Localization and mobility management in heterogeneous wireless networks with network-assistance

The nowadays heterogeneous wireless network (HWN) is a collection of ubiquitous wireless networking elements (WNEs) that support diverse functional capabilities and networking purposes. In such a heterogeneous networking environment, localization and mobility management will play a key role for the seamless support of emerging applications, such as social networking, massive multiplayer online gaming, device-todevice (D2D) communications, smart metering, first-responder communications, and unsupervised navigation of communication-aware robotic nodes. Since most of the existing wireless networking technologies enable the WNEs to assess their current radio status and directly (or indirectly) estimate their relative distance and angle with respect to other WNEs of the same Radio Access Technology (RAT), the integration of such information from the ubiquitous WNEs arises as a natural solution for robustly handling localization between (not necessarily homogeneous) WNEs and mobility management of moving WNEs governed by resource-constrained operation. Under the viewpoint of investigating how the utilization of such spatial information can be used to enhance the performance of localization and mobility management in the nowadays HWN, in this work we focus and contribute in the following four research areas: i) localization and peer-discovery between non-homogeneous WNEs, ii) network-assisted D2D discovery in cellular networks, iii) energy-efficient handover (HO) decision in the macrocell – femtocell network, and iv) network-assisted vertical handover decision (VHO) for the integrated cellular and WLAN heterogeneous wireless network

Solitary Tibial Osteolytic Lesion

We report an unusual case of solitary osteolytic tibial metastasis from a primary endometrial cancer in a 62-year-old woman. The primary cancer was treated with total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy combined with postoperative external beam radiotherapy, while the tibial metastasis was treated with an above knee amputation. The rarity of the case lies on the fact that metastases distally to the elbow and knee are uncommon and endometrial cancer rarely gives distal bone metastases and particularly solitary to the extremities

Low grade fibromyxoid sarcoma: a case report and review of the literature

Low grade fibromyxoid sarcoma (LGFMS) is a distinctive variant of fibrosarcoma with a high metastasizing potential and sometimes long interval between tumour presentation and metastasis. We present the case of a 50-year-old male who developed a large mass in the posterior aspect of his lower left thigh. The tumor was excised with preservation of the neurovascular structures surrounded by the mass. The tumour measured 11 × 10 × 9 cm and on pathology evaluation was diagnosed as LGFMS. Due to the relative rarity of LGFMS, there is no dedicated protocol regarding follow-up recommendations. In order to early diagnose possible metastasis it is important to inform the patients about the longstanding metastatic potential of the disease

In Vitro Evaluation of Curcumin- and Quercetin-Loaded Nanoemulsions for Intranasal Administration: Effect of Surface Charge and Viscosity

The nose-to-brain delivery of neuroprotective natural compounds is an appealing approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Nanoemulsions containing curcumin (CUR) and quercetin (QU) were prepared by high-pressure homogenization and characterized physicochemically and structurally. A negative (CQ_NE—), a positive (CQ_NE+), and a gel (CQ_NEgel) formulation were developed. The mean particle size of the CQ_NE— and CQ_NE+ was below 120 nm, while this increased to 240 nm for the CQ_NEgel. The formulations showed high encapsulation efficiency and protected the CUR/QU from biological/chemical degradation. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that the CUR/QU were located at the interface of the oil phase in the proximity of the surfactant layer. The cytotoxicity studies showed that the formulations containing CUR/QU protected human nasal cells from the toxicity evidenced for blank NEs. No permeation across an in vitro model nasal epithelium was evidenced for CUR/QU, probably due to their poor water-solubility and instability in physiological buffers. However, the nasal cells' drug uptake showed that the total amount of CUR/QU in the cells was related to the NE characteristics (CQ NE— > CQ NE+ > CQ_NEgel). The method used allowed the obtainment of nanocarriers of an appropriate size for nasal administration. The treatment of the cells showed the protection of cellular viability, holding promise as an anti-inflammatory treatment able to prevent neurodegenerative diseases

Visualizing Sound, Hearing Diagrams: On the Creative Process of Syrmos by Iannis Xenakis

A salient feature of Iannis Xenakis’ compositional practices was the use of several concepts and techniques borrowed from architectural design and from scientific fields. He sometimes drew complete graphic scores preluding the transcription of his fair copy of conventional musical notation. I discuss the diagrammatical features of Xenakis’ graphic score for Syrmos: although disparate representations depend on shared image schemata and cross-modal correspondences, their respective compositional logics are dissimilar

Cumulative hydropathic topology of a voltage-gated sodium channel at atomic resolution

Voltage-gated sodium channels (NavChs) are biological pores that control the ow of sodium ions through the cell membrane. In humans, mutations in genes encoding NavChs can disrupt physiological cellular activity thus leading to a wide spectrum of diseases. Here, we present a topological connection between the functional architecture of a NavAb bacterial channel and accumulation of atomic hydropathicity around its pore. This connection is established via a scaling analysis methodology that elucidates how intrachannel hydropathic density variations translate into hydropathic dipole field configurations along the pore. Our findings suggest the existence of a non random cumulative hydropathic topology that is organized parallel to the membrane surface so that pore's stability, as well as, gating behavior are guaranteed. Given the biophysical significance of the hydropathic effect, our study seeks to provide a computational framework for studying cumulative hydropathic topological properties of NavChs and pore-forming proteins in general. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and follow-up investigations in Māori and non-Māori men in New Zealand

Text. Pairwise sequence alignment between human SCN9A and homologous genes. (DOCX 34 kb