Delay and resource analysis in MANETs in presence of throwboxes

This paper addresses the delay analysis and resource consumption in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) equipped with throwboxes. Throwboxes are stationary, wireless devices that act as relays, and that are deployed to increase the connectivity between mobile nodes. Our objective is to quantify the impact of adding throwboxes on the performance of two routing protocols, namely the Multicopy Two-hop Routing protocol and the Epidemic Routing protocol, in the cases where the throwboxes are fully disconnected or mesh connected. To this end, we use a Markovian model where the successive meeting times between any pair of mobile nodes (resp. any mobile node and any throwbox) are represented by a Poisson process with intensity λ (resp. μ). We derive closed-form expressions for the distribution of the delivery delay of a packet and for the distribution of the total number of copies of a packet that are generated, the latter metric reflecting the overhead induced by the routing protocol. These results are then compared to simulation results. Through a mean-field approach we also provide asymptotic results when the number of nodes (mobile nodes and/or throwboxes) is large.     

Determination of heavy metal uptake in transgenic plants harbouring the rabbit CYP450 2E1 using X-ray fluorescence analysis

Transgenic Sesbania grandiflora (L.) pers (Fabaceae) and Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) (Brassicaceae) plants harbouring the rabbit cytochrome p450 2E1 enzyme were evaluated for their ability to accumulate heavy metals, potassium (K), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and bromine (Br), using X-ray Fluorescence analysis. When grown for 15?days on heavy metal-contaminated soils, transgenic cuttings of S. grandiflora and T3 A. thaliana plants recorded higher dry and fresh weight compared with their respective controls (A. thaliana and S. grandiflora plants transformed with an empty vector). Dry weight of transgenic S. grandiflora plants (0.321?g) was seven times higher than that of the wildtype (0.049?g), and the fresh weight (4.421?g) was about 4.6 times higher. Likewise, the dry weight of CYP450 2E1 A. thaliana (0.198?g) was more than eight times higher than that seen in the control (0.024?g). Moreover, Fe, Mn, K, and Ca concentrations in transgenic plants were significantly higher than those in their corresponding controls. For instance, concentrations of accumulated K (~3000 and 2000?mg/kg dry weight in S. grandiflora and A. thaliana, respectively) were significantly higher than those recorded in their corresponding controls (2500 and 1500?mg/kg, respectively). In the same vein, translocation of all studied metals from soils cultured with transgenic plants was higher than in those cultured with the control plants. In conclusion, the obtained results show the potential in using transgenic Sesbania and Arabidopsis plants harbouring the rabbit CYP450 2E1 for phytoremediation of mixed environmental contaminants.     

Potentiating Hemorrhage in a Periadolescent Rat Model of Closed-Head Traumatic Brain Injury Worsens Hyperexcitability but Not Behavioral Deficits

Post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) and neurocognitive deficits are devastating sequelae of head injuries that are common in adolescents. Investigating desperately needed treatments is hindered by the difficulties in inducing PTE in rodents and the lack of established immature rat models of pediatric PTE. Hemorrhage is a significant risk factor for PTE, but compared to humans, rats are less prone to bleeding because of their rapid blood coagulation system. In this study, we promoted bleeding in the controlled cortical impact (CCI) closed-head injury model with a 20 min pre-impact 600 IU/kg intraperitoneal heparin injection in postnatal day 35 (P35) periadolescent rats, given the preponderance of such injuries in this age group. Temporo-parietal CCI was performed post-heparin (HTBI group) or post-saline (TBI group). Controls were subjected to sham procedures following heparin or saline administration. Continuous long-term EEG monitoring was performed for 3 months post-CCI. Sensorimotor testing, the Morris water maze, and a modified active avoidance test were conducted between P80 and P100. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels and neuronal damage were also assessed. Compared to TBI rats, HTBI rats had persistently higher EEG spiking and increased hippocampal GFAP levels (p < 0.05). No sensorimotor deficits were detected in any group. Compared to controls, both HTBI and TBI groups had a long-term hippocampal neuronal loss (p < 0.05), as well as contextual and visuospatial learning deficits (p < 0.05). The hippocampal astrogliosis and EEG spiking detected in all rats subjected to our hemorrhage-promoting procedure suggest the emergence of hyperexcitable networks and pave the way to a periadolescent PTE rat model.     

Homogeneous and highly controlled deposition of low viscosity inks and application on fully printable perovskite solar cells

The fully printed, hole-transporter-free carbon perovskite solar cell structure incorporating a triple mesoscopic layer has emerged as a possible frontrunner for early industrialisation. It is an attractive structure because it can be fabricated by the simple sequential screen printing and sintering of titania, zirconia, and carbon. The device is finalised by manual dropping of a perovskite precursor solution onto the carbon which subsequently infiltrates. This stage in device fabrication is inhomogeneous, ineffective for large areas, and prone to human error. Here we introduce an automated deposition and infiltration system using a robotic dispenser and mesh which delivers the perovskite precursor uniformly to the carbon surface over a large area. It has been successfully used to prepare perovskite solar cells with over 9% efficiency. Cells, prepared by this robotic mesh deposition, showed comparable performance to reference cells, made by standard drop deposition, confirming this approach to be effective and reliable. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the uniformity of the deposition over a large area.     

Evaluating the Catalytic Potential of a General RNA-Cleaving FANA Enzyme

The discovery of synthetic genetic polymers (XNAs) with catalytic activity demonstrates that natural genetic polymers are not unique in their ability to function as enzymes. However, all known examples of in vitro selected XNA enzymes function with lower activity than their natural counterparts, suggesting that XNAs might be limited in their ability to fold into structures with high catalytic activity. To explore this problem, we evaluated the catalytic potential of FANAzyme 12–7, an RNA-cleaving catalyst composed entirely of 2′-fluoroarabino nucleic acid (FANA) that was evolved to cleave RNA at a specific phosphodiester bond located between an unpaired guanine and a paired uracil in the substrate recognition arm. Here, we show that this activity extends to chimeric DNA substrates that contain a central riboguanosine (riboG) residue at the cleavage site. Surprisingly, FANAzyme 12–7 rivals known DNAzymes that were previously evolved to cleave chimeric DNA substrates under physiological conditions. These data provide convincing evidence that FANAzyme 12–7 maintains the catalytic potential of equivalent DNAzymes, which has important implications for the evolution of XNA catalysts and their contributions to future applications in synthetic biology.