On a meaningful integration of web services in data-intensive biomedical environments: The DICODE approach

This paper reports on an innovative approach that aims to reduce information management costs in data-intensive and cognitively-complex biomedical environments. Recognizing the importance of prominent high-performance computing paradigms and large data processing technologies as well as collaboration support systems to remedy data-intensive issues, it adopts a hybrid approach by building on the synergy of these technologies. The proposed approach provides innovative Web-based workbenches that integrate and orchestrate a set of interoperable services that reduce the data-intensiveness and complexity overload at critical decision points to a manageable level, thus permitting stakeholders to be more productive and concentrate on creative activities.

Contribution to Load-Frequency Regulation of a Hydropower Plant with Long Tail-Race Tunnel

In this paper, a hydroelectric power plant with long tail-race tunnel has been modelled for assessing its contribution to secondary regulation reserve. Cavitation problems, caused by the discharge conduit length, are expected downstream the turbine where low pressure appears during regulation manoeuvres. Therefore, governor's gains should be selected taking into account these phenomena. On the other hand, regulation services bidden by the plant operator should fulfil TSO (Transmission System Operator) quality requirements. A methodology for tuning governor PI gains is proposed and applied to a Hydro power plant in pre-design phase in northwest area of Spain. The PI gains adjustment proposed provides a proper plant response, according to some established indexes, while avoiding cavitation phenomena.

Intermediate hosts of Toxoplasma gondii and food safety:epidemiology, genetics and parasite survival in meat-producing animals in Italy

Toxoplasma gondii is a coccidian parasite with a global distribution. The definitive host is the cat (and other felids). All warm-blooded animals can act as intermediate hosts, including humans. Sexual reproduction (gametogony) takes place in the final host and oocysts are released in the environment, where they then sporulate to become infective. In intermediate hosts the cycle is extra-intestinal and results in the formation of tachyzoites and bradyzoites. Tachyzoites represent the invasive and proliferative stage and on entering a cell it multiplies asexually by endodyogeny. Bradyzoites within tissue cysts are the latent form. T. gondii is a food-borne parasite causing toxoplasmosis, which can occur in both animals and humans. Infection in humans is asymptomatic in more than 80% of cases in Europe and North-America. In the remaining cases patients present fever, cervical lymphadenopathy and other non-specific clinical signs. Nevertheless, toxoplasmosis is life threatening if it occurs in immunocompromised subjects. The main organs involved are brain (toxoplasmic encephalitis), heart (myocarditis), lungs (pulmonary toxoplasmosis), eyes, pancreas and parasite can be isolated from these tissues. Another aspect is congenital toxoplasmosis that may occur in pregnant women and the severity of the consequences depends on the stage of pregnancy when maternal infection occurs. Acute toxoplasmosis in developing foetuses may result in blindness, deformation, mental retardation or even death. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in recent reports on zoonoses, highlighted that an increasing numbers of animals resulted infected with T. gondii in EU (reported by the European Member States for pigs, sheep, goats, hunted wild boar and hunted deer, in 2011 and 2012). In addition, high prevalence values have been detected in cats, cattle and dogs, as well as several other animal species, indicating the wide distribution of the parasite among different animal and wildlife species. The main route of transmission is consumption of food and water contaminated with sporulated oocysts. However, infection through the ingestion of meat contaminated with tissue cysts is frequent. Finally, although less frequent, other food products contaminated with tachyzoites such as milk, may also pose a risk. The importance of this parasite as a risk for human health was recently highlighted by EFSA’s opinion on modernization of meat inspection, where Toxoplasma gondii was identified as a relevant hazard to be addressed in revised meat inspection systems for pigs, sheep, goats, farmed wild boar and farmed deer (Call for proposals -GP/EFSA/BIOHAZ/2013/01). The risk of infection is more highly associated to animals reared outside, also in free-range or organic farms, where biohazard measure are less strict than in large scale, industrial farms. Here, animals are kept under strict biosecurity measures, including barriers, which inhibit access by cats, thus making soil contamination by oocysts nearly impossible. A growing demand by the consumer for organic products, coming from free-range livestock, in respect of animal-welfare, and the desire for the best quality of derived products, have all led to an increase in the farming of free-range animals. The risk of Toxoplasma gondii infection increases when animals have access to environment and the absence of data in Italy, together with need for in depth study of both the prevalence and genotypes of Toxoplasma gondii present in our country were the main reasons for the development of this thesis project. A total of 152 animals have been analyzed, including 21 free-range pigs (Suino Nero race), 24 transhumant Cornigliese sheep, 77 free-range chickens and 21 wild animals. Serology (on meat juice) and identification of T. gondii DNA through PCR was performed on all samples, except for wild animals (no serology). An in-vitro test was also applied with the aim to find an alternative and valid method to bioassay, actually the gold standard. Meat samples were digested and seeded onto Vero cells, checked every day and a RT-PCR protocol was used to determine an eventual increase in the amount of DNA, demonstrating the viability of the parasite. Several samples were alos genetically characterized using a PCR-RFLP protocol to define the major genotypes diffused in the geographical area studied. Within the context of a project promoted by Istituto Zooprofilattico of Pavia and Brescia (Italy), experimentally infected pigs were also analyzed. One of the aims was to verify if the production process of cured “Prosciutto di Parma” is able to kill the parasite. Our contribution included the digestion and seeding of homogenates on Vero cells and applying the Elisa test on meat juice. This thesis project has highlighted widespread diffusion of T. gondii in the geographical area taken into account. Pigs, sheep, chickens and wild animals showed high prevalence of infection. The data obtained with serology were 95.2%, 70.8%, 36.4%, respectively, indicating the spread of the parasite among numerous animal species. For wild animals, the average value of parasite infection determined through PCR was 44.8%. Meat juice serology appears to be a very useful, rapid and sensitive method for screening carcasses at slaughterhouse and for marketing “Toxo-free” meat. The results obtained on fresh pork meat (derived from experimentally infected pigs) before (on serum) and after (on meat juice) slaughter showed a good concordance. The free-range farming put in evidence a marked risk for meat-producing animals and as a consequence also for the consumer. Genotyping revealed the diffusion of Type-II and in a lower percentage of Type-III. In pigs is predominant the Type-II profile, while in wildlife is more diffused a Type-III and mixed profiles (mainly Type-II/III). The mixed genotypes (Type-II/III) could be explained by the presence of mixed infections. Free-range farming and the contact with wildlife could facilitate the spread of the parasite and the generation of new and atypical strains, with unknown consequences on human health. The curing process employed in this study appears to produce hams that do not pose a serious concern to human health and therefore could be marketed and consumed without significant health risk. Little is known about the diffusion and genotypes of T. gondii in wild animals; further studies on the way in which new and mixed genotypes may be introduced into the domestic cycle should be very interesting, also with the use of NGS techniques, more rapid and sensitive than PCR-RFLP. Furthermore wildlife can become a valuable indicator of environmental contamination with T. gondii oocysts. Other future perspectives regarding pigs include the expansion of the number of free-range animals and farms and for Cornigliese sheep the evaluation of other food products as raw milk and cheeses. It should be interesting to proceed with the validation of an ELISA test for infection in chickens, using both serum and meat juice on a larger number of animals and the same should be done also for wildlife (at the moment no ELISA tests are available and MAT is the reference method for them). Results related to Parma ham do not suggest a concerning risk for consumers. However, further studies are needed to complete the risk assessment and the analysis of other products cured using technological processes other than those investigated in the present study. For example, it could be interesting to analyze products such as salami, produced with pig meat all over the Italian country, with very different recipes, also in domestic and rural contexts, characterized by a very short period of curing (1 to 6 months). Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most diffuse food-borne parasites globally. Public health safety, improved animal production and protection of endangered livestock species are all important goals of research into reliable diagnostic tools for this infection. Future studies into the epidemiology, parasite survival and genotypes of T. gondii in meat producing animals should continue to be a research priority.

Modéle qui offre la restauration du Colisée de Rome tel qu'il était originairement : de la soixantième partie de la réalité mesure linéaire /

Mode of access: Internet.

List of plant breeders in Canada and the United States of America; a reference list of classified information giving the addresses and activities of plant breeders in these countries.

Supplement; World list of plant breeders. (105 p.) issued in 1952 (Rome, Italy)

Architectural results of the latest excavations in the Forum ...

At head of title: Extract from the Journal of the Royal Institute of British architects, 3d. series, v. VIII, no. 2.

Correspondance des directeurs de l'Académie de France à Rome avec les surintendants des bâtiments, pub. d'après les manuscrits des Archives nationales par m. Anatole Montaiglon, sous le patronage de la direction des beaux-arts. 1666[-1804].

Accompanied by Table générale, rédigée par Paul Cornu. Paris, J. Schemit, 1912. Numbered as vol.xviii of the series.

Portland Vase, diagram of the frieze

Glass, Roman; 9 29/64 in. x 6 31/32 in.

Correspondance des directeurs de l'Académie de France à Rome avec les surintendants des bâtiments,

Seal of the Société de l'histoire de l'art français, on t.p. of each volume.

L'Académie de France à Rome: la première liste authentique des pensionnaires de l'Académie de France à Rome (1668) et le premier logis de l'Académie, d'après un document inédit tiré des archives de San Spirito in Sassia, à Rome.

Bibliographical foot-notes.

Structural Analysis and Form-Finding of Mycelium-Based Monolithic Domes

As sustainability becomes an integral design driver for current civil structures, new materials and forms are investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate analytically and numerically the mechanical behavior of monolithic domes composed of mycological fungi. The study focuses on hemispherical and elliptical forms, as the most typical solution for domes. The influence of different types of loading, geometrical parameters, material properties and boundary conditions is investigated in this study. For the cases covered by the classical shell theory, a comparison between the analytical and the finite element solution is given. Two case studies regarding the dome of basilica of “San Luca” (Bologna, Italy) and the dome of sanctuary of “Vicoforte” (Vicoforte, Italy) are included. After the linear analysis under loading, buckling is also investigated as a critical type of failure through a parametric study using finite elements model. Since shells rely on their shape, form-found domes are also investigated and a comparison between the behavior of the form-found domes and the hemispherical domes under the linear and buckling analysis is conducted. From the analysis it emerges that form-finding can enhance the structural response of mycelium-based domes, although buckling becomes even more critical for their design. Furthermore, an optimal height to span ratio for the buckling of form-found domes is identified. This study highlights the importance of investigating appropriate forms for the design of novel biomaterial-based structures.

Low frequency of cigarette smoking and the risk of head and neck cancer in the INHANCE consortium pooled analysis

Funding • The pooled data coordination team (PBoffetta, MH, YCAL) were supported by National Cancer Institute grant R03CA113157 and by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research grant R03DE016611 • The Milan study (CLV) was supported by the Italian Association for Research on Cancer (Grant no. 10068). • The Aviano study (LDM) was supported by a grant from the Italian Association for Research on Cancer (AIRC), Italian League Against Cancer and Italian Ministry of Research • The Italy Multicenter study (DS) was supported by the Italian Association for Research on Cancer (AIRC), Italian League Against Cancer and Italian Ministry of Research. • The Study from Switzerland (FL) was supported by the Swiss League against Cancer and the Swiss Research against Cancer/Oncosuisse [KFS-700, OCS-1633]. • The central Europe study (PBoffetta, PBrenan, EF, JL, DM, PR, OS, NS-D) was supported by the World Cancer Research Fund and the European Commission INCOCOPERNICUS Program [Contract No. IC15- CT98-0332] • The New York multicentre study (JM) was supported by a grant from National Institute of Health [P01CA068384 K07CA104231]. • The study from the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center from Seattle (CC, SMS) was supported by a National Institute of Health grant [R01CA048996, R01DE012609]. • The Iowa study (ES) was supported by National Instituteof Health [NIDCR R01DE011979, NIDCR R01DE013110, FIRCA TW001500] and Veterans Affairs Merit Review Funds. • The North Carolina studies (AFO) were supported by National Institute of Health [R01CA061188], and in part by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [P30ES010126]. • The Tampa study (PLazarus, JM) was supported by National Institute of Health grants [P01CA068384, K07CA104231, R01DE013158] • The Los Angeles study (Z-F Z, HM) was supported by grants from National Institute of Health [P50CA090388, R01DA011386, R03CA077954, T32CA009142, U01CA096134, R21ES011667] and the Alper Research Program for Environmental Genomics of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. • The Houston study (EMS, GL) was supported by a grant from National Institute of Health [R01ES011740, R01CA100264]. • The Puerto Rico study (RBH, MPP) was supported by a grant from National Institutes of Health (NCI) US and NIDCR intramural programs. • The Latin America study (PBoffetta, PBrenan, MV, LF, MPC, AM, AWD, SK, VW-F) was supported by Fondo para la Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (FONCYT) Argentina, IMIM (Barcelona), Fundaco de Amparo a‘ Pesquisa no Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [No 01/01768-2], and European Commission [IC18-CT97-0222] • The IARC multicentre study (SF, RH, XC) was supported by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS) of the Spanish Government [FIS 97/ 0024, FIS 97/0662, BAE 01/5013], International Union Against Cancer (UICC), and Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study Grant. • The Boston study (KKelsey, MMcC) was supported by a grant from National Institute of Health [R01CA078609, R01CA100679]. • The Rome study (SB, GC) was supported by AIRC (Italian Agency for Research on Cancer). • The US multicentre study (BW) was supported by The Intramural Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, United States. • The Sao Paolo study (V W-F) was supported by Fundacao de Ampara a Pesquisa no Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP No 10/51168-0) • The MSKCC study (SS, G-P Y) was supported by a grant from National Institute of Health [R01CA051845]. • The Seattle-Leo stud (FV) was supported by a grant from National Institute of Health [R01CA030022] • The western Europe Study (PBoffetta, IH, WA, PLagiou, DS, LS, FM, CH, KKjaerheim, DC, TMc, PT, AA, AZ) was supported by European Community (5th Frame work Programme) grant no QLK1-CT-2001- 00182. • The Germany Heidelberg study (HR) was supported by the grant No. 01GB9702/3 from the German Ministry of Education and Research.

Enhancing Cloud Security and Privacy: The Power and the Weakness of the Audit Trail

Winner of best paper award.

Ecophysiology of Adonis distorta, a high-mountain species endemic of the Central Apennines

Morphological, anatomical and physiological plant and leaf traits of A. distorta, an endemic species of the Central Apennines on the Majella Massif, growing at 2,675 m a.s.l, were analyzed. The length of the phenological cycle starts immediately after the snowmelt at the end of May, lasting 128 ± 10 days. The low A. distorta height  (Hmax= 64 ± 4 mm) and total leaf area (TLA= 38 ± 9 cm2) associated to a high leaf mass area (LMA =11.8±0.6 mg cm−2) and a relatively high leaf tissue density (LTD = 124.6±14.3 mg cm−3) seem to be adaptive traits to the stress factors of the environment where it grows. From a physiological point of view, the high A. distorta photosynthetic rates (PN =19.6 ± 2.3 µmol m−2 s−1) and total chlorophyll content (Chla+b = 0.88 ± 0.13 mg g−1) in July are justified by the favorable temperature. PN decreases by 87% in September at the beginning of plant senescence. Photosynthesis and leaf respiration (RD) variations allow A. distorta to maintain a positive carbon balance during the growing season becoming indicative of the efficiency of plant carbon use. The results could be an important tool for conservation programmes of the A. distorta wild populations.

The value of military oath in civil wars in Rome: The example of conflict 49-45 BC

During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the military oath which binds the soldier to his army is often openly violated. Yet despite this offense, commanders of armed struggle require recursively the oath to their men. Admittedly, this ritual act seems ineffective given the many desertions and mutinies identified, but military leaders use its symbolic and sacred meaning to legitimize one hand their “anti-republican” actions, on the other armies fighting in a context deemed impius.