Landscapes of data sets and functoriality of persistent homology

The aim of this article is to describe a new perspective on functoriality of persistent homology and explain its intrinsic symmetry that is often overlooked. A data set for us is a finite collection of functions, called measurements, with a finite domain. Such a data set might contain internal symmetries which are effectively captured by the action of a set of the domain endomorphisms. Different choices of the set of endomorphisms encode different symmetries of the data set. We describe various category structures on such enriched data sets and prove some of their properties such as decompositions and morphism formations. We also describe a data structure, based on coloured directed graphs, which is convenient to encode the mentioned enrichment. We show that persistent homology preserves only some aspects of these landscapes of enriched data sets however not all. In other words persistent homology is not a functor on the entire category of enriched data sets. Nevertheless we show that persistent homology is functorial locally. We use the concept of equivariant operators to capture some of the information missed by persistent homology

Analysis of Ordinary Buildings on the Island of Ischia (Italy) for a Seismic Impact Assessment

Ischia is a quiescent volcanic complex, characterized by several periods of activity, also of explosive typology. Each year, seismic stations detect few low-energy events, although in the past severe earthquakes occurred, causing extensive damage. The last significant seismic event, with a magnitude of 3.91, occurred on 21st August 2017, again in the municipality of Casamicciola. The hazard constituted by seismic phenomena is compounded by a high exposed value, in terms of population and buildings. From 1861 to today, the resident population has increased considerably, from 23,511 to 62,831 units, to which are added 4 million tourists a year. The high risk of the Ischia territory highlights the need to bring the sustainable planning at the centre of the debate, considering the vulnerability of the area. In this perspective, an application aimed at assessing the seismic impact scenario induced by a single seismic event is illustrated below. The aim is to show a methodological approach able to quantify the resources necessary for emergency planning and organization of operational intervention

Building Inventory at National scale by evaluation of seismic vulnerability classes distribution based on Census data analysis: BINC procedure

In this paper, the BINC procedure (Building Inventory at National scale based on Census data) is proposed. It is a quick methodology to assess the building inventory needed to seismic exposure assessment at regional and national scale. Vulnerability classes map for the whole Italian region is proposed. BINC procedure, developed at the PLINIVS Study Centre (University of Naples Federico II), is able to provide a seismic vulnerability assessment on the basis of 'weak' data. The information used to set the method are carried out from census database furnished by Italian National Institute of Statistics, ISTAT (DB_Census) and the da- tabase of information collected in situ by PLINIVS (DB_PLINIVS). In particular, exploiting vulnerability classes information of the DB_PLINIVS and common characteristics of the two databases, a generalization of buildings distribution on the vulnerability classes in obtained at regional national scale. The methodology can be easily extended to all countries having census data on buildings

Empirical vulnerability curves for Italian mansory buildings: evolution of vulnerability model from the DPM to curves as a function of accelertion

AbstractIn the framework of the emergency management in the case of seismic events, the evaluation of the expected damage represents a basic requirement for risk informed planning. Seismic risk is defined by the probability to reach a level of damage on given exposed elements caused by seismic events occurring in a fixed period and in a fixed area. To this purpose, the expected seismic input, the exposed elements and their vulnerability have to be correctly evaluated. The aim of the research is to define a correct model of vulnerability curves, in PGA, for masonry structures in Italy, by heuristic approach starting from damage probability matrices (DPMs). To this purpose, the PLINIVS database, containing data on major Italian seismic events, has been used and supported by "critical" assumption on missing data. To support the reliability of this assumption, two vulnerability models, considering or not the hypothesis on the missing data, have been estimated and used to calculate the seismic scenario of the L'Aquila 2009 earthquake through the IRMA (Italian Risk MAp) platform. Finally, a comparison between the outcomes elaborated by IRMA platform and the observed damage collected in the AEDES forms, has been done

Considerazioni Critiche e di Prospettiva sulle Misure Provvisorie della Corte Internazionale Di Giustizia nel Caso Gambia c. Myanmar

L’ordinanza adottata dalla Corte internazionale di giustizia il 23 gennaio 2020, in risposta alla richiesta di misure provvisorie presentata nell’ambito della controversia Gambia c. Myanmar e relativa alla presunta violazione della Convenzione per la prevenzione e la repressione del delitto di genocidio, contiene diversi spunti interessanti che, probabilmente, incideranno sulla prosecuzione del giudizio. Il presente scritto esamina le questioni procedurali e sostanziali che emergono dalla medesima. Quanto agli aspetti procedurali, ci si soffermerà, in particolare, sul locus standi dinnanzi alla Corte di uno Stato non direttamente leso da violazioni di obblighi erga omnes partes e sulle prospettive di umanizzazione dei presupposti per l’adozione di misure cautelari in casi aventi ad oggetto gravi violazioni dei diritti umani. Quanto agli aspetti sostanziali, si verificherà l’inquadrabilità degli atti che il Gambia imputa a Myanmar nella fattispecie di genocidio, sotto il profilo dell’elemento oggettivo, della qualificabilità della popolazione Rohingya come gruppo protetto e, infine, degli ostacoli che si presentano ai fini della prova dell’elemento soggettivo, costituito dall’intento di distruggere in tutto o in parte un gruppo protetto. Nelle conclusioni si esamineranno gli sviluppi recenti e le prospettive relative alla prosecuzione del giudizio.The paper examines the procedural and substantial aspects of the order on the preliminary measures adopted by the International Court of Justice on 23 January 2020 in the Gambia v. Myanmar case

Ansia, depressione e psicoterapia

In questo breve articolo ci proponiamo di contribuire al dibattito in corso nella Consensus Conference sulle terapie psicologiche per ansia e depressione, attraverso la presentazione di alcuni dati relativi ad un lavoro di ricerca, recentemente effettuato, su un campione di psicoterapeuti sistemico-relazionali che si sono specializzati presso il Centro Studi di Terapia Familiare e Relazionale di Roma nell’arco temporale di 10 anni, tra il 2012 e il 2022

CAESAR II Tool: Complementary Analyses for Emergency Planning Based on Seismic Risks Impact Evaluations

Italy is a country with high seismic hazard, however since the delay in the seismic classification of the national territory, most of the existing building heritage does not comply with the current technical standards for buildings. The seismic events that have hit different Italian regions in recent years have highlighted the complexity of the challenge for the public bodies both in the emergency management and post‐event reconstruction and in the planning of effective risk prevention and mitigation measures to be implemented in ‘peacetime’. These difficulties concern, in particular, the capacity to properly manage the financial and technical resources available and to identify the intervention priorities throughout the entire emergency cycle. For correct management, the priority is to quantify and localize, through simulations, the quantification of probable damages and to evaluate in terms of cost‐benefits the possible alternative strategies for mitigation, also taking into account the potential, in terms of cost‐effectiveness, of integrated measures for seismic and energy retrofitting. In this framework, the project CAESAR II (Complementary Analyses for Emergency planning based on Seismic Risks impact evaluations) has been developed as a Decision Support System for Public Authorities in charge of developing Disaster Risk Reduction plans, with the possibility of programming mid to long‐term investments for public and private properties, as well as defining custom financial support mechanisms and tax incentives

Comprehensive Risk Management in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy Associated With Autosomal Dominant Carvajal Syndrome

In a 37-year-old cardiac arrest survivor with autosomal dominant Carvajal syndrome and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, a desmoplakin mutation was identified. Cascade screening identified 2 affected family members and 2 healthy children carrying the mutation. Strategies for primary and secondary risk prevention emphasize the role of genetic testing in rare cardiomyopathies. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.

Whole-exome analysis in osteosarcoma to identify a personalized therapy

Osteosarcoma is the most common pediatric primary non-hematopoietic bone tumor. Survival of these young patients is related to the response to chemotherapy and development of metastases. Despite many advances in cancer research, chemotherapy regimens for osteosarcoma are still based on non-selective cytotoxic drugs. It is essential to investigate new specific molecular therapies for osteosarcoma to increase the survival rate of these patients. We performed exomic sequence analyses of 8 diagnostic biopsies of patients with conventional high grade osteosarcoma to advance our understanding of their genetic underpinnings and to correlate the genetic alteration with the clinical and pathological features of each patient to identify a personalized therapy. We identified 18,275 somatic variations in 8,247 genes and we found three mutated genes in 7/8 (87%) samples (KIF1B, NEB and KMT2C). KMT2C showed the highest number of variations; it is an important component of a histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferase complex and it is one of the histone modifiers previously implicated in carcinogenesis, never studied in osteosarcoma. Moreover, we found a group of 15 genes that showed variations only in patients that did not respond to therapy and developed metastasis and some of these genes are involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression in other tumors. These data could offer the opportunity to get a key molecular target to identify possible new strategies for early diagnosis and new therapeutic approaches for osteosarcoma and to provide a tailored treatment for each patient based on their genetic profile

Microscopic corneal epithelial changes and clinical outcomes in simple limbal epithelial transplantation surgery after treatment with amniotic membrane eye drops (AMED): A case report

Purpose: To describe the microscopic epithelial changes and the clinical outcomes of a patient treated with amniotic membrane eye drops (AMED) because of a persistent epithelial defect (PED) and a partial limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) after simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) and deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK). Observations: A 72-year-old patient, who had previously undergone SLET and DALK due to a total LSCD, presented with a PED related to a partial LSCD, and was treated with AMED for one month. We evaluated the patient's visual acuity, the Oxford grading scale, the Wong-Baker Pain Rating Scale, and in vivo confocal microscopy, both at baseline and 3 months after the end of treatment. Visual acuity improved from 0.5 to 0.4 LogMAR, the Oxford grading scale changed from grade III to grade I and the Wong-Baker Pain Rating Scale from grade 4 to grade 1. The corneal surface, which initially showed conjunctival characteristics over approximately 50% of the whole area, consisted mainly (75%) of mature corneal epithelium 3 months after the end of treatment. Conclusions and importance: While improving symptoms and clinical characteristics, AMED was also able to restore the normal corneal epithelium's morphology in a case of partial LSCD after SLET and DALK