ARUd’A (Università “G. d’Annunzio CHIETI -PESCARA)
Not a member yet
83198 research outputs found
Sort by
Digital Assessment of Italian-English Translations of COVID-19 Reports
No full textThe present work is concerned with assessing the quality of the English language of official reports published by the Italian Higher Health Institute and released through its website during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reports are the result of a translation from Italian into English, on which a quantitative analysis was carried out to assess the total number of errors, as well as their accuracy, adequacy, and readability. A qualitative evaluation was also undertaken focusing on the cohesive, lexical, and syntactic features of the reports, thus highlighting mistranslations. The quantitative analysis, carried out using TAUS DQF system, evidenced a mean accuracy of 3 and a mean adequacy of 2. The Grammarly software counted a mean number of 109 errors. The Flesch-Kincaid readability tests yielded a reading ease of 38 and a mean school grade of 8. The publication of official health reports addressed to the general public should be commited to improving lives and increasing the social impact of science. On the other hand, official health reports that are aimed at a specialized medical audience should respond to all the rules and norms of that specific language community. In both cases, the reports assessed in the present investigation seem to fail in their communicative function due to their linguistic ineffectiveness
Late Languages of Marginal Attestation: Pamphylian, Sidetic, and Pisidian
No full textThe chapter deals with three languages located in the central part of southern Anatolia: Pamphylian, which is a Greek dialect, Sidetic and Pisidian, which belong to the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European family
Corpora di lingua parlata per la didattica dell’italiano e del tedesco per scopi accademici
No full textMetodi empirici come quelli alla base della linguistica dei corpora hanno una chiara affinità con quelli utilizzati nella didattica delle lingue straniere e possono rappresentare una risorsa preziosa sul piano della consapevolezza linguistica e della motivazione. Tuttavia, quello che oggi è conosciuto come approccio induttivo ai fenomeni linguistici, il Data Driven Learning, è generalmente poco usato in ambito educativo, in particolar modo per l’insegnamento dei linguaggi accademico-disciplinari oggetto del nostro contributo. Tra le cause di questa situazione figurano le difficoltà di compilazione delle raccolte digitali di testi orali, ancora esigui rispetto a quelli di lingua scritta, come pure la mancata riflessione sull’impiego didattico di tali insostituibili risorse linguistiche. A ciò si aggiunge il limitato numero di corpora comparabili della comunicazione accademica che permetterebbero un confronto tra le peculiarità delle lingue studiate, oltre alle limitate modalità di interrogazione che non ne facilitano l’uso per fini didattici. Nel nostro contributo passeremo in rassegna alcuni corpora impiegabili per l’insegnamento dell’italiano e del tedesco parlato per scopi accademici, sia generali sia specialistici. Verranno presentati percorsi glottodidattici basati sugli usi diretti e indiretti dei corpora destinati ad apprendenti di livello B1 del QCER, impiegabili in attività curricolari tradizionali, nonché in percorsi intensivi per studenti/docenti in mobilità. Si analizzeranno le funzionalità di ricerca presenti in piattaforma e le applicazioni didattiche di SEAH e GeWiss nonché degli strumenti sviluppati nell’ambito del progetto ZuMult (ZuMal e ZuViel) per la didattica del tedesco generale e per la comunicazione specializzata
Phytochemical composition and bioactivity of edible Taraxacum officinale: potential as an ingredient in brain health-oriented functional foods
No full textTaraxacum officinale (dandelion) is a widely recognised medicinal plant that is entirely edible and nutritionally rich. Traditionally consumed raw and cooked, it is used in cuisine and in food industry as a healthy ingredient, thanks to its high content of bioactive compounds. For centuries, dandelion has been valued in folk medicine for its choleretic, diuretic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, and hepatoprotective effects. While the biological activities of Taraxacum species have been extensively studied, the specific role of T. officinale in modulating neuroinflammation remains underexplored. This study investigated the chemical composition and neuroprotective potential of hydroalcoholic extracts from dandelion leaves (Dan L) and roots (Dan R), derived from three ecotypes: Land Spontaneous (LSE), Mountain Spontaneous (MSE), and Organically grown (OE). In particular, HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that the MSE ecotype contained the highest levels of key polyphenols, including chicoric, caftaric, chlorogenic, and caffeic acids. Notably, MSE extracts of both Dan L and Dan R mitigated the cytotoxic effects of H2O2-induced oxidative stress in HypoE22 hypothalamic cells without causing toxicity. Ex vivo, these extracts modulated neuroinflammatory markers in lipopolysaccharide-treated mouse specimens (prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus) by downregulating TNF-alpha and NOS-2 and upregulating BDNF expression. These findings suggest that dandelion, especially the mountain ecotype, offers significant antioxidant and neuroprotective benefits. Taraxacum officinale thus emerges not only as a traditional edible plant but also as a functional candidate and polyphenol source for nutraceutical applications targeting neurodegeneration and cognitive decline
Emotional Training after Facial Nerve Palsy: Let's Smile Again!
No full textBackground: We aimed to propose Emotional training (ET) as a neurocognitive approach, based on motor imagery by stimulating the patient's perception through different stimuli on the face to treat peripheral paralysis of the facial nerve. Methods: Retrospective, observational, double-centres cohort study of 50 patients diagnosed with peripheral facial nerve palsy. Facial function was assessed through the House-Brackmann scale (HBS, the primary outcome), the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (FGS, secondary outcome) and the Italian validated version of the Facial Disability Index (It-FDI, secondary outcome) at the beginning and the end of the rehabilitation protocol. An author blinded to the protocols did the data analysis. Results: All patients showed improvement at the end of ET (HBS: 2 (p < 0.001); FGS: 57 (p < 0.001); It-FDI: 80 (p = 0.002)), by achieving a slight dysfunction or even normal function compared to baseline (HBS: 4; FGS: 21; It-FDI: 76). A second group of 8 surgical patients treated with an already published protocol served as control. HSB and FGC did not differ between the two groups at baseline and after 20 rehabilitative sections, with similar improvements. Conclusion: ET provided significant improvements in the symmetry of the face at rest and during voluntary movements, in social function and subjectively perceived well-being. ET is an effective therapeutic proposal for patients suffering from idiopathic or iatrogenic facial nerve palsy
A System of Hamilton-Jacobi Equations Characterizing Geodesic Centroidal Tessellations
No full textWe introduce a class of systems of Hamilton-Jacobi equations characterizing geodesic centroidal tessellations, i.e., tessellations of domains with respect to geodesic distances where generators and centroids coincide. Typical examples are given by geodesic centroidal Voronoi tessellations and geodesic centroidal power diagrams. An appropriate version of the Fast Marching method on unstructured grids allows computing the solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi system and, therefore, the associated tessellations. We propose various numerical examples to illustrate the features of the technique
Gender and Sex-related differences in Type 2 Myocardial Infarction: the undervalued side of a neglected disease
Get PDFType 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) occurs due to an imbalance between coronary blood supply and myocardial oxygen demand, leading to ischemia without the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque, distinguishing it from Type 1 myocardial infarction (T1MI). Although T2MI is frequently diagnosed in clinical practice and associated with a poor prognosis, there is limited understanding of the sex differences in this condition, despite women representing a higher proportion of T2MI cases compared to T1MI. This review explores the definitions, epidemiological aspects, and clinical scenarios that reveal significant differences in T2MI between men and women that contribute to disparities in outcomes. It examines the unique roles that sex and gender play in the development, presentation, and diagnosis of T2MI, emphasizing the need for greater awareness of these factors. Understanding how these differences contribute to this condition is essential for developing patient-tailored approaches to managing this often-undervalued disease and improving outcomes
Telepractice of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS): Validation and Practical Considerations
Get PDFTelepractice in neuropsychology has become increasingly prevalent in recent years due to its ability to provide accessible and convenient care to patients regardless of their location. However, the validation of many neuropsychological tools for distance assessments remains limited, and there is a particular lack of remotely administered assessment tests with alternate forms, which are crucial for monitoring symptoms and performance in clinical contexts and for minimizing practice effects in research practice. Consequently, the present study was aimed at evaluating the consistency of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scores across videoconference and face-to-face administrations and to examine whether the scores obtained via videoconference support interpretations similar to those obtained via face-to-face administration. A total of 185 participants aged between 20 and 79 years (M = 46.24, SD = 19.63) underwent RBANS testing twice: once in person using the standard pen-and-paper modality and once remotely via videoconference, using Alternate Forms A and B to mitigate the learning effects. Results from the linear mixed models revealed no significant differences between remote and face-to-face administrations based on the modality of administration (p > 0.05). Bayes factors supported the null hypothesis, suggesting that RBANS performance is consistent across the two modalities of administration. However, discrepancies were observed in certain subtests between alternate forms of the RBANS, highlighting the need for standardization. In conclusion, findings suggested that the same norms that are used to interpret the RBANS scores obtained via face-to-face administration may be employed when administered remotely through videoconferencing. Accordingly, the study provides valuable insights into the feasibility of remote neuropsychological assessment and underscores the potential utility of videoconference technology in clinical and research settings