Adaptive link-weight routing protocol using cross-layer communication for MANET

Routing efficiency is one of the challenges offered by Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). This paper proposes a novel routing technique called Adaptive Link-Weight (ALW) routing protocol. ALW adaptively selects an optimum route on the basis of available bandwidth, low delay and long route lifetime. The technique adapts a cross-layer framework where the ALW is integrated with application and physical layer. The proposed design allows applications to convey preferences to the ALW protocol to override the default path selection mechanism. The results confirm improvement over AODV in terms of network load, route discovery time and link reliability

Adaptive link-weight routing protocol using cross-layer communication for MANET

Routing efficiency is one of the challenges offered by Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs). This paper proposes a novel routing technique called Adaptive Link-Weight (ALW) routing protocol. ALW adaptively selects an optimum route on the basis of available bandwidth, low delay and long route lifetime. The technique adapts a cross-layer framework where the ALW is integrated with application and physical layer. The proposed design allows applications to convey preferences to the ALW protocol to override the default path selection mechanism. The results confirm improvement over AODV in terms of network load, route discovery time and link reliability

Antibacterial effects and microbial quality of commonly consumed herbs in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

© All Rights Reserved. Herbal plants are traditionally known to exhibit antimicrobial properties and used in several countries as an alternative to modern pharmaceutical drugs. This study investigated the antibacterial properties and microbial quality of common herbs used in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In total, 20 herb samples of parsley (Petroselinum crispum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), sage (Salvia officinalis), mint (Mentha spicata), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) were randomly collected and analysed for the total aerobic bacteria count, yeasts and molds, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by standard plate counting method using selective and differential culture media. Antibacterial effects of herbs on E.coli, S. aureus, Salmonella and P. aeruginosa were tested by disk diffusion method. The microbial analysis of herbs revealed that 50% of herb samples exceeded the world health organization (WHO) limit for the total aerobic bacteria count, and 75% exceeded the permissible limit for total molds and yeast count. 75% of herb samples were found contaminated with Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp, 65% with Shigella, and 10% exceeded the WHO permissible limit for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, all herb samples were found to be within the WHO acceptable limit for Staphylococcus aureus. All herbal extracts exhibited some form of antibacterial activity against E. coli, S. aureus, Salmonella and P. aeruginosa except for parsley, which had no inhibitory effect on S. aureus. However, the results of microbial quality suggest that most of the analysed herbs had unsafe microbial contamination that exceeded the World Health Organization permissible limits. Therefore, strict measures to reduce the risk of microbial contamination by applying Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) need to be implemented on local and imported herbs prior to consumption

Influence of Eysenckian Personality Traits in Choice of Specialization by Young Omani Doctors.

Objectives:The role of personality in occupational specialty choices has been explored in many parts of the world. To our knowledge, there is a dearth of such studies in the Arab/Islamic population and Oman is no exception. This study aimed to explore the relationship between personality traits and specialty choice among residents of Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among Omani resident physicians working under OMSB. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire–Revised was employed to quantify personality subtypes (e.g., psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism). Specialties were categorized as surgical, medical, and diagnostics as per standard of North American medical specialties. A total of 255 residents in 17 medical specialties participated in the study (m = 40.4%; f = 59.6%) of 300 eligible subjects giving a response rate of 85.0%. Results: Respondents who had chosen surgical specialties scored significantly higher on the psychoticism subscale than those who had opted for medical and diagnostic specialties. As for individual specialties, orthopedic respondents had statistically significant higher mean scores on psychoticism and neuroticism compared to radiologists and psychiatrists who scored the lowest in the two personality traits, respectively. Conclusions: This study found statistically significant associations between personality traits and choices of specialty by young Omani doctors. We recommend more detailed studies that examine further psychological and cultural variables that are likely to affect the choices of specializations by young Omani professionals in both medical and non-medical fields

IL-11 induces NLRP3 inflammasome activation in monocytes and inflammatory cell migration to the central nervous system

The objective of this study is to examine IL-11-induced mechanisms of inflammatory cell migration to the central nervous system (CNS). We report that IL-11 is produced at highest frequency by myeloid cells among the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets. Patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have an increased frequency of IL-1

Bayesian, Maximum Parsimony and UPGMA Models for Inferring the Phylogenies of Antelopes Using Mitochondrial Markers

This investigation was aimed to compare the inference of antelope phylogenies resulting from the 16S rRNA, cytochrome-b (cyt-b) and d-loop segments of mitochondrial DNA using three different computational models including Bayesian (BA), maximum parsimony (MP) and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). The respective nucleotide sequences of three Oryx species (Oryx leucoryx, Oryx dammah and Oryx gazella) and an out-group (Addax nasomaculatus) were aligned and subjected to BA, MP and UPGMA models for comparing the topologies of respective phylogenetic trees. The 16S rRNA region possessed the highest frequency of conserved sequences (97.65%) followed by cyt-b (94.22%) and d-loop (87.29%). There were few transitions (2.35%) and none transversions in 16S rRNA as compared to cyt-b (5.61% transitions and 0.17% transversions) and d-loop (11.57% transitions and 1.14% transversions) while comparing the four taxa. All the three mitochondrial segments clearly differentiated the genus Addax from Oryx using the BA or UPGMA models. The topologies of all the gamma-corrected Bayesian trees were identical irrespective of the marker type. The UPGMA trees resulting from 16S rRNA and d-loop sequences were also identical (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx leucoryx) to Bayesian trees except that the UPGMA tree based on cyt-b showed a slightly different phylogeny (Oryx dammah grouped with Oryx gazella) with a low bootstrap support. However, the MP model failed to differentiate the genus Addax from Oryx. These findings demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of BA and UPGMA methods for phylogenetic analysis of antelopes using mitochondrial markers

Comparing the Reaction Rates of Plasmonic (Gold) and Non-Plasmonic (Palladium) Metal Particles in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production

Both Pd and Au metal particles are used in photocatalytic hydrogen generation. Yet while both act as electron sink only gold is poised to respond to visible light due to its plasmonic response. In order to quantitatively gauge their relative contribution into the reaction, the photocatalytic H2 production, from Au/TiO2 and Pd/TiO2 catalysts was studied under UV and UV–Vis light. While under UV light excitation, a weak dependence on the work function of the metal is observed, under UV–Vis light, Au is found to be twice more active than Pd. Under identical UV–Vis light irradiation, the turn over frequency calculated from XPS at.% is found to be 2.8 and 1.8 s−1 for Au and Pd, respectively. The effect is far more pronounced when the rates are normalized to the number of particles of each metal. Both the semiconductor TiO2 (UV light) and the plasmonic metal (visible light) need to be excited for the enhancement to occur; visible light alone causes a negligible reaction rate. Photocurrent measurements further confirmed the difference in the photocatalytic activity under UV and UV–Vis light excitation. Moreover, because of the presence of Au particles responding to visible light the reaction rate is enhanced due to “light penetration depth” effect

On-spot quantification of modafinil in generic medicines purchased from the Internet using handheld Fourier transform-infrared, near-infrared and Raman spectroscopy

Poor quality medicines represent an expanding global public health threat facilitated by the Internet. A recent survey showed that one in five students have used modafinil to enhance learning ability mainly purchased from Internet sources. The aim of this work was to develop on-the-spot and simple methods for the quantification of modafinil in generic medicines using Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR), near-infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy along with partial least square regression (PLSR). Modafinil tablets were measured in intact form using NIR and Raman and in powdered form using FTIR, NIR and Raman. Additionally, powder mixtures of crushed modafinil tablets and excipient(s) were prepared either by diluting the crushed tablets with excipient(s), or sequentially adding excipient(s) to the crushed tablets. Three PLSR models were constructed in MATLAB 2014a from powder mixtures and two from intact and powdered tablets. For FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, PLSR models based on tablets gave linear calibration curve with correlation coefficient (r2) values above 0.94 and a root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC) below 0.96% m/m. Conversely, the PLSR model based on powder sequential addition gave the highest accuracy using the NIR spectra (r2 = 0.99, RMSEC = 1.15% m/m). The latter model showed accuracy in predicting the concentration of the active pharmaceutical ingredient in modafinil generic medicines proving their authenticity. The overall results showed that the combination of the three spectroscopic methods with PLSR offered a rapid technique for authenticating generic modafinil medicines