Management of networks that provide QoS guarantees

This paper presents the results of a case study to the feasibility of introducing ATM SVCs into the Dutch SURFnet research ATM network. The key issue that is examined are the implications of the Quality of Service support of ATM. QoS guarantees for a connection require a portion of the finite ATM network resource. Once all network resource is allocated to connections no new connections will be accepted, and users will start experiencing denial of service. The key research question here is if and how this denial of service probability can be kept to a minimum

Practical Propagation of Trust in Risk Management Systems

Using risk management systems for large-scale asset management is not without risk itself. Systems that collect measurement from a geographically diverse area, across many organisations, contain many interacting components that can fail in many different ways. In this chapter these systems are discussed from a risk assessment point of view, using practical examples. It provides suggestions how trust can propagate between interacting components of risk management systems by making information needed for risk assessment information explicit

RFID Technologies: Emerging Issues, Challenges and Policy Options

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, an enabling technology for automatic identification based on radio waves, will impact the daily lives of European citizens in many different ways, as it is a bridge between the physical and the virtual world. RFID has enormous socio-economic potential but it also brings challenges, such as serious security threats and the potential danger of impinging on personal lives, which if not addressed properly may limit the foreseen benefits from the wide-spread deployment of this technology. This report gives an overview of established and emerging RFID technologies, RFID standards and spectrum allocation, presents RFID market parameters and forecast, privacy and security issues and social aspects of RFID. Five case studies from different application sectors (animal tracking, healthcare, ICT sector, identity cards and public transport) allow us to draw conclusions about both specific areas of development and the whole RFID market in Europe. In the final part, the likely role of Europe is presented, as are policy options for further initiatives.JRC.J.4-Information Societ

Web Based ATM PVC Management

This paper discusses the design of a public domain web based ATM PVC Management tool for the Dutch SURFnet research ATM network. The aim of this tool is to assists in the creation and deletion of PVCs through local and remote ATM network domains. The tool includes security mechanisms to restrict the access to these ATM domains, and provides a high level graphical user interface to hide the differences between the ATM switches from various vendors

The Feasibility of Introducing ATM SVCs

: This paper presents the results of a case study performed for SURFnet bv. to determine if the time is ripe to introduce ATM SVCs into the Dutch ATM research network. The current state of the art in ATM SVCs is that vendors have been shipping SVC capable equipment for some time now. SVCs seem attractive, in the sense that they can be created on demand and instantaneously by the user, and that they are guaranteed to provide the QoS level that the user requested. In case of overload, however, ATM will no longer be able to accept new connections and users will experience denial of service. The question being addressed in this paper is whether such denial of service situations can be managed using current equipment and standardized solutions. Three strategies are being examined: is it possible to introduce different access policies for different users; is it possible to intervene in existing connections and is it possible to reduce network load by calling users to account? The ..

The Feasibility of Introducing ATM SVCs

This paper presents the results of a case study performed for SURFnet bv. to determine if the time is ripe to introduce ATM SVCs into the Dutch ATM research network. The current state of the art in ATM SVCs is that vendors have been shipping SVC capable equipment for some time now. SVCs seem attractive, in the sense that they can be created on demand and instantaneously by the user, and that they are guaranteed to provide the QoS level that the user requested. In case of overload, however, ATM will no longer be able to accept new connections and users will experience denial of service. The question being addressed in this paper is whether such denial of service situations can be managed using current equipment and standardized solutions. Three strategies are being examined: is it possible to introduce different access policies for different users; is it possible to intervene in existing connections and is it possible to reduce network load by calling users to account? The outcome of the case study is that denial of service problems can not yet be managed properly. For this reason, and despite the availability of SVC capable ATM products, SURFnet decided to call off the introduction of ATM SVCs

Immunoglobulin coating of faecal bacteria in inflammatory bowel disease

OBJECTIVE: An inappropriate mucosal immune response to the commensal bacterial flora may play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study we determined the percentage of immunoglobulin-coated bacteria in the stools of patients and controls. METHODS: Faecal samples were obtained from 18 patients with IBD (one sample during exacerbation and one shortly after remission was achieved), 15 healthy volunteers, eight infectious colitis patients, and 13 IBD patients in long-term remission. Bacterial immunoglobulin coating was determined by flow-cytometry analysis. Faecal alpha-1-antitrypsin concentrations were determined by radial immune diffusion. RESULTS: IBD patients had 69 +/- 19% immunoglobulin A (IgA)-, 56 +/- 32% immunoglobulin G (IgG)- and 56 +/- 29% immunoglobulin M (IgM)-coated bacteria in their faeces. Healthy controls had less immunoglobulin coating, respectively 36 +/- 12%, 11 +/- 4% and 11 +/- 7%. Infectious colitis patients had 57 +/- 14% IgA, 31 +/- 13% IgG, and 42 +/-16% IgM; however, they had higher faecal alpha-1-antitrypsin concentrations than IBD patients. Shortly after remission, IBD patients had 65 +/- 20% IgA, 32 +/- 18% IgG and 40 +/- 21% IgM. Long-term-remission IBD patients had normal IgG and IgM but increased IgA (50 +/- 16%) coating. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with healthy controls, patients with IBD had an increased percentage of immunoglobulin-coated faecal anaerobic bacteria, both in active disease and shortly after remission. These results support the concept that there may be a breakdown of mucosal tolerance to the commensal gut flora in IB

European Communities

EUR 22770 EN- 2007The mission of the IPTS is to provide customerdriven support to the EU policy-making process by researching science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic and a scientific or technological dimension