Transparent and scalable client-side server selection using netlets

Replication of web content in the Internet has been found to improve service response time, performance and reliability offered by web services. When working with such distributed server systems, the location of servers with respect to client nodes is found to affect service response time perceived by clients in addition to server load conditions. This is due to the characteristics of the network path segments through which client requests get routed. Hence, a number of researchers have advocated making server selection decisions at the client-side of the network. In this paper, we present a transparent approach for client-side server selection in the Internet using Netlet services. Netlets are autonomous, nomadic mobile software components which persist and roam in the network independently, providing predefined network services. In this application, Netlet based services embedded with intelligence to support server selection are deployed by servers close to potential client communities to setup dynamic service decision points within the network. An anycast address is used to identify available distributed decision points in the network. Each service decision point transparently directs client requests to the best performing server based on its in-built intelligence supported by real-time measurements from probes sent by the Netlet to each server. It is shown that the resulting system provides a client-side server selection solution which is server-customisable, scalable and fault transparent

TLR-9 Expression in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells induced with Lipopolysaccharide

The study conducted here was to investigate the gene and protein expression of Toll like receptor 9 when human bronchial epithelial cells were induced by lipopolysaccharide. TLRs are pattern recognition receptor (PRR) which plays a key role in innate immunity. They recognise the molecules that are shared by pathogens but distinguishes from the host which is referred to as pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The HBECs were first cultured and once it becomes confluent they were induced with 10ng/ml of LPS. In order to find out whether the gene was expressed in the cells, the RNA was isolated and RT-PCR was carried out. Before carrying out the RT-PCR, RNA gel electrophoresis was carried out to show the 28S and 18S bands. Once the gene expression was analysed protein expression was carried out by extracting the protein using RIPA buffer and running the SDS-PAGE followed by staining. Silver staining and western blotting results revealed clear bands at 116kDa illustrating that the TLR9 protein had been expressed. RT-PCR results showed that a smear of bands for TLR9 and the in protein expression bands were seen in TLR9 protein region which indicates that TLR9 was expressed in the HBEC by LPS

MENU: multicast emulation using netlets and unicast

High-end networking applications such as Internet TV and software distribution have generated a demand for multicast protocols as an integral part of the network. This will allow such applications to support data dissemination to large groups of users in a scalable and reliable manner. Existing IP multicast protocols lack these features and also require state storage in the core of the network which is costly to implement. In this paper, we present a new multicast protocol referred to as MENU. It realises a scalable and a reliable multicast protocol model by pushing the tree building complexity to the edges of the network, thereby eliminating processing and state storage in the core of the network. The MENU protocol builds multicast support in the network using mobile agent based active network services, Netlets, and unicast addresses. The multicast delivery tree in MENU is a two level hierarchical structure where users are partitioned into client communities based on geographical proximity. Each client community in the network is treated as a single virtual destination for traffic from the server. Netlet based services referred to as hot spot delegates (HSDs) are deployed by servers at "hot spots" close to each client community. They function as virtual traffic destinations for the traffic from the server and also act as virtual source nodes for all users in the community. The source node feeds data to these distributed HSDs which in turn forward data to all downstream users through a locally constructed traffic delivery tree. It is shown through simulations that the resulting system provides an efficient means to incrementally build a source customisable secured multicast protocol which is both scalable and reliable. Furthermore, results show that MENU employs minimal processing and reduced state information in networks when compared to existing IP multicast protocols

Solidarity across generations in New Zealand: Factors influencing parental support for children within a three-generational context

Interest in ascertaining the nature and extent of intergenerational exchanges between those in mid-life, and members of their kinship network has arisen because demographic, social and policy changes have brought into question the ability of individuals in this stage of the family and individual life course to respond to what may be the conflicting support needs of older and younger generations. Trends of delayed childbearing for example, suggest that at mid-life, individuals are increasingly likely to be involved in parenting roles. At the same time, as they contemplate their own pre-retirement needs, they may also be more involved with the caring needs of ageing parents who are living longer. It has thus been argued that the mid-life period carries the potential for complex, and perhaps competing intergenerational requirements for support and care, compromising the ability of those in this life stage to show their solidarity towards both younger and older kin. Research on intergenerational relations has focused mainly on the adult child and elderly parent dyad in the context of population ageing and much less work has been done to understand the nature of intergenerational exchanges in the context of more complex structures extending beyond dyads to include triads of three co-surviving generations. This paper addresses this lacuna by establishing whether, in the context of a kinship structure of three co-surviving generations, the likelihood of a child receiving assistance from their mid-life parent is influenced by the characteristics of an ascending generation, the mid-life respondent’s own ageing parent. Empirical investigation draws on the theoretical framework of micro-level, inter-generational solidarity developed by Bengtson and others, in which exchanges of assistance are conceptualised as bonds of functional solidarity. Underlying the analysis is therefore an investigation of the premise that mid-life individuals are at the centre of competing inter-generational requirements. Data are from the 1997 New Zealand survey ‘Transactions in the Mid-Life Family’, a sample of 750 males and females aged between 40 and 54. Analysis is based on a sub-population of 310 respondents with at least one surviving ageing parent or in-law and one child aged over 15, none of whom live together. Multivariate logistic regression techniques are used and the dependant variable of functional solidarity is represented as a three-category variable of emotional, in-kind and financial support. Findings indicate that when an ageing parent’s bond with the mid-life respondent is characterised by emotional support, this also enhances the child’s chances of benefiting from all dimensions of parental support. Likewise, children are more likely to benefit from in-kind help if their own grandparents also receive it. Results do not clearly suggest that a greater number of elderly members in a kin network necessarily represent a drain on the mid-life respondent’s resources, at least not those of an emotional nature. Life-course specific support requirements of younger and older generations may mean that mid-life individuals in fact respond to complementary rather than competing needs

Thermal and solutal stratification on MHD nanofluid flow over a porous vertical plate

Nanoparticles have the highest credibility to develop the thermal properties compared to conventional particle fluid suspension. Thermal and solutal stratification on heat and mass transfer induced due to a nanofluid over a porous vertical plate is analyzed. The transport equations engaged in the study include the effect of Brownian motion and thermophoresis particle deposition. The nonlinear governing equations and their related boundary conditions are initially looked into dimensionless forms by similarity variables. The resulting equations are solved numerically utilizing the fourth-fifth order Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method with shooting technique (MAPLE 18). It is investigated that the temperature of the nanofluid and the concentration fraction decelerate with increase in thermal and solutal stratificatio

Application of Focus Improvement to Reduce Non-Stick on Pad Problem in IC Packaging

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) methodologies are used to eliminate profit loss or waste due to equipment failure or defect. TPM is designed to get maximum efficiency from the equipment while creating a satisfactory working environment. In Motorola, Selangor yield improvement had been an important agenda. One of the TPM pillar which is Focus Improvement activity is designed to minimize targeted losses that had been carefully measured and evaluated, was employed to improve yield in front-end assembly. The top three yield lost in parts per million (ppm) were contributed by the following defects in descending order: Non Stick on Pad (2715 ppm), chip and crack (782 ppm) and missing wire (687 ppni). The team focused on Non Stick on Pad (NSOP). which was the top yield lost contributor. NSOP was due to: floating die, bonded ball small in size, foreign matter on pad and classifications to say a few. Floating die contributed 48% of the NSOP defect. In this project detaile

Network support for multimedia applications using the Netlets architecture

Multi-party multimedia networking applications such as e-commerce, distributed data analysis, Internet TV and advanced collaborative environments feature stringent end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) requirement and require globally distributed user groups to be interconnected. The variety of delivery requirements posed by such applications are best satisfied using highly customised networking protocols. Hence, a demand for networks to migrate from the current fixed service model to a more flexible architecture that accommodates a wide variety of networking services is emerging. New approaches are required in order to build such service oriented networks. Active networking is one such approach. Active networks treats the network as a programmable computation engine, which provides customised packet processing and forwarding operations for traffic flowing through network nodes. User applications can download new protocols into network elements at runtime, allowing rapid innovation of network services. This thesis makes the case for employing mobile agents to realise an active networking architecture, and describes such an architecture called the Netlets architecture. Netlets are autonomous, mobile components which persist and roam in the network independently, providing predefined network services. This thesis presents the design and implementation of the Netlet node and the service deployment m echanisms that are required to distribute Netlet services in the network. Using the Netlet toolkit, variety of network services were designed to provide network support for multimedia applications in the Internet. A service was implemented to enhance the working of the RSVP protocol in order to provide robust end-to-end QoS support even when the network is only partially QoS provisioned. A scalable and reliable multicast protocol was implemented using the unicast communication model that accommodate heterogeneous receiver terminals. Another service integrates client-side server selection support into web sessions established over the Internet. A service was also developed which provides QoS signalling support to legacy applications. It is shown that these Netlet services are of practical value using performance measurements to assess Netlet responsiveness. Netlet based solutions maybe deployed using existing technologies to provide support for a wide range of multimedia applications in the Internet. The Netlets architecture has thus been shown to allow value-added services to be added to existing networks. By optimising the Netlet architecture implementation, this may be extended to services operating on high-speed (1Gb/s and upwards) links. It thus shows promise as an architecture for building the next generation of active networking solutions

BIODEGRADATION AND PHOTODEGRADATION OF POLYLACTIC ACID AND POLYLACTIC ACID/ POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE BLENDS NONWOVEN AGRICULTURAL MULCHES IN AMBIENT SOIL CONDITIONS

Agricultural mulch films, typically made of petroleum-based polyethylene, improve crop productivity by controlling weeds and providing microclimate. Extreme fragmentation of films imposes labor and disposal costs, not to mention environmental problems during and after service life. Although mulches made of biodegradable polymers such as cellulose, (nonbiobased) poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) and polybutylene succinate are employed in the field, the fate of biodegradation of additives in mulches is still questionable in addition to service life until the harvesting. Nonwovens, made of biobased polymers such as poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA-polyhydroxy alkanoate (PHA) blends, have been developed using nonwovens textile technology to address the poor mechanical properties and/or biodegradability of traditional mulch films. This dissertation focuses upon biodegradation of nonwovens mulches—spunbonds (SB) and meltblowns (MB)—retrieved from soil after 30 week and after exposure to simulated weathering. Soil amendments, color of mulches, presence of PHA in PLA-based mulches, soil temperature, and kinetics of biodegradation were evaluated in soil burial studies. The biodegradation of nonwovens mulches were characterized by the loss of tensile strength, depolymerization, disappearance of ester bond and decrease of glass transition temperature, melting temperature and enthalpy of fusion. At high moisture conditions, SB mulches of white and black color were recalcitrant to all the soil amendments determined from marginal depolymerization and insignificant loss of tensile strength. MB mulches, particularly PLA-PHA blends, underwent the greatest (~90%) loss of tensile strength among other physico-chemical losses. Although weathered SB mulches did not undergo physico-chemical changes during simulated weathering, the biodegradability test under composting condition (ASTM D5338) met the compostability standard (ASTM D6400) criteria ( \u3e 60% biodegradation after 90 days). MB mulches, with the greatest biodegradation ( \u3e 90% after 90 days) in ASTM D5338, is recommended for “Class II” material in ASTM WK 29802, the standard specification for biodegradability of agricultural plastics in soil

European corn borer resistance in sorghum compared with maize

A total of 211 sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L), genotypes were evaluated (1981, 1982, and 1983) for resistance to leaf feeding by 1st-generation European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis Hubner, larvae under heavy infestation conditions (ca. 750 eggs/plant). All sorghum hybrids were resistant. Some sorghum hybrids were not as resistant, however, as a highly resistant inbred line of maize, Zea mays L;First-generation larval mortality was rapid on four sorghum hybrids (92.2 - 97.7% mortality within 6 days after egg hatch), but larval mortality was not as rapid on four sorghum hybrids as was larval mortality on a resistant maize inbred (99.1 - 99.7% mortality within 6 days after egg hatch). The majority of 22,827 1st-generation larvae fed on leaf tissue in the moist area deep in the whorl of sorghum and maize plants. Resistance in sorghum, as in maize, to 1st-generation ECBs, therefore, is resistance to leaf feeding (a high level of antibiosis against 1st- and 2nd-instar larvae). Dried-ground leaves (substituted for wheat germ in a meridic diet) of resistant genotypes of sorghum and maize had no deleterious effect on survival and development of ECB larvae compared with a diet containing leaves of susceptible maize and compared with a standard wheat germ diet;Second-generation larval mortality was rapid on four sorghum hybrids (93.9 - 98.9% mortality within 6 days after egg hatch) and on two resistant maize inbreds (92.6 - 97.8% mortality within 6 days after egg hatch). The majority of 33,690 2nd-generation larvae fed on sheath-collar tissue through 35 days after egg hatch of sorghum plants and through 15 days after egg hatch on maize plants. Resistance in sorghum to 2nd-generation ECBs as in maize, therefore, is resistance to sheath-collar feeding (a high degree of antibiosis against 1st- and 2nd-instar larvae)

The New Zealand population: A synopsis of trends and projections 1991 - 2016

Although there are many excellent documents and online resources available on New Zealand population trends, it is useful to highlight some key trends in one short document. This paper provides a synopsis of trends with respect to population size and age structure, sub-national population size and change, international migration, ethnicity, families and generations, fertility and mortality, and education and work