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A new calibration methodology for motion tracking inchildren using wireless magneto-inertialsensors
No full textRecent advances in wearable sensor technologies for motion capture have produced devices, mainly based on magneto and inertial measurement units (M-IMU), that are now suitable for out-of-the-lab use with children. In fact, the reduced size, weight and the wireless connectivity meet the requirement of minimum obtrusivity and give scientists the possibility to analyze children\u27s motion in daily life contexts. Typical use of magneto and inertial measurement units (M-IMU) motion capture systems is based on attaching a sensing unit to each body segment of interest. The correct use of this setup requires a specific calibration methodology that allows mapping measurements from the sensors\u27 frames of reference into useful kinematic information in the human limbs\u27 frames of reference. The present work addresses this specific issue, presenting a calibration protocol to capture the kinematics of the upper limbs and thorax in typically developing (TD) children. The proposed method allows the construction, on each body segment, of a meaningful system of coordinates that are representative of real physiological motions and that are referred to as functional frames (FFs). We will also present a novel cost function for the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, to retrieve the rotation matrices between each sensor frame (SF) and the corresponding FF. Reported results on a group of 40 children suggest that the method is repeatable and reliable, opening the way to the extensive use of this technology for out-of-the-lab motion capture in children
Ricerche sull\u27evoluzione del Lago Maggiore. Aspetti limnologici. Programma triennale 2013-2015. Campagna 2013. Introduzione
No full textNot availableIntroduzione al volume "Ricerche sull\u27evoluzione del Lago Maggiore. Aspetti limnologici. Campagna 2013-2015. Rapporto annaule 2013
Idrologia e clima. Apporti quantitativi a lago: piogge, portate e coefficiente di deflusso
Get PDFNot availableI dati di precipitazione, per l\u27anno 2013, sono stati raccolti, come di consueto, dalle stazioni pluviometriche dell?Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi (CNR-ISE), del Servizio Meteorologico Svizzero, dell?Ufficio dei Corsi d?Acqua, Dipartimento del Territorio del Canton Ticino, dell\u27ENEL, dell?Area Previsione e Monitoraggio Ambientale dell?Arpa Piemonte, delle Officine Idroelettriche della Blenio-Maggia, della Societ? Idroelettriche Riunite, dell?Istituto Geofisico Prealpino e del Consorzio del Ticino. Nel 2013 si sono registrati, mediamente all?interno del bacino del Lago Maggiore, 1710 mm, valore in perfetta media pluriennale. I dati riguardanti i deflussi dei principali immissari e dell\u27emissario del Lago Maggiore, sono stati misurati nel 2013, attraverso le reti di rilevamento dell\u27Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi, dell?Area Previsione e Monitoraggio Ambientale dell?Arpa Piemonte, dell?Ufficio Federale dell?Ambiente di Berna (UFAM) e dei Consorzi del Bardello e del Ticino. L?andamento delle portate nel 2013 ? stato determinato dalla bassa piovosit? dei primi tre mesi dell?anno e dalle consistenti piogge di aprile e maggio che hanno portato la maggior parte dei corsi d?acqua a far registrare i massimi valori di portata proprio nel mese di maggio. La media delle portate annuali ? stata leggermente al di sotto dei valori di riferimento
Contaminanti negli organismi indicatori. Indagini sul comparto ittico
No full textNot availableIndagini su DDT e sostanze pericolose nell\u27ecosistema del Lago Maggiore. Programma 2013-2015. Rapporto annuale 2013 - Contaminanti negli organismi indicatori. Indagini sul comparto ittic
Indagini su DDT e sostanze pericolose nell\u27ecosistema del Lago Maggiore. Programma 2013-2015. Rapporto annuale 2013. Presentazione
No full textNot availablePresetazione del volume "Indagini su DDT e sostanze pericolose nell\u27ecosistema del Lago Maggiore. Programma 2013-2015. Rapporto annuale 2013"
A proposito di acqua: la newsletter del CNR Istituto per lo Studio degli Ecosistemi di Verbania Pallanza
Get PDFNo abstract availableIn questo numero parliamo del colore dei laghi Pesce dolce pesce In Pakistan per studiare e migliorare la qualit? della risorsa idric
Lake Tovel, an ecological research station within the LTER and NETLAKE perspective
No full textLake Tovel is a LTER research site (IT09-005-A) within the larger Mountain Lakes parent site (IT-009-000-A). It is also part of NETLAKE (EU Cost Action ES 1201) that aims to build a network of sites and individuals to support the development and deployment of sensor-based systems in lakes, and promote their use to address water issues in Europe. Longterm ecological datasets collected in a consistent way over time offer the opportunity to study the response of an ecosystem to environmental stressors. Mountain lakes, because of their sensitivity to environmental changes, can be used as early warning systems for climate change and are ideal study sites to investigate ecological processes at the whole-ecosystem level. Furthermore, their phytoplankton communities are frequently made up of difficult to identify small flagellates, often limiting the taxonomic resolution achieved. Despite the strategic importance of our environment, citizens often have a poor understanding of environmental issues, even though they make the management decisions that will affect ecosystems. Lake Tovel provided the ideal setting for addressing these different topics-phytoplankton taxonomy and citizens\u27 education. NETLAKE supported a Short-Term Scientific Mission for a trained phycologist who provided a more refined taxonomic definition of Tovel phytoplankton, thereby strengthening the basis for future studies on phytoplankton communities. A further objective of NETLAKE was to raise citizen awareness of local lakes and build a network of LakePals within Europe. These objectives were achieved by increasing lake visibility to the public by setting up a dedicated website and positioning a webcam, donated by the local bank Cassa Rurale Tuenno. In addition, the local middle school, along with other European classes, participated in the WaterPals initiative geared to inform children about their environmental heritage regarding Lake Tovel. This is particularly important because these children will be the decision makers of tomorrow
Phytoremediation approach to a mercury and arsenic polluted site: a novel strategy for enhanced phytoextraction
No full textArsenic and mercury are non essential elements for plants, they are considered the most toxic heavy metals and their contamination is a very serious global problem.This study was undertaken to evaluate the possibility of using assisted phytoextraction for the simultaneous removal of mercury and arsenic from a multi-contaminated industrial soil located in northern Italy. The species selected were Brassica juncea and Lupinus albus and the addition of thiosulfate to the soil greatly promoted the uptake and translocation of both contaminants in the shoots. Mercury concentration in the aerial parts reached in B. juncea 120 mg/kg (approximately 40 times the value of the control) and the concentration of arsenic also increased significantly in the shoots of B. juncea (14.3 mg/kg), where the value in the control was negligible. The simultaneous increase of both contaminants uptake by plants, using a single additive, will provide new insights into the phytoextraction technology in terms of cost and time reduction. With the aim to further supporting and promoting plant growth, a series of bacterial strains isolated from this polluted soil were assayed for i) their ability to tolerate arsenate (AsV), arsenite (AsIII) and mercury chloride and for ii) showing peculiar plant growth promoting traits (PGPR). The best performing isolates, basing upon in vitro experiments, have been tested for growth promotion in planta. The results of phytoextraction experiments on a laboratory scale, the characterization of these native bacterial strains and some data of in vivo trials with isolated PGPR will be shown and discussed
Water Framework Directive Intercalibration Technical Report. Alpine Lake Phytoplankton ecological assessment methods
No full textOne of the key actions identified by the Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) is to develop ecological assessment tools and carry out a European intercalibration (IC) exercise. The aim of the Intercalibration is to ensure that the values assigned by each Member State to the good ecological class boundaries are consistent with the Directive\u27s generic description of these boundaries and comparable to the boundaries proposed by other MS. In total, 83 lake assessment methods were submitted for the 2nd phase of the WFD intercalibration (2008-2012) and 62 intercalibrated and included in the EC Decision on Intercalibration (EC 2013). The intercalibration was carried out in the 13 Lake Geographical Intercalibration Groups according to the ecoregion and biological quality element. In this report we describe how the intercalibration exercise has been carried out in the Alpine Lake Phytoplankton Intercalibration grou
Earthquakes trigger the loss of groundwater biodiversity
Get PDFEarthquakes are among the most destructive natural events. The 6 April 2009, 6.3-Mw earthquake in L\u27Aquila (Italy) markedly altered the karstic Gran Sasso Aquifer (GSA) hydrogeology and geochemistry. The GSA groundwater invertebrate community is mainly comprised of small-bodied, colourless, blind microcrustaceans. We compared abiotic and biotic data from two pre-earthquake and one post-earthquake complete but non-contiguous hydrological years to investigate the effects of the 2009 earthquake on the dominant copepod component of the obligate groundwater fauna. Our results suggest that the massive earthquake-induced aquifer strain biotriggered a flushing of groundwater fauna, with a dramatic decrease in subterranean species abundance. Population turnover rates appeared to have crashed, no longer replenishing the long-standing communities from aquifer fractures, and the aquifer became almost totally deprived of animal life. Groundwater communities are notorious for their low resilience. Therefore, any major disturbance that negatively impacts survival or reproduction may lead to local extinction of species, most of them being the only survivors of phylogenetic lineages extinct at the Earth surface. Given the ecological key role played by the subterranean fauna as decomposers of organic matter and "ecosystem engineers", we urge more detailed, long-term studies on the effect of major disturbances to groundwater ecosystems