Clinical, ultrasonographic and tomographic features on the natural evolution of primary mesenteric fibromatosis: a case report

Primary mesenteric fibromatosis is a rare, histologically benign, pathology which is characterized by fibrous proliferation in the mesentery and made more serious by biological malignancy as it has a high inclination towards involving the visceral abdominal structures in its growth. While the cases reported in the literature describe the attempts to cure and reduce the tumor growth, this report describes the clinical, ultrasonographic and tomographic features during the natural growth rate of a case of inoperable primary mesenteric fibromatosis during a 20 month follow-up.     

Measurement of Water Jet Velocity Distribution Using Laser Velocimetry

A laser Doppler velocimetry technique has been implemented in this work to evaluate the water jet velocity distribution in water jet and abrasive water jet cutting applications. Knowledge of the water jet velocity is fundamental to determine the system cutting efficiency; in particular, it allows us to experimentally determine the specific performance of the orifices employed in the cutting process.      

意大利《24小时太阳报》采访收购CIFA的中联重科CEO 站在全球化高度的詹博士——意大利是中联重科推行国际化战略的试金石

"我们的目标是在未来的5～10年内成为建筑机械生产领域的全球领军企业".53岁的詹纯新--中国中联重科集团董事长兼CEO,在谈到他于1992年贷款50万元人民币创立的这家企业的发展前景时,脸上流露出亚洲人那种典型的平静与微笑.     

Programmable instruments, virtual instruments, and distributedmeasurement systems: what is really useful, innovative and technicallysound?

This article is directed to discuss the fundamental characteristics of measurement systems based on digital processing, with specific focus on virtual instruments and distributed measurement systems. Its goal is to point out the characteristics and the features related to issues of accuracy, precision and sensitivity, so as to achieve a better understanding of the effective usability of these technologies, avoid problems due to their superficial application, and promote the best use of these advanced, powerful methods. Finally, we consider the problem of the traceability of the measurement results coming from the instrumentation based on digital signal processing     

Obstacles constrained group mobility models in event-driven wireless networks with movable base stations

In this paper, we propose a protocol for dynamic reconfiguration of ad-hoc wireless networks with movable base stations in presence of obstacles. Hosts are assigned to base stations according to a probabilistic throughput function based on both the quality of the signal and the base station load. In order to optimize space coverage, base stations cluster hosts using a distributed clustering algorithm. Obstacles may interfere with transmission and obstruct base stations and hosts movement. To overcome this problem, we perform base stations repositioning making use of a motion planning algorithm on the visibility graph based on an extension of the bottleneck matching technique.We implemented the protocol on top of the NS2 simulator as an extension of the AODV. We tested it using both Random Way Point and Reference Point Group mobility models properly adapted to deal with obstacles.Experimental analysis shows that the protocol ensures the total space coverage together with a good throughput on the realistic model (Reference Point Group) outperforming both the standard AODV and DSR.     

Solid cystic tumor of the head of the pancreas in a young woman

This a case report of a solid papillary tumor of the pancreas in a young woman of 18 years, who was referred to after having suffered for a period of 8 months with a rather vague symptomatology, characterized by dyspepsia, fatigue and, towards the end of the 8 month period, weight loss (approximately 2 kg). In the last week, as a consequence of a modest abdominal trauma, the patient was submitted to abdominal CT that showed a burden at the head of the pancreas, demonstrating a round neoformation about 6 cm in diameter with solid echogenicity slightly hypodense. Subsequently, she underwent an operation with the diagnosis of pseudocystis of the pancreas. During surgery, a big cystic formation of the head of the pancreas, into which a drain was introduced, was revealed. The histological postoperative examination was compatible with pancreatic tumor with a low grade of malignancy, cystic papillary or solid papillary type. Therefore, the patient came under our observation and underwent an operation of pancreatoduodenectomy. Two years after the operation, the patient had completely recovered. In this case, we discussed the problem of performing certain preoperative diagnoses despite the aid of modern diagnostic imaging, this being a very rare illness that almost exclusively plagues young women (median age 19 years). This diagnosis has an uncertain histological origin and is generally accompanied by a modest and vague symptomatology. The surgical procedure, given the low grade of malignancy of the neoplasm and the excellent long-term prognosis, must be, with respect to the oncological radicality, as conservative as possible.     

Measurements, Analysis, and Interpretation of the Signals From a High-Pressure Waterjet Pump

The waterjet (WJ) technology, whose characterization involves phenomena belonging to different fields of physics, presents some particular aspects that make it essential in some manufacturing operations where it is important to cut special or hard-to-machine materials by means of a cold process. In this paper, the relationships between the electric input signals and the mechanical and fluid-dynamic signals have been analyzed with the aim to evaluate the possibility to design an online and nonintrusive monitoring and diagnostic system based only on electric signal processing. As the second main purpose of this paper, the same methodology, which can also be applied to the characterization and comparison of the WJ plants' components, has been tested on the characterization and the following comparison of water orifices (the orifice is one of the most important components for the WJ technology due to the energy transformation which takes place inside) to validate the proposed approach.     

An Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Diagnostic Tool Based on Time-Domain Current Analysis

In this paper, a novel virtual-instrument-based monitoring and diagnosis technique that permits the identification of rotor faults in small inverter-fed induction motors is presented and discussed. Since it allows the continuous monitoring of the machine, it is a useful tool for the implementation of advanced maintenance strategies. Through a proper experimental setup, the performance, repeatability, and portability of the proposed algorithm have been evaluated.     

Electrical performances optimization of Photovoltaic Modules with FMECA approach

The renewable energy industry has been growing remarkably over the last years and the recent Fukushima nuclear crisis has given a further incentive worldwide. In this context, solar radiation represents one of the most accessible energy resources and the involved industry has seen rapid expansion in the past decade with an ever-increasing share of the electricity-generating capacity. To this aim, both for manufactures and Photovoltaic Plant (PV) management, the assessment of the quality, reliability and electrical performances of their products are becoming more and more important. So, in order to fulfill such requirements, a Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis methodology (FMECA) has been proposed with the aim to classify the occurrence, the severity and the impact of all possible failure mechanisms on the PV module, which is the fundamental sub-system of the plant. The aim of the proposed approach is to reduce, or eliminate, the impact of potential failure modes before failures occur in the field and it highlights the final effects that show the occurrence of a fault or malfunction. Starting from the results of FMECA, it is also possible to implement suitable architecture of a monitoring system and its metrological characteristics, that can be applied in architecture devoted to Condition Monitoring (CM) techniques.     

Efficiency Measurement of Water Jet Orifices by a Novel Electrooptical Technique

The problem of the efficiency evaluation of water jet nozzles is dealt with in this paper, and a novel laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) technique is proposed to acquire high-speed water velocity at the exit of the cutting head nozzles. A standard LDV technique has been implemented for the first experimental trials, with the aim of validating the analytical results with directly measured velocity values. The novel LDV technique has been proposed, with the outlying of the critical aspects to be taken into account for future developments and improvements in measurement dynamic range, resolution, and accuracy.