The first diffusion of the Covid-19 outbreak in Northern Italy: an analysis based on a simplified version of the SIR model

Abstract In this paper an analysis of the first diffusion of the Covid-19 outbreak occurred in late February 2020 in Northern Italy is presented. In order to study the time evolution of the epidemic it was decided to analyze in particular as the most relevant variable the number of hospitalized people, considered as the less biased proxy of the real number of infected people. An approximate solution of the infected equation was found from a simplified version of the SIR model. This solution was used as a tool for the calculation of the basic reproduction number R 0 in the early phase of the epidemic for the most affected Northern Italian regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia), giving values of R 0 ranging from 2.2 to 3.1. Finally, a theoretical formulation of the infection rate is proposed, introducing a new parameter, the infection length, characteristic of the disease

Intelligent monitoring and fault diagnosis for ATLAS TDAQ: a complex event processing solution

Effective monitoring and analysis tools are fundamental in modern IT infrastructures to get insights on the overall system behavior and to deal promptly and effectively with failures. In recent years, Complex Event Processing (CEP) technologies have emerged as effective solutions for information processing from the most disparate fields: from wireless sensor networks to financial analysis. This thesis proposes an innovative approach to monitor and operate complex and distributed computing systems, in particular referring to the ATLAS Trigger and Data Acquisition (TDAQ) system currently in use at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The result of this research, the AAL project, is currently used to provide ATLAS data acquisition operators with automated error detection and intelligent system analysis. The thesis begins by describing the TDAQ system and the controlling architecture, with a focus on the monitoring infrastructure and the expert system used for error detection and automated recovery. It then discusses the limitations of the current approach and how it can be improved to maximize the ATLAS TDAQ operational efficiency. Event processing methodologies are then laid out, with a focus on CEP techniques for stream processing and pattern recognition. The open-source Esper engine, the CEP solution adopted by the project is subsequently analyzed and discussed. Next, the AAL project is introduced as the automated and intelligent monitoring solution developed as the result of this research. AAL requirements and governing factors are listed, with a focus on how stream processing functionalities can enhance the TDAQ monitoring experience. The AAL processing model is then introduced and the architectural choices are justified. Finally, real applications on TDAQ error detection are presented. The main conclusion from this work is that CEP techniques can be successfully applied to detect error conditions and system misbehavior. Moreover, the AAL project demonstrates a real application of CEP concepts for intelligent monitoring in the demanding TDAQ scenario. The adoption of AAL by several TDAQ communities shows that automation and intelligent system analysis were not properly addressed in the previous infrastructure. The results of this thesis will benefit researchers evaluating intelligent monitoring techniques on large-scale distributed computing system

Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes Do Not Display Metabolic Cold Adaptation in Hepatic Gluconeogenesis

Antarctic notothenioid fishes present specializations related to their chronically cold environment, such as high lipid content in tissues (predominantly triacylglycerols, TAG). When TAGs are mobilized, they yield fatty acids and glycerol. Fatty acids are the primary fuel of oxidative muscle tissues. Gluconeogenesis from glycerol has not been studied in Antarctic fishes despite the importance of glycerol as a breakdown product of TAGs. To assess the possible importance of glycerol as a substrate for gluconeogenesis and to determine whether this pathway and Krebs cycle are metabolically cold adapted, key hepatic enzyme activities were measured in Antarctic notothenioid fishes (Notothenia coriiceps, Gobionotothen gibberifrons and Chionodraco rastrospinosus) and Subantarctic notothenioid fishes (Dissostichus eleginoides, Patagonotothen ramsayi and Eleginops maclovinus) . Citrate synthase, fructose 1,6-biphosphatase, glycerol kinase, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase enzyme activities were measured at lo, 60, 1 l o , and 2 10 C. Levels of specific metabolites in liver (glycerol, glucose and glycogen) and in serum (glycerol and glucose) were measured. My results indicate that gluconeogenesis and aerobic metabolism are not metabolically cold adapted in livers of Antarctic fishes. Levels of glycerol in plasma and liver were generally similar for all fishes studied, but surprisingly lower than the values reported for other teleost. Maximal activities for all enzymes assayed in livers of notothenioids fishes with Antarctic and Subantarctic distribution were similar when measured at the same temperature (loC). In addition, energies of activation for all the enzymes, calculated from the slope of Arrhenius plot, were similar between both groups of fishes. Lack of metabolic cold adaptation in hepatic gluconeogenesis may indicate that this pathway is of low physiological importance in both Antarctic and Subantarctic notothenioids or, more likely, that these two groups are so closely related that insufficient time has elapsed for evolutionary divergence in this tr

El rostro actual de las movilizaciones en la sociedad civil global

Se analiza la conciencia icónica de la máscara de v que aparece en las mo-vilizaciones de la sociedad civil global. Extraída de una novela gráfica y del filme V de Vendetta, la máscara condensa un posicionamiento moral ante las estructuras de poder tanto nacionales como supranacionales, en un doble movimiento entre expectativas políticas abstractas y localizadas. Proporcio-na materialidad a la rebeldía individual y colectiva en movilizaciones sociales a escala global, que se caracterizan por su fragmentación y diversidad de demandas y expectativas. La máscara de v condensa referentes que permi-ten cuestionar estructuras de poder desde un icono que emerge del mundo de la narrativa literaria

La disputa por el zócalo de la ciudad de México durante la movilización magisterial de 2013

Se analiza el movimiento de resistencia que se articuló en torno a la reforma educativa impulsada por el gobierno de Enrique Peña Nieto en 2013. El sindicato independiente de maestros estableció un campamento en el zócalo de la ciudad de México para demandar que el presidente detuviera una reforma que consideraban atentaba contra sus derechos laborales. Se examina cómo la toma del zócalo tuvo relevancia por tratarse del centropolítico nacional y de un espacio estratégico en términos simbólicos para plantear demandas políticas y sociales. La lucha contra la reforma educativa adquirió el carácter de una pugna por ese centro simbólico que terminó con el desalojo violento de los sindicalistas y con la ocupación inmediata por militantes del pri cuando la fecha de la celebración de la independencia se acercaba. Se analiza cómo el conflicto fue decodificado por los medios de comunicación y la definición que ellos hicieron de un campo de batalla simbólico en torno al conflicto así como la importancia que adquirió en términos tanto del estatus del grito de la Independencia como performance litúrgico como para el proyecto político de restauración autoritaria por parte del gobierno