A Survey of Airworthiness and Certification for UAS

The Italian SMAT project is a civilian program supported by Piemonte Region developed for the territorial monitoring and surveillance and for the prevention of natural hazards. In a different way from the previous surveillance programs, the SMAT project is based on the use of several unmanned platforms that are able to cooperate through ground coordination and control station. The flight in non-segregated airspace, needed in order to accomplish the territorial monitoring mission, is a main issue to be investigated and defined, because of the current lack of a common consensus and agreement on the regulations of UAS. The present work outlines the international initiatives that deal with the development of the regulatory framework on airworthiness and certification of UAS and their potential impact on the SMAT project.     

Formal methods integration for the specification of dependable distributed systems

This paper describes a real-world case study in the specification and analysis of dependable distributed systems. The case study is an automated transport system with safety requirements. In order to manage the complexity of the problem of specifying the dynamic behavior of the whole system, a compositional approach is used, based on the integration of the trace logic of the Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) theory, and stochastic Petri nets (SPNs). It is argued that the integration of different formal methods is a useful approach in the definition of practical engineering methodologies for the specification, design and analysis of complex dependable distributed systems.     

Inverse Analysis of Impact Test Data: Experimental Study on Polymeric Materials Displaying Brittle Behaviour

This paper deals with the influence of the testing equipment on impact load measurements. A previously developed method of analysis and processing of the experimental data based on a refined analogical model of the impact event and inverse problem techniques is used. This method makes it possible to obtain the mechanical response of the material, notwithstanding the disturbance of the dynamic effects associated to the test. Results from tests carried out both on falling weight and swing pendulum instrumented testing machines are compared. It is shown that this method can give an accurate estimation of the actual bending force in impact testing independent of the testing equipment.     

Determination of pyrethroids in chicken egg samples: development and validation of a confirmatory analytical method by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

The aim of this study was to develop and validate an efficient analytical method based on gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) for detection and quantification of six pyrethroids residues (Phenothrin, Permethrin, Cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin and Fenvalerate) in chicken eggs. The method was based on a preliminary liquid–liquid extraction of albumen‐free yolk samples, followed by a clean‐up by solid‐phase extraction. GC/MS/MS analyses were carried out in the selected reaction monitoring mode. Validation parameters such as specificity, detection capability, decision limit, precision, recovery, stability and ruggedness were determined, resulting in compliance with Decision 2002/657/EC. No complicated apparatus are required; moreover, low volumes of organic solvents and a nonintensive manual labour are required. These low costs and simple procedure, based on rapid and safe operations, may represent a useful tool in the routine analysis of pyrethroids pesticides, in the place of the currently used conventional techniques.     

An Integrated System for UAV Control Using a Neural Network Implemented in a Prototyping Board

Modern aerospace vehicles are expected to have non-conventional flight envelopes and then, in order to operate in uncertain environments, they must guarantee a high level of robustness and adaptability. A Neural Network (NN) controller, with real-time learning capability, can be used in applications with manned or unmanned aerial vehicles. In this paper a novel real-time control system, based on a NN model, in order to control the trajectories of a hexacopter is proposed. The proposed NN is optimized by the analytical calculation of the embedding parameters. The paper shows a performance evaluation, through a real experimental testbed, of the proposed approach in terms of error measures and computation of the angular velocities of the hexacopter.     

A new hydroxyapatite-based biocomposite for bone replacement

Since the 1970s, various types of ceramic, glass and glass–ceramic materials have been proposed and used to replace damaged bone in many clinical applications. Among them, hydroxyapatite (HA) has been successfully employed thanks to its excellent biocompatibility. On the other hand, the bioactivity of HA and its reactivity with bone can be improved through the addition of proper amounts of bioactive glasses, thus obtaining HA-based composites. Unfortunately, high temperature treatments (1200 °C ÷ 1300 °C) are usually required in order to sinter these systems, causing the bioactive glass to crystallize into a glass–ceramic and hence inhibiting the bioactivity of the resulting composite. In the present study novel HA-based composites are realized and discussed. The samples can be sintered at a relatively low temperature (800 °C), thanks to the employment of a new glass (BG_Ca) with a reduced tendency to crystallize compared to the widely used 45S5 Bioglass®. The rich glassy phase, which can be preserved during the thermal treatment, has excellent effects in terms of in vitro bioactivity; moreover, compared to composites based on 45S5 Bioglass® having the same HA/glass proportions, the samples based on BG_Ca displayed an earlier response in terms of cell proliferation.     

Synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites of thermoplastic polyurethane with both graphene and graphene nanoribbon fillers

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites containing graphene and graphene nanoribbons were obtained by polymerizing 1,4-butanediol with two diisocyanates (namely, 1,6-hexane diisocyanate or isophorone diisocyanate), in which the nanofillers were previously dispersed. Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy demonstrated the formation of few-layer graphene and graphene nanoribbons dispersed in the monomers. At variance to the methods commonly reported in literature, that used in this work consists of the direct exfoliation of graphite without any chemical manipulation. Apart from the obvious cost and ease advantages, the so-obtained graphene does not contain any carboxy or alkoxy groups formed during the exfoliation process, which, at variance, are typically present in the most commonly reported methods. This finding paves the way toward the large-scale production of graphene and its nanoribbons, which are considered even more interesting than graphene itself for many potential applications. The obtained nanocomposites show a peculiar thermal and rheological behavior due to the presence of the nanofillers and to their reinforcing or plasticizing effect exerted on the TPU matrices.     

Discordance Rate of HER2 Status in Primary Gastric Carcinomas and Synchronous Lymph Node Metastases: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis

Background: The assessment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene amplification is essential in order to identify those patients affected by advanced gastric cancer who may benefit from Trastuzumab targeted therapy. Materials and Methods: With the aim to investigate the concordance rate in HER2 status between primary gastric carcinoma (GC) and synchronous lymphnode metastases, we investigated HER2 status in a cohort of 108 surgical formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of GC and matched synchronous metastatic lymph nodes collected from three different units of Anatomic Pathology in southern of Italy. Fleiss-Cohen weighted k statistics were used to assess the concordance rate of HER2 status. Results: HER2 amplification was observed in 17% of primary GCs and the overall concordance rate with corresponding nodal metastases was 90.74%. Changes in HER2 status between primary GC and matched synchronous metastases were evidenced in 10 (9.26%) cases. Of these, 6 cases were HER2 amplified in the primary GC and not amplified in the metastases, while 4 were HER2 not amplified in the primary tumour and amplified in the lymph node metastases. Conclusions: Although at present the simultaneous determination of HER2 in advanced gastric cancer and corresponding metastatic lymph nodes is not mandatory, the possibility that the synchronous metastases of GC have a different HER2 status from that of the primary tumour is of remarkable significance; Indeed this may have influence on the therapeutic management and prognosis of the patients.