Experimental campaign tests on ultra micro gas turbines, fuel supply comparison and optimization

The increasing demand for miniaturized radio-controlled vehicles inspired the following research. The uses of these unmanned miniaturized/micro vehicles range from aero-modeling to drones for urban control and military applications too. The common characteristic of these vehicles is the need for a light and compact propulsion system. The radio-controlled (RC) turbines for modeling are ideally suited for this purpose, guaranteeing the necessary thrust with compactness and lightness. This device is a miniaturized turbojet, and it is generally composed of three basic elements: compressor, combustion chamber and turbine. The main goal of the paper is to evaluate the turbojet performance for considering the possibility of its use as a range extender in a hybrid vehicle. Considering the total volume constraints, it will be important to evaluate the specific fuel consumption. Also from the environmental point of view, the possibility of feeding the device with gas has been considered and, consequently, the needed device modifications performed. The test bench has been realized and assembled at the University Department Laboratory. Several different experimental configurations are reproduced and reported here, to obtain performance maps. The experiments results have been compared to previous tests results, as well as numerical simulations. Therefore, it has been possible to make a comparison between the two different fuels. The results show that this device can be used as a range extender for a hybrid vehicle. Moreover, the various tests have shown that, acting on the control unit, it is possible to feed the device with gas (mixture of propane and butane), obtaining a further benefit from the economic point of view. Surely, an in-depth study of the turbine management logic would produce a further advantage in terms of fuel consumption

Teoria dei grafi applicata allo studio dei labirinti

Nella tesi si affronta lo studio dei labirinti e dei problemi ad essi collegati attraverso la teoria dei grafi. In particolare si analizza come descriverli, generarli e risolverli. Nell'ultima parte si estende il concetto di labirinto a qualcosa di più generale come ad esempio lo studio di reti autostradali o informatiche o la risoluzione di alcuni giochi deterministici come gli scacchi: situazioni in cui la teoria dei grafi, come nel caso dei labirinti, si rivela un utile ed efficiente modello matematico

Mobile assistive technology with augmented reality for the elderly

Technology offers many possibilities, but older people often do not fully enjoy these opportunities and are frustrated or afraid of these new devices. This has led to their gradual isolation in a society where different forms of communication through the Internet and ICT are essential. In this article, we describe a study conducted during the nacodeal project, which aims to provide technical solutions for the elderly to provide autonomy and better quality of life in their daily activities by integrating information and communication technologies. In order to achieve this goal, advanced augmented reality (RA) technology and Internet services and mobile device interfaces specially designed for the elderly have been developed. These technologies use the underlying structure of most home and geriatric care centers. We propose a prototype system composed of tablet computers and portable RA devices, and analyze the impact of society on user interaction, as well as the evaluation of acceptability and usability. The assessment was conducted through focus groups and individual pilot tests with 48 participants: The elderly, caregivers and experts. His comments concluded that older people have a strong interest and interest in RA based nursing information and communication technologies, especially those related to communication and autonomy

Analisi delle performance degli algoritmi A* e Dijkstra bidirezionali nel problema del Route Planning

Questa tesi ha l'obiettivo di confrontare le performance degli algoritmi A star e bidirezionali per il problema del calcolo del cammino più breve attraverso una rete stradale. In particolare, l'analisi verte ad analizzare il numero di nodi visitati e il tempo di esecuzione degli algoritmi, su alcune mappe stradali europee morfologicamente diverse andando ad evidenziare pregi e difetti dei diversi approcci. I dati stradali sono stati ottenuti dal sito web OpenStreetMap.com, gli algoritmi presentati sono stati scritti in linguaggio Python

Robust 3D face capture using example-based photometric stereo

We show that using example-based photometric stereo, it is possible to achieve realistic reconstructions of the human face. The method can handle non-Lambertian reflectance and attached shadows after a simple calibration step. We use spherical harmonics to model and de-noise the illumination functions from images of a reference object with known shape, and a fast grid technique to invert those functions and recover the surface normal for each point of the target object. The depth coordinate is obtained by weighted multi-scale integration of these normals, using an integration weight mask obtained automatically from the images themselves. We have applied these techniques to improve the PHOTOFACE system of Hansen et al. (2010). © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

NUOVI STRUMENTI DIAGNOSTICI E NUOVE PROSPETTIVE PER LA SALUTE DELL\u2019OSSO

Sebbene l'osso trabecolare rappresenti solo il 20% dello scheletro, la resistenza dell\u2019osso \ue8 fortemente influenzata, oltre che dalla densit\ue0, anche dalla micro-architettura della struttura trabecolare. Un metodo diagnostico innovativo di recente introduzione, BESTEST\uae, mediante il BSI (Bone Structure Index) misura la risposta elastica alle sollecitazioni da parte della struttura ossea, ricavata da simulazioni di carico condotte con metodi ingegneristici su una biopsia virtuale del paziente, ottenuta da radiogrammi planari dell'epifisi prossimale della mano. I risultati dell\u2019esame sono espressi in termini statistici, BSI_T-score e BSI_Z-score, di significato analogo ma non correlati a quelli utilizzati in densitometria. \uc8 ben noto che i regolatori ipofisari, gli inibitori dell'aromatasi e il tamoxifene nelle donne in pre-menopausa e i chemioterapici hanno tutti un impatto negativo sulla salute delle ossa poich\ue9, bloccando l'attivit\ue0 degli estrogeni o degli androgeni, aumentano il turnover osseo portando ad un rischio crescente di fratture. L'incidenza globale del rischio di fratture nei pazienti in trattamento ormonale per carcinoma mammario varia dall'1,37% all'11%. In questo lavoro, vengono discussi i risultati preliminari ottenuti nella valutazione del BSI_T-score in 100 pazienti di sesso femminile sottoposte a trattamento per carcinoma del seno. I risultati dimostrano che la micro-architettura ossea \ue8 effettivamente influenzata dal trattamento oncologico e che il BESTEST\uae pu\uf2 fornire un prezioso aiuto alla densitometria nella valutazione di queste alterazioni, specialmente quando associate a fratture. Questo studio preliminare fornisce inoltre una base razionale per ulteriori e pi\uf9 approfondite indagini sull'uso di questa nuova tecnica, rapida e sicura, per monitorare l'effetto delle terapie contro il cancro della mammella sulle alterazioni della micro-architettura ossea

Online rights : virtual anonymity - public intimacy

La tecnología está transformando no sólo nuestro entorno, sino también a nosotros mismos y a nuestra forma de interactuar y de relacionarnos. Estos cambios, a la par de introducir mejoras cualitativas y cuantitativas a nivel social, también generan, por la amplitud de sus contenidos, efectos actual y potencialmente nocivos. Uno de los temas que más aflige a la sociedad contemporánea es el relativo a la invasión de la privacidad. La acelerada evolución de Internet en los últimos tiempos ha puesto sobre el tapete multitud de interrogantes a los que el Derecho debe responder necesariamente. Ello obliga a reflexionar profundamente sobre hasta qué punto el Derecho, que ordena nuestras sociedades, va a ser eficaz en el universo de las redes sociales. Por ello, resulta fundamental indagar qué respuestas ofrece el Derecho ante estos fenómenos. Es nuestro deseo, hacerles llegar a ustedes las distintas perspectivas que atentan, en cuanto refiere al tema objeto de análisis, contra nuestro Derecho Constitucional, con especial énfasis en el derecho fundamental a la protección de datos, el derecho a la intimidad y, específicamente, los derechos de autor que se ven involucrados, para concluir con una temática referida a la responsabilidad que se genera en estos medios, tarea que aún hoy le corresponde elaborar a nuestro sistema jurídico argentino.Technology is changing not only our environment, but also to us themselves and to our way of interacting and of relating. These changes, at par of introducing qualitative and quantitative improvements at the social level, also generate, for the extent of his contents, current and potentially harmful’s effects. One of the topics that more afflicts to the contemporary society is the relative one to the invasion of the privacy. The intensive evolution of Internet in the last times has put on the rug lot of questions to which the Law must answer necessarily. It forces to think deeply up to what point the Law, which arranges our societies, is going to be effective in the universe of the social networks. Due to this, it turns out to be important to investigate what answers it offers the Law before these phenomena. It is our desire, make them come to you the different perspectives that commit an outrage, in all that it recounts to the topic object of analysis, against our Constitutional law, with special emphasis in the fundamental right to the protection of information, the right to the intimacy and, specifically, the copyright that meet involved, to conclude with a subject matter referred to the responsibility that is generated in these means, task that still today it belongs to elaborate to our juridical Argentine system

A New Genetic Risk Score to Predict the Outcome of Locally Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Treated With First-Line Exemestane: Results From a Prospective Study

Currently there are no reliable biomarkers to predict outcome of exemestane treatment. We designed a prospective study to investigate whether constitutive genetic background might affect response to therapy. In a population of 302 advanced breast cancer patients treated with exemestane we showed that a 5-polymorphism-based genetic score could be used to identify patients with different risks of progression and death.Introduction: Approximately 50% of locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated with first-line exemestane do not show objective response and currently there are no reliable biomarkers to predict the outcome of patients using this therapy. The constitutive genetic background might be responsible for differences in the outcome of exemestane-treated patients. We designed a prospective study to investigate the role of germ line polymorphisms as biomarkers of survival. Patients and Methods: Three hundred two locally advanced or MBC patients treated with first-line exemestane were genotyped for 74 germ line polymorphisms in 39 candidate genes involved in drug activity, hormone balance, DNA replication and repair, and cell signaling pathways. Associations with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were tested with multivariate Cox regression. Bootstrap resampling was used as an internal assessment of results reproducibility. Results: Cytochrome P450 19A1-rs10046TC/CC, solute carrier organic anion transporter 1B1-rs4149056TT, adenosine triphosphate binding cassette subfamily G member 2-rs2046134GG, fibroblast growth factor receptor-4-rs351855TT, and X-ray repair cross complementing 3-rs861539TT were significantly associated with PFS and then combined into a risk score (0-1, 2, 3, or 4-6 risk points). Patients with the highest risk score (4-6 risk points) compared with ones with the lowest score (0-1 risk points) had a median PFS of 10 months versus 26.3 months (adjusted hazard ratio [AdjHR], 3.12 [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.18-4.48]; P < .001) and a median OS of 38.9 months versus 63.0 months (AdjHR, 2.41 [95% CI, 1.22-4.79], P = .012), respectively. Conclusion: In this study we defined a score including 5 polymorphisms to stratify patients for PFS and OS. This score, if validated, might be translated to personalize locally advanced or MBC patient treatment and management

Primary chemotherapy with gemcitabine, epirubicin and taxol (GET) in operable breast cancer: a phase II study

This trial was conducted to assess the activity and tolerability of the gemcitabine, epirubicin, taxol triplet combination in patients with operable breast cancer. After core biopsy, 43 women with stage II–IIIA breast cancer were treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg m−2 over 30 min on days 1 and 4, epirubicin 90 mg m−2 as an intravenous bolus on day 1, and taxol 175 mg m−2 as a 3-h infusion on day 1, every 21 days for four cycles. The primary end point was the percentage of pathological complete responses (pCR) in the breast; secondary end points were tolerability, clinical response rates, overall and progression-free survival, tumour biomarkers before and after primary chemotherapy (PCT). All patients were included in safety and survival analyses; 41 eligible patients were evaluated for response. The overall clinical response rate was 87.8% (95% CI 77.8–97.8), with 26.8% complete responses (95% CI 13.3–40.3). A pCR in the breast was observed in six patients (14.6%; 95% CI 3.8–25.4); 15 patients (36.6%; 95% CI 21.9–51.3) had negative axillary lymph nodes. Grade 4 neutropenia was observed in 67.4% of the patients; febrile neutropenia occurred in 1.9% of cycles (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was used in 3.2% of the cycles to shorten the duration of neutropenia). A statistically significant difference between Mib-1 at baseline (⩾20% in 71.4% of the patients) and at definitive surgery (28.6%, P<0.05) was observed. The gemcitabine, epirubicin, taxol regimen is active and well tolerated as PCT for operable breast cancer. This combination allows the administration of full doses of active agents with a low incidence of febrile neutropenia

Older People’s Needs and Opportunities for Assistive Technologies

Older adults experience a disconnect between their needs and adoption of technologies that have potential to assist and to support more independent living. This paper reviewed research that links people’s needs with opportunities for assistive technologies. It searched 13 databases identifying 923 papers with 34 papers finally included for detailed analysis. The research papers identified needs in the fields of health, leisure, living, safety, communication, family relationship and social involvement. Amongst these, support for activities of daily living category was of most interest. In specific sub-categories, the next most reported need was assistive technology to support walking and mobility followed by smart cooking/kitchen technology and assistive technology for social contacts with family member/other people. The research aimed to inform a program of research into improving the adoption of technologies where they can ameliorate identified needs of older people