Congestion Control for Machine-Type Communications in LTE-A Networks

Collecting data from a tremendous amount of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for next generation networks is a big challenge. A large number of devices may lead to severe congestion in Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network (CN). 3GPP has specified several mechanisms to handle the congestion caused by massive amounts of devices. However, detailed settings and strategies of them are not defined in the standards and are left for operators. In this paper, we propose two congestion control algorithms which efficiently reduce the congestion. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms can achieve 20~40% improvement regarding accept ratio, overload degree and waiting time compared with those in LTE-A

Genome-Wide Sequence Variation among Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis Isolates: A Better Understanding of Johne’s Disease Transmission Dynamics

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (M. ap), the causative agent of Johne’s disease, infects many farmed ruminants, wild-life animals, and recently isolated from humans. To better understand the molecular pathogenesis of these infections, we analyzed the whole-genome sequences of several M. ap and M. avium subspecies avium (M. avium) isolates to gain insights into genomic diversity associated with variable hosts and environments. Using Next-generation sequencing technology, all six M. ap isolates showed a high percentage of similarity (98%) to the reference genome sequence of M. ap K-10 isolated from cattle. However, two M. avium isolates (DT 78 and Env 77) showed significant sequence diversity (only 87 and 40% similarity, respectively) compared to the reference strain M. avium 104, a reflection of the wide environmental niches of this group of mycobacteria. Within the M. ap isolates, genomic rearrangements (insertions/deletions) were not detected, and only unique single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were observed among M. ap isolates. While more of the SNPs (~100) in M. ap genomes were non-synonymous, a total of ~6,000 SNPs were detected among M. avium genomes, most of them were synonymous suggesting a differential selective pressure between M. ap and M. avium isolates. In addition, SNPs-based phylo-genomics had a enough discriminatory power to differentiate between isolates from different hosts but yet suggesting a bovine source of infection to other animals examined in this study. Interestingly, the human isolate (M. ap 4B) was closely related to a M. ap isolate from a dairy facility, suggesting a common source of infection. Overall, the identified phylo-genomes further supported the idea of a common ancestor to both M. ap and M. avium isolates. Genome-wide analysis described here could provide a strong foundation for a population genetic structure that could be useful for the analysis of mycobacterial evolution and for the tracking of Johne’s disease transmission among animals

Microstructural Characteristics and Mechanical Behaviors of New Type SIMA Processed Aluminum Alloy

In this chapter, a new type strain-induced melt activation (SIMA) process for Al-Mg-Si alloys was used. The microstructural characteristics, formability at elevated temperature and mechanical properties were estimated. The high-hardness globular grain boundaries are formed by eutectic phases. This new type SIMA process has proved that it can decrease high temperature compression resistance and improve ability of metal flowing at high temperature. After SIMA forming process, the mechanical properties of materials can be improved via artificial aging and can be competed with general artificial aged materials. All results show that this SIMA process is a potential process

Reward prediction errors arising from switches between major and minor modes in music: An fMRI study

Evidence has accumulated that prediction error processing plays a role in the enjoyment of music listening. The present study examined listeners' neural responses to the signed reward prediction errors (RPEs) arising from switches between major and minor modes in music. We manipulated the final chord of J. S. Bach's keyboard pieces so that each major-mode passage ended with either the major (Major-Major) or minor (Major-Minor) tonic chord, and each minor-mode passage ended with either the minor (Minor-Minor) or major (Minor-Major) tonic chord. In Western music, the major and minor modes have positive and negative connotations, respectively. Therefore, the outcome of the final chord in Major-Minor stimuli was associated with negative RPE, whereas that in Minor-Major was associated with positive RPE. Twenty-three musically experienced adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while listening to Major-Major, Major-Minor, Minor-Minor, and Minor-Major stimuli. We found that activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (extending into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) during the final chord for Major-Major was significantly higher than that for Major-Minor. Conversely, a frontoparietal network for Major-Minor exhibited significantly increased activity compared to Major-Major. The contrasts between Minor-Minor and Minor-Major yielded regions implicated in interoception. We discuss our results in relation to executive functions and the emotional connotations of major versus minor mode.Comment: submitted to Psychophysiolog

Agency Cost and Court Action in Bankruptcy Proceedings in a Simple Real Option Model

While legally considered the residual interest, equity holders are often given a very small share of the liquidation value of a bankrupt corporation, even when liquidation value does not cover all other claims with higher priority.  Such expected residual value for equity holders can lead to changed corporate investment incentive which counteracts the well-documented sub-optimal operation for a firm in financial distress.  This paper constructs a model illustrating the agency problem in sub-optimal investment of a firm in financial distress and how court action in compensating equity restores the proper incentive.  Such court action that violates the priority rule is ex ante rational and result in higher social benefit, even though it seems expost unfair

Multi-Hop Routing Mechanism for Reliable Sensor Computing

Current research on routing in wireless sensor computing concentrates on increasing the service lifetime, enabling scalability for large number of sensors and supporting fault tolerance for battery exhaustion and broken nodes. A sensor node is naturally exposed to various sources of unreliable communication channels and node failures. Sensor nodes have many failure modes, and each failure degrades the network performance. This work develops a novel mechanism, called Reliable Routing Mechanism (RRM), based on a hybrid cluster-based routing protocol to specify the best reliable routing path for sensor computing. Table-driven intra-cluster routing and on-demand inter-cluster routing are combined by changing the relationship between clusters for sensor computing. Applying a reliable routing mechanism in sensor computing can improve routing reliability, maintain low packet loss, minimize management overhead and save energy consumption. Simulation results indicate that the reliability of the proposed RRM mechanism is around 25% higher than that of the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) and ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector routing (AODV) mechanisms

Monodansylpentane as a Blue-Fluorescent Lipid-Droplet Marker for Multi-Color Live-Cell Imaging

Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic cellular organelles responsible for the storage of neutral lipids, and are associated with a multitude of metabolic syndromes. Here we report monodansylpentane (MDH) as a high contrast blue-fluorescent marker for LDs. The unique spectral properties make MDH easily combinable with other green and red fluorescent reporters for multicolor fluorescence imaging. MDH staining does not apparently affect LD trafficking, and the dye is extraordinarily photo-stable. Taken together MDH represents a reliable tool to use for the investigation of dynamic LD regulation within living cells using fluorescence microscopy