Analysis of a Rumor Routing Protocol with Limited Packet Lifetimes

Wireless sensor networks require specialized protocols that conserve power and minimize network traffic. Therefore, it is vitally important to analyze how the parameters of a protocol affect these metrics. In doing so, a more efficient protocol can be developed. This research evaluates how the number of nodes in a network, time between generated agents, lifetime of agents, number of agent transmissions, time between generated queries, lifetime of queries, and node transmission time affect a modified rumor routing protocol for a large-scale, wireless sensor network. Furthermore, it analyzes how the probability distribution of certain protocol parameters affects the network performance. The time between generated queries had the greatest effect upon a network’s energy consumption, accounting for 73.64% of the total variation. An exponential query interarrival distribution with a rate of 0.4 queries/second/node used 25.78% less power than an exponential distribution with a rate of 0.6 queries/second/node. The node transmission time was liable for 73.99% of the total variation in proportion of query failures. Of three distributions, each with a mean of 0.5 seconds, the proportion of query failures using a Rayleigh transmission time distribution was 14.23% less than an exponential distribution and 18.46% less than a uniform distribution. Lastly, 54.85% of the total variation in the mean proportion of time a node is uninformed was a result of the time between generated agents. The mean proportion of time a node is uninformed using an exponential agent interarrival distribution with a rate of 0.005 was 6.59% higher than an exponential distribution with a rate of 0.01

Impact of Vanadium Complexes Treatment on the Oxidative Stress Factors in Wistar Rats Plasma

The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of vanadium complexes on triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (Chol), uric acid (UA), urea (U), and antioxidant parameters: nonenzymatic (FRAP—ferric reducing ability of plasma, and reduced glutathione—GSH) and enzymatic (glutathione peroxidase—GPx, catalase—CAT, and GPx/CAT ratio) activity in the plasma of healthy male Wistar rats. Three vanadium complexes: [VO(bpy)2]SO4·2H2O, [VO(4,4′Me2bpy)2]SO4·2H2O, and Na[VO(O2)2(bpy)]·8H2O are administered by gavage during 5 weeks in two different diets such as control (C) and high fatty (F) diets. Changes of biochemical and antioxidants parameters are measured in plasma. All three vanadium complexes statistically decrease the body mass growth in comparison to the control and fatty diet. In plasma GSH was statistically increased in all vanadium complexes-treated rats from control and fatty group in comparison to only control group. Calculated GPX/CAT ratio was the highest in the control group in comparison to others

Bibliometric analysis of multiple criteria decision making in agriculture

Development trends (Research Trends) in scientific research on the methods of Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in agriculture are analyzed. Established bibliometric techniques are applied. MCDA/MCDM methods are being very intensively developed in recent years, as evidenced by the number of scientific papers published annually in renowned scientific journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database. In the years 1979-2015 a total of 1,355 scientific articles were collected in the database. The number of articles published annually increased rapidly after 2005. Besides, the annual number of citations of the publications is increasing. Research on MCDA/MCDM is conducted in many research areas. In the years 1984-2015 the Web of Science database accumulated 27 scientific publications on MCDA/MCDM in agriculture area. Therefore, it can be concluded that the MCDA/MCDM issues are currently not sufficiently analyzed in relation to agriculture. In the future this subject will probably be further developed, an increasing number of scientists will conduct research on the MCDA/MCDM and the annual number of articles published in the field will increase