New insights into methodology and interpretation of osteoarthritis. The study of Frassetto identified skeletal collection.

Osteoarthritis (OA) or degenerative joint disease (DJD) is a pathology which affects the synovial joints and characterised by a focal loss of articular cartilage and subsequent bony reaction of the subcondral and marginal bone. Its etiology is best explained by a multifactorial model including: age, sex, genetic and systemic factors, other predisposing diseases and functional stress. In this study the results of the investigation of a modern identified skeletal collection will be presented. In particular, we will focus on the relationship between the presence of OA at various joints. The joint modifications have been analysed using a new methodology that allows the scoring of different degrees of expression of the features considered. Materials and Methods The sample examined comes from the Sassari identified skeletal collection (part of “Frassetto collections”). The individuals were born between 1828 and 1916 and died between 1918 and 1932. Information about sex and age is known for all the individuals. The occupation is known for 173 males and 125 females. Data concerning the occupation of the individuals indicate a preindustrial and rural society. OA has been diagnosed when eburnation (EB) or loss of morphology (LM) were present, or when at least two of the following: marginal lipping (ML), esostosis (EX) or erosion (ER), were present. For each articular surface affected a “mean score” was calculated, reflecting the “severity” of the alterations. A further “score” was calculated for each joint. In the analysis sexes and age classes were always kept separate. For the statistical analyses non parametric test were used. Results The results show there is an increase of OA with age in all the joints analyzed and in particular around 50 years and 60 years. The shoulder, the hip and the knee are the joints mainly affected with ageing while the ankle is the less affected; the correlation values confirm this result. The lesion which show the major correlation with age is the ML. In our sample males are more frequently and more severely affected by OA than females, particularly at the superior limbs, while hip and knee are similarly affected in the two sexes. Lateralization shows some positive results in particular in the right shoulder of males and in various articular surfaces especially of the superior limb of both males and females; articular surfaces and joints are quite always lateralized to the right. Occupational analyses did not show remarkable results probably because of the homogeneity of the sample; males although performing different activities are quite all employed in stressful works. No highest prevalence of knee and hip OA was found in farm-workers respect to the other males. Discussion and Conclusion In this work we propose a methodology to score the different features, necessary to diagnose OA, that allows the investigation of the severity of joint degeneration. This method is easier than the one proposed by Buikstra and Ubelaker (1994), but in the same time allows a quite detailed recording of the features. Epidemiological results can be interpreted quite simply and they are in accordance with other studies; more difficult is the interpretation of the occupational results because many questions concerning the activities performed by the individuals of the collection during their lifespan cannot be solved. Because of this, caution is suggested in the interpretation of bioarcheological specimens. With this work we hope to contribute to the discussion on the puzzling problem of the etiology of OA. The possibility of studying identified skeletons will add important data to the description of osseous features of OA, enriching the medical documentation, based on different criteria. Even if we are aware that the clinical diagnosis is different from the palaeopathological one we think our work will be useful in clarifying some epidemiological as well as pathological aspects of OA.

Probabilistic tomography of atmospheric parameters from GNSS data

The objective of the work is the evaluation of the potential capabilities of navigation satellite signals to retrieve basic atmospheric parameters. A capillary study have been performed on the assumptions more or less explicitly contained in the common processing steps of navigation signals. A probabilistic procedure has been designed for measuring vertical discretised profiles of pressure, temperature and water vapour and their associated errors. Numerical experiments on a synthetic dataset have been performed with the main objective of quantifying the information that could be gained from such approach, using entropy and relative entropy as testing parameters. A simulator of phase delay and bending of a GNSS signal travelling across the atmosphere has been developed to this aim.

Implicit computational complexity and probabilistic classes

The thesis applies the ICC tecniques to the probabilistic polinomial complexity classes in order to get an implicit characterization of them. The main contribution lays on the implicit characterization of PP (which stands for Probabilistic Polynomial Time) class, showing a syntactical characterisation of PP and a static complexity analyser able to recognise if an imperative program computes in Probabilistic Polynomial Time. The thesis is divided in two parts. The first part focuses on solving the problem by creating a prototype of functional language (a probabilistic variation of lambda calculus with bounded recursion) that is sound and complete respect to Probabilistic Prolynomial Time. The second part, instead, reverses the problem and develops a feasible way to verify if a program, written with a prototype of imperative programming language, is running in Probabilistic polynomial time or not. This thesis would characterise itself as one of the first step for Implicit Computational Complexity over probabilistic classes. There are still open hard problem to investigate and try to solve. There are a lot of theoretical aspects strongly connected with these topics and I expect that in the future there will be wide attention to ICC and probabilistic classes.

Probabilistic Recursion Theory and Implicit Computational Complexity

In this thesis we provide a characterization of probabilistic computation in itself, from a recursion-theoretical perspective, without reducing it to deterministic computation. More specifically, we show that probabilistic computable functions, i.e., those functions which are computed by Probabilistic Turing Machines (PTM), can be characterized by a natural generalization of Kleene's partial recursive functions which includes, among initial functions, one that returns identity or successor with probability 1/2. We then prove the equi-expressivity of the obtained algebra and the class of functions computed by PTMs. In the the second part of the thesis we investigate the relations existing between our recursion-theoretical framework and sub-recursive classes, in the spirit of Implicit Computational Complexity. More precisely, endowing predicative recurrence with a random base function is proved to lead to a characterization of polynomial-time computable probabilistic functions.

Context-dependent interpretation of the conjunction 'und' in different age-groups

In contrast to formal semantics, the conjunction and is nonsymmetrical in pragmatics. The events in Marc went to bed and fell asleep seem to have occurred chronologically although no explicit time reference is given. As the temporal interpretation appears to be weaker in Mia ate chocolate and drank milk, it seems that the kind and nature of events presented in a context influences the interpretation of the conjunction. This work focuses on contextual influences on the interpretation of the German conjunction und (‘and’). A variety of theoretic approaches are concerned with whether and contributes to the establishment of discourse coherence via pragmatic processes or whether the conjunction has complex semantic meaning. These approaches are discussed with respect to how they explain the temporal and additive interpretation of the conjunction and the role of context in the interpre-tation process. It turned out that most theoretic approaches do not consider the importance of different kinds of context in the interpretation process.rnIn experimental pragmatics there are currently only very few studies that investigate the inter-pretation of the conjunction. As there are no studies that investigate contextual influences on the interpretation of und systematically or investigate preschoolers interpretation of the con-junction, research questions such as How do (preschool) children interpret ‘und’? and Does the kind of events conjoined influence children’s and adults’ interpretation? are yet to be answered. Therefore, this dissertation systematically investigates how different types of context influence children’s interpretation of und. Three auditory comprehension studies were conducted in German. Of special interest was whether and how the order of events introduced in a context contributes to the temporal read-ing of the conjunction und. Results indicate that the interpretation of und is – at least in Ger-man – context-dependent: The conjunction is interpreted temporally more often when events that typical occur in a certain order are connected (typical contexts) compared to events with-out typical event order (neutral contexts). This suggests that the type of events conjoined in-fluences the interpretation process. Moreover, older children and adults interpret the conjunc-tion temporally more often than the younger cohorts if the conjoined events typically occur in a certain order. In neutral contexts, additive interpretations increase with age. 5-year-olds reject reversed order statements more often in typical contexts compared to neutral contexts. However, they have more difficulties with reversed order statements in typical contexts where they perform at chance level. This suggests that not only the type of event but also other age-dependent factors such as knowledge about scripts influence children’s performance. The type of event conjoined influences children’s and adults’ interpretation of the conjunction. There-fore, the influence of different event types and script knowledge on the interpretation process does not only have to be considered in future experimental studies on language acquisition and pragmatics but also in experimental pragmatics in general. In linguistic theories, context has to be given a central role and a commonly agreed definition of context that considers the consequences arising from different event types has to be agreed upon.

Note-taking in consecutive interpretation; advantages and disadvantages of various techniques

The objective of this thesis is to investigate which contexts should be used for different kinds of note-taking and to study the evolution of the various types of note-taking. Moreover, the final aim of this thesis is to understand which method is used most commonly during the interpreting process, with a special focus on consecutive and community interpreting in the sector of public service and healthcare. The belief that stands behind this thesis is that the most complete method is Rozan’s, which is also the most theorized and used by interpreters. Through the analysis of the different rules of this practice, the importance of this method is shown. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates how these techniques can assist the interpreters in their jobs. This thesis starts from an overview of what note-taking means in the different settings of interpreting and a short history of note-taking is presented. The section that follows analyzes three different well-known types of note-taking methods outside the interpreting environment, that is: linear, non-linear and shorthand. Subsequent to the comparison, Rozan’s 7 principles are analyzed. To authenticate this thesis and the hypotheses herein, data was collected through a survey that was conducted on a sample of a group of graduated students in Linguistic and Intercultural Mediation at the University of Bologna “Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori”.

Methoden zur Analyse, Interpretation und Modellierung des elektrischen Widerstandes von archäologischen Steinstrukturen

In der Archäologie werden elektrische Widerstandsmessungen routinemäßig zur Prospektion von Fundstellen eingesetzt. Die Methode ist kostengünstig, leicht anwendbar und liefert in den meisten Fällen zuverlässige und leicht zu interpretierende Ergebnisse. Dennoch kann die Methode die archäologischen Strukturen in manchen Fällen nur teilweise oder gar nicht abbilden, wenn die bodenphysikalischen und bodenchemischen Eigenschaften des Bodens und der archäologischen Strukturen dies nicht zulassen. Der spezifische elektrische Widerstand wird durch Parameter wie Wassergehalt, Bodenstruktur, Bodenskelett, Bodentextur, Salinität und Bodentemperatur beeinflusst. Manche dieser Parameter, wie z.B. der Wassergehalt und die Bodentemperatur, unterliegen einer saisonalen Veränderung. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht den spezifischen elektrischen Widerstand von archäologischen Steinstrukturen und evaluiert die Möglichkeit, auf Grundlage von Geländemessungen und Laboranalysen archäologische Strukturen und Böden als numerische Modelle darzustellen. Dazu wurde eine Kombination von verschiedenen bodenkundlichen, geoarchäologischen und geophysikalischen Methoden verwendet. Um archäologische Strukturen und Bodenprofile als numerische Widerstandsmodelle darstellen zu können, werden Informationen zur Geometrie der Strukturen und ihren elektrischen Widerstandswerten benötigt. Dabei ist die Qualität der Hintergrundinformationen entscheidend für die Genauigkeit des Widerstandsmodells. Die Geometrie der Widerstandsmodelle basiert auf den Ergebnissen von Rammkernsondierungen und archäologische Ausgrabungen. Die an der Ausbildung des elektrischen Widerstands beteiligten Parameter wurden durch die Analyse von Bodenproben gemessen und ermöglichen durch Pedotransfer-Funktion, wie die Rhoades-Formel, die Abschätzung des spezifischen elektrischen Widerstandes des Feinbodens. Um den Einfluss des Bodenskeletts auf den spezifischen elektrischen Widerstand von Bodenprofilen und archäologischen Strukturen zu berechnen, kamen die Perkolationstheorie und die Effective Medium Theory zum Einsatz. Die Genauigkeit und eventuelle Limitierungen der Methoden wurden im Labor durch experimentelle Widerstandsmessungen an ungestörten Bodenproben und synthetischen Materialien überprüft. Die saisonale Veränderung des Wassergehalts im Boden wurde durch numerische Modelle mit der Software HYDRUS simuliert. Die hydraulischen Modelle wurden auf Grundlage der ermittelten bodenkundlichen und archäologischen Stratigraphie erstellt und verwenden die Daten von lokalen Wetterstationen als Eingangsparameter. Durch die Kombination der HYDRUS-Ergebnisse mit den Pedotransfer-Funktionen konnte der Einfluss dieser saisonalen Veränderung auf die Prospektionsergebnisse von elektrischen Widerstandsmethoden berechnet werden. Die Ergebnisse der Modellierungsprozesse wurden mit den Geländemessungen verglichen. Die beste Übereinstimmung zwischen Modellergebnissen und den Prospektionsergebnissen konnte für die Fallstudie bei Katzenbach festgestellt werden. Bei dieser wurden die Modelle auf Grundlage von archäologischen Grabungsergebnissen und detaillierten bodenkundlichen Analysen erstellt. Weitere Fallstudien zeigen, dass elektrische Widerstandsmodelle eingesetzt werden können, um den Einfluss von ungünstigen Prospektionsbedingungen auf die Ergebnisse der elektrischen Widerstandsmessungen abzuschätzen. Diese Informationen unterstützen die Planung und Anwendung der Methoden im Gelände und ermöglichen eine effektivere Interpretation der Prospektionsergebnisse. Die präsentierten Modellierungsansätze benötigen eine weitere Verifizierung durch den Vergleich der Modellierungsergebnisse mit detailliertem geophysikalischem Gelände-Monitoring von archäologischen Fundstellen. Zusätzlich könnten elektrische Widerstandsmessungen an künstlichen Mauerstrukturen unter kontrollierten Bedingungen zur Überprüfung der Modellierungsprozesse genutzt werden.

Zur Darstellung und Interpretation archäologischer und geowissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen anhand einer Auswahl römischer Gebrauchskeramik aus dem Limeskastell Saalburg

Die vorliegende Arbeit gliedert sich in drei Kapitel. Das erste Kapitel umfasst dabei die Darstellung von Methoden, die zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt unter anderem in der provinzialrömischen Archäologie zur Untersuchung von Gefäßkeramik üblich sind, wobei die Einzelergebnisse des im Rahmen dieser Arbeit untersuchten gebrauchskeramischen Materials (Randfragmente) der Saalburg (bei Bad Homburg) am Ende des Kapitels zusammengefasst werden. Im zweiten Kapitel werden anhand des gleichen Materials einige naturwissenschaftliche Methoden dargestellt, die zur Materialanalyse sowohl in den Geowissenschaften (Materialwissenschaft), als auch in der Archäometrie häufig Anwendung finden und deren Ergebnisse am Ende des Kapitels zusammengefasst. In einer Gesamtbetrachtung (drittes Kapitel) werden schließlich diese hinsichtlich ihrer Aussagekraft in archäologischem Kontext evaluiert. Neben der im Anhang festgehaltenen Original-dokumentation der Dünnschliff-Untersuchungen (Ramanspektroskopie, „RS“), werden im Abbildungsteil die Kopien der Originaldaten aus der Röntgendiffraktometrie („XRD“) und der Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse („RFA“, chemische Analyse), Abbildungen einiger Festkörper, als auch Zeichnungen, Photos und Dünnschliffe der Randfragmente aufgeführt. Während die Darstellung der angewandten Methoden einer Verständniserleichterung vor allem der komplexen chemisch-physikalischen Zusammenhänge dienen soll - nicht zuletzt auch, um die künftige Methodenwahl zu optimieren - soll mittels der Evaluation, vor allem für die Keramikforschung, die Entwicklung neuer Forschungsmethoden unterstützt werden. Aus dem Vergleich der Ergebnisse beider Kapitel erhebt sich nicht allein für die Keramikforschung die Frage, inwieweit die Anwendungen bestimmter Untersuchungen überhaupt sinnvoll sind, wenn sie nicht nur der Bestätigung dienen sollen, sondern welche Konsequenzen daraus auch für die Untersuchung anderer historisch-kultureller Materialgruppen resultieren könnten.

A probabilistic approach to classify the levee reliability

This work aims to evaluate the reliability of these levee systems, calculating the probability of “failure” of determined levee stretches under different loads, using probabilistic methods that take into account the fragility curves obtained through the Monte Carlo Method. For this study overtopping and piping are considered as failure mechanisms (since these are the most frequent) and the major levee system of the Po River with a primary focus on the section between Piacenza and Cremona, in the lower-middle area of the Padana Plain, is analysed. The novelty of this approach is to check the reliability of individual embankment stretches, not just a single section, while taking into account the variability of the levee system geometry from one stretch to another. This work takes also into consideration, for each levee stretch analysed, a probability distribution of the load variables involved in the definition of the fragility curves, where it is influenced by the differences in the topography and morphology of the riverbed along the sectional depth analysed as it pertains to the levee system in its entirety. A type of classification is proposed, for both failure mechanisms, to give an indication of the reliability of the levee system based of the information obtained by the fragility curve analysis. To accomplish this work, an hydraulic model has been developed where a 500-year flood is modelled to determinate the residual hazard value of failure for each stretch of levee near the corresponding water depth, then comparing the results with the obtained classifications. This work has the additional the aim of acting as an interface between the world of Applied Geology and Environmental Hydraulic Engineering where a strong collaboration is needed between the two professions to resolve and improve the estimation of hydraulic risk.

The arcuate fasciculus: an along-tract analysis with white matter probabilistic tractography

Il cervello umano è composto da una rete complessa, formata da fasci di assoni, che connettono le diverse aree cerebrali. Il fascio arcuato collega l’area imputata alla com- prensione del linguaggio con quella dedicata alla sua produzione. Il fascio arcuato è presente in entrambi gli emisferi cerebrali, anche se spesso è utilizzato prevalente- mente il sinistro. In questa tesi sono state valutate, in un campione di soggetti sani, le differenze tra fascio arcuato destro e sinistro, utilizzando la trattografia, metodica avanzata e non invasiva che permette la ricostruzione della traiettoria delle fibre con immagini RM (Risonanza Magnetica) pesate in diffusione. A questo scopo ho utilizzato un algoritmo probabilistico, che permette la stima di probabilità di connessione della fibra in oggetto con le diverse aree cerebrali, anche nelle sedi di incrocio con fibre di fasci diversi. Grazie all’implementazione di questo metodo, è stato possibile ottenere una ricostruzione accurata del fascio arcuato, an- che nell’emisfero destro dove è spesso critica, tanto da non essere possibile con altri algoritmi trattografici. Parametrizzando poi la geometria del tratto ho diviso il fascio arcuato in venti seg- menti e ho confrontato i parametri delle misure di diffusione, valutate nell’emisfero destro e sinistro. Da queste analisi emerge un’ampia variabilità nella geometria dell’arcuato, sia tra diversi soggetti che diversi emisferi. Nell’emisfero destro l’arcuato incrocia maggiormente fibre appartenenti ad altri fasci. Nell’emisfero sinistro le fibre dell’arcuato sono più compatte e si misura anche una maggiore connettività con altre aree del cervello coinvolte nelle funzioni linguistiche. Nella seconda fase dello studio ho applicato la stessa metodica in due pazienti con lesioni cerebrali, con l’obiettivo di testare il danno del fascio arcuato ipsilaterale alla lesione e stimare se nell’emisfero controlaterale si innescassero meccanismi di plastic- ità strutturale. Questa metodica può essere implementata, in un gruppo di pazienti omogenei, per identificare marcatori RM diagnostici nella fase di pianificazione pre- chirurgica e marcatori RM prognostici di recupero funzionale del linguaggio.