The general purpose of the paper is the study of surveying and data processing methodologies that are efficient to obtain more detailed metric data on road infrastructures than can be derived from ...classical surveying techniques. The inspection and monitoring of the condition of an infrastructure are two essential steps to increase the users' safety and to properly manage the available resources and are a preparatory step to the subsequent steps of deciding on the interventions to be put in place. Analysis of the state of degradation, if conducted with traditional methodologies, can be risky and sometimes inefficient. The Mobile Laser Scanner (MLS) technique, based on LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, is also widely used today as an alternative to traditional techniques since it allows obtaining dense and accurate point clouds of the road surface. The purpose of our work is to provide a workflow for the processing of MLS data aimed at producing some useful indicators to describe the functional and structural characteristics of the pavement, with the goal of optimizing the decision-making processes of the Managing Authority. Specifically, the data flow was studied, and several processing algorithms were implemented to identify and quantify surface defects and road roughness. The result of the entire process is the creation of an Atlas in QGIS to create graphical tables related to each individual cross profile and that can be used to identify all those sections that need emergency actions and therefore characterized by a high priority of intervention.
The interest in the development of nanoscale plasmonic technologies has dramatically increased in recent years. The photonic properties of plasmonic nanopatterns can be controlled and tuned via their ...size, shape, or the arrangement of their constituents. In this work, we propose a 2D hybrid metallic polymeric nanostructure based on the octupolar framework with enhanced sensing property. We analyze its plasmonic features both numerically and experimentally, demonstrating the higher values of their relevant figures of merit: we estimated a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) enhancement factor of 9 × 107 and a SPR bulk sensitivity of 430 nm/RIU. In addition, our nanostructure exhibits a dual resonance in the visible and near-infrared region, enabling our system toward multispectral plasmonic analysis. Finally, we illustrate our design engineering strategy as enabled by electron beam lithography by the outstanding performance of a SERS-based biosensor that targets the Shiga toxin 2a, a clinically relevant bacterial toxin. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a SERS fingerprint of this toxin has been evidenced.
Technologies based on plasmonic nanostructures are a rapidly growing field that aims to be a valid alternative to conventional diagnostic tools. One of the main goals in their technological ...development consists of the design of systems for sensitive and specific detection of pathogens in water. Among these, rotaviruses represent the main cause of childhood viral gastroenteritis in humans. In this work, we design functionalized plasmonic label-free nanosensors based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing to detect ultralow concentrations of rotavirus. We demonstrate the possibility of detecting in a specific way amounts lower than 1 × 103 plaque forming unit (PFU)/mL of the Rotavirus in water using a very low sample volume (2 μL). These results together with those obtained in our specificity tests performed with two different viruses (bovine herpesvirus, BHV1; and equine viral arteritis, EVA) confirm that our device is very promising to develop a rapid, simple, very sensitive, and specific immunoassay for detection of rotavirus. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that LSPR nanobiosensing has been used for the sensitive and specific detection of rotavirus.
In this paper, we report on novel iso-Y-shaped-nanopillar based photonic crystals (PCs) engineered for plasmonic lab-on-a-chip advanced diagnostics. The iso-Y shaped units are selected on the basis ...of their plasmonic properties, analyzed numerically and experimentally. We show that by accurately choosing the nanopillar shape, dimensions and their geometrical disposal it is possible to obtain efficient optical 2D structures for biomolecule detection by high-sensitive localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR). In particular, an assay is realized by using bovine serum albumin (BSA), a widely recognized model for biosystem studies. BSA was simply deposited on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) previously grown-up on the plasmonic substrate. We demonstrate that the geometries considered allow the design of LSPR nano-assays working in the visible-NIR region based on both intensity interrogation and the resonance peak shift permitting the sensing of BSA with a limit of detection in the order of picomoles (LOD = 233 pM).
A fast and easy method to fabricate a novel engineered plasmonic nanoassay for protein detection in extremely low concentrations is presented.
Purpose: To quantitatively evaluate dose conformity achieved using Gamma Knife radiosurgery, compare results with those reported in the literature, and evaluate risk factors for complications.
...Methods and Materials: All lesions treated at our institution with Gamma Knife radiosurgery from May 1993 (when volume criteria were routinely recorded) through December 1998 were reviewed. Lesions were excluded from analysis for reasons listed below. Conformity index (the ratio of prescription volume to target volume) was calculated for all evaluable lesions and for lesions comparable to those reported in the literature on conformity of linac radiosurgery. Univariate Cox regression models were used to test for associations between treatment parameters and toxicity.
Results: Of 1612 targets treated in 874 patients, 274 were excluded, most commonly for unavailability of individual prescription volume data because two or more lesions were included within the same dose matrix (176 lesions), intentional partial coverage for staged treatment of large arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) (33 lesions), and missing target volume data (26 lesions). The median conformity indices were 1.67 for all 1338 evaluable lesions and 1.40–1.43 for lesions comparable to two linac radiosurgery series that reported conformity indices of 1.8 and 2.7, respectively. Among all 651 patients evaluable for complications, there were one Grade 5, eight Grade 4, and 27 Grade 3 complications. Increased risk of toxicity was associated with larger target volume, maximum lesion diameter, prescription volume, or volume of nontarget tissue within the prescription volume.
Conclusions: Gamma Knife radiosurgery achieves much more conformal dose distributions than those reported for conventional linac radiosurgery and somewhat more conformal dose distributions than sophisticated linac radiosurgery techniques. Larger target, nontarget, or prescription volumes are associated with increased risk of toxicity.
An effective assessment of the static and dynamic structural behavior of historical monuments requires the development and validation of suitable adaptive structural models using high-quality ...experimental data acquired with an effectively continuous and distributed monitoring. Furthermore, the adaptive strategy allows an efficient evaluation of the health status and of the evolution along the time of a historical monument, providing relevant information to plan appropriate actions for its long-term preservation. The Trajan Arch in Benevento chosen as a case of study to develop and apply this new adaptive strategy in cultural heritage conservation. The paper, after a description of the innovative monitoring system, based on state-of-the-art mechanical sensors, presents and discusses the results of two tests, comparing the measurements with the predictions of an adaptive structural FEM model developed for the dynamical simulation of the Trajan Arch.
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) formed Task Group 178 (TG‐178) to perform the following tasks: review in‐phantom and in‐air calibration protocols for gamma stereotactic ...radiosurgery (GSR), suggest a dose rate calibration protocol that can be successfully utilized with all gamma stereotactic radiosurgery (GSR) devices, and update quality assurance (QA) protocols in TG‐42 (AAPM Report 54, 1995) for static GSR devices. The TG‐178 report recommends a GSR dose rate calibration formalism and provides tabulated data to implement it for ionization chambers commonly used in GSR dosimetry. The report also describes routine mechanical, dosimetric, and safety checks for GSR devices, and provides treatment process quality assurance recommendations. Sample worksheets, checklists, and practical suggestions regarding some QA procedures are given in appendices. The overall goal of the report is to make recommendations that help standardize GSR physics practices and promote the safe implementation of GSR technologies.
In the last two decades, agricultural photoselective films represented a valid contribute for the improvement of crops from a point of view both qualitative and quantitative. We are reporting an ...update of this kind of plastic, used for mulch and soil sterilization. Optical properties of a new generation of photoselective films are described in comparison with the traditional ones. Agronomical performances are also reported for both mulches and solarisation films. The experimental results demonstrate that thermal photoselective mulches, in comparison with the traditional ones, guarantee higher temperatures at different depths in the soil and this results into better benefits for plant growth. In the frame of solarization, we present recent experimental results on the temperature, collected at different soil depths, obtained with a special film studied for this application. A comparison with traditional films is also presented.
A new approach to locating viscous dampers optimally is herein presented in order to control the torsional seismic response of asymmetric-plan buildings. Firstly, the effects of the plan-wise ...distribution of supplemental damping on torsionally dynamic behavior have been investigated by using modal analysis techniques in the state space representation in order to highlight the main physical aspects of the problem. Optimal design criteria have then been carried out by evaluating the
H
∞
and
H
2
norms of the transfer function relating the maximum edge displacement to the input seismic excitation. These norms represent suitable performance indexes to investigate the optimal plan-wise distribution of extra-structural dampers by means of parametrical analysis on varying the dynamic characteristics of the asymmetric-plan system. The numerical constraints on the mechanical parameters related to the practical application of the proposed control strategy are taken into account. Simple design formulae to model the results for the
H
2
norm are proposed and positively verified through broad numerical experimentation which compared the seismic response of asymmetric systems to synthetic and real excitations for different design strategies in a plan-wise arrangement of supplemental damping.
Purpose
: This study aimed to analyze dose, initial pattern of enhancement, and other factors associated with freedom from progression (FFP) of brain metastases after radiosurgery (RS).
Methods and ...Materials
: All brain metastases treated with gamma-knife RS at the University of California, San Francisco, from 1991 to 1994 were reviewed. Evaluable lesions were those with follow-up magnetic resonance or computed tomographic imaging. Actuarial FFP was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, measuring FFP from the date of RS to the first imaging study showing tumor progression. Controlled lesions were censored at the time of the last imaging study. Multivariate analyses were performed using a stepwise Cox proportional hazards model.
Results
: Of 261 lesions treated in 119 patients, 219 lesions in 100 patients were evaluable. Major histologies included adenocarcinoma (86 lesions), melanoma (77), renal cell carcinoma (21), and carcinoma not otherwise specified (17). The median prescribed RS dose was 18.5 Gy (range, 10–22) and the media tumor volume was 1.3 ml (range, 0.02–30.9). The initial pattern of contrast enhancement was homogeneous in 68% of lesions, heterogeneous in 12%, and ring-enhancing in 19%. The actuarial FFP was 82% at 6 months and 77% at 1 year for all lesions, and 93 and 90%, respectively, for 145 lesions receiving ≥ 18 Gy. Multivariate analysis showed that longer FFP was significantly associated with higher prescribed RS dose, a homogeneous pattern of contrast enhancement, and a longer interval between primary diagnosis and RS. Adjusted for these factors, adenocarcinomas had longer FFP than melanomas. No significant differences in FFP were noted among lesions undergoing RS for recurrence after prior radiotherapy (119 lesions), RS alone as initial treatment (45), or RS boost (55).
Conclusion
: A minimum prescribed radiosurgical dose ≥ 18 Gy yields excellent local control of brain metastases. The influence of pattern of enhancement on local control, a new finding in this retrospective analysis, needs to be confirmed.
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