Robust and Efficient Sifting-Less Quantum Key Distribution Protocols

We show that replacing the usual sifting step of the standard quantum-key-distribution protocol BB84 by a one-way reverse reconciliation procedure increases its robustness against photon-number-splitting (PNS) attacks to the level of the SARG04 protocol while keeping the raw key-rate of BB84. This protocol, which uses the same state and detection than BB84, is the m=4 member of a protocol-family using m polarization states which we introduce here. We show that the robustness of these protocols against PNS attacks increases exponentially with m, and that the effective keyrate of optimized weak coherent pulses decreases with the transmission T like T^{1+1/(m-2)}

Towards a self-collision aware teleoperation framework for compound robots

This work lays the foundations of a self-collision aware teleoperation framework for compound robots. The need of an haptic enabled system which guarantees self-collision and joint limits avoidance for complex robots is the main motivation behind this paper. The objective of the proposed system is to constrain the user to teleoperate a slave robot inside its safe workspace region through the application of force cues on the master side of the bilateral teleoperation system. A series of simulated experiments have been performed on the Kuka KMRiiwa mobile robot; however, due to its generality, the framework is prone to be easily extended to other robots. The experiments have shown the applicability of the proposed approach to ordinary teleoperation systems without altering their stability properties. The benefits introduced by this framework enable the user to safely teleoperate whichever complex robotic system without worrying about self-collision and joint limitations

Enhancing airplane boarding procedure using vision based passenger classification

This paper presents the implementation of a new boarding strategy that exploits passenger and hand-luggage detection and classification to reduce the boarding time onto an airplane. A vision system has the main purpose of providing passengers data, in terms of agility coefficient and hand-luggage size to a seat assignment algorithm. The software is able to dynamically generate the passenger seat that reduces the overall boarding time while taking into account the current airplane boarding state. The motivation behind this work is to speed up of the passenger boarding using the proposed online procedure of seat assignment based on passenger and luggage classification. This method results in an enhancement of the boarding phase, in terms of both time and passenger experience. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate the usability of the proposed system in real conditions proving its performances in terms of reliability. Using a simple hardware and software setup, we performed several experiments recreating a gate entrance mock up and comparing the measurements with ground truth data to assess the reliability of the system

Chirality of nanophotonic waveguide with embedded quantum emitter for unidirectional spin transfer

Scalable quantum technologies may be achieved by faithful conversion between matter qubits and photonic qubits in integrated circuit geometries. Within this context, quantum dots possess well-defined spin states (matter qubits), which couple efficiently to photons. By embedding them in nanophotonic waveguides, they provide a promising platform for quantum technology implementations. In this paper, we demonstrate that the naturally occurring electromagnetic field chirality that arises in nanobeam waveguides leads to unidirectional photon emission from quantum dot spin states, with resultant in-plane transfer of matter-qubit information. The chiral behaviour occurs despite the non-chiral geometry and material of the waveguides. Using dot registration techniques, we achieve a quantum emitter deterministically positioned at a chiral point and realize spin-path conversion by design. We further show that the chiral phenomena are much more tolerant to dot position than in standard photonic crystal waveguides, exhibit spin-path readout up to 95±5% and have potential to serve as the basis of spin-logic and network implementations

Biomechanical analysis of the upper body during overhead industrial tasks using electromyography and motion capture integrated with digital human models

In this paper, we present a biomechanical analysis of the upper body, which includes upper-limb, neck and trunk, during the execution of overhead industrial tasks. The analysis is based on multiple performance metrics obtained from a biomechanical analysis of the worker during the execution of a specific task, i.e. an overhead drilling task, performed at different working heights. The analysis enables a full description of human movement and internal load state during the execution of the task, thought the evaluation of joint angles, joint torques and muscle activations. A digital human model is used to simulate and replicate the worker’s task in a virtual environment. The experiments were conduced in laboratory setting, where four subjects, with different anthropometric characteristics, have performed 48 drilling tasks in two different working heights defined as low configuration and middle configuration. The results of analysis have impact on providing the best configuration of the worker within the industrial workplace and/or providing guidelines for developing assistance devices which can reduce the physical overloading acting on the worker’s body

A fast airplane boarding strategy using online seat assignment based on passenger classification

The minimization of the turnaround time, the duration which an aircraft must remain parked at the gate, is an important goal of airlines to increase their profitability. This work introduces a procedure to minimize of the turnaround time by speeding up the boarding time in passenger aircrafts. This is realized by allocating the seat numbers adaptively to passengers when they pass the boarding gate and not before. Using optical sensors, an agility measure is assigned to each person and also a measure to characterize the size of her/his hand-luggage. Based on these two values per passenger and taking into account additional constraints, like reserved seats and the belonging to a group, a novel seat allocation algorithm is introduced to minimize the boarding time. Extensive simulations show that a mean reduction of the boarding time with approximately 15% is achieved compared to existing boarding strategies. The costs of introducing the proposed procedure are negligible, while the savings of reducing the turnaround time are enormous, considering that the costs generated by inactive planes on an airport are estimated to be about 30 $ per minute

Development of site-specific biomechanical indices for estimating injury risk in cycling

In this paper we present novel biomechanical indices for site-specific assessment of injury risk in cycling. The indices are built from a multifactorial analysis based on the kinematics and kinetics of the cyclist from the biomechanical side, and muscle excitations and muscle synergies from the neurophysiological side. The indices are specifics for three body regions (back, knee, ankle) which are strongly affected by overuse injuries in cycling. We use these indices for injury risks analysis of a recreational cyclist, who offered to participate in the experiments. The preliminary results are promising towards the use of such indices for planning and/or evaluating training schedule with the final goal of reducing non-traumatic injuries in cycling

A preliminary approach for swimming performance analysis of FISDIR elite athletes with intellectual impairment using an inertial sensor

People with intellectual impairment show low performances in motor control, especially in complex movements. Performance analysis methods, based on wearable inertial sensor, are often used in typical developed swimmers but have never been used in swimmers with intellectual impairment, for whom the use of quantitative systems would be even more important. This paper presents a case study conducted on freestyle swimmers from the functional evaluation project of the Italian Sport Federation for athletes with Intellectual Impairment (FISDIR). The tests were conducted by five Italian elite swimmers with intellectual impairment using a structured experimental protocol which foresees an inertial sensor located on the wrist. Key freestyle temporal and kinematic parameters were assessed. A high-speed camera was used as a benchmark to validate the inertial-based parameters. The preliminary results indicate that the proposed inertial-based approach correlates over 90% with the performance indices obtained with the camera-based approach, and therefore it could represent a useful tool for monitoring and improving the training

Tackling Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Targeted Degraders of eIF6

Translational control is the selective and regulated translation of specific mRNAs from the pool of the transcribed mRNAs. According to several studies, it is the major regulator of gene expression. eIF6 is a translation initiation factor that acts downstream the insulin pathway. Seminal work from Biffo’s group has shown that mice heterozygous for eIF6 fail to upregulate protein synthesis in postprandial conditions, and simultaneously show a reduction in the accumulation of white fat. Subsequent studies have shown that translation factors amplify lipid accumulation by acting at the translational level. Increased lipid accumulation in the liver is known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a prevalent condition in Western countries. Notably, fatty liver is the fastest growing cause of liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Recently, it was observed that genetic eIF6 inhibition reduces lipid metabolism and the progression of NAFLD to HCC. We hypothesize that eIF6 inhibition is an effective strategy for impairing the pathological evolution from a fatty liver (NAFLD) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and then HCC, and the progression of HCC. To challenge this hypothesis, we aim to generate a set of small molecules able to selectively degrade eIF6, based on the emerging proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology. Docking, molecular dynamics simulations and ligand binding free energy (by MM-GBSA approach) have been accomplished on compounds displaying promising in vitro activity on eIF6. The top scoring candidates are currently under development. The design strategy, chemical synthesis, and pharmacological investigation of this novel class of targeted protein degraders will be presented and discussed. [FAR-PO-038

Tackling Hepatocellular Carcinoma with novel PROTAC Degraders of eIF6

Introduction. eIF6, a translation initiation factor that operates downstream of the insulin pathway, has recently emerged as a potential drug target. eIF6 levels have been shown to increase throughout the progression from Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Furthermore, depletion of eIF6 has been observed to reduce tumorigenesis in Myc-induced lymphomagenesis and to decrease white fat accumulation in the liver [1]. On these premises, modulating eIF6 activity could represent an effective strategy to prevent the pathological progression of NAFLD to HCC, as well as to target existing HCC [2]. To this end, we are leveraging the PROTAC (Proteolysis Targeting Chimera) technology, which exploits the ubiquitin-proteasome system for targeted protein degradation. Materials & Methods. To explore the feasibility of targeting eIF6 for degradation, we are developing selective eIF6 PROTAC degraders based on previously identified eIF6 binders, along with new hits obtained through a virtual screening campaign. A computational study was conducted on a set of eIF6 degraders, utilizing molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations (MDs), and ligand binding free energy calculations (MM-GBSA) to identify the most promising binders. These compounds are currently under investigation in biophysical and cellular assays to evaluate binding affinity and degradation efficiency. Results & Discussion. Several putative eIF6 binders were identified through computational studies, and biophysical assays confirmed their ability to bind the translation factor. The lead PROTAC candidates exhibited strong binding interactions in docking and MD simulations, supporting their potential to induce eIF6 degradation. These results suggest that selected compounds could serve as effective degraders. Further experimental validation is ongoing to assess their efficacy in cellular models. Conclusion. The top-scoring eIF6 degrader candidates are currently under study. Preliminary findings support the potential of the PROTAC technology in targeting eIF6 for the treatment of HCC. The design, synthesis, and characterization of novel eIF6 PROTACs will be presented and discussed