Fault-tolerant communication channel structures

Systems and techniques for implementing fault-tolerant communication channels and features in communication systems. Selected commercial-off-the-shelf devices can be integrated in such systems to reduce the cost

Evolution of the Spin Hall Magnetoresistance in Cr2_2O3_3/Pt bilayers close to the N\'eel temperature

We study the evolution of magnetoresistance with temperature in thin film bilayers consisting of platinum and the antiferromagnet Cr$_2$O$_3$ with its easy axis out of the plane. We vary the temperature from 20 - 60{\deg}C, close to the N\'eel temperature of Cr$_2$O$_3$ of approximately 37{\deg}C. The magnetoresistive response is recorded during rotations of the external magnetic field in three mutually orthogonal planes. A large magnetoresistance having a symmetry consistent with a positive spin Hall magnetoresistance is observed in the paramagnetic phase of the Cr$_2$O$_3$, which however vanishes when cooling to below the N\'eel temperature. Comparing to analogous experiments in a Gd$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$/Pt heterostructure, we conclude that a paramagnetic field induced magnetization in the insulator is not sufficient to explain the observed magnetoresistance. We speculate that the type of magnetic moments at the interface qualitatively impacts the spin angular momentum transfer, with the $3d$ moments of Cr sinking angular momentum much more efficiently as compared to the more localized $4f$ moments of Gd.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Hydrogen induced optically-active defects in silicon photonic nanocavities

This work was supported by Era-NET NanoSci LECSIN project coordinated by F. Priolo, by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, FIRB contract No. RBAP06L4S5 and by the EPSRC UKSp project. Partial financial support by the Norwegian Research Council is also acknowledged.We demonstrate intense room temperature photoluminescence (PL) from optically active hydrogen- related defects incorporated into crystalline silicon. Hydrogen was incorporated into the device layer of a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer by two methods: hydrogen plasma treatment and ion implantation. The room temperature PL spectra show two broad PL bands centered at 1300 and 1500 nm wavelengths: the first one relates to implanted defects while the other band mainly relates to the plasma treatment. Structural characterization reveals the presence of nanometric platelets and bubbles and we attribute different features of the emission spectrum to the presence of these different kind of defects. The emission is further enhanced by introducing defects into photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities. Transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed that the isotropicity of plasma treatment causes the formation of a higher defects density around the whole cavity compared to the ion implantation technique, while ion implantation creates a lower density of defects embedded in the Si layer, resulting in a higher PL enhancement. These results further increase the understanding of the nature of optically active hydrogen defects and their relation with the observed photoluminescence, which will ultimately lead to the development of intense and tunable crystalline silicon light sources at room temperature.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Boschi vetusti e riserve forestali nel Veneto: patrimoni di biodiversita\u300

Vengono sintetizzate le criticita\u300 emergenti legate alle dinamiche di cambiamento della biodiversita\u300 nelle foreste del Veneto anche esaminando i dati delle politiche forestali degli ultimi decenni e delle trasformazioni di boschi e foreste di montagna, collina e pianura conseguenti all\u2019abbandono colturale e ad iniziative locali di contrasto alle alterazioni del paesaggio forestale, di miglioramento ambientale ed estetico e di difesa della biodiversita\u300 forestale e naturalistica dei territori del Veneto. Seppur in un confronto europeo l'Italia e\u300 forse uno degli stati piu\u300 virtuosi nella gestione del patrimonio boschivo, sia in termini di risparmio di biomassa (35% di prelievo sull'incremento contro la media europea di oltre 60%) che per modalita\u300 di prelievo (e\u300 uno dei pochi stati dove il taglio a raso e\u300 vietato e, a differenza di molti paesi europei, non ammette l'imboschimento con specie esotiche), in questo approfondimento vengono esaminati gli scenari possibili di riferimento per una programmazione piu\u300 mirata, incisiva ed innovativa delle politiche di tutela della biodiversita\u300 forestale del Veneto, guardando ad alcune esperienze europee volte alla tutela e valorizzazione dei boschi antichi o vetusti. Boschi e foreste si stanno espandendo nel Veneto anche in pianura: ma questo trend e\u300 frutto dell\u2019abbandono colturale e/o conseguenza di una programmazione territoriale adeguata? Si propongono linee guida per iniziative locali di contrasto alla banalizzazione estetica ed ambientale del paesaggio e per contro di miglioramento della difesa della biodiversita\u300 forestale e naturalistica dei territori del Veneto partendo dalla tutela del patrimonio genetico dei \u201cboschi vetusti\u201d

Circulating miR-22, miR-24 and miR-34a as Novel Predictive Biomarkers to Pemetrexed-Based Chemotherapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Pemetrexed has been widely used in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The clinical relevance of polymorphisms of folate pathway genes for pemetrexed metabolism have not been fully elucidated yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression levels of circulating miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a, possibly involved in folate pathway, in NSCLC patients treated with pemetrexed compared with healthy controls and to investigate their impact on patient clinical outcomes. A total of 22 consecutive patients with advanced NSCLC, treated with pemetrexed-based chemotherapy and 27 age and sex matched healthy controls were included in this preliminary analysis. miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a targets were identified by TargetScan 6.2 algorithm, validating the involvement of these microRNAs in folate pathway. MicroRNAs were isolated from whole blood and extracted with miRNAeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen). miRNA profiling was performed using Real-Time PCR. SPSS 17 was used to data analysis. miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a were found upregulated (P<0.05) in NSCLC patients versus healthy controls. Higher expression levels were recorded for miR-34a. Nevertheless, significantly higher miR-22 expression was observed in patients developing progressive disease (P=0.03). No significant associations with clinical outcome were recorded for miR-24 and miR-34a. Albeit preliminary, these data support the involvement of miR-22, miR-24, and miR-34a in advanced NSCLC. The correlation between high expression of miR-22 in whole blood and the lack of response in pemetrexed treated NSCLC patients indicates that miR-22 could represent a novel predictive biomarker for pemetrexed-based treatment

The comparison of outcomes from tyrosine kinase inhibitor monotherapy in second- or third-line for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patients with wild-type or unknown EGFR status

Background: Second-line treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients includes monotherapy with a third-generation cytotoxic drug (CT) or a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). These options are the actual standard for EGFR wild-type (WT) status, as patients with EGFR mutations achieve greater benefit by the use of TKI in first-line treatment. Some clinical trials and meta-analyses investigated the comparison between CT and TKI in second-line, but data are conflicting. Methods: We designed a retrospective trial to gather information about TKI sensitivity in comparison with CT. We selected from clinical records patients treated with at least 1 line of CT and at least 1 line of TKI. We collected data about age, sex, performance status, comorbidity, smoking status, histotype, metastatic sites, EGFR status, treatment schedule, better response and time-to-progression (TTP) for each line of treatment and overall survival (OS). Results: 93 patients met selection criteria. Mean age 66,7 (range: 46-84). M/F ratio is 3:1. 39 EGFR-WT and 54 EGFR-UK. All patients received erlotinib or gefitinib as second-line treatment or erlotinib as third-line treatment. No TTP differences were observed for both second-line (HR:0,91; p = 0,6333) and third-line (HR:1.1; p = 0,6951) treatment (TKI vs CT). A trend of a benefit in OS in favor of 3rd-line TKI (HR:0,68; p = 0,11). Conclusions: This study explores the role of TKIs in EGFR non-mutated NSCLC patients. OS analysis highlights a trend to a benefit in patients who received TKI in third-line, even if this result is statistically non-significant. Further analysis are needed to find an explanation for this observation

Molecular MR Imaging of Liver Fibrosis: A Feasibility Study Using Rat and Mouse Models

Background & Aims: Liver biopsy, the current clinical gold standard for fibrosis assessment, is invasive and has sampling errors, and is not optimal for screening, monitoring, or clinical decision-making. Fibrosis is characterized by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins including type I collagen. We hypothesize that molecular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a probe targeted to type I collagen could provide a direct and non-invasive method of fibrosis assessment. Methods: Liver fibrosis was induced in rats with diethylnitrosamine and in mice with carbon tetrachloride. Animals were imaged prior to and immediately following i.v. administration of either collagen-targeted probe EP-3533 or non-targeted control Gd-DTPA. Magnetic resonance (MR) signal washout characteristics were evaluated from T1 maps and T1-weighted images. Liver tissue was subjected to pathologic scoring of fibrosis and analyzed for gadolinium and hydroxyproline. Results: EP-3533-enhanced MR showed greater signal intensity on delayed imaging (normalized signal enhancement mice: control = 0.39 ± 0.04, fibrotic = 0.55 ± 0.03, p <0.01) and slower signal washout in the fibrotic liver compared to controls (liver t1/2 = 51.3 ± 3.6 vs. 42.0 ± 2.5 min, p <0.05 and 54.5 ± 1.9 vs. 44.1 ± 2.9 min, p <0.01 for fibrotic vs. controls in rat and mouse models, respectively). Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR could not distinguish fibrotic from control animals. EP-3533 gadolinium concentration in the liver showed strong positive correlations with hydroxyproline levels (r = 0.74 (rats), r = 0.77 (mice)) and with Ishak scoring (r = 0.84 (rats), r = 0.79 (mice)). Conclusions: Molecular MRI of liver fibrosis with a collagen-specific probe identifies fibrotic tissue in two rodent models of disease

The importance of a correct alignment in contactless inspection of Additive Manufactured parts

Nowadays products having complex freeform custom-made shapes can be fabricated without any tool by means of additive manufacturing processes. Additive manufactured parts must be inspected for quality to verify that they meet dimensional and geometrical specifications among other requirements just as any other product. Contactless inspection carried out with optical 3D scanners is preferred to traditional pointwise measurements because of the higher amount of data retrieved in short times. A key step of the contactless inspection process is the definition of the part reference frame for the alignment of scan data. This paper considers different 3-2-1 alignments and analyze their influence on the inspection results, putting in evidence that an inattentive or inaccurate definition of the part reference frame can lead to incorrect evaluations of real part deviation

Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Technology Development Roadmap

The Lunar Surface Systems Supportability Technology Development Roadmap is a guide for developing the technologies needed to enable the supportable, sustainable, and affordable exploration of the Moon and other destinations beyond Earth. Supportability is defined in terms of space maintenance, repair, and related logistics. This report considers the supportability lessons learned from NASA and the Department of Defense. Lunar Outpost supportability needs are summarized, and a supportability technology strategy is established to make the transition from high logistics dependence to logistics independence. This strategy will enable flight crews to act effectively to respond to problems and exploit opportunities in an environment of extreme resource scarcity and isolation. The supportability roadmap defines the general technology selection criteria. Technologies are organized into three categories: diagnostics, test, and verification; maintenance and repair; and scavenge and recycle. Furthermore, "embedded technologies" and "process technologies" are used to designate distinct technology types with different development cycles. The roadmap examines the current technology readiness level and lays out a four-phase incremental development schedule with selection decision gates. The supportability technology roadmap is intended to develop technologies with the widest possible capability and utility while minimizing the impact on crew time and training and remaining within the time and cost constraints of the program