A cosine based validation measure for Document Clustering

Document Clustering is the peculiar application of cluster analysis methods on huge documentary databases. Document Clustering aims at organizing a large quantity of unlabelled documents into a smaller number of meaningful and coherent clusters, similar in content. One of the main unsolved problems in clustering literature is the lack of a reliable methodology to evaluate results, although a wide variety of validation measures has been proposed. If those measures are often unsatisfactory when dealing with numerical databases, they definitely underperform in Document Clustering. This paper proposes a new validation measure. After introducing the most common approaches to Document Clustering, our attention is focused on Spherical K-means, do to its strict connection with the Vector Space Model, typical of Information Retrieval. Since Spherical K-means adopts a cosine-based similarity measure, we propose a validation measure based on the same criterion. The new measure effectiveness is shown in the frame of a comparative study, by involving 13 different corpora (usually used in literature for comparing different proposals) and 15 validation measures

Chapter Thematic atlas of Italian oncological research: the analysis of public IRCCS

This paper has been developed in the frame of the research project “V:ALERE 2019” focused on Italian public-owned Academic Medical Centers. The main aim of the project is to provide evidence, advice, and remarks to help the agents of the public health system to address the many challenges that they face. In recent years, there is an increasing recognition of the potential value of research evidence as one of the many factors considered by policymakers and practitioners. Even more, in the case of medical science, the analysis of research and its impact is indispensable, in light of its implications for public health. The starting point for mapping a research area is to review the related scientific literature because by synthesizing past research findings, it is possible to effectively use the existing knowledge base and advance lines of future researches. In this sense, bibliometrics becomes useful, by providing a structured analysis to a large body of information, to infer trends over time, themes researched, and to show the “big picture” of extant research. In particular, in this work, we focus our attention on the scientific production of the last 20 years of the Scientific Institutes for Research, Hospitalization, and Healthcare (IRCCS “Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico”) specialized in the oncology research. IRCCS are biomedical institutions of relevant national interest that drive clinical assistance in strong relation to research activities. They are committed to being a benchmark for the whole public health system for both the quality of patient care and the innovation skills in the field of the organization. All the analyses were carried out by using the Bibliometrix, an open-source tool for quantitative research in scientometrics and bibliometrics that includes all the main bibliometric methods of analysis

Georeferencing sentiment scores to map and explore tourist points of interest

[EN] Tourists are increasingly involved in co-creating attractions’ symbolic images, sharing their experiences and opinions on websites like TripAdvisor and other similar rating and review platforms. In this paper, we propose a strategy for analyzing people’ opinions about tourist points of interest, using an Ambient Geographic Information approach to georeference the polarity scores of reviews. Visualizing these scores on a map can be used to obtain helpful information for implementing strategic actions and policies of institutional and business actors involved in the tourist industry, as well as to help users plan their future experiences. A case study concerning the reviews of the restaurants in Naples (Italy) shows the effectiveness of the proposal.Celardo, L.; Misuraca, M.; Spano, M. (2023). Georeferencing sentiment scores to map and explore tourist points of interest. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 115-122. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2023.2023.1642911512

Chapter Measuring the impact of healthcare indicators on academic medical centers’ scientific production

The Italian public-owned Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) are hospitals where the activities of scientific research, teaching, and patients care are fully integrated. AMCs have an enormous impact on society and country health. Recently, policymakers and practitioners give more and more great importance to the AMCs’ scientific activity for both welfare and national competitivity. The scientific production and its impact on the research community could be obviously affected by different factors related to the structural and operational characteristics of each AMC. Healthcare institutions could be different for the typology of services that they offer, their geolocation, the presence/absence of Emergency Departments, the number of employees, and so forth. In this sense, our study aims to investigate and determine which are the possible factors impacting the research productivity of AMCs. We develop a model to assess the academic value of AMCs by taking into account these factors and how they are related to healthcare performance, measured in terms of scientific production (e.g. scientific publications) and impact on the research field (e.g. citations). To face this issue, for each of the public AMCs we collect data about research productivity from bibliographic indexing databases (e.g. Web of Science, PubMed) and we retrieve structural information mainly from their official websites. This work has been partially financed by the research project “Leading Change in Academic Medical Centers”, funded by the competitive call for projects V:ALERE 2019. The project aims to provide evidence, advice, and remarks to help the agents of the public health system to address the many challenges that they face

Monitoraggio real-time della neurochimica corticale in topi liberi di muoversi durante il sonno, la privazione di sonno e la veglia medinte microdialisi in vivo e neurosensori amperometrici

Aim: for millennia, mankind has tried to understand the function and the importance of sleep and this is a mystery that biology has yet to solve. The purpose of this research was study neurochemistry during sleep, sleep deprivation and wakefulness by means of in-vivo microdialysis and amperometric neurosensors. Method: the neurochemistry of the brain was studied by the combination of electrochemical and microdialysis techniques, electroencephalographic (EEG) and electromyographic (EMG) recordings. The mice were implanted with three electrodes for electroencephalographic recordings and two microdialysis probes. During the experiment, samples were taken every 15 minutes and then analyzed by UHPLC/CD ORBITRAP that allows to analyze all the molecules present the sample. Moreover, the biochemical dynamics of Ascorbic Acid (AA) have been extensively studied both in vitro and in vivo by the development of a nanostructured amperometric microsensor decorated with multiwall carbonanotubes (MWCNTs). Results: through multiple experiments it was possible to study the variation in levels of cortical AA in freely moving mice during sleep and sleep deprivation, furthermore, the microdialysis technique, combined with EEG and EMG, allowed to monitor extracellular molecules (as neurotransmitters) that are involved in the neurochemistry of sleep, sleep deprivation and wakefulness. Conclusion: understand the biology that is the basis of sleep is the goal of many researchers. It seems to be involved in different processes such as learning and memory, also, his disorders are the basis of diseases (i.e. depression). This study allows, for the first time, to have an overview of the neurochemistry of sleep contribute, therefore, to better understanding of its mechanisms and functions and laying the groundwork for future studies

Metamorfismo varisico dell’Unità tettonica del Monte Grighini,Sardegna centrale

Monte Grighini Complex (central Sardinia) consists, from the bottom to the the top of Monte Grighini Unit, Castello Medusa Unit and Gerrei Unit. Monte Grighini Unit is caracterized by medium grade metamorphism evidenced by mineral such garnet, staurolite, andalusite and sillimanite, and by the presence of a syn-kinematic late-Variscan intrusive complex related to a shear zone marked by ultramylonites and cataclasites. Geological map in scale 1:25000 of the Monte Grighini Complex has been done by combining geo-petrographical data with previous geological and structural data (Musumeci et al., under revision). A lito-stratigraphic column has also been done. That column shows relations between the two formations of the Monte Grighini Unit (from bottom to the top): Truzzulla Formation that consist of metavolcanics, metarkoses and metasandstones, and Toccori Formation formed by quartzites, micaschists, paragneiss, phyllites, graphitic phyllites and marbles. Monte Grighini Unit has been interested by four deformation phases. The phase D1 is characterized by the blastesis of biotite and potassic white mica; this phase is almost transposed by the D2 deformational phase. The phase D2 is the main foliation both at the outcrop and micro-scale and it is characterized by folds, foliation and blastesis of garnet, staurolite, biotite, potassic white mica, andalusite, sillimanite and cordierite. The phase D3 produces F3 macroscale folds. The D4 deformation phase is related to the development of the shear zone resulting in ultramylonites and cataclasites. Zircon U/Pb analyses in metavolcanics and metasandstones samples yield 447 ± 4 Ma (Katian – Upper Ordovician) and 419 ± 5 – 450 Ma (Middle Ordovician) respectively. This indicates that the Ordovician calc-alkaline volcanism went on until Upper Ordovician. Micro-structural, minero-petrographic and chemical data has been done in micaschists and phyllites of Toccori Formation and metamorphic zoneography has changed. Three zones have been set: garnet zone, andalusite and staurolite zone and sillimanite zone. Biotite zone were removed and andalusite zone and staurolite zone were merged. Mineralogical, structural and minero-chemical analyses shown that garnet of Toccori has compositional zoning in fact, almandine and pirope increasing and grossular and spessartin decrease, from the core to the rim (mineral association: Grt + Wmca + Bt + Qtz ± St ± And). A rare heuedral garnet without compositional zoning was observed in hornfels closed to the intrusive complex. Pseudosections of garnet and staurolite micaschists, garnet and sillimanite hornfels of Toccori Formation and leucogranite were calculated. P-T path of micaschists were done through garnet zoning yielding P = 6.5 - 9.5 kbar and T = 450 - 540°C for garnet core and P = 3-5.8 kbar e T = 510-580°C for garnet rim. The P-T path obtained starts with the baric peak (P = 6.5 - 9.5 kbar) and continues its path to the thermal peak (T = 510 – 580°C). A retrograde path is showing by chlorite and ilmenite growing. Thermodynamic modeling in garnet and sillimanite hornfels gave P = 3.5 – 4.5 kbar and T = 510 – 575 °C on the basis of garnet composition; these pressure and temperature are compatible to the condition of that obtained modeling garnet rim in zoned garnet. The emplacement of granitic intrusion conditions has been obtained by the intersection of the solidus curve and silica content in magmatic potassic white mica getting pressures between 4.2 and 5.5 kbar which corresponds to 16-21 km depth. These pressures of emplacement are consistent with those of the thermal peak of micaschists. A model of Monte Grighini Complex has been done. In the first stage the crustal thickening occurs with development of polyphasic foliations (phases D1 and earlier-D2) under green-schists and amphibolitic facies. During the second stage deformational phase D2 occurs with forming minerals such as biotite, garnet, staurolite, etc in the Monte Grighini Unit. During this stage an incipient shear zone and an early stage granite emplacement occur. In the third stage granites finish its emplacement with a strong developing of shear zone resulting in mylonites and ultramylonites. In the fourth stage the brittle deformation finish. Detachment structure marked by cataclasites occur

Vivere la storia. L'esperienza del Museo archeologico dei ragazzi

The Museo Archeologico dei Ragazzi (Children's Archaeological Museum) is a museum of prehistoric archaeology based in Nardò (Lecce – Italy). Its specific aim is to inspire the enquiring minds of children. The museum was founded by Maria Laura Spano with the aim of testing the results of her research in archaeology for children. The museum has a tactile room, where children learn about technology in prehistoric times through a multisensory experience, a 3000 sqm area featuring a Palaeolithic camp, a Neolithic settlement and two outdoor activity areas where children can experience an excavation of a Neolithic tent and of a Messapian building. These learning areas allow children to experience life in prehistoric times, to carry out specific research activities, to investigate, to identify and solve problems, to work and collaborate with other children, to reflect on their own choices and to assess their decisions through two different methodologies, living history and role play. All these activities introduce children to life in Prehistoric times and allow children to acquire specific skills while playing and having fun together. The Children's Archaeological Museum acts as a mediator between schools and the other museums in the town of Nardò. Its activities integrate well with elementary school programmes and help guide children towards the acquisition of those pre-requisites which are fundamental to the understanding of local history