Abstract: Disclosed is a plasticized cellulose ester composition. The plasticized cellulose ester composition of the present invention includes at least one cellulose ester; a plasticizer system including one or more aliphatic plasticizers; and a benzotriazole ultraviolet absorber. A flooring article with at least one layer formed from the composition is also described.

Abstract: A system for communicating email messages using tokens receives a request to send an email message to a receiver. The email message is associated with a sender's email address. The system determines whether the sender's email address is associated with a token from a plurality of tokens stored in a token-email address mapping table. The system generates a particular token for the sender's email address in response to determining that the sender's email address is not associated with a token, where the particular token uniquely identifies the sender's email address. The system sends the email message using the particular token instead of the sender's email address, such that the sender's email address remains anonymous from the perspective of the receiver.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for workload balancing. A message is received on a channel. A thread in a thread pool is selected to process the message. In response to determining that the message has been processed and a response has been sent on the channel by the thread, it is determined whether a total number of threads in the thread pool is greater than a low water mark plus one and whether the channel has more than a maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, wherein the low water mark represents a minimum number of threads in the thread pool. In response to determining that a number of threads in the thread pool is greater than the low water mark plus one and that the channel has more than the maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, the thread is terminated.

Abstract: Local versions of attributes of a storage object are maintained at a plurality of nodes, wherein a first attribute designates a first node of the plurality of nodes as an owner node for the storage object, and wherein a second attribute includes information to resolve validity of ownership of the storage object among the plurality of nodes. The owner node communicates changes to be made to the local versions of the attributes at other nodes of the plurality of nodes. A second node of the plurality of nodes requests ownership of the storage object. The first attribute is updated to designate the second node of the plurality of nodes as the owner node, in response to determining from the second attribute that the validity of ownership of the storage object allows the second node to inherit ownership of the storage object once the first node surrenders ownership of the storage object.

Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture that maintain a plurality of nodes coupled over a network, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes initially owns a plurality of storage objects accessible via the network. A serialization lock is maintained in association with the plurality of storage objects, wherein the first node becomes unavailable. A second node of the plurality of nodes determines that the second node is to preemptively assume ownership of a selected storage object of the plurality of storage objects initially owned by the first node that has become unavailable. The second node acquires the serialization lock. The second node secures ownership of the selected storage object, subsequent to acquiring the serialization lock.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for workload balancing. A message is received on a channel. A thread in a thread pool is selected to process the message. In response to determining that the message has been processed and a response has been sent on the channel by the thread, it is determined whether a total number of threads in the thread pool is greater than a low water mark plus one and whether the channel has more than a maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, wherein the low water mark represents a minimum number of threads in the thread pool. In response to determining that a number of threads in the thread pool is greater than the low water mark plus one and that the channel has more than the maximum number of threads blocked on a receive, the thread is terminated.

Abstract: Local versions of attributes of a storage object are maintained at a plurality of nodes, wherein a first attribute designates a first node of the plurality of nodes as an owner node for the storage object, and wherein a second attribute includes information to resolve validity of ownership of the storage object among the plurality of nodes. The owner node communicates changes to be made to the local versions of the attributes at other nodes of the plurality of nodes. A second node of the plurality of nodes requests ownership of the storage object. The first attribute is updated to designate the second node of the plurality of nodes as the owner node, in response to determining from the second attribute that the validity of ownership of the storage object allows the second node to inherit ownership of the storage object once the first node surrenders ownership of the storage object.

Abstract: Provided are a method, system, and article of manufacture that maintain a plurality of nodes coupled over a network, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes initially owns a plurality of storage objects accessible via the network. A serialization lock is maintained in association with the plurality of storage objects, wherein the first node becomes unavailable. A second node of the plurality of nodes determines that the second node is to preemptively assume ownership of a selected storage object of the plurality of storage objects initially owned by the first node that has become unavailable. The second node acquires the serialization lock. The second node secures ownership of the selected storage object, subsequent to acquiring the serialization lock.

Abstract: In a publish/subscribe data processing broker network having a plurality of broker data processing apparatuses, each of which has an input for receiving published messages directly from a publisher application and/or receiving subscription data directly from a subscriber application, and each of which having a means for receiving a published message on a first topic and assigning a broker-specific sequence number to the received message; a first broker apparatus has: a software unit for determining a failure of a neighboring broker apparatus which has provided published messages on the first topic to the first broker apparatus; and a software unit for sending historic resubscriptions with respect to the first topic to each antecedent broker apparatus of the failed neighboring broker apparatus by using the broker-specific sequence number corresponding to each antecedent broker apparatus.

Abstract: A publish/subscribe data processing broker apparatus has: a means for receiving from a publisher application data messages published on a subject-specific stream by the publisher application; and a means for distributing the received published data messages to a subscriber application which has requested to receive messages on the stream upon which the published messages were published, the means for distributing including a plurality of connected distribution agent data processing units; wherein one of the streams is reserved for messages published by a publishing distribution agent data processing unit and intended for receipt by a subscribing distribution agent data processing unit located adjacent the publishing distribution agent data processing unit or intended for receipt by a subscriber application located adjacent the publishing distribution agent data processing unit.