Experimental evaluation of a video streaming system for Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks

Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSNs) are recently emerging as an extension to traditional scalar wireless sensor networks, with the distinctive feature of supporting the acquisition and delivery of multimedia content such as audio, images and video. In this paper, a complete framework is proposed and developed for streaming video flows in WMSNs. Such framework is designed in a cross-layer fashion with three main building blocks: (i) a hybrid DPCM/DCT encoder; (ii) a congestion control mechanism and (iii) a selective priority automatic request mechanism at the MAC layer. The system has been implemented on the IntelMote2 platform operated by TinyOS and thoroughly evaluated through testbed experiments on multi-hop WMSNs. The source code of the whole system is publicly available to enable reproducible research. © 2011 IEEE

Evaluation of metalloproteinase 2 and 9 levels and their inhibitors in diabetic and healthy subjects

OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that molecules active in vascular remodeling (i.e. MMPs and their TIMPs) could be modified in diabetic patients, as indirect markers of the diabetes related generalized abnormality of vascular activity. To test this hypothesis, we measured the plasma levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in type 2 diabetic patients and in healthy subjects. METHODS: We enrolled 181 diabetic patients and 165 controls. We measured body mass index (BMI), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting plasma insulin (FPI), homeostasis model assessment index (HOMA index), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (Tg), lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), homocysteine (Hct) fibrinogen (Fg), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and plasma levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2. RESULTS: A significant increase (P<0.0001) of BMI, HbA(1c), FPG, FPI, HOMA index, SBP, DBP, TC, LDL-C, Tg, Lp(a), PAI-1, Hct, Fg, and hs-CRP was present in the diabetic group, with a significant decrease (P<0.0001) of HDL-C levels compared to healthy subjects. MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels were significantly higher (P<0.0001) in diabetic patients. Significant TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 increase was also observed (P<0.0001) in the diabetic group. CONCLUSION: Plasma levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 are increased in diabetic patients which may reflect abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolis