800 research outputs found
Security Issues in Component-based Design
Abstract We propose a behavioural extension of the concept of interface of components. We aim to uniformly reason about correctness properties of both closed and open component-based systems. The characterizing feature of our approach is that we perform a local analysis over finite fragments of interactions naturally modeling mobility and coordination aspects. We present a semi-automatic technique that reduces the verification of security properties of protocols to the verification of correctness in component-based systems
The GROUSE project III: Ks-band observations of the thermal emission from WASP-33b
In recent years, day-side emission from about a dozen hot Jupiters has been
detected through ground-based secondary eclipse observations in the
near-infrared. These near-infrared observations are vital for determining the
energy budgets of hot Jupiters, since they probe the planet's spectral energy
distribution near its peak. The aim of this work is to measure the Ks-band
secondary eclipse depth of WASP-33b, the first planet discovered to transit an
A-type star. This planet receives the highest level of irradiation of all
transiting planets discovered to date. Furthermore, its host-star shows
pulsations and is classified as a low-amplitude delta-Scuti. As part of our
GROUnd-based Secondary Eclipse (GROUSE) project we have obtained observations
of two separate secondary eclipses of WASP-33b in the Ks-band using the LIRIS
instrument on the William Herschel Telescope (WHT). The telescope was
significantly defocused to avoid saturation of the detector for this bright
star (K~7.5). To increase the stability and the cadence of the observations,
they were performed in staring mode. We collected a total of 5100 and 6900
frames for the first and the second night respectively, both with an average
cadence of 3.3 seconds. On the second night the eclipse is detected at the
12-sigma level, with a measured eclipse depth of 0.244+0.027-0.020 %. This
eclipse depth corresponds to a brightness temperature of 3270+115-160 K. The
measured brightness temperature on the second night is consistent with the
expected equilibrium temperature for a planet with a very low albedo and a
rapid re-radiation of the absorbed stellar light. For the other night the short
out-of-eclipse baseline prevents good corrections for the stellar pulsations
and systematic effects, which makes this dataset unreliable for eclipse depth
measurements. This demonstrates the need of getting a sufficient out-of-eclipse
baseline.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Detection of water absorption in the day side atmosphere of HD 189733 b using ground-based high-resolution spectroscopy at 3.2 microns
We report a 4.8 sigma detection of water absorption features in the day side
spectrum of the hot Jupiter HD 189733 b. We used high-resolution (R~100,000)
spectra taken at 3.2 microns with CRIRES on the VLT to trace the
radial-velocity shift of the water features in the planet's day side atmosphere
during 5 h of its 2.2 d orbit as it approached secondary eclipse. Despite
considerable telluric contamination in this wavelength regime, we detect the
signal within our uncertainties at the expected combination of systemic
velocity (Vsys=-3 +5-6 km/s) and planet orbital velocity (Kp=154 +14-10 km/s),
and determine a H2O line contrast ratio of (1.3+/-0.2)x10^-3 with respect to
the stellar continuum. We find no evidence of significant absorption or
emission from other carbon-bearing molecules, such as methane, although we do
note a marginal increase in the significance of our detection to 5.1 sigma with
the inclusion of carbon dioxide in our template spectrum. This result
demonstrates that ground-based, high-resolution spectroscopy is suited to
finding not just simple molecules like CO, but also to more complex molecules
like H2O even in highly telluric contaminated regions of the Earth's
transmission spectrum. It is a powerful tool that can be used for conducting an
immediate census of the carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules in the atmospheres
of giant planets, and will potentially allow the formation and migration
history of these planets to be constrained by the measurement of their
atmospheric C/O ratios.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
Dynamic verification of mashups of service-oriented things through a mediation platform
The new Internet is evolving into the vision of the Internet of Things, where physical
world entities are integrated into virtual world things. Things are expected to become active
participants in business, information and social processes. Then, the Internet of Things could
benefit from the Web Service architecture like todayâs Web does; so Future service-oriented
Internet things will offer their functionality via service-enabled interfaces. As demonstrated in
previous work, there is a need of considering the behaviour of things to develop applications in
a more rigorous way. We proposed a lightweight model for representing such behaviour based
on the service-oriented paradigm and extending the standard DPWS profile to specify the
(partial) order with which things can receive messages. To check whether a mashup of things
respects the behaviour, specified at design-time, of composed things, we proposed a static
verification. However, at run-time a thing may change its behaviour or receive requests from
instances of different mashups. Then, it is required to check and detect dynamically possible
invalid invocations provoked by the behaviourâs changes. In this work, we extend our static
verification with an approach based on mediation techniques and complex event processing to
detect and inhibit invalid invocations, checking that things only receive requests compatible
with their behaviour. The solution automatically generates the required elements to perform
run-time validation of invocations, and it may be extended to validate other issues. Here, we
have also dealt with quality of service and temporal restrictions
Fissure ridges: A reappraisal of faulting and travertine deposition (travitonics)
The mechanical discontinuities in the upper crust (i.e., faults and related fractures) lead to the uprising of geothermal fluids to the Earthâs surface. If fluids are enriched in Ca2+ and HCO3â, masses of CaCO3 (i.e., travertine deposits) can form mainly due to the CO2 leakage from the thermal waters. Among other things, fissureâridgeâtype deposits are peculiar travertine bodies made of bedded carbonate that gently to steeply dip away from the apical part where a central fissure is located, corresponding to the fracture trace intersecting the substratum; these morphoâtectonic features are the most useful deposits for tectonic and paleoseismological investigation, as their development is contemporaneous with the activity of faults leading to the enhancement of permeability that serves to guarantee the circulation of fluids and their emergence. Therefore, the fissure ridge architecture sheds light on the interplay among fault activity, travertine deposition, and ridge evolution, providing key geoâchronologic constraints due to the fact that travertine can be dated by different radio-metric methods. In recent years, studies dealing with travertine fissure ridges have been consider-ably improved to provide a large amount of information. In this paper, we report the state of the art of knowledge on this topic refining the literature data as well as adding original data, mainly focusing on the fissure ridge morphology, internal architecture, depositional facies, growth mechanisms, tectonic setting in which the fissure ridges develop, and advantages of using the fissure ridges for neotectonic and seismotectonic studies
Thoracic ultrasound for pleural effusion in the intensive care unit: A narrative review from diagnosis to treatment
Pleural effusion (PLEFF), mostly caused by volume overload, congestive heart failure, and pleuropulmonary infection, is a common condition in critical care patients. Thoracic ultrasound (TUS) helps clinicians not only to visualize pleural effusion, but also to distinguish between the different types. Furthermore, TUS is essential during thoracentesis and chest tube drainage as it increases safety and decreases life-threatening complications. It is crucial not only during needle or tube drainage insertion, but also to monitor the volume of the drained PLEFF. Moreover, TUS can help diagnose co-existing lung diseases, often with a higher specificity and sensitivity than chest radiography and without the need for X-ray exposure. We review data regarding the diagnosis and management of pleural effusion, paying particular attention to the impact of ultrasound. Technical data concerning thoracentesis and chest tube drainage are also provided
Could the use of bedside lung ultrasound reduce the number of chest x-rays in the intensive care unit?
Background: Lung ultrasound can be used as an alternative to chest radiography (CXR) for the diagnosis and follow-up of various lung diseases in the intensive care unit (ICU). Our aim was to evaluate the influence that introducing a routine daily use of lung ultrasound in critically ill patients may have on the number of CXRs and as a consequence, on medical costs and radiation exposure. Methods: Data were collected by conducting a retrospective evaluation of the medical records of adult patients who needed thoracic imaging and were admitted to our academic polyvalent ICU. We compared the number of CXRs and relative costs before and after the introduction of lung ultrasound in our ICU. Results: A total of 4134 medical records were collected from January 2010 to December 2014. We divided our population into two groups, before (Group A, 1869 patients) and after (Group B, 2265 patients) the introduction of a routine use of LUS in July 2012. Group A performed a higher number of CXRs compared to Group B (1810 vs 961, P = 0.012), at an average of 0.97 vs 0.42 exams per patient. The estimated reduction of costs between Groups A and B obtained after the introduction of LUS, was 57%. No statistically significant difference between the outcome parameters of the two groups was observed. Conclusions: Lung ultrasound was effective in reducing the number of CXRs and relative medical costs and radiation exposure in ICU, without affecting patient outcome
Hydrogeochemical processes controlling water and dissolved gas chemistry at the Accesa sinkhole (southern Tuscany, central Italy).
The 38.5 m deep Lake Accesa is a sinkhole located in southern Tuscany (Italy) that shows a peculiar water composition, being characterized by relatively high total dissolved solids (TDS) values (2 g L-1) and a Ca(Mg)-SO4 geochemical facies. The presence of significant amounts of extra-atmospheric gases (CO2 and CH4), which increase their concentrations with depth, is also recognized. These chemical features, mimicking those commonly shown by volcanic lakes fed by hydrothermal-magmatic reservoirs, are consistent with those of mineral springs emerging in the study area whose chemistry is produced by the interaction of meteoric-derived waters with Mesozoic carbonates and Triassic evaporites. Although the lake has a pronounced thermocline, water chemistry does not show significant changes along the vertical profile. Lake water balance calculations demonstrate that Lake Accesa has >90% of its water supply from sublacustrine springs whose subterranean pathways are controlled by the local structural assessment that likely determined the sinking event, the resulting funnel-shape being then filled by the Accesa waters. Such a huge water inflow from the lake bottom (~9·106 m3 yr-1) feeds the lake effluent (Bruna River) and promotes the formation of water currents, which are able to prevent the establishment of a vertical density gradient. Consequently, a continuous mixing along the whole vertical water column is established. Changes of the drainage system by the deep-originated waters in the nearby former mining district have strongly affected the outflow rates of the local mineral springs; thus, future intervention associated with the ongoing remediation activities should carefully be evaluated to preserve the peculiar chemical features of Lake Accesa.</p
Late Palaeozoic tectonics in Central Mediterranean: a reappraisal
A revision of late Palaeozoic tectonics recorded in Tuscany, Calabria and Corsica is here presented. We propose that, in
Tuscany, upper Carboniferous-Permian shallow-marine to continental sedimentary basins, characterized by unconformities
and abrupt changes in sedimentary facies, coal-measures, red fanglomerate deposits and felsic magmatism,
may be related with a transtensional setting where upper-crustal splay faults are linked with a mid-crustal shear zone.
The remnants of the latter can be found in the deep-well logs of Pontremoli and Larderello-Travale in northern and
southern Tuscany respectively. In Calabria (Sila, Serre and Aspromonte), a continuous pre-Mesozoic crustal section
is exposed, where the lower-crustal portion mainly includes granulites and migmatitic paragneisses, together with
subordinate marbles and metabasites. The mid-crustal section, up to 13 km-thick, includes granitoids, tonalitic to
granitic in composition, emplaced between 306 and 295 Ma. They were progressively deformed during retrograde
extensional shearing, with a final magmatic activity, between 295 ± 1 and 277 ± 1 Ma, when shallower dykes were
emplaced in a transtensional regime. The section is completed by an upper crustal portion, mainly formed by a
Palaeozoic sedimentary succession deformed as a low-grade fold and thrust belt, and locally overlaying mediumgrade
paragneiss units. As a whole, these features are reminiscent of the nappe zone domains of the Sardinia Variscan
Orogen. In Corsica, besides the well-known effusive and intrusive Permian magmatism of the âAutochthonousâ
domain, the Alpine Santa Lucia Nappe exposes a kilometer-scale portion of the Permian lower to mid-crust, exhibiting
many similarities to the Ivrea Zone. The distinct Mafic and Granitic complexes characterizing this crustal domain
are juxtaposed through an oblique-slip shear zone named Santa Lucia Shear Zone. Structural and petrological data
witness the interaction between magmatism, metamorphism and retrograde shearing during Permian, in a temperature
range of c. 800â400 °C. We frame the outlined paleotectonic domains within a regional-scale, strainâpartitioned,
tectonic setting controlled by a first-order transcurrent/transtensional fault network that includes a westernmost fault
(Santa Lucia Fault) and an easternmost one (East Tuscan Fault), with intervening crustal domains affected by extensional
to transtensional deformation. As a whole, our revision allows new suggestions for a better understanding of
the tectonic framework and evolution of the Central Mediterranean during the late Palaeozoic
Search for an exosphere in sodium and calcium in the transmission spectrum of exoplanet 55 Cancri e
[Abridged] The aim of this work is to search for an absorption signal from
exospheric sodium (Na) and singly ionized calcium (Ca) in the optical
transmission spectrum of the hot rocky super-Earth 55 Cancri e. Although the
current best-fitting models to the planet mass and radius require a possible
atmospheric component, uncertainties in the radius exist, making it possible
that 55 Cancri e could be a hot rocky planet without an atmosphere. High
resolution (R110000) time-series spectra of five transits of 55 Cancri e,
obtained with three different telescopes (UVES/VLT, HARPS/ESO 3.6m &
HARPS-N/TNG) were analysed. Targeting the sodium D lines and the calcium H and
K lines, the potential planet exospheric signal was filtered out from the much
stronger stellar and telluric signals, making use of the change of the radial
component of the orbital velocity of the planet over the transit from -57 to
+57 km/sec. Combining all five transit data sets, we detect a signal
potentially associated with sodium in the planet exosphere at a statistical
significance level of 3. Combining the four HARPS transits that cover
the calcium H and K lines, we also find a potential signal from ionized calcium
(4.1 ). Interestingly, this latter signal originates from just one of
the transit measurements - with a 4.9 detection at this epoch.
Unfortunately, due to the low significance of the measured sodium signal and
the potentially variable Ca signal, we estimate the p-values of these
signals to be too high (corresponding to <4) to claim unambiguous
exospheric detections. By comparing the observed signals with artificial
signals injected early in the analysis, the absorption by Na and Ca are
estimated to be at a level of approximately 2.3 and 7.0 respectively, relative to the stellar spectrum.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, submission updated after English language
editing, submission updated to correct a mistaken cross-reference noticed in
A&A proo
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