Which Model of Biological Plausibility for Language?: The Case of “What Darwin Got Wrong”

( Francesco Alessio Ursini ) 서강대학교 언어정보연구소 2013 언어와 정보 사회 Vol.19 No.-

Ursini, Francesco-Alessio(2013), “Which Model of Biological Plausibility for Language?: The Case of ``What Darwin Got Wrong`` ”, Language & Information Society 19. The goal of this paper is to discuss some of the conceptual consequences of the arguments put forward in What Darwin Got Wrong, for a broader theory of the biolinguistic approach. The book offers arguments against “New Synthesis” approaches to Evolutionary Theory, that are particularly germane to biolinguistic matters. One main contention is that only approaches to evolutionary facts that capture the “laws of form” observed across living organisms can be theoretically and empirically adequate. However, the book does not investigate whether this contention applies to linguistic matters as well. This issue is addressed in the paper, and it is argued that organism-internal properties, which can be captured via the formal notion of “conservativity”, must be found in language as well. Therefore, it is argued that only those lin-guistic theories that capture these properties, be they about syntactic, semantic or acquisition matters alike can be considered as biolinguistically plausible.

The suprafascial course of lower leg perforators: An anatomical study

Vaienti, Luca,Cottone, Giuseppe,De Francesco, Francesco,Borelli, Francesco,Zaccaria, Giovanna,Amendola, Francesco Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surge 2020 Archives of Plastic Surgery Vol.47 No.2

Background Perforator mapping has been well described in the literature. Once the suprafascial plane is reached, the course of perforators is considered constant. However, the surgeon must be aware of whether an anastomosis exists between perforators superficially to the fascia, in order to choose the best vessel upon which to base the reconstruction. Our retrospective in vivo anatomical study of lower leg perforator flaps presents the first description of variations in the suprafascial path of perforators, which may influence preoperative flap design. Methods An anatomical study of lower limb perforators was performed on 46 nonconsecutive patients who were referred to our department from June 2012 to October 2018. Reconstruction with perforator-based propeller flaps was planned for each of the patients. In total, 72 perforators were preoperatively identified and surgically isolated. The suprafascial course of each perforator was reported. Results During suprafascial surgical exploration, branching patterns were observed in four perforators. These perforators had been classified as single vessels in the preoperative ultrasonographic analysis. However, after surgical dissection, distal converging branches were noted in two of them. Conclusions Our study is the first description in the literature of suprafascial converging perforators, which might constitute an obstacle to planned reconstruction procedures. Despite the accuracy of preoperative evaluations, anatomical variations were present. Knowledge of suprafascial perforator variations may help surgeons to choose the correct perforator upon which to base a planned flap.

Automatic heart activity diagnosis based on Gram polynomials and probabilistic neural networks

Francesco Beritelli,Giacomo Capizzi,Grazia Lo Sciuto,Christian Napoli,Francesco Scaglione 대한의용생체공학회 2018 Biomedical Engineering Letters (BMEL) Vol.8 No.1

The paper proposes a new approach to heartactivity diagnosis based on Gram polynomials and probabilisticneural networks (PNN). Heart disease recognition isbased on the analysis of phonocardiogram (PCG) digitalsequences. The PNN provides a powerful tool for properclassification of the input data set. The novelty of theproposed approach lies in a powerful feature extractionbased on Gram polynomials and the Fourier transform. Theproposed system presents good performance obtainingoverall sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 91% and accuracyof 94%, using a public database of over 3000 heart beatsound recordings, classified as normal and abnormal heartsounds. Thus, it can be concluded that Gram polynomialsand PNN prove to be a very efficient technique using thePCG signal for characterizing heart diseases.

Partial splenectomy

Francesco Esposito,Adele Noviello,Nicola Moles,Nicola Cantore,Mario Baiamonte,Enrico Coppola Bottazzi,Antonio Miro,Francesco Crafa 한국간담췌외과학회 2018 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.22 No.2

Backgrounds/Aims: Partial splenectomy (PS) is a surgical option for splenic mass, in order to reduce postoperative complications and preserve the splenic function. Despite this, data in literature is still scarce. The present study aimed to reveal our recent experience and provide a comprehensive overview of the feasibility and complications related to various surgical approaches. Methods: Data of patients who underwent PS, between 2014 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Literature was searched for studies reporting all types of PS in adult or adolescent patients. Results: Five PS were performed in our department: two (40%) by laparoscopy and three (60%) by laparotomy. Two (40%) postoperative complications were detected, and in one of them, total splenectomy (TS) by laparotomy was finally required. There were no deaths or complications at last follow-up. Twenty studies including 213 patients were identified in the literature search. The rate of conversion from laparoscopic to open surgery was 3% (range, 5-50%) and in 3% of cases (range, 7-10%) PS was converted into total TS and the overall morbidity rate was 8% (range, 5-25%). In comparison to laparotomy, the conversion rate of laparoscopic approach to TS was 3.5% (vs. 1.4%) and a morbidity rate of 9.8% (vs. 4.3%). Conclusions: The present review shows that PS is a viable procedure in selected cases. The mini-invasive approach seemed to be feasible despite the presence of higher rate of complications than the open technique. In future, further studies on this topic are needed by involving more patients. Furthermore, it is proposed that the development of robotic surgery could make this approach the new gold-standard technique for spleen-preserving surgery.

Clinical Use of Doppler Echocardiography in Organic Mitral Regurgitation: From Diagnosis to Patients’ Management

Francesco Grigioni,Antonio Russo,Ferdinando Pasquale,Elena Biagini,Francesco Barberini,Marinella Ferlito,Ornella Leone,Claudio Rapezzi 한국심초음파학회 2015 Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging (J Cardiovasc Im Vol.23 No.3

Knowledge of mitral regurgitation (MR) is essential for any care provider, and not only for those directly involved in the managementof cardiovascular diseases. This happens because MR is the most frequent valvular lesion in North America and the secondmost common form of valve disease requiring surgery in Europe. Furthermore, due to the ageing of the general population and thereduced mortality from acute cardiovascular events, the prevalence of MR is expected to increase further. Doppler echocardiographyis essential both for the diagnosis and the clinical management of MR. In the present article, we sought to provide a practicalstep-by-step approach to help either performing a Doppler echocardiography or interpreting its findings in light of contemporaryknowledge on organic (but not only) MR.

How to prevent the postoperative pancreatic fistula with an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx<SUP>Ⓡ</SUP>)

Francesco Crafa,Francesco Esposito,Adele Noviello,Nicola Moles,Enrico Coppola Bottazzi,Carmelo Lombardi,Antonio Miro,Giulio Lombardi 한국간담췌외과학회 2018 Annals of hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery Vol.22 No.3

Backgrounds/Aims: Despite the advances in identifying risk factors, improving operative technique, and postoperative patient care, pancreatic leakage after pancreatic resection remains a highly debated topic. The aim of this study is to describe our technique and our initial experience with the intraoperative embolization of the main pancreatic duct with an Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol Copolymer (Onyx<SUP>Ⓡ</SUP>). Methods: Two patients of 63 and 64 years underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for a cholangiocarcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct and a pancreatic adenocarcinoma, respectively. At the time of pancreatic parenchyma resection, a Wirsung duct was identified and catheterized. A wirsungography was done and then, embolization with Onyx<SUP>Ⓡ</SUP> was carried out under fluoroscopic control. Results: Neither of the patients developed a postoperative pancreatic fistula. They were discharged to home on the 17<SUP>th</SUP> and 18<SUP>th</SUP> postoperative day, respectively. At the last follow-up, no recurrence was found. The two patients became diabetics; both needed the support of supplementary pancreatic enzymes. Conclusions: To our knowledge, we are the first to describe this technique, which seems safe and reliable. Studies on this subject with more patients are needed to confirm the validity of this procedure.

The “reverse air leak test”: a new technique for the assessment of low colorectal anastomosis

Francesco Crafa,Augusto Striano,Francesco Esposito,Amalia Rosaria Rita Rossetti,Mario Baiamonte,Valeria Gianfreda,Antonio Longo 대한대장항문학회 2022 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.38 No.1

Purpose: Anastomotic leakage is a fearsome complication in rectal surgery. Surgeons perform the classic air leak test, although its real effectiveness is still debated. The aim of this study was to describe a personal technique of reverse air leak test in which low colorectal anastomosis was assessed transanally through the intrarectal irrigation of a few mL of saline solution. Methods: From October 2014 to November 2019, 11 patients with low rectal cancer (type 1 in Roullier classification) were included in this study. At the beginning of the procedure, a circular anal dilator was inserted into the anus. A side-to-end colorectal anastomosis was performed. A few mL of saline solution were injected into the rectum and the entire anastomotic line was directly explored. The appearance of bubbles was considered as an anastomotic defect and repaired with an interrupted suture. A fluorescence angiography after intravenous injection of indocyanine green was performed in order to evaluate the perfusion of the anastomosis. Results: The reverse air leak test was positive in 4 cases (36.4%). The defect was repaired and a confirmation test was performed. In all patients, near-infrared evaluation showed no perfusion defect (grade 0) in low colorectal anastomosis. No postoperative fistula was detected in cohort study. A protective stoma was performed in 10 patients. On day 90, there were no complications and stoma closure was performed as planned. Conclusion: The reverse air leak test is a simple, feasible, and effective procedure to identify anastomotic leaks in low colorectal anastomoses.

Hidden Sentinel Node in Cutaneous Melanoma

Francesco Segreto,Daniele Tosi,Giovanni Francesco Marangi,Alfonso Luca Pendolino,Stefano Santoro,Pierluigi Gigliofiorito,Paolo Persichetti 대한성형외과학회 2013 Archives of Plastic Surgery Vol.40 No.5

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A full-range hybrid device for sound reproduction

Francesco Braghin,Francesco Castelli-Dezza,Simone Cinquemani,Ferruccio Resta 국제구조공학회 2013 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.11 No.6

The paper deals with the design of a device for sound reproduction to be fixed to a supporting surface. The device is made up of two different types of acoustic actuators based on different technologies. This allows to reproduce sound in the range of frequencies from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The generation of sound at high frequencies is demanded to a magnetostrictive actuator, while a more traditional magnetodynamics actuator is used to generate sound at low frequencies. The coupling between these two actuators leads to a device having small overall dimensions and high performance.

A parametric CAD-based method for modelling and simulation of positive displacement machines

Francesco Gherardini,Barbara Zardin,Francesco Leali 대한기계학회 2016 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.30 No.7

We present an efficient and user-friendly parametric CAD-based design method for the graphical description of positive displacement machines, exploiting commercial parametric CAD software and a tailored interface. An executable module simulates the motion of the machine components, analyzes the machine geometry, and automatically extrapolates the geometrical data from the 3D CAD model, generating data files that can be directly used for following fluid dynamic analyses. The graphical approach supports investigation of the machine performance and exploring optimized design variants. The method has been applied to three industrial test cases: An external gear pump, an axial piston pump, and a gerotor pump. A complete case study focused on the external gear pump is proposed, as well as the results from the other two types are summarized. We validate the CAD-based method by comparing the obtained data with the data coming from the application of state-of-the-art analytical methods.