Multi-hop Byzantine reliable broadcast with honest dealer made practical

We revisit Byzantine tolerant reliable broadcast with honest dealer algorithms in multi-hop networks. To tolerate Byzantine faulty nodes arbitrarily spread over the network, previous solutions require a factorial number of messages to be sent over the network if the messages are not authenticated (e.g., digital signatures are not available). We propose modifications that preserve the safety and liveness properties of the original unauthenticated protocols, while highly decreasing their observed message complexity when simulated on several classes of graph topologies, potentially opening to their employment

CONSUMER PERCEPTION ON ALTERNATIVE POULTRY

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

Effect of surface modification on the corrosion resistance of Zr 2.5Nb as material for permanent implants

Zirconium is a potential material for permanent implants. In particular, surface modification induced by anodisation has proved to be effective to improve corrosion resistance while keeping good osseointegration. The combination of zirconium with niobium is supposed to develop a structure that presents a high corrosion resistance and continues having the mechanical resistance necessary for implants. The aim of the present work is to determine the viability of using anodised Zr-2.5Nb as implant material, and compare it with pure Zr. Electrochemical tests performed in the anodizing solution and in a simulated biological solution revealed that by anodising the materials a higher corrosion resistance is obtained. The improvement on the corrosion resistance is particularly noticeable in the case of the pure metal after a short period immersed in the simulated biological solution. But, after a long period of immersion, the alloy shows better performance.Fil: Farina, Silvia Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Unidad de Actividad de Materiales (CAC); ArgentinaFil: Gomez Sanchez, Andrea Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Ceré, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; Argentin

Reliable Broadcast despite Mobile Byzantine Faults

We investigate the solvability of the Byzantine Reliable Broadcast and Byzantine Broadcast Channel problems in distributed systems affected by Mobile Byzantine Faults. We show that both problems are not solvable even in one of the most constrained system models for mobile Byzantine faults defined so far. By endowing processes with an additional local failure oracle, we provide a solution to the Byzantine Broadcast Channel problem

Multi-hop Byzantine Reliable Broadcast with Honest Dealer Made Practical

We revisit Byzantine tolerant reliable broadcast with honest dealer algorithms in multi-hop networks. To tolerate Byzantine faulty nodes arbitrarily spread over the network, previous solutions require a factorial number of messages to be sent over the network if the messages are not authenticated (e.g. digital signatures are not available). We propose modifications that preserve the safety and liveness properties of the original unauthenticated protocols, while highly decreasing their observed message complexity when simulated on several classes of graph topologies, potentially opening to their employment

Reuse of an ancient church: thermal aspect for integrated solutions

Abstract The definition of intervention strategies for the restoration and the functional actualization of historic and high artistic quality artifacts, postulates a systemic approach for the different variables that contribute to the definition of the project. This paper presents an emblematic case study of an historic building, the church of St. Francis in San Giovanni in Persiceto near Bologna, one of the most representative of the architectural construction of Bolognese Baroque, built by Alfonso Torreggiani. The expected new functions as exhibition hall and/or concert activities, requires a search for integrated strategies to ensure indoor comfort requirements (thermo-hygrometric, acoustics) and to define HVAC plant equipment for the reduction of energy consumption without affecting the historic values and artistic perception of the building. Therefore, the analysis of the church in the survey phase, besides the usual historical and architectural investigations, should investigate the potential issues and the critical aspects of structures, like the multilayered floor and refined decorations that lines the walls of the nave. Understanding the intimate rationality of the building (presence of any shafts, steps etc .) is a prerequisite for the inclusion of plant components without altering the visual perception and to optimize the acoustic and the climatization plant systems. Although the use of renewable energy are required today for all new plant systems, in this case it was decided to exclude invasive elements that could have altered the image of the entire monumental complex of which the church belongs. The proposed HVAC plant, after an analysis of dynamic thermal behaviour of the building, is an air-conditioning system coupled to radiant heating system to ensure, in a climate context with high humidity levels, the optimal temperature and humidity not only for comfort conditions but also for preservation of the building itself and of artistic works

PER UN’IDEA DI DIDATTICA. I MODELLI DELLE GUIDE PER MAESTRI (1955-2011)

What idea of didactics is conveyed to schools by teacher's guides? What features should the ideal teacher's guide have? These are the fundamental questions driving this whole work; born from the need to ponder, once again, on the world of didactics itself, in relation with Educational Science. Said connection will be looked for, and judged, in the factual dimension of the Italian school, through the analysis of teacher's guides for primary school, published starting from 1939, focusing on the period between 1955 and 2011. The “teacher's guide” tool was chosen due to it being a daily witness of the changes which the teaching-learning strategies have undergone during the various historical and cultural cycles of the Italian school. Such tool is considered in a twofold way: as a reflection of both the historical changes of didactics in the school and the evolution or involution by which it is concerned; and of the idea of didactics actually reaching the schools, idea emerging from said devices. The work starts off with the definition of paradigm and model, it then focuses on the concept of didactics, from a scientific and etymological standpoint, referencing the main classical and contemporary authors; it examines the connection between school and didactics, dwelling on the concept of “educational relationship”, and it offers a consideration on disciplinary didactics. The “teacher's guide” tool is then defined and analyzed, contextualizing the various volumes from an historical and political point of view and specifying the purpose it should fulfil as a means actually useful to teachers, worthy of having a place in the educative context

Using High Density EMG to Proportionally Control 3D Model of Human Hand

Control of human hand using surface electromyography (EMG) is already established in various mechanisms, but proportionally controlling magnitudes degrees of freedom (DOF) of humanoid hand model is still highly developed in recent years. This paper proposes another method to achieve a proportional estimation and control of human’s hand multiple DOFs. Gestures in the form of American Sign Language (ABCDFIKLOW) were chosen as the targets, of which ten alphabetical gestures were specifically used following their clarity on its 3D model. Then the dataset of the movements gestures was simultaneously recorded using High-density electromyography (HD-EMG) and motion capture system. Sensor placements were on intrinsic - extrinsic muscles for HD-EMG and finger joints for the motion capture system. To derive the proportional control in time series between both datasets (HD-EMG and kinematics data), neural network (NN) and k-Nearest Neighbour were used. The models produced around 70-95 % (R index) accuracy for the eleven DOFs in four healthy subjects’ hand. kNN’s performance was better than NN, even if the input features were reduced either using manual selections or principal component analysis (PCA). The time series controls could also identify most sign language gestures (9 of 10), with difficulty was given on O gesture. The false interpretation was because of nearly identical muscle’s EMG and kinematics data between O and C. This paper intends to extend its conference version [1] by adding more in-depth Results and Discussion along making other sections more comprehensive

Epstein-Barr virus lytic infection promotes activation of Toll-like receptor 8 innate immune response in systemic sclerosis monocytes

BACKGROUND: Monocytes/macrophages are activated in several autoimmune diseases, including systemic sclerosis (scleroderma; SSc), with increased expression of interferon (IFN)-regulatory genes and inflammatory cytokines, suggesting dysregulation of the innate immune response in autoimmunity. In this study, we investigated whether the lytic form of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection (infectious EBV) is present in scleroderma monocytes and contributes to their activation in SSc. METHODS: Monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) depleted of the CD19+ cell fraction, using CD14/CD16 negative-depletion. Circulating monocytes from SSc and healthy donors (HDs) were infected with EBV. Gene expression of innate immune mediators were evaluated in EBV-infected monocytes from SSc and HDs. Involvement of Toll-like receptor (TLR)8 in viral-mediated TLR8 response was investigated by comparing the TLR8 expression induced by infectious EBV to the expression stimulated by CL075/TLR8/agonist-ligand in the presence of TLR8 inhibitor in THP-1 cells. RESULTS: Infectious EBV strongly induced TLR8 expression in infected SSc and HD monocytes in vitro. Markers of activated monocytes, such as IFN-regulated genes and chemokines, were upregulated in SSc- and HD-EBV-infected monocytes. Inhibiting TLR8 expression reduced virally induced TLR8 in THP-1 infected cells, demonstrating that innate immune activation by infectious EBV is partially dependent on TLR8. Viral mRNA and proteins were detected in freshly isolated SSc monocytes. Microarray analysis substantiated the evidence of an increased IFN signature and altered level of TLR8 expression in SSc monocytes carrying infectious EBV compared to HD monocytes. CONCLUSION: This study provides the first evidence of infectious EBV in monocytes from patients with SSc and links EBV to the activation of TLR8 and IFN innate immune response in freshly isolated SSc monocytes. This study provides the first evidence of EBV replication activating the TLR8 molecular pathway in primary monocytes. Immunogenicity of infectious EBV suggests a novel mechanism mediating monocyte inflammation in SSc, by which EBV triggers the innate immune response in infected cells

Identifying Representative Synergy Matrices for Describing Muscular Activation Patterns During Multidirectional Reaching in the Horizontal Plane

n/