Geometry of BV quantization and Mathai-Quillen formalism

Il formalismo Mathai-Quillen (MQ) è un metodo per costruire la classe di Thom di un fibrato vettoriale attraverso una forma differenziale di profilo Gaussiano. Lo scopo di questa tesi è quello di formulare una nuova rappresentazione della classe di Thom usando aspetti geometrici della quantizzazione Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV). Nella prima parte del lavoro vengono riassunti i formalismi BV e MQ entrambi nel caso finito dimensionale. Infine sfrutteremo la trasformata di Fourier “odd" considerando la forma MQ come una funzione definita su un opportuno spazio graduato.

Transform Tectonics and Non-Volcanic Oceanic Islands

Oceanic islands can be divided, according to their origin, in volcanic and tectonic. Volcanic islands are due to excess volcanism. Tectonic islands are mainly formed due to vertical tectonic motions of blocks of oceanic lithosphere along transverse ridges flanking transform faults at slow and ultraslow mid-ocean ridges. Vertical tectonic motions are due to a reorganization of the geometry of the transform plate boundary, with the transition from a transcurrent tectonics to a transtensive and/or transpressive tectonics, with the formation of the transverse ridges. Tectonic islands can be located also at the ridge–transform intersection: in this case the uplift is due by the movement of the long-lived detachment faults located along the flanks of the mid-ocean ridges. The "Vema" paleoisland (equatorial Atlantic) is at the summit of the southern transverse ridge of the Vema transform. It is now 450 m bsl and it is capped by a carbonate platform 500 m-thick, dated by 87Sr/86Sr at 10 Ma. Three tectonic paleoislands are on the summit of the transverse ridge flanking the Romanche megatrasform (equatorial Atlantic). They are now about 1,000 m bsl and they are formed by 300 m-thick carbonate platforms dated by 87Sr/86Sr, between 11 and 6 Ma. The tectonic paleoisland “Atlantis Bank" is located in the South-Western Indian Ridge, along the Atlantis II transform, and it is today 700 m bsl. The only modern example of oceanic tectonics island is the St. Paul Rocks (equatorial Atlantic), located along the St. Paul transform. This archipelago is the top of a peridotitic massif that it is now a left overstep undergoing transpression. Oceanic volcanic islands are characterized by rapid growth and subsequent thermal subsidence and drowning; in contrast, oceanic tectonic islands may have one or more stages of emersion related to vertical tectonic events along the large oceanic fracture zones.

A Semantic-based Framework for Digital Survey of Architectural Heritage

The research aims at developing a framework for semantic-based digital survey of architectural heritage. Rooted in knowledge-based modeling which extracts mathematical constraints of geometry from architectural treatises, as-built information of architecture obtained from image-based modeling is integrated with the ideal model in BIM platform. The knowledge-based modeling transforms the geometry and parametric relation of architectural components from 2D printings to 3D digital models, and create large amount variations based on shape grammar in real time thanks to parametric modeling. It also provides prior knowledge for semantically segmenting unorganized survey data. The emergence of SfM (Structure from Motion) provides access to reconstruct large complex architectural scenes with high flexibility, low cost and full automation, but low reliability of metric accuracy. We solve this problem by combing photogrammetric approaches which consists of camera configuration, image enhancement, and bundle adjustment, etc. Experiments show the accuracy of image-based modeling following our workflow is comparable to that from range-based modeling. We also demonstrate positive results of our optimized approach in digital reconstruction of portico where low-texture-vault and dramatical transition of illumination bring huge difficulties in the workflow without optimization. Once the as-built model is obtained, it is integrated with the ideal model in BIM platform which allows multiple data enrichment. In spite of its promising prospect in AEC industry, BIM is developed with limited consideration of reverse-engineering from survey data. Besides representing the architectural heritage in parallel ways (ideal model and as-built model) and comparing their difference, we concern how to create as-built model in BIM software which is still an open area to be addressed. The research is supposed to be fundamental for research of architectural history, documentation and conservation of architectural heritage, and renovation of existing buildings.

Uso di strumenti web per la reingegnerizzazione platform independent di applicazioni multipiattaforma.

La tesi parla del processo di modernizzazione di un software aziendale verso tecnologie web. Il trattato prosegue poi con lo studio di automatizzazione del processo, tramite strumenti di descrizione grammatiche (e DSL) come Xtext.

"Offshore tower or platform foundations: numerical analysis of a laterally loaded single pile or pile group in soft clay and analysis of actions on a jacket structure"

Laterally loaded piles are a typical situation for a large number of cases in which deep foundations are used. Dissertation herein reported, is a focus upon the numerical simulation of laterally loaded piles. In the first chapter the best model settings are largely discussed, so a clear idea about the effects of interface adoption, model dimension, refinement cluster and mesh coarseness is reached. At a second stage, there are three distinct parametric analyses, in which the model response sensibility is studied for variation of interface reduction factor, Eps50 and tensile cut-off. In addition, the adoption of an advanced soil model is analysed (NGI-ADP). This was done in order to use the complex behaviour (different undrained shear strengths are involved) that governs the resisting process of clay under short time static loads. Once set a definitive model, a series of analyses has been carried out with the objective of defining the resistance-deflection (P-y) curves for Plaxis3D (2013) data. Major results of a large number of comparisons made with curves from API (America Petroleum Institute) recommendation are that the empirical curves have almost the same ultimate resistance but a bigger initial stiffness. In the second part of the thesis a simplified structural preliminary design of a jacket structure has been carried out to evaluate the environmental forces that act on it and on its piles foundation. Finally, pile lateral response is studied using the empirical curves.

Silk Fibroin: a biopolymer platform for innovative pharmaceutical formulation and biomedical devices.

The protein silk fibroin (SF) from the silkworm Bombyx mori is a FDA-approved biomaterial used over centuries as sutures wire. Importantly, several evidences highlighted the potential of silk biomaterials obtained by using so-called regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) in biomedicine, tissue engineering and drug delivery. Indeed, by a water-based protocol, it is possible to obtain protein water-solution, by extraction and purification of fibroin from silk fibres. Notably, RSF can be processed in a variety of biomaterials forms used in biomedical and technological fields, displaying remarkable properties such as biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability, optical transparency, mechanical robustness. Moreover, RSF biomaterials can be doped and/or chemical functionalized with drugs, optically active molecules, growth factors and/or chemicals In this view, activities of my PhD research program were focused to standardize the process of extraction and purification of protein to get the best physical and chemical characteristics. The analysis of the chemo-physical properties of the fibroin involved both the RSF water-solution and the protein processed in film. Chemo-physical properties have been studied through: vibrational (FT-IR and Raman-FT) and optical (absorption and emission UV-VIS) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (1H and 13C NMR), thermal analysis and thermo-gravimetric scan (DSC and TGA). In the last year of my PhD, activities were focused to study and define innovative methods of functionalization of the silk fibroin solution and films. Indeed, research program was the application of different methods of manufacturing approaches of the films of fibroin without the use of harsh treatments and organic solvents. New approaches to doping and chemical functionalization of the silk fibroin were studied. Two different methods have been identified: 1) biodoping that consists in the doping of fibroin with optically active molecules through the addition of fluorescent molecules in the standard diet used for the breeding of silkworms; 2) chemical functionalization via silylation.

Sviluppo cross-platform di applicazioni mobile: analisi dello stato dell'arte e sperimentazioni in titanium

Panoramica sullo stato dell’arte degli approcci di sviluppo di mobile app alternativi agli approcci nativi, e approfondimento ulteriore dell’analisi. Valutazione concreta del framework Titanium, il più interessante per architettura e offerta di componenti di UI nativi, realizzata mediante lo sviluppo di un'app e facendo quindi il confronto con lo sviluppo nativo.

The geometry of Lagrangian fibres

If the generic fibre f−1(c) of a Lagrangian fibration f : X → B on a complex Poisson– variety X is smooth, compact, and connected, it is isomorphic to the compactification of a complex abelian Lie–group. For affine Lagrangian fibres it is not clear what the structure of the fibre is. Adler and van Moerbeke developed a strategy to prove that the generic fibre of a Lagrangian fibration is isomorphic to the affine part of an abelian variety.rnWe extend their strategy to verify that the generic fibre of a given Lagrangian fibration is the affine part of a (C∗)r–extension of an abelian variety. This strategy turned out to be successful for all examples we studied. Additionally we studied examples of Lagrangian fibrations that have the affine part of a ramified cyclic cover of an abelian variety as generic fibre. We obtained an embedding in a Lagrangian fibration that has the affine part of a C∗–extension of an abelian variety as generic fibre. This embedding is not an embedding in the category of Lagrangian fibrations. The C∗–quotient of the new Lagrangian fibration defines in a natural way a deformation of the cyclic quotient of the original Lagrangian fibration.

Development and implementation of a S/W platform to automatically receive and share satellite data

Relazione del lavoro di creazione e implementazione della piattaforma software che sviluppa l’archivio del progetto SATNET. I satelliti universitari hanno un tempo di vista della propria Stazione di Terra di pochi minuti al giorno: SATNET risponde all’esigenza di comunicare con un satellite universitario in orbita bassa per più dei pochi minuti al giorno che una singola Stazione di Terra permette. Questo avviene grazie a una rete di Stazioni di Terra Satellitari collegate da specifiche missioni comuni che mettono in condivisione dati ricevuti da uno o più satelliti, aumentando il rendimento dati/giorno di questi e permettendo una migliore fruizione delle Stazioni di Terra stesse. Il network sfrutta Internet come canale di connessione, e prevede la presenza di un archivio nel quale memorizzare i dati ricevuti, per poi renderne possibile la consultazione e il recupero. Oggetto di questo lavoro di tesi è stato lo sviluppo e l’implementazione di tale archivio: utilizzando un sito web dinamico, il software risponde a tutte le richieste evidenziate nel paragrafo precedente, permettendo a utenti autenticati di inserire dati e ad altri di poterne avere accesso. Il software è completo e funzionante ma non finito, in quanto manca la formulazione di alcune richieste; per esempio non è stato specificato il tipo di informazioni che è possibile caricare in upload, né il tipo di campi richiesti nel modulo di registrazione dei vari utenti. In questi casi sono stati inseriti campi generici, lasciando all’utente la possibilità di modificarli in seguito. Il software è stato dunque concepito come facilmente personalizzabile e modificabile anche da utenti inesperti grazie alla sola lettura della tesi, che rappresenta quindi una vera e propria guida per l’utilizzo, l’installazione, la personalizzazione e la manutenzione della piattaforma software. La tesi evidenzia gli obiettivi e le richieste, mostrando l’aspetto del sito web e le sue funzionalità, e spiega passo per passo il procedimento per la modifica dell’aspetto delle pagine e di alcuni parametri di configurazione. Inoltre, qualora siano necessarie modifiche sostanziali al progetto, introduce i vari linguaggi di programmazione necessari allo sviluppo e alla programmazione web e aiuta l’utente nella comprensione della struttura del software. Si conclude con alcuni suggerimenti su eventuali modifiche, attuabili solo a seguito di un lavoro di definizione degli obiettivi e delle specifiche richieste. In futuro ci si aspetta l’implementazione e la personalizzazione del software, nonché l’integrazione dell’archivio all’interno del progetto SATNET, con l’obiettivo di migliorare e favorire la diffusione e la condivisione di progetti comuni tra diverse Università Europee ed Extra-Europee.

Complex tracer mobilities in polymer networks revealed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

Gels are elastic porous polymer networks that are accompanied by pronounced mechanical properties. Due to their biocompatibility, ‘responsive hydrogels’ (HG) have many biomedical applications ranging from biosensors and drug delivery to tissue engineering. They respond to external stimuli such as temperature and salt by changing their dimensions. Of paramount importance is the ability to engineer penetrability and diffusion of interacting molecules in the crowded HG environment, as this would enable one to optimize a specific functionality. Even though the conditions under which biomedical devices operate are rather complex, a bottom-up approach could reduce the complexity of mutually coupled parameters influencing tracer mobility. The present thesis focuses on the interaction-induced tracer diffusion in polymer solutions and their homologous gels, probed by means of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS). This is a single-molecule-sensitive technique having the advantage of optimal performance under ultralow tracer concentrations, typically employed in biosensors. Two different types of hydrogels have been investigated, a conventional one with broad polydispersity in the distance between crosslink points and a so-called ‘ideal’, with uniform mesh size distribution. The former is based on a thermoresponsive polymer, exhibiting phase separation in water at temperatures close to the human body temperature. The latter represents an optimal platform to study tracer diffusion. Mobilities of different tracers have been investigated in each network, varying in size, geometry and in terms of tracer-polymer attractive strength, as perturbed by different stimuli. The thesis constitutes a systematic effort towards elucidating the role of the strength and nature of different tracer-polymer interactions, on tracer mobilities; it outlines that interactions can still be very important even in the simplified case of dilute polymer solutions; it also demonstrates that the presence of permanent crosslinks exerts distinct tracer slowdown, depending on the tracer type and the nature of the tracer-polymer interactions, expressed differently by each tracer with regard to the selected stimulus. In aqueous polymer solutions, the tracer slowdown is found to be system-dependent and no universal trend seems to hold, in contrast to predictions from scaling theory for non-interacting nanoparticle mobility and empirical relations concerning the mesh size in polymer solutions. Complex tracer dynamics in polymer networks may be distinctly expressed by FCS, depending on the specific synergy among-at least some of - the following parameters: nature of interactions, external stimuli employed, tracer size and type, crosslink density and swelling ratio.

Nucleation studies on graphics processing units

Ein System in einem metastabilen Zustand muss eine bestimmte Barriere in derrnfreien Energie überwinden um einen Tropfen der stabilen Phase zu formen.rnHerkömmliche Untersuchungen nehmen hierbei kugelförmige Tropfen an. Inrnanisotropen Systemen (wie z.B. Kristallen) ist diese Annahme aber nicht ange-rnbracht. Bei tiefen Temperaturen wirkt sich die Anisotropie des Systems starkrnauf die freie Energie ihrer Oberfläche aus. Diese Wirkung wird oberhalb derrnAufrauungstemperatur T R schwächer. Das Ising-Modell ist ein einfaches Mo-rndell, welches eine solche Anisotropie aufweist. Wir führen großangelegte Sim-rnulationen durch, um die Effekte, die mit einer endlichen Simulationsbox ein-rnhergehen, sowie statistische Ungenauigkeiten möglichst klein zu halten. DasrnAusmaß der Simulationen die benötigt werden um sinnvolle Ergebnisse zu pro-rnduzieren, erfordert die Entwicklung eines skalierbaren Simulationsprogrammsrnfür das Ising-Modell, welcher auf verschiedenen parallelen Architekturen (z.B.rnGrafikkarten) verwendet werden kann. Plattformunabhängigkeit wird durch ab-rnstrakte Schnittstellen erreicht, welche plattformspezifische Implementierungs-rndetails verstecken. Wir benutzen eine Systemgeometrie die es erlaubt eine Ober-rnfläche mit einem variablen Winkel zur Kristallebene zu untersuchen. Die Ober-rnfläche ist in Kontakt mit einer harten Wand, wobei der Kontaktwinkel Θ durchrnein Oberflächenfeld eingestellt werden kann. Wir leiten eine Differenzialglei-rnchung ab, welche das Verhalten der freien Energie der Oberfläche in einemrnanisotropen System beschreibt. Kombiniert mit thermodynamischer Integrationrnkann die Gleichung benutzt werden, um die anisotrope Oberflächenspannungrnüber einen großen Winkelbereich zu integrieren. Vergleiche mit früheren Mes-rnsungen in anderen Geometrien und anderen Methoden zeigen hohe Überein-rnstimung und Genauigkeit, welche vor allem durch die im Vergleich zu früherenrnMessungen wesentlich größeren Simulationsdomänen erreicht wird. Die Temper-rnaturabhängigkeit der Oberflächensteifheit κ wird oberhalb von T R durch diernKrümmung der freien Energie der Oberfläche für kleine Winkel gemessen. DiesernMessung lässt sich mit Simulationsergebnissen in der Literatur vergleichen undrnhat bessere Übereinstimmung mit theoretischen Voraussagen über das Skalen-rnverhalten von κ. Darüber hinaus entwickeln wir ein Tieftemperatur-Modell fürrndas Verhalten um Θ = 90 Grad weit unterhalb von T R. Der Winkel bleibt bis zu einemrnkritischen Feld H C quasi null; oberhalb des kritischen Feldes steigt der Winkelrnrapide an. H C wird mit der freien Energie einer Stufe in Verbindung gebracht,rnwas es ermöglicht, das kritische Verhalten dieser Größe zu analysieren. Die harternWand muss in die Analyse einbezogen werden. Durch den Vergleich freier En-rnergien bei geschickt gewählten Systemgrößen ist es möglich, den Beitrag derrnKontaktlinie zur freien Energie in Abhängigkeit von Θ zu messen. Diese Anal-rnyse wird bei verschiedenen Temperaturen durchgeführt. Im letzten Kapitel wirdrneine 2D Fluiddynamik Simulation für Grafikkarten parallelisiert, welche u. a.rnbenutzt werden kann um die Dynamik der Atmosphäre zu simulieren. Wir im-rnplementieren einen parallelen Evolution Galerkin Operator und erreichen

New enhancement strategies for plasmon-enhanced fluorescence biosensors

This thesis investigates metallic nanostructures exhibiting surface plasmon resonance for the amplification of fluorescence signal in sandwich immunoassays. In this approach, an analyte is captured by an antibody immobilized on a plasmonic structure and detected by a subsequently bound fluorophore labeled detection antibody. The highly confined field of surface plasmons originates from collective charge oscillations which are associated with high electromagnetic field enhancements at the metal surface and allow for greatly increased fluorescence signal from the attached fluorophores. This feature allows for improving the signal-to-noise ratio in fluorescence measurements and thus advancing the sensitivity of the sensor platform. In particular, the thesis presents two plasmonic nanostructures that amplify fluorescence signal in devices that rely on epifluorescence geometry, in which the fluorophore absorbs and emits light from the same direction perpendicular to the substrate surface.rnThe first is a crossed relief gold grating that supports propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and second, gold nanoparticles embedded in refractive index symmetric environment exhibiting collective localized surface plasmons (cLSPs). Finite-difference time-domain simulations are performed in order to design structures for the optimum amplification of established Cy5 and Alexa Fluor 647 fluorophore labels with the absorption and emission wavelengths in the red region of spectrum. The design takes into account combined effect of surface plasmon-enhanced excitation rate, directional surface plasmon-driven emission and modified quantum yield for characteristic distances in immunoassays. Homebuilt optical instruments are developed for the experimental observation of the surface plasmon mode spectrum, measurements of the angular distribution of surface plasmon-coupled fluorescence light and a setup mimicking commercial fluorescence reading systems in epifluorescence geometry.rnCrossed relief grating structures are prepared by interference lithography and multiple copies are made by UV nanoimprint lithography. The fabricated crossed diffraction gratings were utilized for sandwich immunoassay-based detection of the clinically relevant inflammation marker interleukin 6 (IL-6). The enhancement factor of the crossed grating reached EF=100 when compared to a flat gold substrate. This result is comparable to the highest reported enhancements to date, for fluorophores with relatively high intrinsic quantum yield. The measured enhancement factor excellently agrees with the predictions of the simulations and the mechanisms of the enhancement are explained in detail. Main contributions were the high electric field intensity enhancement (30-fold increase) and the directional fluorescence emission at (4-fold increase) compared to a flat gold substrate.rnCollective localized surface plasmons (cLSPs) hold potential for even stronger fluorescence enhancement of EF=1000, due to higher electric field intensity confinement. cLSPs are established by diffractive coupling of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of metallic nanoparticles and result in a narrow resonance. Due to the narrow resonance, it is hard to overlap the cLSPs mode with the absorption and emission bands of the used fluorophore, simultaneously. Therefore, a novel two resonance structure that supports SPP and cLSP modes was proposed. It consists of a 2D array of cylindrical gold nanoparticles above a low refractive index polymer and a silver film. A structure that supports the proposed SPP and cLSP modes was prepared by employing laser interference lithography and the measured mode spectrum was compared to simulation results.rn

Stratospheric aerosol extinction retrieved from SCIAMACHY measurements in limb geometry

Stratosphärische Partikel sind typischerweise mit dem bloßen Auge nicht wahrnehmbar. Dennoch haben sie einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Strahlungsbilanz der Erde und die heteorogene Chemie in der Stratosphäre. Kontinuierliche, vertikal aufgelöste, globale Datensätze sind daher essenziell für das Verständnis physikalischer und chemischer Prozesse in diesem Teil der Atmosphäre. Beginnend mit den Messungen des zweiten Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM II) Instruments im Jahre 1978 existiert eine kontinuierliche Zeitreihe für stratosphärische Aerosol-Extinktionsprofile, welche von Messinstrumenten wie dem zweiten Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), dem SCIAMACHY, dem OSIRIS und dem OMPS bis heute fortgeführt wird. rnrnIn dieser Arbeit wird ein neu entwickelter Algorithmus vorgestellt, der das sogenannte ,,Zwiebel-Schäl Prinzip'' verwendet, um Extinktionsprofile zwischen 12 und 33 km zu berechnen. Dafür wird der Algorithmus auf Radianzprofile einzelner Wellenlängen angewandt, die von SCIAMACHY in der Limb-Geometrie gemessen wurden. SCIAMACHY's einzigartige Methode abwechselnder Limb- und Nadir-Messungen bietet den Vorteil, hochaufgelöste vertikale und horizontale Messungen mit zeitlicher und räumlicher Koinzidenz durchführen zu können. Die dadurch erlangten Zusatzinformationen können verwendet werden, um die Effekte von horizontalen Gradienten entlang der Sichtlinie des Messinstruments zu korrigieren, welche vor allem kurz nach Vulkanausbrüchen und für polare Stratosphärenwolken beobachtet werden. Wenn diese Gradienten für die Berechnung von Extinktionsprofilen nicht beachtet werden, so kann dies dazu führen, dass sowohl die optischen Dicke als auch die Höhe von Vulkanfahnen oder polarer Stratosphärenwolken unterschätzt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, welches mit Hilfe von dreidimensionalen Strahlungstransportsimulationen und horizontal aufgelösten Datensätzen die berechneten Extinktionsprofile korrigiert.rnrnVergleichsstudien mit den Ergebnissen von Satelliten- (SAGE II) und Ballonmessungen zeigen, dass Extinktionsprofile von stratosphärischen Partikeln mit Hilfe des neu entwickelten Algorithmus berechnet werden können und gut mit bestehenden Datensätzen übereinstimmen. Untersuchungen des Nabro Vulkanausbruchs 2011 und des Auftretens von polaren Stratosphärenwolken in der südlichen Hemisphäre zeigen, dass das Korrekturverfahren für horizontale Gradienten die berechneten Extinktionsprofile deutlich verbessert.

Integration of a simulation platform for electrical mobility within the arrowhead interoperability framework

This dissertation document deals with the development of a project, over a span of more than two years, carried out within the scope of the Arrowhead Framework and which bears my personal contribution in several sections. The final part of the project took place during a visiting period at the university of Luleå. The Arrowhead Project is an European project, belonging to the ARTEMIS association, which aims to foster new technologies and unify the access to them into an unique framework. Such technologies include the Internet of Things phe- nomenon, Smart Houses, Electrical Mobility and renewable energy production. An application is considered compliant with such framework when it respects the Service Oriented Architecture paradigm and it is able to interact with a set of defined components called Arrowhead Core Services. My personal contribution to this project is given by the development of several user-friendly API, published in the project's main repository, and the integration of a legacy system within the Arrowhead Framework. The implementation of this legacy system was initiated by me in 2012 and, after many improvements carried out by several developers in UniBO, it has been again significantly modified this year in order to achieve compatibility. The system consists of a simulation of an urban scenario where a certain amount of electrical vehicles are traveling along their specified routes. The vehicles are con-suming their battery and, thus, need to recharge at the charging stations. The electrical vehicles need to use a reservation mechanism to be able to recharge and avoid waiting lines, due to the long recharge process. The integration with the above mentioned framework consists in the publication of the services that the system provides to the end users through the instantiation of several Arrowhead Service Producers, together with a demo Arrowhead- compliant client application able to consume such services.