Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
12
result(s) for
"Baldanzi, Alessandro"
Sort by:
In nineteenth-century London with Dickens
Visit some of London's famous places and learn about life there in the 19th century.
Book
Florence and the history of glasses: between fake news and technological progress
Glasses are definitely one of the most important applications of optics. Yet, although lenses had already existed for a long time, it was not until the late 13th century that they were used to improve human vision. Vasco Ronchi, founder of the Italian National Institute of Optics, explains this delay by, among other things, a lack of knowledge of the theory of optics and a distrust of what was seen through instruments that could interfere with reality. What Ronchi is convinced of is that lenses were born in a ‘modest, uncultivated environment, against the advice of science’ and even their name (lenses, derived from the lentils they were shaped like) testifies to their popular origin.
Journal Article
Exploring the Effects of LED-Based Visible Light Communication on Reading and Color Perception in Indoor Environments: An Experimental Study
Visible light communications (VLC) is a technology that enables the transmission of digital information with a light source. VLC is nowadays seen as a promising technology for indoor applications, helping WiFi to handle the spectrum crunch. Possible indoor applications range from Internet connection at home/office to multimedia content delivery in a museum. Despite the vast interest of researchers in both theoretical analysis and experimentation on VLC technology, no studies have been carried out on the human perceptions of objects illuminated by VLC-based lamps. It is important to define if a VLC lamp decreases the reading capability or modifies the color perception in order to make VLC a technology appropriate for everyday life use. This paper describes the results of psychophysical tests on humans to define if VLC lamps modify the perception of colors or the reading speed. The results of the reading speed test showed a 0.97 correlation coefficient between tests with and without VLC modulated light, leading us to conclude that there is no difference in the reading speed capability with and without VLC-modulated light. The results of the color perception test showed a Fisher exact test p-value of 0.2351, showing that the perception of color is not influenced by the presence of the VLC modulated light.
Journal Article
Intraoperative integration of nTMS, CCEPs and DCS for language. A glance to the next future?
Background
Direct-Cortical-Stimulation (DCS), Navigated-Transcranial Magnetic-Stimulation (nTMS), Cortico-Cortical-Evoked-Potentials (CCEPs) can be synergically used to monitor Language-network.
Methods
We illustrate a case of multimodal approach for removal of one left fronto-temporo-insular Low-Grade-Glioma.
Results
A 32-years-old female patient was operated in awake surgery (using D080-picture-naming-test). We documented a matching correspondence among frontal nTMS + spots, Penfield DCS, and CCEPs stimulation strip. The same was found in the temporal area among nTMS, DCS, and CCEPs recording strip. [Average distance among nTMS, DCS and CCEPs spots = 5.10 mm, STD = 1.08 mm. Se, PPV and Precision:100%].
Conclusions
We documented the potential utility of matching synergic technologies to preserve language.
Journal Article
Simultaneous Color Contrast Increments with Complexity and Identity of the Target Stimulus
Simultaneous color contrast is a perceptual phenomenon in which a target stimulus appears to change its hue due to color induction from the surrounding background. In this study, we investigated whether this phenomenon is influenced by the structural complexity and identity of the stimuli used. In Experiment 1, we created two sets of stimuli varying in structural complexity and asked participants to perform a color-matching task on the achromatic target. Low-complexity targets consisted of simple squares, while high-complexity targets were stylized cars. The results showed that high-complexity stimuli triggered stronger color induction from the background and exhibited greater interindividual variation in perceived color saturation. Conversely, low-complexity stimuli were predominantly perceived as achromatic across all participants. In Experiment 2, we further explored whether these effects were influenced by differences in the stimuli’s topology and identity. Topological factors were controlled by ensuring similar organizations of stimulus elements across conditions, while the role of stimulus identity was examined by including a condition in which the high-complexity stimuli from Experiment 1 were presented in a scrambled arrangement, preventing recognition. The results demonstrated that color contrast increased with the complexity of the stimuli but also highlighted the role of identity, as the condition where the car was recognizable elicited the strongest color induction. We conclude that simultaneous color contrast is strengthened by factors that pertain to both the complexity of the stimuli used and their identity.
Journal Article
Enlighting Mind
Enlighting Mind is an outreach project to share notions, ideas and concepts of optics and the science of vision with the whole of society. It is also a research project to find contemporary forms to communicate science through the synergy between multiple institutions. It presents new languages and hybrid modes of expression that cross multiple disciplines, with a particular focus on the world of art.
Journal Article
Application of Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) to Study the Visual–Spatial Network and Prevent Neglect in Brain Tumour Surgery
Objective: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has seldom been used to study visuospatial (VS) circuits so far. Our work studied (I) VS functions in neurosurgical oncological patients by using repetitive nTMS (rnTMS), (II) the possible subcortical circuits underneath, and (III) the correspondence between nTMS and direct cortical stimulation (DCS) during awake procedures. Methods: We designed a monocentric prospective study, adopting a protocol to use rnTMS for preoperative planning, including VS functions for lesions potentially involving the VS network, including neurosurgical awake and asleep procedures. nTMS-based-DTI tractography allowed the visualization of subcortical circuits. Statistical analyses on nTMS/DCS points were performed. Clinical results were collected pre- and postoperatively. Results: Finally, 27 patients with primitive intra-axial brain lesions were enrolled between April 2023 and March 2024. Specific tests and an experimental integrated VS test (VISA) were used. The clinical evaluation (at 5 ± 7, 30 ± 10, 90 ± 10 days after surgery) documented 33% of patients with neglect in the left hemisphere four days after surgery and, during the 3-month follow-up, preservation of visuospatial function/clinical recovery (90.62% in MMSE, 98.86% in the bell test, 80% in the clock test, and 98% in the OCS test). The surgical strategy was modulated according to the nTMS map. Subcortical bundles were traced to identify those most involved in these functions: SFLII > SLFII > SLFI. A comparison of the nTMS and DCS points in awake surgery (n = 10 patients) documented a sensitivity (Se) of 12%, a specificity (Sp) of 91.21%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 42%, a negative predictive value (NPV) of 66%, and an accuracy of ~63.7%. Conclusions: Based on our preliminary results, nTMS is advantageous for studying cognitive functions, minimising neurological impairment. Further analyses are needed to validate our data.
Journal Article
Light, Information and Perception inside Historical Buildings. A Case Study
Many literature studies demonstrated that technologies belonging to cognitive neuroscience can be used in museums. Physics, optics, thermodynamics and neurosciences applications can provide an important support to applied and practical research for lighting our Cultural Heritage. In our research we provided a multidisciplinary integrated approach for the study of the luminous climate inside a historical building: Villa La Quiete in Florence is the case study. The quantitative measurements of the relationship between observer and artworks were performed, with eye-tracking technique application. The Information Theory, read on a thermodynamic basis, the ergonomy of the multi-perceptive learning and optical physics, were the fundamental tools for the assessment of the correct light sources in terms of spectral emission and colour light temperature. The eye-tracking technique combined with the results of lighting parameter quantification, allowed checking how the colour of light changes the observer's perception, and from the information theory point of view, the communication and interpretation process of the signals due to different lighting. At the same time, it was also possible to measure by assessing the perceptive data of the visual path, and thus the neg-entropy, the informative content of the interaction of light with works of art.
Journal Article
Microembolic signals and strategy to prevent gas embolism during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Background
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) supplies systemic blood perfusion and gas exchange in patients with cardiopulmonary failure. The current literature lacks of papers reporting the possible risks of microembolism among the complications of this treatment.
In this study we present our preliminary experience on brain blood flow velocity and emboli detection through the transcranial Doppler monitoring during ECMO.
Methods
Six patients suffering of heart failure, four after cardiac surgery and two after cardiopulmonary resuscitation were treated with ECMO and submitted to transcranial doppler monitoring to accomplish the neurophysiological evaluation for coma.
Four patients had a full extracorporeal flow supply while in the remaining two patients the support was maintained 50% in respect to normal demand.
All patients had a bilateral transcranial brain blood flow monitoring for 15 minutes during the first clinical evaluation.
Results
Microembolic signals were detected only in patients with the full extracorporeal blood flow supply due to air embolism.
Conclusions
We established that the microembolic load depends on gas embolism from the central venous lines and on the level of blood flow assistance.
The gas microemboli that enter in the blood circulation and in the extracorporeal circuits are not removed by the membrane oxygenator filter.
Maximum care is required in drugs and fluid infusion of this kind of patients as a possible source of microemboli. This harmful phenomenon may be overcome adding an air filter device to the intravenous catheters.
Journal Article