Early warning system for the prevention and control of unauthorized accesses to air navigation services infrastructures

Early warning systems are fundamental instruments for the management of critical situations since they are able to signal in advance any anomaly with respect to ordinary situations. The purpose of this paper is to present an early warning system, based on artificial neural networks, for the prevention and control of unauthorized accesses to the air navigation services infrastructure in Italy

Parametric thermal analysis for the optimization of Double Walled Tubes layout in the Water Cooled Lithium Lead inboard blanket of DEMO fusion reactor

Within the roadmap that will lead to the nuclear fusion exploitation for electric energy generation, the construction of a DEMOnstration (DEMO) reactor is, probably, the most important milestone to be reached since it will demonstrate the technological feasibility and economic competitiveness of an industrial-scale nuclear fusion reactor. In order to reach this goal, several European universities and research centres have joined their efforts in the EUROfusion action, funded by HORIZON 2020 UE programme. Within the framework of EUROfusion research activities, ENEA and University of Palermo are involved in the design of the Water-Cooled Lithium Lead Breeding Blanket (WCLL BB), that is one of the two BB concepts under consideration to be adopted in the DEMO reactor. It is mainly characterized by a liquid lithium-lead eutectic alloy acting as breeder (lithium) and neutron multiplier (lead), as well as by subcooled pressurized water as coolant. Two separate circuits, both characterized by a pressure of 15.5 MPa and inlet/outlet temperatures of 295 °C/328 °C, are deputed to cool down the First Wall (FW) and the Breeder Zone (BZ). The former consists in a system of radial-toroidal-radial C-shaped squared channels where countercurrent water flow occurs while the latter relies in the use of bundles of poloidal-radial Double Walled Tubes (DWTs) housed within the breeder. A parametric thermal study has been carried out in order to assess the best DWTs' layout assuring that the structural material maximum temperature does not overcome the allowable limit of 550 °C and that the overall coolant thermal rise fulfils the design target value of 33 °C. The study has been performed following a theoretical-numerical approach based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and adopting the quoted Abaqus FEM code. Main assumptions and models together with results obtained are herewith reported and critically discussed

Bornologies, selection principles and function spaces

AbstractWe study some closure-type properties of function spaces endowed with the new topology of strong uniform convergence on a bornology introduced by Beer and Levi in 2009. The study of these function spaces was initiated in [G. Beer, S. Levi, Strong uniform continuity, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 350 (2009) 568–589] and [A. Caserta, G. Di Maio, Lʼ. Holá, Arzelàʼs Theorem and strong uniform convergence on bornologies, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 371 (2010) 384–392]. The properties we study are related to selection principles

A Method to Discriminate Between the Candida stellata and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Mixed Fermentation on WLD and Lysine Agar Media

This paper presents a simple method to distinguish between Candida stellata and Saccharomyces cerevisiaeyeasts during microbiological analyses. The method is based on differential yeast growth on a mediumcontaining cycloheximide and a medium containing lysine as only nitrogen source (lysine agar). Thecycloheximide resistance of 45 yeast strains belonging to Candida stellata, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Hanseniasporaguilliermondii, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Kluyveromycesthermotolerans and Zygoascus hellenicus, and 14 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomycesbayanus on WL nutrient agar, was assayed. Cycloheximide resistance is characteristic of the species H. uvarum,H. guilliermondii and Z. hellenicus, while for the other yeasts it depends on the strain and the concentrationof cycloheximide used. Two mg/L of cycloheximide allows selective counting of a strain of C. stellata (Cs3)compared to one of the sensitive S. cerevisiae strain (NDA21). Similar results can be obtained on lysine agar,but counts are reliable only with the additional spreading of a monolayer of Saccharomyces cells. The differentcycloheximide resistance of C. stellata and S. cerevisiae can be used in the microbiological analysis of mixedcultures to monitor the individual growth of the two yeast species. This method can be applied to the studyof mixed fermentations with other non-Saccharomyces species. The modified use of lysine agar is useful to acertain extent in the distinction of multistarter yeasts from the indigenous yeasts

Enhancing airplane boarding procedure using vision based passenger classification

This paper presents the implementation of a new boarding strategy that exploits passenger and hand-luggage detection and classification to reduce the boarding time onto an airplane. A vision system has the main purpose of providing passengers data, in terms of agility coefficient and hand-luggage size to a seat assignment algorithm. The software is able to dynamically generate the passenger seat that reduces the overall boarding time while taking into account the current airplane boarding state. The motivation behind this work is to speed up of the passenger boarding using the proposed online procedure of seat assignment based on passenger and luggage classification. This method results in an enhancement of the boarding phase, in terms of both time and passenger experience. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate the usability of the proposed system in real conditions proving its performances in terms of reliability. Using a simple hardware and software setup, we performed several experiments recreating a gate entrance mock up and comparing the measurements with ground truth data to assess the reliability of the system

Are Bankers “Crying Wolf”? Type I, Type II Errors and Deterrence in Anti-Money Laundering: The Italian Case

Excessive and useless reporting, called the "crying wolf effect," is a crucial shortcoming that any anti-money laundering (AML) design aims to address. For this reason, in recent years, AML policies in both the US and Europe have switched from a rule-based to a risk-based approach. This study theoretically and empirically investigates whether the risk-based approach delivers the expected results. The theoretical model shows that a trade-off can emerge between accuracy (fewer type-I and type-II errors) and deterrence. The empirical analysis, conducted after the risk-based approach was introduced in Italy, confirms this trade-off. More specifically, deterrence seems a priority, whereas accuracy is sacrificed. In this respect, the data suggest that Italian bankers are likely to "cry wolf.