Composition of public expenditure, effective demand, distribution and growth

We introduce public expenditure (PE) in a general post Keynesian framework characterized by a nonlinear investment function. Our aims are: 1) to provide a systematic analysis of the impact of PE (‘productive’ or ‘non productive’) and of the Government sector size on economic growth, allowing effective demand to play a crucial role. Our work fills a lacuna in the post Keynesian literature given that scant attention has been devoted to this topic. In our paper, ‘Productive’ PE affects the (fixed) coefficients of production similarly to Barro (1990); 2) to compare and contrast two different interpretations which assign a different meaning to the autonomous component of the investment function, corresponding to long run demand growth expectations: the Kaleckian interpretation assumes exogenous long run expectations; in the Classical or Harrodian interpretation, long-run expectations are linked to the ‘warranted rate of growth’; 3) to reproduce a variety of complex phenomena (multiple equilibria, hysteresis, low growth traps, regular and irregular growth cycles), by introducing a simple nonlinearity in the investment function in the spirit of Kalecki’s (1937) investment theory and Kaldor’s (1940) trade cycle model. A plethora of results emerge from our simple framework concerning comparative statics and dynamicbehaviour.

Virtuality Supports Reality for e-Health Applications

Strictly speaking the word “virtuality” or the expression “virtual reality” refers to an application for things simulated or created by the computer, which not really exist. More and more often such things are becoming equally referred with the adjective “virtual” or “digital” or mentioned with the prefixes “e-” or “cyber-”. So we know, for instance, of virtual or digital or e- or cyber- community, cash, business, greetings, books .. till even pets. The virtuality offers interesting advantages with respect to the “simple” reality, since it can reproduce, augment and even overcome the reality. The reproduction is not intended as it has been so far that a camera films a scenario from a fixed point of view and a player shows it, but today it is possible to reproduce the scene dynamically moving the point of view in practically any directions, and “real” becomes “realistic”. The virtuality can augment the reality in the sense that graphics are pulled out from a television screen (or computer/laptop/palm display) and integrated with the real world environments. In this way useful, and often in somehow essentials, information are added for the user. As an example new apps are now available even for iphone users who can obtain graphical information overlapped on camera played real scene surroundings, so directly reading the height of mountains, names of streets, lined up of satellites .., directly over the real mountains, the real streets, the real sky. But the virtuality can even overcome reality, since it can produce and make visible the hidden or inaccessible or old reality and even provide an alternative not real world. So we can virtually see deeply into the matter till atomic dimensions, realize a virtual tour in a past century or give visibility to hypothetical lands otherwise difficult or impossible to simple describe. These are the fundamental reasons for a naturally growing interest in “producing” virtuality. So here we will discuss about some of the different available methods to “produce” virtuality, in particular pointing out some steps necessary for “crossing” reality “towards” virtuality. But between these two parallel worlds, as the “real” and the “virtual” ones are, interactions can exist and this can lead to some further advantages. We will treat about the “production” and the “interaction” with the aim to focus the attention on how the virtuality can be applied in biomedical fields, since it has been demonstrated that virtual reality can furnish important and relevant benefits in e-health applications. As an example virtual tomography joins together 3D imaging anatomical features from several CT (Computerized axial Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) images overlapped with a computer-generated kinesthetic interface so to obtain a useful tool in diagnosis and healing. With the new endovascular simulation possibilities, a head mounted display superimposes 3D images on the patient’s skin so to furnish a direction for implantable devices inside blood vessels. Among all, we chose to investigate the fields where we believe the virtual applications can furnish the meaningful advantages, i.e. in surgery simulation, in cognitive and neurological rehabilitation, in postural and motor training, in brain computer interface. We will furnish to the reader a necessary partial but at the same time fundamental view on what the virtual reality can do to improve possible medical treatment and so, at the end, resulting a better quality of our life

Simplified Models/Procedures for Estimation of Secant-to-Yielding Stiffness, Equivalent Damping, Ultimate Deformations and Shear Capacity of Bridge Piers on the Basis of Numerical Analysis

The present report gives charts and expressions for computing the equivalent stiffness and damping of bridge piers of rectangular hollow cross section at maximum displacement within the framework of displacement based design and assessment of bridges, based on the results of parametric non-linear cyclic fibre section analysis calibrated from full-scale experimental results. A state of the art review is presented concerning the different approaches that may be adopted to model shear effects in reinforced concrete columns concerning the different approaches that may be adopted to model the shear effects in reinforced concrete columns.JRC.G.5-European laboratory for structural assessmen

Assessing Sexual Orientation-Related Obsessions and Compulsions in Italian Heterosexual Individuals: Development and Validation of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS)

Sexual Orientation-Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (SO-OCD) is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, and urges related to one's sexual orientation, and by consequent avoidance, reassurance seeking, and overt and covert compulsions. Currently there is no short self-report measure that assesses SO-OCD symptoms. The current article describes two studies that develop and evaluate the first version of the Sexual Orientation Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (SO-OCS), a 14-item Italian self-report measure targeted towards heterosexual individuals. In Study 1, the SO-OCS was developed and refined through item analysis and exploratory factor analysis from an initial pool of 33 items administered to 732 Italian nonclinical participants. The SO-OCS showed a unidimensional structure and an acceptable internal consistency. In Study 2, the factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, construct and criterion validity, and diagnostic sensitivity of the SO-OCS were investigated in three samples of Italian participants (294 from the general population, 52 OCD patients who reported sexual orientation-related symptoms or concerns as a primary complaint, and 51 OCD patients who did not report these symptoms as primary complaint). The SO-OCS was again found to have a unidimensional structure and good internal consistency, as well as to exhibit strong construct validity. Specifically, the SO-OCS showed an excellent criterion validity and diagnostic sensitivity, as it successfully discriminated between those with SO-OCD and all other groups of participants. Finally, evidence of temporal stability of the SO-OCS in a nonclinical subsample was found. The SO-OCS holds promise as a measure of SO-OCD symptoms in heterosexual individuals

Criteri per la formulazione di una dieta equilibrata nel paziente obeso

In Italia, negli ultimi 20 anni, la prevalenza del sovrappeso è passata dal 27% al 34% e quella dell’obesità dall’8% al 9%, tra i soggetti di età ≥18 anni (1, 2) e ha raggiunto il 36% in età pediatrica (3). Tra gli adulti seguono una dieta il 13,3% dei soggetti in sovrappeso ed il 18,1% degli obesi (4); nonostante un decremento ponderale del 5-10% comporti una significativa riduzine della morbilità e mortalità correlate all’obesità (5), la maggior parte dei pazienti considera questo obiettivo del tutto insoddisfacente: le aspettative sono almeno 2 volte maggiori, e se tale obiettivo non è raggiunto o il decremento ponderale avviene troppo lentamente, i pazienti sperimentano emozioni negative e abbandonano la dieta (6). Poiché la motivazione è associata all’aspetto fisico più che alla salute, i soggetti in sovrappeso tendono a scegliere programmi che promettono risultati rapidi, in linea con le loro aspettative, piuttosto che seguire le linee guida delle società scientifiche

The effects of substitute multisensory feedback on task performance and the sense of presence in a virtual reality environment

Objective and subjective measures of performance in virtual reality environments increase as more sensory cues are delivered and as simulation fidelity increases. Some cues (colour or sound) are easier to present than others (object weight, vestibular cues) so that substitute cues can be used to enhance informational content in a simulation at the expense of simulation fidelity. This study evaluates how substituting cues in one modality by alternative cues in another modality affects subjective and objective performance measures in a highly immersive virtual reality environment. Participants performed a wheel change in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Auditory, haptic and visual cues, signalling critical events in the simulation, were manipulated in a factorial design. Subjective ratings were recorded via questionnaires. The time taken to complete the task was used as an objective performance measure. The results show that participants performed best and felt an increased sense of immersion and involvement, collectively referred to as 'presence', when substitute multimodal sensory feedback was provided. Significant main effects of audio and tactile cues on task performance and on participants' subjective ratings were found. A significant negative relationship was found between the objective (overall completion times) and subjective (ratings of presence) performance measures. We conclude that increasing informational content, even if it disrupts fidelity, enhances performance and user's overall experience. On this basis we advocate the use of substitute cues in VR environments as an efficient method to enhance performance and user experience

Immunonutrition before esophagectomy: Impact on immune surveillance mechanisms

Preoperative oral immunonutrition was demonstrated to improve immune response and to decrease the infection rate in patients with cancer. This study aimed to assess how immunonutrition could influence the immune cell response in the mucosal microenvironment of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Therefore, A prospective cohort of consecutive patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal adenocarcinoma was enrolled. A subgroup of them was given preoperative oral immunonutrition with Oral Impact and was compared to those who received no preoperative supplementation. Mucosal samples from healthy esophagus were obtained at esophagectomy. Histology, immunohistochemistry, gene expression analysis, and cytofluorimetry were performed. Markers of activation of antigen-presenting cells (CD80, CD86, and HLA-I), innate immunity (TLR4 and MyD88), and cytotoxic lymphocyte infiltration and activation (CD8, CD38, CD69, and CD107) were measured. In all, 50 patients received preoperative Oral Impact and 129 patients received no nutritional support. CD80, CD86, MyD88, and CD69 messenger RNA expression was significantly increased in patients receiving immunonutrition compared to controls. In the subgroup of patients with stages I-II cancer, the rate of epithelial cells expressing CD80 and HLA-ABC was significantly higher in those receiving immunonutrition compared to controls as well as CD8+ CD28+ cell rate. Immunonutrition administration before surgery was significantly associated to increased degranulating CD8 and natural killer cells (CD107+) infiltrating the healthy esophageal mucosa. All the comparisons were adjusted for cancer stage and preoperative therapy. In conclusion, in healthy esophageal mucosa of patients undergoing esophagectomy, a 5-day course of immunonutrition enhances expression of antigen-presenting cells activity and increased CD8+ T cell activation and degranulating activity. Further studies are warranted to understand the clinical implication in terms of cancer recurrence

Estimating and comparing dam deformation using classical and gnss techniques

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receivers are nowadays commonly used in monitoring applications, e.g., in estimating crustal and infrastructure displacements. This is basically due to the recent improvements in GNSS instruments and methodologies that allow high-precision positioning, 24 h availability and semiautomatic data processing. In this paper, GNSS-estimated displacements on a dam structure have been analyzed and compared with pendulum data. This study has been carried out for the Eleonora D'Arborea (Cantoniera) dam, which is in Sardinia. Time series of pendulum and GNSS over a time span of 2.5 years have been aligned so as to be comparable. Analytical models fitting these time series have been estimated and compared. Those models were able to properly fit pendulum data and GNSS data, with standard deviation of residuals smaller than one millimeter. These encouraging results led to the conclusion that GNSS technique can be profitably applied to dam monitoring allowing a denser description, both in space and time, of the dam displacements than the one based on pendulum observations

Autoestima y rendimiento académico de los cadetes del primer año en la Escuela Militar de Chorrillos Coronel Francisco Bolognesi – 2019

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo Determinar la relación que existe entre la autoestima y el rendimiento académico de los cadetes del primer año en la Escuela Militar de Chorrillos Coronel Francisco Bolognesi – 2019. Este estudio fue de enfoque cuantitativo, tipo aplicado, nivel descriptivo correlacional, diseño no experimental con corte transversal. La población estuvo conformada por 240 cadetes del primer año, la muestra fue finita, la cual fue compuesta por 148 cadetes. El instrumento que se utilizó para este estudio fue el cuestionario, el cual estaba constituido por 18 ítems en total: 9 ítems para la variable autoestima y 9 ítems para la variable rendimiento académico, se trabajó con la escala de Likert de cinco opciones. El instrumento demostró tener una fuerte confiabilidad de 0.856, por lo que se corroboro su validez, asimismo, las respuestas de los entrevistados fueron analizadas y se determinó que un 85.6% consideraron aprobatorias a los ítems planteados en el cuestionario; también se utilizó el Rho de Spearman para comprobar y contrastar las hipótesis. Se concluyó que existe relación entre la autoestima y el rendimiento académico de los cadetes del primer año en la Escuela Militar de Chorrillos Coronel Francisco Bolognesi – 2019.The present study had the objective of determining the relationship between self- esteem and academic performance of first-year cadets at the Military School of Chorrillos Coronel Francisco Bolognesi - 2019. This study was of quantitative approach, applied type, correlational descriptive level, non-experimental design with cross section. The population was conformed by 240 first-year cadets, the sample was finite, which was composed by 148 cadets. The instrument used for this study was the questionnaire, which was made up of 18 items in total: 9 items for the self-esteem variable and 9 items for the academic performance variable. The instrument showed a strong reliability of 0.856, so its validity was corroborated. Likewise, the answers of the interviewees were analyzed and it was determined that 85.6% considered the items proposed in the questionnaire to be approved; Spearman's Rho was also used to test and contrast the hypotheses. It was concluded that there is a relationship between self-esteem and academic performance of the first year cadets at the Military School of Chorrillos Coronel Francisco Bolognesi - 2019

Topical Cannabidiol in the Treatment of digital ulcers in patients with Scleroderma: comparative Analysis and Literature Review

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of topical cannabidiol (CBD) in treating digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: In total, 45 patients with SSc who had digital ulcers were consecutively enrolled between January 2019 and December 2019. Of the participants, 25 were treated with CBD during surgical debridement and 20 were treated with standard local therapy. A numeric rating scale for pain and Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index were administered at the baseline and at the end of treatment. RESULTS: Local treatment with CBD was significantly associated with lower pain scores, higher health assessment scores, and an increase in participants’ total hours of sleep. Patients in the control group more frequently required additional analgesic therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Topical CBD may be a valuable tool to treat pain related to digital ulcers in patients with SSc