Exploiting Rateless Codes in Cloud Storage Systems

devices (virtual disks) that can be directly accessed and used as if they were raw physical disks. In this paper we devise ENIGMA, an architecture for the back-end of BLCS systems able to provide adequate levels of access and transfer performance, availability, integrity, and confidentiality, for the data it stores. ENIGMA exploits LT rateless codes to store fragments of sectors on storage nodes organized in clusters. We quantitatively evaluate how the various ENIGMA system parameters affect the performance, availability, integrity, and confidentiality of virtual disks. These evaluations are carried out by using both analytical modeling (for availability, integrity, and confidentiality) and discrete event simulation (for performance), and by considering a set of realistic operational scenarios. Our results indicate that it is possible to simultaneously achieve all the objectives set forth for BLCS systems by using ENIGMA, and that a careful choice of the various system parameters is crucial to achieve a good compromise among them. Moreover, they also show that LT coding-based BLCS systems outperform traditional BLCS systems in all the aspects mentioned before

FATTORI PREDITTIVI DELLA DURATA NEI PROCEDIMENTI CIVILI

"Fattori predittivi della durata nei procedimenti civili" Introduzione In Italia la durata dei procedimenti civili \ue8 considerata gi\ue0 da lunghissimo tempo eccessivamente elevata, nonostante nel corso degli anni si siano susseguiti numerosi interventi legislativi, seppure non sempre organici, coerenti ed efficaci, diretti a ridurne l\u2019entit\ue0. Nonostante vi sia una tendenza generale a una significativa riduzione dei tempi, frutto del combinato effetto della diminuzione delle iscrizioni e dell\u2019incremento del numero dei processi conclusi, la durata resta comunque elevata rispetto a quanto prevede la Convenzione europea per la salvaguardia dei diritti dell'uomo e delle libert\ue0 fondamentali, che riconosce ad ogni persona il diritto a vedere la sua causa esaminata e decisa entro un lasso di tempo ragionevole. Nonostante l\u2019estrema e annosa gravit\ue0 in cui versa il sistema Giustizia, rari sono gli studi volti allo scopo di individuare i fattori determinanti della durata del processo. Scopo di questo studio \ue8 quello di determinare i fattori predittivi della eccessiva durata di un processo civile in secondo grado. Si utilizzeranno a tal fine le procedure statistiche e le modalit\ue0 di analisi impiegate, in modo efficace e da pi\uf9 lungo tempo, nella ricerca sanitaria in un tentativo di fertilizzazione, auspicabilmente reciproca, di settori di indagine ritenuti comunemente distanti tra loro. I dati analizzati nello studio Oggetto dello studio sono i procedimenti civili iscritti dall\u20191/01/2005 al 31/12/2013 presso la Corte d\u2019Appello di Milano, in totale 72.482 cause osservate alla data del 31/12/2014. Al 31/12/2014 era stato definito l\u201986,6% del totale dei procedimenti esaminati; il 49,6% riguarda procedimenti conclusi in pi\uf9 di 2 anni o \u2018pendenti al 31/12/2014\u2019 da pi\uf9 di 2 anni. Le variabili prese in considerazione nello studio sono: \u2022 l\u2019anno di iscrizione del processo, dal 2005 al 2013; \u2022 il grado del procedimento, primo o secondo; \u2022 il ruolo, corrispondente ai registri ufficiali utilizzati negli uffici giudiziari, che distingue le cause in procedimenti speciali sommari, contenzioso ordinario, lavoro e previdenza, agraria e volontaria giurisdizione; il ruolo \ue8 collegato alla materia e all\u2019oggetto specifico della causa che classifica nel dettaglio il contenuto dell\u2019azione giudiziale; \u2022 la data della prima udienza e il numero di udienze fissate, comprensive delle effettive udienze tenute, dei rinvii e delle anticipazioni; \u2022 il numero di parti e di legali del processo; \u2022 l\u2019evento e la modalit\ue0 di definizione; \u2022 l\u2019et\ue0 del giudice al momento della definizione del processo. La raccolta di tali dati ha richiesto una attivit\ue0 complessa; \ue8 stato necessario costruire ed eseguire diverse query di estrazioni sulle tabelle del sistema informativo utilizzato per la registrazione dei processi, al fine di individuare i diversi fattori di interesse e ricostruire la storia processuale di ciascuna causa, dalla sua iscrizione alla sua conclusione. Fattori determinanti della durata: l\u2019analisi della sopravvivenza \uc8 stato utilizzato il metodo di Kaplan-Meier \u2013 che stima la curva di sopravvivenza utilizzando le probabilit\ue0 condizionate di sopravvivenza \u2013 al fine di analizzare l\u2019associazione esistente tra le caratteristiche principali dei processi considerati. Per confrontare tra loro le curve di sopravvivenza e verificare se la differenza di \u201cmortalit\ue0\u201d (definizione) o di \u201csopravvivenza\u201d (pendenza) \ue8 statisticamente significativa sono stati utilizzati il Log-Rang test e il Wilcoxon test. Data l\u2019ampia numerosit\ue0 del campione analizzato, i confronti sono risultati statisticamente significativi. Le analisi condotte hanno posto in evidenza come la durata di un procedimento differisca in particolare per grado del giudizio, ruolo del procedimento, numero di udienze, carico di lavoro del magistrato, modalit\ue0 di definizione, numero di parti e di legali. Si riportano i risultati ottenuti per numero di udienze e carico di lavoro del magistrato. Analizzando le 46.051 cause concluse con al pi\uf9 2 udienze contro le 26.430 cause che hanno richiesto pi\uf9 di 2 udienze, le curve di sopravvivenza sono rappresentate nel seguente grafico. Distinguendo per carico medio del ruolo del magistrato (somma dei procedimenti pendenti all\u2019inizio dell\u2019anno e i sopravvenuti nell\u2019anno), emergono differenze soprattutto per i procedimenti definiti nei primi 2 anni di trattazione del processo; in particolare, si \ue8 osservato che la diversit\ue0 di carico differenzia da subito la diversa probabilit\ue0 di sopravvivenza e si riallinea attorno ai 780 gg di durata in cui la sopravvivenza si attesta a 0,5 per le tre curve che rappresentano i terzili di carichi di lavoro. Per procedimenti di maggiore durata il diverso carico di lavoro del giudice non determina rilevanti differenze nelle curve di sopravvivenza e ci\uf2 potrebbe essere spiegato dal fatto che la maggiore durata probabilmente dipende da ragioni diverse. Stratificando per ruolo, si nota l\u2019influenza del maggiore carico sulla durata, in particolare per il contenzioso in cui la curva dell\u2019ultimo terzile di carico \ue8 costantemente pi\uf9 elevata. Il rischio di maggiore durata dei procedimenti: la regressione logistica multivariata Individuati i possibili fattori di influenza della durata dei procedimenti, \ue8 stata applicata la regressione logistica multivariata al fine di valutare il peso di ciascuna covariata sulla durata. Sono stati analizzati separatamente i procedimenti contenziosi e i procedimenti in materia di lavoro e previdenza nei quali la durata \ue8 tendenzialmente pi\uf9 elevata. Conformemente a quanto previsto dalla legge Pinto sulla irragionevole durata del processo, sono stati distinti i procedimenti con durata superiore a 2 anni dagli altri (variabile categorica), considerando i primi come \u2018casi\u2019 e i procedimenti con durata sino a 2 anni i \u2018controlli\u2019. Sono stati esclusi dall\u2019analisi i procedimenti non ancora conclusi al 31/12/2014, non potendone determinare la durata e non conoscendo i valori definitivi di alcune delle covariate analizzate (come ad esempio il numero di udienze fissate o l\u2019et\ue0 del magistrato alla definizione). Sono stati, inoltre, esclusi i procedimenti iscritti dopo il 2011 per i quali la percentuale di processi ancora pendenti e che quindi potrebbero durare pi\uf9 di 2 anni \ue8 rilevante (ad esempio nel contenzioso tale dato \ue8 pari al 45% nel 2012 e al 53% nel 2013); l\u2019inclusione di tali processi avrebbe potuto inficiare la bont\ue0 delle analisi, in quanto per quegli anni sarebbe stato riscontrato un maggior numero di procedimenti conclusi entro i 2 anni, per il solo tempo ridotto di osservazione. Sono stati calcolati gli Odds Ratio (OR) con il corrispondente Intervallo di Confidenza (IC) al 95%, includendo i diversi \u201cfattori di rischio\u201d in parte diversi tra il ruolo contenzioso e il ruolo lavoro e previdenza. In particolare, per il ruolo contenzioso sono stati considerati i seguenti fattori: sesso, grado del procedimento (primo o secondo), et\ue0 del magistrato all\u2019emissione del provvedimento definitorio del processo ( 6450, 51- 6455, 56- 6460, 61- 6465, >65), carico di lavoro del magistrato, inteso come numero medio dei processi gestiti annualmente dal magistrato (2), numero di legali (sino a 3, >3), anno di iscrizione del procedimento (dal 2005 al 2011), modalit\ue0 di definizione (con o senza sentenza), mesi intercorrenti tra la data di iscrizione e la data della prima udienza (<3.5, 3.5-<4; 4; 5; 656). Si \ue8 osservato come nel contenzioso hanno maggiore probabilit\ue0 di durare pi\uf9 di 2 anni i processi di secondo grado, (OR=2.46; 95% IC 2.15-2.83), quelli con pi\uf9 di 2 udienze fissate nel corso della causa (OR=4.24; 95% IC 3.98-4.51), con pi\uf9 di 3 legali nominati dalle parti (OR=1.36; 95% IC 1.28-1.44) e quelli definiti con sentenza (OR=3.94; 95% IC 3.68-4.23). In conclusione, l\u2019analisi condotta consente di osservare come la durata di un processo sia influenzata sia da fattori non controllabili e spesso attinenti alla complessit\ue0 della causa (come il grado del procedimento, il numero di legali e quindi di parti, la modalit\ue0 di definizione) che da fattori sui quali si potrebbe intervenire, come il numero di udienze fissate o i tempi di fissazione della prima udienza nella materia del lavoro e della previdenza. L\u2019approccio logistico \ue8 risultato molto promettente: attingendo agli strumenti metodologici della epidemiologia, apparentemente molto distanti dal campo di indagine prescelto, esso fornisce informazioni inerenti l\u2019aumento del rischio di maggior durata per i fattori determinanti considerati. Considerando la natura \u201cpatologica\u201d e non fisiologica della durata dei processi in materia civile, probabilmente tale approccio risulta pi\uf9 appropriato rispetto alla materia di indagine e potr\ue0 essere utilizzato per ampliare lo studio sia al territorio che agli uffici di primo grado.Predictive factors of civil proceedings\u2019 length In Italy the duration of civil proceedings is considered unduly excessive. Although a general tendency to a significant reduction, the duration is still longer than what is stated by the European Convention on Human rights, which recognises that everyone has the right to see his cause examined and decided within a reasonable time. Despite, rare are the studies aimed to identify the determinants of the proceedings\u2019 duration. The aim of this study is to determine the predictive factors of excessive length of civil proceedings. The data analysed in the study are civil proceedings registered from 01/01/2005 to 31/12/2013 at the Court of Milan, a total of 72,482 cases observed at 31/12/2014. The variables considered in the study are: year of proceedings registration, from 2005 to 2013; jurisdiction (first instance or appeal); action; date of the first hearing and number of judicial hearings; number of parties and lawyers; resolution; age of the judge at the time of proceedings resolution. We used Kaplan-Meier analyses to estimate the probability of survival distribution in order to analyse the association between the main variables of the proceedings considered. Analysis have highlighted how different the proceedings\u2019 duration is according to jurisdiction, action, number of judicial hearings, workload of the judge, resolution, number of parties and lawyers. Odds Ratios (OR) for proceedings duration and the corresponding 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were derived using multiple logistic regression with the aim of estimating the risk of each covariate. The models included terms for year of proceedings registration, jurisdiction, action, date of the first hearing and number of judicial hearings, number of parties and lawyers, resolution, age of the judge at the time of proceedings resolution. In accordance with the law \u2018Pinto\u2019 on unreasonable duration of the proceedings, we distinguished proceedings lasting more than 2 years from the others (categorical variable), considering the former as 'cases' and proceedings with a duration up to 2 years as 'controls'. In particular, we considered the following factors: sex, jurisdiction, age of judge at the time of resolution ( 6450, 51- 6455, 56- 6460, 61- 6465,> 65), workload of the judge defined as the average number of proceedings managed annually by the judge ( 2), number of lawyers (up to 3,> 3), year of enrolment procedure (2005-2011), resolution, months between the date of registration and the first hearing (<3.5 , 3.5- <4; 4; 5; 656). It was noticed that contentious likely to last over two years for the appeal proceedings (OR = 2.46; 95% CI 2.15-2.83) are those with over two hearings fixed during the proceedings (OR = 4.24; 95% CI 3.98-4.51), with over three lawyers appointed by the parties (OR = 1:36; 95% CI 1:28 to 1:44) and those defined by judgement (OR = 3.94; 95% CI 3.68-4.23). In conclusion, the analysis conducted allows to observe that the duration of a proceeding is influenced both by uncontrollable factors often related to the complexity of the case (such as the jurisdiction, the number of lawyers and therefore of parties, the judgement) and by factors that could be influenced to reduce the duration, such as the number of judicial hearings or the time fixed for the hearing

Residual stress of as-deposited and rolled Wire + Arc Additive Manufacturing Ti–6Al–4V components

Wire + arc additive manufacturing components contain significant residual stresses, which manifest in distortion. High-pressure rolling was applied to each layer of a linear Ti–6Al–4V wire + arc additive manufacturing component in between deposition passes. In rolled specimens, out-of-plane distortion was more than halved; a change in the deposits' geometry due to plastic deformation was observed and process repeatability was increased. The Contour method of residual stresses measurements showed that although the specimens still exhibited tensile stresses (up to 500 MPa), their magnitude was reduced by 60%, particularly at the interface between deposit and substrate. The results were validated with neutron diffraction measurements, which were in good agreement away from the baseplate

A rapid review of time management strategies among nurse managers

Background: Time management practice is the act of influencing one's behavioural dimensions to complete as many tasks as possible within a specified amount of time. These behavioural dimensions include work organization and the continued application of time management techniques. Good time management, such as setting goals and priorities, as well as planning and delegating tasks, can facilitate productivity and success, contributing to work effectiveness, maintaining balance and job satisfaction. Conversely, poor time management has been associated with poor quality of work, low productivity, negative influence on the career path, and high levels of stress. Aim: The study aims to identify the strategies used by middle nurse managers in time management. Methods: A rapid review of biomedical databases was undertaken during the month of June 2021. The included studies were published in English and in Italian. Results: Findings reveal that the most used and effective time management strategies for nurse managers are setting goals, and priorities and delegating tasks. Other useful strategies also found to be fundamental are discussed in detail. Conclusion: A manager should prioritize the concept of planning, which can be counted as an efficient time management technique and educate himself on delegating. Time management has an impact not only on productivity and organizational success, but also on the balance between private and working life of managers

Wasting, stunting, and anemia in angolan children after deworming with albendazole or a test-and-treat approach for intestinal parasites: binary longitudinal models with temporal structure in a four-arm randomized trial

Undernutrition, anemia, and intestinal parasitic infections are public health problems in Angola, especially in pre-school children. We analyzed binary data from a longitudinal four-arm randomized parallel trial conducted in Bengo Province, northern Angola, over the course of two years, with seven follow-up assessments to explore the effects of four interventions (deworming and a test-and-treat approach for intestinal parasites, at both the individual and household levels) on wasting and stunting, and to understand their indirect benefits for anemia, malaria, diarrhea, and vomiting. A total of 121 children with intestinal parasitic infections received baseline treatment, and were allocated to the four arms (1:1:1:1). Using continuous outcome variables of height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-height (WHZ) statistical approaches did not reveal a clear benefit of any particular arm (Pathogens 2021, 10, 309). Next, HAZ and WHZ were transformed into binary variables of stunting and wasting, respectively, considering their mild-to-severe (Z-score bild, fitted models revealed the potential benefit of a test-and-treat approach at the individual level for wasting compared with annual albendazole at the individual level, especially considering mild-to-severe forms (ORadj = 0.27; p = 0.007). All arms showed similar effects on stunting, compared with annual albendazole, at a 5% significance level. Time and age at baseline presented favorable effects in the percentage of stunting using both severity degrees. Results showed a decreased chance of having anemia and diarrhea over time, although with no significant differences between arms. Data from longitudinal studies are essential to study the direct and indirect effects of interventions, such as deworming, and to explore additional approaches aiming at better understanding the temporal structure of nutrition and health outcomes in children.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mediterranean diet and risk of endometrial cancer: a pooled analysis of three italian case-control studies.

BACKGROUND: Some components of the Mediterranean diet have favourable effects on endometrial cancer, and the Mediterranean diet as a whole has been shown to have a beneficial role on various neoplasms. METHODS: We analysed this issue pooling data from three case-control studies carried out between 1983 and 2006 in various Italian areas and in the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Cases were 1411 women with incident, histologically confirmed endometrial cancer, and controls were 3668 patients in hospital for acute diseases. We measured the adherence to the Mediterranean diet using a Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), based on the nine dietary components characteristics of this diet, that is, high intake of vegetables, fruits/nuts, cereals, legumes, fish; low intake of dairy products and meat; high monounsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio; and moderate alcohol intake. We estimated the odds ratios (OR) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for increasing levels of the MDS (varying from 0, no adherence, to 9, maximum adherence) using multiple logistic regression models, adjusted for major confounding factors. RESULTS: The adjusted OR for a 6-9 components of the MDS (high adherence) compared with 0-3 (low adherence) was 0.43 (95% CI 0.34-0.56). The OR for an increment of one component of MDS diet was 0.84 (95% CI 0.80-0.88). The association was consistent in strata of various covariates, although somewhat stronger in older women, in never oral contraceptive users and in hormone-replacement therapy users. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides evidence for a beneficial role of the Mediterranean diet on endometrial cancer risk, suggesting a favourable effect of a combination of foods rich in antioxidants, fibres, phytochemicals, and unsaturated fatty acids

Helical ensembles outperform ideal helices in molecular replacement

The conventional approach in molecular replacement (MR) is the use of a related structure as a search model. However, this is not always possible as the availability of such structures can be scarce for poorly characterised families of proteins. In these cases, alternative approaches can be explored, such as the use of small ideal fragments that share high albeit local structural similarity with the unknown protein. Earlier versions of AMPLE enabled the trialling of a library of ideal helices, which worked well for largely helical proteins at suitable resolution. Here we explore the performance of libraries of helical ensembles created by clustering helical segments. The impacts of different B-factor treatments and different degrees of structural heterogeneity are explored. We observed a 30% increase in the number of solutions obtained by AMPLE when using this new set of ensembles compared to performance with ideal helices. The boost of performance was notable across three different folds: transmembrane, globular and coiled-coil structures. Furthermore, the increased effectiveness of these ensembles was coupled to a reduction of the time required by AMPLE to reach a solution. AMPLE users can now take full advantage of this new library of search models by activating the “helical ensembles” mode

Numerical investigation of the effect of rolling on the localized stress and strain induction for wire + arc additive manufactured structures

Cold rolling can be used in-process or post-process to improve microstructure, mechanical properties and residual stress in directed-energy-deposition techniques, such as the high deposition rate wire + arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process. Finite element simulations of the rolling process are employed to investigate the effect of rolling parameters, in particular rolling load and roller profile radius on the residual stress field as well as plastic strain distribution for the profiled roller. The results show the response to rolling of commonly used structural metals in WAAM, i.e., AA2319, S335JR steel and Ti-6Al-4V, taking into account the presence of residual stresses. The rolling load leads to changes in the location and the maximum value of the compressive residual stresses, as well as the depth of the compressive residual stresses. However, the roller profile radius only changes the maximum value of these compressive residual stresses. Changing the rolling load influences the equivalent plastic strain close to the top surface of the wall as well as in deeper areas, whereas the influence of the roller profile radius is negligible. The plastic strain distribution is virtually unaffected by the initial residual stresses prior to rolling. Finally, design curves were generated from the simulations for different materials, suggesting ideal rolling load and roller profile combinations for microstructural improvement requiring certain plastic strains at a specific depth of the additive structure

Cruciferous vegetables and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies

Background Cruciferous vegetables have been suggested to protect against various cancers, though the issue is open to discussion. To further understand their role, we analyzed data from a network of case-control studies conducted in Italy and Switzerland. Patients and methods The studies included a total of 1468 cancers of the oral cavity/pharynx, 505 of the esophagus, 230 of the stomach, 2390 of the colorectum, 185 of the liver, 326 of the pancreas, 852 of the larynx, 3034 of the breast, 367 of the endometrium, 1031 of the ovary, 1294 of the prostate, 767 of the kidney, and 11492 controls. All cancers were incident, histologically confirmed; controls were subjects admitted to the same network of hospitals as cases for a wide spectrum of acute nonneoplastic conditions. Results The multivariate odds ratio (OR) for consumption of cruciferous vegetables at least once a week as compared with no/occasional consumption was significantly reduced for cancer of the oral cavity/pharynx (OR=0.83), esophagus (OR=0.72), colorectum (OR=0.83), breast (OR=0.83), and kidney (OR=0.68). The OR was below unity, but not significant, for stomach (OR=0.90), liver (OR=0.72), pancreatic (OR=0.90), laryngeal (OR=0.84), endometrial (OR=0.93), ovarian (OR=0.91), and prostate (OR=0.87) cancer. Conclusion This large series of studies provides additional evidence of a favorable effect of cruciferous vegetables on several common cancer