1,720,972 research outputs found
Identification of IPMC nonlinear model via single and multi-objective optimization algorithms
No full textIonic Polymer–Metal Composites (IPMCs) are electro-active polymers transforming mechanical forces into electric signals and vice versa. This paper proposes an improved electro-mechanical grey-box model for IPMC membrane working as actuator. In particular the IPMC nonlinearity has been characterized through experimentation and included within the electric model. Moreover identification of the model parameters has been performed via optimization algorithms using both single- and multi-objective formulation. Minimization was attained via the Nelder–Mead simplex and the Genetic Algorithms considering as cost functions the error between the experimental and modeled absorbed current and the error between experimental and modeled displacement. The obtained results for the different formulations have been then compared
A polymeric micro-optic device for the detection of microfluidic flow spatial profile
No full textThis paper reports a miniaturized device for a spatially distributed characterization of microfluidic two-phase flow, exploiting a multi-wavelength optical signal. The device implements four optical windows (slits) which, superimposed on the centerline of a microfluidic channel, collect flow-related information through specific wavelengths. An advanced polymeric micro-optic design is used to guide and merge spatially distributed information into a single output signal, which maintains memory of the spatial coordinates by using the wavelengths as fingerprints of the slits' positions
Fractional-Order Identification and Control of Heating Processes with Non-Continuous Materials
No full textEXplainable AI for Decision Support to Obesity Comorbidities Diagnosis
No full textThis paper describes the implementation of a comprehensive clinical decision support system (CDSS) for the risk factors prediction of comorbidities related to obesity and for the characterization of indirect connections between such comorbidities and non-communicable diseases. In particular, the direct correlation between obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and heart disease is analyzed by using machine learning (ML) predictive models, while the connection of the co-occurring disorders to the numerous additional non-communicable diseases is analyzed via a graph-based user interface. The CDSS here proposed is, therefore, structured with three main components: ML predictive models based on publicly available datasets, explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) local and global model interpretation, and graph-based representation of non-communicable disease connections. Multiple ML models are presented for risk assessment and a comparison is carried out based on performance key performance indicators. The best-performing model for each disease was proved to be: the multi-layer perceptron for diabetes and heart disease, and extreme gradient boosting for cardiovascular disease. Comorbidities risk factor prediction and a XAI local model explanation is performed on significant case studies. In addition, XAI global model interpretation is given for the entire dataset providing insights on the features’ contribution to the models’ implementation. Moreover, the graph-based visualization of indirect disease co-occurrence is performed by filtering connections according to different relative risk factor thresholds. This interface can be exploited by healthcare professionals to obtain, according to the needs and the clinical approach, a global perspective on obesity and its associated pathologies prevention as well as long-term treatment and care provision
Response to Intervention: un modello di intervento per l’inclusione che sviluppa le Soft skills degli insegnanti. Una ricerca nazionale nella scuola dell’infanzia __________________
No full textIl Response to Intervention (RTI) rappresenta un modello di intervento
particolarmente rispondente alle esigenze degli insegnanti
impegnati nell’organizzazione di contesti educativi e didattici inclusivi.
Esso è articolato su più livelli ed è reputato efficace sia per l’identificazione
precoce dei disturbi dell’apprendimento (DSA) sia per
il supporto intensivo degli allievi con difficoltà di lettura. Considerato
un processo altamente flessibile che modifica la didattica in
base a come gli allievi rispondono alle proposte formative, è organizzato
in 3 livelli di intervento caratterizzati da sequenzialità e basati
su evidenze scientifiche: il livello 1 si rivolge alla classe intera,
il livello 2 corrisponde ad attività di potenziamento in piccoli
gruppi, il livello 3 è personalizzato.
Da parte degli insegnanti, la messa in atto di tale modello richiede
anche resilienza, riflessività, empatia, senso di autoefficacia, nonché
capacità di lavoro collaborativo e di comunicazione efficace anche
con le famiglie. La promozione di tali soft skills attraverso una formazione mirata è uno degli obiettivi di una ricerca finanziata dal
Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione dell’Università Roma
Tre, finalizzata all’impiego del gioco musicale nella scuola dell’infanzia
secondo il modello RTI per l’individuazione precoce degli
allievi a rischio DSA e il potenziamento dei prerequisiti di lettura
e scrittura
Insegnamento dello strumento musicale e inclusione scolastica: una ricerca nazionale
Full text linkIn the perspective of a gradual improvement of school inclusion, music is considered a strategicexeprience to effectively respond to the needs of pupils with disabilities and specific learningdisorders (SLD). In Italian schools, music is present in the nursery school and in the first cycle ofeducation. It allows to positively face the challenge of inclusion by promoting a developmentthat integrates linguistic, cognitive, motor, and socio-affective aspects, by motivating participationto collective activities and by helping to build respect for differences. Currently, in the firstcycle school, the access of students with disabilities and SLD to musical instrument courses inmusic secondary schools (SMIM) is a particularly controversial issue since an elitist vision of musicteaching is still working and, in fact, it excludes these students. In this framework, this paperpresented a national research aimed, in one hand, to explore the practices of assessment andteaching for students with disabilities and with SLD widespread in SMIM and, in the other hand,to identify "essential guidelines" for the construction of a inclusive models of instrumentalteaching
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Fractional-Order Identification and Control of Heating Processes with Non-Continuous Materials
No full textThe paper presents a fractional order model of a heating process and a comparison of fractional and standard PI controllers in its closed loop system. Preliminarily, an enhanced fractional order model for the heating process on non-continuous materials has been identified through a fitting algorithm on experimental data. Experimentation has been carried out on a finite length beam filled with three non-continuous materials (air, styrofoam, metal buckshots) in order to identify a model in the frequency domain and to obtain a relationship between the fractional order of the heating process and the different materials’ properties. A comparison between the experimental model and the theoretical one has been performed, proving a significant enhancement of the fitting performances. Moreover the obtained modelling results confirm the fractional nature of the heating processes when diffusion occurs in non-continuous composite materials, and they show how the model’s fractional order can be used as a characteristic parameter for non-continuous materials with different composition and structure. Finally, three different kinds of controllers have been applied and compared in order to keep constant the beam temperature constant at a fixed length
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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