Gli open data pubblici a supporto e validazione della ricerca

Nell’era dell’informazione, l’immenso patrimonio di dati detenuti negli uffici pubblici, può essere messo a disposizione di tutti: cittadini, studiosi, altre entità pubbliche e di ricerca. Dati demografici, nascite, morti con relative cause, rilievi topografici, cataloghi di musei e biblioteche, elementi sulle attività industriali ed artigianali, flussi di traffico… Solo per citare i primi esempi che vengono in mente di una lista quasi infinita. Le norme già ci sono, la diffusione dei dati stenta però a decollare per tanti motivi, dalla penuria di tempo e di personale negli uffici, alla scarsa attitudine mentale degli impiegati, agli applicativi software non ancora adeguati. Con opportune campagne di informazione, e con l’auspicabile svecchiamento della PA, non si tratta tuttavia di un problema insormontabile. Un secondo problema da non sottovalutare è l’anonimizzazione dei dati, che devono essere resi disponibili in forma sufficientemente dettagliata da essere utili e fruibili, ma abbastanza aggregata da non poter risalire all’interessato neppure per via indiretta, questione piuttosto scivolosa nell’era dei big data. Questo rischio si accentua per la peculiarità del territorio italiano, diviso in quasi 8000 Comuni anche molto piccoli. Assumendo comunque che i dati siano disponibili e correttamente gestiti, l’effetto non può che essere positivo per i ricercatori e per chi deve verificare il loro lavoro. Inoltre, poiché non sempre i dati in possesso della PA sono corretti e completi, potrebbe verificarsi anche il percorso inverso, ovvero la correzione di errori ed anomalie rilevate nel corso della ricerca. Insomma, un circolo virtuoso che non è facile innescare ma che, una volta messo in moto, non può che portare benefici a tutta la società

Formation of metal-cyanide complexes in deliquescent airborne particles: a new possible sink for HCN in urban environments

Hydrogen cyanide is a ubiquitous gas in the atmosphere and a biomass burning tracer. Reactive gasses can be adsorbed onto aerosol particles where they can promote heterogeneous chemistry. In the present study, we report for the first time on the measurement and speciation of cyanides in atmospheric aerosol. Filter samples were collected at an urban background site in the city center of Padua (Italy), extracted and analyzed with headspace gas chromatography and nitrogen-phosphorous detection. The results showed that strongly bound cyanides were present in all aerosol samples at a concentration ranging between 0.3 and 6.5 ng/m3 in the PM2.5 fraction. The concentration of cyanides strongly correlates with concentration of total carbon and metals associated with combustion sources. The results obtained bring evidence that hydrogen cyanide can be adsorbed onto aerosol liquid water and can react with metal ions to form stable metal-cyanide complexes

Direct Depolymerization Coupled to Liquid Extraction Surface Analysis-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Characterization of the Surface of Plant Tissues

The cuticle, the outermost layer covering the epidermis of most aerial organs of land plants, can have a heterogeneous composition even on the surface of the same organ. The main cuticle component is the polymer cutin which, depending on its chemical composition and structure, can have different biophysical properties. In this study, we introduce a new on-surface depolymerization method coupled to liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA) high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for a fast and spatially resolved chemical characterization of the cuticle of plant tissues. The method is composed of an on-surface saponification, followed by extraction with LESA using a chloroform-acetonitrile-water (49:49:2) mixture and direct HRMS detection. The method is also compared with LESA-HRMS without prior depolymerization for the analysis of the surface of the petals of Hibiscus richardsonii flowers, which have a ridged cuticle in the proximal region and a smooth cuticle in the distal region. We found that on-surface saponification is effective enough to depolymerize the cutin into its monomeric constituents thus allowing detection of compounds that were not otherwise accessible without a depolymerization step. The effect of the depolymerization procedure was more pronounced for the ridged/proximal cuticle, which is thicker and richer in epicuticular waxes compared with the cuticle in the smooth/distal region of the petal

Online molecular characterisation of organic aerosols in an atmospheric chamber using extractive electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

Abstract. The oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represents a substantial source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the atmosphere. In this study, we present online measurements of the molecular constituents formed in the gas and aerosol phases during α-pinene oxidation in the Cambridge Atmospheric Simulation Chamber (CASC). We focus on characterising the performance of extractive electrospray ionisation (EESI) mass spectrometry (MS) for particle analysis. A number of new aspects of EESI-MS performance are considered here. We show that relative quantification of organic analytes can be achieved in mixed organic–inorganic particles. A comprehensive assignment of mass spectra for α-pinene derived SOA in both positive and negative ion modes is obtained using an ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometer. We compare these online spectra to conventional offline ESI-MS spectra and find good agreement in terms of the compounds identified, without the need for complex sample work-up procedures. Under our experimental conditions, EESI-MS signals arise only from particle-phase analytes. High-time-resolution (7 min) EESI-MS spectra are compared with simulations from the near-explicit Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) for a range of reaction conditions. We show that MS peak abundances scale with modelled concentrations for condensable products (pinonic acid, pinic acid, OH-pinonic acid). Relative quantification is achieved throughout SOA formation as the composition, size and mass (5–2400 µg m−3) of particles is evolving. This work provides a robust demonstration of the advantages of EESI-MS for chamber studies over offline ESI-MS (time resolution, relative quantification) and over hard online techniques (molecular information). </jats:p

Roundness error stacking in assembled spherical roller bearings and its impact on rotor subcritical vibration

In industrial processes, large rotors are commonly operated below the critical speed, where bearings can be an important source of subcritical vibration. This paper presents a complete study and analysis of the roundness error stacking in rotor-bearing systems. The investigation on how the roundness error of tapered shafts is transferred through the bearing inner ring to the raceways during the assembly process allows to evaluate the final roundness profile of the raceways as the sum of the shaft roundness profile plus the inner ring thickness variation. The method’s validity is verified for relative orientations and mounting conditions between the components. A test case is presented in which 3D conical grinding is applied to a shaft tapered bearing installation seats, reducing the roundness error of installed bearings when compared to previous research results. The relevance of the study was proven with rotordynamic measurements, which show that minimized roundness error reduces vibrations

Smart Manufacturing in Rolling Process Based on Thermal Safety Monitoring by Fiber Optics Sensors Equipping Mill Bearings

The steel rolling process is critical for safety and maintenance because of loading and thermal operating conditions. Machinery condition monitoring (MCM) increases the system’s safety, preventing the risk of fire, failure, and rupture. Equipping the mill bearings with sensors allows monitoring of the system in service and controls the heating of mill components. Fiber optic sensors detect loading condition, vibration, and irregular heating. In several systems, access to machinery is rather limited. Therefore, this paper preliminarily investigates how fiber optics can be effectively embedded within the mill cage to set up a smart manufacturing system. The fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) technology allows embedding sensors inside the pins of backup bearings and performing some prognosis and diagnosis activities. The study starts from the rolling mill layout and defines its accessibility, considering some real industrial cases. Testing of an FBG sensor prototype checks thermal monitoring capability inside a closed cavity, obtained on the surface of either the fixed pin of the backup bearing or the stator surrounding the outer ring. Results encourage the development of the whole prototype of the MCM system to be tested on a real mill cage in full operation

A Minimal Input Engine Friction Model for Power Loss Prediction

The minimization of friction losses in internal combustion engines is a goal of primary importance for the automotive industry, both to improve performance and to comply with increasingly stringent legislative requirements. It is therefore necessary to provide designers with tools for the effective estimation of friction losses from the earliest stages of design. We present a code for the estimation of friction losses in piston assembly that uses semianalytical models that require only strictly necessary geometric and functional inputs for the representation of components. This feature renders the code particularly suitable for the preliminary design phase. Furthermore, models ensure reduced computation times while maintaining excellent predictive capabilities, as demonstrated by the numerical-experimental comparison

Studio e implementazione di un sistema di comunicazione wireless

Studio e implementazione di un sistema di comunicazione wireless per integrarlo in un prototipo di caricabatteria wireless già disponibile. Studio dello standard Wi-Fi, dei protocolli Internet TCP/IP e di una scheda elettronica commerciale Atmel che li implementa. Analisi della libreria software C fornita con la scheda e sua sperimentazione. Porting del codice per utilizzare il modulo Wi-Fi di Atmel con un microcontrollore di un'altra marca.ope