DiffServer: Application Level Differentiated Services for Web Servers

Web content hosting, in which a Web server stores and provides Web access to documents for different customers, is becoming increasingly common. For example, a web server can host webpages for several different companies and individuals. Traditionally, Web Service Providers (WSPs) provide all customers with the same level of performance (best-effort service). Most service differentiation has been in the pricing structure (individual vs. business rates) or the connectivity type (dial-up access vs. leased line, etc.). This report presents DiffServer, a program that implements two simple, server-side, application-level mechanisms (server-centric and client-centric) to provide different levels of web service. The results of the experiments show that there is not much overhead due to the addition of this additional layer of abstraction between the client and the Apache web server under light load conditions. Also, the average waiting time for high priority requests decreases significantly after they are assigned priorities as compared to a FIFO approach.

IMMIGRATION, THE AMERICAN WEST, AND THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: GERMAN FROM RUSSIA, OMAHA INDIAN, AND VIETNAMESE-URBAN VILLAGERS IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA

The North American West is a culturally and geographically diverse region that has long been a beacon for successive waves of human immigration and migration. A case in point, the population of Lincoln, Nebraska -- a capital city on the eastern cusp of the Great Plains -- was augmented during the twentieth century by significant influxes of Germans from Russia, Omaha Indians, and Vietnamese. Arriving in clusters beginning in 1876, 1941, and 1975 respectively, these newcomers were generally set in motion by dismal economic, social, or political situations in their sending nations. Seeking better lives, they entered a mainstream milieu dominated by native-born Americans -- most part of a lateral migration from Iowa, Illinois, and Pennsylvania -- who only established their local community in 1867. While this mainstream welcomed their labor, it often eschewed the behaviors and cultural practices ethnic peoples brought with them. Aware but not overly concerned about these prejudices, all three groups constructed or organized distinct urban villages. The physical forms of these enclaves ranged from homogeneous neighborhoods to tight assemblies of relatives, but each suited a shared preference for living among kinspeople. These urban villages also served as stable anchors for unique peoples who were intent on maintaining aspects of their imported cultural identities. Never willing to assimilate to mainstream norms, urban villagers began adapting to their new milieus. While ethnic identity constructions in Lincoln proved remarkably enduring, they were also amazingly flexible. In fact, each subject group constantly negotiated their identities in response to interactions among particular, cosmopolitan, and transnational forces. Particularism refers largely to the beliefs, behaviors, and organizational patterns urban villagers imported from their old milieus. Cosmopolitan influences emanated from outside the ethnic groups and were dictated largely but not exclusively by the mainstream. Transnationalism is best defined as persistent, intense contact across international boundaries. These influences were important as the particularism of dispersed peoples was often reinforced by contact with sending cultures. Adviser: John. R. Wunder

Amazonian Anthrosols Support Similar Microbial Communities that Differ Distinctly from Those Extant in Adjacent, Unmodified Soils of the Same Mineralogy

We compared the microbial community composition in soils from the Brazilian Amazon with two contrasting histories; anthrosols and their adjacent non-anthrosol soils of the same mineralogy. The anthrosols, also known as the Amazonian Dark Earths or terra preta, were managed by the indigenous pre-Colombian Indians between 500 and 8,700 years before present and are characterized by unusually high cation exchange capacity, phosphorus (P), and calcium (Ca) contents, and soil carbon pools that contain a high proportion of incompletely combusted biomass as biochar or black carbon (BC). We sampled paired anthrosol and unmodified soils from four locations in the Manaus, Brazil, region that differed in their current land use and soil type. Community DNA was extracted from sampled soils and characterized by use of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. DNA bands of interest from Bacteria and Archaea DGGE gels were cloned and sequenced. In cluster analyses of the DNA fingerprints, microbial communities from the anthrosols grouped together regardless of current land use or soil type and were distinct from those in their respective, paired adjacent soils. For the Archaea, the anthrosol communities diverged from the adjacent soils by over 90%. A greater overall richness was observed for Bacteria sequences as compared with those of the Archaea. Most of the sequences obtained were novel and matched those in databases at less than 98% similarity. Several sequences obtained only from the anthrosols grouped at 93% similarity with the Verrucomicrobia, a genus commonly found in rice paddies in the tropics. Sequences closely related to Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria sp. were recovered only from adjacent soil samples. Sequences related to Pseudomonas, Acidobacteria, and Flexibacter sp. were recovered from both anthrosols and adjacent soils. The strong similarities among the microbial communities present in the anthrosols for both the Bacteria and Archaea suggests that the microbial community composition in these soils is controlled more strongly by their historical soil management than by soil type or current land use. The anthrosols had consistently higher concentrations of incompletely combusted organic black carbon material (BC), higher soil pH, and higher concentrations of P and Ca compared to their respective adjacent soils. Such characteristics may help to explain the longevity and distinctiveness of the anthrosols in the Amazonian landscape and guide us in recreating soils with sustained high fertility in otherwise nutrient-poor soils in modern times.

TL dating of pottery fragments from four archaeological sites in Taquari Valley, Brazil

Sixty-three pottery fragments from four archaeological sites, numbered RST110, RST101, RST114 and RST114, in the Taquari Valley, vicinity of the city of Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, have been dated by the thermoluminescence method. Some of them from RST110 and RST101 are as old as 1400-1200 years, whereas those from RST114 and RST107 are younger than 800 years. This result indicates that RST101 and RST110 were peopled earlier than RST114 and RST107. The recent dates found are 302, 295 and 146 years and they are possible, since the first German immigrants who arrived in this region encountered Tupi-Guarani Indians still living there. One interesting result refers to the glow curves of quartz grains RST110, RST101 and RST114 that differ from the glow curves of RST107 quartz grains.

Epidemiology and predictors of a poor outcome in elderly patients with candidemia

Background: Candidemia affects patient populations from neonates to the elderly. Despite this, little information is available about the epidemiology of candidemia in elderly patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 987 episodes of candidemia in adults (>14 years of age) from the databases of three laboratory-based surveys of candidemia performed at 14 tertiary care hospitals. Patients aged >= 60 years were considered elderly (group 1, n = 455, 46%) and were compared to younger patients (group 2, n = 532, 54%) regarding demographics, underlying diseases, comorbidities, exposure to medical procedures, species, treatment, and outcome. Results: The median APACHE II score was significantly higher in the elderly patients (19 vs. 15, p = 0.03). Variables that were observed significantly more frequently in elderly patients included admission to an intensive care unit, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, cardiac disease, lung disease, receipt of antibiotics or H2 blockers, insertion of a central venous catheter, mechanical ventilation, and candidemia due to Candida tropicalis. The 30-day mortality of elderly patients was significantly higher than that of younger patients (70% vs. 45%, p < 0.001). Factors associated with higher mortality by multivariate analysis included APACHE II score and being in group 1 (elderly). Factors associated with mortality in elderly patients were lung disease and the receipt of mechanical ventilation. Conclusions: Elderly patients account for a substantial proportion of patients with candidemia and have a higher mortality compared to younger patients. (C) 2012 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The implementation of the Medical Regulation Office and Mobile Emergency Attendance System and its impact on the gravity profile of non-traumatic afflictions treated in a University Hospital: a research study

Abstract Background The public health system of Brazil is structured by a network of increasing complexity, but the low resolution of emergency care at pre-hospital units and the lack of organization of patient flow overloaded the hospitals, mainly the ones of higher complexity. The knowledge of this phenomenon induced Ribeirão Preto to implement the Medical Regulation Office and the Mobile Emergency Attendance System. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of these services on the gravity profile of non-traumatic afflictions in a University Hospital. Methods The study conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical records of 906 patients older than 13 years of age who entered the Emergency Care Unit of the Hospital of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine at Ribeirão Preto. All presented acute non-traumatic afflictions and were admitted to the Internal Medicine, Surgery or Neurology Departments during two study periods: May 1996 (prior to) and May 2001 (after the implementation of the Medical Regulation Office and Mobile Emergency Attendance System). Demographics and mortality risk levels calculated by Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) were determined. Results From 1996 to 2001, the mean age increased from 49 ± 0.9 to 52 ± 0.9 (P = 0.021), as did the percentage of co-morbidities, from 66.6 to 77.0 (P = 0.0001), the number of in-hospital complications from 260 to 284 (P = 0.0001), the mean calculated APACHE II mortality risk increased from 12.0 ± 0.5 to 14.8 ± 0.6 (P = 0.0008) and mortality rate from 6.1 to 12.2 (P = 0.002). The differences were more significant for patients admitted to the Internal Medicine Department. Conclusion The implementation of the Medical Regulation and Mobile Emergency Attendance System contributed to directing patients with higher gravity scores to the Emergency Care Unit, demonstrating the potential of these services for hierarchical structuring of pre-hospital networks and referrals.

Hunting practices among the Awá-Guajá: towards a long-term analysis of sustainability in an Amazonian indigenous community

Indigenous Reserves have played an indispensable role in maintaining forest areas in the Neotropics. In the Amazon there is a clear correlation between these reserves and the presence of forest cover; however, the simple presence of uninterrupted vegetation is no guarantee for the conservation of biodiversity, especially where hunting is practiced. This study describes hunting practices among the Awá-Guajá people from 1993 through 1994, also identifying sociocultural, technological, and demographic changes that have influenced their resource acquisition strategies over the last two decades. The data was obtained through ethnographic fieldwork, recording 78 days of foraging returns, with follow-up visits through 2010. This work provides useful information for an effective diachronic analysis of hunting in this community, by revealing foraging patterns of the early to mid-1990s, and describing community transformations over the last two decades in this locale.

Candidemia en el paciente crítico no neutropénico : epidemiología, factores de riesgo y predictores de mortalidad

Eliminadas las páginas en blanco

Características epidemiológicas y factores pronósticos de los pacientes críticos según la duración de la ventilación mecánica

[ES]Objetivo principal. Analizar las características epidemiológicas y los factores pronósticos de los pacientes críticos según la duración de la ventilación mecánica. Material y Método. Estudio retrospectivo observacional con los pacientes adultos ingresados en una Unidad de Cuidados intensivos (UCI) de tercer nivel, durante 7 años y que precisaron de ventilación mecánica. Se analizaron variables demográficas como la edad, sexo, tipo de paciente, APACHE II, la estancia (UCI, pre-UCI y hospitalaria) y la necesidad de depuración extrarrenal. Se estudiaron las diferencias según su supervivencia y según la duración de la VM. Se llevaron a cabo modelos de previsión de la supervivencia mediante una regresión logística. Por último se estudió el impacto económico que ocasionaban en el servicio.

Utilizzo del Software OpenStack per la realizzazione di Piattaforme "Cloud"

Il Cloud computing è probabilmente l'argomento attualmente più dibattuto nel mondo dell'Information and Communication Technology (ICT). La diffusione di questo nuovo modo di concepire l'erogazione di servizi IT, è l'evoluzione di una serie di tecnologie che stanno rivoluzionando le modalit à in cui le organizzazioni costruiscono le proprie infrastrutture informatiche. I vantaggi che derivano dall'utilizzo di infrastrutture di Cloud Computing sono ad esempio un maggiore controllo sui servizi, sulla struttura dei costi e sugli asset impiegati. I costi sono proporzionati all'eettivo uso dei servizi (pay-per-use), evitando dunque gli sprechi e rendendo più efficiente il sistema di sourcing. Diverse aziende hanno già cominciato a provare alcuni servizi cloud e molte altre stanno valutando l'inizio di un simile percorso. La prima organizzazione a fornire una piattaforma di cloud computing fu Amazon, grazie al suo Elastic Computer Cloud (EC2). Nel luglio del 2010 nasce OpenStack, un progetto open-source creato dalla fusione dei codici realizzati dall'agenzia governativa della Nasa[10] e dell'azienda statunitense di hosting Rackspace. Il software realizzato svolge le stesse funzioni di quello di Amazon, a differenza di questo, però, è stato rilasciato con licenza Apache, quindi nessuna restrizione di utilizzo e di implementazione. Oggi il progetto Openstack vanta di numerose aziende partner come Dell, HP, IBM, Cisco, e Microsoft. L'obiettivo del presente elaborato è quello di comprendere ed analizzare il funzionamento del software OpenStack. Il fine principale è quello di familiarizzare con i diversi componenti di cui è costituito e di concepire come essi interagiscono fra loro, per poter costruire infrastrutture cloud del tipo Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Il lettore si troverà di fronte all'esposizione degli argomenti organizzati nei seguenti capitoli. Nel primo capitolo si introduce la definizione di cloud computing, trattandone le principali caratteristiche, si descrivono poi, i diversi modelli di servizio e di distribuzione, delineando vantaggi e svantaggi che ne derivano. Nel secondo capitolo due si parla di una delle tecnologie impiegate per la realizzazione di infrastrutture di cloud computing, la virtualizzazione. Vengono trattate le varie forme e tipologie di virtualizzazione. Nel terzo capitolo si analizza e descrive in dettaglio il funzionamento del progetto OpenStack. Per ogni componente del software, viene illustrata l'architettura, corredata di schemi, ed il relativo meccanismo. Il quarto capitolo rappresenta la parte relativa all'installazione del software e alla configurazione dello stesso. Inoltre si espongono alcuni test effettuati sulla macchina in cui è stato installato il software. Infine nel quinto capitolo si trattano le conclusioni con le considerazioni sugli obiettivi raggiunti e sulle caratteristiche del software preso in esame.

An interdisciplinary analysis of obesity: theory and empirical evidence

The dissertation is structured in three parts. The first part compares US and EU agricultural policies since the end of WWII. There is not enough evidence for claiming that agricultural support has a negative impact on obesity trends. I discuss the possibility of an exchange in best practices to fight obesity. There are relevant economic, societal and legal differences between the US and the EU. However, partnerships against obesity are welcomed. The second part presents a socio-ecological model of the determinants of obesity. I employ an interdisciplinary model because it captures the simultaneous influence of several variables. Obesity is an interaction of pre-birth, primary and secondary socialization factors. To test the significance of each factor, I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. I compare the average body mass index across different populations. Differences in means are statistically significant. In the last part I use the National Survey of Children Health. I analyze the effect that family characteristics, built environment, cultural norms and individual factors have on the body mass index (BMI). I use Ordered Probit models and I calculate the marginal effects. I use State and ethnicity fixed effects to control for unobserved heterogeneity. I find that southern US States tend have on average a higher probability of being obese. On the ethnicity side, White Americans have a lower BMI respect to Black Americans, Hispanics and American Indians Native Islanders; being Asian is associated with a lower probability of being obese. In neighborhoods where trust level and safety perception are higher, children are less overweight and obese. Similar results are shown for higher level of parental income and education. Breastfeeding has a negative impact. Higher values of measures of behavioral disorders have a positive and significant impact on obesity, as predicted by the theory.

Dalle ambivalenze della Storia alla “cosmopolitical fiction”: la rappresentazione dell'alterità nel romanzo di Anita Desai

Varcare le frontiere della Storia attraverso le storie personali dei suoi personaggi ha sempre affascinato la sensibilità creatrice di Anita Desai, i cui romanzi possono essere considerati un interessante esempio di letteratura di confine, che riesce nel difficile compito di misurarsi, con eleganza e sensibilità, nella rappresentazione delle più feroci forme di marginalizzazione. Proponendo un dialogo tra alterità, che apre alle complessità storico-culturali in maniera del tutto a-ideologica e imparziale, la scrittrice indoinglese procede alla “provincializzazione” dell’India attraverso le numerose ambivalenze prodotte nelle zone frontaliere analizzate. Dalla rappresentazione della frontiera identitaria esterna, ovvero dall’ambivalente rapporto intrattenuto con il colonizzatore/ex-colonizzatore inglese, alla rappresentazione della frontiera identitaria interna, ovvero l’analisi delle contraddittorie relazioni tra le componenti etniche del subcontinente, Desai arriva infine a problematizzare storie di ambivalenti processi di marginalizzazione prodotti da mondi culturali così diversi come la Germania nazista, o gli indiani Huichol del lontano Messico, tracciando geografie culturali inedite della grande ragnatela della Storia. Desai riesce così a recuperare voci liminali spesso trascurate dalla postcolonialità stessa, per riconfigurarle in un’esplorazione profonda del comune destino dell’umanità, voci straniate e stranianti che acquisiscono un vero e proprio status di agency discorsiva, proiettando la sua scrittura verso una dimensione cosmopolitica. L’opera di Desai diventa indubbiamente un’opportunità concreta per scorgere nella differenza l’universalità di una comune umanità, vale a dire un’opportunità per vedere nell’alterità un’identità ribaltata.

An architecture for scaling ontology networks

Constructing ontology networks typically occurs at design time at the hands of knowledge engineers who assemble their components statically. There are, however, use cases where ontology networks need to be assembled upon request and processed at runtime, without altering the stored ontologies and without tampering with one another. These are what we call "virtual [ontology] networks", and keeping track of how an ontology changes in each virtual network is called "multiplexing". Issues may arise from the connectivity of ontology networks. In many cases, simple flat import schemes will not work, because many ontology managers can cause property assertions to be erroneously interpreted as annotations and ignored by reasoners. Also, multiple virtual networks should optimize their cumulative memory footprint, and where they cannot, this should occur for very limited periods of time. We claim that these problems should be handled by the software that serves these ontology networks, rather than by ontology engineering methodologies. We propose a method that spreads multiple virtual networks across a 3-tier structure, and can reduce the amount of erroneously interpreted axioms, under certain raw statement distributions across the ontologies. We assumed OWL as the core language handled by semantic applications in the framework at hand, due to the greater availability of reasoners and rule engines. We also verified that, in common OWL ontology management software, OWL axiom interpretation occurs in the worst case scenario of pre-order visit. To measure the effectiveness and space-efficiency of our solution, a Java and RESTful implementation was produced within an Apache project. We verified that a 3-tier structure can accommodate reasonably complex ontology networks better, in terms of the expressivity OWL axiom interpretation, than flat-tree import schemes can. We measured both the memory overhead of the additional components we put on top of traditional ontology networks, and the framework's caching capabilities.

Recupero della funzione renale in pazienti con acute kidney injury (AKI) sottoposti a terapia sostitutiva renale

L’insufficienza renale acuta(AKI) grave che richiede terapia sostitutiva, è una complicanza frequente nelle unità di terapia intensiva(UTI) e rappresenta un fattore di rischio indipendente di mortalità. Scopo dello studio é stato valutare prospetticamente, in pazienti “critici” sottoposti a terapie sostitutive renali continue(CRRT) per IRA post cardiochirurgia, la prevalenza ed il significato prognostico del recupero della funzione renale(RFR). Pazienti e Metodi:Pazienti(pz) con AKI dopo intervento di cardiochirurgia elettivo o in emergenza con disfunzione di due o più organi trattati con CRRT. Risultati:Dal 1996 al 2011, 266 pz (M 195,F 71, età 65.5±11.3aa) sono stati trattati con CRRT. Tipo di intervento: CABG(27.6%), dissecazione aortica(33%), sostituzione valvolare(21.1%), CABG+sostituzione valvolare(12.6%), altro(5.7%). Parametri all’inizio del trattamento: BUN 86.1±39.4, creatininemia(Cr) 3.96±1.86mg/dL, PAM 72.4±13.6mmHg, APACHE II score 30.7±6.1, SOFAscore 13.7±3. RIFLE: Risk (11%), Injury (31.4%), Failure (57.6%). AKI oligurica (72.2%), ventilazione meccanica (93.2%), inotropi (84.5%). La sopravvivenza a 30 gg ed alla dimissione è stata del 54.2% e del 37.1%. La sopravvivenza per stratificazione APACHE II: <24=85.1 e 66%, 25-29=63.5 e 48.1%, 30-34=51.8 e 31.8%, >34=31.6 e 17.7%. RFR ha consentito l’interruzione della CRRT nel 87.8% (86/98) dei survivors (Cr 1.4±0.6mg/dL) e nel 14.5% (24/166) dei nonsurvivors (Cr 2.2±0.9mg/dL) con un recupero totale del 41.4%. RFR è stato osservato nel 59.5% (44/74) dei pz non oligurici e nel 34.4% dei pz oligurici (66/192). La distribuzione dei pz sulla base dei tempi di RFR è stata:<8=38.2%, 8-14=20.9%, 15-21=11.8%, 22-28=10.9%, >28=18.2%. All’analisi multivariata, l’oliguria, l’età e il CV-SOFA a 7gg dall’inizio della CRRT si sono dimostrati fattori prognostici sfavorevoli su RFR(>21gg). RFR si associa ad una sopravvivenza elevata(78.2%). Conclusioni:RFR significativamente piu frequente nei pz non oligurici si associa ad una sopravvivenza alla dimissione piu elevata. La distribuzione dei pz in rapporto ad APACHE II e SOFAscore dimostra che la sopravvivenza e RFR sono strettamente legati alla gravità della patologia.

Sviluppo di applicazioni mobile platform-independent: Un caso di studio basato sul framework sencha

Negli ultimi anni si è imposto il concetto di Ubiquitous Computing, ovvero la possibilità di accedere al web e di usare applicazioni per divertimento o lavoro in qualsiasi momento e in qualsiasi luogo. Questo fenomeno sta cambiando notevolmente le abitudini delle persone e ciò è testimoniato anche dal fatto che il mercato mobile è in forte ascesa: da fine 2014 sono 45 milioni gli smartphone e 12 milioni i tablet in circolazione in Italia. Sembra quasi impossibile, dunque, rinunciare al mobile, soprattutto per le aziende: il nuovo modo di comunicare ha reso necessaria l’introduzione del Mobile Marketing e per raggiungere i propri clienti ora uno degli strumenti più efficaci e diretti sono le applicazioni. Esse si definiscono native se si pongono come traguardo un determinato smartphone e possono funzionare solo per quel sistema operativo. Infatti un’app costruita, per esempio, per Android non può funzionare su dispositivi Apple o Windows Phone a meno che non si ricorra al processo di porting. Ultimamente però è richiesto un numero sempre maggiore di app per piattaforma e i dispositivi presenti attualmente sul mercato presentano differenze tra le CPU, le interfacce (Application Programming Interface), i sistemi operativi, l’hardware, etc. Nasce quindi la necessità di creare applicazioni che possano funzionare su più sistemi operativi, ovvero le applicazioni platform-independent. Per facilitare e supportare questo genere di lavoro sono stati definiti nuovi ambienti di sviluppo tra i quali Sencha Touch e Apache Cordova. Il risultato finale dello sviluppo di un’app attraverso questi framework è proprio quello di ottenere un oggetto che possa essere eseguito su qualsiasi dispositivo. Naturalmente la resa non sarà la stessa di un’app nativa, la quale ha libero accesso a tutte le funzionalità del dispositivo (rubrica, messaggi, notifiche, geolocalizzazione, fotocamera, accelerometro, etc.), però con questa nuova app vi è la garanzia di un costo di sviluppo minore e di una richiesta considerevole sul mercato. L’obiettivo della tesi è quello di analizzare questo scenario attraverso un caso di studio proveniente da una realtà aziendale che presenta proprio la necessità di sviluppare un’applicazione per più piattaforme. Nella prima parte della tesi viene affrontata la tematica del mobile computing e quella del dualismo tra la programmazione nativa e le web app: verranno analizzate le caratteristiche delle due diverse tipologie cercando di capire quale delle due risulti essere la migliore. Nella seconda parte sarà data luce a uno dei più importanti framework per la costruzione di app multi-piattaforma: Sencha Touch. Ne verranno analizzate le caratteristiche, soffermandosi in particolare sul pattern MVC e si potrà vedere un confronto con altri framework. Nella terza parte si tratterà il caso di studio, un app mobile per Retail basata su Sencha Touch e Apache Cordova. Nella parte finale si troveranno alcune riflessioni e conclusioni sul mobile platform-independent e sui vantaggi e gli svantaggi dell’utilizzo di JavaScript per sviluppare app.