5G framework for automated network adaptation in mission critical services

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Mission Critical Services (MCS) are gaining interest among network operators to offer alternative communications than conventional trunked radio systems. They promise a simplified management of cloud and radio resources for service deployment. However, the network capabilities should be adapted for the changing conditions, to assure low-latency and reliability for such applications. This paper presents an on-going work on utilising 5G technology for Mission Critical Push To Talk (MCPTT) services. It describes some design elements and evaluates 5G ESSENCE architecture that enable mission critical applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Misio kritikorako MCPTT zerbitzuaren integrazioa 5G-NFV ertzeko konexio-sare batean

5G teknologiaren helburu handienetako bat da egungo komunikazio-ekosistema hobetzea. Helburu hori lortzeko, etorkizun handiko irtenbidea da ertzeko konexio-sareen erabilpena, batez ere misio kritikoko zerbitzuak erabiltzen direnean, ertzeko konexio-sareek konputazio-mailan eta komunikazio-trukeari dagokion abiaduran ekartzen dituzten garapenak baliatu ahal izatean. Testu hau MCPTT zerbitzuan ardaztuko da; hau da, gaur egungo larrialdi-talde koordinatuei ahots-komunikazio klasikoa eskaintzen dion horretan. MCPTT zerbitzua 5G ekosisteman integratzearen erronka nagusiak zerikusia du horren funtzionamenduaren orkestrazioarekin, hain zuzen ere MCPTT zerbitzuak sareko azpiegitura beste hainbat zerbitzu eta sareko operadorerekin partekatu behar baitu. Artikulu honetan, software bidez definitutako sare-funtzioak eta sare-funtzioak birtualizatzeko estandar teknologikoak konbinatzen dituen arkitektura bat proposatzen da, 5G estandarrarekin bat datorrena. Ertzeko cluster batean, slicing sareko arkitekturaren birtualizazio-mekanismoa erabiliz, MCPTT zerbitzua nola hedatu den ere azaltzen da. Zehazki, MCPTT sareko funtzio birtuala osatzen duten unitateak deskribatzen dira. Bestalde, sistema osoaren orkestrazioa alertak arintzeko modulu batekin batera lan egiten duen monitorizazio-sistema batean oinarritzen da. Monitorizazio-sistemak zerbitzuaren eragiketarekin, baliabideen erabilerarekin edota irrati bidezko sarbidearen operazioarekin zerikusia duten hainbat parametro jaso eta biltzen ditu denbora errealean, eta, irakurritako balioen arabera, bi alerta mota eman ditzake: batetik, baliabide birtualei dagozkienak bereizten dira, eta, bestetik, irrati-baliabideei eragiten dietenak. Azkenik, MCPTT zerbitzua hedatu ondoren lortutako emaitzak ere aurkezten dira. Horretarako, lehenik eta behin, zerbitzuaren funtzionamendua dinamikoki doitzeko erabili diren monitorizazio-metrikak deskribatzen dira, eta, jarraian, sistemaren probak gauzatzeko zehaztutako agertokiak aurkezten dira. Emaitzen arabera, sistemak agertokietako eskaerei espero bezala erantzuten diela eta bere funtzionamendua dinamikoki ondo egokitzen duela frogatu da.; One of the major objectives of 5G technology is to improve the current communication ecosystem. The use of edge networking is a promising solution to this goal, especially when critical mission services are used. This text will focus on MCPTT, a service that provides a coordinated emergency team with classic voice communication. The main challenge in integrating the MCPTT service into the 5G ecosystem relates to the orchestration of its operation, as the MCPTT service has to share the network infrastructure with many other services and network operators. This paper presents an architecture that is in accordance with the 5G standard and at the same time combines software-defined networking and network functions virtualization. It also shows how MCPTT service has been deployed in a data center located at the edge, by using the slicing network architecture virtualization mechanism. Specifically, the units that constitute the MCPTT virtual network function are described. The orchestration of the entire system is based on a monitor system that works in conjunction with an alert module. The monitoring system receives in real time and gathers a number of parameters related to service operation, use of resources, and operation of radio access, and may provide two types of alert according to the values read: on the one hand, those related to virtual resources, and, on the other, those alerts affecting radio resources. Results obtained after deploying the MCPTT service are also presented. For this purpose, first, the monitoring metrics used to dynamically adjust the operation of the service are described, and then the defined testing scenarios are presented. Results show that the system responds as expected to the different demands of the scenarios, and also that it dynamically adjusts its functioning properly

A cloud-enabled small cell architecture in 5G networks for broadcast/multicast services

© 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes,creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.The evolution of 5G suggests that communication networks become sufficiently flexible to handle a wide variety of network services from various domains. The virtualization of small cells as envisaged by 5G, allows enhanced mobile edge computing capabilities, thus enabling network service deployment and management near the end user. This paper presents a cloud-enabled small cell architecture for 5G networks developed within the 5G-ESSENCE project. This paper also presents the conformity of the proposed architecture to the evolving 5G radio resource management architecture. Furthermore, it examines the inclusion of an edge enabler to support a variety of virtual network functions in 5G networks. Next, the improvement of specific key performance indicators in a public safety use case is evaluated. Finally, the performance of a 5G enabled evolved multimedia broadcast multicast services service is evaluated.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Bifidobacterial ß-galactosidase-mediated production of galacto-oligosaccharides: structural and preliminary functional assessments

This work was sponsored by FrieslandCampina. DS, VA, and FB are members of APC Microbiome Ireland, which is a research center funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), through the Irish Government’s National Development Plan. The authors and their work were supported by SFI (Grant SFI/12/RC/2273), FEMS Research Grant FEMS-RG-2016-0103 and project AGL2017-84614-C2-1-R funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. OH-H has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Skłodowska- Curie grant agreement no. 843950

Identification of MicroRNA-21 as a Biomarker for Chemoresistance and Clinical Outcome Following Adjuvant Therapy in Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis. The high risk of recurrence following surgical resection provides the rationale for adjuvant therapy. However, only a subset of patients benefit from adjuvant therapy. Identification of molecular markers to predict treatment outcome is therefore warranted. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether expression of novel candidate biomarkers, including microRNAs, can predict clinical outcome in PDAC patients treated with adjuvant therapy.Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded specimens from a cohort of 82 resected Korean PDAC cases were analyzed for protein expression by immunohistochemistry and for microRNA expression using quantitative Real-Time PCR. Cox proportional hazards model analysis in the subgroup of patients treated with adjuvant therapy (N = 52) showed that lower than median miR-21 expression was associated with a significantly lower hazard ratio (HR) for death (HR = 0.316; 95%CI = 0.166–0.600; P = 0.0004) and recurrence (HR = 0.521; 95%CI = 0.280–0.967; P = 0.04). MiR-21 expression status emerged as the single most predictive biomarker for treatment outcome among all 27 biological and 9 clinicopathological factors evaluated. No significant association was detected in patients not treated with adjuvant therapy. In an independent validation cohort of 45 frozen PDAC tissues from Italian cases, all treated with adjuvant therapy, lower than median miR-21 expression was confirmed to be correlated with longer overall as well as disease-free survival. Furthermore, transfection with anti-miR-21 enhanced the chemosensitivity of PDAC cells.. These data provide evidence that miR-21 may allow stratification for adjuvant therapy, and represents a new potential target for therapy in PDAC

Multicentre, randomised, single-blind, parallel group trial to compare the effectiveness of a Holter for Parkinson's symptoms against other clinical monitoring methods: study protocol

Introduction In recent years, multiple studies have aimed to develop and validate portable technological devices capable of monitoring the motor complications of Parkinson's disease patients (Parkinson's Holter). The effectiveness of these monitoring devices for improving clinical control is not known. Methods and analysis This is a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled clinical trial. Neurologists from Spanish health centres will be randomly assigned to one of three study arms (1:1:1): (a) therapeutic adjustment using information from a Parkinson?s Holter that will be worn by their patients for 7 days, (b) therapeutic adjustment using information from a diary of motor fluctuations that will be completed by their patients for 7 days and (c) therapeutic adjustment using clinical information collected during consultation. It is expected that 162 consecutive patients will be included over a period of 6 months. The primary outcome is the efficiency of the Parkinson?s Holter compared with traditional clinical practice in terms of Off time reduction with respect to the baseline (recorded through a diary of motor fluctuations, which will be completed by all patients). As secondary outcomes, changes in variables related to other motor complications (dyskinesia and freezing of gait), quality of life, autonomy in activities of daily living, adherence to the monitoring system and number of doctor?patient contacts will be analysed. The noninferiority of the Parkinson's Holter against the diary of motor fluctuations in terms of Off time reduction will be studied as the exploratory objective. Ethics and dissemination approval for this study has been obtained from the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge Ethics Committee. The results of this study will inform the practical utility of the objective information provided by a Parkinson's Holter and, therefore, the convenience of adopting this technology in clinical practice and in future clinical trials. We expect public dissemination of the results in 2022.Funding This work is supported by AbbVie S.L.U, the Instituto de Salud Carlos III [DTS17/00195] and the European Fund for Regional Development, 'A way to make Europe'

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Una mirada interdisciplinar sobre los retos actuales de la infancia en un mundo globalizado (RETIN)

El concepto de infancia ha ido evolucionando a lo largo de la historia. En el siglo XX, especialmente en sus últimos años, se ha prestado mayor atención al desenvolvimiento de los seres humanos en esta etapa de la vida, atención que se ha concretado, entre otras cuestiones, en el interés creciente hacia los derechos de la infancia. En 1989 este proceso se ve reforzado por la aprobación de la Convención de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los niños y las niñas, que reconoce a las personas menores de 18 años de edad derechos civiles, sociales, económicos, culturales y políticos, derechos de ciudadanía en suma para el colectivo infantil, considerado previamente como puro objeto de protección. En el ámbito de las ciencias sociales se ha producido también una transformación. Desde un enfoque sociológico se considera que la infancia es un espacio temporal en la trayectoria de vida de las personas, y también el espacio social definido para el desarrollo de la vida de los niños. Se reconoce que también los niños, como grupo social, no sólo pueden actuar, sino que actúan de hecho, y se relacionan con los demás grupos sociales, modificando, construyendo y contribuyendo a los cambios que se producen en la sociedad. En este marco, el objetivo del presente proyecto es la elaboración y difusión de materiales audiovisuales pedagógicos basados en entrevistas sobre los retos actuales de la infancia en un mundo globalizado, como son: cuidados en la ciudad, infancia migrante no acompañada, desigualdades socioeconómicas, nuevas tecnologías y género

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| &lt; 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.