Nonlinear modelling and control of a common rail injection system for diesel engines

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Passioni musicali in commedeja tra donne guerriere e pastori “partenopei” nel secolo dei lumi

The commedia pe museca, an entirely Neapolitan genre, is remarkable for its keen inclination to experimentation. It constitutes a performing experience which has among its most interesting features an extreme flexibility, in order to receive and assimilate every kind of influence deriving from the Neapolitan society. Numerous plots are based upon love and passions: most literary and theatrical sources are centered around the amorous delirium, in all its manifestations. Along with other authors from the 16th and 17th centuries, Tasso and Ariosto provide themes and situations for this comic genre. On the one hand, these contributions inspire the musical rendering; on the other, they reveal the timeless prestige of a literary production which continues to nourish the wide world of the performing arts. The exemplary love stories become essential models for all the librettists who work on the “classics” so as to adapt them to the new expectations of the early Settecento theatre in the best way.I variegati percorsi intrapresi dal genere, tutto napoletano, della commedeja pe museca rivelano una frenetica predisposizione allo sperimentalismo e connotano una forma spettacolare che esibisce come propria cifra di riconoscibilità l’estrema duttilità ad acquisire le più disparate suggestioni che le vengono dalla stimolante società partenopea. Amori e passioni costellano le storie allestite per le commedie, le molteplici fonti letterarie e teatrali alle quali si affidano hanno come ingranaggio portante il “delirio” amoroso obliterato in tutte le sue manifestazioni. Tasso e Ariosto, insieme ad altri autori cinque-seicenteschi, contribuiscono ad alimentare lo spettacolo “comico” offrendo spunti e situazioni che da un lato corroborano la scrittura per musica e dall’altra rivelano l’intramontabile portato di una letteratura che si riverbera nelle più disparate forme performative. Le esemplari storie amorose assurgono pertanto a modello imprescindibile per i volenterosi librettisti che declinano i “classici” nei modi più congeniali alle nuove aspettative della scena primo-settecentesca

Performance analysis of correlation techniques for noise measurements

The cross-correlation technique makes it possible to perform noise measurements with a sensitivity that would otherwise be unreachable, well below the noise floor of the amplifiers. Not all noise contributions from the amplifiers can however be eliminated or even just attenuated by cross-correlation: therefore it is important to take into consideration the detailed characteristics of the DUT (Device Under Test) and of the amplifiers when setting up the measurement system. Here we discuss the relative advantages of the different (“series” and “parallel”) configurations coupled with our technique for the accurate evaluation of the transimpedance between the noise source to be measured and the amplifier output. In particular, we show (i) the importance of the comparison between the real and the imaginary part of the cross-spectrum due to the asymmetry of the correlation amplifiers and (ii) how to estimate the maximum number of averages in the cross-spectrum evaluation that leads to an actual advantage from the point of view of the measurement accuracy. Finally we discuss the issue of shielding from external spurious signals, whose relevance is often underestimated

Negative ozone anomalies at a high mountain site in northern Italy during 2020: a possible role of COVID-19 lockdowns?

Several studies investigated the possible impacts of the restriction measures related to the containment of the spread of the COrona VIrus Disease (COVID-19) to atmospheric ozone (O3) at global, regional, and local scales during 2020. O3 is a secondary pollutant with adverse effects on population health and ecosystems and with negative impacts on climate, acting as greenhouse gas. Most of these studies focused on spring 2020 (i.e. March–May) and on observations in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), mostly in the vicinity of urban agglomerates. Here, we analyzed the variability of O3 above the PBL of northern Italy in 2020 by using continuous observations carried out at a high mountain WMO/GAW global station in Italy (Mt. Cimone–CMN; 44°12' N, 10°42' E, 2165 m a.s.l.). Low O3 monthly anomalies were observed during spring (MAM) and summer (JJA), when periods of low O3 intertwined with periods with higher O3, within climatological ranges. A similar variability was observed for O3 precursors like NO2 and 15 anthropogenic non-methane volatile organic carbons, but the systematic O3 anomalies were not reflected in these variables. The analysis of meteorological variables and diel O3 cycles did not suggest major changes in the vertical transport related to the thermal circulation system in the mountain area. The analysis of five days back-trajectories suggested that the observed O3 anomalies cannot be explained by differences in the synoptic-scale circulation with respect to the previous years alone. On the other hand, the characterization of two transport patterns (i.e. air masses from the regional PBL or from the free troposphere) and the analysis of back-trajectories suggested an important contribution of transport from the continental PBL during the periods with the lowest O3 at CMN. When proxies of air mass transport from the regional PBL are considered, a lower NOx content was pointed out with respect to the previous years, suggesting a lower O3 production in a NOx-limited atmosphere. Our study suggested for the first time that, during MAM and JJA 2020, the reduced anthropogenic emissions related to the COVID-19 restrictions lowered the amount of this short-lived climate forcer/pollutant at remote locations above the PBL over northern Italy. This work suggests the importance of limiting anthropogenic precursor emissions for decreasing the O3 amount at remote locations and in upper atmospheric layers

The Potential Role of Pharmacogenomic and Genomic in the Adjuvant Treatment of Early Stage Non Small Cell Lung Cancer

Although notable progress has been made in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in recent years, this disease is still associated with a poor prognosis. Despite early-stage NSCLC is considered a potentially curable disease following complete resection, the majority of patients relapse and eventually die after surgery. Adjuvant chemotherapy prolongs survival, altough the absolute improvement in 5-year overall survival is only approximately 5%

SPECIFIC DYSPEPTIC SYMPTOMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH POOR RESPONSE TO THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE

Background: In gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) patients, coexistence of functional dyspepsia (FD) is known to be associated with poor response to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), but the contribution of specific dyspepsia symptoms has not been systematically investigated yet. Objective: To characterize the impact of dyspepsia symptoms on PPIs response in GORD patients. Methods:. The enrolled subjects were 100 patients with diagnosis of GORD. All patients underwent a 24 hour pH-impedance test, while on PPIs-therapy. Patients were divided into two groups, refractory and responders, according to the persistence of GORD symptoms. A standardized questionnaire for FD was also administered to assess presence of dyspepsia symptoms. Results: In the subgroup of refractory patients FD was more prevalent than in responder ones, with postprandial fullness, nausea, vomiting, early satiation and epigastric pain being significantly prevalent in refractory GORD-patients. In the multivariate analysis only early satiation and vomiting were significantly associated with poor response to PPIs Conclusion: Coexistence of FD is associated with refractory-GORD. We showed that only early satiation and vomiting are risk factors for poor response to PPIs therapy. Our findings suggest that symptoms of early satiation and vomiting would help to identify the subset of PPIs-refractory GORD patients

Application of iterative learning control for path following of 3DOFS robot arm

This paper deals with a topic of robot trajectory control which is very popular in academic and industrial research community. The task is very challenging considering the nonlinear nature of robot manipulators, as well as high demands in tracking performances [1]. To accomplish this, we proposed a combined feedforward-feedback control scheme [2], which outperforms each of these two subroutines when run separately. The first one is based on iterative learning algorithm of proportional-derivative (PD) type, while the second one is classical feedback controller, also of PD type [3]. Parameters of the controller are designed to achieve good performance/robustness trade-off, which is a key element in modern control design. Mathematical model of three degrees of freedom robot arm is derived with included actuator dynamics [4]. One of typical industrial applications of robot manipulators is a task of following a trajectory in space with prescribed velocity law. Processes like arc welding, painting, laser cutting, object inspection etc., are some of which wherein such demands can be met. In this particular case, robot manipulator needs to follow a circular trajectory with constant speed along the path. Numerical solution of inverse kinematics problem needs to be addressed first in order to obtain desired trajectory in joint space. Then, proposed control scheme is employed and some preliminary results are given in figures below. Ten consecutive simulations of robot trying to follow a predetermined path are performed using the iterative learning control algorithm. In each subsequent simulation tracking performances are improving, reducing the maximum distance error by ten times in overall. Furthermore, by increasing the number of simulations, the error can be made arbitrarily small. Also, this control design allows following of different types of trajectories, with various velocity laws