FAST TCP: From Theory to Experiments

We describe a variant of TCP, called FAST, that can sustain high throughput and utilization at multi-Gbps over large distance. We present the motivation, review the background theory, summarize key features of FAST TCP, and report our first experimental results

Evaluation of transduction efficiency in macrophage colony-stimulating factor differentiated human macrophages using HIV-1 based lentiviral vectors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monocyte-derived macrophages contribute to atherosclerotic plaque formation. Therefore, manipulating macrophage function could have significant therapeutic value. The objective of this study was to determine transduction efficiency of two HIV-based lentiviral vector configurations as delivery systems for the transduction of primary human blood monocyte-derived macrophages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Human blood monocytes were transduced using two VSV-G pseudotyped HIV-1 based lentiviral vectors containing EGFP expression driven by either native HIV-LTR (VRX494) or EF1α promoters (VRX1090). Lentiviral vectors were added to cultured macrophages at different times and multiplicities of infection (MOI). Transduction efficiency was assessed using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Macrophages transduced between 2 and 120 hours after culturing showed the highest transduction efficiency at 2-hours transduction time. Subsequently, cells were transduced 2 hours after culturing at various vector concentrations (MOIs of 5, 10, 25 and 50) to determine the amount of lentiviral vector particles required to maximally transduce human monocyte-derived macrophages. On day 7, all transduced cultures showed EGFP-positive cells by microscopy. Flow cytometric analysis showed with all MOIs a peak shift corresponding to the presence of EGFP-positive cells. For VRX494, transduction efficiency was maximal at an MOI of 25 to 50 and ranged between 58 and 67%. For VRX1090, transduction efficiency was maximal at an MOI of 10 and ranged between 80 and 90%. Thus, transductions performed with VRX1090 showed a higher number of EGFP-positive cells than VRX494.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This report shows that VSV-G pseudotyped HIV-based lentiviral vectors can efficiently transduce human blood monocyte-derived macrophages early during differentiation using low particle numbers that do not interfere with differentiation of monocytes into macrophages.</p

Lambda Station: On-Demand Flow Based Routing for Data Intensive Grid Applications Over Multitopology Networks

Lambda Station is an ongoing project of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. The goal of this project is to design, develop and deploy network services for path selection, admission control and flow based forwarding of traffic among data-intensive Grid applications such as are used in High Energy Physics and other communities. Lambda Station deals with the last-mile problem in local area networks, connecting production clusters through a rich array of wide area networks. Selective forwarding of traffic is controlled dynamically at the demand of applications. This paper introduces the motivation of this project, design principles and current status. Integration of Lambda Station client API with the essential Grid middleware such as the dCache/SRM Storage Resource Manager is also described. Finally, the results of applying Lambda Station services to development and production clusters at Fermilab and Caltech over advanced networks such as DOE's UltraScience Net and NSF's UltraLight is covered

Structural characterization of diabolic acid-based tetraester, tetraether and mixed ether/ester, membrane-spanning lipids of bacteria from the order Thermotogales

The distribution of core lipids in the membranes of nine different species of the order Thermotogales, one of the early and deep branching lineages in the Bacteria, were examined by HPLC/MS and demonstrated to consist of membrane-spanning diglycerol lipids comprised of diabolic acid-derived alkyl moieties. In the Thermotoga species the core membrane lipids are characterized by the presence of both ester and ether bonds, whereas in the phylogenetically more distinct Thermosipho and Fervidobacterium spp. only ester bonds occur. A tentative biosynthetic route for the biosynthesis of these membrane-spanning lipids is proposed. Since species of the order Thermotogales are assumed to have occurred early during the evolution of life on Earth, as suggested by its position in the phylogenetic tree of life, these data suggest that the ability to produce both ether and ester glycerol membrane lipids developed relatively early during microbial evolution

Lambda Station: On-Demand Flow Based Routing for Data Intensive Grid Applications Over Multitopology Networks

Lambda Station is an ongoing project of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology. The goal of this project is to design, develop and deploy network services for path selection, admission control and flow based forwarding of traffic among data-intensive Grid applications such as are used in High Energy Physics and other communities. Lambda Station deals with the last-mile problem in local area networks, connecting production clusters through a rich array of wide area networks. Selective forwarding of traffic is controlled dynamically at the demand of applications. This paper introduces the motivation of this project, design principles and current status. Integration of Lambda Station client API with the essential Grid middleware such as the dCache/SRM Storage Resource Manager is also described. Finally, the results of applying Lambda Station services to development and production clusters at Fermilab and Caltech over advanced networks such as DOE's UltraScience Net and NSF's UltraLight is covered

Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC

Results are presented from searches for the standard model Higgs boson in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 and 8 TeV in the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the LHC, using data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to 5.1 fb^(−1) at 7 TeV and 5.3 fb^(−1) at 8 TeV. The search is performed in five decay modes: γγ, ZZ, W^+W^−, τ^+τ^−, and bb. An excess of events is observed above the expected background, with a local significance of 5.0 standard deviations, at a mass near 125 GeV, signalling the production of a new particle. The expected significance for a standard model Higgs boson of that mass is 5.8 standard deviations. The excess is most significant in the two decay modes with the best mass resolution, γγ and ZZ; a fit to these signals gives a mass of 125.3±0.4(stat.)±0.5(syst.) GeV. The decay to two photons indicates that the new particle is a boson with spin different from one

Self-adaptive correlation method for soft defect detection in cable by reflectometry

Conference of 13th IEEE SENSORS Conference, SENSORS 2014 ; Conference Date: 2 November 2014 Through 5 November 2014; Conference Code:112210International audienceThe self-adaptive correlation method (SACM), based on a temporal processing, consists in treating the reflectogram in order to amplify the signatures of soft defects and make them more easily detectable. The algorithm amplifies any signature correlated with the injection pulse. Amplification is more important as the amplitude of the soft defect is low, and reciprocally. Thus, this method allows to highlight the soft defect while attenuating the noise present on the reflectogram. The term "self-adaptive" means that the gain is automatically adjusted depending on the amplitude of the soft defect signature. This method is applicable to different reflectometry techniques with different waveforms and different position of the defect in the cable. This innovative approach has the advantage of reducing the computational complexity compared to the state of the art