Liturgia y nueva evangelización.

La notable fuerza evangelizadora de la liturgia se aprecia tanto en el anuncio del primer kerygma, como después en el momento de la educación en la fe ya poseída. La pastoral litúrgica se siente vigorosamente interpelada por el funcionamiento efectivo de los signos propios de la función litúrgica de modo que adquieran su plena eficacia con vistas al anuncio y a la comunión. Una liturgia a la vez seria, simple y hermosa, en la riqueza de sus diversos códigos de comunicación, transmite el misterio al mismo tiempo que sigue siendo comprensible, capaz de narrar la alianza perenne de Dios con los hombres

Ocular Refraction at Birth and Its Development During the First Year of Life in a Large Cohort of Babies in a Single Center in Northern Italy

The purpose of this study was to investigate refraction at birth and during the first year of life in a large cohort of babies born in a single center in Northern Italy. We also aimed to analyze refractive errors in relation to the gestational age at birth. An observational ophthalmological assessment was performed within 24 h of birth on 12,427 newborns. Refraction was examined using streak retinoscopy after the administration of tropicamide (1%). Values in the range of between +0.50 ≤ D ≤ +4.00 were defined as physiological refraction at birth. Newborns with refraction values outside of the physiological range were followed up during the first year of life. Comparative analyses were conducted in a subgroup of babies with known gestational ages. The following distribution of refraction at birth was recorded: 88.03% of the babies had physiological refraction, 5.03% had moderate hyperopia, 2.14% had severe hyperopia, 3.4%, had emmetropia, 0.45%, had myopia, 0.94% had astigmatism, and 0.01% had anisometropia. By the end of the first year of life, we observed reductions in hyperopia and astigmatism, and stabilization of myopia. Preterm babies had a four-fold higher risk of congenital myopia and a three-fold higher risk of congenital emmetropia as compared to term babies. Refraction profiles obtained at birth changed during the first year of life, leading to a normalization of the refraction values. Gestational age at birth affected the incidence of refractive errors and amblyopia

Improvement of surface flatness in high precision milling

The use of high precision micro components has increased in various industrial fields in recent years. Repeatable techniques are needed to face very tight tolerances and make micro fabrication processes industrially feasible against current micro machining limitation. Improving surface flatness in high precision milling is the main target of the present research. Critical issues such as machining strategy, spindle thermal transient management and tool wear compensation were considered for machining operations on a representative part

Microscale Analysis of Spacecraft Heat Shields

Imagine entering Earths atmosphere after returning from the outer solar system. A heat shield less than 2 inches thick protects you from temperatures up to 2,900 Celsius (5,252 Fahrenheit). Such conditions were experienced by NASAs Stardust capsule during reentry in 2006. The only materials capable of providing the necessary protection are composites with complex microstructures. Evaluating these materials is difficult, requiring precise knowledge of their properties. To this end, NASA scientists are developing research codes to compute material properties and simulate ablation at the microscale using agency supercomputers. Utilizing these tools, along with experiments, researchers are working to push the limits of spaceflight, allowing for greater flexibility in future space missions

Ethical issues associated with in-hospital emergency from the medical emergency team's perspective: a national survey

Medical Emergency Teams (METs) are frequently involved in ethical issues associated to in-hospital emergencies, like decisions about end-of-life care and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. MET involvement offers both advantages and disadvantages, especially when an immediate decision must be made. We performed a survey among Italian intensivists/anesthesiologists evaluating MET's perspective on the most relevant ethical aspects faced in daily practice

Applicability of an orthogonal cutting slip-line field model for the microscale

Mechanical micromachining is a very flexible and widely exploited process, but its knowledge should still be improved since several incompletely explained phenomena affect the microscale chip removal. Several models have been developed to describe the machining process, but only some of them consider a rounded edge tool, which is a typical condition in micromachining. Among these models, the Waldorf’s slip-line field model for the macroscale allows to separately evaluate shearing and ploughing force components in orthogonal cutting conditions; therefore, it is suitable to predict cutting forces when a large ploughing action occurs, as in micromachining. This study aims at demonstrating how this model is suitable also for micromachining conditions. To achieve this goal, a clear and repeatable procedure has been developed for objectively validating its force prediction performance at low uncut chip thickness (less than 50 mm) and relatively higher cutting edge radius. The proposed procedure makes the model generally applicable after a suitable and nonextensive calibration campaign. This article shows how calibration experiments can be selected among the available cutting trial database based on the model force prediction capability. Final validation experiments have been used to show how the model is robust to a cutting speed variation even if the cutting speed is not among the model quantities. A suitable set-up, especially designed for microturning conditions, has been used to measure forces and chip thickness. Tests have been performed on 6082-T6 Aluminum alloy with different cutting speeds and different ratios between uncut chip thickness and cutting edge radius

Geometrical quality improvement of high aspect ratio micromilled pins

Mechanical micromachining is a reference process for producing 3D complex microparts and specifically tools for other processes as molds for micro injection molding and males for microextrus ion. High aspect ratio features as bars , ribs , pins , etc. are very common in these cases and their quality strongly affects the final plastic part quality. This paper focuses on high aspect ratio steel pins, since they are one of the most challenging features to be manufactured on microextrusion males. The pin geometrical quality has been defined according to the standards and a suitable measurement procedure has been set up with the aim to study the micromilling process parameters effects on the most representative pin quality characteristics . The statistical analysis results point out some criteria for selecting the best process parameters

Inquinamento microbiologico delle sale operatorie: analisi critica di due decenni di sorveglianza

Obiettivo dello studio è stato quello di analizzare i risultati delle campagne di monitoraggio microbiologico delle sale operatorie effettuate negli ultimi due decenni presso il Policlinico di Roma, al fine di descrivere l’andamento nel tempo dei livelli di contaminazione riscontrati e di valutare eventuali cambiamenti significativi. Sono stati presi in esame i campionamenti microbiologici dell’aria effettuati all’interno di 14 blocchi operatori tra il 1992 ed il 2010. I risultati dei campionamenti sono stati aggregati in quattro periodi di tempo (1992-1996; 1996-2000; 2001-2005; 2006-2010) ed è stato analizzata la distribuzione nel tempo dei risultati dei campionamenti rispetto al limite proposto all'ISPESL per le sale at-rest (≤35 UFC/mc). La stessa analisi è stata ripetuta dopo la stratificazione per livello di rischio delle sale operatorie (AR e BR). Al fine di verificare il livello di significatività delle variazioni temporali nelle distribuzioni dei risultati si è fatto ricorso al test del x2 per il trend. Si è osservato un significativo trend in diminuzione del numero di sale con livelli di contaminazione superiori a quello indicato (x2 per trend=8,94; p<0,025). Tale riduzione ha riguardato soprattutto le sale operatorie AR (x2 per trend=7,33; p<0,05). I risultati ottenuti fanno ritenere che le misure adottate nelle sale ad AR siano risultate efficaci. Una maggiore attenzione dovrà essere posta alle sale operatorie a BR

How to Block Cartel Formation and Price-Fixing

Abstract written by the AEI-Brookings Joint Center: Allowing foreign buyers of goods produced by international cartels to pursue civil antitrust damages in U.S. courts would better deter cartel formation and price-fixing than do sanctions currently imposed by global criminal and civil justice systems.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform, Other Topics