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Big data in health IoE in emergency situations: between the right to privacy and digital health innovation
Get PDFThe chapters of the thesis focus on a limited variety of selected themes in EU privacy and data protection law. Chapter 1 sets out the general introduction on the research topic. Chapter 2 touches upon the methodology used in the research. Chapter 3
conceptualises the basic notions from a legal standpoint. Chapter 4 examines the current regulatory regime applicable to digital health technologies, healthcare emergencies, privacy, and data protection. Chapter 5 provides case studies on the application deployed in the Covid-19 scenario, from the perspective of privacy and data protection. Chapter 6 addresses the post-Covid European regulatory initiatives on the subject matter, and its potential effects on privacy and data protection.
Chapter 7 is the outcome of a six-month internship with a company in Italy and focuses on the protection of fundamental rights through common standardisation and certification, demonstrating that such standards can serve as supporting tools to guarantee the right to privacy and data protection in digital health technologies.
The thesis concludes with the observation that finding and transposing European privacy and data protection standards into scenarios, such as public healthcare emergencies where digital health technologies are deployed, requires rapid coordination between the European Data Protection Authorities and the Member States guarantee that individual privacy and data protection rights are ensured
Internet of things: legal liability of IoE devices in the home
Get PDFThis thesis is about the smart home, a connected ambience that will help consumers to live a more environmentally sustainable life and will help vulnerable categories of consumers to live a more autonomous life, thanks to the pervasive use of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. In particular, civil liability for the malfunctioning of the smart home is the filter through which the research is carried out. I analyse whether the actual legal liability rules are ready or not to adapt to this new connected environment, such as the IoT-powered smart home. Through careful mapping of the technical and legal state of the art, the thesis argues that the EU rules on product liability contained in the Product Liability Directive (PLD) will apply consistently to these objects. This holds true even if at the time of the drafting of the thesis, the proposal on the update of the PLD had not been published yet. Through the analysis of past PLD cases, new American products liability case-law on domestic IoT objects and the latest legal scholarship’s contributions and policy inputs it was possible to anticipate some of the contents of the newly published EU PLD Update proposal
Study on NGF and VEGF during the equine perinatal period
Get PDFPart 1 of the study aims to: evaluate NGF and VEGF levels obtained at parturition from mare, foal and umbilical cord vein plasma, as well as in amniotic fluid; evaluate NGF and VEGF content in plasma of healthy foals during the first 72 h of life; evaluate NGF and VEGF levels at parturition in relation to selected mares’ and foals’ clinical parameters; evaluate the relationship between the two trophic factors and thyroid hormone levels in the first 72 h of life; assess mRNA expression of NGF, VEGF and BDNF and their cell surface receptors in the placenta. Part 2 aims to clinically characterize a population of foals spontaneously affected by Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE), and then to: evaluate NGF and VEGF levels in plasma samples obtained in the affected population at parturition from mare’s jugular vein, umbilical cord vein and foal’s jugular vein, as well as in amniotic fluid; evaluate NGF and VEGF content in plasma of foals affected by NE during the first 72 h of life/hospitalization; evaluate NGF and VEGF levels at birth/admission in relation to selected mares’ and foals’ clinical parameters; evaluate the relationship between the two trophic factors and thyroid hormone levels in the first 72 h of life/hospitalization; assess the mRNA expression of NGF, VEGF and BDNF, and their cell surface receptors, in the placenta of mares that delivered affected foals. The close relationship between the two trophic factors in foal plasma over time and their fine expression in placental tissues under physiological conditions appear to be key regulators of fetal development and adaptation. Their less pronounced decrease in compromised foals compared to healthy ones, their relationship with thyroid hormones over time, and the reduced expression of NGF and BDNF in placental tissues, could be key regulators in the mechanisms of NE
Innovative microbiome-based system for the improvement of productivity, safety and sustainability of mussels farming
Get PDFNorthwestern Adriatic Sea Mediterranean mussels are exposed to fluctuating environmental parameters and to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Today is well known that mussels can be defined as holobiont, even if remains a lot to elucidate about how an organism and its microbial component response to environmental stress.
This PhD dissertation aims to investigate microbiome possible adaptive patters exploiting the organism physiology response to stress, using the NGS sequencing method.
The experimental approach consisted of two phases to first determine (i) the microbiome at a tissue scale level, (ii) the microbiome and physiological response to natural and anthropogenic stress environment and the chemical assessment of the microecosystem the Northwestern Adriatic Sea Mediterranean Mussel lives in.
Results revealed firstly a robust microbiome well differentiated from seawater microecosystem, with compositional variations at the organ level. Thanks to those findings, digestive gland, the organ in which digestive and detoxification processes allow animal to tolerate and accumulate xenobiotics of natural and anthropogenic origin, was the selected tissue for the second phase of the project.
The second phase of the project evaluated the putative physiological variations and the compositional changes in microbiome of digestive gland. I then manage to assess microbiome region trends across the north Adriatic, with each sampling site well differentiated from the others.
Finally, a chemical method able to a powerful tool for the analytical detection of the major pollutants in mussels were validated. These first results may provide baseline information for future studies approaches of seasonal and region trends of microbiota profiles and physiological responses in terms of metabolism
Automorphisms of irreducible holomorphic symplectic manifolds and related problems
Get PDFWe study automorphisms and the mapping class group of irreducible holomorphic symplectic (IHS) manifolds. We produce two examples of manifolds of K3[2] type with a symplectic action of the alternating group A7. Our examples are realized as double EPW-sextics, the large cardinality of the group allows us to prove the irrationality of the associated families of Gushel-Mukai threefolds. We describe the group of automorphisms of double EPW-cubes. We give an answer to the Nielsen realization problem for IHS manifolds in analogy to the case of K3 surfaces, determining when a finite group of mapping classes fixes an Einstein (or Kähler-Einstein) metric. We describe, for some deformation classes, the mapping class group and its representation in second cohomology. We classify non-symplectic involutions of manifolds of OG10 type determining the possible invariant and coinvariant lattices. We study non-symplectic involutions on LSV manifolds that are geometrically induced from non-symplectic involutions on cubic fourfolds
Modelling the influence of diradical character and aggregation on conjugated molecular materials
Get PDFMolecular materials are made by the assembly of specifically designed molecules to obtain bulk structures with desired solid-state properties, enabling the development of materials with tunable chemical and physical properties. These properties result from the interplay of intra-molecular constituents and weak intermolecular interactions. Thus, small changes in individual molecular and electronic structure can substantially change the properties of the material in bulk.
The purpose of this dissertation is, thus, to discuss and to contribute to the structure-property relationships governing the electronic, optical and charge transport properties of organic molecular materials through theoretical and computational studies. In particular, the main focus is on the interplay of intra-molecular properties and inter-molecular interactions in organic molecular materials.
In my three-years of research activity, I have focused on three major areas: 1) the investigation of isolated-molecule properties for the class of conjugated chromophores displaying diradical character which are building blocks for promising functional materials; 2) the determination of intra- and intermolecular parameters governing charge transport in molecular materials and, 3) the development and application of diabatization procedures for the analysis of exciton states in molecular aggregates.
The properties of diradicaloids are extensively studied both regarding their ground state (diradical character, aromatic vs quinoidal structures, spin dynamics, etc.) and the low-lying singlet excited states including the elusive double-exciton state.
The efficiency of charge transport, for specific classes of organic semiconductors (including diradicaloids), is investigated by combining the effects of intra-molecular reorganization energy, inter-molecular electronic coupling and crystal packing.
Finally, protocols aimed at unravelling the nature of exciton states are introduced and applied to different molecular aggregates. The role of intermolecular interactions and charge transfer contributions in determining the exciton state character and in modulating the H- to J- aggregation is also highlighted
Search for heavy neutrinos in decays with the CMS detector at LHC
Get PDFThis thesis presents a search for a sterile right-handed neutrino produced in meson decays, using proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The data set used for the analysis, the B-Parking data set, corresponds to an integrated luminosity of and was collected during the 2018 data-taking period. The analysis is targeting the decays, where the final state muons can have the same electric charge allowing for a lepton flavor violating decay. To separate signal from background, a cut-based analysis is optimized using requirements on the sterile neutrino vertex displacement, muon and pion impact parameter, and impact parameter significance. The expected limit on the active-sterile neutrino mixing matrix parameter is extracted by performing a fit of the invariant mass spectrum for two sterile neutrino mass hypotheses, 1.0 and 1.5 GeV. The analysis is currently blinded, following the internal CMS review process. The expected limit ranges between approximately for a 1.0 GeV neutrino to for a 1.5 GeV neutrino. This is competitive with the best existing results from collider experiments over the same mass range
Nanobiotechnological engineering of the M13 phage into an orthogonal platform for biomedical applications
No full textM13 bacteriophage, a naturally multifunctional nanoplatform, comprises thousands of distinct protein subunits arranged in a filamentous viral capsid. These proteins have the ability to be tailored for the binding and nucleation of inorganics and nanoparticles as well as for the production of ligands, functional moieties, and even enzymes.
In the first study, we demonstrate the potential of using M13 bacteriophage conjugated with rose bengal (RB) for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT). To further improve the specificity of the therapy, we genetically modified M13 to express a C20 nanobody in fusion with the pIII protein. This modification resulted in a specific tropism for A. baumannii, and when conjugated with RB, the modified phages could selectively kill A. baumannii in PDT.
Additionally, we developed a wider spectrum activity phage for antimicrobial PDT by encoding an LPS binding peptide in fusion with the pIII protein. Our results showed that this new phage only targets gram-negative bacteria such as P. aeruginosa and A. baumannii, while gram-positive bacteria like S. aureus are not bound. M13 anti-LPS conjugated with RB can selectively kill gram-negative bacteria when irradiated with light.
In the second study, M13 was engineered to display the GFP11 β strand of a fluorescence complementation system for a cost-effective and easy production biodetection tool than may be further fine-tuned for the development of new point-of-care biosensors. The same system was used for the immobilization of Horseradisch perxidases (HRP) to M13 as a proof-of-concept strategy for the development of enzymatic farms.
Finally, in the third study, M13 was conjugated with a poly lysines anchored SIINFEKL peptide for novel cancer vaccine platform.
The proposed multimodal, nanoplatform is re-designable for applications in diagnostics, nanomaterials, and a variety of disease kinds
Efficient wireless coverage of in-building environments with low electromagnetic impact
Get PDFThe city of tomorrow is a major integrating stake, which crosses a set of major broad spectrum domains. One of these areas is the instrumentation of this city and the ubiquity of the exchange of data, which will give the pulse of this city (sensors) and its breathing in a hyper-connected world within indoor and outdoor dense areas (data exchange, 5G and 6G).
Within this context, the proposed doctorate project has the objective to realize cost- and energy- effective, short-range communication systems for the capillary wireless coverage of in-door environments with low electromagnetic impact and for highly dense outdoor networks.
The result will be reached through the combined use of:
1) Radio over Fiber (RoF) Technology, to bring the Radio Frequency (RF) signal to the different areas to be covered.
2) Beamforming antennas to send in real time the RF power just in the direction(s) where it is really necessary
Strength and ductility of corroded strands within the framework of safety assessment of existing bridges
Get PDFExisting bridges built in the last 50 years face challenges due to states far different than those envisaged when they were designed, due to increased loads, ageing of materials, and poor maintenance. For post-tensioned bridges, the need emerged for reliable engineering tools for the evaluation of their capacity in case of steel corrosion due to lack of mortar injection. This can lead to sudden brittle collapses, highlighting the need for proper maintenance and monitoring. This thesis proposes a peak strength model for corroded strands, introducing a “group coefficient” that aims at considering corrosion variability in the wires constituting the strands. The application of the introduced model in a deterministic approach leads to the proposal of strength curves for corroded strands, which represent useful engineering tools for estimating their maximum strength considering both geometry of the corrosion and steel material parameters. Together with the proposed ultimate displacement curves, constitutive laws of the steel material reduced by the effects of corrosion can be obtained. The effects of corroded strands on post-tensioned beams can be evaluated through the reduced bending moment-curvature diagram accounting for these reduced stress-strain relationships. The application of the introduced model in a probabilistic approach allows to estimate peak strength probability functions and consecutive design-oriented safety factors to consider corrosion effects in safety assessment verifications. Both approaches consider two procedures that are based on the knowledge level of the corrosion in the strands. On the sidelines of this main research line, this thesis also presents a study of a seismic upgrading intervention of a case-study bridge through HDRB isolators providing a simplified procedure for the identification of the correct device. The study also investigates the effects due to the variability of the shear modulus of the rubber material of the HDRB isolators on the structural response of the isolated bridge