Measurement-based Policy-driven QoS Management in Converged Next Generation Networks

Policy-based management is considered an effective approach to address the challenges of resource management in large complex networks. Within the IU-ATC QoS Frameworks project, a policy-based network management framework, CNQF (Converged Networks QoS Framework) is being developed aimed at providing context-aware, end-to-end QoS control and resource management in converged next generation networks. CNQF is designed to provide homogeneous, transparent QoS control over heterogeneous access technologies by means of distributed functional entities that co-ordinate the resources of the transport network through policy-driven decisions. In this paper, we present a measurement-based evaluation of policy-driven QoS management based on CNQF architecture, with real traffic flows on an experimental testbed. A Java based implementation of the CNQF Resource Management Subsystem is deployed on the testbed and results of the experiments validate the framework operation for policy-based QoS management of real traffic flows.

A Framework for Context-Driven End-to-End QoS Control in Converged Next Generation Networks”

This paper presents a framework for context-driven policy-based QoS control and end-to-end resource management in converged next generation networks. The Converged Networks QoS Framework (CNQF) is being developed within the IU-ATC project, and comprises distributed functional entities whose instances co-ordinate the converged network infrastructure to facilitate scalable and efficient end-to-end QoS management. The CNQF design leverages aspects of TISPAN, IETF and 3GPP policy-based management architectures whilst also introducing important innovative extensions to support context-aware QoS control in converged networks. The framework architecture is presented and its functionalities and operation in specific application scenarios are described.

Synchronized phasor measurement on the All-Ireland electrical network

Variations in the phase angle difference between a remote 11kV connected wind farm and the centre of Belfast during a typical working day are investigated in the paper. The results obtained using phasor measurement units (PMUs) are compared with the data generated using a PSS/E simulator configured to model the N.Ireland network. The study investigates the effect of changes in the load demand and the wind farm output power on the phase angles at various locations on the network. The paper finally describes how a major system disturbance on the All-Ireland network was monitored and analysed using PMUs located at Queen's University, Belfast and University College Dublin. ©2007 IEEE.

Fast-drying multi-laminate bioadhesive films for transdermal and topical drug delivery

No bioadhesive patch-based system is currently marketed. This is despite an extensive number of literature reports on such systems detailing their advantages over conventional pressure sensitive adhesive-based patches in wet environments and describing successful delivery of a diverse array of drug substances. This lack of proprietary bioadhesive patches is largely due to the fact that such systems are exclusively water-based, meaning drying is difficult. In this paper we describe, for the first time, a novel multiple lamination method for production of bioadhesive patches. In contrast to patches produced using a conventional casting approach, which took 48 hours to dry, bioadhesive films prepared using the novel multiple lamination method were dried in 15?min and were folded into formed patches in a further 10?min. Patches prepared by both methods had comparable physicochemical properties. The multiple lamination method allowed supersaturation of 5-aminolevulinic acid to be achieved in formed patch matrices. However, drug release studies were unable to show an advantage for supersaturation with this particular drug, due to its water high solubility. The multiple lamination method allowed greater than 90% of incorporated nicotine to remain within formed patches, in contrast to the 48% achieved for patches prepared using a conventional casting approach. The procedure described here could readily be adapted for automation by industry. Due to the reduced time, energy and ensuing finance now required, this could lead to bioadhesive patch-based drug delivery systems becoming commercially viable. This would, in turn, mean that pathological conditions occurring in wet or moist areas of the body could now be routinely treated by prolonged site-specific drug delivery, as mediated by a commercially produced bioadhesive patch.

A Study of Tower Shadow Effect on Fixed-Speed Wind Turbines

This paper studies the impact of tower shadow effect on the power output of a fixed-speed wind farm. A data acquisition unit was placed at a wind farm in Northern Ireland which consists of ten fixed-speed wind turbines. The recording equipment logged the wind farmpsilas electrical data, which was time stamped using the global positioning network. Video footage of the wind farm was recorded and from it the blade angle of each turbine was determined with respect to time. Using the blade angle data and the wind farmpsilas power output, studies where performed to ascertain the extent of tower shadow effect on power fluctuation. This paper presents evidence that suggests that tower shadow effect has a significant impact on power fluctuation and that this effect is increased due to the synchronising of turbine blades around the tower region.

Loss-of-Mains Detection by Internet Based ROCOF

This paper considers the enhancement of loss-of-mains detection by use of a differential rate-of-change-of-frequency relay to reduce nuisance tripping and improve sensitivity to small excursions in frequency. The telecommunications media which might carry the differential ROCOF signal are reviewed with a focus on channel latency, bandwidth and security.

Internet Based Loss-of-Mains Detection for Distributed Generation

This paper discusses methods of using the Internet as a communications media between distributed generator sites to provide new forms of loss-of-mains protection. An analysis of the quality of the communications channels between several nodes on the network was carried out experimentally. It is shown that Internet connections in urban environments are already capable of providing real-time power system protection, whilst rural Internet connections are borderline suitable but could not yet be recommended as a primary method of protection. Two strategies of providing loss-of-mains across Internet protocol are considered, broadcast of a reference frequency or phasor representing the utility and an Internet based inter-tripping scheme.

Impact of Heat Pump Load on Distribution Networks

Heat pumps can provide domestic heating at a cost that is competitive with oil heating in particular. If the electricity supply contains a significant amount of renewable generation, a move from fossil fuel heating to heat pumps can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The inherent thermal storage of heat pump installations can also provide the electricity supplier with valuable flexibility. The increase in heat pump installations in the UK and Europe in the last few years poses a challenge for low-voltage networks, due to the use of induction motors to drive the pump compressors. The induction motor load tends to depress voltage, especially on starting. The paper includes experimental results, dynamic load modelling, comparison of experimental results and simulation results for various levels of heat pump deployment. The simulations are based on a generic test network designed to capture the main characteristics of UK distribution system practice. The simulations employ DIgSlILENT to facilitate dynamic simulations that focus on starting current, voltage variations, active power, reactive power and switching transients.

Molecular Phylogenies Support Homoplasy of Multiple Morphological Characters Used in the Taxonomy of Heteroscleromorpha (Porifera: Demospongiae)

Sponge classification has long been based mainly on morphocladistic analyses but is now being greatly challenged by more than 12 years of accumulated analyses of molecular data analyses. The current study used phylogenetic hypotheses based on sequence data from 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and the CO1 barcoding fragment, combined with morphology to justify the resurrection of the order Axinellida Lévi, 1953. Axinellida occupies a key position in different morphologically derived topologies. The abandonment of Axinellida and the establishment of Halichondrida Vosmaer, 1887 sensu lato to contain Halichondriidae Gray, 1867, Axinellidae Carter, 1875, Bubaridae Topsent, 1894, Heteroxyidae Dendy, 1905, and a new family Dictyonellidae van Soest et al., 1990 was based on the conclusion that an axially condensed skeleton evolved independently in separate lineages in preference to the less parsimonious assumption that asters (star-shaped spicules), acanthostyles (club-shaped spicules with spines), and sigmata (C-shaped spicules) each evolved more than once. Our new molecular trees are congruent and contrast with the earlier, morphologically based, trees. The results show that axially condensed skeletons, asters, acanthostyles, and sigmata are all homoplasious characters. The unrecognized homoplasious nature of these characters explains much of the incongruence between molecular-based and morphology-based phylogenies. We use the molecular trees presented here as a basis for re-interpreting the morphological characters within Heteroscleromorpha. The implications for the classification of Heteroscleromorpha are discussed and a new order Biemnida ord. nov. is erected.

TEXTILE TECHNOLOGIES IN CONCRETE ENVIRONMENTS."

Girli Concrete is a cross disciplinary funded research project based in the University of Ulster involving a textile designer/ researcher, an architect/ academic and a concrete manufacturing firm.
Girli Concrete brings together concrete and textile technologies, testing ideas of
concrete as textile and textile as structure. It challenges the perception of textiles as only the ‘dressing’ to structure and instead integrates textile technologies into the products of building products. Girli Concrete uses ‘low tech’ methods of wet and dry concrete casting in combination with ‘high tech’ textile methods using laser cutting, etching, flocking and digital printing. Whilst we have been inspired by recent print and imprint techniques in architectural cladding, Girli Concrete is generated within the depth of the concrete’s cement paste “skin”, bringing the trades and crafts of both industries together with innovative results.
Architecture and Textiles have an odd, somewhat unresolved relationship. Confined to a subservient role in architecture, textiles exist chiefly within the categories of soft furnishings and interior design. Girli Concrete aims to mainstream tactility in the production of built environment products, raising the human and environmental interface to the same specification level as the technical. This paper will chart:
The background and wider theoretical concerns to the project.
The development of Girli Concrete, highlighting the areas where craft becomes
art and art becomes science in the combination of textile and concrete
technologies.
The challenges of identifying funding to support such combination technologies,
working methods and philosophies.
The challenges of generating and sustaining practice within an academic
research environment
The outcomes to date