SONoMA: A Service Oriented Network Measurement Architecture

Distributed network measurements are essential to characterize the structure, dynamics and operational state of the Internet. Although in the last decades several such systems have been created, the easy access of these infrastructures and the orchestration of complex measurements are not solved. We propose a system architecture that combines the flexibility of mature network measurement facilities such as PlanetLab or ETOMIC with the general accessibility and popularity of public services like Web based bandwidth measurement or traceroute servers. To realize these requirements we developed a network measurement platform, called SONoMA, based on Web Services and the basic principles of SOA, which is a well established paradigm in distributed business application development. Our approach opens the door to perform atomic and complex network measurements in real time, handles heterogeneous measurement devices, automatically stores the results in a public database and protects against malicious users as well. Furthermore, SONoMA is not only a tool for network researchers but it opens the door to developing novel applications and services requiring real-time and large scale network measurements

Application of synthetic solid culture medium to improve the detection of antimicrobial drug residues in foodstuffs

A selective synthetic solid minimal medium (BS agar) was developed to detect antimicrobial drug-residues in foodstuffs using Bacillus subtilis indicator culture. This medium contains an ammonium salt as nitrogen source and either glucose or sodium pyruvate as carbon sources.Its selectivity is based on the fact that Bacillus subtilis is still able to grow if the minimal medium consists of simple inorganic substances as nitrogen sources, and glucose or pyruvate as carbon supply. Using these new synthetic media for microbiological assays assessing certain antimicrobials, the diameter of the inhibition zones were 1.4–4 times wider than on the Mueller-Hinton agar.The advantages of the BS agars are their standard compositions, the absence of inhibitors, the reproducible quality and the low costs

Study of the soil—plant (carrot)—animal cycle of nutritive and hazardous minerals in a rabbit model

Carrots were grown on soils polluted by heavy metal salts. Each particular microelement reached a high concentration [molybdenum (Mo) 39.00, cadmium (Cd) 2.30, lead (Pb) 4.01, mercury (Hg) 30.00, and selenium (Se) 36.20 mg/kg dry matter] in the carrot. In a metabolic balance trial conducted with 15 male and 15 female New Zealand White rabbits, the control animals (n = 5) were fed ad libitum with concentrate as basal diet, while the other rabbits received the basal diet and carrots containing the particular microelement. Blood samples were taken to determine the activity of serum enzymes. To investigate the metabolism of Mo, Cd, Pb, Hg and Se, samples were taken from the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen, ovaries/testicles, entire digestive tract, adipose tissue, femur, hair, faeces and urine. Carrot had significantly higher digestibility for all nutrients than the rabbit concentrate. Carrot samples of high Pb content had the lowest digestibility of crude protein. The microelements differed in their rate of accumulation in the organs examined: Mo and Cd accumulated in the kidneys, Pb in the kidneys, liver, bones and lungs, Hg in the kidneys and liver, while Se in the liver, kidneys and heart. The proportions of microelements eliminated from the body either via the faeces and urine (Mo 80.18% and Se 47.41%) or via the faeces (Cd 37.86%, Pb 66.39%, Hg 64.65%) were determined. Pathohistological examination revealed that the rate of spermatogenesis was reduced in the Mo, Cd, Pb and Hg groups compared to the control. Lead, Cd and Hg intake resulted in a considerable decrease in gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and in an increase of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity because of damages to the kidneys and bones. All experimental treatments decreased the activity of cholinesterase (CHE) because of lesions in the liver

Study of the energy and protein balance of pregnant rabbit does using two comparative methods

The total body composition of 4×10 female, 5-month-old New Zealand White rabbits was determined, using direct chemical analysis and computerised tomography (CT). Ten non-pregnant rabbits (control) and 3 × 10 pregnant rabbits at days 14, 21 and 28 of gestation, respectively, were included in the study. With the advancement of pregnancy, the body weight (BW) of does significantly (P < 0.05) increased (control: 3255 g, day 28: 3938 g), while the dry matter, DM (control: 43.02%, day 28: 40.94%), ether extract, EE (control: 20.15%, day 28: 18.13%), crude protein, CP (control: 20.15%, day 28: 18.13%), and energy concentration decreased (control: 12.41 MJ/kg BW, day 28: 11.81 MJ/kg BW). During pregnancy the protein content of uteri (control: 12.24%, day 28: 49.45% of DM) and the retained energy in the form of uterus with fetuses (day 14: 0.824 MJ, day 28: 2.189 MJ) increased, while the dry matter (control: 82.39%, day 28: 28.96%) and ether extract content (control: 86.05%, day 28: 45.92% of DM) of uteri decreased. With the advancement of pregnancy the dry matter (day 14: 39.70%, day 28: 18.65%) and crude protein (day 14: 75.74%; day 28: 63.63% of DM) content and the number of fetuses (day 14: 8.8; day 28: 6.4) decreased, while their fat concentration (day 14: 10.13%, day 28: 24.34% of DM) increased. According to the equations created from the CT pictures, body fat (R2 = 0.871) and energy (R2 = 0.926) content can be predicted with high accuracy. The accuracy of predicting body protein content is much lower (R2 = 0.356), which can be improved by introducing the body weight as a new dependent variable (R2 = 0.797). It can also be concluded that, in contrast to other animal species, rabbit fetuses show considerable development not only in the last trimester of gestation but already from the second half of pregnancy