OFF Condition Research Articles

Impact of hearing aid noise reduction algorithms on the speech-evoked auditory brainstem response

The purposes of this study are to investigate the neural representation of a speech stimulus in the auditory system of individuals with normal hearing (NH) and those with hearing aids (HAs) and to explore the impact of noise reduction algorithms (NR) on auditory brainstem response to complex sounds (cABR). Twenty NH individuals and 28 HA users completed puretone audiometry, the Korean version of the Hearing in Noise Test (K-HINT), and cABR. In 0 and +5 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), the NH group was tested in /da/ only (quiet) and /da/ with white noise (WN) conditions while the HA group was tested in /da/ only, /da/ WN, /da/ WN NR ON, and /da/ WN NR OFF conditions. Significant differences were observed between /da/ only and /da/ WN conditions for F0 in both groups, but no SNR effect was observed for both groups. Findings of this study are consistent with previous literature that diminished cABR amplitudes indicate reduced representation of sounds in the auditory system. This is the first to examine the effect of a specific HA feature on cABR responses.

Effects of basal forebrain stimulation on the vibrotactile responses of neurons from the hindpaw representation in the rat SI cortex.

Basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic system is important for attention and modulates sensory processing. We focused on the hindpaw representation in rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1), which receives inputs related to mechanoreceptors identical to those in human glabrous skin. Spike data were recorded from S1 tactile neurons (n = 87) with (ON condition: 0.5-ms bipolar current pulses at 100Hz; amplitude 50μA, duration 0.5s at each trial) and without (OFF condition) electrical stimulation of BF in anesthetized rats. We expected that prior activation of BF would induce changes in the vibrotactile responses of neurons during sinusoidal (5, 40, and 250Hz) mechanical stimulation of the glabrous skin. The experiment consisted of sequential OFF-ON conditions in two-time blocks separated by 30min to test possible remaining effects. Average firing rates (AFRs) and vector strengths of spike phases (VS) were analyzed for different neuron types [regular spiking (RS) and fast spiking (FS)] in different cortical layers (III-VI). Immediate effect of BF activation was only significant by increasing synchronization to 5-Hz vibrotactile stimulus within the second block. Regardless of frequency, ON-OFF paired VS differences were significantly higher in the second block compared to the first, more prominent for RS neurons, and in general for neurons in layers III and VI. No such effects could be found on AFRs. The results suggest that cholinergic activation induces some changes in the hindpaw area, enabling relatively higher increases in synchronization to vibrotactile inputs with subsequent BF modulation. In addition, this modulation depends on neuron type and layer, which may be related to detailed projection pattern from BF.

Enhancing Gamma Oscillations Restores Primary Motor Cortex Plasticity in Parkinson's Disease.

In humans, γ oscillations in cortical motor areas reflect asynchronous synaptic activity and contribute to plasticity processes. In Parkinson's disease (PD), γ oscillatory activity in the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network is altered and the LTP-like plasticity elicited by intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is reduced in the primary motor cortex (M1). In this study, we tested whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) delivered at γ frequency promotes iTBS-induced LTP-like plasticity in M1 in PD patients. Sixteen patients (OFF condition) and 16 healthy subjects (HSs) underwent iTBS during γ-tACS (iTBS-γ tACS) and during sham-tACS (iTBS-sham tACS) in two sessions. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) evoked by single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) were recorded before and after the costimulation. A subgroup of patients also underwent iTBS during β tACS. iTBS-sham tACS facilitated single-pulse MEPs in HSs, but not in patients. iTBS-γ tACS induced a larger MEP facilitation than iTBS-sham tACS in both groups, with similar values in patients and HSs. In patients, SICI improved after iTBS-γ tACS. The effect produced by iTBS-γ tACS on single-pulse MEPs correlated with disease duration, while changes in SICI correlated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III scores. The effect of iTBS-β tACS on both single-pulse MEPs and SICI was similar to that obtained in the iTBS-sham tACS session. Our data suggest that γ oscillations have a role in the pathophysiology of the abnormal LTP-like plasticity in PD. Entraining M1 neurons at the γ rhythm through tACS may be an effective method to restore impaired plasticity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In Parkinson's disease, the LTP-like plasticity of the primary motor cortex is impaired, and γ oscillations are altered in the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network. Using a combined transcranial magnetic stimulation-transcranial alternating current stimulation approach (iTBS-γ tACS costimulation), we demonstrate that driving γ oscillations restores the LTP-like plasticity in patients with Parkinson's disease. The effects correlate with clinical characteristics of patients, being more evident in less affected patients and weaker in patients with longer disease duration. These findings suggest that cortical γ oscillations play a beneficial role in modulating the LTP-like plasticity of M1 in Parkinson's disease. The iTBS-γ tACS approach may be potentially useful in rehabilitative settings in patients.

Arterial spin labeling detects perfusion patterns related to motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease

IntroductionImaging neurovascular disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD) is an excellent measure of disease severity. Indeed, a disease-specific regional pattern of abnormal metabolism has been identified using positron emission tomography. Only a handful of studies, however, have applied perfusion MRI to detect this disease pattern. Our goal was to replicate the evaluation of a PD-related perfusion pattern using scaled subprofile modeling/principal component analysis (SSM-PCA). Methods. We applied arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI for this purpose. Uniquely, we assessed this pattern separately in PD individuals ON and OFF dopamine medications. We further compared the existence of these patterns and their strength in each individual with their Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor (MDS-UPDRS) scores, cholinergic tone as indexed by short-term afferent inhibition (SAI), and other neuropsychiatric tests. Results. We observed a PD-related perfusion pattern that was similar to previous studies. The patterns were observed in both ON and OFF states but only the pattern in the OFF condition could significantly (AUC=0.72) differentiate between PD and healthy subjects. In the ON condition, PD subjects were similar to controls from a CBF standpoint (AUC=0.45). The OFF pattern prominently included the posterior cingulate, precentral region, precuneus, and the subcallosal cortex. Individual principal components from the ON and OFF states were strongly associated with MDS-UPDRS scores, SAI amplitude and latency. Conclusion. Using ASL, our study identified patterns of abnormal perfusion in PD and were associated with disease symptoms.

A Lower Limb Exoskeleton Recycling Energy From Knee and Ankle Joints to Assist Push-Off

Abstract This paper presents the design and preliminary evaluation of a quasi-passive lower limb exoskeleton for walking efficiency improvements. The exoskeleton recycles the negative work performed by the knee joint in late swing phase and the ankle joint in mid-stance phase, to assist ankle push-off in late-stance phase when a burst of positive power is needed. The exoskeleton consists of a torsion spring as an energy storage element, and two clutches attached to both ends of the spring to control the timing of recycling and releasing energy in a gait cycle. The two clutches are actively controlled by two small servo motors with very low power consumption based on the plantar pressure. The novelty of this exoskeleton is it makes the extra kinetic energy dissipated at the knee joint reusable, by transferring it to the ankle joint to assist positive power generation during push-off, for the first time. Eight male subjects walked with the exoskeleton engaged (EXO_ON), disengaged (EXO_OFF), and without the exoskeleton (NO_EXO). Inverse dynamics analysis demonstrated reduced negative biological work at the knee joint during late swing and at the ankle joint during mid stance, as well as reduced positive biological work at the ankle joint during late stance comparing the EXO_ON to EXO_OFF conditions. These results prove the effectiveness of the exoskeleton at joint level.

An electronically switchable UWB to narrow band antenna for cognitive radio applications

AbstractCognitive radio (CR) is designed to achieve intelligent spectrum sensing and sharing, in order to solve spectrum underutilization problem. Conventional CR uses multiple/multiport antenna to switch between UWB and narrow band (NB) frequencies for primary and secondary users. In this article, we propose a compact frequency reconfigurable single port antenna using PIN diodes, to switch between UWB and NB frequencies. A circular disc monopole antenna with partial ground plane is designed to deliver UWB response. Three interdigital capacitors (IDC) are electrically connected to a partial ground plane and feed line using PIN diodes. OFF condition of all PIN diodes will provide the UWB response of 2.8 to 10.6 GHz and ON condition of the diodes will result in 36 different NB frequencies, completely covering the UWB spectrum. A simulation study carried out by incorporating a varactor diode into IDC, clearly shows that, the antenna resonance can be switched using PIN diodes and each resonant frequency can be fine‐tuned independently, with in the band of interest. This is the unique feature of proposed antenna, which facilitates the technology for CR based internet of things applications in 5G wireless communication networks.

PDMeter: A Wrist Wearable Device for an at-Home Assessment of the Parkinson’s Disease Rigidity

This work focuses on the design and the validation of a wearable mechatronic device for an at-home assessment of wrist stiffness in patients affected by Parkinson's Disease (PD). The device includes one actuated joint and four passive revolute joints with a high overall intrinsic backdriveability. In order to allow the user to freely move the wrist during activities of daily living, we implemented a transparent controller on the basis of the interaction force sensed by the embedded load cell. Conversely, in order to provide perturbations for estimating the wrist flexion-extension rigidity, we implemented a torque controller. Firstly, we report a pilot study that aimed at characterizing the device in terms of range of motion (ROM) allowed, transparency perceived and torque-tracking capability. Then, we present a case study in which we tested our device with seven PD patients in both drug-OFF and drug-ON conditions and we compared the measured stiffness with the one measured in fourteen healthy controls and with the outcome of the most used clinical scale (MDS-UPDRS). The device allowed to successfully estimate the stiffness as different depending on the movement direction. Indeed, extension stiffness was higher than the flexion one, accordingly to the literature. Moreover, the device allowed to discriminate both Healthy subjects from PD subjects, and PD subjects in OFF condition from PD subjects in ON condition. In conclusion, we demonstrate the feasibility of the device in measuring wrist rigidity, thus enabling the possibility to implement an at-home assessment of the PD rigidity.

Control Strategies of Power and Power Factor using PID Controller in Hybrid Energy System

Now a days maximum rise of power can be done by the usage of wind ,solar and diesel system. To get reliable electricity supply and to control the interruption and contingency hybrid power systems are used. The hybrid systems are more advantageous because both the wind and solar are renewable energies which is more convenient to the environment. The work presented in this paper consists of a combination of a wind system ,a PV system and an AC load with a back up of battery source and a diesel generator. Inorder to reduce the transmission cost this system is applicable and it can be used in remote areas. PID controller with PLL technique is used to maintain the power factor constant even when one of the source is in OFF condition. The ON/OFF condition is given manually on the input side and accordingly the energy sources will produce the voltage/current output thereby power factor is maintained constant with the irradiance and temperature. One of the advantage of this system avoids penalty by maintaining the power factor constant.

Design and Analysis of Frequency Reconfigurable Microstrip Patch antenna for Multi Band Operations using PIN Diodes

Multiband reconfigurable patch antenna plays a vital role in wireless communication applications. By changing the current path on the patch a multiband reconfigurable antenna can be achieved. A simple multiband frequency reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna structure is simulated in CST microwave studio. This antenna operates between 1.3 to 5.6 GHz with more than fifteen different frequencies. The antenna is analyzed for four different configurations. The designed antenna is resonating at five different frequencies (1.45 GHz, 2.36 GHz, 3.09 GHz, 3.6 GHz and 5.45 GHz) when both PIN diodes are ON. When PIN diode D1 is ON and D2 is OFF the antenna is resonating at 1.4 GHz, 2.22 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 3.08 GHz and 3.59 GHz. When D1 is OFF and D2 is ON the antenna is resonating at 2.34 GHz, 3.2 GHz, 3.62 GHz and 5.38 GHz frequencies. The slotted antenna or when both PIN diodes are in OFF condition antenna is resonating at 2.22 GHz, 2.49 GHz, 3.21 GHz, 3.6 GHz and 5.42 GHz. For each configuration the antenna parameters like gain, VSWR, directivity and radiation patterns are analyzed.

Bumetanide to treat Parkinson's disease patients suffering from freezing of gait resistant to both dopamine replacement treatment and STN DBS: An open-label pilot study (BUMFOG)

To investigate the effects of bumetanide in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients suffering from freezing of gait (FOG) resistant to dopamine replacement therapy and subthalamic (STN) DBS. Primary outcome measure: change in the number of steps and the completion time during the stand-walk-sit (SWS) test,performed in OFF and ON-drug stage. Secondary outcome measures: MDS-UPDRS III,Giladi's questionnaire, patients' 2 week falls diary, Blood potassium. Six PD patients treated by STN DBS and suffering from disabling FOG were included (age 61 ± 12 yrs., 4 males, disease duration 23 ± 7 yrs., duration of STN DBS 9.6 ± 2.9 yrs., with good to excellent improvement (CGI-Patient) 1 yr after lead implantation, dopamine replacement treatment 640 ± 310 mg LED. Bumetanide was titrated until 1 mg bid. All patients complained from a polyuria leading two patients to withdraw from the trial. Potassium decreased after 1-month bumetanide treatment (from 3.9 ± 0.3 to 3.6 ± 0.5) without reaching values <2.5 meq/l.After 3 months of bumetanide treatment: SWS completion time performed in the OFF-drug stage decreased (49.2 ± 23.2 s vs. 61.2 ± 20.6 s at baseline, p = .03)and gait assessed on the Giladi's questionnaire improved (7.6 ± 3.5 vs. 14.6 ± 1.5). No significant changes on the MDS-UPDRS III in the OFF or ON-drug condition were observed. This pilot study found that bumetanide improves FOG resistant to dopamine replacement tretment and DBS in PD. These results call for a double-blind placebo controlled study.

Local and Global Changes in Brain Metabolism during Deep Brain Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Recent approaches have suggested that deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder relies on distributed networks rather than local brain modulation. However, there is insufficient data on how DBS affects brain metabolism both locally and globally. We enrolled three patients with treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder with ongoing DBS of the bilateral ventral capsule/ventral striatum. Patients underwent resting-state 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose and positron emission tomography in both stimulation ON and OFF conditions. All subjects showed relative hypometabolism in prefronto-basal ganglia-thalamic networks compared to a healthy control cohort when stimulation was switched OFF. Switching the stimulation ON resulted in differential changes in brain metabolism. Locally, volumes of activated tissue at stimulation sites (n = 6) showed a significant increase in metabolism during DBS ON compared to DBS OFF (Mean difference 4.5% ± SD 2.8; p = 0.012). Globally, differential changes were observed across patients encompassing prefrontal increase in metabolism in ON vs. OFF condition. Bearing in mind limitations of the small sample size, we conclude that DBS of the ventral capsule/ventral striatum for obsessive-compulsive disorder increases brain metabolism locally. Across distributed global networks, DBS appears to exert differential effects, possibly depending on localization of stimulation sites and response to the intervention.

Analysis and Design of DGS by Inserting of a Active Element PIN Diode in Slot Patch

In this work, a rectangle is formed one side of substrate material i.e. FR-4/glass epoxy, PIN diode and slot integrated on ground patch ,on the basis of reflection coefficient S11, a re-configurability characteristics is found. Using the PIN diode the electrical length of slot can be changed when the PIN diode is in ON / OFF position has more than one resonant frequency. Patch antenna is compatible with characteristics use as dual band antenna under ON condition of PIN diode in wireless communication, these frequencies are 6.45 Ghz and 9.7 GHz. OFF conditions 6.46GHz and 9.8GHz.all the parameters remains same during the current distribution. A reconfigurable property of patch antenna is found.

Acute Effects of Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation on Motor Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease; 13 Year Follow Up.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation of the Subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is a safe and well-established therapy for the management of refractory motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). Marked improvement in axial symptoms has been reported in the short term with STN-DBS but questions remain regarding the long-term efficacy of this intervention. We assessed the acute ON and OFF effects of STN-DBS in PD patients who have been treated with STN-DBS for over a decade.Methods: We assessed 11 patients with early-onset PD (9 men, 2 women; mean age, 57.1 ± 7.2 y; mean age at illness onset, 38.9 ± 7.5 y) managed with long-term bilateral STN-DBS (mean treatment duration, 13.4 ± 1.3 y). Motor symptoms were assessed by means of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)-III, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), and Hoehn-Yahr scale. Motor assessments in the medication ON and OFF states with stimulation ON and OFF conditions were documented and video recorded.Results: Patients showed a significant improvement in motor symptoms both in the off-medication and on-medication state by a 54% reduction (off-medication/on-stimulation vs. off-medication/off-stimulation) and a 48% reduction (on-medication/on-stimulation vs. on-medication/off-stimulation) in the total UPDRS-III score. Specifically, improvement in axial symptoms (off-medication: 51% reduction; on-medication: 44% reduction), including gait but not posture. Similarly, STN-DBS reduced TUG scores (off-medication: 70% reduction; on-medication: 47% reduction).Conclusions: On stimulation long-term, bilateral STN-DBS can improve appendicular and axial symptoms of patients with early-onset PD in the acute setting.

Effects of utterance rate and length on the spatiotemporal index in Parkinson’s disease

Purpose: To characterise labial articulatory pattern variability using the spatiotemporal index (STI) in speakers with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) across different speaking rates and syllable-sentence conditions compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls.Method: Ten speakers with mild–severe idiopathic PD and 10 controls produced “pa” and the Rainbow Passage at slow, typical and fast speech rates. Upper lip and lower lip kinematics were digitised during a motion capture system. Data were analysed using linear mixed modelling.Result: Regardless of the participant group, a high STI value was observed in the fast speech rate for the “pa” syllable condition, particularly for movements of the lower lip. As utterance rate increased, the control group showed the highest variability, followed by PD OFF and PD ON conditions. Syllable “pa” showed a greater STI value compared to both the first and second utterance of Rainbow Passage.Conclusion: PD manifests sufficient residual capacity to achieve near-normal motor compensation to preserve the consistency of lower lip movements during speech production. The lack of a significant difference in lip STI values between ON-OFF medication states suggests that dopaminergic treatment does not influence stability of speech for individuals with mild-moderate stage PD.

Effects of subthalamic deep brain stimulation on striatal metabolic connectivity in a rat hemiparkinsonian model.

ABSTRACTDeep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been successfully used for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease, although the underlying mechanisms are complex and not well understood. There are conflicting results about the effects of STN-DBS on neuronal activity of the striatum, and its impact on functional striatal connectivity is entirely unknown. We therefore investigated how STN-DBS changes cerebral metabolic activity in general and striatal connectivity in particular. We used ipsilesional STN stimulation in a hemiparkinsonian rat model in combination with [18F]FDOPA-PET, [18F]FDG-PET and metabolic connectivity analysis. STN-DBS reversed ipsilesional hypometabolism and contralesional hypermetabolism in hemiparkinsonian rats by increasing metabolic activity in the ipsilesional ventrolateral striatum and by decreasing it in the contralesional hippocampus and brainstem. Other STN-DBS effects were subject to the magnitude of dopaminergic lesion severity measured with [18F]FDOPA-PET, e.g. activation of the infralimbic cortex was negatively correlated to lesion severity. Connectivity analysis revealed that, in healthy control animals, left and right striatum formed a bilateral functional unit connected by shared cortical afferents, which was less pronounced in hemiparkinsonian rats. The healthy striatum was metabolically connected to the ipsilesional substantia nigra in hemiparkinsonian rats only (OFF condition). STN-DBS (ON condition) established a new functional striatal network, in which interhemispheric striatal connectivity was strengthened, and both the dopamine-depleted and the healthy striatum were functionally connected to the healthy substantia nigra. We conclude that both unilateral dopamine depletion and STN-DBS affect the whole brain and alter complex interhemispheric networks.

Asymmetric STN DBS for FOG in Parkinson's disease: A pilot trial

BackgroundIn Parkinson's disease (PD), freezing of gait (FOG) is a highly disabling gait disorder. Though deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an efficient treatment for advanced PD, the management of STN DBS refractory FOG remains challenging. ObjectiveTo evaluate the long-term impact on FOG of unilateral stimulation reduction in PD treated with bilateral STN DBS. MethodsPatients with bilateral STN DBS for at least one year and refractory FOG were included in a randomized, double blind, cross-over clinical trial. They were randomized to chronic (CHR) vs. experimental (EXP) stimulation (30% amplitude reduction contralateral to the least affected body side), each condition for 4 weeks. Gait and FOG were assessed both in the OFF and ON medication conditions. Primary outcome was the difference in the FOG percentage during gait assessment and in a composite gait score in CHR vs. EXP stimulation. ResultsThe study was stopped early for futility. Of the 12 patients included, eight dropped out because of re-emerging of PD symptoms. In the four patients who sustained the experimental condition, the FOG percentage did not improve, whether in the OFF (CHR: 13.4% vs. EXP: 16.8%) or in the ON (CHR: 19.5% vs. EXP: 19.8%) medication condition. There was no change in the composite gait score (CHR: 5.5 ± 1.3 vs. EXP: 6.3 ± 3.3). ConclusionsMost patients did not tolerate the unilateral amplitude reduction of STN DBS in the long-term. Moreover, this strategy failed to improve FOG in patients who could sustain the procedure. Clinicaltrial.gov identifierNCT02704195.

Abstract TMP39: The neural and behavioral basis of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Non-invasive brain-stimulation has been reported to modulate cortical excitability, synaptic plasticity, and interhemispheric interactions of homotop brain regions. All of these processes could play a role in facilitating stroke recovery. Modulation in cortical excitability covaries with changes in regional cerebral blood flow. Our aim was to determine whether varying parameters of transcranially applied direct current stimulation would modulate regional cerebral blood flow and behavioral measures such as motor sequence learning in a differential effect. Twelve right-handed subjects participated in all behavioral and imaging studies. We used three different dose levels (Sham, 2mA and 4mA corresponding current densities: 0mA/cm2, 0.156mA/cm2, and 0.318mA/cm2) and two different electrode montages (unihemispheric or bihemispheric) to examine tDCS effects on a finger sequence learning task and on regional cerebral blood flow (using Arterial Spin Labeling as a Blood Flow MR sequence) using an MR compatible NeuroConn DCMC stimulator. An anodal electrode (diameter of 4 cm) was placed over the right motor region (C4) while the cathodal electrode (diameter of 5 cm) was either placed over the left supraorbital region (unihemispheric montage) or over the left motor region (C3; bihemispheric montage). Each stimulation was of 10 min duration (ON condition) and preceded by 6 minutes of no stimulation and followed by 8 minutes of no stimulation (OFF conditions). A significant difference (p&lt;0.05) in cerebral blood flow between ON and OFF conditions was seen for the group in a region of interest including the perirolandic region on the right (under the anodal electrode) showing an increase in rCBF between sham, 2mA and 4mA. There were trends for stronger bihemispheric blood flow changes for the bihemispheric montage than the unihemispheric montage. In the finger sequence learning task, subjects learned to type a randomly chosen sequence of 7 numbers with digits 2-5 of each hand as accurately and as fast as possible, before and immediately after a 10 minute stimulation phase. Higher numbers of correct finger sequence were seen in the higher current conditions for the unihemispheric condition. Results were more mixed for the bihemispheric montages.

Effective Resource Management in SDN Enabled Data Center Network Based on Traffic Demand

Software-defined networking (SDN) changes the way forwarding devices works and makes data center network simplified and efficient to work. Energy is the main driving force behind the activity of the data center network. The network elements that are in low load condition can be shifted in switch- OFF condition after migrating their active traffic on some other element. This traffic analysis-based energy-saving approach will increase the overall utilization of the system. This paper presents a switch- ON/OFF procedure along with the re-routing procedure to achieve the desired activity. The modules are tested over some well-known data center topologies, such as Fat-Tree and Bcube. The simulation study is carried out with the classical SDN controller instances, e.g., OpenDayLight, POX, Beacon, and NOX. The results are compared with some similar energy-efficient data center approaches, such as MNLR DCN and WDM Optical Switched DCN. The proposed approach presents an enhancement of 77%, 37%, and 63% in achieved energy saving, average round trip delay, and average bandwidth utilization, respectively.

Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease: its prevalence across various stages and its correlation with the severity of the disease and quality of life

BACKGROUND: Non-motor symptoms (NMSs) were a real burden in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and contributed to severe disability, impaired quality of life (QoL), and shortened life expectancy. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of NMSs in PD and their correlation of NMS with disease duration, severity, and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score and their impact on patient’s QoL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study. Sixty-four patients who were diagnosed by United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Brain Bank criteria were studied. Non-motor symptom scale (NMSS) analyzed NMS, and motor dysfunction was assessed by the UPDRS II and III during OFF condition and QoL by Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of NMS was 93.75% (n = 60). Most frequent NMS was difficulty in falling asleep (54.7%), urinary urgency (39%), and memory impairment (37.5%). Most disabling symptoms are difficulty in falling asleep (3.34 ± 4.1) and fatigue (2.48 ± 4.2). The total NMSS scores were correlated with Hoehn and Yahr stage, and Movement Disorder Society UPDRS and PDQ-39 scores, but not with duration of disease. Correlation between NMSS and PDQ-39 scores was stronger as compared to the relationship between UPDRS and PDQ-39 scores (r = 0.71 and 0.58, respectively, P = 0.00). CONCLUSION: This study showed the high prevalence of NMSs and value of NMS as predictors of QoL in patients with PD. Therefore, understanding the pathophysiology of these NMSs should be placed at the forefront to develop new therapeutic approaches by improving the QoL of patients with PD.

A Compact Reconfigurable Multi-mode Resonator-based Multi-band Band Pass Filter for Intelligent Transportation Systems Applications

A compact wide band reconfigurable bandpass filter (BPF) which utilises a hemi-circular flower shaped multimode resonator (MMR) is presented. The proposed MMR provides three resonant modes which fall within the broad frequency spectra. Among these, two modes are even and one is odd. These modes are optimised by varying the dimensions so as to obtain the desired frequency response. The fractional bandwidth is more than 96 per cent. The filter can be operated as multi-band BPF. In OFF condition of ‘Pin’ diode, the centre frequencies are 2.43 GHz, 3.5 GHz, and 5.9 GHz in ON condition of ‘Pin’ diode centre frequencies are 2.43 GHz, 3.5 GHz, 5.9 GHz, 6.5 GHz, and 8.8 GHz which are used for vehicular, WiMAX, intelligent transportation systems and satellite communication respectively. Microstrip filter structures are integrated with ‘Pin’ diodes. Appropriate biasing has been provided by choosing lumped components with precise values. The insertion loss in OFF condition are 0.5 dB, 0.67 dB, and 0.8 dB and in ON condition 0.5 dB, 0.7 dB, 1.2 dB, and 1.9 dB. The measured results agree well with the full-wave simulated results.