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The delayed product differentiation (DPD) recently rose as a hybrid production strategy able to overcome the main limits of make to stock (MTS) and make to order (MTO), guaranteeing the management of high variety and keeping low storage cost and quick response time by using the so-called product platforms. These platforms are a set of sub-systems forming a common structure from which a set of derivative variants can be efficiently produced. Platforms are manufactured and stocked following an MTS strategy. Then, they are customized into different variants, following an MTO strategy. Current literature proposes methods for platform design mainly using optimization techniques, which usually have a high computational complexity for efficiently managing real-size industrial instances in the modern mass customization era. Hence, efficient algorithms need to be developed to manage the product platforms design for such instances. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a two-step methodology for product platforms design and assessment in high-variety manufacturing. The design step involves the use of a novel modified algorithm for solving the longest common subsequence (LCS) problem and of the k-medoids clustering for the identification of the platform structure and the assignment of the variants to the platforms. The platforms are then assessed against a set of industrial and market metrics, i.e. the MTS cost, the variety, the customer responsiveness, and the variants production cost. The evaluation of the platform set against such a combined set of drivers enhancing both company and market perspectives is missing in the literature. A real case study dealing with the manufacturing of a family of valves exemplifies the efficiency of the methodology in supporting companies in managing high-variety to best balance the proposed metrics.

Il progetto Erasmus+ ANFoMAM, "Imparare dai bambini per formare insegnanti nell'area della matematica" è nato da un incontro tra un gruppo di insegnanti responsabili delle materie matematiche nei corsi di laurea in Formazione Primaria in diverse università in Francia, Italia e Spagna. L'incontro è avvenuto all'interno del Simposio dal titolo "Oltre l'alfabetizzazione numerica" che si è svolto presso il 5° Congresso Internazionale di Scienze dell'Educazione e dello Sviluppo (Santander, maggio 2017), in cui sono state condivise diverse esperienze che si stavano realizzando nelle istituzioni di formazione iniziale e continua degli insegnanti di istruzione elementare. Ciò che è stato osservato in questi paesi è che, in generale, i partecipanti ai corsi di laurea in formazione primaria avevano avuto un cattivo rapporto con la matematica durante i loro anni di studio, spesso accompagnato da sentimenti di rifiuto o angoscia, oltre ad aver acquisito una visione della matematica ridotta al calcolo e alle procedure meccaniche. Evitando il falso dibattito tra il concentrarsi sul miglioramento delle competenze matematiche o l'insegnamento delle tecniche didattiche, tutte le iniziative presentate al Congresso di Santander hanno perseguito l'obiettivo comune di fornire agli insegnanti sia una profonda comprensione dei concetti di base della matematica sia le risorse didattiche necessarie per l'insegnamento efficace in classe. I ricercatori hanno convenuto che era l'Università che avrebbe dovuto fornire a questi insegnanti in formazione nuove esperienze con la matematica, in modo che potessero trasmettere ai bambini la fiducia e l'entusiasmo necessari per imparare. La progettazione e la realizzazione di esperienze di questo tipo è l'obiettivo fondamentale del progetto ANFoMAM, che è stato finanziato dal programma Erasmus+ di Partenariati Strategici nel settore dell'istruzione superiore, e al quale hanno partecipato le seguenti istituzioni: Université de Bordeaux (Istituto Superiore Nazionale di Insegnanti e Istruzione dell'Accademia di Bordeaux), in Francia; Università Roma Tre (Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione), in Italia; Università di Saragozza e Università Pubblica di Navarra, in Spagna; Associazione Sesdown, che si dedica alla ricerca nell'educazione dei bambini con Trisomia 21, sempre in Spagna, e l'Associazione ToKalon, che opera in Italia nell'ambito della formazione continua degli insegnanti in servizio.

The Erasmus+ ANFoMAM project, "Learning from children to train teachers in the area of mathematics" was born from a meeting between a group of teachers responsible for mathematics subjects in Primary Education degree courses in different universities in France, Italy and Spain. The meeting took place within the Symposium entitled "Beyond numerical literacy" which took place at the 5th International Congress of Education and Development Sciences (Santander, May 2017), in which different experiences that were taking place in initial and continuing education institutions for elementary education teachers were shared. What was observed in these countries is that, in general, participants in primary education degree courses had a poor relationship with mathematics during their student years, often accompanied by feelings of rejection or distress, as well as having acquired a view of mathematics reduced to calculation and mechanical procedures. All the initiatives presented at the Santander Congress pursued the common goal of providing teachers with both a deep understanding of the basic concepts of mathematics and the educational resources necessary for effective teaching in the classroom. The researchers agreed that it was the university that should provide these trainee teachers with new experiences with mathematics, so that they could give children the confidence and enthusiasm to learn. The design and implementation of experiences of this type is the fundamental objective of the ANFoMAM project, which was funded by the Erasmus+ program of Strategic Partnerships in the Higher Education Sector, and in which the following institutions participated: Université de Bordeaux (Institute National Superior of Teachers and Education of the Academy of Bordeaux), in France; Roma Tre University (Department of Education), in Italy; University of Zaragoza and Public University of Navarra, in Spain; Sesdown Association, which is dedicated to research in the education of children with Trisomy 21, also in Spain, and the ToKalon Association, which operates in Italy in the field of continuous training of in-service teachers. This innovative didactic material is a didactic guide for teacher mathematical training, made up of 6 mathematical workshops: 1. Understanding of arithmetic algorithms. 2. Resolution of arithmetic problems. 3. Relationship between arithmetic and geometry. 4. Mental calculation and use of the calculator. 5. History of mathematics and its teaching. 6. Geometry.

Background: Postoperative ascites (POA) is the most common complication after liver surgery for hepatocarcinoma (HCC), but its impact on survival is not reported. The aim of the study is to investigate its impact on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), and secondarily to identify the factors that may predict the occurrence. Method: Data were collected from 23 centers participating in the Italian Surgical HCC Register (HE.RC.O.LE.S. Group) between 2008 and 2018. POA was defined as ≥500 ml of ascites in the drainage after surgery. Survival analysis was conducted by the Kaplan Meier method. Risk adjustment analysis was conducted by Cox regression to investigate the risk factors for mortality and recurrence. Results: Among 2144 patients resected for HCC, 1871(88.5%) patients did not experience POA while 243(11.5%) had the complication. Median OS for NO-POA group was not reached, while it was 50 months (95%CI = 41–71) for those with POA (p < 0.001). POA independently increased the risk of mortality (HR = 1.696, 95%CI = 1.352–2.129, p < 0.001). Relapse risk after surgery was not predicted by the occurrence of POA. Presence of varices (OR = 2.562, 95%CI = 0.921–1.822, p < 0.001) and bilobar disease (OR = 1.940, 95%CI = 0.921–1.822, p: 0.004) were predictors of POA, while laparoscopic surgery was protective (OR = 0.445, 95%CI = 0.295–0.668, p < 0.001). Ninety-day mortality was higher in the POA group (9.1% vs 1.9% in NO-POA group, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The occurrence of POA after surgery for HCC strongly increases the risk of long-term mortality and its occurrence is relatively frequent. More efforts in surgical planning should be made to limit its occurrence.

There is an increasing interest in investigating dietary strategies able to modulate the gut microbial ecosystem which, in turn, may play a key role in human health. Dietary fibers (DFs) are widely recognized as molecules with prebiotic effects. The main objective of this systematic review was to: (i) analyze the results available on the impact of DF intervention on short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production; (ii) evaluate the interplay between the type of DF intervention, the gut microbiota composition and its metabolic activities, and any other health associated outcome evaluated in the host. To this aim, initially, a comprehensive database of literature on human intervention studies assessing the effect of confirmed and candidate prebiotics on the microbial ecosystem was developed. Subsequently, studies performed on DFs and analyzing at least the impact on SCFA levels were extracted from the database. A total of 44 studies from 42 manuscripts were selected for the analysis. Among the different types of fiber, inulin was the DF investigated the most (n = 11). Regarding the results obtained on the ability of fiber to modulate total SCFAs, seven studies reported a significant increase, while no significant changes were reported in five studies, depending on the analytical methodology used. A total of 26 studies did not show significant differences in individual SCFAs, while the others reported significant differences for one or more SCFAs. The effect of DF interventions on the SCFA profile seemed to be strictly dependent on the dose and the type and structure of DFs. Overall, these results underline that, although affecting microbiota composition and derived metabolites, DFs do not produce univocal significant increase in SCFA levels in apparently healthy adults. In this regard, several factors (i.e., related to the study protocols and analytical methods) have been identified that could have affected the results obtained in the studies evaluated. Future studies are needed to better elucidate the relationship between DFs and gut microbiota in terms of SCFA production and impact on health-related markers.

Serotonin is synthetized through the action of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) enzymes. While the TPH2 isoform is responsible for the production of serotonin in the brain, TPH1 is expressed in peripheral organs. Interestingly, despite its peripheral localization, alterations of the gene coding for TPH1 have been related to stress sensitivity and an increased susceptibility for psychiatric pathologies. On these bases, we took advantage of newly generated TPH1(-/-)rats, and we evaluated the impact of the lack of peripheral serotonin on the behavior and expression of brain plasticity-related genes under basal conditions and in response to stress. At a behavioral level, TPH1(-/-) rats displayed reduced anxiety-like behavior. Moreover, we found that neuronal activation, quantified by the expression of (Bdnf) and the immediate early gene (Arc) and transcription of glucocorticoid responsive genes after 1 h of acute restraint stress, was blunted in TPH1(-/-) rats in comparison to TPH1 animals(+/+). Overall, we provided evidence for the influence of peripheral serotonin levels in modulating brain functions under basal and dynamic situations.