Italtel (Italy)

Purpose: the purpose of this paper is to develop software that is able to visualise the operation of an IP telephone network under cyberattacks using the mathematical model proposed in the research paper. The software should provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of attacks on network performance, as well as provide results in an easy to interpret graphical form. Methods: mathematical analysis and counting analysis methods were used to achieve the objectives. The basic mathematical models include equations to calculate impact distribution, restoration time and other network parameters. The programme applies numerical integration and differentiation to calculate the service time distribution. The distribution models include exponential, impulse and gamma distributions. Poisson, Weibull and Pareto distributions were used as distribution functions for random data flow parameters. Results: the software is able to simulate different cyberattack scenarios and their impact on key network metrics, analysing characteristics such as delivery time, packet loss probability and network resilience. The results of the analysis show how different types of impacts and recovery parameters affect network performance, allowing the operator to evaluate the effectiveness of different protection and damage techniques. Practical innovativeness: the results obtained in the course of technological modelling can be used to improve the stability and reliability of telecommunication systems, especially those operating on Supertel equipment. The software provides operators with a tool to analyse network conditions, develop preventive measures and optimise post-impact recovery strategies. It can also be integrated into a decision support system and used to identify cases of unauthorised access.

The recent evolutions in the convergence of QKD and classical communication systems are described, together with the relevance of SDN as a suitable approach for a real integration between QKD and WDM networks. Preliminary experimental results on a discrete-variable QKD prototype working in the O-band co-propagating with 40 50-GHz C-band information channels are reported, showing the capabilities of QKD in short/medium reach optical networks.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted medical research, pushing mentors and mentees to decide if COVID-19 research would be germane to the early career investigator's developing research portfolio. With COVID-19 halting hundreds of federal trials involving non-COVID-19 research, mentors and mentees must also consider the broader moral calling of contributing to COVID-19 research. At the time of writing, the National Institutes of Health had responded to the pandemic with significant funding for COVID-19 research. However, because this pandemic is a new phenomenon, few mentors have expertise in the disease and relevant established resources. As a result, many mentors are unable to provide insight on COVID-19 research to early career investigators considering a pivot toward research related to this disease. The authors suggest 4 ways for mentees and mentors to respond to the changes the pandemic has brought to research funding and opportunities: (1) include COVID-19 research in existing portfolios to diversify intellectual opportunities and reduce funding risks; (2) negotiate the mentor-mentee relationship and roles and expectations early in project discussions-considering, as relevant, the disproportionate burden of home responsibilities often borne by early career faculty members who are women and/or from a minority group; (3) address any mentor limitations in content expertise; and (4) if the decision is to pivot to COVID-19 research, select projects with implications generalizable beyond this pandemic to other infectious outbreaks or to the redesign of health care delivery. Mentors and mentees must weigh the relevance of COVID-19 research projects to the postpandemic world and the amount of available funding against the developing interests of early career investigators. Academic medical centers nationwide must enable seasoned and early career researchers to contribute meaningfully to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 research.

Abstract Fifth generation (5G) envisages a “hyperconnected society” with an enormous number of interconnected devices, anywhere and at any time. Edge computing plays a pivotal role in this vision, enabling low latency, large traffic volumes, and improved quality of experience. The advent of 5G and edge computing encourages vertical industries to develop innovative services, which can meet the challenging demands coming from consumers. However, economic feasibility is the ultimate factor that determines the viability of a new service. Hence, effective techniques for the economic assessment of such services are needed. This paper analyzes the provision of immersive media services in crowded events, through a cloud‐enabled small cell network owned by a neutral host, and offered in multitenancy to different mobile network operators. We initially develop a planning model to predict the required compute, storage, and radio resources. Taking into account dynamic factors such as service penetration and price evolution, we then provide a number of economic indices, such as net present value, internal rate of return, and expected payback period to assess the viability of a potential investment in a 5G infrastructure for immersive media services. The presented analysis will guide small cell network operators in the provision of 5G innovative media services.

A techno economic analysis for a C-RAN architecture in a Crowded Events (CE) offering immersive video services (IVS) is presented. The analysis shows that investments for an IVS in CE relying on edge cloud resources are viable with an expected payback period of 6.5 years.

ITER is a critical step in the development of fusion energy: its role is to confirm the feasibility of exploiting magnetic confinement fusion for the production of energy for peaceful purposes by providing an integrated demonstration of the physics and technology required for a fusion power plant. Rapid progress is being made in project construction, and the facility is now taking shape at St-Paul-lez-Durance in southern France. In the course of designing and manufacturing of the systems making up the ITER tokamak and the ITER facility, extensive ground-breaking R&D has been implemented by the ITER partners across a wide range of technology and science areas which underpin the achievement of the project’s engineering and fusion plasma performance requirements. Significant developments have been made in the production of high performance Nb3Sn superconducting strand and in magnet technologies supporting the construction of the largest superconducting magnets produced to date. High heat flux plasma facing components have been fabricated which are capable of sustaining quasi-stationary heat loads of up to 10 MW m−2 and transient loads of up to 20 MW m−2. Fusion nuclear technologies such as remote maintenance and tritium breeding have received specific emphasis within the ITER R&D program, since extensive deployment of these technologies is foreseen. Diagnostic systems face particular challenges in the ITER environment, and wide-ranging R&D activities have been implemented to develop novel solutions to ensure an adequate measurement capability in ITER DT operation. Routine and reliable operation in ITER will require a highly effective capability for the detection, avoidance and mitigation of disruptions, and significant science and technology R&D is underway to establish this capability. The overall integration of the control requirements for the ITER plasma and facility, in particular during burning plasma operation, has presented new challenges for fusion control systems, including the need for robust safety and hardware (investment) protection. These challenges are being addressed via the implementation of the most extensive and ambitious control system to date. The paper introduces the ITER project and its major goals in relation to the development of fusion energy and provides an overview of key innovations which have been made in these areas of fusion technology and science in support of ITER construction.

5G networks will offer advanced functionalities and features such as high throughput, low latency, security and reliability by leveraging technologi-cal advances like network virtualization, edge computing and network slic-ing. The latter will facilitate the entrance of new players in the value chain. Moreover, they will offer a means for network operators to change their business models in order to address revenue losses. The concept of a neutral host supported by the H2020 5GCity project seems to be a strong candidate for future business models helping network operators thrive in the new telecom era.