A Flexible and Modular Framework for Implementing Infrastructures for Global Computing

We present a Java software framework for building infrastructures to support the development of applications for systems where mobility and network awareness are key issues. The framework is particularly useful to develop run-time support for languages oriented towards global computing. It enables platform designers to customize communication protocols and network architectures and guarantees transparency of name management and code mobility in distributed environments. The key features are illustrated by means of a couple of simple case studies

Implementing Session Centered Calculi

Recently, specific attention has been devoted to the development of service oriented process calculi. Besides the foundational aspects, it is also interesting to have prototype implementations for them in order to assess usability and to minimize the gap between theory and practice. Typically, these implementations are done in Java taking advantage of its mechanisms supporting network applications. However, most of the recurrent features of service oriented applications are re-implemented from scratch. In this paper we show how to implement a service oriented calculus, CaSPiS (Calculus of Services with Pipelines and Sessions) using the Java framework IMC, where recurrent mechanisms for network applications are already provided. By using the session oriented and pattern matching communication mechanisms provided by IMC, it is relatively simple to implement in Java all CaSPiS abstractions and thus to easily write the implementation in Java of a CaSPiS process

Optimization of electric vehicles charging station deployment by means of evolutionary algorithms

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Microstructural and mechanical properties of a novel cobalt and titanium free maraging steel for laser powder bed fusion

Maraging steels are widely used in Additive Manufacturing due to their good processability and outstanding combination of strength and toughness. 18Ni300 is one of the most employed maraging steels. However, it contains cobalt, which has recently been strictly regulated due to its environmental and health hazards, having been classified as carcinogenic. Moreover, this steel contains Ti, showing a high affinity for oxygen, leading to high oxide fractions in powder and final parts. In the current work an ultrahigh strength Co and Ti free maraging steel for AM was processed and characterized. The results were then compared to 18Ni300. The novel alloy, processed with Powder Bed Fusion - Laser Beam (PBF-LB) shows hardness, yield strength, and tensile strength of 525 HV1, 1475 MPa, and 1588 MPa, respectively, after solution annealing and aging treatments

Some comments on nˉp\bar n p-annihilation branching ratios into ππ\pi \pi-, KˉK\bar K K- and πη\pi \eta-channels

We give some remarks on the $\bar n p$-partial branching ratios in flight at low momenta of antineutron, measured by OBELIX collaboration. The comparison is made to the known branching ratios from the $p \bar p$-atomic states. The branching ratio for the reaction $\bar n p \to \pi^+\pi^0$ is found to be suppressed in comparison to what follows from the $p \bar p$-data. It is also shown, that there is no so called dynamic I=0-amplitude suppression for the process $N\bar N \to K\bar K$.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, no figure

Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolB gene affects photosynthesis and chlorophyll content in transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants

Insertion of Agrobacterium rhizogenes rolB gene into plant genome affects plant development, hormone balance and defence. However, beside the current research, the overall transcriptional response and gene expression of rolB as a modulator in plant is unknown. Transformed rolB tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivar Tondino has been used to investigate the differential expression profile. Tomato is a well-known model organism both at the genetic and molecular level, and one of the most important commercial food crops in the world. Through the construction and characterization of a cDNA subtracted library, we have investigated the differential gene expression between transgenic clones of rolB and control tomato and have evaluated genes specifically transcribed in transgenic rolB plants. Among the selected genes, five genes encoding for chlorophyll a/b binding protein, carbonic anhydrase, cytochrome b6/f complex Fe-S subunit, potassium efflux antiporter 3, and chloroplast small heat-shock protein, all involved in chloroplast function, were identified. Measurement of photosynthesis efficiency by the level of three different photosynthetic parameters (Fv/Fm, rETR, NPQ) showed rolB significant increase in non-photochemical quenching and a, b chlorophyll content. Our results point to highlight the role of rolB on plant fitness by improving photosynthesis

Crown condition assessment at the CONECOFOR Permanent Monitoring Plots.

A detailed crown condition assessment is currently being carried out at the CONECOFOR (CONtrollo ECOsistemi FORestali, Control of Forest Ecosystems) plots. The assessment began in 1996, and during the first two years (1996 and 1997) an assessment form based on previous regional experience was used; in 1998 the new official EU form was adopted. The resulting loss of comparability means that only a few indices can be used in the temporal series 1996-1999. Much effort was devoted to Quality Assurance (QA) procedures. The QA program is structured as follows: (i) specific field manuals have been adopted and are continuously updated; (ii) a national training and intercalibration course (NT&IC) is undertaken yearly before beginning the assessment campaign;( iii) field checks are carried out yearly on a large number of plots. The results of the QA program have shown that for several indices the quality objectives were not reached, but the quality of the data is improving with time. To express the change in crown conditions in each area, a complex index (CCI = Crown Condition Index) was adopted. This index is the result of the sum of the relativized values of all the common indices used during the four years. The following parameters were used: transparency, ramification type, leaf colour alteration extension, leaf damage extension, alteration of leaf distension extension. The range within which the CCI fluctuates was evaluated taking into account all the observations carried out at a given plot throughout the years. The number of cases over a given threshold (outliers) was calculated for each year. The threshold for outliers was calculated as the median value plus 2 times the range of the interquartile value. All individual cases exceeding this value are considered outliers. The results are presented for all the areas in which the data set is complete for the four years. The yearly fluctuations are discussed and related to possible causes

Airline delays, congestion internalization and non-price spillover effects of low cost carrier entry

This paper develops an econometric model of flight delays to investigate the influence of competition and dominance on the incentives of carriers to maintain on-time performance. We consider both the route and the airport levels to inspect the local and global effects of competition, with a unifying framework to test the hypotheses of 1. airport congestion internalization and 2. the market competition-quality relationship in a single econometric model. In particular, we examine the impacts of the entry of low cost carriers (LCC) on the flight delays of incumbent full service carriers in the Brazilian airline industry. The main results indicate a highly significant effect of airport congestion self-internalization in parallel with route-level quality competition. Additionally, the potential competition caused by LCC presence provokes a global effect that suggests the existence of non-price spillovers of the LCC entry to non-entered routes