Presenting an Optimal Energy-Aware Locating Structure Using the Internet of Things and Device-to-Device Communications on Smartphones

Wireless Personal Communications - Recently, Device-To-Device (D2D) communications as a novel technology for improving the capacity and reducing power consumption in wireless networks have been...     

Extracellular Vesicles in Diagnosing Chronic Coronary Syndromes the Bumpy Road to Clinical Implementation

Coronary artery disease (CAD), comprising both acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and chronic coronary syndromes (CCS), remains one of the most important killers throughout the entire world. ACS is often quickly diagnosed by either deviation on an electrocardiogram or elevated levels of troponin, but CCS appears to be more complicated. The most used noninvasive strategies to diagnose CCS are coronary computed tomography and perfusion imaging. Although both show reasonable accuracy (80–90%), these modalities are becoming more and more subject of debate due to costs, radiation and increasing inappropriate use in low-risk patients. A reliable, blood-based biomarker is not available for CCS but would be of great clinical importance. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid-bilayer membrane vesicles containing bioactive contents e.g., proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. EVs are often referred to as the “liquid biopsy” since their contents reflect changes in the condition of the cell they originate from. Although EVs are studied extensively for their role as biomarkers in the cardiovascular field during the last decade, they are still not incorporated into clinical practice in this field. This review provides an overview on EV biomarkers in CCS and discusses the clinical and technological aspects important for successful clinical application of EVs.     

Equilibrium,kinetic and isotherm of some metal ion biosorption

Trichoderma reesei was used as a biosorbent for the removal of Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions. The influence of factors such as pH, mass of biomass, contact time and temperature on biosorption efficiency was optimized. To calculate the isotherm parameters for the biosorption of Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions at optimized conditions, the experimental equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich models. The calculated thermodynamic parameters, ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS° showed that the biosorption of Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Zn²⁺ ions onto T. reesei biomass was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic at the optimized conditions. The results of kinetic analysis showed that the biosorption of the selected metal ions onto T. reesei biomass obeys pseudo second order kinetics.     

Nano-hydroxyapatite and nano-hydroxyapatite/zinc oxide scaffold for bone tissue engineering application

This research aims to evaluate the mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and degradation behavior of scaffolds made of pure hydroxyapatite (HA) and HA-modified by ZnO for bone tissue engineering applications. HA and ZnO were developed using sol-gel and precipitation methods respectively. The scaffolds properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic absorption (AA), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The interaction of scaffold with cells was assessed using in vitro cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assays. The obtained results indicate that the HA/ZnO scaffolds possess higher compressive strength, fracture toughness, and density—but lower hardness—when compared to the pure HA scaffolds. After immersing the scaffold in the SBF solution, more deposited apatite appeared on the HA/ZnO, which results in the rougher surface on this scaffold compared to the pure HA scaffold. Finally, the in vitro biological analysis using human osteoblast cells reveals that scaffolds are biocompatible with adequate ALP activity.     

Accumulated risk of body postures in assembly line balancing problem and modeling through a multi-criteria fuzzy-genetic algorithm

Monotonous body postures during repetitive jobs negatively affect assembly-line workers with the developing of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs). Ergonomics specialists have offered auxiliary posture diversity to deal with the lack of varieties, especially for high-risk ones. Meanwhile, Assembly Line Balancing (ALB) problem has been recognized as a prior thinking to (re)configure assembly lines via the balancing of their tasks among their workstations. Some conventional criteria, cycle time and overall workload are often considered during the balancing. This paper presents a novel model of ALB problem that incorporates assembly worker postures into the balancing. In addition to the conventional ALB criteria, a new criterion of posture diversity is defined and contributes to enhance the model. The proposed model suggests configurations of assembly lines via the balancing; so that the assigned workers encounter the opportunities of changing their body postures, regularly. To address uncertainties in the conventional criteria, a fuzzy goal programming is used, and an appropriate genetic algorithm is developed to deal with the model. Various computational tests are performed on the different models made with combinations of the three criteria mentioned above. Comparing the pay-offs among the combinations, results show that well balanced task allocation can be obtained through the proposed model.