MacEwan University Wi-Fi Analysis

MacEwan Unversity has recently upgraded its wireless infrastructure on campus. The goal was to determine whether or not wireless bandwidth speeds were consistent across an area of the school, and if they were not, which areas had the strongest and weakest connections. The results could be taken as a reflection of the new system’s effectiveness and coverage. To assess wireless bandwidth speeds, both the upload and download speeds were measured across regions of the campus library using the mobile app Speedtest.net by Ookla which downloads chunks of data to a mobile device to measure connection speed. To ensure that the samples were representative, speeds were measured through various times of the day and different days of the week. These temporal dimensions were used as blocks in the experimental design. Preliminary data collection also indicated a significant difference in mobile device used, and so the use of either Apple’s iPhone 6 or Samsung’s Galaxy S3 was also selected as a block in order to prevent the age of the device becoming a nuisance factor in the experiment. In the end, the results indicated that wireless speeds were inconsistent across the library. The results provided a heat map which showed that some areas had a significantly higher bandwidth speed than other areas. The results of this study could be used to plan future changes to wireless router layout and influence new infrastructure decisions. In addition, the research methodology could be further developed and extended to any Wi-Fi or cellular service. *Indicates faculty mento

PRT simulation in an immersive virtual world

Immersive virtual world environments, such as Second LifeTM (SL), have the potential to dramatically improve the process of analyzing usability within technically correct system simulations, long before the system is built. We report our findings with the SL simulation of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. The SL model and simulation were done according to the original technical specifications. In interacting with this simulation, the system designers were able to identify several usability issues that would have gone unnoticed in a non-immersive simulation environment. Namely: (1) a problem with the design of the offramp to the station; (2) further requirements for the design of the top of the vehicles, so that the suspended track is out of direct sight of the people inside; (3) further safety requirements for dealing with unexpected obstacles along the path. While all of these issues would have been identified upon deployment of the physical prototype, the contribution of our work is to show how usability issues like these can now be identified much earlier, using simulations in a virtual world. Copyright © 2008 ICST

SCREENING FOR IODINE DEFICIENCY – MORE THAN A MEDICAL APPROACH

Working as a team began more and more important in many fields, including medicine. After an era of fragmentation, when the need of deepen the knowledge led to supra-specialization, we witness now the reassembly of these distinct parts, in order to obtain a comprehensive view. This is true not only for research, but also for the clinical practice. We present the building of a team who started with a screening and continued with other evaluations in a city from the eastern part of Romania. The goal of the study was to evaluate the iodine status in a former iodine deficient area. Two parameters were necessary, evaluation of thyroid volume and urinary iodine in a representative group of children. The initial pure endocrinological team increased by adopting new members: medical (nurses, epidemiologist, biochemist) and non-medical (schoolteachers). The results induced new studies and the team had growth and proved the utility of interdisciplinarity

Nanoparticule polimerice în tratamentul maladiilor sistemului nervos central

Background. The main impediment to the absorption of drugs in the CNS is the blood-brain barrier (BBB). A promising platform in the successful realization of a treatment, are the polymeric nanoparticles (PNP). Objective of the study. Description of PNP as nanosystems capable of transporting drug molecules through BBB at the level of CNS. Material and Methods. The main sources of information regarding the structure, methods of obtaining, functionalization, and mechanisms involved in transporting PNP through BBB to therapeutic target (Scopus, Pubmed). Results. BBB is a mechanical barrier with a very high selective capacity and allows only the entry of water, nutrients, and neurotransmitters that govern the maintenance of the CNS homeostasis. The ability of drugs to cross BBB depends on drug molecule size, hydrophilicity, degree of ionization and controllable use of the drug. After absorption, the polymeric matrix can be triggered to release the drug, resulting in a protected, prolonged, and targeted therapeutic effect. Conclusion. Thus, PNPs are a promising nanosystem in the BBB crossing for an effective treatment of CNS diseases.Introducere. Principalul impediment în absorbția medicamentelor la nivelul SNC este bariera hematoencefalică (BHE). O platformă promițătoare în realizarea cu succes al unui tratament, sunt nanoparticulele polimerice (NPP). Scopul lucrării. Descrierea NPP ca nanosisteme capabile să transporte molecule de medicamente prin BHE la nivelul SNC. Material și Metode. Au fost selectate principalele surse de informare referitor la structura, metodele de obținere, funcționalizare, și mecanismele implicate în transportul NPP prin BHE la ținta terapeutică(Scopus, PubMed). Rezultate. BHE este o barieră mecanică, cu o capacitate foarte mare selectivă și permite doar intrarea apei, nutrienților și neurotransmițătorilor care guvernează întreținerea homeostaziei SNC. Capacitatea medicamentelor de a traversa BHE depinde de: mărimea moleculei medicamentului, hidrofilitatea, gradul de ionizare ș.a. NPP sunt o alegere promițătoare ca platformă de livrare la țintă a medicamentelor pentru SNC, datorită arhitecturii lor reglabile (10 până la 1000 nm) și eliberare controlabilă a medicamentului. După absorbție matricea polimerică poate fi declanșată pentru a elibera medicamentul, rezultând într-un efect terapeutic protejat, prelungit și țintit. Concluzie. Astfel, NPP sunt un nanosistem promițător în traversarea BHE pentru un tratament eficient al maladiilor SNC

Interplay of Epigenetics with Gynecological Cancer

Recent data on the cell deregulation that occurs during the progression to cancer underlines the cooperation between genetic and epigenetic alterations leading to a malignant phenotype. Unlike genetic alterations, the epigenetic changes do not affect the DNA sequence of the genes, but determine the regulation of gene expression acting upon the genome. Moreover, unlike genetic changes, epigenetic ones are reversible, making them therapeutic targets in various conditions in general and in cancer disease in particular. The term epigenetics includes a series of covalent modifications that regulate the methylation pattern of DNA and posttranslational modifications of histones. Gene expression can also be regulated at the posttranscriptional level by microRNAs (miRNAs), a family of small noncoding RNAs that inhibit the translation of mRNA to protein. miRNAs can act as ‘oncomiRs’, as tumor suppressors, or both. In this chapter, we will (1) summarize the current literature on the key processes responsible for epigenetic regulation: DNA methylation, histone modifications and posttranscriptional gene regulation by miRNAs; (2) evaluate aberrant epigenetic modifications as essential players in cancer progression; (3) establish the roles of microenvironment-mediated epigenetic perturbations in the development of gynecological neoplasia; (4) evaluate epigenetic factors involved in drug resistance

Bound-free pair production from nuclear collisions and the steady-state quench limit of the main dipole magnets of the CERN Large Hadron Collider

During its Run 2 (2015-2018), the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated at almost twice higher energy, and provided Pb-Pb collisions with an order of magnitude higher luminosity, than in the previous Run 1. In consequence, the power of the secondary beams emitted from the interaction points by the bound-free pair production (BFPP) process increased by a factor ~20, while the propensity of the bending magnets to quench increased with the higher magnetic field. This beam power is about 35 times greater than that contained in the luminosity debris from hadronic interactions and is focused on specific locations that fall naturally inside superconducting magnets. The risk of quenching these magnets has long been recognized as severe and there are operational limitations due to the dynamic heat load that must be evacuated by the cryogenic system. High-luminosity operation was nevertheless possible thanks to orbit bumps that were introduced in the dispersion suppressors around the ATLAS and CMS experiments to prevent quenches by displacing and spreading out these beam losses. Further, in 2015, the BFPP beams were manipulated to induce a controlled quench, thus providing the first direct measurement of the steady-state quench level of an LHC dipole magnet. The same experiment demonstrated the need for new collimators that are being installed around the ALICE experiment to intercept the secondary beams in the future. This paper discusses the experience with BFPP at luminosities very close to the future High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) target, gives results on the risk reduction by orbit bumps and presents a detailed analysis of the controlled quench experiment.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure

Correction for fast pseudo-diffusive fluid motion contaminations in diffusion tensor imaging

In this prospective study, we quantified the fast pseudo-diffusion contamination by blood perfusion or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) intravoxel incoherent movements on the measurement of the diffusion tensor metrics in healthy brain tissue. Diffusion-weighted imaging (TR/TE = 4100 ms/90 ms; b-values: 0, 5, 10, 20, 35, 55, 80, 110, 150, 200, 300, 500, 750, 1000, 1300 s/mm2, 20 diffusion-encoding directions) was performed on a cohort of five healthy volunteers at 3 Tesla. The projections of the diffusion tensor along each diffusion-encoding direction were computed using a two b-value approach (2b), by fitting the signal to a monoexponential curve (mono), and by correcting for fast pseudo-diffusion compartments using the biexponential intravoxel incoherent motion model (IVIM) (bi). Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and Mean Diffusivity (MD) of the diffusion tensor were quantified in regions of interest drawn over white matter areas, gray matter areas, and the ventricles. A significant dependence of the MD from the evaluation method was found in all selected regions. A lower MD was computed when accounting for the fast-diffusion compartments. A larger dependence was found in the nucleus caudatus (bi: median 0.86 10-3 mm2/s, Δ2b: -11.2%, Δmono: -14.4%; p = 0.007), in the anterior horn (bi: median 2.04 10-3 mm2/s, Δ2b: -9.4%, Δmono: -11.5%, p = 0.007) and in the posterior horn of the lateral ventricles (bi: median 2.47 10-3 mm2/s, Δ2b: -5.5%, Δmono: -11.7%; p = 0.007). Also for the FA, the signal modeling affected the computation of the anisotropy metrics. The deviation depended on the evaluated region with significant differences mainly in the nucleus caudatus (bi: median 0.15, Δ2b: +39.3%, Δmono: +14.7%; p = 0.022) and putamen (bi: median 0.19, Δ2b: +3.1%, Δmono: +17.3%; p = 0.015). Fast pseudo-diffusive regimes locally affect diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics in the brain. Here, we propose the use of an IVIM-based method for correction of signal contaminations through CSF or perfusion

A comparison of CA125, HE4, risk ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA), and risk malignancy index (RMI) for the classification of ovarian masses

OBJECTIVE: Differentiation between benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms is essential for creating a system for patient referrals. Therefore, the contributions of the tumor markers CA125 and human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) as well as the risk ovarian malignancy algorithm (ROMA) and risk malignancy index (RMI) values were considered individually and in combination to evaluate their utility for establishing this type of patient referral system. METHODS: Patients who had been diagnosed with ovarian masses through imaging analyses (n = 128) were assessed for their expression of the tumor markers CA125 and HE4. The ROMA and RMI values were also determined. The sensitivity and specificity of each parameter were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curves according to the area under the curve (AUC) for each method. RESULTS: The sensitivities associated with the ability of CA125, HE4, ROMA, or RMI to distinguish between malignant versus benign ovarian masses were 70.4%, 79.6%, 74.1%, and 63%, respectively. Among carcinomas, the sensitivities of CA125, HE4, ROMA (pre-and post-menopausal), and RMI were 93.5%, 87.1%, 80%, 95.2%, and 87.1%, respectively. The most accurate numerical values were obtained with RMI, although the four parameters were shown to be statistically equivalent. CONCLUSION: There were no differences in accuracy between CA125, HE4, ROMA, and RMI for differentiating between types of ovarian masses. RMI had the lowest sensitivity but was the most numerically accurate method. HE4 demonstrated the best overall sensitivity for the evaluation of malignant ovarian tumors and the differential diagnosis of endometriosis. All of the parameters demonstrated increased sensitivity when tumors with low malignancy potential were considered low-risk, which may be used as an acceptable assessment method for referring patients to reference centers