Coarse-Graining of a Discrete Model for Edge Dislocations in the Regular Triangular Lattice

We consider a discrete model of planar elasticity where the particles, in the reference configuration, sit on a regular triangular lattice and interact through nearest-neighbor pairwise potentials, with bonds modeled as linearized elastic springs. Within this framework, we introduce plastic slip fields, whose discrete circulation around each tri-angle detects the possible presence of an edge dislocation. We provide a gamma-convergence analysis, as the lattice spacing tends to zero, of the elastic energy induced by edge dislocations in the energy regime corresponding to a finite number of geometrically necessary dislocations

Protocollo di valutazione infettivologica pre-trapianto

Lo screening pre-trapianto dei potenziali candidati a un trapianto d\u2019organo \ue8 parte essenziale del trapianto di organi solidi. Obiettivi dello screening pre-trapianto sono: 1. identificazione di condizioni che controindicano il trapianto; 2. identificazione e trattamento di infezioni attive pre-trapianto; 3. definizione del livello di rischio infettivo e impostazione di strategie preventive post-trapianto. Nonostante vi sia un generale accordo sulle indagini di screening da effettuare, vi sono alcune variazioni tra i diversi centri. Allo scopo di armonizzare lo screening infettivologico pre-trapianto, viene schematicamente riportato, alla luce dell\u2019esperienza personale e dei dati di letteratura, lo stato dell\u2019arte inerente lo screening infettivologico pre-trapianto

CBin-NN: An Inference Engine for Binarized Neural Networks

Binarization is an extreme quantization technique that is attracting research in the Internet of Things (IoT) field, as it radically reduces the memory footprint of deep neural networks without a correspondingly significant accuracy drop. To support the effective deployment of Binarized Neural Networks (BNNs), we propose CBin-NN, a library of layer operators that allows the building of simple yet flexible convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with binary weights and activations. CBin-NN is platform-independent and is thus portable to virtually any software-programmable device. Experimental analysis on the CIFAR-10 dataset shows that our library, compared to a set of state-of-the-art inference engines, speeds up inference by 3.6 times and reduces the memory required to store model weights and activations by 7.5 times and 28 times, respectively, at the cost of slightly lower accuracy (2.5%). An ablation study stresses the importance of a Quantized Input Quantized Kernel Convolution layer to improve accuracy and reduce latency at the cost of a slight increase in model size

Application of a Serious Game for Emotion Elicitation Under Socio-Economic and Trust Based Decision-Making Scenarios for Autistic Adolescents

The relationship between decision-making and emotions has been extensively studied in both theoretical and empirical research. Game Theory-based paradigms utilizing socio-economic and trust-based contexts have been established to elicit specific emotional responses in autistic individuals. Serious games, incorporating cohesive storylines and multiple interactions within these contexts, can serve as engaging tools for emotion elicitation in autistic individuals. As autistic adolescents tend to show higher engagement with games, we aimed to investigate applicability in this population. To achieve this, we developed a mobile serious game that combines four socio-economic and trust-based game paradigms, aiming to evoke specific emotions of varying intensities during different interactions. This paper presents the outcomes of a preliminary experiment involving thirteen participants. The results show that the game’s designed interactions successfully elicited emotional responses aligning with the expectations derived from literature in non-game applications

On the effect of interactions beyond nearest neighbours on non-convex lattice systems

We analyse the rigidity of non-convex discrete energies where at least nearest and next-to-nearest neighbour interactions are taken into account. Our purpose is to show that interactions beyond nearest neighbours have the role of penalising changes of orientation and, to some extent, they may replace the positive-determinant constraint that is usually required when only nearest neighbours are accounted for. In a discrete to continuum setting, we prove a compactness result for a family of surface-scaled energies and we give bounds on its possible Gamma-limit in terms of interfacial energies that penalise changes of orientation

Bimacrocyclic Effect in Anion Recognition by a Copper(II) Bicyclam Complex

The dicopper(II) complex of the bimacrocyclic ligand α,α′-bis(5,7-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecan-6-yl)-o-xylene, 2, interacts with selected anions in dimethyl sulfoxide solution according to two different modes: (i) halides (Cl-, Br-, and I-) and N3- coordinate the two metal centers at the same time between the two macrocyclic subunits that face each other and (ii) anionic species that do not fit the bridging coordination mode (e.g., NCO-, SCN-, CH3COO-, NO3-, and H2PO4-) interact with copper(II) ions only at the "external" positions or their interaction is too weak to be detected. Occurrence of the bridging interaction is demonstrated by X-ray crystallographic studies performed on the adduct formed by [Cu2(2)]4+ with azide and by electron paramagnetic resonance investigation, as the anion coordination between the two copper(II) centers induces spin-spin coupling. Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments performed on [Cu2(2)]4+ and, for comparison, on [(5,7-dimethyl-6-benzyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)copper(II)], representing the mononuclear analogue, allowed determination of thermodynamic parameters (log K, ΔH, and TΔS) associated with the considered complex/anion equilibria. Thermodynamic data showed that adducts formed by [Cu2(2)]4+ with halides and azide benefit from an extra stability that can be explained on the basis of the anion advantage of simultaneously binding the two metal centers, i.e., in terms of the bimacrocyclic effect

Highly cross-linked bifunctional magnesium porphyrin-imidazolium bromide polymer: Unveiling the key role of co-catalysts proximity for CO2 conversion into cyclic carbonates

Highly cross-linked materials containing an imidazolium salt and magnesium porphyrin, either in the absence (TSP-Mg-imi) or in the presence (7a and 7b) of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), were synthesized and used as heterogeneous bifunctional catalysts for the conversion of CO2 into cyclic carbonates. The metalloporphyrin moiety acts both as a “covalent swelling agent”, generating hybrids with high surface area, and as a Lewis acid co-catalytic species. TSP-Mg-imi produced excellent conversion and TONMg values, under solvent-free conditions, even at room temperature and with low catalytic loading (0.003 mol%). In terms of conversion and TONMg, TSP-Mg-imi exhibited better catalytic performance compared to a reference homogeneous system, demonstrating that the proximity between the metal centers and the nucleophilic site results in a synergistic effect during the catalytic cycle. The results of the computational study confirmed both the cooperative function and the significance of incorporating a co-catalytic species into the system

White light emitting silsesquioxane based materials: The importance of a ligand with rigid and directional arms

The synthesis of a novel polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane functionalized with eight rigid and directional terpyridine-based arms (Ter-POSS) was successfully achieved via a Sonogashira reaction. The POSS based ligand was extensively characterized using different techniques including 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR as well as UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopies. The assembly of these nano-caged units in the presence of different transition metal ions (Fe2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+) as well as of a cation from the lanthanides (Eu3+) was investigated using absorption and emission spectroscopies. The final materials display an evident emission in different regions of the visible spectrum as a function of the cation employed. Additional insights into the structural organization of Ter-POSS in the presence of metal cations were obtained via molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations. The polymeric material resulting from the complexation with europium displays a white light emission ascribed to the presence of combined contributions from the blue, green and red regions. The final self-assembled organizations display an increased quantum yield with the highest value (29.6%) obtained in the presence of Zn2+. Moreover, the white-light emitting europium-based nanostructure exhibits one of the highest quantum yields reported in the literature for similar solids

Modeling the Formation and Thermomechanical Properties of Polybenzoxazine Thermosets

peer reviewe

Axial light emission and Ar metastable densities in a parallel plate dc micro discharge in steady state and transient regimes

Axial emission profiles in a parallel plate dc micro discharge (feedgas: argon; discharge gap d=1mm; pressure p=10Torr) were studied by means of time resolved imaging with a fast ICCD camera. Additionally, volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics were recorded and Ar* metastable densities were measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). Axial emission profiles in the steady state regime are similar to corresponding profiles in standard size discharges (d=1cm, p=1Torr). For some discharge conditions relaxation oscillations are present when the micro discharge switches periodically between low current Townsend-like mode and normal glow. At the same time the axial emission profile shows transient behavior, starting with peak distribution at the anode, which gradually moves towards the cathode during the normal glow. The development of argon metastable densities highly correlates with the oscillating discharge current. Gas temperatures in the low current Townsend-like mode (T= 320-400K) and the high current glow mode (T=469-526K) were determined by the broadening of the recorded spectral profiles as a function of the discharge current.Comment: submitted to Plasma Sources Sci. Techno