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Researching within the Truth

Science and the Progress of Human Person

A reasoned and trans-disciplinary synthesis about the use of Artificial Intelligence (consisting of highly advanced mathematical and statistical algorithms) in Medicine and Surgery from a technical, applicative, and ethical perspective is proposed. Medicine, empowered by AI that lacks the depth of human consciousness, is called to progress by focusing even more decisively on the Dignity of the Human Person and his True Good.

On 14 December 2021, the extraordinary event called “touching the Sun” has been heralded as a “monumental moment for solar science”, in which the Parker Solar Probe opened up a new frontier of research for Space exploration, proposing the challenge of reaching, studying, and even “touching” our Sun at close range. The consequences of this event are scientific but also metaphysical and transcendental, offering the opportunity to reflect on the complex reality and meaning of the “boundaries” as opportunities for relationships and then for ethics. In this paper, I would like to propose an attempt to develop a possible discussion for an extension of Space Sustainability as an ethical guide for humanity which, as it goes out into outer Space, is helped to rediscover new, expanded dimensions of perception along the path of mystery and humility, in order to return back to Earth enriched for new relationships in pursuit of the common good.

Un approccio dinamico trans-disciplinare e potenziato dai sacramenti nelle cure palliative

Sostenibilità tecnologica e algor-etica dell'intelligenza artificiale

Sustainability involves all areas of human life with the declared aim of improving the future quality of life itself. The more the contemporary discussion about sustainability increases its pervasive contribution, the more it needs to be funded on clear and strong basis and roots, both of meaning and of ethics. It certainly opens the door to new creative involvements of technology, science, humanities, economics, and ethics, to grow up in relations and peace. However, the possibility also emerges that this concept, thanks to its appeal, could be used to cover unclear operations in globalized confusion. For this reason, we propose a small, but hopefully useful, perspective on the opportunity that an expanded concept of Sustainability opens up, fixing our gaze on the term itself and its foundations. In order to suggest an investigation about the possible depths and foundations of Sustainability, I specifically propose three objectives: (1) trying to re-read the biblical text of the Creation of the Cosmos (in particular Gen 1:1 and Gen 2:9) to highlight the features of a new “centring” for the space-time as an Environment, to have a solid reference on which to build an ethically-based Sustainability; (2) offering a reading of the Canticle of the Creatures of St. Francis that evidences how this centring can be understood as a clear reference to the Creator and to our vital relationship with the Creator God; (3) defining a “Centred Sustainability.”

Beyond the Planck scale, physics, as we know it, does not work, and the effects of General Relativity and Gravity require quantization. Going backwards to the origin of the Universe it seems that we lose many references and we need new concepts of space and time, of ‘being’, ‘pre-existence’, ‘nothing’, ‘origin’, etc. Different Quantum Origination Theories concerning the very beginning of the Universe have been proposed, but there always remain two important problems about the ‘scientificity’ of all research on origination: first, it is not possible to realize experiments and to repeat them, and second, the observer is directly involved with the observed! In the context of creative cross-disciplinary methods in science and theology, we propose Christology for modelling the common and crucial study of the origin/beginning of the Cosmos, according to the empirical Revelation of God the Father in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, and Trinitarian Theology as a concrete, simulating and analogical model to investigate the origin and the evolution of the Universe. The study of Christology applied to cosmology can help us to individuate many elements, in order to understand the origin and the beginning of the Universe in its dynamical, qualitative and conceptual characteristics.

Since 2018, a new terminology has been developed, called Algor-ethics, indicating the necessity for a dedicated study concerning the evaluation of an ethics applied to technology, to Algorithms and to Artificial Intelligence (AI). At the same time, since 1987, when the concept of sustainability was introduced, the discussion on this issue has become increasingly lively and has now spread to every area of life. In this paper, we would like to propose an application of the concept of sustainability to technological processes and in particular to the elaboration of AI systems. To reach this goal we will first try to build an ethical framework, here called Dynamical Techno-Algor-Ethical Composition, to define the interaction between the most important ethical ingredients involving the human person in relation to technology, taking a person-centered approach. Out of this will emerge a possible structure and definition of Technological Sustainability. The second step will consist of evaluating the process for the elaboration of an AI algorithm as a concrete application of the previously analyzed framework, to set ethical contents composing what we might call a good and sustainable algorithm.

The aim of this paper is to touch the “state of the Art” of both the Theories concerning the very beginning of the Universe and those related to the fundamental constituents of the Universe itself. We speak with wonder of “Art” because the Universe seems to have an “artistical” evidence of an ordered and mysterious intelligibility, offered to our knowledge and experience with a surprising gratuity, opening to a confident and humble but also enthusiastic research.

3... 2... 1... Lift off! Un duplice movimento di lancio e una duplice propulsione ci spingeranno in una avventura inaspettata: le scienze fisiche e tecnologiche e le scienze teologiche, strettamente e rispettosamente interconnesse in una nuova sfida trans-disciplinare orientata alla comune e appassionata ricerca della Verità. Una radicale e avvincente sinergia dinamica con cui possiamo affrontare, pieni di meraviglia e ben equipaggiati, l’esplorazione dello Spazio cosmico che, nei suoi orizzonti sconfinati, si offre come luogo privilegiato per scoprire profondità inattese quanto decisive. Il successivo Ritorno sulla Terra sarà così pieno di “Cielo”, perché potenziato dalle ricchezze estese provenienti dagli entusiasmanti risultati della Tecnica, dalle risonanze interiori dell’Uomo mentre corre verso l’Infinito e soprattutto dalla stupenda Rivelazione con cui Dio stesso, in Persona, si fa conoscere per stimolare e dare fiducia, anche attraverso le missioni spaziali, alla nostra ricerca e al nostro progresso integrale. La particolarità e originalità del testo, che può sorprendere ma anche affascinare, risiedono nel suo metodo, che si arricchisce sia di un formalismo tipicamente scientifico, utilizzando puntuali sintesi schematiche lungo il progredire dell’esplorazione, sia di un formalismo fisico/matematico di tipo analogico, applicato alla dimensione teologica, per aprire ponti concreti di una ragionevole integrazione trans-disciplinare.

According to the reconceptualization of science that emerged in the twentieth century, our approach to nature is changing. There is a calling for an enlarged rationality and for a multilevel analysis of the Cosmos around us, because the reality itself shows new depths and complexities, while new methodologies in the scientific research, such as cross-disciplinary and multi-messenger, are necessary. In this epistemological change of paradigm, escaping from empiricism, mechanistic determinism, reductionism, and relativism, appears “natural” the reference to metaphysics and to theology exactly because we need to get outside and to “open the system” to obtain better and more complete descriptions. Theology, referring to the Revealed Personal God as Trinity and Unity and in particular Christology, mostly with Incarnation, adds the conditions for a “natural” landing in a profound and rich cross-disciplinary study concerning the beginning and origin of the Universe. We will explore these passages for an integrated and encompassing reading of the Universe.

Book Review

Book Review

‘Gloria Dei vivens homo, vita autem hominis visio Dei!’ (Irenaeus 1965: 248. 20, 7). This famous and magnificent synthesis is the core of the present paper which aims to examine a fascinating analogy between the recent astronomical discovery concerning Gravitational Waves produced by the merger of two neutron stars (the event could be observed on August the 17th 2017 in the LIGO and Virgo Gravitational Interferometers and it was identified as GW170817), and the relation between God and Man in the Christian faith. The analogy is audacious but it seems to be extremely interesting. Is nature itself pointing beyond nature? We’ll try to walk inside a possible reading of nature as a continuous Creation/calling in which the Creator and Father Himself invites His children to search and dialogue with Him according to God’s dimension of Logos in Jesus Christ. The truth can never contradict the Truth, because everything around us, that is the whole Creation, speaks the same language of an incredible history of Love!

Book Review

The analysis of volatiles secreted outside the human body to get information on the health status of the individuals has been proposed several times in the past. This kind of analysis is complex both from the point of view of sample collection and data interpretation when, for instance, gas chromatography is utilized. In the recent years the advent of chemical sensors and chemical sensors systems (the so-called electronic nose) opened the way to the possibility of fast and simple analysis of odors in many fields, and, recently, among them, in medicine. In this paper some examples of these apllications are illustrated. The results, although preliminary, encourage in pursuing these researches that can give rise to a better comprehension of the role of smell and odor in humans and, possibily in the near future, in novel diagnostic tools.

In questo lavoro vengono mostrate, attraverso alcuni esempi, le possibilità che i sensori e microsistemi offrono al campo medico per la realizzazione di nuovi sistemi di misura per la diagnostica e per la realizzazione di interfacce tra sistemi viventi e sensori artificiali. Questi nuovi sistemi tendono a ridurre l'interazione con il paziente attraverso lo sviluppo di tecniche non invasive. A questo proposito, i microsistemi consentono di realizzare sistemi impiantabili di enorme efficacia rispetto a quelli standard. un'altra importante prospettiva aperta recentemente riguarda la realizzazione di protesi per sopperire a funzionalità importanti come l'udito o la vista. Accanto alle tecniche di diagnostica tradizionale, lo sviluppo dei sensori chimici consente di utilizzare informazioni, come l'odore corporeo, finora non utilizzate. A tale riguardo, nel lavoro vengono illustrati alcuni risultati recentemente ottenuti.

Electronic noses have been applied to several disciplines such as food analysis, environmental control and industrial processes. In this paper the use of electronic noses in medicine is introduced and discussed. In this paper a review about the main features of human body odor is given. First experiments concerned with the measurement of the sensitivity of sensors towards a particular constituent of the skin odor, and preliminary results of a survey of skin-odor analysis in a population of individuals are reported. Findings encourage pursuing this research direction that can give rise to a better comprehension of the role of smell and odor in humans and, in the next future, to a novel diagnostic tool.

A combined approach based on a multisensor system, to get chemical information from liquid samples through the analysis of the solution and its head space is illustrated and commented. Sensors operating in liquid electronic tongue. and in the head space electronic nose. are based on the same sensitive materials: the metalloporphyrins. This gives the opportunity of a certain uniformity of interaction putting in evidence the differences between the solution and its related volatile part. The combined system has been tested in two different experiments in the fields of clinical and food analysis, respectively. Results have shown a net increase of information when the combined systems are used. The sensor fusion procedure has been optimised in order to achieve the best results.

This paper reviews the satisfactory performances of metallopoprhyrins and related compounds when they are utilised as chemically sensitive materials for application in chemical sensors and sensor systems, such as electronic nose. Possible transduction mechanisms are reviewed and some results are presented and discussed.

The specificity of chemical sensors ceased in the last years to be a fundamental feature due to the uprising of many applications, such as electronic noses, which require the presence of broad selectivity sensors. For these applications, the attention is paid to the development of sensors whose broad selectivity can be enhanced towards some classes of compounds. Among the materials used for the scope, porphyrins have shown a good versatility to be modified in order to cope with different applications. In this paper, an extensive study of the sensitivity variations induced by modifications of the basic porphyrins, used as coating of QMB sensors, is presented and discussed.

The combined application of an electronic nose and an electronic tongue to a number of samples of red wine having the same denomination, produced in the same year but from different vineyards, is illustrated and discussed. Artificial sense data have been compared with the analytical chemistry analysis performed with ordinary methods. The data reveal, first of all, a net distinction between electronic nose and electronic tongue, confirming the hypotheses that both the systems offer independent information on the samples. A certain correlation with some of the analytical indicators has also been found and a neural network regression model has been assessed for the qualitative determination of some of them.

This paper deals first of all with an improvement of the Kelvin probe KP. theory taking into consideration the series resistance of the input circuit. Then it illustrates a number of work function measurements performed on self-assembled monolayers interacting with varieties of analytes, and on Langmuir–Blodgett LB. films of porphyrins of different thickness. The output intensities of the work function have been investigated and comments are given of the results obtained. The link between the work function and thickness of material under test has been analyzed and discussed as a method for the coverage factor estimation of absorbing surfaces.

In the frame of a joint research between the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (Sensors and Microsystems Group), and the Laboratories of Chemical Sensors of the University of St. Petersburg, an Electronic Tongue has been designed, constructed and applied to qualitative analysis of different kinds of complex liquids, such as mineral waters, wines and biological samples. The results presented in this paper show that the electronic tongue can give interesting information in various applications of fundamental interest (i.e. drinkable water control, food industry and medicine).

Tobacco manifacturing represents one of the many possible applications of electronic nose technology. In this particular field it is extremely important to characterize the aroma of dried tobacco leaves and their possible aromatic yield when burned. In this paper an application of an electronic nose, based on quartz microbalances, to the field is presented. In particular, the experiment dealt with the classification of leaves from four different varieties of oriental tobaccos. Results shown the capability of the electronic nose to correctly classify the four varieties, furthermore, a certain correlation between some of the principal components and the merceological properties of the samples have been found.

In this paper the possible application of an electronic nose to the analysis of urine is presented. In contrast with the conventional applications of sensors and biosensors operating in liquid, the approach discussed here makes use of gas sensors performing an analysis of the headspace. The application deals with urine samples from patients affected by kidney diseases; some of the samples contained traces of blood. Results show the possibility of distinguishing the samples containing blood from the others, and a linear correlation between the first three principal components and the blood content was found. Furthermore, the electronic nose matched with a suitable neural network showed good performance in measuring the pH and the specific weight of the samples.

Mineral waters have different tastes, according to an electronic tongue (E.T.), constructed by 29 non selective ion sensors. High input impedance and low noise op-amps have been employed for the voltage amplification of each sensing point and the multicomponent analysis technique has been utilised for the data processing of chemical images and their representation. Well separated chemical images of seven different mineral waters have been obtained and this indicates the suitability of the designed E.T. to distinguish liquids with different chemical composition. Preliminary data related to images of polluted mineral waters are also presented and commented.

Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films are utilized as sensing materials for many different chemical sensors. This technique allows the fabrication of very thin films, down to one single monolayer. As is well known from classical material science, there is a minimum number of elementary blocks (atoms or molecules) that have to be aggregated before the material properties can be assessed. To this regard, molecular films tend to behave in a different way; since the basic block is a complex molecule, most of the properties are found in the single molecule. This opens the possibility of obtaining materials for which the surface to volume ratio can be maximized in order to increase, for instance, the sensor sensitivity. In this paper, some aspects related to the electronic structure of LB films of porphyrinoids are studied by the Kelvin probe technique as a function of the number of monolayers. Results show that the material properties are, in the case of corrole, confined to the single molecule, while in the case of sapphyrin, a build-up process seems to take place, so that many monolayers are necessary to establish the bulk material properties.

Electronic noses have been applied to several disciplines such as food analysis, environmental control and industrial processes; in this paper the use of electronic noses in medicine is introduced and discussed. ln this paper a review about the main features of human body odor is given. First experiments concerning with the measurement of the sensitivity of sensors towards a particular constituent of the skin odor and preliminary results of a survey of skin odor analysis in a population of individual are reported. Furthermore, the possibility of the application of the electronic nose approach to follow the different phases of the ovulation cycle in woman is also presented. Preliminary results show that the sensor responses follow the periodicity of the ovulation cycle and that also some periodic sub-structures can be identified. Findings encourage in pursuing this research direction which can give rise to a better comprehension of the role of smell and odor in humans and, in the next future, in novel diagnostic tools.

Electronic noses have been applied to several disciplines such as food analysis, environmental control and industrial processes, in this paper the use of electronic noses in medicine is outlined. In the paper a review about the main features of human body odor is given. First experiments concerning with the measure of the sensitivity of sensors towards a particular constituent of the skin odor and the preliminary result of a survey of skin odor in a population of individuals are reported. Results encourages in pursuing this application which may arose both in an increased comprehension of the role of smell and odor in humans and in the next future in a novel diagnosis tool.

In recent years Metalloporphyrins and their derivatives have been proposed as sensitive layer for mass variation based transducers for the detection of volatile compounds. Their sensitivity/selectivity properties have suggested their application in electronic nose systems. Despite the positive applications appeared so far a systematic study in the kind of interactions ruling the sensing mechanism has not yet been conducted. The selectivity toward a variety of compounds suggests the presence of weak Van der Walls or hydrogen bond interactions, but also certain evidences about coordination interactions with the central metal atom complexed in the metalloporphyrin compounds was reported. In this paper a study oriented towards a deeper comprehension of such mechanisms is introduced. From the experimental point of view, a set of quartz microbalances, coated with Langumuir-Blodget films of various metalloporphyrins, were exposed to a number of volatile compounds at various concentrations. Linear Sorption Energy Relationship theory provides, in many cases, a satisfactory modelization of of sorption sensors in which Van der Walls and hydrogen bonding are responsible of the interaction. Nervertheless the application of such a model results although not fully adequate in the case here discussed shown the role played by the central metal in determining the sensor selectivity, furthermore the results have allowed to hypotize the presence of a coordination mechanism, superimposed to the weak interactions, between volatile compounds and metalloporphyrin films.

Thin films of different metalloporphyrins have been used as sensing materials for the development of optical sensors for the detection of different volatile organic compounds (VOC). Absorption spectra of thin films showed changes after interactions with analytes. The devolopment of a measurement set-up and the results obtained toward detection of some VOC are reported.

This paper describes preliminary results obtained by the Kelvin probe system utilized for the investigation of the sensing behavior of self-assembled-monolayers of thiol functionalized porphyrins. Dynamic aspects related to volatile compounds adsorption have indicated fast responses and a remarkable sensitivity.

The absolute selectivity of chemical sensors ceased in the last years to be a fundamental feature due to the uprising of many applications, such as electronic noses, which require the presence of broad selectivity sensors. On the other hand for these applications the attention is paid to the development of sensors whose broad selectivity can be oriented towards different classes of molecules representing a given environment in order to optimize the interface between the sensitive layers deposited on transducers and the chemical complexity of the environment itself. In this paper the main problems in the design and characterization of such sensors are presented and discussed in the case of a class of molecules, such as metallo-porphyrins, which have been recently exploited as sensitive layers in electronic nose applications.

This paper shows recent results obtained in the field of artificial olfaction by an electronic nose based on quartz microbalances. The chemical interactive material responsible of the sensitivity is, in this case, porphyrin, whose performance and optical characterization will be presented and discussed. The design of the electronic nose and the kind of neural network that has been considered for these applications will be illustrated and commented. Future research and perspectives toward electronic nose miniaturization are also discussed as fundamental milestones for reaching closer biomimicking action.

It is known that metalloporphyrins exhibit good chemical sensing properties. The variation of several features and parameters (such as optical spectra, mass, conductivity) are currently exploited to obtain chemical sensors. In this paper an investigation of the variations of the work function of metalloporphyrins in presence of volatile compounds are presented and discussed. For this purpose a new designed Kelvin Probe has been utilized. The results show that the work functions is a physical parameter which can be fruitfully utilized to fabricate chemical sensors.

Work function is known to be one of the parameters whose variation is induced by sensing effects. This is exploited by many basic devices, such as ChemFet and LAPS, to fabricate chemical sensors. On the other side Kelvin Probe is a well assessed experimental technique for direct measurement of work function. In this paper a new designed Kelvin Probe has been utilized to monitor the work function variation occurring in metalloporphyrins when they are exposed to volatile compounds. The results show that this technique is promising to fabricate new generation of chemical sensors on the direct monitoring of work function.