Data Freshness and End-to-End Delay in Cross-Layer Two-Tier Linear IoT Networks.

The operational and technological structures of radio access networks have undergone tremendous changes in recent years. A displacement of priority from capacity-coverage optimization (to ensure data freshness) has emerged. Multiple radio access technology (multi-RAT) is a solution that addresses the exponential growth of traffic demands, providing degrees of freedom in meeting various performance goals, including energy efficiencies in IoT networks. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility of leveraging multi-RAT to reduce each user's transmission delay while preserving the requisite quality of service (QoS) and maintaining the freshness of the received information via the age of information (AoI) metric. First, we investigated the coordination between a multi-hop network and a cellular network. Each IoT device served as an information source that generated packets (transmitting them toward the base station) and a relay (for packets generated upstream). We created a queuing system that included the network and MAC layers. We propose a framework comprised of various models and tools for forecasting network performances in terms of the end-to-end delay of ongoing flows and AoI. Finally, to highlight the benefits of our framework, we performed comprehensive simulations. In discussing these numerical results, insights regarding various aspects and metrics (parameter tuning, expected QoS, and performance) are made apparent.

Effects of Mulberry on The Central Nervous System: A Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Mulberry, including several species belonging to genus Morus, has been widely used as a traditional medicine for a long time. Extracts and active components of mulberry have many positive neurological and biological effects and can become potential candidates in the search for new drugs for neurological disorders. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to systematically review the medical literature for evidence of mulberry effects on the central nervous system. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search in nine databases. We included all in vivo studies investigating the effect of mulberry on the central nervous system with no restrictions. RESULTS: We finally included 47 articles for quality synthesis. Our findings showed that mulberry and its components possessed an antioxidant effect, showed a reduction in the cerebral infarct volume after stroke. They also improved the cognitive function, learning process, and reduced memory impairment in many animal models. M. alba and its extracts ameliorated Parkinson's disease-like behaviors, limited the complications of diabetes mellitus on the central nervous system, possessed anti-convulsant, anti-depressive, and anxiolytic effects. CONCLUSION: Mulberry species proved beneficial to many neurological functions in animal models. The active ingredients of each species, especially M. alba, should be deeper studied for screening potential candidates for future treatments.

Prevalence and associated factors of asymptomatic leishmaniasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Asymptomatic leishmaniasis is believed to play important role in maintaining the transmission of Leishmania spp. within endemic communities. Therefore, the efforts to eliminate leishmaniasis are daunting if we cannot manage asymptomatic leishmaniasis well. To clarify the global prevalence and factors associated with the asymptomatic Leishmania infection, we assessed the prevalence of asymptomatic leishmaniasis by a systematic review followed by meta-analyses. In addition, factors associated with the asymptomatic leishmaniasis versus symptomatic were also analyzed. We included all of the original articles alluding to the human asymptomatic leishmaniasis that was confirmed by at least one laboratory diagnosis method regardless of age, sex, race, and ethnicity of the patients, study design, publication date or languages. In total, 111 original articles were chosen for the data extraction. Based on our meta-analyses of the original articles reporting asymptomatic leishmaniasis mostly in endemic areas, the prevalence of asymptomatic leishmaniasis was 11.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 8.6%-14.4%] in general population, 36.7% [95% CI 27.6%-46.8%] in inhabitants living in the same or neighboring household to the symptomatic patients, and 11.8% [95% CI 7.1%-19%] in HIV infected patients. Among individuals with leishmaniasis, 64.9% [95% CI 54.7%-73.9%] were asymptomatic and males were more susceptible to develop symptoms, with OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.19-2.99, P=0.007. Meta-regression analysis showed no significant change in the prevalence of asymptomatic leishmaniasis during the last 40 years.

Examined and Positive Lymph Node Counts Are Associated with Mortality in Prostate Cancer: A Population-Based Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the third leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. We aimed to disclose the prognostic values of examined (dissected) lymph node (ELN), negative lymph node (NLN), and positive (metastatic) lymph node (PLN) counts and lymph node (LNs) ratio in PCa patients. METHODS: We extracted data of PCa patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program. We included patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis having at least one ELN and with the PCa as the primary tumor only. RESULTS: We have included 96,064 patients. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression modelsdisclosed that patients having more ELNs were associated with better survival. However, we demonstrated that patients having more PLNs were associated with worse survival. Additionally, older age, unmarried patients, with Gleason's score of 8-10, T4 and M1 stages and those who received chemotherapy and/or radiation but did not receive surgery were significantly associated with worse PCa survival. CONCLUSIONS: We have disclosed several independent predictors affecting PCa patients including age, marital status, Gleason's score, T and N stages, having received therapy, surgery, and ELN and PLN counts. Moreover, we demonstrated that patients with lower ELN and higher PLN counts were a high-risk group. We strongly recommend adding the ELN and/or PLN counts into consideration during patient staging/treatment.

Data Gathering and Energy Transfer Dilemma in UAV-Assisted Flying Access Network for IoT.

Recently, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as an alternative solution to assist wireless networks, thanks to numerous advantages they offer in comparison to terrestrial fixed base stations. For instance, a UAV can be used to embed a flying base station providing an on-demand nomadic access to network services. A UAV can also be used to wirelessly recharge out-of-battery ground devices. In this paper, we aim to deal with both data collection and recharging depleted ground Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices through a UAV station used as a flying base station. To extend the network lifetime, we present a novel use of UAV with energy harvesting module and wireless recharging capabilities. However, the UAV is used as an energy source to empower depleted IoT devices. On one hand, the UAV charges depleted ground IoT devices under three policies: (1) low-battery first scheme; (2) high-battery first scheme; and (3) random scheme. On the other hand, the UAV station collects data from IoT devices that have sufficient energy to transmit their packets, and in the same phase, the UAV exploits the Radio Frequency (RF) signals transmitted by IoT devices to extract and harvest energy. Furthermore, and as the UAV station has a limited coverage time due to its energy constraints, we propose and investigate an efficient trade-off between ground users recharging time and data gathering time. Furthermore, we suggest to control and optimize the UAV trajectory in order to complete its travel within a minimum time, while minimizing the energy spent and/or enhancing the network lifetime. Extensive numerical results and simulations show how the system behaves under different scenarios and using various metrics in which we examine the added value of UAV with energy harvesting module.

Microfluidic devices for nucleic acid (NA) isolation, isothermal NA amplification, and real-time detection.

Molecular (nucleic acid)-based diagnostics tests have many advantages over immunoassays, particularly with regard to sensitivity and specificity. Most on-site diagnostic tests, however, are immunoassay-based because conventional nucleic acid-based tests (NATs) require extensive sample processing, trained operators, and specialized equipment. To make NATs more convenient, especially for point-of-care diagnostics and on-site testing, a simple plastic microfluidic cassette ("chip") has been developed for nucleic acid-based testing of blood, other clinical specimens, food, water, and environmental samples. The chip combines nucleic acid isolation by solid-phase extraction; isothermal enzymatic amplification such as LAMP (Loop-mediated AMPlification), NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification), and RPA (Recombinase Polymerase Amplification); and real-time optical detection of DNA or RNA analytes. The microfluidic cassette incorporates an embedded nucleic acid binding membrane in the amplification reaction chamber. Target nucleic acids extracted from a lysate are captured on the membrane and amplified at a constant incubation temperature. The amplification product, labeled with a fluorophore reporter, is excited with a LED light source and monitored in situ in real time with a photodiode or a CCD detector (such as available in a smartphone). For blood analysis, a companion filtration device that separates plasma from whole blood to provide cell-free samples for virus and bacterial lysis and nucleic acid testing in the microfluidic chip has also been developed. For HIV virus detection in blood, the microfluidic NAT chip achieves a sensitivity and specificity that are nearly comparable to conventional benchtop protocols using spin columns and thermal cyclers.

Nuclemeter: a reaction-diffusion based method for quantifying nucleic acids undergoing enzymatic amplification.

Real-time amplification and quantification of specific nucleic acid sequences plays a major role in medical and biotechnological applications. In the case of infectious diseases, such as HIV, quantification of the pathogen-load in patient specimens is critical to assess disease progression and effectiveness of drug therapy. Typically, nucleic acid quantification requires expensive instruments, such as real-time PCR machines, which are not appropriate for on-site use and for low-resource settings. This paper describes a simple, low-cost, reaction-diffusion based method for end-point quantification of target nucleic acids undergoing enzymatic amplification. The number of target molecules is inferred from the position of the reaction-diffusion front, analogous to reading temperature in a mercury thermometer. The method was tested for HIV viral load monitoring and performed on par with conventional benchtop methods. The proposed method is suitable for nucleic acid quantification at point of care, compatible with multiplexing and high-throughput processing, and can function instrument-free.

Scaling relationship and optimization of double-pulse electroporation.

The efficacy of electroporation is known to vary significantly across a wide variety of biological research and clinical applications, but as of this writing, a generalized approach to simultaneously improve efficiency and maintain viability has not been available in the literature. To address that discrepancy, we here outline an approach that is based on the mapping of the scaling relationships among electroporation-mediated molecular delivery, cellular viability, and electric pulse parameters. The delivery of Fluorescein-Dextran into 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells was used as a model system. The pulse was rationally split into two sequential phases: a first precursor for permeabilization, followed by a second one for molecular delivery. Extensive data in the parameter space of the second pulse strength and duration were collected and analyzed with flow cytometry. The fluorescence intensity correlated linearly with the second pulse duration, confirming the dominant role of electrophoresis in delivery. The delivery efficiency exhibited a characteristic sigmoidal dependence on the field strength. An examination of short-term cell death using 7-Aminoactinomycin D demonstrated a convincing linear correlation with respect to the electrical energy. Based on these scaling relationships, an optimal field strength becomes identifiable. A model study was also performed, and the results were compared with the experimental data to elucidate underlying mechanisms. The comparison reveals the existence of a critical transmembrane potential above which delivery with the second pulse becomes effective. Together, these efforts establish a general route to enhance the functionality of electroporation.

Quantification of propidium iodide delivery using millisecond electric pulses: experiments.

The transport mechanisms in electroporation-mediated molecular delivery are experimentally investigated and quantified. In particular, the uptake of propidium iodide (PI) into single 3T3 fibroblasts is investigated with time- and space-resolved fluorescence microscopy, and as a function of extracellular buffer conductivity. During the pulse, both the peak and the total integrated fluorescence intensity exhibit an inverse correlation with extracellular conductivity. This behavior can be explained by an electrokinetic phenomenon known as Field-Amplified Sample Stacking (FASS). Furthermore, the respective contributions from electrophoresis and diffusion have been quantified; the former is shown to be consistently higher than the latter for the experimental conditions considered. The results are compared with a compact model to predict electrophoresis-mediated transport, and good agreement is found between the two. The combination of the experimental and modeling efforts provides an effective means for the quantitative diagnosis of electroporation.

Vesicle deformation and poration under strong dc electric fields.

When subject to applied electric pulses, a lipid membrane exhibits complex responses including electrodeformation and electroporation. In this work, the electrodeformation of giant unilamellar vesicles under strong dc electric fields was investigated. Specifically, the degree of deformation was quantified as a function of the applied field strength and the electrical conductivity ratio of the fluids inside and outside of the vesicles. The vesicles were made from L-α-phosphatidylcholine with diameters ranging from 14 to 30 µm. Experiments were performed with field strengths ranging from 0.9 to 2.0 kV/cm, and intra-to-extra-vesicular conductivity ratios varying between 1.92 and 53.0. With these parametric configurations, the vesicles exhibited prolate elongations along the direction of the electric field. The degree of deformation was, in general, significant. In some cases, the aspect ratio of a deformed vesicle exceeded 10, representing a strong-deformation regime previously not explored. The aspect ratio scaled quadratically with the field strength, and increased asymptotically to a maximum value at high conductivity ratios. Appreciable area and volumetric changes were observed both during and after pulsation, indicating the concurrence of electroporation. A theoretical model is developed to predict these large deformations in the strongly permeabilized limit, and the results are compared with the experimental data. Both agreements and discrepancies are found, and the model limitations and possible extensions are discussed.