Statistical analysis of the trigger algorithm for the NEMO project

We discuss the performances of a trigger implemented for the planned neutrino telescope NEMO. This trigger seems capable to discriminate between the signal and the strong background introduced by atmospheric muons and by the beta decay of the K-40 nuclei present in the water. The performances of the trigger, as evaluated on simulated data are analyzed in detail.Comment: Published in the Proceedings of the "I Workshop of Astronomy and Astrophysics for Students", Eds. N.R. Napolitano & M. Paolillo, Naples, 19-20 April 2006 (astro-ph/0701577

Implementation of the trigger algorithm for the NEMO project

We describe the implementation of trigger algorithm specifically tailored on the characteristics of the neutrino telescope NEMO. Extensive testing against realistic simulations shows that, by making use of the uncorrelated nature of the noise produced mainly by the decay of K-40 beta-decay, this trigger is capable to discriminate among different types of muonic events.Comment: Published in the Proceedings of the "I Workshop of Astronomy and Astrophysics for Students", Eds. N.R. Napolitano & M. Paolillo, Naples, 19-20 April 2006 (astro-ph/0701577

Multi-objective design of robust flight control systems

A multi–objective evolutionary algorithm is used in the framework of H1 control theory to find the controller gains that minimize a weighted combination of the infinite–norm of the sensitivity function (for disturbance attenuation requirements) and complementary sensitivity function (for robust stability requirements). After considering a single operating point for a level flight trim condition of a F-16 fighter aircraft model, two different approaches will then be considered to extend the domain of validity of the control law: 1) the controller is designed for different operating points and gain scheduling is adopted; 2) a single control law is designed for all the considered operating points by multiobjective minimisation. The two approaches are analyzed and compared in terms of effectiveness of the design method and resulting closed loop performance of the system

Contribution to diffuse gamma-ray emission coming from self-confined CRs around their Galactic sources

Recent observations of the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission by the Fermi-LAT satellite have shown significant deviations from models which assume the same diffusion properties for cosmic rays (CR) throughout the Galaxy. We explore the possibility that a fraction of this diffuse Galactic emission could be due to hadronic interactions of CRs self-confined in the region around their sources. In fact, freshly accelerated CRs that diffuse away from the acceleration region can trigger the streaming instability able to amplify magnetic disturbance and to reduce the particle diffusion. When this happen, CRs are trapped in the near source region for a time longer than expected and an extended gamma-ray halo is produces around each source. Here we calculate the contribution to the diffuse gamma-ray background due to the overlap along lines of sight of several of these extended halos. We find that if the density of neutrals is low, the halos can account for a substantial fraction of the diffuse emission observed by Fermi-LAT, depending on the orientation of the line of sight with respect to the direction of the galactic center.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figs. Proceeding the 35th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC2017), Bexco, Busan, Kore

Role of the flat-designed surface in improving the cyclic fatigue resistance of endodontic NiTi rotary instruments

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the flat-designed surface in improving the resistance to cyclic fatigue by comparing heat-treated F-One (Fanta Dental, Shanghai, China) nickel-titanium (NiTi) rotary instruments and similar prototypes, differing only by the absence of the flat side. The null hypothesis was that there were no differences between the two tested instruments in terms of cyclic fatigue lifespan. A total of 40 new NiTi instruments (20 F-One and 20 prototypes) were tested in the present study. The instruments were rotated with the same speed (500 rpm) and torque (2 N) using an endodontic motor (Elements Motor, Kerr, Orange, CA, USA) in the same stainless steel, artificial canal (90° angle of curvature and 5 mm radius). A Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was performed to assess the differences in terms of time to fracture and the length of the fractured segment between the flat- and non-flat-sided instruments. Significance was set at p = 0.05. The differences in terms of time to fracture between non-flat and flat were statistically significant (p < 0.001). In addition, the differences in terms of fractured segment length were statistically significant (p = 0.034). The results of this study highlight the importance of flat-sided design in increasing the cyclic fatigue lifespan of NiTi rotary instruments

Regulation of ISWI chromatin remodelling activity

The packaging of the eukaryotic genome into chromatin facilitates the storage of the genetic information within the nucleus, but prevents the access to the underlying DNA sequences. Structural changes in chromatin are mediated by several mechanisms. Among them, ATP-dependent remodelling complexes belonging to ISWI family provides one of the best examples that eukaryotic cells evolved to finely regulate these changes. ISWI-containing complexes use the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to rearrange nucleosomes on chromatin in order to favour specific nuclear reactions. The combination of regulatory nuclear factors associated with the ATPase subunit as well as its modulation by specific histone modifications, specializes the nuclear function of each ISWI-containing complex. Here we review the different ways by which ISWI enzymatic activity can be modulated and regulated in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells

Astrophysics in S.Co.P.E

S.Co.P.E. is one of the four projects funded by the Italian Government in order to provide Southern Italy with a distributed computing infrastructure for fundamental science. Beside being aimed at building the infrastructure, S.Co.P.E. is also actively pursuing research in several areas among which astrophysics and observational cosmology. We shortly summarize the most significant results obtained in the first two years of the project and related to the development of middleware and Data Mining tools for the Virtual Observatory

Intestinal perforation after surgical treatment for incisional hernia. iatrogenic or idiopathic?

Intestinal perforation (IP) is a life-threatening gastroenterological condition requiring urgent surgical care, which may present itself as an uncommon complication following incisional hernia repair surgery, most often because of iatrogenic traumatism occurring during the procedure. However, we report a case where a spontaneous onset can be hypothesised. A 60-years-old patient underwent repair of an abdominal laparocele, through rectus abdominis muscle plasty, 5 years after development of an incisional hernia due to exploratory laparotomy for the treatment of acute appendicitis. Xipho-pubic scar was excised and umbilicus and supra-umbilical hernia sac dissected, a linear median incision was performed along the sub-umbilical linea alba, reaching preperitoneal plane to assess any intestinal loop adherence to the abdominal wall. After limited viscerolysis, abdominal wall defect was corrected by 'rectus abdominis muscle plasty' and umbilicus reconstruction by Santanelli technique. Postoperative course was uneventful until Day 29, with sudden onset of epigastric pain, fever and bulge. Sixty cubic centimeter pus was drained percutaneously and cavity was rinsed with a 50% H2O2 and H2O V-V solution until draining clear fluid. Symptoms recurred two days later, while during rinsing presented dyspnoea. X-Ray and CT scan diagnosed IP, and she underwent under emergency an exploratory laparotomy, leading to right hemicolectomy extended to last ileal loops and middle third of the transverse, right monolateral salpingo-ovariectomy and a temporary ileostomy by general surgeon. Twenty-three days later an ileostomy reversal surgery was performed and 8 days after she was discharged. At latest follow-up patient showed fair conditions, complaining abdominal pain and diarrhoea, attributable to the extensive intestinal resection. IP following incisional hernia repair, is reported as uncommon and early postoperative complication. In our case, the previous regular postoperative course with late onset lead us to hypothesise a possible idiopathic etiopathogenesis, because of a strangulation followed by gangrene and abscess formation, which might begin before the incisional hernia repair and unnoticed at the time surgery was performed

A novel SiO2/Polyetherimide (PEI) Composite Synthesized by Sol-Gel Route: Characterization and Antibacterial Activity

Polyetherimide (PEI), an amorphous thermoplastic material, is a promising candidate for wide applications due to its high heat stability and its biocompatibility in human tissues. In the present paper, PEI (4 wt%) is added to SiO2 inorganic matrix in order to obtain a novel composite biomaterial through sol-gel route. Structural characterization by means of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed, through hydrogen bond interactions, the presence of both organic and inorganic components in the structure. Concerning the compatibility in the biological systems, a study of antibacterial properties is carried out, analyzing the effect of SiO2/PEI composite on Escherichia coli (gram-negative) and Enterococcus faecalis (gram-positive)

Asynchronous Silent Programmable Matter Achieves Leader Election and Compaction

We study models and algorithms for Programmable Matter (PM), that is matter with the ability to change its physical properties (e.g., shape or optical properties) in a programmable fashion. PM can be implemented by assembling a system of weak self-organizing computational elements, called particles, that can be programmed via distributed algorithms to collectively achieve some global task. Recent advances in the production of nanotechnologies have rendered such systems increasingly possible in practice, thus triggering research interests from many areas of computer science. The most established models for PM assume that particles: are modeled as finite state automata; are all identical, executing the same algorithm based on local observation of the surroundings; live and operate in the cells of a hexagonal grid; can move from one cell to another by repeatedly alternating between a contracted state (a particle occupies one cell) and an expanded state (a particle occupies two neighboring cells). Given these elementary features, it is rather hard to design distributed algorithms even for basic tasks and, in fact, all existing solutions to solve fundamental problems via PM have resorted to endowing PM systems with various capabilities to overcome such hardness, thus assuming quite unrealistic features. In this paper, we move toward more realistic computational models for PM. Specifically, we first introduce, a new modeling approach that relaxes several assumptions used in previous ones. Second, we present a distributed algorithm to solve, in the model, a foundational primitive for PM, namely Leader Election. This algorithm works in O(n) rounds for all initial configurations of n particles that are both connected (i.e. particles induce a connected graph) and compact (i.e. without holes, that is no empty cells surrounded by particles occur). As usual in asynchronous contexts, a round is intended as the time within which all particles have been activated at least once. Third, we show that, if the initial configuration admits holes, it is impossible to achieve leader election while preserving connectivity. Finally, by slightly empowering the robots, we design an algorithm to handle initial configurations admitting holes that in O(n2) rounds solves the leader election problem while obtaining also compaction