POD-based reduced order methods for optimal control problems governed by parametric partial differential equation with varying boundary control

In this work we propose tailored model order reduction for varying boundary optimal control problems governed by parametric partial differential equations. With varying boundary control, we mean that a specific parameter changes where the boundary control acts on the system. This peculiar formulation might benefit from model order reduction. Indeed, fast and reliable simulations of this model can be of utmost usefulness in many applied fields, such as geophysics and energy engineering. However, varying boundary control features very complicated and diversified parametric behaviour for the state and adjoint variables. The state solution, for example, changing the boundary control parameter, might feature transport phenomena. Moreover, the problem loses its affine structure. It is well known that classical model order reduction techniques fail in this setting, both in accuracy and in efficiency. Thus, we propose reduced approaches inspired by the ones used when dealing with wave-like phenomena. Indeed, we compare standard proper orthogonal decomposition with two tailored strategies: geometric recasting and local proper orthogonal decomposition. Geometric recasting solves the optimization system in a reference domain simplifying the problem at hand avoiding hyper-reduction, while local proper orthogonal decomposition builds local bases to increase the accuracy of the reduced solution in very general settings (where geometric recasting is unfeasible). We compare the various approaches on two different numerical experiments based on geometries of increasing complexity

Verso un riformismo italiano? Nuove generazioni tra secolarismo e vita musulmana

After an overview of how the secularization thesis has impacted the study of Islam in Europe and Italy, the paper explores the way new generations of Muslims in Northern Italy rediscover and reinterpret Islam through social media and Islamic youth groups. The article relies on interviews with Muslims raised in Italy who were born between the late 1990s and early 2000s as well as on materials drawn from social profiles and online discussion groups of Islamic youth groups that these young Muslims attend. The paper illustrates that, in line with long-standing trajectories within Islamic reformist thought, these \u201csecond generation\u201d Muslims aim to live Islam in a more conscious way than their parents and also the Muslims who live in their countries of origin. It finally argues that, as my interlocutors contribute to the definition of an \u201cItalian Islam\u201d, they claim recognition not only for their Muslim identity but also for the possibility of cultivating their Islamic spirituality within the secular liberal institutional and intellectual environment of contemporary Italy

Per una antropologia della lettura: Islam, riflessione e modernità nella comunità Suffa di Istanbul

This paper explores reading practices of an Islamic text, the Risale-i Nur, within the Suffa community, one of the many that emerged from the most influential reformist movement of modern Turkey, the Nur movement. The article tackles main anthropological debates about the impact of modern secular education and new media on pedagogical practice within Muslim contexts. Whereas works on the topic have generally focused on the implications of these major transformations for the redefinition of religious authority, the paper draws attention to forms of reflection (tefekkür) and related views of the world, or cosmologies, that are generated by reading practices of the Risale. As some have argued, the direct access to religious knowledge by the individual believer that is allowed by this text may recall dynamics that took place in Europe within the Protestant Reformation. However, the paper suggests that such a perspective prevents the analysis of the lines of continuity between past and present paths to cultivating Muslim faith. Moreover, it argues that a new anthropology of reading, both in Islam and in other traditions, should pay more attention to the specific kind of intellectual exercises that are attached to reading practices in different cultural settings.L’articolo indaga le pratiche di lettura di un testo islamico, il Risale-i Nur, presso la comunità Suffa, una delle molte che fanno parte del movimento riformista Nur, il più influente della Turchia moderna. L’articolo si colloca in modo trasversale rispetto ai dibattiti antropologici sull’impatto che l’educazione secolare moderna e i nuovi media hanno avuto sulle pratiche educative in ambito musulmano. Laddove questi lavori si sono focalizzati sulle implicazioni che queste trasformazioni hanno avuto per la ridefinizione della autorità religiosa, il contributo si concentra sulle forme di pensiero (tefekkür) e relative visioni del mondo, o cosmologie, che sono generate in relazione alle pratiche di lettura del testo religioso in oggetto. Sebbene l’accessibilità diretta al testo da parte dei singoli individui possa ricordare, come alcuni hanno sostenuto, dinamiche simili a quelle verificatesi in Europa durante la riforma protestante, l’articolo suggerisce che una tale prospettiva rischia di occultare le linee di continuità nelle pratiche di coltivazione religiosa, così come i complessi meccanismi di trasformazione e rinnovamento interni alla tradizione islamica. Inoltre, il contributo avanza l’idea che una nuova antropologia della lettura, nell’islam come in altre tradizioni, dovrebbe essere più attenta alla natura specifica degli esercizi intellettuali che sono generati dalle pratiche di lettura

Il lato quotidiano dell’islamofobia. Micro-razzismo a scuola tra differenzialismo culturale e razzismo spirituale

The paper explores everyday forms of racism toward sons and daughters of Muslim migrants born or raised in Italy since the late 1990s and early 2000s by shedding light on recent debates on Islamophobia in Italy and Europe. Based on my interlocutors’ narratives about their experiences of racism at different levels of education, the paper shows how these experiences significantly impacted their identity paths. The case is initially read through the lens of anthropological literature on cultural racism to introduce the discussion of another way of marking difference that seems particularly apt to describe long-standing forms of discrimination against ethnic-religious minorities in Europe: spiritual racism. Then, the paper introduces the notion of “micro-racism” to shed light on how Islamophobia is reproduced in an elusive and almost imperceptible way in daily interactions with teachers and peers, especially since middle school. Defining these forms of racism as “micro” is not meant to belittle the phenomenon but to point to its specificity. It is useful to highlight the particular ways in which ethnoreligious difference is marked in a context like Italy where minorities are relatively less visible than in other European countries. Finally, the paper refers to recent academic discussions on femonationalism, yet by moving the analysis from the level of public discourse to that of daily interactions between female teachers and students especially

Parallel meshing, discretization and computation of flow in massive discrete fracture networks

In the present work a message passing interface (MPI) parallel implementation of an optimization-based approach for the simulation of underground flows in large discrete fracture networks is proposed. The software is capable of parallel execution of meshing, discretization, resolution, and postprocessing of the solution. We describe how optimal scalability performances are achieved combining high efficiency in computations with an optimized use of MPI communication protocols. Also, a novel graph-topology for communications, called the multi-Master approach, is tested, allowing for high scalability performances on massive fracture networks. Strong scalability and weak scalability simulations on random networks counting order of 10^5 fractures are reported

Lepton-pair production in association with a bbˉb\bar{b} pair and the determination of the WW boson mass

We perform a study of lepton-pair production in association with bottom quarks at the LHC based on the predictions obtained at next-to-leading order in QCD, both at fixed order and matched with a QCD parton shower. We consider a comprehensive set of observables and estimate the associated theoretical uncertainties by studying the dependence on the perturbative QCD scales (renormalisation, factorisation and shower) and by comparing different parton-shower models (Pythia8 and Herwig++) and matching schemes (MadGraph5_aMC@NLO and POWHEG). Based on these results, we propose a simple procedure to include bottom-quark effects in neutral-current Drell-Yan production, going beyond the standard massless approximation. Focusing on the inclusive lepton-pair transverse-momentum distribution $p_{\bot}^{l^+l^-}$, we quantify the impact of such effects on the tuning of the simulation of charged-current Drell-Yan observables and the $W$-boson mass determination.Comment: 47 pages, 29 figures, 1 tabl

TUSC (TUrbinate Surgery Classification): A Novel Classification Proposal for Turbinate Surgery

Aim of this manuscript is to propose a clear and easily applicable classification for turbinate surgery, based on the use of a numerical model, which could be introduced in the practice of Otolaryngologists and Maxillo-Facial surgeons.Applying this classification, it will be possible to offer an easy format when describing which turbinates are involved in a procedure, and to offer a quick method to record and analyse clinical data, also for scientific purpose

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approach to Children and Adolescents with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSA): Recommendations in Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA) in paediatrics is a rather frequent pathology caused by pathophysiological alterations leading to partial and prolonged obstruction (hypoventilation) and/or intermittent partial (hypopnoea) or complete (apnoea) obstruction of the upper airways. Paediatric OSA is characterised by daytime and night-time symptoms. Unfortunately, there are few data on shared diagnostic-therapeutic pathways that address OSA with a multidisciplinary approach in paediatric age. This document summarizes recommendations from the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy, developed in order to provide the most appropriate tools for a multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis, treatment and care of paediatric patients with OSA. The multidisciplinary group of experts distinguished two different 'step' pathways, depending on the age group considered (i.e., under or over two years). In most cases, these pathways can be carried out by the primary care paediatrician, who represents the first filter for approaching the problem. For this reason, it is essential that the primary care paediatrician receives adequate training on how to formulate the diagnostic suspicion of OSA and on what criteria to use to select patients to be sent to the hospital centre. The relationship between the paediatrician of the patient and her/his parents must see a synergy of behaviour between the various players in order to avoid uncertainty about the diagnostic and therapeutic decisions as well as the follow-up phase. The definition and evaluation of the organizational process and outcome indicators of the developed flow-chart, and the impact of its implementation will remain fundamental

Preoperative charcoal suspension tattoo for the detection of differentiated thyroid cancer recurrence

Recurrent differentiated thyroid carcinoma can easily be detected by means of ultrasound (US) and thyroglobulin, and often requires further surgical intervention. Revision surgery is often a technical challenge with significant risk of complications, considering the altered anatomy, with a possibility of leaving behind residual neoplasm. Preoperative US-guided tattooing localization has been introduced to reduce and prevent these potential problems during revision surgery. Encouraging results have been reported in the literature. Under US guidance, the lesion is identified and 0.5-2 ml of colloidal charcoal is injected in its proximity using a 23 gauge needle. The extraction is accompanied by injection at constant pressure of charcoal in order to leave a trace of pigment along the path of the needle till the skin. From April 2008 to January 2016 we performed revision surgery in 27 patients for lymph-nodes metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer, using the technique of preoperative charcoal tattoo localization. Our previous study on the first group of 13 patients published in 2012, reported the preliminary results in terms of success rate and complications. The tolerance of charcoal injection was good for all patients and the procedure was demonstrated to be useful, contributing to the removal of metastatic lesion in 93% of procedures. We have registered minor surgical complications during revision in the central compartment of the neck: Transitory hypoparathyroidism in 2 cases (11%) and transitory vocal cord paresis in 3 cases (16%). Based on these results, preoperative charcoal tattoo localization in revision surgery of the neck for differentiated thyroid cancer recurrence can be considered a safe technique, easy to perform, with low-costs and useful during surgical procedures, providing a significant reduction of iatrogenic damage and risks