Unmanned e Cargo: la possibile combinazione organizzativa per la mobilità aerea e la logistica avanzata

Usati inizialmente in ambito militare, in particolare per la ricognizione, sorveglianza e intelligence, i Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) offrono anche un'ampia gamma di applicazioni civili. Le peculiari caratteristiche tecniche di cui tali sistemi sono dotati li rendono, difatti, estremamente versatili e suscettibili di essere adoperati negli ambiti più disparati, come la gestione e controllo delle frontiere, il monitoraggio di disastri ambientali, la supervisione di siti archeologici, le riprese televisive e cinematografiche. Queste notevoli capacità d’impiego non sono sfuggite ai grossi player della logistica, che hanno fiutato le potenzialità abnormi insite nell’uso dell’intelligenza unmanned per il trasporto cargo avanzato. Mentre la tecnologia è matura e i costi in via di definizione, i giganti della logistica mondiale stanno facendo a gara per qualificarsi come “soggetti volativi per il trasporto” e, al contempo, scienziati e tecnici stanno studiando e attuando soluzioni per consentire l’operatività dei velivoli unmanned in città. Nell’aprire importanti prospettive di sviluppo economico, i cambiamenti in atto sono destinati a cambiare la mobilità del futuro e a disegnare nuovi, e più sostenibili, assetti urbani

Macchine intelligenti nella C-Suite: verso una limitazione dell'arte umana del comando?

Unstable post-recession markets favor ductile, hyper-fast, performing and resilient companies. Who should be at the helm of such companies? In order to face environmental turbulence, dynamic capabilities are needed and C- People are required to decide better and faster than in the recent past. Fast and correct decisions are increasingly possible nowadays thanks to the help of artificial intelligence technologies, harbingers of continuous progress in the managerial universe. The article aims to show that smart tools constitute valid aids for C-Suite Top Managers but cannot yet substitute some purely human skills and virtues, and therefore replace the so called “art of command”

L'alterità, il dialogo e il conflitto inconciliabile: dall'eroe tragico all'hyper self di Elster

Francesca Castaldo proposes an article on otherness which potentially leads to hostilities, with a focus on that type of conflict that does not find solutions: the irreconcilable conflict. Starting from the fact that the unavoidable diversity can lead to conflict between people, states, opposing alliances, this paper moves from the hypothesis that some of the conceptual apparatus used in the study of interpersonal conflicts can be applied to the analysis of intrapersonal conflicts. Furthermore the diversity, far from being conceived only between subjects, can also be observed within the same individual. And the conflict is not always negative but can be solved - through dialogue, education and different culture confrontation - and even profitable under certain conditions. However there are some circumstances in which the conflict remains unresolved. Among these the article deals with the internal conflict by examining two types of symbolic action, the tragic hero and the more modern Elster hyper self

Tempestività e resilienza: l'esperienza dei piloti al servizio del business

L’emergere della Cyber Security sta delineando un sempre più forte avvicinamento tra interessi militari ed economici. Nell’era cibernetica le minacce sono più numerose e diversificate rispetto a quelle di una volta, richiedendo un mutamento a livello delle strategie da utilizzare. A livello organizzativo si assiste ad un notevole accorciamento del processo decisionale, per cui i decision maker si trovano sovente a dover prendere decisioni sotto stress, e quindi sub-ottimali, o addirittura ad impatto negativo, e ad intraprendere dei corsi d’azione non pianificati in risposta a determinati ed improvvisi attacchi, con conseguenze potenzialmente nefaste. Tutto ciò, nel mondo delle imprese, oltre che naturalmente in ambito Difesa, si traduce nell’urgenza di acquisire - laddove non già possedute - le cosiddette “capacità dinamiche”. Tra queste, l’articolo si focalizza sulla tempestività; più in particolare, l’enfasi è posta sulla capacità di decidere ‘better and faster’ rispetto al passato relativamente recente. Il lavoro si concentra, poi, sul legame tra tempestività e resilienza, soffermandosi sull’esperienza peculiare di un attore particolarmente resiliente, il pilota, e su come la sua esperienza possa essere messa al servizio del business, e non solo.The emergence of Cybersecurity is shaping an ever-stronger approach between military and economic interests. In the cybernetic era threats are more numerous and diversified than in the past, requiring a strategic change. At an organizational level, there is a noticeable shortening of the decision-making process, so that decision makers often find themselves in the conditions of taking decisions under stress, and therefore sub-optimal, or even with a negative impact, and to undertake unplanned courses of action in response to certain and sudden attacks, with potentially harmful consequences. All this, in business, as well as of course in Defense, translates into the urgent need to acquire - where not already possessed - the so-called "dynamic capabilities". Among these, the article focuses on timeliness; more specifically, the emphasis is placed on the ability to decide ‘better and faster’ than in the relatively recent past. This paper then focuses on the link between timeliness and resilience, looking over the peculiar experience of a particularly resilient actor, the fighter pilot, and how this experience can be put at the service of the business, and beyond

Normal versus pathological cardiac fibroblast-derived extracellular matrix differentially modulates cardiosphere-derived cell paracrine properties and commitment

Human resident cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) isolated as cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) are under clinical evaluation as a therapeutic product for cardiac regenerative medicine. Unfortunately, limited engraftment and differentiation potential of transplanted cells significantly hamper therapeutic success. Moreover, maladaptive remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) during heart failure progression provides impaired biological and mechanical signals to cardiac cells, including CPCs. In this study, we aimed at investigating the differential effect on the phenotype of human CDCs of cardiac fibroblast-derived ECM substrates from healthy or diseased hearts, named, respectively, normal or pathological cardiogel (CG-N/P). After 7 days of culture, results show increased levels of cardiogenic gene expression (NKX2.5, CX43) on both decellularized cardiogels compared to control, while the proportion and staining patterns of GATA4, OCT4, NKX2.5, ACTA1, VIM, and CD90-positive CPCs were not affected, as assessed by immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analyses. Nonetheless, CDCs cultured on CG-N secreted significantly higher levels of osteopontin, FGF6, FGF7, NT-3, IGFBP4, and TIMP-2 compared to those cultured on CG-P, suggesting overall a reduced trophic and antiremodelling paracrine profile of CDCs when in contact with ECM from pathological cardiac fibroblasts. These results provide novel insights into the bidirectional interplay between cardiac ECM and CPCs, potentially affecting CPC biology and regenerative potential

An Environmentally Friendly Practice Used in Olive Cultivation Capable of Increasing Commercial Interest in Waste Products from Oil Processing

In the Rural Development Plan (2014–2020), the European Commission encouraged the conversion and supported the maintenance of organic farming. Organic olive oil (bioEVOO) production involves the use of environmentally sustainable fertilizers and the recycling of olive pomace (Pom) and olive vegetation waters (VW) to reduce the environmental impact of these wastes. An ecofriendly way to recycle olive wastes is to reuse them to extract bioactive compounds. In this study, the total phenolic compounds content, their profile and dosage, the antioxidant action in oil, pomace, and vegetation water was evaluated when the Trichoderma harzianum M10 was used as a biostimulant in agriculture. Two spectrophotometric tests (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′‐azinobis (3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic) acid (ABTS)) evaluated the antioxidant potential of samples, a spectrophotometric method estimated total phenolic content, and an Ultra‐High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC)–Orbitrap method evaluated the phenolics profile. Our results showed that the biostimulation improved the antioxidant potential and the total concentration of phenolics in the bioEVOO and bio‐pomace (bioPom) samples and mainly enhanced, among all classes of phenolic compounds, the production of the flavonoids and the secoiridoids. Moreover, they demonstrated the Trichoderma action in the mevalonate pathway to produce phenols for the first time. The decisive action of the Thricoderma on the production of phenolic compounds increases the economic value of the waste materials as a source of bioactive compounds useful for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries

Migraine patients with and without neck pain:Differences in clinical characteristics, sensitization, musculoskeletal impairments, and psychological burden

Aims: This study aims to assess differences in clinical characteristics across healthy controls and migraine patients with (MNP) and without (MwoNP) neck pain.Method: This study assessed: headache frequency; headache disability index (HDI); central sensitization inventory (CSI); Hospital Anxiety (HADS-A) and Depression (HADS-D) scale; active range of motion (AROM); flexion rotation test (FRT); activation pressure score (APS); number of active/latent myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in head/neck muscles; number of positive cervical vertebral segments (C1/C2) who reproduce migraine pain; wind-up ratio (WUR); mechanical pain threshold (MPT) and static pressure pain threshold (sPPT) over the trigeminal area; sPPT and dynamic PPT (dPPT) over the cervical area; sPPTs and MPT over the hand.Results: Compared to controls, MNP had: worse CSI, HADS-A, and HADS-D (all, p < 0.002); reduced AROM (flexion, extension, left lateral-flexion, and right-rotation), FRT, APS, and a higher number of MTrPs and positive cervical vertebral segments (all, p < 0.020); reduced trigeminal MPT and sPPT, cervical sPPT and dPPT, hand MPT and sPPT (all, p < 0.006). Compared to controls, MwoNP had: worse CSI, and HADS-A (all, p < 0.002); reduced AROM (flexion, and left lateral-flexion), FRT, APS, and a higher number of MTrPs and positive cervical vertebral segments (all, p < 0.017); reduced trigeminal MPT and cervical dPPT (all, p < 0.007). Compared to MwoNP, MNP had higher headache frequency, worse HDI and CSI (all, p < 0.006); reduced AROM (flexion, and right rotation) (all, p < 0.037); reduced cervical dPPT (all, p < 0.002).Conclusion: MNP had worse headache characteristics, more pronounced cervical musculoskeletal impairments, enhanced signs and symptoms related to sensitization, and worse psychological burden compared to MwoNP

Molecular characterization of a bladder pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in an adult patient

Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma (PRMS) is a rare but highly aggressive soft tissue tumor, accounting for 3% of soft tissue sarcomas. PRMS is the most frequent subtype of RMS in adulthood and it is mainly located in the large muscles of the extremities, particularly the lower limbs and the trunk, more rarely in other locations especially in the bladder. At our knowledge, only six cases of adult pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma of the bladder have been reported in the literature. In this study, we report a case of PRMS of bladder with a very poor prognosis. In fact, the patient died a month after surgery. The tumor was characterized by poorly differentiated, medium-sized sometimes rhabdoid cells, mixed with large-sized and pleomorphic elements with evident anisonucleosis, and with large areas of necrosis. We used an extensive immunohistochemical panel to exclude other tumors much more frequently reported at this site. The positivity for myogenic markers such as actin, desmin, myogenin and MyoD1 allowed the correct diagnosis. Furthermore, since preliminary studies highlighted a series of specific molecular alterations in PMRS cell lines, we analyzed a panel of specific mutations and gene rearrangements by RT-PCR and FISH methods. We showed a copy gains of CCND1 and MALT genes in our samples, suggesting an accurate molecular characterization of PRMS to establish a better management of patients and new therapeutic opportunities