239700 research outputs found
Sort by
Cryptorchidism in Equid: A Retrospective Study on Diagnostic Approach, Anaesthesia Management, Surgical Treatment and Outcomes
No full textOver the years, various diagnostic and surgical techniques have been developed to recognise and treat cryptorchidism in equid. This study retrospectively analysed cases of cryptorchidism referred to two centres between 2012 and 2025. Clinical data collected included species, breed, age, gender, location of retained testis, diagnostic approach, anaesthesia plan and surgical treatment, perioperative medical treatment, intra-operative complications and outcomes. A total of 37 clinical cases were included, 1/37 was a donkey and 1/37 was an intersex female. Most of the horses were three years old and belonged to western riding horse breeds. Ultrasound examination correctly identified the location of the retained testis in 87% of cases. The anaesthesia plan includes a local anaesthesia block, mainly a local injection for the infiltration of the retained testis. The laparoscopic standing flank technique was the main approach, performed in 82% of cases. Complications were encountered in 9% of cases, and the median discharge time was 2 days. In our study, Quarter Horse-type horses were overrepresented, and three horses were sons of the same Quarter Horse stallion, suggesting a genetic component in aetiology. The use of ultrasound might confirm cryptorchidism in both abdominal and inguinal locations. Standing flank laparoscopy was the most frequently chosen procedure, over recumbent laparoscopy and inguinal open orchiectomy. The outcome reported a low rate of intra-operative complications
Uncovering the limits of visual-language models in engineering knowledge representation
No full textVisual-Language (VL) models offer potential for advancing Engineering Design (ED) by integrating text and visuals from technical documents. We review VL applications across ED phases, highlighting three key challenges: (i) understanding how functional and structural information is complementarily expressed by text and images, (ii) creating large-scale multimodal design datasets and (iii) improving VL models' ability to represent ED knowledge. A dataset of 1.5 million text-image pairs and an evaluation dataset for cross-modal information retrieval were developed using patents. By Fine-tuning and testing the CLIP base model on these datasets, we identified significant limitations in VL models' capacity to capture fine-grained technical details required for precision-driven ED tasks. Based on these findings, we propose future research directions to advance VL models for ED applications
Una materia da definire. Il concorso pisano di Diritto amministrativo del 1886
No full textIl saggio prende in esame il concorso per professore straordinario di diritto amministrativo e scienza dell’amministrazione, per la Facoltà di giurisprudenza dell’Università di Pisa, svoltosi nell’ottobre del 1886. I profili biografici dei componenti della Commissione, con i loro eterogenei interessi scientifici, e l’esame delle carte d’archivio, con le valutazioni dei candidati altrettanto eclettici nei loro studi, mostrano una disciplina accademica ancora in corso di definizione, nonostante la sua fondamentale importanza per i nuovi assetti istituzionali dell’Italia unita, alle soglie della grande svolta pandettistica orlandiana di fine secolo. Si può desumere che questa fluidità della materia, insieme all’intrinseca debolezza dei candidati, abbia contribuito all’esito finale del concorso, conclusosi senza alcun vincitore.This essay examines the competition for ‘professore straordinario’ of Administrative law
and Science of administration, for the Faculty of Law of the University of Pisa, held in October 1886. The biographical profiles of the members of the Commission, with their heterogeneous scientific interests, and the examination of the archive papers, with the evaluations of the candidates who were equally eclectic in their studies, show an academic discipline that was still being defined, despite its fundamental importance for the new institutional structures of united Italy, on the threshold of the great pandectistic turn by Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, at the end of the century. It can be inferred that this fluidity of the subject, together with the intrinsic weakness of the candidates, contributed to the final outcome of the competition, which ended without a winner
A un passo da qui’. Un’indagine multi-disciplinare e audiovisiva su un microcosmo montano in continua transizione
No full textAdvancements and Challenges in IoT Communication Technologies for a Connected World
No full textThe continuous growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming communication networks
into complex ecosystems where sensors, devices, and intelligent systems interact seamlessly. This
Special Issue of Sensors, entitled “Advancements and Challenges in IoT Communication Technologies
for a Connected World”, has been conceived to highlight recent progress in this rapidly evolving field,
with an emphasis on innovative solutions that address both fundamental challenges and practical
applications.
The collected contributions span a wide range of topics at the intersection of sensing,
communication, and intelligence. Several research articles investigate how IoT technologies can
be leveraged in diverse contexts, from healthcare monitoring and elderly assistance to industrial
process optimization and connected mobility. Other works explore critical communication aspects,
such as secure outsourcing with leakage resilience, anomaly traffic detection, and the extension of
ultra-wideband ranging coverage. Advances in electromagnetic design are also represented, with
studies on sustainable terahertz SWIPT through reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and reviews
of flexible phased antenna arrays, paving the way for green and adaptive 6G IoT networks.
Complementary investigations highlight the role of edge AI, low-power platforms, and anomaly
detection strategies for real-time decision-making in smart infrastructures.
In addition to original research, this Special Issue includes comprehensive reviews and
systematic studies. These contributions provide an in-depth perspective on state-of-the-art solutions
and emerging trends in areas such as IoT-driven irrigation management, driver monitoring systems,
and decentralized frameworks for IoT applications. Together, the works collected here reflect the
breadth of innovation occurring at the frontier of IoT communication technologies and their enabling
role in smart agriculture, smart cities, and next-generation industrial systems.
On behalf of the Guest Editors, I would like to warmly thank all authors for their valuable
contributions and the reviewers for their constructive feedback, which greatly enhanced the quality
of this collection. We are also grateful to the Sensors editorial team for their professional support
throughout the process. We hope that this Special Issue will inspire researchers and practitioners
to further explore the opportunities and challenges of IoT communication technologies, ultimately
contributing to the realization of a more connected, efficient, and sustainable worl
Paradossi, manipolazioni, forzature: la genesi della cosiddetta “polemica classico-romantica”.
No full textIl saggio propone una nuova interpretazione del momento genetico della cosiddetta polemica tra Classicisti e Romantici, innescata a Milano dalla pubblicazione sulla "Biblioteca italiana", nei primi mesi del 1816, dell'articolo "Sulla maniera e la utilità delle traduzioni" di M.me de Staël. Del dibattito vivacissimo che seguì si è cercato di ricostruire le implicazioni e le contraddizioni, riesaminando soprattutto le posizioni di Ludovico di Breme, Pietro Borsieri, Giovanni Berchet e il progetto del "Conciliatore"
Food and feed from GM and NGT techniques
No full textThis document examines the European Union's regulatory framework for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and new genomic techniques (NGTs) in food and feed production. It traces the historical development of GMO regulations, highlighting the challenges of balancing scientific innovation with public concerns over safety, environmental impact, and ethical issues. Current
regulations include mandatory labelling and traceability systems to ensure consumer information and safety, addressing issues such as accidental contamination and coexistence of GM and non-GM crops.
The document also explores voluntary GMO-free labelling practices and their implications. Additionally, it discusses the legal definition of GMOs and the ongoing debate on regulating plants derived from NGTs, emphasizing the need for updated legislation to address sustainability, traceability, and international trade challenges. The proposed regulation on NGT plants introduces two categories with specific rules and incentives, aiming to balance innovation, safety, and sustainability. However, the approval process remains ongoing, with debates on cultivation, patentability, and labelling requirement
A novel method for generating the optimal routing matrix of queuing networks with batch service
No full textРассматривается открытая сеть массового обслуживания большой размерности. В сеть
обслуживания из источника поступает пуассоновский поток требований одного класса. Связь между
системами сети массового обслуживания определяется маршрутной матрицей. Каждая система сети
состоит из одного прибора и очереди бесконечной длины. Прибор обслуживает требования только груп-
пами заданного размера. Длительность обслуживания группы требований является экспоненциально
распределенной случайной величиной. После окончания обслуживания требования из обслуженной
группы маршрутизируются между системами обслуживания по одному независимо друг от друга.
Сеть обслуживания построена таким образом, что число систем обслуживания, в которые могут
перейти требования после обслуживания группы требований, намного больше размера этой группы.
Предполагается, что вероятности переходов требований между системами сети обслуживания срав-
нимы. Предлагается метод формирования оптимальной маршрутной матрицы, которая обеспечивает
минимальные значения математических ожиданий длительностей пребывания требований в системах
сети обслуживания. Приводятся условие для относительных интенсивностей потоков, при котором
топология сети массового обслуживания является радиальной (звездообразной), и выражения для
вычисления оптимальных интенсивностей входящих потоков требований в системы сети обслуживания.
Приведены примеры формирования оптимальной маршрутной матрицы и применения предложенного
метода формирования маршрутной матрицы для коррекции потоков в сети массового обслуживания с
изменяющимся числом связей между системами сети обслуживанияIn this paper, we consider a large-scale open queuing network. The arrival process in the queueing network is Poissonian. Сustomer transitions between nodes are described by the routing matrix. Each node consists of a single server and an infinite waiting queue. Customers are served as a unique batch of a given size with exponentially distributed service time. After the completion of service, customers are routed between nodes one at a time, independently of each other. We assume that, at any node, the number of destinations is much larger than the batch size. We also assume that the transition probabilities of customers between nodes are comparable. In this paper, we propose a method for generating the optimal routing matrix that provides the minimum average sojourn times in each node. We also provide a condition for relative arrival rates, under which the queuing network topology is radial (star-shaped), and expressions for optimal input rates to nodes. Finally, examples of the optimal routing matrix for different values of the overall input rate and in case of link failures are presented
Integrating tissue and liquid biopsy comprehensive genomic profiling to predict efficacy of anti-EGFR therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer: Findings from the CAPRI-2 GOIM study
No full textIntroduction: We investigated the role of integrating tissue biopsy (TBx)- and liquid biopsy (LBx)-comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) to predict the activity of FOLFIRI plus cetuximab. Methods: The CAPRI-2 GOIM study is a non-randomized phase 2 study evaluating a biomarker-driven anti-EGFR treatment in three lines of therapy in patients with RAS/BRAFV600E wild type metastatic colorectal cancer. At baseline, TBx and LBx were analyzed using the FoundationOne CDx platform. Analysis of overall response rate (ORR) and median progression free survival (mPFS) according to molecular profiles were performed. Results: Overall, 156 patients were evaluable for tumor response and had matched tissue and plasma-based CGP. Negatively hyper-selected patients by both TBx- and LBx-CGP showed higher ORR (79.6 % versus 44.2 %, P < 0.001) and mPFS compared to mutated cases (12.4 months versus 7.4 months, P < 0.001). Eight and 12 cases harbored mutations detected by TBx and LBx-CGP only, respectively. Compared to discordant cases (n = 20), concordant cases (n = 23) showed a trend for lower ORR (39.1 % versus 50.0 %, P = 0.5) and shorter mPFS (3.94 versus 11.50 months, P = 0.02). Patients with alterations detected only by TBx-CGP had significantly lower circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) tumor fraction (TF) compared to concordant cases (1.7 % versus 23.0 %; P = 0.01). Using a ctDNA TF threshold ≥ 10 % nearly all (19 of 20) TBx detected pathogenic variants (PV) were also identified by LBx-CGP. In eight cases detected by LBx only, mPFS was 8.24 months. Conclusion: In cases with high TF LBx-CGP predicts efficacy of anti-EGFR therapy, while for TF< 10 % TBx-CGP provides additional data on PVs that could affect treatment efficacy