The use of snowcovered area in runoff forecasts

Long-term snowcovered area data from aircraft and satellite observations have proven useful in reducing seasonal runoff forecast error on the Kern river watershed. Similar use of snowcovered area on the Kings river watershed produced results that were about equivalent to methods based solely on conventional data. Snowcovered area will be most effective in reducing forecast procedural error on watersheds with: (1) a substantial amount of area within a limited elevation range; (2) an erratic precipitation and/or snowpack accumulation pattern not strongly related to elevation; and (3) poor coverage by precipitation stations or snow courses restricting adequate indexing of water supply conditions. When satellite data acquisition and delivery problems are resolved, the derived snowcover information should provide a means for enhancing operational streamflow forecasts for areas that depend primarily on snowmelt for their water supply

ПРОБЛЕМИ ФОРМУВАННЯ ЕФЕКТИВНОГО ІМІДЖУ В СУЧАСНІЙ ПОЛІТОЛОГІЇ

Проаналізовані поняття та структура політичного іміджу, визначені компоненти ефективного іміджу політика, виділені складові елементи та закономірності побудови сучасної іміджевої стратегії.Analyzed the concept and structure of political image, the image identified components of effective policy, special elements and patterns of modern image strategy

Placenta-specific methylation of the vitamin D 24-hydroxylase gene: implications for feedback autoregulation of active vitamin D levels at the fetomaternal interface

Plasma concentrations of biologically active vitamin D (1,25- (OH)2D) are tightly controlled via feedback regulation of renal 1-hydroxylase (CYP27B1; positive) and 24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1; catabolic) enzymes. In pregnancy, this regulation is uncoupled, and 1,25-(OH)2D levels are significantly elevated, suggesting a role in pregnancy progression. Epigenetic regulation of CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 has previously been described in cell and animal models, and despite emerging evidence for a critical role of epigenetics in placentation generally, little is known about the regulation of enzymes modulating vitamin D homeostasis at the fetomaternal interface. In this study, we investigated the methylation status of genes regulating vitamin D bioavailability and activity in the placenta. No methylation of the VDR (vitamin D receptor) and CYP27B1 genes was found in any placental tissues. In contrast, the CYP24A1 gene is methylated in human placenta, purified cytotrophoblasts, and primary and cultured chorionic villus sampling tissue. No methylation was detected in any somatic human tissue tested. Methylation was also evident in marmoset and mouse placental tissue. All three genes were hypermethylated in choriocarcinoma cell lines, highlighting the role of vitaminDderegulation in this cancer. Gene expression analysis confirmed a reduced capacity for CYP24A1 induction with promoter methylation in primary cells and in vitro reporter analysis demonstrated that promoter methylation directly down-regulates basal promoter activity and abolishes vitamin D-mediated feedback activation. This study strongly suggests that epigenetic decoupling of vitamin D feedback catabolism plays an important role in maximizing active vitamin D bioavailability at the fetomaternal interface

In vivo mitochondrial function in idiopathic and genetic parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with brain mitochondrial dysfunction. High-energy phosphates (HEPs), which rely on mitochondrial functioning, may be considered potential biomarkers for PD. Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31 P-MRS) is a suitable tool to explore in vivo cerebral energetics. We considered 1031 P-MRS studies in order to highlight the main findings about brain energetic compounds in patients affected by idiopathic PD and genetic PD. The studies investigated several brain areas such as frontal lobes, occipital lobes, temporoparietal cortex, visual cortex, midbrain, and basal ganglia. Resting-state studies reported contrasting results showing decreased as well as normal or increased HEPs levels in PD patients. Functional studies revealed abnormal PCr + βATP levels in PD subjects during the recovery phase and abnormal values at rest, during activation and recovery in one PD subject with PINK1 gene mutation suggesting that mitochondrial machinery is more impaired in PD patients with PINK1 gene mutation. PD is characterized by energetics impairment both in idiopathic PD as well as in genetic PD, suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction underlies the disease. Studies are still sparse and sometimes contrasting, maybe due to different methodological approaches. Further studies are needed to better assess the role of mitochondria in the PD development

A simulator for drones and Fanet management supporting multimedia traffic under human mobility

In this paper a simulator for the management of a team of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and drones has been proposed. This new network is known as Fly Ad-Hoc Network (FANET), and it is a particular type of Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) but with some specific aspects that allow to provide new services in future generation networks. One of the possible applications is emergency situations or scenario where drones can provide an additional or complementary access networks supporting web services and multimedia traffic. In this paper a simulator for FANET deploying has been proposed providing the possibility to simulate different scenarios with different coverage areas. New coverage model has been included in the features and also interesting human mobility model to support more realistic users mobility. Moreover, additional modules for traffic pattern generation have been implemented to create scenario where mobile users can activate multimedia calls and traffic on FANET. Some simulations have been led out to show how the simulator works

On packet marking and Markov modeling for IP Traceback: A deep probabilistic and stochastic analysis

From many years, the methods to defend against Denial of Service attacks have been very attractive from different point of views, although network security is a large and very complex topic. Different techniques have been proposed and so-called packet marking and IP tracing procedures have especially demonstrated a good capacity to face different malicious attacks. While host-based DoS attacks are more easily traced and managed, network-based DoS attacks are a more challenging threat. In this paper, we discuss a powerful aspect of the IP traceback method, which allows a router to mark and add information to attack packets on the basis of a fixed probability value. We propose a potential method for modeling the classic probabilistic packet marking algorithm as Markov chains, allowing a closed form to be obtained for evaluating the correct number of received marked packets in order to build a meaningful attack graph and analyze how marking routers must behave to minimize the overall overhead

Comparison of bio-inspired algorithms applied to the coordination of mobile robots considering the energy consumption

Many applications, related to autonomous mobile robots, require to explore in an unknown environment searching for static targets, without any a priori information about the environment topology and target locations. Targets in such rescue missions can be fire, mines, human victims, or dangerous material that the robots have to handle. In these scenarios, some cooperation among the robots is required for accomplishing the mission. This paper focuses on the application of different bio-inspired metaheuristics for the coordination of a swarm of mobile robots that have to explore an unknown area in order to rescue and handle cooperatively some distributed targets. This problem is formulated by first defining an optimization model and then considering two sub-problems: exploration and recruiting. Firstly, the environment is incrementally explored by robots using a modified version of ant colony optimization. Then, when a robot detects a target, a recruiting mechanism is carried out to recruit a certain number of robots to deal with the found target together. For this latter purpose, we have proposed and compared three approaches based on three different bio-inspired algorithms (Firefly Algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization, and Artificial Bee Algorithm). A computational study and extensive simulations have been carried out to assess the behavior of the proposed approaches and to analyze their performance in terms of total energy consumed by the robots to complete the mission. Simulation results indicate that the firefly-based strategy usually provides superior performance and can reduce the wastage of energy, especially in complex scenarios

A new FANET simulator for managing drone networks and providing dynamic connectivity

In the last decade, the attention on unmanned aerial vehicles has rapidly grown, due to their ability to help in many human activities. Among their widespread benefits, one of the most important uses regards the possibility of distributing wireless connectivity to many users in a specific coverage area. In this study, we focus our attention on these new kinds of networks, called flying ad-hoc networks. As stated in the literature, they are suitable for all emergency situations where the traditional networking paradigm may have many issues or difficulties to be implemented. The use of a software simulator can give important help to the scientific community in the choice of the right UAV/drone parameters in many different situations. In particular, in this work, we focus our main attention on the new ways of area covering and human mobility behaviors with the introduction of a UAV/drone behavior model to take into account also drones energetic issues. A deep campaign of simulations was carried out to evaluate the goodness of the proposed simulator illustrating how it works

Brain mitochondria, aging, and Parkinson’s disease

This paper reconsiders the role of mitochondria in aging and in Parkinson\u2019s Disease (PD). The most important risk factor for PD is aging. Alterations in mitochondrial activity are typical of aging. Mitochondrial aging is characterized by decreased oxidative phosphorylation, proteasome activity decrease, altered autophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Beyond declined oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondrial dysfunction consists of a decline of beta-oxidation as well as of the Krebs cycle. Not inherited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations are acquired over time and parallel the decrease in oxidative phosphorylation. Many of these mitochondrial alterations are also found in the PD brain specifically in the substantia nigra (SN). mtDNA deletions and development of respiratory chain deficiency in SN neurons of aged individuals as well as of individuals with PD converge towards a shared pathway, which leads to neuronal dysfunction and death. Finally, several nuclear genes that are mutated in hereditary PD are usually implicated in mitochondrial functioning to a various extent and their mutation may cause mitochondrial impairment. In conclusion, a tight link exists between mitochondria, aging, and PD

Managing emergency situations in VANET through heterogeneous technologies cooperation

Nowadays, the research on vehicular computing enhanced a very huge amount of services and protocols, aimed to vehicles security and comfort. The investigation of the IEEE802.11p, Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) standards gave to the scientific world the chance to integrate new services, protocols, algorithms and devices inside vehicles. This opportunity attracted the attention of private/public organizations, which spent lot of resources and money to promote vehicular technologies. In this paper, the attention is focused on the design of a new approach for vehicular environments able to gather information during mobile node trips, for advising dangerous or emergency situations by exploiting on-board sensors. It is assumed that each vehicle has an integrated on-board unit composed of several sensors and Global Position System (GPS) device, able to spread alerting messages around the network, regarding warning and dangerous situations/conditions. On-board units, based on the standard communication protocols, share the collected information with the surrounding road-side units, while the sensing platform is able to recognize the environment that vehicles are passing through (obstacles, accidents, emergencies, dangerous situations, etc.). Finally, through the use of the GPS receiver, the exact location of the caught event is determined and spread along the network. In this way, if an accident occurs, the arriving cars will, probably, avoid delay and danger situations