4,200 research outputs found
Rheumatoid Factors
No full textRheumatoid factors (RFs) are autoantibodies reacting against the Fc region of immunoglobulin (Ig)G. RFs are the first autoantibodies described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although they are also present in several other autoimmune diseases, in infectious conditions, as well as in healthy subjects. They are currently detectable by standardized quantitative assays (enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, nephelometry), which are more reliable than the original semiquantitative agglutination techniques. Whether RFs display a pathogenic role in RA is still unclear; however, in favor of such a hypothesis are: i) their ability to form immune complexes both locally – in the synovial space – and systemically; ii) their association with aggressive disease characterized by erosive arthritis and extra-articular manifestations; and iii) the decrease in RF titers after successful therapy with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and biologic agents. Although a strong effort has been made in the last decade to find new powerful biomarkers particularly for the early stage of RA, RFs are still one of the most reliable diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers for RA
Some Remarks on the Recent SRM Related Case-Law of the CJEU with Special Regard to the Meroni Doctrine
No full textThe study elaborates on the development of the Meroni doctrine, derived from the Meroni judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Coal and Steel Community under a different Founding Treaty framework and its applicability to the Banking Union under the current Treaty framework. To fulfil this aim, the author first elaborates on the Advocate General’s opinion and the Judgment of the Court of Justice in the Meroni case and then briefly introduces the evolution and the literature on the issue. After a short introduction of the Banking Union’s institutional order, the author introduces two cases in which issues related to the Meroni doctrine were raised before the General Court, as well as the appellate procedures before the Court of Justice in one of these cases
Crossing the boundaries of participation, activism, paradigm change and incubation: On the edge of design for social innovation and sustainability
No full textThe discourse on the connection between design and social innovation is today rich and animated: after a decade since its beginning, we can detect signals of maturity that are also widely reflected in several research programs recently funded by the European Commission.
This chapter presents a conceptual framework, drawn from diverse applied research projects in design for social innovation, analysed through the lenses of some of the most debated theoretical approaches around design, innovation and social issues in the broadest sense.
The research projects here considered come from the experience of the POLIMI DESIS lab, the Politecnico di Milano based design team belonging to the international DESIS Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability). This is a cultural association comprising several design universities and schools dealing with this topic, which has accumulated remarkable knowledge since its foundation in 2008, making it a privileged standing point from which to reflect on the intersection of design and social innovation
Il presente di una professione del futuro: 10 banchi di prova per il service designer
No full textIl mestiere del service designer rientra a tutti gli effetti tra quelli “nuovissimi”, praticamente “futuri”, e pertanto richiede uno sforzo di spiegazione rivolto sia ad un pubblico di esperti e che di curiosi.
Per parlare di chi sia un service designer è innanzitutto necessario spiegare cosa sia un servizio, cioè, paradossalmente, uno dei concetti più vecchi del mondo, ma solo recentemente formalizzato come “oggetto” di progettazione nei suoi aspetti di senso, funzionali ed esperienziali. E di questi appunto, il designer si occupa
Inspection & NDT to verify structural realiability of historic wooden roofs in the ex-Meroni spinning-mill
No full textThe Meroni spinning-mill, an industrial archaeological complex of historic and cultural importance, is the only surviving testimonial - integral, although in decay - of former economic activity in the province. In view of its preservation, inspections and NDT have been carried out on the wooden roof structures to verify and quantify the material consistency, to determine the degree of decay and risk of collapse. The inspection phases involved: identification of wood species; determination of natural durability and class of biological risk; location and evaluation of defects, alterations, critical zones; pathologies; environmental and wood moisture condition; evaluation of residual bearing resistance, photographic survey. The data plotting and reporting has been organized in thematic maps, catalogue of all structural elements, considerations of reliability, assessment of residual resistant sections and initial intervention indications. Local decay has been identified and explained in terms of a prolonged lack of maintenance, responsible for partial loss of material
Artifact-Driven Business Process Monitoring - A Novel Approach to Transparently Monitor Business Processes, Supported by Methods, Tools, and Real-World Applications
No full textThis book proposes a novel technique, named artifact-driven process monitoring, by which multi-party processes, involving non-automated activities, can be continuously and autonomously monitored. This technique exploits the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm to make the physical objects, participating in a process, smart. Being equipped with sensors, a computing device, and a communication interface, such smart objects can then become self-aware of their own conditions and of the process they participate in, and exchange this information with the other smart objects and the involved organizations. To allow organizations to reuse preexisting process models, a method to instruct smart objects given Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) collaboration diagrams is also presented. The work constitutes a revised version of the PhD dissertation written by the author at the PhD School of Information Engineering of Politecnico di Milano, Italy. In 2019, the PhD dissertation won the “CAiSE PhD award”, granted to outstanding PhD theses in the field of Information Systems Engineering
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