Making On-Demand Routing Efficient with Route-Request Aggregation

In theory, on-demand routing is very attractive for mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), because it induces signaling only for those destinations for which there is data traffic. However, in practice, the signaling overhead of existing on-demand routing protocols becomes excessive as the rate of topology changes increases due to mobility or other causes. We introduce the first on-demand routing approach that eliminates the main limitation of on-demand routing by aggregating route requests (RREQ) for the same destinations. The approach can be applied to any existing on-demand routing protocol, and we introduce the Ad-hoc Demand-Aggregated Routing with Adaptation (ADARA) as an example of how RREQ aggregation can be used. ADARA is compared to AODV and OLSR using discrete-event simulations, and the results show that aggregating RREQs can make on-demand routing more efficient than existing proactive or on-demand routing protocols

Enhanced differentiation of human embryonic stem cells towards definitive endoderm on ultrahigh aspect ratio nanopillars

Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells is widely studied as a potential unlimited source for cell replacement therapy to treat degenerative diseases such as diabetes. The directed differentiation of human embryonic stem cells relies mainly on soluble factors. Although, some studies have highlighted that the properties of the physical environment, such as substrate stiffness, affect cellular behavior. Here, mass-produced, injection molded polycarbonate nanopillars are presented, where the surface mechanical properties, i.e., stiffness, can be controlled by the geometric design of the ultrahigh aspect ratio nanopillars (stiffness can be reduced by 25.0003). It is found that tall nanopillars, yielding softer surfaces, significantly enhance the induction of definitive endoderm cells from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells, resulting in more consistent differentiation of a pure population compared to planar control. By contrast, further differentiation toward the pancreatic ­endoderm is less successful on “soft” pillars when compared to “stiff” pillars or control, indicating differential cues during the different stages of differentiation. To accompany the mechanical properties of the nanopillars, the concept of surface shear modulus is introduced to describe the characteristics of engineered elastic surfaces through micro or nanopatterning. This provides a framework whereby comparisons can be drawn between such materials and bulk elastomeric materials