Impact assessment of an intelligent central tire inflation system for passenger cars

Tire inflation pressure affects vehicle energetic balance, as well as road safety. These issues are particularly critical due to the low attention paid by the drivers to tire maintenance. Tire pressure monitoring systems are used to alert the drivers in case of low pressure, but higher benefits could be obtained through a completely autonomous on-board system capable of setting the optimal tire pressure according to current working conditions and of automatically inflate or deflate tires. Basing on computer simulations on fuel economy of a reference mid-size diesel passenger car, and referring to statistical data on vehicle use, the potentialities of such a device is evaluated on an annual mission. The results are then extended to the whole European fleet to provide an estimation of the potential benefits that could be obtained through massive adoption of this solution. The impact is evaluated through an economical evaluation of: fuel savings, reduction of social cost of carbon emissions, increase of tire life and reduction of costs related to crashes produced by improper tire pressure

Discovery of the grave and identification of the remains of Matteo Maria Boiardo in Saint Mary's church, Scandiano (Reggio Emilia)

According to the documentary information and to the prospectings performed by means of the georadar, beneath the floor of the Church of Santa Maria of Scandiano (RE), it has been possible to locate the sepulchral crypts where the poet Matteo Maria Boiardo and other members of his family, such as his father Giovanni, his grandfather Feltrino and maybe his wife Taddea Gonzaga and one of his sons, Camillo, must have been buried. The exploration of these sepulchral crypts has led to the recovery of the skeletal remains belonging altogether to at least 20 persons (adults and children). Among them, 3 have been discovered into a sepulchral room and the rest into an adjacent tomb. Among the first ones, a person, with the same sex, age of death, sturdiness, height and physical characteristics of the poet Boiardo, has been identified. As confirmation of this probable identity, the genetic profile of this man, got from the nuclear dna sample taken from his body, has come out to be compatible with a possible father/child relationship, this result has been compared to the one gotten from the find found into the adjacent room where the poet's father and grandfather had to be buried. The body of a second person, of female sex and well on in years, with a genetic profile different from the previous ones, could be identified with Boiardo's wife. For what regards the body of the third man, besides it is not possible to exclude that it belongs to Camillo, the poet's son dead when he was very young, it has not been possible yet, to get enough proofs able to confirm this theory

HOW TO EXTRACT USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DECAY OF BASS RELIEVES IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AREA

Abstract. Cultural Heritage goods represent the memory and the history of the civilization. Notwithstanding, there are not sufficient public resources to guarantee their preservation and maintenance. Nowadays between several geomatic techniques available, the pillar for the preservation of mankinds heritage is the low cost close photogrammetric acquisition. The advantages of virtual reconstructions based on Multi View Stereo (MVS) and Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms is extended from the heritage documentation to its virtualization or modelling. The digital preservation of archaeological sites is committed in more agile and friendly procedures that give automatic extraction of information to perform in depth analysis over ancient artefacts. In the field of CH research, the characterization and classification of the conservation state of the materials composing the surface of the artefacts are essential to study their damage. The first step for conservation state of a goods is the study of the changes in different times. The possibility to automatically study this time modification due to different factor represents a key point for the archaeologists' work. With this in mind, the aim of this work is to propose a completely automatic methods for change detection between three data set acquired in different époques. The work flow applied is based on the unsupervised clustering techniques applied on a combination of two type of differences images. The results, unlike the objective, demonstrate that the unsupervised methods are not effectiveness in the CH study, instead of the supervised methods that outperforms in terms of reliability of results.</p

Start-Up and Operation of a 3D Hybrid Pulsating Heat Pipe on Board a Sounding Rocket

A large tube may still behave, to a certain extent, as a capillary in a micro-gravity environment. This very basic concept is here applied to a two-phase passive heat transfer device to obtain a new family of hybrid wickless heat pipes. Indeed, a Loop Thermosyphon, which usually consists of a large tube, closed end to end in a loop, evacuated and partially filled with a working fluid and intrinsically gravity assisted, may become a capillary tube in space condition and turn its thermo-fluidic behavior into a Pulsating Heat Pipe. This work presents the results obtained on such a hybrid device heated at 200&nbsp;W both on board a sounding rocket (ESA REXUS 22, microgravity period ~120&nbsp;s), and on ground in vertical and anti-gravity orientation. Since no steady state occurred in microgravity conditions, the comparison between flight and ground data focuses on the startup phenomenon, whereas the thorough ground test campaign describes the limits and performances of the device working in thermosyphon mode. The expected thermal behavior in microgravity conditions is between that of a purely conductive tube in anti-gravity conditions on ground and that of a gravity assisted thermosyphon. Since a microgravity period of approximately 120&nbsp;s is not enough to reach a pseudo steady state regime, further investigation on a longer-term weightless condition is mandatory

Brain Switches Utilitarian Behavior: Does Gender Make the Difference?

Decision often implies a utilitarian choice based on personal gain, even at the expense of damaging others. Despite the social implications of utilitarian behavior, its neurophysiological bases remain largely unknown. To assess how the human brain controls utilitarian behavior, we delivered transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the ventral prefrontal cortex (VPC) and over the occipital cortex (OC) in 78 healthy subjects. Utilitarian judgment was assessed with the moral judgment task before and after tDCS. At baseline, females provided fewer utilitarian answers than males for personal moral dilemmas (p = .007). In males, VPC-tDCS failed to induce changes and in both genders OC-tDCS left utilitarian judgments unchanged. In females, cathodal VPC-tDCS tended to decrease whereas anodal VPC-tDCS significantly increased utilitarian responses (p = .005). In males and females, reaction times for utilitarian responses significantly decreased after cathodal (p<.001) but not after anodal (p = .735) VPC-tDCS. We conclude that ventral prefrontal tDCS interferes with utilitarian decisions, influencing the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of each option in both sexes, but does so more strongly in females. Whereas cathodal tDCS alters the time for utilitarian reasoning in both sexes, anodal stimulation interferes more incisively in women, modifying utilitarian reasoning and the possible consequent actions. The gender-related tDCS-induced changes suggest that the VPC differentially controls utilitarian reasoning in females and in males. The gender-specific functional organization of the brain areas involved in utilitarian behavior could be a correlate of the moral and social behavioral differences between the two sexes

Evidence for preferences of Italian patients for physician attire

BACKGROUND: The relationship between patient and physician is a complex interaction that includes multiple factors. The objective of this study was to explore Italian patients' preferences regarding physician appearance. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed to survey patients in different medical and surgical settings; each subject was asked to choose one picture of either a male or female physician from a selection of different attires (professional, casual, surgical scrubs, trendy, and careless). Patients were also surveyed about issues such as the presence of a name tag, hair length, trousers on women, amount of makeup, presence of tattoos, and body piercing. Statistical analysis was performed using a Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 765 questionnaires (534 completed from patients waiting for an internal medicine visit and 231 for other subspecialties) were completed. The majority (45%) of patients preferred the gastroenterologist to wear a surgical scrub with a white coat. For the other specialists, patients accepted either scrubs or formal dress under a white coat (P ≤ 0.05), with a name tag. Trendy attire was preferred by nine patients (1.1%). The entire sample judged it inappropriate for clinicians to have long hair, visible tattoos, body piercing, and, for women, to wear trousers and use excessive makeup. CONCLUSION: This is the first study conducted in Italy regarding physician attire. As in other Western countries, Italian patients favor physicians in professional attire with a white coat. Wearing professional dress is part of "etiquette based medicine" and may favorably influence clinician-patient relationships and patient compliance.</br

Expression and activation by Epstein Barr virus of human endogenous retroviruses-W in blood cells and astrocytes: inference for Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Proposed co-factors triggering the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) are the Epstein Barr virus (EBV), and the potentially neuropathogenic MSRV (MS-associated retrovirus) and syncytin-1, of the W family of human endogenous retroviruses. Methodology/Principal Findings: In search of links, the expression of HERV-W/MSRV/syncytin-1, with/without exposure to EBV or to EBV glycoprotein350 (EBVgp350), was studied on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy volunteers and MS patients, and on astrocytes, by discriminatory env-specific RT-PCR assays, and by flow cytometry. Basal expression of HERV-W/MSRV/syncytin-1 occurs in astrocytes and in monocytes, NK, and B, but not in T cells. This uneven expression is amplified in untreated MS patients, and dramatically reduced during therapy. In astrocytes, EBVgp350 stimulates the expression of HERV-W/MSRV/syncytin-1, with requirement of the NF-kB pathway. In EBVgp350-treated PBMC, MSRVenv and syncytin-1 transcription is activated in B cells and monocytes, but not in T cells, nor in the highly expressing NK cells. The latter cells, but not the T cells, are activated by proinflammatory cytokines. Conclusions/Significance: In vitro EBV activates the potentially immunopathogenic and neuropathogenic HERV-W/MSRV/ syncytin-1, in cells deriving from blood and brain. In vivo, pathogenic outcomes would depend on abnormal situations, as in late EBV primary infection, that is often symptomatic, or/and in the presence of particular host genetic backgrounds. In the blood, HERV-Wenv activation might induce immunopathogenic phenomena linked to its superantigenic properties. In the brain, toxic mechanisms against oligodendrocytes could be established, inducing inflammation, demyelination and axonal damage. Local stimulation by proinflammatory cytokines and other factors might activate further HERV-Ws, contributing to the neuropathogenity. In MS pathogenesis, a possible model could include EBV as initial trigger of future MS, years later, and HERV-W/MSRV/syncytin-1 as actual contributor to MS pathogenicity, in striking parallelism with disease behaviour

The Silent Epidemic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020

To compare the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with the frequency of DKA during 2017-2019

Multiple sclerosis and HERV-W/MSRV: A multicentric study

We designed a large multicentric study to analyse the presence of MSRV particles in blood and CSF of a large cohort of patients and controls from different European areas. 149 MS patients and 153 neurological and healthy controls were selected from Sardinia, Spain, Northern-Italy and Sweden. To avoid biological and inter-assay variability MSRV was detected within a single laboratory through nested and real-time PCR assays specific for pol and env genes. MSRV detection in blood and CSF of MS patients and controls in populations of different ethnicity gave significant differences (p<0.05 compared to neurological controls and <0.001 compared to healthy controls). The presence and viral load of MSRV are significantly associated with MS as compared to neurological and healthy controls in all ethnic groups