First Woman Philosopher with a Doctorate: Elena Cornaro Piscopia

The study analyses the circumstances under which Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman in the world to earn a Doctor degree in Philosophy, which she received from the University of Padua in 1678. The author presents the broader context of the outstanding accomplishment. She points out that, although universities did not allow women to enrol to study, Elena Cornaro managed to earn a doctorate thanks to several favourable circumstances. Of these, the author emphasises the tradition of intellectual centres at Renaissance courts in Italy, which were led by educated women-aristocrats; the development of the Venetian Republic in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which affected the position of women, particularly those from aristocratic families; the openness of universities, namely the Universities of Padua and Bologna. Special attention is given to the family background, life, and studies of Elena Cornaro. The final part of the paper deals with other women philosophers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Armonie composte: cinque anni di dibattito sul paesaggio monastico

This essay describes the results of the Armonie composte project and the transmitted interdisciplinary method for studying monastic landscapes. Armonie composte is a series of seminars on monastic landscapes, that arises from the collaboration between the Abbey of Praglia and the University of Padua. The main purpose of the seminars is to show how the territorial planning and care system, based on the particular purpose of community life indicated by the Rule of St. Benedict, can still contribute to sustainable territorial planning. The project foresees the organization of an extended seminar and a workshop. Each seminar, organized in May at the Abbey of Praglia, alternates lectures and in-depth discussions. Furthermore, other papers which are in line with the aims of the project have been published in two special series by Padova University Press: Paesaggi and Quaderni di Praglia.

Future Healthcare Workers and Hepatitis B Vaccination: A New Generation

Before the introduction of universal vaccination, hepatitis B caused high morbidity and mortality, especially among healthcare workers. In the present study, the immune status against hepatitis B was assessed in a cohort of 11,188 students of the degree courses of the School of Medicine of the University of Padua (Italy) who had been subjected to mandatory vaccination in childhood or adolescence and who will be future healthcare workers. The variables that influence the antibody response to vaccination are mainly the age at which the vaccine was administered and sex. If vaccination was administered before one year of age, there is a high probability (around 50%) of having an antibody titer lower than 10 IU/L compared to those vaccinated after one year of age (12.8%). The time between vaccine and analysis is not decisive. Furthermore, female sex, but only if vaccination was administered after one year of age, shows a significant (p = 0.0008) lower percentage of anti-HBs below 10 IU/L and a greater antibody titer (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the differences related to the age of vaccination induce more doubts than answers. The only plausible hypothesis, in addition to the different immune responses (innate and adaptive), is the type of vaccine. This is not easy to verify because vaccination certificates rarely report it.

UAV UWB POSITIONING CLOSE TO BUILDING FACADES: A CASE STUDY

Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles represent a very popular tool used in dramatically wide range of applications: indeed, their high flexibility, ease of use, and in certain cases quite affordable price make them a very attractive solutions in a number of applications, including surveying and mapping. Despite such a wide range of uses, their usage in automatic/autonomous mode is still restricted by the requirement of the availability of a reliable positioning and navigation system, which in practically all the commercial solutions is represented by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Unfortunately, the availability and reliability of GNSS cannot be ensured in all the working conditions of interest. In particular, such condition may not hold downtown, close to high buildings. Since this can also be an operative condition of wide interest, this paper aims at investigating the use of an alternative positioning method that can be integrated with GNSS in order to compensate its unavailability. To be more specific, this paper investigates the positioning performance of an Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) system when an UWB rover is attached to a drone flying close to a building facade, whereas a set of UWB anchors are on the ground, close to the facade. The results obtained in the case study of a building of the University of Padua show that the UWB system positioning performance is quite good (quite less than 1 meter error for most of the time) up to approximately 15–20 meters of distance from the anchors. Close to the top of the building the error significantly increases when using an Extended Kalman filter (EKF) positioning approach, probably mostly due to the low UWB measurement success rate at such heights and to the poor geometric configuration of the UWB network. Nevertheless, a Gauss-Newton-based positioning strategy outperforms the EKF in such critical case, still ensuring errors at 1 meter level.

The Moderating Effect of Parenting on Adaptation of Children with Leukemia

Parents’ attitudes and practices may support the children’s reactions to treatments for leukaemia and their general adjustment. This study has two aims: to explore parenting depending on the child’s age and to develop and test a model on how family processes influence the psycho-social development of children with leukaemia. Patients were 118 leukemic children and their parents recruited at the Haematology–Oncologic Clinic of the Department of Paediatrics, University of Padua. All parents were Caucasian with a mean age of 37.39 years (SD = 6.03). Children’s mean age was 5.89 years (SD = 4.21). After the signature of the informed consent, the parents were interviewed using the EFI-C from which we derived Parenting dimension and three parental perceptions on the child’s factors. One year later, the clinical psychologist interviewed again parents using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS). The analyses revealed the presence of a significant difference in parenting by the child’s age: Infants required a higher and more intensive parenting. The child’s coping with medical procedures at the second week after the diagnosis, controlled for parenting effect, impacted upon the child’s adaptation one-year post diagnosis. Specific intervention programmes are proposed in order to help children more at risk just after the diagnosis of developmental delays.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Primary Aldosteronism Research From 2000 to 2020

Thousands of papers on primary aldosteronism (PA) have been published in the last two decades. This study aimed to evaluate the research hotspots and future trends in PA research using bibliometric analysis. A total of 2,365 PA research papers between 2000 and 2020 were included. The dominant position of the United States in global PA research throughout this 20-year period was evident, and it was also the country most frequently involved in international cooperation. The University of Padua was the most productive institution and a leader in research collaboration. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &amp; Metabolism was the most productive journal in terms of the number of publications on PA. Further, Mulatero P, Reincke M, Beuschlein F and Wu VC all made significant contributions to PA research. Five hotspots have been identified: (1) metabolic syndrome associated with PA; (2) molecular mechanisms of PA; (3) adrenal adenoma and adrenal cortex; (4) hypertension associated with PA; and (5) clinical monitoring parameters and diagnosis in patients with PA. Our results suggest that the molecular mechanisms of PA will remain research hotspots in the future. International collaboration is also expected to widen and deepen in the field of PA research.

Giovanni Battista Morgagni and the Morgagni Hernia

Giovanni Morgagni remains an eminent figure in the field of pathological anatomy. Born in Forli, Italy, he excelled as a child. He entered medical school at the age of 16 years old in Bologna. By the age of 31 he held the chair position at the University of Padua. During his tenure, he discovered many anatomical and pathological findings, with the most widely known discovery being the Morgagni Hernia. Morgagni first described this eponymic hernia in an adult stonecutter during an autopsy. In addition to his many discoveries, his most esteemed written contribution to the field of medicine came in the form of a five-volume book titled De Sedibus et Causis Morborum per Anatomen Indagatis, in which he correlated cadaveric anatomy and symptomatology revealed upon autopsy. He remained on faculty at the University of Padua for over five decades until his death in 1771.

«Che volete mo’, ch’io guasti un libro?» La rappresentazione di Filippo Mocenigo come vescovo filosofo nella Perfettione della vita politica (1579) di Paolo Paruta

The Venetian political writer Paolo Paruta presented Filippo Mocenigo, the last Catholic Archbishop of Nicosia (Cyprus) before the Ottoman conquest, as an important character of his 1579 dialogue Della Perfettione della vita politica. Mocenigo, a most prominent member of the contemplative party, is depicted by Paruta as a sort of bishop-philosopher, very optimistic about the fact that Aristotelian philosophy (as it was still taught in the University of Padua in the mid-16th century) could help the search for human reason. Yet, Mocenigo was persecuted by the Roman Inquisition for his not-fully orthodox religious beliefs. In the essay, a comparison between Mocenigo as historical man and Mocenigo as Perfettionez/em>’s fictional character is developed.

Scholars and Literati at the University of Padua (1222–1800)

This note is a summary description of the set of scholars and literati who taught at the University of Padua from its inception in the 13th century to the eve of the Industrial Revolution (1800).