ORIGINAL PAPER mHealthMon: Toward Energy-Efficient and Distributed Mobile Health Monitoring Using Parallel Offloading

Abstract Although mobile health monitoring where mobile sensors continuously gather, process, and update sensor readings (e.g. vital signals) from patient’s sensors is emerging, little effort has been investigated in an energyefficient management of sensor information gathering and processing. Mobile health monitoring with the focus of energy consumption may instead be holistically analyzed and systematically designed as a global solution to optimization subproblems. This paper presents an attempt to decompose the very complex mobile health monitoring system whose layer in the system corresponds to decomposed subproblems, and interfaces between them are quantified as functions of the optimization variables in order to orchestrate the subproblems. We propose a distributed and energy-saving mobile health platform, called mHealthMon where mobile users publish/access sensor data via a cloud computing-based distributed P2P overlay network. The key objective is to satisfy the mobile health monitoring application’s quality of service requirements by modeling each subsystem: mobile clients with medical sensors, wireless network medium, and distributed cloud services. By simulations based on experimental data, we present the proposed system can achieve up to 10.1 times more energy-efficient and 20.2 times faster compared to a standalone mobil

Enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity of Ni electrode for hydrogen evolution by electrodeposited V and Co on its surface

Enhancement of the electrocatalytic effect of Ni electrode for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by co-electrodeposited V and Co at metallic Ni (Ni-V-Co) was studied by using quasi-potentiostatic polarization technique from 1 M KOH at 25 ºC. The obtained exchange current density for HER with Ni-V-Co electrode, (5.5x10-4 Acm-2), is about two orders of magnitude higher than for metallic Ni electrode. The results suggested the existence of the synergetic effect of V and Co deposit on the catalytic activity of Ni electrode for HER. By using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis the presence of Co and V at metallic Ni support was proved.Physical chemistry 2006 : 8th international conference on fundamental and applied aspects of physical chemistry; Belgrade (Serbia); 26-29 September 200

Metabolic acclimation to heat stress in farm housed Holstein cows with different body condition scores

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of body condition score to metabolic acclimation in heat stressed Holstein cows. Body condition of cows had no effect on any of the tested parameters during the thermal neutral period, except for the percentage of protein in milk. Heat stress has been demonstrated to have an impact on all the selected parameters, and has been found to be the cause of decreased milk production and quality, increased rectal temperature and respiration rate, decreased glucose, non esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and cholesterol concentration, increased urea and bilirubin concentration, and loss of subcutaneous fat. Obese cows (BCS>4) had less ability of acclimation to heat stress as compared to normal and thin cows (significantly lower production and milk quality, and significantly higher rectal temperature and respiration level in relation to the other groups of cows). Obese cows showed a significantly higher concentration of NEFA and significantly lower glucose during exposure to heat stress. The steady increase in NEFA concentrations and decrease of backfat thickness suggested that fat was used for energy purposes, which significantly increased the heat balance and led to poor acclimation to heat stress in obese cows. Cows with high body condition were at higher risk of developing liver failure and lipidosis (reduced cholesterol and elevated bilirubin concentration) during heat stress, which could be linked with increased concentrations of fatty acids in the blood. This was found with an increased concentration of urea during exposure to heat stress, with significantly higher concentration in obese cows. Using the fat for energy purposes depends on the sensitivity to insulin, which increases during heat stress. Obese cows are naturally less sensitive to insulin and more prone to lipolysis. However, these signs should be the focus of future research.Key words: Body condition score, heat stress, metabolic status, cow

Prvi izveštaj o rasprostranjenosti i kliničkoj slici infekcije mačaka sa Bartonella henselae na području Novog Sada

Cat Scratch Disease (CSD) is an infective disease of animals and humans caused with Bartonella henselae. Prevalence of infection varies between 0 and 68% depending on different population of cats and geographical region. Naturally infected cats are often clinically healthy and are inapparent germ carriers. In this investigation 40 cats from the area of Novi Sad were analyzed. After the epidemiological questionnaire was made, all cats were clinically investigated. To determine the presence of specific antibodies of class G on Bartonella henselae the method of indirect immunofluorescence was used. For the first time in Serbia, in the area of Novi Sad municipality the infection caused by Bartonella henselae in the population of cats was detected. Prevalence of specific antibodies of class IgG on Bartonella henselae antigen in the population of cats was 57%. The most common clinical manifestations in seropositive cats were gingivitis and lymphoadenopathy.Bolest mačijeg ogreba (BMO) je infektivno oboljenje životinja i ljudi izazvano sa Bartonella henselae. Prevalencija infekcije varira u zavisnosti od populacije mačaka i geografskog regiona i kreće se od 0 do 68%. Prirodno inficirane mačke su često klinički zdrave, inaparentne kliconoše. U istraživanje je bilo uključeno 40 mačaka sa područja Novog Sada. Nakon uzimanja epidemiološke ankete, sve mačke su klinički pregledane. Za utvrđivanje prisustva specifičnih antitela klase G na antigene Bartonella henselae korišćen je test indirektne imunofluorescencije. Na geografskom području grada Novog Sada i okoline, po prvi put je u Republici Srbiji, utvrđeno prisustvo infekcije izazvane uzročnikom Bartonella henselae u populaciji mačaka. Prevalencija specifičnih antitela klase IgG na antigen Bartonella henselae u populaciji mačaka iznosila je 57%. Najčešće kliničke manifestacije kod seropozitivnih mačaka bile su gingivitis i limfadenopatija

Virtual laboratories for education in science, technology, and engineering: A review

Within education, concepts such as distance learning, and open universities, are now becoming more widely used for teaching and learning. However, due to the nature of the subject domain, the teaching of Science, Technology, and Engineering are still relatively behind when using new technological approaches (particularly for online distance learning). The reason for this discrepancy lies in the fact that these fields often require laboratory exercises to provide effective skill acquisition and hands-on experience. Often it is difficult to make these laboratories accessible for online access. Either the real lab needs to be enabled for remote access or it needs to be replicated as a fully software-based virtual lab. We argue for the latter concept since it offers some advantages over remotely controlled real labs, which will be elaborated further in this paper. We are now seeing new emerging technologies that can overcome some of the potential difficulties in this area. These include: computer graphics, augmented reality, computational dynamics, and virtual worlds. This paper summarizes the state of the art in virtual laboratories and virtual worlds in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. The main research activity in these fields is discussed but special emphasis is put on the field of robotics due to the maturity of this area within the virtual-education community. This is not a coincidence; starting from its widely multidisciplinary character, robotics is a perfect example where all the other fields of engineering and physics can contribute. Thus, the use of virtual labs for other scientific and non-robotic engineering uses can be seen to share many of the same learning processes. This can include supporting the introduction of new concepts as part of learning about science and technology, and introducing more general engineering knowledge, through to supporting more constructive (and collaborative) education and training activities in a more complex engineering topic such as robotics. The objective of this paper is to outline this problem space in more detail and to create a valuable source of information that can help to define the starting position for future research

Correlation between the limit values of laboratory and clinical mycotoxicosis

Analysis of feed for the presence of fungi and mycotoxins is a request necessary to meet in order to ensure a healthy and economical production in livestock. These tests are related to legal regulation which prescribes the maximum legislated content (MLC), both for the presence of mycotoxins and the total number of fungi in certain feeds. Health problems that can occur during the production of animals are sometimes caused by the presence of mycotoxins in the feed. Laboratory testing is a good practice to confirm a suspicion, and allows timely treatment of contaminated feed. Potential problems arise under circumstances when there is a clinical outcome of mycotoxicosis and animal and laboratory findings suggest that the obtained values are below the level that is within the MLC. For these reasons, the subject of our research was to investigate the occurrence of mycotoxins and mold in feed, as well as the clinical presentation for animals that were fed with the feed with allowed values of these agents according to the recommended levels. The aim of this paper was to highlight the problems associated with clinical correlation of sick animals and laboratory findings, and suggest their overcoming. In the period of one year, a total of 176 samples of feed (complete mixture for broilers, corn and soy products) were examined for the presence of fungi, 106 samples were examined for the presence of mycotoxins and 26 flocks of broilers and turkeys were clinically observed. Standard methods were used for isolation of molds and the ELISA test was used for the detection of mycotoxins. Clinical and pathomorphological observation of the flocks was done to determine the natural indicators of production. Studies indicated a problem because clinical and pathomorphological findings in some cases were not correlated with laboratory findings of molds and mycotoxins in the feed, and in some cases it did not necessarily mean that the animals were healthy. Synergism and cumulative effects of mycotoxins, on the one hand, and the characteristics of each species and product category on the other hand, can create specific circumstances that can lead to disease and can increase even though the values prescribed by legislation have been met. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 031071

Anthracosilicosis in the coal mines of Zaječar

Prikazan je problem antrakosilikoze u rudnicima zaječarskog ugljenog basena, Najteži slučajevi antrakosilikoze utvrđeni su u rudniku Vrška Čuka. Analizirana je rudača i jalovina i utvrđene su bogate primjese silicijeva dioksida.The problem of anthracosilicosis in the coal mines of the basin of Zaječar is presented. Most serious cases are observed in the mine Vrška Čuka. The analysis of the ore and rock shows a high Si02 content

Determination of tenside mixtures efficiency: conductometric and stalagmometric investigation

The performances of mixtures of different surfactants: anionic (sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) and ά-olefin sulfonates (AOS), amphoteric (coco betaine) and nonionic (coco amide, amine oxide, AO and various etoxylated alcohols, C12-C15-7EO, C10-7EO and C9-C11-7EO), were studied. The parameters measured were critical micelle concentration (CMC) and surface tension of particular tenside mixture. The combination of SLES/AOS/C9- C11-7EO/AO at ratio 75/15/7/3 achieved the lowest both the CMC and surface tension compared to the other examined tenside mixtures (SLES/AOS, SLES/AOS/coco betaine/AO, SLES/AOS/coco amide/AO, SLES/AOS/C12-C15-7EO/AO and SLES/AOS/C10-7EO/AO). This study showed that adding nonionic tenside (alcohol ethoxylate, C9-C11-7EO) improved SLES/AOS foaming properties, synergism in detergency between them. The reduction in the surface tension was obtained, thus indicated that alcohol ethoxylate, C12-C15-7EO, C10-7EO and C9-C11-7EO can be used to produce better cleaning products