Terminology and Knowledge Representation. Italian Linguistic Resources for the Archaeological Domain

Knowledge representation is heavily based on using terminology, due to the fact that many terms have precise meanings in a specific domain but not in others. As a consequence, terms becomes unambiguous and clear, and at last, being useful for conceptualizations, are used as a starting point for formalizations. Starting from an analysis of problems in existing dictionaries, in this paper we present formalized Italian Linguistic Resources (LRs) for the Archaeological domain, in which we integrate/couple formal ontology classes and properties into/to electronic dictionary entries, using a standardized conceptual reference model. We also add Linguistic Linked Open Data (LLOD) references in order to guarantee the interoperability between linguistic and language resources, and therefore to represent knowledge

Targeting Food Allergy with Probiotics.

The dramatic increase in food allergy prevalence and severity globally is demanding effective strategies. Food allergy derives from a defect in immune tolerance mechanisms. Immune tolerance is modulated by gut microbiota composition and function, and gut microbiota dysbiosis has been associated with the development of food allergy. Selected probiotic strains could act on immune tolerance mechanisms. The mechanisms are multiple and still not completely defined. Increasing evidence is providing useful information on the choice of optimal bacterial species/strains, dosage, and timing for intervention. The increased knowledge on the crucial role played by gut microbiota-derived metabolites, such as butyrate, is also opening the way to a postbiotic approach in the stimulation of immune tolerance

Adapted physical activity in subjects and athletes recovering from covid-19: a position statement of the Società Italiana Scienze Motorie e Sportive

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a worldwide pandemic illness that is impacting the cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, and cognitive function of a large spectrum of the worldwide population. The available pharmacological countermeasures of these long-term effects of COVID-19 are minimal, while myriads of non-specific non-pharmacological treatments are emerging in the literature. In this complicated scenario, particular emphasis should be dedicated to specific exercise interventions tailored for subjects and athletes recovering from COVID-19. Specific guidelines on adapted physical activity in this critical population are unavailable so far, therefore, in this position statement of the Società Italiana di Scienze Motorie e Sportive (SISMeS) the members of the steering committee of the research group Attività Motoria Adattata, Alimentazione, Salute e Fitness have indicated the adapted physical activity approaches to counteract the long-term effects of the COVID-19, both in good health people and athletes

Acute appendicitis and situs viscerum inversus: radiological and surgical approach—a systematic review

Introduction: Acute appendicitis is one of the most frequent intra-abdominal diseases requiring emergency surgical consult and treatment. The diagnosis of this condition is based on clinical features and radiologic findings. One-third of patients with acute appendicitis present unusual symptoms. There are several circumstances that may cause misdiagnosis and unclear prognostic prediction. Among these, situs viscerum inversus totalis and midgut malrotation can be challenging scenarios, leading to a delay in treatment, especially when these conditions are unknown. We decided to carry on a systematic review of published cases of acute appendicitis in the context of anatomical anomalies. Methods: We used the MESH terms “appendicitis” AND “situs inversus” AND/OR “gut malrotation” to search for titles and abstracts. Inclusion criteria were patients with clinical and/or radiological diagnosis of acute appendicitis, with conservative or surgical management and with preoperative/intraoperative findings of situs viscerum inversus or gut malrotation. Additionally, previous reviews were examined. Exclusion criteria of the studies were insufficient patient clinical and demographic data. Results: We included in this review 70 articles concerning 73 cases of acute appendicitis with anatomical anomaly. Patients were aged from 8 to 86 years (median: 27.0 years). 50 were male and 23 were female. 46 patients (63%) had situs viscerum inversus, 24 (33%) had midgut malrotation, 2 (2.7%) had Kartagener’s syndrome, one of them (1.4%) had an undetermined anomaly In 61 patients the anatomical anomaly was unknown previously (83.6%), while 16,4% already were aware of their condition. Conclusion: Acute appendicitis can occur in association of rare anatomical anomalies and in these cases diagnosis can be challenging. Situs viscerum inversus and midgut malrotation should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with left lower quadrant pain, especially in younger population. Besides clinical features, it is fundamental to implement the diagnostic progress with radiological examination. Laparoscopic approach is useful to identify and treat acute surgical emergency and it is also a diagnostic tool and can be tailored in order to offer the best exposition of the operatory field for each single case

Full Geant4 and FLUKA Simulations of an e-LINAC for its Use in Particle Detectors Performance Tests

In this work we present the results of full Geant4 and FLUKA simulations and comparison with dosimetry data of an electron LINAC of St. Maria Hospital located in Terni, Italy. The facility is being used primarily for radiotherapy and the goal of present study is the detailed investigation of electron beam parameters to evaluate the possibility to use the e-LINAC (during time slots when it is not used for radiotherapy) to test the performance of detector systems in particular those designed to operate in space. The critical beam parameters are electron energy, profile and flux available at the surface of device to be tested. The present work aims to extract these parameters from dosimetry calibration data available at the e-LINAC. The electron energy ranges is from 4 MeV to 20 MeV. The dose measurements have been performed by using an Advanced Markus Chamber which has a small sensitive volume.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, 2 table

Cyber security in the nuclear industry: A closer look at digital control systems, networks and human factors

Data availability: No data was used for the research described in the article.The development life cycle of conventional nuclear power plants (NPPs) needs to be optimized if the energy produced by advanced reactors and small modular reactors is to be competitive. One of the proposed optimisation initiatives is the digitalization of nuclear facility control and instrumentation. Digitalization of nuclear control and instrumentation will improve plants' performance and cost competitiveness. However, it could also introduce cyber security challenges. To create a strong cyber-defence for critical digital assets in nuclear facilities, an extensive analysis of threats and vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and devices is necessary. This article examines recent research that analyses the digital assets at nuclear power facilities for threats and vulnerabilities. This work synthesizes and categorises potential attack propagation paths in digitalized nuclear facilities based on five different surfaces: direct network path, programmable logic controllers, sensor/actuator signals, and indirect propagation paths such as attacks that exploit human factors and the supply chain. The work's main contribution is it provides a state-of-the-art understanding of the relationship between attack propagation paths, associated vulnerabilities, and current security controls. Based on the literature review, a framework for developing an attack-resilient control system for NPPs is suggested, which would be helpful for a security-informed design of reactor control systems. The discussion on nuclear cyber risks, vulnerabilities, attack routes, and defence methods offers a cutting-edge understanding of the security challenges in digitalized nuclear facilities. The suggested framework is an essential foundation for future research direction, towards a secured and resilient digitisation of nuclear power plant control systems.This work was supported in part by the Royal Society under grant SIF\R1\221035. The work of A. Ayodeji & H. Ahmed is funded through the Sêr Cymru II 80761-BU-103 project by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Piecewise smooth systems near a co-dimension 2 discontinuity manifold: can one say what should happen?

We consider a piecewise smooth system in the neighborhood of a co-dimension 2 discontinuity manifold $\Sigma$. Within the class of Filippov solutions, if $\Sigma$ is attractive, one should expect solution trajectories to slide on $\Sigma$. It is well known, however, that the classical Filippov convexification methodology is ambiguous on $\Sigma$. The situation is further complicated by the possibility that, regardless of how sliding on $\Sigma$ is taking place, during sliding motion a trajectory encounters so-called generic first order exit points, where $\Sigma$ ceases to be attractive. In this work, we attempt to understand what behavior one should expect of a solution trajectory near $\Sigma$ when $\Sigma$ is attractive, what to expect when $\Sigma$ ceases to be attractive (at least, at generic exit points), and finally we also contrast and compare the behavior of some regularizations proposed in the literature. Through analysis and experiments we will confirm some known facts, and provide some important insight: (i) when $\Sigma$ is attractive, a solution trajectory indeed does remain near $\Sigma$, viz. sliding on $\Sigma$ is an appropriate idealization (of course, in general, one cannot predict which sliding vector field should be selected); (ii) when $\Sigma$ loses attractivity (at first order exit conditions), a typical solution trajectory leaves a neighborhood of $\Sigma$; (iii) there is no obvious way to regularize the system so that the regularized trajectory will remain near $\Sigma$ as long as $\Sigma$ is attractive, and so that it will be leaving (a neighborhood of) $\Sigma$ when $\Sigma$ looses attractivity. We reach the above conclusions by considering exclusively the given piecewise smooth system, without superimposing any assumption on what kind of dynamics near $\Sigma$ (or sliding motion on $\Sigma$) should have been taking place.Comment: 19 figure