A Recurrent Deep Neural Network Model to measure Sentence Complexity for the Italian Language

Text simplification (TS) is a natural language processing task devoted to the modification of a text in such a way that the grammar and structure of the phrases is greatly simplified, preserving the underlying meaning and information contents. In this paper we give a contribution to the TS field presenting a deep neural network model able to detect the complexity of italian sentences. In particular, the system gives a score to an input text that identifies the confidence level during the decision making process and that could be interpreted as a measure of the sentence complexity. Experiments have been carried out on one public corpus of Italian texts created specifically for the task of TS. We have also provided a comparison of our model with a state of the art method used for the same purpos

Rotating shaft seal Patent

Liquid-vapor interface seal design for turbine rotating shafts including helical and molecular pumps and liquid cooling of mercury vapo

Editorial Foreword to the OFC 2021 Special Issue

The papers in this special section were presented at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC) 2021, which took place virtually in June 2021

Complexity Versus Accuracy Tradeoffs in Nonlinear Fiber Propagation Models

Some of the most widespread analytical models for nonlinear propagation in fiber optic coherent systems are reviewed, highlighting the tradeoffs between accuracy and complexity in different transmission scenarios, including wide-band optical systems and short-reach links

Editorial Selected Papers from OFC 2020

The papers in this special section were presented at the Optical Fiber Communications Conference (OFC) 2020, which took place in March 2020 in San Diego, CA

Advanced Modulation Techniques for Flexible Optical Transceivers: The Rate/Reach Tradeoff

This tutorial paper reviews advanced modulation techniques that have been proposed in the literature for the implementation of flexible (or reconfigurable) transceivers, which are fundamental building blocks of next-generation software-defined optical networks. Using a common reference multi-span propagation system scenario, the performance of transceivers employing standard quadrature amplitude modulation with variable-rate forward error correction, probabilistic constellation-shaping, and time-domain hybrid formats is assessed, highlighting the achievable flexibility in terms of continuous tradeoff between transmission rate and distance. The combination of these techniques with sub-carrier multiplexing, which enables an increase of the fiber nonlinearity tolerance thanks to the optimization of the symbol rate per sub-carrier, is also discussed

Quantum erasure in the presence of a thermal bath: the effects of system-environment microscopic correlations

We investigate the role of the environment in a quantum erasure setup in the cavity quantum electrodynamics domain. Two slightly different schemes are analyzed. We show that the effects of the environment vary when a scheme is exchanged for another. This can be used to estimate the macroscopic parameters related to the system-environment microscopic correlations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Physiology of Midkine and Its Potential Pathophysiological Role in COVID-19

SARS-CoV2 infection not only causes abnormal severe pneumonia but also induces other relevant pathophysiological effects on several tissues and organs. In this regard, the clinical complications observed in COVID-19 include acute coronary syndrome, pulmonary thromboembolism, myocarditis and, in the severe cases, the occurrence of disseminated intravascular coagulation. Literature on COVID-19 highlighted the central role of the Renin Angiotensin Aldosterone System in the determinism of SARS-CoV2 cellular internalization in the target tissues. Lung degeneration and respiratory distress appear to be dependent on the perturbance of physiological mechanisms, such as the uncontrolled release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, a dysregulation of the fibrinolytic coagulative cascade and the hyperactivation of immune effector cells. In this mini review, we address the physiology of Midkine, a growth factor able to bind heparin, and its pathophysiological potential role in COVID-19 determinism. Midkine increases in many inflammatory and autoimmune conditions and correlates with several dysfunctional immune-inflammatory responses that appear to show similarities with the pathophysiological elicited by SARS-CoV2. Midkine, together with its receptor, could facilitate the virus entry, fostering its accumulation and increasing its affinity with Ace2 receptor. We also focus on Netosis, a particular mechanism of pathogen clearance exerted by neutrophils, which under certain pathological condition becomes dysfunctional and can cause tissue damage. Moreover, we highlight the mechanism of autophagy that the new coronavirus could try to escape in order to replicate itself, as well as on pulmonary fibrosis induced by hypoxia and on the release of cytokines and mediators of inflammation, correlating the interplay between Midkine and SARS-CoV2

Effects of Hypohydration on Work Performance and Tolerance to plus Gz Acceleration in Man

Hypohydration effects on work performance and tolerance to acceleration stress in ma

Placentophagy: a controversial trend

This work presents the latest scientific results of research in placenta, highlighting the description of the organ’s associated microbiotic, whose possible deleterious effects will be of greater magnitude in a hemomonochorial placental barrier, as is the case in the human species. We want to make solid scientific evidence available to Health Professionals in the delivery and post-delivery care area, so that they may adequately inform their patients that the supposed benefits of the placentophagy are not supported by scientific studies. On the contrary, they are based on misguided popular beliefs spread on social media and untrustworthy maternity/health blogs and internet pages. None of these sources warn mothers about the fact that placentophagy involves a potential risk of exposure of the baby to vertically transmitted infections, risk of the mother developing a thromboembolism due to the estrogen content in the organ, or that the accumulation of heavy metals and/or environmental toxins in the placenta could prove poisonous to mother and baby. It is also of great concern that the presence of normal prions in the placenta has been reported lately, because, normal prions can be transformed into the infective forms albeit by a mechanism that yet remains unclear. This adds another risk to those previously described. Therefore, it is imperative that Health Professionals warn their patients that placentophagy is not a safe practice and can constitute unnecessary risks for both mother and baby