Occupancy Estimation Using Low-Cost Wi-Fi Sniffers

Real-time measurements on the occupancy status of indoor and outdoor spaces can be exploited in many scenarios (HVAC and lighting system control, building energy optimization, allocation and reservation of spaces, etc.). Traditional systems for occupancy estimation rely on environmental sensors (CO2, temperature, humidity) or video cameras. In this paper, we depart from such traditional approaches and propose a novel occupancy estimation system which is based on the capture of Wi-Fi management packets from users' devices. The system, implemented on a low-cost ESP8266 microcontroller, leverages a supervised learning model to adapt to different spaces and transmits occupancy information through the MQTT protocol to a web-based dashboard. Experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed solution in four different indoor university spaces.Comment: Submitted to Balkancom 201

monitoring of glucose in beer brewing by a carbon nanotubes based nylon nanofibrous biosensor

This work presents the design, preparation, and characterization of a novel glucose electrochemical biosensor based on the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOX) into a nylon nanofibrous membrane (NFM) prepared by electrospinning and functionalized with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT). A disc of such GOX/CNT/NFM membrane (40 μm in thickness) was used for coating the surface of a glassy carbon electrode. The resulting biosensor was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry, with ferrocene methanol as mediator. The binding of GOX around the CNT/NFM greatly enhances the electron transfer, which results in a biosensor with a current five times higher than without CNT. The potential usefulness of the proposed biosensor was demonstrated with the analysis of glucose in commercial beverages and along the monitoring of the brewing process for making beer, from the mashing to the fermentation steps

Peptide-based foldamers: new photo-controlled devices towards opto-electronic and mechanical applications

I An ECD investigation aiming at assessing the critical main-chain length for peptide helix formation in water solution is reported. To this goal, it was synthesized by a solution step-by-step protocol a complete series of N-terminally acetylated, C-terminally methoxylated oligopeptides, characterized only by alternating Aib and Ala residues, from the di- to the nonamer stage. All of these compounds were investigated by ECD in the far-UV region in water solution as a function of chemical structure, the presence/absence of the ester moiety at the C-terminus and temperature. The critical main-chain lengths for 310- and α-helices, although still formed to a partial extent, in aqueous solution are six and eight residues, respectively. II A whole series of AuNps was synthesized from mercaptopropionic derivatives of alternating Aib/Ala peptide series. Our studies established the occurrence of chiroptical properties in peptide-coated 2 nm diameter gold nanoparticles. The peptides induce a chiral effect onto the plasmon resonance band detectable via ECD. Such a behavior appears to be strongly influenced by the secondary structure assumed by the coating peptides. III The water solubility displayed by alternating Aib/Ala peptide series was investigated. The evidences of the formation of self-assembled structures in water, likewise responsible for the unexpected solubility properties, are presented. These peptide aggregates are spherical, with diameters up to 100 nm. They can also incorporate other molecular structures of relevant size, such as Au nanoparticles. Such systems may widen the number of applications currently accessible to self-assembled aggregates in the fields of biomedicine and materials science. IV Two new Ca-tetrasubstituted a-amino acids bearing two identical azobenzene-derived side chains have been synthesized. Photo-reversible isomerization process was detected. Intermediate chiral species are generated during the isomerization process driven by iii light. Diastereomers where generated when a chiral protein amino acid was inserted. The conjugation of one of the bis(azobenzene)-derived amino acids with different metal nanoparticles allowed the isomerization process to be detected even in solid state. Furthermore, the Au-derived nanoparticles exhibit a magnetic susceptibility dependence on the light-driven isomerization state that can be simply detected by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Based on this behavior, these amino acids are of relevant potential for the development of a novel class of materials. V A series of Ferrocene and Pyrene labelled helical peptides containing one or more 4- amino-1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid (Adt) residues have been synthetized. Such peptides have been prepared to be employed in the formation of SAMs over gold surfaces (by means of linkage with the dithiolane Adt side chains) for electrochemical applications. In particular, the peptides have been designed for ensuring: (i) an highrigidity of the peptide scaffold and (ii) a parallel disposition of the peptide axle respect the metal surface. Conformational characterizations and CV tests on a Ferrocene binding 6-mer are presented. Preliminary experiment on the photo-current generation property has also been performed

Una finestra sulla vita nel buio. Didattica e divulgazione allo Speleovivarium

Il museo “Speleovivarium” raccoglie e custodisce testimonianze vive del sottosuolo carsico con finalità divulgative, didattiche, di studio e di ricerca, in particolare sul comportamento degli straordinari esseri che popolano le tenebre. Esso si trova in una galleria dalle condizioni climatiche ed ambientali simili ad una cavità carsica; è stato ideato da Erwin Pichl e creato nell’ambito della Società Adriatica di Speleologia nel 1990, con l’obiettivo di promuovere e divulgare le conoscenze del mondo sotterraneo, per il più ampio rispetto della natura dei sottosuoli carsici e non.The “Speleovivarium” museum collects and preserves living witnesses of the Karst underground, for diffusion, teaching, study and research purposes, particularly focusing on the behaviour of the extraordinary creatures that live in the darkness. The museum is located in a cave resembling the climatic and environment conditions of a Karst cavity; it was designed by Erwin Pichl and created by the Adriatic Speleological Society in 1990, with the aim of promoting and sharing knowledge of the subterranean world and develop greater respect for underground nature in the Karst and non-Karst areas

radical scavenging activity of lipophilic antioxidants and extra virgin olive oil by isothermal calorimetry

Abstract This work proposes an oxidative stress test based on the measurement of the heat generated during the reaction of AIBN (2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile)) with lipophilic antioxidants. Without antioxidants, AIBN generates an exothermic peak (induction period = 7.50 h, peak time = 8.55 h, area = 3.6 kJ mol −1 of AIBN, at 50 °C). In the presence of antioxidants, such peak is delayed. The extent of such delay provides a simple and direct estimate of the radical-scavenging activity of the sample. Standard solutions of well-known antioxidants lead to the following ranking (from high to low radical scavenging activity): ethoxyquin >>> (±)-α-tocopherol > butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) > retinyl acetate, in close agreement with the 2,2-diphenyl- l -picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The proposed assay was applied to characterize the radical-scavenging activity of five extra-virgin olive oil samples. The results were in good agreement with the total phenol content of each sample (R 2 = 0.975)

BORDER: A Benchmarking Framework for Distributed MQTT Brokers

[EN] Message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT), one of the most popular application layer protocols for the Internet of Things, works according to a publish/subscribe paradigm where clients connect to a centralized broker. Sometimes (e.g., in high scalability and low-latency applications), it is required to depart from such a centralized approach and move to a distributed one, where multiple MQTT brokers cooperate together. Many MQTT brokers (both open source or commercially available) allow to create such a distributed environment: however, it is challenging to select the right solution due to the many available choices. This article proposes, therefore benchmarking framework for distributed MQTT brokers (BORDER), a framework for creating and evaluating distributed architectures of MQTT brokers with realistic and customizable network topologies. Based on isolated Docker containers and emulated network components, the framework provides quantitative metrics about the overall system performance, such as End-to-End latency as well as network and physical resources consumed. We use BORDER to compare five of the most popular MQTT brokers that allow the creation of distributed architectures and we release it as an open-source project to allow for reproducible researches.This work was supported in part by the Project BASE5G under Project 1155850 funded by Regione Lombardia within the framework POR FESR 2014-2020.Longo, E.; Redondi, A.; Cesana, M.; Manzoni, P. (2022). BORDER: A Benchmarking Framework for Distributed MQTT Brokers. IEEE Internet of Things. 9(18):17728-17740. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2022.3155872177281774091

Growth Factors and Anticatabolic Substances for Prevention and Management of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is frequent, appearing from the second decade of life and progressing with age. Conservative management often fails, and patients with IVD degeneration may need surgical intervention. Several treatment strategies have been proposed, although only surgical discectomy and arthrodesis have been proved to be predictably effective. Biological strategies aim to prevent and manage IVD degeneration, improving the function and anabolic and reparative capabilities of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells and inhibiting matrix degradation. At present, clinical applications are still in their infancy. Further studies are required to clarify the role of growth factors and anticatabolic substances for prevention and management of intervertebral disc degeneration

Stem Cells and Gene Therapy for Cartilage Repair

Cartilage defects represent a common problem in orthopaedic practice. Predisposing factors include traumas, inflammatory conditions, and biomechanics alterations. Conservative management of cartilage defects often fails, and patients with this lesions may need surgical intervention. Several treatment strategies have been proposed, although only surgery has been proved to be predictably effective. Usually, in focal cartilage defects without a stable fibrocartilaginous repair tissue formed, surgeons try to promote a natural fibrocartilaginous response by using marrow stimulating techniques, such as microfracture, abrasion arthroplasty, and Pridie drilling, with the aim of reducing swelling and pain and improving joint function of the patients. These procedures have demonstrated to be clinically useful and are usually considered as first-line treatment for focal cartilage defects. However, fibrocartilage presents inferior mechanical and biochemical properties compared to normal hyaline articular cartilage, characterized by poor organization, significant amounts of collagen type I, and an increased susceptibility to injury, which ultimately leads to premature osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, the aim of future therapeutic strategies for articular cartilage regeneration is to obtain a hyaline-like cartilage repair tissue by transplantation of tissues or cells. Further studies are required to clarify the role of gene therapy and mesenchimal stem cells for management of cartilage lesions

Mesenchymal Stem Cell for Prevention and Management of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVD) is a frequent pathological condition. Conservative management often fails, and patients with IVD degeneration may require surgical intervention. Several treatment strategies have been proposed, although only surgical discectomy and arthrodesis have been proved to be predictably effective. The aim of biological strategies is to prevent and manage IVD degeneration, improve the function, the anabolic and reparative capabilities of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells, and inhibit matrix degradation. At present, clinical applications are still in their infancy. Further studies are required to clarify the role of mesenchymal stem cells and gene therapy for the prevention and treatment of IVD degeneration

Effects of transport conditions on the stability and sensory quality of wines

The quality of wine can be affected by several factors after bottling: temperature changes, shipment time, type and amount of mechanical stress (vibrations) and environmental conditions, such as light exposure and relative humidity. The effects of delivery using different packaging systems (boxes, bottles, containers) and the impacts of mode of shipment (car, truck, airplane and cargo ship) are reviewed, along with compositional markers, the reactions leading to off-odours and/or off-flavours and the approaches to monitoring transportation conditions (temperature, relative humidity and type and entity of vibration) and their impacts on the sensory profile of the wine. Temperature fluctuations are more prevalent during the transport of wine over land than by sea, and may lead to a decrease in the fresh, fruity and floral aromas of the wine and to premature aging due to the ‘pump’ effect (repeated expansion and contraction cycles). Trans-shipment phases should be reduced to a minimum, especially in hot climates. Vibrations, even for a short period of time (15 days), can alter the overall quality of the product