Experience with the Open Source based implementation for ATLAS Conditions Data Management System

Conditions Data in high energy physics experiments is frequently seen as every data needed for reconstruction besides the event data itself. This includes all sorts of slowly evolving data like detector alignment, calibration and robustness, and data from detector control system. Also, every Conditions Data Object is associated with a time interval of validity and a version. Besides that, quite often is useful to tag collections of Conditions Data Objects altogether. These issues have already been investigated and a data model has been proposed and used for different implementations based in commercial DBMSs, both at CERN and for the BaBar experiment. The special case of the ATLAS complex trigger that requires online access to calibration and alignment data poses new challenges that have to be met using a flexible and customizable solution more in the line of Open Source components. Motivated by the ATLAS challenges we have developed an alternative implementation, based in an Open Source RDBMS. Several issues were investigated land will be described in this paper: -The best way to map the conditions data model into the relational database concept considering what are foreseen as the most frequent queries. -The clustering model best suited to address the scalability problem. -Extensive tests were performed and will be described. The very promising results from these tests are attracting the attention from the HEP community and driving further developments.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, conferenc

Quantum Dissipation in a Neutrino System Propagating in Vacuum and in Matter

Considering the neutrino state like an open quantum system, we analyze its propagation in vacuum or in matter. After defining what can be called decoherence and relaxation effects, we show that in general the probabilities in vacuum and in constant matter can be written in a similar way, which is not an obvious result in this approach. From this result, we analyze the situation where neutrinos evolution satisfies the adiabatic limit and use this formalim to study solar neutrinos. We show that the decoherence effect may not be bounded by the solar neutrino data and review some results in the literature. We discuss the current results where solar neutrinos were used to put bounds on decoherence effects through a model-dependent approach. We conclude explaining how and why this models are not general and we reinterpret these constraints.Comment: new version: title was changend and was added a table. To appear at Nucl. Physic.

Conformidade da resistência à compressão de betões : um exemplo no Norte de Portugal

O incumprimento das regras especificadas e a consequente não conformidade dos betões em relação à normativa vigente, pode originar o aparecimento de anomalias e a degradação precoce das construções. Os objectivos deste estudo foram a caracterização de procedimentos adoptados para a produção de betão nalgumas obras no norte de Portugal, determinando a classe de resistência do betão produzido e comparando com a classe de resistência requerida no projecto. Neste contexto, calculámos a resistência à compressão do betão in situ e comparamos com a classe de resistência obtida nas obras em estudo. Foi verificado que a qualidade do betão in situ é superior à obtida com a recolha de provetes. Podemos dizer que quanto mais extensa, rápida e apertada é a inspecção, melhor conseguimos controlar e fazer correcções a tempo, com o objectivo de manter a qualidade do betão usado. É importante para uma adequada resposta, treinar e dar formação às pessoas envolvidas neste assunto

DOPA decarboxylase is essential for cuticle tanning in Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), affecting ecdysis, survival and reproduction

Cuticle tanning occurs in insects immediately after hatching or molting. During this process, the cuticle becomes dark and rigid due to melanin deposition and protein crosslinking. In insects, different from mammals, melanin is synthesized mainly from dopamine, which is produced from DOPA by the enzyme DOPA decarboxylase. In this work, we report that the silencing of the RpAadc-2 gene, which encodes the putative Rhodnius prolixus DOPA decarboxylase enzyme, resulted in a reduction in nymph survival, with a high percentage of treated insects dying during the ecdysis process or in the expected ecdysis period. Those treated insects that could complete ecdysis presented a decrease in cuticle pigmentation and hardness after molting. In adult females, the knockdown of AADC-2 resulted in a reduction in the hatching of eggs; the nymphs that managed to hatch failed to tan the cuticle and were unable to feed. Despite the failure in cuticle tanning, knockdown of the AADC-2 did not increase the susceptibility to topically applied deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide. Additionally, our results showed that the melanin synthesis pathway did not play a major role in the detoxification of the excess (potentially toxic) tyrosine from the diet, an essential trait for hematophagous arthropod survival after a blood meal.Fil: Sterkel, Marcos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ons, Sheila. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Oliveira, Pedro L.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasi

A WBEM based solution for a 4G network integrated management

Next generation networks will put a new set of challenges related to operation and management, due to the increased complexity arising by the seamless integration of different kinds of technologies, services and terminals, and with the expected offered bandwidth. In this paper we present a Policy-based management system that is being developed inside the Daidalos IST project for such environments. This system uses Policy Based Management concepts associated with Web-Based Enterprise Management to control QoS aspects in this complex network

Sensitivity analysis of a crawl gait multi-objective optimization system

This paper describes the analysis of a crawl gait multi-objective optimization system that combines bio-inspired Central Patterns Generators (CPGs) and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. In order to optimize the crawl gait, a multiobjective problem, an optimization system based on NSGAII allows to find a set of non-dominated solutions that correspond to different motor solutions The experimental results highlight the effectiveness of this multi-objective approach.(undefined

Statistical analysis of compressive strength of concrete specimens

This paper presents the statistical analysis of compressive strength of concrete specimens delivered in a laboratory of Northern of Portugal. Three types of concretes were analyzed defined as C20, C25 and C30. In the study we used the results of three years, 1995 to 1997. The one-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test was used to verify the normal distribution of the strength results. The results presented in this paper are important for predicting the performance of structural elements and for calculating resistance factors for limit state design codes. As concrete is made in majority on site, conformity is more difficult than for other construction materials produced on factories. For the first analysis the concrete applied on the different sites were separated in groups. A total of 82 groups of concrete produced in 20 sites, were analyzed. We verified that in about 32% of the groups the characteristic compressive strength established for the design was not achieved. For the second analysis the total results were considered, without separation by site or by group. When the exigency was classes C20 or C25, the characteristic compressive strength was below the exigency. On the contrary, for the concrete mentioned as C30, the characteristic compressive strength was above the exigency

Integração de um conversor de metadados Dublin-Core para RDF no sistema Gestor de Conteúdo.

Recursos Eletrônicos como vídeos e imagens podem ser descritos por metadados que são usados por motores de busca para melhorar os resultados de pesquisa. A Agência de Informação Embrapa é um sistema Web que possibilita a interação com informações tecnológicas e ao conhecimento gerado pela Embrapa e outras instituições de pesquisa. Objetivo. Tornar esses Recursos visíveis aos motores de busca a partir de um conversor dos metadados de recursos Dublin-Core para RDF (Figura1) disponíveis no website da Agência de Informação Embrapa.Trabalho apresentado na V Mostra de Trabalhos de Estagiários e Bolsistas, Campinas, out. 2009