FIRMS’INVOLVEMENT IN OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS: A CONTROVERSIAL ROLE

In this paper, we focus on Community OS projects with the goal of understanding whether the involvement of firms through their professional developers has an impact on the quality of the software product and on its overall success. We distinguish between two main typologies of firms’ involvement: Development firms contributions and Non-development firms contributions. The paper posits that a higher percentage of code contributed by paid developers has a positive impact of project success and size. However, it also puts forward a negative impact of non-development firms contribution on software design quality. Hypotheses are tested on a sample of 643 applications from the SourceForge.net repository, corresponding to 5,335 versions. Data were collected by means of an online questionnaire and a tool developed ad hoc to calculate software design quality metrics. Empirical findings support our hypotheses. Overall, our data confirm that firms are significantly investing in OS projects and that they can play a crucial role in determining projects’ success when they also take active part in code development. However, most of them are taking a short-term perspective that does not focus on quality. This may lead to higher costs and a lower user satisfaction in the long term

The onset of an eruption: selective assimilation of hydrothermal minerals during pre-eruptive magma ascent of the 2010 summit eruption of Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland

The complex processes occurring in the initial phases of an eruption are often recorded in the products of its opening stage, which are usually characterized by small volume and limited dispersal, and thus generally poorly studied. The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) represents a unique opportunity for these investigations thanks to the good preservation of tephra deposits within the ice/snow pack. A detailed geochemical investiga- tion on the glassy groundmass of single ash clasts disclosed a population of fragments with unusual high 87Sr/86Sr (up to 0.70668) for Icelandic magmatism, and anomalous elemental composition with respect to most of the ju- venile material of the eruption. This suggests that during its rise, before intruding into the ice cover, magma at a dyke tip selectively assimilated hydrothermal minerals with seawater-related, high-Sr isotopic ratios (zeolites, silica phases, anhydrite) hosted in altered volcanic/epiclastic rocks. According to the observed precursory seismic- ity, only restricted to few hours before the onset of the eruption, this process could have accompanied subcritical aseismic fracture opening during the days before the eruption, possibly related to stress corrosion-cracking pro- cesses, which enhanced the partial dissolution/melting and subsequent selective assimilation of the host rocks

The Impact of Specific Viruses on Clinical Outcome in Children Presenting with Acute Heart Failure

Abstract: The presence and type of viral genomes have been suggested as the main etiology for inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy. Information on the clinical implication of this finding in a large population of children is lacking. We evaluated the prevalence, type, and clinical impact of specific viral genomes in endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) collected between 2001 and 2013 among 63 children admitted to our hospital for acute heart failure (median age 2.8 years). Viral genome was searched by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Patients underwent a complete two-dimensional echocardiographic examination at hospital admission and at discharge and were followed-up for 10 years. Twenty-seven adverse events (7 deaths and 20 cardiac transplantations) occurred during the follow-up. Viral genome was amplified in 19/63 biopsies (35%); PVB19 was the most commonly isolated virus. Presence of specific viral genome was associated with a significant recovery in ejection fraction, compared to patients without viral evidence (p < 0.05). In Cox-regression analysis, higher survival rate was related to virus-positive biopsies (p < 0.05). When comparing long-term prognosis among different viral groups, a trend towards better prognosis was observed in the presence of isolated Parvovirus B19 (PVB19) (p = 0.07). In our series, presence of a virus-positive EMB (mainly PVB19) was associated with improvement over time in cardiac function and better long-term prognosis

New Onset Cardiac Murmur and Exertional Dyspnea in an Apparently Healthy Child: A Rare Localization of Obstructive Myxoma in the Right Ventricle Outflow Tract without Pulmonary Embolization-A Case Report and Literature Review

Myxomas are slowly growing benign neoplasms which are rare in children. Up to 80% can be located in the left atrium and generate symptoms such as embolism, cardiac failure, fever and weight loss. Rarely, myxomas can be detected in the right ventricle outflow tract, causing arrhythmias, pulmonary emboli and sudden death. We report the case of a 13-year-old healthy child brought to the Emergency Department (ED) of the Children's Hospital Bambino Gesu, Rome, for recent dyspnea, chest pain on exertion and new onset cardiac murmur. Patient underwent medical examination and echocardiogram with the finding of a rounded and lobulated voluminous mass in the right ventricle outflow tract (RVOT) which caused severe obstruction. The contrast computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the presence of a heterogeneously enhancing soft-tissue mass occupying the RVOT with no evidence of pulmonary embolization. The mass was surgically excised, and the pathologic examination confirmed our suspicion of myxoma. Our experience suggests that myxoma can have mild clinical symptoms, the presentation may be non-specific, and diagnosis can be a challenge Careful examination and a diagnostic imaging workup, primarily with the transthoracic echocardiogram, are needful to make a rapid differential diagnosis and to better manage surgical treatment and follow-up

Mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic characteristics of the ejecta from the 5 April 2003 paroxysm at Stromboli, Itlay: Inferences on the Preeruptive Magma Dynamics

The 5 April 2003 explosive eruption at Stromboli emplaced typical basaltic scoria, pumice, and lithic blocks. This paper reports a detailed set of mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data on the juvenile ejecta and fresh subvolcanic blocks, including micro-Sr isotope analyses and major and dissolved volatile element contents in olivine-hosted melt inclusions. The juvenile ejecta have compositions similar to those of their analogs from previous paroxysms; the 2003 pumice, however, does not contain stable high-MgO olivine, usually typical of large-scale paroxysms and has lower compatible element contents. Texture, composition, and Sr isotope disequilibrium of crystals in pumice indicate that most of them are inherited from the shallow crystal-rich magma and/or crystal mush. The most primitive magma is recorded as rare melt inclusion in olivine Fo85–86. It has a typical S/Cl (1.1) and a total volatile content of 3.1 wt % from which the total fluid pressure was evaluated ≥240 MPa. Hence, moderate pressure conditions can be envisaged for the mechanism triggering the April 2003 paroxysm. The subvolcanic blocks are shoshonitic basalts with 45–50 vol % of phenocrysts (plagioclase + clinopyroxene + olivine). The late-stage crystallization of the crystal-rich magma lead to the formation of Na-sanidine with plagioclase An60–25 + olivine Fo68–49 + Timagnetite ± apatite ± phlogopite ± ilmenite assemblage. Mineralogy, chemistry, and Sr–Nd isotopic signatures of the subvolcanic blocks indicate they represent the slowly cooled equivalents of batches of crystal-rich basaltic magma stored in the uppermost subvolcanic feeding system. Cooling might be facilitated by short breaks in the summit crater activity

Novel large-range mitochondrial dna deletions and fatal multisystemic disorder with prominent hepatopathy

Hepatic involvement in mitochondrial cytopathies rarely manifests in adulthood, but is a common feature in children. Multiple OXPHOS enzyme defects in children with liver involvement are often associated with dramatically reduced amounts of mtDNA. We investigated two novel large scale deletions in two infants with a multisystem disorder and prominent hepatopathy. Amount of mtDNA deletions and protein content were measured in different post-mortem tissues. The highest levels of deleted mtDNA were in liver, kidney, pancreas of both patients. Moreover, mtDNA deletions were detected in cultured skin fibroblasts in both patients and in blood of one during life. Biochemical analysis showed impairment of mainly complex I enzyme activity. Patients manifesting multisystem disorders in childhood may harbour rare mtDNA deletions in multiple tissues. For these patients, less invasive blood specimens or cultured fibroblasts can be used for molecular diagnosis. Our data further expand the array of deletions in the mitochondrial genomes in association with liver failure. Thus analysis of mtDNA should be considered in the diagnosis of childhood-onset hepatopathies