Cultural identity in landscape architecture, renovation of Managua's lakeside

This thesis examines a design approach in landscape architecture in which cultural and historical values are reinterpreted in a contemporary urban environment. The site of this project is located in Managua's lakeside area, which was destroyed by hurricane Mitch in 1998. The lakeside area has been an attraction to Managua's residents because of its beautiful views and fresh breezes. The majority of Nicaragua's population is of indigenous descent; however, Managua's urban environment is predominantly of European influence. The pre-Columbian heritage of Nicaraguans is hidden in their cultural expressions, such as the names of places and religious rituals. This project provides a new lakeside area for Managua in which cultural identity in landscape architecture is represented in the use of the site and in a rescue of Managua's residents' pride in their pre-Columbian heritage. The lakeside renovation was planned using pre-Columbian design methodology and vocabulary to create a functional and environmentally sens~velandscape.

Trajectory Privacy Preservation in Mobile Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent years, there has been an enormous growth of location-aware devices, such as GPS embedded cell phones, mobile sensors and radio-frequency identification tags. The age of combining sensing, processing and communication in one device, gives rise to a vast number of applications leading to endless possibilities and a realization of mobile Wireless Sensor Network (mWSN) applications. As computing, sensing and communication become more ubiquitous, trajectory privacy becomes a critical piece of information and an important factor for commercial success. While on the move, sensor nodes continuously transmit data streams of sensed values and spatiotemporal information, known as ``trajectory information". If adversaries can intercept this information, they can monitor the trajectory path and capture the location of the source node. This research stems from the recognition that the wide applicability of mWSNs will remain elusive unless a trajectory privacy preservation mechanism is developed. The outcome seeks to lay a firm foundation in the field of trajectory privacy preservation in mWSNs against external and internal trajectory privacy attacks. First, to prevent external attacks, we particularly investigated a context-based trajectory privacy-aware routing protocol to prevent the eavesdropping attack. Traditional shortest-path oriented routing algorithms give adversaries the possibility to locate the target node in a certain area. We designed the novel privacy-aware routing phase and utilized the trajectory dissimilarity between mobile nodes to mislead adversaries about the location where the message started its journey. Second, to detect internal attacks, we developed a software-based attestation solution to detect compromised nodes. We created the dynamic attestation node chain among neighboring nodes to examine the memory checksum of suspicious nodes. The computation time for memory traversal had been improved compared to the previous work. Finally, we revisited the trust issue in trajectory privacy preservation mechanism designs. We used Bayesian game theory to model and analyze cooperative, selfish and malicious nodes' behaviors in trajectory privacy preservation activities.

Genetic architecture and sexual conflict in the life history of Drosophila

Because males and females of a species express many homologous traits, sex-specific selection on these traits can shift the opposite sex away from its phenotypic optimum. This mode of sexually antagonistic selection, known as intralocus sexual conflict (IaSC), arises when the evolution of sexual dimorphism is constrained by the two sexes sharing a common gene pool. As IaSC has been historically overlooked, many outstanding questions remain. For example, what is its contribution in maintaining genetic variation for fitness in populations? What characters underlie this variation in fitness? How does the selection history of the population influence the standing genetic variation? I used the model organism Drosophila melanogaster to attempt to resolve some of these questions. The first part of my Master’s project involved assessing the detectability of sexually antagonistic alleles in populations at different stages of adaptation to the laboratory. For the second part of my Master’s project, I looked for evidence of conflict during the development of body size, a well-known sexually dimorphic trait. While the first part of my thesis proved inconclusive, the second part revealed a surprising source of sexual conflict in pre-adult stages of D. melanogaster.

Measuring QoS in an aeronautical opportunistic network architecture with limited access to a satellite communications backhaul

We measure quality of service (QoS) in a wireless network architecture of transoceanic aircraft. A distinguishing characteristic of the network scheme we analyze is that it mixes the concept of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) through the exploitation of opportunistic contacts, together with direct satellite access in a limited number of the nodes. We provide a graph sparsification technique for deriving a network model that satisfies the key properties of a real aeronautical opportunistic network while enabling scalable simulation. This reduced model allows us to analyze the impact regarding QoS of introducing Internet-like traffic in the form of outgoing data from passengers. Promoting QoS in DTNs is usually really challenging due to their long delays and scarce resources. The availability of satellite communication links offers a chance to provide an improved degree of service regarding a pure opportunistic approach, and therefore it needs to be properly measured and quantified. Our analysis focuses on several QoS indicators such as delivery time, delivery ratio, and bandwidth allocation fairness. Obtained results show significant improvements in all metric indicators regarding QoS, not usually achievable on the field of DTNs.

The application of symphytosociology in landscape architecture in the Western Mediterranean

This essay addresses the application of indigenous plants in Landscape Architecture projects, based on studies carried out in the field of phytosociology and sinphytosociology. Through this knowledge, it is possible to increase and improve the use of indigenous plants in Projects, aiming at the preservation of biodiversity. Thus, to better understand the western Mediterranean territory, we present a brief biophysical characterization, in which we point out the main factors which contribute to the ground coverage’s distribution in the landscape, namely, concerning climate (oceanity, ombroclimate and thermoclimate) and substrate (geology and lithology). In view of the high level of uniqueness of the identified conditions, a synthesis of the potential main existing climatophilous woods is carried out, regarding sinphytosocialogical class/order, furthermore, pointing out, the main serial stages, their vegetation bioindicators and the ecological peculiarities of each stage (regressive or progressive). Therefore, based on the study area, we point out the vegetation bioindicator’s value as a work tool during analysis, thus allowing us to understand the existing edaphoclimatic conditions, as well as to elaborate a quick diagnosis of each potential climatophilous vegetation series. Moreover, based on the main stages of substitution, it is also possible to identify the presence of endemic plants, or under protection status, and finally, the conservation state of the study area. Further ahead, in project proposal phase, based on information gathered previously, we point out the possibility of elaborating a list of plants correctly adapted to the existing mesologicall conditions. Thus, within each serial stage, the necessary ecological conditions for a correct adaption of the vegetation material are referred, therefore, avoiding possible limiting factors to their development, such as precipitation, soil erosion, light availability, salinity, among many others. Lastly, some considerations are made about the main ideas that should be remembered throughout this essay, namely, regarding the importance of the use of sinphytosociology’s knowledge as an analysis tool, as well as of high interest for the elaboration of proposals which aim at the floristic heritage’s conservation and the landscape’s scenic quality. Ce travail traite de l`application de plantes autochtones dans des projets d`Architecture Paysagiste ayant pour base des études réalisées dans le cadre de la phytosociologie et Symphytosociologie. À travers ces connaissances, il est possible d`incrémenter et améliorer l`utilisation de plantes autochtones dans les Projets basés sur la conservation de la biodiversité. Ainsi, afin de mieux comprendre le territorie de la méditérrannée occidentale, on présente une brève caractérisation biophysique, dans laquelle nous soulignons les principaux facteurs qui contribuent à la répartition de la végétation dans le paysage, notamment au niveau climatique (l`océanité, ombrothermique et thermoclimatique) et du substrat (géologie et lithologie). Face aux conditions, identifiées ci-dessus, élévées en originalité, il est utile d`élaborer une synthèse des principaux bois potentiels climatophiles existants au niveau de la classe/ordre symphitosociologique, en soulignant également les principales étapes de série, leurs bioindicateurs végétaux et aux particularités écologiques de chaque étape (régressive ou progressive). Ainsi, sur la base de l`interprétation de la zone d`étude, le bioindicateur végétal se distingue comme un outil de travail durant l`analyse, permettant de cette façon comprendre les conditions édapho-climatiques existantes, ainsi comme élaborer un rapide diagnostic de chaque série de végétation potentielle climatophile. En outre, sur la base des principales étapes de remplacement, il est également possible d`identifier la présence de plantes endémiques, ou avec un statut de protection et enfin l`état de conservation de la zone d`étude. Déjà au stade de proposition du projet, basée sur l`information recueillie précédemment, il y a la possibilité d`établir une liste de plantes bien adaptées aux conditions mésologiques. Ainsi, dans chaque étape de série, les conditions écologiques nécessaires à une bonne adaptation de la matière végétale sont référées, évitant ainsi des facteurs limitant à son développement, tels que les précipitations, l`érosion des soís, disponibilité de la lumière, de la salinité, parmi beaucoup d`autres. Et enfin, quelques considérations se tissent sur les principales idées à retenir tout au long du travail, notamment l`importance d`utiliser la connaissance de la symphytosociologie comme un outil d`analyse d`un grand intérêt pour la développement de propositions pour la conservation du patrimoine floristique et la qualité pittoresque du paysage.

Study of root architecture by overexpressing the maize Rtcs gene in tobacco.

2016

The Architecture of the Persian Period in the Levant

The earliest scholars were not concerned about preparing extensive investigations linking the Persian-period building remains excavated in the entire Levant together. Moreover, the research interests of scholars caused some impediments to the study of this period viz in the last decades; the Achaemenid period has been neglected by the scholars who -in turn- focused on the earlier and later periods for religious reasons. Too, while some regions have been studied abundantly, but it was not the case in other areas, which makes our knowledge is incomplete. From the explanation side, some scholars try to interpret the architectural remains from an ethnic perspective or unsubstantiated personal fancies, so their arguments were utterly lacking any objectivity. This thesis explores what are the Persian architectural and ornamental impacts on the Levantine architecture and the relations between Persian-period sites in Syria-Palestine region. Too, the architectural remains and their contents benefited us to clarify the settlement patterns in the regions being discussed. The author analyzed the ground plans of the buildings and their architectural features and ornamental motifs by conducting a descriptive, analytical, and interpretative study. He also conducted comparisons with similar buildings outside the Levant, especially in Fars to obtain a more comprehensive and systematic study, and then extracting any direct or indirect Persian influences. This has given us a better understanding of the nature of the social, political, and religious life in the entire Levant and the knowledge gap has been bridged to a satisfying extent. This study has demonstrated a few of the Achaemenid impacts, especially on the northern coastline of the Levant.

Propagation modelling and resource allocation in mobile radio communications

Over the past years, ray tracing (RT) models popularity has been increasing. From the nineties, RT has been used for field prediction in environment such as indoor and urban environments. Nevertheless, with the advent of new technologies, the channel model has become decidedly more dynamic and to perform RT simulations at each discrete time instant become computationally expensive. In this thesis, a new dynamic ray tracing (DRT) approach is presented in which from a single ray tracing simulation at an initial time t0, through analytical formulas we are able to track the motion of the interaction points. The benefits that this approach bring are that Doppler frequencies and channel prediction can be derived at every time instant, without recurring to multiple RT runs and therefore shortening the computation time. DRT performance was studied on two case studies and the results shows the accuracy and the computational gain that derives from this approach. Another issue that has been addressed in this thesis is the licensed band exhaustion of some frequency bands. To deal with this problem, a novel unselfish spectrum leasing scheme in cognitive radio networks (CRNs) is proposed that offers an energy-efficient solution minimizing the environmental impact of the network. In addition, a network management architecture is introduced and resource allocation is proposed as a constrained sum energy efficiency maximization problem. System simulations demonstrate an increment in the energy efficiency of the primary users’ network compared with previously proposed algorithms.

Digital 3D reconstruction as a research environment in art and architecture history: uncertainty classification and visualisation

The dissertation addresses the still not solved challenges concerned with the source-based digital 3D reconstruction, visualisation and documentation in the domain of archaeology, art and architecture history. The emerging BIM methodology and the exchange data format IFC are changing the way of collaboration, visualisation and documentation in the planning, construction and facility management process. The introduction and development of the Semantic Web (Web 3.0), spreading the idea of structured, formalised and linked data, offers semantically enriched human- and machine-readable data. In contrast to civil engineering and cultural heritage, academic object-oriented disciplines, like archaeology, art and architecture history, are acting as outside spectators. Since the 1990s, it has been argued that a 3D model is not likely to be considered a scientific reconstruction unless it is grounded on accurate documentation and visualisation. However, these standards are still missing and the validation of the outcomes is not fulfilled. Meanwhile, the digital research data remain ephemeral and continue to fill the growing digital cemeteries. This study focuses, therefore, on the evaluation of the source-based digital 3D reconstructions and, especially, on uncertainty assessment in the case of hypothetical reconstructions of destroyed or never built artefacts according to scientific principles, making the models shareable and reusable by a potentially wide audience. The work initially focuses on terminology and on the definition of a workflow especially related to the classification and visualisation of uncertainty. The workflow is then applied to specific cases of 3D models uploaded to the DFG repository of the AI Mainz. In this way, the available methods of documenting, visualising and communicating uncertainty are analysed. In the end, this process will lead to a validation or a correction of the workflow and the initial assumptions, but also (dealing with different hypotheses) to a better definition of the levels of uncertainty.

An architecture for network acceleration as a service in the cloud continuum

The pervasive availability of connected devices in any industrial and societal sector is pushing for an evolution of the well-established cloud computing model. The emerging paradigm of the cloud continuum embraces this decentralization trend and envisions virtualized computing resources physically located between traditional datacenters and data sources. By totally or partially executing closer to the network edge, applications can have quicker reactions to events, thus enabling advanced forms of automation and intelligence. However, these applications also induce new data-intensive workloads with low-latency constraints that require the adoption of specialized resources, such as high-performance communication options (e.g., RDMA, DPDK, XDP, etc.). Unfortunately, cloud providers still struggle to integrate these options into their infrastructures. That risks undermining the principle of generality that underlies the cloud computing scale economy by forcing developers to tailor their code to low-level APIs, non-standard programming models, and static execution environments. This thesis proposes a novel system architecture to empower cloud platforms across the whole cloud continuum with Network Acceleration as a Service (NAaaS). To provide commodity yet efficient access to acceleration, this architecture defines a layer of agnostic high-performance I/O APIs, exposed to applications and clearly separated from the heterogeneous protocols, interfaces, and hardware devices that implement it. A novel system component embodies this decoupling by offering a set of agnostic OS features to applications: memory management for zero-copy transfers, asynchronous I/O processing, and efficient packet scheduling. This thesis also explores the design space of the possible implementations of this architecture by proposing two reference middleware systems and by adopting them to support interactive use cases in the cloud continuum: a serverless platform and an Industry 4.0 scenario. A detailed discussion and a thorough performance evaluation demonstrate that the proposed architecture is suitable to enable the easy-to-use, flexible integration of modern network acceleration into next-generation cloud platforms.

Energy consumption of parallel algorithms for solving linear systems on HPC architecture

Modern High-Performance Computing HPC systems are gradually increasing in size and complexity due to the correspondent demand of larger simulations requiring more complicated tasks and higher accuracy. However, as side effects of the Dennard’s scaling approaching its ultimate power limit, the efficiency of software plays also an important role in increasing the overall performance of a computation. Tools to measure application performance in these increasingly complex environments provide insights into the intricate ways in which software and hardware interact. The monitoring of the power consumption in order to save energy is possible through processors interfaces like Intel Running Average Power Limit RAPL. Given the low level of these interfaces, they are often paired with an application-level tool like Performance Application Programming Interface PAPI. Since several problems in many heterogeneous fields can be represented as a complex linear system, an optimized and scalable linear system solver algorithm can decrease significantly the time spent to compute its resolution. One of the most widely used algorithms deployed for the resolution of large simulation is the Gaussian Elimination, which has its most popular implementation for HPC systems in the Scalable Linear Algebra PACKage ScaLAPACK library. However, another relevant algorithm, which is increasing in popularity in the academic field, is the Inhibition Method. This thesis compares the energy consumption of the Inhibition Method and Gaussian Elimination from ScaLAPACK to profile their execution during the resolution of linear systems above the HPC architecture offered by CINECA. Moreover, it also collates the energy and power values for different ranks, nodes, and sockets configurations. The monitoring tools employed to track the energy consumption of these algorithms are PAPI and RAPL, that will be integrated with the parallel execution of the algorithms managed with the Message Passing Interface MPI.

Changes In Chromatin Structure In Nih 3t3 Cells Induced By Valproic Acid And Trichostatin A.

Valproic acid (VPA) and trichostatin A (TSA) are known histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) with epigenetic activity that affect chromatin supra-organization, nuclear architecture, and cellular proliferation, particularly in tumor cells. In this study, chromatin remodeling with effects extending to heterochromatic areas was investigated by image analysis in non-transformed NIH 3T3 cells treated for different periods with different doses of VPA and TSA under conditions that indicated no loss of cell viability. Image analysis revealed chromatin decondensation that affected not only euchromatin but also heterochromatin, concomitant with a decreased activity of histone deacetylases and a general increase in histone H3 acetylation. Heterochromatin protein 1-α (HP1-α), identified immunocytochemically, was depleted from the pericentromeric heterochromatin following exposure to both HDACIs. Drastic changes affecting cell proliferation and micronucleation but not alteration in CCND2 expression and in ratios of Bcl-2/Bax expression and cell death occurred following a 48-h exposure of the NIH 3T3 cells particularly in response to higher doses of VPA. Our results demonstrated that even low doses of VPA (0.05 mM) and TSA (10 ng/ml) treatments for 1 h can affect chromatin structure, including that of the heterochromatin areas, in non-transformed cells. HP1-α depletion, probably related to histone demethylation at H3K9me3, in addition to the effect of VPA and TSA on histone H3 acetylation, is induced on NIH 3T3 cells. Despite these facts, alterations in cell proliferation and micronucleation, possibly depending on mitotic spindle defects, require a longer exposure to higher doses of VPA and TSA.

Biased Random-key Genetic Algorithms For The Winner Determination Problem In Combinatorial Auctions.

Abstract In this paper, we address the problem of picking a subset of bids in a general combinatorial auction so as to maximize the overall profit using the first-price model. This winner determination problem assumes that a single bidding round is held to determine both the winners and prices to be paid. We introduce six variants of biased random-key genetic algorithms for this problem. Three of them use a novel initialization technique that makes use of solutions of intermediate linear programming relaxations of an exact mixed integer-linear programming model as initial chromosomes of the population. An experimental evaluation compares the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms with the standard mixed linear integer programming formulation, a specialized exact algorithm, and the best-performing heuristics proposed for this problem. The proposed algorithms are competitive and offer strong results, mainly for large-scale auctions.

Seed dispersal of Solanum thomasiifolium Sendtner (Solanaceae) in the Linhares Forest, Espírito Santo state, Brazil

The aim of this study was to analyse seed dispersal and establishment of Solanum thomasiifolium in an area of nativo vegetation in Espirito Santo state on the southeastern Brazilian coast. Ten species of birds, the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), and one species of lizard (Tropidurus torquatus) fed on S. thomasiifolium fruits and dispersed viable seeds in their faeces. The proportional contribution of each of these groups to seed dispersal was 77% (birds), 19% (crab-eating fox) and 4% (lizards). Ants also contributed to seed dispersal. More seeds were deposited in vegetation islands than in the surrounding open areas. Germination rates of seeds collected directly from fruit (control), bird droppings, the faeces of crab-eating foxes and lizards were, respectively, 64, 64, 53, and 80 %. Differences among these rates were all significant, except between birds and control. Lizards were important as seed carriers between nearby islands and they expelled a higher proportion of viable seeds. Birds and the crab-eating foxes did not enhance seed germination, but promoted seed dispersal over a wider area. Plant architecture, fruit productivity, fruit characteristics and the diversity of frugivores are important for the success of S. thomasiifolium in habitat colonization.

Hepatotrophic factors reduce hepatic fibrosis in rats

CONTEXT: Hepatic fibrosis occurs in response to several aggressive agents and is a predisposing factor in cirrhosis. Hepatotrophic factors were shown to stimulate liver growth and to restore the histological architecture of the liver. They also cause an improvement in liver function and accelerate the reversion of fibrosis before it progresses to cirrhosis. OBJECTIVE: To test the effects of hepatic fibrosis solution composed by amino acids, vitamins, glucose, insulin, glucagon and triiodothyronine on hepatic fibrosis in rats. METHODS: Fibrosis was induced in rats by gastric administration of dimethylnitrosamine (10 mg/kg) for 5 weeks. After liver biopsy, the rats received either hepatotrophic factors solution (40 mg/kg/day) or saline solution for 10 days by intraperitoneal injection. Blood samples and liver fragments were collected for hepatic function analysis, standard histopathology evaluation, and morphometric collagen quantification. RESULTS: Rats in the hepatotrophic factors group showed a decrease of the histopathological components of fibrosis and an increase of their hepatic mass (12.2%). There was no development of neoplasic lesions in both groups. Compared with the saline group, the hepatotrophic factors group also had a decrease of blood levels of hepatic-lesion markers (AST, ALT) and a decrease of collagen content in the portal spaces (31.6%) and perisinusoidal spaces (42.3%), as well as around the hepatic terminal vein (57.7%). Thus, hepatotrophic factors administration in the portal blood promoted a regenerative hepatic response, with an overall reduction of the volumetric density of collagen, improved hepatic function, and a general improvement in the histopathological aspects of fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggest the potential therapeutic use of this hepatotrophic factors solution to treat chronic liver diseases.