Matematica & Ambiente. L'esplorazione dei ghiacciai polari.

Nell'ambito del workshop d'inaugurazione dell'anno accademico dell'Associazione Matematica & Realta', la presentazione intende offrire alla platea degli insegnanti di matematica delle scuole superiori di secondo grado un esempio realmente implementato di attivita' di studio e ricerca di matematica applicata. Vi si trovano ben delineati i passi fondamentali che conducono dal problema reale alla soluzione numerica proposta, manifestando la necessita' di conoscenze interdisciplinari per giungere all' uso critico ed efficace dello strumento matematico.

Rank-revealing decomposition of symmetric indefinite matrices via block anti-triangular factorization

We present an algorithm for computing a symmetric rank revealing decomposition of a symmetric n x n matrix A, as defined in the work of Hansen & Yalamov [9]: we factorize the original matrix into a product A = QMQ(T), with Q orthogonal and M symmetric and in block form, with one of the blocks containing the dominant information of A, such as its largest eigenvalues.

Optimal ship hull via optimal parameterisation

Numerical optimisation of a ship hull requires, like every shape design optimisation problem, the definition of a parametric expression of the object to be deformed. In this phase, some decisions are taken regarding the shape variability and the portion of the hull to be modified: the parameterisation of the hull is problem-dependent, with implications from the performances to be optimised (objective functions), and the right choice is not easy.

Scenes from the life of Beppo Levi

On the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the birth of the famous Italian mathematician Beppo Levi (1875-1961), we publish an interview with his daughter Emilia. We also recall his brother Eugenio Elia Levi, a well-known and brilliant mathematician whose life was cut short at the front during World War I. A brief outline of Beppo Levi's life is followed by an introduction to a letter that he wrote to the periodical Israel in 1919, in part regarding the foundation of the state of Israel. Finally, we publish an English translation of the letter in its entirety.

Hierarchical non-negative matrix factorization applied to three-dimensional 3T MRSI data for automatic tissue characterization of the prostate

In this study non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) was hierarchically applied to simulated and in vivo three-dimensional 3 T MRSI data of the prostate to extract patterns for tumour and benign tissue and to visualize their spatial distribution. Our studies show that the hierarchical scheme provides more reliable tissue patterns than those obtained by performing only one NMF level. We compared the performance of three different NMF implementations in terms of pattern detection accuracy and efficiency when embedded into the same kind of hierarchical scheme.

Multiscale hemodynamics using GPU clusters

The parallel implementation of MUPHY, a concurrent multiscale code for large-scale hemodynamic simulations in anatomically realistic geometries, for multi-GPU platforms is presented. Performance tests show excellent results, with a nearly linear parallel speed-up on up to 32GPUs and a more than tenfold GPU/CPU acceleration, all across the range of GPUs. The basic MUPHY scheme combines a hydrokinetic (Lattice Boltzmann) representation of the blood plasma, with a Particle Dynamics treatment of suspended biological bodies, such as red blood cells.