A sustainable electrical interface to mitigate emissions due to power supply in ports

The paper presents a proposal of an innovative sustainable power supply solution for seaports with the related design and control. This solution differs from the classical solution for the presence of a smart electrical interface composed by two basic components: the first one, a rotating converter instead of the widely used static converter that ensures higher and therefore much more detectable short-circuit currents; the second, an advanced static var compensator specifically designed for enhancing power quality issues and hence favoring these seaport connection to the main grid for cold ironing applications. The designed control strategy for the tailored power supply solution is proven successful and effective by the numerical applications reported in the last part of the paper

A novel stepwise micro-TESE approach in non obstructive azoospermia

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether micro-TESE can improve sperm retrieval rate (SRR) compared to conventional single TESE biopsy on the same testicle or to contralateral multiple TESE, by employing a novel stepwise micro-TESE approach in a population of poor prognosis patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Methods: Sixty-four poor prognosis NOA men undergoing surgical testicular sperm retrieval for ICSI, from March 2007 to April 2013, were included in this study. Patients inclusion criteria were a) previous unsuccessful TESE, b) unfavorable histology (SCOS, MA, sclerahyalinosis), c) Klinefelter syndrome. We employed a stepwise micro-TESE consisting three-steps: 1) single conventional TESE biopsy; 2) micro-TESE on the same testis; 3) contralateral multiple TESE. Results: SRR was 28.1 % (18/64). Sperm was obtained in both the initial single conventional TESE and in the following micro-TESE. The positive or negative sperm retrieval was further confirmed by a contralateral multiple TESE, when performed. No significant pre-operative predictors of sperm retrieval, including patients’ age, previous negative TESE or serological markers (LH, FSH, inhibin B), were observed at univariate or multivariate analysis. Micro-TESE (step 2) did not improve sperm retrieval as compared to single TESE biopsy on the same testicle (step 1) or multiple contralateral TESE (step 3). Conclusions: Stepwise micro-TESE could represent an optimal approach for sperm retrieval in NOA men. In our view, it should be offered to NOA patients in order to gradually increase surgical invasiveness, when necessary. Stepwise micro-TESE might also reduce the costs, time and efforts involved in surgery

Strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a scoping review protocol

Background and aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disease characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. COPD is a significant social and economic burden, and hospital admissions contribute to increased costs. Informal caregivers play a crucial role in supporting COPD patients in their self-care efforts. Therefore, understanding informal caregiver interventions to improve self-care may be helpful in reducing hospitalizations. This is the protocol for a scoping review that aims to map the literature on informal caregiver interventions to facilitate self-care in COPD patients. Research question: What are the strategies implemented by informal caregivers to facilitate self-care for patients with COPD? Methods: The review will adhere to the methodology outlined by the JBI. A comprehensive search strategy will be executed in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and PsycINFO. Additionally, grey literature and relevant unpublished documents will be searched to minimize publication bias. Studies describing strategies/actions implemented by informal caregivers to promote self-care in COPD patients from all countries will be included. We will exclude abstracts, editorials, articles on paid caregivers and social and healthcare workers. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full-text articles based on inclusion criteria. Key data from the selected studies will be extracted using a predefined data extraction table. The results will be aggregated into themes and described qualitatively, figures and graphs may also be presented. The results will be presented according to the PRISMA-ScR. Review registration: Open Science Framework https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/4TWRM

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Affect, Fear, and Personality of Primary School Children Measured During the Second Wave of Infections in 2020

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a large body of research has identified a negative impact on individuals' affectivity, frequently documented by increased prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms. For children, this research was less extensive, was mainly based on caregivers' reports and neglected personality assessment. In order to measure the impact of the pandemic, and the fears it caused, on primary school children's affect and personality, 323 (180 boys and 143 girls) Italian third, fourth and fifth graders were assessed between October and November 2020, namely during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Italy, with validated self-reports of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children, PANAS-C), fear of COVID-19 (Fear of COVID-19 Scale, FCV-19S) and personality (junior Temperament and Character Inventory, jTCI). In comparison with PANAS-C and jTCI normative scores collected prior to the pandemic, data obtained from children in 2020 showed unchanged affect scores in the overall sample, a decrease of Positive Affect in girls, and a decrease in the Harm Avoidance and an increase in the Self-Transcendence scales of personality. Fear of COVID-19 scores were positively correlated with Negative Affect scores and negatively predicted by children's personality profile of resilience (calculated using scores on the Harm Avoidance and the Self-Directedness scales of personality). These results suggested that Italian primary school children, especially boys, maintained their pre-pandemic levels of affect (or restored them after the first COVID-19 wave) and partially diverged from the typical development of personality in an apparently positive sense, namely toward more courageous/optimistic and spiritual profiles. This sort of children's post-traumatic growth might also be attributed to children's family and education systems, which should continue to be supported to promote and maintain community mental health

Decentralized Trajectory Tracking Control for Soft Robots Interacting With the Environment

Despite the classic nature of the problem, trajectory tracking for soft robots, i.e., robots with compliant elements deliberately introduced in their design, still presents several challenges. One of these is to design controllers which can obtain sufficiently high performance while preserving the physical characteristics intrinsic to soft robots. Indeed, classic control schemes using high-gain feedback actions fundamentally alter the natural compliance of soft robots effectively stiffening them, thus de facto defeating their main design purpose. As an alternative approach, we consider here using a low-gain feedback, while exploiting feedforward components. In order to cope with the complexity and uncertainty of the dynamics, we adopt a decentralized, iteratively learned feedforward action, combined with a locally optimal feedback control. The relative authority of the feedback and feedforward control actions adapts with the degree of uncertainty of the learned component. The effectiveness of the method is experimentally verified on several robotic structures and working conditions, including unexpected interactions with the environment, where preservation of softness is critical for safety and robustness

Robotic Monitoring of Habitats: The Natural Intelligence Approach

In this paper, we first discuss the challenges related to habitat monitoring and review possible robotic solutions. Then, we propose a framework to perform terrestrial habitat monitoring exploiting the mobility of legged robotic systems. The idea is to provide the robot with the Natural Intelligence introduced as the combination of the environment in which it moves, the intelligence embedded in the design of its body, and the algorithms composing its mind. This approach aims to solve the challenges of deploying robots in real natural environments, such as irregular and rough terrains, long-lasting operations, and unexpected collisions, with the final objective of assisting humans in assessing the habitat conservation status. Finally, we present examples of robotic monitoring of habitats in four different environments: forests, grasslands, dunes, and screes

Molecular Mechanisms of Light Harvesting in the Minor Antenna {CP}29 in Near-Native Membrane Lipidic Environment

CP29, a chlorophyll a/b-xanthophyll binding protein, bridges energy transfer between the major LHCII antenna complexes and photosystem II reaction centers. It hosts one of the two identified quenching sites, making it crucial for regulated photoprotection mechanisms. Until now, the photophysics of CP29 has been studied on the purified protein in detergent solutions since spectrally overlapping signals affect in vivo measurements. However, the protein in detergent assumes non-native conformations compared to its physiological state in the thylakoid membrane. Here, we report a detailed photophysical study on CP29 inserted in discoidal lipid bilayers, known as nanodiscs, which mimic the native membrane environment. Using picosecond time-resolved fluorescence and femtosecond transient absorption (TA), we observed shortening of the Chl fluorescence lifetime with a decrease of the carotenoid triplet formation yield for CP29 in nanodiscs as compared to the protein in detergent. Global analysis of TA data suggests a (1)Chl* quenching mechanism dependent on excitation energy transfer to a carotenoid dark state, likely the proposed S*, which is believed to be formed due to a carotenoid conformational change affecting the S-1 state. We suggest that the accessibility of the S* state in different local environments plays a key role in determining the quenching of Chl excited states. In vivo, non-photochemical quenching is activated by de-epoxidation of violaxanthin into zeaxanthin. CP29-zeaxanthin in nanodiscs further shortens the Chl lifetime, which underlines the critical role of zeaxanthin in modulating photoprotection activity.Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing

A Provably Stable Iterative Learning Controller for Continuum Soft Robots

Fully exploiting soft robots' capabilities requires devising strategies that can accurately control their movements with the limited amount of control sources available. This task is challenging for reasons including the hard-to-model dynamics, the system's underactuation, and the need of using a prominent feedforward control action to preserve the soft and safe robot behavior. To tackle this challenge, this letter proposes a purely feedforward iterative learning control algorithm that refines the torque action by leveraging both the knowledge of the model and data obtained from past experience. After presenting a 3D polynomial description of soft robots, we study their intrinsic properties, e.g., input-to-state stability, and we prove the convergence of the controller coping with locally Lipschitz nonlinearities. Finally, we validate the proposed approach through simulations and experiments involving multiple systems, trajectories, and in the case of external disturbances and model mismatches

Adaptive Learning-Based Compressive Sampling for Low-power Wireless Implants

Implantable systems are nowadays being used to interface the human brain with external devices, in order to understand and potentially treat neurological disorders. The most predominant design constraints are the system’s area and power. In this paper, we implement and combine advanced compressive sampling algorithms to reduce the power requirements of wireless telemetry. Moreover, we apply variable compression, to dynamically modify the device performance, based on the actual signal need. This paper presents an area-efficient adaptive system for wireless implantable devices, which dynamically reduces the power requirements yielding compression rates from 8× to 64×, with a high reconstruction performance, as qualitatively demonstrated on a human data set. Two different versions of the encoder have been designed and tested, one with and the second without the adaptive compression, requiring an area of 230×235 μm and 200 × 190 μm, respectively, while consuming only 0.47 μW at 0.8 V. The system is powered by a 4-coil inductive link with measured power transmission efficiency of 36%, while the distance between the external and internal coils is 10 mm. Wireless data communication is established by an OOK modulated narrowband and an IR-UWB transmitter, while consuming 124.2 pJ/bit and 45.2 pJ/pulse, respectively

SLC22A3 polymorphisms do not modify pancreatic cancer risk, but may influence overall patient survival

Expression of the solute carrier (SLC) transporter SLC22A3 gene is associated with overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients. This study tested whether genetic variability in SLC22A3 associates with pancreatic cancer risk and prognosis. Twenty four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) tagging the SLC22A3 gene sequence and regulatory elements were selected for analysis. Of these, 22 were successfully evaluated in the discovery phase while six significant or suggestive variants entered the validation phase, comprising a total study number of 1,518 cases and 3,908 controls. In the discovery phase, rs2504938, rs9364554, and rs2457571 SNPs were significantly associated with pancreatic cancer risk. Moreover, rs7758229 associated with the presence of distant metastases, while rs512077 and rs2504956 correlated with overall survival of patients. Although replicated, the association for rs9364554 did not pass multiple testing corrections in the validation phase. Contrary to the discovery stage, rs2504938 associated with survival in the validation cohort, which was more pronounced in stage IV patients. In conclusion, common variation in the SLC22A3 gene is unlikely to significantly contribute to pancreatic cancer risk. The rs2504938 SNP in SLC22A3 significantly associates with an unfavorable prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. Further investigation of this SNP effect on the molecular and clinical phenotype is warranted