LOL: An Investigation into Cybernetic Humor, or: Can Machines Laugh?

The mechanisms of humour have been the subject of much study and investigation, starting with and up to our days. Much of this work is based on literary theories, put forward by some of the most eminent philosophers and thinkers of all times, or medical theories, investigating the impact of humor on brain activity or behaviour. Recent functional neuroimaging studies, for instance, have investigated the process of comprehending and appreciating humor by examining functional activity in distinctive regions of brains stimulated by joke corpora. Yet, there is precious little work on the computational side, possibly due to the less hilarious nature of computer scientists as compared to men of letters and sawbones. In this paper, we set to investigate whether literary theories of humour can stand the test of algorithmic laughter. Or, in other words, we ask ourselves the vexed question: Can machines laugh? We attempt to answer that question by testing whether an algorithm - namely, a neural network - can "understand" humour, and in particular whether it is possible to automatically identify abstractions that are predicted to be relevant by established literary theories about the mechanisms of humor. Notice that we do not focus here on distinguishing humorous from serious statements - a feat that is clearly way beyond the capabilities of the average human voter, not to mention the average machine - but rather on identifying the underlying mechanisms and triggers that are postulated to exist by literary theories, by verifying if similar mechanisms can be learned by machines

Advantages of GPU-accelerated approach for solving the Parker equation in the heliosphere

The increasing of experimental observations' accuracy and model complexity requires the development of a new class of numerical solvers. In this work, we present a GPU-accelerated approach for solving the Parker equation in the heliosphere using a stochastic differential equation (SDE) approach. The presented method was applied to a generic system of SDE using the CUDA programming language. Our approach achieves significant speedup compared to a CPU implementation, allowing us to efficiently solve for the modulated spectra of charged particles in the heliosphere. We demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method through numerical experiments on a realistic model of the heliosphere

Quantifying Forbush Decrease with a Numerical Model Evaluation

Since its launch, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02 (AMS-02) has emerged as a cornerstone for precise cosmic-ray (CR) spectra measurements, fostering diverse scientific advancements. However, challenges arise at lower energies due to temporal variations in solar activity, impacting CR intensity assessments. Notably, recent daily flux measurements enable the exploration of solar perturbations, such as Coronal Mass Ejections, unveiling Forbush effects at varying particle energies. This study presents a comparison of Forbush decreases observed by AMS-02 with predictions derived from numerical models. By scrutinizing multiple instances, we seek to enhance our understanding of the particle propagation in the interplanetary medium. The findings contribute to improve the reliability of numerical models to interpret AMS-02 observations in the context of solar phenomena

Could the pandemic affect sexually-transmitted disease incidence in high-risk groups? Considerations about the COVID-19 lockdown

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Misdiagnosed Chronic Pelvic Pain: Pudendal Neuralgia Responding to a Novel Use of Palmitoylethanolamide: Table 1

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Efficient Differential Fourier-Transform Spectrometer for precision Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect measurements

Precision measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies require excellent rejection of common-mode signals and wide frequency coverage. We describe an imaging, efficient, differential Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS), optimized for measurements of faint brightness gradients at millimeter wavelengths. Our instrument is based on a Martin-Puplett interferometer (MPI) configuration. We combined two MPIs working synchronously to use the whole input power. In our implementation the observed sky field is divided into two halves along the meridian, and each half-field corresponds to one of the two input ports of the MPI. In this way, each detector in the FTS focal planes measures the difference in brightness between two sky pixels, symmetrically located with respect to the meridian. Exploiting the high common-mode rejection of the MPI, we can measure low sky brightness gradients over a high isotropic background. The instrument works in the range $\sim$ 1$-$20 cm$^{-1}$ (30$-$600 GHz), has a maximum spectral resolution $1/(2 \ OPD) = 0.063 \ cm^{-1}$ (1.9 GHz), and an unvignetted throughput of 2.3 cm$^2$sr. It occupies a volume of 0.7$\times$0.7$\times$0.33 m$^3$ and has a weight of 70 kg. This design can be implemented as a cryogenic unit to be used in space, as well as a room-temperature unit working at the focus of suborbital and ground-based mm-wave telescopes. The first in-flight test of the instrument is with the OLIMPO experiment on a stratospheric balloon; a larger implementation is being prepared for the Sardinia radio telescope.Comment: this version matches the published pape

Erratum to: Single‐Photon‐Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) with Technetium‐99m Sestamibi in the Diagnosis of Small Breast Cancer and Axillary Lymph Node Involvement

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Ebollizione in convezione forzata in condizioni di microgravità

L’ebollizione in convezione forzata, utilizzata nella produzione di energia e nell’industria di processo, viene ritenuta interessante anche per i satelliti per telecomunicazione e le piattaforme spaziali, dove occorrono sistemi di raffreddamento più sofisticati e in grado di rimuovere elevate quantità di calore. ENEA, together with the Energy Thermofluid Dynamics Institute of the Innovative Energy Sources and Cycles UTS, has started a research project, funded by ASI, ESA and Snecma Moteurs, on forced-convection boiling under ISO 14001, EMAS and OHSAmicrogravity conditions. The project, funded by the Italian and European Space Agencies and Snecma Moteurs, aims to characterize the thermofluid dynamics of forced-convection boiling in pipes under microgravity conditions, in order to determine the project conditions for tow-phase-cooled space equipment. As a rule, microgravity conditions produce an increase in bubble size, and this change in bubble geometry goes together with a deterioration in heat-exchange conditions. The influence of gravity on heat exchange lessens as coolant speed and the quantity of steam in the outflow channel increase. The analysis of the effect of gravity on bubble geometry square with the findings on heat exchange. The rebathing of walls at high temperature is strongly influenced by the level of gravity. Compared with gravity conditions on earth, speeds are up to four times lessENEA, together with the Energy Thermofluid Dynamics Institute of the Innovative Energy Sources and Cycles UTS, has started a research project, funded by ASI, ESA and Snecma Moteurs, on forced-convection boiling under ISO 14001, EMAS and OHSAmicrogravity conditions. The project, funded by the Italian and European Space Agencies and Snecma Moteurs, aims to characterize the thermofluid dynamics of forced-convection boiling in pipes under microgravity conditions, in order to determine the project conditions for tow-phase-cooled space equipment. As a rule, microgravity conditions produce an increase in bubble size, and this change in bubble geometry goes together with a deterioration in heat-exchange conditions. The influence of gravity on heat exchange lessens as coolant speed and the quantity of steam in the outflow channel increase. The analysis of the effect of gravity on bubble geometry square with the findings on heat exchange. The rebathing of walls at high temperature is strongly influenced by the level of gravity. Compared with gravity conditions on earth, speeds are up to four times les