Interleukin-1 gene cluster Haplotype analysis in the chronic outcome prediction of the Hepatitis B virus infection

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is well known as an important cause of the chronic liver disease. The screening of the genotype of certain cytokines might be helpful to predict the clinical outcome of an HBV infection. The present study investigates the relationship between the polymorphism and haplotypes of the Interleukin-1 (IL-1) gene family, including IL-1-alpha (IL-1A), IL-1-beta (IL-1B,) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN), with chronic HBV infection. A total of 297 chronic HBV and 333 matched on sex and age control individuals were genotyped using the standard sequence-specific-polymerase chain reaction primer (SSP-PCR) method. Four different haplotype analysis software packages were applied for data interpretation. The results showed excess genotype A1/A1 and A2/A2 at IL-1RN (40.2, 39.9), C/T at IL-1A-889 (55.6), and C/C at IL-1B-511 (41.1) in controls while A1/A1 at IL-1RN (59.3), T/T at IL-1B-31 (46.5), C/T at IL-1B + 3953 (65), in chronic HBV infection cases. A total of 148 haplotypes were observed overall (96 in the case group and 89 in the control group). The haplotype combination of genotype A1/A1 at IL1-RN along with a C/T for all three IL-1B polymorphic positions and either C/T or T/T at the IL-1A-899 position may increase the probability of the chronic outcome for the HBV infection. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Secure Communication in OFDMA-Based Cognitive Radio Networks: An Incentivized Secondary Network Coexistence Approach

In this paper, we propose a secure cooperative communications scheme for orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) cognitive radio networks (CRNs), where a primary base station (PBS) wants to transmit information to some distant primary users (PUs) in the presence of a set of passive eavesdroppers. In our model, the transmission is performed in two consecutive time slots; in the first time slot, the PBS transmits while the secondary users (SUs) and the eavesdroppers listen. In the second time slot, the SUs transmit while the PUs, the secondary base station (SBS), and the eavesdroppers listen. We consider two schemes for eavesdropping; in the first scheme, the eavesdroppers listen to transmissions from the PBS to the SUs, and in the second scheme, we assume that the eavesdroppers apply the maximal ratio combining approach on the received signals in the first and second time slots for the primary network. In the proposed model, the SUs are allowed to use the licensed spectrum of the PUs, as long as they help the PUs to satisfy their secrecy rate requirement. We assume a frame-based transmission where each frame is divided into two consecutive time slots of equal duration. In the first time slot, the PBS transmits while the SUs and the eavesdroppers listen. In the second time slot, the selected SUs relay the PBS information to the distant PUs. Meanwhile, the SUs use the remaining resources to transmit their own information to the SBS while the eavesdroppers listen to this transmission. We form

Dual Communications in MIMO SCMA-Based Secure HetNets

This paper studies a novel dual-mode scheduling framework that jointly performs power allocation, beamforming, and sparse code multiple access (SCMA) based scheduling over microwave and millimeter wave (mmW) bands. We propose a robust secure transmission scheme assuming imperfect channel state information for the eavesdropper links. The proposed scheduling framework allows users to schedule simultaneously on each dual-mode BS, based on SCMA, to maximize the joint access secrecy and backhaul rates under transmit power constraints. It is shown that the proposed scheduling framework can find an effective scheduling solution over both microwave and mmW in polynomial time. Simulation results show that the dual connectivity, and joint solutions have 22.5%, and 20% performance gain compared to only microwave, and the disjoint solution, respectively

Theoretical studies of hydrazine detection by pure and Al defected MgO nanotubes

Density Functional Theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations using PBE and TPSS functionals have been performed to investigate the effects of the adsorption of hydrazine (N2H4) on the structural and optoelectronic features of the pure and Al defected MgO nanotubes. The calculated results for hydrazine/MgO systems reveal no remarkable changes with respect to optical and electronic features of the pure MgO after interactions. Consequently, the Al substitutions with Mg atoms placed in the middle and end sites have shown significant changes in values of the frontier molecular orbital space distribution and ground state dipole moment of states V and VII after interaction with hydrazine compared to those of hydrazine adsorbed onto pure MgO nanotubes. The quantum molecular descriptor and TD-DFT calculations show that electron transfers from the HOMO orbitals of Al-defected MgO nanotubes to LUMO, LUMO-1 and LUMO-2 orbitals of hydrazine. The study indicates that Al-defected-MgO nanotubes (states X and Z) as a sensor can facilitate the hydrazine detection over MgO nanotube, while the pure nanotube is not highly sensitive. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

Serine adsorption through different functionalities on the B12N12 and Pt-B12N12 nanocages

The present work reports the adsorption of serine in the neutral and zwitterionic forms on the pure and Pt-decorated B12N12 fullerenes by means of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. The binding energy of serine over the fullerene has been studied through its hydroxyl (-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), and amine (-NH2) functional groups. Based on our analysis, the binding energy of serine in zwitterionic form (F: −1.52 eV) on B12N12 fullerene is less stable than that of the neutral form (C: −1.61 eV) using the M06-2X functional. Our results indicated that the most stable chemisorption state for serine is through its amine group (I: −2.49 eV) interacting with the Pt-decorated B12N12 fullerene in comparison with the carbonyl group (J: −1.92 eV). The conductivity of the B12N12 and Pt-decorated B12N12 fullerenes is influenced by the energy band gap variation when serine is adsorbed upon the outer surface of fullerenes. Understanding the adsorption of serine on B12N12 and Pt-decorated B12N12 fullerenes provide fundamental knowledge for future applications in biomolecules and metal surfaces. © 201

Profit Maximization in 5G+ Networks with Heterogeneous Aerial and Ground Base Stations

In this paper, we propose a novel framework for 5G and beyond (5G+) heterogeneous wireless networks consisting of macro aerial base stations (MABSs), small aerial base stations (SABSs), and ground base stations (GBSs) with two types of access technologies: power domain non-orthogonal multiple access (PD-NOMA) and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). We aim to maximize the total network profit under some practical network constraints, e.g., NOMA and OFDMA limitations, transmit power (TP) maximum limits, and isolation of the virtualized wireless network. We formulate the resource allocation problem encompassing joint TP allocation, ABS altitude determination, user association, and sub-carrier allocation parameters. Our optimization problem is mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) with high computational complexity. To propose a practical approach with reduced computational complexity, we use an alternate method where the main optimization is broken down into three sub-problems with lower computational complexity. We do this b

Systematic review and meta-analytic findings on the association between killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor genes and susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis

Several studies have evaluated the association between killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) genes and susceptibility risk to tuberculosis (TB) infection. Nonetheless, their outcomes have not been conclusive and consistent. Here we implemented a systematic review and meta-analysis of KIR genes association to susceptibility risk of pulmonary TB (PTB) infection to attain a clear understanding of the involvement of these genes in susceptibility to PTB infection. A systematic search was conducted in the MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus databases to find case-control studies published before November 2020. Pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95 confidence interval (95 CI) were calculated to determine the association between KIR genes and risk of PTB infection. After comprehensive searching and implementing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis. Four KIR genes were found to have significant positive association with PTB susceptibility risk of infection, including 2DL3 (OR = 1.454, 95 CI = 1.157�1.827; P = 0.001), 2DS1 (OR = 1.481, 95 CI = 1.334�1.837; P < 0.001), 2DS4 (OR = 1.782, 95 CI = 1.273�2.495; P = 0.001) and 3DL1 (OR = 1.726, 95 CI = 1.277�2.333; P < 0.001). However, the results showed that the remaining KIR genes (2DS2-4, 2DL1, 2, 4, 3DL1-2) and two pseudogenes (2DP1 and 3DP1) did not have significant associations with risk of PTB infection. This meta-analysis provides reliable evidence that the KIR genes 2DL3, 2DS1, 2DS4, and 3DL1 may be associated with an increased risk of PTB infection. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group