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Prostatectomized patients are at risk of resurgence: this is the reason why, during a follow-up period, they are monitored for PSA growth, an indicator of tumor progression. The presence of tumors can be evaluated with an expensive exam, called PET-PSMA (Positron Emission Tomography with Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen). But, to optimize the benefit/risk ratio, patients should be referred to this exam only when the evidence is strong. The aim is to estimate the optimal time to recommend the exam, based on patients' history and collected data. We build a Hierarchical Bayesian model that describes, jointly, the PSA growth curve and the probability of a positive PET-PSMA. Our proposal is to process all information about the patient in order to give an informed estimate of the optimal time.

To compare safety and functional outcomes of total, hemi and focal ablation by the latest focal HIFU device.This is a prospective study including patients with low to intermediate-risk PCa treated with HIFU by Focal One® device from 11/2018 to 3/2020. Before the treatment all patients underwent mpMRI and subsequent MRI/TRUS fusion and standard biopsy. Patients were stratified according to the type of ablation: total, hemi- or focal ablation. Functional data (IPSS, Quality of Life [QoL], IIEF-5, maximum flow [Qmax] and post void residual [PVR] at flowmetry) were assessed preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after treatment. Moreover, the urinary symptoms reported by patients at IPSS questionnaire were divided in "irritative" and "obstructive" and compared.100 patients were enrolled. Median prostate volume and lesion diameter were 46 (IQR 25-75) ml and 10 (IQR 6-13) mm. 15, 50 and 35 patients underwent total, hemi- and focal ablation, respectively. No differences were found between them except for operative time (lower in the focal group, p0.01). Significant lower incidence of irritative symptoms was identified in the focal group compared to the others (p0.05 at 1 and 3 months of follow-up). No differences were found among the baseline status and the postoperative assessment in terms of obstructive IPSS items, IIEF-5, QoL, Qmax and PVR (all p-value0.05).Our study suggests that patients' specific HIFU tailoring with the MRI/real-time TRUS Guidance by Focal One® device is able to minimize the side effects of treatment.

l saggio si propone di leggere il Della Tirannide nella sua veste dinopera critico-polemica, al fine di rivalutare il suo ruolo nel dibattito europeo sul dispotismo (ruolo che, almeno negli studi politici, non ha sinora ricevuto l���attenzione che me-rita). Dopo una sintetica ricostruzione del dibattito europeo ��� da Montesquieu a Mirabeau ��� il saggio si concentra sul Della Tirannide, mostrando i suoi elementi di originalit��: il suo taglio incisivamente politologico, la sua serrata struttura lo-gico-argomentativa, la prospettiva risolutamente repubblicana arricchita da in-serti proto-liberali e soprattutto la definizione del dispotismo europeo come dispo-tismo dissimulato, perch�� coperto dal velo ingannevole dell'apparato legale. The essay���s aim to read Della Tirannide as a critical and polemical work, in order to adequately assess its so far neglected role within the European debate on des-potism. Followin a brief reconstruction of the latter, from Montesquieu to Mira-beau, the essay will focus on Della Tirannide, showing the elements of its original-ity, such as its uniquely political flair, its tight logical-argumentative structure, its adamantly republican perspective, enriched by proto-liberal accents, and, most importantly, the definition of European despotism as a covert, its tyrannical nature concealed by its legal system., Atti della Accademia Peloritana dei Pericolanti - Classe di Lettere, Filosofia e Belle Arti, V. 3, N. 97 (2021): Vittorio Alfieri nella cultura e nella letteratura d'Italia e d'Europa

Dans la réflexion de Benjamin Constant, l’économie politique occupe une place importante, qui a rarement reçu l’attention qu’elle méritait. Le but de cet essai est de reconstruire analytiquement cette réflexion, telle que Constant l’a développée dans les Principes de politique (1806) et le Commentaire à Filangieri, et de répondre aux questions suivantes : quel genre de rapport Constant entretient-il avec l’économie politique ? Quelle place les libertés économiques occupent-elles dans son système de pensée ? Et enfin, est-ce que la question sociale, dont la présence est manifeste dans le Commentaire, a affecté ses convictions économiques ?, In the reflection of Benjamin Constant, political economy occupies an important place, which has rarely received the attention it deserves. The aim of this essay is to analytically reconstruct this reflection as Constant developed it in his Principes de politique (1806) and in Commentaire à Filangieri and to answer to the following questions: what kind of relationship Constant has with the current thought on political economy? What place did economic freedom occupy in his wider belief system? Did the social question have any bearing on Constant’s economical beliefs?

Uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gases caused by consumption of fossil fuels has led to the urgent need to develop low-emitting energy technologies such as those exploiting renewable energies. In this context, hydrogen (H2) represents an opportunity to enhance the development of such technologies, in light of the possibility to use it as an energy storage for non-programmable renewables, and for its potential to decarbonize key emitting sectors such as transport sector. This study is therefore focused on photocatalytic generation of H2 using cellulose as sacrificial agent, with the aim of valorizing renewable resources like solar energy and the chemical energy contained in an abundant biopolymer. The types of cellulose which are most suitable for this application were determined, and the influence on the rate of H2 production of parameters like pH of the reaction medium, and concentrations of cellulose and photocatalyst was clarified. It was found that an acidic pH, a relatively high concentration of photocatalyst and a relatively low concentration of cellulose constitute the most advantageous configuration to maximize the performances. An estimation of the conversion efficiency from light energy to H2 energy is provided, and the performances allowed by cellulose are compared to those allowed by more commonly used sacrificial agents. Finally, attempts to synthesize advanced photocatalysts with the aim of increasing the efficiency are reported. Se dokumentfil

Aims: The Pros-IT CNR project aims to monitor a sample of Italian males ≥18years of age who have been diagnosed in the participating centers with incident prostate cancer, by analyzing their clinical features, treatment protocols and outcome results in relation to quality of life. Methods: Pros-IT CNR is an observational, prospective, multicenter study. The National Research Council (CNR), Neuroscience Institute, Aging Branch (Padua) is the promoting center. Ninety-seven Italian centers located throughout Italy were involved. The field study began in September 1, 2014. Subjects eligible were diagnosed with biopsy-verified prostate cancer, naïve. A sample size of 1500 patients was contemplated. A baseline assessment including anamnestic data, clinical history, risk factors, the initial diagnosis, cancer staging information and quality of life (Italian UCLA Prostate Cancer Index; SF-12 Scale) was completed. Six months after the initial diagnosis, a second assessment evaluating the patient’s health status, the treatment carried out, and the quality of life will be made. A third assessment, evaluating the treatment follow-up and the quality of life, will be made 12months after the initial diagnosis. The 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th assessments, similar to the third, will be completed 24, 36, 48 and 60months after the initial diagnosis, respectively, and will include also a Food Frequency Questionnaire and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly. Discussion: The study will provide information on patients’ quality of life and its variations over time in relation to the treatments received for the prostate cancer.

the new edition of the handbook on age estimation. With new results, new formulas, new methods. useful for anyone who wants to move in this often difficult world. a simple handbook that accompanies you step by step.

Background COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly spread in Italy in late February 2020. Almost all surgical services have been reorganized, with the aim of maintaining an adequate therapeutic path, especially for surgical emergencies. The knowledge of how surgeons dealing with emergency surgery have reacted to the epidemic in the real life can be useful while drafting clinical recommendations. Methods Surgeons from multiple Italian regions were invited answering to an online survey in order to make a snapshot of their current behaviors towards COVID-19-positive patients bearing urgent surgical diseases. Questions about institutional rules and personal approach for patient treatment and to limit epidemic spread were included in a 37-item questionnaire. Results Seventy-one questionnaires from institutions dealing with emergency surgery were accepted. Participating surgeons were equally subdivided from a geographical point of view, with a large proportion of public (97.2%) and non-academical (91.5%) centers. In 80.3% of cases, the hospitals treated COVID-19 patients; in 69.1% of centers, a change in work plan was necessary, and 33.8% of teams had almost a surgeon infected or in preventive quarantine. The vast majority of surgeons operated only on urgent cases (73.9%), but the number of interventions significantly dropped. Up to 40% of non-traumatic abdominal emergency cases had an unusual delayed treatment. The laparoscopic approach was used in 69.6% of interventions on COVID-19 patients. Strategies to protect health care workers against COVID-19 infection and to identify asymptomatic infected surgeons were suboptimal with respect to the WHO recommendations in 70.4% and 90.2% of centers, respectively. Advanced personal protective equipment for operating room workers was adopted for all surgeries in only 12.7% of centers. Discussion This survey confirms that the COVID-19 outbreak is dramatically changing the practice of emergency surgery centers in Italy. Despite the reduction in number, urgent cases were on average more challenging owing to diagnostic delay. Recommendations from the International Scientific Societies are frequently not complied concerning the use of laparoscopic approach, the availability of personal protective equipment in the operating rooms, and the testing of both asymptomatic physicians and patients scheduled for surgery. A further evaluation of the short-term results of these attitudes is warranted to modulate international recommendations.

This retrospective study aims to test the third molar maturity index (I(3M)) cut-off value of 0.08 for 18 years old in Dominican Republic population. Orthopantomograms of 513 subjects (284 females and 229 males) were evaluated, intra- and inter-observer agreement, ICC (intra-class correlation coefficient) values were 0.88% (95% CI 0.86% to 0.91%), and 0.93% (95% CI 0.90% to 0.96%), for the intra- and inter-observer reliability, respectively. Accuracy in females was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93-0.97); the sensitivity was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99) and specificity was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.95). In males, the accuracy was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93-0.98); the sensitivity was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.88-0.97) and specificity was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99). The PPV (Positive Predictive Value) was 0.93 for females and 0.99 for males. The results of this study show that I(3M) can be used for discriminating adults from minors in Dominican Republic subjects around the legal age of 18 years old.

RESUMEN: La estimación de la edad es uno de los procedimientos más importantes para la identificación humana. Cameriere et al. propusieron un método para estimación de edad evaluando la relación área pulpa/diente utilizando radiografías dentales, basado en la aposición de dentina secundaria. El objetivo de este estudio, fue desarrollar modelos de regresión lineal para la estimación de la edad, mediante la relación de área pulpa/diente en caninos y premolares mandibulares utilizando ortopantomografías (OPGs) en una población chilena de individuos adultos de edad y sexo conocidos. Se analizaron 162 OPGs digitales (67 hombres y 95 mujeres) mediante el programa ImageJ, con el fin de medir las áreas señaladas. Mediante análisis de regresión, se estudiaron las posibles interacciones entre la edad, sexo y relación de área pulpa/diente. Esta relación disminuyó regularmente con la edad y varió de 0,03 a 0,6 para premolares y 0,04 a 0,6 para caninos respectivamente. El mejor modelo de estimación de edad fue para la relación del canino inferior izquierdo obteniendo un coeficiente de determinación de R2=8,7 %. La media de error absoluto, con un intervalo de confianza del 95 %, osciló entre 5,6 y 5,72 años. El análisis de ANCOVA no mostró diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres para la estimación de edad, al igual que para ambos lados de la cavidad oral. Según los resultados obtenidos, la relación de área pulpa/diente es una metodología fiable para la estimación de la edad en adultos. Sin embargo, los resultados demuestran que, en casos reales, es necesario contar con métodos adicionales de estimación ya que, al menos en la muestra analizada, el ajuste indicado por los coeficientes de determinación demostró falta de certeza en las estimaciones etarias producidas por los modelos de regresión lineal. SUMMARY: Age estimation is one of the most important procedures for human identification. Cameriere et al. proposed a method for age estimation based on the analysis of the pulp/tooth ratio by using dental x-rays, based on the apposition of secondary dentine. The objective of this study was to develop linear regression models for age estimation, by means of the pulp/tooth ratio of mandibular canines and premolars using orthopantomographies (OPGs) in a Chilean population of adults of known age and sex. We analyzed 162 digital OPGs (67 men and 95 women) through ImageJ software, in order to measure these areas. By means of regression analysis, the possible interactions between age, sex and pulp / tooth ratio were studied. This relationship decreased regularly with age and ranged from 0.03 to 0.6 for premolars and 0.04 to 0.6 for canines, respectively. The best model of age estimation was for the relation of the lower left canine, obtaining a coefficient of determination of R2=8.7 %. The mean absolute error, with a confidence interval of 95 %, ranged between 5.6 and 5.72 years. The ANCOVA analysis showed no significant differences between men and women for age estimation, as well as for both sides of the oral cavity. According to the results, the pulp/tooth ratio is a reliable methodology for estimating age in adults. However, the results showed that, in actual cases, it is necessary to use additional estimation methods since, at least in the sample analyzed, the adjustment indicated by coefficients of determination showed uncertainty in age estimation produced by the linear regression models.

L’œuvre politique de Staël, sous le Directoire, modernise le concept de République en utilisant plusieurs concepts empruntés aux modèles anglo-saxons : les Réflexions sur la paix intérieure et Des Circonstances actuelles développent en effet une réflexion constitutionnelle originale, qui privilégie la pratique sur la théorie et la liberté civile sur l’égalité. Consolider la République exige ainsi une modernisation du concept de République dans laquelle Staël joue un rôle pionnier., De Staël’s political works, under the regime of the Directoire, modernize the concept of the republic by borrowing several ideas from British models: her Réflexions sur la paix intérieure and Des Circonstances actuelles develop a new reflection on constitutional questions, favoring practice over theory and civil liberty over equality. The project to consolidate the Republic required a modernization of the concept of a republic, in which de Staël played a pioneering role.

Objective: Extended pelvic lymph nodes dissection (EPLND) allows the removal of a higher number of lymph nodes than limited PLND. The aims of this study were to describe our robot-assisted EPLND (RAEPLND) technique with related complications, and to report the number of lymph nodes removed and the rate of lymph nodal metastasis. Materials and Methods: 153 patients underwent RAEPLND prior to robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Indications were defined according to Briganti nomogram, to predict risk of lymph-nodal metastasis. Lymphatic packages covering the distal tract of the common iliac artery, the medial portion of the external iliac artery, the external iliac vein and the internal iliac vessels, together with the obturator and the presacral lymphatic packages were removed on both sides. Results: Median preoperative PSA was 7.5 ng/mL (IQR 5.5–11.5). Median operative time was 150 min (135–170). Median RAEPLND alone operative time was 38 min (32.75–41.25); for right and left side, 18 (15–29) and 20 min (15.75–30) (p=0.567). Median number of lymph nodes retrieved per patient was 25 (19.25–30); 13 (11–16) and 11 (8–15) for right and left side. In 19 patients (12.41%) metastasis was found at the level of pelvic lymph nodes. Median number of positive lymph nodes was 1 (1–4.6) per patient. Complications occurred in 11 patients (7.3%). Conclusions: the number of lymph nodes removed was comparable to published data about open series, allowing the increase of detection rate of lymph nodal metastasis for minimally invasive approach without compromising complications' rate if performing the procedure following reported technique.

Although the technical literature contains numerous efforts to simulate container terminal performance, little attention has been paid to setting up, calibrating and validating models for handling equipment activities. This paper presents results from the estimation of activity duration concerning three different types of handling equipment: mobile harbor cranes, gantry cranes and reach stackers. Two estimation approaches (sample means vs. random variables) were investigated with respect to different hypotheses with regard to activity aggregation and container type (undifferentiated, 20’, 40’, full or empty). A concise but exhaustive state of art is proposed, an in-depth descriptive analysis of experimental data is carried out, several probability distribution functions were tested and more than 60 statistical models are proposed. The results can be easily implemented in any terminal simulation model.

Los objetivos principales de este trabajo son los siguientes: 1) presentar los resultados, obtenidos en muestras procedentes de varios países (Italia, Albania, Croacia, Turquía, Libia y Colombia), de un método de estimación de la edad legal de 18 años basado en el análisis del índice de madurez del tercer molar mediante radiografías panorámicas digitales ; 2) ampliar, con la colaboración de los especialistas forenses interesados, el alcance de aplicación de esta técnica y comprobar su precisión en los territorios que lo requieran. El Coeficiente de Correlación Intraclase (ρc) y el Coeficiente kappa de Cohen (κ) se han usado para determinar el grado de acuerdo intra- e inter-observador de las mediciones realizadas. Además, se ha aplicado el Coeficiente kappa de Cohen (κ) para establecer el grado de acuerdo intra- e inter-observador a la hora de decidir si un sujeto es mayor o menor de 18 años. Para conocer el grado de precisión de la técnica, se ha llevado a cabo un análisis de la sensibilidad, de la especificidad, de los valores predictivos positivos y negativos y, finalmente, de las ratios de probabilidad positiva y negativa de la prueba diagnóstica. La proporción de sujetos correctamente identificados varía entre 93, 8% y 95, 1%. Los resultados obtenidos en las muestras estudiadas hasta la fecha demuestran que el índice de madurez del tercer molar puede ser, si aplicado junto a otros métodos de estimación, de gran utilidad para diferenciar entre sujetos mayores y menores de 18 años, una edad altamente trascendental en las legislaciones de muchos países.

In the late 2000s, the renewed interest of the Arctic States over the Arctic has been seen with international concern as a revival of hard-core geopolitics towards an area that became an example of cooperation among states and minorities. This apprehension is based on a simplistic conception of territory as the natural material manifestation of the State over the Earth, typical of classical geopolitics and the realist school of International Relations (IR). The scope of this thesis is thus twofold. Firstly, it aims at problematizing the often academically neglected concept of territory. It is only adopting Wendt’s social constructivist approach and the notion of the state “as-a-person”, which rationalizes its personhood and agency on the international scene, that I assume it is possible to understand the contemporary situation of the Arctic, where the Arctic States are intentionally acting as the legitimate actors, within the socio-cultural framework of the current International Legal System. Moreover, with the analysis of the sources of international law and how they manage and resolve territorial disputes, it will be argued Carl Schmitt’s previous conceptions of territorial sovereignty and geographical Order, described in the Nomos of the Earth, which is also at the roots of IR realism. My point is that, following Stuart Elden’s insight, territory is indeed a political technological tool, whose technological aspects are represented by cartography which influences subtly the way we relates to the World and eventually even the patterns of the modern nation-state through what Franco Farinelli calls the cartographic reasoning. Such logic is best expressed by the three characteristics of continuity, homogeneity and isotropy, that ‘stemming from the map’ are the attribute themselves of the modern state. The categorization of these three features through the methodological means of Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis will provide an initial analytical framework for the Arctic Strategy documents of Norway, Russia and Finland. Considering them as the performative territorial representation of the state, it will be possible to prove whether the Arctic States are actually turning back to hard national interest-based policies, or some post-modern spatial aspect is predominating. The findings are promising on the analytical side, showing the appropriate flexibility for texts and maps, and illustrate that the Arctic States are ‘still on the Map’, managing to adapt global phenomena in the terms of cartographic reasoning, reaffirming thus their leading role in the determination of political space. Keywords: Arctic, Arctic Strategies, territory, territoriality, social constructivism, State-as-a-person, international law, effectivity, Carl Schmitt, Nomos of the Earth, UNCLOS, cartography, cartographic reasoning, political geography.

Le biblioteche, da oltre un ventennio, offrono alla propria utenza servizi che vengono “declinati” attraverso strumenti informatici sempre più avanzati e interconnessi con quelli di ricerca e di information retrieval. Dai primi sistemi dedicati alla catalogazione informatica, si è passati ai cataloghi on-line (OPAC) e agli strumenti di “ricerca federata”, fino ad arrivare a portali personalizzati sul singolo utente. Dall’elenco in rete delle riviste cartacee disponibili in biblioteca, si è giunti ai primi esempi di riviste on-line, per approdare alle moderne strutture di archivi istituzionali e di biblioteche digitali. Interessante notare, quindi, come buona partedell’evoluzione tecnologica in campo informatico e di ingegneria dei sistemi si sia di fatto realizzata nel contesto “culturalmente vivace” del mondo delle biblioteche. Il CASPUR, per sua naturale inclinazione e per statuto, ha sempre speso notevoli risorse in questo specifico settore, sia dal punto di vista delle risorse umane impiegate che da quello delle risorse economiche investite. L’esperienza e il credito acquisito nel settore delle biblioteche universitarie e della Pubblica Amministrazione, la numerosità dei servizi offerti e le diverse collaborazioni avviate, sia nel pubblico che nel privato, con altri “fornitori” di analoghi servizi sono prova del buon lavoro fin’ora svolto.

Il CASPUR da diversi anni ha in atto numerose collaborazioni con il Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, a cui offre servizi in ambito ICT. Tra le varie attività sviluppa progetti congiunti con la Direzione Generale per gli Archivi (DGA) [1], da sempre attiva nell’ambito della conservazione del patrimonio archivistico italiano. Recentemente è stato avviato, proprio con questa direzione, un progetto, denominato Antenati [2], il cui scopo primario è quello di rendere fruibile in rete parte dell’enorme patrimonio documentario presente negli Archivi di Stato, per permettere ricerche anagrafiche e genealogiche. In questo progetto, il settore servizi di automazione per le biblioteche del CASPUR ha offerto alla DGA il supporto tecnologico per la realizzazione del portale del progetto e fornisce l’ambiente di repository documentale e di visualizzazione dei registri digitalizzati, provenienti dagli archivi.

Il passaggio della comunicazione scientifica dalla versione cartacea delle riviste a quella elettronica, lo sviluppo della Rete e, più in generale, delle tecnologie dell’informazione hanno permesso agli atenei consorziati al CASPUR e al CIBER (Comitato tecnico costituitosi nel CASPUR per l’acquisizione di banche dati ed editoria in Rete) di accedere ad una più vasta quantità di contenuti scientifici, disponibili on-line e a pagamento. L’accesso a questi contenuti ha richiesto, però, un continuo confronto con le politiche di prezzo degli editori e con i modelli economici da loro adottati, che nella maggior parte dei casi, sono risultati molto onerosi e penalizzanti per le Università. Per questo motivo il CASPUR ed il CIBER hanno intrapreso, con successo, un’attività mirante ad una politica di accesso alle risorse informative, basata su economie di scala e su modelli collaborativi. I contratti sottoscritti con gli editori internazionali sono, ad oggi, diciotto; la crisi economica e il suo impatto sui bilanci delle biblioteche ha richiesto, nel corso del 2010, la revisione di alcuni contratti e laddove è stato possibile anche la rinegoziazione delle condizioni economiche. Nonostante ciò alcuni enti non sono stati nelle condizioni di poter rinnovare alcuni contratti per il 2011.

Il passaggio della comunicazione scientifica dalla versione cartacea delle riviste a quella elettronica, lo sviluppo della Rete e, più in generale, delle tecnologie dell’informazione hanno permesso agli atenei consorziati CASPUR e al CIBER (Comitato tecnico costituitosi nel CASPUR per l’acquisizione di banche dati ed editoria in Rete) di accedere ad una più vasta quantità di contenuti scientifici, disponibili on-line e a pagamento. L’accesso a questi contenuti ha richiesto, però, un continuo confronto con le politiche di prezzo degli editori e con i modelli economici da loro adottati, che, nella maggior parte dei casi, sono risultati molto onerosi e penalizzanti per le Università. Per questo motivo il CASPUR ed il CIBER hanno intrapreso, con successo, un’attività mirante ad una politica di accesso alle risorse informative, basata su economie di scala e su modelli collaborativi.

È opinione ormai largamente condivisa che gli elementi essenziali per il buon funzionamento di un sistema bibliotecario moderno e automatizzato siano, da un lato, un catalogo on-line (OPAC) completo ed integrato nei moderni sistemi di ricerca in Rete, dall’altro infrastrutture informatiche dedicate ai servizi di biblioteca, che siano flessibili e ricche di funzionalità. L’adozione diffusa di strumenti informatici sempre più evoluti in questo settore esprime la crescente consapevolezza, che gli atenei ed i centri di ricerca, hanno rispetto alla centralità dei servizi di biblioteca. Grazie alle molteplici collaborazioni con il mondo delle biblioteche ed al conseguente sviluppo dei servizi ad esse associati, il CASPUR, nell’arco di un decennio, è divenuto un punto di riferimento per questo settore.

CASPUR has been offering since 1999 a web based Digital Library service called “Emeroteca Virtuale” (EV), which guarantees full-text permanent access to scholarly scientific publications of five commercial publishers, the biggest ones in a worldwide context. Nowadays EV is a service accessed by more than 350.000 users, mostly researchers belonging to nearly 30 middle and south Italy universities and research bodies. Users can browse and search on this platform up to 8 million full text articles from 5.000 e-journals, mainly in Scientific-Technology-Medicine (STM) area. Since 1999 EV service is based on a commercial software called Science Direct, whose main functionalities are articles browsing and articles searching. This software is going to show its limits with such huge amount of searchable articles, especially when search times are concerned. This is why starting from the second half of 2008 CASPUR staff which is managing this digital library has planned a migration from Science Direct search engine, to a new one, chosen in the context of open source software: Lucene from Apache Software Foundation. Nowadays Lucene is used in many web based applications around the world, especially in the field of scientific digital libraries. Concerning EV service, Lucene integration with Science Server environments is going to end in the next few months. Exhaustive tests have been performed using the whole contents, giving really promising results, with a mean search time 10 to 100 shorter than Science Direct search response. This definitively states the choice of Lucene as a good search engine and represent a valid starting point for “Emeroteca Virtuale” whole service renovation.

The Virtual Newspaper Library (EV) provides access to more than five thousand full text academic and scientific journals, for a total of eight million items. Use of Science Server software is outdated, and is causing an excessive increase in response time in search operations of a single article. This pushed the development of a new search engine more in line with the response time expected by the recipients of the service, including the relation to a body of over ten millions searchable items.

RABIS - Recupero Archivi Bibliografici In SBN - è una applicazione software sviluppata nel 2007 dal gruppo di Automazione Biblioteche del CASPUR, per consentire di importare in maniera semi-automatica, nel Catalogo Collettivo SBN, le descrizioni bibliografiche prodotte mediante l'utilizzo di diversi software di catalogazione.