An experimental study of VBR video over various ATM switch architectures

One of the most important components of an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network is the switch. Switch design is not a part of the ATM standards so vendors use a wide variety of techniques to build their switches. In this paper, the authors present experimental results of switching and multiplexing real-time Variable Bit Rate (VBR) video traffic (JPEG, MPEG-1, and MPEG-2) through two different ATM switch architectures. Real-time VBR traffic, such as digital video, is particularly interesting due to its high demands in terms of bandwidth, real-time delivery and processing requirements. The experiments show that the fastest switches, i.e., lowest latencies, do not necessarily perform better when transmitting VBR video. The impact of the high speed network components; characteristics, such as switch fabric architecture, buffering strategies, and higher layer transport protocols (i.e., UDP, TCP/IP), are illustrated through the experimental results

Fast packet switching algorithms for dynamic resource control over ATM networks

Real-time continuous media traffic, such as digital video and audio, is expected to comprise a large percentage of the network load on future high speed packet switch networks such as ATM. A major feature which distinguishes high speed networks from traditional slower speed networks is the large amount of data the network must process very quickly. For efficient network usage, traffic control mechanisms are essential. Currently, most mechanisms for traffic control (such as flow control) have centered on the support of Available Bit Rate (ABR), i.e., non real-time, traffic. With regard to ATM, for ABR traffic, two major types of schemes which have been proposed are rate- control and credit-control schemes. Neither of these schemes are directly applicable to Real-time Variable Bit Rate (VBR) traffic such as continuous media traffic. Traffic control for continuous media traffic is an inherently difficult problem due to the time- sensitive nature of the traffic and its unpredictable burstiness. In this study, we present a scheme which controls traffic by dynamically allocating/de- allocating resources among competing VCs based upon their real-time requirements. This scheme incorporates a form of rate- control, real-time burst-level scheduling and link-link flow control. We show analytically potential performance improvements of our rate- control scheme and present a scheme for buffer dimensioning. We also present simulation results of our schemes and discuss the tradeoffs inherent in maintaining high network utilization and statistically guaranteeing many users` Quality of Service

Genomic and exoproteomic diversity in plant biomass degradation approaches among Aspergilli

We classified the genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in 17 sequenced genomes representing 16 evolutionarily diverse Aspergillus species. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of the encoding enzymes, along with experimentally characterized CAZymes, to assign molecular function to the Aspergilli CAZyme families and subfamilies. Genome content analysis revealed that the numbers of CAZy genes per CAZy family related to plant biomass degradation follow closely the taxonomic distance between the species. On the other hand, growth analysis showed almost no correlation between the number of CAZyme genes and the efficiency in polysaccharide utilization. The exception is A. clavatus where a reduced number of pectinolytic enzymes can be correlated with poor growth on pectin. To gain detailed information on the enzymes used by Aspergilli to breakdown complex biomass, we conducted exoproteome analysis by mass spectrometry. These results showed that Aspergilli produce many different enzymes mixtures in the presence of sugar beet pulp and wheat bran. Despite the diverse enzyme mixtures produced, species of section Nigri, A. aculeatus, A. nidulans and A. terreus, produce mixtures of enzymes with activities that are capable of digesting all the major polysaccharides in the available substrates, suggesting that they are capable of degrading all the polysaccharides present simultaneously. For the other Aspergilli, typically the enzymes produced are targeted to a subset of polysaccharides present, suggesting that they can digest only a subset of polysaccharides at a given time.Peer reviewe

Excitation and decay of projectile-like fragments formed in dissipative peripheral collisions at intermediate energies

Projectile-like fragments (PLF:15<=Z<=46) formed in peripheral and mid-peripheral collisions of 114Cd projectiles with 92Mo nuclei at E/A=50 MeV have been detected at very forward angles, 2.1 deg.<=theta_lab<=4.2 deg. Calorimetric analysis of the charged particles observed in coincidence with the PLF reveals that the excitation of the primary PLF is strongly related to its velocity damping. Furthermore, for a given V_PLF*, its excitation is not related to its size, Z_PLF*. For the largest velocity damping, the excitation energy attained is large, approximately commensurate with a system at the limiting temperatureComment: 5 pages, 6 figure

On the sign of the real part of the Riemann zeta-function

We consider the distribution of $\arg\zeta(\sigma+it)$ on fixed lines $\sigma > \frac12$, and in particular the density $$d(\sigma) = \lim_{T \rightarrow +\infty} \frac{1}{2T} |\{t \in [-T,+T]: |\arg\zeta(\sigma+it)| > \pi/2\}|\,,$$ and the closely related density $$d_{-}(\sigma) = \lim_{T \rightarrow +\infty} \frac{1}{2T} |\{t \in [-T,+T]: \Re\zeta(\sigma+it) < 0\}|\,.$$ Using classical results of Bohr and Jessen, we obtain an explicit expression for the characteristic function $\psi_\sigma(x)$ associated with $\arg\zeta(\sigma+it)$. We give explicit expressions for $d(\sigma)$ and $d_{-}(\sigma)$ in terms of $\psi_\sigma(x)$. Finally, we give a practical algorithm for evaluating these expressions to obtain accurate numerical values of $d(\sigma)$ and $d_{-}(\sigma)$.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables. To appear in Proceedings of the International Number Theory Conference in Memory of Alf van der Poorten (Newcastle, Australia, 2011

Automated Generation of Itineraries in Recommender Systems for Tourism

Current recommender systems can support tourists in choosing travel products (accommodation, activities, means of transport, etc.), in planning long trips, and in profitably spending time in a specific geographical area such as a region (or a city). In the last case, the system should be able to construct itineraries suited to the tourist’s interests. In this paper, a method for generating tourist itineraries in knowledge-based recommender systems is proposed. The method is based on a theoretical model that defines space-time relations among items of intangible cultural heritage (called events) and on transitive closure computation (of the relations), that is able to construct chains of events. The proposed method has been implemented in the T-Path recommender system, that suggests itineraries of cultural events occurring in the Apulia region

The gold-standard genome of <i>Aspergillus niger</i> NRRL 3 enables a detailed view of the diversity of sugar catabolism in fungi

The fungal kingdom is too large to be discovered exclusively by classical genetics. The access to omics data opens a new opportunity to study the diversity within the fungal kingdom and how adaptation to new environments shapes fungal metabolism. Genomes are the foundation of modern science but their quality is crucial when analysing omics data. In this study, we demonstrate how one gold-standard genome can improve functional prediction across closely related species to be able to identify key enzymes, reactions and pathways with the focus on primary carbon metabolism.Based on this approach we identified alternative genes encoding various steps of the different sugar catabolic pathways, and as such provided leads for functional studies into this topic. We also revealed significant diversity with respect to genome content, although this did not always correlate to the ability of the species to use the corresponding sugar as a carbon source. Key words: Aspergillus, Genomic diversity, Gold standard genome, Sugar catabolis

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters