Exploiting Big Data solutions for CMS computing operations analytics

Computing operations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN rely on the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG) infrastructure, designed to efficiently allow storage, access, and processing of data at the pre-exascale level. A close and detailed study of the exploited computing systems for the LHC physics mission represents an increasingly crucial aspect in the roadmap of High Energy Physics (HEP) towards the exascale regime. In this context, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment has been collecting and storing over the last few years a large set of heterogeneous non-collision data (e.g. meta-data about replicas placement, transfer operations, and actual user access to physics datasets). All this data richness is currently residing on a distributed Hadoop cluster, and it is organized so that running fast and arbitrary queries using the Spark analytics framework is a viable approach for Big Data mining efforts. Using a data-driven approach oriented to the analysis of this meta-data deriving from several CMS computing services, such as DBS (Data Bookkeeping Service) and MCM (Monte Carlo Management system), we started to focus on data storage and data access over the WLCG infrastructure, and we drafted an embryonal software toolkit to investigate recurrent patterns and provide indicators about physics datasets popularity. As a long-term goal, this aims at contributing to the overall design of a predictive/adaptive system that would eventually reduce costs and complexity of the CMS computing operations, while taking into account the stringent requests by the physics analysts communit

Statistical identification in SVARs - Monte Carlo experiments and a comparative assessment of the role of economic uncertainties for the US business cycle

Non peer reviewe

Energy analysis of different municipal sewage sludge-derived biogas upgrading techniques

Biomass-derived energy sources are rising their importance since both public opinion and legislation are currently calling for a sustainable development. Biogas is an energy source which can come from municipal sewage sludge digestion thus coupling the advantages of being a renewable energy source and of allowing a smart waste reutilization. In order to fully exploit the biogas potential as vehicle fuel or natural gas substitute, biogas itself must be treated in order to obtain biomethane. Biogas upgrading, i.e., the treatment for CO2 removal, can be performed by several techniques, each one characterised by a different energy demand. Since no clear guidelines are given in literature for choosing among different biogas upgrading processes, this work presents a quantitative analysis, from an energy view point, of water scrubbing, MEA (monoethanolamine) scrubbing, and MDEA (methyldiethanolamine) scrubbing when applied to obtain biomethane from municipal sewage sludge-derived biogas. Heat and electrical power consumptions of each of the above mentioned processes have been obtained by means of process simulation with commercial packages (such as Aspen Plus®). The aim of the work is the energetic comparison among these different techniques. Such a comparison can help in assessing the impact of the biogas purification step on the energy balance of the whole biomethane production process

Sinnesökologie afrikanischer Sandgräber (Bathyergidae) am Beispiel von Hör- und Geruchssinn

Die Sinnesökologie afrikanischer Sandgräber (Bathyergidae) wurde in Hinsicht auf zwei für das subterrane Leben entscheidende Sinne bearbeitet. Teil A stellt umfassend den Gehörsinn auf Grundlage verschiedener morphologischer Methoden dar und charakterisiert die akustische Umwelt; im Teil B wurde am Beispiel der Nahrungssuche den Geruchssinn auf Grundlage von Verhaltensversuchen untersucht und erste Möglichkeiten chemisch-analytischer Untersuchungen der Wurzelexudate, die in diesem Zusammenhang als Kairomone wirken, umgesetzt. Es wurden insgesamt 14 der 21 beschriebenen Arten von Sandgräbern in diese Arbeit einbezogen: Bathyergus suillus, Georychus capensis, Heliophobius argenteocinereus, Heterocephalus glaber und 10 Arten der Gattung Cryptomys. Die Morphologie des Gehörorgans wies bei den Sandgräbern sowohl im Mittelohr- als auch im Innenohrbereich viele gemeinsame Merkmale mit anderen subterranen Nagetieren auf. Dazu gehörten z. B. im Mittelohr ein Malleus-Incus-Komplex, bei dem Malleus und Incus zu einer Einheit verschmolzen sind, ein nicht vorhandenes bzw. stark reduziertes Goniale, ein rundes Trommelfell, eine fehlende Pars flaccida, eine vergrößerte stapediale Fußplatte, eine Tendenz zu einem vergrößerten Incus-Hebelarm und verkleinerten Malleus-Hebelarm und die parallele Position von Manubrium und Crus longum. Einige dieser Merkmale, die den frei schwingenden Mittelohrtyp ausmachen, wurden auch bei einigen epigäischen Arten festgestellt. Diese sind allerdings ebenfalls sensitiv gegenüber niedrigere Frequenzen, so dass diese Merkmale als Anpassungen des Mittelohrs an die Wahrnehmung niedriger Frequenzen gewertet werden können. Der turmförmige, schlanke Bau der Cochlea ist ein weiteres typisches Merkmal subterraner Nagetiere. Weiterhin weist der apikale Bereich des Corti-Organs, in dem niedrige Frequenzen abgebildet werden, höhere Haarzelldichten auf. Diese Merkmale können durchgehend als Spezialisierungen auf die besondere akustische Umwelt der Gangsysteme interpretiert werden, in der im Vergleich zum epigäischen Habitat niedrige Frequenzen effektiver übertragen werden. Bisher waren nur die akustischen Eigenschaften der Gangsysteme von Spalax bekannt. Hier konnten die Ergebnisse anhand der Untersuchung der Akustik von Gangsystemen der Graumulle bestätigt werden. Der bereits im Jahr 1966 von QUILLIAM postulierte Stethoskopeffekt konnte erstmals experimentell nachgewiesen werden. In den unterirdischen Gangsystemen wurde der Schalldruck von Frequenzen zwischen 200 und 800 Hz nicht nur am besten übertragen, sondern über kurze Distanzen sogar verstärkt. Das Potential morphologischer Merkmale des Mittelohrs für die Art-Diagnose der ansonsten morphologisch schwer zu unterscheidenden Sandgräber wurde aufgezeigt. Die Unterschiede in der Form des Malleus-Incus-Komplexes auf Basis der geometrischen Morphometrie zeigten einige interessante Gemeinsamkeiten mit der Phylogenie der Sandgräber. Die wichtige Rolle des Geruchssinns im Kontext der Nahrungssuche konnte bestätigt und ausgeweitet werden. Die hier durchgeführten Labor-Verhaltensversuche unterstrichen die Rolle von Wurzel-Exudaten als Orientierungsgeber unter der Erde, die somit als Kairomone wirken. Sie konnten als wasserlöslich mit einer Molekülgröße kleiner als 0,6 µm charakterisiert werden. Außerdem wurde gezeigt, dass Graumulle in der Lage sind, Wurzeln lebender Pflanzen bis auf eine Entfernung von mindestens 30 cm zu lokalisieren. Die Graumulle sind somit sinnesökologisch an die unterirdische Nahrungssuche angepasst und stoßen nicht zufällig auf ihre Nahrung. Chemisch-analytische Pilotstudien gaben erste Hilfestellungen für die Suche nach der chemischen Natur der Wurzel-Kairomone: zukünftigen GC-MS-Analysen sollten schonende Extraktions- und Aufkonzentrierungsmethoden (z. B. Purge&Trap- oder Headspace-Techniken) vorgeschaltet werden, die Exudate in einzelne Fraktionen aufgeteilt und diese an den Tieren in T-Labyrinthen (als Bioassay) getestet werden

Systematic Changes of Earthquake Rupture with Depth: A Case Study from the 2010Mw 8.8 Maule, Chile, Earthquake Aftershock Sequence

The very shallow part of subduction megathrusts occasionally hosts tsunami earthquakes, with unusually slow rupture propagation. The aftershock sequence of the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake, offshore Chile, provides us with the opportunity to study systematic changes in source properties for smaller earthquakes within a single segment of a subduction zone. We invert amplitude spectra for double-couple moment tensors and centroid depths of 71 aftershocks of the Maule earthquake down to magnitudes Mw 4.0. In addition, we also derive average source durations.We find that shallower earthquakes tend to have longer normalized source durations on average, similar to the pattern observed previously for larger magnitude events. This depth dependence is observable for thrust and normal earthquakes. The normalized source durations of normal- faulting earthquakes are at the lower end of those for thrust earthquakes, probably because of the higher stress drops of intraplate earthquakes compared to interplate earthquakes. We suggest from the similarity of the depth dependence of normal and thrust events and between smaller and larger magnitude earthquakes that the depth-dependent variation of rigidity, rather than frictional conditional stability at the plate interface, is primarily responsible for the observed pattern. Tsunami earthquakes probably require both low rigidity and conditionally stable frictional conditions; the presence of longduration moderate-magnitude events is therefore a helpful but not sufficient indicator for areas at risk of tsunami earthquakes

Crossing the Gap:Older Adults Do Not Create Less Challenging Stepping Stone Configurations Than Young Adults

Background Despite the known health benefits of physical activity, the number of older adults exercising regularly remains low in many countries. There is a demand for public open space interventions that can safely train balance, muscular strength, and cardiovascular fitness. In this participatory design study, older adults and young adults were to create their own stepping stones configurations. We provided them with six stepping stones, and examined the gap widths that each group of participants created and how they used the configurations. Results The created absolute gap distances by the older adults were smaller than those of the younger adults. Yet, the amount of challenge (in terms of the created gap widths relative to a person's estimated stepping capability) did not significantly differ between the young and older adults. Furthermore, both groups created non-standardized stepping stone configurations in which the number of different gap widths did not significantly differ between the young and older adults. Interestingly, while using their personalized design, older adults made significantly more gap crossings than younger adults over a given timespan. This finding tentatively suggests that personalized design invites physical activity in older adults. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that older adults are not more conservative in designing their own stepping stone configuration than young adults. Especially in light of the public health concern to increase physical activity in seniors, this is a promising outcome. However, field tests are needed to establish whether the older adults' stepping stones designs also invite physical activity in their daily environment

Sphingomyelins Prevent Propagation of Lipid Peroxidation—LC-MS/MS Evaluation of Inhibition Mechanisms

Free radical driven lipid peroxidation is a chain reaction which can lead to oxidative degradation of biological membranes. Propagation vs. termination rates of peroxidation in biological membranes are determined by a variety of factors including fatty acyl chain composition, presence of antioxidants, as well as biophysical properties of mono- or bilayers. Sphingomyelins (SMs), a class of sphingophospholipids, were previously described to inhibit lipid oxidation most probably via the formation of H-bond network within membranes. To address the “antioxidant” potential of SMs, we performed LC-MS/MS analysis of model SM/glycerophosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes with different SM fraction after induction of radical driven lipid peroxidation. Increasing SM fraction led to a strong suppression of lipid peroxidation. Electrochemical oxidation of non-liposomal SMs eliminated the observed effect, indicating the importance of membrane structure for inhibition of peroxidation propagation. High resolution MS analysis of lipid peroxidation products (LPPs) observed in in vitro oxidized SM/PC liposomes allowed to identify and relatively quantify SM- and PC-derived LPPs. Moreover, mapping quantified LPPs to the known pathways of lipid peroxidation allowed to demonstrate significant decrease in mono-hydroxy(epoxy) LPPs relative to mono-keto derivatives in SM-rich liposomes. The results presented here illustrate an important property of SMs in biological membranes, acting as “biophysical antioxidant”. Furthermore, a ratio between mono-keto/mono-hydroxy(epoxy) oxidized species can be used as a marker of lipid peroxidation propagation in the presence of different antioxidants