ILSN : An Inexpensive, Long-Lived, Sensor Network Solution

In the recent past, there has been a phenomenal increase in monitoring the physical world using wireless sensor networks comprising tiny computing devices with integrated sensors. These devices are deployed in large numbers, often across large spaces and within hostile environments. Wireless sensor networks are used to gather meaningful data and to enable important applications. They must satisfy some basic requirements. Specifially, they must be maintenance free, inexpensive, reliable, and scalable. The devices used in these networks are deployed in the hundreds to thousands and rely on battery power. It is expensive to change these batteries in such large networks, both in terms of battery cost and personnel time. The cost of an individual device plays an important role in the cost of a sensor network. Further, if these networks are deployed in safety critical contexts, we cannot risk having incorrect data or missing important data. Finally, sensor networks must be able to accommodate new devices and gracefully handle device failures. This thesis describes a hardware/software solution for wireless sensor networks which is maintenance free, inexpensive, reliable, and scalable. In this thesis, I present a wireless sensing device which harvests solar energy and stores it in a Li-Ion battery. The device works on solar energy during the daytime and relies on battery power during the night. This addresses the problem of maintaining remote devices. The design is also focused on reducing component costs. The cost is low enough to discard the individual devices without significant concern. Finally, using these devices, I present a network protocol and reference implementation which makes data reception reliable, while supporting network scalability

PYRIMIDINE INCORPORATED SCHIFF BASE OF ISONIAZID WITH THEIR SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND IN VITRO BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION

  Objective: Versatile biological activities of nitrogen containing heterocycles in medicinal chemistry, mainly pyrimidine and pyridine ring based heterocyclic moieties are very important. Pharmaceutical important of pyrimidine and isoniazid moiety prompted us to synthesize isoniazid clubbed pyrimidine derivatives and evaluated for antimicrobial and antituberculosis activity.Method: 2-(2-(3-bromo benzylidene)-1-isonicotinoyl hydrazinyl)-N-(4-(substituted phenyl)-6-(substituted aryl) pyrimidin-2-yl) acetamide 2(A-J) have been synthesized by condensation reaction of 2-chloro-N-[4-(substituted phenyl)-6-(substituted aryl) pyrimidin-2-yl] acetamide and N'-[(E)- (3-bromophenyl) methylidene]pyridine-4-carbohydrazide. All newly synthesized compounds were screened for in vitro antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus pyogenes, antifungal against Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus clavatus, and antituberculosis activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37RV.Results: Majority of the compounds exhibited good antibacterial, antifungal, and antituberculosis activity. All titled compounds were characterized by spectral analyses (infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy).Conclusion: 2-(2-(3-bromo benzylidene)-1-isonicotinoyl hydrazinyl)-N-(4-(substituted phenyl)-6-(substituted aryl) pyrimidin-2-yl) acetamide 2(A-J) showed good antimicrobial activity and comparatively good antituberculosis activity. Hence, all the compounds of this series considered for future investigation mainly in area of antibacterial, antifungal study

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Dijet production in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with large rapidity gaps at the ATLAS experiment

A 6.8 nb−¹ sample of pp collision data collected under low-luminosity conditions at √s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to study diffractive dijet production. Events containing at least two jets with pT > 20 GeV are selected and analysed in terms of variables which discriminate between diffractive and non-diffractive processes. Cross sections are measured differentially in ΔηF, the size of the observable forward region of pseudorapidity which is devoid of hadronic activity, and in an estimator, ξ˜, of the fractional momentum loss of the proton assuming single diffractive dissociation (pp → p X). Model comparisons indicate a dominant non-diffractive contribution up to moderately large ηF and small ξ˜, with a diffractive contribution which is significant at the highest ΔηF and the lowest ξ˜. The rapidity-gap survival probability is estimated from comparisons of the data in this latter region with predictions based on diffractive parton distribution functions

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

A long isoform of GIV/Girdin contains a PDZ-binding module that regulates localization and G-protein binding.

PDZ domains are one of the most abundant protein domains in eukaryotes and are frequently found on junction-localized scaffold proteins. Various signaling molecules bind to PDZ proteins via PDZ-binding motifs (PBM) and fine-tune cellular signaling. However, how such interaction affects protein function is difficult to predict and must be solved empirically. Here we describe a long isoform of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor GIV/Girdin (CCDC88A) that we named GIV-L, which is conserved throughout evolution, from invertebrates to vertebrates, and contains a PBM. Unlike GIV, which lacks PBM and is cytosolic, GIV-L localizes onto cell junctions and has a PDZ interactome (as shown through annotating Human Cell Map and BioID-proximity labeling studies), which impacts GIV-L's ability to bind and activate trimeric G-protein, Gαi, through its guanine-nucleotide exchange modulator (GEM) module. This GEM module is found exclusively in vertebrates. We propose that the two functional modules in GIV may have evolved sequentially: the ability to bind PDZ proteins via the PBM evolved earlier in invertebrates, whereas G-protein binding and activation may have evolved later only among vertebrates. Phenotypic studies in Caco-2 cells revealed that GIV and GIV-L may have antagonistic effects on cell growth, proliferation (cell cycle), and survival. Immunohistochemical analysis in human colon tissues showed that GIV expression increases with a concomitant decrease in GIV-L during cancer initiation. Taken together, these findings reveal how regulation in GIV/CCDC88A transcript helps to achieve protein modularity, which allows the protein to play opposing roles either as a tumor suppressor (GIV-L) or as an oncogene (GIV)

A long isoform of GIV/Girdin contains a PDZ-binding module that regulates localization and G-protein binding.

PDZ domains are one of the most abundant protein domains in eukaryotes and are frequently found on junction-localized scaffold proteins. Various signaling molecules bind to PDZ proteins via PDZ-binding motifs (PBM) and fine-tune cellular signaling. However, how such interaction affects protein function is difficult to predict and must be solved empirically. Here we describe a long isoform of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor GIV/Girdin (CCDC88A) that we named GIV-L, which is conserved throughout evolution, from invertebrates to vertebrates, and contains a PBM. Unlike GIV, which lacks PBM and is cytosolic, GIV-L localizes onto cell junctions and has a PDZ interactome (as shown through annotating Human Cell Map and BioID-proximity labeling studies), which impacts GIV-L's ability to bind and activate trimeric G-protein, Gαi, through its guanine-nucleotide exchange modulator (GEM) module. This GEM module is found exclusively in vertebrates. We propose that the two functional modules in GIV may have evolved sequentially: the ability to bind PDZ proteins via the PBM evolved earlier in invertebrates, whereas G-protein binding and activation may have evolved later only among vertebrates. Phenotypic studies in Caco-2 cells revealed that GIV and GIV-L may have antagonistic effects on cell growth, proliferation (cell cycle), and survival. Immunohistochemical analysis in human colon tissues showed that GIV expression increases with a concomitant decrease in GIV-L during cancer initiation. Taken together, these findings reveal how regulation in GIV/CCDC88A transcript helps to achieve protein modularity, which allows the protein to play opposing roles either as a tumor suppressor (GIV-L) or as an oncogene (GIV)