Routing in sensing-covered ad hoc networks

We introduce a new approach in ad hoc networks for obtaining a sensing-covered network in the 2-D environment. This approach is based on a grid technique and the unit disk graph ( UDG ). This technique makes sure that a region is fully covered by a small number of sensor nodes. To experiment with variations of the generated graph, we introduce a new subgraph of the UDG. This graph is a generalization of the Yao graph in 2-D environment where the cones used are adaptively centered on a set of nearest neighbors for each node, thus creating a directed or undirected spanning subgraph. We also permit the apex of the cones to be positioned anywhere along the line segment between the node and its nearest neighbor, leading to a class of Yao -type subgraphs. We give an extension of the DAAY (both directed and undirected) from the 2-D environment to the 3-D environment. For routing on such a 2-D sensing-covered sensor network topology, we propose new routing protocols. Some of these new routing algorithms include hybrid routing algorithms which are based on the BVGF routing protocol of Xing et al. (2006) and our own protocols. The reason for these combinations is that we show that the BVGF routing protocol does not guarantee delivery all the time on general sensing covered networks. Our hybrid algorithms do guarantee delivery on such networks. We demonstrate through simulations that our proposed routing protocols perform much faster compared to some existing routing protocols. We also compare the routing protocols based on the path lengths (hops or Euclidean distances). Our routing protocols show good performance in terms of these metrics

L'homodimérisation du CD40 et son implication indirecte dans l'asthme allergique

Le CD40, membre de la famille des récepteurs de TNFs (TNFRs), est une glycoprotéine transmembranaire de type I, exprimée à la surface des cellules hématopoïétiques et non hématopoïétiques. Son principal ligand, le CD154, appartient à la famille des TNFs (Tumor necrosis factor). Le CD154 trimérique non covalent sous sa forme soluble ou membranaire se lie au CD40 normalement monomérique et induit son oligomérisation ainsi que son homodimérisation. Actuellement, il est bien connu que le CD154 se lie à trois autres récepteurs qui appartiennent à la famille des intégrines : le αIIbβ3, le α5β1, et le αMβ2 (Mac-1). L’interaction CD40/CD154 joue un rôle primordial dans la régulation de la réponse immunitaire. D’autre part, des études ont montré que ce couple est surexprimé et cette interaction est amplifiée dans les maladies inflammatoires et auto-immunes, telle que l’asthme allergique. Plusieurs études ont démontré l’effet bénéfique du blocage de cette liaison, dans divers maladies. Actuellement, le blocage de cet axe est une stratégie ciblée afin d’élaborer de nouvelles immunothérapies. Cependant, il s’est avéré comme ayant plusieurs effets secondaires. C’est pourquoi nous avons pensé à l’homodimérisation du CD40, afin d’étudier les effets de son inhibition. Notre équipe a déjà démontré que la cystéine 238 (Cys238) de la partie intracellulaire du CD40 est responsable de la formation du pont disulfure (db) et ainsi la formation du CD40 homodimérique. De plus, l’utilisation de l’antioxydant N-acétyle-cystéine (NAC) inhibe cette homodimérisation. Donc les ROS (reactive oxygen species) pourraient être impliqué dans la formation des CD40 homodimères. Il est important de noter que la source majeure intracellulaire des ROS est la NADPH Oxydase (NOX). D’où découle notre hypothèse que l’homodimérisation du CD40 nécessite des signaux spécifiques impliqués dans la production des ROS, et cette homodimérisation pourrait être impliquée dans le développement de maladies inflammatoires ou auto-immunes, telle que l’asthme. Afin de confirmer notre hypothèse nos objectifs sont : 1) Déterminer les voies de signalisations requises pour la formation du CD40 homodimère. 2) Déterminer si le CD40 est le seul récepteur impliqué dans le développement de l’asthme. En effet, nous avons générer un modèle murin d’asthme allergique sensibilisé à l’ovalbumine. Au cours de ce projet, nos résultats ont démontré l’implication des ROS et des NOX dans la formation des db-CD40 homodimères. En effet, les NOX produisent les ROS qui à leur tour oxydent la Cys238. Par ailleurs, dans cette étude, nous avons montré que le blocage de la liaison CD40/CD154 par les anticorps anti-CD154 (MR1) ou anti-CD40 (FGK) attenue l’asthme chez les souris immunisées à l’ovalbumine. En effet, suite à l’administration intratrachéale de ces anticorps, l’influx cellulaire est inhibée, l’AHR (airway hyperresponsiveness) induite par la méthacholine est atténuée, et les niveaux d’IgE dans les lavages broncho-alvéolaires (BAL) sont fortement diminués.The CD40 is a member of the TNF receptor family. It is a type I transmembrane glycoprotein, expressed on the surface of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells. Its main ligand, the CD154, belongs to the Tumor necrosis factors (TNFs) superfamily. The trimeric soluble or membrane CD154 binds to the monomeric CD40 and induces its oligomerization as well as its homodimerization. It is well known that CD154 binds to three other receptors belonging to the family of integrins: αIIbβ3, α5β1, and αMβ2 (Mac-1). The interaction of CD40/CD154 plays a key role in the regulation of the immune response. On the other hand, studies have shown that this couple is overexpressed and this interaction is amplified in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, such as allergic asthma. In addition, several studies have demonstrated the beneficial effect of blocking the binding of CD40 to its major ligand CD154, in various diseases. Currently, blocking this axis is a targeted strategy to develop new immunotherapies, however, it has several side effects. That’s why we have focused on the homodimerization of CD40, in order to study the effects of its inhibition. Our group has already demonstrated that cysteine 238 (Cys238) from the intracellular domain of the CD40 mediates the formation of disulfide bond CD40 homodimer (db-CD40). Furthermore, the use of the antioxidant NAC inhibits this homodimerization. Thus, the ROS could be involved in the formation of CD40 homodimers. Moreover, it’s important to note that NADPH Oxidase (NOX) is the major intracellular source of ROS. So, we hypothesize that the homodimerization of CD40 requires specific signals involved in the production of ROS, and this homodimerization could lead to the development of diseases such as allergic asthma. In order to confirm it, our objectives are to: 1) Determine the signaling pathways required for the formation of the CD40 homodimer. 2) Determine if CD40 is the only receptor involved in the development of allergic asthma. Indeed, we have generated an allergic mice model, sensitized to ovalbumine. In this project, our results have demonstrated the involvement of ROS and NOX in the formation of db-CD40 homodimer. Indeed, NOX produces ROS that oxidize Cys238. Moreover, we have shown that blocking the interaction CD40/CD154 attenuates asthma in ovalbumin-sensitized mice. In fact, intratracheal administration of MR-1 (anti-CD154) or FGK (anti-CD40) antibodies significantly decrease cellular influx to the airways, and attenuated the development of Methacholine induced AHR. In addition, treatment with either MR-1 or FGK locally abrogated IgE class switching

Social interaction reward decreases p38 activation in the nucleus accumbens shell of rats

AbstractWe have previously shown that animals acquired robust conditioned place preference (CPP) to either social interaction alone or cocaine alone. Recently it has been reported that drugs of abuse abnormally activated p38, a member of mitogen-activated protein kinase family, in the nucleus accumbens. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of the activated form of p38 (pp38) in the nucleus accumbens shell and core of rats expressing either cocaine CPP or social interaction CPP 1 h, 2 h and 24 h after the CPP test. We hypothesized that cocaine CPP will increase pp38 in the nucleus accumbens shell/core as compared to social interaction CPP. Surprisingly, we found that 24 h after social interaction CPP, pp38 neuronal levels were decreased in the nucleus accumbens shell to the level of naïve rats. Control saline rats that received saline in both compartments of the CPP apparatus and cocaine CPP rats showed similar enhanced p38 activation as compared to naïve and social interaction CPP rats. We also found that the percentage of neurons expressing dopaminergic receptor D2R and pp38 was also decreased in the shell of the nucleus accumbens of social interaction CPP rats as compared to controls. Given the emerging role of p38 in stress/anxiety behaviors, these results suggest that (1) social interaction reward has anti-stress effects; (2) cocaine conditioning per se does not affect p38 activation and that (3) marginal stress is sufficient to induce p38 activation in the shell of the nucleus accumbens

Adult Sitona crinitus H. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feeding preference on some legume species

We determined the feeding preference under artificial infestation in plastic house conditions of Sitona crinitus Herbst on several legumes:  Vicia sativa, V. ervilia, V. faba, Lens culinaris (small Syrian local " ILL: 4401"), Medicago polymorpha, Trifolium angustifolium, Cicer arietinum, and three Lathyrus species: Lathyrus sativus, L. ochrus and L. cicera. Beginning with the least-preferred leguminous food and feed crops, the order of feeding preference by Sitona was: V. sativa, L. culinaris, V. ervilia, T. sativum, M. sativa, L. cicera, L. Sativus, L. ochrus. No significant differences in preference were found between V. sativa, L. culinaris, V. ervilia and T. sativum. However, there were significant differences in feeding preference (P<0.05) between these species and Lathyrus spp. Cicer arietinum and Vicia faba were not hosts of S. crinitus. The genotypes of L. ochrus were less preferred than those of the other two Lathyrus species; the selection # 549 was the least preferred among L. ochrus genotypes. This nonprefernce may be related to the high level of the neurotoxin 3-(N-Oxalyl)-L-2, 3 diominopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) content of L. ochrus.We determined the feeding preference under artificial infestation in plastic house conditions of Sitona crinitus Herbst on several legumes: Vicia sativa, V. ervilia, V. faba, Lens culinaris (small Syrian local " ILL: 4401"), Medicago polymorpha, Trifolium angustifolium, Cicer arietinum, and three Lathyrus species: Lathyrus sativus, L. ochrus and L. cicera. Beginning with the least-preferred leguminous food and feed crops, the order of feeding preference by Sitona was: V. sativa, L. culinaris, V. ervilia, T. sativum, M. sativa, L. cicera, L. Sativus, L. ochrus. No significant differences in preference were found between V. sativa, L. culinaris, V. ervilia and T. sativum. However, there were significant differences in feeding preference (P<0.05) between these species and Lathyrus spp. Cicer arietinum and Vicia faba were not hosts of S. crinitus. The genotypes of L. ochrus were less preferred than those of the other two Lathyrus species; the selection # 549 was the least preferred among L. ochrus genotypes. This nonprefernce may be related to the high level of the neurotoxin 3-(NOxalyl)-L-2, 3 diominopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) content of L. ochrus

Cocaine Paired Environment Increases SATB2 Levels in the Rat Paraventricular Thalamus

SATB2 is a DNA binding protein that specifically binds the nuclear matrix attachment region and functions as a regulator of the transcription of large chromatin domains. Unlike its well addressed role during brain development, the role of SATB2 in adult brain is under-investigated. It has been shown that deletion of SATB2 from the forebrain of adult mice significantly impaired long-term memory for contextual fear and object recognition memory. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of appetitive stimuli such as cocaine and social interaction (SI) on SATB2 expression in the adult rat brain. For that, we performed conditioned place preference (CPP) to cocaine (15 mg/kg) and to SI, then assessed SATB2 expression in the brain 1 h (24 h after the last conditioning) and 24 h (48 h after the last conditioning) after the CPP test. We found that SATB2 expression in the paraventricular thalamus of rats was increased 1 h after the cocaine CPP test. This increase was selective for the cocaine-paired environment since the SI-paired environment did not increase SATB2 expression in the paraventricular thalamus. Also, the cocaine paired environment-induced increase of SATB2 levels in the paraventricular thalamus was due to cocaine conditioning as the unpaired cocaine group did not show an increase of SATB2 in the paraventricular thalamus. These results suggest that SATB2 in the paraventricular thalamus appears to be involved in the association between cocaine effects and environmental context. Further studies are needed to address the functional role of SATB2 in cocaine conditioning

Preventive role of social interaction for cocaine conditioned place preference: correlation with FosB/DeltaFosB and pCREB expression in rat mesocorticolimbic areas

The worsening of drug abuse by drug-associated social interaction is a well-studied phenomenon. In contrast, the molecular mechanisms of the beneficial effect of social interaction, if offered as a mutually exclusive choice to drugs of abuse, are under-investigated. In a rat place preference conditioning (CPP) paradigm, four 15 min episodes of social interaction with a gender- and weight-matched male early-adult conspecific inhibited cocaine-induced reinstatement of cocaine CPP, a model of relapse. These protective effects of social interaction were paralleled by a reduced activation, as assessed by Zif268 expression, in brain areas known to play pivotal roles in drug-seeking behavior. Here we show that social interaction during extinction of cocaine CPP also reduced cocaine-CPP-stimulated FosB expression in the nucleus accumbens shell and core. In addition, social interaction during cocaine CPP extinction increased pCREB (cAMP response element binding protein) expression in the nucleus accumbens shell and the cingulate cortex area 1 (Cg1). Our results show that FosB and pCREB may be implicated in the protective effect of social interaction against cocaine-induced reinstatement of CPP. Thus, social interaction, if offered in a context that is clearly distinct from the previously drug-associated one, may profoundly inhibit relapse to cocaine addiction

The determinants of sustained adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures among older Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Acknowledgments The authors thank the participants at the Economic Research Forum annual conference in March 2022 for comments. Funding: SA and HG received the ELRHA Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises award (Number 51538) for "Tracking adherence of older refugees to COVID-19 preventive measures in response to changing vulnerabilities: A multi-level, panel study to inform humanitarian response in Lebanon". This work was supported by ELRHA’s Research for Health in Humanitarian Crisis (R2HC) Programme, which aims to improve health outcomes by strengthening the evidence base for public health interventions in humanitarian crises. R2HC is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Wellcome, and the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the NRC or ELRHA. The funding agency was not involved in the data collection, analysis or interpretation. ELRHA: https://www.elrha.org/programme/research-for-health-in-humanitarian-crises/ The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Differential Effects of Accumbens Core vs. Shell Lesions in a Rat Concurrent Conditioned Place Preference Paradigm for Cocaine vs. Social Interaction

A main challenge in the therapy of drug dependent individuals is to help them reactivate interest in non-drug-associated activities. Among these activities, social interaction is doubly important because treatment adherence itself depends on it. We previously developed a rat experimental model based on the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in which only four 15-min episodes of social interaction with a gender- and weight-matched male conspecific (i) reversed CPP from cocaine to social interaction despite continuing cocaine training and (ii) prevented the reinstatement of cocaine CPP. In the present study, we investigated if the two subregions of the nucleus accumbens (Acb), i.e., the core (AcbC) and the shell (AcbSh), would differentially affect CPP for cocaine vs social interaction.Animals were concurrently trained for CPP pairing cocaine with one compartment and social interaction with the other (i.e., mutually exclusive stimulus presentation during training). Excitotoxic lesioning of the AcbC or the BLA shifted CPP toward social interaction, whereas AcbSh inactivation shifted CPP toward cocaine.Overall, our findings suggest that inactivation of the AcbC or the BLA is sufficient to shift CPP away from a drug of abuse toward social interaction. Lesioning the AcbSh produced the opposite effect

Support for UNRWA's survival

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for 5·4 million Palestine refugees now entering their eighth decade of statelessness and conflict. About a third of Palestine refugees still live in 58 recognised camps. UNRWA operates 702 schools and 144 health centres, some of which are affected by the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It has dramatically reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases, mortality, and illiteracy. Its social services include rebuilding infrastructure and homes that have been destroyed by conflict and providing cash assistance and micro-finance loans for Palestinians whose rights are curtailed and who are denied the right of return to their homeland

Design of frames with partially restrained connections.

The load and resistance factor design (AISC-LRFD) specification allows the designer to consider the partial restraint (PR) in a steel connection. The success of efforts to include connection effects in the design will depend greatly on the development of reliable and practical analytical methods for the prediction of connection behavior. The moment-rotation relationships for 31 semirigid steel beam-to-column connection are developed based on seven generalized analytical connection models (web connection, top and seat, top and seat with web, web connection with seat, composite with web, composite with web and seat, and composite with web and top and seat connection model). As a result of this development, a more effective method for type PR construction can be devised. Moment-rotation curves for framed steel connections are derived from force-deformation data obtained from laboratory tension and compression tests for different types of connection segments. The laboratory force-deformation test results are analytically described by the Richard four parameter function. These parameters are dependent upon the connection geometry, stiffness and strength. A generalized analytical connection model comprising a rigid bar and nonlinear springs which simulate the connection segments is then used to generate the moment-rotation curve