Energy-efficient vertical handover parameters, classification and solutions over wireless heterogeneous networks: a comprehensive survey

In the last few decades, the popularity of wireless networks has been growing dramatically for both home and business networking. Nowadays, smart mobile devices equipped with various wireless networking interfaces are used to access the Internet, communicate, socialize and handle short or long-term businesses. As these devices rely on their limited batteries, energy-efficiency has become one of the major issues in both academia and industry. Due to terminal mobility, the variety of radio access technologies and the necessity of connecting to the Internet anytime and anywhere, energy-efficient handover process within the wireless heterogeneous networks has sparked remarkable attention in recent years. In this context, this paper first addresses the impact of specific information (local, network-assisted, QoS-related, user preferences, etc.) received remotely or locally on the energy efficiency as well as the impact of vertical handover phases, and methods. It presents energy-centric state-of-the-art vertical handover approaches and their impact on energy efficiency. The paper also discusses the recommendations on possible energy gains at different stages of the vertical handover process

Ambovex® as a novel immunological modulator drug for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the liver: a Phase II clinical trial

Hosny Salama,1 Hassan Ahmad,2 Ismail Elchagea,2 Abdel Rahman Zekri,2,3 Eman Medhat,1 Abeer Bahnassy,3 Michael Lange,4 Mohammed Rabbat,4 Andrew N de la Torre,4 Pravin Punamiya,21Hepatology Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 2AMKS Time Release LLC, Montclair, NJ, USA; 3National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt; 4Saint Joseph Hospital, Paterson, NJ, USAAbstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global public health problem, based on it being the fifth most common cancer and third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The approved conventional treatment methods for HCC have shown life-threatening side effects with limited or negligible success, especially in multifocal HCC. As a consequence, new therapeutic approaches are being explored, including immunoregulatory molecules that may have the potential to treat or delay the progression of HCC. A novel pharmaceutical botanical drug – Ambovex®, an immune-modulator molecule – was tested to treat or delay the progress of HCC. We conducted a 6-month randomized clinical trial with an additional 3-month washing period (no treatment) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low-dose Ambovex oral spray in treating patients with HCC. The clinical study involved a total of 40 patients, with 33 in the treatment group and seven in the control group. The α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels were measured every month and ultrasound scans were performed at time zero and every 2 months thereafter. Computed tomography (CT) scans were performed for patients in the treatment group. Ambovex proved to be safe, as there were no significant side effects although some patients found that the drug has unpleasant taste. AFP analysis showed a significant decrease in its level (α=0.05; 95% confidence interval) in the treatment group when compared to the control group at 3 months (P=0.0031) and at 6 months (P=0.007). The ultrasound results showed improvement in the treated group, as evidenced by a significant decrease in the lesion numbers and sizes. The lesions in 38% of treated patients decreased from multiple to single with major improvements; 35% of patients exhibited a decrease from multiple lesions to multiple lesions with minor improvements, whereas 27% had stabilized lesions. CT scans in the treated group showed significant improvement, as there was complete disappearance of the lesions after 6 months of treatment with Ambovex in two patients. This clinical study showed the effective and promising results of Ambovex as an immunological modulator in treating HCC. Further exploration of Ambovex is recommended.Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, immunological modulator, Ambovex, novel treatmen

Developmental functions of piRNAs and transposable elements: A Drosophila point-of-view

The primary function of the piRNA pathway is to repress the expression and transposition of transposable elements. However, the piRNA pathway has additional biological and developmental functions. These functions are either a consequence of transposon regulation, or they result from direct roles of transposable elements in chromosome structure and gene regulation through piRNAs. Recent data have extended the functions of transposable elements in gene regulation, revealing a trans-acting role of transposable element piRNAs in the control of gene expression. Over the last few years, extensive studies on the piRNA pathway have rapidly increased our understanding of the relationships between transposable elements and the host genome, and of the essential role of transposable elements in biological and developmental processes