Learning objectives
<br />As far as Physics is concerned, the course has been designed to provide an introductory basis for other major subjects such as Chemistry, Biology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Movement theory and methodology, etc., that are based on and make frequent use of physical phenomenology. The course will also provide the conceptual basis for understanding a number of major technologies that with increasing frequency are used by doctors and dentists, such as: centrifuges, endoscopes, microscopes, transducers for ultrasound equipment, laser systems, radiology equipment and NMR, radiation detectors, etc. As its final, but perhaps most important, goal, the course has been designed to stimulate students to become more familiar with certain common concepts, but which are not always sufficiently explained in previous study, such as: mechanical action between bodies in contact, exertion and energy in action, dynamic aspects the result of elastic force and impact, friction and thermal and thermodynamic aspects, static and dynamic properties of gaseous and liquid fluids, light and its manifestations, including in relation to the structure of the eye and its physical defects; fundamentals of electrical, magnetic and nuclear phenomena, the laws that govern potential and current; electromagnetic and nuclear radiation, perturbations induced in means passed through and aspects of detection and control. The Statistics course is divided into two units, Statistics and Social Statistics, and aims at providing the basic principles of this subject at a level enabling simple but significant applications both in the biomedical and in the social sector< /SPAN>. At the end of the course the student should know the main elements regarding the concept of probability and its properties; the measurement of random quantities; the treatment of a set of data with deduction of the most statistically meaningful parameters; the most notable random variables and their distributions; the use of the main statistical tables; the sampling problem and the estimate of the most used statistical parameters of a population; the main hypothesis tests (parametric and non-parametric) and their applications.
Course unit content
<br />For the Physics unit:<br /> <br />Physical quantities: scalar and vector magnitudes and their measuremens.<br />Fundamentals of mechanics: Body statics and dynamics - Principles of dynamics - Various types of forces - Energy aspects and various forms of mechanical energy - Fundamental aspects of rotational motions - Moments and levers - Statics and dynamics of the human body - Elastic phenomena, flexure, torsion and implications for bones and blood vessels.<br />Fluid mechanics: Static aspects (Pascal's law and Archimedes law - Barometer and dependence of arterial pressure on posture - Surface tension - Laplace pressure and significant consequences<br />on blood circulation). <br />Dynamic aspects (Bernoulli’s ideal fluid and its applications - Real liquids and viscosity - Poiseuille’s law and hydraulic resistance - Stokes’ formula - Laminar and turbulent regime - Non-Newtonian fluids).<br />Thermal and thermodynamic aspects: Temperature and heat - Heat propagation mechanisms - Compressible fluids and laws governing them - Thermoregulation of the human body - Principles of thermodynamics - Thermal machines and output Entropy.<br />Wave phenomena: Harmonic and cyclic motions Pendulum - Elastic waves and wave properties -Sound and its special characteristics - The human ear - Ultrasound in echography.<br />Overview of Electromagnetism and Optics: Electric charges and forces - Electric field and electrostatic potential - Current intensity and Ohm’s law - Electromotive force - Joule effect -Electrical conduction in solutions - Overview of: action potential, electrical transmission of nervous pulse, electrocardiogram.<br />Magnetic field and magnetic forces - Electromagnetic induction (Faraday’s law) - <br />Light reflection and refraction - Total reflection and fiber optics - Optical systems (mirrors, thin lenses, microscope) - The human eye - Principal ametropias of the eye and their correction. Electromagnetic waves - X-rays - Their interaction with matter and diagnostic applications Laser: applications in medicine. <br /> <br />For the Statistics and Social Statistics unit:<br /> <br />Probability and frequency: Union event - Compound event - Teorema di Bayes.<br />Data processing: Arithmetic mean and deviations from it - Variance and Standard Deviation -<br />Covariance of two sets of data and Pearson’s correlation coefficient<br />The problem of fit: Fit of experimental points by mathematical functions - Criterion of least squares Regression line <br />The random variable: Random variable, spectrum and probability distribution - Expected value and variance of a population. Cumulative distribution, median and quantiles - Standardized variable and other r.v. functions - The main statistical distributions (uniform, binomial, Poisson, normal, standard normal, t-Student, Chi-square, F). <br />The central limit theorem and the sample mean.<br />Sampling and inference: Random numbers and “randomization”- Estimate of “mu” and “sigma” using data from a sample and confidence interval - Minimum sample size - Hypothesis test - One- and two-tailed test - Significance and critical values - The most common types of test on “mu” and “sigma” for one or two samples - Variance analysis and F test - “Alfa” and “Beta” errors and power of a test.<br />Physical measurements and errors: Measurement operation and its result - Error conventions - Measurements of different precision and weighted mean - “Function” quantities and error propagation. <br />Statistical rates (of composition and derivation): Morbidity rates (prevalence, incidence, relative risk) - Mortality rate - General and specific rates.<br />Standardized rates: Direct and indirect standardisation method - Scales and social indicators - Life expectancy.<br />Non-parametric tests: The ranks - Mann-Whitney rank test - Wilcoxon signed rank test - Kruskal-Wallis rank test - Wald-Wolfowitz runs test - Chi-square test - Contingency tables and independence test - Fisher’s exact test - Kolmogorov-Smirnov test - McNemar test.<br /> <br /> <br />
Bibliography
Please refer to the books recommended in the specific courses.
