Eksédra 2008

Il volume affronta temi relativi al disegno, al rilievo ed alla progettazione architettonica

Design and analysis of fractional factorial experiments from the viewpoint of computational algebraic statistics

We give an expository review of applications of computational algebraic statistics to design and analysis of fractional factorial experiments based on our recent works. For the purpose of design, the techniques of Gr\"obner bases and indicator functions allow us to treat fractional factorial designs without distinction between regular designs and non-regular designs. For the purpose of analysis of data from fractional factorial designs, the techniques of Markov bases allow us to handle discrete observations. Thus the approach of computational algebraic statistics greatly enlarges the scope of fractional factorial designs.Comment: 16 page

Hardy type spaces on certain noncompact manifolds and applications

In this paper we consider a complete connected noncompact Riemannian manifold M with Ricci curvature bounded from below, positive injectivity radius and spectral gap b. We introduce a sequence X^1(M), X^2(M), ... of new Hardy spaces on M, the sequence Y^1(M/, Y^2(M), ... of their dual spaces, and show that these spaces may be used to obtain endpoint estimates for purely imaginary powers of the Laplace-Beltrami operator and for more general spectral multipliers associated to the Laplace--Beltrami operator L on M. Under the additional condition that the volume of the geodesic balls of radius r is controlled by C r^a e^{2\sqrt{b} r} for some real number a and for all large r, we prove also an endpoint result for first order Riesz transforms D L^{-1/2}. In particular, these results apply to Riemannian symmetric spaces of the noncompact type.Comment: 27 pages, v2: the first version has been revised and rearranged, with additions, in two papers, of which this new version is the first. The second paper is posted as arXiv:1002.1161v

Patient satisfaction and food waste in obstetrics and gynaecology wards

Introduction: Patient satisfaction is an indicator of healthcare quality, and expectation is an important determinant. A component of patient satisfaction is the quality of foodservice. An indicator of this quality is the food wasted by hospitalised patients. In the present study, we investigated patient satisfaction regarding food and foodservice, the expectation on food quality and the amount of food wasted in two obstetrics and gynaecology wards in Northern and Southern Italy. Patients and Methods: A questionnaire, including sociodemographic data, rate of food waste, expectations of food quality and characteristics of food and foodservice, was admini-strated to 550 inpatients in obstetrics and gynaecology wards (275 for each hospital). Univariate analysis was performed to describe the results, and multivariate analysis was carried out to control for sociodemographic data. Results: Northern patients were more satisfied with the quality of food (54.2% vs 36.0%) and foodservice (54.5% vs 38.2%) than southern patients. Northern patients had more positive expectations about the quality of food (69.5% vs 31.6%), whereas southern patients stated that they had no expectations. Southern patients gave more importance to mealtime (72.7% vs 26.2%), and many of them brought food from home to the hospital (30.2% vs 2.2%) through relatives who came to visit them. Southern patients discarded about 41.7% of food served, whereas northern patients discarded only about 15.3%. Discussion: Food waste is a worldwide problem due to its economic, social and environmental effects. Especially in hospitals, food waste could have a negative impact on the overall patient satisfaction

Suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis in a sample of Western Sicily residents: what correlation with occupation?

Background: Leishmaniasis is a widespread infectious disease, but there is not much information about its prevalence in high risk occupational categories. Objectives: Te aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of Leishmania immunological positivity in human skin tissues collected from subjects living in Western Sicily, with suspected cutaneous Leishmania infection, in order to explore the risk possibly related to occupation. Methods: 318 consecutive subjects (M/F ratio=1.0, mean age=40\ub125.4 years), attending the Dermatology Department of the University of Palermo Hospital from 2013 to 2015, without any previous history of Leishmania infection and performing various occupations, were included. Parasite isolation and PCR-RT test on skin scrapings were performed to evaluate the immunological status; all data were analyzed by the chi square test, comparing all positive results from the di\ufb00erent provinces. Results: 81 (50.9%) out of 159 females and 79 (49.7%) out of 159 males were found PCR-RT positive to Leishmania infantum, with a higher risk in the Agrigento district (p<0.001) and in subjects living in rural areas (p=0.0038), regardless of the type of work performed. Te observed animal leishmaniasis prevalence in the same areas shows the endemic status of the disease in Sicily. Conclusions: Although based on a relatively small sample, our study shows that cutaneous leishmaniasis represents a health care problem with a medical and social impact in Western Sicily. An active surveillance system and the establishment of diagnosis and treatment centres could be useful in controlling this public health problem

Nonparametric Information Geometry

The differential-geometric structure of the set of positive densities on a given measure space has raised the interest of many mathematicians after the discovery by C.R. Rao of the geometric meaning of the Fisher information. Most of the research is focused on parametric statistical models. In series of papers by author and coworkers a particular version of the nonparametric case has been discussed. It consists of a minimalistic structure modeled according the theory of exponential families: given a reference density other densities are represented by the centered log likelihood which is an element of an Orlicz space. This mappings give a system of charts of a Banach manifold. It has been observed that, while the construction is natural, the practical applicability is limited by the technical difficulty to deal with such a class of Banach spaces. It has been suggested recently to replace the exponential function with other functions with similar behavior but polynomial growth at infinity in order to obtain more tractable Banach spaces, e.g. Hilbert spaces. We give first a review of our theory with special emphasis on the specific issues of the infinite dimensional setting. In a second part we discuss two specific topics, differential equations and the metric connection. The position of this line of research with respect to other approaches is briefly discussed.Comment: Submitted for publication in the Proceedings od GSI2013 Aug 28-30 2013 Pari

dexterous gripper for in hand manipulation with embedded object localization algorithm

Abstract Since the last decade, thanks to the spreading of the concept of Industry 4.0 and Smart Factory, more and more companies have started to investigate the robotic field looking for reliable solutions aiming at improving the efficiency of assembly lines. Promising technologies are connected to the speeding up of production stages like fast algorithms for object localization, as well as dexterous grippers for manipulation and assembly. Nowadays, most of the solutions for pick and place tasks involve the use of robotic grippers for grasping objects, while robotic manipulators are responsible for their accurate placements. Focusing on the grippers, although their simple structure can be appreciated, it greatly reduces their in-hand manipulation abilities, making unfeasible the twists of grasped objects and their release in a desired pose. As consequence, the efficiency of the pick and place operation is reduced since several adjustments of the robotic arm are required to accomplish the task. In this paper, a novel dexterous gripper coupled with a vision system algorithm for object localization and pose estimation are presented, and their performances in manipulating different objects are discussed. The designed gripper has a symmetrical structure with two finger modules, each one consisting in a couple of linear actuators arranged mutually orthogonal, so the translations in two axis, namely y and z directions, are allowed. As terminal part of each finger there is a revolute joint to whom is attached a fingertip modelled according to the shape of the target objects and easily replaceable. The embedded vision system algorithm adopted estimates position and orientation of the objects on a flat surface, and it coordinates the gripper placement to grasp them. The case study of the handling of a Spanish fan is presented and discussed in details

The q-exponential family in statistical physics

The notion of generalised exponential family is considered in the restricted context of nonextensive statistical physics. Examples are given of models belonging to this family. In particular, the q-Gaussians are discussed and it is shown that the configurational probability distributions of the microcanonical ensemble belong to the q-exponential family.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, proceedings of SigmaPhi 200

ANATOMICAL DISSECTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURES OF THE UPPER LIMB

In 2015, a whole body dissection course was proposed by the University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy, thanks to the cooperation with the University of Malta, Msida, Malta. The purpose of this study was to show the the difference between the studyof anatomy on books and on corpses. The article focuses its attention on the dissection method of the upper limb. The astudy was performed on two corpses, a male and a female, by using a basic surgeon kit. Blunt dissection method was used for fasciae, innards and to isolate vascular-nervous structures from the fat; we used scalped for cutis, sub cutis, muscles, fasciae, veins, arteries and nerves of the upper limb from the shoulder to the hand. The upper limb dissection shows the difference between how a real body appears and shows the difference between how a real body appears and how books represent it

Test of the photon detection system for the LHCb RICH Upgrade in a charged particle beam

The LHCb detector will be upgraded to make more efficient use of the available luminosity at the LHC in Run III and extend its potential for discovery. The Ring Imaging Cherenkov detectors are key components of the LHCb detector for particle identification. In this paper we describe the setup and the results of tests in a charged particle beam, carried out to assess prototypes of the upgraded opto-electronic chain from the Multi-Anode PMT photosensor to the readout and data acquisition system.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figure