately read in the formal choices (uses of temporality, pronouns, metaphors, focalisation, description, etc.) of the texts representing gender-variant narrators. Throughout the thesis, I establish a methodology at the intersection of studies of narrative form and studies of trans and non-binary gender identity. In Chapter One, I develop two key concepts as part of this methodology: trans-inhabitation and re-narration. Trans-inhabitation builds on theorisations of gender as space in trans, queer and feminist theory and on narratological understandings of metaphor: it designates an inhabitation of gender categories that is successive, multiple and/or in between, and I argue that gender-variant narrators trans-inhabit genders and texts. Re-narration designates the way in which narratives of gender variance exist in tension with canonical plots of transition, disrupting them and reconfiguring them. In Chapters Two to Six, I test this methodology on a range of contemporary texts with gender-variant narrators. My conclusion summarises what has emerged from these readings in relation to the politically and textually resonant concepts of ‘visibility’ and ‘voice’ and argues for an examination of metaphors of time and space that does not only apply to gender in an abstract manner but considers the geographical realities of borders, homes and inhabitations.S.Y. Killingley Memorial Trus

Public and patient involvement: a survey on knowledge, experience and opinions among researchers within a precision oncology European project

Participatory research; Patient engagement; Precision oncologyInvestigación participativa; Compromiso del paciente; Oncología de precisiónRecerca participativa; Compromís del pacient; Oncologia de precisióBackground Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) is slowly but steadily being implemented in all phases of clinical research. As part of the European project “Building Data Rich Clinical Trials” a survey was launched to investigate the knowledge, experiences and opinions on this topic of clinicians and researchers from seven European clinical and non-clinical centers (Cancer Core Europe). Methods An invitation to take part in a cross-sectional web survey was sent to 199 clinicians and researchers working in the field of precision oncology. The questionnaire was developed ad hoc because no existing questionnaires met the purpose of this study. The analysis takes account of whether respondents had experience on PPI or not. Results On a total of 101 respondents, this survey reveals that 76.2% of them knew about PPI before answering the questionnaire, 54.5% had experience in the previous five years and 86.1% were interested in a training course on this topic. PPI knowledge grew together with career seniority (peak of 86.5% for established career professionals), while the group most interested in a course was the early-career professionals (100.0%). Finally, the majority of respondents stated they had no training or education on PPI (67.3% of experienced and 82.6% of not-experienced respondents). Conclusions This survey shows that most cancer researchers knew the term PPI, even if only a little more than half of them had any relative experience. Opinions on PPI benefits, negative effects, barriers and requirements differed between the groups of PPI experienced and not-experienced respondents, showing that experience itself can influence respondents’ opinions. Most of respondents reported they would prefer a training course based on practical rather than theoretical tools.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 965397