Vad helhetssynen skulle betytt för tre kvinnor som varit sjukskrivna : Om att använda systemteori inom rehabilitering

Temat för denna uppsats var att undersöka ett systemteoretiskt arbetssätt i rehabilitering. I den här undersökningen har tre kvinnor som tidigare varit sjukskrivna av psykiska orsaker, intervjuats för att de skulle få ge sin syn på hur ett systemteoretiskt arbetssätt skulle kunna ha hjälpt dem i deras rehabilitering. Vidare vilken funktion deras sjukdom fyllt i deras system och för dom själva. Det fanns en tanke om att deras sjukdom var orsakad av många faktorer, vilket visade sig vara fallet. Urvalet var ett så kallat bekvämlighets urval. Metoden som använts var halvstrukturerade intervjuer med hjälp av en intervju guide. Tolkningen som användes var hermeneutisk. Arbetet begränsades genom att kvinnor som varit sjukskrivna valdes ut. Andra kriterier var att dom skulle ha familj som bodde hemma, minst tre barn och en sambo eller man, vidare att dom kom från små orter i Västernorrlands inland. Resultatet visar att de överlag var positivt inställda till ett systemteoretiskt synsätt, att de saknade att vissa instanser inom rehabilitering inte tog hänsyn till komplexitet i deras liv, och att de känner sig misstrodda av försäkringskassan. Sjukdomen fyllde för alla tre en funktion av signal på obalans i ett snedbelastat system. Vidare var de tre kvinnorna sjukare än vad omgivningen och dom själva trott. De saknade alla tre, från de rehabiliterande enheterna, en helhetssyn på dem och deras situation. Systemteorin kan verka ytterst komplicerad när man läser om cybernetiken till exempel. Men som behandlare behöver man inte lägga det på en komplicerad nivå. Det räcker att man i stora drag vet vad systemteorin handlar om och att man är medveten om vilken roll kommunikation och interaktion spelar, och vilken roll man hamnar i som behandlare i det psykosociala arbetet.

Shallow and deep deformation in northern Apennines region using seismological data

For its particular position and the complex geological history, the Northern Apennines has been considered as a natural laboratory to apply several kinds of investigations. By the way, it is complicated to joint all the knowledge about the Northern Apennines in a unique picture that explains the structural and geological emplacement that produced it. The main goal of this thesis is to put together all information on the deformation - in the crust and at depth - of this region and to describe a geodynamical model that takes account of it. To do so, we have analyzed the pattern of deformation in the crust and in the mantle. In both cases the deformation has been studied using always information recovered from earthquakes, although using different techniques. In particular the shallower deformation has been studied using seismic moment tensors information. For our purpose we used the methods described in Arvidsson and Ekstrom (1998) that allowing the use in the inversion of surface waves [and not only of the body waves as the Centroid Moment Tensor (Dziewonski et al., 1981) one] allow to determine seismic source parameters for earthquakes with magnitude as small as 4.0. We applied this tool in the Northern Apennines and through this activity we have built up the Italian CMT dataset (Pondrelli et al., 2006) and the pattern of seismic deformation using the Kostrov (1974) method on a regular grid of 0.25 degree cells. We obtained a map of lateral variations of the pattern of seismic deformation on different layers of depth, taking into account the fact that shallow earthquakes (within 15 km of depth) in the region occur everywhere while most of events with a deeper hypocenter (15-40 km) occur only in the outer part of the belt, on the Adriatic side. For the analysis of the deep deformation, i.e. that occurred in the mantle, we used the anisotropy information characterizing the structure below the Northern Apennines. The anisotropy is an earth properties that in the crust is due to the presence of aligned fluid filled cracks or alternating isotropic layers with different elastic properties while in the mantle the most important cause of seismic anisotropy is the lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of the mantle minerals as the olivine. This last is a highly anisotropic mineral and tends to align its fast crystallographic axes (a-axis) parallel to the astenospheric flow as a response to finite strain induced by geodynamic processes. The seismic anisotropy pattern of a region is measured utilizing the shear wave splitting phenomenon (that is the seismological analogue to optical birefringence). Here, to do so, we apply on teleseismic earthquakes recorded on stations located in the study region, the Sileny and Plomerova (1996) approach. The results are analyzed on the basis of their lateral and vertical variations to better define the earth structure beneath Northern Apennines. We find different anisotropic domains, a Tuscany and an Adria one, with a pattern of seismic anisotropy which laterally varies in a similar way respect to the seismic deformation. Moreover, beneath the Adriatic region the distribution of the splitting parameters is so complex to request an appropriate analysis. Therefore we applied on our data the code of Menke and Levin (2003) which allows to look for different models of structures with multilayer anisotropy. We obtained that the structure beneath the Po Plain is probably even more complicated than expected. On the basis of the results obtained for this thesis, added with those from previous works, we suggest that slab roll-back, which created the Apennines and opened the Tyrrhenian Sea, evolved in the north boundary of Northern Apennines in a different way from its southern part. In particular, the trench retreat developed primarily south of our study region, with an eastward roll-back. In the northern portion of the orogen, after a first stage during which the retreat was perpendicular to the trench, it became oblique with respect to the structure.

Provenienza dei sedimenti arenitici nel bacino di Tracia (eo-oligocene, Turchia nord-occidentale e Grecia nord-orientale)

The Thrace Basin is the largest and thickest Tertiary sedimentary basin of the eastern Balkans region and constitutes an important hydrocarbon province. It is located between the Rhodope-Strandja Massif to the north and west, the Marmara Sea and Biga Peninsula to the south, and the Black Sea to the est. It consists of a complex system of depocenters and uplifts with very articulate paleotopography indicated by abrupt lateral facies variations. Its southeastern margin is widely deformed by the Ganos Fault, a segment of the North Anatolian strike-slip fault system . Most of the Thrace Basin fill ranges from the Eocene to the Late Oligocene. Maximum total thickness, including the Neogene-Quaternary succession, reaches 9.000 meters in a few narrow depocenters. This sedimentary succession consists mainly of basin plain turbiditic deposits with a significant volcaniclastic component which evolves upwards to shelf deposits and continental facies, with deltaic bodies prograding towards the basin center in the Oligocene. This work deals with the provenance of Eocene-Oligocene clastic sediments of the southern and western part of Thrace Basin in Turkey and Greece. Sandstone compositional data (78 gross composition analyses and 40 heavy minerals analyses) were used to understand the change in detrital modes which reflects the provenance and geodinamic evolution of the basin. Samples were collected at six localities, which are from west to est: Gökçeada, Gallipoli and South-Ganos (south of Ganos Fault), Alexandroupolis, Korudağ and North-Ganos (north of Ganos Fault). Petrologic (framework composition and heavy-mineral analyses) and stratigraphic-sedimentologic data, (analysis of sedimentologic facies associations along representative stratigraphic sections, paleocurrents) allowed discrimination of six petrofacies; for each petrofacies the sediment dispersal system was delineated. The Thrace Basin fill is made mainly of lithic arkoses and arkosic litharenites with variable amount of low-grade metamorphic lithics (also ophiolitic), neovolcanic lithics, and carbonate grains (mainly extrabasinal). Picotite is the most widespread heavy mineral in all petrofacies. Petrological data on analyzed successions show a complex sediment dispersal pattern and evolution of the basin, indicating one principal detrital input from a source area located to the south, along both the İzmir-Ankara and Intra-Pontide suture lines, and a possible secondary source area, represented by the Rhodope Massif to the west. A significant portion of the Thrace Basin sediments in the study area were derived from ophiolitic source rocks and from their oceanic cover, whereas epimetamorphic detrital components came from a low-grade crystalline basement. An important penecontemporaneous volcanic component is widespread in late Eocene-Oligocene times, indicating widespread post-collisional (collapse?) volcanism following the closure of the Vardar ocean. Large-scale sediment mass wasting from south to north along the southern margin of the Thrace Basin is indicated (i) in late Eocene time by large olistoliths of ophiolites and penecontemporaneous carbonates, and (ii) in the mid-Oligocene by large volcaniclastic olistoliths. The late Oligocene paleogeographic scenario was characterized by large deltaic bodies prograding northward (Osmancik Formation). This clearly indicates that the southern margin of the basin acted as a major sediment source area throughout its Eocene-Oligocene history. Another major sediment source area is represented by the Rhodope Massif, in particolar the Circum-Rhodopic belt, especially for plutonic and metamorphic rocks. Considering preexisting data on the petrologic composition of Thrace Basin, silicilastic sediments in Greece and Bulgaria (Caracciolo, 2009), a Rhodopian provenance could be considered mostly for areas of the Thrace Basin outside our study area, particularly in the northern-central portions of the basin. In summary, the most important source area for the sediment of Thrace Basin in the study area was represented by the exhumed subduction-accretion complex along the southern margin of the basin (Biga Peninsula and western-central Marmara Sea region). Most measured paleocurrent indicators show an eastward paleoflow but this is most likely the result of gravity flow deflection. This is possible considered a strong control due to the east-west-trending synsedimentary transcurrent faults which cuts the Thrace Basin, generating a series of depocenters and uplifts which deeply influenced sediment dispersal and the areal distribution of paleoenvironments. The Thrace Basin was long interpreted as a forearc basin between a magmatic arc to the north and a subduction-accretion complex to the south, developed in a context of northward subduction. This interpretation was challenged by more recent data emphasizing the lack of a coeval magmatic arc in the north and the interpretation of the chaotic deposit which outcrop south of Ganos Fault as olistoliths and large submarine slumps, derived from the erosion and sedimentary reworking of an older mélange unit located to the south (not as tectonic mélange formed in an accretionary prism). The present study corroborates instead the hypothesis of a post-collisional origin of the Thrace Basin, due to a phase of orogenic collapse, which generated a series of mid-Eocene depocenters all along the İzmir-Ankara suture (following closure of the Vardar-İzmir-Ankara ocean and the ensuing collision); then the slab roll-back of the remnant Pindos ocean played an important role in enhancing subsidence and creating additional accommodation space for sediment deposition.

Funktionelle Zusammenhänge zwischen Expressionsveränderungen des von Hippel-Lindau Tumorsuppressorgens und dessen potentiellen Zielgenen in sporadischen Nierenzellkarzinomen

ZusammenfassungNierenzellkarzinome (NZK) sind häufig gekennzeichnet durch den Funktionsverlust des von Hippel-Lindau Tumorsuppressorgens (VHL TSG). Man kennt heute eine Reihe potentieller Kandidatengene, die eventuell in Wechselwirkung mit dem VHL-Genprodukt stehen (VEGF, c-fos, c-myc). Zur Aufklärung der molekularen Vorgänge, die zur Pathogenese der gut vaskularisierten Nierenzellkarzinome beitragen, wurden NZK-Zellinien untersucht. Vektorkonstrukte wurden generiert, um das in vitro und in vivo Wachstumsverhalten vor und nach Transfektion zu beobachten. Mit Hilfe eines GFP-Fusionsproteins wurden zusätzlich Hinweise auf die intrazelluläre Lokalisation des VHL-Genproduktes (pVHL) geliefert. Nach Abschluß der vorliegenden Studien zeigte sich eine direkte Abhängigkeit der beiden Gene VHL und VEGF. Sowohl die in vitro als auch die in vivo Ansätze bewiesen eine Interaktion der beiden Gene. Die Frage nach einer Interaktion von pVHL mit den Genprodukten Fos und Myc läßt sich jedoch nicht eindeutig beantworten. Die Expressionsveränderungen dieser Gene erfolgten scheinbar willkürlich, eine Interaktion konnte nicht bestätigt werden.Die Lokalisation des VHL-Genproduktes ist von Fall zu Fall unterschiedlich, ein Zusammenhang mit den verschiedenen Funktionen des VHL-Gens ist demnach wahrscheinlich. Zusammenfassend läßt sich sagen, daß das VHL TSG eine Rolle bei der Kontrolle der Angiogenese spielt, eine Interaktion mit VEGF ist mehr als wahrscheinlich. Zukünftig sind bei der Aufklärung des Pathomechanismus von Nierenzellkarzinomen deshalb vor allem Studien nötig, die dem VHL TSG als Angiogeneseinhibitor eine zentrale Bedeutung bei der Heilung sporadischer Tumoren mit starker Vaskularisierung zukommen lassen.

Simulazione CAD dell'impingement articolare con protesi d'anca convenzionale e a conservazione di collo in funzione dei principali parametri chirurgici e anatomici

Lo scopo del lavoro è quello di verificare tramite software CAD l’influenza dei principali parametri chirurgici e anatomici sul Range Of Motion (ROM). Sono stati costruiti 5 modelli, uno di articolazione sana(Senza Protesi), uno di protesi Convenzionale e tre di protesi Conservative o a Conservazione (Totale, Media e Bassa Conservazione). Per tutti i modelli sono state simulate le rotazioni di base e i cosiddetti movimenti critici, ovvero quei movimenti a rischio di lussazione. Le prove sono state eseguite per teste da 28-,32-,36-,40mm di diametro, e con la coppa orientata di 45° in abduzione e 15° gradi in antiversione prima e successivamente di 45° e 0°. Inoltre, per verificare l’influenza dell’offset sul ROM, sono stati costruiti e simulati i movimenti per altri 5 modelli che non conservassero il vincolo del mantenere l’offset anatomico. Variando il diametro della testa si registrano differenze apprezzabili in termini di ROM solo per i movimenti di Estensione e Abduzione per il modello di Protesi Convenzionale e di Abduzione per il modello a Bassa Conservazione. Variando il livello di resezione del collo si è visto come per i modelli di protesi a Media Conservazione, Bassa Conservazione e Convenzionale si misurano angoli superiori a quello del riferimento tratto dalla Letteratura. Diversamente per il modello di Protesi a Totale Conservazione i valori ottenuti per alcuni movimenti sono inferiori, poiché limitati da un contatto di tipo c-b. Le simulazioni dei movimenti critici confermano la tendenza di un ROM accettabile per i modelli di protesi a Bassa Conservazione e di protesi Convenzionale, i quali forniscono escursioni angolari sempre superiori a quelle prese come riferimento dalla Letteratura. Invece, le protesi a Totale e Media Conservazione forniscono valori inferiori al riferimento per i movimenti di Pivot e Roll, essendo limitati dall’antiversione della coppa (movimenti di ExtraRotazione e contatto c-b). Variando la posizione della coppa a 45°/0° i due movimenti Critici Pivot e Roll migliorano per i modelli a Totale e Media Conservazione, tornando in linea con il riferimento. Riguardo l’offset si nota come più si avvicina a quello anatomico che misura 46,2mm (da 37 a 44mm), più si riscontra un aumento in termini di ROM.

Struttura nuvolosa del temporale

La tesi descrive in modo analitico la formazione del temporale e i suoi stadi di vita, i tipi di temporale suddivisi in base alla struttura e le nubi accessorie, particolari formazioni nuvolose che appartengono al temporale e alla sua evoluzione.

Analisi dell’influenza dei moti rigidi di una trattrice agricola sulle vibrazioni a corpo intero trasmesse all’operatore

L’esposizione degli operatori in campo agricolo alle vibrazioni trasmesse al corpo intero, produce effetti dannosi alla salute nel breve e nel lungo termine. Le vibrazioni che si generano sulle trattrici agricole hanno una elevata intensità e una bassa frequenza. Le componenti orizzontali, amplificate dalla posizione elevata della postazione di guida dall’asse di rollio, presentano maggiori criticità per quanto riguarda i sistemi di smorzamento rispetto alle componenti verticali. Queste caratteristiche rendono difficoltosa la progettazione dei sistemi dedicati alla riduzione del livello vibrazionale per questa categoria di macchine agricole. Nonostante l’installazione di diversi sistemi di smorzamento, il livello di vibrazioni a cui è sottoposto l’operatore può superare, in diverse condizioni di impiego, i livelli massimi imposti dalla legge per la salvaguardia della salute. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro è quello di valutare l’influenza dei moti rigidi di una trattrice (beccheggio, rollio e saltellamento) dotata di sospensione assale anteriore, sospensione cabina e sospensione sedile, sul livello vibrazionale trasmesso all’operatore.E’ stata pertanto strumenta una trattrice con accelerometri e inclinometri installati su telaio, cabina e sedile e utilizzata in diverse condizioni di lavoro in campo e di trasporto su strada. Dall’analisi delle prove effettuate emerge che durante il trasporto su strada è predominante l’accelerazione longitudinale, a causa dell’elevata influenza del beccheggio. La sospensione riduce notevolmente il moto rigido di beccheggio mentre l’effetto della sospensione della cabina è quello di incrementare, in ogni condizione di lavoro, il livello di accelerazione trasmesso dal telaio della macchina.

Gait analysis using a single wearable inertial measurement unit

Procedures for quantitative walking analysis include the assessment of body segment movements within defined gait cycles. Recently, methods to track human body motion using inertial measurement units have been suggested. It is not known if these techniques can be readily transferred to clinical measurement situations. This work investigates the aspects necessary for one inertial measurement unit mounted on the lower back to track orientation, and determine spatio-temporal features of gait outside the confines of a conventional gait laboratory. Apparent limitations of different inertial sensors can be overcome by fusing data using methods such as a Kalman filter. The benefits of optimizing such a filter for the type of motion are unknown. 3D accelerations and 3D angular velocities were collected for 18 healthy subjects while treadmill walking. Optimization of Kalman filter parameters improved pitch and roll angle estimates when compared to angles derived using stereophotogrammetry. A Weighted Fourier Linear Combiner method for estimating 3D orientation angles by constructing an analytical representation of angular velocities and allowing drift free integration is also presented. When tested this method provided accurate estimates of 3D orientation when compared to stereophotogrammetry. Methods to determine spatio-temporal features from lower trunk accelerations generally require knowledge of sensor alignment. A method was developed to estimate the instants of initial and final ground contact from accelerations measured by a waist mounted inertial device without rigorous alignment. A continuous wavelet transform method was used to filter and differentiate the signal and derive estimates of initial and final contact times. The technique was tested with data recorded for both healthy and pathologic (hemiplegia and Parkinson’s disease) subjects and validated using an instrumented mat. The results show that a single inertial measurement unit can assist whole body gait assessment however further investigation is required to understand altered gait timing in some pathological subjects.

Evaluation of energy level to be absorbed by tractor ROPS: Actual Tests, Simulation and Computation

A highly dangerous situations for tractor driver is the lateral rollover in operating conditions. Several accidents, involving tractor rollover, have indeed been encountered, requiring the design of a robust Roll-Over Protective Structure (ROPS). The aim of the thesis was to evaluate tractor behaviour in the rollover phase so as to calculate the energy absorbed by the ROPS to ensure driver safety. A Mathematical Model representing the behaviour of a generic tractor during a lateral rollover, with the possibility of modifying the geometry, the inertia of the tractor and the environmental boundary conditions, is proposed. The purpose is to define a method allowing the prediction of the elasto-plastic behaviour of the subsequent impacts occurring in the rollover phase. A tyre impact model capable of analysing the influence of the wheels on the energy to be absorbed by the ROPS has been also developed. Different tractor design parameters affecting the rollover behaviour, such as mass and dimensions, have been considered. This permitted the evaluation of their influence on the amount of energy to be absorbed by the ROPS. The mathematical model was designed and calibrated with respect to the results of actual lateral upset tests carried out on a narrow-track tractor. The dynamic behaviour of the tractor and the energy absorbed by the ROPS, obtained from the actual tests, showed to match the results of the model developed. The proposed approach represents a valuable tool in understanding the dynamics (kinetic energy) and kinematics (position, velocity, angular velocity, etc.) of the tractor in the phases of lateral rollover and the factors mainly affecting the event. The prediction of the amount of energy to be absorbed in some cases of accident is possible with good accuracy. It can then help in designing protective structures or active security devices.

Risk analysis of tractor rollover in the normal operation in field

Tractor rollover represent a primary cause of death or serious injury in agriculture and despite the mandatory Roll-Over Protective Structures (ROPS), that reduced the number of injuries, tractor accidents are still of great concern. Because of their versatility and wide use many studies on safety are concerned with the stability of tractors, but they often prefer controlled tests or laboratory tests. The evaluation of tractors working in field, instead, is a very complex issue because the rollover could be influenced by the interaction among operator, tractor and environment. Recent studies are oriented towards the evaluation of the actual working conditions developing prototypes for driver assistance and data acquisition. Currently these devices are produced and sold by manufacturers. A warning device was assessed in this study with the aim to evaluate its performance and to collect data on different variables influencing the dynamics of tractors in field by monitoring continuously the working conditions of tractors operating at the experimental farm of the Bologna University. The device consists of accelerometers, gyroscope, GSM/GPRS, GPS for geo-referencing and a transceiver for the automatic recognition of tractor-connected equipment. A microprocessor processes data and provides information, through a dedicated algorithm requiring data on the geometry of the tested tractor, on the level of risk for the operator in terms of probable loss of stability and suggests corrective measures to reduce the potential instability of the tractor.

Novel metallo-porphyrin based colourimetric amine sensors and their processing via plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition at atmospheric pressure : synthesis, characterisation and mechanistic studies

Volatile amines are prominent indicators of food freshness, as they are produced during many microbiological food degradation processes. Monitoring and indicating the volatile amine concentration within the food package by intelligent packaging solutions might therefore be a simple yet powerful way to control food safety throughout the distribution chain.rnrnIn this context, this work aims to the formation of colourimetric amine sensing surfaces on different substrates, especially transparent PET packaging foil. The colour change of the deposited layers should ideally be discernible by the human eye to facilitate the determination by the end-user. rnrnDifferent tailored zinc(II) and chromium(III) metalloporphyrins have been used as chromophores for the colourimetric detection of volatile amines. A new concept to increase the porphyrins absorbance change upon exposure to amines is introduced. Moreover, the novel porphyrins’ processability during the deposition process is increased by their enhanced solubility in non-polar solvents.rnrnThe porphyrin chromophores have successfully been incorporated into polysiloxane matrices on different substrates via a dielectric barrier discharge enhanced chemical vapour deposition. This process allows the use of nitrogen as a cheap and abundant plasma gas, produces minor amounts of waste and by-products and can be easily introduced into (existing) roll-to-roll production lines. The formed hybrid sensing layers tightly incorporate the porphyrins and moreover form a porous structure to facilitate the amines diffusion to and interaction with the chromophores.rnrnThe work is completed with the thorough analysis of the porphyrins’ amine sensing performance in solution as well as in the hybrid coatings . To reveal the underlying interaction mechanisms, the experimental results are supported by DFT calculations. The deposited layers could be used for the detection of NEt3 concentrations below 10 ppm in the gas phase. Moreover, the coated foils have been tested in preliminary food storage experiments. rnrnThe mechanistic investigations on the interaction of amines with chromium(III) porphyrins revealed a novel pathway to the formation of chromium(IV) oxido porphyrins. This has been used for electrochemical epoxidation reactions with dioxygen as the formal terminal oxidant.rn

Sviluppo dell'ingegneria di cantiere per la realizzazione di moduli "local equipment room"

Sviluppo dell'ingegneria di cantiere per la realizzazione di due strutture per il settore oil & gas e offshore. Definizione di layout di cantiere, supportazione, roll-up di sottoassiemi, sollevamenti tramite tiri piramidali e bilancini, movimentazione tramite carrelli semoventi o SPMT.

Inflazione cosmologica R^2

Lo scopo di questa tesi è illustrare il paradigma dell’inflazione cosmologica descrivendo in particolare la teoria dell’inflazione R^2. In una prima sezione si fa riferimento al contesto della relatività generale per descrivere l’universo su larga scala. Vengono prese in esame le ipotesi utilizzate per ottenere il modello standard della cosmologia e le principali proprietà che da esso possono essere ricavate. Si focalizza quindi l’analisi sulla descrizione dell’universo primordiale da cui traggono origine le ipotesi dell’esistenza dell’epoca inflazionaria esponendo, in particolare, come questa teoria riesca a risolvere i problemi della piattezza e dell’orizzonte cosmologico. Viene poi descritto come la fase di espansione esponenziale richiesta da queste ipotesi possa essere generata dalla presenza di un campo scalare φ specifico. Particolare risalto è dato alla descrizione dell’approssimazione di ”slow-roll” ed ai vincoli sul numero di ”e-folding”. Una seconda sezione mostra l’applicazione dell’analisi generale esposta in precedenza al modello di inflazione di Starobinsky. A tal fine sono descritte le caratteristiche delle teorie della gravità f(R) con particolare attenzione alle trasformazioni conformi e scelta del frame. Attraverso l’esposizione delle equazioni di campo cosmologiche nella teoria della gravità R^2 si mostra come il processo di espansione inflazionaria dell’universo nelle sue fasi iniziali possa essere descritto da un comportamento non standard della gravità ad alte energie. Sono riportati i risultati principali ottenuti con questa teoria nel frame di Jordan e in quello di Einstein. La conclusione descrive in sintesi lo stato attuale delle osservazioni sperimentali e come queste abbiano un legame stretto con la teoria delle perturbazioni cosmologiche. In particolare, presentando i risultati ottenuti nel contesto dell’inflazione R^2 ed esponendo gli ultimi dati raccolti dall’esperimento Planck, si analizza come il modello sia in accordo con i dati sperimentali attualmente disponibili.

Non-Gaussianities from a sudden change in the inflaton speed of sound

Il concetto di inflazione e' stato introdotto nei primi anni ’80 per risolvere alcuni problemi del modello cosmologico standard, quali quello dell’orizzonte e quello della piattezza. Le predizioni dei piu' semplici modelli inflazionari sono in buon accordo con le osservazioni cosmologiche piu'recenti, che confermano sezioni spaziali piatte e uno spettro di fluttuazioni primordiali con statistica vicina a quella gaussiana. I piu' recenti dati di Planck, pur in ottimo accordo con una semplice legge di potenza per lo spettro a scale k > 0.08 Mpc−1 , sembrano indicare possibili devi- azioni a scale maggiori, seppur non a un livello statisticamente significativo a causa della varianza cosmica. Queste deviazioni nello spettro possono essere spiegate da modelli inflazionari che includono una violazione della condizione di lento rotolamento (slow-roll ) e che hanno precise predizioni per lo spettro. Per uno dei primi modelli, caratterizzato da una discontinuita' nella derivata prima del potenziale proposto da Starobinsky, lo spettro ed il bispettro delle fluttuazioni primordiali sono noti analiticamente. In questa tesi estenderemo tale modello a termini cinetici non standard, calcolandone analiticamente il bispettro e confrontando i risultati ottenuti con quanto presente in letteratura. In particolare, l’introduzione di un termine cinetico non standard permettera' di ottenere una velocita' del suono per l’inflatone non banale, che consentira' di estendere i risultati noti, riguardanti il bispettro, per questo modello. Innanzitutto studieremo le correzioni al bispettro noto in letteratura dovute al fatto che in questo caso la velocita' del suono e' una funzione dipendente dal tempo; successivamente, cercheremo di calcolare analiticamente un ulteriore contributo al bispettro proporzionale alla derivata prima della velocita' del suono (che per il modello originale e' nullo).

Studio della cinematica del nuoto a stile libero attraverso sensori inerziali

Analisi cinematica delle fasi del nuoto, velocità in vasca e body roll attraverso l'uso di sensori inerziali. Implementazione di innovativi algoritmi di calcolo con l'utilizzo del filtro di Kalman 3D, matrici di rotazione e quaternioni per la determinazione dei parametri fondamentali del nuoto e della posizione del polso nel sistema di riferimento di torace. Confronto dei risultati ottenuti mediante i diversi algoritmi e loro validazione con quelli ottenuti con l'uso della stereofotogrammetria. Gli algoritmi possono essere generalizzati ad altri gesti motori.