Minimum Cost Design of Cellular Networks in Rural Areas with UAVs, Optical Rings, Solar Panels and Batteries

Bringing the cellular connectivity in rural zones is a big challenge, due to the large installation costs that are incurred when a legacy cellular network based on fixed Base Stations (BSs) is deployed. To tackle this aspect, we consider an alternative architecture composed of UAV-based BSs to provide cellular coverage, ground sites to connect the UAVs with the rest of the network, Solar Panels (SPs) and batteries to recharge the UAVs and to power the ground sites, and a ring of optical fiber links to connect the installed sites. We then target the minimization of the installation costs for the considered UAV-based cellular architecture, by taking into account the constraints of UAVs coverage, SPs energy consumption, levels of the batteries and the deployment of the optical ring. After providing the problem formulation, we derive an innovative methodology to ensure that a single ring of installed optical fibers is deployed. Moreover, we propose a new algorithm, called DIARIZE, to practically tackle the problem. Our results, obtained over a set of representative rural scenarios, show that DIARIZE performs very close to the optimal solution, and in general outperforms a reference design based on fixed BSs

High-resolution stratigraphy of the pre-evaporitic/evaporitic transition in the late Messinian Adriatic foreland domain

One of the most spectacular evaporative event in the Earth history occurred in the Mediterranean Basin, during the late Messinian (Messinian Salinity Crisis, MSC), as a consequence of the restriction in the Atlantic-Mediterranean connection. Enclosed marine environments could record evaporative deposition undergo restriction in circulation coupled with climate forcing. The aim of this paper is to investigate what happened in the sedimentary basin of the Adriatic foreland domain approaching the MSC by using an interdisciplinary study, which includes stratigraphy, paleontology, mineralogy, and magnetostratigraphy. The study area is the NW flank of the Maiella Mountains, where the MSC is well recorded by both the deposition of the Lower Evaporites and the post-evaporitic deposits of the Lago-Mare event. For getting a complete record of the pre-evaporitic/evaporitic transition in the study area, a 23m depth borehole was drilled starting from the 20cm-thick carbonate horizon (Calcare di Base) just at the base of the first gypsum cycle of the Lower Evaporites. Beneath the Calcare di Base, the sedimentary core recovered 3.8 m of dark clays rich in organic matter, punctuated by 5 carbonate-rich layers. The rest of the recovered sedimentary core is characterized by limestones and marly limestones rich in small lithotamnium, bryozoa, and benthic foraminifera, pertaining to the uppermost part of the Bolognano Formation. All the sedimentary core was analysed, collecting 5-10 cm thick samples. The occurrence of the carbonate-rich layers within the dark clays allows us to recognize 5 sedimentary cyles, possibly forced by precessional cyclicity. Calcareous nannofossils show two peaks of Sphenolithus abies within the 2nd and 4th cycle from the top. Small Reticulofenestra and Helicosphaera carteri show one peak within the 1st cycle, as well as in the 3rd and 4th cycles. Among the planktonic foraminifera, Turborotalita multiloba shows a peak within the 4th cycle whereas Orbulina universa has two peaks, within the 3rd and 4th cycles. The uppermost 50cm of the sedimentary core are completely barren. Although no major changes in lithology can be recognized in the fine-grained deposits, magnetic susceptibility decreases to extremely low values in the 1st and 2nd cycles, in the upper part of the sedimentary core. The depletion of magnetic minerals in this interval seems higher than can be attributed solely to dilution by magnetite-poor sediments, which implies that magnetite dissolution could have occurred. Our analyses on the paleontological record of the pre-evaporitic deposits in the Maiella foreland basin show results very similar to other pre-evaporitic Messinian successions from the Mediterranean Basin. Finally, the calibration of the sedimentary core with the insolation curve allow us to confirm the precessional forcing of the sedimentary record in the Messinian Adriatic foreland basin during the pre-evaporitic stage

Plasmonic and Conductive Structures of TCO Films with Embedded Cu Nanoparticles

Cu nanoparticles were produced by using solid-state dewetting (dry) of a 1.3 nm Cu layer or laser ablation of a Cu solid target (wet) in acetone and methanol. The morphology and chemical composition of the nanoparticles were investigated as a function of the synthesis methods and their key parameters of the annealing temperature (200–500 °C) and the liquid environment during the ablation. Cu nanoparticles were then embedded in transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films as aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) or zirconium-doped indium oxide (IZrO); the TCObott/Cu nanoparticle/TCOtop structures were synthesized with all combinations of AZO and IZrO as the top and bottom layers. The goal was to achieve a plasmonic and conductive structure for photovoltaic applications via a comparison of the involved methods and all fabricated structures. In particular, solid-state dewetting produced faceted or spherical (depending on the annealing temperature) nanoparticles with an average size below 150 nm while laser ablation produced spherical nanoparticles below 250 nm. Dry and wet plasmonic conductive structures as a function of the TCOs employed and the temperature of annealing could reach a sheet resistance of 86 Ω/sq. The energy band-gap Egap, absorbance, transmittance, and reflectance of the plasmonic conductive structures were investigated in the UV–vis–NIR range. They showed a dependence on the sequence of the top and bottom TCO, with best transmittances of 89.4% for the dry plasmonic conductive structure and 84.7% for the wet plasmonic conductive structure. The latter showed a higher diffused transmittance of between 10–20% in the visible range

Raccomandazioni cliniche in odontostomatologia

L’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità considera la salute orale come parte integrante, non solo dello stato di salute generale, ma anche della qualità della vita di ciascun individuo. In tale ottica, in accordo e con il sostegno del mondo professionale e della comunità scientifica di questo settore, le raccomandazioni cliniche in odontostomatologia contenute nel presente volume forniscono indicazioni e definiscono standard di intervento per la prevenzione e la cura delle più comuni patologie del cavo orale nonché per l’identificazione di percorsi terapeutici appropriati a supporto degli operatori pubblici e privati. Esse costituiscono, inoltre, uno strumento utile per mantenere alto il livello di qualità delle cure in questo periodo storico, nel quale, se da un lato crescono le opportunità tecniche di cura e la potenziale domanda delle stesse, dall’altro la riduzione delle risorse economiche a disposizione dei cittadini tende a limitare l’accesso all’offerta professionale privata e, al contempo, i processi di razionalizzazione dell’allocazione dei fondi nel SSN rendono più difficile l’accesso alle strutture pubbliche. L’individuazione di raccomandazioni cliniche chiaramente definite e rese pubbliche può facilitare la condivisione degli obiettivi e dei percorsi terapeutici tra odontoiatra e paziente, migliorare la comunicazione e, in ultima analisi, accrescere la fiducia sia nei riguardi del proprio specifico professionista che del “sistema delle cure” più in generale. La revisione delle “Raccomandazioni cliniche in odontostomatologia” si è resa necessaria in considerazione del cambiamento dell’evidenza scientifica, dell’immissione in commercio di nuovi materiali e dell’utilizzo di nuove tecnologie, specie in ambito protesico. Come per la precedente, alla realizzazione di questa edizione ha contribuito un ampio gruppo di docenti ed esperti delle singole branche odontoiatriche insieme alle più importanti e rappresentative Associazioni professionali e ai componenti della Commissione Albo Odontoiatri (CAO) nazionale