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Maybelline Define-A-Brow
454 reviews
80% would repurchase
Package Quality: 3.7
Price: $$
Package Quality: 3.7
Price: $$
INGREDIENTSEthylhexyl Stearate, Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Glycerides, Silica, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Extract, Methylparaben, Tocopherol, Tin Oxide, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Retinyl Palmitate, Propylparaben, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Ethylparaben, May Contain (+/-):, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77491 (Iron Oxides), Mica, CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 75470 (Carmine) (Carmine), CI 77000 (Aluminum Powder), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride) (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens) (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 77289 (Chromium Hydroxide Green) (Chromium Hydroxide Green), CI 77400 (Copper Powder) (Bronze Powder), CI 77400 (Copper Powder), CI 77510 (Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet) (Manganese Violet), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide) (Titanium Dioxide), FD&C Blue 1 (Blue 1 Lake), FD&C Yellow 5 Aluminum Lake (Yellow 5 Lake)
on 9/6/2014 1:40:00 PM
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm
Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Brown
This is not bad for a drugstore brow pencil. My brows are on the sparse side toward the center of my face, but fade to non-existent toward the outer ends, probably thanks to over-enthusiastic tweezing in my teens, and pretty oily skin. I favor a fuller, natural looking brow and like the definition and versatility of a pencil. Most pencils are either too waxy (unnatural looking and melts right off my face) or too firm to get any pigment on my skin. This falls somewhere in the middle on a good day, and the color is spot-on (Dark Blonde is a coolish taupe that looks very natural with my asian coloring) which is why I've been using it for the past five+ years or so after my chanel pencil was discontinued in the US.
1. It's not consistently good. All products are to some extent dependent on temperature, humidity, storage, what you put on your skin beforehand, etc. However, this seems a little too susceptible to external factors, and I can't seem to get a handle on what the ideal conditions would be. On a good day, I get a natural look that isn't too harsh; the pencil is soft enough to trace out a pale arch and hard enough to define with short, individual-hair strokes. Other days, it leaves me looking like groucho marx or the mona lisa. Not a happy start to the day.
2. Like many other reviewers, I've recently (in the past couple of years) noticed some major quality control issues with this product. I stock up on these when they're on sale (bc they're often sold out in my color), and sometimes I'll come across one that breaks way too easily or has too much of some ingredient that throws off the texture/performance. One was utterly unusable, crumbling at the lightest touch.
I'm still using it (keep your receipts) for lack of something better, but I'm definitely on the hunt.
on 9/3/2014 4:05:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Acne-prone, Other, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
this pencil would have been pretty good if a. the tip didn't break CONSTANTLY and b. it lasted me more than 4 days. there just isn't a lot of product inside, and i feel like it's exacerbated by the constant breakage.
packaging sucks, you're always either twisting up too much or too little to work with and it's hard to dispense. only good points are the fine tip and comb.
it did its job well, and the color looked natural, but not worth the hassle. my search for a hg brow product continues.
on 8/11/2014 6:39:00 AM
Age: 56 & Over
Skin: Dry, Other, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
I'm not sure why this got such rave reviews by so many, but I am very unhappy with this product. The twist-on pencil does not glide on smoothly and breaks very easily. I am used to twist-up pencils so knew to only wind up a small amount. But it hardly produced any color on my brows. Then I tested it on my hand and the same thing--barely any color was deposited on my hand. For a pencil that is sharpened, try Vincent Longo Eyebrow Micro Pencil--it produces very fine but noticeable color on my brows, is waterproof (for swimming) and lasts forever!
on 7/16/2014 8:14:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool
Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Green
I purchased this in Dark Blonde because the Anastasia runs out fast. So I thought let me try this and I have been using it all the time! For me I have light ash blonde hair with dirty blonde eyebrows with some light blonde and this evens them out and makes them look so polished! I use a little brow gel to hold and they look so good and no transfer at all. It lasts till I remove it which is excellent. The colour dark blonde has no red and that is a must for me. Mine is very firm but the formula is softening. I barely raise the tip and it applies great and will last me a hella lot longer than others I own.
The comb is a little different but it does brush the formula through and it looks so natural. The pen is neon green I mean sure nicer packaging but I really don't mind because the quality is there. This goes on so easy and where I need to fill in the ends of my eyebrows because the hair is super blonde, this looks like my brows, not like I coloured them on. So, to me this is what makes it a great product and there's a good amount of shades to suit most people. I use this all the time and luv it. I would repurchase without a doubt I can see why so many like this! Recommended!
on 7/13/2014 5:29:00 PM
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Blue
I have been using this product for a couple of weeks now, it is fab. You do have to use it very light handed because the tip will break off if you are pressing to hard but other than that I have no complaints. It has stood up fine in the Texas heat and stays put quite nicely all day. I think it has the perfect combination of wax and color. Love!
on 7/9/2014 1:42:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool
Hair: Red, Straight, Medium
Eyes: Green
Hnnnnggggg!!! This is amazing. Quit screwing around with other eyebrow pencils, cause they all suck compared to this one.
I have red hair (naturally auburn) but my eyebrows are weird and are naturally almost black. Isn't genetics fun and weird? I want a brow pencil to not just define, but also to help make my brows somewhat match the hair on my head, and I want it to be SHARP. Wooden brow pencils are bogus, cause they only stay sharp long enough to make like, one tiny line. I have encountered tons of crap on this quest. Auburn brow pencils are almost non-existent. In fact, the only brand I could find for a while that made one was Anastasia. It was a $28 wooden friggin' pencil, so I lost a ton of product just sharpening it and it never stayed sharp. Oh, and it was a tad too light. Next, I found NYX. They make an auburn. It's really the wrong name for it, though, as it's better suited to match was light red hair. It was mechanical, but had a weird shape.
I found this wee Maybelline brow pencil one day. Two shades were said to work with auburn...one medium-light and one medium. I had doubts, but it was cheap. WELL! My doubts were blown away by the great colour--just auburn enough to make my eyebrows actually match my hair! but dark enough to where it didn't look like I was trying to change the colour of my brows. This Maybelline pencil also has a heck of a point on it. It's always sharp and ready to go. I like the extend my brows out a bit, and it's a breeze to make a clean line with this tiny-tipped brow pencil.
The comb on the end is handy, as I don't have to reach for a separate comb. I'm taking a star off for packaging, though, due to how difficult it is to twist this to make more product rise. Why is it so hard to twist something with such a tiny diameter?! Be ready to She-Hulk this thing. Also, it doesn't have as much product as I think it should have. The outer appearance fibs about how much pencil is actually inside. I don't like lies! I can forgive it, though, since this brow pencil is so awesome.
So! If you're tired of crappy wooden brow pencils that have poor colour selections, try this!
on 7/5/2014 1:39:00 AM
Age: 18 & Under
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Red, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
this brow pencil is very good for drawing on small hairs and making your brows look good but not fake for those doing intense brows this isnt good for you cause it might take too much effort the pencil isnt creamy but its not hard to get color i just wish there was a spoolee instead of this weird comb
on 7/3/2014 1:41:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Other, Other
Eyes: Green
This is my HG brow product. I use the dark brown shade and it's the perfect color for my dark brown/black hair. It even worked well when I had blonde hair as well. I find it lasts all day long and gives the perfect amount of color and definition to my brows. I literally can't leave the house without using this on them. Love it, definitely recommend.
on 6/8/2014 10:14:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool
Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine
Eyes: Grey
I've always been apprehensive about doing my brows, as I have medium/dark brown hair naturally (level 5A), but I bleach to a pretty light cool blonde (level 9N-9A). So of course my brows are quite dark compared to my blonde hair. I consider my brows to be my best feature, so I've started filling them in and defining the arches. I heard about this brow pencil from makeupalley, of course, and I went to CVS and picked it up in dark blonde. My brows are closer to a light-medium brown, but I didn't want something too dark. The dark blonde shade is perfect. It adds just enough definition without looking obvious. All my blonde girls with dark brows need this pencil in dark blonde. This is not a traditional wooden pencil that needs sharpening, but a twist-up self sharpening pencil. The texture of the product is harder than I thought it would be, but it still applies easily enough. It really isn't bad, I just wish it was softer and more blendable. I did take off one lippie because of the texture and because I wish there was a spoolie at the end instead of a comb. But if you're a brow newbie like myself, this is probably the best brow pencil to start with.
on 5/8/2014 10:10:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Cool
Hair: Black, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Brown
This is my holy grail eyebrow pencil. I've been through many eyebrow products, however this is the one that gives me the best result thus far without breaking the bank. I'm currently on my 3rd or 4th one as of now. I use this color in medium brown. I like that it's a retractable pencil. It comes with a little comb at the end, which I never use. If you apply too much pressure it can tend to break, so be careful with that. It's very easy to use and I realize it gives me the best result with less time to apply it. Although, I love this product and the appearance it gives me. It seems like there's not that much product in it because I will find myself have to buy a new one frequently. However, I do use this daily which may be the reason.
Popular Brows Products


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July 5, 2015
It is a struggle, teachers have been dealing with for years reaching into their own wallets to keep classrooms stocked.
"There is no exact dollar amount that you can actually put on how much money a teacher actually spends in the classroom," says Amanda Nelson.
Nelson is a former teacher who says expenses continue to rise. She says recent harsh budget cuts have made matters worse.
Teachers receive $525 for the entire year to spend in the classroom. After deductions are taken out, they're left with less than $100 for supplies.
However a new program created by a Dothan businessman is helping ease the strain.
"We want to raise a hundred dollars for every teacher in the school system in six counties," said Mike Schmitz, Chairman of Foundation for Education and Teaching.
The Foundation for Education and Teaching has come up with a new program called "adopt a teacher." Funds raised will help teachers buy supplies.
Coffee, Dale, Houston, Henry, Covington and Geneva counties are taking part in the program.
Schmitz says, "This will allow our community to say we're behind you, we're behind you and we want to help you and we want to do something for you.
While Schmitz says this is not a complete fix for teachers, he feels it is a step in the right direction to help kids succeed in the classroom.
The program relies solely on the community.
If you would like to learn more about adopting a teacher call 347-2275.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Proponents of a compromise measure to expand gun background checks on Wednesday fell six votes short of passage in the Senate.
The effort to expand background checks will either move ahead or fall apart today, as the Senate takes up the bill.
Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords returns to the scene of her shooting to call for expanded firearms background checks.


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Click Image to Enlarge
Everything Scatter (1975)
Knitting Factory Records
Everything Scatter (1975):
Everything Scatter is about the person and actions of Fela and the members of Kalakuta Republic, which for a long time has become cause for controversy among the Nigerian public. Singing the song in the manner of a story teller with some history behind it, Fela presents the Nigerian society like a moving public bus driving past Kalakuta Republic. A passenger in the bus representing the establishment view, makes a remark condemning Fela and members of Kalakuta as: 'hooligans', 'hemp smokers', 'prostitutes', and 'political non-starters'. Another man who, like countless of Fela's teaming admirers, sees him as: 'Black President', Chief Priest, Mystic man (Abami in Yoruba language), challenges the establishment man. Meanwhile, the debate spreads among all the passengers in the bus — those echoing government opinion of Fela and those against. The result is big commotion in the bus, like in all conflict. Everything Scatter. Successive military regimes in Nigeria, in their attempt to silence Fela's bold criticisms of the establishment have labeled him a trouble maker. Fela however would not relent in his criticism of the corruption and colonial mentality of the establishment — the end result! Everything Scatter.
- Mabinuori Kayode Idowu
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Here is your ACC Weekend Preview for February 26th-28th. I will have much more in-depth previews once we enter the conference portion of the schedule. The ACC teams have a fairly easy slate this week with Boston College and NC State facing the most difficult opponents. The Eagles head down to Auburn to play the host Tigers, Missouri and Florida Atlantic while NC State takes part in the "Baseball at the Beach" tourney which features James Madison and nationally ranked squads in Coastal Carolina and UC-Irvine. Besides those two ACC teams, the rest of the conference has fairly easy matchups with Florida State hosting Hofstra, Rhode Island heading to Virginia, Xavier going to Georgia Tech, Manhattan taking on the Hurricanes, Maine and North Carolina facing off, Wright State at Clemson, Delaware at Maryland, Fordham at Duke, Kent State at Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech heading to Charleston Southern.
Continue reading CBB Column: ACC Weekend Preview (Feb. 26th-28th)


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Of all the zingers that came out of Obama's Fidogate this one from Twitterer @ExJon, which I found at the hilarious IMAO is the best...I had to take it!
Here's another version found on Facebook...with a hoodie!
I added a hoodie...had to. See the original hereAdd a comment
Found on FacebookAdd a comment
Created for OMG! for AmericaAdd a comment
From iOwnTheWorldAdd a comment
From iOwnTheWorldAdd a comment
Found on Facebook.Add a comment
Birds of a feather...
Repost from 2010.Add a comment
From Republican Study CommitteeAdd a comment
The only burning question is...whose hatchet?


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Health in All Policies
Health in all Policies (HiAP) is a change in the systems that determine how decisions are made and implemented by local, state, and federal government to ensure that policy decisions have neutral or beneficial impacts on the determinants of health. HiAP emphasizes the need to collaborate across sectors to achieve common health goals, and is an innovative approach to the processes through which policies are created and implemented.
In the Spotlight
Funding Opportunity for Health in All Policies
Application deadline: 5:00 PM ET, Friday, December 19th
Through support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NACCHO has released a competitive funding opportunity for Health in All Policies (HiAP) led by local health departments (LHDs). The aim of this project is to advance the progress of HiAP at the local level by LHDs and to encourage sustainable strategies for embedding health considerations into governmental structures and processes that will result in improved community health.
Details: NACCHO will award 2 to 3 LHDs up to $10,000 each to engage in activities that will lead to the implementation of a HiAP approach or significant progress in implementing a HiAP approach. The projects should be focused on an environmental health-related topic during the project period of January 2015 to August 2015. Please review the Request for Proposal (RFP) carefully before proceeding.
Applications will only be accepted online here.
Informational call: An optional teleconference call for interested applicants was held on December 8th, 2014 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM EST. A recording of the teleconference call is available here.
Questions? Email email@example.com
Many communities face a variety of complex issues that significantly impact health, which are often driven by multiple factors outside the public health or healthcare sectors. Health in All Policies (HiAP) offers an approach that seeks to address complex challenges and improve the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making processes and emphasizing the need to collaborate across sectors to achieve common goals and innovatively tackle problems.
The webinar showcased the implementation of HiAP in three U.S. cities – Houston, Baltimore City, and San Diego - and aimed to discuss:
Click "more" to access a recording of the webinar. More »
NACCHO Publication
The Spring 2014 issue of NACCHO Exchange, NACCHO's quarterly magazine, highlights Health in All Policies. This issue contains the following feature stories: How Community Health Improvement Process Helped to Build Momentum for HiAP Approaches in New Orlean; Greening Mid-Michigan: A Health in All Policies Approach for Mid-Size Local Governments; King County: Building Health, Equity, Fairness, and Opportunity with a Health in All Policies Approach; Integrating Health in All Policies: Two Case Studies from San Francisco; and Health Policy beyond the Health Department More »
Featured Resources
Local Health Department Strategies for Implementing Health in All Policies
NACCHO has produced this fact sheet to provide an overview of strategies that can help LHD's implement HiAP in their jurisdictions.
Environmental Health in All Policies Meeting-in-A-Box
NACCHO's Environmental Health in All Policies Meeting-in-A-Box presentation can be used to educate leadership, community members, or local health department (LHD) staff on Health in All Policies. The presentation is broad so it can be adapted for a wide audience. Although it is meant to serve as a guide, it should be tailored to reflect the local context and what is feasible, given the community's needs.
HiAP Frequently Asked Questions
NACCHO's FAQs on HiAP answers the most common questions regarding Health in All Policies and its implementation. There are also links to useful examples at different levels of government: federal, state, and local.
City of Richmond's HiAP Toolkit
This toolkit serves as an introduction to the work the City of Richmond in California has been doing to implement Health in All Policies. This toolkit is a resource for people interested in learning more about the development of HiAP within the City, and outlines Richmond's most salient processes, and provide links to resources for those interested in gaining a better understanding of Richmond's unique story.


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The world's oldest profession has left the streets and into the homes of it's workers.
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'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 6 trailer: Watch the first look at the new queensAdd to Favorites | RuPaul's Drag Race
It's about that time, hunties.
As we impatiently await the arrival of FebRUary, the good folks at Logo have finally given us the first official trailer for Season 6 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" and it looks sickening.
EW has the whole roster of queens, which mostly lines up with the rumored cast list that was floating around in June. (10 out of 12 -- not too shabby.) The most notable queen? Adore Delano, who you may remember as former "American Idol" finalist Danny Noriega.
Check out the outrageous supertease above.
"RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 6 premieres on Logo this February.
Photo/Video credit: Logo


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Eat Smart: Save Dollars While Dining Out
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Never Buy These Used Items
Extend the Life of Household Items


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A frame configured to (i) be transmitted on a network and (ii) store data packets in a plurality of channels. One or more of the plurality of channels may be configured to store one or more fragments of the data packets.
1. An apparatus comprising:
an interface connectable to a network, said interface configured to generate a frame transmitted on said network, said frame configured to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels, wherein (i) a first of said plurality of channels is configured to store at least one of two or more fragments of said one or more data packets (ii) said at least one fragment comprises one or more offset locators configured to point to a next fragment of said two or more fragments, (iii) said one or more offset locators is located at the end of said at least one fragment.
2. The apparatus according to
3. The apparatus according to
4. The apparatus according to
5. The apparatus according to
6. The apparatus according to
7. An apparatus comprising:
an interface connectable to a network, said interface configured to generate a frame transmitted on said network, said frame configured to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels, wherein (i) a first of said plurality of channels is configured to store at least one of two or more fragments of said one or more data packets and (ii) a second of said channels is configured to store only complete packets of said one or more data packets from a fixed bandwidth source.
8. The apparatus according to
9. An apparatus comprising:
an interface connectable to a network, said interface configured to generate a frame transmitted on said network, said frame configured to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels, wherein (i) a first of said plurality of channels is configured to store at least one of two or more fragments of said one or more data packets (ii) a payload portion of each of said one or more data packets is configured to be reloaded with a partial data load, and (iii) said at least one fragment comprises one or more offset locators configured to point to a next fragment of said two or more fragments, and wherein said one or more offset locators is located at the end of said at least one fragment.
10. The apparatus according to
11. The apparatus according to
12. The apparatus according to
13. An apparatus comprising:
one or more nodes coupled to a network, each of said nodes configured to receive and transmit one or more of a plurality of frames each configured to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels, wherein (i) two or more of said channels are configured to store two or more fragments from a first of said one or more data packets, respectively, (ii) said two or more channels are separated by at least one of said channels and (iii) wherein after fragmentation, said first data packet comprises an offset locator configured to point to a next of said one or more data packets storing a next fragment of said two or more fragments.
14. The apparatus according to
15. The apparatus according to
16. The apparatus according to
17. A method for transferring data, comprising the steps of:
(A) transmitting one or more of a plurality of frames;
(B) configuring each of said frames to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels;
(C) configuring a first and a second of said channels to store one or more fragments of said one or more data packets, a first of said fragments in said first channel being linked by an offset pointer to a second of said fragments in said second channel; and
(D) encapsulating each of said one or more fragments with a header and a trailer, and including the offset pointer at the end of said first of said fragments.
18. The method according to
19. A method for transferring data, comprising the steps of:
(A) transmitting one or more of a plurality of frames;
(B) configuring each of said frames to store one or more data packets in a plurality of channels; and
(C) configuring a first and a second of said channels to store one or more fragments of said one or more data packets, a first of said fragments in said first channel being linked by an offset pointer to a second of said fragments in said second channel, (i) said first channel and said second channel are separated by at least one of said plurality of channels, and (ii) the offset pointer is located at the end of said first of said fragments.
20. The method according to
encapsulating each of said one or more fragments with a header and a trailer.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/184,264, filed Feb. 23, 2000 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present application may relate to U.S. Ser. No. 09/523,576, filed Mar. 10, 2000 and U.S. Ser. No. 09/523,476, filed Mar. 10, 2000 U.S. Ser. No. 09/535,717, filed concurrently and U.S. Ser. No. 09/535,889, filed concurrently which are each hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The present invention relates to a method and/or architecture for hybrid data transportation generally and, more particularly, to sending a mix of different data types over a fiber optic network-running SONET/SDH framing.
Long distance and metropolitan area network (MAN) communications rely on short-haul and long haul fiber optic networks to transport data and telephony traffic. One conventional way to transmit data in fiber networks is through a Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) protocol. In a SONET/SDH network, data travels in fixed size envelopes that repeat every 125 microseconds. With this synchronous fixed-length framing, every byte (e.g., 8 bits of data) inside a SONET/SDH frame represents a 64 Kbps (64000 bits/sec) channel. The 64 Kbps channel has the same rate as supported by current telephone channels (also called DS0 channels).
SONET was designed to efficiently carry telephony Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) channels such as T1/T3. This was easily achieved by dividing the payload area in fixed slots called virtual tributaries (VT). These virtual tributaries are then grouped together to form higher-rate channels. These fixed slots are efficient for carrying fixed-bandwidth telephony channels because any one or more channels can be added or removed from a bundle without processing an entire payload of channels. Because SONET frames repeat at fixed intervals, these virtual tributaries have fixed locations and time intervals, and it is easy to extract T1/T3 or fractions of T1 without processing the entire SONET payload.
With growing volume in data traffic, however, SONET/SDH networks must now carry a significantly large number of data packets—such as ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode—53 bytes each) and IP (Internet Protocol—variable-size packets) in addition to traditional T1/T3 channels. The synchronous framing structure of SONET/SDH that is quite efficient for carrying T1/T3 channels is not able to carry both fixed-bandwidth and variable-bandwidth channels in an optimum way.
SONET/SDH has an inefficient utilization of fiber bandwidth for data packets. For data transport, some of the virtual tributaries are created for transporting fixed-bandwidth T1 traffic while others are used for transporting packet data packets such as ATM and IP. Since an individual virtual tributary has a limited bandwidth, extra mechanisms have to be used for sending data packets of higher bandwidth using virtual tributaries.
In one technique, a 10 Mbps data packet channel, for example, is inverse-multiplexed into smaller bandwidth streams and then sent on many virtual tributaries. At the other end, these streams are integrated to reconstruct the full 10 Mbps channel. In another method, many of the virtual tributaries are concatenated using hardware to create a higher-bandwidth virtual tributary for transmitting the high-bandwidth data packet.
SONET/SDH lacks of support for data mixing. A SONET fiber link carrying frames containing ATM cells cannot carry POS, because ATM cells frequently carry QoS-sensitive data such as CES (Circuit Emulation Service) or multimedia traffic. Introduction of SONET frames containing POS will cause significant delays (e.g., 125 μS for each POS frame inserted in the link).
In each of these methods, a unique Path Signal Label (PSL) value in the POH (Path Over-Head) field of the SONET frame identifies the type of data transmission inside the payload. The payload area is also referred to as SPE (Synchronous Payload Envelope). Because a PSL value identifies contents of the entire SONET payload envelope, only one type of transmission can be supported at a time in a SONET frame.
One method for data transmission is to use the entire SONET SPE for data packets. The SONET payload area is filled with IP packets using Packet-over-SONET (POS) packets. POS packets are packets deliminated by 0�7E (Hexadecimal) at both ends of a packet, with a framing using PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol). Many packets can be put inside a single SONET SPE. This method can only support variable-length packet protocol such as IP. A SONET fiber containing these packets cannot transport T1/T3 channels or real-time streams using ATM cells. The reason for this limitation is that each SONET SPE containing IP packets, for example, introduces a delay of 125 microseconds. Such a delay is not acceptable for T1/T3 circuits or real-time streams using ATM cells.
Another method for data transmission is to use the entire SONET SPE for ATM cells. In this case, a SONET SPE is filled with ATM Cells. ATM cells are delimited by their fixed length, and are tracked by doing a hunt for their header checksum byte. Services such as T1, Frame Relay, Ethernet, etc. are transported over ATM using standard protocols. This requires complex implementations in hardware and incorporation of ATM service interworking at each service boundary.
Another method for data transmission is to use the virtual tributaries (VT) for data packets and ATM cells. In this method, a SONET SPE is partitioned in many fixed-bandwidth slots called virtual tributaries (VT). For data transport, some of these virtual tributaries may contain T1/T3 type of fixed-bandwidth traffic while others are used for transporting packet data packets such as ATM and IP.
Since an individual virtual tributary has a limited bandwidth, extra mechanisms have to be used for sending data packets of higher bandwidth using virtual tributaries. In one technique, a 10 Mbps data packet channel, for example, is inverse-multiplexed into smaller bandwidth streams and then sent on many virtual tributaries. At the other end, these streams are integrated to reconstruct the full 10 Mbps channel. In another method, many of the virtual tributaries are concatenated using hardware to create a higher-bandwidth virtual tributary for transmitting the high-bandwidth data packet.
Each of these methods uses a fixed-bandwidth channel or a set of channels for transmitting network data packets. In each method, bandwidth capacity of the fiber is poorly utilized since network data packets are bursty in nature and average bandwidth utilization is quite low.
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At such a transfer rate, each byte of a SONET/SDH frame represents a basic telephony channel, often represented as DS0. A number of such bytes are reserved to form higher-order PDH signals (such as T1) which use 28 DS0 channels. One such method for supporting telephony channels is by dividing the payload into a number of virtual tributaries (VT).
To achieve precise timing, PDH bytes must begin at the same offset inside a SONET SPE 22 a–22 n. If data packets are transmitted along with the PDH channels, the data must be sent in the fixed length slots. Allocation of PDH channels at different locations inside the SONET SPE 22 a–22 n creates fragments of unused bytes all over the SPE. If the slots B/D/F/G/H/I are used for variable-length data packets, the slots cannot be fully used because the fixed bandwidth slots, such as C and E, do not allow the packets to continue without fragmenting while crossiing slot boundaries.
Two conventional approaches have been used to accommodate high bandwidth signals along with low bandwidth signals. A first conventional approach is virtual concatenation. A second conventional approach is inverse multiplexing.
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Allocation of bandwidth for LAN data (such as 10/100 Mbps Ethernet) using a SONET fiber network and VT becomes difficult. For example, one has to either dedicate an entire STS-1 (51 Mbps), or use several VT channels with inverse multiplexing (to be described in more detail in connection with
Virtual concatenation combines several VT channels into bigger virtual pipes to carry higher bandwidth traffic. With such a protocol, some virtual tributaries can carry T1/T3 data as usual while others are concatenated for transport of higher bandwidth data traffic such as 10/100 Mbps. When many VT channels are concatenated, a fatter pipe of a higher bandwidth may be generated that can carry the entire bandwidth of a LAN. As a result, splitting a higher bandwidth into smaller VT channels and having to regroup them to get the LAN traffic can be avoided. However, virtual concatenation has one or more of the following disadvantages:
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Data from a high bandwidth pipe, such as a 10 Mbps Ethernet LAN, can be sent over the multiple VT1.5 tributaries LINK#1–LINK#N using inverse multiplexing. The data is later recovered using standard inverse multiplexing protocols. Inverse multiplexing suffers from the same problems of bandwidth maximization as the virtual concatenation approach. In particular, bandwidth needs to be reserved in advance and all of the available bandwidth is not usable.
In particular, inverse multiplexing suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages:
Similar to virtual concatenation, while one VT (e.g., LINK#1) may be overloaded with traffic, other VTs (e.g., LINK#2–LINK#N) may be underutilized. Therefore, the bandwidth cannot be dynamically adjusted on different VT channels.
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ATM Circuit Emulation Service (CES) is normally used for carrying PDH traffic such as T1. Data packets are transmitted using Multiprotocol-over-ATM encapsulation methods.
ATM VP multiplexing suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages:
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Statistically, a significant percentage of network traffic comprises IP packets that are quite small in size. Because higher-speed concatenated SONET frames are large in size, many times a SONET SPE may not be completely filled with packets or cells at the origin. Because a SONET SPE carries only one type of data, the originating SONET node or other nodes downstream will not be able to add any different type of data to the SPE, and the SONET frame may be heavily underutilized. Such an under-utilization of the SONET frame degrades the overall bandwidth utilization of fiber capacity with SONET/SDH.
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Various conventional protocols have been developed to improve bandwidth usage by attempting to partially solve two problems in SONET networking (i) lack of support for data mixing, and (ii) bandwidth reuse limitations. Such conventional protocols have been partially able to achieve additional bandwidth either by creating fatter pipes with VT, by filling a payload with ATM cells carrying different types of data, or by using a SONET link as a multi-node access network using Ethernet framing for data packets.
While virtual tributaries provide an efficient way to transport PDH traffic, allocation of bandwidth for LAN data such as 10/100 Mbps using a SONET fiber containing T1 traffic becomes difficult. To support 10 Mbps through Virtual tributaries one has to either dedicate an entire STS-1 (51 Mbps) frame, or use several virtual tributary channels and to perform inverse multiplexing.
Virtual concatenation concatenates several VT channels into bigger virtual pipes to carry higher bandwidth traffic. With such a protocol, while some virtual tributaries carry T1/T3 data as usual, others are concatenated for transport of higher bandwidth data traffic such as 10/100 Mbps links.
However, virtual concatenation allocates a fixed bandwidth for LAN. Virtual tributaries cannot dynamically adjust bandwidth usage on a packet-by-packet basis. While it is possible to change the concatenated bandwidth through software, such an implementation does not yield much for bandwidth utilization. Bursty LAN traffic bandwidth usage is typically quite low, resulting in significant waste when used over a fixed bandwidth virtual pipe (average use of a 10 Mbps link is 20%, and if an entire STS-1 is used the efficiency becomes about 4%). Another problem with virtual concatenation is that while one virtual pipe may be overloaded with traffic, others may be underutilized. Virtual concatenation cannot dynamically adjust network loads on different channels.
Another conventional approach to increase the utilization of SONET bandwidth is to fill the payload area with ATM cells using a technique known as ATM VP (Virtual Path) multiplexing. ATM VP multiplexing encodes packets in ATM cells and then inserts the cells inside a SONET SPE. The ATM VP Multiplexing typically utilizes CES to carry DS0/1 PDH traffic.
However, operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) operations of ATM networks are different from that of SONET, and management of the two protocols can become difficult. Similarly, ATM network routing and switch-to-switch signaling data paths are different from IP network routes, resulting in network operational complexity.
Network traffic statistics monitoring has shown that a significant percentage (about 45%) of network traffic comprises IP packets with small packet sizes (e.g., around 40 bytes). With IP over ATM (rfc2684—Multiprotocol Encapsulation over ATM AAL5) payload size slightly exceeds what can fit inside a single ATM cell. Such an arrangement results in transmission of two ATM cells, with the second cell that is mostly ATM overhead and stuffing bytes. This, with other ATM overheads, means having to allocate extra SONET bandwidth for IP transport if ATM is used as a transport protocol.
In addition, using ATM for sending different services requires implementation of ATM transport protocols and interworking for all related protocols (such as IP-over-ATM, Frame Relay-ATM Internetworking, circuit emulation, etc.) in the device. Such implementation requires a high level of complexity in hardware and software, resulting in higher costs of manufacturing and operation of networks.
Such conventional network architectures are not efficient for transmitting variable-length IP packets that form the majority of data network traffic on the Internet. Data network traffic comprises variable-length IP packets and fixed-length ATM cells (i.e., 53 bytes).
As more and more data is being transported on SONET/SDH rings, there is a need to send variable-length packets on pre-existing SONET/SDH networks. These packets originate out of routers and other data access devices. While SONET/SDH networks must transport these data packets, they must also continue to support TDM-style fixed length packets for telephony and leased line applications.
Conventional approaches cannot mix POS with ATM cells in a single SONET SPE. Conventional approaches do not leave some area of the SONET SPE reserved for VTs and others for POS and/or ATM cells.
Limitations of conventional approaches include one or more of the following (i) inability to mix TDM channels with packet-oriented data over SONET/SDH rings due to timing constraints of the TDM channels without a fixed bandwidth virtual tributary mechanism and (ii) limiting data channels sent on fiber carrying T1 lines to Virtual tributaries (since virtual tributaries are of fixed bandwidth, this restriction limits data channels to fixed bandwidth operation).
Therefore, if a SONET SPE is carrying all ATM cells, it cannot carry IP variable-length packets, and vice versa. Such switches route all packets coming at one tributary to another until switching paths are changed through reprogramming.
Conventional approaches do not take into account network loading conditions and do not support dynamic bandwidth provisioning. Conventional approaches also have increased traffic on core links from too much concentration into too few links. Transporting IP traffic over virtual tributary channels that was originally designed for DS0/1/3 connectivity is inefficient. Because VT assignment is fixed, IP transport is not able to take advantage of total available SONET/SDH bandwidth.
In conventional approaches, IP packets are constrained to go through some pre-configured VT channels while other VT channels may be under-utilized. Once a VT channel is dedicated for a particular traffic and is put on a specific circuit-switched path, the topology does not change, even if traffic conditions change.
Conventional approaches have the following disadvantages (i) ATM and Packets are implemented on different rings because of QoS and timing issues; (ii) very high cost for new fiber and SONET equipment for Telco/ISP/MAN; (iii) only one type of packet goes inside a SONET SPE at one time (the remaining bytes of the frame with conventional SONET are wasted) (SONET packets go around the entire SONET ring, limiting bandwidth); and/or (iv) the only way to support telephony channels along with data packets is to allocated part of SONET frame for packet data transmissions (which results in an inefficient bandwidth usage).
One aspect of the present invention concerns a frame configured to (i) be transmitted on a network and (ii) store data packets in a plurality of channels. One or more of the plurality of channels may be configured to store one or more fragments of the data packets.
Another aspect of the present invention comprises an apparatus comprising one or more nodes coupled to a network. Each node may be configured to receive and/or transmit one or more of a plurality of frames. Each of the plurality of frames may be configured to store data packets in a plurality of channels. One or more of the channels may be configured to store one or more fragments of the data packets separated by an offset pointer.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention include providing a method and/or architecture that may (i) provide a single SONET ring to carry a number of forms of data; (ii) allow a number of forms of data types to operate inside a single SONET SPE; (iii) permit filling of a fixed size payload area of a SONET/SDH network with data packets along with fixed bandwidth channels, (iv) allow fine-tuning of the available bandwidth of SONET/SDH to get exactly the T1/T3 bandwidth (or a fraction thereof, down to DS0 bandwidth of 64 kbps) required while using all of the remaining bandwidth for data packets, (v) provide bandwidth reuse at various nodes of a network; (vi) allow SONET sub-sections to run at full speed, effectively boosting SONET bandwidth; and/or (vii) provide a significant savings in equipment and fiber optic infrastructures.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims and drawings in which:
The present invention may provide a Hybrid Data Transport (HDT) protocol that may allow transmission of fixed bandwidth channels (e.g., T1/T3), variable-bandwidth data sources (e.g., ATM), IP and any other protocol data in a single SONET frame using a single fiber network. The protocol of the present invention may work seamlessly across a mix of SONET and non-SONET networks, and may yield cost savings in fiber infrastructure, equipment, and operation.
With the use of the Hybrid Data Transport (HDT) protocol of the present invention, an existing fiber network may be fully utilized to transport a number of different types of traffic. The present invention may additionally dynamically manage bandwidth usage on a packet-by-packet basis.
The present invention may provide spatial reuse of bandwidth, allocation of PDH bandwidth in 64 Kbps increments, protocol-independent MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) support, and/or seamless operation over point-to-point and ring networks with SONET/SDH, direct data-over-fiber configurations or other network configurations. The present invention may also be applicable to Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). However, SONET is used as a general description for SONET/SDH networks with similar implementation for SDH networks. Additional details of the operation of the HDT protocol are also described in connection with direct data-over-fiber networks.
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The system 100 may provide an increase in the data traffic handling capabilities of SONET/SDH networks. The system 100 may implement a design of a SONET/SDH add/drop multiplexer (ADM) (and a SONET/SDH cross-connect) that may function on variable-length packets. With such an approach, IP (or other protocol) packets of different lengths may be (i) added to a SONET/SDH SPE and (ii) terminated at a different network node (e.g., devices 102 a–102 n).
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An optical node may receive bytes from a synchronous frame (e.g., the frame 200) and generally have access to all the bytes in the particular SONET/SDH frame. The particular frame is generally of a fixed size (e.g., for a given SONET/SDH speed and type). The frames may be clearly marked and are normally accessible in a definitive manner using path overhead and line overhead markers.
Instead of creating fixed bandwidth pipes by using virtual concatenation or implementing fixed-bandwidth inverse multiplexing pipes (as in conventional approaches), the system 100 may have different types of packets to span over available spaces inside particular SONET/SDH frame. The system 100 may provide an encapsulation 210 around the payload 212 that generally contains additional information about the packet.
Available space may be filled in with data packets as usual. When a particular packet cannot be placed fully in the available space (e.g., because of an impending fixed bandwidth channel) the particular packet may be fragmented and may be continued in the next available space. A packet (or a packet fragment) generally contains an offset (to be described in more detail in connection with
Depending on available space, a particular frame may be complete inside a SONET payload comprising outside framing bytes. In traditional internet protocol framing, any fragmentation may require each fragment to carry most of the IP header bytes with sequencing information. The sequence information allows the fragments to be reassembled.
Internet protocol may allow a plain offset value to link the next packet fragment to the previous packet fragment within the frame. The continuing packet fragment(s) do not generally need internal header data repeated since the packet fragment(s) reside in a single SONET/SDH frame 200 and are transmitted in sequence within a synchronous frame.
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The frame 200 may permit filling of a fixed size payload area of SONET/SDH with data packets along with fixed bandwidth channels such as T1/T3. The frame 200 may reduce and/or eliminate bandwidth limitations imposed on data packets in fixed bandwidth channels.
The frame 200 may provide a savings in equipment and fiber optic infrastructures. The frame 200 may permit fine-tuning of the available bandwidth of SONET/SDH to provide the bandwidth required for T1/T3 while using the remaining bandwidth for data packets without requiring complex inverse multiplexing or virtual concatenation techniques.
The frame 200 may provide advantages that may (i) permit filling of a fixed size payload area of a SONET/SDH network with data packets along with fixed bandwidth channels, (ii) allow fine-tuning of the available bandwidth of SONET/SDH to get exactly the T1/T3 bandwidth required while using all of the remaining bandwidth for data packets, and/or (iii) provide a significant savings in equipment and fiber optic infrastructures.
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In SONET, a basic unit of transmission is a Synchronous Transport Signal Level 1 (STS-1) or Optical Carrier Level 1 (OC1) signal. Both operate at 51.84 Mbit/s. STS-1 describes electrical signals, and OC1 refers to the same traffic after being converted into optical signals. SONET also allows channels to be multiplexed. An OC12 circuit, for instance, may carry traffic from four OC3 links. An OC12 circuit may also carry a single channel, in which case the line is said to be concatenated. Such circuits may be described as OC3c, OC12c, and so on.
Another protocol similar to SONET is Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), defined by the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as G.707 (shortly after ANSI formally ratified the T.105 spec for SONET). Although interconnection of SONET and SDH networks may be relatively rare, several new transoceanic telecommunications projects make use of such links.
The system 100 may maximize fiber bandwidth by implementing the Hybrid Data Transport (HDT) Protocol. The HDT protocol may allow dynamic management of packets to maximize bandwidth. The system 100 may allow the transport of different types of data over a single fiber link. With the system 100, IP (or other protocol) packets, Packet-Over-SONET (POS), ATM cells, G.702-based PDH (T1/T3), SRP, Frame Relay, and other types of data may be mixed inside a SONET payload and dynamically and sent on a single fiber (as shown in
The system 100 may implement a single fiber link that may be used for sending different kinds of traffic to use the full capacity of the link. The system 100 may allow VT or sub-VT channels to be eliminated. ATM cells, IP (and other protocols) packets, PPP, frame relay, NxDS0, T1/T1 and others may be mixed inside the SPE on a packet-by-packet basis.
PDH channels (such as T1/T3) may be dynamically allocated anywhere inside the SONET payload in 64 Kbps bandwidth increments. Bandwidth may be reusable in fine granularity in 64 Kbps increments, with any type of data. For example, an IP packet may be dropped at a node (e.g., B) where the node B may reuse the packet area for inserting ATM cells, frame relay, PDH traffic, or any other data type.
The system 100 may transport many packets of one or more different data types. The particular type of data may be placed inside a single SONET SPE or data-over-fiber frame while preserving time dependency of data packets, such as PDH. The system 100 may be implemented without terminating the whole link capacity at each node. Destination nodes may indicate a start of the packet inside a SONET payload. Other packets may pass through the node.
Direct data-over-fiber configurations (e.g., without SONET framing) may be easily supported with full link monitoring and management. Support may also be provided for variable-size packet SONET add/drop multiplexer (SONET ADM) devices. Variable-size packets may be transported inside a SONET SPE and nodes may cross-connect and add/drop the packets on different ports.
The system 100 may provide protocol-independent transport of MPLS labels. The HDT may provide for transmission of MPLS labels outside of protocol frame (rather than embedding such labels between data link and network layers as in conventional approaches). Intermediate SONET and optical fiber nodes may be used to create switching and add/drop systems without having to become protocol-aware.
With provision for MPLS labels transported outside of packets, the HDT may allow setting up of fast-reroute fail-switchover paths over a hybrid of ring and point-to-point networks using MPLS labels, without requiring nodes to be protocol-sensitive. Such an implementation may eliminate the need to provision and reserve completely unused backup paths on SONET rings.
In operation, the payload headers 204 a–204 n may precede every packet to carry the information to support HDT. A uniform structure of the header across a variety of packet types generally simplifies design of optical nodes for packet processing for both SONET and direct data-over-fiber networks. The headers 204 a–204 n may also contain a reusability bit that is set by the sending node. If the reusability bit is cleared, a destination node may reset the data identification bits to free up the packet area for reuse by new data packet. The packet area may be reused at either at the destination node or other downstream nodes.
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By using the payload header 204 a–204 n to identify the type of a packet, the HDT is generally able to extend data identification beyond PSL-based SPE-level data typing and put multiple data types inside a SONET SPE. A value of 0000 may indicate the packet area (e.g., the length of the packet area is given by the length value in the outside SDL framing) that does not generally contain any useful data and can be reused for storing new data. HDT may easily support traditional PDH and other guaranteed bandwidth channels. In SONET networks, a frame repeats every 125 μS, resulting in a bandwidth of 64 KHz for every byte in the payload. By fixing the starting location of some packets inside the SONET frame, slots may be created for sending TDM-style traffic. Because the packet length is changeable in one-byte increments, such slots may be created in increments of 64 KHz. Because packets are dynamically created, fixed bandwidth channels may be created on the fly by clearing the reusability bit in the payload header.
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The payload header 204 a may be used to tell whether one or more of the empty packets 222 a–222 n inside the SONET SPE 200 may be reused at an intermediate node. In contrast, in conventional SONET networks, the entire SONET SPE 200 travels around the ring until removed by the sender. With the system 100, a receiver may mark the SONET SPE 200 as reusable. Nodes on the fiber network 100 may mark different sections of the SONET SPE 200 as reusable by the other nodes 102 a–102 n.
Provisioning of TDM channels may provide the ability to mark a portion (or many portions) of a SONET SPE payload area as non-reusable. With a non-reusable area, even when a receiver receives the packet, another receiver cannot reuse the packet area. However, the same receiver may reuse the non-reusable area.
In general, there is no limit to the order and manner of packet positioning. Any packet may be marked in any fashion to support, for example, a dynamic mix of data and voice (TDM) traffic on a SONET/SDH network. Such an implementation is not possible with current technologies. The present invention may solve the problem of mixed value and data transmissions faced by telephone carriers and data providers.
As SONET frames containing fixed bandwidth channels move around the ring, intermediate nodes may detect these packets (e.g., the reusability bit is reset), note the offsets of these packets, and preserve the respective offsets when recreating the frame (e.g., after adding packets from local input ports) for outbound traffic.
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A header data area 282 may carry MPLS labels (e.g., outside of payload area). Operation administration and maintenance (OAM) bytes 282 may be used for link management, or any other data separately from the payload. A reusability area 284 (e.g., D7) may be a "1". If a SONET node can reuse a particular packet area, the size of the packet area may be given by the packet length field 264 of the SDL header. If the bit D7 is set to a "0", then a node will not generally mark the packet area as re-usable, even after a packet has been dropped. The particular nodes of the various configuration bits may be varied (e.g., inverted) accordingly to meet the design criteria of a particular implementation.
A header length area 286 (e.g., D15: D8) may include, in one example, a 32-bit payload header. A fragment identifier area 288 (e.g., D17: D16) may be implemented as a two word value. A value of "00" may indicate that the payload area contains a complete packet. A value of "01" may indicate the beginning packet of a fragmentation sequence. A value of "10" may indicate a continuation of packets. A value of "11" may mark the last fragment in the series. Other particular bit patterns may be implemented accordingly to meet the design criteria of a particular implementation.
A padding area 290 (e.g., D18: D19) may indicate a minimum packet length. In one example, the minimum packet length may be 4 bytes (e.g., 2 bytes length+2 bytes CRC). Idle bytes at the end of packets and elsewhere may be marked by a length field of "0000". In instances there may be less than 4 bytes left between packets. In this case, it may be impossible to place a SDL null packet. Such idle bytes are shown as tail-end padding for the preceding packet. An unused area 292 (e.g., D31:20) may be used for additional expansion.
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A block 308 may read the POH. A block 310 may determine a first packet of the SONET SPE 200. A block 312 may read a length and CRC of the first packet. A block 314 may determine a match of the length and the CRC. If a non-match of the length and CRC occurs, the receive operation is generally set to a block 316. The block 316 may read a next word of the packet from the SONET SPE 318. If a match occurs, the receive operation may process the packet. Once the payload header has been processed and different packet types are been processed and different packet types are identified, hardware (e.g., implemented in the system 100) may use header fields to retrieve the payload and use usual hardware blocks for processing.
ATM cells are generally retrieved by first looking at the PSL value to determine their presence and then reaching the SONET SPE to get fixed byte ATM cells, either with or without HEC-based cell delineation. For example, if the payload header in the HDT shows the payload contains ATM cells, the hardware device generally retrieves payload bytes (up to number of bytes specified in length field) and sends the byte stream to an existing ATM cell processing logic. The ATM cell processing logic may then work on the byte stream using HEC hunting just as if the SPE contained only ATM cells in its payload.
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If the transmit operation 400 runs into a fixed-bandwidth channel allocation midway through the packet allocation, the packet is generally fragmented. In this case, a portion of the packet may be stored at one place and other fragments may be stored at another free location. The first fragment offset pointer may contain the starting location of second fragment. Because bytes are transmitted sequentially in the SPE 200, reassembling fragments may be easily achieved.
If a particular node detects an incoming SONET frame on a receive port, or if there is a frame in the transmit/receive queue, the node checks the frame to see if there are unused/reusable areas in the incoming/queued frame that can be used for sending data. If there is enough space available in the frame, the node fills the space with additional data before sending the frame out.
In HDT, PDH channels of any bandwidth (up to allowable SONET bandwidth limits) may be provisioned anywhere inside the SONET SPE. To achieve precise timing, PDH bytes must begin at the same offset inside the SONET SPE. However, allocation of PDH channels at different locations inside a SONET SPE may create fragments of unused bytes all over the SONET SPE. For efficient transport of variable-size IP packets, these unused bytes may be utilized for IP data.
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One solution would be to check for CRC for ingress, but not to re-compute the CRC on egress. An efficient way to implement such CRC computation is to separate header CRC from payload CRC. This way, header CRC is recomputed easily and quickly at intermediate nodes while the payload CRC is preserved end-to-end. With HDT, all header labels and other temporary information for the packet may be carried outside of the payload so the payload data/CRC is not modified at any of the intermediate nodes.
A SONET node may be a data-aware add/drop multiplexer, a digital cross-connect, or a router/access multiplexer sitting on a SONET ring. Such devices may implement HDT protocol for data encapsulation and transport over SONET and WDM networks. Traditional circuitry for ATM cell delineation, PPP processing and other protocol handling may be implemented similar to conventional approaches, with some additional added circuitry for HDT encapsulation and decapsulation. The path signal label (PSL) value proposed for use with the HDT may be the same as the one for SDL frames.
Referring to
As the SONET SPEs are received at the nodes A, B, C, D, initial bytes may be placed in a small transit buffer. Through MPLS labels contained in the header section or through internal packet fields, a particular node A, B, C, D may be able to determine whether the packet belongs to the node. If the packet does not belong to the node, the bytes are streamed out of transit buffer to the output port. However, the packet may belong to the node A, B, C, D if, for example, (i) the D7 bit is set in the payload header, (ii) the packet area has been reserved for a fixed bandwidth channel such as a PDH, and/or (iii) in this case, the D3: D0 bits are not cleared. If the D7 bit is set to "0", the node may clear the D3: D0 field to mark the packets void and reusable, where the bytes belonging to the packet are sent to system. The number of bytes sent to the system may be specified in the length field of the SDL header. If the header shows fragmentation then a packet is received in many fragments and sent out to the system until the last fragment is received.
Packets may be added either using a fresh SONET SPE or by reusing bytes inside an incoming or previously queued frame. The decision of which packet to add to a void or reusable packet area inside an SPE can be made on following lines by (a) selecting a packet (or a collection of packets) that will fit inside the reusable area, (b) selecting all packets that can fit inside the reusable space, or (c) selecting a packet based on QoS parameters or packet priority. Since SONET frames repeat at 125 ms intervals, packet transmission may be arranged to achieve a desired rate. Once a packet is selected for addition to the SPE, the node creates a payload header by setting payload type, reusability and other bits for the packet. The circuit 100 may then add the header to the payload.
The SDL framing mechanism may use length/CRC pair information as a header and a frame delimiter. SDL provides a robust scrambling and frame locator technique and may be used for direct data-over-fiber networks where SONET framing may not be used. Implementing OAM packets may eliminate the need for complex SONET framing and link management overheads. In the example of direct data-over-fiber networks, the HDT protocol structure may operate unmodified. Point-to-point WDM networks and ring-based SONET networks (or any other network) may easily be mixed and connected to each other. With a powerful support for MPLS (that may be transported independently of payload), networks may be designed that may have alternative LSP (Label Switched Paths) links for a highly robust redundancy. For example, nodes on a SONET ring may be connected through another network that may be entirely different from the ring. The backup path could be a high-speed point-to-point link or a ring network that may be geographically quite diverse. By providing a common network protocol engine, the HDT protocol may permit configuration of these networks quite easily without requiring complex protocol translation logic for different network configuration.
The present invention may use a packet payload header to identify the kind of packet inside. These identifier bits tell what kind of packet/protocol (e.g., such as Ethernet, PPP, IP, Frame Relay, ATM cells, T1, etc.) is inside the payload. Using such a technique, different protocols may be supported at two ends without the need for advanced provisioning. Using conventional methods, the use of a single protocol over a WAN needs to be negotiated.
The identifier may indicate whether one or more packet areas inside SONET SPE may be reused at an intermediate node. Conventional SONET networks require the SONET frame to travel around the ring until removed by the sender. Even when the receiving node received a packet, the frame went around the network, wasting bandwidth. With the present invention, not only may a receiver mark a SONET SPE as reusable, but different receivers on the fiber network may mark different sections of SONET SPE area as reusable when a packet is received by different receivers.
The present invention may provide the ability to mark a portion (or many portions) of a SONET SPE payload area as non-reusable. With such an implementation, when a receiver receives the packet, the packet area is not generally reused by another receiver/transmitter. However, the same receiver may reuse the marked payload area for add/drop applications. Allowing the same receiver to re-use a packet may help TDM channels and packet data within a single SPE.
Over time, bit definitions inside a payload header may change as further research is conducted on the fiber data protocol operation. Such changes in bit definitions are common in data communication protocols and do not change the nature and content of present invention.
The present invention often refers specifically to SONET. However, Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) protocols are equally appropriate. SDH is similar to SONET with differences in bit framing. These framing differences, however, do not change the discussion and scope of the present invention.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Patent Citations
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1. Definition of a complication. Medicine.Net. http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art. asp?articlekey=25405.
2. Kinney ED, The Origins and Promise of Medical Standards of Care*, American Medical Association Journal of Ethics, VirtualMentor.org. http://virtualmentor.ama-assn. org/2004/12/mhst1-0412.html. December 2004, Volume 6, Number 12.
3. Kelly JT, Swartwout JE. Development of practice parameters by physician organizations. QRB Qual Rev Bull. 1990; 16:54-57.
4. Introduction to Evidence-based Medicine. http://www.hsl.unc.edu/Services/Tutorials/ EBM/whatis.htm
5. AAKP website. Can be obtained: http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/Home- Hemodialysis/
6. http://redsensemedical.com/
7. Mactier, R.A & Worth, D. P. Minimizing the Risk of Venous Needle Dislodgement during Hemodialysis. The Artery, issue 41, 2007
8. You Have Options. AAKP. https://www.aakp.org/newsletters/Home-Magazine/On-the- Cover/Home-Options/
9. Shander, A., Hofmann, A., Ozawa, S., Theusinger, O., Gombotz, H., Spahn, D. "Activity-based Costs of Blood Transfusions in Surgical Patients at Four Hospitals." Transfusion. April 2010, Volume 50, Issue 4, Pages 753-765
10. http://redsensemedical.com/


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Britain's mo farah holds a Union flag as he celebrates after winning the men's 10,000m final at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium August 4, 2012.
LONDON: From Michael Phelps's golden farewell to the exploits of Usain Bolt: AFP looks back at six moments which defined the 2012 London Olympics:
Michael Phelps, the hero of Beijing after winning eight golds, had already passed gymnast Larisa Latynina's record of 18 Olympic medals to become the most decorated Olympic athlete in history.
But his shock fingertip loss in the 200m butterfly raised the prospect of the greatest swimmer the sport has seen leaving London without winning gold in an individual event.
But doubts about his form were erased as he delivered a vintage performance in the 200m medley to become the first man to win the same swimming event in three straight Games.
The victory acted as a catalyst for the remainder of the Olympics, Phelps adding a second individual gold in the 100m butterfly before signing off with his fourth gold of the Games in the 4x200m medley relay.
When Sebastian Coe presented Jessica Ennis with a silver medal at the World Championships in 2011, the London Games chief quietly informed the British heptathlete that he was looking forward to draping a gold medal around her neck at the Olympics a year later.
In the years leading up to London, the 26-year-old golden girl of British track and field had become the public face of the host nation's hopes, her image adorning thousands of billboards across the country.
The level of exposure inevitably led to questions about whether Ennis would be able to cope with the pressure. But from the moment she set a blistering personal best in the opening event of the hepathlon, the 100m hurdles, her coronation was never in doubt.
By the time the final event arrived, her lead was unassailable. She produced a rousing finish to win her 800m and give the home crowd a moment to savor comparable to Cathy Freeman's 400m victory in Sydney 12 years ago.
On the eve of the Olympics, a veil of intrigue had been draped across Usain Bolt's preparations for the defense of his 100m and 200m titles.
Ever since the Jamaican's disqualification at the 2011 World Championships, the aura of invincibility surrounding the star of the Beijing Olympics had been steadily chipped away.
Training partner Yohan Blake's defeats in the 100m and 200m events at the Jamaican Olympic trials only heightened the sense that Bolt's crown may be slipping. By the time he arrived in London, even Hollywood hell raiser Mickey Rourke was claiming to have beaten Bolt in a drunken dash outside a nightclub.
It took 9.63 seconds for the questions to be erased, as Bolt coasted to victory in the 100m, clocking the second fastest time in history.
Four days later, Bolt ensured his place in the pantheon with a similarly emphatic win in the 200m, becoming the first man to win back-to-back 100m and 200m titles.
"I'm a living legend," Bolt declared afterwards. Few would disagree.
Her much-anticipated participation in Olympic competition only lasted 82 seconds, but Wojdan Shaherkani's first round exit in the under-78kg judo competition was emblematic of the "Women's Games."
For the first time in history, every competing nation had a woman athlete in their delegation, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei among those countries consigning exclusively male teams of the past to history.
The 17-year-old Shaherkani's Olympics may have been all too fleeting, but her mere presence in London may echo for generations.
"I think that because of my participation in this Olympic Games, other Saudi women will participate in other competitions in the future," she said.
Afghanistan's only female athlete, the 100m runner Tahmina Kohistani, ran her heat wearing a hijab and covered.
When asked why she had shed a tear after her elimination, Kohistani spoke movingly: "It is the journey. Being here is more important for me than a gold medal."
Four years after the disappointment of Beijing, where he sent millions of fans into mourning following his withdrawal just moments before the heats of the 110m hurdles, London offered Liu Xiang the chance of redemption.
The first Chinese man to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics, Liu had arrived in London dreaming of emulating his 2004 triumph in Athens as he sought to exorcise his Beijing nightmare.
But a snapped Achilles tendon as he leapt to meet the first hurdle of his opening heat left his London campaign, and his career in tatters.
Yet he was determined to leave the Games on his own terms. Instead of retiring to seek medical attention, the hurdler hopped up the track on one leg, kissing the final hurdle before being greeted by his fellow competitors.
Like U.S. sprinter Manteo Mitchell – who suffered a broken leg during his 4x400m relay but somehow managed to keep running – it was one of many examples of the Olympic spirit thriving in London.
By entering both the 10,000m and 5,000m, Mo Farah was attempting to join the elite band of six long-distance runners who have pulled off the double at an Olympics. The first half of his improbable double was duly achieved on the opening weekend when he produced a tactical masterclass to sprint home to glory on a night when Britain won three gold medals in the Olympic Stadium.
The Somalian-born star returned to the track for the 5,000m heats in midweek and wondered aloud if he had the energy for a tilt at the second gold.
Yet Farah's concern was misplaced as he turned in another masterful display, conjuring up a devastating final lap and holding off the chasing pack to become only the seventh man to do the double.
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Girayda — About 1500 newly displaced families from the areas of Tabaldia and Abu Jabra fled to Girayda after militias attacked the two areas last week. "The families are living in inhuman conditions, without any food, water or shelter", an activist from Girayda told Radio Dabanga. He added that around 600 families arrived to Girayda from the areas of Tabaldia and are now staying in the vicinity of the city.
Moreover, the activist explained that around 500 more families from the village of Abu Jabra. The village was torched last week by pro-government militants. The families are currently staying in the outskirts of the city in a camp named Abu Jabra.
Another 400 families arrived to Girayda camps from the area of Donkey Drisa which was exposed to an attack by militias, the activist stated. He announced that the total number of newply displaced reached 1,500 families and claimed that no assistance has arrived other than the Red Crescent for registration purposes.
The activist appealed to international aid organizations as well as the Humanitarian Aid Commission to take immediate action in providing food, drinking water and tarpaulins for the families.
Militants kill displaced and loot cattle:
In another incident, displaced Ismail Abdul Rahman from Girayda camp was shot dead when militants attacked the area of Eidan on Saturday, situated at about 20 kilometers west of Girayda in South Darfur. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, witnesses said that the militants, who arrived on camels, took three of Abdul Rahman's donkeys and threatened to attack Abuja's market, one of the largest markets in the Girayda area, on Sunday. The threat caused a big market in Girayda to shut down as well as Abuja market.
Activists from Girayda town and its camps demanded state and local authorities to provide security and to put an end to the militia attacks.


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The Tantramar Regional High School Men's Hockey Titans participated in the 39th annual Moncton High School Hockey Classic over the weekend and finished in 11th place in their 17-team division.
The Titans picked up a 4-1 win against the Amherst Regional High School Vikings, took a 5-2 loss to the Parkview Panthers, and a 6-3 loss to the Avon View Avalanche. Both the Panthers and the Avalanche play out of the Valley High School Hockey League in Nova Scotia.
The Titans' first game was a rekindling of their cross border rivalry with the ARHS Vikings. Sebastian LeBlanc opened the scoring early in the first period when he redirected a Kyle Lowerison shot. Ethan Crossman notched the lone goal of the second period from Destin Zoellner and Paxton Clare. Drew Arsenault sniped two markers to seal the deal in the third period. Zach Snowdon earned assists on both goals, while Brook Beale also assisted on one. Caleb Silliker picked up the win in net. Player of the game was LeBlanc.
On Friday the Titans faced the Parkview Panthers of Bridgewater, N.S. The Panthers led 4-0 at the end of the first. Tantramar net minder Kyle Cadman held the Panthers scoreless in the second frame. Parkview added one more goal in the third. Ryan Fury and Zoellner answered for the Titans. Snowdon picked up two helpers while Arsenault and Crossman each earned one. Arsenault was named player of the game for the Titans.
The Avon View Avalanche handed the Titans their second loss of the round robin on Friday afternoon. Crossman scored twice and Arsenault added another. Once again Snowdon led the team in assists with two. Crossman was the player of the game for the Titans.
The Titans resume play in the Northern High School Hockey League this weekend. They host Ecole Marie Esther from Shippagan on Friday, Jan. 10, at 8:15 p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 7:15 p.m. at the TVMCC.
Also, the annual Alumni Game & Auction will be held on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.
Former hockey Titans interested in playing can contact Brett and Andrea Beale at 536-0766.


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Waikiki Round Umbrella with Base
The Waikiki outdoor umbrella provides shade at any angle. The cantilevered design allows you to pivot the umbrella 90 degrees while the base remains stationary. Made from aluminum and durable Sunbrella® fabric, the included four concrete wedge base weights support the umbrella.See the full Waikiki collection
Details of Waikiki 9' Round Umbrella with Base
- Dimensions: 108" diameter 96"h
- Pole Diameter: 2" diam
- Base Detail: four concrete wedge base weights; 40" diam 1.5"h
- Features: crank lift; sliding cantilever with lock mechanism
- Product Origin: made in China
- Item Number: 711425
- Fabric: Sunbrella® Canvas cement See full fabric details
- Fabric Content: 100% Sunbrella acrylic
- Fabric Description: With a smooth, tight weave, Sunbrella® Canvas is the perfect backdrop for a wide range of striking colors. Solution-dyed acrylic yarns make this fabric easy to clean and fade-resistant. A great solution for outdoor spaces, kids' rooms and family-friendly furniture.
- Secondary Material: aluminum See material details
- Finish: powder-coat
- Color: silver
Product Care
Customer Reviews
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Reviewed by 4 customers
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Customer comments about Waikiki 9' Round Orange Umbrella:
We bought our 2 Waikikis in 2008.
They live unprotected on our California deck all year.
The orange cloth has faded after 5 years, which seems a great lifespan, so I am replacing only the cloth portion. The frame and base are solid as ever.
- I live in a:
- House
- Affordable
- Fades in sunlight
- Poor quality
Best Uses
Customer comments about Waikiki 9' Round Orange Umbrella:
Agree that the plastic joints will fail. The elbow that supports all the weight is a plastic collar that snapped. I repaired with plastic weld and that held for another six months, until the wind kicked up and it broke again. We are in the desert and the UV may have added to the brittleness, but that piece needs to be made with an upgraded material. Not the usual R&B quality.
- I live in a:
- House
- This product is used in my:
- Vacation/second home
- Affordable
- Poor quality
Best Uses
- Patio
Customer comments about Waikiki 9' Round Orange Umbrella:
Let me start by saying I am a very loyal room & Board customer bother in personal life and in business and this umbrella is absolutely not representative of the products they typically sell. I am on my second umbrella already and this one is about to fail as well. The umbrella is manufactured with very weak joints and plastic construction which is probably why its so inexpensive for a cantilever umbrella. The slightest breeze and i mean not even measurable the canopy catches and begins to weaken the joint that holds the umbrella to the arm. After a few of these slight breezes the joint finally fails and the lower joints fail because of the torque of the umbrella twisting. The failure includes the aluminum pin connections which completely tear. It took me 3 weeks of pictures discussions and diagrams to convince Room and board to replace it. My replacement is now failing though i am so afraid to put it up and barely use it.
- I live in a:
- Apartment/condo
- Affordable
- Quality construction
Best Uses
- Outdoor dining
Customer comments about Waikiki 9' Round Orange Umbrella:
Umbrella looks elegant over outside dinning table. Ordered orange but requested to exchange for white since not a true orange (more of a peachy/cantaloupe orange). Customer service rep was very accommodating... had a replacement out in under two weeks. Driver provided white glove service.... had new one up on stand in minutes. All at no additional cost. It was seamless and pain free ... the way it should be. One caveat, product is new... no long term use experience or observations, but it's looking good so far.
Service and delivery comments:
Delivery was as expected and customer service was better than I have experienced with other online furniture suppliers. Courteous, prompt and enjoyable (who knew?).
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- House
- This product is used in my:
- Vacation/second home
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Why Room & Board?
When you shop with Room & Board, you choose:
Our Guarantee
Our goal is to provide a positive customer experience by supporting you throughout the entire shopping experience. We stand behind the quality of our products and the prices we charge. If you're not completely satisfied with your purchase or any part of your experience, just let us know.
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Your satisfaction is our priority. If you're not completely satisfied with your purchase or any part of your experience, just let us know. We're here to help.
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Getting Around Washington D.C.
The best way to get around Washington, D.C., is via the clean, safe and efficient Washington Metrpolitan Area Transit Authority public transportation system. Most travelers (and residents) use a combination of the metro trains, the buses and their own two feet to get around, but keep in mind that as the metro continues to develop the new Silver Line, which is scheduled to be completed in 2018, you should prepare for delays and closings. You can even take a metro train or bus into the city from the closest of the area's three airports: Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia. Renting a car isn't advised; D.C. is regularly ranked as one of America's worst cities for driving. If you must have your own wheels, you should primarily keep them parked at your hotel. You can also traverse the capital city by taxi, but it'll cost you.
Washington, D.C., is also serviced by the Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), located about 30 miles west of the city. Another airport, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), sits just south of Baltimore. The best way to get from BWI Airport into the city is to take a Marc Train from Union Station. To get from Reagan airport into the city, you can take the metro; to get from Dulles into the city, you can take a shuttle. Taxis and rental cars are available from all airports.
The six color-coded metro train lines weave through Washington, D.C. and some locations in Maryland and Virginia. Running until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Staurdays, the metro stops at most of the major tourist attractions. The fare cost will depend on the time of day and the distance traveled. During the weekday rush hour and the weekends, fares range from $2.15 to $5.90, plus a surcharge of $1 if you use a paper fare card. At other times, the fares range from $1.75 to $3.60, plus a surcharge if you use a paper fare card, rather than a rechargeable SmarTrip fare card. Keep in mind that you'll have to swipe your ticket at a turnstile before you enter onto the metro platform and after you've arrived at your destination to leave the station, so hold on to it.
Buying a $10 SmarTrip card — a plastic, reloadable public transportation ticket — is an easy way to save money and get around the city, especially if you're planning to vacation for more than a couple of days. You can purchase one at the Metro Center station or in convenience stores across the city. SmarTrip cards are also accepted on Washington, D.C.'s Metrobus and the Circulator buses.
Another part of the WMATA public transportation system, the buses travel extensive routes throughout the District, Maryland and Virginia. Bus fare is $1.75 for SmarTrip card users and for those using cash. If you're paying with cash make sure to have the exact fare, as drivers cannot make change.
The D.C. Circulator buses run every 10 minutes and accept cash and SmarTrip cards for its $1 one-way fare. A handful of routes, including one that cuts straight through the city from Union Station to Georgetown and another that only goes around perimeter of the National Mall (this route is only available on weekends), travel much of D.C.
On Foot
The best way to explore the different neighborhoods is by foot. Several areas like the National Mall and Georgetown really don't make sense any other way. When you get tired — and you will, the National Mall is nearly two miles long — the Circulator bus or another mode of public transit can take you the rest of your journey. Another great transportation option for exploring the National Mall without battling heavy crowds on foot is taking a DC pedicab. Rates vary by season and operator.
In D.C., metered taxis are plentiful, and you can wave them down or find them lined up outside of major hotels and attractions. The fare starts at $3.25 for the first 1/8 mile, plus an extra $0.27 for each additional 1/8 mile and each minute of wait time. Additional passengers also cost $1 extra. Also remember, during declared snow emergencies, taxis charge more.
|The great majority of vacationers travel to Washington, D.C., by car. That doesn't mean driving in D.C. is a good idea. Washington is known for horrible congestion, impatient drivers, scarce yet expensive parking and a confusing grid of streets. If you simply must, you can find rental agencies at all three of the area's airports — BWI, IAD and DCA — as well as scattered through the city, and in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.


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Welcome to the Southeast Asia Program's Outreach Office!
Southeast Asia Outreach is part of Cornell University's Southeast Asia Program, a U.S. Department of Education National Resource Center (NRC) dedicated to teaching the languages of Southeast Asia and furthering the understanding of the history, culture, and societies of the region.
We offer access to area-specific resources from each Southeast Asian country, and we invite you to borrow books and materials from our lending library and explorer boxes, and to make use of our curricula.
If you are interested in internationalizing your curriculum and have thought about featuring Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, or the Philippines, give us a call! We offer professional development opportunities for pre-service teachers, K-12 teachers, and community college faculty.
We also offer opportunities to partner to develop and pilot-test curriculum, with coaching for K-12 teachers to align and address Common Core standards. Our scholars cover many disciplines and are willing to share what they know.
We can help you tap into the ever-changing array of talent and Southeast Asia expertise at Cornell. We welcome feedback on any of our materials. Explore this website and learn more about Southeast Asia and the program's resources!
Southeast Asia Program Outreach Coordinator
We love shadow puppets from Indonesia!
If you would like activity suggestions or electronic copies of SEAP shadow puppets, please complete the order form below. These easy-to-use templates can be built into classroom lessons and activities or can be decorated at home on a rainy afternoon. Write your own stories, or re-enact scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Check out our storybooks and movies from our lending library, and immerse yourself in the Southeast Asian expressions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata. If you want to experience the traditional music that accompanies shadow puppet performances, arrange for a visit to Cornell to listen to Cornell's Gamelan Ensemble, which gives two performances yearly, or bring students to visit the gamelan room and experience a hands-on workshop.


text: This is a great receiver although Pioneer has already replaced it with a newer model. If you have a chance to get a good deal on this model it will not disappoint! The only thing it lacks is iPod/Droid control support, I believe the newer ones include this feature. Also, upgrading the firmware is not straightforward, in fact, I have not figured this process out yet. I would urge caution on buying Pioneer products from PCRush, they are NOT an authorized dealer although they told me via email that they were prior to me ordering. I only found this out because some of my receivers' connectivity have too much play and are having some minor issues maintaining a signal (In fact, I'm currently using the HDMI 2 out because the main out quit working).


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INITIAL trials of a drug that reduces scar formation have produced encouraging results.
Although the substance still has numerous regulatory hurdles to clear, it is the first of its type to be tested on people. If the drug proves successful, it could routinely be used to prevent scarring after surgery or following serious accidents.
"Scarring is a problem that is much more important to patients than it is to doctors," says Mark Ferguson, an expert on skin healing at the University of Manchester, UK, and chief executive of Renovo, the company set up to develop the drug. Even a skilful performance in the operating theatre can leave a patient with a disfiguring scar that restricts movement. Facial scarring, in particular, can have a profound effect on self-confidence.
The anti-scarring drug consists of a signalling molecule produced during wound healing called transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF
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