Multi-scale analysis of the European airspace using network community detection

We show that the European airspace can be represented as a multi-scale traffic network whose nodes are airports, sectors, or navigation points and links are defined and weighted according to the traffic of flights between the nodes. By using a unique database of the air traffic in the European airspace, we investigate the architecture of these networks with a special emphasis on their community structure. We propose that unsupervised network community detection algorithms can be used to monitor the current use of the airspaces and improve it by guiding the design of new ones. Specifically, we compare the performance of three community detection algorithms, also by using a null model which takes into account the spatial distance between nodes, and we discuss their ability to find communities that could be used to define new control units of the airspace.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figure

New radiation protection calibration facility at CERN

The CERN radiation protection group has designed a new state-of-the-art calibration laboratory to replace the present facility, which is >20 y old. The new laboratory, presently under construction, will be equipped with neutron and gamma sources, as well as an X-ray generator and a beta irradiator. The present work describes the project to design the facility, including the facility placement criteria, the ‘point-zero' measurements and the shielding study performed via FLUKA Monte Carlo simulation

Management of plastic bronchitis with nebulized tissue plasminogen activator: another brick in the wall

Plastic bronchitis is a rare complication of a variety of respiratory diseases and congenital heart disease surgery, particularly Fontan procedure. Bronchial casts with rubber-like consistency develop acutely and may cause severe life-threatening respiratory distress. The management of plastic bronchitis is yet not well defined. Early intermittent, self-administered nebulization of tissue plasminogen activator was found to be effective in preventing deterioration of acute respiratory symptoms in a patient with primary ciliary dyskinesia and recurrent cast formation. Further investigation into new therapeutic strategies for this devastating disease is advocated

Statistical Regularities in ATM: network properties, trajectory deviations and delays

One of the key enabler to the productivity and efficiency shift foreseen by SESAR will be the business-trajectory concept. The path to a deep understanding of how this new concept impacts on the future SESAR Air Traffic Management scenario goes through a better understanding of the actual air traffic network, and this will be done in the present paper by analyzing traffic data within the framework of complex network analysis. In this paper we will consider flights trajectory data from the Data Demand Repository database. In a first investigation, we perform a network study of the air traffic infrastructure starting from the airports and then refining our analysis at the level of navigation points in order to understand what are the main features that may help explaining why some nodes of the network happen to be found in the same community, i.e. cluster. In a second investigation we perform a study at the level of flight trajectories with the aim of identify statistical regularities in the spatio-temporal deviations of flights between their planned and actual 4D trajectories

Application of differential power processing to photovoltaic modules under partial shading conditions

LAUREA MAGISTRALENegli ultimi tempi uno degli argomenti più discussi a livello globale è quello del cambiamento climatico dovuto al continuo aumento delle emissioni di sostanze inquinanti. Per ridurre l'aumento della temperatura globale e le conseguenze di questo fenomeno si stanno studiando a fondo le fonti di energia rinnovabile, e negli ultimi anni si è assistito ad una sempre maggiore diffusione di impianti, di varie dimensioni, per la produzione di energia da fonti energetiche rinnovabili. Aumentare la percentuale di energia generata con fonti rinnovabili è importante, ma è anche importante farlo nel modo più efficiente. Tra le diverse tipologie di produzione di energia verde, gli impianti fotovoltaici stanno avendo un forte incremento nel numero di installazioni, soprattutto in impianti di piccole dimensioni come quelli utilizzati a livello domestico. È importante, soprattutto con questi tipi di impianti, avere la massima efficienza possibile per fornire l'energia necessaria agli occupanti degli edifici, anche in condizioni ambientali non ottimali. Uno dei principali ostacoli agli impianti fotovoltaici è l'ombreggiamento parziale: anche una piccola ombra su uno o più sottomoduli può influire sulla produzione complessiva del modulo. Nei più comuni moduli fotovoltaici moderni, i sottomoduli sono dotati di un diodo di bypass che isola i sottomoduli ombreggiati, o parzialmente ombreggiati, per evitare che influiscano negativamente sugli altri sottomoduli. Questa soluzione aiuta a migliorare la produzione di energia, ma non permette di estrarre l’energia prodotta dai sottomoduli parzialmente ombreggiati. È chiaro che anche la più piccola quantità di energia è importante e non deve essere sprecata. In questa tesi sono state studiate diverse soluzioni per aumentare l'efficienza dei moduli fotovoltaici in condizioni di ombreggiamento parziale. In particolare, è stato fatto un approfondimento sull'applicazione di sistemi di Differential Power Processing (DPP) sui moduli fotovoltaici in alternativa ai diodi di bypass.In the recent times one of the most discussed topics at global level is the climate changes due to a continuous increase of pollutants’ emissions. To reduce the increasing global temperature and the climate changes the renewable energy sources are getting investigated deeply, and the recent years have seen an even more spreading of plants, of different sizes, for energy production from renewable energy sources. It’s significant to enhance the percentage of energy generated with renewable sources, but it’s also important to make it in the most efficient way. Among the different types of green energy production, the photovoltaic systems are having a big increase in number of installations, especially in small size plants like the ones used at domestic level. It’s important, especially with these types of systems, to have the best efficiency as possible to provide the required energy to the occupants of the buildings even under not optimal environmental conditions. One of the main obstacles to the PV systems is the partial shadowing: even a small shadow over one or more submodules can affect the overall module’s production. In the most common modern PV modules, the submodules are equipped with a bypass diode, which cut off the shadowed, or partially shadowed, submodules to avoid that it affects the other submodules. This solution helps to improve the energy production, but it cuts off the amount of energy produced by partially shadowed submodules. For an ever more efficient power production it’s important to not waste even the smallest amount of energy. In this thesis, different solutions to increase the efficiency of the PV modules under partial shadowing are investigated. In particular, a focus on the application of Differential Power Processing (DPP) systems on PV module as an alternative to the bypass diodes has been made

P2-037: Estrogen and progesterone receptors in women with non-small-cell lung cancer: a potential therapeutic target?

BACKGROUND: Thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoimmunity are prevalent among women of reproductive age and are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Preconception or early pregnancy screening for thyroid dysfunction has been proposed but is not widely accepted. We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the clinical significance of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoimmunity before conception and in early pregnancy. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified by searching Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register. RESULTS: From a total of 14 208 primary selected titles, 43 articles were included for the systematic review and 38 were appropriate for meta-analyses. No articles about hyperthyroidism were selected. Subclinical hypothyroidism in early pregnancy, compared with normal thyroid function, was associated with the occurrence of pre-eclampsia [odds ratio (OR) 1.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1-2.6] and an increased risk of perinatal mortality (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.6-4.7). In the meta-analyses, the presence of thyroid antibodies was associated with an increased risk of unexplained subfertility (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.0), miscarriage (OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.8-7.6), recurrent miscarriage (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.5-3.5), preterm birth (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.5) and maternal post-partum thyroiditis (OR 11.5, 95% CI 5.6-24) when compared with the absence of thyroid antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism or thyroid antibodies have an increased risk of complications, especially pre-eclampsia, perinatal mortality and (recurrent) miscarriage. Future research, within the setting of clinical trials, should focus on the potential health gain of identification, and effect of treatment, of thyroid disease on pregnancy outcome

Tunable Ampere phase plate for low dose imaging of biomolecular complexes

A novel device that can be used as a tunable support-free phase plate for transmission electron microscopy of weakly scattering specimens is described. The device relies on the generation of a controlled phase shift by the magnetic field of a segment of current-carrying wire that is oriented parallel or antiparallel to the electron beam. The validity of the concept is established using both experimental electron holographic measurements and a theoretical model based on Ampere’s law. Computer simulations are used to illustrate the resulting contrast enhancement for studies of biological cells and macromolecules

Does reward-based crowdfunding have an impact on your perfomance ?

LAUREA MAGISTRALEUn innovativo ed ambizioso ambito di ricerca nel mondo del crowdfunding consiste nel cercare di capire se questo fenomeno sia connesso con le performance delle imprese che vi partecipano. Questo lavoro ha l’ambizione di dare un contributo in questo campo, cercando di trovare un collegamento tra gli outcomes di una campagna di crowdfunding e le successive dimensioni delle imprese partecipanti. I parametri utilizzati per stimare le dimensioni di un’impresa sono stati il numero di dipendenti e l’ammontare dei ricavi. Per testare queste relazioni abbiamo utilizzato due modelli di regressione che ci hanno portato a due scoperte. In primis, la dimensione di un’impresa è correlata in maniera positiva al rapporto tra l’ammontare raccolto durante la campagna di crowdfunding e l’ammontare richiesto dal proponente. In secondo luogo, la dimensione di un’impresa è correlata in maniera positiva al numero di aggiornamenti effettuati dall’impresa durante la campagna. In seguito, abbiamo condotto dei test per verificare la bontà e l’attendibilità della nostra ricerca. Per concludere abbiamo discusso le possibili implicazioni per ricercatori ed imprenditori.A new and ambitious topic in the crowdfunding world is understanding whether this phenomenon can generate beneficial outcomes for the companies involved, resulting in an improvement in their performances. This study has the ambition to contribute to this topic by analysing how some outcomes obtained in a campaign are somehow linked to the size of the companies in the future. More in detail, the size components considered in this work are the number of employees and the amount of revenues. In order to test these relationships two regressions have been used. Econometric results have produced two findings. Firstly, the size of a company is linked to the ratio of the amount received to the target capital of the campaign. Secondly, the size of a company is connected to the number of updates made by the proponents during the campaign. Further tests have been conducted to sustain the reliability of our findings. Implications for researchers and entrepreneurs have been discussed