242 research outputs found
To Feel, to Understand, to Act. Sustainability on Display
No full textThis essay describes the exhibition project Sostenibilart promoted by CYLAND MediaArtLab and the Centre for Studies in Russian Art (CSAR). Starting from an analysis of what is normally described with the term ‘sustainability’, we will examine how this concept is developed by the artists identified as ambassadors of sustainability. Their reflection on the theme is also expressed through the answers to three questions posed by the Author that allow a transversal reading of the project. The text will therefore consider the ideas that emerged in this interrelated exchange. Finally, we will consider participation in contemporary art to verify the significance of the contribution of the artists-ambassadors of sustainability to stimulate in the public a reflection – and eventually action – on the issues
My Boyfriend Came Back From The War: una narrazione visiva di Olia Lialina
No full textThe contribution proposes the analysis of Net Art’s world-famous masterpiece
of one of its founders: My Boyfriend Came Back from the War (1996) by Olia Lialina.
Combining black and white images and words, it evokes the encounter of two lovers who
have been separated so long by the war. With her work, Lialina shows us the potential for
interaction of the new screen – that of the computer. She experiments with a non-linear
narration, where users edit the story frames thanks to hypermedia platform, resulting in
a new relationship between author and public. Considering such operations, the paper
aims to highlight the work’s ludic connotation beside the impact of filmic narrative on
the web
Single-stage canal wall down tympanoplasty: long-term results and prognostic factors.
No full textOBJECTIVES:
We sought to identify factors associated with anatomic and functional results of canal wall-down tympanoplasty.
METHODS:
One hundred eighty-nine primary or relapsing cholesteatomas were consecutively operated on by a single surgeon. Cholesteatoma recurrence rates were evaluated. Predictive values of the patient, disease, and surgical characteristics on cholesteatoma recurrence were estimated. The effect of these variables on keratin pearl development, recurrent otorrhea or granulation tissue formation, and hearing function was tested.
RESULTS:
The mean follow-up was 8 years (range, 4 to 15 years). The cholesteatoma relapse rate (+/- SE) estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method was 2.1% +/-1.1%. No variables were associated with relapsing disease. The log-rank test showed a significantly higher probability of keratin pearls in male patients (16.7% versus 2.1%; p = 0.001), young patients (less than 16 years; 51.4% versus 6.2%; p = 0.0001), patients with unencapsulated cholesteatomas (19.5% versus 5.3%; p = 0.06), patients with petrous or accessory cellularity invasion (17.9% versus 7.1%; p = 0.02), and patients with overlay myringoplasty (25% versus 7.9%; p = 0.03). Recurrent otorrhea and granulation tissue were associated with homograft temporalis fascia myringoplasty (14.3% versus 3.8%; p = 0.04). The overall postoperative air-bone gap was within 20 dB in 30.7%; it was within 20 dB in 43.9% (47/107) for intact or reconstructed ossicular chains and in 13.4% (11/82) for nonreconstructed, eroded ossicular chains (p = 0.0001). The air-bone gap was within 20 dB in 42.6% (46/108) when the mucosa of the tympanic cavity was normal and in 14.8% (12/81) when there was granulation tissue within the tympanic cavity (p = 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS:
Single-stage canal wall-down tympanoplasty is an appropriate treatment for acquired tympanomastoid cholesteatoma
La quotidianità della vita semplice: il realismo di Koržev
No full textThe author of the text Ksenia Karpova analyzes the recurrence of everyday references that can be found in Gely Korzhev's paintings.
The essay is part of the catalog of the exhibition "Gely Korzhev. Back to Venice" (Venice, Ca' Foscari Esposizioni, 10.05-3.11.2019)
Nanotechnology advances in brain tumours: the state of the art
No full textAbstract: Primary malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumors only represent about 2% of all cancers. However, they are very often associated with high morbidity and mortality. Despite current standard-of-care therapy, such as surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy, neither cure nor any toxic therapy against malignant CNS tumors has been developed so far. Nanotechnology may alter this situation. It offers a new promise for cancer diagnosis and treatment. This emerging technology, by developing and manufacturing materials using atomic and molecular elements, can provide a platform for the combination of diagnostics, therapeutics and delivery to the tumor, with subsequent monitoring of the response. This review focuses on recent developments in cancer nanotechnology with particular attention to nanoparticle systems, important tools for the improvement of drug delivery in brain tumor. The latest advances in both the research sector and in recent patents for cancer imaging and therapy are discussed
ISAF, Afghanistan and the Pakistan Dimension: Towards an Acceptable Transition
No full textThe article explores the domestic and regional implications of
the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan after 2014. In domestic
politics, the withdrawal will intersect with political transition: the
presidential elections. According to the author, the results of the
elections will represent either the failure or success of the ambi
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tious program of assistance and stabilization launched by the international community twelve
years ago. It also represents the need to avoid the disastrous results of the 2009 presidential
elections, marked by massive fraud and manipulation. However, as the paper suggests, the
current political scenario in Kabul is not very promising: personal rivalries, tribal feuds,
ethno-tribal sectarianism, disinclining mode vis-à-vis international requests of transparency
and clear voting mechanisms. In this sense, the future of Afghanistan as a united and stable
country seems to be the less important goal for the Afghan political elites. In such a fragile
situation, the regional dimension of the conflict acquires even greater importance. This is
because if Pakistan does not effectively deal with Taliban in both political and militaristic
terms, if Iran continues to act as a “lone wolf” in the post-ISAF scenario regarding the
civil war in Afghanistan, and if the Arab oil monarchies maintain their polarizing support
to religious dogmatism in the area, Afghanistan will not be able to achieve sustainable and
credible stability. Nonetheless, the paper concludes that in post-ISAF Afghanistan, stability
will depend more on the shifts within the political scenario than the security one, in the sense
that without a credible political transition, and without a non-contested electoral process in
2014, all the previous costly and bloody efforts will have been in vain. In order to secure a
successful political transition, two factors will be decisive: i) a strong focus on traditional
domestic patterns of policy, rather than formal democracy procedures, ii) the involvement of
regional actors, especially Pakistan, in order to reach a suitable, long-term political com
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promise with the insurgents
Effect of handling in pre-weaning rabbits
No full text[EN] The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of regular daily handling on weight gain and on the fear reaction towards a new environment and human beings in domestic kits (Tonic Immobility test: TI, Emergence test: ET). Two groups in the same environment and fed the same diet were analysed: handled group and control (17 litters, 9 kits/litter per group). No differences in weight gain were recorded. During ET at 33 days of age, handled kits took less time to enter the arena than control group kits. TI duration was shorter in handled kits, which required more inductions than the control group. It was found that minimal human contact imposed before nursing reduced the fear of humans in rabbit kits. Our handling method requires minimal contact and can be used to reduce fear and improve welfare in rabbits. Moreover, the short length of the handling procedure allows stockpersons to produce tamer rabbits, reducing stress levels.This research was funded by PRIN 2005 (MUR - Roma). We would like to thank the farm “Erminia Vezzoli” located in Covo (Bergamo, Italy).Zucca, D.; Redaelli, V.; Marelli, S.; Bonazza, V.; Heinzl, E.; Verga, M.; Luzi, F. (2012). Effect of handling in pre-weaning rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 20(2):97-101. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2012.1083SWORD9710120
DBB - A Distorted Brain Benchmark for Automatic Tissue Segmentation in Paediatric Patients
No full textT1-weighted magnetic resonance images provide a comprehensive view of the morphology of the human brain at the macro scale. These images are usually the input of a segmentation process that aims detecting the anatomical structures labeling them according to a predefined set of target tissues. Automated methods for brain tissue segmentation rely on anatomical priors of the human brain structures. This is the reason why their performance is quite accurate on healthy individuals. Nevertheless model-based tools become less accurate in clinical practice, specifically in the cases of severe lesions or highly distorted cerebral anatomy. More recently there are empirical evidences that a data-driven approach can be more robust in presence of alterations of brain structures, even though the learning model is trained on healthy brains. Our contribution is a benchmark to support an open investigation on how the tissue segmentation of distorted brains can be improved by adopting a supervised learning approach. We formulate a precise definition of the task and propose an evaluation metric for a fair and quantitative comparison. The training sample is composed of almost one thousand healthy individuals. Data include both T1-weighted MR images and their labeling of brain tissues. The test sample is a collection of several tens of individuals with severe brain distortions. Data and code are openly published on BrainLife, an open science platform for reproducible neuroscience data analysis
Management of undifferentiated high-grade pleomorphic sarcoma of parotid region in elderly women
No full textTailoring cardiac environment in microphysiological systems: an outlook on current and perspective heart-on-chip platforms
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