Reliability/energy trade-off in Bluetooth error control schemes

Two important objectives in wireless sensor networks are reliability and reducing energy consumption. Hence, overcoming energy constraints and utilizing error control schemes such as Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) and Forward Error Correction (FEC) are necessary to improve the energy efficiency and reliability. However, these two concerns are at odds, so there is a trade-off between them. Considering this point, the impact of various error control schemes on these objectives and the trade-off between them has been considered in Bluetooth networks recently. However, all these works consider ideal assumptions (e.g., perfect error detection) only. This work evaluates the energy-efficiency of Bluetooth error control schemes in Rayleigh fading channels taking into consideration both ideal assumptions and residual error probability of the CRC code in ARQ schemes. A comparative analysis of coding techniques using different BCH codes on the AUX1 packet is provided. In addition, the impact of variations in number of hops and SNR on the effectiveness of proposed coding techniques is analyzed through simulation. This analysis provides information that help network designers to choose suitable packet types and coding techniques for Bluetooth networks depending on the network situation.     

Metal‐Organic‐Framework‐Coated Optical Fibers as Light‐Triggered Drug Delivery Vehicles

Physical delivery of anticancer drugs in controlled anatomic locations can complement the advances being made in chemo‐selective therapies. To this end, an optical fiber catheter is coated in a thin layer of metal organic framework UiO‐66 and the anticancer drug 5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) is deposited within the pores. Delivery of light of appropriate wavelength through the fiber catheter is found to trigger the release of 5‐FU on demand, offering a new route to localized drug administration. The system exhibits great potential with as much as 110 × 10^?6 m of 5‐FU delivered within 1 min from one fiber.     

Argan (Argania spinosa L.) Seed Oil Cake as a Potential Source of Protein-Based Film Matrix for Pharmaco-Cosmetic Applications

Various different agri-food biomasses might be turned into renewable sources for producing biodegradable and edible plastics, potentially attractive for food, agricultural and cosmeceutical sectors. In this regard, different seeds utilized for edible and non-edible oil extraction give rise to high amounts of organic by-products, known as seed oil cakes (SOCs), potentially able to become protein-rich resources useful for the manufacturing of biodegradable films. This study reports the potential of SOC derived from Argania spinosa (argan), a well-known plant containing valuable non-refined oil suitable for food or cosmetic use, to be a promising valuable source for production of a protein-based matrix of biomaterials to be used in the pharmaco-cosmetic sector. Thus, glycerol-plasticized films were prepared by casting and drying using different amounts of argan seed protein concentrate, in the presence of increasing glycerol concentrations, and characterized for their morphological, mechanical, barrier, and hydrophilicity properties. In addition, their antioxidant activity and effects on cell viability and wound healing were investigated. The hydrophobic nature of the argan protein-based films, and their satisfying physicochemical and biological properties, suggest a biorefinery approach for the recycling of argan SOC as valuable raw material for manufacturing new products to be used in the cosmeceutical and food industries.     

Intrauterine and Postnatal Exposure to High Levels of Fluoride Is Associated with Motor Impairments,Oxidative Stress,and Morphological Damage in the Cerebellum of Offspring Rats

Fluoride (F) is abundantly present on Earth and plays a beneficial role in human health. However, exposure to high doses of F can be a risk, mainly in endemic fluorosis regions. In light of this, we investigated the effects of F exposure during the intrauterine and postnatal periods of rats, in doses similar to those recommended in drinking water and the levels of F in regions with endemic fluorosis, on the offspring rats’ cerebellum. Pregnant rats were divided into three groups: control (received ultrapure water only), 10 mg F/L, and 50 mg F/L for a period of 42 days (21 days gestation and 21 days lactation). At the end of the lactation period, the male pups were evaluated by behavioral tests, morphological markers, and biochemistry assays. The results pointed out that 50 mg F/L exposure during the intrauterine and lactational period of rats is capable of promoting oxidative stress in the cerebellum with a decrease in Purkinje cell density and myelin basic protein compromise, which could be associated with functional motor impairments. In addition, although 10 mg F/L exposure promoted redox alterations, it did not affect other parameters evaluated, highlighting the safe use of F in low doses.     

Biodistribution study of [^61Cu]pyruvaldehyde-bis （N-4-methylthiosemicarbazone） in normal rats as a PET tracer

[61Cu]-labeled pyruvaldehyde-bis (N-4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (61Cu-PTSM), a promising agent made for imaging blood perfusion, was produced via the natZn(p,x)61Cu nuclear reaction in a 30 MeV cyclotron, and separated by a two-step column chromatography method developed in our laboratory using a cation and an anion exchange resin. After 150μA irradiation for 76 min, about 6.006 Ci of 61Cu2 was obtained with a radiochemical separation yield of 95% and a radionuclidic purity of 99%. 61Cu-PTSM was prepared using an optimized method with in-house synthesized PTSM ligand for radiolabeling following quality control procedures using RTLC and HPLC. The tracer is mostly incorporated in heart, kidneys and brain compared to free copper cation as a control. These are in agreement with former reports. In conclusion, [61Cu]-PTSM was prepared at the radiopharmaceutical scales with high quality and is a potential PET tracer in the perfusion study of the heart, kidney, brain and tumors.     

Synthesis of mesoporous flower-like iron oxide nanostructures from iron alkoxide precursor and their application in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

Journal of Porous Materials - Mesoporous flower-like FeOOH nanostructure was synthesized via hydrolysis of flower-like iron glycolate in aqueous methylamine solution and ethanol as a solvent with a...     

Four decades of fuzzy sets theory in operations management: application of life-cycle,bibliometrics and content analysis

The blockchain is a technology which accumulates and compiles data into a chain of multiple blocks. Many blockchain researchers are adopting it in multiple areas. However, there are still lacks bibliometric reports exhibiting the exploration of an in-depth research pattern in blockchain. This paper aims to address that gap by analyzing the widespread of blockchain research activities conducted thus far. This study analyzed the Scopus database by using bibliometric analysis in a pool of more than 1000 articles that were published between 2013 and 2018. In particular, this paper discusses various aspects of blockchain research conducted by researchers globally. This study also focuses on the utilization of blockchain and its consensus algorithms. This bibliometric analysis discovered the following: (1) Blockchain able to solve security issues in internet of things (IoT) and would be an increasing trend in the future; (2) Researchers begin to adopt blockchain in healthcare area; (3) The most active country in blockchain publication is United States, followed by China and Germany; (4) Switzerland and Singapore are two small size countries that published few publications, however receives many citations. (5) Research collaborations between countries increased the research publications except for Canada, India, and Brazil. (6) Keyword analysis revealed that researchers are adopting blockchain to solve problems in multiple categories of the data research area (data privacy, digital storage, the security of data, big data, and distributed database). This study also highlighted the utilization and consensus of the algorithm in blockchain research.

     

Irradiation processing of immiscible PP/EOC blend: Morphology control and processability modification

In this study, applying electron beam irradiation method at a relatively low-irradiation dose (20 kGy) under the air atmosphere to prepare injectable polypropylene (PP)/ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC) blends with fine morphology and appropriate performance was investigated. For this purpose, an extrusion PP grade with an EOC grade suitable to improve its impact resistance was melting blended. Gel content and rheological measurements revealed long-chain branching is predominant phenomenon occurring during the irradiation process of EOC. Blend irradiation resulted in changing its melt flow index proper for injection molding. A fine morphology obtained for the unirradiated blend was preserved for the irradiated blend. Moreover, irradiation thermally stabilized the blend morphology. Blends linear viscoelastic behavior discussed by proper rheological models revealed the existence of interfacial interactions and a reduction of the interfacial tension between irradiated blend phases. No significant effect of irradiation on the crystallization characteristics of EOC and the blend was observed. The satisfying impact resistance of the irradiated blend was near to that of the unirradiated blend, although its tensile mechanical properties were less.     

Comparison of optimum tapered cascade and optimal square cascade for separation of xenon isotopes using enhanced TLBO algorithm

The present study is conducted to propose a new code for optimizing a multicomponent isotope separation cascade. An efficient code is developed using an enhanced TLBO algorithm with a novel mutation for calculating the optimal parameters. The results indicate that by implementing a new objective function derived from the combination of D function with total interstage flow rates, the optimum tapered cascade is more efficient than the optimal square one. Also, the best feed locations for the separation of the middle components in the square cascade are the middle stages.     

Evaluation of wool nanoparticles incorporation in chitosan/gelatin composite films

The aim of this work was to develop chitosan/gelatin composite films embedded with various amounts of wool nanoparticles, which were produced by an environmental friendly process. Films loaded with wool nanoparticles were subjected to physiochemical, biological, and mechanical characterization. The obtained results showed that incorporation of wool nanoparticles into chitosan/gelatin composite led to a reduction in swelling, moisture content and dissolution degree of the films. In vitro degradation test revealed that the nanoparticles‐embedded composites had a lower degradation rate than that of chitosan/gelatin composite. Besides, composite films containing wool nanoparticles showed an improvement in the stability in phosphate buffered saline. On the other hand, tensile strength and elongation at break decreased upon loading the films with wool nanoparticles. The biocompatibility of the produced composites was also confirmed by MTT test. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40294.