This paper presents a computational agent-based model of labor market participation, in which a population of agents, affected by adverse health shocks that impact the costs associated with working ...efforts, decides whether to leave the labor market and retire. This decision is simply taken by looking at the working behaviors of the other agents, comparing the respective levels of well-being and imitating the more advantageous decision of others. The analysis reveals that such mechanism of social learning and imitation suffices to replicate the existing empirical evidence regarding the decline in labor market participation of older people. As a consequence, the paper demonstrates that it is not necessary to assume perfect and unrealistic rationality at the individual level to reproduce a rational behavior in the aggregate.
Purpose
Preliminary data suggested that bone mineral density (BMD) in transgender adults before initiating gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is lower when compared to cisgender controls. In ...this study, we analyzed bone metabolism in a sample of transgender adults before GAHT, and its possible correlation with biochemical profile, body composition and lifestyle habits (i.e., tobacco smoke and physical activity).
Methods
Medical data, smoking habits, phospho-calcic and hormonal blood tests and densitometric parameters were collected in a sample of 125 transgender adults, 78 Assigned Females At Birth (AFAB) and 47 Assigned Males At Birth (AMAB) before GAHT initiation and 146 cisgender controls (57 females and 89 males) matched by sex assigned at birth and age. 55 transgender and 46 cisgender controls also underwent a complete body composition evaluation and assessment of physical activity using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ).
Results
14.3% of transgender and 6.2% of cisgender sample, respectively, had z-score values < -2 (
p
= 0.04). We observed only lower vitamin D values in transgender sample regarding biochemical/hormonal profile. AFAB transgender people had more total fat mass, while AMAB transgender individuals had reduced total lean mass as compared to cisgender people (53.94 ± 7.74 vs 58.38 ± 6.91,
p
< 0.05). AFAB transgender adults were more likely to be active smokers and tend to spend more time indoor. Fat Mass Index (FMI) was correlated with lumbar and femur BMD both in transgender individuals, while no correlations were found between lean mass parameters and BMD in AMAB transgender people.
Conclusions
Body composition and lifestyle factors could contribute to low BMD in transgender adults before GAHT.
Purpose
To assess long-term renal function and micturition pattern of males submitted to transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) for moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) ...after renal transplantation (RT). To investigate the role of clinical and urodynamic (UD) parameters for bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) diagnosis in these patients.
Methods
Retrospective data analysis of ≥ 50 years old patients who underwent RT between 01/2005 and 12/2016. Patients with moderate-to-severe LUTS after RT who underwent a urologic evaluation and a UD study were included. TURP was performed in case of BOO diagnosis. Kidney function and micturition patterns were evaluated before, 3, 12, 24, 36, and 48 months after TURP. Predictors of BOO were assessed at univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA16.
Results
233 male patients ≥ 50 years underwent RT. 71/233 (30%) patients developed voiding LUTS. 52/71 (73%) patients with moderate-to-severe LUTS underwent UD. TURP was performed in 36/52 (69%) patients, with BOO diagnosis. Median (interquartile range) follow-up was 108 (75–136) months. Maximum flow at flowmetry (Qmax), International Prostate Symptom Score and post-voided residual volume improved significantly after surgery. Serum creatinine decreased and glomerular filtration rate improved significantly at follow-up, especially when TURP was performed ≤ 6 months from RT. At the multivariable model, bladder capacity ≥ 300 mL (OR = 1.74, CI 95% 1.03–3.15,
p
= 0.043) and detrusor pressure at Qmax (OR = 2.05, CI 95% 1.48–3.02,
p
= 0.035) were the independent predictors of BOO.
Conclusion
RT patients with moderate-to-severe LUTS at risk for BOO and graft failure are better identified by UD than clinical parameters. Bladder capacity and voiding pressure are key for the early diagnosis of BOO.
Over the past years, several efforts have been made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transport sector. Due to the highly efficient CO2-free combustion and low manufacturing costs, ...Hydrogen Internal Combustion engines (H2ICEs) are considered one of the most promising solutions for the future of medium and heavy duty vehicles. However, the combustion of an air-hydrogen mixture presents challenges related to the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and high knock tendency, mainly due to the chemical characteristics of the fuel. Although these problems can be mitigated by the use of a lean mixture, which is also useful to increase the combustion efficiency, the presence of excess air reduces exhaust temperatures and, consequently, the enthalpy content in the exhaust would be limited, leading to a reduced boosting capability. Therefore, a proper control of mixture preparation and combustion phasing is mandatory to limit NOx emissions, avoid abnormal combustions, and maximize efficiency without performance limitations.
This paper focuses on the design of a dedicated control strategy for H2ICEs. Starting from a previously validated 1-D engine model operated with hydrogen, a 0-D Artificial Neural Network (ANN) - based engine model has been designed and calibrated. By using the obtained fast running ANN-based model, an innovative torque-based engine controller has been developed and both engine and controller models have been tested covering different torque profiles. The results show good accuracy within a range of ±5% on producing the requested torque by controlling the centre of combustion.
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•Hydrogen represents an optimal solution for the abatement of CO2 emissions related to the transport sector.•Hydrogen combustion is prone to abnormal combustions and NOx emissions.•Dedicated control strategies are needed to achieve an efficient, clean and reliable H2 combustion.•Model in the Loop approach aimed at testing the proposed control strategy.•Artificial neural network – based fast running engine model enabled testing the control system in relevant running conditions.
A library of platinum (II) complexes of general formula (O,O′-β-diketonate)PtLX (L = dimethylsulfoxide, pyridine, triphenylphosphine; X = chloride, γ-acetylacetonate) has been prepared, using ...synthetic methodologies available in the literature. The library has been supplemented with a novel platinum (II) complex bearing a triazenido N-oxide ligand. The complexes have been characterized and tested as precatalysts for the photoactivated curing of silicone resins. Correlations have been established between the nature of the employed ligands, the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption spectrum of the complexes and their catalytic performance, which enable the tailored preparation of complexes with improved performance in view of possible technological applications.
Disease models of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) offer the possibility to explore the relationship between iron dyshomeostasis and neurodegeneration. We analyzed hiPS-derived ...astrocytes from PANK2-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), an NBIA disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and high iron accumulation in the globus pallidus. Previous data indicated that PKAN astrocytes exhibit alterations in iron metabolism, general impairment of constitutive endosomal trafficking, mitochondrial dysfunction and acquired neurotoxic features. Here, we performed a more in-depth analysis of the interactions between endocytic vesicles and mitochondria via superresolution microscopy experiments. A significantly lower number of transferrin-enriched vesicles were in contact with mitochondria in PKAN cells than in control cells, confirming the impaired intracellular fate of cargo endosomes. The investigation of cytosolic and mitochondrial iron parameters indicated that mitochondrial iron availability was substantially lower in PKAN cells compared to that in the controls. In addition, PKAN astrocytes exhibited defects in tubulin acetylation/phosphorylation, which might be responsible for unregulated vesicular dynamics and inappropriate iron delivery to mitochondria. Thus, the impairment of iron incorporation into these organelles seems to be the cause of cell iron delocalization, resulting in cytosolic iron overload and mitochondrial iron deficiency, triggering mitochondrial dysfunction. Overall, the data elucidate the mechanism of iron accumulation in CoA deficiency, highlighting the importance of mitochondrial iron deficiency in the pathogenesis of disease.
In this paper we describe the distribution of propredicative clitics in nominal copular constructions across different Italo-romance varieties. Different lexical items are recruited from the lexicon ...to cliticize the predicative NP, all of them either lack inflection or show a neuter inflection: the ‘uninflected’ status of propredicatives, in fact, is an available option among the categorical status of different pronouns. The characteristics of propredicatives across Italo-Romance confirms the predictions of the analysis of Moro (1997: 1) copular constructions allow only one agreement projection (agreement with the subject of the copular sentence and not with the predicate), 2) the proforms are generated in N0 rather than a D0. This analysis challenges the ‘definite’ analyses of romance l-clitics (which date back to Postal 1966): such proposals often invoke the parallel between clitics and definite articles as a reason to treat clitics as belonging to the category D. We will also show that apparent counterexamples found in some varieties in which the proforms agree in gender and number with the nominal predicates rely on semantic restrictions and ellipsis. We will finally update the proposal of Moro (1997) in terms of the labelling algorithm (Moro 2009; Chomsky 2013; Rizzi 2016): the N0 cliticization involved in the propredicative items allows a D0 in situ within the small clause which label the small clause, which otherwise will be unlabelled and imply a crash in the derivation.
•The analysis of spontaneous movements of preterm infants is essential because anomalous motion patterns can be a sign of neurological disorders.•A detection of anomalous motion patterns in the first ...weeks of child’s life is crucial to plan appropriate rehabilitative interventions.•We implement an interpretable pipeline based on machine learning and computer vision to characterize and classify infants’ motion from 2D video recordings.•Our procedure successfully discriminates normal and anomalous motion patterns with a maximum accuracy of 85.7%.
Background and Objective: The analysis of spontaneous movements of preterm infants is important because anomalous motion patterns can be a sign of neurological disorders caused by lesions in the developing brain. A diagnosis in the first weeks of child’s life is crucial to plan timely and appropriate rehabilitative interventions. An accurate visual assessment of infants’ spontaneous movements requires highly specialized personnel, not always available, and it is operator dependent. Motion capture systems, markers and wearable sensors are commonly used for human motion analysis, but they can be cumbersome, limiting their use in the study of infants’ movements.
Methods: In this paper we propose a computer-aided pipeline to characterize and classify infants’ motion from 2D video recordings. The final goal is detecting anomalous motion patterns. The implemented pipeline is based on computer vision and machine learning algorithms and includes a specific step to increase the interpretability of the results. Specifically, it can be summarized by the following steps: (i) body keypoints detection: we rely on a deep learning-based semantic features detector to localize the positions of meaningful landmark points on infants’ bodies; (ii) parameters extraction: starting from the trajectories of the detected landmark points, we extract quantitative parameters describing infants motion patterns; (iii) classification: we implement different classifiers (Support Vector Machines, Random Forest, fully connected Neural Network, Long Short Term Memory) that, starting from the motion parameters, classify between normal or abnormal motion patterns.
Results: We tested the proposed pipeline on a dataset, recorded at the 40th gestational week, of 142 infants, 59 with evidence of neuromotor disorders according to a medical assessment carried out a posteriori. Our procedure successfully discriminates normal and anomalous motion patterns with a maximum accuracy of 85.7%.
Conclusions: In conclusion, our pipeline has the potential to be adopted as a tool to support the early detection of abnormal motion patterns in preterm infants.
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