Transmission of multiple description and layered video over an EGPRS wireless network

We investigate the ability of multiple descriptions (MD) and layered coding to improve the quality of video transmitted over EGPRS networks. One-layer video sent over a single channel on such a network has a fairly sharp quality transition, depending on a user’s location. Either the video can be transmitted reliably (if the video rate is less than or equal to what the channel can sustain), or it is subjected to many lost packets. In this system, MD and layered video may offer two ways to improve video quality beyond that of the one-layer video. First, each sub-stream can be sent on a separate channel, essentially doubling the assigned bandwidth and increasing video quality. Second, MD and layered video are more error resilient than one-layer video, potentially improving the video quality seen by users in poor locations. We find that for the system scenarios considered, one- and two-layer coding outperform MD coding, depending upon the number of wireless channels used for the video transport. 1

The change in blood glucose levels in tuberculosis patients before and during anti-tuberculosis treatment in China.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to observe (i) changes in fasting blood glucose (FBG) in tuberculosis (TB) patients before and during anti-TB treatment, (ii) whether FBG levels were stable or unstable and (iii) baseline characteristics associated with an unstable FBG. METHOD: TB patients consecutively attended six clinics or hospitals. FBG measurements were made at months 0, 2 and 6. Data analysis was performed using the chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 232 patients without diabetes mellitus (DM) whose initial FBG < 6.1 mmol/L, over 90% maintained FBG < 6.1 mmol/L during treatment and no patient developed DM. Of 17 patients without DM and initial FBG between 6.1 and 6.9 mmol/L, over half had FBG < 6.1 mmol/L during treatment and no patient had DM at the end of treatment. Eight DM patients with already known DM had their FBG controlled at < 7.0 mmol/L during treatment. There were 13 DM patients newly diagnosed with FBG ≥ 7.0 mmol/L, and 69% continued to have FBG ≥ 7.0 mmol/L. After adjustment for confounding, the odds for an unstable FBG were higher for HIV-positive status, already having DM, smoking and coming to hospitals rather than clinics. CONCLUSION: TB patients who do not have DM based on FBG measurements do not develop DM during anti-TB treatment. Those newly diagnosed with DM on screening in general maintain their DM status with high FBG and need to be better managed

Personal communication systems (PCS)

Personal communication systems (PCS) represent a rapidly growing and increasingly important segment of the telecommunication industry. The goal of PCS is to provide truly personal, cost-efficient communication services to users through portable handsets. In this paper, we present a survey on the research and development in PCS, emphasizing several important aspects such as the PCS concept, service requirements, system architecture, operation, and management. Some ongoing field trials are described as well. We focus on the wireless and the mobility-related features of PCS, discuss their impact on the system design and performance, and provide an overview of different technology choices.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Performance analysis of PCS mobility management database system

A queueing model is developed for the database system which supports mobility management in Personal Communication System (PCS). The end-to-end service delay is defined as the performance metric. The accuracy of the analytical model is validated by simulation. It is found that the analytical results show a close agreement to those from simulation over a significant range of system parameters. Three database system architectures proposed for PCS are studied, namely, the flat database system in GSM, the two-level hierarchical architecture, and the three-level hierarchical architecture. Based on the queueing model, the delay performance of these three architectures are compared. It is observed that the hierarchical architecture provides the best system performance and supports the highest user density. This is because the service arrival rate to the higher level large database is significantly reduced, due to the localized nature of calls and users in PCS.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

LncRNA FAM225B Regulates PDIA4-Mediated Ovarian Cancer Cell Invasion and Migration via Modulating Transcription Factor DDX17

Objective. This study aimed to explore the roles and mechanisms of lncRNA FAM225B and PDIA4 in ovarian cancer. Methods. RT-qPCR and Western blot assays were performed to detect the expression levels of the lncRNAs FAM225B, DDX17, and PDIA4 in the serum of patients with ovarian cancer and cell lines. Cells were transfected with lncRNA FAM225B- and PDIA4-related vectors to determine the malignant phenotypes using functional experiments. The mutual binding of lncRNA FAM225B and DDX17 was verified using RNA pull-down and RIP assays. Results. The expression of lncRNAs FAM225B and PDIA4 was decreased in the serum of patients with ovarian cancer and cell lines. Restoration of lncRNA FAM225B or PDIA4 reduced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities and elevated the apoptosis rate, whereas suppression of lncRNA FAM225B or PDIA4 exhibited an inverse trend. RNA pull-down and RIP assays revealed a direct interaction between lncRNA FAM225B and DDX17. ChIP assay revealed a relationship between DDX17 and the PDIA4 promoter. LncRNA FAM225B and DDX17 positively regulate PDIA4 expression. Downregulation of PDIA4 expression counteracts the suppressive effect of lncRNA FAM225B overexpression in ovarian cancer cells. Conclusion. This research study supports the fact that lncRNA FAM225B in ovarian cancer can upregulate PDIA4 by directly binding to DDX17, inhibiting the activities of ovarian cancer cells

Deep co-supervision and attention fusion strategy for automatic COVID-19 lung infection segmentation on CT images

International audienc

An Efficient Framework with Node Filtering and Load Expansion for Machine-Learning-Based Hardware Trojan Detection

The globalization of the integrated circuit (IC) industry has raised concerns about hardware Trojans (HT), and there is an urgent need for efficient HT-detection methods of gate-level netlists. Machine learning (ML) is a powerful tool for this purpose. A Trojan-detection framework is proposed in this paper to solve the data imbalance and low accuracy problems of existing ML-based HT-detection algorithms. To solve the problem of data imbalance, we propose the node-filtering algorithm, which extracts structure templates from HT circuits and removes most normal nodes based on them. To enhance the identification of unknown HT payload, we propose the load-expansion algorithm, which expands the identified HT nodes based on their fanout features. We evaluate the framework using different ML algorithms. The results show that the framework significantly improves the Trojan-detection rate of the original algorithms, and achieves a 10% improvement in true positive rate compared to the original algorithms

4 Formerly with AT&amp;T Labs- Research and now with Mobilink Telecom

Abstract: Using the MPEG-4 Advanced Audio Coder (AAC) music as an example of streaming applications, we investigate the improvement of error performance for the streaming service by link-adaptation and power-control techniques in an Enhanced General Packet Radio Services (EGPRS) cellular network. A low packet error rate and variability are essential in providing short error-burst length so that error concealment techniques can be effectively applied to music packets. In this paper, we study the effects of a combined link adaptation and power control scheme (referred to as the error-based schme) for achieving a target error rate and reducing error variability. By simulation, we compare the error performance of the error-based scheme at both the EGPRS block and AAC frame level with another adaptation algorithm (referred to as the throughput-based scheme) with a goal of maximizing overall network throughput. It is found that when offered with similar traffic load, the former scheme can provide noticeable improvement of music quality over the throughput-based scheme. To achieve similar AAC frame error rate, our results also show that the error-based scheme can increase the link throughput over the throughput-based scheme by 66.7 % in one of our examples. These results reveal that by aiming at required error targets and thus reducing error variability, the error-based scheme for link adaptation and power control are helpful in improving quality and capacity for streaming applications