Evaluación de los modos de conexión para NB-IoT

In the 3GPP LTE Release 13, NB-IoT was standardized to provide wide-area connectivity for IoT. To optimize network signalling and power consumption, control plane (CP) and user plane (UP) optimizations were introduced. Also, to support infrequent small data transmissions, in Release 15 Early Data Transmissions (EDT) was introduced, where the data is sent during the random access procedure. Therefore, this paper analyses the latency performance of the different NB-IoT optimizations. The study, which has been carried out in NS-3, has been performed for different packet sizes. Evaluation results show that with low packet size, EDT with CP provides lower latency. However, with higher packet sizes, user plane solutions provide better latency.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente financiado por la Junta de Andalucía mediante los proyectos AECMA-5G (UMA-CEIATECH-14) y EDEL4.0 (UMA-18-FEDERJA-172). Se agradece también la financiación parcial de la Universidad de Málaga con el Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Uracil grafted imine-based covalent organic framework for nucleobase recognition

An imine-based covalent organic framework (COF) decorated in its cavities with uracil groups has shown selective recognition towards adenine in water. These results show how the confinement of the base-pair inside the COF's pores allows a remarkable selective recognition in aqueous mediaThis work was financially supported by MINECO (MAT2016-77608-C3-1-P and 2-P, SAF2017-87305-R). IMDEA Nanociencia acknowledges support from the ‘Severo Ochoa’ Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (MINECO, Grant SEV-2016-0686). Funding from the European Research Council (ERC-StG 279548) and MINECO (CTQ2014-27729-P and CTQ2017-84727-P) is gratefully acknowledged (DGR

Comparativa empírica del rendimiento de 5G y Wi-Fi en un escenario industrial de interior.

With the arrival of Industry 4.0, a key objetive in the manufacturing processes is to improve efficiency and productivity. To obtain this flexibility, the use of wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and 5G is necessary. Each of these technologies, which are the most promising for Industry 4.0 applications, has advantanges and disadvantages, thus it is important to compare the performance of both technologies in an industrial scenario. Therefore, this paper provides a performance comparison of 5G and Wi-Fi in terms of latency, throughput and packet loss for stationary and mobility cases. Our measurements show that 5G performs better than Wi-Fi regarding latency, especially in the mobility case. On the other hand, Wi-Fi performs better than 5G in terms of uplink throughput. Finally, we have also demostrated that the use of multi-connectivity is necessary to fulfill the reliability and latency requirements for the most critical applications.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Arcuate fasciculus architecture is associated with individual differences in pre-attentive detection of unpredicted music changes

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event related brain potential (ERP) elicited by unpredicted sounds presented in a sequence of repeated auditory stimuli. The neural sources of the MMN have been previously attributed to a fronto-temporo-parietal network which crucially overlaps with the so-called auditory dorsal stream, involving inferior and middle frontal, inferior parietal, and superior and middle temporal regions. These cortical areas are structurally connected by the arcuate fasciculus (AF), a three-branch pathway supporting the feedback-feedforward loop involved in auditory-motor integration, auditory working memory, storage of acoustic templates, as well as comparison and update of those templates. Here, we characterized the individual differences in the white-matter macrostructural properties of the AF and explored their link to the electrophysiological marker of passive change detection gathered in a melodic multifeature MMN-EEG paradigm in 26 healthy young adults without musical training. Our results show that left fronto-temporal white-matter connectivity plays an important role in the pre-attentive detection of rhythm modulations within a melody. Previous studies have shown that this AF segment is also critical for language processing and learning. This strong coupling between structure and function in auditory change detection might be related to life-time linguistic (and possibly musical) exposure and experiences, as well as to timing processing specialization of the left auditory cortex. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time in which the relationship between neurophysiological (EEG) and brain white-matter connectivity indexes using DTI-tractography are studied together. Thus, the present results, although still exploratory, add to the existing evidence on the importance of studying the constraints imposed on cognitive functions by the underlying structural connectivity.</p

Interaction between cardiovascular risk factors and body mass index and 10-year incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer death, and overall mortality

The effect of above-normal body mass index (BMI) on health outcomes is controversial because it is difficult to distinguish from the effect due to BMI-associated cardiovascular risk factors. The objective was to analyze the impact on 10-year incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer deaths and overall mortality of the interaction between cardiovascular risk factors and BMI. We conducted a pooled analysis of individual data from 12 Spanish population cohorts with 10-year follow-up. Participants had no previous history of cardiovascular diseases and were 35-79years old at basal examination. Body mass index was measured at baseline being the outcome measures ten-year cardiovascular disease, cancer and overall mortality. Multivariable analyses were adjusted for potential confounders, considering the significant interactions with cardiovascular risk factors. We included 54,446 individuals (46.5% with overweight and 27.8% with obesity). After considering the significant interactions, the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease was significantly increased in women with overweight and obesity [Hazard Ratio=2.34 (95% confidence interval: 1.19-4.61) and 5.65 (1.54-20.73), respectively]. Overweight and obesity significantly increased the risk of cancer death in women [3.98 (1.53-10.37) and 11.61 (1.93-69.72)]. Finally, obese men had an increased risk of cancer death and overall mortality [1.62 (1.03-2.54) and 1.34 (1.01-1.76), respectively]. In conclusion, overweight and obesity significantly increased the risk of cancer death and of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease in women; whereas obese men had a significantly higher risk of death for all causes and for cancer. Cardiovascular risk factors may act as effect modifiers in these associations

Randomised Controlled Double-Blind Non-Inferiority Trial of Two Antivenoms for Saw-Scaled or Carpet Viper (Echis ocellatus) Envenoming in Nigeria

Snake bite threatens millions of poor rural folk throughout Africa. In Nigeria, as in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, it takes a terrible toll on human life and limb. Over the years, the news for those exposed to snake bite has been generally bad: withdrawal of antivenom manufacturers, increasing cost and, most recently, the marketing of ineffective or fake antivenoms in the region. Our paper reports encouraging results achieved by two antivenoms created as a direct consequence of the present crisis in antivenom supply for Africa. They have been assessed in the most powerful trial ever attempted in this field. The trial showed that in people with non-clotting blood following carpet viper bite, the commonest cause of snake bite morbidity and mortality in the West African savannah, administration of the antivenoms- EchiTAb G and EchiTAb Plus-ICP led to permanent restoration of blood clotting in 76% and 83% of the patients within 6 hours, respectively. Generally mild early adverse reactions were recorded in 19% and 26%, respectively. Both antivenoms proved effective and acceptably safe and can be recommended for treating carpet viper envenoming in Nigeria

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London