An Energy-conscious Transport Protocol for Multi-hop Wireless Networks

We present a transport protocol whose goal is to reduce power consumption without compromising delivery requirements of applications. To meet its goal of energy efficiency, our transport protocol (1) contains mechanisms to balance end-to-end vs. local retransmissions; (2) minimizes acknowledgment traffic using receiver regulated rate-based flow control combined with selected acknowledgements and in-network caching of packets; and (3) aggressively seeks to avoid any congestion-based packet loss. Within a recently developed ultra low-power multi-hop wireless network system, extensive simulations and experimental results demonstrate that our transport protocol meets its goal of preserving the energy efficiency of the underlying network.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (NBCHC050053

Isolasi Dan Identifikasi Bakteri Aerob Yang Dapat Menyebabkan Infeksi Nosokomial Di Ruangan Instalasi Gizi Blu Rsup Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Manado

: Kitchen of hospital to be a part or unit of a hospital that is not less important as other services in the hospital , because it provides direct services to patients through the food served by nutritional care . Nosocomial infections are infections that occur during hospitalization where the infection does not exist at the time of admission to the hospital . Infections that occur more than 48 hours after hospital admission . Most infections occur in hospitals is caused by external factors , ie diseases which spread from food and cutlery . Implementation of the food was less qualified health care, in addition to extending the treatment process can also cause cross-infections or nosocomial infections which can be through the cutlery and food . Purpose: To determine the presence of aerobic bacteria that can cause nosocomial infections in the kitchen of BLU Prof. Dr R. D. Kandou Manado .Method: This study was a prospective descriptive study that analyzed 24 samples on cutlery and 6 samples of food in kitchen of BLU Nutrition Dr Prof. Dr R. D. Kandou Manado. Result: From the results of this study were found 11 species of bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis (33,3%), a gram-negative cocci (10%) , Lactobacillus (10%), Enterobacter agglomerans (6,7%), Serratia rubidaea (6,7%), Providencia stuartii (3,3%), Serratia liquefaciens (3,3%), Providencia rettgeri (3,3%), Vibrio cholera (3,3%), Enterobacter cloacae (3,3%), Enterobacter aerogenes (3,3%).Conclusion: The conclusion of this study showed that the most commonly found bacteria was Bacillus subtilis (33,3%)

ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ПЕРИНАТАЛЬНОГО ПЕРІОДУ ДІТЕЙ, НАРОДЖЕНИХ ВІД МАТЕРІВ, ЯКІ ВЖИВАЮТЬ АЛКОГОЛЬ

У статті представлено аналіз перебігу перинатального періоду 85 дітей, матері яких вживають алкоголь. При поступленні дітей від матерів, які вживають алкоголь, у медичній документації існує брак інформації щодо перебігу вагітності та пологів у зв’язку із асоціальним способом життя таких жінок. Лікарями не уточнюється провідний комплекс проявів перинатальної дії алкоголю на дитину, а іноді, взагалі не описуються його клінічні прояви. Перинатальний період дітей, народжених від матерів, які вживають алкоголь, характеризувався низкою несприятливих чинників дії на плід, зокрема соціального, токсичного й інфекційного походження. Токсична дія алкоголю спричинила затримку внутрішньоутробного розвитку у 41 дитини та на розвиток вроджених дефектів у 44 з 85 дітей. Передчасне народження відбулося у 47 дітей. Жорстоке поводження з дітьми відзначено у двох випадках. Автори вважають, що діти, народжені від матерів, які вживають алкоголь, потребують ранньої діагностики розладів фетоалкогольного спектру та ретельного медичного спостереження

A research-informed dialogic-teaching approach to early secondary school mathematics and science: the pedagogical design and field trial of the epiSTEMe intervention

The $\textit{Effecting Principled Improvement in STEM Education [epiSTEMe]}$ project undertook pedagogical research aimed at improving pupil engagement and learning in early secondary school physical science and mathematics. Using principles identified as effective in the research literature and drawing on a range of existing pedagogical resources, the project designed and trialled a classroom intervention, with associated professional development, in a form intended to be suited to implementation at scale. The most distinctive feature of the $\textit{epiSTEMe}$ pedagogical approach is its inclusion of a component of dialogic teaching. Aimed at the first year of secondary education in English schools (covering ages 11–12), the $\textit{epiSTEMe}$ intervention consists of a short introductory module designed to prepare classes for this dialogic teaching component, and topic modules which employ the $\textit{epiSTEMe}$ pedagogical approach to cover two curricular topics in each of science and mathematics. A field trial was conducted over the 2010/2011 school year in 25 volunteer schools, randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. Within the intervention group, observation of lessons indicated that the level of dialogic teaching was higher for one of the topic modules than others. Evaluation focused on the effectiveness of the topic modules, each trialled in more than 10 classes containing a total of over 300 pupils, and compared with a group of similar composition. Overall, at this first implementation, learning gains under the $\textit{epiSTEMe}$ intervention were no greater, although for individual topic modules the effects ranged from small negative to small positive. No difference was found between intervention and control groups either in the opinion of pupils about their classroom experience or in changes in their attitude towards subjects.Thanks are due to the Economic and Social Research Council which provided funding for the epiSTEMe project (RES-179-25-0003), to the teachers who generously volunteered to review, pilot and trial versions of the modules, to Christine Howe for her contribution to design and analysis, and to Andy Tolmie and Anna Vignoles for statistical advice.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Taylor & Francis via https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2015.112964

Probe Functionalization With A Rhop-3 Antibody: Toward A Rhop-3 Antigen Immunosensor For Detection of Malaria

The antibody specific for the malaria protein, Rhop-3, and FL-Rhop-3, were immobilized on the surface of a gold electrode modified with cysteamine. Colloidal gold was used to enhance the detection signal for Rhop-3 antigens. The Rhop-3 antibody was also immobilized on gold electrodes preactivated with dithiobis(succinimidyl proprionate) (DSP). Immobilization was performed at room temperature and at 37 °C. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to monitor the interaction between the immobilized antibody and its cognate antigen in solution, using ferricyanide, K3Fe(CN)6, as reporting electroactive probe. Tests indicate recognition of Rhop-3 protein by the immobilized antibody. Antigen recognition was enhanced by incubation at 37 °C compared with room-temperature incubation. Our results suggest that an immunosensor can be developed and optimized to aid detection of Rhop-3 antigens in samples from malaria patients. As far as we are aware, this is the first amperometric immunosensor targeting Rhop-3 antigen as a malaria biomarker

Disruption of Long-Term Alcohol-Related Memory Reconsolidation: Role of β-Adrenoceptors and NMDA Receptors

Disrupting reconsolidation of drug-related memories may be effective in reducing the incidence of relapse. In the current study we examine whether alcohol-related memories are prone to disruption by the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol (10 mg/kg) and the NMDA receptor antagonist MK801 (0.1 mg/kg) following their reactivation. In operant chambers, male Wistar rats were trained to self-administer a 12% alcohol solution. After 3 weeks of abstinence, the animals were placed in the self-administration cages and were re-exposed to the alcohol-associated cues for a 20-min retrieval period, immediately followed by a systemic injection of either propranolol, MK801 or saline. Rats were tested for cue-induced alcohol seeking on the following day. Retrieval session, injection and test were repeated on two further occasions at weekly intervals. Both propranolol and MK801 administration upon reactivation did not reduce alcohol seeking after the first reactivation test. However, a significant reduction of alcohol seeking was observed over three post-training tests in propranolol treated animals, and MK801 treated animals showed a strong tendency toward reduced alcohol seeking (p = 0.06). Our data indicate that reconsolidation of alcohol-related memories can be disrupted after a long post-training interval and that particularly β-adrenergic receptors may represent novel targets for pharmacotherapy of alcoholism, in combination with cue-exposure therapies

Cholesterol Levels and Activity of Membrane Bound Proteins: Characterization by Thermal and Electrochemical Methods

The long-term goal of this investigation is to study the effects of increased cholesterol levels on the molecular activity of membrane-bound enzymes such as nitric oxide synthase, that are critical in the functioning of the cardiovascular system. In this particular investigation, we used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric thermal analysis (DETA) to study the effect of added cholesterol on melting/recrystallization and dielectric behavior, respectively, of phosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayered thin films. We also used electrochemical methods to investigate the effect of added cholesterol on the redox behavior of the oxygenase domain of nitric oxide synthase as a probe embedded in the PC films. The results show that added cholesterol in the PC films seems to depress the molecular dynamics as indicated by lowered current responses in the presence of cholesterol as well as a slight increase of the transition temperature in the overall two-phase regime behavior observed in PC–cholesterol films. These results are rationalized in the context of the general DSC and DETA behaviors of the PC–chol films

Catheter manipulation analysis for objective performance and technical skills assessment in transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Purpose Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) demands precise and efficient handling of surgical instruments within the confines of the aortic anatomy. Operational performance and dexterous skills are critical for patient safety, and objective methods are assessed with a number of manipulation features, derived from the kinematic analysis of the catheter/guidewire in fluoroscopy video sequences. Methods A silicon phantom model of a type I aortic arch was used for this study. Twelve endovascular surgeons, divided into two experience groups, experts (n=6) and novices (n=6), performed cannulation of the aorta, representative of valve placement in TAVI. Each participant completed two TAVI experiments, one with conventional catheters and one with the Magellan robotic platform. Video sequences of the fluoroscopic monitor were recorded for procedural processing. A semi-automated tracking software provided the 2D coordinates of the catheter/guidewire tip. In addition, the aorta phantom was segmented in the videos and the shape of the entire catheter was manually annotated in a subset of the available video frames using crowdsourcing. The TAVI procedure was divided into two stages, and various metrics, representative of the catheter’s overall navigation as well as its relative movement to the vessel wall, were developed. Results Experts consistently exhibited lower values of procedure time and dimensionless jerk, and higher average speed and acceleration than novices. Robotic navigation resulted in increased average distance to the vessel wall in both groups, a surrogate measure of safety and reduced risk of embolisation. Discrimination of experience level and types of equipment was achieved with the generated motion features and established clustering algorithms. Conclusions Evaluation of surgical skills is possible through the analysis of the catheter/guidewire motion pattern. The use of robotic endovascular platforms seems to enable more precise and controlled catheter navigation

Epidemiological study of gastroenteritis cases at the medical-social centre of Megara

Pnrpose: Epidemiological study of the possible causes and characteristics of gastroenteritis cases, recorded at the area of concern of the medical- social centre of Megara. Material- Method: The material of the study consisted of adults who came to the centre during the period January 2007 until December 2008 and were diagnosed with gastroenteritis. All patients with chronic inflamational bowel disease as well as patients having taken recently antibiotics were excluded. All patients came with symptoms of gastroenteritis i.e. vomits, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, debilitation