Performance comparison of several priority schemes with priority jumps

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An approximate analysis of a bernoulli alternating service model

We consider a discrete-time queueing system with one server and two types of customers, say type-1 and type-2 customers. The server serves customers of either type alternately according to a Bernoulli pro- cess. The service times of the customers are deterministically equal to 1 time slot. For this queueing system, we derive a functional equation for the joint probability generating function of the number of type-1 and type-2 customers. The functional equation contains two unknown partial generating functions which complicates the analysis. We investigate the dominant singularity of these two unknown functions and propose an approximation for the coefficients of the Maclaurin series expansion of these functions. This approximation provides a fast method to compute approximations of various performance measures of interest

An all geometric discrete-time multiserver queueing system

In this work we look at a discrete-time multiserver queueing system where the number of available servers is distributed according to one of two geometrics. The arrival process is assumed to be general independent, the service times deterministically equal to one slot and the buffer capacity infinite. The queueing system resides in one of two states and the number of available servers follows a geometric distribution with parameter determined by the system state. At the end of a slot there is a fixed probability that the system evolves from one state to the other, with this probability depending on the current system state only, resulting in geometrically distributed sojourn times. We obtain the probability generating function (pgf) of the system content of an arbitrary slot in steady-state, as well as the pgf of the system content at the beginning of an arbitrary slot with a given state. Furthermore we obtain an approximation of the distribution of the delay a customer experiences in the proposed queueing system. This approximation is validated by simulation and the results are illustrated with a numerical example

Parallel functional and stoichiometric trait shifts in South American and African forest communities with elevation

The Amazon and Congo basins are the two largest continuous blocks of tropical forest with a central role for global biogeochemical cycles and ecology. However, both biomes differ in structure and species richness and composition. Understanding future directions of the response of both biomes to environmental change is paramount. We used one elevational gradient on both continents to investigate functional and stoichiometric trait shifts of tropical forest in South America and Africa. We measured community-weighted functional canopy traits and canopy and topsoil delta N-15 signatures. We found that the functional forest composition response along both transects was parallel, with a shift towards more nitrogen-conservative species at higher elevations. Moreover, canopy and topsoil delta N-15 signals decreased with increasing altitude, suggesting a more conservative N cycle at higher elevations. This cross-continental study provides empirical indications that both South American and African tropical forest show a parallel response with altitude, driven by nitrogen availability along the elevational gradients, which in turn induces a shift in the functional forest composition. More standardized research, and more research on other elevational gradients is needed to confirm our observations

Transform-domain analysis of packet delay in network nodes with QoS-aware scheduling

In order to differentiate the perceived QoS between traffic classes in heterogeneous packet networks, equipment discriminates incoming packets based on their class, particularly in the way queued packets are scheduled for further transmission. We review a common stochastic modelling framework in which scheduling mechanisms can be evaluated, especially with regard to the resulting per-class delay distribution. For this, a discrete-time single-server queue is considered with two classes of packet arrivals, either delay-sensitive (1) or delay-tolerant (2). The steady-state analysis relies on the use of well-chosen supplementary variables and is mainly done in the transform domain. Secondly, we propose and analyse a new type of scheduling mechanism that allows precise control over the amount of delay differentiation between the classes. The idea is to introduce N reserved places in the queue, intended for future arrivals of class 1

The preemptive repeat hybrid server interruption model

We analyze a discrete-time queueing system with server interruptions and a hybrid preemptive repeat interruption discipline. Such a discipline encapsulates both the preemptive repeat identical and the preemptive repeat different disciplines. By the introduction and analysis of so-called service completion times, we significantly reduce the complexity of the analysis. Our results include a.o. the probability generating functions and moments of queue content and delay. Finally, by means of some numerical examples, we assess how performance measures are affected by the specifics of the interruption discipline

Importance of the pyrolysis for microstructure and superconducting properties of CSD-grown GdBa2_{2}Cu3_{3}O7−x_{7-x}-HfO2_{2} nanocomposite films by the ex-situ approach

For the first time, GdBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-x}$ nanocomposites were prepared by chemical solution deposition following the ex-situ approach. In particular, ~ 220 nm GdBa$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{7-x}$-HfO$_{2}$ (GdBCO-HfO$_{2}$) nanocomposite films were fabricated starting from a colloidal solution of 5 mol% HfO2 nanoparticles. Hereby, one of the main challenges is to avoid the accumulation of the nanoparticles at the substrate interface during the pyrolysis, which would later prevent the epitaxial nucleation of the GdBCO grains. Therefore, the effect of pyrolysis processing parameters such as heating ramp and temperature on the homogeneity of the nanoparticle distribution has been investigated. By increasing the heating ramp to 300 °C/h and decreasing the final temperature to 300 °C, a more homogenous nanoparticle distribution was achieved. This translates into improved superconducting properties of the grown films reaching critical temperatures (T$_{c}$) of 94.5 K and self-field critical current densities ($_{c}$$^{sf}$) at 77 K of 2.1 MA/cm$^{2}$ with respect to films pyrolyzed at higher temperatures or lower heating ramps