Optimal Resource Allocation in Overlay Multicast

Although initially proposed as the deployable alternative to IP multicast, the overlay network actually revolutionizes the way network applications can be built. In this paper, we study the rate allocation problem in overlay-based multirate multicast, which can be understood as a utility-based resource allocation problem. Each receiver is associated with a utility defined as a function of its streaming rate. Our goal is to maximize the aggregate utility of all receivers, subject to network capacity constraint and data constraint. The latter constraint is unique in overlay multicast, mainly due to the dual role of end hosts as both receivers and senders. We use a price-based approach to address this problem. Two types of prices, network price and data price, are generated with regard to the two constraints of the problem. A distributed algorithm is proposed, where each receiver adjusts its flow rate according to the associated network price and data price. The algorithm is proved to converge to the optimal point, where the aggregate utility of all receivers is maximized. We implement our algorithm using an end-host-based protocol. Our protocol purely relies on the coordination of end hosts to accomplish tasks originally assigned to network routers, which makes it directly deployable to the existing network infrastructure.     

Service composition for generic service graphs

Service composition is a promising approach to multimedia service provisioning, due to its ability to dynamically produce new multimedia content, and to customize the content for individual client devices. Previous research work has addressed various aspects of service composition such as composibility, QoS-awareness, and load balancing. However, most of the work has focused on applications where data flow from a single source is processed by intermediate services and then delivered to a single destination. In this paper, we address the service composition problem for multimedia services that can be modeled as directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). We formally define the problem and prove its NP hardness. We also design a heuristic algorithm to solve the problem. Our simulation results show that the algorithm is effective at finding low-cost composition solutions, and can trade off computation overhead for better results. When compared with a hop-by-hop approach for service composition, our algorithm can find composition solutions that aress 10% smaller in cost, even when the hop-by-hop approach uses exhaustive searches.     

Using cryptographic and. watermarking algorithms

Because of multimedia's structure and complexity, security mechanisms for multimedia data should be specific for each purpose. We introduce the most important security requirements for all types of multimedia systems. We also survey revocation methods for digital certificates and introduce a media-independent classification scheme     

The Role of Value Deliberation to Improve Stakeholder Participation in Issues of Water Governance

Water Resources Management - Stakeholder participation is a requirement for environmental decision-making in the European Union. Despite this, numerous instances can be seen in water governance in...     

High-Density Real-Time PCR-Based in Vivo Toxicogenomic Screen to Predict Organ-Specific Toxicity

Toxicogenomics, based on the temporal effects of drugs on gene expression, is able to predict toxic effects earlier than traditional technologies by analyzing changes in genomic biomarkers that could precede subsequent protein translation and initiation of histological organ damage. In the present study our objective was to extend in vivo toxicogenomic screening from analyzing one or a few tissues to multiple organs, including heart, kidney, brain, liver and spleen. Nanocapillary quantitative real-time PCR (QRT-PCR) was used in the study, due to its higher throughput, sensitivity and reproducibility, and larger dynamic range compared to DNA microarray technologies. Based on previous data, 56 gene markers were selected coding for proteins with different functions, such as proteins for acute phase response, inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic processes, heat-shock response, cell cycle/apoptosis regulation and enzymes which are involved in detoxification. Some of the marker genes are specific to certain organs, and some of them are general indicators of toxicity in multiple organs. Utility of the nanocapillary QRT-PCR platform was demonstrated by screening different references, as well as discovery of drug-like compounds for their gene expression profiles in different organs of treated mice in an acute experiment. For each compound, 896 QRT-PCR were done: four organs were used from each of the treated four animals to monitor the relative expression of 56 genes. Based on expression data of the discovery gene set of toxicology biomarkers the cardio- and nephrotoxicity of doxorubicin and sulfasalazin, the hepato- and nephrotoxicity of rotenone, dihydrocoumarin and aniline, and the liver toxicity of 2,4-diaminotoluene could be confirmed. The acute heart and kidney toxicity of the active metabolite SN-38 from its less toxic prodrug, irinotecan could be differentiated, and two novel gene markers for hormone replacement therapy were identified, namely fabp4 and pparg, which were down-regulated by estradiol treatment.     

Optimal configurations for peer-to-peer user-private information retrieval

User-private information retrieval systems should protect the user’s anonymity when performing queries against a database, or they should limit the servers capacity of profiling users. Peer-to-peer user-private information retrieval (P2P UPIR) supplies a practical solution: the users in a group help each other in doing their queries, thereby preserving their privacy without any need of the database to cooperate. One way to implement the P2P UPIR uses combinatoric configurations to administrate the keys needed for the private communication between the peers.This article is devoted to the choice of the configuration in this system. First of all we characterize the optimal configurations for the P2P UPIR and see the relationship with the projective planes as described in finite geometry. Then we give a very efficient construction of such optimal configurations, i.e. finite projective planes. We finally check that the involved graphs are Ramanujan graphs, giving an additional justification of the optimality of the constructed configurations.