441 research outputs found
COVARIANCE PROPERTIES OF A MULTIFERMION HAMILTONIAN WITH PAIRWISE, MASSLESS VECTOR-BOSON EXCHANGE
No full textThe moderating effects of corporate and national factors on lean projects barriers: a cross‐national study
No full textA Foundation for the Study of IT Effects: A New Look at DeSanctis and Poole’s Concepts of Structural Features and Spirit
No full textGerardine DeSanctis and Marshall Scott Poole made an important contribution to the study of IT uses and effects with their insightful concepts of “structural features” and “spirit.” Unlike their concept of “appropriation,” which has found broad acceptance in the IS community, the concepts of structural features and spirit have not been widely used. Published concerns that the concepts are not consistent with basic assumptions in Giddens’ structuration theory, on which the concepts were based, could account for their neglect. However, concepts like structural features and spirit are indispensable for any program of research that attempts to show how IT artifacts can, together with other influences, contribute to the consequences of IT use. Addressing the criticisms that have been leveled against these concepts is, therefore, important. In this paper we unpack DeSanctis and Poole’s concepts and propose redefining them as three new concepts: technical objects, functional affordances, and symbolic expressions. We believe this reconceptualization addresses several concerns about the original concepts, while retaining the core insights of DeSanctis and Poole’s innovative analysis
MR mutislice multiecho T2* technique for segmental and global quantification of myocardial iron: multi-centre validation of the transferability in the MIOT (Myocardial Iron Overload in Thalassemia) network
No full textCambiamenti climatici e sistemi colturali. Prime applicazioni del modello Cropsyst nella collina marchigiana
No full textPostharvest dehydration of wine white grapes to increase genistein, daidzein and the main carotenoids
No full textWine white grape bunches of the Grechetto variety were dehydrated at 10, 20 and 30 C, RH 45% and
forced air ventilation of 1.5 m/s. Chemical and metabolic changes due to the effect of dehydration were
studied at various stages of weight loss: 10%, 20%, 30% and 40%. Berry colour at 10 and 20 C tended to
become greener with dehydration but at 30 C, at the final sampling, the colour darkened. Acidity
decreased in all samples, while sugars increased. Total phenol content increased at 10 C until 30% weight
loss was reached and then declined, while at 20 and 30 C the concentration decreased immediately. The
contents of lutein and b-carotene (respectively 68 and 58 mg/kg d.w.), representing the 80% of total
carotenoids, did not change significantly until the 30% of weight loss, when at 30 C the value increased
above all for lutein while at 10 and 20 C, the contents decreased significantly. Daidzein, at 10 C, rose
significantly from about 150 lg/kg d.w. to 1434 lg/kg d.w. at 20% weight loss and then declined; at
the same weight loss percentage, the genistein concentration began to increase. At 20 C both isoflavones
rose until the end of the experiment, reaching values similar to the sample at 10 C. A temperature of
30 C was deleterious to grape isoflavones. A discussion on the changes in isoflavones related to temperature
and time is repor
Long-term outcome of male-limited gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty
No full textLong-term outcome of five new cases of male-limited precocious puberty (MPP) is reported. Three patients had positive family history. One patient was untreated; 2 boys received cyproterone acetate (2.0-3.6 mg/kg/daily) without clinical effects. Two patients were treated with ketoconazole (600 mg/daily); in 1, GnRH analogue therapy (Buserelin, 1,600 mu g/day) was added after 6 months of effective ketoconazole treatment for development of central precocious puberty. The other patient did not develop central puberty under ketoconazole treatment and improved his predicted adult height from 172.4 to 181.1 cm. Four patients reached final height [B.A. (therapy cyproterone acetate): age 22.0 years, -2.0 SDS; B.G. (untreated): age 15.5 years, -1.7 SDS; M.M. (therapy cyproterone acetate): age 19.5 years, -1.6 SDS; M.F. (therapy ketoconazole plus GnRH analogue): age 21.3 years, -2.2 SDS]; three had reduced testicular volume (B.A.: -1.6/-1.6 SDS; B.G.: -2.1/-2.1 SDS; M.F.: -2.4/-1.9 SDS); one (M.F.) showed oligospermia. We concluded that in MPP cyproterone acetate treatment did not improve final height; ketoconazole was effective in reducing testosterone secretion, but its real effect on final height cannot be determined; the timing of central puberty may be precocious, suggesting that an adjunctive GnRH analogue treatment may be needed. In some patients, testicular impairment may be present in young adulthood
Final height outcome in both untreated and testosterone-treated boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty
No full textThe present retrospective study is based on a historical follow-up of 49 boys with constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) who went into puberty spontaneously (27 cases) or induced by depotestosterone treatment, 50 mg/month for 6 months (22 cases), At the time of puberty the two groups of boys were similar in bone age, height deficiency, target height (TH) and had similar predicted final heights (FH). Their FH was measured and compared with TH calculated from measured parents' heights. FH did not significantly differ between the untreated boys and those treated, In the two groups of patients FH was similar and corresponded to both TH and height predicted at puberty onset, This study confirms that most boys with CDGP spontaneously attain a FH within the target range (24/27 cases), A short-term and low dose course of depotestosterone can be used without adverse effects on FH, The Bayley-Pinneau method can be generally considered accurate for predicting FH in CDGP, although significant discrepancies between FH and predicted height have been recorded in a fair number of both untreated and treated boys
Ozone fumigation for safety and quality of wine grapes in postharvest dehydration.
No full textThis paper proposes postharvest ozone fumigation (as a method) to control microorganisms and evaluate the effect on polyphenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids and cell wall enzymes during the grape dehydration for wine production. Pignola grapes were ozone-treated (1.5 g/h) for 18 h (A = shock treatment), then dehydrated or ozone-treated (1.5 g/h) for 18 h and at 0.5 g/h for 4 h each day (B = long-term treatment) during dehydration. Treatment and dehydration were performed at 10 degrees C. No significant difference was found for total carotenoid, total phenolic and total anthocyanin contents after 18 h of O-3 treatment. A significant decrease in phenolic and anthocyanin contents occurred during treatment B. Also carotenoids were affected by B ozone treatment. Pectin methylesterase (PME) and polygalacturonase (PG) activities were higher in A-treated grapes during dehydration. Finally, ozone reduced fungi and yeasts by 50%. Shock ozone fumigation (A treatment) before dehydration can be used to reduce the microbial count during dehydration without affecting polyphenol and carotenoid contents
Towards the realisation of an integratated decision support environment for organisational decision making
No full textTraditional decision support systems are based on the paradigm of a single decision maker working at a stand‐alone computer or terminal who has a specific decision to make with a specific goal in mind. Organizational decision support systems aim to support decision makers at all levels of an organization (from executive, middle management managers to operators), who have a variety of decisions to make, with different priorities, often in a distributed and dynamic environment. Such systems need to be designed and developed with extra functionality to meet the challenges such as collaborative working. This paper proposes an Integrated Decision Support Environment (IDSE) for organizational decision making. The IDSE distinguishes itself from traditional decision support systems in that it can flexibly configure and re‐configure its functions to support various decision applications. IDSE is an open software platform which allows its users to define their own decision processes and choose their own exiting decision tools to be integrated into the platform. The IDSE is designed and developed based on distributed client/server networking, with a multi‐tier integration framework for consistent information exchange and sharing, seamless process co‐ordination and synchronisation, and quick access to packaged and legacy systems. The prototype of the IDSE demonstrates good performance in agile response to fast changing decision situations
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