S-mixing and quantum tunneling of the magnetization in molecular nanomagnets

The role of $S$-mixing in the quantum tunneling of the magnetization in nanomagnets has been investigated. We show that the effect on the tunneling frequency is huge and that the discrepancy (more than 3 orders of magnitude in the tunneling frequency) between spectroscopic and relaxation measurements in Fe$_8$ can be resolved if $S$-mixing is taken into account.Comment: REVTEX, 10 pages, 3 jpg figures, to appear in PR

A Control Plane Enabling Automated and Fully Adaptive Network Traffic Monitoring With eBPF

The extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF) enables the dynamic injection of user-defined processing logic at run-time in the Linux networking stack without disrupting any active monitoring process. This enables the selective extraction of only the traffic features that are needed in a given instant of time, which is what we define fully adaptive network traffic monitoring. However, eBPF programs require ad-hoc control plane routines for each specific scenario in order to orchestrate the underlying data plane and export the required metrics, resulting in potentially duplicated source codes to maintain, and creating the risk of deploying, at runtime, unverified user-defined code that controls the devices running the monitoring process. This paper presents a control plane that automatically adapts both its management tasks and data extraction methodologies based on the underlying data plane provided by the user, who can merely focus on the monitoring logic definition. The paper evaluates the performance of the control plane's modules and demonstrates the advantages, in terms of processing speed and memory consumption, of a fully-adaptive monitoring approach with respect to nProbe (a state-of-the-art solution), an adaptive and a non-adaptive methodology in eBPF. Experiments prove that the control plane monitoring options do not significantly affect the underlying data plane (0.15% degraded throughput) and leverage the most efficient extraction primitives (20x faster execution time). Moreover, the fully-adaptive monitoring leads to a higher number of processed packets (10x) and significantly lower memory occupancy (10x) when extracting the smallest set of features

Uncertainty in Semantic Schema Integration

In this paper we present a new method of semantic schema integration, based on uncertain semantic mappings. The purpose of semantic schema integration is to produce a unified representation of multiple data sources. First, schema matching is performed to identify the semantic mappings between the schema objects. Then, an integrated schema is produced during the schema merging process based on the identified mappings. If all semantic mappings are known, schema merging can be performed (semi-)automatically

Glutathione increase by the n-butanoyl glutathione derivative (GSH-C4) inhibits viral replication and induces a predominant Th1 immune profile in old mice infected with influenza virus

During aging, glutathione (GSH) content declines and the immune system undergoes a deficiency in the induction of Th1 response. Reduced secretion of Th1 cytokines, which is associated with GSH depletion, could weaken the host defenses against viral infections. We first evaluated the concentration of GSH and cysteine in organs of old mice; then, the effect of the administration of the N-butanoyl GSH derivative (GSH-C4) on the response of aged mice infected with influenza A PR8/H1N1 virus was studied through the determination of GSH concentration in organs, lung viral titer, IgA and IgG1/IgG2a production and Th1/Th2 cytokine profile. Old mice had lower GSH than young mice in organs. Also the gene expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers involved in GSH metabolism and folding of proteins, i.e. Nrf2 and PDI, was reduced. Following infection, GSH content remained low and neither infection nor GSH-C4 treatment affected Nrf2 expression. In contrast, PDI expression was upregulated during infection and appeared counterbalanced by GSH-C4. Moreover, the treatment with GSH-C4 increased GSH content in organs, reduced viral replication and induced a predominant Th1 response. In conclusion, GSH-C4 treatment could be used in the elderly to contrast influenza virus infection by inducing immune response, in particular the Th1 profile

Magnetic Excitations in NpCoGa5

We report the results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments on NpCoGa$_{5}$, an isostructural analogue of the PuCoGa$_{5}$ superconductor. Two energy scales characterize the magnetic response in the antiferromagnetic phase. One is related to a non-dispersive excitation between two crystal field levels. The other at lower energies corresponds to dispersive fluctuations emanating from the magnetic zone center. The fluctuations persist in the paramagnetic phase also, although weaker in intensity. This supports the possibility that magnetic fluctuations are present in PuCoGa$_{5}$, where unconventional d-wave superconductivity is achieved in the absence of magnetic order.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

A user-friendly forest model with a multiplicative mathematical structure: a Bayesian approach to calibration

Forest models are being increasingly used to study ecosystem functioning, through the reproduction of carbon fluxes and productivity in very different forests all over the world. Over the last two decades, the need for simple and “easy to use” models for practical applications, characterized by few parameters and equations, has become clear, and some have been developed for this purpose. These models aim to represent the main drivers underlying forest ecosystem processes while being applicable to the widest possible range of forest ecosystems. Recently, it has also become clear that model performance should not be assessed only in terms of accuracy of estimations and predictions, but also in terms of estimates of model uncertainties. Therefore, the Bayesian approach has increasingly been applied to calibrate forest models, with the aim of estimating the uncertainty of their results, and of comparing their performances. Some forest models, considered to be user-friendly, rely on a multiplicative or quasimultiplicative mathematical structure, which is known to cause problems during the calibration process, mainly due to high correlations between parameters. In a Bayesian framework using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling this is likely to impair the reaching of a proper convergence of the chains and the sampling from the correct posterior distribution. Here we show two methods to reach proper convergence when using a forest model with a multiplicative structure, applying different algorithms with different number of iterations during the Markov Chain Monte Carlo or a two-steps calibration. The results showed that recently proposed algorithms for adaptive calibration do not confer a clear advantage over the Metropolis–Hastings Random Walk algorithm for the forest model used here. Moreover, the calibration remains time consuming and mathematically difficult, so advantages of using a fast and user-friendly model can be lost due to the calibration process that is needed to obtain reliable results

Increased risk of malignant mesothelioma of the pleura after residential or domestic exposure to asbestos: a case-control study in Casale Monferrato, Italy.

The association of malignant mesothelioma (MM) and nonoccupational asbestos exposure is currently debated. Our study investigates environmental and domestic asbestos exposure in the city where the largest Italian asbestos cement (AC) factory was located. This population-based case-control study included pleural MM (histologically diagnosed) incidents in the area in 1987-1993, matched by age and sex to two controls (four if younger than 60). Diagnoses were confirmed by a panel of five pathologists. We interviewed 102 cases and 273 controls in 1993-1995, out of 116 and 330 eligible subjects. Information was checked and completed on the basis of factory and Town Office files. We adjusted analyses for occupational exposure in the AC industry. In the town there were no other relevant industrial sources of asbestos exposure. Twenty-three cases and 20 controls lived with an AC worker [odds ratio (OR) = 4.5; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.8-11.1)]. The risk was higher for the offspring of AC workers (OR = 7.4; 95% CI, 1.9-28.1). Subjects attending grammar school in Casale also showed an increased risk (OR = 3.3; 95% CI, 1.4-7.7). Living in Casale was associated with a very high risk (after selecting out AC workers: OR = 20.6; 95% CI, 6.2-68.6), with spatial trend with increasing distance from the AC factory. The present work confirms the association of environmental asbestos exposure and pleural MM, controlling for other sources of asbestos exposure, and suggests that environmental exposure caused a greater risk than domestic exposure