545 research outputs found
Il Diritto Romano in Italia, oggi
[Abstract] Nowadays, in Italy, the weight of Roman Law in the Faculties of Law – compa-
red with the situation in the past – is greatly curtailed. Given the trend to connect
directly and chiefly the university law studies to the legal professions, Roman Law,
because of being considered a subject of mere theoretical importance, appears, for that
purpose, useless. However, from the debate among Roman Law scholars themselves
emerges clearly that this subject can still play an important rĂ´le in the training of the
European jurist (and of the jurist tout court). The large number of researchers in Roman
Law (many of them are young) and the quality of their works let us hope for its persis-
tent vitality
Modeling immune system control of atherogenesis
Abstract
Motivation: Atherosclerosis is a disease that is present in almost all humans, typically beginning in early adolescence. It is a human disease broadly investigated, that is amenable to quantitative analysis. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and their autoantibodies are involved in the development of atherosclerosis in animal models, but their role in humans is still not clear. Computer models may represent a virtual environment to perform experiments not possible in human volunteers that can provide a useful instrument for monitoring both the evolution of atherosclerotic lesions and to quantify the efficacy of treatments, including vaccines, oriented to reduce the LDLs and their oxidized fraction.
Results: We report the application of an agent-based model to model both the immune response to atherogenesis and the atheromatous plaque progression in a generic artery wall. The level of oxidized LDLs, the immune humoral response with production of autoantibodies, the macrophages activity and the formation of foam cells are in good agreement with available clinical data, including the formation of atheromatous plaques in patients affected by hypercholesterolemia.
Availability: The model is available at http://www.immunogrid.eu/atherogenesis/
Contact: [email protected]
An Overview on Application of Machine Learning Techniques in Optical Networks
Today's telecommunication networks have become sources of enormous amounts of
widely heterogeneous data. This information can be retrieved from network
traffic traces, network alarms, signal quality indicators, users' behavioral
data, etc. Advanced mathematical tools are required to extract meaningful
information from these data and take decisions pertaining to the proper
functioning of the networks from the network-generated data. Among these
mathematical tools, Machine Learning (ML) is regarded as one of the most
promising methodological approaches to perform network-data analysis and enable
automated network self-configuration and fault management. The adoption of ML
techniques in the field of optical communication networks is motivated by the
unprecedented growth of network complexity faced by optical networks in the
last few years. Such complexity increase is due to the introduction of a huge
number of adjustable and interdependent system parameters (e.g., routing
configurations, modulation format, symbol rate, coding schemes, etc.) that are
enabled by the usage of coherent transmission/reception technologies, advanced
digital signal processing and compensation of nonlinear effects in optical
fiber propagation. In this paper we provide an overview of the application of
ML to optical communications and networking. We classify and survey relevant
literature dealing with the topic, and we also provide an introductory tutorial
on ML for researchers and practitioners interested in this field. Although a
good number of research papers have recently appeared, the application of ML to
optical networks is still in its infancy: to stimulate further work in this
area, we conclude the paper proposing new possible research directions
Innovation and Research in Cardiac Surgery: Bioethical Aspects
Significant advancements have been made in Cardiac surgery during the last decades, thanks to technological evolution. The enormous progress achieved has led to a relevant improvement in terms of surgical results, and at the same time, new ethical dilemmas have been addressed. Until the 90’s ethics in cardiac surgery mainly concerned significant moral problems caused by the introduction of extremely innovative techniques. However, today’s ethical issue focuses essentially on the doctor-patient relationship, other aspects of doctor’s practice concern relevant ethical perspectives. Ethics affects today the activity of the surgeon and the doctor in general. It is possible to distinguish clinical ethics, an ethics of health policies, and scientific research ethics. In the following chapter, we try to analyze the main ethical aspects concerning the application of cardiac surgical procedures
Minimally Invasive Ventricular Assist Device Surgery
Heart failure is a growing disease that affects millions of people around the world. Heart transplantation is currently the therapy of choice for these patients. However, the lack of donors has forced the physician to evolve another kind of therapy such as ventricular assist device (VAD) as a bridge to transplant to compensate the lack of organs. Ventricular assist devices are today a successful therapy for the treatment of heart failure; the evolution of these devices and their progressive miniaturization have allowed an evolution of their implantation technique. To date, therefore, in addition to the traditional implant through sternotomy, there are more mini-invasive implant techniques. The purpose of the treaty is to describe these techniques, the implantation sites, and the benefits they can bring to patients
History of urea as a dermatological agent in clinical practice.
Urea, also known as carbamide, is a polar, hygroscopic molecule produced by the human body that was first discovered in urine in 1773 by the French chemist Hilaire Rouelle and was artificially synthesised from inorganic precursors in 1828 by the German chemist Friedrich Wöhler. The importance of urea in dermatology is twofold: it primarily has a physiological key role for the maintenance of skin hydration, and it secondarily has been used for more than a century in different topical preparation and concentration in various skin conditions. One of the first uses of urea was the topical treatment of wounds because of its antibacterial and proteolytic properties. Since the second part of the 20th century, urea became one of the most common moisturisers and keratolytic agents, useful for the treatment of xerosis, atopic dermatitis, ichthyosis and psoriasis
Double Orifice Fissured Subaortic Membrane in the Adult
Left ventricle outflow tract obstruction is a relatively common form of congenital heart disease, occurring in 2.8 out of 10,000 live births and accounts for 3-6% of congenital heart diseases. Subvalvular aortic stenosis can be either a fixed stenosis resulting from subaortic membrane or a dynamic stenosis because of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We described an original and rare image of double orifice fissured subaortic membrane in the adult
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