Sustainability of technological innovation investiments. Photovoltaic panels case study

as photovoltaic panels. In the case study analysed are shown the benefits obtained from the investments of the central Italy after installing photovoltaic systems. The total expenditure for the electricity purchase is € 52.326, while the total benefit of the investment is € 18.789, equal in percentage to a 53% energy saving over a period of 20 years. The company expeniture in the absence of a photovoltaic system is equal to € 109.03, while in the presence of a plant, considering also all costs incurred for € 93.090, with a percentage of profit on the investment made equal to almost 15% in 20 years

From direct to digital survey. The Abbey of San Giovanni Battista in Lucoli (L' Aquila)

[EN] Lucoli is a scattered municipality in the area of L Aquila, in the Italian region of Abruzzo. In this place between the mountains of the conca Aquilana stands the Abbey of San Giovanni Battista, an important historic and religious site. Despite the damage suffered caused during the 2009 earthquake, the local people still use it and look at it as a symbol of community. With the aim of analyse and so mitigate the seismic vulnerability, the abbey has been the subject of an architectural survey with direct method in a first step, and then of digital laser scanning survey at a later stage, to integrate and verify the first.Brusaporci, S.; Ruggieri, A. (2022). From direct to digital survey. The Abbey of San Giovanni Battista in Lucoli (L' Aquila). EGE Revista de Expresión Gráfica en la Edificación. (17):56-71. https://doi.org/10.4995/ege.2022.1890256711

Three-dimension-printed custom-made prosthetic reconstructions: from revision surgery to oncologic reconstructions

Background The use of custom-made 3D-printed prostheses for reconstruction of severe bone defects in selected cases is increasing. The aims of this study were to evaluate (1) the feasibility of surgical reconstruction with these prostheses in oncologic and non-oncologic settings and (2) the functional results, complications, and outcomes at short-term follow-up. Methods We analyzed 13 prospectively collected patients treated between June 2016 and January 2018. Diagnoses were primary bone tumour (7 patients), metastasis (3 patients), and revision of total hip arthroplasty (3 patients). Pelvis was the most frequent site of reconstruction (7 cases). Functional results were assessed with MSTS score and complications according to Henderson et al. Statistical analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test curves. Results At a mean follow-up of 13.7 months (range, 6 \u2013 26 months), all patients except one were alive. Oncologic outcomes show seven patients NED (no evidence of disease), one NED after treatment of metastasis, one patient died of disease, and another one was alive with disease. Overall survival was 100% and 80% at one and two years, respectively. Seven complications occurred in five patients (38.5%). Survival to all complications was 62% at two years of follow-up. Functional outcome was good or excellent in all cases with a mean score of 80.3%. Conclusion 3D-printed custom-made prostheses represent a promising reconstructive technique in musculoskeletal oncology and challenging revision surgery. Preliminary results were satisfactory. Further studies are needed to evaluate prosthetic design, fixation methods, and stability of the implants at long-ter

The layered structure of company share networks

We present a framework for the analysis of corporate governance problems using network science and graph algorithms on ownership networks. In such networks, nodes model companies/shareholders and edges model shares owned. Inspired by the widespread pyramidal organization of corporate groups of companies, we model ownership networks as layered graphs, and exploit the layered structure to design feasible and efficient solutions to three key problems of corporate governance. The first one is the long-standing problem of computing direct and indirect ownership (integrated ownership problem). The other two problems are introduced here: computing direct and indirect dividends (dividend problem), and computing the group of companies controlled by a parent shareholder (corporate group problem). We conduct an extensive empirical analysis of the Italian ownership network, which, with its 3.9M nodes, is 30× the largest network studied so far

Post-tsunami primary Scedosporium apiospermum osteomyelitis of the knee in an immunocompetent patient

SummaryScedosporium apiospermum is a filamentous fungus present in soil and polluted waters that may cause infection by direct inoculation. Osteomyelitis represents a challenge both for diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of post-tsunami primary S. apiospermum osteomyelitis of the knee in an immunocompetent patient

Near-field electrospinning of conjugated polymer light-emitting nanofibers

The authors report on the realization of ordered arrays of light-emitting conjugated polymer nanofibers by near-field electrospinning. The fibers, made by poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene], have diameters of few hundreds of nanometers and emission peaked at 560 nm. The observed blue-shift compared to the emission from reference films is attributed to different polymer packing in the nanostructures. Optical confinement in the fibers is also analyzed through self-waveguided emission. These results open interesting perspectives for realizing complex and ordered architectures by light-emitting nanofibers, such as photonic circuits, and for the precise positioning and integration of conjugated polymer fibers into light-emitting devices.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures Nanoscale, 201

Ataxia in children: early recognition and clinical evaluation

Background: Ataxia is a sign of different disorders involving any level of the nervous system and consisting of impaired coordination of movement and balance. It is mainly caused by dysfunction of the complex circuitry connecting the basal ganglia, cerebellum and cerebral cortex. A careful history, physical examination and some characteristic maneuvers are useful for the diagnosis of ataxia. Some of the causes of ataxia point toward a benign course, but some cases of ataxia can be severe and particularly frightening. Methods: Here, we describe the primary clinical ways of detecting ataxia, a sign not easily recognizable in children. We also report on the main disorders that cause ataxia in children. Results: The causal events are distinguished and reported according to the course of the disorder: acute, intermittent, chronic-non-progressive and chronic-progressive. Conclusions: Molecular research in the field of ataxia in children is rapidly expanding; on the contrary no similar results have been attained in the field of the treatment since most of the congenital forms remain fully untreatable. Rapid recognition and clinical evaluation of ataxia in children remains of great relevance for therapeutic results and prognostic counseling

Medium-Long-Term Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Minimally Invasive Distal Metatarsal Metaphyseal Osteotomy (DMMO) for Central Primary Metatarsalgia: Do Maestro Criteria Have a Predictive Value in the Preoperative Planning for This Percutaneous Technique?

The purpose of this prospective study was first to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Minimally Invasive Distal Metatarsal Metaphyseal Osteotomy (DMMO) in treating central metatarsalgia, identifying possible contraindications. The second objective was to verify the potential of DMMO to restore a harmonious forefoot morphotype according to Maestro criteria. Methods. A consecutive series of patients with metatarsalgia was consecutively enrolled and treated by DMMO. According to Maestro criteria, preoperative planning was carried out by both clinical and radiological assessment. Patient demographic data, AOFAS scores, 17-FFI, MOXFQ, SF-36, VAS, and complications were recorded. Maestro parameters, relative morphotypes, and bone callus formation were assessed. Statistical analysis was carried out (p<0.05). Results. Ninety-three patients (93 feet) with a mean age of 62.4 (31-87) years were evaluated. At mean follow-up of 58.7 (36-96) months, all of the clinical scores improved significantly (p<0.0001). Most of the osteotomies (76.3%) had healed by 3-month follow-up, while ideal harmonious morphotype was restored only in a few feet (3.2%). Clinical and radiological outcomes were not different based on principal demographic parameters. Long-term complications were recorded in 12 cases (12.9%). Conclusion. DMMO is a safe and effective method for the treatment of metatarsalgia. Although Maestro criteria were useful to calculate the metatarsal bones to be shortened and a significant clinical improvement of all scores was achieved, the ideal harmonious morphotype was restored only in a few feet. Hence, our data show that Maestro criteria did not have a predictive value in clinical outcomes of DMM

Medium-Long-Term Radiographic and Clinical Outcomes after Surgical Treatment of Intra-Articular Tibial Pilon Fractures by Three Different Techniques

The goal of this retrospective, observational, case series study was to evaluate the medium-long-term clinical and radiographic results of the three most common surgical osteosynthesis techniques used for the treatment of articular tibial pilon fractures: ORIF, MIPO, and EF. Materials and Methods. A consecutive series of patients with articular pilon fractures who underwent surgery at our institution were enrolled in this study. Fractures were classified according to the M\ufcller AO classification system. Overall outcomes took the following into account: radiographic quality of reduction, evaluated using Ovadia and Beals\u2019 criteria; clinical assessment, evaluated using the AOFAS questionnaire; and general health, evaluated with the SF36-v2 Health Survey. Results. A total of 94 articular pilon fractures (34 type 43-B and 60 43-C) were evaluated with a mean follow-up of 56.34 months (range 33\u2013101). The techniques used were ORIF, MIPO, and EF in 63 (67%), 17 (18.9%), and 14 cases (14.1%), respectively. According to Ovadia and Beals\u2019 criteria, good, fair, and poor results were reported in 61 (64.89%), 26 (27.66%), and 7 (7.45%) cases, respectively. The mean AOFAS score was 82.41 for MIPO, 79.83 for ORIF, and 50.57 for EF, respectively. Thirty-nine patients (41.49%) presented early and/or late complications. Conclusion. Satisfactory outcomes using the three different techniques were reported. In particular, the radiographic outcomes were inversely proportional to the fracture comminutions and statistically different between internal and external osteosynthesis, but comparable between ORIF and MIPO techniques. On the other hand, the clinical outcomes were closely related to the soft tissue conditions and the anatomical reconstruction of the joint

Cortical and subcortical brain alterations in Juvenile Absence Epilepsy

Despite the common assumption that genetic generalized epilepsies are characterized by a macroscopically normal brain on magnetic resonance imaging, subtle structural brain alterations have been detected by advanced neuroimaging techniques in Childhood Absence Epilepsy syndrome. We applied quantitative structural MRI analysis to a group of adolescents and adults with Juvenile Absence Epilepsy (JAE) in order to investigate micro-structural brain changes using different brain measures. We examined grey matter volumes, cortical thickness, surface areas, and subcortical volumes in 24 patients with JAE compared to 24 healthy controls; whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and Freesurfer analyses were used. When compared to healthy controls, patients revealed both grey matter volume and surface area reduction in bilateral frontal regions, anterior cingulate, and right mesial-temporal lobe. Correlation analysis with disease duration showed that longer disease was correlated with reduced surface area in right pre- and post-central gyrus. A possible effect of valproate treatment on brain structures was excluded. Our results indicate that subtle structural brain changes are detectable in JAE and are mainly located in anterior nodes of regions known to be crucial for awareness, attention and memory