1,228 research outputs found
Name-passing calculi and crypto-primitives: A survey
The paper surveys the literature on high-level name-passing process calculi, and their extensions with cryptographic primitives. The survey is by no means exhaustive, for essentially two reasons. First, in trying to provide a coherent presentation of different ideas and techniques, one inevitably ends up leaving out the approaches that do not fit the intended roadmap. Secondly, the literature on the subject has been growing at very high rate over the years. As a consequence, we decided to concentrate on few papers that introduce the main ideas, in the hope that discussing them in some detail will provide sufficient insight for further reading
Static and dynamic semantics of NoSQL languages
We present a calculus for processing semistructured data that spans
differences of application area among several novel query languages, broadly
categorized as "NoSQL". This calculus lets users define their own operators,
capturing a wider range of data processing capabilities, whilst providing a
typing precision so far typical only of primitive hard-coded operators. The
type inference algorithm is based on semantic type checking, resulting in type
information that is both precise, and flexible enough to handle structured and
semistructured data. We illustrate the use of this calculus by encoding a large
fragment of Jaql, including operations and iterators over JSON, embedded SQL
expressions, and co-grouping, and show how the encoding directly yields a
typing discipline for Jaql as it is, namely without the addition of any type
definition or type annotation in the code
Light scattering from a rough metal surface: theory and experiment
There is still great interest in the determination of microtopographic properties of rough metallic surfaces from light scattering measurements. According to Beckmann–Kirchhoff theory a clear relationship is established between the in-plane angular scattered light intensity and the statistical properties of the surface. We discuss one way to invert this relationship, and we introduce a new iterative procedure to retrieve the height autocorrelation function even for a very rough metallic surface (rms surface roughness of the same order of the optical wavelength). The procedure is eventually applied to the experimental data of a known metallic surface for validation
Stem cell senescence: effects of REAC technology on telomerase-independent and telomerase-dependent pathways
Decline in the gene expression of senescence repressor Bmi1, and telomerase, together with telomere
shortening, underlay senescence of stem cells cultured for multiple passages. Here, we investigated whether
the impairment of senescence preventing mechanisms can be efficiently counteracted by exposure of human
adipose-derived stem cells to radio electric asymmetrically conveyed fields by an innovative technology,
named Radio Electric Asymmetric Conveyer (REAC). Due to REAC exposure, the number of stem cells
positively stained for senescence associated ß-galactosidase was significantly reduced along multiple
culturing passages. After a 90-day culture, REAC-treated cells exhibited significantly higher transcription of
Bmi1 and enhanced expression of other stem cell pluripotency genes and related proteins, compared to
unexposed cells. Transcription of the catalytic telomerase subunit (TERT) was also increased in
REAC-treated cells at all passages. Moreover, while telomere shortening occurred at early passages in both
REAC-treated and untreated cells, a significant rescue of telomere length could be observed at late passages
only in REAC-exposed cells. Thus, REAC-asymmetrically conveyed radio electric fields acted on a gene and
protein expression program of both telomerase-independent and telomerase-dependent patterning to
optimize stem cell ability to cope with senescence progression
Search for Neutron Flux Generation in a Plasma Discharge Electrolytic Cell
Following some recent unexpected hints of neutron production in setups like
high-voltage atmospheric discharges and plasma discharges in electrolytic
cells, we present a measurement of the neutron flux in a configuration similar
to the latter. We use two different types of neutron detectors,
poly-allyl-diglicol-carbonate (PADC, aka CR-39) tracers and Indium disks. At
95% C.L. we provide an upper limit of 1.5 neutrons cm^-2 s^-1 for the thermal
neutron flux at ~5 cm from the center of the cell. Allowing for a higher energy
neutron component the largest allowed flux is 64 neutrons cm^-2 s^-1. This
upper limit is two orders of magnitude smaller than what previously claimed in
an electrolytic cell plasma discharge experiment. Furthermore the behavior of
the CR-39 is discussed to point our possible sources of spurious signals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Electrocatalytic properties of Pd-based nano-structured material for application in fuel cells
Fuel cells, especially low temperature fuel cells, are clean-energy devices that have high potentiality for use in electric power production and non-polluting vehicles. Platinum is commonly used as electrocatalysts in fuel cell electrodes, because of its excellent electrocatalytic activity and chemical stability. But, because of its high cost and limited resources, its use represents a bottleneck for large-scale application and commercialization of fuel cells. Palladium could be a good substitute for Pt, because of its similar chemical and physical properties, lower cost and higher abundance. Main challenges concern the development of Pd-based materials with high catalytic activity and durability at a reduced cost (i.e. metal content). Crucial technological issue is the optimization of the active surface of the catalysts, by the control of the morphology, shape and dispersion of the metal particles. The talk will describe the main results of the research activity carried out during the second year of the Italia-USA Bilateral Project in ENEA, concerning the fabrication and characterization of different kinds of nanostructured Pd-based electrocatalysts, by using both electrochemical and vacuum thin film deposition techniques
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