Distance-based sensor node localization by using ultrasound, RSSI and ultra-wideband - A comparision between the techniques

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become one of the most important topics in wireless communication during the last decade. In a wireless sensor system, sensors are spread over a region to build a sensor network and the sensors in a region co-operate to each other to sense, process, filter and routing. Sensor Positioning is a fundamental and crucial issue for sensor network operation and management. WSNs have so many applications in different areas such as health-care, monitoring and control, rescuing and military; they all depend on nodes being able to accurately determine their locations. This master’s thesis is focused on distance-based sensor node localization techniques; Received signal strength indicator, ultrasound and ultra-wideband. Characteristics and factors which affect these distance estimation techniques are analyzed theoretically and through simulation the quality of these techniques are compared in different scenarios. MDS, a centralized algorithm is used for solving the coordinates. It is a set of data analysis techniques that display the structure of distance-like data as a geometrical picture. Centralized and distributed implementations of MDS are also discussed. All simulations and computations in this thesis are done in Matlab. Virtual WSN is simulated on Sensorviz. Sensorviz is a simulation and visualization tool written by Andreas Savvides.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Distance-based sensor node localization by using ultrasound, RSSI and ultra-wideband - A comparision between the techniques

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become one of the most important topics in wireless communication during the last decade. In a wireless sensor system, sensors are spread over a region to build a sensor network and the sensors in a region co-operate to each other to sense, process, filter and routing. Sensor Positioning is a fundamental and crucial issue for sensor network operation and management. WSNs have so many applications in different areas such as health-care, monitoring and control, rescuing and military; they all depend on nodes being able to accurately determine their locations. This master’s thesis is focused on distance-based sensor node localization techniques; Received signal strength indicator, ultrasound and ultra-wideband. Characteristics and factors which affect these distance estimation techniques are analyzed theoretically and through simulation the quality of these techniques are compared in different scenarios. MDS, a centralized algorithm is used for solving the coordinates. It is a set of data analysis techniques that display the structure of distance-like data as a geometrical picture. Centralized and distributed implementations of MDS are also discussed. All simulations and computations in this thesis are done in Matlab. Virtual WSN is simulated on Sensorviz. Sensorviz is a simulation and visualization tool written by Andreas Savvides.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Pattern and localization of headache in cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST).

Introduction: Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST) is an underdiagnosed but not rare type of neurovascular disease. There is involvement of cerebral veins or dural sinuses instead of arteries. The vein or dural sinuses are blocked by thrombus resulting in increased pressure and leading to rupture of vessels and leakage of blood into the brain. Headache is the most frequent presenting symptom of CVST.Methodology: This descriptive study was conducted at Sheikh Zayed Medical Col-lege and Hospital Rahim Yar Khan. All consecutive patients with confirmed diagno-ses of CVST were included in the study. Diagnosis of CVST confirmed by MRI/MR Venogram. An informed consent was taken and the data was collected on a ques-tionnaire. Ethical permission was taken from Institutional ethical review com-mittee.Results: Headache was present in 51 (81%) of 63 confirmed CVST patients. Data regarding characteristics of headache from 51 patients was analyzed. The headache was associated with photophobia (4%), phonophobia (6%), loss of vision(6%), nau-sea (9%) and vomiting (42%) .The headache was not related with infarct and hem-orrhage on Computed Tomography scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The site of headache was not linked with site of sinus thrombosis.Conclusion: Headache is the common symptom in patients with CVST. Usually the headache in CVST is subacute, throbbing, unilateral or localized to some specific region i.e frontal, temporal and occipital. There is no relation between headache and site of sinus thrombosis. Also there is no link between headache and hemor-rhage or infarct on Computed Tomography scan (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Im-aging (MRI).Key words: Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis , Headache, MRI/MR Venogram

Uterine Perforation Due To Unsafe Abortion: A Case Report.

Introduction: An unsafe abortion is defined as a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by a person lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards or both. Majority of these unsafe abortions are carried out in under developing countries, usually by unskilled persons who do not have proper knowledge of the anatomy of reproductive organs and in unhygienic environments thus leading to various complications. Case: We discuss the case of a 40 year old female who presented in septic shock after she underwent an unsafe abortion of 14th weeks pregnancy with uterine wall perforation and bowel injury that required resection. Conclusion: Unsafe abortion is an important public health problem which accounts for a significant cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in resource poor countries. Keywords: Unsafe abortion, Uterine perforation, Intestinal obstruction. &nbsp

Health Services Performance for TB Treatment in Two Districts of Punjab –DHQ Sahiwal & BVH Bahawalpur.

Introduction: Pakistan ranks 5th among the 22 countries with the highest incidence levels of tuberculosis (TB) smear-positive case; TB remains the leading killer infectious disease in the world, with 1.7 million death. Objective: The objective of our study is to determine the health services performance for TB treatment in DHQ, Sahiwal and BVH, Bahawalpur with the attributes for treatment. Methodology: For this cross-sectional study 100 TB patients were identified through simple random sampling. Relevant information was collected by using the Primary Care Assessment Tool adapted for TB care. Data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 22 and presented as number and percentages. Results: Results from both cities  for male and female patients were recorded with respect to “Access to treatment”, ‘Home visits’, “bond”, “professional respond clearly” and “range of services”. The dimension “coordination’, “family focus”, and “Professional ask about living conditions” were also recorded. Conclusion: Incentives to improve care organization and management practices can contribute towards a better performance of health services in TB treatment in Pakistan and all over the world.   Keywords: Health services, Performances, TB treatment

Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Daily Versus Weekly Oral Iron Supplementation In Preventing Anemia During Pregnancy

  Introduction: Daily oral iron and folic acid intake is recommended as part of antenatal care but adherence to this regimen, due to gastrointestinal side effects, interrupted intake of iron. Weekly oral iron therapy has been introduced as an alternative to the daily iron regimen. Objective: To compare mean hemoglobin and hematocrit in non-anemic pregnant females receiving daily oral iron versus weekly iron supplements in third trimester of pregnancy. Material and Methods This randomized Controlled Trial study was carried out in department of obstetrics and gynecology of holy family hospital, Rawalpindi during 20th November 2019 to 20th May 2020. 70 pregnant females of 15 to 45 years, with singleton pregnancies, at gestational amenorrhea 14 to 22 weeks at the time of inclusion with hemoglobin level 11g/dl and above were included. They were randomly divided into two equal groups using SPSS, Group A (35) received daily oral iron and Group B, 35 received weekly oral iron.  Results: There was no statistically significant difference could be detected between both groups as regards the hemoglobin level before starting iron supplementation and duration of supplementation and this can be attributed to proper randomization. Mean post treatment hemoglobin was 13.2±0.93 g/dl in group A and 12.9±0.95 g/dl in group B (0.118), mean change of hemoglobin was 1.07±0.34 g/dl in group A and 0.63±0.56 g/dl in group B (0.000), mean post treatment hematocrit was 35.857±0.87 % in group A and 32.857±0.91 % in group B (p 0.000), mean change of hematocrit was 2.942±0.59 % in group A and 1.000±0.00 % in group B (p 0.000).     Conclusion: Weekly iron supplementation as a prophylaxis in non-anemic pregnant women is as good as daily supplementation as regards the hemoglobin level.     &nbsp

Nitric Oxide and Abscisic Acid Mediate Heat Stress Tolerance through Regulation of Osmolytes and Antioxidants to Protect Photosynthesis and Growth in Wheat Plants

Nitric oxide (NO) and abscisic acid (ABA) play a significant role to combat abiotic stress. Application of 100 µM sodium nitroprusside (SNP, NO donor) or ABA alleviated heat stress effects on photosynthesis and growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants exposed to 40 °C for 6 h every day for 15 days. We have shown that ABA and NO synergistically interact to reduce the heat stress effects on photosynthesis and growth via reducing the content of H2O2 and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), as well as maximizing osmolytes production and the activity and expression of antioxidant enzymes. The inhibition of NO and ABA using c-PTIO (2-4 carboxy-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide) and fluridone (Flu), respectively, reduced the osmolyte and antioxidant metabolism and heat stress tolerance. The inhibition of NO significantly reduced the ABA-induced osmolytes and antioxidant metabolism, exhibiting that the function of ABA in the alleviation of heat stress was NO dependent and can be enhanced with NO supplementation.Thus, regulating the activity and expression of antioxidant enzymes together with osmolytes production could act as a possible strategy for heat tolerance

Ethylene signaling under stressful environments: analyzing collaborative knowledge

Ethylene is a gaseous plant growth hormone that regulates various plant developmental processes, ranging from seed germination to senescence. The mechanisms underlying ethylene biosynthesis and signaling involve multistep mechanisms representing different control levels to regulate its production and response. Ethylene is an established phytohormone that displays various signaling processes under environmental stress in plants. Such environmental stresses trigger ethylene biosynthesis/action, which influences the growth and development of plants and opens new windows for future crop improvement. This review summarizes the current understanding of how environmental stress influences plants’ ethylene biosynthesis, signaling, and response. The review focuses on (a) ethylene biosynthesis and signaling in plants, (b) the influence of environmental stress on ethylene biosynthesis, (c) regulation of ethylene signaling for stress acclimation, (d) potential mechanisms underlying the ethylene-mediated stress tolerance in plants, and (e) summarizing ethylene formation under stress and its mechanism of action

Potential impact of microbial consortia in biomining and bioleaching of commercial metals

Biomining is the use of microorganisms for the commercial extraction of lavish metals from ores and mines with least effect on environment. Microbes play vital role in bioleaching procedures in commercial mining. The bacterial cells are used to detoxify/replace waste cyanide, marginal biomass and activated carbon. These methods are preferred over conventional techniques due to energy efficient, low cost, environment friendly and production of useful by-products. At industrial scale, different microbial strains (Acidophilic, Sulphobacillus, Rhodococcus, Ferrimicrobium &chemolithotrophic) are deployed to boost the processes of copper and uranium bioleaching. About 20% of the world’s copper is extracted by using this technique. These extraction procedures involve oxidation of insoluble metal sulphides to soluble sulphates. The isolation of thermophilic microbes for mineral biooxidation increase the commercial extraction of minerals at industrial scale. The conventional pyrometallurgical techniques have environmental concerns as they result in depletion of high grade ores and release harmful gaseous. The microbe-assisted gold mining is expected to double the yield of gold and needs to be fully explored using diverse array of microbes. Bioleaching is simple and low cost method for the developing countries with large ore deposits. About 30 strains of microbes have been discovered so for with potential impact on bioleaching. With advances in molecular genetics, physiology and microbial genomics, more promising strains with increased bioactivities are possible. Further efforts are underway to culture diverse range of archaea and improving its genetic potential to be used as industrial tool for commercial bioleaching. The currents review enlightens the recent trends in biomining/bioleaching and implementation of modern biological approaches to engineer target microbes for commercial use

Ethylene and sulfur coordinately modulate the antioxidant system and ABA accumulation in mustard plants under salt stress

This study explored the interactive effect of ethephon (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid; an ethylene source) and sulfur (S) in regulating the antioxidant system and ABA content and in maintaining stomatal responses, chloroplast structure, and photosynthetic performance of mustard plants (Brassica juncea L. Czern.) grown under 100 mM NaCl stress. The treatment of ethephon (200 µL L−1) and S (200 mg S kg−1 soil) together markedly improved the activity of enzymatic and non-enzymatic components of the ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle, resulting in declined oxida-tive stress through lesser content of sodium (Na+) ion and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in salt-stressed plants. These changes promoted the development of chloroplast thylakoids and photosynthetic performance under salt stress. Ethephon + S also reduced abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation in guard cell, leading to maximal stomatal conductance under salt stress. The inhibition of ethylene action by norbornadiene (NBD) in salt-plus non-stressed treated plants increased ABA and H2O2 contents, and reduced stomatal opening, suggesting the involvement of ethephon and S in regulating sto-matal conductance. These findings suggest that ethephon and S modulate antioxidant system and ABA accumulation in guard cells, controlling stomatal conductance, and the structure and efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus in plants under salt stress