Context-Aware Statistical Dead Reckoning for Localization in IoT Scenarios.

The current trends in 5G and 6G systems anticipate vast communication capabilities and the deployment of massive heterogeneous connectivity with more than a million internet of things (IoT) and other devices per square kilometer and up to ten million gadgets in 6G scenarios. In addition, the new generation of smart industries and the energy of things (EoT) context demand novel, reliable, energy-efficient network protocols involving massive sensor cooperation. Such scenarios impose new demands and opportunities to cope with the ever-growing cooperative dense ad hoc environments. Position location information (PLI) plays a crucial role as an enabler of several location-aware network protocols and applications. In this paper, we have proposed a novel context-aware statistical dead reckoning localization technique suitable for high dense cooperative sensor networks, where direct angle and distance estimations between peers are not required along the route, as in other dead reckoning-based localization approaches, but they are obtainable from the node's context information. Validation of the proposed technique was assessed in several scenarios through simulations, achieving localization errors as low as 0.072 m for the worst case analyzed.

Pénfigo foliáceo, variedad seborreica, reporte de caso / Pemphigus foliaceus, seborrheic variety, case report

Presentación del caso. Se expone el caso de un paciente masculino de 48 años de edad, sin antecedentes médicos conocidos, que presentó múltiples lesiones en forma de placas eritematocostrosas fácilmente descamativas, inicialmente en tórax anterior, que se esparcían sobre el rostro y cuero cabelludo sin afectar las mucosas. Intervención terapéutica. El manejo hospitalario se basó fundamentalmente en el uso de esteroides tópicos y sistémicos, así como el manejo de las infecciones sobreagregadas a las lesiones dermatológicas y el apoyo psicológico del paciente. Se tomó biopsia de piel donde se evidenció la presencia de acantólisis, confirmando el diagnóstico de esta enfermedad autoinmunitaria. Evolución clínica. Luego del tratamiento se logró una reducción de las múltiples lesiones descamativas, el control de la infección local y la recuperación de la piel del paciente, la cual a pesar de aún presentar cicatrices se encontraba con sus funciones restituidas

Case presentation. a 48-year-old male with no known medical history who presented multiple lesions in the form of easily desquamative erythematous and crusted plaques, initially on the anterior thorax, which spread over the face and scalp without affecting the mucous membranes. Treatment. In-hospital management was mainly based on topical and systemic steroids, the management of infections superadded to the dermatologic lesions, and psychological support for the patient. A skin biopsy was taken where acantholysis was evidenced, confirming the autoimmune disease diagnosis. Outcome.After treatment, the multiple scaly lesions were reduced, the local infection was controlled, and the patient's skin recovered although it still had scars, its functions were restored

Morphological transparency and markedness matter in heritage speaker gender processing: an EEG study.

The present study investigated the qualitative nature of grammatical gender knowledge and processing in heritage speakers (HSs) of Spanish living in the United States. Forty-four adult Spanish HS bilinguals participated, completing a behavioral grammatical gender assignment task and a grammaticality judgment task (GJT) while their brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). The EEG GJT task included grammatical and ungrammatical sentences with grammatical gender violations on inanimate nouns, where transparency of the morpho(phono)logical cue and markedness were manipulated. The results of this study revealed that grammatical gender violations elicited the typical P600 effect across all relevant conditions, indicating that the grammatical representations and processing of grammatical gender in HSs are qualitatively similar to those in Spanish-dominant native speakers. Given the experimental manipulation in this study, these findings also suggest that both morphological transparency and markedness play significant roles in how grammatical gender is processed. However, the results of this study differ from those reported in previous studies with Spanish-dominant native speakers, as the P600 effect found was accompanied by a biphasic N400 effect. This pattern of results is interpreted as further evidence that the bilingual experience of HSs modulates certain aspects of morphosyntactic processing, particularly conferring a greater reliance on morphology. Additionally, the results of this study highlight the importance of incorporating neurolinguistic online processing methods to better understand what underlies HS bilingual competence and processing outcomes.

A Comparison of Surrogate Behavioral Models for Power Amplifier Linearization under High Sparse Data.

A good approximation to power amplifier (PA) behavioral modeling requires precise baseband models to mitigate nonlinearities. Since digital predistortion (DPD) is used to provide the PA linearization, a framework is necessary to validate the modeling figures of merit support under signal conditioning and transmission restrictions. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based testbed is developed to measure the wide-band PA behavior using a single-carrier 64-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) multiplexed by orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) based on long-term evolution (LTE) as a stimulus, with different bandwidths signals. In the search to provide a heuristic target approach modeling, this paper introduces a feature extraction concept to find an appropriate complexity solution considering the high sparse data issue in amplitude to amplitude (AM-AM) and amplitude to phase AM-PM models extraction, whose penalties are associated with overfitting and hardware complexity in resulting functions. Thus, experimental results highlight the model performance for a high sparse data regime and are compared with a regression tree (RT), random forest (RF), and cubic-spline (CS) model accuracy capabilities for the signal conditioning to show a reliable validation, low-complexity, according to the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF), coefficients extraction, normalized mean square error (NMSE), and execution time figures of merit. The presented models provide a comparison with original data that aid to compare the dimension and robustness for each surrogate model where (i) machine learning (ML)-based and (ii) CS interpolate-based where high sparse data are present, NMSE between the CS interpolated based are also compared to demonstrate the efficacy in the prediction methods with lower convergence times and complexities.

A Crest Factor Reduction Technique for LTE Signals with Target Relaxation in Power Amplifier Linearization.

The signal conditioning treatment to achieve good relation of power with radio-frequency (RF) conversion in conventional transceiver systems require precise baseband models. A developed framework is built to provide a demonstration of the modeling figures of merit with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) support under signal conditioning and transmission restrictions to waveforms with high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) in practical applications. Therefore, peak and average power levels have to be limited to correct high PAPR for a better suited correction power from the amplifier that can lead to compression or clipping in the signal of interest. This work presents an alternative joint crest factor reduction (CFR) algorithm to correct the performance of PAPR. A real-time field-programmable gate array (FPGA) testbed is developed to characterize and measure the behavior of an amplifier using a single-carrier 64-QAM OFDM based on long-term evolution (LTE) downlink at 2.40 GHz as stimulus, across wide modulation bandwidths. The results demonstrate that the CFR accuracy capabilities for the signal conditioning show a reliable clipping reduction to give a smooth version of the clipping signal and provide a factor of correction for the unwanted out-of-band emission validated according to the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), PAPR, peak power, complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF), and error vector magnitude (EVM) figures of merit.

QoS Aware and Fault Tolerance Based Software-Defined Vehicular Networks Using Cloud-Fog Computing.

Software-defined network (SDN) and vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) combined provided a software-defined vehicular network (SDVN). To increase the quality of service (QoS) of vehicle communication and to make the overall process efficient, researchers are working on VANET communication systems. Current research work has made many strides, but due to the following limitations, it needs further investigation and research: Cloud computing is used for messages/tasks execution instead of fog computing, which increases response time. Furthermore, a fault tolerance mechanism is used to reduce the tasks/messages failure ratio. We proposed QoS aware and fault tolerance-based software-defined V vehicular networks using Cloud-fog computing (QAFT-SDVN) to address the above issues. We provided heuristic algorithms to solve the above limitations. The proposed model gets vehicle messages through SDN nodes which are placed on fog nodes. SDN controllers receive messages from nearby SDN units and prioritize the messages in two different ways. One is the message nature way, while the other one is deadline and size way of messages prioritization. SDN controller categorized in safety and non-safety messages and forward to the destination. After sending messages to their destination, we check their acknowledgment; if the destination receives the messages, then no action is taken; otherwise, we use a fault tolerance mechanism. We send the messages again. The proposed model is implemented in CloudSIm and iFogSim, and compared with the latest models. The results show that our proposed model decreased response time by 50% of the safety and non-safety messages by using fog nodes for the SDN controller. Furthermore, we reduced the execution time of the safety and non-safety messages by up to 4%. Similarly, compared with the latest model, we reduced the task failure ratio by 20%, 15%, 23.3%, and 22.5%.

RM-ADR: Resource Management Adaptive Data Rate for Mobile Application in LoRaWAN.

LoRaWAN is renowned and a mostly supported technology for the Internet of Things, using an energy-efficient Adaptive Data Rate (ADR) to allocate resources (e.g., Spreading Factor (SF)) and Transmit Power (TP) to a large number of End Devices (EDs). When these EDs are mobile, the fixed SF allocation is not efficient owing to the sudden changes caused in the link conditions between the ED and the gateway. As a result of this situation, significant packet loss occurs, increasing the retransmissions from EDs. Therefore, we propose a Resource Management ADR (RM-ADR) at both ED and Network Sides (NS) by considering the packet transmission information and received power to address this issue. Through simulation results, RM-ADR showed improved performance compared to the state-of-the-art ADR techniques. The findings indicate a faster convergence time by minimizing packet loss ratio and retransmission in a mobile LoRaWAN network environment.

Localization Algorithm for 3D Sensor Networks: A Recursive Data Fusion Approach.

Location-based applications for security and assisted living, such as human location tracking, pet tracking and others, have increased considerably in the last few years, enabled by the fast growth of sensor networks. Sensor location information is essential for several network protocols and applications such as routing and energy harvesting, among others. Therefore, there is a need for developing new alternative localization algorithms suitable for rough, changing environments. In this paper, we formulate the Recursive Localization (RL) algorithm, based on the recursive coordinate data fusion using at least three anchor nodes (ANs), combined with a multiplane location estimation, suitable for 3D ad hoc environments. The novelty of the proposed algorithm is the recursive fusion technique to obtain a reliable location estimation of a node by combining noisy information from several nodes. The feasibility of the RL algorithm under several network environments was examined through analytic formulation and simulation processes. The proposed algorithm improved the location accuracy for all the scenarios analyzed. Comparing with other 3D range-based positioning algorithms, we observe that the proposed RL algorithm presents several advantages, such as a smaller number of required ANs and a better position accuracy for the worst cases analyzed. On the other hand, compared to other 3D range-free positioning algorithms, we can see an improvement by around 15.6% in terms of positioning accuracy.

Distributed Channel Ranking Scheduling Function for Dense Industrial 6TiSCH Networks.

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is considered a key enabler for Industry 4.0. Modern wireless industrial protocols such as the IEEE 802.15.4e Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) deliver high reliability to fulfill the requirements in IIoT by following strict schedules computed in a Scheduling Function (SF) to avoid collisions and to provide determinism. The standard does not define how such schedules are built. The SF plays an essential role in 6TiSCH networks since it dictates when and where the nodes are communicating according to the application requirements, thus directly influencing the reliability of the network. Moreover, typical industrial environments consist of heavy machinery and complementary wireless communication systems that can create interference. Hence, we propose a distributed SF, namely the Channel Ranking Scheduling Function (CRSF), for IIoT networks supporting IPv6 over the IEEE 802.15.4e TSCH mode. CRSF computes the number of cells required for each node using a buffer-based bandwidth allocation mechanism with a Kalman filtering technique to avoid sudden allocation/deallocation of cells. CRSF also ranks channel quality using Exponential Weighted Moving Averages (EWMAs) based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), Background Noise (BN) level measurements, and the Packet Delivery Rate (PDR) metrics to select the best available channel to communicate. We compare the performance of CRSF with Orchestra and the Minimal Scheduling Function (MSF), in scenarios resembling industrial environmental characteristics. Performance is evaluated in terms of PDR, end-to-end latency, Radio Duty Cycle (RDC), and the elapsed time of first packet arrival. Results show that CRSF achieves high PDR and low RDC across all scenarios with periodic and burst traffic patterns at the cost of increased end-to-end latency. Moreover, CRSF delivers the first packet earlier than Orchestra and MSF in all scenarios. We conclude that CRSF is a viable option for IIoT networks with a large number of nodes and interference. The main contributions of our paper are threefold: (i) a bandwidth allocation mechanism that uses Kalman filtering techniques to effectively calculate the number of cells required for a given time, (ii) a channel ranking mechanism that combines metrics such as the PDR, RSSI, and BN to select channels with the best performance, and (iii) a new Key Performance Indicator (KPI) that measures the elapsed time from network formation until the first packet reception at the root.

Fifth-Generation (5G) mmWave Spatial Channel Characterization for Urban Environments' System Analysis.

In this work, the channel characterization in terms of large-scale propagation, small-scale propagation, statistical and interference analysis of Fifth-Generation (5G) Millimeter Wave (mmWave) bands for wireless networks for 28, 30 and 60 GHz is presented in both an outdoor urban complex scenario and an indoor scenario, in order to consider a multi-functional, large node-density 5G network operation. An in-house deterministic Three-Dimensional Ray-Launching (3D-RL) code has been used for that purpose, considering all the material properties of the obstacles within the scenario at the frequency under analysis, with the aid of purpose-specific implemented mmWave simulation modules. Different beamforming radiation patterns of the transmitter antenna have been considered, emulating a 5G system operation. Spatial interference analysis as well as time domain characteristics have been retrieved as a function of node location and configuration.

Orientaciones Deporte y COVID-19: Recomendaciones sobre el retorno a la actividad física y deportes de niños niñas y adolescentes / Sport COVID-19 Orientations: Recommendations for return to physical activity and sports in children and adolescents

Resumen: La pandemia por COVID-19, originada en diciembre de 2019 en Wuhan, China, obligó a los países, incluido Chile, a un confinamiento masivo para evitar la propagación de SARS-CoV2. Desde marzo de 2020 en Chile, también se afectó la realización de actividad física y deporte en los niños, niñas y adolescentes (NNA). En un esfuerzo por reunir la escasa evidencia disponible sobre el retorno a la práctica de ejercicio en NNA post pandemia COVID-19 y la opinión de expertos de 4 sociedades científicas y académicas (Sociedad Chilena de Medicina del Deporte, Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría, Sociedad Chilena de Kinesiología Deportiva y la Consejo Académico Nacional de Educación Física) se han generado recomendaciones para un retorno seguro a la actividad para el ramo Educación Física y Salud, deporte escolar y federado tanto para disminuir los riesgos asociados a los efectos del confinamiento como para evitar la propagación de COVID-19. Adicionalmente, se incluyen una guía de recomendación para padres y profesores y otra para médicos sobre la vigilancia y evaluación de los pacientes NNA que sostendrán enfermedad COVID-19 y deseen volver al deporte y ejercicio.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, originated in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, forced a massive quaran tine in most countries including Chile to avoid the propagation of SARS-CoV2. Since March 2020 in Chile, it affected the participation of children and youth athletes as well in education, physical activity and sports. In an effort to assess the scarce available evidence about return to sport and exercise in children and adolescents post COVID-19 pandemic and gather the opinion of experts of 4 Chilean scientific and academic societies (Sociedad Chilena de Medicina del Deporte, Sociedad Chilena de Pediatría, Sociedad Chilena de Kinesiología Deportiva and Consejo Académico Nacional de Edu cación Física) we have produced recommendations for a safe return to activities in Physical Activity and Health class, School Sports and Federation Sports to reduce the risks associated with the effects of confinement and to avoid the propagation of COVID-19 and. Additionally, a recommendation for parents and teachers and a another for physicians for surveillance and evaluation of children and adolescents who were or will become COVID-19 patients and wish to return to sports end exercise.

Deterministic Propagation Modeling for Intelligent Vehicle Communication in Smart Cities.

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are envisaged to be a critical building block of Smart Cities and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) where applications for pollution, congestion reduction, vehicle mobility improvement, accident prevention and safer roads are some of the VANETs expected benefits towards Intelligent Vehicle Communications. Although there is a significant research effort in Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication radio channel characterization, the use of a deterministic approach as a complement of theoretical and empirical models is required to understand more accurately the propagation phenomena in urban environments. In this work, a deterministic computational tool based on an in-house 3D Ray-Launching algorithm is used to represent and analyze large-scale and small-scale urban radio propagation phenomena, including vehicle movement effects on each of the multipath components. In addition, network parameters such as throughput, packet loss and jitter, have been obtained by means of a set of experimental measurements for different V2I and V2V links. Results show the impact of factors such as distance, frequency, location of antenna transmitters (TX), obstacles and vehicle speed. These results are useful for radio-planning Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) designers and deployment of urban Road Side Units (RSUs).

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions.

Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal), long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node's cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted.

A Systematic Review on Recent Advances in mHealth Systems: Deployment Architecture for Emergency Response.

The continuous technological advances in favor of mHealth represent a key factor in the improvement of medical emergency services. This systematic review presents the identification, study, and classification of the most up-to-date approaches surrounding the deployment of architectures for mHealth. Our review includes 25 articles obtained from databases such as IEEE Xplore, Scopus, SpringerLink, ScienceDirect, and SAGE. This review focused on studies addressing mHealth systems for outdoor emergency situations. In 60% of the articles, the deployment architecture relied in the connective infrastructure associated with emergent technologies such as cloud services, distributed services, Internet-of-things, machine-to-machine, vehicular ad hoc network, and service-oriented architecture. In 40% of the literature review, the deployment architecture for mHealth considered traditional connective infrastructure. Only 20% of the studies implemented an energy consumption protocol to extend system lifetime. We concluded that there is a need for more integrated solutions specifically for outdoor scenarios. Energy consumption protocols are needed to be implemented and evaluated. Emergent connective technologies are redefining the information management and overcome traditional technologies.

Medium Access Control Protocols for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey.

New wireless network paradigms will demand higher spectrum use and availability to cope with emerging data-hungry devices. Traditional static spectrum allocation policies cause spectrum scarcity, and new paradigms such as Cognitive Radio (CR) and new protocols and techniques need to be developed in order to have efficient spectrum usage. Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols are accountable for recognizing free spectrum, scheduling available resources and coordinating the coexistence of heterogeneous systems and users. This paper provides an ample review of the state-of-the-art MAC protocols, which mainly focuses on Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHN). First, a description of the cognitive radio fundamental functions is presented. Next, MAC protocols are divided into three groups, which are based on their channel access mechanism, namely time-slotted protocol, random access protocol and hybrid protocol. In each group, a detailed and comprehensive explanation of the latest MAC protocols is presented, as well as the pros and cons of each protocol. A discussion on future challenges for CRAHN MAC protocols is included with a comparison of the protocols from a functional perspective.

Spatial Characterization of Radio Propagation Channel in Urban Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Environments to Support WSNs Deployment.

Vehicular ad hoc Networks (VANETs) enable vehicles to communicate with each other as well as with roadside units (RSUs). Although there is a significant research effort in radio channel modeling focused on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), not much work has been done for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) using 3D ray-tracing tools. This work evaluates some important parameters of a V2I wireless channel link such as large-scale path loss and multipath metrics in a typical urban scenario using a deterministic simulation model based on an in-house 3D Ray-Launching (3D-RL) algorithm at 5.9 GHz. Results show the high impact that the spatial distance; link frequency; placement of RSUs; and factors such as roundabout, geometry and relative position of the obstacles have in V2I propagation channel. A detailed spatial path loss characterization of the V2I channel along the streets and avenues is presented. The 3D-RL results show high accuracy when compared with measurements, and represent more reliably the propagation phenomena when compared with analytical path loss models. Performance metrics for a real test scenario implemented with a VANET wireless sensor network implemented ad-hoc are also described. These results constitute a starting point in the design phase of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) radio-planning in the urban V2I deployment in terms of coverage.

Prácticas de riesgo e higiene de trabajadoras sexuales con vaginosis bacteriana. Establecimiento de Salud SUNAMPE, 2016 / Risk practices and hygiene of sex workers with bacterial vaginosis in a Health Center Sunampe, 2016

Objetivos: Determinar las prácticas de riesgo e higiene de las trabajadoras sexuales con diagnóstico de vaginosis bacteriana en atendidas en el Establecimiento de Salud Sunampe, durante el año 2016. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio observacional analítico, descriptivo transversal. Se estudiaron a 80 trabajadoras sexuales con diagnóstico de vaginosis bacteriana atendidas por consultorio en el Establecimiento de Salud SUNAMPE de Chincha durante el año 2016 Se realizó inicialmente un análisis Univariado, luego bivariado utilizando la prueba de Chi 2. Resultados: El promedio de edad de las trabajadoras sexuales es de 29.49 y una DS de 9.33, con un tiempo promedio de trabajo 3.88 años. La media de edad de inicio sexual fue de 15.6 años con una DS de 1.95; la variable dependiente que es la presencia de vaginosis bacteriana con un 68.5% del total, asimismo el 61.25% no tenían pareja y el 38.25% no mantenían controles periódicos adecuados. Además solo el 35% presentaba antecedentes de ITS, asimismo en términos generales el 83.75% no recibe tratamiento antibiótico, y de igual manera un gran porcentaje 86.75% usan métodos anticonceptivos. Las variables Antecedente de Infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS), antecedente de haber tenido abortos, el lugar de trabajo y los controles periódicos, resultaron significativos con un p valor menor a 0.05. Conclusiones: Las variables Antecedente de ITS, antecedente de haber tenido abortos, el lugar de trabajo y no tener controles se asociaron a la presencia de vaginosis bacteriana. (AU)

Objetive: Determine risk practices and hygiene of sex workers diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis treated at the Health Sunampe establishment during 2016. Materials and Methods: It has been madean analytical, descriptive cross-sectional observational study. They studied 80 female sex workers diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis served by the Establishment of office in Chincha Sunampe Health during 2016 A univariate analysis was initially performed, then bivariate using Chi 2 test. Results: The average age of sex workers is 29.49 and DS 9.33con an average working time 3.88 years. The average age of sexual on set was 15.6 years with a DS of 1.95. the dependent variable is the presence of bacterial vaginosis with 68.5% of the total, also the 61.25% had no partner and 38.25% did not maintain adequate regular checks. In addition only 35% had a history of STIs, also in general terms the 83.75% do not receive antibiotic treatment, and likewise a large percentage 86.75% use contraception. The History of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), history of having had abortions, the workplace and periodic inspections, variables were significant with a p value less than 0.05. Conclusions: The History of ITS variables, history of having had abortions, the workplace and not have controls associated with the presence of bacterial vaginosis. (AU)

Infection by Mycobacterium bovis in a dog from Brazil

Abstract Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic disease caused by bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MtbC). This disease rarely affects dogs. Canine infections are usually caused by M. tuberculosis. Mycobacterium bovis infections are rare in dogs and associated with consumption of raw milk or contaminated products. Here, we report a Boxer dog who had a M. bovis infection and was admitted to a Brazilian veterinary hospital with a presumptive diagnosis of chronic ehrlichiosis. Despite receiving treatment for chronic ehrlichiosis, it progressed to death. TB was diagnosed during post-mortem examinations using histopathological analysis. Ziehl-Neelsen staining revealed acid-fast bacilli in the kidneys, liver, mesentery, and a mass adhered to the liver. Further, PCR-restriction analysis was performed to identify mycobacteria in the samples. A restriction profile compatible with MtbC was found in the lungs. In addition, PCR-based MtbC typing deletions at different loci of chromosome 9 enabled the identification of M. bovis in the lungs. Therefore, it is very essential to perform differential diagnosis of TB in dogs with non-specific clinical signs and who do not respond to treatment, particularly those who had been in contact with TB-infected cattle or owners. Further, we highlight the use of molecular methods for the identification of bacilli, improving the diagnosis and aiding epidemiological studies.

Infection by Mycobacterium bovis in a dog from Brazil.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic disease caused by bacteria belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MtbC). This disease rarely affects dogs. Canine infections are usually caused by M. tuberculosis. Mycobacterium bovis infections are rare in dogs and associated with consumption of raw milk or contaminated products. Here, we report a Boxer dog who had a M. bovis infection and was admitted to a Brazilian veterinary hospital with a presumptive diagnosis of chronic ehrlichiosis. Despite receiving treatment for chronic ehrlichiosis, it progressed to death. TB was diagnosed during post-mortem examinations using histopathological analysis. Ziehl-Neelsen staining revealed acid-fast bacilli in the kidneys, liver, mesentery, and a mass adhered to the liver. Further, PCR-restriction analysis was performed to identify mycobacteria in the samples. A restriction profile compatible with MtbC was found in the lungs. In addition, PCR-based MtbC typing deletions at different loci of chromosome 9 enabled the identification of M. bovis in the lungs. Therefore, it is very essential to perform differential diagnosis of TB in dogs with non-specific clinical signs and who do not respond to treatment, particularly those who had been in contact with TB-infected cattle or owners. Further, we highlight the use of molecular methods for the identification of bacilli, improving the diagnosis and aiding epidemiological studies.

Survey of WBSNs for Pre-Hospital Assistance: Trends to Maximize the Network Lifetime and Video Transmission Techniques.

This survey aims to encourage the multidisciplinary communities to join forces for innovation in the mobile health monitoring area. Specifically, multidisciplinary innovations in medical emergency scenarios can have a significant impact on the effectiveness and quality of the procedures and practices in the delivery of medical care. Wireless body sensor networks (WBSNs) are a promising technology capable of improving the existing practices in condition assessment and care delivery for a patient in a medical emergency. This technology can also facilitate the early interventions of a specialist physician during the pre-hospital period. WBSNs make possible these early interventions by establishing remote communication links with video/audio support and by providing medical information such as vital signs, electrocardiograms, etc. in real time. This survey focuses on relevant issues needed to understand how to setup a WBSN for medical emergencies. These issues are: monitoring vital signs and video transmission, energy efficient protocols, scheduling, optimization and energy consumption on a WBSN.