55 research outputs found

    Current and Future Drug Targets in Weight Management

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    Obesity will continue to be one of the leading causes of chronic disease unless the ongoing rise in the prevalence of this condition is reversed. Accumulating morbidity figures and a shortage of effective drugs have generated substantial research activity with several molecular targets being investigated. However, pharmacological modulation of body weight is extremely complex, since it is essentially a battle against one of the strongest human instincts and highly efficient mechanisms of energy uptake and storage. This review provides an overview of the different molecular strategies intended to lower body weight or adipose tissue mass. Weight-loss drugs in development include molecules intended to reduce the absorption of lipids from the GI tract, various ways to limit food intake, and compounds that increase energy expenditure or reduce adipose tissue size. A number of new preparations, including combinations of the existing drugs topiramate plus phentermine, bupropion plus naltrexone, and the selective 5-HT2C agonist lorcaserin have recently been filed for approval. Behind these leading candidates are several other potentially promising compounds and combinations currently undergoing phase II and III testing. Some interesting targets further on the horizon are also discussed

    PULSE : a MAC protocol for RFID networks

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    The reader collision problem occurs when the signal from one reader interferes with the signal from other readers. Solutions like RTS-CTS are not applicable because a reader may communicate with multiple tags simultaneously. In this paper, we describe Pulse, a distributed protocol to reduce reader collisions. The operation of the Pulse protocol is based on periodic beaconing on a separate control channel by the reader, while it is reading the tags. The protocol functions effectively with fixed as well as mobile RFID readers. We show, using simulation in QualNet, that using Pulse protocol, the throughput (overall read rate) is increased by as high as 98%(with 49 readers) as compared to "Listen Before Talk" (CSMA) and by 337%(with 9 readers) as compared to Colorwave. We also present an analytical model for our protocol in a single hop scenario
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