Noninvasive Solution for Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy on Metallic Works of Art

Metallic works of art of cultural relevance are continuously subjected to corrosion as the environment becomes increasingly polluted. A fast and simple method to in situ assess the conservation conditions is therefore required. This paper describes the development and performance of dry and gel-based electrodes which can be used to assess the surface conservation state without the need to move the artifacts and which do not cause any damage to them. The electrodes can be used with a portable electrochemical impedance spectroscopy system, without employing electrochemical cells. The proposed solution does not provide all the information that one can obtain using an electrochemical cell, but it can discriminate between protective coatings. It can be used to assess the protective capability of corrosion product layers and natural patinas, and it can therefore enable a noninvasive routine surface assessment to be conducted that could be extremely useful for people working in the field of conservation of cultural heritag

A Remotely Controlled Calibrator for Chemical Pollutant Measuring-Units

The increasing diffusion of pollutant measuring units, which are installed over wide areas, along with the short calibration interval of several sensors for pollutant quantities, requires new calibration infrastructures to be developed. This paper describes an attempt to develop an innovative calibration system which is based on traveling standards and which does not require units to be removed from the measuring site during the calibration process. The calibration system is based on a traveling standard, which is composed of one or more cylinders that contain gas mixtures, a cell with standard sensors, and a control unit with networking capabilities, which allows the traveling standard to be remotely exercised. A prototype of the proposed system is described and the preliminary results reporte

Low-Cost Laser-Based Localization System for Agricultural Machines

This paper describes the design and test of a low-cost localization system for agricultural applications, which determines a tractor position in fields up to 0.5 km with an uncertainty of about 1 m. The proposed system employs a standard unmodified laser head, which is commonly used for field leveling, plus a reference ground-fixed laser receiver and requires neither laser modulation nor expensive time-of-flight measurements of light beam

Microwave Measurements. Part II - Nonlinear Measurements

This paper addresses the problems in microwave non-linear measurements. It discusses techniques to synthesize loads, the most used non-linear measurement techniques, and harmonic load-pulling. An experimental setup for characterizing power amplifiers must be able to measure the complex spectrum of the waves at the amplifier ports as a function of frequency, input power, and source and load termination at the fundamental and harmonic frequencies. The vector network analyzer (VNA) is the core instrument used in the non-linear characterization scenario. The basic idea is to keep the operations of VNA/mixers linear, diverting to them only a small portion of the signal present at the device under test (DUT) ports, therefore keeping unaltered the VNA capabilities already exhibited for small signal measurements

A Wireless Sensor Network for Cold-Chain Monitoring

This paper deals with a wireless sensor network that was specifically designed to monitor temperature-sensitive products during their distribution with the aim of conforming to the cold-chain assurance requirements. The measurement problems and the constraints that have been encountered in this application are initially highlighted, and then, an architecture that takes such problems into account is proposed. The proposed architecture is based on specifically designed measuring nodes that are inserted into the products to identify their behavior under real operating conditions, e.g., during a typical distribution. Such product nodes communicate through a wireless channel with a base station, which collects and processes the data sent by all the nodes. A peculiarity of the product nodes is the low cost, which allows the information on the cold-chain integrity to be provided to the final customer. The results that refer to the functional tests of the proposed system and to the experimental tests performed on a refrigerated vehicle during a distribution are reporte

La televisiun

Alla formazione e manipolazione delle masse garantite dai sistemi pretelevisivi, la tv commerciale aggiunge alcune caratteristiche peculiari e in qualche misura paradossali, dato che tendono a far coincidere effetti opposti. Caratteristiche che ne accelerano la pervasivit\ue0 e, nel confronto competitivo, svalutano le possibilit\ue0 dell\u2019architettura di agire come vettore di rappresentazione politica e luogo stesso del confronto collettivo

Reality, in Theory

The \u201creturn of the real\u201d, previously experenced by the arts, crossed the architectural debate at the turn of the millennium, focusing on the professional practice rather than on other disciplinary methods, even as a privileged place for research

Atendimento ao cliente em um e-commerce especializado em equipamentos para a prática de surfe

O advento da internet trouxe mais agilidade e facilidade de busca por informações, esta mudança tecnológica atinge as empresas que visam uma nova possibilidade de negócio. Este artigo busca compreender o atendimento em um e-commerce especializado em venda de equipamentos de surfe, assim como apontar a importância da pós-venda, analisar o auxílio prestado pelo site aos clientes que possuem dúvida e verificar a satisfação dos clientes frente aos serviços prestados. Por meio de entrevistas realizadas com o sócio proprietário da empresa comsurf.com.br e clientes do site, buscou-se atingir os objetivos propostos. Entre os principais resultados pode-se destacar que o detalhamento das informações técnicas dos produtos, para auxílio na compra dos clientes é uma restrição nos processos da empresa. Desta forma, o estudo propõe que a empresa analise a inclusão de mais um funcionário focado somente para este processo, ou então defina um integrante já existente como responsável somente por esta parte, para que continue com este diferencial perante seus concorrentes.The advent of internet has brought more flexibility and ease of finding information, this technological change affects companies that seek a new possibility for business. This article seeks to understand the care in a specialized e-commerce selling surfing equipment, as well as pointing out the importance of after-sales, analyze the aid provided by the site to customers who have questions and verify customer satisfaction compared to the services provided. Through interviews with the partner owner of comsurf.com.br company and website customers, we sought to achieve the proposed goals. The main results can be noted that the details of the technical product information to aid in customer purchase is a restriction in the company's processes. Thus, the study suggests that the company review the inclusion of an employee focused only for this process, or set an existing member responsible only for this part, to continue with this differential to its competitors

Modified POF Sensor for Gaseous Hydrogen Fluoride Monitoring in the Presence of Ionizing Radiations

This paper describes the development of a sensor designed to detect low concentrations of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in gas mixtures. The sensor employs a plastic optical fiber (POF) covered with a thin layer of glass- like material. HF attacks the glass and alters the fiber transmission capability so that the detection simply requires a LED and a photodiode. The coated POF is obtained by means of low-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition that allows the glass-like film to be deposited at low temperature without damaging the fiber core. The developed sensor will be installed in the recirculation gas system of the resistive plate chamber muon detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider accelerator of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN

Camici bianchi e tute blu

Sul finire degli anni settanta, mentre le nostre facoltà universitarie vanno avvitandosi nella loro crisi, una parte del mondo accademico si rende conto dell’inadeguatezza di pratiche didattiche massificate e comincia a promuovere sporadiche iniziative di segno contrario: rapide, intense, ad alta densità di interconnessione tra docenti e studenti. La necessità di interpretare situazioni complesse rispondendo a diversi interlocutori ha di fatto stimolato una interessante e variegata produzione progettuale, nella quale tutti noi, tolto il camice bianco e indossata la tuta blu, abbiamo trovato il modo di immergerci nella sperimentazione e “sporcare” positivamente le nostre autobiografie