Online Coding for Reliable Data Transfer in Lossy Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract. Bulk transport underlies data exfiltration and code update facilities in WSNs, but existing approaches are not designed for highly lossy and variable-quality links. We observe that Maymounkov’s rateless online codes are asymptotically more efficient, but can perform poorly in the WSN operating region. We analyze and optimize coding parameters and present the design and evaluation of RTOC, a protocol for bulk transport that recovered over 95 % of application data despite up to 84% packet loss in a MicaZ network.

Coding Schemes for Line Networks

We consider a simple network, where a source and destination node are connected with a line of erasure channels. It is well known that in order to achieve the min-cut capacity, the intermediate nodes are required to process the information. We propose coding schemes for this setting, and discuss each scheme in terms of complexity, delay, achievable rate, memory requirement, and adaptability to unknown channel parameters. We also briefly discuss how these schemes can be extended to more general networks

Apoptosis/necrosis induction by ultraviolet, in ER positive and ER negative breast cancer cell lines

Background: Ultraviolet (UV) light exposure has been one of the major inducers of apoptosis. UV exposure has caused pyrimidine dimers and DNA fragmentation which might lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis signals activation. UV induced apoptosis has investigated in MDA-MB 468 as an ER negative breast adenocarcinoma and MCF-7 as an ER positive breast cancer cell line. Apoptosis induction rate by UV might be different in these two types of cells due to different biological characteristics of the cell. Objectives: In this paper we have evaluated serial dose of UV-B exposure on ER positive and ER negative breast cancer cell lines and its effect on apoptosis or necrosis induction in these cells. Materials and Methods: MDA-MB468 and MCF-7 cell lines have cultured for 24 hours and UV exposure has carried out at 290 nm at dose of 154 J/m2 to 18 KJ/m2 using UV lamp. UV exposed cells have incubated in cell culture condition for 24 or 48 hours following UV exposure and the cells have stained and analyzed by flow cytometry for apoptosis evaluation by Annexin V/PI method. Results: Apoptosis rate (PI and Annexin V double positive cells) after 24 hours incubation was higher in 24 hours in comparison with 48 hours incubation in both cell lines. The frequency of PI positive MDA-MB 468 cells was higher than PI and Annexin V double positive cells after 48 hours. PI positive MDA-MB 468 cells were significantly higher than MCF-7 cells in 24 hours incubation time. Conclusions: The results have shown that MDA-MB 468 cells were more sensitive to UV exposure and DNA fragmentation and necrosis pathway was dominant in these cells. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Cancer Prevention

Negative Energies in the Dirac equation

It is easy to check that both algebraic equation Det (hat p - m) =0 and Det (hat p + m) =0 for u- and v- 4-spinors have solutions with p_0= pm E_p = pm sqrt bf p^2 +m^2. The same is true for higher-spin equations. Meanwhile, every book considers the equality p_0=E_p for both u- and v- spinors of the (1/2,0)+(0,1/2)) representation only, thus applying the Dirac-Feynman-Stueckelberg procedure for elimination of the negative-energy solutions. The recent Ziino works (and, independently, the articles of several others) show that the Fock space can be doubled. We re-consider this possibility on the quantum field level for both s=1/2 and higher spin particles.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Accepted in Zeitschrift fur Naturforschun

A study on the impact of AL-FEC techniques on TV over IP Quality of Experience

In this contribution, an evaluation of the effectiveness of Application Layer-Forward Error Correction (AL-FEC) scheme in video communications over unreliable channels is presented. In literature, several AL-FEC techniques for reducing the effect of noisy transmission on multimedia communication have been adopted. Recently, their use has been proposed for inclusion in TV over IP broadcasting international standards. The objective of the analysis performed in this paper is to verify the effectiveness of AL-FEC techniques in terms of perceived Quality of Service (QoS) and more in general of Quality of Experience (QoE), and to evaluate the trade-off between AL-FEC redundancy and video quality degradation for a given packet loss ratio. To this goal, several channel error models are investigated (random i.i.d. losses, burst losses, and network congestions) on test sequences encoded at 2 and 4 Mbps. The perceived quality is evaluated by means of three quality metrics: the full-reference objective quality metric NTIA-VQM combined with the ITU-T Rec. G.1070, the full-reference DMOS-KPN metric, and the pixel-wise error comparison performed by using the PSNR distortion measure. A post-processing synchronization between the original and the reconstructed stream has also been designed for improving the fidelity of the performed quality measures. The experimental results show the effectiveness and the limits of the Application Layer protection schemes. © 2011 Battisti et al; licensee Springer

Forced Solid-State Interactions for the Selective “Turn-On” Fluorescence Sensing of Aluminum Ions in Water Using a Sensory Polymer Substrate

Selective and sensitive solid sensory substrates for detecting Al(III) in pure water are reported. The material is a flexible polymer film that can be handled and exhibits gel behavior and membrane performance. The film features a chemically anchored salicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone derivative as an aluminum ion fluorescence sensor. A novel procedure for measuring Al(III) at the ppb level using a single solution drop in 20 min was developed. In this procedure, a drop was allowed to enter the hydrophilic material for 15 min before a 5 min drying period. The process forced the Al(III) to interact with the sensory motifs within the membrane before measuring the fluorescence of the system. The limit of detection of Al(III) was 22 ppm. Furthermore, a water-soluble sensory polymer containing the same sensory motifs was developed with a limit of detection of Al(III) of 1.5 ppb, which was significantly lower than the Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for drinking water.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2011-22544) and by the Consejería de Educación - Junta de Castilla y León (BU232U13)

Sexual dysfunction among married couples living in Kumasi metropolis, Ghana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sexuality and its manifestation constitute some of the most complex of human behaviour and its disorders are encountered in community. Sexual dysfunction is more prevalent in women than in men. While studies examining sexual dysfunction among males and females in Ghana exist, there are no studies relating sexual problems in males and females as dyadic units. This study therefore investigated the prevalence and type of sexual disorders among married couples.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>The study participants consisted of married couples between the ages of 19 and 66 living in the province of Kumasi, Ghana. Socio-demographic information and Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS) questionnaires were administered to 200 couples who consented to take part in the study. All 28 questions of the GRISS are answered on a five-point (Likert type) scale from "always", through "usually', "sometimes", and "hardly ever", to "never". Responses are summed up to give a total raw score ranging from 28-140. The total score and subscale scores are transformed using a standard nine point scale, with high scores indicating greater problems. Scores of five or more are considered to indicate SD. The study was conducted between July and September 2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of a total of 200 married couples, 179 completed their questionnaires resulting in a response rate of 89.5%. The mean age of the participating couples as well as the mean duration of marriage was 34.8 ± 8.6 years and 7.8 ± 7.6 years respectively. The husbands (37.1 ± 8.6) were significantly older (p < 0.0001) than their corresponding wives (32.5 ± 7.9). After adjusting for age, 13-18 years of marriage life poses about 10 times significant risk of developing SD compared to 1-6 years of married life among the wives (OR: 10.8; CI: 1.1 - 49.1; p = 0.04). The total scores (6.0) as well as the percentage above the cut-off (59.2) obtained by the husbands compared to the total score (6.2) and the percentage above cut-off (61.5) obtained by the wives, indicates the likely presence of sexual dysfunction. The prevalence of impotence and premature ejaculation were 60.9% and 65.4% respectively from this study and the prevalence of vaginismus and anorgasmia were 69.3% and 74.9% respectively. The highest prevalence of SD subscales among the men was dissatisfaction with sexual act followed by infrequency, whereas the highest among the women was infrequency followed by anorgasmia. Dissatisfaction with sexual intercourse among men correlated positively with anorgasmia and wife's non-sensuality and infrequency of sex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in married couples is comparable to prevalence rates in the general male and female population and is further worsened by duration of marriage. This could impact significantly on a couple's self-esteem and overall quality of life.</p