Haptic Hand Exoskeleton for Precision Grasp Simulation

This paper outlines the design and the development of a novel robotic hand exoskeleton (HE) conceived for haptic interaction in the context of virtual reality (VR) and teleoperation (TO) applications. The device allows exerting controlled forces on fingertips of the index and thumb of the operator. The new exoskeleton features several design solutions adopted with the aim of optimizing force accuracy and resolution. The use of remote centers of motion mechanisms allows achieving a compact and lightweight design. An improved stiffness of the transmission and reduced requirements for the electromechanical actuators are obtained thanks to a novel principle for integrating speed reduction into torque transmission systems. A custom designed force sensor and integrated electronics are employed to further improve performances. The electromechanical design of the device and the experimental characterization are presented

Northern Adriatic general circulation behaviour induced by heat fluxes variations due to possible climatic changes

The thermohaline circulation of the central-north Adriatic basin is investigated by means of a 3D hydrodynamic numerical model. Three different runs — where the surface heat fluxes annual average is respectively negative, slightly positive and slightly negative — are performed; the general circulation patterns are then discussed and depicted, also with the aid of the trajectories of numerical particles released during the integrations. Results confirm that surface heat fluxes can start and trigger the general circulation in the basin (both vertically and horizontally), even without prescribing other forcings. Particularly, when the annual budget of the heat fluxes is negative (i.e. the basin loses heat to the atmosphere)a horizontal cyclonic surface circulation is generated, characterized by a northward flow along the eastern coast and a southward return current system along the western one. From the vertical point of view, an antiestuarine circulation is established. A similar circulation pattern is depicted when the surface fluxes have a slightly negative annual budget. On the other hand, when the annual fluxes balance is positive the vertical circulation switches to estuarine and, as expected, the integrated circulation becomes anticyclonic. A modification in the heat fluxes budget is strictly related to a change in the water column turnover time of the Jabuka pit, the deepest meso-Adriatic depression: when the annual heat fluxes balance is negative but close to zero, the dense-water residence time in the pit becomes minimum and the water has a shorter turnover time, denoting a faster renewal compared to those exhibited in the other experiments

The Ross Shelf cavity water exchange variability during 1995-1998

This work aims at presenting an analysis of the evolution of the physical properties of a water column at the southern limit of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Data has been collected over a four year period (from January 1995 to July 1998) by means of an oceanographic mooring (named mooring “F”) berthed a few miles north of theRoss IceShe lf at a depth of 600 m on thecon tinental shelf. The velocity and temperature measurements have been investigated seeking for ISW (Ice Shelf Water) outflow footprints. These outflows are irregular massive injections of cold water from below the Ice Shelf, flowing mainly across the cavity floor into the Ross Sea bottom layers. The study evidenced a large number of DISW outflow events (Deep Ice Shelf Water, the coldest and densest fraction of the ISW, the actual main object of the present study), characterized by an interannual variability that could turn out to bean important co-factor in thev ariations of theplane tary heat balance and climate instability. Differences in DISW outflow timings from biennium 1995-1996, during which a jet-like behaviour was dominating (each events was only a few days long), and 1997-1998 (with a few long and rather continous cold water outflows) have been detected. Moreover, in 1996 measurements evidenced a relatively long and warm period (about 110 days from March to July) characterized by thetotal absenceof DISW outflow, this interval being morethan twice longer with respect to any other similar ones registered during 1995, 1997 and 1998, and longer that any other warm period observed in the area during the early ’80s. The estimates of cold water exchanged during the four years return a more complicated framework: 1996 behaviour seems to be closer to the 1997 than to the 1995 one, with high fluxes and high volumes. 1995 can probably be considered as the ignition of an interannual anomaly, which climax is the long warm period of spring 1996

A stable graph-based representation for object recognition through high-order matching

Many Object recognition techniques perform some flavour of point pattern matching between a model and a scene. Such points are usually selected through a feature detection algorithm that is robust to a class of image transformations and a suitable descriptor is computed over them in order to get a reliable matching. Moreover, some approaches take an additional step by casting the correspondence problem into a matching between graphs defined over feature points. The motivation is that the relational model would add more discriminative power, however the overall effectiveness strongly depends on the ability to build a graph that is stable with respect to both changes in the object appearance and spatial distribution of interest points. In fact, widely used graph-based representations, have shown to suffer some limitations, especially with respect to changes in the Euclidean organization of the feature points. In this paper we introduce a technique to build relational structures over corner points that does not depend on the spatial distribution of the features

Exposure to Endocrine Disruptors and Nuclear Receptors Gene Expression in Infertile and Fertile Men from Italian Areas with Different Environmental Features

Internal levels of selected endocrine disruptors (EDs) (i.e., perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), di-2-ethylhexyl-phthalate (DEHP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (MEHP), and bisphenol A (BPA)) were analyzed in blood/serum of infertile and fertile men from metropolitan, urban and rural Italian areas. PFOS and PFOA levels were also evaluated in seminal plasma. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of same subjects, gene expression levels of a panel of nuclear receptors (NRs), namely estrogen receptor α (ERα) estrogen receptor β (ERβ), androgen receptor (AR), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and pregnane X receptor (PXR) were also assessed. Infertile men from the metropolitan area had significantly higher levels of BPA and gene expression of all NRs, except PPARγ, compared to subjects from other areas. Subjects from urban areas had significantly higher levels of MEHP, whereas subjects from rural area had higher levels of PFOA in both blood and seminal plasma. Interestingly, ERα, ERβ, AR, PXR and AhR expression is directly correlated with BPA and inversely correlated with PFOA serum levels. Our study indicates the relevance of the living environment when investigating the exposure to specific EDs. Moreover, the NRs panel in PBMCs demonstrated to be a potential biomarker of effect to assess the EDs impact on reproductive health

Formação de agentes de ATER em sistemas agroflorestais: a experiência da região sudeste.

Este trabalho apresenta a experiência de realização de capacitação e formação em sistemas agroflorestais para técnicos de assistência técnica e extensão rural da região sudeste, num curso de 80 horas, denominado Extensão Rural e Sistemas Agroflorestais: especificidades e práticas que teve o objetivo de sensibilizar e envolver técnicos de nível médio e superior para a implantação e manejo de sistemas agroflorestais junto a grupo de agricultores familiares. O referido curso foi realizado numa parceria entre o (MDA), através de seu (DATER) da Secretaria de Agricultura Familiar (SAF), e a Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola (FEAGRI) da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) num projeto denominado Redescobrindo Saberes: novos caminhos da ATER. Foram abordados temas como a contextualização e problematização da ATER em Sistemas Agroflorestais, histórico de uso e ocupação dos biomas da região Sudeste, princípios de ecologia e sustentabilidade florestal; classificação de tipos de sistemas agroflorestais e seus princípios ecológicos e socioeconômicos; planejamento, implantação, manejo, sistematização e monitoramento de sistemas agroflorestais; políticas públicas. As aulas tiveram reflexões teóricas em articulação com práticas vivenciadas, com a finalidade de estimular a participação dos alunos do curso em processos reflexivos, partindo de suas percepções e conhecimentos, de modo a propiciar a construção coletiva do conhecimento e sua aplicação prática. Um resultado importante baseado na teoria e vivência prática foi a de construção de conceitos pelo grupo, e outro, o comprometimento com a temática, bem como a preocupação com a continuidade das discussões gerais e mais pontuais

Analysis of the effect of fish oil on wind waves and implications for air-water interaction studies

Surfactant layers with viscoelastic properties floating on the water surface dampen short gravity-capillary waves. Taking advantage of the known virtue of fish oil to still angry seas, a laboratory study has been made to analyse wind-wave generation and the interaction between wind waves, paddle waves, and airflow. This was done in a tank containing a thin fish-oil film uniformly spread on the water surface. The research was aimed, on the one hand, at quantifying for the first time the effectiveness of this surfactant at impeding the generation of wind waves and, on the other, at using the derived conditions to disentangle relevant mechanisms involved in the air-sea interaction. In particular, our main interest concerned the processes acting on the wind stress and on the wave growth. With oil on the water surface, we have found that in the wind-only condition (no paddle waves) the wave field does not grow from the rest condition. This equilibrium is altered by irregular paddle (long) waves, the generation and evolution of short waves (in clean water and with oil) being modified by their interaction with the orbital velocity of the long waves and their effect on the airflow. Paddle waves do grow under the action of wind, the amount being similar in clean and oily water conditions, a fact we ascribe to the similar distortion of the wind vertical profile in the two cases. We have also verified that the wind-supported stress on the oily water surface was able to generate a surface current, whose magnitude turns out to be comparable to the one in clean water. We stress the benefits of experiments with surfactants to explore in detail the physics at, and the exchanges across, the wavy and non-wavy air-water interface.

Deep-sea reverse osmosis desalination for energy efficient low salinity enhanced oil recovery

The decrease in the oil discoveries fuels the development of innovative and more efficient extraction processes. It has been demonstrated that Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR, or tertiary recovery technique) offers prospects for producing 30 to 60% of the oil originally trapped in the reservoir. Interestingly, oil extraction is significantly enhanced by the injection of low salinity water into oilfields, which is known as one of the EOR techniques. Surface Reverse Osmosis (SRO) plants have been adopted to provide the large and continuous amount of low salinity water for this EOR technique, especially in offshore sites. In this article, we outline an original solution for producing low salinity water for offshore EOR processes, and we demonstrate its energy convenience. In fact, the installation of reverse osmosis plants under the sea level (Deep-Sea Reverse Osmosis, DSRO) is found to have significant potential energy savings (up to 50%) with respect to traditional SRO ones. This convenience mainly arises from the non-ideality of reverse osmosis membranes and hydraulic machines, and it is especially evident - from both energy and technological point of view - when the permeate is kept pressurized at the outlet of the reverse osmosis elements. In perspective, DSRO may be a good alternative to improve the sustainability of low salinity EOR

Marine Dynamics and Biological Records: the Adamussium colbecki Multi-Proxy.

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