Predictive Display with Perspective Projection of Surroundings in Vehicle Teleoperation to Account Time-delays

Teleoperation provides human operator sophisticated perceptual and cognitive skills into an over the network control loop. It gives hope of addressing some challenges related to vehicular autonomy which is based on artificial intelligence by providing a backup plan. Variable network time delays in data transmission is the major problem in teleoperating a vehicle. On 4G network, variability of these delays is high. Due to this, both video streaming and driving commands encounter variable time delay. This paper presents an approach of providing the human operator a forecast video stream which replicates future perspective of vehicle field of view accounting the delay present in the network. Regarding the image transformation, perspective projection technique is combined with correction given by smith predictor in the control loop. This image transformation accounts current time delay and tries to address both issues, time delays as well as its variability. For experiment sake, only frontward field of view is forecast. Performance is evaluated by performing online vehicle teleoperation on street edge case maneuvers and later comparing the path deviation with and without perspective projection

Heavy-Vehicle Response to Crosswind: Evaluation of Driver Reactions Using a Dynamic Driving Simulator

Heavy vehicles exiting (or entering) a tunnel at high speed under a strong crosswind is a particularly critical condition since the aerodynamic load changes drastically, greatly affecting the lateral stability of the vehicle. Often, active control systems (active suspensions, active front steering, etc.) and infrastructure elements (e.g., wind fences) are proposed to reduce the induced risks. To help the design of these devices, the present paper investigates the response of the vehicle–driver system in the case of a high-sided lorry exiting a tunnel under crosswind, by using Driver-In-the-Loop simulations. The study was performed using the dynamic driving simulator of Politecnico di Milano and 28 test drivers. Vehicle and aerodynamic models have been developed to reproduce the phenomenon in a highly immersive environment. During the tests, several combinations of vehicle and wind speed were considered. The effect of vehicle loading condition (Empty and Laden) was also investigated. The performed tests allowed us to gain information about the sequence of the driver’s actions and associated delays, which may induce lane deviation or, in the worst case, rollover. It was found that lane invasion may happen for ratios of lateral aerodynamic force over vehicle weight force bigger than 0.1, while rollover could happen for ratios bigger than 0.3. Moreover, it was found that the driver’s response typically happens with a delay of ∼0.25 s with respect to the onset of the crosswind stimulus

A Torque Vectoring Control for Enhancing Vehicle Performance in Drifting

When dealing with electric vehicles, different powertrain layouts can be exploited. Among them, the most interesting one in terms of vehicle lateral dynamics is represented by the one with independent electric motors: two or four electric motors. This allows torque-vectoring control strategies to be applied for increasing vehicle lateral performance and stability. In this paper, a novel control strategy based on torque-vectoring is used to design a drifting control that helps the driver in controlling the vehicle in such a condition. Drift is a particular cornering condition in which high values of sideslip angle are obtained and maintained during the turn. The controller is applied to a rear-wheel drive race car prototype with two independent electric motors on the rear axle. The controller relies only on lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and vehicle speed measurement. This makes it independent from state estimators, which can affect its performance and robustness. Document type: Articl

Fluence Beam Monitor for High-Intensity Particle Beams Based on a Multi-Gap Ionization Chamber and a Method for Ion Recombination Correction

This work presents the tests of a multi-gap detector (MGD), composed of three parallel-plate ionization chambers (ICs) with different gap widths, assembled to prove the capability of correcting for charge volume recombination which is expected to occur when high fluence rates are delivered. Such beam conditions occur with a compact accelerator for charged particle therapy developed to reduce the costs, to accomplish faster treatments and to exploit different beam delivery techniques and dose rates as needed, for example, for range modulation and FLASH irradiations, respectively. The MGD was tested with carbon ions at the Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO Pavia, Italy), and with protons in two different beam lines: at Bern University Hospital with continuous beams and at the Laboratori Nazionale del Sud (Catania, Italy) of the Italian National Center of Nuclear Physics (INFN) with pulsed beams. For each accelerator, we took measurements with different beam intensities (up to the maximum rate of ionization achievable) and changed the detector bias voltage (V) in order to study the charge collection efficiency. Charge recombination models were used to evaluate the expected collected charge and to measure the linearity of the rate of ionization with the beam fluence rate. A phenomenological approach was used to determine the collection efficiency (f1) of the chamber with thinnest gap from the relative efficiencies, f1/f2 and f1/f3, exploiting the condition that, for each measurement, the three chambers were exposed to the same rate of ionization. Results prove that two calibration curves can be determined and used to correct the online measurements for the charge losses in the ICs for recombination

The Domains of Human Nutrition: The Importance of Nutrition Education in Academia and Medical Schools

open28noHuman nutrition encompasses an extremely broad range of medical, social, commercial, and ethical domains and thus represents a wide, interdisciplinary scientific and cultural discipline. The high prevalence of both disease-related malnutrition and overweight/obesity represents an important risk factor for disease burden and mortality worldwide. It is the opinion of Federation of the Italian Nutrition Societies (FeSIN) that these two sides of the same coin, with their sociocultural background, are related to a low "nutritional culture" secondary, at least in part, to an insufficient academic training for health-care professionals (HCPs). Therefore, FeSIN created a study group, composed of delegates of all the federated societies and representing the different HCPs involved in human nutrition, with the aim of identifying and defining the domains of human nutrition in the attempt to more clearly define the cultural identity of human nutrition in an academically and professionally oriented perspective and to report the conclusions in a position paper. Three main domains of human nutrition, namely, basic nutrition, applied nutrition, and clinical nutrition, were identified. FeSIN has examined the areas of knowledge pertinent to human nutrition. Thirty-two items were identified, attributed to one or more of the three domains and ranked considering their diverse importance for academic training in the different domains of human nutrition. Finally, the study group proposed the attribution of the different areas of knowledge to the degree courses where training in human nutrition is deemed necessary (e.g., schools of medicine, biology, nursing, etc.). It is conceivable that, in the near future, a better integration of the professionals involved in the field of human nutrition will eventually occur based on the progressive consolidation of knowledge, competence, and skills in the different areas and domains of this discipline.openDonini, Lorenzo M; Leonardi, Francesco; Rondanelli, Mariangela; Banderali, Giuseppe; Battino, Maurizio; Bertoli, Enrico; Bordoni, Alessandra; Brighenti, Furio; Caccialanza, Riccardo; Cairella, Giulia; Caretto, Antonio; Cena, Hellas; Gambarara, Manuela; Gentile, Maria Gabriella; Giovannini, Marcello; Lucchin, Lucio; Migliaccio, Pietro; Nicastro, Francesco; Pasanisi, Fabrizio; Piretta, Luca; Radrizzani, Danilo; Roggi, Carla; Rotilio, Giuseppe; Scalfi, Luca; Vettor, Roberto; Vignati, Federico; Battistini, Nino C; Muscaritoli, MaurizioDonini, Lorenzo M; Leonardi, Francesco; Rondanelli, Mariangela; Banderali, Giuseppe; Battino, Maurizio; Bertoli, Enrico; Bordoni, Alessandra; Brighenti, Furio; Caccialanza, Riccardo; Cairella, Giulia; Caretto, Antonio; Cena, Hellas; Gambarara, Manuela; Gentile, Maria Gabriella; Giovannini, Marcello; Lucchin, Lucio; Migliaccio, Pietro; Nicastro, Francesco; Pasanisi, Fabrizio; Piretta, Luca; Radrizzani, Danilo; Roggi, Carla; Rotilio, Giuseppe; Scalfi, Luca; Vettor, Roberto; Vignati, Federico; Battistini, Nino C; Muscaritoli, Maurizi

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Active stabilisation of a car-trailer system by means of torque vectoring

The addition of a trailer to a vehicle introduces significant changes to its dynamic behaviour. Therefore, the response of the vehicle to driver inputs and external excitation differ and are in turn functions of the parameters of the system. The lateral response of the system is of significant interest as unfavourable conditions may lead to instability in the system. The instability introduced may cause the vehicle to stray from the intended path, and in extreme situations may even cause the vehicle to topple over. This instability may be introduced by means of manoeuvres performed by the driver, such as a lane change, or may even be triggered by external factors such as lateral forces arising because of wind. This phenomenon has been studied in-depth, and numerous active systems have been proposed. However, the systems in use exploit brake distribution in the wheels of the vehicle. Electric vehicles with independent motors provide the opportunity of achieving the same through torque vectoring. This paper proposes a feedback-loop control system as an active driver assistance system that enables stabilisation of the system by means of torque vectoring for an independent motor two-wheel drive electric vehicle