A Fair and Secure Cluster Formation Process for Ad Hoc Networks

An efficient approach for organizing large ad hoc networks is to divide the nodes into multiple clusters and designate, for each cluster, a clusterhead which is responsible for holding intercluster control information. The role of a clusterhead entails rights and duties. On the one hand, it has a dominant position in front of the others because it manages the connectivity and has access to other node¿s sensitive information. But on the other hand, the clusterhead role also has some associated costs. Hence, in order to prevent malicious nodes from taking control of the group in a fraudulent way and avoid selfish attacks from suitable nodes, the clusterhead needs to be elected in a secure way. In this paper we present a novel solution that guarantees the clusterhead is elected in a cheat-proof manner

Asymmetric long-run effects in the oil industry

This paper analyzes long term dependence between the market value of oil firms and oil prices. Applying nonlinear cointegration, the results show that in the long-run oil price hikes and falls show different adjustments to the equilibrium. Using a momentum threshold autoregressive model (MTAR), we find that for oil producing firms, the adjustment is faster for oil price falls than for oil price hikes, but we do not find a difference on the speed of adjustment for oil integrated firms. Moreover, testing for asymmetric cointegration, we also find that oil price falls impact substantially the value of oil producers and integrated firms, but the same is not found for oil price hikes. Overall, the evidence suggests that firm value stays above equilibrium relationship when there are oil price hikes

T regulatory lymphocytes and endothelial function in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

BackgroundObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a low-grade inflammatory disease affecting the cardiovascular and metabolic systems. Increasing OSA severity reduces T-regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs) in OSA children. Since Tregs modulate endothelial activation, and attenuate insulin resistance, we hypothesized that Tregs are associated with endothelial and metabolic dysfunction in pediatric OSA.Methods50 consecutively recruited children (ages 4.8-12 years) underwent overnight polysomnography and fasting homeostatic model (HOMA) of insulin resistance was assessed. Percentage of Tregs using flow cytometry, and endothelial function, expressed as the time to peak occlusive hyperemia (Tmax), were examined. In a subgroup of children (n = 21), in vitro Treg suppression tests were performed.ResultsCirculating Tregs were not significantly associated with either BMI z score or HOMA. However, a significant inverse correlation between percentage of Tregs and Tmax emerged (p<0.0001, r = -0.56). A significant negative correlation between Tregs suppression and the sleep pressure score (SPS), a surrogate measure of sleep fragmentation emerged (p = 0.02, r = -0.51) emerged, but was not present with AHI.ConclusionsEndothelial function, but not insulin resistance, in OSA children is strongly associated with circulating Tregs and their suppressive function, and appears to correlate with sleep fragmentation. Thus, alterations in T cell lymphocytes may contribute to cardiovascular morbidity in pediatric OSA

Brain-Inspired Spatio-Temporal Associative Memories for Neuroimaging Data Classification: EEG and fMRI

Humans learn from a lot of information sources to make decisions. Once this information is learned in the brain, spatio-temporal associations are made, connecting all these sources (variables) in space and time represented as brain connectivity. In reality, to make a decision, we usually have only part of the information, either as a limited number of variables, limited time to make the decision, or both. The brain functions as a spatio-temporal associative memory. Inspired by the ability of the human brain, a brain-inspired spatio-temporal associative memory was proposed earlier that utilized the NeuCube brain-inspired spiking neural network framework. Here we applied the STAM framework to develop STAM for neuroimaging data, on the cases of EEG and fMRI, resulting in STAM-EEG and STAM-fMRI. This paper showed that once a NeuCube STAM classification model was trained on a complete spatio-temporal EEG or fMRI data, it could be recalled using only part of the time series, or/and only part of the used variables. We evaluated both temporal and spatial association and generalization accuracy accordingly. This was a pilot study that opens the field for the development of classification systems on other neuroimaging data, such as longitudinal MRI data, trained on complete data but recalled on partial data. Future research includes STAM that will work on data, collected across different settings, in different labs and clinics, that may vary in terms of the variables and time of data collection, along with other parameters. The proposed STAM will be further investigated for early diagnosis and prognosis of brain conditions and for diagnostic/prognostic marker discovery

Stem xylem traits and wood formation affect sex-specific responses to drought and rewatering in Populus cathayana

The increased frequency and intensity of drought pose great threats to the survival of trees, especially in dioecious tree species with sexual differences in mortality and biased sex ratios. The sex-specific mechanisms underlying stem xylem anatomy and function and carbon metabolism in drought resistance and recovery were investigated in dioecious Populus cathayana Rehder. The sex-specific drought resistance and subsequent recovery were linked to the xylem anatomy and carbon metabolism. Females had a greater xylem vessel area per vessel, biomass and theoretically hydraulic efficiency under well-watered conditions. Conversely, males had a lower xylem lumen area, but greater vessel numbers, and a higher cell wall thickness, suggesting a theoretically conservative water-use strategy and drought resistance. The recovery of photosynthetic ability after drought in males was largely dependent on the recovery of xylem function and the regulation of the xylem carbohydrate metabolism. Additionally, the number of upregulated genes related to xylem cell wall biogenesis was greater in males relative to females under drought stress and subsequent rewatering, which facilitated drought resistance and xylem function restoration in males. These results suggested that sex-specific drought resistance and restoration were related to xylem anatomy and function, carbohydrate metabolism and cell turgor maintenance.Peer reviewe

Intra- and intersexual interactions shape microbial community dynamics in the rhizosphere of Populus cathayana females and males exposed to excess Zn

In this study, we intended to investigate the responses of rhizospheric bacterial communities of Populus cathayana to excess Zn under different planting patterns. The results suggested that intersexual and intrasexual interactions strongly affect plant growth and Zn extraction in both sexes, as well as rhizosphere-associated bacterial com-munity structures. Females had a higher capacity of Zn accumulation and translocation than males under all planting patterns. Males had lower Zn accumulation and translocation under intersexual than under intrasexual interaction; the contrary was true for females. Females harbored abundant Streptomyces and Nocardioides in their rhizosphere, similarly to males under intersexual interaction, but differed from single-sex males under excess Zn. Conversely, intersexual interaction increased the abundance of key taxa Actinomycetales and Betaproteobacteria in both sexes exposed to excess Zn. Males improved the female rhizospheric microenvironment by increasing the abundance of some key tolerance taxa of Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria in both sexes under excess Zn in intersexual interaction. These results indicated that the sex of neighboring plants affected sexual differences in the choice of specific bacterial colonizations for phytoextraction and tolerance to Zn-contaminated soils, which might regulate the spatial segregation and phytoremediation potential of P. cathayana females and males under heavy metal contaminated soils.Peer reviewe

Cyclotriphosphazene-based derivatives for antibacterial Applications: an update on recent advances

As a phosphorus scaffold, hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) is widely used for the synthesis of varieties of derivatives, including metal-binding complexes and several unique organometallic compounds, which exhibit potential catalytic, flame retardant and bio logical activities. Some metal-binding HCCP derivatives have shown antibacterial activities as free ligands and metal complexes. These derivatives can also serve as building blocks for the formation of antibacterial metal-containing polymers. This mini-review is focused on the de sign and development of HCCP derivatives as potential antibacterial agents with representa tive examples as well as antibacterial mechanisms from recent yearsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

High-resolution physical map for chromosome 16q12.1-q13, the Blau syndrome locus

BACKGROUND: The Blau syndrome (MIM 186580), an autosomal dominant granulomatous disease, was previously mapped to chromosome 16p12-q21. However, inconsistent physical maps of the region and consequently an unknown order of microsatellite markers, hampered us from further refining the genetic locus for the Blau syndrome. To address this problem, we constructed our own high-resolution physical map for the Blau susceptibility region. RESULTS: We generated a high-resolution physical map that provides more than 90% coverage of a refined Blau susceptibility region. The map consists of four contigs of sequence tagged site-based bacterial artificial chromosomes with a total of 124 bacterial artificial chromosomes, and spans approximately 7.5 Mbp; however, three gaps still exist in this map with sizes of 425, 530 and 375 kbp, respectively, estimated from radiation hybrid mapping. CONCLUSIONS: Our high-resolution map will assist genetic studies of loci in the interval from D16S3080, near D16S409, and D16S408 (16q12.1 to 16q13)

Treatment of anxiety disorders in clinical practice: a critical overview of recent systematic evidence

The aim of this study was to review emerging evidence of novel treatments for anxiety disorders. We searched PubMed and EMBASE for evidence-based therapeutic alternatives for anxiety disorders in adults, covering the past five years. Eligible articles were systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis), which evaluated treatment effectiveness of either nonbiological or biological interventions for anxiety disorders. Retrieved articles were summarized as an overview. We assessed methods, quality of evidence, and risk of bias of the articles. Nineteen systematic reviews provided information on almost 88 thousand participants, distributed across 811 clinical trials. Regarding the interventions, 11 reviews investigated psychological or nonbiological treatments; 5, pharmacological or biological; and 3, more than one type of active intervention. Computerdelivered psychological interventions were helpful for treating anxiety of low-to-moderate intensity, but the therapist-oriented approaches had greater results. Recommendations for regular exercise, mindfulness, yoga, and safety behaviors were applicable to anxiety. Transcranial magnetic stimulation, medication augmentation, and new pharmacological agents (vortioxetine) presented inconclusive benefits in patients with anxiety disorders who presented partial responses or refractoriness to standard treatment. New treatment options for anxiety disorders should only be provided to the community after a thorough examination of their efficacy