Multicast traffic scheduling in single-hop WDM networks with arbitrary tuning latencies

To accommodate the demands of quality of service (QoS) and multicast applications, a multicast QoS traffic-scheduling algorithm with tuning latency consideration in wavelength-division multiplexing star-coupled networks is provided in this paper. To furnish different levels of QoS, two classes of traffic are considered: constant bit rate and available bit rate (ABR). An effective bandwidth-normalization scheme for ABR traffic is also derived. We define the slot scanning problem in the connection-setup process as the maximum assignable slots (MAS) problem. We prove that the optimal solution of the MAS problem can be obtained in polynomial time. Owing to its high-order time complexity, we also propose two heuristics for the MAS problem. The performance of these strategies are evaluated and compared by simulations under different system parameters, such as number of wavelengths, traffic load, and tuning latency.     

A novel online wavelength assignment algorithm in wavelength-convertible multi-granular optical networks

As industrial technology gets more mature, a single fiber can offer more and more wavelengths. However, it also results in a large amount of switching ports at optical cross-connects (OXCs). Certainly, it is expected that higher and higher complexity is inevitable to control and manage such large OXCs. In this paper, we study the dynamic wavelength assignment problem in waveband switching (WBS) networks composed of multi-granular OXCs (MG-OXCs). Moreover, in order to relax the wavelength continuity constraint on lightpath establishments, each MG-OXC node is equipped with a certain number of converters. To efficiently minimize the extra port consumption and utilize wavelength converters, we proposed an online wavelength assignment algorithm named Least Weighted Configuration Cost (LWCC). For a new request, LWCC first adopts fixed routing and then exploits the layered-graph approach and a new cost function for edge weight assignment to determine adequate wavelength(s). The performance metrics of interest include both blocking performance and converter utilization. Numerical results show that LWCC is superior in waveband grouping and therefore results in significant performance gain in terms of blocking probability.

An efficient resource management scheme in light-trail networks

Light-trail, a framework proposed in the past few years, is generalized from the concept of lightpath, and its distinguishing features include bandwidth sharing and efficient bandwidth utilization. Performance of light-trail networks depends on the routing algorithm and the dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) scheme, and the former issue has been discussed extensively. In this work, we aim at the design of an efficient DBA scheme, named Demand and Delay-latency Aware with Two-round Deliberation \((\hbox {D}^{2}\hbox {ATD})\), to allocate bandwidth more accurately and efficiently in light-trail networks. In addition to DBA issue, \(\hbox {D}^{2}\hbox {ATD}\) includes a light-trail setup/release mechanism as well. As expected, the simulation results reveal superiority of \(\hbox {D}^{2}\hbox {ATD}\) in both blocking performance and delay performance. Although \(\hbox {D}^{2}\hbox {ATD}\) pays a price of control overhead for performance gain, it is still reasonable since the amount of control messages does not exceed the capacity of the control channel. It verifies that \(\hbox {D}^{2}\hbox {ATD}\) can properly employ the control channel to achieve excellent performance.     

Comparison of bioactivities of 5-Fluoro, 5-Iodo, 5-Iodovinyl, and 5-fluorovinyl arabinosyl uridines against SR-39 TK-transfected murine prostate cancer cells

A cell survival assay of the four arabinosyl uridine analogs with functionalities of 5-fluoro, 5-fluorovinyl, 5-iodo, and 5-iodovinyl as potential positron-emitter tagged probe for monitoring cancer gene therapy were performed. Cytotoxicities of 5-fluoro-, 5-iodo-, 5-fluorovinyl, and 5-iodovinyl arabinosyl uridines against SR-39 thymidine kinase transfected murine prostate cancer cells have been evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. None of them showed significant bioactivity. A syn conformation derived from intra-hydrogen bonding was suggested for the unfavorable interaction and diminished bioactivity.     

UMKESS: user-oriented multi-group key establishments using secret sharing

Wireless Networks - With the rapid development of group-oriented services, there are more and more multi-group communications in which users may join multiple group communications simultaneously....     

Centralized Group Key Establishment Protocol without a Mutually Trusted Third Party

The type of centralized group key establishment protocols is the most commonly used one due to its efficiency in computation and communication. A key generation center (KGC) in this type of protocols acts as a server to register users initially. Since the KGC selects a group key for group communication, all users must trust the KGC. Needing a mutually trusted KGC can cause problem in some applications. For example, users in a social network cannot trust the network server to select a group key for a secure group communication. In this paper, we remove the need of a mutually trusted KGC by assuming that each user only trusts himself. During registration, each user acts as a KGC to register other users and issue sub-shares to other users. From the secret sharing homomorphism, all sub-shares of each user can be combined into a master share. The master share enables a pairwise shared key between any pair of users. A verification of master shares enables all users to verify their master shares are generated consistently without revealing the master shares. In a group communication, the initiator can become the server to select a group key and distribute it to each other user over a pairwise shared channel. Our design is unique since the storage of each user is minimal, the verification of master shares is efficient and the group key distribution is centralized. There are public-key based group key establishment protocols without a trusted third party. However, these protocols can only establish a single group key. Our protocol is a non-public-key solution and can establish multiple group keys which is computationally efficient.     

Performance enhancement of ring oscillators and transimpedance amplifiers by package strain

The appropriate external stress can enhance a device and circuit performance. The 7.4% speed enhancement is achieved for the 250-nm node ring oscillator under uniaxial tensile strain for a mutually perpendicular layout of the NFET and the PFET. The speed enhancement is less than 1.5% for the conventional parallel layout of the NFET and the PFET. A 180-nm node transimpedance amplifier has a /spl sim/ 5% bandwidth enhancement using a biaxial tensile strain or a uniaxial tensile strain parallel to the NFET channel to tune the peaking frequency of active inductor in the circuit. The package strain can provide an extra useful parameter for the future digital and analog circuit design.     

Multipartite Secret Sharing Based on CRT

Secure communication has become more and more important for system security. Since avoiding the use of encryption one by one can introduce less computation complexity, secret sharing scheme (SSS) has been used to design many security protocols. In SSSs, several authors have studied multipartite access structures, in which the set of participants is divided into several parts and all participants in the same part play an equivalent role. Access structures realized by threshold secret sharing are the simplest multipartite access structures, i.e., unipartite access structures. Since Asmuth–Bloom scheme based on Chinese remainder theorem (CRT) was presented for threshold secret sharing, recently, threshold cryptography based on Asmuth–Bloom secret sharing were firstly proposed by Kaya et al. In this paper, we extend Asmuth–Bloom and Kaya schemes to bipartite access structures and further investigate how SSSs realizing multipartite access structures can be conducted with the CRT. Actually, every access structure is multipartite and, hence, the results in this paper can be seen as a new construction of general SSS based on the CRT. Asmuth–Bloom and Kaya schemes become the special cases of our scheme.     

SU-8 flow field plates for a micro PEMFC

A SU-8 photoresist microfabrication process was developed for micro proton exchange membrane fuel cell flow structures for both anode and cathode flow field plates with a cross section of 5 cm² (22.5 mm×22.5 mm) and thickness (for a single cell) of about 750 µm. The new design for flow field plates would have SU-8 used as not only a photoresist but also as a microstructure material. A thickness of 30 nm Pt sputter loading deposited onto a Nafion 117 for membrane electrode assembly was made, with both scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy characterization. Air flows were completed in hydrogen fuel cells with air breathing and forced air flows of low input pressure as well as low velocity. Performance tests of polarization curves and power density distribution as well as impendence measurements were conducted and discussed to examine the effects of orientation of the cathode surface with five hydrogen feeding rates as well as different airflow feeding modes.