Doubling of the Algebra and Neutrino Mixing within Noncommutative Spectral Geometry

We study physical implications of the doubling of the algebra, an essential element in the construction of the noncommutative spectral geometry model, proposed by Connes and his collaborators as offering a geometric explanation for the standard model of strong and electroweak interactions. Linking the algebra doubling to the deformed Hopf algebra, we build Bogogliubov transformations and show the emergence of neutrino mixing.Comment: 7 pages; slightly modified version to match publicatio

Stability and absorbing set of parabolic chemotaxis model of Escherichia coli

This paper is devoted to model (1) for escherichia coli, introduced in [1]. Based on the experimental observations of Budrene and Berg [2, 3], Tyson and coworkers derived (1) with n cell density, c chemotrattactant concentration and s stimulant concentration. Our aim is to study the stability of constant meaning full solution and ultimately boundedness of the solutions. Precisely: (i) linear and nonlinear stability is proved by using a peculiar Lyapunov function, (ii) the ultimately boundedness of the solutions in the L2-norm is obtained, (iii) conditions guaranteeing the global stability are also obtained

"Uniformità di stile" e "distinguibilità" nei restauri di Santa Lucia in Selci tra Leone XII e Gregorio XVI

The restoration works carried out in the small church of the Augustinian convent of San Lucia in Selci between 1814, the year of the apostolic visit of Pope Pius VII to the monastery, and 1847, the year in which the magazine Album describes in detail the work now compieteci, show how in the years of the Restaurazione in Rome a respectful attention had developed towards all the ancient and modem pre-existences. The works started in 1822, probably by Valadier, last a long time and also involved other parts of the monastery. lt is a restoration work that reworks and corrects the pre-existing according to an idea of "due style", far from a historical reading of the document. But the choice of materials adopted seems to re­ spond to the needs of saving resources, similar to what happens in the most important works to the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus. And also in this case the economie need ends up to clearly distinguish the restoration intervention by defin­ ing a criterion of great importance tor the future developments of the disciplin

PREVALENCE AND INCIDENCE OF OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURES IN PATIENTS ON LONG-TERM GLUCOCORTICOID TREATMENT FOR RHEUMATIC DISEASES: The Glucocorticoid Induced OsTeoporosis TOol, GIOTTO STUDY.

Background: Osteoporosis and fractures are common and invalidating consequences of chronic glucorticoid (GCs) treatment. Reliable information regarding the epidemiology of GCs induced osteoporosis (GIOP) are coming exclusively from the placebo group of randomized clinical trials while observational studies are generally lacking data on the real prevalence of vertebral fractures, GC dose and primary diagnosis. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of osteoporotic fractures and to identify their major determinants (primary disease, GCs dose, bone mineral density,risk factors, specific treatment for GIOP) in a large cohort of consecutive patients aged > 21 years, on chronic treatment with GC ( 655 mg prednisone \u2013PN- equivalent), attending rheumatology centers located all over Italy. Methods:This is a national multicenter cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study (The Glucocorticoid Induced OsTeoporosis TOol, GIOTTO Study). 553 patients suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) and Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs) and in chronic treatment with GCs were enrolled. Results: Osteoporotic BMD values (T score < -2.5) were observed in 28%, 38% and 35% of the patients with CTDs, PMR or RA at the lumbar spine, and in 18%, 29% and 26% at the femoral neck, respectively. Before GC treatment prevalent clinical fractures had been reported by 12%, 37% and 17% of patients with CTDs, PMR, and RA, respectively. New clinical fragility fractures during GC treatment was reported by 12%, 10% and 23% of CTDs, PMR and RA patients, respectively. Vertebral fractures were the prevailing type of fragility fracture. More than 30% of patients had recurrence of fracture. An average of 80% of patients were in supplementation with calcium and/or vitamin D during treatment with GCs. Respectively,64%, 80%, and 72% of the CTDs, PMR and RApatients were on pharmacological treatment for GIOP, almost exclusively with bisphosphonates. Conclusions: The GIOTTO study might provide relevant contributions in clinical practice, in particular by highlighting and quantifying in real life the prevalence of GIOP and relative fractures, the frequency of the main risk factors, and the currently sub-optimal prevention. Moreover, these results emphasize the importance of the underlying rheumatic disease on the risk of GIOP associated fractures

Preservación de los microcentros históricos. Problemas de reuso entre conservación y compatibilidad

[EN] The preservation policies of historic centres have distant roots. From the Venice Charter of 1964, the Amsterdam Declaration of 1975, to the document signed in Washington in 1987 and its review by the ICOMOS CIVVIH Committee in 2011, the culture of restoration has progressively expanded the boundaries of the cultural heritage to be protected. Recently challenges around the existing city have gradually faded and the focus on historic centres has gradually lost vigour, although their conservation has become increasingly problematic. Today we hear more often about urban regeneration, but restoration can represent more than in the past, the real tool for the care of historical fabrics, as this discipline bases the project on a deep knowledge of the functional, structural and formal data of every urban reality without excluding the surrounding environment in all its aspects. The conversion of many small abandoned historical centres in the Italian mountain hinterland into widespread hotels represents a system of valorisation, but does not exhaust the conservative needs of these urban core. Just as compatible use does not cover the full breadth of the concept of "integrated conservation". This, if correctly interpreted, could, instead, represent the key to the management of the territory through the planning of a design process in which restoration is a means of mediation between the economic, social and cultural needs of a site.[ES] Las políticas de preservación de los centros históricos tienen raíces distantes. Desde la Carta de Venecia de 1964, la Declaración de Ámsterdam de 1975, hasta el documento firmado en Washington en 1987, la cultura de la restauración ha ampliado progresivamente los límites del patrimonio cultural que debe protegerse. Recientemente, los desafíos en torno a la ciudad existente se han ido desvaneciendo gradualmente y el enfoque en los centros históricos ha ido perdiendo vigor, aunque su conservación se ha vuelto cada vez más problemática. Hoy en día se habla más a menudo de regeneración urbana, pero la restauración puede representar, más que en el pasado, la verdadera herramienta para el cuidado de los tejidos históricos, ya que esta disciplina basa el proyecto en un profundo conocimiento de los datos funcionales, estructurales y formales de cada realidad urbana sin excluir el entorno en todos sus aspectos. La conversión de muchos pequeños centros históricos abandonados en el interior de las montañas italianas en ciudad-hotel representa un sistema de valorización, pero no agota las necesidades conservadoras de estos núcleos urbanos. Al igual que el uso compatible no abarca todo el alcance del concepto de "conservación integrada". Esto, si se interpreta correctamente, podría, en cambio, representar la clave de la gestión del territorio mediante la planificación de un proceso de diseño en el que la restauración sea un medio de mediación entre las necesidades económicas, sociales y culturales de un sitio.Vitiello, M. (2021). Preservación de los microcentros históricos. Problemas de reuso entre conservación y compatibilidad. En I Simposio anual de Patrimonio Natural y Cultural ICOMOS España. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 527-534. https://doi.org/10.4995/icomos2019.2019.11773OCS52753

Synthetic and bio-artificial tactile sensing: a review

This paper reviews the state of the art of artificial tactile sensing, with a particular focus on bio-hybrid and fully-biological approaches. To this aim, the study of physiology of the human sense of touch and of the coding mechanisms of tactile information is a significant starting point, which is briefly explored in this review. Then, the progress towards the development of an artificial sense of touch are investigated. Artificial tactile sensing is analysed with respect to the possible approaches to fabricate the outer interface layer: synthetic skin versus bio-artificial skin. With particular respect to the synthetic skin approach, a brief overview is provided on various technologies and transduction principles that can be integrated beneath the skin layer. Then, the main focus moves to approaches characterized by the use of bio-artificial skin as an outer layer of the artificial sensory system. Within this design solution for the skin, bio-hybrid and fully-biological tactile sensing systems are thoroughly presented: while significant results have been reported for the development of tissue engineered skins, the development of mechanotransduction units and their integration is a recent trend that is still lagging behind, therefore requiring research efforts and investments. In the last part of the paper, application domains and perspectives of the reviewed tactile sensing technologies are discussed

VALUTAZIONE COMPARATIVA SPERIMENTALE DI METODOLOGIE NORMATE PER IL CALCOLO DELLA VITA UTILE DI COMPONENTI EDILIZI

Il presente lavoro è stato orientato verso uno studio sulla durabilità dei componenti edilizi, ciò in considerazione della crescente importanza che essa ha assunto negli ultimi anni divenendo una fase necessaria alla valutazione della durata, nelle fasi di progettazione, per la programmazione gestionale dell’intervento, per la valutazione dei costi relativi al ciclo di vita, consentendo una ottimizzazione delle scelte progettuali dal punto di vista della sostenibilità dell’intervento. Il percorso di ricerca seguito è partito da una valutazione dello stato dell’arte e mediante una valutazione comparativa sperimentale di metodologie normate per il calcolo della vita utile dei componenti edilizi su una serie di edifici campione, si propone di fornire ai progettisti uno strumento di ausilio per il calcolo del ciclo di vita dei componenti edilizi. In ogni caso, saranno doverosamente considerate le indicazioni della normativa mondiale e nazionale quali – in particolare – la ISO 15686 e la UNI 11156, valutando le interrelazioni fra le indicazioni da esse fornite, i data–base disponibili, implementati negli ultimi anni dal CSTB (Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bȃtiment) e dal Politecnico di Milano partner di ricerca fin dal 2002 nell’ambito della durabilità dei componenti edilizi, e i casi studio di edifici reali. L’attività di ricerca svolta durante questi anni è stata orientata principalmente verso lo studio e l’analisi dei metodi rivolti alla valutazione della vita utile degli edifici e delle parti che lo compongono. In particolare è stato approfondito lo studio dei metodi di previsione della vita utile del componente edilizio intonaco esterno, così da poter condurre un confronto sperimentale, tra i risultati conseguiti con l’applicazione delle metodologie proposte dalle norme ed il comportamento effettivo in servizio. L’applicazione dei metodi per la valutazione della durabilità ed il confronto dei risultati con quelli desunti realmente sul campo ha consentito la raccolta di dati del patrimonio edilizio Napoletano che potrebbero in futuro essere utili ad implementare concretamente i data-base sulla durabilità di componenti edilizi. La sperimentazione è stata basata sullo studio di edifici situati nel Comune di Napoli, appartenenti a due tipologie costruttive diverse ma entrambi rifiniti con intonaco di malta e tinteggiatura: 1. edifici con struttura in muratura di tufo, costruiti tra la fine dell’800 e i primi decenni del 900, 2. edifici con struttura in conglomerato cementizio armato costruiti nel secondo dopoguerra fra gli anni 50 e gli anni 60. Per ogni caso proposto è stata desunta dalla Sezione Anagrafe del Libretto di Manutenzione del fabbricato, la vita utile reale o Real Life Cycle (RLC) ovvero la distanza temporale tra l’ultimo intervento di rifacimento dell’intonaco esterno, fino al momento in cui si è manifestato il livello prestazionale stato 4, al quale corrispondono fessurazioni e/o distacchi in atto che interessano zone limitate comprese tra il 10% - 30%. La RLC è stata quindi comparata sia con l’ Estimated Service Life of a Component (ESLC) ottenuta utilizzando il Metodo Fattoriale proposto dalla norma ISO 15686 che con la Durata più probabile (Dpp), ottenuta utilizzando il Metodo Indiretto per il calcolo della durata sulla base di dati rilevati da edifici campione proposto dalla norma UNI 11156. L’intento è stato quello di potersi rendere conto se ci sono differenze tra i risultati che si conseguono con l’utilizzo delle metodologie proposte dalle norme, rispetto a quanto avviene nella realtà. L’obiettivo è che il lavoro svolto possa offrire ai progettisti che si trovano di fronte alla necessità di dover progettare e dunque prevedere la durabilità dell’intonaco esterno degli edifici, un utile strumento che possa indirizzarli verso l’utilizzo del metodo che consente di ottenere risultati più realistici magari anche mediante l’ausilio di un software realizzato proprio con l’intento di semplificare e velocizzare il processo di calcolo, e che possa dunque fornire degli elementi su cui impostare una corretta selezione dei sistemi costruttivi in relazione alla loro capacità di mantenere nel tempo livelli prestazionali superiori ai determinati standard punto di partenza per definire i programmi temporali di manutenzione

A flexible sensor technology for the distributed measurement of interaction pressure

We present a sensor technology for the measure of the physical human-robot interaction pressure developed in the last years at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna. The system is composed of flexible matrices of opto-electronic sensors covered by a soft silicone cover. This sensory system is completely modular and scalable, allowing one to cover areas of any sizes and shapes, and to measure different pressure ranges. In this work we present the main application areas for this technology. A first generation of the system was used to monitor human-robot interaction in upper- (NEUROExos; Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna) and lower-limb (LOPES; University of Twente) exoskeletons for rehabilitation. A second generation, with increased resolution and wireless connection, was used to develop a pressure-sensitive foot insole and an improved human-robot interaction measurement systems. The experimental characterization of the latter system along with its validation on three healthy subjects is presented here for the first time. A perspective on future uses and development of the technology is finally drafted