Search results for " sensor"

EFFECT OF ADDING SOLID AND MOLTEN CHOCOLATE ON THE POLYPHENOL CONTENT, CHEMICAL, TEXTURAL, MICROBIOLOGICAL AND SENSORY ASPECTS OF PECORINO SICILIANO …

In this project we used two specific food products, which are typically Sicilian, Pecorino Siciliano cheese and Modica chocolate, that have unique texture and taste. “Chocolate cheese” is produced with the aim of increasing the consumption of cheese especially among children, targeting the purpose of improving public health. In this research we investigated chocolate cheese including solid and molten chocolate in three levels of 5%, 10% and 15% at four ripening times (T0 = fresh, T1 = 2 weeks, T2 = 4 weeks and T3 = 6 weeks). The results showed that the addition of chocolate significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the pH, ash and protein content of the Pecorino Siciliano cheese, whereas it had no…

OMNI-DRL: Learning to Fly in Forests with Omnidirectional Images

2022

Perception is crucial for drone obstacle avoidance in complex, static, and unstructured outdoor environments. However, most navigation solutions based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) use limited Field-Of-View (FOV) images as input. In this paper, we demonstrate that omnidirectional images improve these methods. Thus, we provide a comparative benchmark of several visual modalities for navigation: ground truth depth, ground truth semantic segmentation, and RGB images. These exhaustive comparisons reveal that it is superior to use an omnidirectional camera to navigate with classical DRL methods. Finally, we show in two different virtual forest environments that adapting the convolution to…

Can be GPR technique useful for strength characterization of concrete?

2010

The possibility of material characterization through the GPR measurements, taking into account the integration with the ultrasonic technique, has been studied and possible relationships between the permittivity of materials and their bulk density are discussed. We present here two different approaches. The first one describes an attempt to correlate the mechanical strength of concrete (as well the ultrasonic velocity) with the permittivity of the material. A series of samples of concrete, characterized by different material properties, were used for georadar and ultrasonic measures, seeking correlations among experimental data. The second approach illustrates the comparison between GPR and …

Noninvasive monitoring of polymer curing reactions by dielectrometry

2011

A microwave sensor system for the noninvasive monitoring of the curing process of a thermoset material placed inside a metallic mold is described. The microwave sensor is designed as an open-ended coaxial resonator with a curved surface adapted to the mold inner shape. The analysis of the microwave resonator comprises a recently developed method for deembedding the effect of coupling network in overcoupled resonators, so the range of permitted measurements encompass both low and high dielectric losses of polymeric materials. Results show that noninvasive, continuous monitoring of the microwave dielectric properties of the thermoset material can be performed in real time, allowing one to che…

Design of Implanted RFID Tags for Passive Sensing of Human Body: The STENTag

2012

Numerical processing of passive UHF-RFID tags' response may provide physical insight about the hosting object or about the nearby environment. This idea is here extended to implanted antennas with the purpose to sense the evolution of some human physiological and pathological process involving a local change of effective permittivity inside the body. The goal is to understand how master the design of this class of devices taking into account both communication and sensing capabilities. An ad hoc design methodology is here presented and discussed by means of a realistic medical case concerning the modification of an endo-vascular device to achieve a STENTag able to sense the state of the ves…

Dielectric characterization of biocompatible hydrogels for application to Epidermal RFID devices

2015

Functionalized skin-like membranes are currently under investigation for the design of a new class of Epidermal Electronics devices for sensing and healing applications. The dynamic response of epidermal antennas in presence of absorption and release of fluids is a key-point to design RFID radio-sensors and actuators. This paper addresses the characterization of the dielectric property of PVA-based biocompatible hydrogel membranes in the UHF RFID band by means of a modified ring resonator. Samples having different compositions are measured in the dry state as well as when exposed to a progressive release of body fluids emulating perspirations or wound exudates. It was found that the permitt…

Development and characterization of xyloglucan-poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel membrane for Wireless Smart wound dressings

2018

Abstract Hydrogel-based smart wound dressings that combine the traditional favourable properties of hydrogels as skin care materials with sensing functions of relevant biological parameters for the remote monitoring of wound healing are under development. In particular, lightweight, ultra-high frequency radiofrequency identification (UHF RFID) sensor are adjoined to xyloglucan-poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel films to battery-less monitor moisture level of the bandage in contact with the skin, as well as wireless transmit the measured data to an off-body reader. This study investigates the swelling behavior of the hydrogels in contact with simulated biological fluids, and the modification of th…

Vitamin D in the Prevention and Treatment of Diabetic Neuropathy.

2022

Neuropathy is one of the most important complications of diabetes. According to recent advances, vitamin D deficiency might play a role in the development and progression of diabetic neuropathy. Moreover, therapeutic vitamin D supplementation has the potential to improve this condition. The aim of the present review was to summarize new data available in this area.The PubMed database was searched for articles written in English and published through September 2021, using combinations of the following key words: vitamin D, diabetes, diabetes mellitus, diabetic neuropathy, polyneuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, cardiac autonomic neuropathy, supplementation, and therapy.A number of studies hav…

New high piezoelectric coupling PLuNT binary system ceramics

1999

Abstract The new (1 − x)Pb( Lu 1 2 Nb 1 2 ) O 3 − x PbTiO 3 binary system ceramics in the interval 0 0.49). The morphotropic region extends over the interval x = 0.38–0.49, the concentration ratio M:T ≅ 1 corresponds to x = 0.41. The maximum values of the electromechanical coupling coefficients k p = 0.663, k t = 0.481, k 31 = 0.355 of (1 − x)PLuN-xPT ceramics were attained in compositions PLuNT 59/41 (T m = 353 °C) near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). The PLuNT system, having large values of electromechanical coupling and the highest T m (> 350 °C) among binary Pb(B′,B″)O 3 -PT perovskites may be favorable for piezoelectric sensors and actuators, and may have an interest as promisin…

Dielectric and Ultrasonic Investigation of Phase Transitions in PbFe1/2Nb1/2O3Ceramics

2012

We have investigated dielectric and acoustic properties of PbFe1/2Nb1/2O3 ceramics, obtained by conventional ceramic technology, in 120–450 K temperature interval. Dielectric response showed diffused dielectric permittivity maximum caused by ferroelectric phase transition around 380 K, but no dielectric anomalies associated with magnetic phase transition at low temperatures were observed. Formation of the polar phase was confirmed by ultrasonically detected piezoelectric sensitivity. Ultrasonic investigations using pulse-echo method showed two anomalous regions in temperature dependencies of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation, associated with magnetic and ferroelectric phase transitions.