Search results for "Design"
showing 10 items of 5885 documents
A Bio-Inspired Cognitive Agent for Autonomous Urban Vehicles Routing Optimization
2017
Autonomous urban vehicle prototypes are expected to be efficient even in not explicitly planned circumstances and dynamic environments. The development of autonomous vehicles for urban driving needs real-time information from vehicles and road network to optimize traffic flows. In traffic agent-based models, each vehicle is an agent, while the road network is the environment. Cognitive agents are able to reason on the perceived data, to evaluate the information obtained by reasoning, and to learn and respond, preserving their self-sufficiency, independency, self-determination, and self-reliance. In this paper, a bio-inspired cognitive agent for autonomous urban vehicles routing optimization…
Green geopolymeric concrete using grits for applications in construction
2018
Abstract This work investigates the production a green geopolymer-based concrete for a sustainable construction material using biomass wastes from a kraft pulp industry: fly ash (as main alumina-silicate source) and grits (as aggregate). Moreover, a simple, reproducible, ambient temperature, and low-cost manufacture is followed. Mix design aims to maximize wastes incorporation and optimize the mechanical performance. Preliminary tests indicate that the used wastes may be successfully employed to produce green geopolymeric concretes with satisfying mechanical performance (up to 18 MPa), according to the European standards. Furthermore, they represent a viable solution to reduce the environme…
Biological clocks and physical functioning in monozygotic female twins
2018
Background Biomarkers of biological aging – DNA methylation age (DNAm age) and leukocyte telomere length (LTL)– correlate strongly with chronological age across the life course. It is, however, unclear how these measures of cellular wear and tear are associated with muscle strength and functional capacity, which are known to decline with older age and are associated with mortality. We investigated if DNAm age and LTL were associated with body composition and physical functioning by examining 48 monozygotic twin sisters. Methods White blood cell DNAm age (predicted years) was calculated from Illumina 450 k BeadChip methylation data using an online calculator. DNAm age acceleration was define…
Towards a new mix design method for asphalt mixtures containing rap
2016
Recycling is one of the most important aspects to conceive the new construction or rehabilitation of sustainable road infrastructures. Even if Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is commonly used in the practice, its presence may lead to some critical aspects due to the physical and chemical phenomena occurring during the new mix process. For instance, the formation of RAP clusters during a new mix may inhibit the uniform distribution of the virgin binder as well as cause changes in the design grading curve of the mixture. Indeed, laboratory results demonstrate that small-size RAP particles stick together forming clusters. The amount of clusters depends on different parameters observed: The pe…
Usability issues of clinical and research applications of virtual reality in older people: A systematic review
2020
Aging is a condition that may be characterized by a decline in physical, sensory, and mental capacities, while increased morbidity and multimorbidity may be associated with disability. A wide range of clinical conditions (e.g., frailty, mild cognitive impairment, metabolic syndrome) and age-related diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, cancer, sarcopenia, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) affect older people. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel and promising tool for assessment and rehabilitation in older people. Usability is a crucial factor that must be considered when designing virtual systems for medicine. We conducted a systematic review with Preferred Reporting Items…
Synthesis and evaluation of zirconium-89 labelled and long-lived GLP-1 receptor agonists for PET imaging
2020
Contains fulltext : 220838.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) INTRODUCTION: Lately, zirconium-89 has shown great promise as a radionuclide for PET applications of long circulating biomolecules. Here, the design and synthesis of protracted and long-lived GLP-1 receptor agonists conjugated to desferrioxamine and labelled with zirconium-89 is presented with the purpose of studying their in vivo distribution by PET imaging. The labelled conjugates were evaluated and compared to a non-labelled GLP-1 receptor agonist in both in vitro and in vivo assays to certify that the modification did not significantly alter the peptides' structure or function. Finally, the zirconium-89 labelled peptide…
Straining at work and its relationship with personality profiles and individual consequences in healthcare workers (HCWs)
2020
Straining is an attenuated form of mobbing, in which the continuity of vexatious actions is not driven by a discriminatory intent. With the objective of testing the possible moderating role of personality in the relationship between perceptions about straining at work and individual consequences, a correlational design research involved 374 healthcare workers (HCWs) from two Italian hospitals. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) Short Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ), to assess discriminative actions at work)
Guardare in due direzioni diverse
2017
Aiap Design Per, International Graphic Design Week è la grande manifestazione itinerante curata da Aiap, Associazione italiana design della comunicazione visiva*, che nella settima edizione, dopo essersi svolta a Napoli, Bologna, Cagliari, Treviso, Genova e Milano, approda a Roma dove continua a mostrare le sue peculiarità, che si affrontano come in un rinnovato ma pacato duello. Aiap Design Per, International Graphic Design Week – this year at the 7th edition – is the major travelling event organised by Aiap, Italian Association of Visual communication Design* which, after Naples, Bologna, Cagliari, Treviso, Genoa and Milan, finally reaches Rome with all its peculiarities, which confront o…
Can technical, functional and structural characteristics of dental units predict Legionella pneumophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa contamination?
2011
Legionella pneumophila and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are common colonizers of water environments, particularly dental unit waterlines. The aim of this study was to assess whether the technical, functional and structural characteristics of dental units can influence the presence and the levels of opportunistic pathogens. Overall, 42 water samples were collected from dental units in a teaching hospital in Palermo, Italy, including 21 samples from the 21 taps supplied by the municipal water distribution system and 21 samples from oral rinsing cups at 21 dental units. L. pneumophila was present in 16 out of 21 water samples (76.2%) from dental units, and the median concentration was higher in samp…
Practical strategies for stable operation of HFF-QCM in continuous air flow
2013
Currently there are a few fields of application using quartz crystal microbalances (QCM). Because of environmental conditions and insufficient resolution of the microbalance, chemical sensing of volatile organic compounds in an open system was as yet not possible. In this study we present strategies on how to use 195 MHz fundamental quartz resonators for a mobile sensor platform to detect airborne analytes. Commonly the use of devices with a resonant frequency of about 10 MHz is standard. By increasing the frequency to 195 MHz the frequency shift increases by a factor of almost 400. Unfortunately, such kinds of quartz crystals tend to exhibit some challenges to obtain a reasonable signal-to…