Solar.q_1: A new solar-tracking mechanism based on four-bar linkages

This paper describes the early stages of the design process of a 2-DOF parallel mechanism, based on the use of four-bar linkages and intended to move photovoltaic panels in order to perform sun tracking. Primary importance is given to the search for a way to compensate sun–earth’s relative motions with two decoupled rotations of the panel. This leads to devise a kinematic structure characterized by a particular arrangement of the revolute axes. At the same time, the structure itself is designed in order to be slender. Subsequently, the fact that during a day the earth’s revolution around the sun has negligible effects on the apparent trajectory of the sun, if compared to the rotation around the polar axis, leads to choose a control strategy which, also thanks to the said arrangement of axes, employs only 1-DOF for most of the daytime. The tracker which employs this strategy has, theoretically, an energy consumption similar to that of 1-DOF solar trackers but a precision similar to that of 2-DOF ones

Impact of Smoking Habit on Peri-Implant Indicators following Different Therapies: A Systematic Review

Peri-implant disease and its treatment is becoming a major concern for clinicians as the number of implants placed each year is rising. Smoking is a common habit, and it is associated with an increased risk of developing peri-implant disease. The role of smoking in the response to peri-implant treatment has never been investigated. Searches were conducted in electronic databases to screen articles published until August 2021. The included studies had at least two groups of patients: peri-implant disease only or peri-implant disease and smoking status. Outcomes of interest included plaque index (PI), probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BoP), radiographic crestal bone loss (CBL), and analysis of peri-implant sulcular fluid. Seven hundred and forty-nine articles were found in the databases, only 71 articles potentially qualified. A total of seven studies with a minimum follow-up of six months were included. There is no homogeneity in the diagnosis, smoker definition and treatment proposed. All surgical and non-surgical treatment have statistically significantly different outcomes in smokers and nonsmokers. Recognizing this study's limitations, we conclude that smoking might play a significant role on the outcome of peri-implant disease treatment. None of the proposed treatments appear to be significantly more effective

Number of prior episodes and the presence of depressive symptoms are associated with longer length of stay for patients with acute manic episodes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few studies have analyzed predictors of length of stay (LOS) in patients admitted due to acute bipolar manic episodes. The purpose of the present study was to estimate LOS and to determine the potential sociodemographic and clinical risk factors associated with a longer hospitalization. Such information could be useful to identify those patients at high risk for long LOS and to allocate them to special treatments, with the aim of optimizing their hospital management.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a cross-sectional study recruiting adult patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (<it>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</it>, 4th edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria) who had been hospitalized due to an acute manic episode with a Young Mania Rating Scale total score greater than 20. Bivariate correlational and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of LOS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 235 patients from 44 centers were included in the study. The only factors that were significantly associated to LOS in the regression model were the number of previous episodes and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score at admission (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with a high number of previous episodes and those with depressive symptoms during mania are more likely to stay longer in hospital. Patients with severe depressive symptoms may have a more severe or treatment-resistant course of the acute bipolar manic episode.</p

Validation of a specific measure to assess health-related quality of life in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: the 'Tolerability and quality of life' (TOOL) questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Perception of quality of life may differ depending on the perspective. The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the 'TOlerability and quality Of Life' (TOOL) questionnaire, a specific self-rated instrument to evaluate the impact of side effects of antipsychotic drugs on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The questionnaire consists of eight items answered on a four-point Likert scale.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A psychometric study was conducted with clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder under antipsychotic treatment. The translation and cultural adaptation of the questionnaire was performed according to international standards. Internal consistency using the Cronbach α coefficient and test-retest reliability using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the reliability of the instrument. Patients completed generic and specific measures of quality of life and clinical severity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 238 patients were analysed, with a mean age of 42 years (SD 10.9). The mean completion time was 4.9 min (SD 4.4). Internal consistency and intraclass correlation coefficient were adequate (Cronbach α = 0.757 and ICC = 0.90). Factorial analysis showed a unidimensional structure (a single eigenvalue >1, accounting for 39.1% of variance). Significant Spearman's rank correlations between the TOOL and both generic and specific measures were found. The questionnaire was able to discriminate among the Clinical Global Impression - Severity scores (Mann-Whitney U test, <it>P </it>< 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The TOOL questionnaire shows appropriate feasibility, reliability, and discriminative performance as a patient-reported outcome. TOOL constitutes a valuable addition to measure the impact of adverse events of antipsychotic drugs from the patient perspective.</p

Machine learning approach for elucidating and predicting the role of synthesis parameters on the shape and size of TiO2 nanoparticles

open9In the present work a series of design rules are developed in order to tune the morphology of TiO2 nanoparticles through hydrothermal process. Through a careful experimental design, the influence of relevant process parameters on the synthesis outcome are studied, reaching to the develop predictive models by using Machine Learning methods. The models, after the validation and training, are able to predict with high accuracy the synthesis outcome in terms of nanoparticle size, polydispersity and aspect ratio. Furthermore, they are implemented by reverse engineering approach to do the inverse process, i.e. obtain the optimal synthesis parameters given a specific product characteristic. For the first time, it is presented a synthesis method that allows continuous and precise control of NPs morphology with the possibility to tune the aspect ratio over a large range from 1.4 (perfect truncated bipyramids) to 6 (elongated nanoparticles) and the length from 20 to 140 nm.openPellegrino, Francesco; Isopescu, Raluca; Pellutiè, Letizia; Sordello, Fabrizio; Rossi, Andrea M; Ortel, Erik; Martra, Gianmario; Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan; Maurino, ValterPellegrino, Francesco; Isopescu, Raluca; Pellutiè, Letizia; Sordello, Fabrizio; Rossi, Andrea M; Ortel, Erik; Martra, Gianmario; Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan; Maurino, Valte

The effect of data analysis strategies in density estimation of mountain ungulates using distance sampling

Distance sampling is being extensively used to estimate the abundance of animal populations. Nevertheless, the great variety of ways in which data can be analyzed may limit comparisons due to the lack of standardization of such protocols. In this study, the influence of analytical procedures for distance sampling data on density estimates and their precision was assessed. We have used data from 21 surveys of mountain ungulates in the Iberian Peninsula, France and the Italian Alps. Data from such surveys were analyzed with the program Distance 6.0. Our analyses show that estimated density can be higher for higher levels of data truncation. We also confirm that the estimates tend to be more precise when data are analyzed without binning and without truncating. We found no evidence of size biased sampling as group size and distances were uncorrelated in most of our surveys. Despite distance sampling being a fairly robust methodology, it can be sensitive to some data analysis strategies