Designing Interfaces to Display Sensor Data: A Case Study in the Human-Building Interaction Field Targeting a University Community

The increase of smart buildings with Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Management Systems (BMS) has created a large amount of data, including those coming from sensors. These data are intended for monitoring the building conditions by authorized personnel, not being available to all building occupants. In this paper, we evaluate, from a qualitative point of view, if a user interface designed for a specific community can increase occupants’ context-awareness about environmental issues within a building, supporting them to make more informed decisions that best suit their needs. We designed a user interface addressed to the student community of a smart campus, adopting an Iterative Design Cycle methodology, and engaged 48 students by means of structured interviews with the aim of collecting their feedback and conducting a qualitative analysis. The results obtained show the interest of this community in having access to information about the environmental data within smart campus buildings. For example, students were more interested in data about temperature and brightness, rather than humidity. As a further result of this study, we have extrapolated a series of design recommendations to support the creation of map-based user interfaces that we found to be effective in such contexts

Exploring proximity-based recommendation criteria as a tool for information exchange and interactions between locals and tourists

Sharing economy and contemporary tourism are two emerging concepts that urge to be investigated together with new ubiquitous and immersive technologies, in the tourism and hospitality sector. In this rich scenario, we designed and implemented ShareCities, a platform to foster remote direct information exchange and meaningful interactions among tourists and locals. Exploiting ShareCities we here present an extended analysis on the opportunity to use people-to-people recommendation criteria based on proximity. We hence defined three criteria which drove our analysis: i) profile similarity, ii) geographical proximity, and iii) random exploration. Through an online questionnaire, we collect answers from 126 young-adult students, obtaining a general positive interest in the three criteria but also concerns in terms of privacy, trust, and feeling of disorientation

On exploiting Data Visualization and IoT for Increasing Sustainability and Safety in a Smart Campus

In a world that is getting increasingly digital and interconnected, and where more and more physical objects are integrated into the information network (Internet of Things, IoT), Data Visualization can facilitate the understanding of huge volumes of data. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a testbed where IoT and Data Visualization have been exploited to increase the sustainability and safety of the Cesena (Smart) Campus. In particular, we detail the overall system architecture and the interactive dashboard that facilitates the management of the campus premises and the timetabling. Exploiting our system, we show how we can improve the campus sustainability (in terms of energy saving) and safety (considering the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations)

Exploiting SERS sensitivity to monitor DNA aggregation properties

In the last decades, DNA has been considered far more than the system carrying the essential genetic instructions. Indeed, because of the remarkable properties of the base-pairing specificity and thermoreversibility of the interactions, DNA plays a central role in the design of innovative architectures at the nanoscale. Here, combining complementary DNA strands with a custom-made solution of silver nanoparticles, we realize plasmonic aggregates to exploit the sensitivity of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) for the identification/detection of the distinctive features of DNA hybridization, both in solution and on dried samples. Moreover, SERS allows monitoring the DNA aggregation process by following the temperature variation of a specific spectroscopic marker associated with the Watson-Crick hydrogen bond formation. This temperature-dependent behavior enables us to precisely reconstruct the melting profile of the selected DNA sequences by spectroscopic measurements only

Lipodystrophy as a late effect after stem cell transplantation

Survivors of childhood cancer are at high risk of developing metabolic diseases in adulthood. Recently, several patients developing partial lipodystrophy following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) have been described. In this review, we summarize the cases described so far and discuss potential underlying mechanisms of the disease. The findings suggest that HSCT-associated lipodystrophies may be seen as a novel form of acquired lipodystrophy

Cadmium uptake, localization and stress-induced morphogenic response in the fern Pteris vittata.

Cadmium uptake, tissue localization and structural changes induced at cellular level are essential to understand Cd tolerance in plants. In this study we have exposed plants of Pteris vittata to different concentrations of CdCl2 (0, 30, 60, 100 μM) to evaluate the tolerance of the fern to cadmium. Cadmium content determination and its histochemical localization showed that P. vittata not only takes up, but also transports and accumulates cadmium in the aboveground tissues, delocalizing it mainly in the less bioactive tissues of the frond, the trichomes and the scales. Cadmium tolerance in P. vittata was strictly related to morphogenic response induced by the metal itself in the root system. Adaptive response regarded changes of the root apex size, the developmental pattern of root hairs, the differentiation of xylem elements and endodermal suberin lamellae. All the considered parameters suggest that, in our experimental conditions, 60 μM of Cd may represent the highest concentration that P. vittata can tolerate; indeed this Cd level even improves the absorbance features of the root and allows good transport and accumulation of the metal in the fronds. The results of this study can provide useful information for phytoremediation strategies of soils contaminated by Cd, exploiting the established ability of P. vittata to transport, delocalize in the aboveground biomass and accumulate polluting metals

Migraine Prevention through Ketogenic Diet: More than Body Mass Composition Changes

The ketogenic diet (KD) is gaining attention as a preventive treatment for migraine, which is sustained by many pre-clinical and clinical data. KD is also used for weight loss, and there is a relation between migraine and weight excess, but it is speculated that KD efficacy on migraine may go beyond this effect. We conducted a retrospective observational study on 23 migraine patients who received a KD and were evaluated at the baseline and then after 3 months both from a neurological and a nutritional point of view, including body mass composition analysis. We observed a reduction in monthly headache days (12.5 ± 9.5 vs. 6.7 ± 8.6; p < 0.001) and in days of acute medication intake (11.06 ± 9.37 vs. 4.93 ± 7.99; p = 0.008). We also observed a reduction in patients’ weight (73.8 ± 15.2 vs. 68.4 ± 14.6; p < 0.001) and BMI (26.9 ± 6.2 vs. 23.7 ± 8.1; p < 0.001) with a decrement of the fat mass (28.6 ± 12.5 vs. 20.6 ± 9.8; p < 0.001). Patients who responded to KD and those who did not had no differences with respect to weight or fat mass loss. These data corroborate the utilization of KD as a preventive treatment for migraine and suggest that the efficacy of such an intervention is not only due to weight or fat mass loss but probably relies on other mechanisms specific to KD

Progress on the Development of an Iodine-fed Hall Effect Thruster

The paper deals with the results of an ongoing activity carried out by the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI) and the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry (DCCI) of the University of Pisa (UniPi) in collaboration with SITAEL SpA, aimed at the development of technologies for Iodine-fed Hall Effect Thrusters. A feeding system architecture is described and the results of reduced order numerical models of the feeding system are illustrated, in both steady and unsteady state conditions. An activity for iodine interaction with materials is in progress. The experimental setups for material characterization tests are described. Material samples can be heated from room temperature up to 300 °C and exposed to iodine at high (soakage test) or low (flow test) concentration, simulating the condition at which the materials will undergo in the propulsion system, in the vacuum facility or in the spacecraft. Calibration and preliminary soakage test results are illustrated. On the thruster unit side, the candidate thruster and cathode are presented along with the modifications needed to operate them on iodine. Finally, a description of the foreseen test campaign and associated facilities is presented

Relationship between fatty acids composition/antioxidant potential of breast milk and maternal diet: Comparison with infant formulas

The fatty acid composition of human breast milk is relevant for the energy, immunity and eicosanoid production in infants. Additionally, the antioxidant properties of foods are essential for human health. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to investigate the relationship between maternal diet and fatty acids composition as well as the antioxidant potential of breast milk from donors to human milk bank of Perugia\u2019s hospital, Italy. Results were compared with infant formulas. We observed increased levels of total fatty acids and, in particular, saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids in milk from mothers fed on a vegetable and fruit-rich diet compared with a Mediterranean diet. In the same milk, a reduced antioxidant potential was found. All infant formulas resulted in richer total fatty acid content than human breast milk. Only some formulas were qualitatively similar to breast milk. Of note, the antioxidant potential of the formulas was higher or lower than the human milk with the exception of one sample. The antioxidant potential of four formulas was very high. Dietary supplementation with antioxidants has been shown to have a teratogenic effect and to increase the formation of metastases in adult. There are no data on the effects of excess antioxidants in the infants, but the possibility that they can be harmful cannot be excluded