eBPF-based Content and Computation-aware Communication for Real-time Edge Computing

By placing computation resources within a one-hop wireless topology, the recent edge computing paradigm is a key enabler of real-time Internet of Things (IoT) applications. In the context of IoT scenarios where the same information from a sensor is used by multiple applications at different locations, the data stream needs to be replicated. However, the transportation of parallel streams might not be feasible due to limitations in the capacity of the network transporting the data. To address this issue, a content and computation-aware communication control framework is proposed based on the Software Defined Network (SDN) paradigm. The framework supports multi-streaming using the extended Berkeley Packet Filter (eBPF), where the traffic flow and packet replication for each specific computation process is controlled by a program running inside an in-kernel Virtual Ma- chine (VM). The proposed framework is instantiated to address a case-study scenario where video streams from multiple cameras are transmitted to the edge processor for real-time analysis. Numerical results demonstrate the advantage of the proposed framework in terms of programmability, network bandwidth and system resource savings.Comment: This article has been accepted for publication in the IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications (INFOCOM Workshops), 201

Liquid-phase hydrogenation of bio-refined succinic acid to 1,4-butanediol using bimetallic catalysts

open access articleDevelopment of a Crotalaria juncea based biorefinery produce large quantity of waste glycerol after trans-esterification of the juncea seeds. This glycerol, after purification, is used as a substrate for producing succinic acid on a microbial route. Hydrogenation of this bio-refined succinic acid is carried out under high pressure in order to produce 1,4- butanediol (BDO) using a batch slurry reactor with cobalt supported ruthenium bimetallic catalysts, synthesized inhouse. It is demonstrated that, using small amounts of ruthenium to cobalt increases the overall hydrogenation activity for the production of 1,4-butanediol. Hydrogenation reactions are carried out at various operating temperatures and pressures along with changes in the mixing ratios of ruthenium chloride and cobalt chloride hexahydrate, which are used to synthesize the catalyst. The Ru-Co bimetallic catalysts are characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and TGA. Concentrations of the hydrogenation product are analyzed using Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Statistical analysis of the overall hydrogenation process is performed using a Box-Behnken Design (BBD)

Controlled confinement of half-metallic two-dimensional electron gas in BaTiO3/Ba2FeReO6/BaTiO3 heterostructures: A first-principles study

Using density functional theory calculations, we establish that the half-metallicity of bulk Ba2FeReO6 survives down to 1 nm thickness in BaTiO3/Ba2FeReO6/BaTiO3 heterostructures grown along the (001) and (111) directions. The confinement of the two-dimensional (2D) electron gas in this quantum well structure arises from the suppressed hybridization between Re/Fe d states and unoccupied Ti d states, and it is further strengthened by polar fields for the (111) direction. This mechanism, distinct from the polar catastrophe, leads to an order of magnitude stronger confinement of the 2D electron gas than that at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. We further show low-energy bands of (111) heterostructure display nontrivial topological character. Our work opens up the possibility of realizing ultrathin spintronic devices

Generic Pest Risk Analysis for Potato in Nepal

Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) is the process of evaluation for biological and economic evidences in order to determine whether a pest should be regulated under phyto-sanitary measures. The present mini review highlights the potential potato pathogen list recorded in Nepal harmful for potato production and productivity. At global scale altogether 135 potential quarantine pests (PQP) for potato has been recorded, while in Nepal only 92 PQP were recorded. Out of those 52, 13 and 27 were fungi, bacteria and viruses respectively. Among the 92 PQP, 34, 30 and 13 were considered at high, medium and lower risk type pathogens for potato. There was no information available on other 15 PQP.Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council Vol.3 2017: 32-3

A real-space study of random extended defects in solids : application to disordered Stone-Wales defects in graphene

We propose here a first-principles, parameter free, real space method for the study of disordered extended defects in solids. We shall illustrate the power of the technique with an application to graphene sheets with randomly placed Stone-Wales defects and shall examine the signature of such random defects on the density of states as a function of their concentration. The technique is general enough to be applied to a whole class of systems with lattice translational symmetry broken not only locally but by extended defects and defect clusters. The real space approach will allow us to distinguish signatures of specific defects and defect clusters.Comment: 11 pages, 24 figure

Selective Conversion of Ethane to Ethene via Oxidative Dehydrogenation Over Ca-doped ThO2 Using CO2 as Oxidant

Ca-doped ThO2, synthesized by solution combustion method was tested for dehydrogenation of ethane with CO2. Doping ThO2 with Ca resulted in the creation of oxide ion vacancies and an increased conversion of ethane compared to pure ThO2. On Th0.75Ca0.25O2 selectivity to ethene was 97 at 46% ethane conversion at 725°C. Well-known reference catalysts like 5%Cr/TS-1 or OMS-2 showed significantly lower selectivity, but the former was more active under the same condition

Hydrothermally Stable WO3/ZrO2-Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 Catalyst for the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH3

A new catalyst WO3/ZrO2-Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 (15 wt% WO3/ZrO2:Ce0.6Zr0.4O2=50:50) has been developed for the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3. The redox component Ce0.6Zr0.4O2 was dispersed on the surface of acidic WO3/ZrO2 by the solution combustion method showing the best NO x reduction efficiency among the catalysts prepared by various modes of mixing of the components. The catalyst has been characterized by XRD, Raman spectroscopy and NH3-TPD. A NO x reduction efficiency of more than 90% was obtained between 300 and 500°C at α=NH3,in/NO x,in=1. The catalyst showed stable NO x reduction efficiency after hydrothermal ageing at 700°C. Sulfur poisoning promoted the NO x reduction efficiency at high temperatures at the expense of a reduced activity at lower temperatures, but the catalyst could be fully regenerated by heating in O2 at 650°

Configuration and Self-averaging in disordered systems

The main aim of this work is to present two different methodologies for configuration averaging in disordered systems. The Recursion method is suitable for the calculation of spatial or self-averaging, while the Augmented space formalism averages over different possible configurations of the system. We have applied these techniques to a simple example and compared their results. Based on these, we have reexamined the concept of spatial ergodicity in disordered systems. The specific aspect, we have focused on, is the question "Why does an experimentalist often obtain the averaged result on a single sample ?" We have found that in our example of disordered graphene, the two lead to the same result within the error limits of the two methods.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures in Indian J Phys (2015