Localization Capability of Cooperative Anti-Intruder Radar Systems

System aspects of an anti-intruder multistatic radar based on impulse radio ultrawideband (UWB) technology are addressed. The investigated system is composed of one transmitting node and at least three receiving nodes, positioned in the surveillance area with the aim of detecting and locating a human intruder (target) that moves inside the area. Such systems, referred to also as UWB radar sensor networks, must satisfy severe power constraints worldwide imposed by, for example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and by the European Commission (EC) power spectral density masks. A single transmitter-receiver pair (bistatic radar) is considered at first. Given the available transmitted power and the capability of the receiving node to resolve the UWB pulses in the time domain, the surveillance area regions where the target is detectable, and those where it is not, are obtained. Moreover, the range estimation error for the transmitter-receiver pair is discussed. By employing this analysis, a multistatic system is then considered, composed of one transmitter and three or four cooperating receivers. For this multistatic system, the impact of the nodes location on area coverage, necessary transmitted power and localization uncertainty is studied, assuming a circular surveillance area. It is highlighted how area coverage and transmitted power, on one side, and localization uncertainty, on the other side, require opposite criteria of nodes placement. Consequently, the need for a system compromising between these factors is shown. Finally, a simple and effective criterion for placing the transmitter and the receivers is drawn

Wearable High Voltage Compliant Current Stimulator for Restoring Sensory Feedback

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a promising technique for eliciting referred tactile sensations in patients with limb amputation. Although several studies show the validity of this technique, its application in daily life and away from laboratories is limited by the need for more portable instrumentation that guarantees the necessary voltage and current requirements for proper sensory stimulation. This study proposes a low-cost, wearable high-voltage compliant current stimulator with four independent channels based on Components-Off-The-Shelf (COTS). This microcontroller-based system implements a voltage-current converter controllable through a digital-to-analog converter that delivers up to 25 mA to load up to 3.6 kΩ. The high-voltage compliance enables the system to adapt to variations in electrode-skin impedance, allowing it to stimulate loads over 10 kΩ with currents of 5 mA. The system was realized on a four-layer PCB (115.9 mm × 61 mm, 52 g). The functionality of the device was tested on resistive loads and on an equivalent skin-like RC circuit. Moreover, the possibility of implementing an amplitude modulation was demonstrated

Application of biological growth risk models to the management of built heritage

La qualità degli spazi interni è fortemente legata alle condizioni igrotermiche che influenzano il comfort degli utenti e i rischi di conservazione del patrimonio edilizio. Inoltre, una gestione incurante di spazi espositivi con numerosi accessi può causare carichi eccessivi di umidità, e conseguenti fenomeni di degrado. In questo lavoro, è stata considerata una sala espositiva rappresentativa del patrimonio costruito. Il rischio di proliferazione biologica è indagato nelle condizioni climatiche di Milano e Barcellona, con diversi ratei di ventilazione e numero di visitatori. I risultati delineano la necessità di politiche informate da analisi avanzate per prevenire il rischio igrotermico, in assenza di impianti, che non è sempre possibile integrare nel patrimonio edilizio storico.The quality of the interior spaces is strongly related to the hygro-thermal conditions which affect the users’ comfort, and may yield to preservation risk for the built heritage. Moreover, careless management of exposition spaces with excessive occupancy may result in moisture loads that promote degradation. In this paper, as a case study, an exposition hall representative of the built heritage is considered. The microbiological growth risk is investigated at two different climate conditions, namely Milan and Barcelona, considering varying ventilation rates and number of visitors. The results outline the need of policies informed by advanced analyses to prevent hygro-thermal risk in the absence of dedicated building services, that cannot always be integrated in built heritage

Elemental and isotopic profiling: a tool for distinguishing the botanical origin of oenological tannins

Much contemporary evidence underscores the pathophysiological importance of Ca2+ handling by acidic organelles such as lysosomes. Whereas our knowledge of how Ca2+ is released from these acidic Ca2+ stores (the ‘outs’) is advancing, we know relatively little about how Ca2+ uptake is effected (the ‘ins’). Here I highlight new work identifying animal Ca2+/H+ (CAX) exchangers that localize to acidic organelles, mediate Ca2+ uptake and regulate cell migration in vivo. Continued molecular definition of the acidic Ca2+ store toolkit provides new insight into Ca2+-dependent function

Biological acidification of “Vino Santo di Gambellara” by mixed fermentation of L. thermotolerans and S. cerevisiae: role of nitrogen in the evolution of fermentation and aroma profile

In this work, Lachancea thermotolerans was exploited as a biological acidifier of Vino Santo di Gambellara, a traditional Italian wine made from long-dried grapes. The drying of grapes before winemaking is a traditional technique widely applied in Italy in the production of sweet wines, but in recent years, global warming reduces dramatically the acidity of grapes, causing microbial instability during drying and winemaking. The ability of L. thermotolerans to convert sugars in lactic acid was already applied in the acidification of red wines, but the peculiar features of dried grape (e.g., osmotic stress, lack of nutrients, presence of mould-derived toxic compounds during drying) impose specific tests. L. thermotolerans was employed in sequential fermentation in combination with a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Considering the lack of information about the nutritional requirement of the non-Saccharomyces yeast, three protocols of nitrogen supplementation (mineral, organic and organic at high dosage) were tested. Alcoholic fermentation experiments were followed by plate counts onto differential media to discriminate between the two yeast species and by chemical analysis. Moreover, a GC-MS-MS approach carried out a complete characterisation of the volatile profile of wines. Results evidenced a long permanence of L. thermotolerans during alcoholic fermentation, which remained over the 7 log units until the 14th day of fermentation. The nitrogen supplementation protocol influenced cell growth and fermentative activity. Inorganic nitrogen supplementations allowed the accomplishment of alcoholic fermentation and the maintenance of pH below 3.35, with respect to the control wine (made only by S. cerevisiae), which was over pH 3.50. L. thermotolerans also influenced the wine’s volatile aroma profile. Statistical differences were found in the main families of the yeast-derived aroma: acetate, esters, lactates, fatty acids and C6 compound

Innate immune activating ligand SUMOylation affects tumor cell recognition by NK cells

Natural Killer cells are innate lymphocytes involved in tumor immunosurveillance. They express activating receptors able to recognize self-molecules poorly expressed on healthy cells but up-regulated upon stress conditions, including transformation. Regulation of ligand expression in tumor cells mainly relays on transcriptional mechanisms, while the involvement of ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like modifiers remains largely unexplored. Here, we focused on the SUMO pathway and demonstrated that the ligand of DNAM1 activating receptor, PVR, undergoes SUMOylation in multiple myeloma. Concurrently, we found that PVR is preferentially located in intracellular compartments in human multiple myeloma cell lines and malignant plasma cells and that inhibition of the SUMO pathway promotes its translocation to the cell surface, increasing tumor cell susceptibility to NK cell-mediated cytolysis. Our findings provide the first evidence of an innate immune activating ligand regulated by SUMOylation, and confer to this modification a novel role in impairing recognition and killing of tumor cells.Natural Killer cells are innate lymphocytes involved in tumor immunosurveillance. They express activating receptors able to recognize self-molecules poorly expressed on healthy cells but up-regulated upon stress conditions, including transformation. Regulation of ligand expression in tumor cells mainly relays on transcriptional mechanisms, while the involvement of ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like modifiers remains largely unexplored. Here, we focused on the SUMO pathway and demonstrated that the ligand of DNAM1 activating receptor, PVR, undergoes SUMOylation in multiple myeloma. Concurrently, we found that PVR is preferentially located in intracellular compartments in human multiple myeloma cell lines and malignant plasma cells and that inhibition of the SUMO pathway promotes its translocation to the cell surface, increasing tumor cell susceptibility to NK cell-mediated cytolysis. Our findings provide the first evidence of an innate immune activating ligand regulated by SUMOylation, and confer to this modification a novel role in impairing recognition and killing of tumor cells