238 research outputs found
The C-Section Epidemic: What's Tort Reform Got to Do With It?
No full textToday one in three babies in the United States comes into the world by cesarean section. The cesarean section has become the most commonly performed operating room procedure in the United States. Conventional wisdom holds that malpractice liability bears primary responsibility for the cesarean section epidemic and that tort reform, which caps physician liability, holds the key to its reduction. This article presents new aggregate empirical data that debunks this view. For the first time, it provides a national cesarean rate for births subject to damage caps and a national cesarean rate for births without damage caps. This data shows that a woman is not less likely to give birth by cesarean section in a state with damage caps than in one without. Thus, either damage caps are insufficient to address physicians’ concerns or other explanations better account for the overuse of the procedure. The empirical analysis will assist policy makers and advocates seeking to reduce the cesarean rate as well as contribute to consideration of the efficacy of medical malpractice reform as a means to reduce the broader problem of medical overtreatment.
The article then outlines three policy initiatives to reduce the cesarean section rate. First, it suggests upending the current payment practice for deliveries. Contrary to the present norm, it proposes that obstetricians receive more rather than less to deliver vaginally to compensate them for the extra time that vaginal delivery takes compared to cesarean delivery. Second, rather than looking to tort reform to reduce cesarean section rates, the article explores whether malpractice insurance providers themselves are contributing to the cesarean section epidemic and advocates two novel medical malpractice insurance reforms to address this problem. Third, it advocates public disclosure of hospital and physician cesarean section rates so that women can make informed decisions when selecting their health care providers and when determining whether to have a cesarean section
Exposure-Tolerant Imaging Solution forCultural Heritage Monitoring
No full textThis paper describes a simple and cheap solution specifically designed for monitoring the degradation of thin coatings employed for metal protection. The proposed solution employs a commercial photocamera and a frequency-domain-based approach that is capable of highlighting the surface uniformity changes due to initial corrosion. Even though the proposed solution is specifically designed to monitor the long-time performance of protective coatings employed for the restoration of silver artifacts, it can be successfully used also for assessing the conservation state of other ancient metallic works of art. The proposed solution is made tolerant to exposure changes by using a procedure for sensor nonlinearity identification and correction, does not require a precise lighting control, and employs only free open-source software, so that its overall cost is very low and can be used also by not specifically trained operator
Handheld-Impedance-Measurement System with seven-decade capability and potentiostatic function
No full textThis paper describes design and test of a new impedance-measurement system for nonlinear devices that exhibits a seven-decade range and works down to a frequency of 0.01 Hz. The system is specifically designed for electrochemical measurements, but the proposed architecture can be employed in many other fields where flexible signal generation and analysis are required. The system employs an unconventional signal generator based on two pulsewidth modulation (PWM) oscillators and an autocalibration system that allows uncertainties of less than 3% to be obtained over a range of 1 kΩ to 100 GΩ. A synchronous demodulation processing allows the noise superimposed to the low-amplitude input signals to be made negligibl
Work-life balance in times of pandemic: the legal and judicial implementation of the Italian Constitutional Principle of Protection of Working Mothers in a comparative framework
No full textThis paper examines the issue of life-work balance for working mothers in light of recent data proving that the burden has been disproportionate during the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to fathers. It starts describing the constitutional foundation of the special protection recognized to this category according to Article 37 of the constitution, inserted in a comparative framework. After a critical analysis of the evolution of both case law and legislation concerning the role of both parents in the care of kids and the progressive emergence of the interest of the child as core-value in this field, the author goes back to the current situation and draws conclusions on recent developments
The Colombian Constitutional Court and the Peace Process: Slowing Down the Fast-Track?
No full textThis contribution offers a critical analysis of the role of the Colombian Constitutional Court within the peace process through the prism of the recent judgment C-332/2017. The Court found partially unconstitutional the regulation of the “fast-track” legislative procedure, established in order to quickly implement the peace agreement between the Government and the FARC. Such procedure was introduced through a constitutional amendment, to which the Court applied the “replacement doctrine”. The author provides a contextualization of the judgment with respect to the former jurisprudence, the arguments in favor and against its outcome, as well as the overall position and self-understanding of the Court in the peace process
Language is purposeful. Some thoughts on teaching Systemic Functional Grammar
No full textThis volume is part of a Festschrift to celebrate the work of Donna R. Miller. The author is also one of the editors of this book. Her chapter suggests a reflection on the role of teaching grammar at university, with a specific focus on Systemic Functional Linguistics for non-native learners of English who aim to achieve a high level of proficiency in the English language. It is explicitly based on the guidance and inspiration Donna R. Miller gave her mentees and younger colleagues at the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures (LILEC) of the University of Bologna. The chapter looks at the methodologies used to teach this subject at the LILEC Department, and on the advantages and disadvantages of teaching this grammatical formalism at BA level
Noninvasive Solution for Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy on Metallic Works of Art
No full textMetallic works of art of cultural relevance are continuously subjected to corrosion as the environment becomes increasingly polluted. A fast and simple method to in situ assess the conservation conditions is therefore required. This paper describes the development and performance of dry and gel-based electrodes which can be used to assess the surface conservation state without the need to move the artifacts and which do not cause any damage to them. The electrodes can be used with a portable electrochemical impedance spectroscopy system, without employing electrochemical cells. The proposed solution does not provide all the information that one can obtain using an electrochemical cell, but it can discriminate between protective coatings. It can be used to assess the protective capability of corrosion product layers and natural patinas, and it can therefore enable a noninvasive routine surface assessment to be conducted that could be extremely useful for people working in the field of conservation of cultural heritag
Modified POF Sensor for Gaseous Hydrogen Fluoride Monitoring in the Presence of Ionizing Radiations
No full textThis paper describes the development of a sensor designed to detect low concentrations of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in gas mixtures. The sensor employs a plastic optical fiber (POF) covered with a thin layer of glass- like material. HF attacks the glass and alters the fiber transmission capability so that the detection simply requires a LED and a photodiode. The coated POF is obtained by means of low-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition that allows the glass-like film to be deposited at low temperature without damaging the fiber core. The developed sensor will be installed in the recirculation gas system of the resistive plate chamber muon detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN
An alternative definition of the shear stress amplitude based on the Maximum Rectangular Hull method and application to the C-S (Carpinteri-Spagnoli) criterion
No full textIn the present paper, the fatigue strength estimation capabilities of the modified C-S
(Carpinteri-Spagnoli) criterion are improved by employing the Maximum Rectangular
Hull (MRH) method proposed by the first author. The C–S criterion is a multiaxial
high-cycle fatigue criterion based on the critical plane approach and takes into account both
shear stress (Mode II) and normal stress (Mode I)mechanisms to evaluate the orientation of
the critical plane. The fatigue damage parameter used is given by a nonlinear combination
of the equivalent normal stress amplitude,Na,eq, and the shear stress amplitude, Ca, acting on
the critical plane. In the present paper, the shear stress amplitude is evaluated through the
MRH method. Some experimental data available in the literature are compared with the
theoretical estimations, concluding that the multiaxial fatigue strength evaluations provided
by the C–S criterion are improved when Ca is computed applying theMRHmethod instead
of the Minimum Bounding Circle (MBC) method
Study and restoration of a wooden Crucifix in the Monastery of S. Caterina D’Alessandria in Palermo, Italy
No full textThis article presents the analyses and work on the iconographic subject related to a wooden crucifix
of an unknown author from the S. Caterina monastery, from the first half of the 17th century. This
study focuses on the stylistic comparison between this artefact and others crucifixes of the same
historical period. Alongside, an in-depth description of its conservative history and restoration work
on the artefact is reporte
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