Development and Experimentation of Traceable Characterization Methods for Medium Voltage Instrument Transformers for PQ and PMU Applications

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Cleft Lip and Palate Patients: Diagnosis and Treatment

Cleft lip or palate is one of the most common types of craniomaxillofacial birth anomalies. Midface deficiency is a common feature of cleft lip and palate patients due to scar tissue of the lip and palate closure. Cleft lip and palate patients should be carefully evaluated by the craniofacial team in order to detect potentially serious deformities. Craniofacial team is involved with diagnosis of facial morphology, feeding problems, guidance of the growth and development of the face, occlusion, dentition, hearing and speech problems, and psychosocial issues and jaw discrepancy of the patients with cleft lip and palate or craniofacial syndromes. Treatment for cleft children requires a multidisciplinary approach including facial surgery in the first months of life, preventive and interceptive treatment in primary dentition, speech therapy, orthodontics in the mixed dentition phase, oromaxillofacial surgery, and implant and prosthetics in adults. Treatment plan from orthodontic perspective can be divided into the following stages based on the dentition stages: (1) presurgical orthopedics, (2) primary dentition, (3) mixed dentition, and (4) permanent dentition. The aim of this chapter is to assess a rational team work approach in the management of the patient with cleft lip and/or palate from birth to adulthood

A professional development project to support the evaluation culture in the school

This contribution illustrates a professional development project on school evaluation and self-evaluation. In order to support the National Evaluation System, Invalsi has launched the Valu.E project, which aims to improve evaluation skills in schools. This work presents two project actions: Valu.E for schools, aims at strengthening the skills of school staff through the implementation of decentralized forms of training and intervention. Defining the expertise of the evaluator is aimed at identifying a set of skills and knowledge necessary to acquire professional expertise and at implementing e-learning training programmes. For both training actions the teaching methodology is discussed, in order to promote the acquisition of skills in experiential and laboratory contexts. Un progetto di sviluppo professionale a supporto della cultura della valutazione nella scuolaIl presente contributo illustra un percorso di formazione degli adulti sui temi della valutazione e autovalutazione delle scuole. A sostegno del Sistema Nazionale di Valutazione l’Invalsi ha avviato il progetto Valu.E, finalizzato al miglioramento delle capacità di valutazione delle scuole. Questo lavoro presenta due azioni progettuali: Valu.e for schools è dedicato al rafforzamento delle competenze del personale scolastico attraverso la realizzazione di interventi decentrati di formazione e supporto; Definire la competenza esperta del valutatore mira all’individuazione di un set di abilità e conoscenze che consentano di acquisire una competenza professionale esperta e alla realizzazione di percorsi formativi tramite e-learning. Per entrambe le azioni formative è discussa la metodologia didattica, volta a favorire l’acquisizione di competenze in contesti esperienziali e laboratoriali

Decellularization and Delipidation Protocols of Bovine Bone and Pericardium for Bone Grafting and Guided Bone Regeneration Procedures

The combination of bone grafting materials with guided bone regeneration (GBR) membranes seems to provide promising results to restore bone defects in dental clinical practice. In the first part of this work, a novel protocol for decellularization and delipidation of bovine bone, based on multiple steps of thermal shock, washes with detergent and dehydration with alcohol, is described. This protocol is more effective in removal of cellular materials, and shows superior biocompatibility compared to other three methods tested in this study. Furthermore, histological and morphological analyses confirm the maintenance of an intact bone extracellular matrix (ECM). In vitro and in vivo experiments evidence osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of the produced scaffold, respectively. In the second part of this study, two methods of bovine pericardium decellularization are compared. The osmotic shock-based protocol gives better results in terms of removal of cell components, biocompatibility, maintenance of native ECM structure, and host tissue reaction, in respect to the freeze/thaw method. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate the characterization of a novel protocol for the decellularization of bovine bone to be used as bone graft, and the acquisition of a method to produce a pericardium membrane suitable for GBR applications

Scientific evidence for the treatment of children with irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the commonest cause of recurrent abdominal pain in children in both more developed and developing parts of the world. It is characterized by abdominal pain that is improved by defecation and whose onset is associated with a change in stool form and/or frequency and is not explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities. A number of potential patho-physiological mechanisms have been described, but so far the exact underlying etiology of IBS is unclear. Likewise, no optimal treatment has ever been found neither for adult nor for pediatric patients. Current therapeutic options include drugs, dietary interventions and biopsychosocial therapies. The present review aims at evaluating the scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of these treatments for children with IBS

Is the family really an outdated institution in Italy as well as in Europe? Findings from the European Values Study

The concept of institution, one of the main issues in the social sciences, has been developed in a number of anthropological, economical, juridical, political, and sociological institutional theories. There is no overarching theory, however, to explain what institutions are for, how they are formed and why they change. This contribution takes into account, in particular, the institution of the family as a fundamental institution of society, not only because it ensures reproduction over time but because it shapes the personal and social identity through socialization of new generations, and will verify whether the family is still considered valid as an institution. In particular, the research questions to be addressed are: is the (marriage-based) family still considered a valid institution by Italians and Europeans? Is it possible to identify specific elements linked to a strong idea of the family? Which elements? Using data from the European Values Study (EVS) 2008–2009, an index was devised to measure the (high, medium, low) importance attributed to the family as a social institution, and its structural and cultural characteristics in both Italy and Europe (with a total of 28 countries considered), as well as with clusters correlated to it

A simplified procedure for the Accurate Frequency Response Identification of Voltage Transformers

The paper proposes a simplified and affordable procedure for instrument transformers frequency characterization for medium voltage applications. It consists of a two steps measurement procedure, where both steps involve the generation of sine waves only, so that the it can be easily performed in instrument transformers calibration laboratories without requiring additional generation features. In the first step, a 50 Hz measurement of the Voltage Instrument Transformer ratio error at rated voltage is performed. The second step consists of a frequency sweep performed at low voltage up to the first resonance. By these two data sets, an approximated but accurate frequency response can be easily obtained using a non-linear fitted model. In the paper, a commercial voltage instrument transformer for medium voltage grids is characterized by the proposed method; results are shown and validated by comparison with a reference frequency characterization performed at INRIM under rated voltage

Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infection in gastric diseases: Correlation with IL-10 and IL1RN polymorphism.

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection have recently 23 been shown to be associated with gastric diseases. Polymorphisms in genes encoding 24 cytokines such as interleukin 10 (IL-10) and interleukin 1 Receptor (IL-1RN) influence 25 cytokine secretion levels and appear to contribute to the risk of developing gastroduodenal 26 diseases. 27 To our knowledge, this is the first preliminary study to address the association of 28 coinfection with H. pylori and EBV and their correlation with genetic predisposition in the 29 development of gastric diseases. 30 Methods: Gastric biopsy samples of 96 patients with different gastric diseases were used. 31 Results: Our results showed that the rate of co-infection was higher in patients with 32 gastric cancer than in patients with normal gastric mucosa, active chronic gastritis and 33 MALT lymphoma. As regards the characterization of H. pilory strains, the 34 polymorphism s1m1i1 of vacA gene was more frequent in patients with MALT 35 Lymphoma in comparison to others, while the polymorphism s2m2i2 was most 36 frequent in patients with normal gastric mucosa. In addition, patients who tested 37 positivefor the cagA gene were more frequently those affected with gastric cancer than 38 those with inactive chronic gastritis. Similarly, the patients with oipA gene ON were more 39 frequently those with gastric cancer than those with inactive chronic gastritis. 40 Conclusion: According to our analysis, there was no correlation between coinfection 41 and polymorphisms in genes encoding IL-10 and IL-1RN. We conclude that various 42 factors can be involved in the development of gastric diseases