| 1. |
- Tahmasebi, S., et al.
(författare)
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Cuckoo-PC : An evolutionary synchronization-aware placement of SDN controllers for optimizing the network performance in WSNs
- 2020
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Ingår i: Sensors. - : MDPI AG. - 1424-8220. ; 20:11, s. 1-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Due to reliability and performance considerations, employing multiple software-defined networking (SDN) controllers is known as a promising technique in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Nevertheless, employing multiple controllers increases the inter-controller synchronization overhead. Therefore, optimal placement of SDN controllers to optimize the performance of a WSN, subject to the maximum number of controllers, determined based on the synchronization overhead, is a challenging research problem. In this paper, we first formulate this research problem as an optimization problem, then to address the optimization problem, we propose the Cuckoo Placement of Controllers (Cuckoo-PC) algorithm. Cuckoo-PC works based on the Cuckoo optimization algorithm which is a meta-heuristic algorithm inspired by nature. This algorithm seeks to find the global optimum by imitating brood parasitism of some cuckoo species. To evaluate the performance of Cuckoo-PC, we compare it against a couple of state-of-the-art methods, namely Simulated Annealing (SA) and Quantum Annealing (QA). The experiments demonstrate that Cuckoo-PC outperforms both SA and QA in terms of the network performance by lowering the average distance between sensors and controllers up to 13% and 9%, respectively. Comparing our method against Integer Linear Programming (ILP) reveals that Cuckoo-PC achieves approximately similar results (less than 1% deviation) in a noticeably shorter time. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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| 2. |
- Dokhaee, Z., et al.
(författare)
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Investigation of the blends of chitosan and tragacanth as potential drug carriers for the delivery of ibuprofen in the intestine
- 2019
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Ingår i: New Journal of Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1144-0546 .- 1369-9261. ; 43:37, s. 14917-14927
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural polymers are reliable compounds in drug delivery systems (DDS). Herein, two series of safe and reliable polyelectrolyte hydrogels (PEHs) were prepared from two oppositely charged polysaccharides, namely tragacanth (TG) and chitosan (CS), and applied for the delivery of ibuprofen as a model drug. Considering the different interactions of CS and TG as a polycation and a polyanion, respectively, with the drug, herein, two series of PEHs were prepared, and their diversity in morphology and drug release ability were studied. The system provided a high percentage of drug loading efficiency (>90%) and was sensitive to the acidity of different media. The drug release pattern was favorable; the data showed that the slowest rate of drug release was obtained at pH = 1.2, followed by pH = 5.4, and fastest drug release occurred at a slightly basic pH (=7.4); the mechanism of drug release was studied using different kinetic models, where at pH = 1.2 and 7.4, the drug release curve best matched the zero order and the Hixson-Crowell model, and at pH = 5.4, the Weibull model represented the perfect agreement with the drug release patterns. The stability of the drug carrier was explored by fluorescence imaging. The cytotoxicity of the CS-I-T 30% and CS-T composites was evaluated towards the cultured MCF7 cells for 24 and 48 h, and no toxic effects were observed.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Zare, Z., et al.
(författare)
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Psychometric Properties of a New Instrument for Assessing Irrational Thoughts in Burn Victims (Scale of Irrational Thoughts After Burn Injuries)
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of burn care & research : official publication of the American Burn Association.. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1559-047X .- 1559-0488. ; 38:5, s. E834-E841
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a scale for assessing irrational thoughts among burned patients. The present study was mixed (qualitative-methodologic) which was performed in several stages such as investigating similar or related scales, interviewing with patients and psychologists. Content validity was calculated by modified KAPPA basis on relevance and clarity. The reliability of the scale was measured using internal consistency and the test-retest method. To determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis approach using maximum likelihood extraction with varimax rotation was conducted. A total of 329 burned patients were recruited from Tehran, Tabriz, and Kermanshah provinces of Iran. Modified kappa scores were 0.80 and 0.91 for relevance and clarity of the items included in scale. The Cronbach alpha for overall scale, subscale 1, and subscale 2 were 0.89, 0.88, and 0.8, respectively. Test-retest reliability was also acceptable (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.80). The best solution from the maximum likelihood analysis of the 39 items of the scale revealed two factors corresponding to the two subscales with 14 items that subscale 1 (self-acceptance) consisted of 10 statements accounting for 60% of the variance (eigenvalue = 5.04) and subscale 2 (distastefulness and pity) consisted of four statements accounting for 40% of the variance (eigenvalue = 1.53). The scale reflects acceptable levels of validity and reliability in assessing the irrational thoughts among Iranian patients. Moreover, the testing populations of both patients with burned faces and patients with other burned body parts indicates that the scale may also be applicable for patients' burn disfigurements on any part of their bodies.
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