42,422 research outputs found
Reliability and fault tolerance in the European ADS project
After an introduction to the theory of reliability, this paper focuses on a
description of the linear proton accelerator proposed for the European ADS
demonstration project. Design issues are discussed and examples of cases of
fault tolerance are given.Comment: 14 pages, contribution to the CAS - CERN Accelerator School: Course
on High Power Hadron Machines; 24 May - 2 Jun 2011, Bilbao, Spai
Exploring heterogeneity of unreliable machines for p2p backup
P2P architecture is a viable option for enterprise backup. In contrast to
dedicated backup servers, nowadays a standard solution, making backups directly
on organization's workstations should be cheaper (as existing hardware is
used), more efficient (as there is no single bottleneck server) and more
reliable (as the machines are geographically dispersed).
We present the architecture of a p2p backup system that uses pairwise
replication contracts between a data owner and a replicator. In contrast to
standard p2p storage systems using directly a DHT, the contracts allow our
system to optimize replicas' placement depending on a specific optimization
strategy, and so to take advantage of the heterogeneity of the machines and the
network. Such optimization is particularly appealing in the context of backup:
replicas can be geographically dispersed, the load sent over the network can be
minimized, or the optimization goal can be to minimize the backup/restore time.
However, managing the contracts, keeping them consistent and adjusting them in
response to dynamically changing environment is challenging.
We built a scientific prototype and ran the experiments on 150 workstations
in the university's computer laboratories and, separately, on 50 PlanetLab
nodes. We found out that the main factor affecting the quality of the system is
the availability of the machines. Yet, our main conclusion is that it is
possible to build an efficient and reliable backup system on highly unreliable
machines (our computers had just 13% average availability)
Neural Substrates of Chronic Pain in the Thalamocortical Circuit
Chronic pain (CP), a pathological condition with a large repertory of signs and symptoms, has no recognizable neural functional common hallmark shared by its diverse expressions. The aim of the present research was to identify potential dynamic markers shared in CP models, by using simultaneous electrophysiological extracellular recordings from the rat ventrobasal thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex. We have been able to extract a neural signature attributable solely to CP, independent from of the originating conditions. This study showed disrupted functional connectivity and increased redundancy in firing patterns in CP models versus controls, and interpreted these signs as a neural signature of CP. In a clinical perspective, we envisage CP as disconnection syndrome and hypothesize potential novel therapeutic appraisal
The International Linear Collider
In this article, we describe the key features of the recently completed
technical design for the International Linear Collider (ILC), a 200-500 GeV
linear electron-positron collider (expandable to 1 TeV) that is based on 1.3
GHz superconducting radio-frequency (SCRF) technology. The machine parameters
and detector characteristics have been chosen to complement the Large Hadron
Collider physics, including the discovery of the Higgs boson, and to further
exploit this new particle physics energy frontier with a precision instrument.
The linear collider design is the result of nearly twenty years of R&D,
resulting in a mature conceptual design for the ILC project that reflects an
international consensus. We summarize the physics goals and capability of the
ILC, the enabling R&D and resulting accelerator design, as well as the concepts
for two complementary detectors. The ILC is technically ready to be proposed
and built as a next generation lepton collider, perhaps to be built in stages
beginning as a Higgs factory.Comment: 41 page
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