359 research outputs found
An Ambit Stochastic Approach to Pricing Electricity Forward Contracts: The Case of the German Energy Market
No full textWe propose an ambit stochastic model to study the electricity forward prices. We provide a detailed analysis of the probabilistic properties of such model, discussing the related martingale conditions and deriving concrete implementation of it for the related underlying spot price. The latter is obtained from the forward model through a limiting argument. Furthermore, we show, also providing a concrete example, that a proper specification of these models is able to effectively forecast prices of forward contracts written on the European Energy Exchange (EEX) AG, or German Energy Exchange, market
‘Too late or too soon’: The ethics of advance care planning in dementia setting
No full textAdvance care planning (ACP) is considered a pivotal aid in the decision-making process, especially for many people living with dementia, who inevitably will lose the capacity to make decisions at the end of life. In Italy, ACP has been recently regulated by law 219/2017, leading to the investigation of how physicians deal with ACP in dementia. In order to comprehend the perception of physicians who provide care for patients with dementia regarding ACP and to describe their difficulties and needs, this study presents the results of a qualitative research study performed within a local health authority in northern Italy. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 11 physicians dealing with patients with dementia and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes were identified, describing both the difficulties and challenges perceived by physicians in performing shared ACP in their daily activities. This study demonstrates that physicians experience troubles synchronizing the time of shared ACP with the more rapid development of dementia. Results also suggest that further training about communication on ACP is urgently required to ease the implementation of shared ACP. A broader involvement of institutions and other professionals is also important in spreading ACP among healthcare institutions
Machine learning modeling for material science and manufacturing: overview and perspectives for the future
No full text‘Too late or too soon’: The ethics of advance care planning in dementia setting
No full textAdvance care planning (ACP) is considered a pivotal aid in the decision-making process, especially for many people living with dementia, who inevitably will lose the capacity to make decisions at the end of life. In Italy, ACP has been recently regulated by law 219/2017, leading to the investigation of how physicians deal with ACP in dementia. In order to comprehend the perception of physicians who provide care for patients with dementia regarding ACP and to describe their difficulties and needs, this study presents the results of a qualitative research study performed within a local health authority in northern Italy. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 11 physicians dealing with patients with dementia and were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four superordinate themes were identified, describing both the difficulties and challenges perceived by physicians in performing shared ACP in their daily activities. This study demonstrates that physicians experience troubles synchronizing the time of shared ACP with the more rapid development of dementia. Results also suggest that further training about communication on ACP is urgently required to ease the implementation of shared ACP. A broader involvement of institutions and other professionals is also important in spreading ACP among healthcare institutions
Oviposition Deterrent Activity of Fungicides and Low-Risk Substances for the Integrated Management of the Olive Fruit Fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera, Tephritidae)
No full textThe olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae is a very common pest infesting olive orchards
wherever they are cultivated, representing the greatest threat to olive production and oil quality.
Although broad-spectrum insecticides are often used to protect olive crops against B. oleae, there
is increasing concern about their effects on the environment and human health. An important tool
in integrated olive fly management could be the use of products with a repellency and oviposition
deterrence effect. This research yielded experimental evidence of significant oviposition deterrent
activity on the olive fly as side effects of substances used in olive growing such as fungicides or plant
biostimulants, highlighting the potential use of these products in B. oleae management
Standardizzazione, automazione e responsabilità medica. Dalle recenti riforme alla definizione di un modello d’imputazione solidaristico e liberale
No full textIn the first part of the article (§ 1-6), the author deals with the debate about the limits of criminal liability for negligent medical malpractice in a global con-text characterized by the standardization of clinical practices. The critical considera-tion of the recent legal reforms in Italy, as well as the prevalent models defended by criminal law scholars, allows the configuration of a paradigm of imputation capable of combining the interests of patients with those of health professionals. In the last part (§ 7-8), the author considers how the same "balanced" -liberal as well as solida-ristic- criterion could allow regulating medical liability for adopting indications pro-vided by Artificial Intelligence systems. The conclusions (§ 9) emphasise how stan-dardisation and automation processes find an insurmountable obstacle in the de-fence of pluralism, autonomy and the ethics of responsibility
EASE: Energy-Aware Job Scheduling for Vehicular Edge Networks With Renewable Energy Resources
No full textThe energy sustainability of multi-access edge computing (MEC) platforms is
here addressed by developing Energy-Aware job Scheduling at the Edge (EASE), a
computing resource scheduler for edge servers co-powered by renewable energy
resources and the power grid. The scenario under study involves the optimal
allocation and migration of time-sensitive computing tasks in a
resource-constrained internet of vehicles (IoV) context. This is achieved by
tackling, as the main objective, the minimization of the carbon footprint of
the edge network, whilst delivering adequate quality of service (QoS) to the
end users (e.g., meeting task execution deadlines). EASE integrates i) a
centralized optimization step, solved through model predictive control (MPC),
to manage the renewable energy that is locally collected at the edge servers
and their local computing resources, estimating their future availability, and
ii) a distributed consensus step, solved via dual ascent in closed form, to
reach agreement on service migrations. EASE is compared with four existing
migration strategies. Quantitative results demonstrate its greater energy
efficiency, which often gets close to complete carbon neutrality, while also
improving the QoS.Comment: This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication.
Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no
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Reliance on Scientific Claims in Social and Legal Contexts: An ‘HIV and AIDS’ Case Study
No full textThis chapter deals with the issue of reliance on scientific claims in contexts other than scientific ones. Both social and natural sciences are supposed to be able to provide decision-making processes with objective and neutral points of view on the natural order. Nevertheless, several factors—such as the constant evolution of scientific research, scientific uncertainty, and social implications of scientific debates—make increasingly difficult to access clearly reliable scientific knowledge. The thirty-year scientific-public dispute between the official hypothesis on HIV/AIDS and the so-called ‘AIDS denialism’ allows us to corroborate this general observation. Taking this example as a starting point and common thread, the author discusses the importance of improving experts’ communication towards society and the need to provide lay-persons with reasonable explanations. Indeed, paradigmatic comparative case-law confirm that also judges have to independently decide whether to admit scientific evidence in court, determining which claims are (more) reliable (than others). In his conclusions, the author points out that better scientific communication requires accepting complexity and constant variability characterising scientific matters. Instead, over-reliance on science might induce a lack of trust in scientific institutions, inevitably increasing relativism, confusion, and manipulation
La inferencia causal, el problema de la demarcación y el uso del análisis filogenético en el proceso penal: ¿Hacia una nueva figura de juez? (A propósito de la Sentencia de la Corte de Casación italiana en el caso Grandi Rischi y sobre la responsabilidad penal por contagio de agentes infecciosos)
No full textIn the light of the logical structure of the abductive reasoning, this paper deals with the question concerning the selection of the explanatory nomological knowledge – especially with reference to the evaluation of its reliability and the «demarcation problem» – and the use of scientific evidence to prove causation. The author focuses his attention on the sentence of the Italian Cassation Court in the “Grandi Rischi” case (2009 – 2016) and deals with the use of phylogenetic analysis to prove causation in prosecutions for HIV or HCV transmission. In his final remarks, he maintains the need for judges to have proper interdisciplinary training in order to understand those scientific issues that frequently arise in criminal trials
Responsabilidad penal por mala praxis médica y política criminal (mirando hacia el futuro)
No full textThis paper deals with the influence of criminal policy on the dogmatic configuration of criminal negligence. The author considers how certain “valuable reasons” may recommend a retraction of the criminal intervention, to be carried out by a legal redefinition or otherwise a dogmatic reconfiguration of “criminal negligence” as a criterion of imputation. In particular, the paper focuses on criminal liability for medical malpractice, highlighting why, especially in this sector, a very limited use of the ultima ratio of the legal system would be recommended
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