Torques on a nearly rigid body in a relativistic gravitational field

The effect of post-Newtonian potentials on the rotation of a nearly rigid body is shown to consist of a precession and a torque. The frequency of the precession can be exactly represented by means of suitable differential operators. The relativistic torques in the quadrupole approximation depend on the instantaneous orientation of the principal axes of one body with respect to the position like the classical torque and velocity of the other. For a relatively low mass body, such as a gyroscope, these velocity-dependent torques have no observable consequences

Doppler-cancelled response to VLF gravitational waves

The interaction of long periodic gravitational waves with a three link microwave system known as the Doppler Cancelling System is discussed. This system, which was developed for a gravitational redshift experiment, uses one-way and two-way Doppler informatin to construct the beat signal of two reference oscillators moving with respect to each other. The geometric optics approximation is used to derive the frequency shift produced on a light signal propagating in a gravitational wave space-time. The signature left on the Doppler-cancelled beat by burst and continuous gravitational waves is analyzed. A comparison is made between the response to gravitational waves of the Doppler Cancelling System and that of a Doppler tracking system which employs two-way, round-trip radio waves. A three-fold repetition of the gravitational wave form is found to be a common feature of the response functions of both systems. These two functions otherwise exhibit interesting differences

Pointcloud-based Identification of Optimal Grasping Poses for Cloth-like Deformable Objects

In this paper, the problem of identifying optimal grasping poses for cloth-like deformable objects is addressed by means of a four-steps algorithm performing the processing of the data coming from a 3D camera. The first step segments the source pointcloud, while the second step implements a wrinkledness measure able to robustly detect graspable regions of a cloth. In the third step the identification of each individual wrinkle is accomplished by fitting a piecewise curve. Finally, in the fourth step, a target grasping pose for each detected wrinkle is estimated. Compared to deep learning approaches where the availability of a good quality dataset or trained model is necessary, our general algorithm can find employment in very different scenarios with minor parameters tweaking. Results showing the application of our method to the clothes bin picking task are presented

Investigation on reference frames and time systems in Multi-GNSS

Receivers able to track satellites belonging to different GNSSs (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) are available on the market. To compute coordinates and velocities it is necessary to identify all the elements that contribute to interoperability of the different GNSSs. For example the timescales kept by different GNSSs have to be aligned. Receiver-specific biases, or firmware-dependent biases, need to be calibrated. The reference frame used in the representation of the orbits must be unique. In this paper we address the interoperability issues from the standpoint of a Single Point Positioning (SPP) user, i.e., using pseudoranges and broadcast ephemeris. The biases between GNSSs timescales and receiver-dependent biases are analyzed for a set of 31 MGEX (Multi-GNSS Experiment) stations over a time span of more than three years. Time series of biases between timescales of GPS (Global Positioning System), GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) and NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) are investigated, in addition to the identification of events like discontinuity of receiver-dependent biases due to firmware updating. The GPS broadcast reference frame is shown to be aligned to the one (IGS14) realized by the precise ephemeris of CODE (Center for Orbit Determination in Europe) to within 0.1 m and 2 milliarcsec, with values dependent on whether IIR-A, IIR-B/M or IIF satellite blocks are considered. Larger offsets are observed for GLONASS, up to 1 m for GLONASS K satellites. For Galileo the alignment of the broadcast orbit to IGS14/CODE is again at the 0.1 m and several milliarcsec level, with the FOC (Full Operational Capability) satellites slightly better than IOV (In Orbit Validation). For BeiDou an alignment of the broadcast frame to IGS14/CODE comparable to GLONASS is observed, regardless of whether IGSO (Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit) or MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellites are considered. For all satellites, position differences according to the broadcast ephemeris relative to IGS14/CODE orbits are projected to the radial, along-track and crosstrack triad, with the largest periodic differences affecting mostly the along track component. Sudden discontinuities at the level of up to 1 m and 2–3 ns are observed for the along-track component and the satellite clock, respectively. The time scales of GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, SBAS and NAVIC are very closely aligned to GPS, with constant offsets depending on receiver type. The offset of the BeiDou time scale to GPS has an oscillatory pattern with peak-to-peak values up to 100 ns. To characterize receiver-dependent biases the average of six Septentrio receivers is taken as reference, and relative offsets of the other receiver types are investigated. These receiver-dependent biases may depend on the individual station, or for the same station on the update of the firmware. A detailed calibration history is presented for each multiGNSS station studied

Histopathology of the synovial tissue : perspectives for biomarker development in chronic inflammatory arthritides

The histopathological and molecular analysis of the synovial tissue has contributed to fundamental advances in our comprehension of arthritis pathogenesis and of the mechanisms of action of currently available treatments. On the other hand, its exploitation in clinical practice for diagnostic or prognostic purposes as well as for the prediction of treatment response to specific disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs is still limited. In this review, we present an overview of recent advances in the field of synovial tissue research with specific reference to the methods for synovial tissue collection, approaches to synovial tissue analysis and current perspectives for the exploitation of synovial tissue-derived biomarkers in chronic inflammatory arthritides