Cross Layered Network Condition Aware Mobile-Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network Routing Protocol for Mission Critical Communication

The high pace emergence in wireless technologies have given rise to an immense demand towards Quality of Service (QoS) aware multimedia data transmission over mobile wireless multimedia sensor network (WMSN). Ensuring reliable communication over WMSN while fulfilling timely and optimal packet delivery over WMSN can be of great significance for emerging IoT ecosystem. With these motivations, in this paper a highly robust and efficient cross layered routing protocol named network condition aware mobile-WMSN routing protocol (NCAM-RP) has been developed. NCAM-RP introduces a proactive neighbour table management, congestion awareness, packet velocity estimation, dynamic link quality estimation (DLQE), and deadline sensitive service differentiation based multimedia traffic prioritization, and multi-constraints based best forwarding node selection mechanisms. These optimization measures have been applied on network layer, MAC layer and the physical layer of the protocol stack that eventually strengthen NCAM-RP to enable QoS-aware multimedia data transmission over WMSNs. The proposed NCAM-RP protocol intends to optimize real time mission critical (even driven) multimedia data (RTMD) transmission while ensuring best feasible resource allocation to the non-real time (NRT) data traffic over WMSNs. NCAM-RP has outperform RPAR based routing scheme in terms of higher data delivery, lower packet drops and deadline miss ratio. It signifies that NCAM-RP can ensure minimal retransmission that eventually can reduce energy consumption, delay and computational overheads. Being the mobility based WMSN protocol, NCAM-RP can play significant role in IoT ecosystem

Dynamic Network State Learning Model for Mobility Based WMSN Routing Protocol

The rising demand of wireless multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs) has motivated academia-industries to develop energy efficient, Quality of Service (QoS) and delay sensitive communication systems to meet major real-world demands like multimedia broadcast, security and surveillance systems, intelligent transport system, etc. Typically, energy efficiency, QoS and delay sensitive transmission are the inevitable requirements of WMSNs. Majority of the existing approaches either use physical layer or system level schemes that individually can’t assure optimal transmission decision to meet the demand. The cumulative efficiency of physical layer power control, adaptive modulation and coding and system level dynamic power management (DPM) are found significant to achieve these demands. With this motivation, in this paper a unified model is derived using enhanced reinforcement learning and stochastic optimization method. Exploiting physical as well as system level network state information, our proposed dynamic network state learning model (NSLM) applies stochastic optimization to learn network state-activity that derives an optimal DPM policy and PHY switching scheduling. NSLM applies known as well as unknown network state variables to derive transmission and PHY switching policy, where it considers DPM as constrained Markov decision process (MDP) problem. Here,the use of Hidden Markov Model and Lagrangian relaxation has made NSLM convergence swift that assures delay-sensitive, QoS enriched, and bandwidth and energy efficient transmission for WMSN under uncertain network conditions. Our proposed NSLM DPM model has outperformed traditional Q-Learning based DPM in terms of buffer cost, holding cost, overflow, energy consumption and bandwidth utilization

The Importance of CSR Initiatives in Building Customer Support and Loyalty: Evidence from Saudi Arabia

Purpose (mandatory) This study aims to examine how the perception of CSR influences different aspects of consumer behaviour, specifically focusing on the antecedents of perceived value, customer support and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach (mandatory) A total of 418 completed responses were obtained and provided the data to analyse and test the hypothesised research model. To test the hypotheses, structural equation modelling using PLS was employed. Findings (mandatory) Findings reveal that customer awareness of the current CSR initiatives to different stakeholder groups significantly influences their perceptions of what social initiatives are actually undertaken by firms for their economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility. In addition, customer views of what firms actually do in respect to social initiatives are significantly related to their level of CSR expectations. This indicates that the customers will always expect more from banks compared to what they actually do. Surprisingly, CSR perception is not directly related to customers’ loyalty, which contradicts the majority of previous studies indicating that CSR perception influences consumer behaviour. Originality/value (mandatory) This study provides an original contribution to the CSR body of knowledge, especially for developing countries where the awareness level is low. It also provides a deep understanding of the influence of CSR into 2 consumer behaviour, as it investigates the influence of the full construct of CSR into customer loyalty. Finally, the study investigated the relationship between the perception and the expectation of CSR; this relationship has been neglected in previous studies, where either CSR perceptions or CSR expectations have been examined separately

SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein enhances the oncolytic activity of the vesicular stomatitis virus

Despite recent advances in the research on oncolytic viruses (OVs), a better understanding of how to enhance their replication is key to improving their therapeutic index. Understanding viral replication is important to improve treatment outcomes based on enhanced viral spreading within the tumor milieu. The VSV-Δ51 oncolytic virus has been widely used as an anticancer agent with a high selectivity profile. In this study, we examined the role of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) in enhancing VSV-Δ51 viral production and oncolytic activity. To test this hypothesis, we first generated a novel VSV-Δ51 mutant that encoded the SARS-COV-2 RBD and compared viral spreading and viral yield between VSV-Δ51-RBD and VSV-Δ51 in vitro. Using the viral plaque assay, we demonstrated that the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD in the VSV-Δ51 genome is associated with a significantly larger viral plaque surface area and significantly higher virus titers. Subsequently, using an ATP release-based assay, we demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 RBD could enhance VSV-Δ51 oncolytic activity in vitro. This observation was further supported using the B16F10 tumor model. These findings highlighted a novel use of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD as an anticancer agent.Instituto de BiotecnologíaFil: Alkayyal, Almohanad A. University of Tabuk. Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology; Arabia SauditaFil: Alkayyal, Almohanad A. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center. Immunology Research Program; Arabia SauditaFil: Ajina, Reham. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center. Immunology Research Program; Arabia SauditaFil: Ajina, Reham. King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. College of Applied Medical Sciences. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences; Arabia SauditaFil: Cacciabue, Marco Polo Domingo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Cacciabue, Marco Polo Domingo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Cacciabue, Marco Polo Domingo. Universidad Nacional de Luján. Departamento de Ciencias Básicas; ArgentinaFil: Alkayyal, Aaesha A. Taibah University. College of Medicine; Arabia SauditaFil: Saeedi, Nizar H. University of Tabuk. Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology; Arabia SauditaFil: Hussain Alshehry, Taofik. Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. King Saud University for Health Sciences. King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre; Arabia SauditaFil: Kaboha, Feras. Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. King Saud University for Health Sciences. King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre; Arabia SauditaFil: Alotaibi, Mohammed A. University of Tabuk. Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology; Arabia SauditaFil: Alotaibi, Mohammed A. Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs. King Saud University for Health Sciences. King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre; Arabia SauditaFil: Zaidan, Nada. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Joint Centers of Excellence Program. 8King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology-Brigham and Women's Hospital (KACST-BWH) Centre of Excellence for Biomedicine; Arabia SauditaFil: Shah, Khalid. Harvard Medical School. Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Center for Stem Cell and Translational Immunotherapy (CSTI); Estados UnidosFil: Shah, Khalid. Harvard Medical School. Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Department of Neurosurgery; Estados UnidosFil: Shah, Khalid. Harvard University. Harvard Stem Cell Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Alroqi, Fayhan. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center. Immunology Research Program; Arabia SauditaFil: Alroqi, Fayhan. Ministry of the National Guard. Department of Immunology; Arabia SauditaFil: Alroqi, Fayhan. King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Faculty of Medicine; Arabia SauditaFil: Bakur Mahmoud, Ahmad. Taibah University. College of Applied Medical Sciences; Arabia SauditaFil: Bakur Mahmoud, Ahmad. Taibah University. Strategic Research and Innovation Laboratories; Arabia SauditaFil: Bakur Mahmoud, Ahmad. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center. Immunology Research Program; Arabia Saudit

Improving sleep and learning in rehabilitation after stroke, part 2 (INSPIRES2): study protocol for a home-based randomised control trial of digital cognitive behavioural therapy (dCBT) for insomnia

Introduction Consolidation of motor skill learning, a key component of rehabilitation post-stroke, is known to be sleep dependent. However, disrupted sleep is highly prevalent after stroke and is often associated with poor motor recovery and quality of life. Previous research has shown that digital cognitive behavioural therapy (dCBT) for insomnia can be effective at improving sleep quality after stroke. Therefore, the aim of this trial is to evaluate the potential for sleep improvement using a dCBT programme, to improve rehabilitation outcomes after stroke. Methods and analysis We will conduct a parallel-arm randomised controlled trial of dCBT (Sleepio) versus treatment as usual among individuals following stroke affecting the upper limb. Up to 100 participants will be randomly allocated (2:1) into either the intervention (6–8 week dCBT) or control (continued treatment as usual) group. The primary outcome of the study will be change in insomnia symptoms pre to post intervention compared with treatment as usual. Secondary outcomes include improvement in overnight motor memory consolidation and sleep measures between intervention groups, correlations between changes in sleep behaviour and overnight motor memory consolidation in the dCBT group and changes in symptoms of depression and fatigue between the dCBT and control groups. Analysis of covariance models and correlations will be used to analyse data from the primary and secondary outcomes. Ethics and dissemination The study has received approval from the National Research Ethics Service (22/EM/0080), Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW), IRAS ID: 306 291. The results of this trial will be disseminated via presentations at scientific conferences, peer-reviewed publication, public engagement events, stakeholder organisations and other forms of media where appropriate. Trial registration number NCT05511285

Age-related changes in global motion coherence: conflicting haemodynamic and perceptual responses

Our aim was to use both behavioural and neuroimaging data to identify indicators of perceptual decline in motion processing. We employed a global motion coherence task and functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). Healthy adults (n = 72, 18-85) were recruited into the following groups: young (n = 28, mean age = 28), middle-aged (n = 22, mean age = 50), and older adults (n = 23, mean age = 70). Participants were assessed on their motion coherence thresholds at 3 different speeds using a psychophysical design. As expected, we report age group differences in motion processing as demonstrated by higher motion coherence thresholds in older adults. Crucially, we add correlational data showing that global motion perception declines linearly as a function of age. The associated fNIRS recordings provide a clear physiological correlate of global motion perception. The crux of this study lies in the robust linear correlation between age and haemodynamic response for both measures of oxygenation. We hypothesise that there is an increase in neural recruitment, necessitating an increase in metabolic need and blood flow, which presents as a higher oxygenated haemoglobin response. We report age-related changes in motion perception with poorer behavioural performance (high motion coherence thresholds) associated with an increased haemodynamic response

Impact of seminal trace element and glutathione levels on semen quality of Tunisian infertile men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Growing evidence indicates that oxidative stress can be a primary cause of male infertility. Non-enzymatic antioxidants play an important protective role against oxidative damages and lipid peroxidation. Human seminal plasma is a natural reservoir of antioxidants. The aim of this study was to determine glutathione (GSH) concentrations, trace element levels (zinc and selenium) and the lipid peroxidation end product, malondialdehyde (MDA), in the seminal plasma of men with different fertility potentials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semen samples from 60 fertile men (normozoospermics) and 190 infertile patients (74 asthenozoospermics, 56 oligozoospermics, and 60 teratozoospermics) were analyzed for physical and biochemical parameters. Zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) levels were estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Total GSH (GSHt), oxidized GSH (GSSG), reduced GSH (GSHr) and MDA concentrations were measured spectrophotometrically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Zn and Se concentrations in seminal plasma of normozoospermics were more elevated than the three abnormal groups. Nevertheless, only the Zn showed significant differences. On the other hand, Zn showed positive and significant correlations with sperm motility (P = 0.03, r = 0.29) and count (P < 0.01, r = 0.49); however Se was significantly correlated only with sperm motility (P < 0.01, r = 0.36). GSHt, GSSG and GSHr were significantly higher in normozoospermics than in abnormal groups. We noted a significant association between seminal GSHt and sperm motility (P = 0.03). GSSG was highly correlated to sperm motility (P < 0.001) and negatively associated to abnormal morphology (P < 0.001). GSHr was significantly associated to total sperm motility (P < 0.001) and sperm count (P = 0.01). MDA levels were significantly higher in the three abnormal groups than in normozoospermics. Rates of seminal MDA were negatively associated to sperm motility (P < 0.01; r = -0.24) and sperm concentration (P = 0.003; r = -0.35) Meanwhile, there is a positive correlation between seminal lipid peroxidation and the percentage of abnormal morphology (P = 0.008).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This report revealed that decreased seminal GSH and trace element deficiencies are implicated in low sperm quality and may be an important indirect biomarker of idiopathic male infertility. Our results sustain that the evaluation of seminal antioxidant status in infertile men is necessary and can be helpful in fertility assessment from early stages.</p

Zn treatment effects on biological potential of fennel bulbs as affected by in vitro digestion process

Zn treatment effects on the stability of polyphenols, MDA (malondialdehyde) content, antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibition activities of two varieties of fennel bulbs were studied by using an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model. Likewise, the effect of Zn on viability cells of E. coli was also performed. The results revealed that high amounts of total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were released during the digestion process, especially after the intestinal phase. Additionally, the antioxidant and lipoxygenase inhibitory activity were affected by the gastrointestinal digestion process and seems to be correlated with total phenol contents. On the other hand, the viability of E. coli was not affected by the activity of our tested bulbs during passage through the artificial digestion model, but the treated bulbs activity contribute relatively to the inhibition growth of bacteria. The survival of E. coli in fennel bulbs was challenged with simulated gastrointestinal fluids and the results showed that the E. coli strains, despite having experienced a viability reduction at the intestinal phase, were able to overcome the exposure to the gastrointestinal synthetic fluids. This E. coli ability reinforces the need for good hygienic measures to assure safe fresh produce, even for those that are rich in antibacterial compounds.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Repurposing the oncolytic virus VSV∆51M as a COVID-19 vaccine

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposes an urgent and continued need for the development of safe and cost-effective vaccines to induce preventive responses for limiting major outbreaks around the world. To combat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), we repurposed the VSV∆51M oncolytic virus platform to express the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen. In this study, we report the development and characterization of the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine. Our findings demonstrate successful expression of the RBD gene by the VSV∆51M-RBD virus, inducing anti-RBD responses without attenuating the virus. Moreover, the VSV∆51M-RBD vaccine exhibited safety, immunogenicity, and the potential to serve as a safe and effective alternative or complementary platform to current COVID-19 vaccines