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The increased data transmission and number of devices involved in communications among distributed systems make it challenging yet significantly necessary to have an efficient and reliable networking middleware. In robotics and autonomous systems, the wide application of ROS 2 brings the possibility of utilizing various networking middlewares together with DDS in ROS 2 for better communication among edge devices or between edge devices and the cloud. However, there is a lack of comprehensive communication performance comparison of integrating these networking middlewares with ROS 2. In this study, we provide a quantitative analysis for the communication performance of utilized networking middlewares including MQTT and Zenoh alongside DDS in ROS 2 among a multiple host system. For a complete and reliable comparison, we calculate the latency and throughput of these middlewares by sending distinct amounts and types of data through different network setups including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and 4G. To further extend the evaluation to real-world application scenarios, we assess the drift error (the position changes) over time caused by these networking middlewares with the robot moving in an identical square-shaped path. Our results show that CycloneDDS performs better under Ethernet while Zenoh performs better under Wi-Fi and 4G. In the actual robot test, the robot moving trajectory drift error over time (96 s) via Zenoh is the smallest. It is worth noting we have a discussion of the CPU utilization of these networking middlewares and the perfosrmance impact caused by enabling the security feature in ROS 2 at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the structure of silica thin films synthesized with three different SiO2 precursors and obtained by the sol–gel method and dip coating technique was studied. Additionally, the influence of Ag addition on the obtained silica sols and then gel structure was investigated. Silica coatings show antireflective properties and high thermal resistance, as well as hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties. Three different silica precursors, TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate), DDS (dimethyldietoxysilane) and AerosilTM, were selected for the synthesis. DDS added to silica sol act as a pore size modifier, while Ag atoms are known for their antibacterial activity. Coatings were deposited on two different substrates: steel and titanium, dried and annealed at 500 °C in air (steel substrate) and in argon (titanium substrate). For all synthesized films, IR (infrared) spectroscopic studies were performed together with GID and XRD (Grazing Incidence Diffraction, X-ray Diffraction) measurements. The topography and morphology of the surface were traced by SEM and AFM microscopic methods, providing information on the samples' roughness, particle sizes and thickness of the particular layers. The wetting angle values were also measured. GID and XRD measurements pointed to the distinct contribution of an amorphous phase in the samples, allowing us to recognize the crystalline phases and calculate the silver crystallite sizes. The FTIR spectra gave information on the first coordination sphere of the studied samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unique structure of G4.0 PAMAM dendrimers allows a drug to be enclosed in internal spaces or immobilized on the surface. In the conducted research, the conditions for the formation of the active G4.0 PAMAM complex with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) were optimized. The physicochemical properties of the system were monitored using dynamic light scattering (DLS), circular dichroism (CD), and fluorescence spectroscopy. The Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring (QCM-D) method was chosen to determine the preferential conditions for the complex formation. The highest binding efficiency of the drug to the cationic dendrimer was observed under basic conditions when the DOX molecule was deprotonated. The decrease in the zeta potential of the complex confirms that DOX immobilizes through electrostatic interaction with the carrier's surface amine groups. The binding constants were determined from the fluorescence quenching of the DOX molecule in the presence of G4.0 PAMAM. The two-fold way of binding doxorubicin in the structure of dendrimers was visible in the Isothermal calorimetry (ITC) isotherm. Fluorescence spectra and release curves identified the reversible binding of DOX to the nanocarrier. Among the selected cancer cells, the most promising anticancer activity of the G4.0-DOX complex was observed in A375 malignant melanoma cells. Moreover, the preferred intracellular location of the complexes concerning the free drug was found, which is essential from a therapeutic point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer Measurement & Control is the property of Magazine Agency of Computer Measurement & Control and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT) within the realm of pipeline inspection is an efficacious approach; however, current GWUT systems are characterized by high costs and power consumption, and their detection results are significantly susceptible to noise interference. Addressing these issues, this study introduces a GWUT system predicated on adaptive wavelet threshold denoising, centered around a low-power main controller, achieving cost-effective and low-power-consumption pipeline non-destructive testing (NDT) with clear results. The system employs an STM32 as the main controller and utilizes direct digital frequency synthesis (DDS) technology to generate ultrasonic excitation signals. These signals, after power amplifier processing, ensure high-stability output for the driving signal. In conjunction with the signal acquisition module, digital filtering of the collected signals is executed via the host computer. Empirical validation has demonstrated that the system can achieve an output amplitude of up to 90 Vpp within an excitation frequency range of 20 kHz–400 kHz, directly driving piezoelectric transducers. The optimal threshold is identified using the butterfly optimization algorithm, enabling the wavelet threshold function to adaptively denoise the echo signals, thereby significantly enhancing the capability to identify pipeline damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducción: La intersexualidad comprende condiciones infrecuentes donde una persona nace con una anatomía sexual diferente del binario hombre-mujer; esto supone habitar un cuerpo fuera de lo inteligible y estigmatizado. Históricamente, desde la heteronorma, el modelo biomédico ha buscado normalizarles quirúrgicamente para asignar precoz y arbitrariamente un sexo-género armónico con la genitalidad. Desde los Derechos Humanos, estas prácticas son cuestionadas por colectivos Intersex. Materiales y método: Estudio de caso, entre años 2019 y 2020; técnica de entrevista en profundidad a dos usuarios adultos de los Policlínicos de Urología y Endocrinología de un hospital público en Santiago, Chile; se utilizó la fenomenología de Husserl para comprender la experiencia en el sistema de salud de las personas intersex. El análisis de la información se basó en la propuesta de Colaizzi. Resultados: Se reconocieron unidades de significado principales e imbricadas, cuyas esencias permitieron describir el fenómeno de: ser niño y habitar el espacio hospitalario, vivir con la condición actualmente, y la experiencia de utilizar el sistema de salud siendo adulto. Conclusiones: Se identificaron diversas estrategias de agencia tanto en el espacio hospitalario como el cotidiano, mediante un proceso personal y silencioso de aprendizajes sobre las implicancias de ser intersexual.

Abstract Background This study investigates the impact of low food diversity on the health status of children using the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) and Dietary Serving Score (DSS) in a sub-district with the highest percentage of poor households. The economic burden of low food diversity was observed by analysing the cost of illness in the children with low food diversity. Methods Data from 329 children were collected. We determined the impact of DDS and DSS and other factors on the health status of children aged 2–14 years, using a probit model. The cost of illness (e.g., typhus, stomach ulcers, coughs, flu, and fever) due to low food diversity was calculated from medical registration fees, medical action costs, transportation costs, and other costs. Results The results shows that a 1% point increase in DDS or DSS potentially decreases children’s health complaints by 10% and 8%, respectively. Given the current 26% prevalence of health complaints among children with low DDS, the annual economic burden reaches US$75.72 per child per household. In addition, the current 41% prevalence of children with low DDS resulted in an annual cost to the government of US$153.45 per child. Conclusions The effect of inadequate dietary diversity on children’s health is potentially high and contributes to the economic burden on households and the government.

Ecotourism, aimed at appreciating and preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems while providing economic and social benefits to local communities, faces complexity in management, requiring careful consideration to balance economic, social, and environmental aspects. Decision-making in ecotourism management involves various stakeholders, including government, NGOs, industry players, and local communities. CMC Tiga Warna in Indonesia is a highly potential ecotourism destination but poses challenges in environmental sustainability while meeting the economic and social needs of the local community. Thus, developing a decision support system (DSS) for sustainable community-based ecotourism management becomes crucial. This study aims to develop and implement a DSS based on priority actions, considering biodiversity, local community welfare, environmental and financial sustainability. Utilizing a community-based approach, the study engages local stakeholders and analyzes priority management actions across eight dimensions. Multi-criteria techniques like PROMETHEE will determine the best management actions to address challenges and opportunities for sustainable ecotourism management. The research contributes to sustainable management strategies for ecotourism in CMC Tiga Warna and provides a foundation for similar DSS development in other ecotourism contexts. It underscores the importance of holistic and sustainable ecotourism management for achieving economic development while conserving the environment, serving as a model for creating sustainable ecotourism environments worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of high-quality wideband frequency sweeps presents a significant challenge, particularly in modern telecommunication, radar, and measurement systems where miniaturization is paramount. While phase-locked loops (PLLs) have become the dominant technique for signal generation, their application in broadband sweeps necessitates fractional-N operation. This, in turn, degrades phase noise and introduces unwanted spurs. This paper proposes a novel approach for broadband signal generation. By cascading two PLLs and utilizing a coaxial resonator, we achieve a high-performance oscillator that operates without the excessive fractional spurs, maintaining their level below −80 dBc across the entire frequency band. The prototype demonstrates non-degraded phase noise performance, reaching −102 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset and −121 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset for signals at 10 GHz. Despite significant frequency jumps, our design achieves lock times below 41 µs. These results, supported by theoretical analysis, validate the proposed method's effectiveness in generating low-noise broadband frequency sweeps, ideal for local oscillator applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Computer Measurement & Control is the property of Magazine Agency of Computer Measurement & Control and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: This study investigates the impact of low food diversity on the health status of children using the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) and Dietary Serving Score (DSS) in a sub-district with the highest percentage of poor households. The economic burden of low food diversity was observed by analysing the cost of illness in the children with low food diversity. Methods: Data from 329 children were collected. We determined the impact of DDS and DSS and other factors on the health status of children aged 2–14 years, using a probit model. The cost of illness (e.g., typhus, stomach ulcers, coughs, flu, and fever) due to low food diversity was calculated from medical registration fees, medical action costs, transportation costs, and other costs. Results: The results shows that a 1% point increase in DDS or DSS potentially decreases children's health complaints by 10% and 8%, respectively. Given the current 26% prevalence of health complaints among children with low DDS, the annual economic burden reaches US$75.72 per child per household. In addition, the current 41% prevalence of children with low DDS resulted in an annual cost to the government of US$153.45 per child. Conclusions: The effect of inadequate dietary diversity on children's health is potentially high and contributes to the economic burden on households and the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ordnance Industry Automation is the property of Editorial Board for Ordnance Industry Automation and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent decades, robots have become increasingly popular and accessible. New frameworks have emerged to develop and communicate robotic applications, with ROS 2 or Robot Operating System 2 entitled as the preferred choice. Our work presents a testbed and defines a methodology to evaluate the validity of ROS 2 middleware for enabling dependable wireless robot swarm communications. Wireless robot swarms are constrained by a number of factors, including their limited computational power and the fact that they communicate over wireless mediums. Wireless media are typically more susceptible to errors, exhibit higher latencies, or may be subject to outage zones. Consequently, this paper proposes an experimental approach using genuine robot-grade hardware and employing standard communication mechanisms, with the objective of achieving an optimal balance between messaging reliability and delay. A series of test cases were defined, each with distinct settings, including distance, bit coding, diffusion mechanism, and so forth. The results can be readily replicated with the publicly available code and scripts for tests and analysis. Our findings indicate a significant lack of optimisation with respect to ROS 2 wireless communications in swarm scenarios. To address this, we propose a series of recommendations for improving the efficiency of these communications.

Introduction: Intersexuality includes extremely rare conditions where a person is born with a sexual anatomy different from the male-female binary; this supposes inhabiting a body outside the intelligible, configuring a stigma. Historically and from the heteronorm, the biomedical model has sought to surgically normalize them in order to precociously and arbitrarily assign a gender in harmony with genitality. From Human Rights, these practices have been questioned by Intersex groups. Materials and method: During the years 2019 and 2020, case studies were carried out through in-depth interviews with two adult users of the Urology and Endocrinology Polyclinics of a public hospital at Santiago, Chile; Husserl's phenomenology was used to visualize the phenomenon according to how it is experienced by the subjects who carry it, using the procedure described by Colaizzi as an information analysis plan. Results: Main and overlapping units of meaning were recognized, whose essences allowed describing the phenomenon of: being a child and inhabiting the hospital space, currently living with the condition, and the experience of using the health system as an adult, with new and own meanings. Conclusions: Various agency strategies were identified both in the hospital space and in everyday life, through a personal and silent process of learning about the implications of being intersex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers how anti-intellectualism is weaponized by the bloggers and pundits in former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's propaganda machine while attempting to nuance our understanding of anti-intellectualism, which is commonly defined as an attack on the intellect. In the Facebook pages or blogs of Mocha Uson, RJ Nieto, and Sass Sasot, anti-intellectualism serves a two-fold function: (1) to attack perceived opponents of the Duterte administration labeled as "elitists" to muzzle criticism and (2) to promote an alternative epistemic regime that endorses knowledge that is arguably practical, commonsensical, and politically expedient. The rhetorical cues of anti-intellectualism in the Facebook pages thus include populist anti-elitism, opinion leadership through punditry, and spreading falsehoods. I advance the arguments of this paper through James Martin's rhetorical political analysis (RPA) as a method and Christian Kock and Lisa Villadsen's conceptual frame of rhetorical citizenship. This paper concludes with suggestions to improve the rhetorical practices of citizens who engage with and encounter Duterte's propaganda machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the structure of silica thin films synthesized with three different SiO2 precursors and obtained by the sol–gel method and dip coating technique was studied. Additionally, the influence of Ag addition on the obtained silica sols and then gel structure was investigated. Silica coatings show antireflective properties and high thermal resistance, as well as hydrophobic or hydrophilic properties. Three different silica precursors, TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate), DDS (dimethyldietoxysilane) and AerosilTM, were selected for the synthesis. DDS added to silica sol act as a pore size modifier, while Ag atoms are known for their antibacterial activity. Coatings were deposited on two different substrates: steel and titanium, dried and annealed at 500 °C in air (steel substrate) and in argon (titanium substrate). For all synthesized films, IR (infrared) spectroscopic studies were performed together with GID and XRD (Grazing Incidence Diffraction, X-ray Diffraction) measurements. The topography and morphology of the surface were traced by SEM and AFM microscopic methods, providing information on the samples’ roughness, particle sizes and thickness of the particular layers. The wetting angle values were also measured. GID and XRD measurements pointed to the distinct contribution of an amorphous phase in the samples, allowing us to recognize the crystalline phases and calculate the silver crystallite sizes. The FTIR spectra gave information on the first coordination sphere of the studied samples.

ObjectivesThere are only limited studies investigating the impact of dietary quality indicators, such as dietary quality index (DQI), dietary diversity score (DDS), and alternative healthy eating index (AHEI), on metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD). Furthermore, these indicators may have different components that could lead to varying results. Therefore, this study aims to assess the nutritional quality indicators and their potential association with MASLD.MethodsThe study included 128 recently diagnosed MASLD patients and 256 controls aged between 20 and 60 years. The dietary intake of participants was evaluated using a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire that consisted of 168 items. In this study, the method used to evaluate dietary diversity was based on five main food groups, specifically bread and grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy. The AHEI-2010 was computed using data collected from the FFQ.ResultsAfter adjusting for confounders in the fully adjusted model, a significant negative correlation was observed between DDS and the risk of MASLD (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20, 0.97). Participants in the top quartile of AHEI had a 76% lower risk of MASLD compared with those in the bottom quartile after controlling for all potential confounders in the fully adjusted model (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.12, 0.56).ConclusionThe results of our study suggest that there is a significant association between adherence to a high-diversity diet and a reduced likelihood of developing MASLD. Similarly, we observed a similar association between adherence to the AHEI diet and a lower risk of MASLD.

Polymeric micelles (PM) are amphiphilic block copolymers that can form nanoscopic core/shell structures, making them highly effective for drug delivery systems (DDS). Multi‐armed starshaped poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymers, a promising type of PM, provide a regulated release of drugs and can be integrated with numerous endpoints to create multifunctional drug delivery systems capable of transporting a large number of drugs. Star‐PEG polymers can also be cross‐linked to create three dimensional hydrogels with variable functionalities and sizes, increasing blood flow and reducing unanticipated drug release. In this review, we present state‐of‐the‐art computational tools for analyzing drug pharmacokinetic profiles and identifying molecular interactions critical for successful drug encapsulation in star‐PEG PM. By taking into account the features described, academic and industrial researchers can identify novel interrelationships in PM and maximize their capabilities as DDSs for systemic administration, ultimately enhancing the medicinal qualities of drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lock-in amplifier (LIA) is widely utilized to detect ultra-weak optical periodic signals based on the phase-sensitive and enhanced detecting theory. In this paper, we present an all-digital and universal embedded LIA platform that accurately and conveniently describes the spectrum generated by standard black bodies at various temperatures with different optical detectors. The proposed design significantly reduces the complexity and cost of traditional analog LIAs while maintaining accuracy. The LIA components are implemented using a single field programmable gate array (FPGA), offering flexibility to modify parameters for different situations. The normalized mean-square error (NMSE) of the captured spectra in the experiments is within 0.9% compared the theoretical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current chemotherapeutic strategies against various intractable cancers are futile due to inefficient delivery, poor bioavailability, and inadequate accumulation of anticancer drugs in the diseased site with toxicity caused to the healthy neighboring cells. Drug delivery systems aiming to deliver effective therapeutic concentrations to the site of action have emerged as a promising approach to address the above-mentioned issues. Thus, as several receptors have been identified as being overexpressed on cancer cells including folate receptor (FR), where up to 100–300 times higher overexpression is shown in cancer cells compared to healthy cells, approximately 1–10 million receptor copies per cancer cell can be targeted by a folic acid (FA) ligand. Herein, we developed FA-decorated and doxorubicin-conjugated polymeric micelles of 30 nm size. The hydrophilic block comprises poly-(ethylene glycol) units, and the hydrophobic block contains doxorubicin conjugated aspartic acid units. Decoration of FA on the micelle surface induces ligand–receptor interaction, resulting in enhanced internalization into the cancer cell and inside the endolysosomal compartment. Under acidic pH, the micelle structure is disrupted and the hydrazone bond is cleaved, which covalently binds the doxorubicin with the hydrophobic backbone of the polymer and release the drug. We observed that the cellular uptake and nuclear colocalization of the targeted micelle are 2–4 fold higher than the control micelle at various incubation times in FR-overexpressed various cancer cell lines (KB, HeLa, and C6). These results indicate significant prospects for anticancer therapy as an effective and translational treatment strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a DDS-based distributed system, an increase in system size means an increase in the number of nodes, types of messages, and DDS entities that must be created to perform DDS communication. For data-centric communication such as DDS, identification of a target to be communicated with and information exchange are preceded through a discovery process. An increase in the size of a distributed system means an increase in the amount and target of information to be exchanged in the discovery process. When secure DDS is applied, additional information must be exchanged to generate keys for encryption, and the time taken in the process also increases. This paper measured and analyzed how the discovery time and success rate change as the number of DDS entities and encryption algorithm changes. In addition, to control congestion in the discovery, we checked whether congestion control was possible by distributing the discovery start times of applications and nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

α–Mangostin, which is a natural xanthone compound, inhibits the metastasis and survival of various cancer cell types. However, its therapeutic effectiveness is limited by low water solubility and very poor absorption. There are several studies that developed the drug delivery system for α–mangostin, but they are still a remaining challenge. Drug delivery techniques are severely hampered by the breakdown of nanoparticles inside endosomes. The abrasive chemical environment in these compartments causes both the nanoparticles and the encapsulated α–mangostin to degrade throughout the course of the voyage. Intracellular defenses against external materials refer to this collective mechanism. A pH-responsive liposome named PAsp(DET-Cit)–Toc, made of lipids and a charge-conversion polymer (CCP), has been created for the targeted transport of α–mangostin in order to avoid this deteriorative outcome. The average hydrodynamic size of CCP–liposome particles is 98.59 ± 5.1 nm with a PDI of 0.098 ± 0.02 and a negative zeta potential of 22.31 ± 2.4 mV. TEM showed the shape of the spherical CCP–liposomes. α–Mangostin is successfully captured inside CCP–liposome and the loading yield reached the highest encapsulation efficiency of 83% with 150 μg/mL of α–mangostin. In the acidic condition of pH 5.0, an initial burst of α–mangostin reached 50% after 6 h in buffer solution. CCP–liposomes could escape from endosomes even after 3 h, and almost 80% of CCP–liposomes escaped after 24 h. The cell ability of α–mangostin-loaded-CCP–liposome incubated in buffer solutions of 5.0 decreased significantly and was close to free α–mangostin. Our data proved that α–mangostin-loaded CCP–liposome delivered more effectively α–mangostin into cells and prevented the degradation of α–mangostin inside cells, especially endosomal degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nadia M Hamdy,1,* Georgette Eskander,2,* Emad B Basalious3,* 1Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, 11566, Egypt; 2Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Postgraduate Student, Cairo, Egypt; 3Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Emad B Basalious; Nadia M Hamdy, Email Emad.basalious@pharma.cu.edu.eg; nadia_hamdy@pharma.asu.edu.egAbstract: Anti-cancer conventional chemotherapeutic drugs novel formula progress, nowadays, uses nano technology for targeted drug delivery, specifically tailored to overcome therapeutic agents’ delivery challenges. Polymer drug delivery systems (DDS) play a crucial role in minimizing off-target side effects arising when using standard cytotoxic drugs. Using nano-formula for targeted localized action, permits using larger effective cytotoxic doses on a single special spot, that can seriously cause harm if it was administered systemically. Therefore, various nanoparticles (NPs) specifically have attached groups for targeting capabilities, not seen in bulk materials, which then need activation. In this review, we will present a simple innovative, illustrative, in a cartoon-way, enumeration of NP anti-cancer drug targeting delivery system activation-types. Area(s) covered in this review are the mechanisms of various NP activation techniques.Graphical Abstract: Keywords: intrinsic-activation, extrinsic-activation, NPs, nanoparticles, DDS, drug delivery systems, cancer biology, nano-bio-medicine

This paper presents the hardware and delay efficient design of a radix-4 pipelined hyperbolic Coordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) architecture. The proposed design uses pre-computation based micro-rotation sequence generation to reduce the cycle time and number of iterations. It also eliminates the need for residue angle computation in every iteration that helps to enhance the operating speed. The methodology finds a linear relation between rotation angle input and micro-rotation sequence by selectively choosing elementary angles from the set of valid angles. Therefore, it requires six clock cycles to compute the hyperbolic functions (cosh/sinh). Further, the region of convergence (ROC) of the proposed design is extended to cover the entire coordinate space. Based on the proposed hyperbolic CORDIC design, a hyperbolic (Direct Digital Synthesis) DDS is implemented using XC7VX330T (Vertex-7 family) field-programmable gate array (FPGA) in Xilinx ISE platform. The proposed design achieves 47% and 37% savings in basic logic elements and number of slices respectively than recent designs. The design also achieves an improved slice delay product of 5.28 and a maximum frequency of operation of 500.75 MHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality communication is a major challenges in large-scale and distributed smart grid applications. Several protocols and middleware have been proposed to address communication quality issues in those applications. DDS is a standard data-centric middleware for publish/subscribe communication. It has been proposed for smart grid to address both connectivity and communication quality issues. DDS provides multiple quality of service (QoS) policies to address reliability, latency, and data availability. One of the main challenges in adopting the standard in smart grids is the complexity of adopting and tailoring its QoS policies. This is because those policies are described informally introducing ambiguities, which hinders the precise implementation of DDS. To address this, we formalize the descriptions of DDS QoS policies using the object constraint language (OCL). We also clearly defined the design structural relations among DDS entities and QoS policies. In the process, we analyzed the dependencies among QoS policies and we built clear and concise structural relations. We then proposed feature modeling and a management layer to facilitate QoS tuning and to reduce development and configuration complexity. We implemented the proposed approach in a simulated power consumption domain. The results show that the approach improves the development process. They also show that the approach significantly improves the performance of DDS-enabled applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a C~K band frequency synthesizer used in broadband electronic warfare equipment was designed, developed, and the meas- urement results were presented. The structure of the designed frequency synthesizer generates a signal up to 6 GHz using only direct digital synthesizer (DDS) without a mixer or multiplier. For signals above 6 GHz frequency, the structure uses a multiplier. In addition, a variable sampling frequency structure and a DDS circuit were designed to improve signal quality by reducing spurious signals, harmonic signals, and phase noise. The developed frequency synthesizer has different signal quality performance depending on the use of the multiplier, and the C∼G band has output power flatness ±1.7 dB, spurious signal less than −55 dBc, and phase noise less than −95 dBc/Hz (@1 kHz). The H~K band using multiplier has characteristics of output power flatness ±2.0 dB, spurious signal less than −35 dBc, and phase noise less than −80 dBc/Hz (@1 kHz). The results of this study confirmed the miniaturization of the signal generation module in the C∼K band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the bearing capacity of bored piles with a drilling displacement system (DDS), obtained by tests for static load and according to GOST standards, as well as the results of tests for compression of the surrounding soil after installing the pile with DDS. These DDS piles are created by rotary drilling with a simultaneous full displacement of the soil in a horizontal direction. The optimal design of DDS piles can be obtained in soils that allow for a horizontal displacement, which causes an increase in the shaft's resistance. It is shown that drilling and ramming technologies of pile foundation construction play an important role in modern urban planning, but they are not fully universal. Actively developing, they replace traditional methods using dynamic and vibratory impacts, as they are more gentle to nearby buildings, which is most relevant for cities with dense urban development. According to the project design, the field tests of DDS bored piles with a diameter of 410 mm, and length of 6 m was performed by two static loading tests. The static loading tests were performed by GOST 5686-2012. This paper shows the results of the load-settlement and feed rate of the deep auger for pile diagrams 1 and 2 from those field tests that make it possible to determine the bearing capacity of piles on a given soil. The analysis signified that the bearing capacity of the six-meter-high bored piles meets the design requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through theoretical proof and algorithm design, this paper numerically demonstrates that the three sampling methods of DDS are equivalent in amplitude-frequency characteristics. Depending on theoretical analysis, the article obtains the conclusion that 2 points are optimal when sampling at 2, 3, and 4 points. Built on the data results, this paper obtains the fractional form of the amplitude and phase of the DDS sampled signal; in addition, this paper also obtains the design parameters of the DDS post-stage filter. It also gives a control method for the calculation error when addressing this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gazi Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Dergisi Part C: Tasarım ve Teknoloji is the property of Gazi University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Securing distributed device communication is critical because the private industry and the military depend on these resources. One area that adversaries target is the middleware, which is the medium that connects different systems. This paper evaluates a novel security layer, DDS-Cerberus (DDS-C), that protects in-transit data and improves communication efficiency on data-first distribution systems. This research contributes a distributed robotics operating system testbed and designs a multifactorial performance-based experiment to evaluate DDS-C efficiency and security by assessing total packet traffic generated in a robotics network. The performance experiment follows a 2:1 publisher to subscriber node ratio, varying the number of subscribers and publisher nodes from three to eighteen. By categorizing the network traffic from these nodes into either data message, security, or discovery+ with Quality of Service (QoS) best effort and reliable, the mean security traffic from DDS-C has minimal impact to Data Distribution Service (DDS) operations compared to other network traffic. The results reveal that applying DDS-C to a representative distributed network robotics operating system network does not impact performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful missions in the field often rely upon communication technologies for tactics and coordination. One middleware used in securing these communication channels is Data Distribution Service (DDS) which employs a publish-subscribe model. However, researchers have found several security vulnerabilities in DDS implementations. DDS-Cerberus (DDS-C) is a security layer implemented into DDS to mitigate impersonation attacks using Kerberos authentication and ticketing. Even with the addition of DDS-C, the real-time message sending of DDS also needs to be upheld. This paper extends our previous work to analyze DDS-C's impact on performance in a use case implementation. The use case covers an artificial intelligence (AI) scenario that connects edge sensors across a commercial network. Specifically, it characterizes how DDS-C performs between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the cloud, and video streams for facial recognition. The experiments send a set number of video frames over the network using DDS to be processed by AI and displayed on a screen. An evaluation of network traffic using DDS-C revealed that it was not statistically significant compared to DDS for the majority of the configuration runs. The results demonstrate that DDS-C provides security benefits without significantly hindering the overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this brief review is to describe the application of nanoparticles, including endogenous nanoparticles (e.g., extracellular vesicles, EVs, and virus capsids) and exogenous nanoparticles (e.g., organic and inorganic materials) in cancer therapy and diagnostics. In this review, we mainly focused on EVs, where a recent study demonstrated that EVs secreted from cancer cells are associated with malignant alterations in cancer. EVs are expected to be used for cancer diagnostics by analyzing their informative cargo. Exogenous nanoparticles are also used in cancer diagnostics as imaging probes because they can be easily functionalized. Nanoparticles are promising targets for drug delivery system (DDS) development and have recently been actively studied. In this review, we introduce nanoparticles as a powerful tool in the field of cancer therapy and diagnostics and discuss issues and future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The use of exosomes encapsulating therapeutic agents for the treatment of diseases is of increasing interest. However, some concerns such as limited efficiency and scalability of conventional drug encapsulation methods to exosomes have still remained; thus, a new approach that enables encapsulation of therapeutic agents with superior efficiency and scalability is required. Herein, we used RAW264 macrophage cell-derived exosomes (RAW-Exos) and demonstrated that high-pressure homogenization (HPH) using a microfluidizer decreased their particle size without changing their morphology, the amount of exosomal marker proteins, and cellular uptake efficiency into RAW264 and colon-26 cancer cells. Moreover, HPH allowed for modification of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated lipids onto RAW-Exos, as well as encapsulation of the anti-cancer agent doxorubicin. Importantly, the doxorubicin encapsulation efficiency became higher upon increasing the process pressure and simultaneous HPH with PEG-lipids. Moreover, treatment with PEG-modified RAW-Exos encapsulating doxorubicin significantly suppressed tumor growth in colon-26-bearing mice. Taken together, these results suggest that HPH using a microfluidizer could be useful to prepare PEG-modified Exos encapsulating anti-cancer drugs via a one-step pharmaceutical process, and that the prepared functional Exos could be applied for the treatment of cancer in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their unique structure, poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers can bind active ingredients in two ways: inside the structure or on their surface. The location of drug molecules significantly impacts the kinetics of active substance release and the mechanism of internalization into the cell. This study focuses on the effect of the protonation degree of the G4PAMAM dendrimer and the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) on the efficiency of complex formation. The most favorable conditions for constructing the G4PAMAM-5FU complex are a low degree of protonation of the dendrimer molecule with the drug simultaneously present in a deprotonated form. The fluorine components in the XPS spectra confirm the formation of the stable complex. Through SAXS and DLS methods, a decrease in the dendrimer's molecular size resulting from protonation changes at alkaline conditions was demonstrated. The gradual closure of the dendrimer structure observed at high pH values makes it difficult for the 5FU molecules to migrate to the interior of the support structure, thereby promoting drug immobilization on the surface. The 1H NMR and DOSY spectra indicate that electrostatic interactions determine the complex formation process. Through MD simulations, the localization profile and the number of 5FU molecules forming the complex were visualized on an atomic scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing power communication protocols can hardly meet the requirements of timeliness and reliability of data interaction in the new power distribution IoT， and the requirements of differentiated service quality for high precision applications. To address the above problems， the technical characteristics of data-centric DDS （data distribution service） are analyzed， and the DDS， through simulation experiments， is compared with common IoT protocols. It is found that the DDS has better performance indexes in respect of instantaneousness， security， and reliability， and the open IoT information architecture based on the DDS is further designed to meet the requirements of new distribution IoT data interaction.

Introduction/purpose: This paper presents a model of a high speed target radar tracking system that is much simpler than the existing ones. The Doppler shift is compensated before signal compression, simultaneously with the modification of the clock signal in the compression filter. This is possible thanks to the development of FPGA technology. The most important for this application are very fast clock control units which enable operation with different frequency references up to 1 GHz with an accuracy far below 1 Hz. Methods: In this paper, the methodology of mathematical modeling and simulation is used. Results:The results of the analysis of the most important effects in radars caused by high-speed targets are presented and discussed - target migration through resolution cells and compression filter response distortion due to high target acceleration. Conclusion: Thanks to flexible RF and signal processing hardware, complex radar processing procedures are not required. The sensitivity of the BPSK signal to the Doppler shift (which is usually considered a disadvantage) can be used to reject targets at a slightly different rate. This system can be used in space debris tracking, airspace target tracking, car driving, etc.

The lock-in amplifier (LIA) is widely utilized to detect ultra-weak optical periodic signals based on the phase-sensitive and enhanced detecting theory. In this paper, we present an all-digital and universal embedded LIA platform that accurately and conveniently describes the spectrum generated by standard black bodies at various temperatures with different optical detectors. The proposed design significantly reduces the complexity and cost of traditional analog LIAs while maintaining accuracy. The LIA components are implemented using a single field programmable gate array (FPGA), offering flexibility to modify parameters for different situations. The normalized mean-square error (NMSE) of the captured spectra in the experiments is within 0.9% compared the theoretical values.

The increasing growth in complexity of vehicles’ functionalities is driving a technological shift in the design of software architectures in the automotive industry. Traditional signal-oriented networking is being replaced by service-oriented communications enabled by a new generation of Electronic Control Units (ECUs). The growing interest for full-fledged middlewares can be supported by these powerful ECUs. However, the new capabilities come at a non-negligible cost, which conflicts with the need to design a cost-effective solution that allows for meeting aggressive budget goals in a high volume market like automotive. In this paper, we illustrate how a significant part of the functionalities of a powerful middleware like Data Distribution Service (DDS) can be effectively implemented through hardware accelerators. We show that our approach can guarantee high performance while minimizing system complexity at the software level (e.g. AUTOSAR) by shifting painful or inefficient software implementations of QoS policies directly to hardware. This, in turn, allows to build cost-effective solutions suitable for next-generation automotive systems.

For multistatic radar networks in the upper mm-wave range with a large spacing between its radar sensor nodes, a coherent signal distribution is very complex and thus very costly. Hence, it is desirable to generate the mm-wave signals individually for each radar sensor node, i.e., non-coherently. However, multistatic radar networks using a non-coherent signal distribution for its radar sensor nodes are affected by systematic errors and uncorrelated phase noise, which reduces the resolution and the detection performance of these systems. In this article, a novel non-coherent signal synthesis concept based on the direct digital synthesis (DDS) principle is presented for multistatic radar networks. Compared to a signal synthesis using a phase-locked loop (PLL), it is shown that the different phase noise behavior of the DDS is beneficial for bistatic signal paths between the radar sensor nodes. The presented hardware concept is considered and analyzed for three different types of coherency regarding the signal distribution: coherent, quasi-coherent, and incoherent. Measurements with a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar at $150 \,\mathrm{G}\mathrm{Hz}$ prove that despite a non-coherent signal distribution, it is possible to achieve the same detection and imaging performance as with a fully coherent radar by using a DDS.