Network Codes for Real-Time Applications

We consider the scenario of broadcasting for real-time applications and loss recovery via instantly decodable network coding. Past work focused on minimizing the completion delay, which is not the right objective for real-time applications that have strict deadlines. In this work, we are interested in finding a code that is instantly decodable by the maximum number of users. First, we prove that this problem is NP-Hard in the general case. Then we consider the practical probabilistic scenario, where users have i.i.d. loss probability and the number of packets is linear or polynomial in the number of users. In this scenario, we provide a polynomial-time (in the number of users) algorithm that finds the optimal coded packet. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using both simulation and real network traces of a real-time Android application. Both results show that the proposed coding scheme significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines: an optimal repetition code and a COPE-like greedy scheme.Comment: ToN 2013 Submission Versio

Automation improvement of indirect gravure printing with a focus on the mechanical characteristics of silicone rubber pads

The main goal of this dissertation was an improvement in the automation level of the indirect gravure printing process. A type of indirect gravure printing with the name translational pad printing was considered in this dissertation as the printing process. This type of printing is used to print on 3D objects with concave and convex surfaces. For example, it can be used to print electroluminescent (EL) panels on the curved surface of a glass jar. In the first step, the automation level of the indirect gravure printing machine was improved. In this case, the structure of the indirect gravure printing machine was classified according to the structure of a mechatronic system. National Instrument CompactRio 9074 and Kollmorgen AKD servo drives were used as hardwares of control unit. LabVIEW and DIAdem software were applied to control the process and monitoring of data (online and offline), respectively. In the second step, an automation development was achieved according to implementation of manufacturing execution system (MES) and computer aided engineering (CAE). In this case, the silicone rubber material model as a hyperelastic material for different hardnesses was achieved according to test results of uniaxial tensile, compression and planar tests for hardnesses of 3, 6, 12 and 18 Shore A. The silicone rubber material model for different hardnesses was used to perform the simulation of the printing process. Mathematical equations of the pad geometry were calculated. Afterwards, a pad calculator to calculate the pad parameters was programmed for the first time. Also, a designing method of pad and a cost-efficient method for mold production of pad were described. As an innovative method, a stereolithografic 3D printer was used to prepare the pad molds. This method made the mold preparation more cost-efficient than before. So, this feature leads to manufacturing of unique pads according to printing conditions. Further, the printing process was simulated in finite element method (FEM) software ABAQUS. The simulation of the printing process helps to achieve suitable printing parameters for different conditions of printing. The ability of cost-efficient unique pad production and simulation of printing led to optimization of the printing process according to printing conditions. These features led to increase the automation level of indirect gravure printing from level 1 (before this thesis) to level 3

Städtebauliche Modernisierung unter Berücksichtigung traditioneller Architektur und historischen Städtebaus im Iran

_ Analyse der historischen Typologien und Morphologien (anhand ausgewählter Städte – nicht umfassend!) _ Einschätzung der Eignung dieser historischen Strukturen für mögliche Lebensbedürfnisse verschiedener iranischer Bevölkerungsteile. _ Analyse von einerseits problematischen und andererseits überzeugenden neuen Siedlungsentwicklungen _ Einschätzung der Eignung dieser zeitgenössischen Strukturen für Lebensbedürfnisse verschiedener iranischer Bevölkerungsteile. _Versuch einer qualifizierten Gegenüberstellung der Lebensqualitäten in bestehenden historischen und in neuen Stadtquartieren . Die Auseinandersetzung mit „Lebensqualität“ wird möglichst sorgfältig geführt - der Versuch der Gegenüberstellung kann allerdings nur als eine Interpretation verstanden werden – denn Lebensqualität wird erstens teilweise subjektiv empfunden und folgt bei unterschiedlichen Bevölkerungsgruppen differenzierten Mustern. Diese Arbeit ist aber keinesfalls als „stadtsoziologische Studie“ zu verstehen

Endothelin-Induced Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Depletion Waves in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Agonist-stimulated waves of elevated cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i ) regulate blood vessel tone and vasomotion in vascular smooth muscle. Previous studies employing cytoplasmic Ca2+ indicators revealed that these Ca2+ waves were generated by a combination of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) and Ca2+ induced Ca2+ release (CICR) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR); although, some of the mechanistic details remain uncertain. However, these findings were derived indirectly from observing agonist-induced [Ca2+]i fluctuations in the cytoplasm.
Here, for the first time, we have recorded Endothelin-1 (ET-1) induced waves of Ca2+ depletion from the SR lumen in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) using a calsequestrin-targeted Ca2+ indicator. Our findings show that these waves: (1) are due to regenerative CICR by the receptors for IP3 (IP3R), (2) have a marked latency period, (3) are characterized by a transient increase in SR Ca2+ ([Ca2+]SR ) both at the point of origin and at the wave front, (4) proceed with diminishing velocity, and (5) are arrested by the nuclear envelope. Our quantitative model indicates that the gradual decrease in the velocity of the SR depletion wave, in the absence of external Ca2+, results from continuity of the SR luminal network

In Vitro Effect of Zirconia and Zirconia Enriched Glass Fiber Composite Posts on Fracture Resistance of Endodontically Treated Teeth

Objective: Despite the advantages of esthetic posts, lack of studies on their fracture resistance has limited their clinical use. This study aimed to compare the effect of two types of esthetic posts namely zirconia and zirconia enriched glass fiber composite posts on fracture resistance of endodontically treated teeth against compressive forces.Methods: This in vitro study was conducted on 20 mandibular premolar roots cut at the cementoenamel junction (CEJ). The roots were endodontically treated and randomly divided into 2 groups of 10. After post space preparation, in group 1 zirconia posts (CosmoPost, Ivoclar, Liechtenstein) and in group 2 zirconia enriched glass fiber composite posts (Ice Light, Danville, USA) were cemented in the roots using a dual-cure resin cement (Panavia F 2.0, Kuraray, Japan) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The teeth were restored with composite resin cores (Lumiglass, RTD, France) using a prefabricated polyester matrix. After periodontal ligament (PDL) simulation by elastic polyether impression material (Impregum, 3M ESPE, USA), specimens were mounted in acrylic resin and subjected to 1195 Instron universal testing machine. Compressive load was applied at a 90° angle relative to the long axis of the teeth at a crosshead speed of 1mm/min  until fracture. Since the data were normally distributed, t-test was used for statistical analysis.Results: The fracture resistance was 816.69 (120.89) N for zirconia posts and 843.76 (120.93) N for zirconia enriched glass fiber composite posts and these values were not significantly different (p=0.62). Fractures in group 2 were restorable.Conclusion: The fracture resistance of zirconia and zirconia enriched glass fiber composite posts was not significantly different and both types of posts can be successfully used

Next-to-Leading order approximation of polarized valon and parton distributions

Polarized parton distributions and structure functions of the nucleon are analyzed in the improved valon model. The valon representation provides a model to represent hadrons in terms of quarks, providing a unified description of bound state and scattering properties of hadrons. Polarized valon distributions are seen to play an important role in describing the spin dependence of parton distributions in the leading order (LO) and next-to-leading order (NLO) approximations. In the polarized case, a convolution integral is derived in the framework of the valon model. The Polarized valon distribution in a proton and the polarized parton distributions inside the valon are necessary to obtain the polarized parton distributions in a proton. Bernstein polynomial averages are used to extract the unknown parameters of the polarized valon distributions by fitting to the available experimental data. The predictions for the NLO calculations of the polarized parton distributions and proton structure functions are compared with the LO approximation. It is shown that the results of the calculations for the proton structure function, $xg_1^p$, and its first moment, $\Gamma_{1}^p$, are in good agreement with the experimental data for a range of values of $Q^{2}$. Finally the spin contribution of the valons to the proton is calculated.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. Published in Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP

Optimal Customer Targeting for Sustainable Demand Response in Smart Grids1

AbstractDemand Response (DR) is a widely used technique to minimize the peak to average consumption ratio during high demand periods. We consider the DR problem of achieving a given curtailment target for a set of consumers equipped with a set of discrete curtailment strategies over a given duration. An effective DR scheduling algorithm should minimize the curtailment error - the difference between the targeted and achieved curtailment values - to minimize costs to the utility provider and maintain system reliability. The availability of smart meters with fine-grained customer control capability can be leveraged to offer customers a dynamic range of curtailment strategies that are feasible for small durations within the overall DR event. Both the availability and achievable curtailment values of these strategies can vary dynamically through the DR event and thus the problem of achieving a target curtailment over the entire DR interval can be modeled as a dynamic strategy selection problem over multiple discrete sub-intervals. We argue that DR curtailment error minimizing algorithms should not be oblivious to customer curtailment behavior during sub-intervals as (expensive) demand peaks can be concentrated in a few sub-intervals while consumption is heavily curtailed during others in order to achieve the given target, which makes such solutions expensive for the utility. Thus in this paper, we formally develop the notion of Sustainable DR (SDR) as a solution that attempts to distribute the curtailment evenly across sub-intervals in the DR event. We formulate the SDR problem as an Integer Linear Program and provide a very fast -factor approximation algorithm. We then propose a Polynomial Time Approximation Scheme (PTAS) for approximating the SDR curtailment error to within an arbitrarily small factor of the optimal. We then develop a novel ILP formulation that solves the SDR problem while explicitly accounting for customer strategy switching overhead as a constraint. We perform experiments using real data acquired from the University of Southern Californias smart grid and show that our sustainable DR model achieves results with a very low absolute error of 0.001-0.05 kWh range