Robust Energy Management for Green and Survivable IP Networks

Despite the growing necessity to make Internet greener, it is worth pointing out that energy-aware strategies to minimize network energy consumption must not undermine the normal network operation. In particular, two very important issues that may limit the application of green networking techniques concern, respectively, network survivability, i.e. the network capability to react to device failures, and robustness to traffic variations. We propose novel modelling techniques to minimize the daily energy consumption of IP networks, while explicitly guaranteeing, in addition to typical QoS requirements, both network survivability and robustness to traffic variations. The impact of such limitations on final network consumption is exhaustively investigated. Daily traffic variations are modelled by dividing a single day into multiple time intervals (multi-period problem), and network consumption is reduced by putting to sleep idle line cards and chassis. To preserve network resiliency we consider two different protection schemes, i.e. dedicated and shared protection, according to which a backup path is assigned to each demand and a certain amount of spare capacity has to be available on each link. Robustness to traffic variations is provided by means of a specific modelling framework that allows to tune the conservatism degree of the solutions and to take into account load variations of different magnitude. Furthermore, we impose some inter-period constraints necessary to guarantee network stability and preserve the device lifetime. Both exact and heuristic methods are proposed. Experimentations carried out with realistic networks operated with flow-based routing protocols (i.e. MPLS) show that significant savings, up to 30%, can be achieved also when both survivability and robustness are fully guaranteed

Effect of different pastures on CLA content in milk and sheep cheese

It is known that milk composition included conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is affected by animal feeding system (Cabiddu et al., 2001). In Sardinia dairy sheep feeding is mainly based on pastures. Most of them are characterised by self-regenerating species, like annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaudin) and burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.). Non conventional species belonging to the Compositae family such as (Chrysanthemum coronarium L.) seem interesting for sheep feeding when other herbages decrease in quality (late spring- early summer). It was observed that C. coronarium establishes rapidly, can be grazed early in the growing season and persist where other pasture species may disappear; for these reasons it can be considered a valuable source of food. Moreover a preliminary study with dairy sheep fed fresh forage of C. coronarium showed relatively high levels of CLA in milk (Molle G. pers. com.) The aim of the present work was to study the influence of different pastures on milk composition, with particular reference to CLA and its precursors

The impact of sequence database choice on metaproteomic results in gut microbiota studies

Background: Elucidating the role of gut microbiota in physiological and pathological processes has recently emerged as a key research aim in life sciences. In this respect, metaproteomics, the study of the whole protein complement of a microbial community, can provide a unique contribution by revealing which functions are actually being expressed by specific microbial taxa. However, its wide application to gut microbiota research has been hindered by challenges in data analysis, especially related to the choice of the proper sequence databases for protein identification. Results: Here, we present a systematic investigation of variables concerning database construction and annotation and evaluate their impact on human and mouse gut metaproteomic results. We found that both publicly available and experimental metagenomic databases lead to the identification of unique peptide assortments, suggesting parallel database searches as a mean to gain more complete information. In particular, the contribution of experimental metagenomic databases was revealed to be mandatory when dealing with mouse samples. Moreover, the use of a "merged" database, containing all metagenomic sequences from the population under study, was found to be generally preferable over the use of sample-matched databases. We also observed that taxonomic and functional results are strongly database-dependent, in particular when analyzing the mouse gut microbiota. As a striking example, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio varied up to tenfold depending on the database used. Finally, assembling reads into longer contigs provided significant advantages in terms of functional annotation yields. Conclusions: This study contributes to identify host- and database-specific biases which need to be taken into account in a metaproteomic experiment, providing meaningful insights on how to design gut microbiota studies and to perform metaproteomic data analysis. In particular, the use of multiple databases and annotation tools has to be encouraged, even though this requires appropriate bioinformatic resources

Identification of <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> alpha-actinin as the most common immunogen recognized by sera of women exposed to the parasite

A study on presence of antibodies to Trichomonis vaginalis in serum was done on a group of 500 pregnant, asymptomatic Angolan women. A serologic screening, done by ELISA, revealed that 41% of the women had IgG and IgM against the parasite. Analysis of sera by immunoblotting revealed that 94.4% of sera with anti-T. vaginalis IgG class antibodies were reactive against a common immunogenic protein of 115 kDa. The common immunogen was identified as the protozoan α-actinin. All sera recognizing the 115-kDa antigen were reactive against both native and recombinant T. vaginalis α-actinin and nonreactive against human α-actinin. The findings presented in this work offer a new tool for epidemiologic studies and open new perspectives for vaccination

International Coordination of Long-Term Ocean Biology Time Series Derived from Satellite Ocean Color Data

[ABSTRACT] In this paper, we will describe plans to coordinate the initial development of long-term ocean biology time series derived from global ocean color observations acquired by the United States, Japan and Europe, Specifically, we have been commissioned by the International Ocean Color Coordinating Group (IOCCG) to coordinate the development of merged products derived from the OCTS, SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS and GLI imagers. Each of these missions will have been launched by the year 2002 and will have produced global ocean color data products. Our goal is to develop and document the procedures to be used by each space agency (NASA, NASDA, and ESA) to merge chlorophyll, primary productivity, and other products from these missions. This coordination is required to initiate the production of long-term ocean biology time series which will be continued operationally beyond 2002. The purpose of the time series is to monitor interannual to decadal-scale variability in oceanic primary productivity and to study the effects of environmental change on upper ocean biogeochemical processes

Differential feeding rates of native and alien predators on the invasive Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia (Benson in cantor, 1842) in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon

The alien Asian date mussel Arcuatula senhousia inhabits several coastal environments worldwide. This species can form dense mats where individuals attach through byssus threads, thus altering the structure, functioning and biodiversity of the native communities. We investigated the feeding preference of different predators on this alien species in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon. To do this, a mesocosm experiment was conducted using two crab species (the Mediterranean green crab Carcinus aestuarii) and the Say mud crab Dyspanopeus sayi, and one gastropod, the banded dye-murex Hexaplex trunculus as predators of A. senhousia with or without byssus mats. Our data suggest that C. aestuarii is a more effective predator against A. senhousia than D. sayi, and that H. trunculus is almost ineffective. A possible implication of this result is the potential use of the native crab C. aestuarii for limit the formation of the byssus mats, thus mitigating their potential negative effects on the native communities

L’ATTO AMMINISTRATIVO PRESUPPOSTO

My thesis is about the supposed administrative act. I deal with the subject in three chapters speaking about three essential points. In the first chapter I deal with the way in which the supposed act influences the validity, the efficacy and the essential being of the acts supposing it. At the first I make a survey of the doctrinal reconstruction of the phenomenon, then I deal with the subject in a general theory by the light of juridical dynamics. In the second chapter I analyze the phenomenon of derivative invalidity, lingering over the invalidity cancelling of which I deny the theoretical foundations. At the last, in the third chapter, I dwell upon the legal spin-off of practical reconstructions. In this chapter, by the light of new set of rules introduced in legal administrative law, I question the practical foundations too, and the real utility of invalidity cancelling

Biology, ecology and management perspectives of overexploited deposit-feeders sea cucumbers, with focus on Holothuria tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788)

The increasing harvesting of low trophic level organisms is raising concern about the possible consequences on the ecosystem functioning. In particular, the continuous demand of sea cucumbers from the international market led to the overexploitation of either traditionally harvested or new target species, including the Mediterranean ones. Sea cucumbers are mostly deposit feeders able to consume sedimentary organic matter and, thus, are ideal candidate for the remediation of eutrophicated sediments, like those beneath aquaculture projects. Breeding and restocking of overexploited sea cucumbers populations are well-established prac-tices for Indo-Pacific species like Holothuria scabra and Apostichopus japonicus. Some attempts have also been made for the Mediterranean species Holothuria tubulosa, but, so far, the adaptation of protocols used for other species has presented several is-sues. We here summarize narratively the available information about sea cucumbers rearing protocols with the aim of identifying their major flaws and gaps of knowledge and fostering research about new triggers for spawning and feasible protocols to reduce the high mortality of post-settlers

Information needs on precision medicine: a survey of Italian health care professionals.

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in technology development for precision medicine, obstacles remain as barriers to progress and change. In this context simple questions arise: what is the level of understanding of precision medicine among healthcare professionals? We tried to address this question with a survey whose objective was to explore the perception and understanding of precision medicine. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to a sample made of oncologists, clinical and hospital pharmacists, pharmacologists and infectiologists in the context of five different Italian national congresses. Participation in the survey was voluntary and anonymous. RESULTS: The questionnaire was filled-in by a total number of 1,113 professionals out of 3,670 registered participants in the congresses. About half of respondents stated they were not sufficiently informed about precision medicine, and infectiologists were the ones who felt less informed. Most respondents agreed with the basic principles and definitions of precision medicine and believed this new approach is going to require deep changes in healthcare. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that healthcare professionals have partial knowledge on this topic and that there is a significant association between respondents’ knowledge and their clinical specialty. However, despite some misconceptions about precision medicine, a genuine interest and familiarity with its basic principles seems to emerge.

Organic matter ingestion and assimilation rates by the sea cucumber Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788) at different temperatures and potential effects on benthic trophic status

We investigated the effects of different temperature anomalies (up to +12 °C) on the biochemical features of sediments offered to specimens of the sea cucumber Holothuria (Holothuria) tubulosa (Gmelin, 1788) and of its feces. We also estimated ingestion and assimilation rates of different classes of organic compounds after the different treatments. The exposure to temperature anomalies influenced the metabolism and organic matter assimilation efficiency of H. tubulosa. Counterintuitively, our results would suggest that H. tubulosa, irrespectively of temperature, might not be the best option for removing excess organic matter from eutrophicated sediments, though having consequences on the organic matter nutritional quality. Since oceans’ temperature is projected to further increase by 2100 along with frequency, intensity and duration of marine heatwaves, H. tubulosa will most likely experience a potential contraction of its distribution areal, with cascading consequences on benthic trophic webs dynamics