Development and Application of Outdoor Router Cost Estimation with Parametric Modelling Technique

Internet development is a challenging issue among Internet Server Providers (ISPs) and researchers due to high investment cost and unforeseen risk. The internet accessibilities of those rural areas are low and seem disconnected from the society. Rural areas unable to enjoy the benefits from high-speed Internet. Rural internet development is not prioritized because of low population density and return of investment from urban area development is more favorable. Outdoor equipment such as router, antennas and access points are the main components in Internet development. The accuracy of various cost estimation model is depending on the availability of raw data and data analysis techniques. There is no accurate model that allow ISPs to estimate the cost of outdoor routers for Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) transmission. Those estimations can assist ISPs in risk management and reduce the total project cost. Therefore, this paper aimed to produce and demonstrate a suitable outdoor router cost estimation model. Friis transmission equation and link budget equation were used in this model. Suitable key parameters were selected by using P-value regression analysis. Original key parameters and calculated unique key parameters were utilized in this model to provide better performance and realistic estimated cost. This paper also demonstrated the usage of outdoor router cost estimation model under long-range and short-range wireless data transmission

Cost estimation methods for internet infrastructure deployment in Rural Sarawak: a review

In rural Sarawak, the internet accessibility is low due to unreliable power grids to support telecommunication network and large geographical area. The risk for network infrastructure implementation is high for internet service provider (ISP), thus more practical and accurate cost estimation methods should be used. This paper reviews different types of cost estimation methods and the accuracy and feasibility of each methods are discussed and compared for network infrastructure implementation in rural Sarawak. The unique characteristics of rural Sarawak are considered in this work, including the topography, development of rural areas and acceptance of new technologies. Different cost estimation methods are identified for different senarios and availability of data

Cell Docking, Movement and Cell-Cell Interactions of Heterogeneous Cell Suspensions in a Cell Manipulation Microdevice

This study demonstrates a novel cell manipulation microdevice for cell docking, culturing, cell-cell contact and interaction by microfluidic manipulation of heterogeneous cell suspensions. Heterogeneous cell suspensions include disparate blood cells of natural killer cells and leukemia cancer cells for immune cell transplantation therapy. However, NK cell alloreactivity from different healthy donors present various recovery response levels. Little is still known about the interactions and cytotoxicity effects between donor NK cells and recipient cancer cells. The cell-based micro device first showed the capability of cell docking, movement, contact and cell-cell interaction with respect to cell cytotoxicity of NK cells against cancer cells. With various flow tests for live cell loading, flow rates of 10 μL/h were chosen for injection in the central and side flows such that both types of suspension cells could be gently docked at the gap structure in a reaction zone. The trapping number of particles and cells was linearly proportional to the gap length. Finally, the cytotoxicity of around 40% was found to be similar in the case of dilute cells and a large cell population. As a result, the cell manipulation microdevice has been validated for live suspensions of natural killer and cancer cells, and exhibited the capability to measure the cytotoxicity of dilute cell suspensions

Meta-analysis Followed by Replication Identifies Loci in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Asians

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototype autoimmune disease with a strong genetic involvement and ethnic differences. Susceptibility genes identified so far only explain a small portion of the genetic heritability of SLE, suggesting that many more loci are yet to be uncovered for this disease. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies on SLE in Chinese Han populations and followed up the findings by replication in four additional Asian cohorts with a total of 5,365 cases and 10,054 corresponding controls. We identified genetic variants in or near CDKN1B, TET3, CD80, DRAM1, and ARID5B as associated with the disease. These findings point to potential roles of cell-cycle regulation, autophagy, and DNA demethylation in SLE pathogenesis. For the region involving TET3 and that involving CDKN1B, multiple independent SNPs were identified, highlighting a phenomenon that might partially explain the missing heritability of complex diseases

A Study on Cell-based Biosensor for Cytotoxic Assay of Human Natural Killer Cells against Cancer Cells

根據世界衛生組織(World Health Organization，WHO)設立之國際癌症研究所(International Agency for Research on Cancer，IARC)在2008年的統計，中國大陸每10萬人就有5人患有血癌，臺灣方面平均每年約有1000名新診的病患，根據民國98年行政院衛生署統計血癌於前十大癌症排名男性為第九位, 女性為第十位，發生率有逐年增加的跡象。各項的統計數據都說明血癌對人類的健康有很大的危害。血癌發生的原因是由於人體內的白血球產生病變，造成病變的白血球在體內大量增生，影響正常白血球及其他血液細胞的功能。 目前骨髓移植治療血癌已經廣泛應用在臨床治療上，為了避免移植後細胞和病患體內的細胞產生排斥，移植前捐贈者以及病患需要先經過人類白血球抗原(Human Leukocyte Antigen，HLA)的配對，配對成功後才能進行移植，但是其配對成功的機率並不高，為了改善治療白血病所面臨的問題，近年有團隊進行臨床驗證使用自然殺手細胞(NK cell)做為治療，研究指出即使沒有經過完整HLA配對，移植入病患體也不會產生移植物對抗宿主疾病(Graft versus Host Disease，GvHD)，同時也有顯著的治療效果，但不同捐贈者的自然殺手細胞特性及毒殺能力都不相同，醫師如何在廣大的捐贈者中為病患挑選最合適之細胞，目前仍處於黑箱中充滿未知，因此如何有效的檢測自然殺手細胞的毒殺能力，降低復發機率，將會是未來進行移植治療的重要依據。 本研究成功建立一個異質細胞配對檢測晶片系統，可應用於臨床白血病患者移植健康捐贈者細胞之挑選，利用微機電製程技術開發專屬於細胞反應觀察之晶片，晶片中可捕捉特定細胞數目與異質細胞比例，整合微流體操控技術達成細胞混合與細胞染色之功能，並結合高解析度光學系統與即時影像觀察系統，即時觀測細胞狀態。在本實驗中，藉由流場的測試，計算出微流道內細胞捕捉在微結構旁所受的力為101 pN，並得到適當的流率導入細胞樣本，接著偵測自然殺手細胞隨時間毒殺癌細胞的變化，找出測量細胞毒殺率的適當時間點為毒殺後2小時，藉由此結果，在效能細胞對目標細胞比例(Effector to target ratio, E/T ratio)為2時測量NK92細胞對癌細胞 K562的毒殺率平均為44%，此結果與傳統流式細胞儀結果一致。同樣E/T ratio為2的情形下， 5、20與 三種不同K562目標細胞數在晶片中的實驗比較，當細胞數過少的情況下會造成毒殺率測量的誤差，實驗結果顯示細胞數在 與 下仍有相同毒殺率，並證明NK細胞毒殺率可以在細胞數量稀少的情況下測得。為了更貼近實際應用，在本研究中測試三位不同捐贈者的NK細胞，結果指出個體上NK細胞的確有不同毒殺能力，藉由本研究開發的晶片系統可成功挑選出較佳的NK細胞。 相較於傳統實驗需要較多細胞量才能測試，本研究以微晶片開發少量(一百顆)細胞即可進行量測的實驗系統，透過即時影像紀錄毒殺過程可應用於了解臨床異質細胞互動之特性與生醫基礎研究，能幫助探討更多自然殺手細胞的基礎特性。Natural killer (NK) cell transplantation therapy has the potential to be an effective treatment for some cancers. A growing number of clinical trial investigations indicate that this therapeutic approach may provide a promising new treatment for leukemia. However, the alloreactivity of NK cells from different healthy donors has shown various recovery response levels. Little is still known about the cytotoxicity of NK cells in the context of cancer treatment or the interaction between donor NK cells and recipient cancer cells. The primary method used to measure NK cell cytotoxicity is flow cytometry, a large and often costly system that requires millions of NK cells for each assay. Patients are often faced with situations that require immediate action, and it can be difficult to find a donor to provide so many NK cells on such short notice. As a result, no appropriate assessment strategy has been developed for selection of multiple healthy donors prior to NK cell transplantation. This study describes a novel cell-based biosensor for use with heterogeneous cell suspensions for cell docking, culturing, and cell–cell contact and interaction by microfluidic manipulation. Using this biosensor, we investigated cell activity and cytotoxicity through a real-time monitoring microscope system. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using the cell-based biosensor for cytotoxicity of NK cells against cancer cells, and show its potential applications in immune cell transplantation therapy

The Bio-Tribological Effect of Poly-Gamma-Glutamic Acid in the Lysozyme-Ionic Contact Lens System

Feeling comfortable is an important issue for contact lens wearers as contact lenses are worn for an extensive period of time. It has been shown that the in vitro friction coefficient of contact lenses is correlated to the degree of in vivo comfort, thus many studies focus on establishing friction testing methods for investigating the friction coefficient of contact lenses or contact lens care solution. We have previously demonstrated the lubricating property of poly-gamma-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-containing care solution, and it could reduce the high friction coefficient caused by lysozyme. However, the mechanism of how γ-PGA-containing care solution reduces the lysozyme-induced friction coefficient of contact lenses is unclear. We investigated the bio-tribological effect of γ-PGA on ionic contact lenses in the presence of lysozyme by testing load and velocity variations. The ability to remove lysozyme deposition by γ-PGA and viscosity analysis of γ-PGA-containing care solutions were also investigated to understand the potential mechanism. Our results showed that the friction coefficient of γ-PGA-containing care solution with lysozyme was the lowest in both load and velocity variations, and γ-PGA functions distinctly in the lysozyme-ionic contact lens system. We proposed a model of how γ-PGA could reduce the friction coefficient in these two conditions

Parametric Model Study for Outdoor Routers Cost Estimation

Rural internet connectivity is a challenging issue among the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) because of high cost and risk associated with unforeseen circumstances. Rural Internet implementations often relate to outdoor equipment such as routers, antennas and access points. Outdoor routers seem to be the main concern since some routers are built in with internal antennas and access points functionality. This paper aims to develop a parametric model for estimating outdoor router cost. The model can provide more practical and accurate cost estimation for ISPs. The model uses Friis Transmission Equation with parameters obtained from datasheets. The key parameters are selected by using P-value regression analysis. The parametric model with original key parameters and unique key parameters have better performance and can provide more realistic cost estimation

Demethoxycurcumin Suppresses Human Brain Glioblastoma Multiforme GBM 8401 Cell Xenograft Tumor in Nude Mice In Vivo

Demethoxycurcumin (DMC), a derivate of curcumin, has been shown to induce apoptotic cell death in human glioblastoma multiforme GBM 8401 cells via cell cycle arrest and induction of cell apoptosis. However, there is no report showing DMC suppresses glioblastoma multiforme cells in vivo. In the present study, we investigated the effects of DMC on GBM8401 cells in vivo. At first, we established a luciferase-expressing stable clone named GBM 8401/luc2. Second, mice were inoculated subcutaneously with GBM 8401/luc2 cells to generate a xenograft tumor mice model. After inoculation, tumor volume reached 100–120 mm3, and all mice were randomly divided into three groups: Group I was treated with 110 µL phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) containing 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide, Group II with 30 mg/kg of DMC, and Group III with 60 mg/kg of DMC. Mice from each group were given the oral treatment of DMC by gavage for 21 days. The body weight and tumor volume were recorded every 3 days. DMC significantly decreased the tumor volumes, and 60 mg/kg treatment showed a higher decrease in tumor volumes than that of 30 mg/kg, However, DMC did not affect the body weights. The photons emitted from mice tumors were detected with Xenogen IVIS imaging system, DMC at both doses decreased the total photon flux and 60 mg/kg treatment of DMC has low total photon flux than that of 30 mg/kg. The tumor volumes and weights in 60 mg/kg treatment of DMC were lower than that of 30 mg/kg. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to measure protein expression of tumors and results showed that DMC treatment led to lightly staining with anti-Bcl-2 and -XIAP and 60 mg/kg treatment of DMC has lighter staining with anti-Bcl-2 and -XIAP than that of 30 mg/kg. The higher dose (60 mg/kg) of DMC has higher signals of cleaved-caspase-3 than that of the lower dose (30 mg/kg). Furthermore, the hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of liver tissues showed no significant difference between DMC-treated and control-groups. Overall, these observations showed that DMC suppressed tumor properties in vivo and DMC may be used against human glioblastoma multiforme in the future

The Effect of Different Cleaning Methods on Protein Deposition and Optical Characteristics of Orthokeratology Lenses

Orthokeratology lenses are commonly used for myopia control, especially in children. Tear lipids and proteins are immediately adsorbed when the lens is put on the cornea, and protein deposition may cause discomfort or infection. Therefore, we established an in vitro protein deposition analysis by mimicking the current cleaning methods for orthokeratology lens wearers for both short-term and long-term period. The results showed that the amounts of tear proteins accumulated daily and achieved a balance after 14 days when the lens was rubbed to clean or not. Protein deposition also affected the optical characteristics of the lens regardless of cleaning methods. Our results provided an in vitro analysis for protein deposition on the lens, and they may provide a potential effective method for developing care solutions or methods that can more effectively remove tear components from orthokeratology lenses

Gut commensal Parabacteroides goldsteinii plays a predominant role in the anti-obesity effects of polysaccharides isolated from Hirsutella sinensis

OBJECTIVE: The medicinal fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis and its anamorph Hirsutella sinensis have a long history of use in traditional Chinese medicine for their immunomodulatory properties. Alterations of the gut microbiota have been described in obesity and type 2 diabetes. We examined the possibility that H. sinensis mycelium (HSM) and isolated fractions containing polysaccharides may prevent diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes by modulating the composition of the gut microbiota. DESIGN: High-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice were treated with HSM or fractions containing polysaccharides of different molecular weights. The effects of HSM and polysaccharides on the gut microbiota were assessed by horizontal faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), antibiotic treatment and 16S rDNA-based microbiota analysis. RESULTS: Fraction H1 containing high-molecular weight polysaccharides (\u3e300 kDa) considerably reduced body weight gain (∼50% reduction) and metabolic disorders in HFD-fed mice. These effects were associated with increased expression of thermogenesis protein markers in adipose tissues, enhanced gut integrity, reduced intestinal and systemic inflammation and improved insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism. Gut microbiota analysis revealed that H1 polysaccharides selectively promoted the growth of Parabacteroides goldsteinii, a commensal bacterium whose level was reduced in HFD-fed mice. FMT combined with antibiotic treatment showed that neomycin-sensitive gut bacteria negatively correlated with obesity traits and were required for H1\u27s anti-obesogenic effects. Notably, oral treatment of HFD-fed mice with live P. goldsteinii reduced obesity and was associated with increased adipose tissue thermogenesis, enhanced intestinal integrity and reduced levels of inflammation and insulin resistance. CONCLUSIONS: HSM polysaccharides and the gut bacterium P. goldsteinii represent novel prebiotics and probiotics that may be used to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes