Transmission Power Control Aware Routing in Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract—Cognitive radio technology has drawn much attention since it is a promising candidate to efficiently utilize the scarce radio resources. However, cognitive radio introduces new challenges in the protocol stacks in wireless networks. This paper proposes a routing protocol for Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks (CRAHNs), called Transmission Power Control aware AODV (TPC-AODV). TPC-AODV is based on Ad hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol. The main objectives of TPC-AODV are to avoid interruption of primary users’ communication and to support basic Quality of Service for secondary users. TPC-AODV takes inputs from both secondary users’ application requirements and the channel condition after spectrum sensing. These inputs enable secondary users’ communication with specific transmission power on the selected channel. Our simulation results show that TPC-AODV improves network performance in terms of throughput and delay compared to AODV in CRAHNs.     

Performance of Layered Steered Space–Time Codes in Wireless Systems

Layered Steered Space–Time Codes (LSSTC) is a recently proposed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that combines the benefits of vertical Bell Labs space–time (VBLAST) scheme, space–time block codes (STBC) and beamforming. In this paper, we derive the error performance and capacity of a single-user LSSTC system. The analysis is general enough to any layer ordering and modulation schemes used. In addition, the derived analysis is general for any LSSTC structure in which layers may have different number of antenna arrays and may be assigned power according to any power allocation. Furthermore, we analytically investigate the tradeoff between the main parameters of the LSSTC system, i.e., diversity, multiplexing and beamforming. Our results give recursive expressions for the probability of error for LSSTC which showed nearly perfect match to the simulation results. Results have also revealed the possibility of designing an adaptive system in which it was shown that combining beamforming, STBC, and VBLAST has better performance than VBLAST at high SNR range.     

Measurement of the surface roughness of wood based materials used in furniture manufacture

The objective of this work was to evaluate surface quality of wood based materials used to manufacture furniture units in Singapore. Various type commercially produced composite panels including particleboard, medium density fibreboard (MDF), plywood in addition to ten different solid wood species which are commonly used in furniture production were considered for the experiments. A stylus type profilometer and 3D image analyzer were employed to determine surface roughness of the samples. Medium density fibreboard (MDF) samples resulted in the smoothest surface with an across the sandmark average roughness (R_a) value of 5.07 μm, while corresponding value for plywood specimens was 8.09 μm among the composite panel samples. In the case of solid wood samples, measurements taken along and across the sandmark from the surface of the specimens measured by the stylus type profilometer, balau had the roughest surface with an R_a value of 9.85 μm across the sandmark followed by beech and walnut. Pine specimens along with ash, cherry and nyatoh resulted in relatively smooth surface values. Correlation between measurements taken by two different methods, namely stylus and 3D scanning showed a good agreement with each other. Based on the findings in this work it appears that both methods can be successfully used to evaluate and to get objective numerical values on surface quality of these samples so that such initial data can be used as quality control tool to have more effective further manufacturing steps in furniture production.     

Role of miRNAs in Human T Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Induced T Cell Leukemia: A Literature Review and Bioinformatics Approach

Human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) was identified as the first pathogenic human retrovirus and is estimated to infect 5 to 10 million individuals worldwide. Unlike other retroviruses, there is no effective therapy to prevent the onset of the most alarming diseases caused by HTLV-1, and the more severe cases manifest as the malignant phenotype of adult T cell leukemia (ATL). MicroRNA (miRNA) dysfunction is a common feature of leukemogenesis, and it is no different in ATL cases. Therefore, we sought to analyze studies that reported deregulated miRNA expression in HTLV-1 infected cells and patients’ samples to understand how this deregulation could induce malignancy. Through in silico analysis, we identified 12 miRNAs that stood out in the prediction of targets, and we performed functional annotation of the genes linked to these 12 miRNAs that appeared to have a major biological interaction. A total of 90 genes were enriched in 14 KEGG pathways with significant values, including TP53, WNT, MAPK, TGF-β, and Ras signaling pathways. These miRNAs and gene interactions are discussed in further detail for elucidation of how they may act as probable drivers for ATL onset, and while our data provide solid starting points for comprehension of miRNAs’ roles in HTLV-1 infection, continuous effort in oncologic research is still needed to improve our understanding of HTLV-1 induced leukemia.     

Circadian Rhythm Dysregulation and Leukemia Development: The Role of Clock Genes as Promising Biomarkers

The circadian clock (CC) is a daily system that regulates the oscillations of physiological processes and can respond to the external environment in order to maintain internal homeostasis. For the functioning of the CC, the clock genes (CG) act in different metabolic pathways through the clock-controlled genes (CCG), providing cellular regulation. The CC’s interruption can result in the development of different diseases, such as neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, as well as cancer. Leukemias correspond to a group of malignancies of the blood and bone marrow that occur when alterations in normal cellular regulatory processes cause the uncontrolled proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells. This review aimed to associate a deregulated CC with the manifestation of leukemia, looking for possible pathways involving CG and their possible role as leukemic biomarkers.     

Molecular Framework of Mouse Endothelial Cell Dysfunction during Inflammation: A Proteomics Approach

A key aspect of cytokine-induced changes as observed in sepsis is the dysregulated activation of endothelial cells (ECs), initiating a cascade of inflammatory signaling leading to leukocyte adhesion/migration and organ damage. The therapeutic targeting of ECs has been hampered by concerns regarding organ-specific EC heterogeneity and their response to inflammation. Using in vitro and in silico analysis, we present a comprehensive analysis of the proteomic changes in mouse lung, liver and kidney ECs following exposure to a clinically relevant cocktail of proinflammatory cytokines. Mouse lung, liver and kidney ECs were incubated with TNF-α/IL-1β/IFN-γ for 4 or 24 h to model the cytokine-induced changes. Quantitative label-free global proteomics and bioinformatic analysis performed on the ECs provide a molecular framework for the EC response to inflammatory stimuli over time and organ-specific differences. Gene Ontology and PANTHER analysis suggest why some organs are more susceptible to inflammation early on, and show that, as inflammation progresses, some protein expression patterns become more uniform while additional organ-specific proteins are expressed. These findings provide an in-depth understanding of the molecular changes involved in the EC response to inflammation and can support the development of drugs targeting ECs within different organs. Data are available via ProteomeXchange (identifier PXD031804).     

Study on QoS Management for Video Streaming in Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET)

Wireless Personal Communications - Vehicular Ad Hoc Network (VANET) is a particular type of MANET providing various wireless communications such as infrastructure communications and inter-vehicle...     

Building siRNAs with Cubes: Synthesis and Evaluation of Cubane-Modified siRNAs

Cubane molecules hold great potential for medicinal chemistry applications due to their inherent stability and low toxicity. In this study, we report the synthesis of a cubane derivative phosphoramidite for the incorporation of cubane into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Synthetic siRNAs rely on chemical modifications to improve their pharmacokinetic profiles. However, they are still able to mediate sequence-specific gene silencing via the endogenous RNA interference pathway. We designed a library of siRNAs bearing cubane at different positions within the sense and antisense strands. All siRNAs showed excellent gene-silencing activity, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 45.4 to 305 pM. Incorporating the cubane modification in both the sense and antisense strand led to viable duplexes with good biological activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of siRNAs bearing a cubane derivative within the backbone.