Augmented Reality: Mapping Methods and Tools for Enhancing the Human Role in Healthcare HMI

Background: Augmented Reality (AR) represents an innovative technology to improve data visualization and strengthen the human perception. Among Human–Machine Interaction (HMI), medicine can benefit most from the adoption of these digital technologies. In this perspective, the literature on orthopedic surgery techniques based on AR was evaluated, focusing on identifying the limitations and challenges of AR-based healthcare applications, to support the research and the development of further studies. Methods: Studies published from January 2018 to December 2021 were analyzed after a comprehensive search on PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library databases. In order to improve the review reporting, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used. Results: Authors selected sixty-two articles meeting the inclusion criteria, which were categorized according to the purpose of the study (intraoperative, training, rehabilitation) and according to the surgical procedure used. Conclusions: AR has the potential to improve orthopedic training and practice by providing an increasingly human-centered clinical approach. Further research can be addressed by this review to cover problems related to hardware limitations, lack of accurate registration and tracking systems, and absence of security protocols

3D numerical study of neutral gas dynamics in the DTT particle exhaust using the DSMC method

Recently the design of the divertor tokamak test (DTT) Facility divertor has been modified and consolidated. The new divertor design presents significant geometrical differences compared to the previous ITER-like one, including the presence of a more flattened dome shape. This paper presents a complete 3D numerical analysis of the neutral gas dynamics inside the DTT subdivertor area for the latest divertor design. The analysis has been performed based on the direct simulation Monte Carlo method by applying the DIVGAS simulator code. SOLEDGE2D-EIRENE plasma simulations have been performed for a deuterium plasma scenario at the maximum additional power in partially detached condition achieved by neon impurity seeding and the extracted information about the neutral particles has been imposed as incoming boundary conditions. The pumping efficiency of the DTT divertor is examined by considering various cases with respect to the pumping probability and the effect of the toroidal and poloidal leakages is quantified. The results show that a significant percentage of the incoming flux of neutrals returns back to the plasma site through the entry gaps (60% for deuterium and 40% for neon), and, consequentially, only a small percentage (∼2%–15%) of the incoming flux can be pumped out from the system. The toroidal leakages affect significantly the pumping performance of the divertor causing a significant decrease in the pumped flux (and also in the pressure at the pumping opening) about 37%–47% and 43%–56% for deuterium and neon respectively. It is discussed how many pumping ports are needed depending on the achievable pumping performance per port. The number can be reduced by closing the toroidal gaps. The analysis shows that enlarging the poloidal gaps by a factor of two causes a significant increase in the poloidal flux losses by a factor 1.7. It is also illustrated how the presence of the cooling pipes leads to conductance losses

Effect of different biopolymer-based structured systems on the survival of probiotic strains during storage and in vitro digestion

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of different biopolymer systems on the viability of two probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Streptococcus thermophilus) during storage and in vitro digestion. Methylcellulose (MC), sodium alginate (SA), and whey protein (WP)-based structures were designed and characterized in terms of pH, rheological properties, and visual appearance. RESULTS: The results highlighted that the WP-system ensured probiotic protection during both storage and in vitro digestion. This result was attributed to a combined effect of the physical barrier offered by the protein gel network and whey proteins as a nutrient for microbes. On the other hand, surprisingly, the viscous methylcellulose-based system was able to guarantee good microbial viability during storage. However, this was not confirmed during in vitro digestion. The opposite results were obtained for sodium alginate beads. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the capacity of a polymeric structure to protect probiotic bacteria is a combination of structural organization and system formulation. \ua9 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

The LCG PI project: using interfaces for physics data analysis

In the context of the LHC computing grid (LCG) project, the applications area develops and maintains that part of the physics applications software and associated infrastructure that is shared among the LHC experiments. The "physicist interface" (PI) project of the LCG application area encompasses the interfaces and tools by which physicists will directly use the software, providing implementations based on agreed standards like the analysis systems subsystem (AIDA) interfaces for data analysis. In collaboration with users from the experiments, work has started with implementing the AIDA interfaces for (binned and unbinned) histogramming, fitting and minimization as well as manipulation of tuples. These implementations have been developed by re-using existing packages either directly or by using a (thin) layer of wrappers. In addition, bindings of these interfaces to the Python interpreted language have been done using the dictionary subsystem of the LCG applications area/SEAL project. The actual status and the future planning of the project will be presented

Long-term trends of PM10-bound arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and lead across the Veneto region (NE Italy)

Since the mid-90s, the European Community has adopted increasingly stringent air quality standards. Consequently, air quality has generally improved across Europe. However, current EU standards are still breached in some European hotspots. The Veneto region (NE Italy) lies in the eastern part of the Po Valley, a major European hotspot for air pollution, where EU standards for particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and ozone are still breached at some sites. This study aims to analyse the PM10-bound arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and lead concentrations over a 10 years-long period (2010-2020) in the Veneto Region by using data collected by the local environmental protection agency (ARPAV) in 20 sampling stations mostly distributed across the plain areas of the region and categorized as rural (RUR), urban (URB), and suburban (SUB) background, industrial (IND) and traffic (TRA) hotspots (Figure 1). The comprehensive dataset discussed in this study was statistically investigated to detect the seasonal trends, their relationship with other air pollutants and meteorological parameters and their spatial variations at a regional scale. This study completes previous air quality studies over the Veneto region for gaseous pollutants and bulk PM10 (Masiol et al. 2017). Samplings were carried out according to CEN EN 12341:1998 standard on quartz fibre filters and were continuous for 24 h, starting at midnight. The gravimetric determination of PM10 mass was measured following the CEN EN 12341:2014 standard. The elemental analysis was performed using an ICP-MS (Agilent 7700) after acid digestion (EN 14902:2005). The trends were analysed using different approaches on the monthly-averaged data. The shape of trends and their seasonal variations were assessed through the seasonal-trend decomposition time series procedure based on “Loess” (STL). The linear trends were computed by the Mann-Kendall trend test (p < 0.05) and the Theil-Sen nonparametric estimator of slope (MK-TS). Since this latter analysis assumes monotonic linear trends and does not consider the shape of trends, the presence of possible breakpoints was investigated using the piecewise regression. Generally, monthly patterns of all analysed elements show higher concentrations during winter, following PM10 concentrations. Some exceptions were detected and discussed. Results of trend analysis indicate statistically significant negative (decreasing) or null linear trends in almost all stations. A few positive (increasing) but not statistically significant trends were also detected. Some sites showed rapid decreases occurred in short periods and linked to peculiar events or local causes. Among others, several sites across the Venice area showed significant drops of arsenic concentrations after the REACH (Registration Evaluation Authorisation of Chemicals) implementation (Formenton et al., 2021). Data used in this study are provided by ARPAV (Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione e Protezione Ambientale del Veneto, https://www.arpa.veneto.it/)

Time-Dependent Model for Brittle Rocks Considering the Long-Term Strength Determined from Lab Data

The excavation of tunnels in brittle rocks with high in-situ strengths under large deviatoric stresses has been shown to exhibit brittle failure at the periphery of tunnels parallel to the maximum in-situ stress. This failure can either occur instantaneously or after several hours due to the strength degradation that is implicitly and indirectly considered in typical brittle constitutive models. While these models are powerful tools for engineering analyses, they cannot predict the time at which brittle rupture occurs, but rather, they show a possible failure pattern occurring instantaneously. In this paper, a model referred to as the long-term strength (LTS) model is introduced and implemented into FLAC2D. The model is built as a modified version of the CVISC model, introduced by Itasca, by adding a strength decay function. This function is developed from lab-scale time-to-failure (TTF) data. The LTS model is verified against its corresponding analytical solution using a constant stress creep lab test and implemented into a tunnel-scale model using the geometry, stress, and geologic conditions from the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited Underground Research Laboratory (AECL URL). The results of the LTS tunnel model are then compared to an identical model using the Cohesion Weakening Friction Strengthening (CWFS) approach

Cross-code comparison of the edge codes SOLPS-ITER, SOLEDGE2D and UEDGE in modelling a low-power scenario in the DTT

As reactor-level nuclear fusion experiments are approaching, a solution to the power exhaust issue in future fusion reactors is still missing. The maximum steady-state heat load that can be exhausted by the present technology is around 10 MW m-2. Different promising strategies aiming at successfully managing the power exhaust in reactor-relevant conditions such that the limit is not exceeded are under investigation, and will be tested in the Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) experiment. Meanwhile, the design of tokamaks beyond the DTT, e.g. EU-DEMO/ARC, is progressing at a high pace. A strategy to work around the present lack of reactor-relevant data consists of exploiting modelling to reduce the uncertainty in the extrapolation in the design phase. Different simulation tools, with their own capabilities and limitations, can be employed for this purpose. In this work, we compare SOLPS-ITER, SOLEDGE2D and UEDGE, three state-of-the-art edge codes heavily used in power exhaust studies, in modelling the same DTT low-power, pure-deuterium, narrow heat-flux-width scenario. This simplified, although still reactor-relevant, testbed eases the cross-comparison and the interpretation of the code predictions, to identify areas where results differ and develop understanding of the underlying causes. Under the conditions investigated, the codes show encouraging agreement in terms of key parameters at both targets, including peak parallel heat flux (1%-45%), ion temperature (2%-19%), and inner target plasma density (1%-23%) when run with similar input. However, strong disagreement is observed for the remaining quantities, from 30% at outer mid-plane up to a factor 4-5 at the targets. The results primarily reflect limitations of the codes: the SOLPS-ITER plasma mesh not reaching the first wall, SOLEDGE2D not including ion-neutral temperature equilibration, and UEDGE enforcing a common ion-neutral temperature. Potential improvements that could help enhance the accuracy of the code models for future applications are also discussed