Analysis and design of innovative magnetic wedges for high efficiency permanent magnet synchronous machines

The global decarbonization targets require increasingly higher levels of efficiency from the designers of electrical machines. In this context, the opportunity to employ magnetic or semi-magnetic wedges in surface-mounted permanent magnet machines with fractional-slot concentrated winding has been evaluated in this paper, with the aim to reduce the power losses, especially in the magnets. Since an analytical calculation is not sufficient for this evaluation, finite element methods with two different software have been employed, by using a model experimentally validated on a real motor. The effects of wedges with different values of permeability and different magnetization characteristics have been evaluated on flux density, back electromotive force, and inductances, in order to choose the more suitable wedge for the considered motor. Furthermore, a new wedge consisting of different portions of materials with different magnetic permeability values is proposed. The effects of both conventional and unconventional magnetic wedges were assessed to optimize the motor performance in all working conditions

Biomechanical analysis of pedalling for rehabilition purposes: experimental results on two pathological subjects and comparison with non-pathological findings

In this paper the experimental results obtained by means of a prototype measuring device dedicated to the evaluation of the rehabilitation level of the lower limb are presented. The analysis of the experimental data collected on non-pathological subjects allows the identification of the characteristic meaning of the most significant parameters typical of healthy subjects. These data have been employed for a systematic comparison with the same parameters measured on two pathological subjects, in order to define quantitative indicators of the rehabilitation degree of the lower limbs and indicators of the “quality” of the movement

On null 3-hypergraphs

International audienceGiven a 3-uniform hypergraph H consisting of a set V of vertices, and T ⊆ V 3 triples, a null labelling is an assignment of ±1 to the triples such that each vertex is contained in an equal number of triples labelled +1 and −1. Thus, the signed degree of each vertex is zero. A necessary condition for a null labelling is that the degree of every vertex of H is even. The Null Labelling Problem is to determine whether H has a null labelling. It is proved that this problem is NP-complete. Computer enumerations suggest that most hypergraphs which satisfy the necessary condition do have a null labelling. Some constructions are given which produce hypergraphs satisfying the necessary condition, but which do not have a null labelling. A self complementary 3-hypergraph with this property is also constructed

ReLock: a resilient two-phase locking RESTful transaction model

Service composition and supporting transactions across composed services are among the major challenges characterizing service-oriented computing. REpresentational State Transfer (REST) is one of the approaches used for implementing Web services that is gaining momentum thanks to its features making it suitable for cloud computing and microservices-based contexts. This paper introduces ReLock, a resilient RESTful transaction model introducing general purpose transactions on RESTful services by a layered approach and a two-phase locking mechanism not requesting any change to the RESTful services involved in a transaction

Careggi Smart Hospital: A mobile app for patients, citizens and healthcare staff

This paper presents a mobile app called “Careggi Smart Hospital” which has been developed for the Careggi Polyclinic in Florence. The application is designed for Android smartphones and tablets and it is freely downloadable from the Google Play Store. It provides various useful tools to the hospital's users such as personnel and structures finding, way-finding and the possibility to access personal medical records collected on regional electronic health record

Decentralisation and performance: Autonomy and incentives in Local Health Economies

This project will examine the inter-relationship between governance mechanisms, autonomy and incentives in local health economies (LHEs). This interaction shapes decentralisation policies in the NHS and is thought to shape LHE performance. Recently, English health policy has been implementing new forms of decentralisation (eg. earned autonomy, Foundation Trusts) by altering the mix of governance mechanisms (command, collaboration and competition) and making explicit use of autonomy and incentives, thereby aiming to improve NHS performance. Local contextual factors might also shape performance outcomes. The project involves a synergy between the multi-disciplinary teams involved in 2 previous NCC-SDO funded studies. The aim is to investigate the inter-relationship between decentralisation and performance in LHEs. The project has 5 objectives: a. To examine the impact of decentralisation upon performance through analysis of selected 'tracers (as examples of current priorities) in 3 case-studies; b. To describe the local interaction of governance mechanisms; c. To evaluate the degree of autonomy available to local health-care organisations; d. To assess the (financial and non-financial) incentives associated with different policy initiatives; e. To provide lessons for policy-makers and managers at all levels in implementing decentralisation, managing the implications of autonomy and incentives, and addressing performance management through incentives. The study will use mixed methods. First, analysis of policy and performance data will generate the broad pattern of decentralisation and performance across England. Analysis of these data will aid selection of case-studies and 'tracers (examples within case-studies). Second, three case-studies will be selected which represent a maximum variety of pre-defined criteria. Longitudinal, comparative case-study methods include (a) 'mapping LHE performance and organisational characteristics (using local performance and activity data, and published reports); (b) a survey of senior staff in 3 LHEs (n=c.180) to provide their perceptions of current LHE issues and constraints (especially relating to tracer examples); (c) interviews with a sample of stakeholders (n=c.120) will identify the strengths and effects of organisational relationships across the LHE (such as the impact of service developments in the tracer examples); (d) observation of local planning meetings. Parts (a) and (b) will be conducted in year 1, parts (c) and (d) in years 2 and 3. Quantitative analysis will provide descriptive statistics of broad patterns and association. Qualitative analysis will provide thematic comparisons by LHE, organisational type and tracer example. Analysis will identify the pathways by which governance, autonomy and incentives can facilitate improved performance and also the conditions under which the optimal balance of these may be achieved in different contexts. The study will also consider conceptual frameworks (including 'decision space , resource dependency and principal-agent) to improve understanding of the inter-relationships within LHE and the intersection of national/vertical and local/horizontal pressures affecting performance. The study will engage decision-makers at all stages (via data collection, formative and summative feedback and as members of an Advisory Group). Formative feedback to LHEs (and NCC-SDO) will help validate emergent findings and sharpen subsequent fieldwork. Final dissemination will include such (oral and written) feedback, NCC-SDO report, presentations and publications to practitioner and research communities

DIVERSITY OF STAPHYLOCOCCAL SPECIES CULTURED FROM CAPTIVE LIVINGSTONE’S FRUIT BATS (PTEROPUS LIVINGSTONII) AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT

Livingstone's fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) are critically endangered and a captive population has been established as part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Action Plan. The largest colony, in Jersey Zoo, was sampled for staphylococcal carriage and at infection sites, as disease associated with staphylococci had previously been found. Staphylococci were cultured from swabs from 44 bats (skin, oropharynx, mouth ejecta, skin lesions) and from their enclosure. The isolates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry; antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion and screening for mecA and mecC. Seventeen species of coagulase-negative staphylococci including Staphylococcus xylosus, S. kloosii, S. nepalensis, and S. simiae were isolated. Staphylococcus aureus was identified from both carriage and lesional sites. These findings suggest S. nepalensis may be part of the normal carriage flora of bats. Antimicrobial resistance rates were low and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was not identified. Sampling of mouth ejecta for staphylococci may provide results representative for carriage sites

The Theory of the Interleaving Distance on Multidimensional Persistence Modules

In 2009, Chazal et al. introduced $\epsilon$-interleavings of persistence modules. $\epsilon$-interleavings induce a pseudometric $d_I$ on (isomorphism classes of) persistence modules, the interleaving distance. The definitions of $\epsilon$-interleavings and $d_I$ generalize readily to multidimensional persistence modules. In this paper, we develop the theory of multidimensional interleavings, with a view towards applications to topological data analysis. We present four main results. First, we show that on 1-D persistence modules, $d_I$ is equal to the bottleneck distance $d_B$. This result, which first appeared in an earlier preprint of this paper, has since appeared in several other places, and is now known as the isometry theorem. Second, we present a characterization of the $\epsilon$-interleaving relation on multidimensional persistence modules. This expresses transparently the sense in which two $\epsilon$-interleaved modules are algebraically similar. Third, using this characterization, we show that when we define our persistence modules over a prime field, $d_I$ satisfies a universality property. This universality result is the central result of the paper. It says that $d_I$ satisfies a stability property generalizing one which $d_B$ is known to satisfy, and that in addition, if $d$ is any other pseudometric on multidimensional persistence modules satisfying the same stability property, then $d\leq d_I$. We also show that a variant of this universality result holds for $d_B$, over arbitrary fields. Finally, we show that $d_I$ restricts to a metric on isomorphism classes of finitely presented multidimensional persistence modules.Comment: Major revision; exposition improved throughout. To appear in Foundations of Computational Mathematics. 36 page