Efficient quality of service‐aware packet chunking scheme for machine‐to‐machine cloud services

With the recent advances in machine-to-machine(M2M) communications, huge numbers of devices have become connected and massive amounts of traffic are exchanged. M2M applications typically generate small packets, which can profoundly affect the network performance. Namely, even if the packet arrival rate at the router is lower than the link bandwidth, bits per second(BPS), it can exceed the router forwarding capacity, which indicates the maximum number of forwarded packets per second(PPS). This will cause the decrease in the network throughput. Therefore, eliminating the PPS limitation by chunking small packets will enable M2M cloud services to spread further. This paper proposes new packet-chunking schemes aimed at meeting both application requirements and improving achievable router throughput. In our schemes, multiple buffers, each of which accommodates packets classified based on their delay requirement, are installed in parallel. Herein, we report on analysis of the theoretically performance of these schemes, which enabled us to derive some important features. We also propose a scheme whereby a single chunking buffer and parallel multiple buffers were arranged in tandem. Through our simulation and numerical results, we determined that these schemes provide excellent performance in reducing the number of outgoing packets from the router while meeting various delay requirements.The 2nd IEEE International Workshop on High-Performance Interconnection Networks in the Exascale and Big-Data Era (IEEE HPCA 2016),March 12, 2016, Barcelona, Spai

Decreases in the Serum VLDL-TG/Non-VLDL-TG Ratio from Early Stages of Chronic Hepatitis C: Alterations in TG-Rich Lipoprotein Levels

BACKGROUND: The liver secretes very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs) and plays a key role in lipid metabolism. Plasma total triglyceride (TG) level variations have been studied in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related chronic hepatitis (CH-C). However, the results of these studies are variable. A homogenous assay protocol was recently proposed to directly measure the TG content in VLDL (VLDL-TG) and VLDL remnants. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using the assay protocol, we determined serum VLDL-TG levels in 69 fasting patients with biopsy-proven HCV-related chronic liver disease and 50 healthy subjects. Patients were classified into stages F0-F4 using the 5-point Desmet scale. Serum total TG levels in patients with non-cirrhotic (F1-F3) CH-C did not demonstrate significant differences compared with healthy subjects, but serum VLDL-TG levels did demonstrate significant differences. Mean serum VLDL-TG levels tended to decrease with disease progression from F1 to F4 (cirrhosis). Compared with healthy subjects, serum non-VLDL-TG levels significantly increased in patients with stages F2 and F3 CH-C; however, we observed no significant difference in patients with liver cirrhosis. Furthermore, the serum VLDL-TG/non-VLDL-TG ratio, when taken, demonstrated a significant decrease in patients with CH-C from the mildest stage F1 onward. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The decrease in serum VLDL-TG levels was attenuated by increase in non-VLDL-TG levels in patients with non-cirrhotic CH-C, resulting in comparable total TG levels. Results of previous studies though variable, were confirmed to have a logical basis. The decrease in the serum VLDL-TG/non-VLDL-TG ratio as early as stage F1 demonstrated TG metabolic alterations in early stages of CH-C for the first time. The involvement of TG metabolism in CH-C pathogenesis has been established in experimental animals, while conventional TG measurements are generally considered as poor indicators of CH-C progression in clinical practice. The serum VLDL-TG/non-VLDL-TG ratio, which focuses on TG metabolic alterations, may be an early indicator of CH-C

Estimated glomerular filtration rate by serum creatinine or standardized cystatin C in Japanese patients with Graves׳ disease

Glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by serum creatinine (eGFRCr) or standardized cystatin C (eGFRCysC) were estimated in Japanese patients with Graves׳ disease (GD) of different sex. Clinical samples were collected from patients with GD with normal renal function to accurately validate eGFRCr and eGFRCysC levels and evaluate how hyperthyroidism affects renal function. Levels of eGFRCr and eGFRCysC showed clinical usefulness in successfully treated euthyroid patients with GD regardless of sex. The article includes detailed experimental methods and data used in our analysis. The data relates to the “Paradoxical effect of thyroid function on the estimated glomerular filtration rate by serum creatinine or standardized cystatin C in Japanese Graves’ disease patients” (Suzuki et al., 2015) [1

Patient and healthy subject characteristics.

<p>p-values, when shown in italics such as <i>p<0.01</i>, indicate that there are significant differences. Values are shown as mean ± SD (standard deviation). BMI; Body Mass Index, AST; Aspartate transaminase, ALT; Alanine transaminase, CHO; cholesterol, TG; triglyceride.</p

Scatter plots of serum total TG, VLDL-TG, non-VLDL-TG levels, and VLDL-TG/non-VLDL-TG ratios.

<p>P-values are indicated as the values between groups with bars. The mean value of each group is indicated at the bottom of each diagram. P-values, when indicated in bold with an asterisk (such as <b>0.025*)</b>, indicate significant differences. SD; standard deviation.</p