Channel characterisation of cooperative relaying power line communication systems

© 2016 IEEE. Power line communication (PLC) technology offers a promising platform for numerous communication applications. The power lines however can significantly attenuate communication signals operating in high frequency band. For this reason, multi-hop PLC systems become desirable. In this paper, we investigates the effect of multi-hop relaying on the power line channel transfer function. Measured results are compared with results obtained from sumulations in Matlab. Results show that the presence of relays between a transmitting and a receiving PLC nodes can intensify the attenuation and frequency selectivity. Measurements show that maximum attenuation increases with number of relays

Quantitative assessment of early healing of autogenous bone grafts using micro-computed tomography and Q-win image analyser

Abstract no. 59published_or_final_versio

Detection of advanced persistent threat using machine-learning correlation analysis

As one of the most serious types of cyber attack, Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) have caused major concerns on a global scale. APT refers to a persistent, multi-stage attack with the intention to compromise the system and gain information from the targeted system, which has the potential to cause significant damage and substantial financial loss. The accurate detection and prediction of APT is an ongoing challenge. This work proposes a novel machine learning-based system entitled MLAPT, which can accurately and rapidly detect and predict APT attacks in a systematic way. The MLAPT runs through three main phases: (1) Threat detection, in which eight methods have been developed to detect different techniques used during the various APT steps. The implementation and validation of these methods with real traffic is a significant contribution to the current body of research; (2) Alert correlation, in which a correlation framework is designed to link the outputs of the detection methods, aims to identify alerts that could be related and belong to a single APT scenario; and (3) Attack prediction, in which a machine learning-based prediction module is proposed based on the correlation framework output, to be used by the network security team to determine the probability of the early alerts to develop a complete APT attack. MLAPT is experimentally evaluated and the presented sy

Virological response without CD4 recovery

The objective of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is to suppress viral replication so that immune restoration can occur. Failure of immune restoration is usually associated with poor virological suppression. In children a good immunological and clinical response to ART is often achieved despite incomplete viral suppression. However, we have recently managed a number of children in whom immune restoration did not occur despite excellent virological suppression. We present a case, discuss possible causes and speculate on the appropriate course of action. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 7 (3) 2006: pp. 45-4

The relationship of individual accountability with job stress and work deviant behavior among nurses

Background and aims: Individual accountability and its positive and negative effectiveness are the most challenges of organization subjects. The root of some medical staffs' behaviors and activities is individual accountability. So, the present paper was conducted with the aim of identifying the relationship between individual accountability with job stress and work deviant behavior with mediating role of personality trait of conscientiousness. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 175 employee nurses of Ayatollah Kashani and Hajar hospitals were entered in this research in 2014. Data were collected using Hochwarter, Casta, Mackgor, Mulkr, Robinson and Bennett, and House and Rizzo standard questionnaires. The structural equations model was used to study the relationship between Latent variables and the measured ones in conceptual model. Results: The results indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between the perception of individual accountability and personality trait of conscientiousness (P 0.05 and r = - 0.26, r = - 0.36). Conclusion: According to the present theoretical and research foundations at hand, individual accountability directly affects job stress and work deviant behavior among employees, and on the basis of the findings of the present study conscientiousness bears a significant negative causal effect on job stress and work deviant behavior. It is concluded that conscientiousness decreases the negative causal and potential effect of accountability on stress and work deviant behavior

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in children

Paradoxical deterioration due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) occurs in up to 21% of children initiating antiretroviral therapy. Mycobacterial diseases are the most common, with BCG-vaccine adenitis predominating in infants and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) in older children. The difficulty of diagnosing TB in HIV-infected children and the increasing risk of drug-resistant TB complicate the diagnosis and  management of both paradoxical IRIS and post-antiretroviral therapy TB. History and clinical assessment remain key strategies in the management of these infants and children. There are no prospective studies investigating diagnostic criteria and therapeutic strategies in children

Experiences of obesity among Saudi Arabian women contemplating bariatric surgery: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 The Authors.This study explored experiences of obesity, its perceived causes and motives for surgery, as described by seven Saudi women contemplating bariatric surgery. The women experienced cultural restrictions on their physical and social activities. Obesity embodied these restrictions, attracting stigma and moral failure. Traditional clothing, foods, hospitality norms and limited outdoor female activities were regarded as barriers to weight loss. Bariatric surgery was chosen to protect health and to access normative female roles. Some were encouraged by relatives who had undergone surgery. Opting for surgery reflected both participants’ sense of powerlessness to self-manage weight and the social acceptability, within their family context, of this biomedical approach

Novel Method of Cell-Free In Vitro Synthesis of the Human Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 Gene

Recombinant DNA projects generally involve cell-based gene cloning. However, because template DNA is not always readily available, in vitro chemical synthesis of complete genes from DNA oligonucleotides is becoming the preferred method for cloning. This article describes a new, rapid procedure based on Taq polymerase for the precise assembly of DNA oligonucleotides to yield the complete human fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) gene, which is 468 bp long and has a G+C content of 51.5%. The new method involved two steps: (1) the design of the DNA oligonucleotides to be assembled and (2) the assembly of multiple oligonucleotides by PCR to generate the whole FGF1 gene. The procedure lasted a total of only 2 days, compared with 2 weeks for the conventional procedure. This method of gene synthesis is expected to facilitate various kinds of complex genetic engineering projects that require rapid gene amplification, such as cell-free whole-DNA library construction, as well as the construction of new genes or genes that contain any mutation, restriction site, or DNA tag

Importance of tetrahedral coordination for high-valent transition metal oxides: YCrO4_4 as a model system

We have investigated the electronic structure of the high oxidation state material YCrO$_4$ within the framework of the Zaanen-Sawatzky-Allen phase diagram. While Cr$^{4+}$-based compounds like SrCrO$_3$/CaCrO$_3$ and CrO$_2$ can be classified as small-gap or metallic negative-charge-transfer systems, we find using photoelectron spectroscopy that YCrO$_4$ is a robust insulator despite the fact that its Cr ions have an even higher formal valence state of 5+. We reveal using band structure calculations that the tetrahedral coordination of the Cr$^{5+}$ ions in YCrO$_4$ plays a decisive role, namely to diminish the bonding of the Cr $3d$ states with the top of the O $2p$ valence band. This finding not only explains why the charge-transfer energy remains effectively positive and the material stable, but also opens up a new route to create doped carriers with symmetries different from those of other transition-metal ions.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure