MODLEACH: A Variant of LEACH for WSNs

Wireless sensor networks are appearing as an emerging need for mankind. Though, Such networks are still in research phase however, they have high potential to be applied in almost every field of life. Lots of research is done and a lot more is awaiting to be standardized. In this work, cluster based routing in wireless sensor networks is studied precisely. Further, we modify one of the most prominent wireless sensor network's routing protocol "LEACH" as modified LEACH (MODLEACH) by introducing \emph{efficient cluster head replacement scheme} and \emph{dual transmitting power levels}. Our modified LEACH, in comparison with LEACH out performs it using metrics of cluster head formation, through put and network life. Afterwards, hard and soft thresholds are implemented on modified LEACH (MODLEACH) that boast the performance even more. Finally a brief performance analysis of LEACH, Modified LEACH (MODLEACH), MODLEACH with hard threshold (MODLEACHHT) and MODLEACH with soft threshold (MODLEACHST) is undertaken considering metrics of throughput, network life and cluster head replacements.Comment: IEEE 8th International Conference on Broadband and Wireless Computing, Communication and Applications (BWCCA'13), Compiegne, Franc

Rheumatoid arthritis

Immune-mediated inflammatory disorders include a clinically diverse group of conditions sharing similar pathogenic mechanisms. Conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, spondyloarthropathy, inflammatory bowel disease and connective tissue diseases are characterised by immune dysregulation and chronic inflammation. This review will focus immuno-pathogenic mechanisms, aspects of early disease, co-morbidity and therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Power quality improvement using ultra capacitor based dynamic voltage restorer with real twisting sliding mode control

Introduction. Power quality is a major problem in today's power system, since it may have an impact on customers and utilities. Problem. Power quality is important issue of financial consequences for utilities, their consumers and load apparatus vendors. Voltage sag/swell are the most significant and usually occurring power quality issues in a secondary distribution system for sensitive loads. Goal. Dynamic voltage restorer is a fast, flexible, effective and dynamic custom power device can be used to compensate voltage sag/swell with integration of energy storage. Ultra capacitors have ideal properties of great power density and low energy density for elimination of voltage sag/swell. Their performance is mostly determined by the control strategy established for switching of voltage source converters. Originality. In this research, a strategy for the voltage source converter of dynamic voltage restorer based on the real twisting sliding mode control and ultra capacitor is developed to correct the fault that successfully eliminates the impacts of voltage sag/swell. Methodology. Ultra capacitor along with real twisting sliding mode control gives the more robustness and faster response, with also increasing the compensation time of the dynamic voltage restorer. Testing environment. To evaluate the performance of the proposed control approach, the MATLAB / Simulink SimPower System tool box is employed. Practical values. According to Simulation results clearly shows that the ultra capacitor along with real twisting sliding mode control effectively eliminate the voltage sag/swell in a very short time of 2 ms as compared to IEEE standards that is 20 ms, with less than 5 % total harmonic distortion for sensitive loads as per Information Technology Industry Council Curve and SEMI-F-47 Standards.Вступ. Якість електроенергії являє собою серйозну проблему в сучасній енергосистемі, оскільки вона може впливати на споживачів та комунальні служби. Проблема. Якість електроенергії є важливим питанням з точки хору фінансових наслідків для комунальних підприємств, їх споживачів та постачальників апаратури-навантажень. Провали/стрибки напруги є найбільш серйозними проблемами з огляду на якість електроенергії, які зазвичай виникають у вторинній системі розподілу для чутливих навантажень. Мета. Динамічний відновник напруги — це швидкий, гнучкий, ефективний і динамічний пристрій живлення, який можна використовувати для компенсації провалів/стрибків напруги за допомогою інтеграції накопичувача енергії. Суперконденсатори мають ідеальні властивості високої щільності потужності та низької щільності енергії для усунення провалів/стрибків напруги. Їх ефективність переважно визначається стратегією управління, встановленої для комутації перетворювачів джерел напруги. Оригінальність. У цьому дослідженні розроблено стратегію для перетворювача джерела напруги динамічного відновника напруги на основі керування реальним ковзним режимом скручування та суперконденсатора для виправлення несправності, яка успішно усуває наслідки провалу/стрибка напруги. Методологія. Суперконденсатор разом із керуванням реальним ковзним режимом скручування забезпечує більшу надійність та швидшу реакцію, а також збільшує час компенсації динамічного відновника напруги. Середовище для тестування. Для оцінки ефективності запропонованого підходу до управління використовується комплекс програмного забезпечення MATLAB/Simulink SimPower System. Практична цінність. Згідно з результатами моделювання ясно видно, що суперконденсатор разом з керуванням реальним ковзним режимом скручування ефективно усувають провали/стрибки напруги за дуже короткий час 2 мс у порівнянні зі стандартами IEEE, у відповідності до яких він становить 20 мс, із загальним спотворенням гармонік менше 5 % для чутливого навантаження відповідно зі стандартами Information Technology Industry Council Curve та SEMI-F-47

Comparative analysis of regulatory elements in different germin-like protein gene promoters

Germin and germin-like proteins (GLPs) the members of cupin superfamily of proteins, which are functionally most diverse proteins. Germin and GLPs have some unique features as they are highly resistant to proteases and to degradation by heat, high pH and detergents like Sodium dodecylSulphate (SDS). They are water soluble extracellular enzymatic protein that may also have Oxalate Oxidase (OxO), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) or ADP-glucose pyrophosphate or phosphodiestrase (AGPPase) activities. At the moment seven GLP gene promoter from different organisms have been studied and published. These all promoter sequences have been analyzed in this study. It was observed that these promoters have important regulatory elements, which are involved in various important functions. These elements have been compared on the basis of location, copy number, and distributed on positive and negative strands. It was also observed that some of these elements are common and remained conserved among all GLP promoters during evolution. Such regulatory elements are commonly observed in seed storage proteins, dehydration in response to light, senescence observed on exposure to dark and in elements specific for expression in pollen. Moreover, these commonelements are reported to be expressed under environmental stresses (salt and pathogen attack) and to growth regulators

Fractal Antennas for Wireless Communications

When the length of the antenna is less than a quarter of the wavelength of the operating frequency, good radiation properties are difficult to obtain. However, size limitations can be overcome in this case using a fractal geometry antenna. The shape is repeated in a limited size such that the total length of the antenna is increased to match, for example, half of the wavelength of the corresponding desired frequency. Many fractal geometries, e.g., the tree, Koch, Minkowski, and Hilbert fractals, are available. This chapter describes the details of designing, simulations, and experimental measurements of fractal antennas. Based on dimensional geometry in terms of desired frequency bands, the characteristics of each iteration are studied carefully to improve the process of designing the antennas. In depth, the surface current distribution is investigated and analyzed to enhance the circular polarization radiation and axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW). Both, simulation and experimental, results are discussed and compared. Two types of fractal antennas are proposed. The first proposed fractal antenna has a new structure configured via a five-stage process. The second proposed fractal antenna has a low profile, wherein the configuration of the antenna was based on three iterations

Phylogeny of Artemisia L.: Recent developments

In this review, classification and phylogeny of genus Artemisia L. is discussed. Its centers of diversity lie in the temperate and cold temperate regions of the Eurasia, North America and Asia. Artemisia has two basic chromosome numbers, with ploidy levels x=9 and x=8. Chromosome number in diploid is most often 2n=18 or 16. The genus is divided into five large groups Absinthium DC., Artemisia L., Dracunculus Besser, Seriphidium Besser and Tridantatae (Rydb.) McArthur. Its phylogeny was based on the two hypothesized evolutionary trends, loss of fertility in the disc florets and loss of ray florets. Recently its molecular phylogeny based on internally transcribed spacer (ITS), externally transcribed spacer (ETS) regions of the DNA and chloroplast DNA suggested that the genus Artemisia is a monophyletic but it could not resolve the problem of infra-generic classification. This study revealed that there is need to search new genome regions to establish a natural classification based on modern molecular techniques

Client and facility level determinants of quality of care in family planning services in Ethiopia: multilevel modelling

Over the last two decades, while contraceptive use has improved in Ethiopia, the contraceptive prevalence rate remains low. In addition to socio-demographic and cultural factors, the quality of care in Family Planning (FP) services is an important determining factor of FP utilization. However, little research exists on the determinants of quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia. This study aims to identify the client and facility level determinants of quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia.This study was based on the first Ethiopian Services Provision Assessment Plus (ESPA+) survey conducted in 2014. A total of 1247 clients nested in 374 health facilities were included in the analysis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression modelling was conducted. The outcome variable, client satisfaction, was created using polychoric principal component analysis using eleven facets that reflect client satisfaction.The results showed that both client-level and facility-level factors were associated with quality of care in FP services in Ethiopia. At the client-level; provision of information on potential side effects of contraceptive method (AOR = 5.22, 95% CI: 2.13-12.80), and number of history and physical assessments (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.03-1.34) were positively associated with client satisfaction, whereas waiting times of 30 minutes to two hours (AOR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03-0.33) was negatively associated with client satisfaction. At the facility-level; urban location (AOR = 4.61, 95% CI: 1.04-20.58), and availability of FP guidelines/protocols for providers (AOR = 4.90, 95% CI: 1.19-20.19) had positive significant effect on client satisfaction.Quality improvement programs in FP services in Ethiopia should focus on shortening waiting times and provision of information about the potential side effects of contraceptive methods. It is also important to improve health providers' skills in thorough client history taking and physical assessment. Further distribution and implementation of best practice guidelines for providers working in the FP services must be a priority.Gizachew Assefa Tessema, Mohammad Afzal Mahmood, Judith Streak Gomersall, Yibeltal Assefa, Theodros Getachew Zemedu, Mengistu Kifle, Caroline O. Laurenc

Seamless Variability Management With the Virtual Platform

Customization is a general trend in software engineering, demanding systems that support variable stakeholder requirements. Two opposing strategies are commonly used to create variants: software clone & own and software configuration with an integrated platform. Organizations often start with the former, which is cheap, agile, and supports quick innovation, but does not scale. The latter scales by establishing an integrated platform that shares software assets between variants, but requires high up-front investments or risky migration processes. So, could we have a method that allows an easy transition or even combine the benefits of both strategies? We propose a method and tool that supports a truly incremental development of variant-rich systems, exploiting a spectrum between both opposing strategies. We design, formalize, and prototype the variability-management framework virtual platform. It bridges clone & own and platform-oriented development. Relying on programming-language-independent conceptual structures representing software assets, it offers operators for engineering and evolving a system, comprising: traditional, asset-oriented operators and novel, feature-oriented operators for incrementally adopting concepts of an integrated platform. The operators record meta-data that is exploited by other operators to support the transition. Among others, they eliminate expensive feature-location effort or the need to trace clones. Our evaluation simulates the evolution of a real-world, clone-based system, measuring its costs and benefits.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication at the 43rd International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2021), main technical trac