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The following document is a translation (from French to English) of: Gabriele H. Greco, Sur la mesurabilit\'e d'une fonction num\'erique par rapport \`a une famille d'ensembles, Rendiconti del Seminario Matematico della Universit\`a di Padova}, tome 65 (1981), pp. 163--176. Translated by: Jonathan M. Keith, School of Mathematics, Monash University, jonathan.keith@monash.edu. With thanks to: Prof. Andrea D'Agnolo, Editor-in-Chief of the above journal, for permission to publish this translation.

In the present work we study the spider's hair flow-sensing system by using fluid-structure interaction (FSI) numerical simulations. We observe experimentally the morphology of Theraphosa stirmi's hairs and characterize their mechanical properties through nanotensile tests. We then use the obtained information as input for the computational model. We study the effect of a varying air velocity and a varying hair spacing on the mechanical stresses and displacements. Our results can be of interest for the design of novel bio-inspired systems and structures for smart sensors and robotics.

In this paper we investigate the evolution of the concept of area in Peano's works, taking into account the main role played by Grassmann's geometric-vector calculus and Peano's theory on derivative of measures. Geometric (1887) and bi-vectorial (1888) Peano's approaches to surface area mark the development of this topic during the first half of the last century. In the sequel we will present some significative contributions on surface area that are inspired and/or closely related to Peano's definition., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures

A remarkable and elementary fact that a locally compact set F of Euclidean space is a smooth manifold if and only if the lower and upper paratangent cones to F coincide at every point, is proved. The celebrated von Neumann's result (1929) that a locally compact subgroup of the general linear group is a smooth manifold, is a straightforward application. A historical account on the subject is provided in order to enrich the mathematical panorama. Old characterizations of smooth manifold (by tangent cones), due to Valiron (1926, 1927) and Severi (1929, 1934) are recovered; modern characterizations, due to Gluck (1966, 1968), Tierno (1997), Shchepin and Repovs (2000) are restated., Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures

Peano defined 'differentiability' of functions and 'lower tangent cones' in 1887, and 'upper tangent cones' in 1903, but uses the latter concept already in 1887 without giving a formal definition. Both cones were defined for arbitrary sets, as certain limits of appropriate homothetic relations. Around 1930 Severi and Guareschi, in a series of mutually fecundating individual papers, characterized differentiability in terms of 'lower tangent cones' and strict differentiability in terms of 'lower paratangent cones', a notion introduced, independently, by Severi and Bouligand in 1928. Severi and Guareschi graduated about 1900 from the University of Turin, where Peano taught till his demise in 1932., Comment: 35 pp., on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932); to appear in J. Convex Analysis

At the end of 19th century Peano discerned vector spaces, differentiability, convex sets, limits of families of sets, tangent cones, and many other concepts, in a modern perfect form. He applied these notions to solve numerous problems. The theorem on necessary conditions of optimality (Regula) is one of these. The formal language of logic that he developed, enabled him to perceive mathematics with great precision and depth. Actually he built mathematics axiomatically based exclusively on logical and set-theoretic primitive terms and properties, which was a revolutionary turning point in the development of mathematics., Comment: 28 pages, in honour of Professor Stefan Rolewicz and commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932); http://matwbn.icm.edu.pl/ksiazki/cc/cc36/cc3632.pdf

In this paper a construction of affine exterior algebra of Grassmann, with a special attention to the revisitation of this subject operated by Peano and his School, is examined from a historical viewpoint. Even if the exterior algebra over a vector space is a well known concept, the construction of an exterior algebra over an affine space, in which points and vectors coexist, has been neglected. This paper wants to fill this lack. Some attention is given to the introduction of defining by abstraction (today called definition by quotienting or by equivalence relation), a procedure due to and used by Peano to define geometric forms, basic elements of an affine exterior algebra. This Peano's innovative way of defining, is a relevant contribution to mathematics. It is observed that in the construction of an affine exterior algebra on the Euclidean three-dimensional space, Grassmann and Peano make use of metric concepts: an accurate analysis shows that, in some cases, the metric aspects can be eliminated, putting into evidence the sufficiency of the underlying affine structure of the Euclidean space. In the final part of the paper some geometrical and mechanical applications and interpretations of the affine exterior algebra given by Grassmann and Peano are presented., Comment: 25 page, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932)

By retracing research on coexistent magnitudes (grandeurs coexistantes) by Cauchy (1841), Peano in "Applicazioni geometriche del calcolo infinitesimale" (1887) defines the "density" (strict derivative) of a "mass" (a distributive set function) with respect to a "volume" (a positive distributive set function), proves its continuity (whenever the strict derivative exists) and shows the validity of the mass-density paradigm: "mass" is recovered from "density" by integration with respect to "volume". It is remarkable that Peano's strict derivative provides a consistent mathematical ground to the concept of "infinitesimal ratio" between two magnitudes, successfully used since Kepler. In this way the classical (i.e., pre-Lebesgue) measure theory reaches a complete and definitive form in Peano's Applicazioni geometriche. A primary aim of the present paper is a detailed exposition of Peano's work of 1887 leading to the concept of strict derivative of distributive set functions and their use. Moreover, we compare Peano's work and Lebesgue's "La mesure des grandeurs" (1935): in this memoir Lebesgue, motivated by coexistent magnitudes of Cauchy, introduces a uniform-derivative of certain additive set functions, a concept that coincides with Peano's strict derivative. Intriguing questions are whether Lebesgue was aware of the contributions of Peano and which role is played by the notions of strict derivative or of uniform-derivative in today mathematical practice., Comment: 30 pages, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932)