Autonomous Collision avoidance for Unmanned aerial systems

Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) applications are growing day by day and this will lead Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the close future to share the same airspace of manned aircraft.This implies the need for UAS to define precise safety standards compatible with operations standards for manned aviation. Among these standards the need for a Sense And Avoid (S&A) system to support and, when necessary, sub¬stitute the pilot in the detection and avoidance of hazardous situations (e.g. midair collision, controlled flight into terrain, flight path obstacles, and clouds). This thesis presents the work come out in the development of a S&A system taking into account collision risks scenarios with multiple moving and fixed threats. The conflict prediction is based on a straight projection of the threats state in the future. The approximations introduced by this approach have the advantage of high update frequency (1 Hz) of the estimated conflict geometry. This solution allows the algorithm to capture the trajectory changes of the threat or ownship. The resolution manoeuvre evaluation is based on a optimisation approach considering step command applied to the heading and altitude autopilots. The optimisation problem takes into account the UAV performances and aims to keep a predefined minimum separation distance between UAV and threats during the resolution manouvre. The Human-Machine Interface (HMI) of this algorithm is then embedded in a partial Ground Control Station (GCS) mock-up with some original concepts for the indication of the flight condition parameters and the indication of the resolution manoeuvre constraints. Simulations of the S&A algorithm in different critical scenarios are moreover in-cluded to show the algorithm capabilities. Finally, methodology and results of the tests and interviews with pilots regarding the proposed GCS partial layout are covered

Exploring age-related differences in declarative memory retrieval using naturalistic paradigms

This thesis explores the nuances of the age-related differences in declarative memory recall, delving beyond the traditional characterisation of ageing as a process primarily marked by episodic memory decline and semantic knowledge preservation. The three experiments reported in the thesis manipulated retrieval instructions targeting episodic and semantic memories and examined participants’ narratives by analysing the production of intermediate forms of declarative memories, particularly personal semantics and gist representations. The paradigms adopted across the three experiments involved narrative-like encoding by targeting personal events (Chapters 2 and 3) or adopting fictional stories (Chapter 4), followed by narrative-like retrieval, asking participants to remember and verbally describe these stories. In Chapter 2, the Semantic Autobiographical Interview (SAI) was introduced as a novel approach, enabling the exploration of episodic, personal semantic, and general semantic memory recall. Chapter 3 extended the exploration by investigating participants' adaptability in memory recall under changing task instructions. Participants were instructed to switch between the recall of unique and repeated events or to recall these memories in separate blocks. Chapter 4 introduced a naturalistic laboratory-based study involving video-based recall over varying time intervals, to investigate the emergence of gist in ageing and the consistency of recall over time. Across the three experiments, two consistent findings emerged: when elaborating autobiographical and fictional narratives, participants tended to recall a mixture of perceptual and contextually specific details but also gist-like and schematic information; older adults particularly preferred personal semantic knowledge (Chapters 2 and 3) and gist-like representations (Chapter 4) over more finer-grain details when recalling personal and fictional past experiences. Overall, this thesis uncovers a nuanced picture of age-related differences in declarative memory recall. It highlights the preference for personal semantic knowledge and gist-like representations in older adults' memories, shedding light on the interplay between different memory types and narrative preferences in ageing

Edifici di culto non cristiano a Ostia tra IV e V secolo d.C. Il caso dei mitrei

L'antica città di Ostia ha restituito il maggior numero di mitrei noti in contesto urbano, presenti in ogni quartiere attualmente conosciuto e sempre ricavati all'interno di edifici preesistenti. La tesi in oggetto intende esaminare la tematica relativa alle modalità di installazione e soprattutto abbandono dei suddetti mitrei, in relazione all'ascesa e diffusione della religione cristiana. Nell'ottica di rivedere e aggiornare il catalogo edito da Giovanni Becatti ormai più di sessant'anni or sono, ci si è inoltre prefissi lo scopo di superare la tradizionale identificazione del mitreo con il solo spelaeum, la vera e propria aula di culto, cercando di definire tutti gli spazi propriamente mitraici nell'ambito dei complessi in cui essi vennero installati. La ricerca è stata portata avanti anche grazie all'utilizzo delle moderne tecniche di rilievo bi- e tridimensionale, utili alla realizzazione di una nuova documentazione grafica relativa ai mitrei.In the ancient city of Ostia there is the largest number of mithraea in an urban context, present in every neighborhood currently known and always obtained within pre-existing buildings. The thesis intends to examine the issue concerning the modalities of installation and particularly abandonment of the mithraea, in relation to the rise and spread of the Christian religion. In order to review and update the catalog published by Giovanni Becatti now more than sixty years ago, we have also tried to overcoming the traditional identification of the mithraeum with the spelaeum, the cult room, in an attempt to define all the proper mithraic spaces within the complexes in which they were installed. The research has been carried out also with the modern bi- and three-dimensional relief techniques, useful for the realization of a new graphic documentation of the mithraea

ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INTEGRATED REPORTING AND GLOBAL ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE

The development and globalisation of the world's economies and the growing number of multinationals contribute to a huge flow of financial and non-financial information. The process of gathering information is difficult and sometimes limited. This has raised the issue of developing an integrated reporting framework, encompassing all types of information and contributing to right  investment decisions, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the entity. Financial reporting has adapted to the needs of stakeholders and market requirements, thus from simple reporting through statutory financial statements, we now have an integrated reporting system, covering all financial and non-financial information (social, environmental and governance indicators, etc.) of the entity. Through integrated reporting, the overall performance of the company is basically presented, incorporating economic, social and environmental performance indicators. The purpose of this article is to provide an analysis of the concept of overall business performance and integrated reporting and to highlight the role of integrated reporting in business sustainability

Regulation der Zelladhäsion in Meibomdrüsen und deren Rolle in der Pathogenese des Trockenen Auges

Meibomian glands are modified, holocrine sebaceous glands within the eyelid important for the maintenance of the integrity and health of the ocular surface. These glands produce an oily secret which stabilizes the tear film. Therefore, a dysfunction of the glands (Meibomian Gland Dysfunction, MGD) is nowadays seen as the leading cause of the so- called Dry eye disease (DED). Former in situ research done by our group showed that the number of desmosomes in Meibomian glands increases over time during cell differentiation. What is more, Pemphigus vulgaris, a chronic blistering autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies against desmosomal cadherins, is very often associated with DED. With this work we firstly wanted to analyse the physiological conditions for the formation of cell-cell-contacts in Meibomian glands and secondly investigate the role of cell cohesion in the pathogenesis of the Meibomian gland dysfunction. We used a stable human meibocyte cell-line (human meibomian gland cells, HMGECs) and started with identifying the perfect conditions for differentiation. We determined two points in time that were associated with an early and a more mature state of differentiation. We then wanted to analyze the exact composition of cell cohesion molecules in Meibomian glands and quantify the adhesion strength during maturation. Desmosomal cadherins were of major interest in the beginning, because they are known to be essential for strong cell cohesion in various tissues. However, this data shows that cell cohesion is regulated differently in Meibomian glands. What is more, there is evidence that the adherens junction component E-cadherin, and not desmosomes, is crucial for the maintenance of physiological processes in Meibocytes

A systematic comparison of pan-Trk immunohistochemistry assays among multiple cancer types

AIMS NTRK rearranged tumours are rare but can be successfully treated using anti-TRK-targeted therapies, making NTRK testing important for treatment choices in patients with advanced cancers. Pan-Trk immunohistochemistry (IHC) has become a valuable and affordable screening tool in many laboratories. Unfortunately, the choice of antibodies and IHC protocols to investigate biomarkers is not standardised. In this study, we compared the performance of four pan-Trk IHC methods, using three different clones, primarily in NTRK fusion-positive tumours. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied the performance of four pan-Trk IHC methods using three different clones: EPR17341 (Abcam and Ventana), EP1058Y (Abcam) and A7H6R (Cell Signaling) in 22 molecularly confirmed NTRK rearranged tumours. Additionally, selected NTRK fusion-negative tumours were further included: NTRK mutated (n = 8) and amplified (n = 15) tumours as well as NTRK fusion-negative tumours driven by other gene fusions, such as ALK, ROS1 and BCOR (n = 20), as well as salivary gland tumours (n = 16). Inter-rater agreement of three pathologists was additionally calculated, including H-score. With clone EPR17341 (Abcam in-house and ready-to-use Ventana protocol), all molecularly confirmed NTRK1-3 rearranged tumours were positively detected by immunohistochemistry, while the other clones missed NTRK2-3 rearranged tumours. For the fusion-negative cohort we found the best performance (least false-positive cases) using the clone A7H6R (Cell Signalling). CONCLUSION Given the therapeutic importance, testing for NTRK rearrangements in daily practice has become necessary and, despite IHC being a fast and affordable tool, using it in routine diagnostics is complicated and requires a high level of expertise