KBERG: A MatLab toolbox for nonlinear kernel-based regularization and system identification

Abstract We present KBERG, a MatLab package for nonlinear Kernel-BasEd ReGularization and system identification. The toolbox provides a complete environment for running experiments on simulated and experimental data from both static and dynamical systems. The whole identification procedure is supported: (i) data generation, (ii) excitation signals design; (iii) kernel-based estimation and (iv) evaluation of the results. One of the main differences of the proposed package with respect to existing frameworks lies in the possibility to separately define experiments, algorithms and test, then combining them as desired by the user. Once these three quantities are defined, the user can simply run all the computations with only a command, waiting for results to be analyzed. As additional noticeable feature, the toolbox fully supports the manifold regularization rationale, in addition to the standard Tikhonov one, and the possibility to compute different (but equivalent) types of solutions other than the standard one

Identification of dynamic textures using Dynamic Mode Decomposition

Abstract Dynamic Textures (DTs) are image sequences of moving scenes that present stationary properties in time. In this paper, we apply Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition with Control (DMDc) to identify a parametric model of dynamic textures. The identification results are compared with a benchmark method from the dynamic texture literature, both from a mathematical and from a computational complexity point of view. Extensive simulations are carried out to assess the performance of the proposed algorithms with regards to synthesis and denoising purposes, with different types of dynamic textures. Results show that DMD and DMDc present lower error, lower residual noise and lower variance compared to the benchmark approach

Mechatronics applications of condition monitoring using a statistical change detection method

Abstract In this paper, we propose the use of a change detection strategy to perform condition monitoring of mechanical components. The method looks for statistical changes in the distribution of features extracted from raw measurements, such as Root Mean Square or Crest Factor indicators. The proposed method works in a batch fashion, comparing data from one experiment to another. When these distributions differ by a specified amount, a degradation score is increased. The approach is tested on three experimental applications: (i) an ElectroMechanical Actuator (EMA) employed in flight applications, where the focus of the monitoring is on the ballscrew transmission; (ii) a CNC workbench, where the focus is on the vertical shaft bearing, (iii) an industrial EMA with focus on the ballscrew bearing. All components have undergone a severe experimental degradation process, that ultimately led to their failure. Results show how the proposed method is able to assess component degradation prior to their failure

Vine Physiology, Yield Parameters and Berry Composition of Sangiovese Grape under Two Different Canopy Shapes and Irrigation Regimes

Vitis vinifera L. adapts well to a scarce availability of water in the soil. However, in recent decades, the combination of thermal stress with prolonged water scarcity could have dramatic consequences on the vine’s physiological status. In this paper, we evaluated the effects of two canopy shapes and two irrigation regimes at veraison on vine physiology, yield parameters and grape composition through biochemical and molecular approaches. The water shortage strongly influenced the physiology of Sangiovese only when the stress was moderate to severe. Neither the water stress limited to veraison nor the canopy shape were able to influence the yield parameters and sugar content, and a strong induction of the expression of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins was recorded only in conditions of moderate-to-severe stress. This phenomenon led to an increase in the anthocyanin content in berry skins until the end of veraison. Conversely, no significant effects occurred in terms of biochemical and molecular performance after re-watering and at harvest. Though the shape of the canopy could play a role only under elevated temperature and prolonged drought, severe water stress can affect the vine physiology and berry ripening during the veraison stag

Experimental Development of a Health Monitoring Method for Electro-Mechanical Actuators of Flight Control Primary Surfaces in More Electric Aircrafts

This paper presents a health monitoring approach for Electro-Mechanical Actuators (EMA). We define four different indicators to continuously evaluate the health state of the system. The four indicators are computed by leveraging the output from a Statistical Process Monitoring (SPM) method based on multivariate statistics, such as the Hotelling's T2 statistic and the Q statistic. SPM approaches give a dichotomous answer, i.e. the presence/absence of a fault. In this work, we propose four ways to compute a continuous indicator starting from the discrete SPM output, that is better suited for health monitoring. We test the approach using a dataset collected from a large experimental campaign on a 1:1 scale EMA for primary flight controls of small aircrafts, that led to EMA failure. Results show the effectiveness of the method

Determining the Importance of Physicochemical Properties in the Perceived Quality of Wines

Wine is a relevant part of the diet in many countries, showing significant nutritional properties, providing health benefits to consumers, and having a significant weight in economy. Also, wine plays an important role in many cultures as a part of their social relationships, feasts, or religion where some of them may become a sign of luxury and distinction. For those reasons, objective and subjective quality of wines is an important issue in their production and marketing. To improve wine excellence, some production methods try to relate its physicochemical properties to the quality as it is perceived by humans. Then, modern data prescriptive analysis can be applied to measure the importance (the influence) of each wine attribute. This paper examines and compare several metrics of the attribute importance and its application to the quality-aware design and production of wines. Moreover, for the cases where the perceived quality is characterized using a discrete value, a novel importance metric, based on the Jensen-Shannon Divergence (JSD) is introduced and compared to the existing ones. The results show that JSD clearly overperforms other metrics previously proposed in the literature. Also, it can be asserted that JSD properly reflects the importance of discrete multivalued functions. The results, using this metric in an importance performance analysis of a public wine dataset, show that the main physicochemical attributes of a red wine are citric acidity, alcohol, sulphates and fixed acidity. As for the white wine case, the main attributes are alcohol, free sulfure dioxide and pH

Characteristics of people living in Italy after a cancer diagnosis in 2010 and projections to 2020

BACKGROUND: Estimates of cancer prevalence are widely based on limited duration, often including patients living after a cancer diagnosis made in the previous 5 years and less frequently on complete prevalence (i.e., including all patients regardless of the time elapsed since diagnosis). This study aims to provide estimates of complete cancer prevalence in Italy by sex, age, and time since diagnosis for all cancers combined, and for selected cancer types. Projections were made up to 2020, overall and by time since diagnosis. METHODS: Data were from 27 Italian population-based cancer registries, covering 32% of the Italian population, able to provide at least 7 years of registration as of December 2009 and follow-up of vital status as of December 2013. The data were used to compute the limited-duration prevalence, in order to estimate the complete prevalence by means of the COMPREV software. RESULTS: In 2010, 2,637,975 persons were estimated to live in Italy after a cancer diagnosis, 1.2 million men and 1.4 million women, or 4.6% of the Italian population. A quarter of male prevalent cases had prostate cancer (n\u2009=\u2009305,044), while 42% of prevalent women had breast cancer (n\u2009=\u2009604,841). More than 1.5 million people (2.7% of Italians) were alive since 5 or more years after diagnosis and 20% since 6515 years. It is projected that, in 2020 in Italy, there will be 3.6 million prevalent cancer cases (+\u200937% vs 2010). The largest 10-year increases are foreseen for prostate (+\u200985%) and for thyroid cancers (+\u200979%), and for long-term survivors diagnosed since 20 or more years (+\u200945%). Among the population aged 6575 years, 22% will have had a previous cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The number of persons living after a cancer diagnosis is estimated to rise of approximately 3% per year in Italy. The availability of detailed estimates and projections of the complete prevalence are intended to help the implementation of guidelines aimed to enhance the long-term follow-up of cancer survivors and to contribute their rehabilitation need

Prioritizing cleft/craniofacial surgical care after the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: It is anticipated that in due course the burden of emergency care due to COVID-19 infected patients will reduce sufficiently to permit elective surgical procedures to recommence. Prioritizing cleft/craniofacial surgery in the already overloaded medical system will then become an issue. The European Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association, together with the European Cleft and Craniofacial Initiative for Equality in Care, performed a brief survey to capture a current snapshot during a rapidly evolving pandemic. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to the 2242 participants who attended 1 of 3 recent international cleft/craniofacial meetings. Results: The respondents indicated that children with Robin sequence who were not responding to nonsurgical options should be treated as emergency cases. Over 70% of the respondents indicated that palate repair should be performed before the age of 15 months, an additional 22% stating the same be performed by 18 months. Placement of middle ear tubes, primary cleft lip surgery, alveolar bone grafting, and velopharyngeal insufficiency surgery also need prioritization. Children with craniofacial conditions such as craniosynostosis and increased intracranial pressure need immediate care, whilst children with craniosynostosis and associated obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or proptosis need surgical care within 3 months of the typical timing. Craniosynostosis without signs of increased intracranial pressure needs correction before the age of 18 months. Conclusions: This survey indicates several areas of cleft and craniofacial conditions that need prioritization, but also certain areas where intervention is less urgent. We acknowledge that there will be differences in the post COVID-19 response according to circumstances and policies in individual countries

Imaging features and ultraearly hematoma growth in intracerebral hemorrhage associated with COVID-19

Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is an uncommon but deadly event in patients with COVID-19 and its imaging features remain poorly characterized. We aimed to describe the clinical and imaging features of COVID-19-associated ICH. Methods: Multicenter, retrospective, case-control analysis comparing ICH in COVID-19 patients (COV19\u2009+) versus controls without COVID-19 (COV19\u2009-). Clinical presentation, laboratory markers, and severity of COVID-19 disease were recorded. Non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) markers (intrahematoma hypodensity, heterogeneous density, blend sign, irregular shape fluid level), ICH location, and hematoma volume (ABC/2 method) were analyzed. The outcome of interest was ultraearly hematoma growth (uHG) (defined as NCCT baseline ICH volume/onset-to-imaging time), whose predictors were explored with multivariable linear regression. Results: A total of 33 COV19\u2009+\u2009patients and 321 COV19\u2009-\u2009controls with ICH were included. Demographic characteristics and vascular risk factors were similar in the two groups. Multifocal ICH and NCCT markers were significantly more common in the COV19\u2009+\u2009population. uHG was significantly higher among COV19\u2009+\u2009patients (median 6.2 mL/h vs 3.1 mL/h, p\u2009=\u20090.027), and this finding remained significant after adjustment for confounding factors (systolic blood pressure, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy), in linear regression (B(SE)\u2009=\u20090.31 (0.11), p\u2009=\u20090.005). This association remained consistent also after the exclusion of patients under anticoagulant treatment (B(SE)\u2009=\u20090.29 (0.13), p\u2009=\u20090.026). Conclusions: ICH in COV19\u2009+\u2009patients has distinct NCCT imaging features and a higher speed of bleeding. This association is not mediated by antithrombotic therapy and deserves further research to characterize the underlying biological mechanisms