Performance monitoring and analysis of a yield-control support system in squeezing rock

ISBN 978-0-415-58654-

Bridging Representation and Visualization in Prosopographic Research: A Case Study

In the last decade, the research on ancient civilizations has started to rely more and more on data science to extract knowledge on ancient societies from the written sources delivered from the past. In this paper, we combine two well-established frameworks: Linked Data to obtain a rich data structure, and Network Science to explore different research questions regarding the structure and the evolution of ancient societies. We propose a multi-disciplinary pipeline where, starting from a semantically annotated prosopographic archive, a research question is translated into a query on the archive and the obtained dataset is the input to the network model. We applied this pipeline to different archives, a Hittite and a Kassite collection of cuneiform tablets. Finally, network visualization is presented as a powerful tool to highlight both the data structure and the social network analysis results

"Delirium Day": A nationwide point prevalence study of delirium in older hospitalized patients using an easy standardized diagnostic tool

Background: To date, delirium prevalence in adult acute hospital populations has been estimated generally from pooled findings of single-center studies and/or among specific patient populations. Furthermore, the number of participants in these studies has not exceeded a few hundred. To overcome these limitations, we have determined, in a multicenter study, the prevalence of delirium over a single day among a large population of patients admitted to acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in Italy. Methods: This is a point prevalence study (called "Delirium Day") including 1867 older patients (aged 65 years or more) across 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italian hospitals. Delirium was assessed on the same day in all patients using the 4AT, a validated and briefly administered tool which does not require training. We also collected data regarding motoric subtypes of delirium, functional and nutritional status, dementia, comorbidity, medications, feeding tubes, peripheral venous and urinary catheters, and physical restraints. Results: The mean sample age was 82.0 \ub1 7.5 years (58 % female). Overall, 429 patients (22.9 %) had delirium. Hypoactive was the commonest subtype (132/344 patients, 38.5 %), followed by mixed, hyperactive, and nonmotoric delirium. The prevalence was highest in Neurology (28.5 %) and Geriatrics (24.7 %), lowest in Rehabilitation (14.0 %), and intermediate in Orthopedic (20.6 %) and Internal Medicine wards (21.4 %). In a multivariable logistic regression, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.03, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.05), Activities of Daily Living dependence (OR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.27), dementia (OR 3.25, 95 % CI 2.41-4.38), malnutrition (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), and use of antipsychotics (OR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.45-2.82), feeding tubes (OR 2.51, 95 % CI 1.11-5.66), peripheral venous catheters (OR 1.41, 95 % CI 1.06-1.87), urinary catheters (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.30-2.29), and physical restraints (OR 1.84, 95 % CI 1.40-2.40) were associated with delirium. Admission to Neurology wards was also associated with delirium (OR 2.00, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), while admission to other settings was not. Conclusions: Delirium occurred in more than one out of five patients in acute and rehabilitation hospital wards. Prevalence was highest in Neurology and lowest in Rehabilitation divisions. The "Delirium Day" project might become a useful method to assess delirium across hospital settings and a benchmarking platform for future surveys

Nanocomposite layers for spacecraft protection: from multiscale numerical model to experimental data

In space environment, the surfaces of a spacecraft interact with the surrounding charged particles. Depending on the orbit, this interaction can induce a significant absolute charge on the structures and/or a differential charge collected among components. These phenomena generate electrostatic discharges with catastrophic consequences for the satellites. In this work, we investigate the volumetric electrical properties of nanocomposites made of aerospace-grade epoxy resin (RTM6) with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) as fillers to mitigate the electrostatic discharge phenomenon. In particular, we developed a highly conductive nanocomposite layer satisfying the NASA requirements for geostationary orbit. The study is divided into two parts, an experimental and a numerical one. In the first part, we fabricated nanocomposite samples and characterized their electrical properties at various frequencies. The electrical experimental results were compared with the numerical ones, which were calculated using a multiscale approach

Healthcare students and their knowledge of healthcare-associated infections.

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical (MS) and nursing (NS) students about prevention of the HCAIs and to detect differences between these two groups. It was the pilot study of a national investigation and was performed administering a questionnaire including 6 multiple choice questions concerning 3 areas: standard precautions (SP), hand hygiene (HH) and nosocomial infections (NI). One hundred and seventeen students, 89 MS and 28 NS, were included in the study. Mean overall score (+/- SD) was 17.63 (+/- 3.8), on an overall perfect score achievable of 25. Mean score obtained by NS (18.5 +/- 3.3) was better than the one achieved by MS (17.4 +/- 3.9), even if the difference wasn't statistically significant. Stratifying the score in the three specific areas, healthcare students obtained weighed scores (+/- SD) of 6.74 (+/- 1.61) for SP, 4.7 (+/- 1.5) for HH and 4.51 (+/- 1.71) for NI. Knowledge level concerning HH area was different between medical students and nursing students (p = 0.013), in favour of the latter. According to correct answers rate, healthcare students properly know how and what kind of personal medical devices are to be used, while they show a lack of knowledge about hand hygiene. This pilot-study underlines the importance of the assessment of teaching effectiveness, and it stresses the need to critically review some specific contents of healthcare university courses