Efficient dissemination of personalized information using content-based multicast

There has been a surge of interest in the delivery of personalized information to users (e.g., personalized stocks or travel information), particularly as mobile users with limited terminal device capabilities increasingly desire updated and targeted information in real time. When the number of information recipients is large and there is sufficient commonality in their interests, as is often the case, IP multicast is an efficient way of delivering the information. However, IP multicast services do not consider the structure and semantics of the information in the multicast process. We propose the use of Content-Based Multicast (CBM) where extra content filtering is performed at the interior nodes of the IP multicast tree; this will reduce network bandwidth usage and delivery delay, as well as the computation required at the sources and sinks. We evaluate the situations in which CBM is advantageous. The benefits of CBM depend critically upon how well filters are placed at interior nodes of the IP multicast tree and the costs depend upon those introduced by filters themselves. Further, we consider the benefits of allowing the filters to be mobile so as to respond to user mobility or changes in user interests and the corresponding costs of filter mobility. The criterion that we consider is the total network bandwidth utilization. For this criterion, we develop an optimal filter placement algorithm, as well as a heuristic that executes faster than the optimal algorithm. We evaluate the algorithms by means of simulation experiments. Our results indicate that filters can be effective in substantially reducing bandwidth. We also find filter mobility is worthwhile if there is marked large-scale user mobility. We conclude with suggestions for further work.     

Surface designing of polypropylene by critical monitoring of the grafting conditions

The grafting of acrylic acid onto electron beam‐irradiated polypropylene was carried out using preirradiation method. The stability of peroxy radicals was investigated by electron spin resonance. It was found that the decay of peroxy radicals is much faster at 70°C than at 40°C and ambient temperature. The grafting has been observed to be strongly dependent on the monomer dilution in the reaction medium. The grafting was ascertained by attenuated total reflectance (ATR). The distribution of grafts across the samples was monitored by infrared microscopy. It was found that the graft management is considerably influenced by composition of the grafting medium. The grafting involving pure monomer leads to the surface enrichment with the polyacrylic acid chains. The samples grafted in pure monomer led to much lower contact angles as compared to the diluted monomer solution. The swelling of the grafted samples also showed a trend that was governed by the graft management. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 546–553, 2006     

Molecular characterization of erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Al-Ain District, United Arab Emirates

Operational skills involved in controlling a motor vehicle were measured in two groups of very healthy elderly drivers and a young control group to test the hypothesis that there are age-related declines in operational performance that may influence driver safety. An actual behind-the-wheel, standardized road test was employed using a motor vehicle equipped with sensors to record speed, braking activity, and lane position, as well as direction and magnitude of front-wheel and eye-movement excursions. The data from these sensors were used as dependent measures of operational performance. Older drivers made fewer steering and eye-movement excursions and drifted across the center line more frequently than the young control group. Younger drivers drove significantly faster and executed more braking applications than did their older counterparts. The motor-vehicle operational performance of older healthy drivers was related to visual-spatial attentional declines and the useful field of vision associated with the normal aging process.     

Acquired carnitine abnormalities in critically ill children

In order to characterize the role of carnitine during metabolic stress, we prospectively determined carnitine profiles in plasma and urine on admission, days 2, 5, 10 and 15, among 28 critically ill children free of any known conditions associated with secondary carnitine deficiency. More than 25% of plasma and 50% of urinary carnitine measurements were abnormal; 96% (27/28) of patients displayed on at least one occasion an abnormal [< -2 SD or > +2 SD] carnitine value in plasma. Three children had extremely low [< 10 micromol/l] free carnitine (FC) levels in plasma. Plasma esterified and FC levels on admission were not related to the risk of mortality [PRISM score], to muscle lysis [CK values], and to the caloric intake. Levels of FC and esterified carnitine in plasma were unrelated to those measured in urine. Conclusion: Abnormal plasma and urine carnitine measurements are frequently found in critically ill children; the biological significance of these perturbations remains unclear. Caution must be exercised before concluding that an abnormal carnitine value is indicative of an underlying hereditary metabolic disorder in this population.     

Successful long-term ventricular pacing via the coronary sinus after the Fontan operation

A man with double inlet left ventricle and severe subpulmonary stenosis underwent a Fontan operation at the age of 29 years. Eight years later he developed atrial flutter with complete heart block. To avoid a further thoracotomy, a unipolar carbon tipped electrode was placed into the posterior cardiac vein via the coronary sinus. More than 8 years after implantation of the original lead, and after two generator changes, telemetric thresholds remain between 1.8-2.1 volts. Percutaneous transvenous ventricular pacing via the coronary sinus can produce an excellent long-term result and should be the initial approach of choice after a Fontan-type operation.     

Development of antimicrobial polypropylene sutures by graft copolymerization. II. Evaluation of physical properties,drug release,and antimicrobial activity

Polypropylene (PP) sutures are prepared by the simultaneous radiation grafting of 1‐vinylimidazole (VIm) onto PP monofilament sutures. The tenacity slightly decreases whereas the elongation increases with the increase in the degree of grafting. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the stability of the sutures is enhanced by the grafting process. The grafted sutures have reasonably good water uptake. They are subsequently immobilized with an antimicrobial drug, ciprofloxacin. The modified suture releases the drug over a period of 4–5 days. The antimicrobial activity of the modified suture is determined against Esherichia coli by the zone of inhibition technique. A clear zone of inhibition is observed around the drug‐containing suture. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3534–3538, 2007     

Enhanced halftone-based secure and improved visual cryptography scheme for colour/binary Images

Visual Cryptography (VC) is gaining attraction during the past few years to secure the visual information in the transmission network. It enables the visual data i.e. handwritten notes, photos, printed text, etc. to encrypt in such a way that their decryption can be done through the human visual framework. Hence, no computational assistance is required for the decryption of the secret images they can be seen through naked eye. In this paper, a novel enhanced halftoning-based VC scheme is proposed that works for both binary and color images. Fake share is generated by the combination of random black and white pixels. The proposed algorithm consists of 3 stages i.e., detection, encryption, and decryption. Halftoning, Encryption, (2, 2) visual cryptography and the novel idea of fake share, make it even more secure and improved. As a result, it facilitates the original restored image to the authentic user, however, the one who enters the wrong password gets the combination of fake share with any real share. Both colored and black images can be processed with minimal capacity using the proposed scheme.

     

Transfer learning in deep neural network-based receiver coil sensitivity map estimation

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - The success of parallel Magnetic Resonance Imaging algorithms like SENSitivity Encoding (SENSE) depends on an accurate estimation of...