Alumina-supported catalysts for propane oxidative dehydrogenation from mixed VXM(6−X)O19 (M=W, Mo) hexametalate precursors

γ-Al₂O₃ supported vanadium oxides were modified by tungsten and molybdenum oxides in order to improve dispersion and selectivity towards olefins in propane oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH). Both vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum catalysts were obtained by adsorption of mixed isopolyanions (VW₅O₁₉⁵⁻, V₂W₄O₁₉⁴⁻, VMo₅O₁₉⁵⁻ and V₂Mo₄O₁₉⁴⁻) from aqueous solutions. The isopolyanion solutions were characterized by UV-Vis and ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. Vanadium, vanadium–tungsten and vanadium–molybdenum precursors and catalysts were also characterized by UV-Vis (diffuse reflectance) and solid state ⁵¹V NMR spectroscopy. An improved selectivity to propene in the presence of tungsten and molybdenum in VO_x/γ-Al₂O₃ was observed and attributed to dilution of vanadium by tungsten or molybdenum oxides on the γ-Al₂O₃ surface.     

Critical Configurations for 1-View in Projections from ℙ<Superscript>k</Superscript> → ℙ<Superscript>2</Superscript>

In this paper we describe, from a theoretical point of view, critical configurations for the projective reconstruction of a set of points, for a single view, i.e. for calibration of a camera, in the case of projections from ℙ^k to ℙ² for k ≥ 4. We give first a general result describing these critical loci in ℙ^k, which, if irreducible, are algebraic varieties of dimension k−2 and degree 3. If k=4 they can be either a smooth ruled surface or a cone and if k = 5 they can be a smooth three dimensional variety, ruled in planes, or a cone. If k≥ 6, the variety is always a cone, the vertex of which has dimension at least k − 6. The reducible cases are studied in Appendix A. These results are then applied to determine explicitly the critical loci for the projections from ℙ^k which arise from the dynamic scenes in ℙ³ considered in [13]. Marina Bertolini is currently Associate Professor of Geometry at the Department of Mathematics at the Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. Her main field of research is Complex Projective Algebraic Geometry, with particular interest for the classification of projective varieties and for the geometry of Grassmann varieties. On these topics M. Bertolini has published more than twenty reviewed papers on national and international journals. She has been for some years now interested also in applications of Algebraic Geometry to Computer Vision problems. Cristina Turrini is Associate Professor of Geometry at the Department of Mathematics of Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. Her main research interest is Complex Projective Algebraic Geometry: subvarieties of Grassmannians, special varieties, automorphisms, classification. In the last two years she has started to work on applications of Algebraic Geometry to problems of Computer Vision. She is author or co-author of about thirty reviewed papers. She is also involved in popularization of Mathematics, and on this subject she is co-editor of some books.     

Influence of electroosmotic treatment on the hydro-mechanical behaviour of clayey silts: preliminary experimental results

Preliminary results of an investigation focused on the influence of electrokinetic treatment on the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of clayey soils are presented. The experimental programme aims at providing a contribution to the sustainability of contaminant extraction or containment via electroosmosis. Changes in the hydraulic and mechanical properties of two illitic clayey soils, subjected to a DC electric field, were investigated. Samples of the two soils were subjected to electrokinetic filtration, for different periods of time, and under different constant loads. Afterwards, they were tested under one-dimensional compression to detect changes in stiffness and hydraulic conductivity due to the electrical treatment. After the application of a DC field for a few hours, a small reversible increment in the average soil stiffness was observed, with respect to the untreated soil, while the hydraulic conductivity was not affected substantially. Dramatic changes of the mechanical and hydraulic soil properties, correlated to changes of the soil pH, were observed following non-conditioned electrokinetic treatment with duration of the order of days.     

Adenovirus-Mediated Inducible Expression of a PD-L1 Blocking Antibody in Combination with Macrophage Depletion Improves Survival in a Mouse Model of Peritoneal Carcinomatosis

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in a growing number of malignancies. However, overcoming primary or secondary resistances is difficult due to pharmacokinetics issues and side effects associated with high systemic exposure. Local or regional expression of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using gene therapy vectors can alleviate this problem. In this work, we describe a high-capacity adenoviral vector (HCA-EFZP-aPDL1) equipped with a mifepristone-inducible system for the controlled expression of an anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody. The vector was tested in an immune-competent mouse model of colorectal cancer based on implantation of MC38 cells. A single local administration of HCA-EFZP-aPDL1 in subcutaneous lesions led to a significant reduction in tumor growth with minimal release of the antibody in the circulation. When the vector was tested in a more stringent setting (rapidly progressing peritoneal carcinomatosis), the antitumor effect was marginal even in combination with other immune-stimulatory agents such as polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (pI:C), blocking mAbs for T cell immunoglobulin, mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3) or agonistic mAbs for 4-1BB (CD137). In contrast, macrophage depletion by clodronate liposomes enhanced the efficacy of HCA-EFZP-aPDL1. These results highlight the importance of addressing macrophage-associated immunoregulatory mechanisms to overcome resistance to ICIs in the context of colorectal cancer.     

Network Externalities,Incumbent’s Competitive Advantage and the Degree of Openness of Software Start-Ups

This paper proposes a formal model that analyzes the degree of openness chosen by start-ups when entering the software industry. In line with the literature, we label as degree of openness the extent to which software start-ups mix open source (OS) and proprietary solutions in the portfolio of software products they offer. We relate the choice of the degree of openness to two key characteristics of the market segments in which software start-ups operate: the strength of the network externalities and the competitive advantage of the incumbent. Specifically, by modelling (price) competition between an incumbent and an entrant in two ways, i.e., the entrant is price-setter or price-taker, we derive the necessary condition(s) in terms of the strength of network externalities for observing the adoption of a business model that comprises the offering of both proprietary and OS solutions by the entrant (i.e., hybrid business model). Then, we highlight that, if a hybrid business model is the choice, the degree of openness chosen in equilibrium increases along with both the strength of the network externalities and the competitive advantage of the incumbent. This result holds indifferently whether the software start-up is modelled as a price-setter or a price-taker. An empirical test run on a sample of European start-ups in the software industry supports these theoretical predictions.     

Role of cognitive and functional performance in the interactions between elderly people with cognitive decline and an avatar on TV

The complexity of new information technologies (IT) may limit the access of elderly people to the information society, exacerbating what is known as “the digital divide,” as they appear to be too challenging for elderly citizens regardless of the integrity of their cognitive status. This study is an attempt to clarify how some cognitive functions (such as attention or verbal memory) may determine the interaction of cognitively impaired elderly people with technology. Twenty participants ranging from mild cognitive impairment to moderate Alzheimer’s disease were assessed by means of a neuropsychological and functional battery and were asked to follow simple commands from an avatar appearing on a TV by means of a remote control, such as asking the participant to confirm their presence or to respond Yes/No to a proposal to see a TV program. The number of correct answers and command repetitions required for the user to respond were registered. The results show that participants with a better cognitive and functional state in specific tests show a significantly better performance in the TV task. The derived conclusion is that neuropsychological assessment may be used as a useful complementary tool for assistive technology developers in the adaptation of IT to the elderly with different cognitive and functional profiles. Further studies with larger samples are required to determine to what extent cognitive functions can actually predict older users’ interaction with technology.     

Design recommendations for camera-based head-controlled interfaces that replace the mouse for motion-impaired users

This work focuses on camera-based systems that are designed for mouse replacement. Usually, these interfaces are based on computer vision techniques that capture the user’s face or head movements and are specifically designed for users with disabilities. The work identifies and reviews the key factors of these interfaces based on the lessons learnt by the authors’ experience and by a comprehensive analysis of the literature to describe the specific points to consider in their design. These factors are as follows: user features to track, initial user detection (calibration), position mapping, feedback, error recovery, event execution, profiles and ergonomics of the system. The work compiles the solutions offered by different systems to help new designers avoid problems already discussed by the others.     

Steward: Scaling Byzantine Fault-Tolerant Replication to Wide Area Networks

This paper presents the first hierarchical Byzantine fault-tolerant replication architecture suitable to systems that span multiple wide-area sites. The architecture confines the effects of any malicious replica to its local site, reduces message complexity of wide-area communication, and allows read-only queries to be performed locally within a site for the price of additional standard hardware. We present proofs that our algorithm provides safety and liveness properties. A prototype implementation is evaluated over several network topologies and is compared with a flat Byzantine fault-tolerant approach. The experimental results show considerable improvement over flat Byzantine replication algorithms, bringing the performance of Byzantine replication closer to existing benign fault-tolerant replication techniques over wide area networks.     

Slicing the metric space to provide quick indexing of complex data in the main memory

Searching in a dataset for elements that are similar to a given query element is a core problem in applications that manage complex data, and has been aided by metric access methods (MAMs). A growing number of applications require indices that must be built faster and repeatedly, also providing faster response for similarity queries. The increase in the main memory capacity and its lowering costs also motivate using memory-based MAMs. In this paper, we propose the Onion-tree, a new and robust dynamic memory-based MAM that slices the metric space into disjoint subspaces to provide quick indexing of complex data. It introduces three major characteristics: (i) a partitioning method that controls the number of disjoint subspaces generated at each node; (ii) a replacement technique that can change the leaf node pivots in insertion operations; and (iii) range and k-NN extended query algorithms to support the new partitioning method, including a new visit order of the subspaces in k-NN queries. Performance tests with both real-world and synthetic datasets showed that the Onion-tree is very compact. Comparisons of the Onion-tree with the MM-tree and a memory-based version of the Slim-tree showed that the Onion-tree was always faster to build the index. The experiments also showed that the Onion-tree significantly improved range and k-NN query processing performance and was the most efficient MAM, followed by the MM-tree, which in turn outperformed the Slim-tree in almost all the tests.     

A revision of recent approaches for two-dimensional strip-packing problems

In this paper, we present a review of the recent approaches proposed in the literature for strip-packing problems. Many of them have been concurrently published, given some similar results for the same set of benchmarks. Due to the quantity of published papers, it is difficult to ascertain the level of current research in this area.