Testing LFV measuring the ratio RK between the Branching Ratio of K±→e±ν(γ) and K±→μ±ν(γ) in NA48/2 experiment: Measurement and Perspectives

The measurement of the ratio R K = Br [ K ± → e ± ν ( γ ) ] / Br [ K ± → μ ± ν ( γ ) ] between the Branching Ratios of K ± → e ± ν ( γ ) and K → μ ± ν ( γ ) decays is a sensitive test of lepton universality and new physics. This ratio is predicted by the Standard Model with high precision [M. Finkemeier, Phys. Lett. B 387 (1996) 391, hep-ph/9505434 ], while its present measurement accuracy is limited by the lack of a statistically proportionate sample of K ± → e ± ν ( γ ) decays [A.R. Clark et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 29 (1972) 1274] [K.S. Heard et al., Phys. Lett. B 55 (1975) 324] [K.S. Heard et al., Phys. Lett. B 60 (1976) 302]. The NA48/2 experiment [J.R. Batley et al., CERN/SPSC 2000-003 (2000)], located at CERN SPS accelerator, collected two different data sets of Kaon leptonic decays. The former sample has been collected in 2003 data taking and the latter in 2004 data taking. After the description of the most relevant features of the data collected in 2003 and 2004, a preliminary result based on 2003 data set will be presented: R K = ( 2.416 ± 0.043 ( stat ) ± 0.024 ( syst ) ) ⋅ 10 −5 Future perspectives to improve the measurement precision are also discussed

Applicazione della Tomografia con raggi X per la lettura virtuale di antichi manoscritti veneziani

Questo lavoro di tesi si inserisce in un progetto di ricerca internazionale denominato “Venice Time Machine” dove collaborano fianco a fianco l’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne e l’Università Cà Foscari di Venezia. Grazie al coinvolgimento dell’Archivio di Stato di Venezia, decine di chilometri di documenti verranno digitalizzati e indicizzati, al fine di creare un database open access da utilizzare per la ricerca e l’istruzione. Molti di questi documenti tuttavia sono particolarmente fragili oppure, come nel caso di diversi testamenti, non sono mai stati aperti, per cui le tecniche tradizionali di digitalizzazione non sono applicabili. Di qui deriva l’interesse per sperimentare nuove tecniche non invasive al fine di digitalizzare e quindi rendere fruibili al pubblico anche questi documenti altrimenti inaccessibili. Lo scopo dell’analisi tomografica è quello di creare un modello 3D del documento, su cui effettuare successive elaborazioni al fine di ottenere una separazione virtuale delle pagine e quindi permetterne la lettura anche se il manoscritto è chiuso e non può essere aperto. In particolare in questo lavoro di tesi sono stati analizzati due testamenti: un testamento del 1679, usato come campione di prova per verificare la migliore sorgente di raggi X ai fini della ricostruzione tomografica e anche per valutare l’efficacia della tecnica, e il testamento Alchier-Spiera (dai nomi dei testatori), datato 1634, di maggiore interesse poiché ancora chiuso. I risultati ottenuti sono molto soddisfacenti, poiché elaborando le ricostruzioni tomografiche è possibile la lettura virtuale sia di parole che di intere frasi. Questo risultato porta nuova linfa al progetto che, di base, si pone l’obiettivo di convertire in formato digitale decine di km di testi conservati in Archivio, ma che ha trovato, in questo tipo di testamenti chiusi, un ostacolo molto difficile da superare

3D survey of the Early-Middle Bronze Age Workshop Complex and cemetery area at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou (Cyprus)

Kouris Valley Project is an archaeological research project held from 2007 by University of Florence and directed by Prof. A. M. Jasink, under the field direction of Dr. L. Bombardieri in the Kourion area (Limassol, Cyprus). During the 2010 field season the collaboration of GeCo (Geomatics and Communication for Cultural Heritage Laboratory, University of Florence) was requested with the aim at the laser scanner survey of Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou site area. The survey involved two areas, a workshop and a cemetery, as well as some small ceramic finds. Range maps was used for different aims: to make a full-scale replica of a tomb to exhibit at Limassol museum and for the documentation of the excavation of the workshop. This one is a rather extreme case study: most significant artifacts are shallow carvings into bedrock and could be confused with natural elements. In this case the aim was to get automatic and accurate drawings comparable with traditional ones. The paper reviews the expressive potential of drawings done using different techniques and softwares, each one with its assets and restrictions

A modified energy‐based fatigue parameter for short fiber reinforced polymers: Performance analysis with varying thicknesses, load ratios, and fiber orientations

The durability of Short Fibre Reinforced Polymers (SFRPs) is affected by several variables. Accurate unifying fatigue parameters are thus essential for an efficient characterization campaign. This research investigated the fatigue behaviour of a Polyphtalamide PA6T/6I reinforced with 50% of glass fibres. Two thicknesses (1.6 mm and 3 mm), two orientations from the injection moulding direction (0° and 90°) and three load rations (-0.5, 0.1, 0.5) were investigated. A new fatigue parameter, called Alternating Energy Density (AED), was presented; its ability to correlate the fatigue tests results was compared to other known fatigue parameters – cyclic mean strain rate and cyclic creep energy density. All the fatigue parameters were found to be independent of specimen thickness. Furthermore, the prediction of the fatigue lifetime based on AED showed greater accuracy with respect to the other known investigated methods. AED could thus be used for accurate and efficient lifetime prediction of SFRPs

New developments in the treatment of hyperammonemia: emerging use of carglumic acid

Hyperammonemia is a true neonatal emergency with high toxicity for the central nervous system and developmental delay. The causes of neonatal hyperammonemia are genetic defects of urea cycle enzymes, organic acidemias, lysinuric protein intolerance, hyperammonemia–hyperornithinemia– homocitrullinemia syndrome, transient hyperammonemia of the newborn, and congenital hyperinsulinism with hyperammonemia. In some of these conditions the high blood ammonia levels are due to the reduction of N-acetylglutamate, an essential cofactor necessary for the function of the urea cycle, or to the reduction of carbamoyl-phosphate synthase-I activity. In these cases, N-carbamylglutamate (carglumic acid) can be administered together with the conventional therapy. Carglumic acid is an analog of N-acetylglutamate that has a direct action on carbamoyl-phosphate synthase-I. Its effects are reactivation of the urea cycle and reduction of plasma ammonia levels. As a consequence it improves the traditional treatment, avoiding the need of hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. In this review we evaluate the possible field of application of carglumic acid and its effectiveness and safety

Benefits of Relocation on E-scooter Sharing - a Data-Informed Approach

E-scooter sharing lets people rent an e-scooter while the system owner manages the fleet. Relocation is fundamental to increase system utilization and revenues, but it is also an expensive task. In this paper we aim at assessing the benefits of relocation while quantifying its economic costs. For this, we rely on trace driven simulations where we build upon millions of actual rentals from two cities, Austin and Louisville. Firstly, we build prediction models to estimate which areas will present a surplus or a lack of e-scooters. We compare a simple stationary model with a state-of-art deep-learning model. Secondly, we replay the exact same traces to quantify the benefits of a relocation heuristic, comparing different system options. Our results show that relocation is fundamental to maximize the number of trips the system can satisfy. Interestingly, even a light and simple relocation policy with few relocations per hour can improve the percentage of satisfied trips by up to 42%. This can also translate in a fleet size reduction without impacting the performances. However, when projected into the economic benefits, the additional costs of relocation must be carefully considered to avoid wasting its benefits

an indirect in cylinder pressure measurement technique based on the estimation of the mechanical strength acting on an engine head screw development and assessment

Abstract The increasing application of new concepts for the combustion process in internal combustion engines, e.g. HCCI or RCCI, is mainly aimed at reducing pollutant emissions and fuel consumption. A typical drawback of these technologies is the difficulty of properly controlling the combustion process in the area of medium-high brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), where the thermodynamic conditions inside the cylinder promote a very fast combustion process. To this end, the availability of a fast real-time monitoring of the in-cylinder pressure is then becoming pivotal. This is commonly done by means of piezoelectric dynamic pressure sensors, which are indeed very accurate, but also extremely expensive and characterized by a limited durability due to the harsh working conditions. Moving from this background, the present study describes a new methodology to evaluate the in-cylinder pressure by correlating it with the mechanical stress measured by a strain washer installed on an engine head screw. The strain washer can indeed work in a much more favorable environment with respect to a dynamic pressure sensor flush-mounted on the cylinder head (with aggressive hot gasses and high pressure) with direct benefits for its durability and ease of installation. To assess the model capabilities, experimental tests have been carried out on a single-cylinder, 4-stroke engine and on a 2-stroke engine at the laboratory of internal combustion engines of the Universita degli Studi di Firenze. The results reported in the study show the direct comparison of the in-cylinder pressure, as a function of the crankshaft angular position, measured directly with a dynamic pressure sensor and indirectly by means of the strain washer. Sound agreement was found between the two, proving the effectiveness of the proposed methodology

Robust Force Control of Series Elastic Actuators,

Force-controlled series elastic actuators (SEA) are widely used in novel human-robot interaction (HRI) applications, such as assistive and rehabilitation robotics. These systems are characterized by the presence of the \u201chuman in the loop\u201d, so that control response and stability depend on uncertain human dynamics, including reflexes and voluntary forces. This paper proposes a force control approach that guarantees the stability and robustness of the coupled human-robot system, based on sliding-mode control (SMC), considering the human dynamics as a disturbance to reject. We propose a chattering free solution that employs simple task models to obtain high performance, comparable with second order solutions. Theoretical stability is proven within the sliding mode framework, and predictability is reached by avoiding the reaching phase by design. Furthermore, safety is introduced by a proper design of the sliding surface. The practical feasibility of the approach is shown using an SEA prototype coupled with a human impedance in severe stress tests. To show the quality of the approach, we report a comparison with state-of-the-art second order SMC, passivity-based control and adaptive control solutions