Progettazione e gestion di hotspot IEEE 802.11b con strumenti GIS opensource: WiFiCamp 2003

Le tradizionali tecnologie cablate per l'accesso alle reti di calcolatori (LAN, MAN, WAN) sono state negli ultimi anni affiancate dai sistemi wireless, nei quali i dispositivi di calcolo (PC, portatili, PDA, smartphones) possono comunicare tra loro utilizzando il canale radio. Grazie a questi sistemi e' possibile offrire servizi di connettivita' verso le reti e in particolare ad Internet ad utenti che si muovono liberamente su vaste aree. Le aree in cui tali servizi sono offerti (locali pubblici, sale d'attesa di aeroporti, stazioni dei treni, centri per convegni, campus, musei,...) sono comunemente denominate hotspots. In questo lavoro si illustreranno le caratteristiche dei sistemi wireless, con particolare riferimento allo standard IEEE 802.11b, e si descriveranno le problematiche della progettazione, implementazione e valutazione delle prestazioni di hotspot, anche attraverso l'utilizzo di PDA Linux e di software GIS GRASS. In particolare, sara' descritto l'hotspot sperimentato all'interno del progetto WILMA, in occasione del a San Cristoforo di Pergine Valsugana (Trento), grazie al quale e' stato possibile servire un'area di circa 500.000 metri quadrati e raggiungere distanze fino a 1.2Km. Le sperimentazioni effettuate, per la valutazione dell'affidabilita' in condizioni limite del sistema realizzato, sono diffusamente descritte in [4

Treatment and Prophylaxis of Post-pericardiotomy Syndrome in Cardiac Surgery Patients: a Systematic Review.

Purpose; Post-pericardiotomy syndrome (PPS) is a common complication of cardiac surgery. This systematic review aimedto investigate the efficacy of colchicine, indomethacin, and dexamethasone in the treatment and prophylaxis of PPS. Methods: Literature research was carried out using PubMed. Studies investigating ≥ 10 patients with clinically PPS treatedwith colchicine, dexamethasone, and indomethacin and compared with placebo were included. Animal or in vitro experi-ments, studies on < 10 patients, case reports, congress reports, and review articles were excluded. Cochrane risk-of-bias toolfor randomized trials (RoB2) was used for the quality assessment of studies. Results: Seven studies were included. Among studies with postoperative colchicine treatment, two of them demonstrated asignificant reduction of PPS. In the single pre-surgery colchicine administration study, a decrease of PPS cases was registered.Indomethacin pre-surgery administration was linked to a reduction of PPS. No significant result emerged with preoperativedexamethasone intake. Conclusion; Better outcomes have been registered when colchicine and indomethacin were administered as primary prophy-lactic agents in preventing PPS and PE. Further RCT studies are needed to confirm these result

The Risk of Neurological Dysfunctions after Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest with Retrograde Cerebral Perfusion

OBJECTIVE: Retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) is a brain protection technique that is adopted generally for anticipated short periods of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA). However, the real impact of this technique on cerebral protection during DHCA remains a controversial issue. METHODS: For 344 (59.5%) of 578 consecutive patients (mean age, 66.9\u2009\ub1\u200910.9 years) who underwent cardiovascular surgery under DHCA at the present authors' institution (1999-2015), RCP was the sole technique of cerebral protection that was adopted in addition to deep hypothermia. Surgery of the thoracic aorta was performed in 95.9% of these RCP patients; in 92 cases there was an aortic arch involvement. Outcomes were reviewed retrospectively. The focus was on postoperative neurological dysfunctions. RESULTS: There were 33 (9.6%) in-hospital deaths. Thirty-one (9%) patients had permanent neurological dysfunctions and 66 (19.1%) transitory neurological dysfunctions alone. Age older than 74 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.88, P\u2009=\u2009.023), surgery for acute aortic dissection (OR, 2.57; P\u2009=\u2009.0009), and DHCA time longer than 25 minutes (OR, 2.44; P\u2009=\u2009.0021) were predictors of neurological dysfunctions. The 10-year nonparametric estimate of freedom from all-cause death was 61.8% (95% confidence interval, 57.8%-65.8%). Permanent postoperative neurological dysfunctions were risk factors for cardiac or cerebrovascular death (hazard ratio, 2.6; P\u2009=\u2009.039) even after an adjusted survival analysis (P\u2009<\u2009.04). CONCLUSIONS: According to the study findings, RCP, in addition to deep hypothermia, combines with a low risk of neurological dysfunctions provided that DHCA length is 25 minutes or less. Permanent postoperative neurological dysfunctions are predictors of poor late survival

Human-Robot Cooperation via Brain Computer Interface in Assistive Scenario

In the last years, the development of robots for assisting and collaborating with people has experienced a large growth. Applications for assistive robots include hospital service robots, factory intelligent assistants and personal homecare robots. Working in shared environments with human beings, these robots require effective ways to achieve an increasing human-robot cooperation. This work presents a possible approach for performing human-robot cooperation, namely recognition of a user selected object by means of Brain Computer Interface (BCI), followed by pick and place via a robotic arm. The object selection is achieved introducing a BCI that allows the user, after a training phase, to choose one among six different objects of common diffusion. The selection is achieved by interpreting the P300 signals generated in the brain, when the image of the object, desidered by the user, appears on a computer screen as a visual stimulus. The robot then recognizes, through a classifier, the selected object among others within its workspace, and inscribes it in a rectangle shape. Finally, the robot arm is moved in correspondence to the object position, the gripper is rotated according to the object orientation and the object grasped and moved into a different position on a desk in front of the robot. This system could support people with limited motor skills or paralysis, playing an important role in structured assistive environments in a near future