Lunar Gravitational-Wave Antenna

Monitoring of vibrational eigenmodes of an elastic body excited by gravitational waves was one of the first concepts proposed for the detection of gravitational waves. At laboratory scale, these experiments became known as resonant-bar detectors first developed by Joseph Weber in the 1960s. Due to the dimensions of these bars, the targeted signal frequencies were in the kHz range. Weber also pointed out that monitoring of vibrations of Earth or Moon could reveal gravitational waves in the mHz band. His Lunar Surface Gravimeter experiment deployed on the Moon by the Apollo 17 crew had a technical failure rendering the data useless. In this article, we revisit the idea and propose a Lunar Gravitational-Wave Antenna (LGWA). We find that LGWA could become an important partner observatory for joint observations with the space-borne, laser-interferometric detector LISA, and at the same time contribute an independent science case due to LGWA's unique features. Technical challenges need to be overcome for the deployment of the experiment, and development of inertial vibration sensor technology lays out a future path for this exciting detector concept.Comment: 29 pages, 17 figure

Heat exhaust in fusion reactors and its impact on the sustainability of fusion electricity

This contribution presents a didactic overview of the sustainability of nuclear fusion as a source for electricity production. A comparison with traditional means of electricity generation will be carried out, especially regarding waste production. Particular attention will be focused on the lifetime of components in a fusion reactor, since this engineering parameter determines directly the environmental and economic sustainability. Finally, the impact of heat exhaust components, which is the field of expertise of the authors, on waste production will be assessed and the most active research activities aimed to enhance the performance and lifetime of these components will be summarized

High Entropy Ensembles for Holistic Figure-ground Segmentation

4noneIgnazio Gallo; Alessandro Zamberletti; Simone Albertini; Lucia NoceGallo, Ignazio; Zamberletti, Alessandro; Albertini, Simone; Noce, Luci

Neural 1D Barcode Detection Using the Hough Transform

Barcode reading mobile applications to identify products from pictures acquired by mobile devices are widely used by customers from all over the world to perform online price comparisons or to access reviews written by other customers. Most of the currently available 1D barcode reading applications focus on effectively decoding barcodes and treat the underlying detection task as a side problem that needs to be solved using general purpose object detection methods. However, the majority of mobile devices do not meet the minimum working requirements of those complex general purpose object detection algorithms and most of the efficient specifically designed 1D barcode detection algorithms require user interaction to work properly. In this work, we present a novel method for 1D barcode detection in camera captured images, based on a supervised machine learning algorithm that identifies the characteristic visual patterns of 1D barcodes' parallel bars in the two-dimensional Hough Transform space of the processed images. The method we propose is angle invariant, requires no user interaction and can be effectively executed on a mobile device; it achieves excellent results for two standard 1D barcode datasets: WWU Muenster Barcode Database and ArTe-Lab 1D Medium Barcode Dataset. Moreover, we prove that it is possible to enhance the performance of a state-of-the-art 1D barcode reading library by coupling it with our detection method

Giant Adrenal Cavernous Hemangioma: A Rare Abdominal Mass

An 84-year-old woman with left flank pain presented to our institution. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography demonstrated a large spherical adrenal mass (diameter 13 cm) showing features of a benign lesion. Histologic examination revealed a giant adrenal hemangioma. Surgical resection was curative, with no recurrence at 2 years of follow-up. Surgery is usually recommended for symptomatic patients or in the case of a large lesion (>6 cm) because of the possibility of the coexistence of a malignancy or potential complications (ie, hemorrhage, rupture). (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc

Joint Venture e Spin-off del CNR

L’obiettivo del presente rapporto è quello di illustrare, in forma schematica, le principali attività realizzate dalle joint venture in cui partecipa il Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR). In questo contesto, il termine joint venture è utilizzato per definire le varie iniziative imprenditoriali, tipologie di accordi e connotazioni giuridiche che si instaurano tra il CNR ed altri soggetti pubblici e privati, con obblighi e responsabilità pro-quota. In particolare, ci si riferisce a consorzi, società consortili, associazioni, fondazioni, GEIE e società di spin off

Trichomes that secrete substances of a mixed nature in the vegetative and reproductive organs of some species of Moraceae

ABSTRACT This study aimed to obtain new information about the distribution, morphology and content of secretory trichomes present in the vegetative and reproductive organs of four species of Moraceae: Artocarpus heterophyllus, Dorstenia cayapia, Maclura tinctoria and Sorocea bonplandii. Stem, leaf, flower and inflorescence samples were processed for scanning electron and light microscopy. The species have secretory trichomes on the leaf blade, petiole and stem and also on the inflorescence and flowers of D. cayapia and S. bonplandii and on the peduncle of the inflorescence in A. heterophyllus. These trichomes are of the capitate type in all species, but A. heterophyllus also possess peltate secretory trichomes. Both trichome types exhibit a multicellular head and a unicellular peduncle. Peduncle size and head cell number varies according to species. Peltate trichomes located in depressions were found only in species of Artocarpus, and so should be of diagnostic value for the genus. In all species the trichomes secrete polysaccharides, alkaloids and lipids; phenolic compounds occur in A. heterophyllus and M. tinctoria trichomes. These trichomes probably act in the protection against herbivores, pathogens, desiccation and/ or UV radiation. Moreover, the trichomes found in the inflorescence of D. cayapia may exert a function in pollen grain adhesion

Tritium Transport in WCLL Outboard Breeding Blanket of EU-DEMO Reactor Under Pulsed Plasma Operation

- The accurate prediction of the tritium inventory and permeation fluxes in the water-cooled lithium-lead (WCLL) breeding blanket of the European DEMO fusion reactor is a key aspect for future thermonuclear power plant licensing. In this context, a tritium transport analysis is essential for the evaluation of the tritium retention in LiPb (15.7 at. % Li) and in the structural components and tritium permeation fluxes into the cooling water. This study presents a COMSOL Multiphysics model of a portion of the minimum functional unit of the outboard equatorial module of the WCLL. The neutronics analysis, performed with the MCNP Monte Carlo transport code, allows for the assessment of the tritium generation rate and the volumetric power deposition in the lithium-lead, both of which are used as an input for tritium transport modeling. Moreover, the buoyancy forces and the magnetohydrodynamic effect are also included. In order to take into account a pulsed operation for the DEMO reactor, a suitable algorithm was developed. The results show peak velocities in LiPb up to 24.1 mm s(-1) with a maximum temperature at the first wall (FW) of 441 degrees C. Most of the tritium is concentrated between the FW and the baffle plate, with partial pressures between 0.15 and 0.4 Pa considering Aiello's correlation and in-house measurements of Sieverts' constant on the HyPer-QuarCh II (HQ-II) device, whereas from 70 to 180 Pa adopting Reiter's correlation. This has an impact also on the inventory in the Eurofer and in permeation fluxes to the water pipes. For Reiter's correlation, the inventories in the Eurofer are about one order of magnitude lower with respect to LiPb, and the inventory in water is five orders of magnitude higher with respect to HQ-II and Aiello's correlation

A novel approach to the study of magnetohydrodynamic effect on tritium transport in WCLL breeding blanket of DEMO

The Water-Cooled Lithium Lead (WCLL) breeding blanket is one of the European blanket designs proposed for DEMO reactor. Tritium can permeate into the different structural materials, arising potential issues concerning the fuel self-sufficiency and can be lost into the environment with consequent radiological hazard for the population. Within this frame, a tritium transport analysis is fundamental to evaluate tritium retention in LiPb (15.7 at. % Li) and in the structures and tritium permeation fluxes into the cooling water. To assess this study, a portion of the breeder unit of the outboard equatorial module of the WCLL was modelled. The buoyancy forces and the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effect were also included. The final system of partial differential equations was solved with a novel approach through COMSOL Multiphysics. The coupled MHD and heat transfer system of equations was solved performing a transient simulation, that was stopped when the main average variables, temperature and velocity, reached a stable condition. In this way, it was possible to determine the lithium-lead velocity field and to use it as an input for the transport analysis. Tritium transport was modelled by using the input data of tritium generation rate and volumetric power deposition coming from an ad-hoc Monte Carlo simulation realized with MCNP software. Moreover, the transport analysis included advection-diffusion of tritium into the LiPb, transfer of tritium from the liquid interface towards the steel, diffusion of tritium inside the steel, transfer of tritium from the steel towards the coolant, advection-diffusion of diatomic tritium into the coolant