Efficient computational strategies for the control process of continuous casting machines

In continuous casting machineries, monitoring the mold is essential for the safety and quality of the process. Then, the objective of this thesis is to develop mathematical tools for the real-time estimation of the mold-steel heat flux which is the quantity of interest when controlling the mold behaviour. We approach this problem by first considering the mold modelling problem (direct problem). Then, we plant the heat flux estimation problem as the inverse problem of estimating a Neumann boundary condition having as data pointwise temperature measurements in the interior of the mold domain given by the thermocouples that are buried inside the mold plates. In formulating the inverse problem, we consider both the steady and unsteady-state case. For the numerical solution of these problems, we develop several methodologies. We consider traditional methods such as Alifanov's regularization as well as novel methodologies that exploit the parametrization of the sought heat flux. We develop the latter methods to have an offline-online decomposition with a computationally efficient online part. Moreover, in the unsteady-state case, we propose a novel, incremental, data-driven model order reduction technique to achieve the real-time performance of the online phase. Finally, we test all discussed methods on academic and industrial benchmark cases. The results show that the proposed novel numerical tools outclass traditional methods both in performance and computational cost. Moreover, they prove to be robust with respect to the measurements noise and confirm that the computational cost is suitable for real-time estimation of the heat flux

I Consigli di Gestione. Dalla Liberazione ai primi anni cinquanta

Storia dei Consigli di Gestione dalla Liberazione ai primi anni cinquanta.- Indice #7- Premessa #9- Cap. 1 Dal controllo operaio alla partecipazione #9- Cap. 2 La collaborazione tra capitale e lavoro #25- Cap. 3 Il riconoscimento giuridico #81- Cap. 4 I consigli di gestione sul piano della lotta #122- Appendice Il disegno di legge Morandi #157- Bibliografia #16

Correlation between clinical functional assessment of the sphincteric function and endoanal ultrasound findings in perineal Crohn¿s disease

Orientadores: Maria de Lourdes Setsuko Ayrizono, Raquel Franco LealDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências MédicasResumo: Introdução: A incidência da doença de Crohn Perineal (DCP) varia entre 20% a 25% nos portadores de doença de Crohn . O padrão-ouro para a investigação da DCP é a avaliação clínica clássica seguida do exame sob anestesia, mas a ultrassonografia endoanal (USEA) e a ressonância nuclear magnética (RNM) da pelve podem ser úteis na pesquisa de abscessos, fistulas e lesões esfincterianas que podem levar à incontinência fecal e perda da qualidade de vida. Objetivo: Correlacionar a avaliação clínica clássica da função esfincteriana por meio do escore de Jorge-Wexner nos pacientes com DCP, comparando com os achados de USEA, através do escore de Starck. Casuística e Método: Vinte e quatro pacientes participaram do estudo, sendo 14 do sexo feminino e média de idade de 40,54 anos. Todos os doentes tinham diagnóstico confirmado de DCP, sendo que 7 (29,16%) também apresentavam acometimento do intestino delgado; 7 (29,16%) do cólon e reto, 2 (8,33%) do intestino delgado, do cólon e reto e 8 pacientes (33,33%) apresentavam DCP como manifestação única da doença. Resultados: Os dois escores apresentaram distribuição normal, com escore de Jorge-Wexner médio de 3,8333 (DP 4,52689) e escore de Starck médio de 9,7500 (DP 2,54097). A análise estatística mostrou não haver correlação entre os dois escores, com um intervalo de confiança de 95%. Conclusão: O escore de Jorge- Wexner apresentou utilidade limitada nessa categoria de pacientes, enquanto a USEA foi ferramenta útil para alcançar melhor correlação com deficiência muscular esfincteriana. No entanto, mais estudos com propostas similares são necessários para aumentar a validade desses achados e para estabelecer se a USEA pode predizer a função esfincteriana e a incontinência fecal antes de procedimento cirúrgico em pacientes com DCPAbstract: Introduction: The incidence of perianal CD (PCD) is variable between 20% and 25% of patients with CD. The gold standard for assessment of PCD is still the classic clinical examination followed eventually by examination under anesthesia (EUA) but complementary examinations like endoanal ultrasound (EAUS) and magnetic resonance imaging of the pelvis (MRI) were introduced as useful to completely assess the anatomical lesions of the sphincteric muscles caused by fistulas and abscesses. Objective: Verify the adequacy of the classical clinical evaluation to which most of the patients are submitted, in particular regarding the adequacy of assessing the sphincteric function through the Jorge- Wexner score in patients with PCD, comparing it with the findings of EAUS trough a score published by Stark and colleagues. Patients and Methods: Twenty four patients participated to the study, being 16 females and the mean age is 40.54 years old. All patients have an established diagnosis of PCD, being 7 (29,16%) with a diagnosis of CD involving the small bowel, 7 (29,16%) CD involving the colon and rectum, 2 (8,33%) CD involving the small bowel and the colon-rectum, and 8 (33,33%) have a diagnosis of PCD as the only clinical manifestation of CD. Results: The two scores has a normal distribution, with a mean Wexner score of 3.8333 (SD 4,52689) and a mean Starck score of 9,7500 (SD 2,54097). The statistical analysis showed that there is no correlation between the two scores with a confidence interval of 95%. Conclusion: The Jorge-Wexner score had a limited usefulness in this category of patients, whereas EAUS was an useful tool for achieving better correlation with muscle deficiency. This study investigated CD, a very particular and still not fully understood disease, being the perianal disease important feature of CD. However, more studies with similar purpose are needed, in order to improve the validity of these findings, and establish if the EAUS can predict the sphincter function and fecal continence before perianal surgery for CDMestradoFisiopatologia CirúrgicaMestre em Ciência

Adaptation of an i-voting scheme to Italian Elections for Citizens Abroad

We adapt the Ara´ujo-Traor´e protocol to Italian elections, with emphasis on anti-coercion measures. In this short paper we focus on a new method for managing anti-coercion credentials for each voter

Hidden Markov models for radio localization in mixed LOS/NLOS conditions

Abstract—This paper deals with the problem of radio localization of moving terminals (MTs) for indoor applications with mixed line-of-sight/non-line-of-sight (LOS/NLOS) conditions. To reduce false localizations, a grid-based Bayesian approach is proposed to jointly track the sequence of the positions and the sight conditions of the MT. This method is based on the assumption that both the MT position and the sight condition are Markov chains whose state is hidden in the received signals [hidden Markov model (HMM)]. The observations used for the HMM localization are obtained from the power-delay profile of the received signals. In ultrawideband (UWB) systems, the use of the whole power-delay profile, rather than the total power only, allows to reach higher localization accuracy, as the power-profile is a joint measurement of time of arrival and power. Numerical results show that the proposed HMM method improves the accuracy of localization with respect to conventional ranging methods, especially in mixed LOS/NLOS indoor environments. Index Terms—Bayesian estimation, hidden Markov models (HMM), mobile positioning, source localization, tracking algorithms

Novel methodologies for solving the inverse unsteady heat transfer problem of estimating the boundary heat flux in continuous casting molds

In this article, we investigate the estimation of the transient mold-slab heat flux in continuous casting molds given some thermocouples measurements in the mold plates. Mathematically, we can see this problem as the estimation of a Neumann boundary condition given pointwise state observations in the interior of the domain. We formulate it in a deterministic inverse problem setting. After introducing the industrial problem, we present the mold thermal model and related assumptions. Then, we formulate the boundary heat flux estimation problem in a deterministic inverse problem setting using a sequential approach according to the sequentiality of the temperature measurements. We consider different formulations of the inverse problem. For each one, we develop novel direct methodologies exploiting a space parameterization of the heat flux and the linearity of the mold model. We construct these methods to be divided into a computationally expensive offline phase that can be computed before the process starts, and a cheaper online phase to be performed during the casting process. To conclude, we test the performance of the proposed methods in two benchmark casesAgencia Estatal de Investigación, Grant/Award Number: PID2019-105615RBI00/AEI; European Research Council, Grant/Award Number:765374; H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Grant/Award Number: 681447; Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España, Grant/Award Number: MTM2015-68275-RS

Gastric adenocarcinoma cutaneous metastasis arising at a previous surgical drain site: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Skin metastasis from internal carcinoma rarely occurs. It has an incidence of 0.7 to 9% and it may be the first sign of an unknown malignancy. However, it can also occur during follow-up.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 90-year-old female patient was admitted to our surgical division with a diagnosis of anemia from a bleeding gastric adenocarcinoma. She underwent a gastric resection and Billroth II retrocolic Hofmeister/Finsterer reconstruction. She developed an enteric fistula, which needed a permanent abdominal drain until the 60^thpostoperative day. After 12 months she was readmitted to our division with subacute small bowel obstruction and an erythematous swelling on the right side of the abdomen. Biopsies characterized it as a cutaneous metastasis from the gastric adenocarcinoma. No surgical therapy was performed given her poor clinical condition.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Skin metastasis from carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract is very rare. Persisting erythematous nodules must be biopsied in order to diagnose cutaneous metastases and to recognize them early and start prompt therapy with anti-tumour agents before the occurrence of massive visceral metastases.</p

Two-Stage Liver Transplantation with Temporary Porto-Middle Hepatic Vein Shunt

Two-stage liver transplantation (LT) has been reported for cases of fulminant liver failure that can lead to toxic hepatic syndrome, or massive hemorrhages resulting in uncontrollable bleeding. Technically, the first stage of the procedure consists of a total hepatectomy with preservation of the recipient's inferior vena cava (IVC), followed by the creation of a temporary end-to-side porto-caval shunt (TPCS). The second stage consists of removing the TPCS and implanting a liver graft when one becomes available. We report a case of a two-stage total hepatectomy and LT in which a temporary end-to-end anastomosis between the portal vein and the middle hepatic vein (TPMHV) was performed as an alternative to the classic end-to-end TPCS. The creation of a TPMHV proved technically feasible and showed some advantages compared to the standard TPCS. In cases in which a two-stage LT with side-to-side caval reconstruction is utilized, TPMHV can be considered as a safe and effective alternative to standard TPCS