Toward a new addressing scheme for a service-centric Internet

© 2012 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Traditional network architectures based on the Internet Protocol (IP) are now being questioned by the research community, since they are no longer positioned as the most suitable paradigm for supporting the increasing diversity of applications and uses of the Internet. A key issue in this subject is that, although the IP protocol has provided the basis for the rapid evolution of the Internet, its addressing scheme is not prepared to face the challenges posed by many foreseen applications. In light of this, different initiatives worldwide have started specific research programs to address these problems and work toward the "Future Internet". The TARIFA project represents one of these initiatives, and it is positioned as a clean slate alternative aimed at overcoming the critical issues in today's Internet. The novelty in TARIFA resides in the fact that any “commodity” in the network can be composed as a set of atomic services, which can be in turn assembled through a service-centric model for building a promising Internet architecture. In this paper, we focus on the space requirements and set the basis for a new addressing scheme suitable for service-centric network architectures such as the one proposed by TARIFA. The addressing scheme discussed in this paper is general in scope, and could be applied not only to architectures based on the composition of services but also to user and data-centric Internet architectures.This work was supported in part by the TARIFA project, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under contract TEC2009-07041, and by the Catalan Research Council (CIRIT) under contract 2009 SGR1508.Postprint (author's final draft

A Peer-to-Peer Network Framework Utilising the Public Mobile Telephone Network

P2P (Peer-to-Peer) technologies are well established and have now become accepted as a mainstream networking approach. However, the explosion of participating users has not been replicated within the mobile networking domain. Until recently the lack of suitable hardware and wireless network infrastructure to support P2P activities was perceived as contributing to the problem. This has changed with ready availability of handsets having ample processing resources utilising an almost ubiquitous mobile telephone network. Coupled with this has been a proliferation of software applications written for the more capable `smartphone' handsets. P2P systems have not naturally integrated and evolved into the mobile telephone ecosystem in a way that `client-server' operating techniques have. However as the number of clients for a particular mobile application increase, providing the `server side' data storage infrastructure becomes more onerous. P2P systems offer mobile telephone applications a way to circumvent this data storage issue by dispersing it across a network of the participating users handsets. The main goal of this work was to produce a P2P Application Framework that supports developers in creating mobile telephone applications that use distributed storage. Effort was assigned to determining appropriate design requirements for a mobile handset based P2P system. Some of these requirements are related to the limitations of the host hardware, such as power consumption. Others relate to the network upon which the handsets operate, such as connectivity. The thesis reviews current P2P technologies to assess which was viable to form the technology foundations for the framework. The aim was not to re-invent a P2P system design, rather to adopt an existing one for mobile operation. Built upon the foundations of a prototype application, the P2P framework resulting from modifications and enhancements grants access via a simple API (Applications Programmer Interface) to a subset of Nokia `smartphone' devices. Unhindered operation across all mobile telephone networks is possible through a proprietary application implementing NAT (Network Address Translation) traversal techniques. Recognising that handsets operate with limited resources, further optimisation of the P2P framework was also investigated. Energy consumption was a parameter chosen for further examination because of its impact on handset participation time. This work has proven that operating applications in conjunction with a P2P data storage framework, connected via the mobile telephone network, is technically feasible. It also shows that opportunity remains for further research to realise the full potential of this data storage technique

Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Measurements of Steroids in Biological Samples for Clinical Research Studies: Methodology and Application

The advent of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) coupled with soft ionization method has expanded the scope for measurement of steroids from biological matrices with higher accuracy, specificity, sensitivity and requires less sample preparation. The overall aim of this study is to develop and validate LC-MS/MS methods to measure steroids from biological samples for clinical research studies. A sensitive and specific LC-MS/MS assay was developed and validated to measure steroids from dried blood spots (DBS) samples to assess the feasibility and pharmacology of subcutaneous (sc) injection of androgen ester in healthy men using DBS for frequent sampling. The study demonstrated a sustained release of this androgen ester which suggests that sc injections of testosterone esters may prove to be pharmacologically effective. A LC-MS/MS assay was also developed to measure urinary androgens and estrogen in adolescents and subsequently to relate the changes in the urinary sex hormones over 12 months to the standard anthropometric markers of puberty. We found that the urine hormone measurements correlated cross-sectionally and longitudinally with age, anthropometry and Tanner stage. We also investigated whether first morning void urine hormones in growing adolescents require adjustments for urine dilution/concentration and, if so, whether urinary creatinine or specific gravity (SG) are better adjustments. The study demonstrates that urine steroid and LH concentrations in first morning void samples of adolescents are not significantly influenced by hydration status and may not require adjustments; however, if desired, both creatinine and SG adjustments are equally suitable. We also assessed whether commercially available luteinizing hormone (LH) immunoassays (immunochemiluminometric, ICL and immunofluorometric, IF) previously validated for human blood samples is suitable for urine samples kept at prolonged frozen (4 years). We found that both immunoassays are suitable for urinary LH measurements with ICL assay being more robust for quantitative urinary LH measurement such as for anti-doping purpose whereas the IF could be applicable for research studies where urine LH levels are compared within-study but not in absolute terms

Masking effect of anti-androgens on androgenic activity in European river sediment unveiled by effect-directed analysis

This study shows that the androgen receptor agonistic potency is clearly concealed by the effects of androgen receptor antagonists in a total sediment extract, demonstrating that toxicity screening of total extracts is not enough to evaluate the full in vitro endocrine disrupting potential of a complex chemical mixture, as encountered in the environment. The anti-androgenic compounds were masking the activity of androgenic compounds in the extract with relatively high anti-androgenic potency, equivalent to 200 nmol flutamide equivalents/g dry weight. A two-step serial liquid chromatography fractionation of the extract successfully separated anti-androgenic compounds from androgenic compounds, resulting in a total androgenic potency of 3,820 pmol dihydrotestosterone equivalents/g dry weight. The fractionation simplified the chemical identification analysis of the original complex sample matrix. Seventeen chemical structures were tentatively identified. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a technical mixture of nonylphenol and dibutyl phthalate were identified to contribute to the anti-androgenic potency observed in the river sediment sample. With the GC/MS screening method applied here, no compounds with AR agonistic disrupting potencies could be identified. Seventy-one unidentified peaks, which represent potentially new endocrine disrupters, have been added to a database for future investigation

Lipid nanoparticles for topical and transdermal application for alopecia treatment

Tese de mestrado integrado. Bioengenharia. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

Biological activity of palmitoylcarnitine in prostate cancer

Acylcarnitines are intermediates of fatty acid oxidation and accumulate as a result of a metabolic defect. Accumulation of palmitoylcarnitine (palcar), a long-chain acylcarnitine, has been observed in diabetes mellitus type II, obesity and kidney cancer. Certain dietary intervention studies have been shown to reduce serum and urinary levels of acylcarnitines. It was shown that palcar accumulates in prostate cancer tissue, possibly indicative of the metabolic changes associated with cancer development, but that palcar at high concentrations may have activities that could be associated with cancer development. Through the use of cancerous (PC3, DU145) and non-cancerous (PNT1A, BPH) cell models, it was shown that high levels of palcar could induce gene expression of the inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and induce its secretion in PC3 cells. This was associated with the rapid influx of Ca2+. Through the use of various metabolic inhibitors, it was shown that Ca2+ influx includes the activation of G-protein coupled receptors, L-type Ca2+ channels and PI3K pathway. However, it was shown through the use of global gene arrays that lower levels of palcar with uncorrected P value induced many changes in gene expression in PNT1A cells. A comparison with the global changes induced by DHT, an androgen linked to prostate cancer progression, revealed a significant overlap in activity between palcar and DHT, suggesting that palcar may have a potential role in promoting cancer progression. In PC3 cells through the use of real time RT-PCR palcar was shown to induce glycolysis. In conclusion, it is suggested that palcar may represent a potential biomarker of the metabolic dysfunction associated with prostate cancer. At physiological levels palcar had no effects on the prostate cancer cells, however, at high levels palcar drive tumour development through inducing key inflammatory cytokine and inducing changes in gene expression associated with glycolysis

Machine Learning and Data Mining Applications in Power Systems

This Special Issue was intended as a forum to advance research and apply machine-learning and data-mining methods to facilitate the development of modern electric power systems, grids and devices, and smart grids and protection devices, as well as to develop tools for more accurate and efficient power system analysis. Conventional signal processing is no longer adequate to extract all the relevant information from distorted signals through filtering, estimation, and detection to facilitate decision-making and control actions. Machine learning algorithms, optimization techniques and efficient numerical algorithms, distributed signal processing, machine learning, data-mining statistical signal detection, and estimation may help to solve contemporary challenges in modern power systems. The increased use of digital information and control technology can improve the grid’s reliability, security, and efficiency; the dynamic optimization of grid operations; demand response; the incorporation of demand-side resources and integration of energy-efficient resources; distribution automation; and the integration of smart appliances and consumer devices. Signal processing offers the tools needed to convert measurement data to information, and to transform information into actionable intelligence. This Special Issue includes fifteen articles, authored by international research teams from several countries

Studies of the adipose tissue transcriptome

Les études disponibles suggèrent que l'expression des gènes et la régulation cellulaire du tissu adipeux pourraient jouer un rôle important dans le développement des complications reliées à l'obésité. L'identification et la caractérisation du transcriptome de tissu adipeux est susceptible d'aider à comprendre davantage la fonction endocrinienne de ce tissu et le rapport entre l'homéostasie de l'énergie et d'autres systèmes physiologiques. Les outils de la génomique fournissent l'avantage d'étudier simultanément l'expression d'un grand nombre de gènes possiblement impliqués dans les maladies associées à l'obésité. Dans cette thèse, nous avons principalement examiné le transcriptome du tissu adipeux dans diverses conditions physiologiques. La conversion de certains stéroïdes a également été étudiée. La méthodologie des micropuces d'expression a été utlisée, en plus des techniques usuelles de la biochimie des tissus adipeux. Nous avons étudié pour la première fois la variabilité d'expression des gènes dans le tissu adipeux sous-cutané et omental chez des hommes obèses. En second lieu, nous avons étudié la réponse du transcriptome de tissu adipeux à la dihydrotestostérone (DHT) chez les souris. Troisièmement, nous avons examiné le métabolisme de la progestérone dans les cellules adipeuses. Enfin, nous avons évalué l'impact de l'ablation des ovaires sur le métabolisme et le transcriptome de tissu adipeux de singe. En conclusion, dans nos études de transcriptomique examinant le profil d'expression des gènes dans des échantillons humains et d'animaux et dans différentes conditions, plusieurs gènes et voies moléculaires intéressantes ont été identifiés. Ces études peuvent fournir des informations sur les voies métaboliques et de signalisation étant à la base de l'étiologie de l'obésité et de ses complications

Portable Bicycle-Powered Refridgeration

Lack of access to viable, life-saving vaccines is a major public health problem worldwide. Our project objective is to create a feasible, frugal, and environmentally conscious transportation solution for vaccines. Our design for a bicycle-powered refrigeration system can function in both urban environments and rural areas with unreliable electricity and minimal infrastructure. This is enabled by integrating power generation from bicycle kinetic energy, thermoelectric cooling, voltage regulation, temperature control, and heat dissipation subsystems. The system is enclosed in solid housing to protect fragile vials against bumps and crashes and can be adapted to fit onto existing bicycle racks

Design of a control system for an indirect solar dryer

Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a Université Libre de TunisThis dissertation focus on the control system design of a for indirect solar dryer without any difficulty of utilization with low cost and autonomous. The intended interest group of this model is small farmers who don't have the cash-flow to put resources into new drying innovations however need basic and modest machines to contend in the current market for nuts. In the present work, a multivariable control system using DHT22, BMP280 sensors to measure the drying process parameters of the fig. The Bernoulli equation was established in the Arduino program to calculate the air velocity. The valves designed based on servo motor DS3225. Then, the control of the position of the valve based on the measured sensor parameters and the conditions of the drying process. And for sending the data in real-time to the farmers, the IoT technology was used by the combination of the GSM/GRPS module with the Arduino UNO board. Then, the Blynk application was used to visualize the data, and the ThingSpeak IoT platform for saving the data and analyses the quality of the drying prosses. More than visualization the data in the Blynk application, a notification was added for the farmers in the case of start drying process and overheating condition. According to the outcomes of the Proteus simulation which have been shown by the Blynk application and the ThingSpeak IoT platform, it can conclude that the design of the control system is successfully done.Cette thèse porte sur la conception d'un système de contrôle pour séchoir solaire indirect sans aucune difficulté d'utilisation à faible coût et autonome. Le groupe d'intérêt visé par ce modèle est constitué de petits agriculteurs qui n'ont pas les liquidités nécessaires pour investir des ressources dans de nouvelles innovations de séchage, mais qui ont besoin de machines basiques et modestes pour lutter sur le marché actuel des noix. Dans le présent travail, un système de contrôle à plusieurs variables utilisant des capteurs DHT22, BMP280 pour mesurer les paramètres du processus de séchage de la fig. L'équation de Bernoulli a été établie dans le programme Arduino pour calculer la vitesse de l'air. Les vannes conçues sur la base d'un servomoteur DS3225. Ensuite, le contrôle de la position de la vanne en fonction des paramètres mesurés du capteur et des conditions du processus de séchage. Et pour envoyer les données en temps réel aux agriculteurs, la technologie IoT a été utilisée par la combinaison du module GSM / GRPS avec la carte Arduino UNO. Ensuite, l'application Blynk a été utilisée pour visualiser les données, et la plate-forme ThingSpeak IoT pour enregistrer les données et analyser la qualité du processus de séchage. Plus que la visualisation des données dans l'application Blynk, une notification a été ajoutée pour les agriculteurs en cas de démarrage du processus de séchage et de surchauffe. Selon les résultats de la simulation Proteus qui ont été montrés par l'application Blynk et la plate-forme ThingSpeak IoT, il peut conclure que la conception du système de contrôle est réussie