Object Distribution Networks for World-wide Document Circulation

This paper presents an Object Distribution System (ODS), a distributed system inspired by the ultra-large scale distribution models used in everyday life (e.g. food or newspapers distribution chains). Beyond traditional mechanisms of approaching information to readers (e.g. caching and mirroring), this system enables the publication, classification and subscription to volumes of objects (e.g. documents, events). Authors submit their contents to publication agents. Classification authorities provide classification schemes to classify objects. Readers subscribe to topics or authors, and retrieve contents from their local delivery agent (like a kiosk or library, with local copies of objects). Object distribution is an independent process where objects circulate asynchronously among distribution agents. ODS is designed to perform specially well in an increasingly populated, widespread and complex Internet jungle, using weak consistency replication by object distribution, asynchronous replication, and local access to objects by clients. ODS is based on two independent virtual networks, one dedicated to the distribution (replication) of objects and the other to calculate optimised distribution chains to be applied by the first network

Natural interaction in Virtual Environments for Cultural Heritage: Giotto in 3D and Etruscanning study cases

[EN] A basic limit of most of VR applications created by the scientific community and reproducing cultural sites or artefacts is that they do not fire up the attention of public, in comparison with the great potentialities of VR system for cultural transmission: they are often lacking in emotional storytelling and difficult to manage. An important factor is the need of more natural and simple interfaces, especially for applications hosted inside museums. Starting from our experience in this domain, we propose new metaphors of narration and paradigm of interaction based on natural interfaces (body movements), presenting three study cases: “The Rule confirmation: virtual experience among Giotto's characters”, “Etruscanning3D”, “Virtual Exploration of the ancient Pharmacy of S. Maria della Scaletta Hospital at Imola”.[ES] Un límite básico de la mayoría de las aplicaciones de realidad virtual creadas por la comunidad científica que reproducen sitios culturales o artefactos es que no logran activar la atención del público, en contraposición y contraste con las grandes potencialidades que ofrecen los sistemas de RV para la transmisión cultural. A menudo estas aplicaciones carecen de una narración emocional y son difíciles de manejar. Un factor importante a tener en cuenta es la necesidad de generar interfaces más naturales y sencillos, especialmente para las aplicaciones alojadas en el interior de los museos. A partir de nuestra experiencia en este campo, se proponen nuevas metáforas de narración y paradigmas de interacción basados en interfaces naturales (movimientos corporales). Para ello se presentan tres casos de estudio:“La confirmación de la regla: experiencia virtual entre los personajes de Giotto”, “Etruscanning3D”, y “Exploración Virtual de la antigua Farmacia del hospital de S. Maria della ScaletPietroni, E.; Rufa, C. (2012). Natural interaction in Virtual Environments for Cultural Heritage: Giotto in 3D and Etruscanning study cases. Virtual Archaeology Review. 3(7):86-91. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2012.4394OJS869137ALISI T., DEL BIMBO A., VALLI A. (2005): "Natural interfaces to enhance visitors' experiences", IEE Multimedia, vol. 12, nº 3.ANTINUCCI, F. (2004): Comunicare il museo, Laterza, Roma.ANNUNZIATO, M., BONINI, E., PIERUCCI, P., PIETRONI, E. (2008): "Cultural mirrors: an epistemological approach to artificial life for cultural heritage communication", in Digital Media and its Applications in Cultural Heritage, edited by Jamal Al-Qawasmi, Michele A. Chiuni, sabry El-Hakim, pp. 219- 135.BASILE, G. (Ed.) (2010): I colori di Giotto. La Basilica di Assisi: restauro e restituzione virtuale, Silvana Editore, Milano.BATESON, G. (1972): Steps to Ecology of Mind, San Francisco: Chandler Press.BATESON, G. (1979): Mind and Nature: a necessary unit, New York: Dutton.CANTONI, V., CELLARIO, M., PORTA, M. (2004): "Perspectives and challenges in e-learning: towards natural interaction paradigms", in Journal of Visual Languages & Computing, Volume 15, Issue 5, pp. 333- 345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvlc.2003.10.002CASTELLANO, G., BRESIN, R., CAMURRI, A., VOLPE, G. (2007): "Expressive control of music and visual media by full-body movement", in Proceedings of the Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME07), New York, NY, USA http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1279740.1279829CASTELLANO, G., VILLALBA, S.D., CAMURRI, A. (2007): "Recognising Human Emotions from Body Movement and Gesture Dynamcs", in Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction, Lisbon September.FORTE, M., PIETRONI, E., RUFA, C. (2002): "Musealising the Virtual: The Virtual Reality Project of the Scrovegni Chapel of Padua, in VSMM Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia-"Creative and Digital Culture", pp 43-52.FORTE, M. (ed.) (2008): La Villa di Livia, un percorso di ricerca di archeologia virtuale, ed. Erma di Bretschneider, Roma.HUPPERETZ, W., PIETRONI, E., PLETINCKX, D., SANNIBALE, M. (2011): "The Regolini Galassi Tomb revisited. 3D reconstruction as a research instrument", in Etruscans, eminet women and powerful men, edited by Patricia S. Lulof, Iefke van Kampen, ed. W Books, pp. 172-176.MELLET-D'HUART, D. (2006): "A Model of (En)Action to approach Embodiment: A Cornerstone for the Design of Virtual Environments for Learning", in WIN W. & HEDLEY N., Eds. Journal of Virtual reality, special issue on education. Springer London. Volume 10, Numbers 3-4 / December, 2006, pp. 253-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10055-006-0038-2PIETRONI, E., ANTINUCCI, F. (2010): " The Approval of the Franciscan Rule". Virtual Experience among the Characters of Giotto's Work", in Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage VAST (2010), edited by A. Artusi, M. Joly- Parvex,G. Lucet, A. Ribes, and D. Pitzalis.RYAN, M.L. (2001): "Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity" in Literature and Electronic Media, Baltimore and London, Johns Hopkins University press, HB, pp. 399.VARELA, F., THOMPSON, E. - ROSCH, E. (1991): "The Embodied Mind. Cognitive Science and Human Experience", MIT Press, Cambridge. Natural Interaction, article on Museum practise: http://naturalinteraction.org/index.php entry=entry070224- 123657VARELA, F. (1990): "Il corpo come macchina ontologica", in M. Ceruti, L. Preta, pp. 45-54

Diversity in Argumentation Theory

There is still a high degree of expectation that argumentation should be understood from the perspective of the logical mode of reasoning with little attention to intuitions, emotions and physicality. Our proposal intends to develop a comprehensive understanding of argumentation from the perspective of Michael Gilbert’s Theory of Multi-Modal Argumentation. This approach allows the introduction of diversity in Argumentation Theory, investigating in depth the relations between logic, intuitions, emotions and physicality in cases of argumentation

Molecular architecture of human polycomb repressive complex 2.

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is essential for gene silencing, establishing transcriptional repression of specific genes by tri-methylating Lysine 27 of histone H3, a process mediated by cofactors such as AEBP2. In spite of its biological importance, little is known about PRC2 architecture and subunit organization. Here, we present the first three-dimensional electron microscopy structure of the human PRC2 complex bound to its cofactor AEBP2. Using a novel internal protein tagging-method, in combination with isotopic chemical cross-linking and mass spectrometry, we have localized all the PRC2 subunits and their functional domains and generated a detailed map of interactions. The position and stabilization effect of AEBP2 suggests an allosteric role of this cofactor in regulating gene silencing. Regions in PRC2 that interact with modified histone tails are localized near the methyltransferase site, suggesting a molecular mechanism for the chromatin-based regulation of PRC2 activity.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00005.001

Young children spontaneously invent wild great apes’ tool-use behaviors

The variety and complexity of human-made tools are unique in the animal kingdom. Research investigating why human tool use is special has focused on the role of social learning: while non-human great apes acquire tool-use behaviours mostly by individual (re-)inventions, modern humans use imitation and teaching to accumulate innovations over time. However, little is known about tool-use behaviours that humans can invent individually, i.e. without cultural knowledge. We presented 2- to 3.5-year-old children with 12 problem-solving tasks based on tool-use behaviours shown by great apes. Spontaneous tool use was observed in 11 tasks. Additionally, tasks which occurred more frequently in wild great apes were also solved more frequently by human children. Our results demonstrate great similarity in the spontaneous tool-use abilities of human children and great apes, indicating that the physical cognition underlying tool use shows large overlaps across the great ape species. This suggests that humans are neither born with special physical cognition skills, nor that these skills have degraded due to our species’ long reliance of social learning in the tool-use domain

Influencia del origen del agregado fino reciclado sobre las propiedades de morteros

El reciclaje de residuos es una de las temáticas más abordadas en la actualidad, debido a una creciente concientización sobre el cuidado del ambiente. En particular, se han llevado a cabo diversas investigaciones a fin de reutilizar los residuos de hormigón como reemplazo de los agregados naturales en la elaboración de nuevos hormigones, concluyendo en general que, dicha utilización es factible, proveyendo una alternativa satisfactoria, económica y mas armónica con el medio ambiente frente a la utilización de materias primas no renovables. En este trabajo se estudian algunas características en estado fresco y endurecido de morteros elaborados con distintos porcentajes de agregado fino reciclado (AFR) proveniente de la trituración de hormigones de diversos orígenes, los cuales son comparados con morteros de similares características elaborados con arena de trituración granítica. De los resultados obtenidos surge que los morteros con AFR poseen mayor consistencia y absorción y menor densidad que los elaborados con arena natural de trituración, evidenciándose una merma de resistencia ante la falta de control durante la generación del AFR, especialmente para morteros con bajos niveles resistentes

Hormigones reciclados: una alternativa para el desarrollo sustentable

La presencia de infraestructuras ha sido un indicador de la calidad de vida de cualquier sociedad moderna, aunque en raras ocasiones se ha tenido en cuenta el impacto generado. Por otra parte, las estructuras y elementos desechados por algunas civilizaciones han sido aprovechados por civilizaciones venideras para la construcción de nuevas estructuras. En el caso de la industria de la construcción, esta siempre ha sido considerada como generadora de gran cantidad de residuos, al mismo tiempo que posee una larga tradición en su reutilización, tanto de desperdicios propios como de otras industrias. La escasez de recursos naturales, las necesidades crecientes de materia prima y fundamentalmente la preservación del medio ambiente ha llevado a la búsqueda de nuevas opciones para el reciclado de materiales en el campo de la Ingeniería Civil; una de las que presenta mayores expectativas de desarrollo es la relacionada con la reutilización de los hormigones de desecho como agregados reciclados en la producción de nuevos hormigones. La línea de investigación que se lleva adelante en el LEMIT, desde hace casi veinte años, vinculada a la temática de los hormigones reciclados, busca incrementar los conocimientos sobre el desempeño mecánico y fundamentalmente durable de este nuevo material, con fin de lograr el mayor porcentaje de utilización del residuo sin desmerecer la calidad del hormigón reciclado, contribuyendo de este modo al desarrollo sustentable del hormigón.Trabajo presentado por el Laboratorio de Entrenamiento Multidisciplinario para la Investigación Tecnológica (LEMIT

Morteros elaborados con agregado fino reciclado con diferentes condiciones de humedad

La escasez de arenas naturales aptas para la elaboración de hormigones es una problemática que se presenta habitualmente en la provincia de Buenos Aires poniendo de manifiesto la necesidad de utilizar arenas de trituración. Como agravante a esta situación, en dicha provincia rige la Ley 14126 que prohíbe la apertura de nuevas canteras y establece el cese de explotación de las existentes en el partido de Tandil. Frente a estos hechos, la utilización de agregados reciclados provenientes de la trituración de hormigones que culminaron su vida en servicio se presenta como una alternativa sustentable y económica. Los agregados reciclados presentan como característica distintiva, frente a los agregados naturales, que pueden estar constituidos por agregado natural y mortero en proporciones variables. Como consecuencia de este hecho, poseen mayor absorción y menor densidad, siendo su textura superficial más porosa. En este trabajo se estudia en estado fresco fluidez, evaluada al finalizar el mezclado y a los 20 minutos de culminado el mismo y aire ocluido en estado endurecido densidad, absorción de agua y resistencia a compresión, de morteros de diferentes relaciones agua/cemento (0,40, 0,50 y 0,60) elaborados con distintos porcentajes (20 y 40% en volumen) de agregado fino reciclado (AFR) proveniente de la trituración de hormigones de desecho. El AFR fue empleado en dos condiciones de humedad. Los resultados obtenidos en los morteros con AFR son comparados con los determinados en morteros elaborados con arena de trituración granítica (AG) en idénticos porcentajes. De los resultados obtenidos surge que los morteros elaborados con AFR poseen mayor consistencia y absorción y menor densidad, presentando similares niveles resistentes, independientemente del contenido de humedad del AFR.The scarcity of natural sands, suitable for the production of concrete, is a usual problem in the Buenos Aires province, highlighting the need for use of crushing sand. Exacerbating this situation, the provincial law 14126 prohibits the opening of new quarries and establishes the cessation of operation for those existing in the zone of Tandil. In these circumstances, the use of recycled aggregates from crushing concretes which completed their service life is presented as a sustainable economic alternative. Recycled aggregates have as a distinctive feature compared to natural aggregates, the possibility of being constituted by natural aggregate and mortar in varying proportions. As a consequence, they have higher absorption and lower density, and its surface texture is more porous. In this work fluidity is studied in fresh state, evaluated at the end of mixing and 20 minutes after mixing completion, and entrained air, and in hardened state density, water absorption and compressive strength of mortars of different water / cement ratios (0.40 0.50 and 0.60) prepared with different percentages (20 and 40% by volume) of recycled fine aggregates (RFA) from the waste concrete crushing. The RFA was applied under two different moisture conditions. The results obtained in mortars with RFA are compared with those determined in mortars made with granitic sand grinding (GSG) in identical percentages. From the results obtained it is possible to conclude that the mortars made with RFA possess more consistency and absorption and lower density, presenting similar resistant levels, independently of the moisture content of the RFA

Identificazione dei siti di studio e organizzazione del sistema GIS/database. Stato di avanzamento attività 3.2

Nel presente rapporto viene presentato lo stato di avanzamento dell'attività 3.2 ad un anno dall'inizio del progetto. Detta attività consiste nella realizzazione di un sistema informativo per ciascuno dei siti selezionati comprensivo di mappe, archivi, dati, etc. da utilizzare successivamente per le simulazioni. In questo contesto il lavoro è consistito nell'acquisizione, gestione e analisi di dati eterogenei provenienti da diverse fonti informative. Tali dati sono costituiti da rilievi in campo e/o in laboratorio, cartografia esistente e simulazioni eseguite con i modelli numerici di calcolo che in alcuni casi sono di tipo dinamico, cioè variabili nel tempo. Mediante l'uso di software GIS commerciali, i dati sono stati organizzati e convertiti in formati consistenti fra loro, e in seguito inseriti e elaborati all'interno del GIS stesso, in modo da arrivare ad un sistema dinamico per la gestione, l'analisi e la rappresentazione dei vari tipi di dati (alfanumerici, tabelle, raster, vettoriali; dati statici e dinamici; etc.). Operazioni di georeferenziazione e correzione in molti casi sono state particolarmente impegnative a causa della scarsa qualità dei dati stessi. Entrando in maggiore dettaglio sull`attività svolta durante il primo anno, si è fatto un primo “screening” su una serie di siti in Sardegna e non. Questi siti presentano problemi di inquinamento di una certa rilevanza e ad una prima analisi si sono dimostrati dei validi candidati per uno studio maggiormente approfondito. I siti considerati per lo studio preliminare vengono elencati qui di seguito: Ringe, Capoterra, Portoscuso, Muravera, Oristano. Viene data una descrizione di massima dei siti in studio e dei problemi di inquinamento a cui sono soggetti. Infine, sulla base di una serie di considerazioni viene descritta la scelta dei due siti su cui si focalizzerà il progetto