A nanoscale communication network scheme and energy model for a human hand scenario

Real-time monitoring of medical test parameters as well as biological and chemical substances inside the human body is an aspiration which might facilitate the control of pathologies and would ensure better effectiveness in diagnostics and treatments. Future Body Area NanoNetworks (BANN) represent an ongoing effort to complement these initiatives, although due to its early stage of development, further research is required. This paper contributes with a hierarchical BANN architecture consisting of two types of nanodevices, namely, nanonodes and a nanorouter, which are conceptually designed using technologically available electronic components. A straightforward communication scheme operating at the THz band for the exchange of information among nanodevices is also proposed. Communications are conducted in a human hand scenario since, unlike other parts of the human body, the negative impact of path loss and molecular absorption noise on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in biological tissues is mitigated. However, data transmission is restricted by the tiny size of nanodevices and their extremely limited energy storing capability. To overcome this concern, nanodevices must be powered through the bloodstream and external ultrasound energy harvesting sources. Under these conditions, the necessary energy and its management have been thoroughly examined and assessed. The results obtained reveal the outstanding ability of nanonodes to recharge, thus enabling each pair of nanonode–nanorouter to communicate every 52 min. This apparently long period is compensated by the considerably high number of nanonodes in the network, which satisfies a quasi-constant monitoring of medical parameter readings.This work has been supported by the project AIM, ref. TEC2016-76465-C2-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE). Sebastian Canovas-Carrasco also thanks the Spanish MECD for an FPU (ref. FPU16/03530) pre-doctoral fellowship

Terahertz Microstrip Patch Antenna for Breast Tumour Detection

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among Malaysian women. It is critical to discover strategies to detect the tumour early on. Terahertz (THz) frequency provides excellent qualities for detecting tumours such as low photon energy and non-ionising radiation as compared to prior methods such as mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that use optical to X-ray frequencies. The purpose of this work is to analyse and locate a breast tumour as well as to compute the maximum specific absorption rate (SAR) value. It was designed a THz rectangular microstrip patch antenna with an inset feed. To improve the antenna's performance, graphene was used for the patch and polyimide for the substrate. This antenna covered a bandwidth of 31.6 GHz and worked in the frequency range of 0.283-0.599 THz. To identify the location of a tumour, compute the SAR value, and localise the tumour, SAR simulation was used. The maximum SAR shifted to the tumor's position due to greater absorption rate around its tissue due to higher dielectric constant features. It was calculated that 1e-05g of average mass is required to be less than total tissue mass, which is 2.0063e-05g. SAR study revealed a maximum SAR value of 2.49391e+06 W/kg, which was not more than the overall absorption rate for human body safety. The SAR calculation result revealed that the tumour is within the range of the tumor's initial location

Strengthening the Growth of Indian Defence by Harnessing Nanotechnology - A Prospective

Nano-networking is truly interdisciplinary and emerging field including nanotechnology, biotechnology, and ICT. It is a developing research area which consists of identifying, modeling, analyzing and organizing communication protocols between devices in Nanoscale environments. The main goal is to explore beyond the existing capabilities of Nanodevices by cooperating and sharing information between them. Since conventional communication models are not appropriate to represent Nanonetworks, it is necessary to introduce new communication paradigm in the form of suitable protocols and network architectures. Nanotechnology could greatly improve some of the existing technologies and thus create new operational opportunities or, at least, help the military forces to strengthen themselves in the battlefield. The paper presents a brief overview of nanotechnology applications in defence sector and the challenges towards realization of protocols for Nanocommunication. The research is going forward and one can expect more protection rather than damage in the domain of ‘Nano-age’.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(1), pp.46-52, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.376

6G Enabled Smart Infrastructure for Sustainable Society: Opportunities, Challenges, and Research Roadmap

The 5G wireless communication network is currently faced with the challenge of limited data speed exacerbated by the proliferation of billions of data-intensive applications. To address this problem, researchers are developing cutting-edge technologies for the envisioned 6G wireless communication standards to satisfy the escalating wireless services demands. Though some of the candidate technologies in the 5G standards will apply to 6G wireless networks, key disruptive technologies that will guarantee the desired quality of physical experience to achieve ubiquitous wireless connectivity are expected in 6G. This article first provides a foundational background on the evolution of different wireless communication standards to have a proper insight into the vision and requirements of 6G. Second, we provide a panoramic view of the enabling technologies proposed to facilitate 6G and introduce emerging 6G applications such as multi-sensory–extended reality, digital replica, and more. Next, the technology-driven challenges, social, psychological, health and commercialization issues posed to actualizing 6G, and the probable solutions to tackle these challenges are discussed extensively. Additionally, we present new use cases of the 6G technology in agriculture, education, media and entertainment, logistics and transportation, and tourism. Furthermore, we discuss the multi-faceted communication capabilities of 6G that will contribute significantly to global sustainability and how 6G will bring about a dramatic change in the business arena. Finally, we highlight the research trends, open research issues, and key take-away lessons for future research exploration in 6G wireless communicatio

Sickness as sin: observers\u27 perceptions of the physically ill.

The relationship between goodness and happiness, between wickedness and punishment is so strong, that given one of these conditions, the other is frequently assumed. Misfortune, sickness, and accident are often taken as signs of badness and guilt. If (a person) is unfortunate, then he has committed a sin. Heider (1958, p. 235) Illness is a universal phenomenon, and every society develops ways of defining and coping with illness. It is a fact of life with which everyone must live, although the effects of disease and reactions to illness may vary widely across individuals and cultures. Individuals and groups vary in their susceptibility to certain diseases, in their beliefs and attitudes toward illness, and in the ways in which they explain and adapt to illness. These variations in the distribution, definition, and reaction to illness have led to the recognition of illness as a psychosocial as well as biological phenomenon, and have increasingly become the objects of social and psychological inquiry

Energy Harvesting-Aware Design for Wireless Nanonetworks

Nanotechnology advancement promises to enable a new era of computing and communication devices by shifting micro scale chip design to nano scale chip design. Nanonetworks are envisioned as artifacts of nanotechnology in the domain of networking and communication. These networks will consist of nodes of nanometer to micrometer in size, with a communication range up to 1 meter. These nodes could be used in various biomedical, industrial, and environmental monitoring applications, where a nanoscale level of sensing, monitoring, control and communication is required. The special characteristics of nanonetworks require the revisiting of network design. More specifically, nanoscale limitations, new paradigms of THz communication, and power supply via energy harvesting are the main issues that are not included in traditional network design methods. In this regard, this dissertation investigates and develops some solutions in the realization of nanonetworks. Particularly, the following major solutions are investigated. (I) The energy harvesting and energy consumption processes are modeled and evaluated simultaneously. This model includes the stochastic nature of energy arrival as well as the pulse-based communication model for energy consumption. The model identifies the effect of various parameters in this joint process. (II) Next, an optimization problem is developed to find the best combination of these parameters. Specifically, optimum values for packet size, code weight, and repetition are found in order to minimize the energy consumption while satisfying some application requirements (i.e., delay and reliability). (III) An optimum policy for energy consumption to achieve the maximum utilization of harvested energy is developed. The goal of this scheme is to take advantage of available harvested energy as much as possible while satisfying defined performance metrics. (IV) A communication scheme that tries to maximize the data throughput via a distributed and scalable coordination while avoiding the collision among neighbors is the last problem to be investigated. The goal is to design an energy harvesting-aware and distributed mechanism that could coordinate data transmission among neighbors. (V) Finally, all these solutions are combined together to create a data link layer model for nanonodes. We believe resolving these issues could be the first step towards an energy harvesting-aware network design for wireless nanosensor networks

Microwave imaging for security applications

Microwave imaging technologies have been widely researched in the biomedical field where they rely on the imaging of dielectric properties of tissues. Healthy and malignant tissue have different dielectric properties in the microwave frequency region, therefore, the dielectric properties of a human body’s tissues are generally different from other contraband materials. Consequently, dielectric data analysis techniques using microwave signals can be used to distinguish between different types of materials that could be hidden in the human body, such as explosives or drugs. Other concerns raised about these particular imaging systems were how to build them cost effectively, with less radiation emissions, and to overcome the disadvantages of X-ray imaging systems. The key challenge in security applications using microwave imaging is the image reconstruction methods adopted in order to gain a clear image of illuminated objects inside the human body or underneath clothing. This thesis will discuss in detail how microwave tomography scanning could overcome the challenge of imaging objects concealed in the human body, and prove the concept of imaging inside a human body using image reconstruction algorithms such as Radon transformation image reconstruction. Also, this thesis presents subspace based TR-MUSIC algorithms for point targets and extended targets. The algorithm is based on the collection of the dominant response matrix reflected by targets at the transducers in homogenous backgrounds, and uses the MUSIC function to image it. Lumerical FDTD solution is used to model the transducers and the objects to process its response matrix data in Matlab. Clear images of metal dielectric properties have been clearly detected. Security management understanding in airports is also discussed to use new scanning technologies such as microwave imaging in the future.The main contribution of this reseach is that microwave was proved to be able to image and detect illegal objects embedded or implanted inside human body

Synthesis and Analytics of Rigidified Peptide Architectures: Neuropeptide Y Dipeptide Scan, Ring-Chain-Equilibria of Iminopeptides, Thiazole Amino Acids for Thiopeptide Antibiotics

The architectures (three-dimensional shapes) of peptides determine their respective biological functions. Therefore, the correct alignment of functionalities in a structure by constraining the flexibility is a key process in evolution as well as in medicinal chemistry in order to increase binding affinity and selectivity. The rigidification of a peptide chain can have local effects (incorporation of the amino acid proline) or it can globally restrain flexibility (macrocyclization). Furthermore, the combination of both strategies has given rise to complex antibiotics with highly optimized modes of action. This work approaches these principles in three topics and for different purposes. The first chapter presents a novel scanning strategy which utilizes synthetic local rigidifications for the evaluation of Neuropeptide Y structure and receptor binding patterns. The fundamental process of macrocyclization is topic of the second chapter. For iminopeptides, ring-chain equilibria can be established and controlled, thereby allowing for the thermodynamic analysis of the ring closure. This leads to the identification of structural determinants that influence the inclination of a peptide chain to close the ring. In the third chapter, a sugar-based synthetic pathway leading to highly functionalized thiazole dipeptides is described. This strategy led to the synthesis of core motivs of complex thiopeptide antibiotics, as well as to diastereomers and homologs thereof