Search results for "Spatial"

Optical retarder system with programmable spectral retardance.

2014

An optical system that works as a retarder waveplate with programmable spectral retardance is proposed. The system is based on a pixelated liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) spatial light modulator (SLM). The input light beam is spectrally dispersed and different spectral components are projected onto different pixels of the LCoS-SLM. A different retardance is then addressed for each pixel, adapted to the incoming wavelength. Light reflected from the SLM is then recombined by the same setup. In this way a programmable polarization spectrum can be encoded. We illustrate the broadband characterization that is required for proper use of the system. Then several examples are shown, including spec…

Methods of spatial cluster detection in rare childhood cancers: Benchmarking data and results from a simulation study on nephroblastoma

2021

Abstract The potential existence of spatial clusters in childhood cancer incidence is a debated topic. Identification of rare disease clusters in general may help to better understand disease etiology and develop preventive strategies against such entities. The incidence of newly diagnosed childhood malignancies under 15 years of age is 140/1,000,000. In this context, the subgroup of nephroblastoma represents an extremely rare entity with an annual incidence of 7/1,000,000. We evaluated widely used statistical approaches for spatial cluster detection in childhood cancer (Ref. [22] Schundeln et al., 2021, Cancer Epidemiology). For the simulation study, random high risk clusters of 1 to 50 ad…

The Cryogenic AntiCoincidence detector for ATHENA: the progress towards the final pixel design

2014

“The Hot and Energetic Universe” is the scientific theme approved by the ESA SPC for a Large mission to be flown in the next ESA slot (2028th) timeframe. ATHENA is a space mission proposal tailored on this scientific theme. It will be the first X-ray mission able to perform the so-called “Integral field spectroscopy”, by coupling a high-resolution spectrometer, the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), to a high performance optics so providing detailed images of its field of view (5’ in diameter) with an angular resolution of 5” and fine energy-spectra (2.5eV@E<7keV). The X-IFU is a kilo-pixel array based on TES (Transition Edge Sensor) microcalorimeters providing high resolution spectroscopy …

Testing steady-state analysis of single-ring and square pressure infiltrometer data

2016

Testing reliability of the saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, Ks, estimated by applying the steady-state single-ring (SR) model to the quasi steady-state infiltration rates obtained with a single-ring pressure infiltrometer (PI) increases confidence in the estimated Ks values. Determining a means to estimate Ks from infiltration data collected with a square infiltrometer allows the use of sources of different shapes. Using numerically simulated infiltration rates for six homogeneous soils ranging in texture from sand to silty clay loam, this investigation suggested an overall good performance of the SR model, with estimated Ks values differing by not more than 25% from the true values f…

Transizioni in periodi di incertezza. L’innovazione delle politiche regionali di governance per lo sviluppo auto sostenibile

2020

The basis of this contribution are a) the European Commission's regional innovation strategies for smart specialization (RIS3), b) the regional policies to combat the risk of decline and c) the governance model of Transition Management. Today the challenge consists in the validation of RIS3 even in the conditions of uncertainty exacerbated, for example, by the recent experience of COVID 19 as a global pandemic, trigger of the planetary economic and social decline. The guidance of the territorial transformations induced by RIS3 can be achieved with GIS technologies which, in turn, can constitute a single platform of the competent regional administration for urban and landscape planning. This…

Una postmetropoli incompleta: il contesto socio-spaziale di Palermo

2018

Palermo è la città più popolata e importante della Sicilia e la quinta città più popolata d'Italia. Nonostante sia ampiamente conosciuta per la sua marginalità e la presenza di organizzazioni criminali (mafia), Palermo ha giocato a lungo un ruolo chiave nel bacino del Mediterraneo. Uno dei luoghi comuni tradizionali legati a Palermo e alla Sicilia è che il suo popolo ha sviluppato un atteggiamento passivo come conseguenza delle numerose dominazioni straniere dell'isola (a partire dalla sua fondazione, Palermo è stata governata dai Cartaginesi, dai Romani, dagli Arabi, dai Normanni, dai Francesi e dagli Spagnoli). Come per tutti i luoghi comuni, anche questo è in parte vero, ma non può esser…

SPATIAL PATTERNS OF VOTING IN BUCHAREST AT THE EUROPEAN AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS OF 2019

2021

Integrating geophysical and geostatistical techniques to map the spatial variation of clay

2012

Abstract The development of subsoil models represents an important aspect of land resource evaluation, because they can provide an accurate description of the spatial variability in soil properties. Although direct soil sampling provides the best information in terms of soil properties, sample density is rarely adequate to accurately describe the horizontal and vertical variability of the physical properties of soil. Geophysical methods, such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensors, provide rapid, non-invasive and exhaustive ways for subsoil characterization. Moreover, geophysical methods can be integrated with geostatistics to map soil properties. This…

Spatial microbial community structure and biodiversity analysis in "extreme" hypersaline soils of a semiarid Mediterranean area

2015

In recent years specific attention has been paid on the biotechnological potential of microorganisms in extreme soils, in particular in saline soils. Salinity is one of the most widespread soil degradation processes on the Earth, and saline soils can be defined as extreme soils or border line habitats in which several factors, as high salt content, may limit the growth of organisms. In this study, the physical, chemical and microbiological soil properties were investigated in the shallower horizon of natural saltaffected soils in Sicily (Italy). The main aim of the research was to evaluate the structure and diversity of bacterial and archaeal communities by terminal-restriction fragment len…

Horizontal distribution of copper, nickel and enchytraeid worms in polluted soil

1999

We studied the horizontal distribution of Cu, Ni and enchytraeid worms (Cognettia sphagnetorum, Vejdovsky, Oligochaeta, Enchytraeidae) in forest soil near a Cu–Ni smelter in SW Finland. Soil samples were taken from a polluted site (2 km from the smelter) and a reference area (8 km from the smelter). We used a hierarchical sampling design in the polluted area for studying possible scale-dependent variability in parameters measured, distance between the samples (different scales) being 5, 50 and 500 cm. Distribution of metals was moderately heterogeneous in the polluted soil; coefficient of variances (CV), 26% for Cu and 32% for Ni. Instead, distribution of enchytraeids in the area was highly…