ICN as Network Infrastructure for Multi-Sensory Devices: Local Domain Service Discovery for ICN-based IoT Environments

Information Centric Networking (ICN) is an emerging research topic aiming at shifting the Internet from its current host-centric paradigm towards an approach centred around content, which enables the direct retrieval of information objects in a secure, reliable, scalable, and efficient way. The exposure of ICN to scenarios other than static content distribution is a growing research topic, promising to extend the impact of ICN to a broader scale. In this context, particular attention has been given to the application of ICN in Internet of Things (IoT) environments. The current paper, by focusing on local domain IoT scenarios, such as multi-sensory Machine to Machine environments, discusses the challenges that ICN, particularly Interest-based solutions, impose to service discovery. This work proposes a service discovery mechanism for such scenarios, relying on an alternative forwarding pipeline for supporting its core operations. The proposed mechanism is validated through a proof-of-concept prototype, developed on top of the Named Data Networking ICN architecture, with results showcasing the benefits of our solution for discovering services within a collision domain. © 2017 Springer Science+Business Media New Yor

The selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor NS398 ameliorates cisplatin-induced impairments in mitochondrial and cognitive function

Chemobrain is a condition that negatively affects cognition in cancer patients undergoing active chemotherapy, as well as following chemotherapy cessation. Chemobrain is also known as chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment (CICI) and has emerged as a significant medical contingency. There is no therapy to ameliorate this condition, hence identification of novel therapeutic strategies to prevent CICI is of great interest to cancer survivors. Utilizing the platinum-based chemotherapy cisplatin in an investigative approach for CICI, we identified increased expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in the adult mouse hippocampus, and in human cortical neuron cultures derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Notably, administration of NS398, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, prevented CICI in vivo without negatively affecting the antitumor efficacy of cisplatin or potentiating tumor growth. Given that dysfunctional mitochondrial bioenergetics plays a prominent role in CICI, we explored the effects of NS398 in cisplatin-induced defects in human cortical mitochondria. We found that cisplatin significantly reduces mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), increases matrix swelling, causes loss of cristae membrane integrity, impairs ATP production, as well as decreases cell viability and dendrite outgrowth. Pretreatment with NS398 in human cortical neurons attenuated mitochondrial dysfunction caused by cisplatin, while improving cell survival and neurite morphogenesis. These results suggest that aberrant COX-2 inflammatory pathways may contribute in cisplatin-induced mitochondrial damage and cognitive impairments. Therefore, COX-2 signaling may represent a viable therapeutic approach to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors experiencing CICI

The business of things architecture

A revolution is happening that is triggered by a brave new world made by interconnected devices. The internet of things is already a reality that is creating new business opportunities across different industrial sectors. Communication service providers have a major opportunity to shape this reality by leading this transformation. For that, they need to evolve their existing architectures to enable a flexible creation of advanced services over distributed networks, interconnecting heterogeneous sensors and actuators. This paper presents an approach for telecoms to take advantage of the upcoming machine-to-machine markets and defines an advanced architecture able to withstand the demands of a new plethora of evermore clever and useful services

Information-centric networking for the internet of things: Challenges and opportunities

In view of evolving the Internet infrastructure, ICN is promoting a communication model that is fundamentally different from the traditional IP address-centric model. The ICN approach consists of the retrieval of content by (unique) names, regardless of origin server location (i.e., IP address), application, and distribution channel, thus enabling in-network caching/replication and content-based security. The expected benefits in terms of improved data dissemination efficiency and robustness in challenging communication scenarios indicate the high potential of ICN as an innovative networking paradigm in the IoT domain. IoT is a challenging environment, mainly due to the high number of heterogeneous and potentially constrained networked devices, and unique and heavy traffic patterns. The application of ICN principles in such a context opens new opportunities, while requiring careful design choices. This article critically discusses potential ways toward this goal by surveying the current literature after presenting several possible motivations for the introduction of ICN in the context of IoT. Major challenges and opportunities are also highlighted, serving as guidelines for progress beyond the state of the art in this timely and increasingly relevant topic

Different contamination patterns of lineage I and II strains of Listeria monocytogenes in a Spanish broiler abattoir

The purpose of this study was to determine whether genetically similar or diverse strains of Listeria monocytogenes colonize the environment and carcasses in a single Spanish broiler abattoir over time. The study was composed of 5 surveys over a 1.5-yr period and included the monitoring of cleaning and disinfection procedures. Overall, a total of 212 samples were tested for the presence of L. monocytogenes, and 31% of the samples were found to be positive. Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from carcasses and product contact and noncontact sites in the evisceration and carcass classification areas of the abattoir. A total of 132 L. monocytogenes isolates were characterized by PCR-based serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) restriction analysis with the endonucleases ApaI and AscI. Molecular serotyping showed that L. monocytogenes isolates were of serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b. Isolates of serotype 1/2b (89.4%) were contaminating carcasses as well as environmental product contact and noncontact sites, whereas isolates of serotype 1/2a (10.6%) were recovered only from environmental product noncontact sites. A relatively low genetic diversity was found in this group of L. monocytogenes isolates from the abbatoir; only 14 different PFGE types (A1 to A14) were obtained. Nine pulsotypes belonging to serotype 1/2b (lineage I) were grouped in only one PFGE genetic cluster, whereas 5 pulsotypes belonging to serotype 1/2a (lineage II) were grouped into 4 PFGE genetic clusters. Two genetically related pulsotypes of serotype 1/2b (A1 and A2, 64.4% of the isolates) predominated and persisted in the abattoir. Our study indicated that a few strains of L. monocytogenes lineage I that were genetically very closely related might be specifically adapted to colonizing the evisceration zone of the abattoir and were predominant on carcasses over 1 yr. On the other hand, a genetically diverse group of lineage II strains were present in the abattoir environment, but never contaminated carcasses. ©2008 Poultry Science Association Inc

Correctness, Efficiency, Extendability and Maintainability in Neural Network Simulation

A large number of neural network simulators are publicly available to researchers, many free of charge [11]. However, when a new paradigm is being developed, as is often the case, the advantages of using existing simulators decrease, causing most researchers to write their own software. It has been estimated that 85% of neural network researchers write their own simulators [11]. We present techniques and principles for the implementation of neural network simulators. First and foremost, we discuss methods for ensuring the correctness of results - avoiding duplication, automating common tasks, using assertions liberally, implementing reverse algorithms, employing multiple algorithms for the same task, and using extensive visualization. Secondly, we discuss efficiency concerns, including using appropriate granularity object-oriented programming, and pre-computing information whenever possible

Towards enhanced connectivity through WLAN slicing

Nowadays domestic and enterprise WLANs are pervasive and offer capabilities adequate for a broad spectrum of applications. Unlocking these networks for enhanced wireless access to select users and devices, through dynamically sharing the unused portion of hotspots bandwidth, is key to provide seamless connectivity. Far from providing just basic wireless connectivity, we argue that these WLANs can be efficiently exploited to cope with emerging applications in the context of smart cities, massive machine type communication, and cellular data offloading. We introduce an approach aimed at the efficient sharing of available WLANs resources, allowing applications of domestic or enterprise users to coexist with third-party applications. To achieve this goal, we go beyond existing solutions by proposing the virtualization of access networks to offer differentiated networking services in an isolated manner. However, commodity wireless access devices are low-cost and performance-constrained, in contrast to carrier-grade systems that are very costly by deploying high networking performance. For this paper, we focus on the suitability of our approach on the customer premises, by assessing key performance networking aspects of SDN-enabled commodity wireless access devices, to obtain a better perspective of their current limitations