Dottorato in Fisiopatologia Medica

 

In the last three years, (in which I planning, studying, understanding and marvelling), I have observed that basically the study of complex systems generates, in turn, a complex system. A small experiment of metatheater in which you can't use a linear way of thinking, but you need to use a system of analysis of distorted, inconsistent, computational and self-reflexive reality. The path of my Ph.D. course on complex systems has thus generated a complex system and I had to redefine the areas in which I had to work and on which I had to focus. This thesis is intended as a detailed report of all the situations that I faced, starting from the field of neuroscience, in which I began my job, continuing in the analysis of big data in the web, in the analysis of motor skills and finally monitoring pollutant parameters during sport activities. In the first period of my PhD course, I focused on the study of EEG signals taken from healthy subjects. I learned to use acquisition and visualization tools and to analyze signals. In the course of three years, I made two different data acquisition campaigns. One of these was to compare the signal from subject in different postural situations, the other one to compare the quantitative electroencephalographic signal picked up by wireless and wired devices designed and built with the cooperation of the company OTBiolettronica and comparing the same signal picked up by three different types of caps, one with a plastic sleeve, an other with neoprene sleeve, and finally the third with an electrode-skin contact with electrodes made of felt. The construction of the wireless device has been done by working with the mentioned company, in particular seeking to improve EEG recording during moviment. It is clear that a major problem in EEG analysis in relation to the movement was given by the limited range of motion caused by the presence of the cap-amplifier cable connection; the study concerning the comparison between the different types of headset has been done trying to understand which model could give the best result regarding to the reliability of the acquired signal and the minimal presence of noise and motion artifacts. The evolution of these studies would allow EEG signal analysis in complex motor situations without affecting the acquisition because of noise and artifacts. The two above-stated studies succeeded in obtaining two grants from the ISI Foundation (one for a period of 12 months and the second for a period of 18 months) which includes the acquisition of signals on subjects in different postural conditions, the development of the wireless amplifier with the software for data processing and the study of a innovative cup that will be patented. Besides my work on the mainstream project related EEG I have developed three other projects. In June of 2009 I began to follow the project We-Sport with the aim to create a social network connected to the sporting environment and to facilitate the practice of amateur sport and in particular related to sport with low diffusion. The OMS has established that sport and physical activity are one of the most important means of prevention of degenerative diseases; it is clear that one of the main reasons tostop the practice and sport is the lack of a partner with which to practice. We-Sport is based on a simple algorithm with the function to create a match of data based on the characteristics of sport players: sport, location, schedule, gender, age, skill. The system displays people who have the same characteristics and who want to play sports together.  Today We-Sport is a spin off of Motor Sciences Research Center, has a market value of 600,000 euros as the acquisition of shares by private company, has won 6 national and international awards and it was the finalists in the same number of cases. It is among the 7,000 most visited sites in Italy, the structure of We-Sport consists of approximately 120,000 lines of code and we have been released 280 different versions. Thanks to the work on We-Sport data base an oral report was presented at an international conference, a poster session at a national congress and finally a paper was submitted for a special issue on sports complex systems. We-Sports is a registered trademark at national office for patents and trademarks. The second side project that I have dealt with is the Touch Wall, a system for evaluating qualitative/quantitative analysis of motor skills through a multi-touch interface with IR-LLP (infrared laser light plane). The system was designed, developed (both for the hardware and the software part) in collaboration with the CSP-Innovation in ICT. A first set of data was collected from 100 subjects to validate the instrument and start the interpretation of the 92 analyzed parameters.Also the Touch Wall , that is part of a larger project from the Motor Science Research Center called MAC (Motor Activity Certification), patent is pending by the university of Turin. Finally, the last project I worked on was aGrisù, a portable device that can detect the presence of air pollutants and correlate them presence with some physiological and morphological parameters measured during outdoor or indoor physical activity. For this project a prototype was realized and in this case too the request for patent was submitted at patent office of Turin University.

 

 

Keywords:

 

complex system, emergent system, non linear thinking, electroencephalography and human motion, motor analysis certification, big data analysis, web, pollution and physical
activities.

 

"The emergent behaviour of a system is due to the non-linearity.
The properties of a linear system are in fact additive:
the effect of a set of elements is the sum of the effects considered separately,
and they do not appear new properties that are not already present in the individual elements.
But if there are terms / elements combined, which are dependent on each other,
then the complex is different from the sum of its parts, and new effects appear. "

 

Percy Bridgman (1927)

 

The Logic of Modern Physics

Ferreri L., Daolio F., Ivaldi M., Giacobini M., Tomassini M., Rainoldi A., A network approach to investigate the aggregation phenomena in sports paper in submission for Special Issue on Complex Systems and Sports Journal of Systems Science and Complexity

Ivaldi M., Cherubini R., Rainoldi A., eutonic method and review of the literature, paper in submission, ILGIPS the Journal of Sport Psychology

Ivaldi M., Cherubini R., Rainoldi A, neurophysiological aspects of the eutonic method, paper in submission, Strength & Conditioning 

Thomas JR, Neson JK, Silverman SJ, Research Methods in Physical Activity, Human Kinetics VI Edition, traduzione italiana a cura di P. Bellotti, A. Rainoldi, Calzetti&Mariucci Editori, 2011 - Translation of 8 chapters 

Ivaldi M., Ferreri L., Daolio F., Giacobini M.,Tomassini M., Rainoldi A., We-Sport: from academic spin-off to data-base for complex network analysis; an innovative approach to a new technology. J Sports Med and Phys Fitness Vol. 51- Suppl. 1 to issue No. 3 

Pizzigalli L., Formicola D., Ivaldi M., Rainoldi A., Stabilometric and electroencephalographic monitoring of sea wave-motion effects during a sealing boat trip. Sports science for Health Vol.8-Suppl.1 

Ivaldi M., Turturici M., Ferreri L., Feletti L., Giacobini M., Rainoldi A., aGrisù: a patent project to highlight how physical activities affect the rate of absorption of air pollutants. Sports science for Health Vol.8-Suppl.1 

Formicola D., Ivaldi M., Rainoldi A., Analysis of skinfold thickness: a comparison among skinfold caliper, ultrasound scanner and ultrasound based caliper. Sports science for Health Vol.8-Suppl.1 

Formicola D., Pizzigalli L., Filippini A., Ivaldi M., Riba A., Rainoldi A., Neuromechanical differences between “difficulty” and “boulder” climbers. A pilot study. 3rdInternational Congress “Mountain, Sport & Health”, 12-14 November, 2009, Rovereto (TN), Italy – poster session

Formicola D., Gazzoni M., Pizzigalli L., Filippini A., Ivaldi M., Boccia G., Riba A., Rainoldi A., Neuromechanical characterization of two different techniques of rock climbing, XVIII ISEK Congress, 16-19 June, 2010, Aalborg, DK – poster session

Ferreri L., Ivaldi M., Daolio F., Giacobini M., Tomassini M., Rainoldi A., A network approach to investigate the aggregation phenomena in sports, European Conference on Artificial Life: Complex Systems in Sports (satellite workshop), 12 August, 2011, Paris - oral presentation

Ivaldi M., Ferreri L., Daolio F., Giacobini M.,Tomassini M., Rainoldi a., We-Sport: from academic spin-off to data-base for complex network analysis; an innovative approach to a new technology, 3rdSISMES National Congress, September 29 – October 1, 2011, Verona, Italy - poster session 

Ivaldi M., Pizzigalli L., Boccia G., Rainoldi A., Wired vs Wireless qEEG, International workshop: Biology and pathology of synaptic and neuronal plasticity, 2 March, 2012, Torino - Italy - poster session

Ferreri L., Ivaldi M., Giacobini M., Tripartite Networks: a first exploratory step towards the understanding of multipartite networks, NetSci 2012 The International School and Conference on Complex Networks, June 18-22, 2012, Northwestern University in Evanston, Ilinois - poster session

Pizzigalli L., Formicola D., Ivaldi M., Rainoldi A., Stabilometric and electroencephalographic monitoring of sea wave-motion effects during a sealing boat trip. IV National Congress, October 5-7, 2012, University of Palermo, Italy - poster session

Ivaldi M., Turturici M., Ferreri L., Feletti L., Giacobini M., Rainoldi A., aGrisù: a patent project to highlight how physical activities affect the rate of absorption of air pollutants. IV National Congress, October 5-7, 2012, University of Palermo, Italy - poster session

Formicola D., Ivaldi M., Rainoldi A., Analysis of skinfold thickness: a comparison among skinfold caliper, ultrasound scanner and ultrasound based caliper. IV National Congress, October 5-7, 2012, University of Palermo, Italy - poster session

 

"Moodlemoot Italia 2009" Seminars held by Science MFN Faculty - University of Turin, 8/9 May 2009

"Health in sport and sport for health" International workshop held by Faculty of Exercise and Sport Sciences - University of Bologna 30 May 2009

"I realize, the art of disruption" held by Top-IX Piemonte, 9-10 June 2009

"Science at the time of crisis" National Summer School 2009 SCS (Science, Communication, Society) held by Inter-University Agorà Science Centre of University of Turin, 5-10 July 2009

"To the knowledge frontier" Seminars held by Tamietto M., Berti A., Sinigaglia C. - Polytechnic University of Turin, 27 July 2009

"17th EASM Student Seminar and Conference" held by EASM - Amsterdam, The Nederlands, 12-19 September 2009

"3rd Mountain, Sport and Health - updating study and research from laboratory to field" International Congress held By CeBISM, University of Trento, University of Verona, University of Brescia, Rovereto, 12-14 November 2009

"Give and not just say security" Interdisciplinary meeting of underwater sports and recreational, Turin 20 November 2009

" Internet evolved" Vth National Conference held by Top-IX, 10 December 2009

"Open Science - Research and Society" National Summer School 2010 SCS (Science, Communication, Society) held by Inter-University Agorà Science Centre of University of Turin, 1-6 July 2010

"ESOF 2010" Euroscience Open Forum, Turin 2-7 July 2010

"2rd SISMES" National Congress of Motor and Sport Science Society, Torino, 30 September - 2 October 2010

"Applied research for the inclusion of people with disabilities" held by CRT Foundation 29 April 2011

"Science for the future. Innovation, sustainability, uncertainty" National Summer School 2011 SCS (Science, Communication, Society) held by Inter-University Agorà Science Centre of University of Turin, 3-8 July 2011

"20th ECALL11" European Conference of Artificial Life, Paris, 8-12 August 2011

"3rd SISMES" National Congress of Motor and Sport Science Society, Verona, 29 September - 1 October 2011

"Management of Innovation" High level training course, University of Turin, 24-28 October 2011

"Fabermeeting" held by Turin city, 17-18-19 November 2011

" Internet evolved" VIIth National Conference held by Top-IX, 6 December 2011 

The following awards were won by We-Sport Project:

Winning project @ the second edition of the Faber Meeting 2011: web projects (November 2011)

Finalist Project @ Venture Contest in the Italian Venture Forum (November 2011)

Winning project @ Smau Startupbusiness Innovation paths (October 2011)

Company invited @ Startupbusiness Innovation paths of SMAU 2011: Rome - Milan

Semi-finalist Project @ Eurecan European Venture Contest (November 2010)

Finalist @ Mind The Bridge Venture Camp c/o Corriere della Sera (November 2010)

Selected among the 15 best ideas @ The Mind The Bridge Coaching (October 2010)

Project selected @ Mind The Bridge Bootcamp (September 2010)

Project selected @ Mind The Bridge Business Plan Competition (June 2010)

Winning project @ Turin International contest (March 2010)

Project winner @ I3P for tutoring and construction of business plan (January 2010)

Winning project @ I Realize Start-Up Hack (November 2009)

Winning project @ Management Game in the International Contest for Innovative Sports Management, Amsterdam (September 2009) 

Ph.D. Scholarship from Lagrange project, ISI Foundation: Start up (12 months) - 15,000 €

Applied research grant from Lagrange Project, ISI foundation (18 months) - 24,000 €

Innovation Voucher from Regione Piemonte 20,000 €

Gain from selling some We-Sport Equity, SUISM still holds 5% of the equity - 25,000 €

Parmalat supporting for We-Sport - 100,000 €

European cross-border project ALCOTRA (funding not closed) 

 

Contract Professor:

Neurofisiologia della postura - Master di I livello in Traumatologia da Sport , 2010

Strategie e metodologie dell'apprendimento motorio - Laurea magistrale scienze delle attività motorie e sportive 2011/2012

Assistant Professor and Tutoring in bachelor and master degree 2009/2010/2011:

Metodologia della prestazione

Bioingegneria

Elettronica ed informatica

Tecnica dello sport con adeguamento all'ambiente

Teoria e metodologia del movimento umano

Metodologia della ricerca

Basi del movimento umano

Strategie e metodologie dell'apprendimento motorio

Misure e analisi

Misure e analisi del movimento

Laboratorio Ricerca

Tirocini presso il Centro Ricerche Scienze Motorie 

 

We-Sport.com is a trademark registered at Camera di Commercio di Torino

Touch Wall is a pending patents at patent and intellectual property office of University of Turin

aGrisù is a pending patents at patent and intellectual property office of University of Turin 

Thesis supervisor:

Cherubini R. The eutonic method for the homoeostasis of body functions, an analytical approach, Master in Traumatologia da sport 2009/2010

Testa M. Air pollution: effects on human health and sports performance Bachelor degree Scienze delle attività motorie e sportive

Thesis co-supervisor:

Giacobini L. Quantitative electroencephalography. Cortical responses in different postural conditions, Master degree Scienze e tecniche dello sport e dell' allenamento (supervisor Prof. Rainoldi A.)

Grignano S. A qualittive assessment of motor capacities and skills based on experimental instrument: the Touch Wall    Master degree Scienze e tecniche dello sport e dell' allenamento (supervisor Prof. Rainoldi A.)

Internal held lessons

"About N.I.R.S.?"

"About the university system and regulation?" 

Created exhibits and presentations for the following editions of "Night of the researchers":

4th edition September 2009, 5th edition September 2010, 6th edition September 2011

I held the workshop "I move to live - I live to move" @ "I realize, the art of disruption", 9-10 June 2009

I was the director of "SCIENTIFICA, we are still busy changing the word" a national conference with 6 appointments to talk about the relationship between science and art with important person of art and science community. SCIENTIFICA was funded by EDISU

I participated to "University with open doors"

I'm the contact person for SUISM @ SPORT INN, a board for sport field and sport company of UnionCamere and Camera di Commercio of Turin

I'm the contact person for SUISM @ Youth Regional Council of Regione Piemonte

I create graphic and video presentation of the activities of Motor Science Research Center

I'm working closely with the staff of the councillor of sport of City of Turin for the projects: Gyms at open sky, We-Run Torino and for the drafting of the protocol between the City of Turin and SUISM. 

 Lectures:

LABORATORIO DI MATERIALI E MODELLI

Politecnico di Torino