Effetti del percorso di sollecitazione sul comportamento meccanico di un'argilla a scaglie compattata non satura sottoposta a cicli di imbibizione ed essiccamento

Il comportamento di un’argilla compattata sottoposta a cicli di imbibizione ed essiccamento viene analizzato attraverso l’esecuzione di prove edometriche a suzione controllata. I provini sono soggetti a diverse serie di variazione cicliche della suzione precedute da differenti percorsi di carico e scarico a suzione costante, allo scopo di studiare gli effetti del percorso delle sollecitazioni sulle deformazioni volumetriche e sulle variazioni di contenuto d’acqua indotte dalle variazioni cicliche della suzione. I risultati delle prove sono stati simulati con soddisfacente successo attraverso un modello costitutivo elastoplastico per terreni non saturi, in cui la risposta meccanica globale è dipendente dalle deformazioni della microstruttura, della macrostruttura e dalle loro reciproche interazioni

Analisi della microstruttura di un'argilla di alta plasticità trattata con calce

Nella nota si presentano i primi risultati di una indagine sperimentale volta a studiare l’effetto del trattamento con calce sulle caratteristiche microstrutturali di un’argilla di alta plasticità, proveniente dagli scavi eseguiti nel corso dei lavori di ammodernamento di una strada di grande comunicazione in Sicilia. I provini, compattati in laboratorio a diverse percentuali di calce, sono stati sottoposti a prove porosimetriche ad intrusione di mercurio MIP ed osservazioni al microscopio elettronico SEM. L’analisi dei risultati evidenzia che l’argilla trattata con calce assume una distribuzione dei pori tipica dei materiali a doppia porosità e che gli effetti sulla microstruttura dipendono dalla quantità di calce aggiunta e dal tempo di maturazione

A review of thermochemical energy storage systems for power grid support

Power systems in the future are expected to be characterized by an increasing penetration of renewable energy sources systems. To achieve the ambitious goals of the "clean energy transition", energy storage is a key factor, needed in power system design and operation as well as power-to-heat, allowing more flexibility linking the power networks and the heating/cooling demands. Thermochemical systems coupled to power-to-heat are receiving an increasing attention due to their better performance in comparison with sensible and latent heat storage technologies, in particular, in terms of storage time dynamics and energy density. In this work, a comprehensive review of the state of art of theoretical, experimental and numerical studies available in literature on thermochemical thermal energy storage systems and their use in power-to-heat applications is presented with a focus on applications with renewable energy sources. The paper shows that a series of advantages such as additional flexibility, load management, power quality, continuous power supply and a better use of variable renewable energy sources could be crucial elements to increase the commercial profitability of these storage systems. Moreover, specific challenges, i.e., life span and stability of storage material and high cost of power-to-heat/thermochemical systems must be taken in consideration to increase the technology readiness level of this emerging concept of energy systems integration

Imaging features of uterine and ovarian fibromatosis in Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome

Gorlin-Goltz Syndrome also known as Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome is an autosomal dominant multisystem disorder. It is characterized by basal cell carcinomas, odontogenic keratocysts, skeletal abnormalities and in a minority of female patients bilateral calcified ovarian fibromas. It is challenging to radiologically assess ovarian fibromas as they have similar imaging patterns to some malignant ovarian lesions. However, it is vitally important to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions to determine patients' suitability for fertility-sparing surgery. This report describes a case of a 25 year-old patient with Gorlin-Goltz Syndrome and bilateral ovarian fibromas

A Low-cost Open Source 3D-Printable Dexterous Anthropomorphic Robotic Hand with a Parallel Spherical Joint Wrist for Sign Languages Reproduction

We present a novel open-source 3D-printable dexterous anthropomorphic robotic hand specifically designed to reproduce Sign Languages' hand poses for deaf and deaf-blind users. We improved the InMoov hand, enhancing dexterity by adding abduction/adduction degrees of freedom of three fingers (thumb, index and middle fingers) and a three-degrees-of-freedom parallel spherical joint wrist. A systematic kinematic analysis is provided. The proposed robotic hand is validated in the framework of the PARLOMA project. PARLOMA aims at developing a telecommunication system for deaf-blind people, enabling remote transmission of signs from tactile Sign Languages. Both hardware and software are provided online to promote further improvements from the community

Incarcerated hernia in a trocar site following laparoscopic gastric bypass

This paper reports a case of small bowel occlusion due to the herniation of an ileal ansa at the site of the insertion of a 12-mm trocar. A 28-year-old obese female patient underwent laparoscopic surgery for gastric bypass, the skin incisions of the trocar insertion sites were closed with absorbable sutures. Small bowel occlusion occurred on post-operative day 6 and the patient again underwent laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic exploration confirmed the suspected presence of the incarcerated hernia of an ileal ansa at the site of the trocar insertion which was freed without any need for bowel resection. The fascial defect was successfully closed under direct vision with the use of a special system of fascial sutures

A review of key performance indicators for building flexibility quantification to support the clean energy transition

The transition to a sustainable society and a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 requires extensive deployment of renewable energy sources that, due to the aleatority and non-programmability of most of them, may seriously affect the stability of existing power grids. In this context, buildings are increasingly being seen as a potential source of energy flexibility for the power grid. In literature, key performance indicators, allowing different aspects of the load management, are used to investi-gate buildings’ energy flexibility. The paper reviews existing indicators developed in the context of theoretical, experimental and numerical studies on flexible buildings, outlining the current status and the potential future perspective. Moreover, the paper briefly reviews the range of grid services that flexible buildings can provide to support the reliability of the electric power system which is potentially challenged by the increasing interconnection of distributed variable renewable generation

Biofilm is a major virulence determinant in bacterial colonization of chronic skin ulcers independently from the multidrug resistant phenotype

Bacterial biofilm is a major factor in delayed wound healing and high levels of biofilm production have been repeatedly described in multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs). Nevertheless, a quantitative correlation between biofilm production and the profile of antimicrobial drug resistance in delayed wound healing remains to be determined. Microbial identification, antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm production were assessed in 135 clinical isolates from 87 patients. Gram-negative bacteria were the most represented microorganisms (60.8%) with MDROs accounting for 31.8% of the total isolates. Assessment of biofilm production revealed that 80% of the strains were able to form biofilm. A comparable level of biofilm production was found with both MDRO and not-MDRO with no significant differences between groups. All the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 80% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MDR strains were found as moderate/high biofilm producers. Conversely, less than 17% of Klebsiella pneumoniae extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), Escherichia coli-ESBL and Acinetobacter baumannii were moderate/high biofilm producers. Notably, those strains classified as non-biofilm producers, were always associated with biofilm producer bacteria in polymicrobial colonization. This study shows that biofilm producers were present in all chronic skin ulcers, suggesting that biofilm represents a key virulence determinant in promoting bacterial persistence and chronicity of ulcerative lesions independently from the MDRO phenotype

PARLOMA – A Novel Human-Robot Interaction System for Deaf-blind Remote Communication

Deaf-blindness forces people to live in isolation. Up to now there is no existing technological solution enabling two (or many) Deaf-blind persons to communicate remotely among them in tactile Sign Language (t-SL). When resorting to t-SL, Deaf-blind persons can communicate only with persons physically present in the same place, because they are required to reciprocally explore their hands to exchange messages. We present a preliminary version of PARLOMA, a novel system to enable remote communication between Deaf-blind persons. It is composed of a low-cost depth sensor as the only input device, paired with a robotic hand as output device. Essentially, any user can perform handshapes in front of the depth sensor. The system is able to recognize a set of handshapes that are sent over the web and reproduced by an anthropomorphic robotic hand. PARLOMA can work as a “telephone” for Deaf-blind people. Hence, it will dramatically improve life quality of Deaf-blind persons. PARLOMA has been designed in strict collaboration with the main Italian Deaf-blind associations, in order to include end-users in the design phase