Human navigation and mapping with a 6DOF IMU and a laser scanner

This article focuses on human navigation, by proposing a system for mapping and self-localization based on wearable sensors, i.e., a laser scanner and a 6 Degree-of-Freedom Inertial Measurement Unit (6DOF IMU) fixed on a helmet worn by the user. The sensor data are fed to a Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) algorithm based on particle filtering, an approach commonly used for mapping and self-localization in mobile robotics. Given the specific scenario considered, some operational hypotheses are introduced in order to reduce the effect of a well-known problem in IMU-based localization, i.e., position drift. Experimental results show that the proposed solution leads to improvements in the quality of the generated map with respect to existing approaches.     

Discovering filter keywords for company name disambiguation in twitter

A major problem in monitoring the online reputation of companies, brands, and other entities is that entity names are often ambiguous (apple may refer to the company, the fruit, the singer, etc.). The problem is particularly hard in microblogging services such as Twitter, where texts are very short and there is little context to disambiguate. In this paper we address the filtering task of determining, out of a set of tweets that contain a company name, which ones do refer to the company. Our approach relies on the identification of filter keywords: those whose presence in a tweet reliably confirm (positive keywords) or discard (negative keywords) that the tweet refers to the company.We describe an algorithm to extract filter keywords that does not use any previously annotated data about the target company. The algorithm allows to classify 58% of the tweets with 75% accuracy; and those can be used to feed a machine learning algorithm to obtain a complete classification of all tweets with an overall accuracy of 73%. In comparison, a 10-fold validation of the same machine learning algorithm provides an accuracy of 85%, i.e., our unsupervised algorithm has a 14% loss with respect to its supervised counterpart.Our study also shows that (i) filter keywords for Twitter does not directly derive from the public information about the company in the Web: a manual selection of keywords from relevant web sources only covers 15% of the tweets with 86% accuracy; (ii) filter keywords can indeed be a productive way of classifying tweets: the five best possible keywords cover, in average, 28% of the tweets for a company in our test collection.     

A reduced‐order representation of the Poincaré–Steklov operator: an application to coupled multi‐physics problems

This work investigates a model reduction method applied to coupled multi‐physics systems. The case in which a system of interest interacts with an external system is considered. An approximation of the Poincaré–Steklov operator is computed by simulating, in an offline phase, the external problem when the inputs are the Laplace–Beltrami eigenfunctions defined at the interface. In the online phase, only the reduced representation of the operator is needed to account for the influence of the external problem on the main system. An online basis enrichment is proposed in order to guarantee a precise reduced‐order computation. Several test cases are proposed on different fluid–structure couplings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cryo‐EM‐On‐a‐Chip: Custom‐Designed Substrates for the 3D Analysis of Macromolecules

The fight against human disease requires a multidisciplinary scientific approach. Applying tools from seemingly unrelated areas, such as materials science and molecular biology, researchers can overcome long‐standing challenges to improve knowledge of molecular pathologies. Here, custom‐designed substrates composed of silicon nitride (SiN) are used to study the 3D attributes of tumor suppressor proteins that function in DNA repair events. New on‐chip preparation strategies enable the isolation of native protein complexes from human cancer cells. Combined techniques of cryo‐electron microscopy (EM) and molecular modeling reveal a new modified form of the p53 tumor suppressor present in aggressive glioblastoma multiforme cancer cells. Taken together, the findings provide a radical new design for cryo‐EM substrates to evaluate the structures of disease‐related macromolecules.     

Testing web-based solutions for improving reading tasks in dyslexic and neuro-typical users

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This study investigates the readability of web sites for users with dyslexia as well as neuro-typical readers. The aim of the paper is twofold: on the one hand,...     

Sourdough fermentation as a tool for the manufacture of low-glycemic index white wheat bread enriched in dietary fibre

Three Lactobacillus strains were selected and used together as sourdough starter. Sourdough performances were evaluated for 30 days. Three breads were manufactured: wheat sourdough bread (WSB), WSB enriched with oat and rye fibres (WSB-DF) and wheat yeasted bread (WYB) fermented with baker’s yeast alone. WSB-DF and WSB showed higher specific volume and lower firmness than WYB. Sensory analysis showed that WSB-DF and WSB were preferred due to acidulous smell, taste and aroma. Compared to WYB and WSB, WSB-DF had high level of dietary fibre (DF). WYB was used as the control to estimate the hydrolysis index (HI = 100). WSB-DF had values of HI lower than WSB (59 vs. 86%). As estimated on 20 volunteers, the value of GI for WSB-DF was ca. 41%. WSB-DF bread manufactured at industrial plant combined low-GI with physiologically significant supply of DF and high standard structure and sensory features.     

Observational Equivalence for the Interaction Combinators and Internal Separation

We define an observational equivalence for Lafont's interaction combinators, which we prove to be the least discriminating non-trivial congruence on total nets (nets admitting a deadlock-free normal form) respecting reduction. More interestingly, this equivalence enjoys an internal separation property similar to that of Böhm's Theorem for the λ-calculus.     

The german dfs and tv-sat satellite control centre in usingen

This paper describes the construction of the control centre for the satellites DFS Kopernikus and TVSAT of the German PTT Administration (DBP Telekom), with emphasis on the implemented technical solutions for monitoring and control. The space and ground segments of the two satellite systems are briefly described in relation to the TT&C operations carried out at the control centre.     

Biological consequences of thrombin receptor deficiency in mice

The thrombin receptor (ThrR) is a membrane-bound, G-protein-coupled receptor for the serine protease thrombin. This receptor is expressed in a wide variety of cells and tissues, and elicits a range of physiological responses associated with tissue injury, inflammation, and wound repair. To achieve a better understanding of the physiological role of the ThrR, we have employed homologous recombination to create mice with a disrupted ThrR gene. Following heterozygous (+/-) intercrosses, a total of 351 surviving offspring were genotyped. Only 7% of these offspring were identified as homozygous (-/-) for the disrupted allele, indicating a profound effect on embryonic development. Paradoxically, adult ThrR-/- mice appeared to be normal by anatomical and histological analysis, including their platelet number and function. Similarly, ThrR deficiency had no detectable effect in adult ThrR-/- mice on basal heart rate, arterial blood pressure, vasomotor responses to angiotensin II and acetycholine, and coagulation parameters, even though the ThrR is expressed in many cardiovascular tissue types. In addition, the loss of ThrR function in the peripheral vasculature of adult ThrR-/- mice was confirmed by the absence of various standard hemodynamic effects of the ThrR-activating peptides SFLLRN-NH2 and TFLLRNPNDK-NH2. Our results indicate that ThrR deficiency has a strong impact on fetal development; however. ThrR-/- mice that proceed to full development display surprisingly little change in phenotype compared to the wild-type.     

Detection of ochratoxin A and cis- and trans-resveratrol in red wines and their musts from Calabria (Italy)

The natural occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) and cis- and trans-resveratrols in red wines has been widely reported. The aim of this work was to evaluate the ochratoxin A (OTA) and both cis- and trans-resveratrol content of red wine (from must to wine) in a pilot-scale vinification process in Calabria (Italy). Eleven samples were collected at different stages of vinification and analysis was carried out by HPLC. Wine from manufacturer 3 contained the highest amount of trans-resveratrol (3.41 mg l(-1)). This wine was characterized by an Aglianico-Magliocco grape variety. Interestingly, data regarding OTA showed that the value of this contaminant was low in all analyzed samples and, in each case, below the legal limit (2.0 mg l(-1) (ppb)). Overall, the results demonstrated the high quality of wines produced in Calabria.