Light Logics and the Call-by-Value Lambda Calculus

The so-called light logics have been introduced as logical systems enjoying quite remarkable normalization properties. Designing a type assignment system for pure lambda calculus from these logics, however, is problematic. In this paper we show that shifting from usual call-by-name to call-by-value lambda calculus allows regaining strong connections with the underlying logic. This will be done in the context of Elementary Affine Logic (EAL), designing a type system in natural deduction style assigning EAL formulae to lambda terms.Comment: 28 page

Soil Quality Characterization of Mediterranean Areas under Desertification Risk for the Implementation of Management Schemes Aimed at Land Degradation Neutrality

Soil is a key component of ecosystems as it provides fundamental ecosystem functions and services, first of all supporting primary productivity, by physical, chemical and biological interaction with plants. However, soil loss and degradation are at present two of the most critical environmental issues. This phenomenon is particularly critical in Mediterranean areas, where inappropriate land management, in combination with the increasingly harshening of climatic conditions due to Climate Change, is leading to significant land degradation and desertification and is expected to worsen in the future, leading to economic and social crisis. In such areas, it is of fundamental importance to apply sustainable management practices, as conservation/restoration measures, to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. This approach is at the core of the LIFE project Desert-Adapt “Preparing desertification areas for increased climate change” which is testing a new framework of sustainable land management strategies based on the key concept that the maintenance of ecosystems quality is necessarily connected to economic and social security in these fragile areas. The project will test adaptation strategies and measures in 10 sites of three Mediterranean areas under strong desertification risk, Alentejo in Portugal, Extremadura in Spain and Sicily in Italy. We present the baseline data of soil quality analysis from 32 sites in the 10 study areas of the project. Key drivers of soil quality and quantity were identified and used as basis to select sustainable management strategies focused on the maintenance, improvement and/or recovery of soil-based ecosystem services, with particular attention to climate change adaptation and land productivity. The final objective of the project is to demonstrate, according to the LDN approach, the best adaptation strategies to recover degraded areas from low-productive systems into resource-efficient and low-carbon economies to preserve ecosystem quality and booster economy and social securit

Efficacy of transdermal rotigotine in chronic cluster headache: A case series:

Cluster headache (CH) is one of the most severe forms of headache, but the number of effective treatments is still limited. Recently, we reported the case of a drug-resistant CH patient responsive ..

Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk

Soil quality is fundamental for ecosystem long term functionality, productivity and resilience to current climatic changes. Despite its importance, soil is lost and degraded at dramatic rates worldwide. In Europe, the Mediterranean areas are a hotspot for soil erosion and land degradation due to a combination of climatic conditions, soils, geomorphology and anthropic pressure. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered a key indicator of soil quality as it relates to other fundamental soil functions supporting crucial ecosystem services. In the present study, the functional relationships among SOC and other important soil properties were investigated in the topsoil of 38 sites under different land cover and management, distributed over three Mediterranean regions under strong desertification risk, with the final aim to define critical SOC ranges for fast loss of important soil functionalities. The study sites belonged to private and public landowners seeking to adopt sustainable land management practices to support ecosystem sustainability and productivity of their land. Data showed a very clear relationship between SOC concentrations and the other analyzed soil properties: total nitrogen, bulk density, cation exchange capacity, available water capacity, microbial biomass, C fractions associated to particulate organic matter and to the mineral soil component and indirectly with net N mineralization. Below 20 g SOC kg−1, additional changes of SOC concentrations resulted in a steep variation of all the analyzed soil indicators, an order of magnitude higher than the changes occurring between 50 and 100 g SOC kg−1 and 3–4 times the changes observed at 20–50 g SOC kg−1. About half of the study sites showed average SOC concentration of the topsoil centimetres <20 g SOC kg−1. For these areas the level of SOC might hence be considered critical and immediate and effective recovery management plans are needed to avoid complete land degradation in the next future.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development and validation of the ID-EC - The ITALIAN version of the identify chronic migraine

Background: Case-finding tools, such as the Identify Chronic Migraine (ID-CM) questionnaire, can improve detection of CM and alleviate its significant societal burden. We aimed to develop and validate the Italian version of the ID-CM (ID-EC) in paper and as a smart app version in a headache clinic-based setting. Methods: The study investigators translated and adapted to the Italian language the original ID-CM questionnaire (ID-EC) and further implemented it as a smart app. The ID-EC was tested in its paper and electronic version in consecutive patients referring to 9 Italian tertiary headache centers for their first in-person visit. The scoring algorithm of the ID-EC paper version was applied by the study investigators (case-finding) and by patients (self-diagnosis), while the smart app provided to patients automatically the diagnosis. Diagnostic accuracy of the ID-EC was assessed by matching the questionnaire results with the interview-based diagnoses performed by the headache specialists during the visit according to the criteria of International Classification of Headache Disorders, III edition, beta version. Results: We enrolled 531 patients in the test of the paper version of ID-EC and 427 in the validation study of the smart app. According to the clinical diagnosis 209 patients had CM in the paper version study and 202 had CM in the smart app study. 79.5% of patients returned valid paper questionnaires, while 100% of patients returned valid and complete smart app questionnaires. The paper questionnaire had a 81.5% sensitivity and a 81.1% specificity for case-finding and a 30.7% sensitivity and 90.7% specificity for self-diagnosis, while the smart app had a 64.9% sensitivity and 90.2% specificity. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the ID-EC, developed and validated in tertiary headache centers, is a valid case-finding tool for CM, with sensitivity and specificity values above 80% in paper form, while the ID-EC smart app is more useful to exclude CM diagnosis in case of a negative result. Further studies are warranted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the ID-EC in general practice and population-based settings

Comparing the use of ERA5 reanalysis dataset and ground-based agrometeorological data under different climates and topography in Italy

Study region: The study region is represented by seven irrigation districts distributed under different climate and topography conditions in Italy. Study focus: This study explores the reliability and consistency of the global ERA5 single levels and ERA5-Land reanalysis datasets in predicting the main agrometeorological estimates commonly used for crop water requirements calculation. In particular, the reanalysis data was compared, variable-by-variable (e.g., solar radiation, R-s; air temperature, T-air; relative humidity, RH; wind speed, u(10); reference evapotranspiration, ET0), with in situ agrometeorological obser-vations obtained from 66 automatic weather stations (2008-2020). In addition, the presence of a climate-dependency on their accuracy was assessed at the different irrigation districts. New hydrological insights for the region: A general good agreement was obtained between observed and reanalysis agrometeorological variables at both daily and seasonal scales. The best perfor-mance was obtained for T-air, followed by RH, R-s, and u(10) for both reanalysis datasets, especially under temperate climate conditions. These performances were translated into slightly higher accuracy of ET0 estimates by ERA5-Land product, confirming the potential of using reanalysis datasets as an alternative data source for retrieving the ET0 and overcoming the unavailability of observed agrometeorological data

Validation of the T-Lymphocyte Subset Index (TLSI) as a Score to Predict Mortality in Unvaccinated Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Lymphopenia has been consistently reported as associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Several studies have described a profound decline in all T-cell subtypes in hospitalized patients with severe and critical COVID-19. The aim of this study was to assess the role of T-lymphocyte subset absolute counts measured at ward admission in predicting 30-day mortality in COVID-19 hospitalized patients, validating a new prognostic score, the T-Lymphocyte Subset Index (TLSI, range 0–2), based on the number of T-cell subset (CD4+ and CD8+) absolute counts that are below prespecified cutoffs. These cutoff values derive from a previously published work of our research group at Policlinico Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy: CD3+CD4+ &lt; 369 cells/µL, CD3+CD8+ &lt; 194 cells/µL. In the present single-center retrospective study, T-cell subsets were assessed on admission to the infectious diseases ward. Statistical analysis was performed using JASP (Version 0.16.2. JASP Team, 2022, The Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Prism8 (version 8.2.1. GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA). Clinical and laboratory parameters of 296 adult patients hospitalized because of COVID-19 were analyzed. The overall mortality rate was 22.3% (66/296). Survivors (S) had a statistically significant lower TLSI score compared to non-survivors (NS) (p &lt; 0.001). Patients with increasing TLSI scores had proportionally higher rates of 30-day mortality (p &lt; 0.0001). In the multivariable logistic analysis, the TLSI was an independent predictor of in-hospital 30-day mortality (OR: 1.893, p = 0.003). Survival analysis showed that patients with a TLSI &gt; 0 had an increased risk of death compared to patients with a TLSI = 0 (hazard ratio: 2.83, p &lt; 0.0001). The TLSI was confirmed as an early and independent predictor of COVID-19 in-hospital 30-day mortalit