Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca- Università del Salento
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Integrating Emerging Technologies for Comprehensive Healthcare Solutions: Early Insights from the BRILLIANCE Project
No full textThis paper presents the initial findings of the BRILLIANCE project, aimed at advancing the development of smart, non-invasive systems for monitoring the health of frail and chronic patients through the innovative use of established and emerging technologies. This multidisciplinary initiative enhances patient autonomy and safety while reducing caregiver workload by integrating various technologies. The project includes BLE technologies for continuous monitoring of vital signs and motion-related parameters (physical effort), and an indoor localization system combining ultrasound signals and RFID technology for accurate patient location and movement monitoring. It also develops body-compliant wearable sensing system, based on piezoelectric material for the detection of tongue movements and gestures in order to enable speech-related pathology diagnostics. Moreover, it introduces haptic feedback technologies for neurological rehabilitation and monitoring, through self-exercise, of patients with neurological diseases or trauma that cause loss or impairment of the sense of touch. In its early phases, the project team successfully implemented multifunctional sensor nodes, tested the first prototype of high-precision RFID-ultrasound locators, investigated the feasibility of the proposed wearable sensing system, and developed a novel technology to fabricate a touchscreen with tactile feedback showing promising results. These developments are important steps towards using these technologies to enhance patient care and quality of life
A multi-criteria approach to air pollution assessment based on the ELECTRE score method
No full textAir pollution is currently one of the most pressing environmental issues due to its negative impacts on human health and ecosystems. One of the main challenges in assessing air quality lies in the need to determine the concentration of pollutants across the territory; moreover, it also provides an understanding of the overall pollution level in an integrated way in order to identify the most critical areas and implement appropriate mitigation policies. The aim is to combine geostatistical techniques and multi-criteria decision-making methods, specifically using the ELECTRE Score method, for air quality evaluation. The analysis focuses on five key atmospheric pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, NO, and NOx) whose concentrations were interpolated over a regular grid, allowing for a continuous and detailed spatial representation of pollution levels across Germany. Unlike traditional ELECTRE methods, ELECTRE Score provides an aggregate score for each alternative (in this case, each grid cell), simplifying the classification and interpretation process. The final scores enable an intuitive ranking of areas based on pollution severity, supporting strategic decision-making in identifying priority zones for environmental intervention
Evaluating Policy Effectiveness to Enhance Smart Farming Technologies Adoption Using Fuzzy Logic and Sugeno Integral
No full textWe propose a new methodology that combines variational techniques, fuzzy logic tools and multi-criteria analysis to investigate the smart farming adoption process under conditions of spatial heterogeneity and imprecise knowledge of the impact of the main factors driving adoption. The Sugeno Integral is employed for the aggregation procedure for its ability to handle qualitative evaluations and to describe the interaction between factors. We employ the proposed methodology to assess the efficacy of governmental policies, evaluating their impact in terms of financial incentives, sustainability initiatives, skills enhancement efforts, and the promotion of innovation platforms
Tra nodi aperti e riflessioni esitanti: il tema dell’Intelligenza Artificiale nell’editoria pedagogica italiana. Una scoping review sui volumi pubblicati nell’ultimo decennio
No full textNegli ultimi anni, l'Intelligenza Artificiale (IA) ha suscitato un crescente interesse nel panorama educativo italiano, che si riflette in un aumento signif‐icativo della produzione editoriale dedicata all'argomento. Numerosi volumi hanno affrontato l'IA da prospettive pedagogiche, tecnologiche e formative,evidenziando la rilevanza e l'urgenza di un dibattito interdisciplinare. Considerando la rapida evoluzione delle tecnologie intelligenti e il loro impattosui processi di insegnamento e apprendimento, questo contributo si propone di fornire una mappatura sistematica della letteratura pubblicata in Italiatra il 2014 e il 2024. Adottando la metodologia della scoping review proposta da Arksey e O'Malley (2005) e successivamente aggiornata da Levac et al. (2010), lo studio analizza le principali tendenze tematiche, gli approcci metodologici e i destinatari delle pubblicazioni, con l'obiettivo di delinearel'attuale stato dell'arte e identificare le direzioni future per la ricerca e la formazion
«Ludens in orbe terrarum...»: il gioco dei segni nel mondo.
No full textIl contributo si addentra nella connotazione semiotico-filosofica, o fondativa, legata alla natura della semiosi globale e della semiosi umana. Il gioco dei segni come metafora della vita del mondo, come scrittura e ri-scrittura, o invenzione continua di livelli di realtà è incompibile, vagabondo, è dépense, che per Bataille è anche la parte maledetta in cui si dispiegano forme di spreco abiette, irragionevoli, parte nella quale egli include la guerra, che è il massimo della dilapidazione di energia, di sapere e di forze produttive che la storia umana conosca
Anthocyanins and Anthocyanin Biosynthesis Gene Expression in Passiflora Flower Corona Filaments
No full textThe diversity in anthocyanin flower pigmentation is vital in the ornamental plant market. To understand the regulation of the corona filament pigmentation of the Passiflora flower, we investigated the anthocyanin profiles of five distinct species (P. violacea, P. caerulea, P. edulis, P. incarnata, and P. coccinea) using HPLC-MS. A total of 14 anthocyanins, differentially distributed in the analyzed species, were identified as responsible for the differences in corona color, which can be attributed to different ratios of pelargonidin, cyanidin, and delphinidin. Additionally, we evaluated the expression of some biosynthetic genes, including dehydroflavonol reductase (DFR), flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase (F3′H), and flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase (F3′5′H). F3′H seems to regulate the accumulation of cyanidins, F3′5′H determines blue pigmentation, and DFR enhances the biosynthesis of pelargonidins. Furthermore, three genes coding for key transcription factors, Myeloblastosis (MYB), basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH), and WD repeat protein (WD40), were examined using qPCR. The results confirm that such genes regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that underlie pigment biosynthesis for application in biotechnologies
Green preparation of gold nanoparticles and their activity in photothermal cancer therapy
No full textIn this work, a simple strategy to valorise agricultural waste was developed and applied in the green synthesis of gold nanoparticles. Grape marc waste, obtained from Lambrusco winery production, contain high amounts of polar substances (tannins, polyphenolic compounds, and reducing agents) that can act as starting materials for nanoparticle formation. In this way, hazardous substances generally used in conventional methodology can be avoided, enhancing their biocompatibility and favouring their possible use in medical applications. After a hydrothermal extraction at 65°C, grape marc extract (GM) was successfully employed in gold nanoparticles preparation (GM-AuNPs)1. After purification and characterisation their biocompatibility was demonstrated on human fibroblast (FibH)
and MCF-7 breast cancer cells incubated with different concentrations of GM-AuNPs. Moreover, the in vitro photothermal capacity of GM-AuNPs was evaluated using a NIR (808nm) laser2. Different GM-AuNPs’ concentrations were irradiated and the temperature variation was evaluated every minute until 10 minutes of irradiation. Starting from these interesting results, the applicability of GM-AuNPs in photothermal killing of MCF-7 and bacterial cells was finally evaluated
Artificial Intelligence and Anatomical-Physiological Parameters: Evidence-Based Embodied Approach
No full textNonlinear Aero-Thermo-Elastic Analysis of Laminated Composite Beams with Surface-Bonded FGMs Layers Subjected to a Concentrated Harmonic Load
No full textIn this study, the nonlinear forced vibration response of fiber-reinforced laminated composite beams coated with functionally graded materials (FGMs) is investigated under the combined action of aero-thermoelastic loads and a concentrated harmonic excitation. The mathematical formulation is established using the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, where von Kármán geometric nonlinearities are taken into account, along with the modified third-order piston theory to represent aerodynamic effects. By neglecting axial inertia, the resulting set of nonlinear governing equations is simplified into a single equation. This equation is discretized through the Galerkin procedure, yielding a nonlinear ordinary differential equation. An analytical solution is, then, obtained by applying the method of multiple time scales (MTS). Furthermore, a comprehensive parametric analysis is carried out to evaluate how factors such as the power-law index, stacking sequence, temperature field, load amplitude and position, free-stream velocity, and Mach number influence both the lateral dynamic deflection and the frequency response characteristics (FRCs) of the beams, offering useful guidelines for structural design optimization