Nouvelle méthode d'estimation des différences de temps d'arrivée pour la localisation des objets connectés haut débit

The forthcoming vision of Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE) will immerse people in so-called Smart Environments involving a great number of sectors of applications such as smart habitat, smart-cities, environment monitoring, e-health… IoT and IoE tend to make everyday objects readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable via the widespread wireless deployment and the internet. Among these capabilities, localization and more extensively the ubiquitous positioning will play, in the next future, a key role to promote another emerging vision: a spatio-temporal Internet of Places (IoP), which would be able to structure and organize, by means of wireless energy aware approaches, the spatial content of Internet. It is well known that in wireless local and personal area networks, the spectrum congestion, the low energy efficiency communications and the insufficient exploitation of the spatial resources are among the factors that may slow down its development in terms of throughput and autonomy. To overcome these unavoidable restrictions, wireless localization technology, as the mechanism for discovering spatio-temporal relationship between connected objects, appears here also as one of the key solutions. This is because dedicated localization techniques in wireless communication can help in developing more extensively the exploitation of spatial resources and allow driving optimized routing for low energy multi-hop communication and spectrum decongestion for Green ICT (Information and Communication Technology). To propose optimized systems achieving both high data rate communication and precise localization, we define a well suited TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) based method able to perform localization based on communication signals and data only. With this technique, unlike conventional TDOA estimations, it is possible to drastically decrease the complexity of required infrastructures by using either SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) or MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) configurations in connected objects. This whole study is made within the framework of the IEEE 802.11ad standard and WiGig alliance specifications, however the proposed solutions are compatible with other standards and can be extended to other context aware applications requiring localization inputs such as robotics for example or smart shopping...La vision future de l'internet des objets (IdO) et Internet du Tout (OIE) plongera les personnes soi-disant environnements intelligents impliquant un grand nombre de secteurs d'applications telles que l'habitat intelligent, smart-villes, surveillance de l'environnement, l'e-santé ... IdO et l'OIE ont tendance à faire des objets du quotidien lisible, identifiable, localisable, adressable et contrôlable via le déploiement sans fil généralisée et l'Internet. Parmi ces capacités, la localisation et plus largement le positionnement omniprésente joueront, dans un proche avenir, un rôle clé pour promouvoir une autre vision émergente: un Internet spatio-temporelle des lieux (IoP), qui serait en mesure de structurer et d'organiser, par des moyens des approches sans fil d'énergie savez, le contenu spatial d'Internet. Il est bien connu que dans les réseaux locaux sans fil et personnelles, l'encombrement du spectre, les communications à faible efficacité énergétique et l'exploitation insuffisante des ressources spatiales sont parmi les facteurs qui peuvent ralentir son développement en termes de débit et de l'autonomie. Pour surmonter ces restrictions inévitables, la technologie de localisation sans fil, comme le mécanisme pour découvrir relation spatio-temporelle entre les objets connectés, apparaît ici aussi comme une des solutions clés. Ce est parce que les techniques de localisation dédiés à la communication sans fil peuvent aider à développer plus largement l'exploitation des ressources spatiales et de permettre la conduite routage optimisé pour une faible énergie communication multi-hop et la décongestion du spectre pour Green ICT (Information et Communication Technology). Pour proposer des systèmes optimisés atteindre à la fois la communication des taux de données élevés et la localisation précise, nous définissons un TDOA bien adapté (Time Difference of Arrival) méthode basée en mesure d'effectuer la localisation basée sur des signaux de communication et de données seulement. Avec cette technique, contrairement estimations TDOA classiques, il est possible de diminuer considérablement la complexité des infrastructures nécessaires en utilisant des configurations SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) ou MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) dans les objets connectés . Toute cette étude est faite dans le cadre de l'IEEE 802.11ad spécifications de l'alliance standard et WiGig, mais les solutions proposées sont compatibles avec d'autres normes et peuvent être étendues à d'autres applications de contexte courant nécessitant entrées de localisation tels que la robotique par exemple ou de shopping intelligent..

The New Perceptions on Life of Iranian Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Qualitative Study

Various studies suggest that ankylosing spondylitis (AS) as a chronic inflammatory disease with many disabilities can have impacts on different aspects of patients’ life. Despite many quantitative studies, only few qualitative studies have thus far been published on this subject. For the first time, the present study aims at gaining insight into the life experience of Iranian AS patients. We performed a content analysis through semi-structured interviews with twenty-eight patients diagnosed with AS, including three females and twenty-five males with an average age of 38.5 years, to gain insight into their experiences. Whatever the patients expressed was written and transcribed verbatim. Then, we did analysis of the results after each interview. The detailed information completely extracted from the interviews was classified as sub-themes and main themes. Three main themes were identified by the analysis: (i) “Always with pain” describing the effects were found in regard to pain on patients’ life, (ii) “The perceived limitation” describing many difficulties that people may face in the society as a result of their disease, and (iii) “Fearing the unknown future” which implies to both patients and their families have concerns about the future and what will happen. Our research findings in line with other qualitative studies showed that AS disease puts a heavy and intolerable burden on patients and their family. It seems that the experiences of people living with AS can be useful to meet challenges caused by the disease and it can enhance their coping with the disease

Pancreas Transplantation: A Review of Literature

Pancreas transplantation has emerged as an effective treatment for patients with diabetes mellitus, especially those with established end-stage renal disease. Surgical and immunosuppressive advances have significantly improved allograft survival. The procedure reduces mortality compared with diabetic kidney transplant recipients and waitlisted patients. Improvements in diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy have also been demonstrated. Pancreas transplantation can improve cardiovascular risk profiles, improve cardiac function, and decrease cardiovascular events. Finally, improvements in diabetic neuropathy and quality of life can result from pancreas transplantation. Pancreas transplantation remains the most effective method to establish durable euglycemia for patients with diabetes mellitus

Musculoskeletal symptoms and job satisfaction among office-workers: A Cross- sectional study from Iran

Objective. Office-work poses a high-risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), with consequences for workers, employers and society. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in a sample of Iranian office workers, to investigate the association between pain severity and job satisfaction and to investigate the association between MSDs and job satisfaction. Materials and methods. Iranian office workers from a university setting (n=91) were randomly selected and included in this cross-sectional study. The Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire plus visual analogue scale of pain, and the Brayfield-Rothe Job Satisfaction Index were used to study the prevalence of MSDs, pain intensity and job satisfaction, respectively. Descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis were performed for statistical assessment. Results. Eighty-nine percent of participants reported musculoskeletal symptoms during the past 12 months, most commonly in the neck (69.2 %), low back (58.2%), knees (41.8%), shoulders (35.2%), and upper back (34.1%). There was a significant negative correlation between pain intensity and job satisfaction. Pain intensity, low-back pain in the last week, wrist pain in the past 12 months and shoulder pain were significantly associated with job satisfaction (p<0.05). Conclusion. This study provides evidence that musculoskeletal symptoms are common in Iranian office workers, associated with low job satisfaction. These findings indicate the need for more attention to MSDs among office workers and designing effective preventive interventions

The Effect of Ticlopidine on Early Arteriovenous Fistula Thrombosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Arteriovenous (AV) fistula is the first choice of a long-term vascular access for hemodialysis, but there is a 20-30% probability of thrombosis in the 1st month after its creation. Ticlopidine is a potent drug, which inhibits both primary and secondary platelet aggregation. This study is performed to evaluate the effect of ticlopidine in the prevention of AV fistula.Methods: Totally 124 patients in need of an AV fistula were divided into two groups after creation of their fistula. In the first group, we prescribed ticlopidine for 62 patients, and in the second group, 62 patients received placebo. The two groups were compared to see if their fistulas are patent or thrombotic after 1 and 3 months.Results: Of the 62 patients who received ticlopidine, four had fistula thrombosis, while in 62 patients who received placebo, 16 had fistula thrombosis (P = 0.003). This shows the significant effect of ticlopidine in the prevention of thrombosis in AV fistulas. Also, we compared age, sex, and the fistula location in the ticlopidine and placebo groups, and these attributes had no significant difference between the two groups (P &gt; 0.050).Conclusions: Considering the significant value of ticlopidine in the prevention of AV fistula thrombosis, it can be recommended after the surgery if there is no contraindication for its use

Downregulation of ITM2A Gene Expression in Macrophages of Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Objectives: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a rheumatic disorder that is mostly determined by genetic and environmental factors. Given the known importance of macrophage in AS pathogenesis, we investigated the transcriptional profile of macrophage cells in the disease. Methods and Results: Two approaches of differential expression and subsequently, weighted gene co-expression network analysis was utilized to analyze a publicly available microarray dataset of macrophages. Integral membrane protein 2A (ITM2A) was among the most significant genes with a decreased trend in the common results of both methods. In order to confirm the finding, the expression of ITM2A was evaluated in monocyte-derived (M2-like) and M1 macrophages obtained from 14 AS patients and 14 controls. Macrophages were differentiated from whole-blood separated monocytes by 7 days incubating with macrophage colony-stimulating factor and then macrophages specific markers were verified with the flow cytometer. M1 polarization was induced by IFN-gamma and lipopolysaccharide. Finally, relative gene expression analysis by real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed a significant downregulation of the ITM2A gene in both M2 like and M1 macrophages of the AS group compared to the control. Conclusion: Since ITM2A plays a critical role in osteo- and chondrogenic cellular differentiation, our finding may provide new insights into AS pathogenesis.Peer reviewe

Predictors of Regional Lymph Node Recurrence after Initial Thyroidectomy in Patients with Thyroid Cancer

Background. Regional lymph node recurrence (RLNR) is common in patients with thyroid cancer but clinicopathological predictors are unclear. We aimed to clarify these predictors and identify patients who would benefit from prophylactic lymph node dissection the most. Method. 343 patients with different types of thyroid cancer were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy between 2007 and 2013. Results. The median ± interquartile range of patients&apos; age was 40 ± 25 years. 245 (71.4%) patients were female. Regarding the risk of regional lymph node recurrence, we found that male gender, age ≥45 years, non-PTC (i.e., medullary, follicular, and anaplastic types) histopathology, T3 (i.e., tumor size &gt;4 cm in the greatest dimension limited to the thyroid or any tumor with minimal extrathyroid extension), stage IVa, and isolated cervical lymphadenopathy as initial manifestation (ICL) are significant risk factors. T3 (p &lt; 0.001; odds ratio = 156.41, 95% CI [55.72-439.1]) and ICL (p &lt; 0.001; odds ratio = 77.79, 95% CI [31.55-191.81]) were the strongest predictors of regional lymph node recurrence. Conclusion. We found easily achievable risk factors for RLNR in thyroid cancers patients. We suggested that patients with specific clinicopathological features like male gender, age ≥45 years, larger tumor size, and extrathyroidal extension be considered as prophylactic lymphadenectomy candidates

Evaluation of Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii on Antibiotic-resistant Strains of Staphylococcus aureus

AbstractIntroduction and aim: The use of drugs to treat diseases led to the emergence of resistant strains of bacteria. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is the most common problems in medical science. This study is done to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of Essential Oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii on against resistant clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus.Material and methods: After collecting plants and validate its scientific name by botanists of Agricultural Organization and after drying in shade, Essential Oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii, extracted with steam distillation method by Clevenger and antimicrobial effects of Essential Oil by well diffusion on above mentioned bacteria were interpreted. Amount of Essential Oil were injected to gas chromatography linked to mass spectrometry (GC / Ms), and the amount and type compounds of the Essential Oils were identified.Results:The results showed that the extracted essence Essential Oil from the Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii has bactericidal effect. In the obtained results by GC/Ms chromatography, in Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii Essential Oils, 22 and 18 compounds, were identified respectively.Conclusion: The results of this study show that can be taken Ziziphora clinopodioides and Achillea wilhelmsii in herbals groups with antibacterial properties and after evaluating their effects in vivo condition and to identify the active ingredients, as an alternative to synthetic drugs that commonly used to treat infections are used

New TDOA based localization method for HDR systems

La vision future de l'internet des objets (IdO) et Internet du Tout (OIE) plongera les personnes soi-disant environnements intelligents impliquant un grand nombre de secteurs d'applications telles que l'habitat intelligent, smart-villes, surveillance de l'environnement, l'e-santé ... IdO et l'OIE ont tendance à faire des objets du quotidien lisible, identifiable, localisable, adressable et contrôlable via le déploiement sans fil généralisée et l'Internet. Parmi ces capacités, la localisation et plus largement le positionnement omniprésente joueront, dans un proche avenir, un rôle clé pour promouvoir une autre vision émergente: un Internet spatio-temporelle des lieux (IoP), qui serait en mesure de structurer et d'organiser, par des moyens des approches sans fil d'énergie savez, le contenu spatial d'Internet. Il est bien connu que dans les réseaux locaux sans fil et personnelles, l'encombrement du spectre, les communications à faible efficacité énergétique et l'exploitation insuffisante des ressources spatiales sont parmi les facteurs qui peuvent ralentir son développement en termes de débit et de l'autonomie. Pour surmonter ces restrictions inévitables, la technologie de localisation sans fil, comme le mécanisme pour découvrir relation spatio-temporelle entre les objets connectés, apparaît ici aussi comme une des solutions clés. Ce est parce que les techniques de localisation dédiés à la communication sans fil peuvent aider à développer plus largement l'exploitation des ressources spatiales et de permettre la conduite routage optimisé pour une faible énergie communication multi-hop et la décongestion du spectre pour Green ICT (Information et Communication Technology). Pour proposer des systèmes optimisés atteindre à la fois la communication des taux de données élevés et la localisation précise, nous définissons un TDOA bien adapté (Time Difference of Arrival) méthode basée en mesure d'effectuer la localisation basée sur des signaux de communication et de données seulement. Avec cette technique, contrairement estimations TDOA classiques, il est possible de diminuer considérablement la complexité des infrastructures nécessaires en utilisant des configurations SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) ou MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) dans les objets connectés . Toute cette étude est faite dans le cadre de l'IEEE 802.11ad spécifications de l'alliance standard et WiGig, mais les solutions proposées sont compatibles avec d'autres normes et peuvent être étendues à d'autres applications de contexte courant nécessitant entrées de localisation tels que la robotique par exemple ou de shopping intelligent...The forthcoming vision of Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE) will immerse people in so-called Smart Environments involving a great number of sectors of applications such as smart habitat, smart-cities, environment monitoring, e-health… IoT and IoE tend to make everyday objects readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable via the widespread wireless deployment and the internet. Among these capabilities, localization and more extensively the ubiquitous positioning will play, in the next future, a key role to promote another emerging vision: a spatio-temporal Internet of Places (IoP), which would be able to structure and organize, by means of wireless energy aware approaches, the spatial content of Internet. It is well known that in wireless local and personal area networks, the spectrum congestion, the low energy efficiency communications and the insufficient exploitation of the spatial resources are among the factors that may slow down its development in terms of throughput and autonomy. To overcome these unavoidable restrictions, wireless localization technology, as the mechanism for discovering spatio-temporal relationship between connected objects, appears here also as one of the key solutions. This is because dedicated localization techniques in wireless communication can help in developing more extensively the exploitation of spatial resources and allow driving optimized routing for low energy multi-hop communication and spectrum decongestion for Green ICT (Information and Communication Technology). To propose optimized systems achieving both high data rate communication and precise localization, we define a well suited TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) based method able to perform localization based on communication signals and data only. With this technique, unlike conventional TDOA estimations, it is possible to drastically decrease the complexity of required infrastructures by using either SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MISO (Multiple Input Single Output) or MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) configurations in connected objects. This whole study is made within the framework of the IEEE 802.11ad standard and WiGig alliance specifications, however the proposed solutions are compatible with other standards and can be extended to other context aware applications requiring localization inputs such as robotics for example or smart shopping..