Abstract
Semantic Reliability is a novel correctness criterion for multicast protocols based on the concept of message obsolescence: A message becomes obsolete when its content or purpose is superseded by a subsequent message. By exploiting obsolescence, a reliable multicast protocol may drop irrelevant messages to find additional buffer space for new messages. This makes the multicast protocol more resilient to transient performance perturbations of group members, thus improving throughput stability. This paper describes our experience in developing a suite of semantically reliable protocols. It summarizes the motivation, definition, and algorithmic issues and presents performance figures obtained with a running implementation. The data obtained experimentally is compared with analytic and simulation models. This comparison allows us to confirm the validity of these models and the usefulness of the approach. Finally, the paper reports the application of our prototype to distributed multiplayer games.

Abstract
We describe a programming language for distributed computations that supports mobile resources and is based on a process calculus. The syntax, semantics and implementation of the language are presented with a focus on the novel model of computation.

Abstract
This paper presents a novel adaptation mechanism that allows every node of a gossip-based broadcast algorithm to adjust the rate of message emission 1) to the amount of resources available to the nodes within the same broadcast group and 2) to the global level of congestion in the system. The adaptation mechanism can be applied to all gossip-based broadcast algorithms we know of and makes their use more realistic in practical situations where nodes have limited resources whose quantity changes dynamically with time without decreasing the reliability.

Abstract
Epidemic, or probabilistic, multicast protocols have emerged as a viable mechanism to circumvent the scalability problems of reliable multicast protocols. However most existing epidemic approaches use connectionless transport protocols to exchange messages and rely on the intrinsic robustness of the epidemic dissemination to mask network omissions. Unfortunately, such an approach is not network-friendly since the epidemic protocol makes no effort to reduce the load imposed on the network when the system is congested. In this paper we propose a novel epidemic protocol whose main characteristic is to be network-friendly This property is achieved by relying on connection-oriented transport connections, such as TCP/IP to support the communication among peers. Since during congestion messages accumulate in the border of the network, the protocol uses an innovative buffer management scheme, that combines different selection techniques to discard messages upon overflow. This technique improves the quality of the information delivered to the application during periods of network congestion. The protocol has been implemented and the benefits of the approach are illustrated using a combination of experimental and simulation results.

Abstract
Software engineers use abstraction to better understand, model and reason about the surrounding world. Recently Architecture Description Languages (ADLs) introduced new levels of abstraction with potential use at run-time to support system evolution. In this paper we propose the FORMAware architecture that blends run-time architectural representation with a reflective programming model to address adaptation issues and promote the proximity between design and development. Reflection opens up composition architecture. through a replaceable default style manager that permits to execute architecture reconfigurations. This manager enforces the structural integrity of the architecture through a set of style rules that developers may change to meet other architectural strategies. Each reconfiguration runs in the scope of a transaction that we may commit or rollback.

Abstract
A novel microbend optical fiber sensing head embedded in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) was developed. The sensor demonstrated its capability of measuring applied pressure up to 750 kPa.