PIKA: A Network Service for Multikernel Operating Systems

PIKA is a network stack designed for multikernel operating systems that target potential future architectures lacking cache-coherent shared memory but supporting message passing. PIKA splits the network stack into several servers that communicate using a low-overhead message passing layer. A key challenge faced by PIKA is the maintenance of shared state, such as a single accept queue and load balance information. PIKA addresses this challenge using a speculative 3-way handshake for connection acceptance, and a new distributed load balancing scheme for spreading connections. A PIKA prototype achieves competitive performance, excellent scalability, and low service times under load imbalance on commodity hardware. Finally, we demonstrate that splitting network stack processing by function across separate cores is a net loss on commodity hardware, and we describe conditions under which it may be advantageous

CO2 Adsorption in a Robust Iron(III) Pyrazolate-Based MOF: Molecular-Level Details and Frameworks Dynamics From Powder X-ray Diffraction Adsorption Isotherms

Understanding adsorption processes at the molecular level, with multi-technique approaches, is nowadays at the frontier of porous materials research. In this work it is shown that with a proper data treatment, in situ high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HR-PXRD) at variable temperature and gas pressure can reveal atomic details of the accommodation sites, the framework dynamics as well as thermodynamic information (isosteric heat of adsorption) of the CO2 adsorption process in the robust iron(III) pyrazolate-based MOF Fe2(BDP)3 [H2BDP = 1,4-bis(1H-pyrazol-4-yl)benzene]. Highly reliable "HR-PXRD adsorption isotherms" can be constructed from occupancy values of CO2 molecules. The "HR-PXRD adsorption isotherms" accurately match the results of conventional static and dynamic gas sorption experiments and Monte Carlo simulations. These results are indicative of the impact of the molecular-level behavior on the bulk properties of the system under study and of the potential of the presented multi-technique approach to understand adsorption processes in metal-organic frameworks

Technologies for the fabrication of the E-ELT mirrors within the T-REX project

With its primary mirror with 39 m of diameter, the E-ELT will be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world and will gather 13 times more light than the largest optical telescopes existing today. The different optical sub-systems of E-ELT, including the primary mirror based on hundreds of reflecting tiles assembled together, represent key components for the implementation of the telescopes. A huge amount of aspherical reflecting elements have to be produced with "state of the art" figuring and polishing technologies and measured with proper metrological equipments. In the past couple of years, in the context of the T-REX project, a specific development program was carried out at the Brera Astronomical Observatory-INAF in order to address a numbers of technology aspects related to the fabrication of the E-ELT mirrors. In this paper we give a short overview of the activities that have been carried out. Other papers in this volume report on specific activities that have pursed within such a development program. skip=8p

Designing the Future: An Intelligent System for Zero-Mile Food Production by Upcycling Wastewater

The project deals with the environmental problem of water consumption. The aim of this work is to experiment the recycling of dishwasher wastewater through its reuse in growing edible vegetables or ornamental plants; this can also accomplish the valorization of nutrients present in the wastewater. This new process allows to ensure washing functions coupled with vegetables production and to affect users’ environmental awareness and habits, following a user-centered system design approach to understand the users and involve them actively in the system development. The presented work is also aimed to experiment a multidisciplinary approach in order to face environmental problems

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Challenges in Characterization of Odour Emissions from Wood Chip Storage

Woody biomass energy is increasingly widespread due to its renewable nature. Before processing, biomass is typically stored in wood heaps located outdoor. A prolonged storage may lead to gaseous emission due to the physicochemical and biological degradations within the biomass. This experimental work focuses on the characterization of odorous emission from wood chips storage, since similar studies are not available in literature. To this purpose, some field measurements have been conducted on wood heaps stored in an Italian thermal power plant to evaluate if they represent a possible significant source of odour and to identify some potential parameters (i.e. storage time, wood matrix, presence of smoke) that may affect the odour release from wood storage. This study reveals the heterogeneity of the heap surface. Infact, while “dry zones” appears not particularly significant in terms of odour emission, “smoking zones” are characterised by odour concentrations values two orders of magnitude higher (and up to 200,000 ouE/m3). The presence of smoking areas seems to be strictly connected to the storage time, since in heaps stored from more than 100 - 150 days smoking regions only occur in localized areas and in less enhanced way. Therefore, storage time appears as a significant parameter which affects the odour emissions. On the contrary, the type of wood matrix seems not a crucial variable: no remarkable differences have been identified among heaps with different wood origin