102,233 research outputs found
Obserbot: A Totally Automated Watcher to Monitor Essential Services
No full text“Obserbot” is the name of a long term project resulting from the crasis of the terms “observe” and “bot” (abridged form for robot). In fact it represents a framework to monitor internet and extract some knowledge without any human supervision. The service is available 24 h a day and 365 days a year. Obserbot targets are presently two: official news media and twitter. A rough mass of textual data are collected form those two sources. A in-line semantic analysis of the collected stream allows to extract information of a specific Domain of Interest (DoI). The hardware and software architecture allowing collection is rather versatile and can be employed for several different purposes, however the semantic analytics is strictly DoI dependent. In its present form, Obserbot can handle information related to all essential services. Essential services are those activities performed by network of utilities that allow good provision: water supply, energy supply (e.g. gas and electricity), fuel supply, fresh food supply etc. and responding to other fundamental human needs such as transports, mobility and social connectivity
Analisi di polarizzatori a setto mediante il metodo delle Differenze Finite nel Dominio del Tempo
No full text
Benzodiazepine exposure in pregnancy and risk of major malformations: a critical overview
No full textComputational models of myocardial endomysial collagen arrangement
No full textCollagen extracellular matrix is one of the factors related to high passive stiffness of cardiac muscle. However, the architecture and the mechanical aspects of the cardiac collagen matrix are not completely known. In particular, endomysial collagen contribution to the passive mechanics of cardiac muscle as well as its micro anatomical arrangement is still a matter of debate. In order to investigate mechanical and structural properties of endomysial collagen, we consider two alternative computational models of some specific aspects of the cardiac muscle. These two models represent two different views of endomysial collagen distribution: (1) the traditional view and (2) a new view suggested by the data obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in NaOH macerated samples (a method for isolating collagen from the other tissue). We model the myocardial tissue as a net of spring elements representing the cardiomyocytes together with the endomysial collagen distribution. Each element is a viscous elastic spring, characterized by an elastic and a viscous constant. We connect these springs to imitate the interconnections between collagen fibers. Then we apply to the net of springs some external forces of suitable magnitude and direction, obtaining an extension of the net itself. In our setting, the ratio forces magnitude/net extension is intended to model the stress/strain ratio of a microscopical portion of the myocardial tissue. To solve the problem of the correct identification of the values of the different parameters involved, we use an artificial neural network approach. In particular, we use this technique to learn, given a distribution of external forces, the elastic constants of the springs needed to obtain a desired extension as an equilibrium position. Our experimental findings show that, in the model of collagen distribution structured according to the new view, a given stress/strain ratio (of the net of springs, in the sense specified above) is obtained with much smaller (w.r.t. the other model, corresponding to the traditional view) elasticity constants of the springs. This seems to indicate that by an appropriate structure, a given stiffness of the myocardial tissue can be obtained with endomysial collagen fibers of much smaller size. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
Is the exposure to antidepressant drugs in early pregnancy a risk factor for spontaneous abortion?. A review of available evidences
No full textSUMMARY. Aim – To review studies conducted to establish the risk of spontaneous abortion (SA) in women exposed to antidepressant
drugs (ADs) during early pregnancy. Methods – By using different search terms, PubMed, Toxline, EMBASE,
PsychINFO, and the Cochrane library databases were searched from January 1980 to March 2008, to identify studies assessing the
risk of SA in women exposed to different classes of ADs during the first trimester of pregnancy. Results – Ten studies over 21
identified were selected for the analysis. All were performed prospectively and included as control group unexposed women, or
exposed to non-teratogenic drugs or to placebo. In seven studies a depressive episode was specified as the reason for which the
drug was prescribed, while the time of exposure was in nine. Conclusions – Only three studies over ten selected reported a significant
association between an increased rate of SAs and early pregnancy exposure to some ADs. Many methodological flaws in the
study design were found in all studies considered. Given this background and a lack of strong evidence on this issue, further
prospective and better designed studies are needed to assess the risk of SA in pregnant women exposed to ADs against the risk of
an untreated maternal depression.
Declaration of Interest: None.
KEY WORDS: antidepressant drugs; pregnancy; spontaneous abortion
The efficacy of executive function interventions in children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textIntroduction: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience difficulties in Executive Functions (EFs) performance. However, the efficacy of EF intervention needs to be further investigated. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of different EF interventions in children and adolescents with ASD. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out according to PRISMA guidelines. Relevant databases including PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched up to November 2019. Papers included in the study have the following characteristics: randomized controlled trial or quasi-experimental design and published in English or Spanish. Results: After the elimination of duplicates, 949 were screened. Among these, six were included in the systematic review. The main approaches for EF in ASD were computer-based interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and assisted-animal therapy. Statistically significant results (p = 0.003) were found in using exergames. Conclusion: Different approaches can be used for improving EF intervention, with positive effects on working memory, behavior, and flexibility
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