showing 36 of ~574560 from 574555 documents
Integrating digital documents by means of concept maps: testing an intervention program with eye-movements modelling examples
2021
When using the Internet to learn about a curricular topic students face the challenge of not only understanding each single document, but also of integrating the ideas in a combined representation. Several intervention studies have tested instructional methods, such as building concept maps, aimed at teaching integration of multiple documents to Secondary education and older students. However, building a concept map may be demanding for learners and requires competencies to build maps in an appropriate way. In the current study we explore the extent to which such integration processes relying a concept map mapping instruction can be efficiently taught to 6th grade students. Specifically, we…
Crop Yield Estimation and Interpretability With Gaussian Processes
2021
This work introduces the use of Gaussian processes (GPs) for the estimation and understanding of crop development and yield using multisensor satellite observations and meteo- rological data. The proposed methodology combines synergistic information on canopy greenness, biomass, soil, and plant water content from optical and microwave sensors with the atmospheric variables typically measured at meteorological stations. A com- posite covariance is used in the GP model to account for varying scales, nonstationary, and nonlinear processes. The GP model reports noticeable gains in terms of accuracy with respect to other machine learning approaches for the estimation of corn, wheat, and soybean …
Quick determination of Glyphosate and AMPA at sub µg/L in drinking water by direct injection into LC-MS/MS
2021
Abstract A sensitive, simple and quick method for the determination of glyphosate (Gly) and its degradation product, Aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA), in water through ion chromatography coupled to quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry has been developed. Sample treatment was based on direct injection and acquisition was implemented in both MS2 and MS3 modes. The LoQs of the method were 0.03 µ/L for both Gly-and AMPA. The recoveries were between 91 and 118% and RSD was lower than 15%. The developed methodology was applied on 436 water samples.
false
2021
AIMS/INTRODUCTION In patients with pulmonary embolism (PE), the impact of diabetes mellitus on patient profile and outcome is not well investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS The German nationwide inpatient sample of the years 2005-2018 was analyzed. Hospitalized PE patients were stratified for diabetes, and the impact of diabetes on in-hospital events was investigated. RESULTS Overall, 1,174,196 PE patients (53.8% aged ≥70 years, 53.5% women) and, among these, 219,550 (18.7%) diabetes patients were included. In-hospital mortality rate amounted to 15.8%, and was higher in diabetes patients than in non-diabetes patients (19.8% vs 14.8%, P < 0.001). PE patients with diabetes had a higher prevalenc…
Healthy ageing and Mediterranean diet: A focus on hormetic phytochemicals
2021
Abstract Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is rich in fruits and vegetables associated with longevity and a reduced risk of several age-related diseases. It is demonstrated that phytochemicals in these plant products enhance the positive effects of MedDiet by acting on the inflammatory state and reducing oxidative stress. Evidence support that these natural compounds act as hormetins, triggering one or more adaptive stress-response pathways at low doses. Activated stress-response pathways increase the expression of cytoprotective proteins and multiple genes that act as lifespan regulators, essential for the ageing process. In these ways, the hormetic response by phytochemicals such as resveratro…
GeneTonic: an R/Bioconductor package for streamlining the interpretation of RNA-seq data
2021
AbstractBackgroundThe interpretation of results from transcriptome profiling experiments via RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) can be a complex task, where the essential information is distributed among different tabular and list formats - normalized expression values, results from differential expression analysis, and results from functional enrichment analyses. A number of tools and databases are widely used for the purpose of identification of relevant functional patterns, yet often their contextualization within the data and results at hand is not straightforward, especially if these analytic components are not combined together efficiently.ResultsWe developed the GeneTonic software package, whi…
Una pioggia vitale
2021
Pioggia di Libri è una manifestazione promossa da Andrea Sciascia, nell’ambito delle attività didattiche e scientifiche del Dipartimento di Architettura che ha lo scopo di divulgare ed incentivare il rapporto tra gli studenti ed il mondo accademico. Con il presente contributo, l’autore (da delegato alla Didattica per il Dipartimento di Architettura) evidenzia alcune importanti ricadute dirette di questa iniziativa sul piano formativo per gli studenti. Rain of Books is an event promoted by Andrea Sciascia, as part of the educational and scientific activities of the Department of Architecture which aims to disseminate and encourage the relationship between students and the academic world. Wit…
Promoting a Syndemic Approach for Cardiometabolic Disease Management During COVID-19: The CAPISCO International Expert Panel
2021
Efforts in the fight against COVID-19 are achieving success in many parts of the world, although progress remains slow in other regions. We believe that a syndemic approach needs to be adopted to address this pandemic given the strong apparent interplay between COVID-19, its related complications, and the socio-structural environment. We have assembled an international, multidisciplinary group of researchers and clinical practitioners to promote a novel syndemic approach to COVID-19: the CArdiometabolic Panel of International experts on Syndemic COvid-19 (CAPISCO). This geographically diverse group aims to facilitate collaborative-networking and scientific exchanges between researchers and …
Neoassunti e sviluppo delle competenze strategiche
2021
L’interesse della ricerca didattica anche in ambito internazionale converge sempre più sulla necessità di estendere la conoscenza dei fabbisogni formativi e professionali ad un’ampia gamma di competenze trasversali ritenute fondamentali per lo sviluppo personale e professionale del docente universitario. Quali competenze connotano il docente neoassunto oggi? Quali azioni e dispositivi di autovalutazione possono supportarne lo sviluppo professionale? Ci siamo proposti soprattutto l’obiettivo di comprendere la realtà della formazione dei neoassunti dando voce ai neoassunti e considerandoli una fonte di informazione strategica per leggere in maniera critica i processi attivati dalla somministr…
Fictitious Meals, Culinary Constraints: The Recipe Form in Four Oulipian Texts
2021
AbstractThis article looks into fictitious meals and the use of culinary recipe form in experimental and procedural literature, namely, works of constrained writing associated with OuLiPo (Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle). The recipe form is first scrutinized from the procedural, structural, and historical viewpoints, also concerning its lesser-known imaginative and esoteric genealogy. In addition, its connections to the notions of narrativity and fiction are discussed. The recipe's relationship to action is depicted by a simple procedural model. There is a metaphorical and conceptual, but also formal and operational, similarity between the coded procedures of cooking and writing. A reci…
Sociodemographic factors associated with time to discharge for hospitalised patients with asthma and asthma exacerbation using the Ghana Health Servi…
2021
ObjectiveData on asthma hospitalisations are a useful source of patient morbidity information. In Ghana, the length of stay (LoS) and sociodemographic factors of patients hospitalised for asthma and its exacerbation are understudied. We aimed to investigate the time to discharge and assessed factors associated with length of hospital stays of asthmatics in Ghana.MethodsRetrospective analysis of hospitalised patient with asthma records between 2012 and 2017 from the nationwide Ghana Health Service District Health Information Management System 2 database. We calculated the cumulative incidence function for discharge stratified by age group and sex. Multivariable Cox regression was used to inv…
Effect of 12-Month Supervised, Home-Based Physical Exercise on Functioning Among Persons With Signs of Frailty: A Randomized Controlled Trial
2021
To investigate the effects of a 12-month home-based exercise program on functioning and falls among persons with signs of frailty.A randomized controlled trial with a 1:1 allocation.Home-based.Home-dwelling persons aged 65 years or older meeting at least 1 frailty phenotype criteria (N=300). The mean age of the participants was 82.2±6.3 years, 75% were women, 61% met 1-2 frailty criteria, and 39% met ≥3 criteria.A 12-month, individually tailored, progressive, and physiotherapist-supervised physical exercise twice a week (n=150) vs usual care (n=149).FIM, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), handgrip strength, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and self-reported falls and …
Spigolature onomastiche nel teatro sansecondiano degli anni Venti, tra non nomi ed espressionismo cromatico
2021
La produzione teatrale e narrativa di Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo si distende per circa un quarantennio tra gli anni ‘10 e gli anni ‘50 del XX secolo. Anni di transizione e di ridefinizione dei ruoli e degli spazi individuali e sociali: i rapporti secolari tra i generi, tra le classi, tra le Nazioni, si stravolgono e approdano attraverso percorsi complessi e conflittuali verso nuovi equilibri mai scevri da lacerazioni. La coscienza di molti autori, basculante e nevrotica, trova nel teatro la dimensione naturale in cui mettere in scena questo sentimento di colpa e dolore, di frantumazione della soggettività e di perdita di punti di riferimento. Cresciuto nel più importante centro zolfife…
Secure and sustainable but not as prominent among the ambivalent: Attachment style and proenvironmental consumption
2021
Abstract Human activity has degraded the environment and contributed to numerous public health hazards. Thus, the United Nations recently made an urgent call to develop sustainable consumption practices. Although existing literature has acknowledged attachment style as a potential predictor of certain consumption responses, its influence on proenvironmental consumption has not yet been examined. We conducted a large-sampled study (N = 1397) on this topic and found securely attached individuals to report significantly higher scores on a scale measuring proenvironmental consumption compared to people with anxious/ambivalent and avoidant attachment styles, respectively. The latter two groups d…
Epigenomic landscape of human colorectal cancer unveils an aberrant core of pan-cancer enhancers orchestrated by YAP/TAZ
2021
Cancer is characterized by pervasive epigenetic alterations with enhancer dysfunction orchestrating the aberrant cancer transcriptional programs and transcriptional dependencies. Here, we epigenetically characterize human colorectal cancer (CRC) using de novo chromatin state discovery on a library of different patient-derived organoids. By exploring this resource, we unveil a tumor-specific deregulated enhancerome that is cancer cell-intrinsic and independent of interpatient heterogeneity. We show that the transcriptional coactivators YAP/TAZ act as key regulators of the conserved CRC gained enhancers. The same YAP/TAZ-bound enhancers display active chromatin profiles across diverse human t…
Maus: la geografia sociale nel mondo dei fumetti
2021
This contribution discusses Art Spiegelman's most famous graphic novel, Maus, in the light of social geography studies.
Control Over Administration, Repression of Corruption and Practices of Negotiation in the Spanish Monarchy. The Process of Residencia at the 10th Cou…
2021
The debate around the definition of the political nature of the Spanish Monarchy in the modern age has widened its scope in recent years to include not only reflections on the relationships between the Court and the diverse territorial elements that made itup but also the various forms that “remote government” took from at various times. The success of a polycentric model, and the awareness of the parts played by a wide range of actors, communities and institutions at local level and in the broader international environment, have brought up some key questions with reference to the pivotal role of the transition from a theoretical model of administration, management and control to its practi…
Shared and Unshared Feature Extraction in Major Depression During Music Listening Using Constrained Tensor Factorization
2021
Ongoing electroencephalography (EEG) signals are recorded as a mixture of stimulus-elicited EEG, spontaneous EEG and noises, which poses a huge challenge to current data analyzing techniques, especially when different groups of participants are expected to have common or highly correlated brain activities and some individual dynamics. In this study, we proposed a data-driven shared and unshared feature extraction framework based on nonnegative and coupled tensor factorization, which aims to conduct group-level analysis for the EEG signals from major depression disorder (MDD) patients and healthy controls (HC) when freely listening to music. Constrained tensor factorization not only preserve…
Exploring the mediator role of self-critical rumination between emotion regulation and psychopathology: A validation study of the Self-Critical Rumin…
2021
Abstract Self-critical rumination is a negative and repetitive self-thinking process related to different disorders and negative psychological outcomes such as emotion dysregulation. The objectives of this study are twofold: (a) to examine the factor structure of the Spanish version of the Self-Critical Rumination Scale (SCRS), providing further evidence on its construct validity, and (b), to explore the mediator role of self-critical rumination between emotion dysregulation and psychopathology. A sample of 431 Spanish participants were recruited and completed online questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis, mediation analysis, and Pearson's correlations were conducted. A single factor …
Giovanni Marrasio fra Virgilio, Orazio e Properzio
2021
Questo saggio mira a presentare la figura e l’opera poetica di Giovanni Marrasio (Noto, 1400/1404 - Caltanissetta, sett. 1452), umanista siciliano autore dell’«Angelinetum» e dei «Carmina varia», attivo nella prima metà del sec. XV fra la Sicilia e Siena, Firenze e Padova, Ferrara e Napoli, in rapporti con altri umanisti e letterati (Giovanni Aurispa, Antonio Beccadelli, Leonardo Bruni, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, Carlo Marsuppini, Maffeo Vegio, Niccolò Niccoli, Guarino Veronese), potenti uomini di stato (Niccolò III d’Este, Alfonso il Magnanimo) e di chiesa (papa Niccolò V). In particolare, la disamina si concentra sulle suggestioni che Virgilio, Orazio e Properzio hanno esercitato sulla poes…
EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL NEUTRON DOSE AT GROUND LEVEL
2021
This work presents the results of two cycles of neutron dose rate measurements realized using an ALNOR 2202D Neutron Dose Rate Meter whose time response is acquired and analyzed through a controlled ORTEC MCS-32 acquisition card in Windows environment. The data obtained have been compared with values from previous experimental surveys and with the data provided by the worldwide main observatories. It has been also verified the influence of the fluctuations in the flux of cosmic rays during the course of a solar cycle. By comparing the realized measurements and the data provided by the cosmic ray monitoring networks it is also possible to obtain a value of ambient dose equivalent rate and ne…
Ecological determinants of smart home ecosystems: A coopetition framework
2021
Abstract Nearly every industry classification is experiencing slow growth and increasing concentration. Seldom do researchers have an opportunity to observe an emerging industry segment with as much promise as the smart home ecosystem, an exponentially growing industry. The study presents a novel approach using industry life cycle model and a coopetition framework to understand the process of the ecosystem development. Building on recent literature suggesting companies that purposefully match strategy to life cycle stage, the paper describes the strategic motivations and critical factors involved in the competition-based evolution of smart home ecosystems from early to growth phases, leadin…
Trust and punishment
2021
Abstract This paper explores the impact of institutions on the evolution of preferences (culture) and on economic outcomes. Punishment institutions determine the capacity and the individual cost of punishing opportunistic behavior, while preferences are endogenous and can be influenced by a cultural transmission process that is conditioned by the existing punishment institutions. We investigate the interaction and evolution between the preferences for reciprocity or rewarding of the allocator and the preferences to punish hostile behaviour by the investor in a trust game with a costly punishment phase. Our main result provides a rationale for the existence of a strong positive relationship …
Entropy function from toric geometry
2021
It has recently been claimed that a Cardy-like limit of the superconformal index of 4d $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM accounts for the entropy function, whose Legendre transform corresponds to the entropy of the holographic dual AdS$_5$ rotating black hole. Here we study this Cardy-like limit for $\mathcal{N}=1$ toric quiver gauge theories, observing that the corresponding entropy function can be interpreted in terms of the toric data. Furthermore, for some families of models, we compute the Legendre transform of the entropy function, comparing with similar results recently discussed in the literature.
Integration of large-area optical imagers for biometric recognition and touch in displays
2021
In recent years there has been an increasing interest to integrate optical sensing in mobile displays, for instance, for biometric fingerprint scanning functionality. There are several routes to incorporate optical fingerprint functionality within the full display area, each with their own benefits and challenges. Here we investigate the different integration routes using large-area, ultra-thin imagers based on organic photodiodes.
Numerical modeling and validation of hydrothermal liquefaction of a lignin particle for biocrude production
2021
Abstract Lignin liquefaction process under catalyst-free conditions in a temperature range from 573 K to 647 K is investigated with this mathematical model. Based on the theoretical understanding of the physical and chemical processes of the liquefaction process in subcritical temperatures, a comprehensive mathematical model for the decomposition of lignin by hydrolysis reaction pathway is developed on the results of a series of batch experiments. The model consists of four main sections. They are liquefaction of lignin particle, oily film, and inorganic (ash) layer formation behavior during the liquefaction, kinetic model to model further liquefaction process of initial products, and the l…
Developing Future Physical Education Teachers' Intercultural Competence: The Potential of Intertwinement of Transformative, Embodied, and Critical Ap…
2021
Purpose: This article is based on a study that explored learning processes related to intercultural competence of PE teacher trainees. The context of the study was the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. The study was conducted in connection to two courses that focused on equality in physical education and sport in 2020–2021.Methods: Adopting an interpretive, as well as a critical approach, the authors focused on how the students described their conceptions and learning experiences. Based on their analysis they have then aimed to shed light on how interculturality, equality, equity, and diversity may be addressed in higher education in a more profou…
Mainstream digitale e altre immagini urbane. Una ricerca empirica nel sito UNESCO di Palermo
2021
The research deepens the role of new technologies in the construction of geographical imaginaries investigating the dimension of the offer related to the cultural heritage of the city of Palermo. The study was conducted using qualitative methods and provided for the application of two research techniques: participant observation and semi-structured interviews. By interpreting the results produced, the contribution aims to highlight the predominance of an urban image, linked to the UNESCO inclusion of the site in the World Heritage List, which is conveyed through new technologies. Developing a reflection on the alternative capacity of new media to dislocate and challenge shared images, the s…
Sistemi di orientamento nel latino di Plauto
2021
This paper investigates the spatial Frames of Reference (FoRs) in Old Latin within the framework of cognitive linguistics. Differently from modern romance languages, which are heavily based on the so-called relative FoR, ancient Indo-European languages such as Vedic and Homeric Greek did not make use of such an egocentric orientation system at their earliest stage, since the relation between FIGURE and GROUND was not specified by imposing an external deictic observer’s viewpoint. the aim of this study is to add the perspective of Old Latin, by focusing on the contexts of use of spatial terms of FRONT, BEHIND, LEFT, RIGHT in the comedies of Plautus. The results of this analysis are consisten…
Advancing cyanobacteria biomass estimation from hyperspectral observations: Demonstrations with HICO and PRISMA imagery
2021
Retrieval of the phycocyanin concentration (PC), a characteristic pigment of, and proxy for, cyanobacteria biomass, from hyperspectral satellite remote sensing measurements is challenging due to uncertainties in the remote sensing reflectance (?R) resulting from atmospheric correction and instrument radiometric noise. Although several individual algorithms have been proven to capture local variations in cyanobacteria biomass in specific regions, their performance has not been assessed on hyperspectral images from satellite sensors. Our work leverages a machine-learning model, Mixture Density Networks (MDNs), trained on a large (N = 939) dataset of collocated in situ chlorophyll-a concentrat…
Risk factors for Lyme disease : A scale-dependent effect of host species diversity and a consistent negative effect of host phylogenetic diversity
2021
Biodiversity can influence disease risk. One example of a diversity-disease relationship is the dilution effect, which suggests higher host species diversity (often indexed by species richness) reduces disease risk. While numerous studies support the dilution effect, its generality remains controversial. Most studies of diversity-disease relationships have overlooked the potential importance of phylogenetic diversity. Furthermore, most studies have tested diversity-disease relationships at one spatial scale, even though such relationships are likely scale dependent. Using Lyme disease as a model system, we investigated the effects of host species richness and phylogenetic relatedness on the…
The role of shame and guilt in social anxiety disorder
2021
Abstract Research suggests that shame and guilt may play a role in anxiety disorders. For social anxiety disorder (SAD), however, only a few studies investigated patients with the primary diagnosis of SAD. Thus, further research on shame and guilt in SAD is required. A secondary analysis of Data from the SOPHO-NET multicenter treatment study was performed. In a large sample of N = 495 patients with the primary diagnosis of SAD the relationship between shame and guilt with symptoms of social anxiety, depression, and interpersonal problems was examined by means of correlation analysis and additionally, a hierarchical linear regression analysis. To assess SAD, the German version of the Structu…
Ideal cardiovascular health at age 5–6 years and cardiometabolic outcomes in preadolescence
2021
AbstractBackgroundThe American Heart Association (AHA) developed a definition of ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) based on the presence of both ideal health behaviours (diet, physical activity, weight status and smoking) and ideal health factors (glucose, total cholesterol and blood pressure levels). However, research of ICH in the paediatric population is scarce. We aimed to study ICH at age 5–6 years by extending the original ICH score with the health behaviours: sleep duration, screen time and prenatal smoke exposure, and to evaluate its association with cardiometabolic outcomes at age 11–12.MethodsA total of 1666 children aged 5–6 years were selected from the database of the ABCD-study…
Mobilisation of plasmid-mediated blaVEB-1 gene cassette into distinct genomic islands of Proteus mirabilis after ceftazidime exposure
2021
ABSTRACT Objectives We sought to integrate a VEB-1-encoding gene cassette into the integron of the MDR region of genomic islands (GIs) harboured by Proteus mirabilis strains after antibiotic exposure. Methods An IncP1 plasmid from Achromobacter xylosoxidans carrying the cassette array dfrA14–blaVEB-1–aadB was introduced by conjugation into five strains of P. mirabilis: PmBRI, PmABB, PmSCO and Pm2CHAMA harbouring Salmonella GI 1 and PmESC harbouring Proteus GI 1. Circular intermediates of the cassettes were amplified by PCR. blaVEB-harbouring P. mirabilis were exposed to increasing concentrations of ceftazidime each day. Presence of blaVEB-1 in the GI was assessed by PCR. The complete MDR re…
Lightning-ignited wildfires and long continuing current lightning in the Mediterranean Basin: preferential meteorological conditions
2021
Lightning is the major cause of the natural ignition of wildfires worldwide and produces the largest wildfires in some regions. Lightning strokes produce about 5 % of forest fires in the Mediterranean Basin and are one of the most important precursors of the largest forest fires during the summer. Lightning-ignited wildfires produce significant emissions of aerosols, black carbon, and trace gases, such as CO, SO2, CH4, and O3, affecting air quality. Characterization of the meteorological and cloud conditions of lightning-ignited wildfires in the Mediterranean Basin can serve to improve fire forecasting models and to upgrade the implementation of fire emissions in atmospheric models. This st…
Ann Radcliffe’s Gothic Romances and the Sea
2021
Biographical materials and the writer’s journals show that Ann Radcliffe had some personal knowledge of the sea and to some extent of sailing. She was also a lover of nature, an enthusiast of 17th -century landscapists, a connoisseur of Pre-Romantic poetry, who was also familiar with contemporary esthetic tastes and theories. In this context, the article analyzes seascapes, maritime and nautical references, motifs of storm and shipwreck in Radcliffe’s Gothic romances, including some poetical lines inspired by the sea with which The Mysteries of Udolpho is interspersed. The writer’s descriptions of the sea and her use of this element in her works are discussed in relation to her fictional ch…