FHCF: A Simple and Efficient Scheduling Scheme for IEEE 802.11e Wireless LAN

The IEEE 802.11e medium access control (MAC) layer protocol is an emerging standard to support quality of service (QoS) in 802.11 wireless networks. Some recent work shows that the 802.11e hybrid coordination function (HCF) can improve significantly the QoS support in 802.11 networks. A simple HCF referenced scheduler has been proposed in the 802.11e which takes into account the QoS requirements of flows and allocates time to stations on the basis of the mean sending rate. As we show in this paper, this HCF referenced scheduling algorithm is only efficient and works well for flows with strict constant bit rate (CBR) characteristics. However, a lot of real-time applications, such as videoconferencing, have some variations in their packet sizes, sending rates or even have variable bit rate (VBR) characteristics. In this paper we propose FHCF, a simple and efficient scheduling algorithm for 802.11e that aims to be fair for both CBR and VBR flows. FHCF uses queue length estimations to tune its time allocation to mobile stations. We present analytical model evaluations and a set of simulations results, and provide performance comparisons with the 802.11e HCF referenced scheduler. Our performance study indicates that FHCF provides good fairness while supporting bandwidth and delay requirements for a large range of network loads. Pierre Ansel received a multidisciplinary in-depth scientific training in different fields such as Pure and Applied Mathematics, Physics, Mechanics, Computer Science and Economics from the Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France. Then, he joined the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications, Paris, France in 2005 where he went further into electronics, databases, computer network security and high speed networks. He received a multidisciplinary master of sciences degree and an additional master of sciences degree in telecommunications in 2005. He did a summer internship in 2003 in INRIA, Sophia Antipolis, France where he worked on the Quality of Service in 802.11 networks at Planete Group, France. Then in 2004, he joined France Telecom R&D, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France to work on Intranet Security issues. He designed a WiFi security supervision architecture based on WiFi Intrusion Detection Sensors. He is currently a French civil servant and belongs to the French Telecommunications Corps. Qiang Ni received the B.Eng., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Hua Zhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan City, China in 1993, 1996 and 1999 respectively. He is currently a faculty member in the Electronic and Computer Engineering Division,School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University, West London, U.K. Between 2004 and 2005 he was a Senior Researcher at the Hamilton Institute, National University of Ireland, Maynooth. From 1999 to 2001, he was a post-doctoral research fellow in the multimedia and wireless communication laboratory, HUST, China. He visited and conducted research at the wireless and networking group of Microsoft Research Asia Lab during the year of 2000. From Sept. 2001 until may 2004, he was a research staff member at the Planète group of INRIA Sophia Antipolis France. Since 2002, he has been active as a voting member at the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard working group. His current research interests include communication protocol design and performance analysis for wireless networks, cross-layer optimizations, vertical handover and mobility management in mobile wireless networks, and adaptive multimedia transmission over hybrid wired/wireless networks. He has authored /co-authored over 40 international journal/conference papers, book chapters, and standard drafts in this field. He is a member of IEEE. E-mail: Qiang.Ni@ieee.org Thierry Turletti received the M.S. (1990) and the Ph.D. (1995) degrees in computer science both from the University of Nice – Sophia Antipolis, France. He has done his PhD studies in the RODEO group at INRIA Sophia Antipolis. During the year 1995–96, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Telemedia, Networks and Systems group at LCS, MIT. He is currently a research scientist at the Planete group at INRIA Sophia Antipolis. His research interests include multimedia applications, congestion control and wireless networking. Dr. Turletti currently serves on the Editorial Board of Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing.     

A Multisite Comparison of Actuarial Risk Instruments for Sex Offenders.

Four actuarial instruments for the prediction of violent and sexual reoffending (the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide [VRAG], Sex Offender Risk Appraisal Guide [SORAG], Rapid Risk Assessment for Sex Offender Recidivism [RRASOR], and Static-99) were evaluated in 4 samples of sex offenders (N = 396). Although all 4 instruments predicted violent (including sexual) recidivism and recidivism known to be sexually motivated, areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were consistently higher for the VRAG and the SORAG. The instruments performed better when there were fewer missing items and follow-up time was fixed, with an ROC area up to .84 for the VRAG, for example, under such favorable conditions. Predictive accuracy was higher for child molesters than for rapists, especially for the Static-99 and the RRASOR. Consistent with past research, survival analyses revealed that those offenders high in both psychopathy and sexual deviance were an especially high-risk group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bile acids as constituents for dental composites: in vitro cytotoxicity of (meth)acrylate and other ester derivatives of bile acids.

Methacrylic derivatives of bile acids have been synthesized for use as monomers in dental composites. Polymeric dental materials are known to leach cytotoxic unreacted monomers and degradation products. In this study, the in vitro cytotoxicity of bile acids and their derivatives towards 3T3 fibroblasts has been evaluated by colorimetric MTT assay and compared with that of the common dental monomers BisGMA, UDMA and TEGDMA. In general, the bile acids and their derivatives induced mitochondrial dysfunction at similar or higher concentrations than the commercial dental monomers. Certain monomers did not influence MTT response over their entire range of solubility.     

Oil yield and compressibility modeling during microscale expression: Criteria for linseed breeding

Seven linseed varieties were harvested at seven times before complete maturity. Microscale oilseed expressions were subsequently carried out on it. A pressure of 10 MPa was applied for 1 h under uniaxial stress. The results were characterized in terms of oil, water and mucilage content, harvest date and oil yield. The piston displacement versus time (creep curves) was described by a four‐Kelvin‐Voigt elements viscoelastic model. Parameters were derived from the model, such as the mechanical properties of seeds (compressibility moduli), showing that the viscoelastic model fits well the experimental data (R² ≈ 0.999). The modeling parameters were combined with some biochemical data in order to predict the kinetics of oil extraction.     

Gelatinases in drug-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis

BACKGROUND: The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) MMP2 and MMP9 play a significant role in epidermal detachment, inflammation and re-epithelialization. We have evaluated their activity in toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). DESIGN: The level and pattern of activity of MMP2 and MMP9 were investigated by measuring the degradation of 3H-labelled gelatin and by zymography in blister fluid from six TEN patients and compared the results with three other blistering conditions: bullous pemphigoid (n = 6), second-degree burn (n = 13) or suction blister (n = 3). RESULTS: A higher amount of MMP2 was found in TEN blister fluid with the constant presence of a significantly larger proportion of the activated forms of MMP2, a particular feature of TEN, than the other blistering diseases studied. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the potential role of MMP2 in the specific inflammatory reaction and reparation process in TEN skin.     

A clinical study of the use of a combination of glucomannan with lactulose in the constipation of pregnancy

RATIONALE: Constipation is a problem frequently encountered during pregnancy as is excessive weight gain. Treatments of common use to control constipation are endowed with some drawbacks and they are not active in controlling weight increase. A preparation of lactulose and glucomannan in previous studies proved very effective and well tolerated in patients affected by stypsis and evidentiated also activity both in controlling excessive food intake and in correcting some metabolic imbalances regarding lipids and urea. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 50 pregnant females affected by constipation were treated with sachets containing a preparation of glucomannan (1.45 g) and lactulose (4.2 g) in a posology of 2 (1-4) sachets a day for 1-3 months. RESULTS: Treatment induced a return to normal frequency of weekly number of evacuations (4.9-5.8/week) and a parallel control of weight gain (within 20% of initial body weight). The latter finding seems to be related to hunger control induced by glucomannan at the gastric level which prevents an excessive food intake.     

Kinetic analysis of the in vitro inhibition, aging, and reactivation of brain acetylcholinesterase from rat and channel catfish by paraoxon and chlorpyrifos-oxon

In rats, the phosphorothionate insecticide parathion exhibits greater toxicity than chlorpyrifos, while in catfish the toxicities are reversed. The in vitro inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by the active metabolites of the insecticides and the rates at which these inhibitor-enzyme complexes undergo reactivation/ aging were investigated in both species. Rat AChE was more sensitive to inhibition than catfish AChE as demonstrated by greater bimolecular rate constants (ki) in rats than in catfish. In both species, chlorpyrifos-oxon yielded higher ki's than paraoxon. The higher association constant (KA) of chlorpyrifos-oxon than paraoxon in both species and the lack of significant differences in the phosphorylation constants (kp) suggest that association of the inhibitor with AChE is the principal factor in the different potencies between these two inhibitors. In catfish, the ki of chlorpyrifos-oxon was 22-fold greater than that of paraoxon, while in rats it was 9-fold greater, suggesting that target site sensitivity is an important factor in the higher toxicity of chlorpyrifos to catfish but not in the higher toxicity of parathion to rats. No spontaneous reactivation of phosphorylated catfish AChE occurred and there were no differences in the first oder aging constants (ka) between compounds. For phosphorylated rat AChE, there were no differences in the first order reactivation constants (kr) but the ka for chlorpyrifos-oxon was significantly greater than that for paraoxon. This difference suggests that the steric positioning of the diethyl phosphate in the esteratic site is not the same between the two compounds, leading to differences in aging.     

Nitrogen dioxide effect in the reduction of nitric oxide by propane in oxidizing atmosphere

The role of nitrogen dioxide in the selective reduction of NO by propane over a Cu-MFI zeolite is investigated. NO₂ and NO reductions were carried out under similar conditions of reaction. In the presence of oxygen, the reduction of NO by C₃H₈ does not differ significantly from that of NO₂. In the absence of oxygen, the reduction of NO₂ by propane occurs with a partial decomposition of the nitric dioxide molecule. Such a decomposition leads to the formation of oxygen, which is responsible for the increase in catalytic activity by comparison with the same reaction performed with NO. NO₂ formed and released in the gas phase during the reduction of NO by propane in the presence of oxygen does not play a predominant role in the catalytic process.     

The effects of insulin, transferrin and androgens on rat prostate explants in serum-free organ culture

A model previously developed in our laboratory to culture rat prostate explants in serum-free chemically-defined medium was used to evaluate the direct influence of potential regulators. The aim of the present work was to verify the effects of insulin (I) and transferrin (Tr), two hormones considered as essential in other serum-free culture systems, and three androgenic hormones, since the prostate is known to be androgen-dependent. Explants of rat prostate were cultured for five days in serum-free Leibovitz's L-15 medium (37 degrees C, 95% air-5% CO2). The addition of Tr (50 micrograms/ml) had no effect, but I (5 micrograms/ml) significantly increased DNA synthesis. This influence was amplified by combination of the two hormones. However, protein synthesis was only slightly stimulated. Testosterone (T) or androstanediol significantly increased DNA synthesis when compared to corresponding control values at five days. In combination with I plus Tr, each hormone showed potentiated effects, particularly T with a twofold increase over day 0 values. When dihydrotestosterone was added singly, the incorporation of 3H-thymidine was stimulated by 300% over control values at five days, and by 100% over values in uncultured explants. This influence was maximal since it was not improved by I plus Tr. Protein synthesis was increased significantly by the triple combination. In addition, each androgen as well as the combination of I plus Tr had a positive influence on explant morphology. The above conditions optimize the present culture system and establish its usefulness as a valuable tool to study the direct influence of different effectors in prostate metabolism and to eventually identify putative cancer markers.