Anisotropic flows and shear viscosity of the Quark-Gluon plasma within a transport approach

In this talk we discuss the build up of elliptic flow v2 and high order harmonics v3, v4 and v5 for a fluid at fixed η/s by mean of an event-by-event transport approach. We discuss the effect of the η/s ratio on the build up of the vn(pT). In particular we study the effect of a temperature dependent η/s for two different beam energies: RHIC for Au+Au at p s = 200GeV and LHC for Pb+ Pb at p s = 2.76 TeV. We find that for the two different beam energies considered t he suppression of the vn(pT) due to the viscosity of the medium have different contributions coming from the cross over or QGP phase. In ultra-central collisions the vn(pT) show a strong sensitivity to the η/s ratio in the QGP phase and this sensitivity increase with the increase of the order of the harmonic

The elliptic flow and the shear viscosity of the QGP within a kinetic approach

We use a relativistic transport approach to study the role of a temperature dependent shear viscosity to entropy density ratio, η/s(T), on the build-up of the elliptic flow, v2. The recent results from = 62.4GeV at RHIC up to 2.76 TeV at LHC have shown an intriguing property of the v2(pT), which appears to be nearly invariant with energy. We show that in our transport approach this surprising behavior can be described by a particular temperature dependence of η/s(T), typical of matter that undergoes a phase transition or a cross-over, with a rise and fall and the minimum close to critical temperature Tc

Methodological Considerations for Movement Education Interventions in Natural Environments for Primary School Children: A Scoping Review

Background: Education is the ideal setting for carrying out projects to improve primary students’ capacities. In recent years, interventions in natural environments have been more frequently proposed, but there is still a lack of standardization, making deeper study of the topic necessary. This review aims to report on what previous scientific research has been carried out, and eventually, to propose standard operating procedures for future interventions. Methods: This is a scoping review that adopted the PRISMA guidelines. Primary school children have been included, and the interventions had to be proposed adopting nature as the primary element of the learning process. Results: A total of 19 studies have been included, and a wide range of methodological differences has been detected regarding the included intervention protocols. Conclusions: Learning in nature is a feasible intervention that, despite the high heterogeneity of interventions, demonstrates positive outcomes in the learning sphere of children

Does Learning Through Movement Improve Academic Performance in Primary Schoolchildren? A Systematic Review

Physically active children have greater motor competence and a faster maturation compared with their sedentary peers. Recent research also suggests that physical activity during childhood may also promote cognitive development and therefore improve academic performance. The aim of this study was to understand if physically active academic lessons may improve academic achievement in primary schoolchildren. A systematic review following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines was conducted. The search was performed on the following database: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsycINFO (APA). Studies evaluating schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11 years taking part in educational contexts that include physical activity and natural environments evaluating physical fitness and/or educational outcomes were included. A total of 54 studies (for a total sample of 29,460 schoolchildren) were considered eligible and included in the qualitative synthesis. The Effective Public Health Practice Project risk-of-bias assessment revealed a moderate quality of the included studies with only two considered weeks. Despite differences in the retrieved protocols, physically active academic lessons improve the total time engaged in physical activity, motor skills, and/or academic performance. The results of this review suggest that learning through movement is an effective, low-cost, and enjoyable strategy for elementary schoolchildren

Comparison of Interactive Teaching in Online and Offline Platforms among Dental Undergraduates

In recent years, the educational system has focused more on the holistic development of an individual. Modern technology has changed the educational environment to provide students with better academic opportunities. Along with the education system, teaching techniques and learning tools have also changed with digital evolution. This research was undertaken to assess the academic performance of interactive teaching methods in offline and online platforms in Periodontics among BDS undergraduates at a dental college in India. This prospective study was conducted among 49 students: Group I (n = 24, online class through Zoom) and Group II (n = 25, offline classes). The subject was divided into three modules and was covered in one week. The topics covered, teaching methods, lectures, and activities were similar for both groups. A formative assessment mark was obtained from written tests during the module, whereas the summative assessment mark was recorded from exams conducted towards the end of the module. In the results, a statistically significant difference was not observed in terms of formative assessment between Group I (77.88 ± 12.89) and Group II (77.80 ± 16.09) (p = 0.98). In addition, a statistically significant difference was not observed in terms of summative assessment between Group I (80.54 ± 8.39) and Group II (80.28 ± 11.57) (p = 0.93). Overall, this study suggests that interactive teaching methods in both offline and online platforms in Periodontics showed equivalent performance by the undergraduate dental students

Vitamin D and Histological Features of Breast Cancer: Preliminary Data from an Observational Retrospective Italian Study

Background: Vitamin D (vitD) may be involved in different extraskeletal conditions as well as skeletal muscle diseases. It has been hypothesized that, at least in part, a low level of vitD could contribute to facilitating cancer development. Breast cancer (BC) seems to be associated with low levels of vitD. Materials and methods: This was an observational retrospective evaluation of 87 women (mean age: 54 ± 12 years old) who underwent surgery for the treatment of BC. Our main purpose was to correlate the types of BC and the levels of vitD. Results: A positive significant correlation (R > 0.7) was found between non-invasive carcinoma in situ and 25(OH)D levels and age (R = 0.82, p < 0.05). A positive, but nonsignificant, correlation was reported between invasive ductal carcinoma and 25(OH)D and age (R = 0.45, p > 0.05). A negative but nonsignificant correlation was found between invasive lobular carcinoma and 25(OH)D and age (R = 0.24, p > 0.05). Discussion and Conclusions: We did not find a significant relationship between vitD and BC subtypes. Considering the positive significant correlation between vitD levels and age for in situ BC, although preliminary, our results seem to suggest a possible role of vitD in in situ BC. However, these findings need to be confirmed in larger studies

Automated Stabilization, Enhancement and Capillaries Segmentation in Videocapillaroscopy

Oral capillaroscopy is a critical and non-invasive technique used to evaluate microcirculation. Its ability to observe small vessels in vivo has generated significant interest in the field. Capillaroscopy serves as an essential tool for diagnosing and prognosing various pathologies, with anatomic–pathological lesions playing a crucial role in their progression. Despite its importance, the utilization of videocapillaroscopy in the oral cavity encounters limitations due to the acquisition setup, encompassing spatial and temporal resolutions of the video camera, objective magnification, and physical probe dimensions. Moreover, the operator’s influence during the acquisition process, particularly how the probe is maneuvered, further affects its effectiveness. This study aims to address these challenges and improve data reliability by developing a computerized support system for microcirculation analysis. The designed system performs stabilization, enhancement and automatic segmentation of capillaries in oral mucosal video sequences. The stabilization phase was performed by means of a method based on the coupling of seed points in a classification process. The enhancement process implemented was based on the temporal analysis of the capillaroscopic frames. Finally, an automatic segmentation phase of the capillaries was implemented with the additional objective of quantitatively assessing the signal improvement achieved through the developed techniques. Specifically, transfer learning of the renowned U-net deep network was implemented for this purpose. The proposed method underwent testing on a database with ground truth obtained from expert manual segmentation. The obtained results demonstrate an achieved Jaccard index of 90.1% and an accuracy of 96.2%, highlighting the effectiveness of the developed techniques in oral capillaroscopy. In conclusion, these promising outcomes encourage the utilization of this method to assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of conditions that impact microcirculation, such as rheumatologic or cardiovascular disorders

Anisotropic flows and the shear viscosity of the QGP within a transport approach

We study the build up of elliptic flow v2 and high order harmonics vn within a transport approach at fixed shear viscosity to entropy density ratio η/s and with initial state fluctuations. In particular we study the effect of a temperature dependent η/s for two different beam energies: RHIC for Au+Au at = 200 GeV and LHC for Pb + Pb at = 2.76 TeV. We find that for the two different beam energies considered the suppression of the elliptic flow and of higher harmonics v3(pT) and v4(pT) due to the viscosity of the medium have different contributions coming from the cross over or QGP phase. Moreover, we discuss the correlation between the initial spatial anisotropies n and flow coefficients vn. We observe that the elliptic flow v2 is strongly correlated with initial eccentricity 2. While higher harmonics v3 and v4 are weakly correlated to their asymmetry measure in coordinate space 3 and 4