Ropeway roller batteries dynamics. Modeling, identification, and full-scale validation

A parametric mechanical model based on a Lagrangian formulation is here proposed to predict the dynamic response of roller batteries during the vehicles transit across the so-called compression towers in ropeways transportation systems. The model describes the dynamic interaction between the ropeway substructures starting from the modes and frequencies of the system to the forced dynamic response caused by the vehicles transit. The analytical model is corroborated and validated via an extensive experimental campaign devoted to the dynamic characterization of the roller battery system. The data acquired on site via a custom-design sensor network allowed to identify the frequencies and damping ratios by employing the Frequency Domain Decomposition (FDD) method. The high fidelity modeling and the system identification procedure are discussed

Quantifying rate dependence of hysteretic systems

Hysteresis nonlinearities are formally defined as deterministic, rate-independent operators for a great variety of systems. Rate independence frequently occurs in problems in which the time scales of interest are much longer than the intrinsic time scales of the system. In this paper we propose a measure of rate dependence and numerically evaluate the corresponding metric for two rate-dependent systems, namely, a linearly viscous damper and a class of shape memory materials exhibiting thermomechanical behavior [1]. The rate-independent extended Bouc-Wen model of hysteresis [2] is used to validate the robustness of our rate-independence criterion. On the other hand, the shown rate dependence in shape memory materials working in nonisothermal conditions is associated with the ensuing thermomechanical coupling

Sensitivity Of A Nonlinear TMD Effectiveness With Respect To Uncertainties In The Structural Parameters

Tuned mass dampers are found to be effective in enhancing structural performance of build-ings subjected to wind and seismic loads. This paper provides insights on the sensitivity of a Nonlinear Hysteretic Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) in mitigation of seismic induced vibrations under uncertainties present in structural parameters. A 2-DOF reduced ordered model of the structure and TMD is used to optimize the parameters of TMD when structure is subjected to Nonstationary excitations. A 3- dimensional 5-storey scaled down building is modeled in Opensees to have a high-fidelity model of the structure. Modified Bouc-Wen Hysteresis model is implemented in Opensees to mimic the performance of the Nonlinear TMD. Optimal design parameters of Nonlinear TMD obtained using the 2-DOF reduced ordered model are em- When structural parameters are subjected to uncertainties, the effectiveness of the optimal Non-linear TMD is studied. Various sensitivity analysis techniques are employed in ranking the pa-rameters of the structure that are effecting the performance of the TMD. It is observed that, the damping in the structure and variation in the position of additional mass in orthogonal direc-tion to direction of motion of structure are parameters that are effecting the performance of TMD

Precise measurements of the properties of the B-1(5721)(0,+) and B-2*(5747)(0,+) states and observation of B-+,B-0 pi(-,+) mass structures

Invariant mass distributions of B+π− and B0π+ combinations are investigated in order to study excited B mesons. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to 3.0 fb−1 of pp collision data, recorded by the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Precise measurements of the masses and widths of the B1(5721)0,+ and B2(5747)0,+ states are reported. Clear enhancements, particularly prominent at high pion transverse momentum, are seen over background in the mass range 5850-6000 MeV in both B+π− and B0π+ combinations. The structures are consistent with the presence of four excited B mesons, labelled BJ (5840)0,+ and BJ (5960)0,+, whose masses and widths are obtained under different hypotheses for their quantum numbers

Effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy in heart failure patients with valvular heart disease: comparison with patients affected by ischaemic heart disease or dilated cardiomyopathy. The InSync/InSync ICD Italian Registry

AimsTo analyse the effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with valvular heart disease (a subset not specifically investigated in randomized controlled trials) in comparison with ischaemic heart disease or dilated cardiomyopathy patients.Methods and resultsPatients enrolled in a national registry were evaluated during a median follow-up of 16 months after CRT implant. Patients with valvular heart disease treated with CRT (n = 108) in comparison with ischaemic heart disease (n = 737) and dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 635) patients presented: (i) a higher prevalence of chronic atrial fibrillation, with atrioventricular node ablation performed in around half of the cases; (ii) a similar clinical and echocardiographic profile at baseline; (iii) a similar improvement of LVEF and a similar reduction in ventricular volumes at 6-12 months; (iv) a favourable clinical response at 12 months with an improvement of the clinical composite score similar to that occurring in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and more pronounced than that observed in patients with ischaemic heart disease; (v) a long-term outcome, in term of freedom from death or heart transplantation, similar to patients affected by ischaemic heart disease and basically more severe than that of patients affected by dilated cardiomyopathy.ConclusionIn 'real world' clinical practice, CRT appears to be effective also in patients with valvular heart disease. However, in this group of patients the outcome after CRT does not precisely overlap any of the two other groups of patients, for which much more data are currently available

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

First observation and amplitude analysis of the B- -> D+K-pi(-) decay

The B-→D+K-π- decay is observed in a data sample corresponding to 3.0 fb-1 of pp collision data recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. Its branching fraction is measured to be B(B-→D+K-π-)=(7.31±0.19±0.22±0.39)×10-5 where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from the branching fraction of the normalization channel B-→D+π-π-, respectively. An amplitude analysis of the resonant structure of the B-→D+K-π- decay is used to measure the contributions from quasi-two-body B-→D0∗(2400)0K-, B-→D2∗(2460)0K-, and B-→DJ∗(2760)0K- decays, as well as from nonresonant sources. The DJ∗(2760)0 resonance is determined to have spin 1

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages