421 research outputs found
Constraints on the two-flavor QCD phase diagram from imaginary chemical potential
No full textWe review our knowledge of the phase diagram of QCD as a function of temperature, chemical potential and quark masses. The presence of tricritical lines at imaginary chemical potential m = i p 3 T, with known scaling behaviour in their vicinity, puts constraints on this phase diagram, especially in the case of two light flavors. We show first results in our project to determine the finite-temperature behaviour in the Nf = 2 chiral limit
Open, Programmable, and Virtualized 5G Networks: State-of-the-Art and the Road Ahead
No full textFifth generation (5G) cellular networks will serve a wide variety of heterogeneous use cases, including mobile broadband users, ultra-low latency services and massively dense connectivity scenarios. The resulting diverse communication requirements will demand networking with unprecedented flexibility, not currently provided by the monolithic black-box approach of 4G cellular networks. The research community and an increasing number of standardization bodies and industry coalitions have recognized softwarization, virtualization, and disaggregation of networking functionalities as the key enablers of the needed shift to flexibility. Particularly, software-defined cellular networks are heralded as the prime technology to satisfy the new application-driven traffic requirements and to support the highly time-varying topology and interference dynamics, because of their openness through well-defined interfaces, and programmability, for swift and responsive network optimization. Leading the technological innovation in this direction, several 5G software-based projects and alliances have embraced the open source approach, making new libraries and frameworks available to the wireless community. This race to open source softwarization, however, has led to a deluge of solutions whose interoperability and interactions are often unclear. This article provides the first cohesive and exhaustive compendium of recent open source software and frameworks for 5G cellular networks, with a full stack and end-to-end perspective. We detail their capabilities and functionalities focusing on how their constituting elements fit the 5G ecosystem, and unravel the interactions among the surveyed solutions. Finally, we review hardware and testbeds on which these frameworks can run, and provide a critical perspective on the limitations of the state-of-the-art, as well as feasible directions toward fully open source, programmable 5G networks
A balanced reciprocal translocation t(10;15)(q22.3;q26.1) interrupting ACAN gene in a family with proportionate short stature
No full textPurpose: Few examples of the involvement of a single gene in idiopathic short stature have been described until now. Our aim was to identify the causative gene of proportionate short stature in a large family showing co-segregation of the phenotype with the reciprocal translocation t(10;15)(q22;q24).
Methods: FISH mapping was carried out with BACs and long-range PCR probes to identify the smallest genomic regions harboring the translocation breakpoints. Real-Time RT-PCR was performed in blood after pre-amplification of target genes cDNA.
Result: The affected family members presented with a final height of between - 2.41 and - 4.18 SDS and very mild skeletal dysmorphisms. Growth rates of the proband and of her cousin, whose childhood and pre-pubertal bone age corresponded to the chronological age, showed a poor growth spurt during treatment with rhGH. However, their adult height was greater than that of their untreated mothers, suggesting efficacy of GH therapy. Breakpoint mapping revealed that the translocation t(10;15)(q22.3;q26.1) disrupts, on 15q, the ACAN gene at intron 1, decreasing its transcriptional expression.
Conclusions: This is the first description of a chromosome rearrangement disrupting ACAN and leading to its haploinsufficiency. ACAN loss of function should be considered a potential underpinning of short patients who display a poor growth spurt and belong to families with autosomal dominant segregation of proportionate short stature. Besides this core phenotype, literature review suggests that advanced bone age, early onset osteochondritis dissecans, osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease as well as craniofacial dysmorphisms can be important suggestive phenotypes in affected families
An Experimental mmWave Channel Model for UAV-to-UAV Communications
No full textUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks can provide a resilient communication infrastructure to enhance terrestrial networks in case of traffic spikes or disaster scenarios. However, to be able to do so, they need to be based on high-bandwidth wireless technologies for both radio access and backhaul. With this respect, the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum represents an enticing solution, since it provides large chunks of untapped spectrum that can enable ultra-high data-rates for aerial platforms. Aerial mmWave channels, however, experience characteristics that are significantly different from terrestrial deployments in the same frequency bands. As of today, mmWave aerial channels have not been extensively studied and modeled. Specifically, the combination of UAV micro-mobility (because of imprecisions in the control loop, and external factors including wind) and the highly directional mmWave transmissions require ad hoc models to accurately capture the performance of UAV deployments. To fill this gap, we propose an empirical propagation loss model for UAV-to-UAV communications at 60 GHz, based on an extensive aerial measurement campaign conducted with the Facebook Terragraph channel sounders. We compare it with 3GPP channel models and make the measurement dataset publicly available
Differential allelic expression of SOS1 and hyperexpression of the activating SOS1 c.755C variant in a Noonan syndrome family
No full textNoonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic condition characterized by congenital heart defects, short stature and characteristic facial features. We here present the case of a girl with moderate learning disabilities, delayed language development, craniofacial features and skin anomalies reminiscent of NS. After a mutation screening of the known NS genes PTPN11, SOS1, RAF1, KRAS, GRB2, BRAF and SHOC2 we found the heterozygous c.755T>C variant in SOS1 causing the p.I252T amino-acid substitution, which was considered possibly pathogenetic by bioinformatic predictions. The same variant was present in the proband's mother, displaying some NS features, and mateRNAl grandfather showing no NS traits, but also by a healthy subject in 1000 genomes project database without phenotype informations. The functional analysis revealed that SOS1 c.755C activated the RAS-ERK intracellular pathway, whereas no effects on RAC-JNK cascade have been detected. After a comparison between the sequence of SOS1 cDNA from peripheral blood and SOS1 genomic DNA, we showed for the first time a differential allelic expression of the SOS1 gene in healthy individuals, thus occurring as a physiologic condition. Interestingly, we found that the mutated allele C was 50% more expressed than the wild-type allele T in all familial carriers. The comparable amount of SOS1 mRNA between mutated individuals and the controls indicates that the variant does not affect SOS1 expression. The present study provides a first evidence of allelic imbalance of SOS1 and pinpoints this condition as a possible mechanism underlying a different penetrance of some SOS1-mutated alleles in unrelated carriers
Which capacity models for shear-critical reinforced concrete hollow piers?
No full textThe seismic assessment of existing bridges is nowadays a crucial aspect for resilient communities. Existing bridge piers are characterised by structural deficiencies often resulting in shear failures. Seismic assessment for shear-critical reinforced concrete hollow piers, widely used in bridges, is still an open issue. Currently, practitioners adopt formulations not validated for hollow piers notwithstanding their structural peculiarities. Herein, first, a review of existing shear capacity models from literature and codes is presented. Then, proper experimental data, related to both rectangular and circular hollow members, are collected and compared with the considered models to assess their reliability. Lastly, shear capacity models specific for the investigated structural typology are proposed. They showed very good agreement with the experimental data and can be simply used by practitioners for seismic assessment or design purposes
Environmental sustainability of the biogas pathway in Italy through the methodology of the Global Bioenergy Partnership
No full textBiogas production and use can represent a win-win strategy providing multiple opportunities to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for climate change, while offering a range of important social, environmental and economic benefits. Nevertheless, as for other bioenergy pathways, biogas sustainability needs to be carefully assessed and continuously monitored in light of the specific geographic and temporal context in which it performs. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review on the sustainability assessment of domestic production and use of biogas in Italy, with a focus on the environmental dimension of the sustainability. Furthermore, it elaborates the results of the review to perform an ex-novo sustainability assessment of biogas pathway at national level, through the methodology developed by the Global Bioenergy Partnership. The biogas value chain in Italy can play a positive role to foster the transition towards an ecological and circular economy. This paper highlights both weaknesses and strengths of the biogas value chain in Italy and points out existing differences, in relation to the sustainability of the value chain, between various geographical areas of the country. The outcomes of this study could inform, both at national and international scale, the drawing of tailor-made policies and measures to reduce biogas-related potential risks of environmental impacts, as well as to support the replication and scaling up of successful management practices. Furthermore, they could serve as a baseline for the future monitoring of the sector. Ultimately, the paper reports the key difficulties encountered in the implementation of the GBEP methodology and the solutions adopted to overcome them
On the assessment of the shear strength of existing hollow circular reinforced concrete members
No full textThe development of reliable models for the assessment of the shear behaviour due to seismic action is still an open issue for reinforced concrete elements with hollow circular cross section, despite their widespread use worldwide, especially for bridge piers. Very few experimental studies from literature were focused on shear-critical hollow circular piers. Furthermore, no reliable and widely validated degrading shear strength models can be found in literature or seismic codes dedicated to this structural typology, despite the significant differences with respect to solid sections, both in terms of resisting mechanisms and cyclic degradation phenomena. This study aims contributing to the investigation about the shear strength of reinforced concrete members with hollow circular cross section, starting from the analysis of the lonely specific degrading model proposed in literature. New equations are proposed for concrete, transverse reinforcement and axial load contributions to shear strength and for shear strength degradation due to increasing cyclic ductility demand. The proposed model is validated by means of a proper collected experimental database of tests carried out in the literature. Numerical-versus-experimental comparisons show very good results in terms of prediction capacity of both maximum (not-degraded) and degraded (due to cyclic ductility demand) shear strength
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