Software-Defined Wireless Sensor Networks Approach: Southbound Protocol and Its Performance Evaluation

Software Defined Networking (SDN) has been identified as a promising network paradigm for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and the Internet of Things. It is a key tool for enabling Sensing as a Service, which provides infrastructure sharing thus reducing operational costs. While a few proposals on SDN southbound protocols designed for WSN are found in the literature, they lack adequate performance analysis. In this paper, we review ITSDN main features and present a performance evaluation with all the sensing nodes transmitting data periodically. We conducted a number of experiments varying the number of nodes and assessing the impact of flow table maximum capacity. We assessed the metrics of data delivery, data delay, control overhead and energy consumption in order to show the tradeoffs of using IT-SDN in comparison to the IETF RPL routing protocol. We discuss the main challenges still faced by IT-SDN in larger WSN, and how they could be addressed to make IT-SDN use worthwhile

Quasi-stationary simulations of the directed percolation universality class in d = 3 dimensions

We present quasi-stationary simulations of three-dimensional models with a single absorbing configuration, namely the contact process (CP), the susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) model and the contact replication process (CRP). The moment ratios of the order parameters for the DP class in three dimensions were set up using the well established SIS and CP models. We also show that the mean-field exponent for d = 3 reported previously for the CRP (Ferreira 2005 Phys. Rev. E 71 017104) is a transient observed in the spreading analysis

Lower insulin-dose adjusted A1c (IDAA1c) is associated with less complications in Individuals with Type 1 Diabetes treated with hematopoetic stem-cell transplantation and conventional therapy

Objective: To evaluate the association between insulin-dose adjusted A1C (IDAA1c) and microvascular complications (MC) and hypoglycemia in a representative Brazilian population of Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Research Design and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on a previous study, “Microvascular Complications in Type 1 Diabetes: a comparative analysis of patients treated with autologous nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (AHST) and conventional medical therapy (CT)”. The 168 patients in that study (144 from CT plus 24 from AHST) were re-subdivided into two groups, according to their IDAA1c values (30 patients had IDAA1c ≤ 9; 138 had IDAA1c > 9). Then, the prevalence of MC (diabetic renal disease, neuropathy, and retinopathy), hypoglycemia (blood glucose <60 mg/dL), and severe hypoglycemic (episode of hypoglycemia that required the assistance of another person to treat) events were compared between the groups. The groups were well-matched on these factors: duration of disease, sex, and age at the time of diagnosis of T1DM. Results: After an average of 8 years after diagnosis, only 6.6% (2/30) of the patients from IDAA1c ≤ 9 group developed any MC, whereas 21.0% (29/138) from the IDAA1c > 9 group had at least one complication (p = 0.044). Regarding hypoglycemic events, the proportion of individuals who reported at least 1 episode of hypoglycemia in the last month was 43.3 and 64.7% from the IDAA1c ≤ 9 and IDAA1c > 9 groups, respectively (p = 0.030). Regarding severe hypoglycemia, the proportion of patients presenting at least one episode in the last month and the rate of episode/patient/month were similar between groups (6.7 vs. 13.2%; p = 0.535; and 0.1/patient/month vs. 0.25/patient/month; p = 0.321). Conclusion: In a representative Brazilian population of T1DM patients, those with IDAA1c ≤ 9 presented a lower frequency of MC, as well as fewer episodes of hypoglycemia, in the month prior to the analysis.publishedVersio

ESTUDO DA QUALIDADE DAS ÁGUAS DO RIO MAROMBAS (SC/BRASIL), UTILIZANDO PARÂMETROS FÍSICO-QUÍMICOS E BIOENSAIOS.

O presente trabalho propôs realizar estudos preliminares de avaliação da qualidade das águas do Rio Marombas (SC-Brasil), utilizando parâmetros físico-químicos e bioensaios. Amostras de águas do Rio Marombas foram coletadas em 3 pontos e realizada a determinação de pH, oxigênio dissolvido (OD), análise de agroquímicos, hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos (HPA’s), compostos orgânicos voláteis (COV’s) e bifenilas policloradas (PCB’s). Foram executados ensaios de toxicidade aguda (CL50) em microcrustáceos Artemia sp. e de fitotoxicidade em Allium cepa L. avaliada pela inibição de crescimento e peso de raízes e pelos biomarcadores de estresse oxidativo glutationa reduzida (GSH) e peroxidação lipídica. Os resultados dos parâmetros físico-químicos indicaram que os valores de pHestiveram compatíveis com padrões previstos pela legislação. Foi constatada a presença dos agroquímicos metomil nos Pontos 1 e 2 e metconazol no Ponto 1. Os bioensaios revelaram que não houve toxicidade em Artemia sp. e ausência de inibição de crescimento e peso de raízes em Allium cepa L. A concentração de GSH estava significativamente aumentada no Ponto 3 quando comparada ao Ponto 1 e ao controle negativo. Não foi observada diferença significativa na avaliação de peroxidação lipídica entre os diferentes grupos. Esses resultados indicam que as águas do Rio Marombas podem estar sendo contaminadas por agroquímicos, sugerindo a necessidade de implementação de sistema de monitoramento periódico de sua qualidade.Palavras-chave: rio Marombas; parâmetros físico-químicos; bioensaiosSTUDY OF WATER QUALITY FROM THE MAROMBAS RIVER (SC/BRAZIL) USING THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND BIOASSAYS.ABSTRACTThe present study proposed preliminary studies assessing the quality of water from the river Marombas (SCBrazil) using the physicochemical parameters and bioassays. Samples of water from Marombas river were collected at three points and it was determined the pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), concentration of agrochemicals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), volatile organic compounds (VOC`s) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB´s). Acute toxicity tests (LC50) were carried out in microcrustaceans Artemia sp. and phytotoxicity tests in Allium cepa L. assessed through theinhibition of growth and weight of roots and by biomarkers of oxidative stress reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipid peroxidation. The results of physicochemical parameters indicated that the pH values were consistent with standards established by the legislation. It could be observed the presence of the agrochemicals methomyl in Points 1 and 2 and metconazole in Point 1. The bioassays showed absence of the acute toxicity in Artemia sp. and there was no inhibition of growth and weight of roots in Allium cepa L. The concentration of GSH was significantly increased (P<0.05) in Point 3 when compared to Point 1 and the negative control. No significant difference could be observed in the evaluation of lipid peroxidation between different groups. These results demonstrate that the water of the Marombas river is contaminated by agrochemicals, suggesting the necessity of implementing a system of monitoring its quality.Key words: Marombas river, physicochemical parameters, bioassay

Preparation, characterization, and pharmacological activity of Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt ex Bor (Poaceae) leaf essential oil of B-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes

This study aimed to evaluate the orofacial antinociceptive effect of the Cymbopogon winterianus essential oil (LEO) complexed in B-cyclodextrin (LEO-CD) and to assess the possible involvement of the central nervous system (CNS). The LEO was extracted, chromatographed, and complexed in B-cyclodextrin. The complex was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry derivative (TG/DTG). Male Swiss mice (2-3 months) were treated with LEO-CD (50–200 mg/kg, p.o.), vehicle (distilled water, p.o.), or standard drug (i.p.) and subjected to the orofacial nociception formalin-, capsaicin-, and glutamateinduced. After the formalin test, the animals were perfused and the brains subjected to immunofluorescence for Fos. The rota-rod test (7 rpm/min) was carried out. Geraniol (37.57%) was the main compound of LEO. DSC and TG/DTG proved the complexation. The orofacial nociceptive behavior was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced. The number of Fos-positive cells was significantly changed in the dorsal raphe nucleus (p < 0.01), locus coeruleus (p < 0.001), trigeminal nucleus (p < 0.05), and trigeminal thalamic tract (p < 0.05). LEO-CD did not cause changes in motor coordination in the rota-rod test. Thus, our results suggested that LEO-CD has an orofacial antinociceptive profile, probably mediated by the activation of the CNS without changing the motor coordination