Search results for " Rob"
showing 10 items of 689 documents
Editorial: Consciousness in Humanoid Robots
2019
Building a conscious robot is a grand scientific and technological challenge. Debates about the possibility of conscious robots and the related positive outcomes and hazards for human beings are today no longer confined to philosophical circles.
Maximin Model Robust Discrete Choice Experiments
2013
Discrete choice experiments have their genesis in conjoint analysis, which was based on first-order models. For this and other reasons, discrete choice experiments in practice are usually designed for estimation of main effects. In this paper, we explore the construction of maximin model robust designs when the experimenter is concerned about the presence of interactions. We consider three classes of models—main effects models, main effects models plus first-order interactions, and secondorder models, and we construct designs that maximize the minimum efficiency of the design for the three competing models. We do so first with standard linear models and then extend our analysis to nonlinear…
A Human-Humanoid Interaction Through the Use of BCI for Locked-In ALS Patients Using Neuro-Biological Feedback Fusion.
2018
This paper illustrates a new architecture for a human–humanoid interaction based on EEG-brain computer interface (EEG-BCI) for patients affected by locked-in syndrome caused by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The proposed architecture is able to recognise users’ mental state accordingly to the biofeedback factor $\text {B}_{\text f}$ , based on users’ attention, intention, and focus, that is used to elicit a robot to perform customised behaviours. Experiments have been conducted with a population of eight subjects: four ALS patients in a near locked-in status with normal ocular movement and four healthy control subjects enrolled for age, education, and computer expertise. The results s…
An international multicentre prospective audit of elective rectal cancer surgery; operative approach versus outcome, including transanal total mesore…
2018
Introduction: Transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) has rapidly emerged as a novel approach for rectal cancer surgery. Safety profiles are still emerging and more comparative data is urgently needed. This study aimed to compare indications and short-term outcomes of TaTME, open, laparoscopic, and robotic TME internationally. Methods: A pre-planned analysis of the European Society of Coloproctology (ESCP) 2017 audit was performed. Patients undergoing elective total mesorectal excision (TME) for malignancy between 1 January 2017 and 15 March 2017 by any operative approach were included. The primary outcome measure was anastomotic leak. Results: Of 2579 included patients, 76.2% (1966/257…
Predicting positive surgical margins in partial nephrectomy: A prospective multicentre observational study (the RECORd 2 project)
2020
PURPOSE: to evaluate clinical predictors of positive surgical margins (PSMs) in a large multicenter prospective observational study and to develop a clinic nomogram to predict the likelihood of PSMs after partial nephrectomy (PN). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 4308 patients who had surgical treatment for renal tumors between January 2013 and December 2016 at 26 urological Italian Centers (RECORd 2 project). Two multivariable logistic models were evaluated to predict the likelihood of PSMs. Center caseload was dichotomized using a visual assessment adjusted for several predictors of PSMs. A nomogram predicting PSMs was developed. RESULTS: Overall, 2076 patients treated wi…
How radical prostatectomy procedures have changed over the last 10 years in Italy: a comparative analysis based on more than 1500 patients participat…
2020
Purpose Therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer (PCa) have been evolving dramatically worldwide. The current article reports on the evolution of surgical management strategies for PCa in Italy. Methods The data from two independent Italian multicenter projects, the MIRROR-SIU/LUNA (started in 2007, holding data of 890 patients) and the Pros-IT-CNR project (started in 2014, with data of 692 patients), were compared. Differences in patients' characteristics were evaluated. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify characteristics associated with robot-assisted (RA) procedure, nerve sparing (NS) approach, and lymph node dissection (LND). Results The two cohorts did not …
SEMI-AUTOMATIC VOLUMETRIC SEGMENTATION OF THE UPPER AIRWAYS IN PATIENTS WITH PIERRE ROBIN SEQUENCE
2014
Pierre Robin malformation is a rare craniofacial dysmorphism whose pathogenesis is multifactorial. Although there is some agreement in non-invasive treatment in less severe cases, the dispute is still open on cases with severe respiratory impairment. We present a semi-automatic novel diagnostic tool for calculating upper airway volume, in order to eventually address surgery in patients with Pierre Robin Sequence (PRS). Multidetector CT datasets of two patients and two controls were tested to assess the proposed method for ROI segmentation, upper airway volume computation and three-dimensional reconstructions. The experimental results show an irregular pattern and a severely reduced cross-s…
Use of Robotics kits for the Enhancement of Metacognitive Skills of Mathematics: a Possible Approach.
2011
The present study is aimed at analyzing the process of building and programming robots as a metacognitive tool of mathematics. Quantitative data from a study performed on a sample of students attending an Italian secondary school are described. Results showed that robotics activities may be used as a new metacognitive environment allowing students to improve their attitude towards mathematics, and to increase their attitude to reflect on themselves and on their own learning, and their higher-level control components, such as forecasting, planning, monitoring and evaluation exercises and problems related to implementation.
Multicenter Multireader Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence-Based Attention Mapping System for the Detection of Prostate Cancer With Multiparame…
2020
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in a multicenter dataset the performance of an artificial intelligence (AI) detection system with attention mapping compared with multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) interpretation in the detection of prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS. MRI examinations from five institutions were included in this study and were evaluated by nine readers. In the first round, readers evaluated mpMRI studies using the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System version 2. After 4 weeks, images were again presented to readers along with the AI-based detection system output. Readers accepted or rejected lesions within four AI-generated attention map boxes. Additio…
Is Food Self-Sufficiency Conducive to Long-Term Growth? An Assessment of Malthus (1803) on the International Corn Trade.
2017
In this article, we have reconstructed Malthus’s views on growth and international corn trade in the second edition of his An Essay on the Principle of Population (1803) and shown their theoretical consistency with Malthus’s food self-sufficiency policy proposal advanced in Grounds of an Opinion on the Policy of Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn ([1815] 1986b), the protectionist pamphlet that elicited Ricardo’s vehement reaction in “Essay on Profits.” Malthus’s (1803) main thesis was that the contemporary British unbalanced growth pattern was not viable. In order to avoid premature stagnation, he thought that Great Britain should both follow a pattern of balanced growth and pursue…