Archivio della ricerca - Fondazione Bruno Kessler
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Scoping review of infectious disease prevention, mitigation and management in passenger ships and at ports: mapping the literature to develop comprehensive and effective public health measures
No full textBackground: With various infectious disease risks to passenger ship travellers, guidance for infectious disease prevention, mitigation and management (PMM) exists. Emerging infections and emergencies necessitate updated, context-specific guidelines and practices. New evidence for infection PMM must be translated into guidance for governmental authorities and the passenger ship industry. Under the European HEALTHY SAILING project, we conducted a scoping review of publications in PubMed, Scopus and grey literature for scientific articles, regulations, guidelines and policies describing infectious disease PMM in seaports, cruise, ferry, expedition and river cruise ships between 1990 and 2023. Main findings: Of 620 publications most were peer-reviewed articles (57.7%) and technical guidance (27.9%), followed by reports/other documents (9.1%), industry guidance (3.4%) and legislation (1.9%). Half (50.5%) of all publications addressed respiratory illnesses, fewer addressed gastroenteritis (11.5%), Legionnaire's (6.1%), other vaccine-preventable (3.2%), vector-borne (1.6%) and sexually transmitted (1.0%) diseases. Most publications focus on infectious disease in seagoing cruise ships (75.7%) compared to ferries, expedition and river cruise ships (26.6%, 16.9%, 16.3%, respectively). Fewer publications addressed seaports (39.0%), shore-side personnel (19.7%) and port communities (2.4%). Most literature was published between 2020 and 2023 (50.2%) with a peak addressing respiratory illnesses (264 publications) during this period. A trend in volume and type was observed based on public health emergencies associated with the publication year. Conclusions: Peer-reviewed articles and guidance primarily address respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, seagoing cruise ships and onboard populations. Gaps on the following topics exist: other infectious disease types; other passenger ship types; land-based personnel and port communities. Future research could assess risk factors and PMM measure effectiveness considering vaccine-preventable, vector-borne and sexually transmitted diseases. The evidence-base should be strengthened to produce guidelines targeting specificities of seaports, ferries, expedition and river cruise ships. Developing guidelines to standardise passenger ship outbreak investigation reporting could help evaluate PMM measure effectiveness, the impact of passenger ship travel on port communities and vice versa. Modern passenger ship experiences-from educational to elderly focused cruising-present diverse public health risks, requiring continuous efforts by public health authorities and the shipping industry. While outside the review's scope, measures may impact travellers' mental health, necessitating strategies when designing and implementing PMM measures
Automated Game Testing With Online Search Agent and Model Construction, a Study
No full textModern computer games have become very complex, so they can benefit from automated testing. However, their huge and fine grained interaction space makes them very challenging for automated testing algorithms. Having a model of a system would greatly improve the effectiveness of a testing algorithm. However, manually constructing a model is expensive and time-consuming. This paper proposes an online agent-based search approach to solve common testing tasks for computer games, in particular games that involve elements of world navigation and exploration. On the fly, the approach also constructs a model of the system, which is then exploited to solve the given testing task. The effectiveness of the approach is studied via a case study called Lab Recruits and its simulation of another game called Dungeons and Dragons Online. The study showed that the approach is superior in its ability to complete testing tasks and its completion time compared to evolutionary algorithm, Q-learning and MCTS. This paper extends a previous work presented in ATEST by including evaluation on large game levels, evaluation of the achieved coverage and fault detection and the aforementioned comparison with other algorithms
Performance of catalyst coated sulfonated poly ether ether ketone membrane in PEM water electrolysis: effects of membrane modification by inclusion of MoS2-coated carbon nanotubes
No full textProton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis is a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production, but substituting traditional perfluoro sulfonic acid membranes with fluorine-free membranes is needed to address the environmental concern about this component. This study presents a novel approach to enhancing the performance of fluorine-free sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) membranes by incorporating functionalized nanofillers into the matrix of SPEEK membranes. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are used as nanofillers and an innovative radio frequency (RF) sputtering plasma treatment technique is studied to modify CNTs, enabling efficient functionalization with oxygen (CNT-O) and molybdenum disulfide (CNT-O-MoS2) without chemical additives, which is different from what happens with conventional chemical treatments. The study shows that the integration of these modified nanofillers into the SPEEK matrix significantly improves mechanical strength, thermal stability, and proton conductivity, as required in PEM electrolysis cells. Among the tested nanofillers, CNT-O-MoS2 allows to enhance the oxidative stability of the fabricated membrane due to the sulfide groups and facilitates efficient ion transport through water channels, significantly improving the ionic conductivity of the prepared membrane. To evaluate electrochemical performance, catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) were prepared using the decal method for both the fabricated membranes and Nafion 115. Notably, the SPEEK CNT-O-MoS2 membrane achieved a current density of 3 A cm−2 at 1.67 V, outperforming Nafion 115, which required 1.82 V for the same output. This research demonstrates the potential of hydrocarbon-based membranes as a viable, PFAS-free alternative for high-performance PEM water electrolysis applications
Electrochemical Chip for the Alzheimer’s Associated miRNA PCR-Free Detection
No full textAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common worldwide neurodegenerative disorder with a tremendous socio-economic impact on our society. There is a lack of easy, inexpensive, and non-invasive practices that would allow for early diagnosis. Growing evidence indicates that dysregulation in microRNAs (miRNAs) function in various aspects of AD pathogenesis and changes in specific blood circulating miRNA levels could be used as diagnostic biomarkers, which is the case of the circulating miR-146a. In this work, we presented an electrochemical strategy for AD miRNA biomarker detection without the need to amplify the genetic material by PCR. A gold working electrode (WE) has been modified with an array of thiol-modified oligonucleotide capture probes for miRNA detection and quantification by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The effectiveness of the chemical protocol used for the WE surface functionalization has been validated by contact angle (CA) analysis. As a future perspective, electrochemical layouts having different combinations of 3 microfabricated electrodes have been designed for Point-of-Care (PoC) chip integration
3D MicroOrganoSpheres Formation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma on Chip as a Novel in Vitro Model for Physiological and Therapeutic Studies
No full textHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer and the third most frequent cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Recent advances in organoid technology have revolutionized the in vitro culture tools for biomedical research by creating powerful three-dimensional (3D) models to recapitulate the cellular heterogeneity, structure, and functions of organs and tissues. In this work, 3D MicroOrganoSpheres (MOSs) were developed from human liver cancer HepG2 cell lines (HCC-MOSs) embedded in methylcellulose and dispersed in mineral oil by a 2-channels droplet generator chip controlled by two separate pumps. The HCC-MOSs have been maintained in culture and their growth and development were monitored to create a preliminary model for organoids. MOSs on-chip can be used to simulate the complex structure, microenvironment, and biological functions of HCC and provide an in vitro model to study the physiological processes underlying the tumor and the response to therapeutic treatment
RF-MEMS as a Key Enabling Technology in the Road to 6G, Future Networks and Tactile Internet
No full textThe evolving landscapes of 6G and, over the long term, Future Networks (FN) present challenges that cannot be effectively tackled through conventional design and development methods. It is anticipated that the network will transform into a complex system of systems, incorporating self-management and self-evolution capabilities, particularly at the edge. This study outlines a significant role for Micro and Nanotechnologies (MEMS/NEMS) in realizing the aspirations of 6G and FN. It offers an in-depth depiction of 6G/FN, accompanied by a reinterpretation of the Hardware (HW) concept, leveraging MEMS/NEMS technologies. Furthermore, RF-MEMS technology (MEMS for Radio Frequency passives) is cited as an illustrative example of a solution that enables 6G/FN
Search for boosted low-mass resonances decaying into hadrons produced in association with a photon in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
No full textMany extensions of the Standard Model, including those with dark matter particles, propose new mediator particles that decay into hadrons. This paper presents a search for such low mass narrow resonances decaying into hadrons using 140 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data recorded with the ATLAS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The resonances are searched for in the invariant mass spectrum of large-radius jets with two-pronged substructure that are recoiling against an energetic photon from initial state radiation, which is used as a trigger to circumvent limitations on the maximum data recording rate. This technique enables the search for boosted hadronically decaying resonances in the mass range 20–100 GeV hitherto unprobed by the ATLAS Collaboration. The observed data are found to agree with Standard Model predictions and 95% confidence level upper limits are set on the coupling of a hypothetical new spin-1 Z′ resonance with Standard Model quarks as a function of the assumed Z′-boson mass in the range between 20 and 200 GeV
Characterising the Higgs boson with ATLAS data from the LHC Run-2
No full textThe Higgs boson was discovered by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations in 2012 using data from Run 1 of the Large Hadron Collider (2010
2012). In Run 2 (2015
2018), about 140 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV were collected by the ATLAS experiment. This review presents the most important Run 2 results obtained by the ATLAS Collaboration regarding the properties of the Higgs boson and its interactions with other particles. The performed studies significantly enhance the understanding of the Higgs boson, while hunting for deviations from the predictions of the Standard Model of particle physics
Design, Analysis, and Simulation of a MEMS Tuning Fork Gyroscope with a Mechanical Amplification Structure
No full textThis paper describes a novel micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) tuning fork gyroscope (TFG) design that employs a chevron-shaped displacement mechanism to amplify the displacement generated by the Coriolis force, thereby increasing the TFG’s mechanical sensitivity. This approach was evaluated using both theoretical modeling and finite element analysis (FEA), and the results showed a high degree of agreement between the two methods. A conventional TFG having a comparable area was also designed and analyzed for comparison purposes. By introducing the displacement amplification mechanism, the proposed MEMS TFG design provides an output displacement about 2.5 times higher than the conventional design, according to the computation, without increasing the device footprint. Theoretical analysis and FEA on the TFG with amplification and a conventional TFG confirmed that the amplified displacement significantly improves the mechanical sensitivity of the gyroscope compared to conventional TFG designs
Normal liquid He3 studied by path-integral Monte Carlo with a parametrized partition function
No full textWe compute the energy per particle of normal liquid 3He in the temperature range 0.15–2 K using path-integral Monte Carlo simulations, leveraging a recently proposed method to overcome the sign problem—a long-standing challenge in many-body fermionic simulations. This approach is based on introducing a parameter ξ into the partition function, which allows a generalization from bosons (ξ=1) to fermions (ξ=−1). By simulating systems with ξ≥0, where the sign problem is absent, one can then extrapolate to the fermionic case at ξ=−1. Guided by an independent-particle model that uncovers nonanalytic behavior due to the superfluid transition, which is moderated by finite-size effects, we develop a tailored extrapolation strategy for liquid
3
He
that departs from the extrapolation schemes shown to be accurate in those cases where quantum degeneracy effects are weak, and enables accurate results in the presence of Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity for ξ>0. Our approach extends the previously proposed framework and yields energy per particle values in good agreement with experimental data