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Compactness via monotonicity in nonsmooth critical point theory, with application to Born-Infeld type equations
No full textIn this paper, we prove new existence and multiplicity results for critical
points of lower semicontinuous functionals in Banach spaces, complementing the
nonsmooth critical point theory set forth by Szulkin and avoiding the need of
the Palais-Smale condition. We apply our abstract results to get entire
solutions with finite energy to Born-Infeld type autonomous equations. More
precisely, under almost optimal conditions on the nonlinearity, we construct a
positive solution and infinitely many solutions both in the classes of radially
symmetric functions and nonradiallly symmetric ones
Data speak but sometimes lie: A game-theoretic approach to data bias and algorithmic fairness
No full textIn the present work, we develop a novel information-theoretic and logic-based approach to data bias in Machine Learning predictions and show its relevance in the specific context of fairness evaluation. We frame predictions made on biased data as Ulam games, which formalise key aspects of data-driven inference, and from which a variation of the rational non-monotonic consequence relation can be defined. We investigate this framework to model how differential levels of noise in input features impact Machine Learning predictions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first game-theoretic formalisation of ML unfairness
Cost comparison of school-based mass drug administration of albendazole and ivermectin versus albendazole alone for soil-transmitted helminth control in Uganda
No full textThe co-administration of albendazole and ivermectin (ALB-IVM) is recommended for the treatment of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, especially where the prevalence of Trichuris trichiura is high. Before large-scale implementation can be considered, feasibility, acceptability and required resources and investments for the mass drug administration (MDA) of ALB-IVM compared with albendazole (ALB) alone should be assessed. This study, conducted in two districts in south-western Uganda, aimed to assess and compare the costs of school-based MDA with ALB-IVM (MDA-ALB-IVM) versus the routinely used ALB alone (MDA-ALB) on a small scale (targeting around 2,500 children per treatment arm per district). We applied a micro-costing (mixed top-down and bottom-up) approach to assess the financial costs from a health system perspective, as well as the opportunity costs of donated ALB. The total (financial and opportunity) costs of MDA-ALB-IVM were higher than those of MDA-ALB (4,458 for MDA-ALB in Kabale district and 5,765 in Kisoro, respectively). The presence of informed consent and assent required for MDA-ALB-IVM (as ALB-IVM is still considered a new therapy for STH infections in Uganda) increased the number of days and resources including personnel requirements for training and drug distribution. Furthermore, adequate community sensitization and the involvement of community health workers (i.e., village health teams in Uganda) and local community leaders appeared to be essential to achieve high treatment coverage. The scenario analysis showed that, in the absence of the informed consent and assent process, the total incremental costs of MDA-ALB-IVM compared with MDA-ALB could decrease by 31%- 36% in the two districts. This study identifies key cost drivers and offers insights for the wider implementation of ALB-IVM co-administration
An Insight on the Role of Pd/Cu Ratio in PdxCuy/TiO2 Bimetallic Catalysts for the Hydrogenation of Muconic Acid
No full textBiomass-derived muconic acid (MA) is a promising platform molecule for the sustainable production of a range of valueadded
chemicals, including adipic acid (AdA), hexenedioic acids, and muconolactone (Mlac). AdA is a key precursor in the
synthesis of nylon 6,6. A renewable route to AdA via MA hydrogenation offers a greener alternative, aligning with the goals
of circular and carbon-neutral chemical manufacturing. In this work, we explore the selective hydrogenation of MA over
PdxCuy/TiO2 catalysts, focusing on the tunable production of three distinct compounds of industrial relevance. Pd-rich
catalysts exhibit high activity and selectivity toward full hydrogenation to AdA. With increasing Cu content, a shift in
selectivity is observed, favoring the formation of 2- and 3-hexenedioic acids, which are of interest for modifying polymer
properties. At high Cu loading, the reaction pathway leads predominantly toMlac, a versatile intermediate for fine chemical
synthesis. Catalyst structure–function relationships were investigated using transmission electron microscopy and highangle
annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy, revealing that the nature and distribution of Cu relative
to Pd significantly influence the reaction selectivity. These findings demonstrate the potential of catalyst engineering to
steer biomass-derived feedstocks toward multiple high-value chemical products, offering a flexible and sustainable platform
for green chemical synthesis
Self-Supervised CLIP-Guided for Few-Shot Industrial Anomaly Detection
No full textFew-shot industrial anomaly detection aims to identify unseen defects using only a limited number of normal samples. However, most existing approaches still rely heavily on auxiliary industrial datasets for training. In this paper, we propose a novel self-supervised CLIP-guided for few-shot industrial anomaly detection, which eliminates the need for auxiliary industrial data. Specifically, we first introduce a pseudo-anomaly generation strategy that synthesizes both structural and textural anomalies. Then, leveraging the cross-modal semantic understanding capability of CLIP, we contrast the multi-scale visual features with learnable textual prompts to achieve anomaly localization grounded in language semantics. Inspired by the human cognitive process of identifying anomalies through reference comparison, we introduce a support set composed of a few normal samples and perform semantic-level feature alignment with the query set via CLIP visual encoder, thereby enhancing anomaly discrimination. Furthermore, we also introduce Adapter to alleviate the semantic offset problem between text and image modalities in industrial scenarios of CLIP, and enhance the model’s robustness to the spatial structure differences between query set and support set. Extensive experiments conducted on the MVTec AD, the VisA, the BTAD and the MPDD datasets demonstrate that our method achieves competitive results under the few-shot setting. Moreover, its effectiveness and deployability are validated through real-world application in battery spot-welding defect inspection. The code is available at https://github.com/YiKuiZhai/SCF-AD
Intraoperative Ultrasound-Assisted 3D-Electrocorticography for resection of type II focal cortical dysplasias
No full textObjective:
Type II focal cortical dysplasias (FCDII) present a clear-cut anatomo-electro-clinical profile and are associated with optimal surgical outcome when completely resected. Alongside presurgical planning and neuroimaging, intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) can aid in delineating FCDII boundaries. We report outcomes from patients undergoing FCDII resection using 3D-ECoG with an intracerebral electrode guided by intraoperative ultrasound (ioUS).
Methods:
Patients with suspected FCDII underwent 3D-ECoG during surgery to record intracerebral interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) classified as: 1) rhythmic spikes (RS), and 2) periodic bursts of polyspikes (PBOP).
Results:
Ten patients (5 male, 5 female; median age 19.5 years, median epilepsy duration 16 years) were included. Bottom-of-sulcus dysplasia (BOSD) was found in 60 %. 3D-ECoG identified RS in 30 % and PBOP in 70 %. Total IED removal was achieved in 60 %. Histopathology revealed FCDII in 80 %, while 20 % had a diagnosis of “no definite FCD on histopathology”. After a median 24-month follow-up, 90 % achieved ILAE class 1 outcome (seizure free), 10 % had class 2 (only auras). No major complications occurred.
Conclusions:
IoUS-assisted 3D-ECoG is a safe procedure for intraoperative delineation of FCDII, supporting complete resection.
Significance:
Integrating IoUS with 3D-ECoG can offer substantial benefits for surgical management of FCDII- related epilepsy
Cross-border cooperation for research and innovation in the Alpine Region : an explorative study of the European Smart Specialization Strategy
No full textThe paper presents three cases from a pilot study of the EU funded A-RING project on the impact of transborder collaboration in innovation and research in the Alpine Region and develops prescriptions to foster interregional partnership in the framework of the Smart Specialization Strategy. The analysis shows two results: 1) smaller and diverse territories enact a more open and discontinuous strategy; 2) larger territories with higher diversity are less open to newcomers, more rigid with regard to fund allocation, topics of interest, and less responsive to stakeholders. In the conclusion, we provide a policy proposition for interregional and cross-border collaboration
Integrating Untargeted Metabolomics and Genome Mining to Unlock the Natural Product Potential of Actinoallomurus
No full textThe growing threat of antibiotic resistance and the limited pace of new antibiotic discovery highlight the urgent need for novel natural products spanning medical, agricultural, and other relevant applications. Actinomycetes are among the most prolific producers of specialized metabolites, yet a large fraction of their biosynthetic potential remains unexplored.
To access this hidden chemical diversity, a paired omics approach was applied, by integrating untargeted metabolomics and genome mining, to a rare and underexplored genus of Actinomycetes, Actinoallomurus. This integrative strategy offers key advantages: it decreases rediscovery rates, improves strain prioritization, and accelerates the identification of novel compounds.
Metabolomic analysis of 170 Actinoallomurus strains generated HRLC–MS/MS data from 340 extracts, which were processed using the Micro4all pipeline[1]. This analysis revealed nearly
12,000 molecular features, more than 90% of which lacked known annotations.
Complementary genomic analysis of 143 of these strains uncovered more than 3,600 BGCs via antiSMASH[2] and over 650 GCFs using BiG-SCAPE[3]. Most showed low similarity to known clusters, again indicating a high degree of novelty.
The integration of both datasets enabled targeted prioritization, purification, and structural characterization of a novel polyketide compound.
In addition, a new query-based approach was developed that combines high-throughput mass spectrometry and comparative metabolomics to reliably detect sulfur-rich compounds directly in high-resolution MS data. This method offers a complementary strategy for integrating genomic and metabolomic information, facilitating genome-guided discovery of sulfur-rich peptides and laying the foundation for more efficient, data-driven compound isolation and characterization
La scintilla nelle tenebre : Storia della cremazione e della SOCREM a Milano. 3: Il ridotto della libertà (1901-1945)
No full textIl tramonto della monarchia afghana: il difficile equilibrio tra tradizione e modernità = The decline of the Afghan monarchy: the difficult balance between tradition and modernity
No full textThis contribution examines the historical evolution of the Afghan monarchy, from the emergence of its first, embryonic form tothe fall of Zahir Shah in 1973. A special focus will be devoted to the so-called “Zahir’s option”, the idea to restore the Monarchy during the Bonn negotiations in 2001. The paper highlights the role of the monarchy in fostering national unity in a fragmented context and the tensions posed by modernization to the monarchy’sexistence.The paper argues that the Afghan case well illustrates S. Huntington King’s dilemm