1,962 research outputs found
Science as Thinking Reason
No full text The author discusses the evolution of Heidegger’s conception of science and brings out its limits as well as its possible developments. An eminent representative of contemporary thinking in the theory of knowledge, Paolo Parrini stands in a line of critical realism in the Kantian neopositivist tradition. This paper returns to and develops the lectio delivered at the award of the ‘Giulio Preti’ Prize in November 2008. </jats:p
Nella chirurgia dell'alluce valgo, l'ansia del paziente influisce sui risultati clinici a distanza?
No full textEvoluzione come religione? di G. Wolters
No full textTraduzione dal tedesco (pp. 362-380) di un contributo di G. Wolters
Oral mucosa spectrophotometric changes in healthy parents of patients with Down syndrome
No full textObjective: Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most frequent causes of mental retardation. To date, no phenotypical markers in the parents of DS offspring are known. Here, we tested the value of oral mucosal reflectance spectrophotometry in identifying unaffected parents of DS patients (free trisomy 21). Methods: Oral mucosal reflectance spectrophotometry has been evaluated in 28 parents of DS patients and in 28 gender- and age-matched controls. Results: DS parents showed a significantly lower light reflectance in the red section of the spectrum than control subjects (610-700-nm range; P < 0.0001). No significant differences between DS mothers and DS fathers were observed (P ≥ 0.85). Conclusion: These findings indicate the presence of a previously unrecognized mucosal reflectance abnormality of the oral mucosa of unaffected parents of DS patients, thus offering a new noninvasive phenotypical marker for this condition. Our observation suggests a new tool for screening subjects at high risk for DS offspring
FIGURE 2. Phenganax parrini, n. g., n in A new sclerite-free genus and species of Clavulariidae (Coelenterata: Octocorallia)
No full textFIGURE 2. Phenganax parrini, n. g., n. sp., colonies in an aquarium: A, dense polyps obscuring substrate; B-C, a selected colony portion in two different states of polyp activity; D, a polyp with a wrinkled cuticle on the basal portion; E, a polyp fully expanded [pharynx (p)]; F, same polyp partially retracted.Published as part of Alderslade, Philip & Mcfadden, Catherine S., 2011, A new sclerite-free genus and species of Clavulariidae (Coelenterata: Octocorallia), pp. 64-68 in Zootaxa 3104 (1) on page 66, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3104.1.6, http://zenodo.org/record/524532
Pulse oximetry signals: chaotic analysis in the evaluation of neonatal illness severity
No full textBackground: Assessment of neonatal illness severity is important for quality of care control, unbiased NICU performance comparisons, management studies and rationale use of resources. Emerging evidence indicates that the analysis of heart rate dynamics may provide valuable practical diagnostic and prognostic information. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a reduced dynamics of pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI) is associated with higher illness severity in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with histologically documented chorioamnionitis (HCA), a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Methods: Two VLBW population with and without HCA were examined [HCA+: gestational age: 27.1 ± 2.3 wk, birth weight 932±300 g, SNAP-II: 39 (29–45), n=15; HCA-: gestational age: 27.4 ± 0.9 wk, birth weight 935±200 g, SNAP-II: 13 (5–17), n=15]. Relative Lempel-Ziv complexity (LZ), Lyapunov largest exponent (ëi), correlation dimension (CD) and Hurst exponent (H) were determined for 1000 to 10,000 data set points (Chaos Data Analyzer Pro, The Academic Software Library, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA) for PR and PI recorded at 4-s intervals (Masimo RS, Masimo Co., Irvine, CA, USA) for each infant. The predictive accuracy of chaotic analysis was calculated using a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis.
Results: HCA+ infants exhibited significantly decreased LZ (PI-LZ: 0.26±0.13 vs. 0.446±0.07, p<0.0001; PR-LZ: 0.18±0.09 vs. 0.41±0.22, p=0.0008), ëi (PR-ëi: -0.14± 0.24 vs. 0.44 ±0.09, p<0.0001; PI-ëi: 0.21±0.36 vs. 0.42±0.10, p=0.038) and CD (PI-CD: 1.6±0.9 vs. 2.8±0.7, p=0.0003; PR-CD: 1.0±1.2 vs. 2.7±1.5, p=0.0019), as well as increased H (PR-H: 0.36±0.06 vs. 0.21±0.06, p<0.0001; PI-H:0.33±0.13 vs. 0.23±0.07, p=0.0139) values were observed. Low PR-CD (≤0.858), PR-ëi (≤0.235), and PI-LZ (≤0.369) adequately identified HCA+ infants (PR-CD and PR-ëi:100% sensitivity and 100% specificity; PI-LZ: 87.5% sensitivity; 100% specificity).
Conclusion: These findings suggest that chaotic analysis of pulse oximetry signals may represent a novel, noninvasive, real-time approach for assessing illness severity in high-risk newborn
Characterization of a flint maize (Zea mays var. indurata) Italian landrace. I . Morpho-phenological and agronomic traits
No full textMaize (Zea mays L.) landraces have the highest genetic variation and adaptation to the natural and anthropological
environment where they have evolved. Surveying both qualitative and quantitative morphological traits of existing
landraces may be useful in maintaining their genetic diversity and preserving them from genetic erosion. Our research deals with the morpho-phenological and agronomic characterization of a flint maize landrace, named ‘Nostrano di Storo’, still grown in an inland hilly environment in the low valley of Chiese River in Trentino, North-Eastern Italy. The majority of plants from twenty field populations proved to belong, with few exceptions (NSt2, NSt9, NSt11), to a single population. It means that the plant material long grown in this area and maintained by local farmers through yearly selection forms a single landrace within which some populations (i.e.
NSt1, NSt3, NSt4, NSt7, NSt10, NSt18, NSt19, NSt20) could be considered as most representative and taken as ‘core’. This is supported by the fact that the genetic variability was much higher within than between field populations: half of the plant and ear traits investigated did not show any significant difference between populations whereas all traits but two showed highly significant differences within populations. Selection carried out over the years by each farmer according to his own criteria produced little genetic differentiation within the original population. Gene flow among farmer populations, most likely occurred through both pollen dispersion to
neighboring cultivated fields and seed exchange among farmers, may help to explain the low genetic differentiation.
This information is useful for both planning conservation and recognizing the landrace as a unique germplasm source of specific geographic origin
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