An efficient IP address lookup algorithm based on a small balanced tree using entry reduction

Due to a tremendous increase in internet traffic, backbone routers must have the capability to forward massive incoming packets at several gigabits per second. IP address lookup is one of the most challenging tasks for high-speed packet forwarding. Some high-end routers have been implemented with hardware parallelism using ternary content addressable memory (TCAM). However, TCAM is much more expensive in terms of circuit complexity as well as power consumption. Therefore, efficient algorithmic solutions are essentially required to be implemented using network processors as low cost solutions.Among the state-of-the-art algorithms for IP address lookup, a binary search based on a balanced tree is effective in providing a low-cost solution. In order to construct a balanced search tree, the prefixes with the nesting relationship should be converted into completely disjointed prefixes. A leaf-pushing technique is very useful to eliminate the nesting relationship among prefixes [V. Srinivasan, G. Varghese, Fast address lookups using controlled prefix expansion, ACM Transactions on Computer Systems 17 (1) (1999) 1-40]. However, it creates duplicate prefixes, thus expanding the search tree.This paper proposes an efficient IP address lookup algorithm based on a small balanced tree using entry reduction. The leaf-pushing technique is used for creating the completely disjointed entries. In the leaf-pushed prefixes, there are numerous pairs of adjacent prefixes with similarities in prefix strings and output ports. The number of entries can be significantly reduced by the use of a new entry reduction method which merges pairs with these similar prefixes. After sorting the reduced disjointed entries, a small balanced tree is constructed with a very small node size. Based on this small balanced tree, a native binary search can be effectively used in address lookup issue. In addition, we propose a new multi-way search algorithm to improve a binary search for IPv4 address lookup. As a result, the proposed algorithms offer excellent lookup performance along with reduced memory requirements. Besides, these provide good scalability for large amounts of routing data and for the address migration toward IPv6. Using both various IPv4 and IPv6 routing data, the performance evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms have better performance in terms of lookup speed, memory requirement and scalability for the growth of entries and IPv6, as compared with other algorithms based on a binary search.     

Senescence Marker Protein 30 (SMP30): A Novel Pan-Species Diagnostic Marker for the Histopathological Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Humans and Animals

Senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) is a cell survival factor playing an important role in vitamin C synthesis and antiapoptosis. Moreover, its cytoprotective role suggests a possibility to be related to cancer cell survival. Mammary carcinoma is a common cancer in both humans and animals. Because of its histopathological diversity, especially in the early stage, histopathological diagnosis may be complicated; therefore, a diagnostic marker is helpful for confirmation. The present study analyzed the expression pattern of SMP30 in mammary carcinoma in humans, dogs, and cats. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and western blot analysis were used to investigate SMP30 expression patterns. The expression was specifically observed in neoplastic glandular epithelial cells. The expression increased with the malignancy of glandular epithelial cells with a highly proliferative status. However, SMP30 expression was low in normal mammary gland tissues or well-differentiated adenoma tissues. The patterns were consistently reproduced in canine primary mammary carcinoma cells and MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human carcinoma cell lines. This study provides useful information to understand SMP30 expression in various stages of mammary carcinoma and to suggest its utility as a pan-species diagnostic marker, thereby helping to establish strategies for diagnosing mammary carcinoma in several species.     

Deciphering the Binding Interactions between Acinetobacter baumannii ACP and β-ketoacyl ACP Synthase III to Improve Antibiotic Targeting Using NMR Spectroscopy

Fatty acid synthesis is essential for bacterial viability. Thus, fatty acid synthases (FASs) represent effective targets for antibiotics. Nevertheless, multidrug-resistant bacteria, including the human opportunistic bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, are emerging threats. Meanwhile, the FAS pathway of A. baumannii is relatively unexplored. Considering that acyl carrier protein (ACP) has an important role in the delivery of fatty acyl intermediates to other FAS enzymes, we elucidated the solution structure of A. baumannii ACP (AbACP) and, using NMR spectroscopy, investigated its interactions with β-ketoacyl ACP synthase III (AbKAS III), which initiates fatty acid elongation. The results show that AbACP comprises four helices, while Ca²⁺ reduces the electrostatic repulsion between acid residues, and the unconserved F47 plays a key role in thermal stability. Moreover, AbACP exhibits flexibility near the hydrophobic cavity entrance from D59 to T65, as well as in the α₁α₂ loop region. Further, F29 and A69 participate in slow exchanges, which may be related to shuttling of the growing acyl chain. Additionally, electrostatic interactions occur between the α₂ and α₃-helix of ACP and AbKAS III, while the hydrophobic interactions through the ACP α₂-helix are seemingly important. Our study provides insights for development of potent antibiotics capable of inhibiting A. baumannii FAS protein–protein interactions.     

Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 29 Regulates Cdc25A-Mediated Tumorigenesis

Cell division cycle 25A (Cdc25A) is a dual-specificity phosphatase that is overexpressed in several cancer cells and promotes tumorigenesis. In normal cells, Cdc25A expression is regulated tightly, but the changes in expression patterns in cancer cells that lead to tumorigenesis are unknown. In this study, we showed that ubiquitin-specific protease 29 (USP29) stabilized Cdc25A protein expression in cancer cell lines by protecting it from ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation. The presence of USP29 effectively blocked polyubiquitination of Cdc25A and extended its half-life. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockdown of USP29 in HeLa cells resulted in cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. We also showed that USP29 knockdown hampered Cdc25A-mediated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, NSG nude mice transplanted with USP29-depleted cells significantly reduced the size of the tumors, whereas the reconstitution of Cdc25A in USP29-depleted cells significantly increased the tumor size. Altogether, our results implied that USP29 promoted cell cycle progression and oncogenic transformation by regulating protein turnover of Cdc25A.     

Spray Coating of 2- and 3-D Solid Substrates Using a Sulfated Polysaccharide for Marine Antifouling Applications

Marine antifouling coating using functional polymers has emerged as an important tool to combat marine fouling. Owing to their natural abundance, polysaccharides represent a more sustainable option than synthetic polymers and carrageenan, a sulfated polysaccharide, is identified as a promising candidate for further research based on its excellent marine antifouling properties. However, existing research has only explored the application of carrageenan-based coatings for 2D objects, using techniques such as spin-coating. Here, a spray-coating method is proposed to apply carrageenan-based coatings to the surfaces of 2- and 3-D objects. The coated surfaces exhibit high stability under various chemical/physical stresses and high resistance to protein adsorption and marine diatom adhesion.     

A study of the corrosion properties of plasma nitrocarburized and oxidized AISI 1020 steels

Plasma nitrocarburized AISI 1020 steels were oxidized for 15, 30 and 60 min to evaluate their corrosion and microstructural properties. After plasma nitrocarburizing for 3 h at 570°C in a gas mixture comprising 85 vol.% N₂, 12vol.% H₂ and 3 vol.% CH₄, the compound layer composed of ɛ-Fe_2–3(N,C) and γ’-Fe₄(N,C) phases and the diffusion layer above the matrix were observed. The top oxide layer, consisting mainly of magnetite (Fe₂O₄) and hematite (Fe₂O₃) phases, forms after post-oxidation treatment at 500°C. However, the oxide layer was severely degraded by spallation as a result of increases in post-oxidizing time. The difference in corrosion resistance should be attributed to the thickness of the top oxide layer, which was governed by post-oxidizing time.     

Sol-Gel Alumina Coating for Improved Cyclic Oxidation Resistance of Silicon Nitride

A 25 nm thick α-alumina layer was deposited on a turbine-grade silicon nitride by sol-gel dip coating and subsequent heat treatment in air at 1200°C. This layer had a nanometer grain structure. Silicon nitride protected by this thin layer showed a significant improvement in oxidation resistance over its uncoated counterpart after 200 cyclic exposures in air at 1250°C. The oxide layer grown on the coated silicon nitride also exhibited superior surface morphology, compared with the uncoated silicon nitride.     

A novel spin-finishing method for antistatic modification of polyester fiber. Surface reaction onto amine-containing copoly(amide-ethers) blended with polyester fiber

Copoly(amide-ethers) containing two types of tertiary amine units were made as antistatic modifiers for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers. The filaments of the copolymers were melt-spun and reacted with three alkylating agents in order to quaternize the tertiary amine into a sulfo-betaine, a carbobetaine, and an ammonium ion. The apparent electric resistivity of the filaments was greatly reduced by this reaction, being in the range of 10⁶ to 10⁸ Ω/cm. However, because these quaternized copolymers incurred decomposition during blend spinning with PET, a blend PET fiber containing one type of copoly(amide-ether) was melt-spun and subjected to quaternization of the amino groups as well as to surface crosslinking with various alkylating and epoxy agents. The quaternized blend fibers obtained showed improved antistatic properties compared with the original blend fiber. Particularly, the fibers crosslinked with epoxy compounds were found to have the best antistatic properties that had ever been attained with this type of modification. The antistatic properties were retained even after dyeing, because both hydrophilic and ionic groups had been effectively immobilized on the surface. Since this quaternization and crosslinking could be conducted on-line with spinning and drawing within a short reaction time, this modification technique is called “spin-finishing method”, which should be superior to the conventional methods in terms of cost performance and productivity.     

Surface crosslinking of high‐density polyethylene beads in a modified plasma reactor

High‐density polyethylene (HDPE) beads were successfully surface‐crosslinked in a modified plasma reactor. The modified plasma reactor treats large amounts of beads, which are uniformly surface‐crosslinked. In this study, effects of the gas pressure, radio‐frequency (RF) power, and the treatment time on the degree of surface crosslinking were systematically investigated. Degree of surface crosslinking was measured by solvent extraction method (boiling xylene method, BXM). The gel content of plasma‐treated HDPE increases from 0.0 to 1.05% within 10 min at 100 mTorr, 200 W. FTIR and DSC analyses show that the crosslinked layer after plasma treatment is limited only at HDPE surface without changing the bulk thermal property of HDPE. Through the analysis of FTIR, it was confirmed that main peaks corresponding to CH₂ bands were decreased and two peaks corresponding to CF₂ and CF₃ were observed after plasma surface modification. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2921–2929, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10295