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Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is a medical imaging technique that produces detailed images of the coronary arteries. Our work focuses on the optimization of the prospectively ECG-triggered scan technique, which delivers the radiation efficiently only during a fraction of the R–R interval, matching the aim of reducing radiation dose in this increasingly used radiological examination. In this work, we analyzed how the median DLP (Dose-Length Product) values for CCTA of our Center decreased significantly in recent times mainly due to a notable change in the technology used. We passed from a median DLP value of 1158 mGy·cm to 221 mGy·cm for the whole exam and from a value of 1140 mGy·cm to 204 mGy·cm if considering CCTA scanning only. The result was obtained through the association of important factors during the dose imaging optimization: technological improvement, acquisition technique, and image reconstruction algorithm intervention. The combination of these three factors allows us to perform a faster and more accurate prospective CCTA with a lower radiation dose. Our future aim is to tune the image quality through a detectability-based study, combining algorithm strength with automatic dose settings.

Culturalista: aggettivo qualificativo? Una conversazione con Rossana Bonadei di Emanuele Monegato

The concept of Historic Urban Landscape, which now guides the conservation and promotion of numerous heritage sites across the world, is based on the recognition of the complexity of the urban environment, seen as a dynamic system of cultural and natural features. This paper aims at presenting an ongoing reassessment of the meaning of a historic artefact in the city of Bergamo, Italy, which is part of a broader system of defence built by the Venetian Republic between the 15th and 17th centuries. Among the many related initiatives, one was launched by the University of Bergamo and involved nearly a hundred primary school children in a series of multidisciplinary workshops. Children worked to produce a guidebook and a short animated film aimed at reconstructing the meanings and the values embodied by the Venetian Walls, an enduring cultural icon surrounding the medieval upper town. This project is triggering both downscaling and upscaling dynamics in the regeneration process of this historic urban infrastructure. It also contributes to the creation and sharing of new meanings around this heritage, which are strongly related to its value for the citizenship as well as for the visitors.