A Low-Cost Monitoring Platform and Visual Interface to Analyse Thermal Comfort in Smart Building Applications Using a Citizen–Scientist Strategy

Smart building issues are critical for current energy and comfort managing aspects in built environments. Nevertheless, the diffusion of smart monitoring solutions via user-friendly graphical interfaces is still an ongoing issue subject to the need to diffuse a smart building culture and a low-cost series of solutions. This paper proposes a new low-cost IoT sensor network, exploiting Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms, for collecting real-time data and evaluating specific thermal comfort indicators (PMV and PPD). The overall architecture was accordingly designed, including the hardware setup, the back-end and the Android user interface. Eventually, three distinct prototyping platforms were deployed for initial testing of the general system, and we analysed the obtained results for different building typologies and seasonal periods, based on collected data and users’ preferences. This work is part of a large educational and citizen science activity

A Copula-VAR-X Approach for Industrial Production Modelling and Forecasting

World economies, and especially European ones, have become strongly interconnected in the last decades and a joint modelling is required. We propose here the use of Copulas to build flexible multivariate distributions, since they allow for a rich dependence structure and more flexible marginal distributions that better fit the features of empirical data, such as leptokurtosis. We use our approach to forecast industrial production series in the core EMU countries and we provide evidence that the copula-VAR model outperforms or at worst compares similarly to normal VAR models, keeping the same computational tractability of the latter approach.Forecasting, Industrial Production, Copulas, VAR models.

An Opportunity to Grow or a Label? Performance Appraisal Justice and Performance Appraisal Satisfaction to Increase Teachers\u2019 Well-Being

Performance management is a key factor to enhance professional development and improve teaching quality. This process is successful only if teachers perceive it as fair, clear, and effective: namely, if it is satisfying. Carefully considering teachers\u2019 attributions in the performance appraisal process is fundamental to better clarify the relations between performance management and positive individual outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of perceived performance appraisal justice on teachers\u2019 well-being, in terms of job performance, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction, hypothesizing the mediation role of performance appraisal satisfaction. Data from a sample of Italian teachers were analyzed through structural equation modeling. Results confirm the mediation role of performance appraisal satisfaction. In particular, perceived performance appraisal justice was positively associated to performance appraisal satisfaction, which, in turn, was positively associated with job performance, job satisfaction, life satisfaction. Consequently, performance appraisal satisfaction totally mediated the relations between performance appraisal justice and the outcomes considered. Findings are relevant for two reasons. First, they contribute to better understanding the performance management process in educational settings \u2013 an issue requiring further attention. Second, they contribute to highlighting the importance of performance management efficacy, which is essential not only to improve individual well-being but also to enhance teaching quality

Association between a single measurement of progesterone and cortisol blood concentrations at two to one week before parturition, and number of fetuses in the Teramana goat

The Teramana goat is an at-risk breed, needing population protection and programs to increase their numbers. The first step for a population increase is the best management of reproduction, leading to an as high as possible number of healthy and viable kids born. To this purpose, beside the optimization of mating, the best possible management of pregnancy and parturition is mandatory. The goat is a prolific farm animal in which single, double, or triple ovulations can occur, leading to singleton, twin or triple pregnancies, and the birth of multiple kids. Twins and triplets are associated to increased risk for perinatal mortality and need a special surveillance and possible assistance at birth. Knowledge of the number of fetuses that have to be delivered from each goat could be a practical tool for a better management of parturition. Among the methods to define the number of fetuses in the goat, the measurement of blood progesterone (P4) concentrations have provided inconsistent results. Therefore, the present study was aimed to assess the possible association between the maternal concentrations of plasma P4 and cortisol (C), two hormones possibly associated to the number of fetuses, measured only once at about two to one week before parturition in Teramana goats, and the number of fetuses. The results, obtained from 23 does, showed that both plasma P4 and C are higher in does bearing multiple fetuses than does with singleton pregnancies. However, the single measurement of plasma C, but not P4, two to one week before the expected parturition in the Teramana goat is useful to distinguish between does bearing singleton and triplet pregnancies for a better surveillance and assistance at delivery. Therefore, it could represent a tool for the best management of reproduction in a breed population at risk for extinctio

Prevalence, survival and subsequent fertility of dairy and beef cows with uterine prolapse

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of uterine prolapse in cows and assess its effects on survival and subsequent fertility. Of 33,450 calving cows considered retrospectively, 216 (0.6%) developed uterine prolapse. A higher prevalence was found in beef cows (n 5 57/5,700 cows, 1%) compared to dairy cows (n 5 157/27,750 cows, 0.6%). Treatment consisted of cleaning and replacing the uterus with local administration of antibiotics, and applying a harness for uterine containment. The recovery rate was 81.9% (n 5 177), similar in dairy (n 5 129; 81.1%) and beef (n 5 48; 84.2%) cows. Of the 216 cows with uterine prolapse, 18 (8.3%) died before or immediately after treatment; 21 cows (9.7%) were voluntarily culled for economic reasons (low milk yield, low fertility, insufficient weight gain). All recovered dairy cows were artificially inseminated with semen of proven fertility after a voluntary waiting period of 50 days; the beef cows were naturally mated. Among the 172 inseminated/mated cows, 84.7% (n 5 150) became pregnant (83.7% dairy cows, 87.5% beef cows), while 15.2% (n 5 27) did not conceive. Recurrence of uterine prolapse at subsequent calvings was recorded in one dairy cow. Based upon the data presented here, treated cows with uterine prolapse showed high chances of survival and conception, and a low risk of recurrence

Characterization of the THz quasi-optical channel for the measurement of the power radiated by photoconductive antennas

In this paper a rigorous electromagnetic characterization of the setup for measuring the THz power radiated by pulsed photoconductive antenna is discussed. Such characterization is expressed in terms of efficiencies which quantify how much power is lost in the coupling between the various components involved in the measurement setup. The conducted analysis highlights how such efficiencies affect the energy spectrum of the measured pulsed signal. Measurement results with two different detectors will be shown during the conference and will be compared against the power estimation obtained by a recently developed equivalent circuit model for photoconductive antennas. The proposed electromagnetic modeling allows us to effectively improve the design of THz time domain systems

Revealing the coral habitat effect on benthopelagic fauna diversity in the Santa Maria di Leuca cold-water coral province using different devices and Bayesian hierarchical modelling

Data from two experimental longline surveys and two video inspections carried out in Santa Maria di Leuca cold-water coral province (Mediterranean Sea) during spring-autumn 2010 were used in order to compare the benthopelagic abundance and diversity between coral and non-coral habitats and between different devices. The sampling was carried out in two types of habitat: a coral habitat with carbonate mounds and a non-coral habitat characterized by intermound sea floor. A Bayesian hierarchical modelling approach to accommodate factors influencing community assemblages was used considering the number of species, the Shannon-Wiener diversity index and the two most abundant species represented by the European conger (Conger conger) and blackbelly rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus). A relevant effect of the habitat factor was observed for both the number of species and the diversity index, showing a higher species number and diversity index in the coral habitat than in the non-coral habitat. Concerning the relevance of fixed effects from the model on the probability of observing non-zero (positive) abundances, the devices considered, longline and baited lander, did not show different influence for either C. conger or H. dactylopterus. In the case of positive abundance, a relevant device effect was only observed for H. dactylopterus, showing higher abundances for longline than for baited lander. A habitat effect was detected, with positive abundances for both species in the coral habitat. This study proves that structurally complex habitats generated by cold-water corals influence the distribution and diversity of the benthopelagic fauna, and that the use of different devices can provide complementary useful results. Increased knowledge about the role of cold-water corals in the associated benthopelagic fauna could lead to better conservation of one of the most important hot spots of biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea