Interference and X Networks with Noisy Cooperation and Feedback

The Gaussian $K$-user interference and $M\times K$ X channels are investigated with no instantaneous channel state information (CSI) at transmitters. First, it is assumed that the CSI is fed back to all nodes after a finite delay (delayed CSIT), and furthermore, the transmitters operate in full-duplex mode, i.e., they can transmit and receive simultaneously. Achievable results are obtained on the degrees of freedom (DoF) of these channels under the above assumption. It is observed that, in contrast with no CSIT and full CSIT models, when CSIT is delayed, the achievable DoFs for both channels with full-duplex transmitter cooperation are greater than the best available achievable results on their DoF without transmitter cooperation. Our results are the first to show that the full-duplex transmitter cooperation can potentially improve the channel DoF with delayed CSIT. Then, $K$-user interference and $K\times K$ X channels are considered with output feedback, wherein the channel output of each receiver is causally fed back to its corresponding transmitter. Our achievable results with output feedback demonstrate strict DoF improvements over those with the full-duplex delayed CSIT when $K>5$ in the $K$-user interference channel and $K>2$ in the $K\times K$ X channel. Next, the combination of delayed CSIT and output feedback, known as Shannon feedback, is studied and strictly higher DoFs compared to the output feedback model are achieved in the $K$-user interference channel when K=5 or $K>6$, and in the $K\times K$ X channel when $K>2$. Although being strictly greater than 1 and increasing with size of the networks, the achievable DoFs in all the models studied in this paper approach limiting values not greater than 2.Comment: 53 pages, 15 figures; Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, May 2012. To be presented in part in ISIT 2012, Cambridge, MA, US

On the Degrees of Freedom of KK-User SISO Interference and X Channels with Delayed CSIT

The $K$-user single-input single-output (SISO) AWGN interference channel and $2\times K$ SISO AWGN X channel are considered where the transmitters have the delayed channel state information (CSI) through noiseless feedback links. Multi-phase transmission schemes are proposed for both channels which possess novel ingredients, namely, multi-phase partial interference nulling, distributed interference management via user scheduling, and distributed higher-order symbol generation. The achieved degrees of freedom (DoF) values are greater than the best previously known DoFs for both channels with delayed CSI at transmitters.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables; Published in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Oct. 201

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of chewing tobacco use in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Chewing tobacco and other types of smokeless tobacco use have had less attention from the global health community than smoked tobacco use. However, the practice is popular in many parts of the world and has been linked to several adverse health outcomes. Understanding trends in prevalence with age, over time, and by location and sex is important for policy setting and in relation to monitoring and assessing commitment to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Methods: We estimated prevalence of chewing tobacco use as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019 using a modelling strategy that used information on multiple types of smokeless tobacco products. We generated a time series of prevalence of chewing tobacco use among individuals aged 15 years and older from 1990 to 2019 in 204 countries and territories, including age-sex specific estimates. We also compared these trends to those of smoked tobacco over the same time period. Findings: In 2019, 273·9 million (95% uncertainty interval 258·5 to 290·9) people aged 15 years and older used chewing tobacco, and the global age-standardised prevalence of chewing tobacco use was 4·72% (4·46 to 5·01). 228·2 million (213·6 to 244·7; 83·29% [82·15 to 84·42]) chewing tobacco users lived in the south Asia region. Prevalence among young people aged 15–19 years was over 10% in seven locations in 2019. Although global age-standardised prevalence of smoking tobacco use decreased significantly between 1990 and 2019 (annualised rate of change: –1·21% [–1·26 to –1·16]), similar progress was not observed for chewing tobacco (0·46% [0·13 to 0·79]). Among the 12 highest prevalence countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Sri Lanka, and Yemen), only Yemen had a significant decrease in the prevalence of chewing tobacco use, which was among males between 1990 and 2019 (−0·94% [–1·72 to –0·14]), compared with nine of 12 countries that had significant decreases in the prevalence of smoking tobacco. Among females, none of these 12 countries had significant decreases in prevalence of chewing tobacco use, whereas seven of 12 countries had a significant decrease in the prevalence of tobacco smoking use for the period. Interpretation: Chewing tobacco remains a substantial public health problem in several regions of the world, and predominantly in south Asia. We found little change in the prevalence of chewing tobacco use between 1990 and 2019, and that control efforts have had much larger effects on the prevalence of smoking tobacco use than on chewing tobacco use in some countries. Mitigating the health effects of chewing tobacco requires stronger regulations and policies that specifically target use of chewing tobacco, especially in countries with high prevalence. Funding: Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. . **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Muhammad Aziz Rahman" is provided in this record*

The effect of visual, proprioception and vestibular systems manipulation on postural control in boys with 4-16 years-old

زمینه و هدف: توانایی کنترل موقعیت های مختلف بدن در فضا ناشی از تعامل پیچیده سیستم های عصبی، حسی و اسکلتی- عضلانی است که به طور کلی به عنوان سیستم کنترل پاسچر تعریف می شود. هدف تحقیق حاضر بررسی تأثیر دستکاری سیستم های بینایی، حس عمقی، و دهلیزی بر کنترل پاسچر پسران 16-4 سال بود. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه مقطعی از نوع تحلیلی 240 پسر 16-4 سال در 4 گروه سنی و 60 مرد بزرگسال انتخاب شدند. جهت ارزیابی کنترل پاسچر آزمودنی ها از آزمون سازماندهی حسی دستگاه پاسچروگرافی پویای کامپیوتری استفاده شد. یافته‌ها: نتایج تحلیل واریانس یک راهه تفاوت معنی داری در کنترل پاسچر گروه ها نشان داد (05/0>P). براساس نتایج آزمون تعقیبی بونفرونی، در وضعیت اول و سوم، پسران تا سن 16 سالگی به کنترل پاسچری مشابه با افراد بزرگسال دست نمی یابند (p0.05)؛ اما تفاوت میان گروه های دیگر معنی دار بود (05/0>P). در وضعیت چهارم پسران 16-13 سال به کنترل پاسچری مشابه با افراد بزرگسال دست یافتند به طوری که تفاوت معنی داری میان این دو گروه مشاهده نشد (p>0.05). در وضعیت پنجم و ششم نیز پسران مورد مطالعه نتوانستند به کنترل پاسچری مشابه با افراد بزرگسال دست یابند (

Effects of Iranian herbal Zofa® syrup for the management of clinical symptoms in patients with COVID-19: A randomized clinical trial

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the role of Iranian herbal Zofa® syrup in improving the clinical symptoms of patients with COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 105 patients with COVID-19. Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=35) group (received 10 ml of Zofa® syrup every 8 hours/seven days plus standard treatment) or the control (n=70) group (received only standard treatment). Assessments were performed before and after treatment. Results: The groups were comparable regarding age (p=0.980), gender (p=0.584), comorbidities (p=0.318), or drug history (p=0.771). There was no difference between patients' recovery status at the time of discharge (p=0.327) or two weeks post-discharge (p=0.165) in the intervention and control groups. No patient was hospitalized to the intensive care unit (ICU) for supplemental oxygen therapy and no patient died in the intervention group. However, in the control group, three (4.5%) patients were transferred to the ICU, and two (3.03%) patients died. Conclusion: Considering the better recovery status of the patients at the time of discharge and the absence of patient deaths in the intervention group, more additional studies are needed to confirm these findings and elucidate the role of Zofa® in COVID-19

Autophagy induction regulates influenza virus replication in a time-dependent manner

Autophagy plays a key role in host defence responses against microbial infections by promoting degradation of pathogens and participating in acquired immunity. The interaction between autophagy and viruses is complex, and this pathway is hijacked by several viruses. Influenza virus (IV) interferes with autophagy through its replication and increases the accumulation of autophagosomes by blocking lysosome fusion. Thus, autophagy could be an effective area for antiviral research.Methodology. In this study, we evaluated the effect of autophagy on IV replication. Two cell lines were transfected with Beclin-1 expression plasmid before (prophylactic approach) and after (therapeutic approach) IV inoculation.Results/Key findings. Beclin-1 overexpression in the cells infected by virus induced autophagy to 26 %. The log10haemagglutinin titre and TCID50 (tissue culture infective dose giving 50 % infection) of replicating virus were measured at 24 and 48 h post-infection. In the prophylactic approach, the virus titre was enhanced significantly at 24 h post-infection (P≤0.01), but it was not significantly different from the control at 48 h post-infection. In contrast, the therapeutic approach of autophagy induction inhibited the virus replication at 24 and 48 h post-infection. Additionally, we showed that inhibition of autophagy using 3-methyladenine reduced viral replication. Conclusion. This study revealed that the virus (H1N1) titre was controlled in a time-dependent manner following autophagy induction in host cells. Manipulation of autophagy during the IV life cycle can be targeted both for antiviral aims and for increasing viral yield for virus production

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among Pregnant Women in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran

Background: Toxoplasmosis can cause miscarriage or complications in the fetus. Diagnosis and treatment of this disease by anti-parasitic drugs especially in early pregnancy can help to prevent fetal infection and its complications. This study aimed to determine T. gondii infection in pregnant women, evaluate risk factors in the transmission of the disease and congenital toxoplasmosis. Methods: Overall, 360 sera of pregnant women from 5 cities in the Hormozgan Province in southern Iran with different climate were evaluated from 2015-2016 for T. gondii infection by using ELISA method and positive cases of IgM and IgG were tested again using Avidity IgG ELISA. All cases were evaluated according to climate, acute and chronic of toxoplasmosis, number of pregnancy and abortion, epidemiological factors and food habits. Results: Among 360 specimens T. gondii IgG + IgM antibodies were found positive in 0. 8% subjects and also 27% of samples had IgG seropositivity. A significant relationship was observed between age, sampling place, consumption of raw and half cooked meat, history of contact with cats, abortion history, number of children, and parity with IgG positive. In Avidity IgG ELISA test, 13 people with low avidity, 3 people with borderline avidity were reported. Conclusion: 72. 2% of the population had no antibody against the disease that this could be a warning to the people and requires education of preventive and prenatal care and routine screening of women at childbearing age

Global prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites among food handlers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Food handlers with improper personal hygiene practices have a significant role in transmitting foodborne parasites, including intestinal protozoa. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the global prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites among food handlers. Multiple databases (PubMed, Scopus, Pro-Quest, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) were explored for relevant literature published from 1988 to April 2022. Pooled prevalence was estimated using the meta-package in R (version 3.6.1). One hundred thirty-eight papers, including 259,364 individuals, were considered in this study. The global pooled prevalence (95% confidence interval) was 0.143% (0.118–0.170%). The highest pooled prevalence was observed in the Western Pacific WHO Region (0.318%, 0–1.000%). The most prevalent protozoa was Blastocystis hominis (0.077%, 0.046–0.115%). Moreover, among different countries, Gambia had the highest pooled prevalence (0.501%, 0.459–0.544%). The prevalence of intestinal protozoan parasites estimated in the present study revealed that food handlers highly impact the global population. Periodic stool screening is necessary for food handlers to prevent intestinal protozoan infection. Additionally, a health education programme to raise awareness regarding food hygiene is recommended