An Energy-autonomous Wireless Sensor Network Development Platform

Internet-of-things enabled applications are increasingly popular and are expected to spread even more in the next few years. Energy efficiency is fundamental to support the widespread use of such systems. This paper presents a practical framework for the development and the evaluation of low-power Wireless Sensor Networks equipped with energy harvesting, aiming at energy-autonomous applications. An experimental case study demonstrates the capabilities of the solution

A new distributed framework for integration of district energy data from heterogeneous devices

The introduction of ”smart” low-cost sensing (and actuating) devices enabled the recent diffusion of technological products within the ”Internet of Things” paradigm. In a city district context, such devices are crucial for visualization and simulation of energy consumption trends, to increase the energy distribution network efficiency and promote user awareness. Nevertheless, to unlock the potential of this technology, many challenges have to be faced at district level due to the current lack of interoperability between heterogeneous data sources. In this work, we introduce an original infrastructure model, which efficiently manage and integrate district energy data

Comparing different solutions for testing resistive defects in low-power SRAMs

Low-power SRAM architectures are especially sensitive to many types of defects that may occur during manufacturing. Among these, resistive defects can appear. This paper analyzes some types of such defects that may impair the device functionalities in subtle ways, depending on the defect characteristics, and that may not be directly or easily detectable by traditional test methods, such as March algorithms. We analyze different methods to test such defects and discuss them in terms of complexity and test time

Distributed software infrastructure for evaluating the integration of photovoltaic systems in urban districts

Nowadays, the adoption of renewable energy sources distributed across the city is crucial for planning and developing the future Smart City. An accurate simulation and modelling of energy sources, such as Photovoltaic Panels (PV), is necessary to evaluate both economical and environmental benefits. With the growth of renewable sources in the city simulations of energy production became crucial for the DSO for evaluating retrofits or for network balancing events. In this paper, we present a software infrastructure for simulating the solar radiation and estimating the energy production of a district. The infrastructure simulates the PV production and evaluates the integration of such systems considering real electricity consumption data. In its core, the proposed solution models the behaviours of PV systems taking into account the digital surface of rooftops and sub-hourly meteorological data (e.g. solar radiation and temperature) to compute real-sky conditions. Then, such information is used to feed a model of the hardware components of PV systems to gain more accurate estimations of energy production in the district in real-sky conditions

Fishers’ Perception on the Interaction between Dolphins and Fishing Activities in Italian and Croatian Waters

Interactions between fishing and dolphins can be detrimental, since on one hand dolphins can be lethally entangled by nets and trawls, and on the other dolphins can predate fish caught by nets. For dolphins, this interaction can be dangerous as they can be wounded or accidentally killed; for fishers, the predation of their catch results in economic losses due to reduced quantity and/or quality of catches and damage to fishing gear. During July and November 2020, we surveyed the “dolphin–fisheries conflict” through compiling 209 fisher interviews from nine locations in Italy and Croatia. Fishers mentioned the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) as the species primarily interacting with fishing, with the major issue being catch damage by predation. The interaction probability varied among gears and seasons, with some fishing activities (e.g., passive nets) more affected than others (e.g., bottom trawls), especially in terms of economic loss (1000–10,000 €/year on average). More than 70% of the fishers claimed that dolphin populations have increased over the last 10 years, in different degrees and based on different areas. Dolphin bycatch rates are generally low; however, 34.6% of respondents reported having captured at least one dolphin during their career. The fishers’ attitude towards acoustic deterrents (“pingers”) as a mitigation measure revealed that few of them were aware of these devices or were using them

Hippocampal Estrogen Signaling Mediates Sex Differences in Retroactive Interference

Despite being a crucial physiological function of the brain, the mechanisms underlying forgetting are still poorly understood. Estrogens play a critical role in different brain functions, including memory. However, the effects of sex hormones on forgetting vulnerability-mediated by retroactive interference (RI), a phenomenon in which newly acquired information interferes with the retrieval of already stored information, are still poorly understood. The aim of our study was to characterize the sex differences in interference-mediated forgetting and identify the underlying molecular mechanisms. We found that adult male C57bl/6 mice showed a higher susceptibility to RI-dependent memory loss than females. The preference index (PI) in the NOR paradigm was 52.7 +/- 5.9% in males and 62.3 +/- 13.0% in females. The resistance to RI in female mice was mediated by estrogen signaling involving estrogen receptor alpha activation in the dorsal hippocampus. Accordingly, following RI, females showed higher phosphorylation levels (+30%) of extracellular signal-regulated kinasel/2 (ERK1/2) in the hippocampus. Pharmacological inhibition of ERK1/2 made female mice prone to RI. The PI was 70.6 +/- 11.0% in vehicle-injected mice and 47.4 +/- 10.8% following PD98059 administration. Collectively, our data suggest that hippocampal estrogen alpha receptor-ERK1/2 signaling is critically involved in a pattern separation mechanism that inhibits object-related RI in female mice

Fat Body Mass and Vertebral Fracture Progression in Women With Breast Cancer

Importance Women with early breast cancer (EBC) exposed to aromatase inhibitors (AIs) may experience fragility fractures despite treatment with bone-active drugs. Risk factors for fractures in patients receiving AIs and denosumab have not been explored to date.Objectives To evaluate whether an association exists between dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-measured fat body mass (FBM) and vertebral fracture (VF) progression in postmenopausal women with EBC undergoing adjuvant therapy with AIs in combination with denosumab and to examine whether VF was associated with common risk factors for bone fracture and parameters of body composition other than FBM.Design, Setting, and Participants For this prospective, single-center, cohort study, 237 patients with EBC who were undergoing adjuvant treatment with AIs and denosumab (60 mg every 6 months) were enrolled at the Breast Unit of the ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia from September 2014 to June 2018. Data analysis was conducted in June 2022.Exposure Body composition parameters, bone mineral density, and morphometric VFs were assessed by DXA at study entry and after 18 months of therapy.Main Outcomes and MeasuresVF progression, defined as either new or worsening of preexisting VFs, between the 2 time points.Results Of the 237 patients enrolled (median [range] age, 61 [28-84] years), 17 (4.4%) reported VF progression. Univariable analysis found an association between VF progression and a history of clinical fractures (odds ratio [OR], 3.22; 95% CI, 1.19-8.74; P = .02), Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) score for major fractures (OR, 4.42; 95% CI, 1.23-13.79; P = .04), percentage of FBM (OR, 6.04; 95% CI, 1.69-21.63; P = .006), and android fat (OR, 9.58; 95% CI, 1.17-78.21; P = .04) and an inverse association with appendicular lean mass index-FBM ratio (OR, 0.25, 95% CI, 0.08-0.82; P = .02). Multivariable analysis revealed percentage of FBM (OR, 5.41; 95% CI, 1.49-19.59; P = .01) and FRAX score (OR, 3.95; 95% CI, 1.09-14.39; P = .04) as independent variables associated with VF progression.Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this study suggest that baseline FBM is an independent factor for VF progression in patients with EBC treated with adjuvant AIs and denosumab. This observation is new and indicates that diet and exercise may synergize with denosumab in the management of bone health in this patient setting

N-Acetylglucosamine: Production and Applications

N-Acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a monosaccharide that usually polymerizes linearly through (1,4)-β-linkages. GlcNAc is the monomeric unit of the polymer chitin, the second most abundant carbohydrate after cellulose. In addition to serving as a component of this homogeneous polysaccharide, GlcNAc is also a basic component of hyaluronic acid and keratin sulfate on the cell surface. In this review, we discuss the industrial production of GlcNAc, using chitin as a substrate, by chemical, enzymatic and biotransformation methods. Also, newly developed methods to obtain GlcNAc using glucose as a substrate in genetically modified microorganisms are introduced. Moreover, GlcNAc has generated interest not only as an underutilized resource but also as a new functional material with high potential in various fields. Here we also take a closer look at the current applications of GlcNAc, and several new and cutting edge approaches in this fascinating area are thoroughly discussed