Honorine

Le pagine riportate corrispondono alle note al testo di Balzac. Non si tratta di un vero e proprio commento scientifico, ma nemmeno soltanto di un'annotazione di servizio: è un apparato di note che spiega la lettera del testo fornendo i necessari riferimenti bibliografici e offrendo vari spunti interpretativi. Il lavoro di curatela ha inoltre comportato la revisione completa della traduzione (opera di Francesco Monciatti). La postfazione è stata invece inserita in Iris come altra voce a sé stant

Towards Improved QUBO Formulations of IR Tasks for Quantum Annealers

In recent years the interest in applying Quantum Computing to Information Retrieval and Recommendation Systems task has increased and several papers have proposed formulations of relevant tasks that can be solved with quantum devices (community detection, feature selection etc.), usually focusing on Quantum Annealers (QA), a special purpose device able to solve combinatorial optimization problems. However, most research only focuses on the mathematical aspect of the formulation, without accounting for the underlying physical processes of the quantum device. Indeed, theoretical studies indicate that certain characteristics make a problem difficult to solve on QA, but it is not clear how to use this knowledge to inform the development of better problem formulations that are equivalent but easier to solve on QA. This work presents a preliminary study which approaches this issue with an empirical perspective. We consider several problems both general and related to IR and Recommendation tasks to assess whether we can identify characteristics of the problem formulation or the solution space that affect the effectiveness of QA. The results indicate interesting correlations and suggest that this is a promising area to investigate further

Does the structure of the QUBO problem affect the effectiveness of quantum annealing? An empirical perspective

In recent years there has been a significant interest in exploring the potential of Quantum Annealers (QA) as heuristic solvers of Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) problems. Some problems are more difficult to solve on QA and understanding why is not straightforward, because an analytical study of the underlying physical system is intractable for large QUBO problems. This work consists in an empirical analysis of the features making a QUBO problem difficult to solve on QA, based on clusters of QUBO instances identified with Hierarchical Clustering. The analysis reveals correlations between specific values of the features and the ability of QA to solve effectively the instances. These initial results open new research opportunities to inform the development of new AI methods supporting quantum computation (e.g., for minor embedding or error mitigation) that are better tailored to the characteristics of the problem, as well as to develop better QUBO formulations for known problems in order to improve the quality of the solutions found by QA

Un "osservatore e testimone attento". L'opera di Remo Ceserani nel suo tempo

Il volume studia dal punto di vista storico-critico e teorico l'apporto di Remo Ceserani al dibattito culturale e teorico-letterario non solo italiano

Raja asterias population assessment in FAO GFCM GSA17 area

Population structure and distribution of the starry ray, Raja asterias, were described based on data collected during yearly rapido trawl surveys (SoleMon), between 2005 and 2014 in the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea. A total of 306 individuals were caught, sex ratio was 1.04:1 in favor of males and length-weight relationships were obtained for the whole sample. Following the MEDITS scale, maturity was estimated, observing a higher number of immature individuals. Relative abundance significantly increased during the recent period with the highest values recorded at 5-30 m depths. Such increase could be related to the response of R. asterias to climatic change or to the decrease  in fishing pressure in the area. Clear spatial segregation of individuals depending on their life stage was observed, with immature individuals inhabiting the coastal areas and adults more abundant at depths greater than 40 m. The comparison of the result of the present study with MEDITS survey outcomes in terms of  distribution patterns, persistence areas of adults and juveniles and abundances indices, evidences that SoleMon survey seems to be more suitable in defining such features of the stock, likely due to the greater catchability of the rapido trawl in respect to the MEDITS trawl net. However, further investigations are needed to identify factors affecting the increasing abundance of this species, and develop an action plan for spatial management of fishing activities

Free Flaps for Advanced Oral Cancer in the Older Old and Oldest Old : A Retrospective Multi-Institutional Study

Introduction: Surgery followed by adjuvant therapy represents the most adequate treatment for advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Free flaps are considered the best reconstructive option after major oral surgery. In the last decades, OSCC has increased in the elderly due to an augmented life span. The aim of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of microvascular surgery in patients older than 75 years, focusing on clinical and surgical prognosticators. Methods: "Older old" (aged >= 75) and "oldest old" (>85) patients who underwent microvascular reconstruction for OSCC from 2002 to 2018 were retrospectively evaluated in three referral Head and Neck Departments. Demographic, clinical, and surgical data were collected and analyzed. Pre-operative assessment was performed by ASA and ACE-27 scores. Complications were grouped as medical or surgical, an d major or minor according to the Clavien-Dindo scale. Results: Eighty-four patients (72 "older old" and 12 "oldest old") were treated with a free flap success rate of 94.1%. Thirty-seven (44.7%) and nine (10.7%) patients had minor and major medical complications, respectively; 18 (21.4%) and 17 (20.2%) had minor and major surgical complications, respectively. Twenty-one (25%) patients had both medical and surgical complications (with a statistically significant association, p = 0.018). Overall, 52 (61.9%) patients had at least one complication: ASA score, diabetes mellitus, and duration of general anesthesia (DGA) significantly impacted the complication rate at multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Our data confirm the feasibility of free flaps for OSCC reconstruction in appropriately selected elderly patients. Pre-operative assessment and aggressive management of glycemia in patients with diabetes is mandatory. DGA should be reduced as much as possible to prevent post-surgical complications. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is of paramount importance in this subset of patients

Raja asterias population assessment in FAO GFCM GSA17 area

Population structure and distribution of the starry ray, Raja asterias, were described based on data collected during yearly rapido trawl surveys (SoleMon), between 2005 and 2014 in the Northern and Central Adriatic Sea. A total of 306 individuals were caught, sex ratio was 1.04:1 in favor of males and length-weight relationships were obtained for the whole sample. Following the MEDITS scale, maturity was estimated, observing a higher number of immature individuals. Relative abundance significantly increased during the recent period with the highest values recorded at 5-30 m depths. Such increase could be related to the response of R. asterias to climatic change or to the decrease  in fishing pressure in the area. Clear spatial segregation of individuals depending on their life stage was observed, with immature individuals inhabiting the coastal areas and adults more abundant at depths greater than 40 m. The comparison of the result of the present study with MEDITS survey outcomes in terms of  distribution patterns, persistence areas of adults and juveniles and abundances indices, evidences that SoleMon survey seems to be more suitable in defining such features of the stock, likely due to the greater catchability of the rapido trawl in respect to the MEDITS trawl net. However, further investigations are needed to identify factors affecting the increasing abundance of this species, and develop an action plan for spatial management of fishing activities