Wireless Body Area Networks for Healthcare Applications: An Overview

Healthcare systems have been facing various new challenges due to increasing and rising aging population in healthcare. Advance information and communication technologies have introduced Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) for healthcare systems. WBANs provide different monitoring services in healthcare sector for monitoring their patients with more convenience. WBANs are economical solutions and non-invasive technology for healthcare applications. This review paper provides a comprehensive review on WBANs applications, services and recent challenges

LONG RANGE FIRES JOINT FORCE OPERATIONS IN GPS-DENIED AND DEGRADED ENVIRONMENTS

The employment of Long-Range Fires is a high priority for the U.S. Navy, addressing the capability of forces to coordinate an emerging arsenal of deep strike weapons that can be launched from an array of joint assets against critical enemy assets at sea or hardened facilities on land. Additionally, the Long-Range Fires process must be resilient in a degraded or denied environment. However, coordinating Long-Range Fires encompasses a complex set of actions, to include target prioritization and development, command and control, tasking, kinetic and non-kinetic fires, battle damage assessment, rearming and contested logistics. Our approach leverages recent Navy-sponsored MBSE research, simulation, and analysis to include projects involving joint fires within Distributed Maritime Operations and feasibility of deploying hypersonic missiles on U.S. surface ships. We apply a similar approach here but augment it with a system of systems analysis of Long-Range Fires in a degraded and denied environment as part of a timely and relevant joint operational scenario. We examine significant design decisions and operational parameters, as well as appropriate measures of effectiveness, in generating successful Long-Range Fires through systems architecture development and simulation analysis.NPS Naval Research ProgramThis project was funded in part by the NPS Naval Research Program.Civilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the NavyCivilian, Department of the ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Analyzing the Parameters of Multidimensional Poverty in Taluka Naushahro Feroze: A Case Study

This research paper tackles the multidimensional poverty applying Foster and Alkire methods of Taluka Naushahro Feroze’s 14 Union councils on the basic figures. No any single navigator gives clear value for deprivation as naturally it is multidimensional. Three dimensions are selected having unequal weights in health, education, and living standard. These areas have been extra distributed in ten indicators, two for education, two for health while six for living standards. The out-put shows that Union Council Waggan has the most multidimensional poverty while least multidimensional poverty was found in Union Councils of Cheeho Taluka Naushahro Feroze. It further suggests an indicator which has highest contributions for multidimensional poverty such as life expectancy, child school attendance, school quality, child mortality, year of schooling, walls, cooking fuel, overcrowding and which contribute lowest is electricity and improved drinking water. Percentage of people for those who are MPI poor of Taluka Naushahro is 47.95 % (incidence of poverty), while average deprivation of people is 55.75 % furthermore, multidimensional poverty index (MPI) is 26.73 % in Naushahro Feroze. Keywords: Multidimensional poverty, incidence of poverty, Average deprivation DOI: 10.7176/JPID/53-06 Publication date: March 31st 202

Contraction and Intracellular Calcium Transport in Epicardial and Endocardial Ventricular Myocytes from Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rat

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 424.9 million people suffered from DM in 2017 and this number is expected to rise to 628.6 million by 2045. Although diabetes can affect every organ in the body, cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death and disability in people with diabetes. Diabetic patients frequently suffer from systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Within the ventricles, the electromechanical properties of cardiac myocytes vary transmurally. The aim of this study was to investigate contraction and Ca2+ transport in epicardial (EPI) and endocardial (ENDO) myocytes from the left ventricle in the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat heart. Experiments were performed 5–6 months after STZ treatment. Ventricular myocytes were isolated by enzymic and mechanical dispersal techniques from EPI and ENDO regions of the left ventricle. Contraction and free intracellular Ca2+ concentration (Ca2+)i were measured by video edge detection and fl uorescence photometry techniques, respectively. Myocyte length and calculated surface area were smaller in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON. Time to peak (TPK) shortening was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON and in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON myocytes. Time to half (THALF) relaxation of shortening was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON. TPK Ca2+ transient was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON, ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON, ENDO-STZ compared to EPI-STZ and in ENDO-CON compared to EPI-CON myocytes. THALF decay of the Ca2+ transient was prolonged in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON. Fractional release of Ca2+ was increased in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON and in ENDO-STZ compared to EPI-STZ. Recovery of the Ca2+ transient was prolonged in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON. In conclusion, the kinetics of contraction and Ca2+ transient, fractional release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum are altered to different extents in EPI and ENDO myocytes from STZ-induced diabetic rat

Contraction and Intracellular Calcium Transport in Epicardial and Endocardial Ventricular Myocytes from Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rat

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global health problem. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 424.9 million people suffered from DM in 2017 and this number is expected to rise to 628.6 million by 2045. Although diabetes can affect every organ in the body, cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death and disability in people with diabetes. Diabetic patients frequently suffer from systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Within the ventricles, the electromechanical properties of cardiac myocytes vary transmurally. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate contraction and Ca2+ transport in epicardial (EPI) and endocardial (ENDO) myocytes from the left ventricle in the streptozotocin (STZ) “ induced diabetic rat heart. Materials and Methods: Experiments were performed 5-6 months after STZ treatment. Ventricular myocytes were isolated by enzymic and mechanical dispersal techniques from EPI and ENDO regions of the left ventricle. Contraction and free intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+]i were measured by video edge detection and fluorescence photometry techniques, respectively. Results: Myocyte length and calculated surface area were smaller in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON. Time to peak (TPK) shortening was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON and in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON myocytes. Time to half (THALF) relaxation of shortening was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON. TPK Ca2+ transient was prolonged in EPI-STZ compared to EPI-CON, ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON, ENDO-STZ compared to EPI-STZ and in ENDO-CON compared to EPI-CON myocytes. THALF decay of the Ca2+ transient was prolonged in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON. Fractional release of Ca2+ was increased in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON and in ENDO-STZ compared to EPI-STZ. Recovery of the Ca2+ transient was prolonged in ENDO-STZ compared to ENDO-CON. Conclusion: In conclusion the kinetics of contraction and Ca2+ transient and fractional release of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum are altered to different extents in EPI and ENDO myocytes from STZ-induced diabetic rat

The Comparison of Outcome in Treating Proximal Ureteric Stones of Size 10 mm to 15 mm Using Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy as Compared to Ureterorenoscopic Manipulation Using Holmium Laser

Urinary stone disease or nephrolithiasis, the third most common disease of the urinary tract, is a major health issue due to its high prevalence, occurrence, and recurrence. The hallmark of a stone that obstructs the ureter or renal pelvis is excruciating, intermittent pain that radiates from the flank to the groin or to the inner thigh. Stone size influences the rate of spontaneous stone passage. Our aim was to compare the efficacy & the frequency of stone-free patients after intervention at 1 week after extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and ureterorenoscopic (URS) manipulation for proximal ureteric stone (10–15 mm size). This randomized control trial was done in the department of Urology, KRL Hospital Islamabad from 18th Nov 2019 to 18th May 2020. After meeting the inclusion criteria, 100 patients were enrolled and were divided into two groups. The first group was treated with ESWL and the other with URS. Then, procedures were done. Follow-up was noted after 1 week in the stone clinic. The average age of the patients was 39.71 ± 10.17 years. Efficacy in the ESWL group was found in 68% cases while in the URS group, efficacy was noticed in 76% cases (P > 0.05). Male patients were three times at a higher risk of recurrence as compared to females. This study concluded that both ESWL and URS are equally effective statistically in terms of the frequency of stone-free patients at 1 week for proximal ureteric stone (10–15 mm size)

Green Computing for Wireless Body Area Networks: Energy Efficient Link Aware Medical Data Dissemination Approach

Recent technological advancement- in wireless communication has invented Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs), a cutting edge technology in healthcare applications. WBANs interconnect with intelligent and miniaturized biomedical sensor nodes placed on human body to un-attendant monitoring of physiological parameter of the patient. These sensors are equipped with limited resources in terms of computation, storage and battery power. The data communication in WBANs is a resource hungry process especially in terms of energy. One of the most significant challenges in this network is to design energy aware next-hop link selection framework. Towards this end, this paper presents a Green computing framework for WBANs focusing on Energy efficient Link aware approach (G-WEL). Firstly, a link efficiency oriented network model is presented considering beaconing information and network initialization process. Secondly, a path cost calculation model is derived focusing on energy aware link efficiency. A complete operational framework G-WEL is developed considering energy aware next hop link selection by utilizing the network and path cost model. The comparative performance evaluation attests the energy oriented benefit of the proposed framework as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques. It reveals a significant enhancement in body area networking in terms of various energy oriented metrics under medical environments

Cell shortening and calcium dynamics in epicardial and encocardial myocytes from the left ventricle of the Goto-Kalizaki type 2 diabetic rats

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is considered as one of the major diabetes-associated complications and the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction is not well understood. The electromechanical properties of cardiac myocytes vary across the walls of the chambers The aim of this study was to investigate shortening and Ca2+ transport in epicardial (EPI) and endocardial (ENDO) left ventricular myocytes in the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) type 2 diabetic rat heart. Shortening and intracellular Ca2+ transients were measured by video edge detection and fluorescence photometry. Myocyte surface area was increased in EPI-GK and ENDO-GK compared to EPI-CON and ENDO-CON myocytes. Time to peak (TPK) shortening was prolonged in EPI-GK compared to EPI-CON and in ENDO-CON compared to EPI-CON myocytes. Time to half (THALF) relaxation of shortening was prolonged in EPI-GK compared to EPI-CON myocytes. TPK Ca2+ transient was prolonged in EPI-GK compared to EPI-CON myocytes. THALF decay of the Ca2+ transient was prolonged in EPI-CON compared to EPI-GK and in EPI-CON compared to ENDO-CON myocytes. Amplitude of shortening and the Ca2+ transient were unaltered in EPI-GK and ENDO-GK compared to their respective controls. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ and myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+ were unaltered in EPI-GK and ENDO-GK compared to their respective controls. Regional differences in Ca2+ signaling in healthy and diabetic myocytes may account for variation in the dynamics of myocyte shortening. Further studies will be required to clarify the mechanisms underlying regional differences in the time course of shortening and the Ca2+ transient in EPI and ENDO myocytes from diabetic and control hearts

Verdad extra-metódica y ontología de la praxis: la raciónalidad mediatora de la phronesis

Background: Lower back pain (LBP) not only remains the foremost cause of work absence and medical consultation but is also the leading cause of disability. It affects individuals from both developed and developing countries including children, adolescents, and the elderly. Aim: The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between risk factors and lower back pain among the people of Pakistan. Methodology: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted at a local medical college comprising both the students and the staff. Results: Prevalence of LBP in participants was 51%. Males reported a higher frequency of LBP as compared to females (r=.191, p=0.03). Students had a significantly higher incidence of LBP as compared to staff (r=.178, p=0.04). Smoking was also associated with LBP as smokers showed a significantly higher frequency of LBP (r=.366, p=0.006). Higher frequency of LBP was also linked with a higher grade of pain (r=0.346, p=0.005). Females reported a higher grade of pain as compared to males (r=0.292, p=0.01). Conclusion: There is a high frequency of LBP in students associated with gender, smoking and lifestyle. Proper education and planning are needed to address the situation. More prospective studies are indicated to further validate the results of this study.