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Optometric assessment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients: A focus on the relation between ocular motility disturbances and cognitive findings
Get PDFBackground and Purpose To assess the visual function in a large cohort of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients in different stages of the disease through optometric assessment, and to evaluate the relation between ocular motility and cognitive data in a subgroup of patients. Methods The optometric pro- tocol included ocular motility tests (broad H test and Northeastern State University College of Optometry - NSUCO test), near point of convergence (NPC), refractive error, best corrected visual acuity, binocular visual alignment assessment, and ocular symptoms questionnaire. The functional measure was expressed by ALS Functional Rating Scale-revised (ALSFRS-r) and the cognitive impairment was assessed by the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen (ECAS). Demographic and clini- cal features were also collected. Results Two-hundred consecutive ALS patients (me- dian age: 64; M/F: 118/82) in different stages of disease were recruited. Regarding ocular motility tests, patients with acceptable NSUCO values in both saccades and pursuits performance, obtained a significantly higher ECAS total score and most of the domains. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of optometric evaluations in multidisciplinary assessment to take care of ocular impairment early in the disease process. Our results seem to confirm the association between ocular motility disturbances and cognitive dysfunction, consistently with the literature
Teaching and learning physics in formal and informal contexts
Get PDFWhat role does physics play in large-scale science education? This is one of the many questions that we have been pondering over. We believe that research in physics education can make a substantial contribution, especially nowa- days, to tackle the problem of the estrangement of the general public from science issues. It is necessary to act on several sides not only by permanently supporting schools and universities to reflect on ways of teaching and learning physics, but also by valuing cultural experiences in informal contexts. The activities of our research group, documented on the website of “Laboratorio per l’Educazione alla Scienza” (LES) (http:///www.les.unina.it), are characterized by sharing a non-traditional way of doing science with people. In our experience, the meaning of physical and mathematical theories is understood when people’s interpretations of reality resonate with the formal models that physics has of reality. A cognitive resonance model- based approach can help people understand the meaning of models in physics and develop critical thinking. It seems to us that, after years of great deal of efforts, the results achieved have been judged very promising by all subjects involved, and adequately respond to the needs of the territories in which we operate
Measurement of the cosmic radiation flux in water as a function of detector depth
Get PDFThe MoCRiL (Measurements of Cosmic Rays in Lake) project has re-proposed, in an educational way and using modern measuring instruments, Domenico Pacini’s experiment for determining the origin of the natural ionizing ra- diation that surrounds us in any instant. The students of 4 different schools from the Calabria Region with the collaboration of the INFN researchers (OCRA Col- laboration of Cosenza) and of the Physics department of UNICAL, performed the measurement of the ionizing particle rate at different depths in the waters of the Arvo Lake in the Sila plateau (1300 m asl). The aim of this project is to let students know and understand the often very difficult way that leads to scientific discovery, sharing ideas and results with other students, from different years and schools, and with teachers and researchers
A portable γ spectroscopy detector for didactic applications
Get PDFA γ spectroscopy standard system is normally based on inorganic scintillators or on HPGe detectors. The electronic chain consists of a set of NIM mod- ules necessary for the acquisition and processing of the analog signal. The structural characteristics and the complexity of the traditional system make it unsuitable for field measurements and for experiments in high schools. This contribution will de- scribe a compact and portable setup based on a CsI:Tl scintillating crystal readout by a photomultiplier tube, and will demonstrate that the performance of a commer- cial DAQ board is comparable with that of the standard electronic chain, using a NaI:Tl detector in both measures. The limited power consumption, the low cost and the small size make it a versatile and suitable alternative for educational activities both for the nuclear physics lab of the Physics Bachelor’s degree and for dedicated activities in high schools
Analisi etica delle attività di ricerca e dei risultati preliminari del progetto SerGenCovid-19 (febbraio 2022 - maggio 2023)
Get PDFL’analisi che segue è frutto della consulenza, supervisione e monitoraggio etico assegnati al Centro Interdipartimentale per l’Etica e l’Integrità nella Ricerca (CID Ethics) del CNR nell’ambito del progetto SerGenCovid-19, con riferimento alle attività di ricerca e ai risultati relativi al periodo febbraio 2022 - maggio 20231. Il presente Rapporto costituisce un adempimento ricompreso tra le funzioni assegnate all’Ethics Mentor di progetto (di cui al provvedimento di nomina prot. DSB-CNR n. 0035423/2021)
Proposta di procedura per l'elezione del Consiglio di Istituto degli Istituti CNR a complemento del Disciplinare n. 121/2020
Get PDFA valle del rinnovo del Consiglio di Istituto del CNR-ISGI avvenuta nel febbraio 2022, si propongono, a complemento del Disciplinare vigente, i contenuti per un documento istituzionale di guida per tutte le fasi della consultazione e l'adozione di un'informativa sulla privacy uniforme per intero Ente
ArchaeoBIM ed Extended Matrix. Analisi e potenzialità di due processi per l'elaborazione di modelli informativi
Get PDFThe article systematically explores two processes of virtual reconstruction of archaeological contexts: ArchaeoBIM and Extended Matrix. The focus is on the theoretical frameworks behind their development, the proposed operational processes, and the products derived from both methodologies. The informative potential of the virtual models resulting from these reconstruction processes will be discussed, as well as the application-related issues. A substantial part of the article will be dedicated to the development of an integrative protocol aimed at incorporating the informational structure of the Extended Matrix within an ArchaeoBIM model. The process has been applied to the case study of House 1 in Regio IV, Insula 2 of the Etruscan city of Marzabotto, which was excavated in recent years (1988-1998) and thoroughly documented. Final considerations are then directed towards future development prospects and the integration of this virtual product within a Geographic Information System
Gauge flavour unification: From the flavour puzzle to stable protons
No full textThe idea of unification attempts to explain the complicated structure of the Standard Model (SM) in terms of fewer fundamental forces and/or matter fields. However, traditional GUTs based on SU(5) and Spin(10) shed no light on the existence of three generations of fermions, nor the distinctive pattern of their Yukawa couplings to the Higgs. In this proceeding I discuss two routes for unifying the SM
gauge symmetry with its 3-family flavour symmetries: firstly, unifying flavour with electroweak symmetries via the group SU(4) × Sp(6)L × Sp(6)R; secondly, unifying
flavour and colour via an SU(12) × SU(2)L × SU(2)R gauge theory. In either case, all three generations of SM fermions are unified into just two fundamental fields. In the larger part of the talk, I describe how the former model of “electroweak flavour unification” offers a compelling new explanation of hierarchical fermion masses and CKM angles. As a postscript, we will see that gauge flavour unification can have unexpected spin-offs not obviously related to flavour. In particular, the SU(12) × SU(2)L ×SU(2)R symmetry, when broken, typically leaves behind remnant discrete gauge symmetries that exactly stabilize protons to all orders
On the road to open access: insights from French antiquity journals and databases
Get PDFThis paper proposes an overview of practices ensuring the gradual transition of printed archaeological journals, already internationalised, to new models of online scientific publishing. It also examines the economic and organisational means that guarantee the sustainability of these models. Our two research units, the Pôle éditorial of the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Mondes and the team Archéologie du monde grec et systèmes d’information of the ArScAn équipe, are both based in the campus of Nanterre, and collaborative discussions between the numerous professionals based there give us a precious glimpse at the evolutions of practices in terms of data management and publication, in a context of Open Science where scholarly publications and data tend to be open more widely and faster
Peer Community In Archaeology: a community-driven free and transparent system for preprints peer-reviewing
Get PDFThe number of scientific articles published each year is on the rise, but the current system, which is dominated by a few for-profit publishers, has become prohibitively expensive for many institutions. This model of publishing is increasingly being criticized for its serious flaws. The deposit of preprints in open archives is a solution for the rapid dissemination of research. However, the quality of these preprints must be ensured. This is where Peer Community In (PCI) comes in, by organizing communities of researchers to assess the quality of the work deposited in open archives. In 2020, a PCI dedicated to Archaeology was established, with over 100 archaeologists acting as recommenders. These recommenders handle the submitted preprints as associate editors would in traditional journals, but at the end of the process, they write a recommendation text, and the entire editorial process is published with it. So far, PCI Archaeology has received 45 submissions, mostly pertaining to Prehistoric periods, and from authors located in different regions of the world. This open process has been widely accepted by reviewers, but there is still a need to promote the use of preprints in the community of archaeologists