On teletraffic applications to OBS

We provide teletraffic models for loss probability evaluation of optical burst switching (OBS). We show that the popular Engset formula is not exact for OBS modeling and demonstrate that in certain cases it is not appropriate. A new exact model is provided. The various models are compared using numerical results for various OBS alternatives with and without burst segmentation.     

Circuit allocation in all optical networks with average packet delay cost criterion

An optimal circuit allocation problem for all-optical circuit-switched backbone networks with average packet delay cost criterion is considered. Multiple classes of traffic flows arrive at the network edge routers, where they can be queued until an end-to-end optical circuit can be allocated. Assuming fluid traffic and circuit allocation of fixed periods, a lower bound on the optimal average packet delay is derived and the cost of two allocation policies are evaluated exactly. The cost of both policies are demonstrated for a variety of deterministic and random networks and are compared with the lower bound.     

Optimal routing to parallel heterogeneous servers-small arrivalrates

Consider a set of k(⩾2) heterogeneous and exponential servers that operate in parallel. Customers arrive into a single infinite capacity buffer according to a Poisson process, and are routed to available servers in accordance with some routing policy. It is shown that for arrival rates in some possible interval (0,λ₀), ever routing policy which minimizes the long-run expected holding cost is contained in the set of routing policies that minimize the expected flow time for a system with fixed initial population and no new arrivals     

TDM policies in multistation packet radio networks

A multistation packet radio network with m stations and a finite number of nodes n that uses a conflict-free protocol to access the backbone network of stations through a shared channel is discussed. The goal is to derive an allocation of the channel time slots (time-division multiplexing cycle), so that all transmissions will be conflict-free and some measure of performance (e.g., the expected total weighted throughput, the expected weighted holding cost) will be optimized. The methodology that is used is to bound the performance and to allocate the slots according to the golden ratio policy     

Deterministic Routing to Buffered Channels

Considernexponential transmission channels which transmit information with different rates. Every channel has a buffer which is capable of storing an unlimited number of messages. A new message first arrives at the controller, which immediately routes it to one of the channels according to an infinite deterministic routing sequence. A cost per unit of staying time is charged in each of the channels (channel dependent cost), and the long-run average staying cost is taken as the cost criterion. For everynand a Poisson arrival process, a lower bound to the cost is found and a new routing policy, the golden ratio policy, is presented and its cost is evaluated. It is shown that for a variety of system parameters, the golden ratio routing policy has a cost close to the lower bound.     

Optimal control of service in tandem queues

Customers arrive in a Poisson stream into a network consisting of twoM/M/1service stations in tandem. The service rateu in [0, a]at station 1 is to be selected as a function of the state (x_{1}, x_{2}) where xiis the number of customers at stationiso as to minimize the expected total discounted or average cost corresponding to the instantaneous costc_{1}x_{1} + c_{2}x_{2}. The optimal policy is of the formu=aoru=0according asx_{1} < S(x_{2}) or x_{1} geq S(X_{2})andSis a switching function. For the case of discounted cost, the optimal process can be nonergodic, but it is ergodic for the case of average cost.     

Energy Efficient Reliable Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks with Asymmetric Links

Field measurements reveal that radio link asymmetry has a severe impact on reliable data delivery. We analyze the energy efficiencies of selected reliability schemes for asymmetric radio links using theoretical models. The analysis provides guidelines for retransmission control so as to balance between reliability and energy consumption. We also design two enhancements to the “implicit” ARQ scheme addressing the negative effects of asymmetric radio links. The energy efficiencies of these algorithms are explicitly derived using our theoretical model and validated by simulations and field trials. Based on the analysis of the two enhanced algorithms, we propose an improvement, referred to as Energy Efficient Reliable Data Collection (EERDC) that controls the retransmissions of the enhanced ARQ schemes. Simulations and field trials confirm our theoretical findings and demonstrate that our proposed EERDC algorithm alleviates the impact of link asymmetry and achieves energy savings.

Gold and Cobalt Oxide Nanoparticles Modified Poly-Propylene Poly-Ethylene Glycol Membranes in Poly (ε-Caprolactone) Conduits Enhance Nerve Regeneration in the Sciatic Nerve of Healthy Rats

Reconstruction of nerve defects is a clinical challenge. Autologous nerve grafts as the gold standard treatment may result in an incomplete restoration of extremity function. Biosynthetic nerve conduits are studied widely, but still have limitations. Here, we reconstructed a 10 mm sciatic nerve defect in healthy rats and analyzed nerve regeneration in poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) conduits longitudinally divided by gold (Au) and gold-cobalt oxide (AuCoO) nanoparticles embedded in poly-propylene poly-ethylene glycol (PPEG) membranes (AuPPEG or AuCoOPPEG) and compared it with unmodified PPEG-membrane and hollow PCL conduits. After 21 days, we detected significantly better axonal outgrowth, together with higher numbers of activated Schwann cells (ATF3-labelled) and higher HSP27 expression, in reconstructed sciatic nerve and in corresponding dorsal root ganglia (DRG) in the AuPPEG and AuCoOPPEG groups; whereas the number of apoptotic Schwann cells (cleaved caspase 3-labelled) was significantly lower. Furthermore, numbers of activated and apoptotic Schwann cells in the regenerative matrix correlated with axonal outgrowth, whereas HSP27 expression in the regenerative matrix and in DRGs did not show any correlation with axonal outgrowth. We conclude that gold and cobalt-oxide nanoparticle modified membranes in conduits improve axonal outgrowth and increase the regenerative performance of conduits after nerve reconstruction.     

Soft and safe admission control in cellular networks

We study the mobile admission control problem in a cellular PCS network where transmitter powers are constrained and controlled by a distributed constrained power control (DCPC) algorithm. Receivers are subject to nonnegligible noise, and the DCPC attempts to bring each receiver's CIR (carrier-to-interference ratio) above a given quality target. Two classes of distributed admission control are considered. One is a noninteractive admission control (N-IAC), where an admission decision is instantaneously made based on the system state. The other is an interactive admission control (IAC), under which the new mobile is permitted to interact with one or more potential channels before a decision is made. The algorithms are evaluated with respect to their execution time and their decision errors. Two types of errors are examined: type I error, where a new mobile is erroneously accepted and results in outage; and type II error, where a new mobile is erroneously rejected and results in blocking. The algorithms in the N-IAC class accept a new mobile if and only if the uplink and the downlink interferences are below certain corresponding thresholds. These algorithms are subject to errors of type I and type II. In the IAC class, we derive a soft and safe (SAS) admission algorithm, which is type I and type II error free, and protects the CIR's of all active links at any moment of time. A fast-SAS version, which is only type I error-free, is proposed for practical implementation, and is evaluated in several case studies     

Increased proportion of circulating non-22-kilodalton growth hormone isoforms in short children: a possible mechanism for growth failure

Current knowledge about the interaction between GH and its receptor suggests that the molecular heterogeneity of circulating GH may have important implications for growth. The aim of this study was to investigate the proportion of circulating non-22-kDa GH isoforms in prepubertal children with short stature (height less than -2 SD score) of different etiologies. We have also evaluated the relationships among the ratio of non-22-kDa GH isoforms, auxology, and spontaneous GH secretion. The study groups consisted of 17 girls with Turner's syndrome (TS), aged 3-13 yr, 25 children born small for gestational age (SGA) without postnatal catch-up growth, aged 3-13 yr; and 24 children with idiopathic short stature (ISS), aged 4-15 yr. The results were compared with those from 23 prepubertal healthy children of normal stature (height +/- 2 SD score), aged 4-13 yr. Serum non-22-kDa GH levels, expressed as a percentage of the total GH concentration, were determined by the 22-kDa GH exclusion assay, which is based on immunomagnetic extraction of monomeric and dimeric 22-kDa GH from serum and quantitation of non-22-kDa GH using a polyclonal antibody-based GH assay. All samples were selected from spontaneous GH peaks in 24-h GH profiles. The median proportion of non-22-kDa GH isoforms was increased in children born SGA (9.8%; P = 0.05) and girls with TS (9.9%; P = 0.01), but not in the group of children with ISS (8.9%), compared with that in normal children (8.1%). Individually, increased proportions of non-22-kDa GH isoforms, with values more than 2 SD above the mean for the normal group, were observed in 5 girls with TS, 5 children born SGA, and 4 children with ISS. In children born SGA, the proportion of non-22-kDa GH isoforms was directly correlated with different estimates of spontaneous GH secretion [mean 24-h GH concentration (r = 0.41; P = 0.04), area under the curve over baseline (r = 0.41; P = 0.04), and GH peak area (r = 0.61; P = 0.003)], whereas it was inversely correlated with height SD score (r = -0.42; P = 0.04). In conclusion, an increased proportion of circulating non-22-kDa GH isoforms was observed at spontaneous GH peaks in some non-GH-deficient short children. Our results suggest that the ratio of non-22-kDa GH isoforms in the circulation may have important implications for normal and abnormal growth.