Recent advances in autonomic communications [Guest Editorial]

The nine papers in this special issue focus on recent advances in autonomic communications. This issue addresses four areas in which autonomics play a central role: network architectures, traffic management, monitoring, and resource management.     

Plasma surface modification and characterization of collagen‐based artificial cornea for enhanced epithelialization

Argon plasma treatment enhanced the attachment of epithelial cells to a collagen‐based artificial cornea crosslinked using glutaraldehyde (GA) and glutaraldehyde‐polyethylene oxide dialdehyde (GA‐PEODA) systems. The epithelialization of untreated and treated surfaces was evaluated by the seeding and growth of human corneal epithelial cells. Characterization of polymer surface properties such as surface hydrophilicity and roughness was also made by contact angle measurement and atomic force microscopy, respectively. Contact angle analysis revealed that the surface hydrophilicity significantly increased after the treatment. In addition, AFM characterization showed an increase in surface roughness through argon plasma treatment. Based on the biological and surface analysis, argon plasma treatment displays promising potential for biocompatibility enhancement of collagen‐based artificial corneas. It was also found that the cell attachment to artificial cornea surfaces was influenced by the combined effects of surface chemistry (i.e., surface energy), polymer surface morphology (i.e., surface roughness), and polar interactions between functional groups at the polymer surface and cell membrane proteins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Call admission control in the microcell/macrocell overlaying system

Call admission control can significantly affect the performance of a cellular system by adding additional bandwidth to a wireless network. In this paper, we show how call admission control can be used to optimize the performance of a hierarchical cellular system. The hierarchical system we study is based on a novel frequency planning scheme, whereby both the micro and macro layers can share the same spectrum and a hard partition of the frequency spectrum is not needed. The original analysis of the hierarchical system showed that a significant capacity gain can be achieved by the scheme. However, this capacity is gained at the expense of the carrier-to-interference ratio (C/I) performance of the macrocells. In this paper, we show that call admission control can be used in hierarchical cellular systems to achieve a capacity gain without sacrificing the C/I performance of the macrocells     

Bipartite graph design principle for photonic switching systems

Several attributes of a bipartite graph are exploited in designing switching systems. First, in a network based on bipartite graphs, no two paths are allowed to intersect at a vertex. This attribute is used to design a directional coupler-based photonic switching network with very low crosstalk. Since crosstalk is the most limiting factor in constructing a large directional-coupler-based photonic switching network, crosstalk reduction on the device and architecture levels is an important design issue. Secondly, broadcast, which is an intrinsic property of a bipartite graph (the same is always true with a crossbar representation), is used in designing multiconnection switching networks. Thirdly, it is shown that the nonplanar nature of bipartite graphs makes them well suited for designing three-dimensional free-space-transmission photonic switching systems     

Rate matching: a new approach to hidden terminal problem in ad hoc networks

Prior works on the hidden terminal problem in wireless networks often assume that the SNR requirement and the transmission range in a network are fixed. In fact, they are rate dependent. Because of this assumption, many of the prior conclusions about the hidden terminal problem are not accurate. A new analysis of the hidden terminal problem is presented in the paper. The new insights provided by the analysis lead to a rate-matching scheme for tackling the hidden terminal problem in wireless networks. The new method is simple, yet efficient, and requires no protocol changes from the 802.11 standard. NS2-based simulations are given in the paper to demonstrate the advantages of the new scheme.     

Visibility-preserving convexifications using single-vertex moves

Devadoss asked: (1) can every polygon be convexified so that no internal visibility (between vertices) is lost in the process? Moreover, (2) does such a convexification exist, in which exactly one vertex is moved at a time (that is, using single-vertex moves)? We prove the redundancy of the “single-vertex moves” condition: an affirmative answer to (1) implies an affirmative answer to (2). Since Aichholzer et al. recently proved (1), this settles (2).     

Spray-dried nanoparticle-loaded pectin microspheres for dexamethasone nasal delivery

Abstract

In this study, we present the development of an innovative dry powder dexamethasone (Dex) nasal delivery system comprising Dex-loaded lipid/alginate nanoparticles incorporated within pectin microspheres (Dex/NPs-loaded pectin microspheres; DNM). DNM microspheres were characterized by the mean diameter of 2.76?±?0.10?µm, zeta-potential of –36.2?±?1.1?mV, and drug loading of 3.3?±?0.3%. The morphology study revealed irregular microsphere surface forming external voids. In contact with simulated nasal fluid, DNM microspheres demonstrated desirable property of moderate swelling and ensured stronger mucoadhesion compared with conventional Dex-loaded pectin microspheres. The strategy of Dex incorporation within the lipid/alginate NPs resulted in prolonged Dex release in relation to Dex being directly entrapped within the conventional pectin microspheres. DNM microspheres showed excellent biocompatibility and rendered Dex permeation across the selected epithelial cell model similar to that of Dex solution. In conclusion, balanced biopharmaceutical properties of the proposed nasal Dex delivery system provides the potential for prolonged contact time with nasal mucosa, prolonged therapeutic effect, and improved patient compliance.