Mitigating Qos Routing Challenges In Mobile Ad Hoc Networks Considering Lifetime And Energy Predictions With Traffic Distribution

Mobile Ad hoc Networks are highly dynamic networks. Quality of Service (QoS) routing in such networks is usually limited by the network breakage due to either node mobility or energy depletion of the mobile nodes. To fulfill certain quality parameters, and to achieve network stability, presence of multiple node-disjoint paths becomes essential. Such paths aid in the optimal traffic distribution and reliability in case of path breakages. To maintain such stability requires that links. To cater such problem, we present a node-disjoint multipath protocol. The metric used to select the paths takes into account the stability of the nodes and the corresponding links, calculated through their position and the energy drain rate. Optimal paths are also selected and the load is distributed proportionally to avoid overburden on the nodes .The proposed technique is also illustrated with an example and compared with another similar protocol ENDMR using ns-2

An Improved Greedy Forwarding Scheme in MANETs, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2017, nr 1

Position-based routing protocols are widely accepted efficient solution for routing in MANETs. The main feature of position-based routing protocols is to use greedy forwarding methods to route data. The greedy forwarding methods select a node, either having maximum progress towards destination (distance-based principle) or minimum deviation with line between source and destination (direction-based strategy). The first method minimizes the hopcount in a path and on the other hand, second method minimizes the spatial distance between source and destination. The distance-based routing has a great impact on the selection of reliable node and the direction based routing plays a major role to increase the stability of route towards destination. Therefore, in this paper authors propose a weighted forwarding method, which combines both the selection, schemes to select an optimal next forwarding node in a range. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme performs better than existing position-based routing protocols

Link Quality and Energy Aware Geographical Routing in MANETs using Fuzzy Logics, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2016, nr 3

In literature, varieties of topology and geographical routing protocols have been proposed for routing in the MANETs. It is widely accepted that the geographical routings are a superior decision than topological routings. Majority of geographical routing protocols assume an ideal network model and choose the route that contains minimum number of hops. However, in reality, nodes have limited battery power and wireless links are additionally unreliable, so they may highly affect the routing procedure. Thus, for reliable data transmission, condition of the network such as link quality and residual energy must be considered. This paper aims to propose a novel multi-metric geographical routing protocol that considers both links-quality and energy metric along with progress metric to choose the next optimal node. The progress is determined by utilizing greedy as well as compass routing rather than pure greedy routing schemes. To combine these metrics, fuzzy logics are used to get the optimal result. Further, the protocol deals with “hole” problem and proposes a technique to overcome it. Simulations show that the proposed scheme performs better in terms of the packet delivery ratio, throughput and residual energy than other existing protocols

Primary Posterior Sagittal Anorectoplasty in male neonates with Anorectal Malformations: A tertiary care hospital experience

Background: The conventional surgical management for a male neonate with intermediate Anorectal Malformation (ARM) involves three stages – the creation of a diversion stoma in the neonatal period, a definitive pull-through procedure/ Posterior Sagittal Anorectoplasty (PSARP) followed by stoma closure. With this background, we present our experience with Single-stage primary definitive repair in selected male neonates with ARM. Methods: Medical records of male ARM cases managed from 2016 to 2018 were reviewed. Male neonates who underwent primary PSARP were analysed retrospectively. Results: A total of 35 records were found, out of which 12 male neonates underwent primary PSARP. The      median gestational age and birth weight were 36.7 weeks and 2.75 kg respectively. Fistula with urinary tract was documented in all. The mean operative time was      65 minutes +/- 15 minutes. Two neonates had minor superficial surgical site infection at neo-anus. Anal dilatations were started after 2 weeks. At follow-up period of 3 years, 11 patients were continent; one patient had constipation with pseudo-incontinence which was successfully being managed by bowel management programme. Conclusions: A primary definitive procedure is feasible when performed on carefully selected male neonates with ARM and also avoids the morbidity of stoma and multiple surgeries and follow-up visits to hospitals

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma in a child presenting as a popliteal fossa swelling

Popliteal fossa masses are rare in paediatric age group. Even rarer are the malignancies of this area. Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is a distinctive variant of fibrosarcoma. It is a rare tumor with benign histologic appearance but high metastasizing potential. We describe an 11-year-old child with a popliteal fossa mass, which was excised, and histopathological report revealed LGFMS

A nonsense mutation in the synaptogyrin 1 gene in a family with schizophrenia

Background Chromosome 22q is one of the important regions repeatedly being implicated in schizophrenia. In this region, our group previously reported an association of a CAG repeat marker (22CH3) with schizophrenia in the Indian population. Because Synaptogyrin 1 (SYNGR1), associated with presynaptic vesicles in neuronal cells, lies within 1 million base pairs of this marker, it is a potential candidate gene for schizophrenia. Methods We sequenced all six exons and flanking splice junctions of the SYNGR1 gene. We also carried out reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Northern blot analysis for exon 2 containing transcript of the SYNGR1 gene. Results We found a novel nonsense mutation (Trp27Ter) in exon 2 of the SYNGR1 gene in a family multiply affected with schizophrenia. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and Northern blot analyses revealed that exon 2 containing transcript of this gene is expressed in the brain. Conclusions Because the SYNGR1 gene is involved in presynaptic pathways, reduced levels of this protein might play some role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia

Quality of life in HIV subtype C infection among asymptomatic subjects and its association with CD4 counts and viral loads--a study from South India.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between quality of life (QOL) domains and biological markers of disease progression of HIV infection, i.e. viral load (VL) and CD4 counts among asymptomatic subjects with HIV subtype C infection in South India. DESIGN: Quality of life was measured using the locally validated version of the WHOQOL HIV-BREF. The subjects were neurologically asymptomatic, non psychiatrically ill HIV infected men and women participating in a cohort study. RESULTS: The results indicated mixed findings, with some QOL dimensions being associated with high VLs and low CD4 counts while several others did not show any associations. Significant associations were seen between low CD4 counts and the psychological and social relationships domain, with lower mean scores in these domains being reported by subjects having CD4 counts \u3c200/mm. However, there were no significant differences between the CD4 subgroups for the domains related to physical health, level of independence, environment, and spirituality domains. Significant lower mean QOL scores were found in the highest VL subgroup compared to other groups for the following WHOQOL HIV-BREF domains: physical, psychological, level of independence, and environmental. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of HAART naïve asymptomatic HIV infected subjects, some QOL dimensions were associated with the biological markers of disease progression i.e. VL and CD4 counts, while several were not. The associations were significant only in the high VL and low CD4 groups