Collective and fractal properties of pion jets in the four-velocity space at intermediate energies

Experimental results are presented for study of collective and fractal properties of soft pion jets in the space of relative four-dimensional velocities. Significant decreasing is obtained for mean square of second particle distances from jet axis for pion-proton interactions at initial energies $\sim 3$ GeV in comparison with hadron-nuclear collisions at close energies. The decreasing results in power dependence of distance variable on collision energy for range $\sim 2 - 4$ GeV. The observation allows us to estimate the low boundary of manifestation of color degree of freedom in pion jet production. Cluster dimension values were deduced for pion jets in various reactions. Fractional values of this dimension indicate on the manifestation of fractal-like properties by pion jets. Changing of mean kinetic energy of jet particles and fractal dimension with initial energy increasing is consistent with suggestion for presence of color degrees of freedom in pion jet production at intermediate energies.Comment: The conference "Physics of fundamental interactions". ITEP, Moscow, Russia. November 23 - 27, 200

Leveraging Semantic Web Technologies for Managing Resources in a Multi-Domain Infrastructure-as-a-Service Environment

This paper reports on experience with using semantically-enabled network resource models to construct an operational multi-domain networked infrastructure-as-a-service (NIaaS) testbed called ExoGENI, recently funded through NSF's GENI project. A defining property of NIaaS is the deep integration of network provisioning functions alongside the more common storage and computation provisioning functions. Resource provider topologies and user requests can be described using network resource models with common base classes for fundamental cyber-resources (links, nodes, interfaces) specialized via virtualization and adaptations between networking layers to specific technologies. This problem space gives rise to a number of application areas where semantic web technologies become highly useful - common information models and resource class hierarchies simplify resource descriptions from multiple providers, pathfinding and topology embedding algorithms rely on query abstractions as building blocks. The paper describes how the semantic resource description models enable ExoGENI to autonomously instantiate on-demand virtual topologies of virtual machines provisioned from cloud providers and are linked by on-demand virtual connections acquired from multiple autonomous network providers to serve a variety of applications ranging from distributed system experiments to high-performance computing

Recensione a: Cinzia Piciocchi, La dignità come rappresentazione giuridica della condizione umana, CEDAM, Padova, 2013, pp. 278.

Il fondamento e la garanzia della dignit\ue0 umana costituiscono da sempre aspetti cruciali della riflessione giuridica. Nella vasta letteratura sul tema, il libro di Cinzia Piciocchi si segnala quale importante punto di riferimento per accostarsi, in un\u2019ottica comparata ad ampio raggio, alla complessit\ue0 di questo bene indeterminato e polisenso esaminando alcune problematiche intimamente legate alla condizione umana di cui la dignit\ue0 \ue8 la rappresentazione giuridica

Precision Cotton Agriculture and Strategic Commercial Policies: An Analysis in Terms of Duopoly by Quality

We study a Hotelling’s duopoly in world cotton market to examine the effects of Precision Agriculture’s (PA) adoption in term of strategic international trade between the United‐States and Central and West Africa (CWA). We prove that US producers should be well advised to adopt PA to offer “environmental quality” cotton whereas CWA producers have a natural comparative advantage that allows them to offer a “product quality” cotton. We also argue that if the USA subsidizes PA in order to protect environment, this measure can be considered as a strategic international policy. We determine a critical subsidy level, which ousts CWA producers from the cotton market. At this subsidy level, US policy can be thought of unfair even if this policy enables them to improve the environment

The role of Sp110 in human T cell apoptosis and immunopathology

SP110 deficiency in humans causes veno-occlusive disease with immunodeficiency (VODI, OMIM: 235550), a rare and often fatal primary immunodeficiency. Clinically, patients present with hepatic veno-occlusive disease and typically life-threatening pneumocystis infections, although T- and B-cell numbers are normal. Pneumocystis pneumonia is known to be aggravated by T cell mediated immunopathology. Sp110 is a family member of the Sp100/Sp140 protein family which associates with PML- nuclear bodies. Sp110 is known to be upregulated by interferons (IFN) and is believed to modulate gene transcription. However, how SP110 affects immunity and T cell function in particular is very poorly understood. In my PhD thesis we characterized a previously unknown role of Sp110 as a key T cell intrinsic immune-regulatory protein. First, we demonstrated that high T cell intrinsic Sp110 protein levels augment re-stimulation induced T cell apoptosis. This Sp110 dependent c-Jun/JNK signaling pathway dependent apoptosis was associated with increased caspase 9 activity, while extrinsic, FAS mediated apoptosis was much less affected by Sp110. We also demonstrated that type I interferon treatment (IFN I) of primary human T cell blasts augmented Sp110 levels such that augmented Sp110 dependent T cell apoptosis was observed. Second, we demonstrated that Sp110 deficiency augmented re-stimulation induced c-Jun/JNK dependent T cell intrinsic interferon-γ production. Application of these findings in VODI patients suggest that Sp110 deficient T cells fail to undergo re-stimulation induced apoptosis while secreting non-regulated amounts of interferon-γ. This likely explains the particular susceptibility of VODI patients to pneumocystis pneumonia but also identifies Sp110 as an essential immune regulatory protein in diseases associated with augmented IFN-I formation such as chronic virus infections, systemic autoimmune diseases or some primary (monogenic) immunodeficiencies

Novità e criticità del costituzionalismo ecologico nell’area andina

Il presente lavoro si propone di comprendere gli effetti giuridici derivanti dal riconoscimento dei diritti della natura. Dopo una breve premessa sui concetti di costituzionalismo ecologico e di sviluppo sostenibile, nell’articolo si sottolinea l’influenza che le teorie filosofiche sui diritti della natura come soggetto giuridico hanno avuto in Ecuador e Bolivia. L’analisi rivela che questo riconoscimento non aumenta il livello di tutela ambientale, e che le vere novità di queste riforme nell’area andina si individuano nella costituzionalizzazione dell’actio popularis in materia ambientale e nei forti richiami alla responsabilità degli individui per salvaguardare Madre Terra.This contribution investigates the recognition of rights to Mother Earth in the Andean region. Firstly, it explores the concepts of green constitutionalism and sustainable development. Subsequently, it underlines the importance of the philosophical theories on nature as legal subject in the present debates on the recognition of rights to ecosystem. The third chapter focuses on the Bolivian statute which confers a sphere of rights to Mother Earth, highlighting the main features and the differences vis a vis Stone’s ideal model. The contribution suggests that this recognition does not actually improve environmental protection, and that the truly innovative solutions proposed by Ecuador and Bolivia are the constitutionalization of actio popularis in environmental matters. This constitutionalization emphasises the everyone’s responsibility in safeguarding the ecosystem

Environmental education and social historic representations of environment: the children vision of river basins areas

[Resumo] A pesquisa foi aplicada em duas áreas de bacias hidrográficas em Joinville (SC/Brasil): comunidade de Pirabeiraba - na Sub-Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio do Braço; e comunidade de Vila Nova, na Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Piraí. A definição pelas localidades foi porque são regiões semelhantes na colonização (alemã e italiana), exploração econômica, desenvolvimento e crescimento. Caracterizadas como comunidades rurais, ultimamente vêm apresentando intenso crescimento populacional e industrial que impulsiona a economia e consequentemente gera impactos ao meio ambiente. O objetivo foi envolver crianças das seis escolas de ensino fundamental dessas localidades visando torná-las ativas no trato com o meio ambiente no referente às ações de Educação Ambiental, considerando as suas representações sociais quanto aos conceitos de patrimônio histórico, cultural e ambiental. O estudo foi embasado na História Ambiental, com ações da Educação Ambiental e a pesquisa executada nas três escolas de cada localidade. Às crianças, aplicou-se um mesmo questionário no início das ações da pesquisa e no seu final, para uma análise comparativa quanto ao entendimento sobre as questões trabalhadas nas ações de Educação Ambiental executadas e que tratavam de referenciais sócio históricos e ambientais das áreas estudadas. As manifestações do conhecimento adquirido pelas crianças evidenciam os resultados positivos da pesquisa.[Abstract] The research was applied in two river basins areas in Joinville (SC/Brasil): Pirabeiraba community - in sub river-basin of Rio do Braço; and neighborhood of Vila Nova, in river basin of Rio Piraí. The definition by the localities was because they are similar in colonization (German and Italian), economic exploration, development and growth. Characterized as rural communities, lately have shown intense population and industrial growth that boosts economy and consequently creating environmental impacts. The focus was develop children of six elementary school from this localities order to make them active in dealing with the environment about the Environment Education actions, considering their socials representations about the concepts of historic patrimony, sociocultural, and environmental. The study was grounded in Environmental History, with actions of Environmental Education and the research was executed in three schools in each place. To the children, was applied the same questionnaire in the beginning and in the end of research actions, for a comparative analysis on the understanding about the worked questions in actions of executed Environmental Education and dealing social, historical and environmental references from studied areas. The manifestation of acquired knowledge by children showed positive results of research