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In next-generation communication systems, Filter Bank Multicarrier with Offset Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (FBMC/OQAM) has emerged as a promising alternative to Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), offering enhanced robustness in multipath channels. However, like OFDM, FBMC/OQAM is susceptible to Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO), which can cause inter-carrier interference and performance degradation. This paper proposes a novel solution to the critical challenge of joint CFO and channel estimation in multipath fading environments. We propose a novel estimator that leverages a strategically designed training sequence within each frame's header. This sequence, comprising pilot symbols and Zero-FBMC symbols (ZFBMC), significantly improves the accuracy of joint estimation. To reduce computational complexity, we introduce an iterative algorithm based on Taylor approximation for CFO estimation. Extensive simulations demonstrate that our proposed estimators asymptotically approach the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) for both joint CFO and channel estimation. Moreover, in scenarios with perfect CFO synchronization, our channel estimation method achieves near-optimal performance. These results underscore the effectiveness of our approach in enhancing FBMC/OQAM system performance, paving the way for its implementation in future communication networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-centered artificial intelligence (HCAI) needs to be able to adapt to anticipated user behavior. We argue that the anticipation capabilities required for HCAI adaptation can be modeled best with the help of a cognitive architecture. This paper introduces an ACT-R cognitive model that uses instance-based learning to observe and learn situations and actions in the form of mental models. These mental models enable the anticipation of the behavior of individual users. The model is applied to a use case of automation surprise in commercial aviation to test how anticipation can best be modeled for cockpit applications. Empirical data from a flight simulator study including behavioral, neurophysiological and eye-tracking measures from 13 pilots were used to evaluate the model. Results show that the accuracy of the model is significantly higher than chance, demonstrating that combining context information, user state data and a cognitive model can enable HCAI adaptation based on anticipated user behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the speed of the communication system increases, there exist two kinds of fading simultaneously in the wireless channels, namely time-frequency double-selective fading. In this case, delay expansion and doppler shift will affect the channel, resulting in inter-carrier interference and inter-symbol crosstalk, which will affect the channel estimation performance of generalized frequency division multiplexing communication technology. This paper first analyzes the effects of time-selective fading and frequency-selective fading on transmitted signals. Then, a complex exponential basis extension model (CE-BEM) suitable for dual selective channels was selected, and the mean square error (MSE) was used to evaluate the CE-BEM model. The function order Q of GFDM channel estimation simulation was determined by the relationship between the number of sampling points in the transmission block and different order functions. Finally, the least square (LS) channel estimation algorithm and the least mean square error (MMSE) are used to complete the channel estimation of the GFDM communication system. The performance of channel estimation is improved by changing the way of pilot insertion, and the performance of channel estimation is measured by mean square error (MSE) when the characteristics of pilot insertion are changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite lifestyle changes and medication therapies, weight loss is difficult to maintain. Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is an effective route for significant weight reduction. However, post-operation there are limited opportunities to support weight loss maintenance. The following study aimed to pilot test a 6-week, 6-session nutrition and support program for post-MBS surgery patients. Materials and Methods: A 6-week post-MBS pilot nutrition and support program was developed to test feasibility and acceptability. Participants completed a baseline survey that included demographics, weight changes, success post-surgery, and self-efficacy of leading a healthy lifestyle. Weight change, percent total weight loss, self-efficacy, and program evaluation measures were assessed. Results: Participants (n = 18) were recruited from a local MBS clinic, predominately female (88.9%), non-Hispanic white (94.4%), received sleeve gastrectomy surgery (100%), and were 2–3 years post-operation (44.4%). Eight of the 18 participants attended the in-person sessions, serving as the intervention group. Both weight loss over and behavioral variables remained stable for both groups across the 6 weeks with no significant differences from pre to post program (p > 0.05). For program evaluation, intervention participants "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with 10 of 11 program satisfaction measures. Conclusion: Following the program, weight loss was maintained among both intervention and control groups. Intervention feedback indicated that the program's approach to provide nutrition education and support was successful and acceptable. Future enhancement of the intervention should include a broader multidisciplinary approach, longer intervention period, and intentional recruitment of participants with a weight regain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rectangularly-pulsed orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, constant-amplitude (CA) sequences are desirable to construct preamble/pilot waveforms to facilitate system parameter identification (SPI). Orthogonal CA sequences are generally preferred in various SPI applications like random-access channel identification. However, the number of conventional orthogonal CA sequences (e.g., Zadoff–Chu sequences) that can be adopted in cellular communication without causing sequence identification ambiguity is insufficient. Such insufficiency causes heavy performance degradation for SPI requiring a large number of identification sequences. Moreover, rectangularly-pulsed OFDM preamble/pilot waveforms carrying conventional CA sequences suffer from large power spectral sidelobes and thus exhibit low spectral compactness. This paper is thus motivated to develop several order-I CA sequence families which contain more orthogonal CA sequences while endowing the corresponding OFDM preamble/pilot waveforms with fast-decaying spectral sidelobes. Since more orthogonal sequences are provided, the developed order-I CA sequence families can enhance the performance characteristics in SPI requiring a large number of identification sequences over multipath channels exhibiting short-delay channel profiles, while composing spectrally compact OFDM preamble/pilot waveforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is increasingly being used in the treatment of brain tumors, whereas high-quality evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. This pilot examined the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in patients with irresectable newly diagnosed glioblastoma (nGBM), and generated data on technical feasibility and safety. Methods: We included patients with irresectable nGBM with KPS ≥ 70 and feasible trajectories to ablate ≥ 70% of the tumor volume. Patients were initially randomized to receive either biopsy combined with LITT or biopsy alone, followed by chemoradiation (CRT). Randomization was stopped after 9 patients as the feasibility endpoint with respect to willingness to be randomized was met. Main endpoints were feasibility of performing an RCT, technical feasibility of LITT and safety. Follow-up was 3 months. Results: A total of 15 patients were included, of which 10 patients received a biopsy followed by LITT and 5 patients a biopsy. Most patients were able to complete the follow-up procedures (93% clinical, 86% questionnaires, 78% MRI). Patients were planned within 3 weeks after consultation (median 12 days, range 8–16) and no delay was observed in referring patients for CRT (median 37 days, range 28–61). Two CD ≥ 3 complications occurred in the LITT arm and none in the biopsy arm. Conclusion: An RCT to study the effectiveness of LITT in patients with an irresectable nGBM seems feasible with acceptable initial safety data. The findings from this pilot study helped to further refine the design of a larger full-scale multicenter RCT in the Netherlands. Protocol and study identifier: The current study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (EMITT pilot study, NTR: NCT04596930). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polarized Instrument for Long-wavelength Observation of the Tenuous interstellar medium (PILOT) is a balloon-borne experiment that aims to measure the polarized emission of thermal dust at a wavelength of 240µm (1.2 THz). The PILOT experiment flew from Timmins, Ontario, Canada in 2015 and 2019 and from Alice Springs, Australia in April 2017. The in-flight performance of the instrument during the second flight was described in [1]. In this paper, we present data processing steps that were not presented in [1] and that we have recently implemented to correct for several remaining instrumental effects. The additional data processing concerns corrections related to detector cross-talk and readout circuit memory effects, and leakage from total intensity to polarization. We illustrate the above effects and the performance of our corrections using data obtained during the third flight of PILOT, but the methods used to assess the impact of these effects on the final science-ready data, and our strategies for correcting them will be applied to all PILOT data. We show that the above corrections, and in particular that for the intensity to polarization leakage, which is most critical for accurate polarization measurements with PILOT, are accurate to better than 0.4% as measured on Jupiter during flight#3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2023, an in-house forensic neuropathology consultation pilot was established at the Helsinki office of the Forensic Medicine Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. This offered an alternative to the previous practice of full outsourcing to a hospital neuropathology department. This paper aims to introduce the first year experiences of the pilot. The in-house consultant team comprised two forensic pathologists with special training in neuropathology. In-house consultations were offered for medico-legal autopsy cases with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. The in-house histology laboratory participated in the pilot, implementing beta-amyloid precursor protein (β-APP) stain at the end of the pilot year. An electronic database was also developed for data collection and reporting. The characteristics, costs, and duration of the first 25 consultation cases were reviewed. The cases involved mostly male decedents (84.0%) with TBI (84.0%). The median total cost of a pilot case was €624, which was substantially lower compared to the previous outsourced practice (€1013 per case + €38/84 for each microscope slide with special/immunohistochemical stain, respectively). After the implementation of β-APP stain into the in-house laboratory service, the median total cost of a pilot case was reduced further to €94. The median duration of an in-house consultation was 2.3 months. Thanks to a favourable in-house atmosphere, the first year experiences are encouraging. While the costs of the in-house consultation practice appear to be markedly lower than those of an external provider, both alternatives should be available for cases where sufficient expertise cannot be found in-house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of "wicked" policy problems in complex systems requires an experimental approach of problem-solving. Experimentalist governance offers a conducive framework through which to seek policy solutions amidst high levels of complexity in a multilevel governance structure. This study conceptualizes four distinctive experimental modalities based on varying levels of technical complexity and interest complexity, both of which represent salient constraints for policy reforms in a complex system, the health sector in particular. Trail-blazing pilots, crowdsourcing pilots, managed pilots, and road-testing pilots are all associated with distinct mechanisms of experimentation in a multilevel governance structure. Through four illustrative cases from China's massive experimental program of public hospital reform, this study demonstrates how experimentalist governance seeks policy solutions in the health sector. Should governance arrangements, policy capacity, pragmatism, and informational devices become aligned in a conducive way, experimentalist governance can play an instrumental role in seeking solutions for difficult problems in a complex policy system. A governance structure capable of policy learning and adaptive management is the key. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public stigma negatively impacts people with alcohol use disorder; yet, few interventions exist to reduce it. This quasi-randomised controlled pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of three such interventions. Participants (539 UK-based adults) watched a video presenting myths and facts about AUD (‘education’), personal testimonies about AUD (‘contact’), a combination of both (‘education and contact’) or a control video. Feasibility was assessed by examining recruitment capability, study retention and data quality, and participant satisfaction with the study’s procedures and interventions. Efficacy was assessed using self-report, public stigma measures issued at pre-test, post-test and 1-month follow-up. Stigma reduced significantly more in the intervention groups than in the control group at post-test and follow-up. Feasibility was generally high, though could be improved by shortening video length and enhancing video production quality. Education and contact videos are promising interventions for public AUD stigma, and merit further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Military populations, including fast jet aircrew (FJA - aka fighter aircrew/pilots), commonly suffer from musculoskeletal complaints, which reduce performance and operational capability. Valid surveillance tools and agreed recordable injury definitions are lacking. Our objective was to develop and then evaluate the validity of a musculoskeletal complaints surveillance and monitoring tool for FJA. Methods: A Delphi study with international experts sought consensus on recordable injury definitions and important content for use in a surveillance and monitoring tool for FJA. Using these results and feedback from end-users (FJA), the University of Canberra Fast Jet Aircrew Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (UC-FJAMQ) was developed. Following its use with 306 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) FJA over 4 × five-month reporting periods, validity of the UC-FJAMQ was evaluated via multi-level factor analysis (MFA) and compared with routine methods of injury surveillance. Results: Consensus was achieved for: eight words/descriptors for defining a musculoskeletal complaint; six definitions of recordable injury; and 14 domains important for determining overall severity. The UC-FJAMQ was developed and refined. MFA identified three distinct dimensions within the 11 items used to determine severity: operational capability, symptoms, and care-seeking. MFA further highlighted that symptom severity and seeking medical attention were poor indicators of the impact musculoskeletal complaints have upon operational capability. One hundred and fifty-two episodes of time loss were identified, with the UC-FJAMQ identifying 79% of these, while routine methods identified 49%. Despite modest weekly reporting rates (61%), the UC-FJAMQ outperformed routine surveillance methods. Conclusions: The UC-FJAMQ was developed to specifically address the complexities of injury surveillance with FJA, which are similar to those noted in other military and sporting populations. The results demonstrated the UC-FJAMQ to be sensitive and valid within a large group of FJA over 4 × five-month reporting periods. Adoption of consistent, sensitive, and valid surveillance methods will strengthen the FJA injury prevention literature, ultimately enhancing their health, performance, and operational capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrochemical industrial wastewater presents a challenge when treated, employing the conventional activated sludge process, such as in the activated sludge process, the loss of biomass due to the harsh wastewater conditions and the inhibition caused by the elevated levels of industrial compounds. Hybrid biological reactors may present a resource to be tapped in the operation of an industrial wastewater treatment facility if integrated optimally in the treatment sequence. This paper examines possible integration scenarios of hybrid reactors in a petrochemical wastewater treatment plant in order to improve its organic removal efficiency. A pilot hybrid biological reactor was constructed using high surface area biological carrier and was operated using real wastewater streams from a wastewater treatment plant at two flow rates (400 ml/min and 240 ml/min), two dissolved oxygen levels (2.0 mg/l and 4.0 mg/l), and anaerobic conditions. The reactor was tested using raw, primary, secondary, and effluent streams from the wastewater treatment plant. The reactors were primed with wastewater from the aeration tank of the wastewater treatment plant and was operated for 10 d afterward (total 24 runs). The chemical oxygen demand cumulative removal was used to identify best integration scenario and to benchmark its performance against domestic wastewater. The best performing scenarios were identified as anaerobic (400 ml/min) for raw wastewater treatment and [(400 ml/min and dissolved oxygen (DO) 2.0 mg/l)] for secondary wastewater polishing. The results reflected the unfavorable conditions for biodegradation after the primary chemical treatment. This conclusion was confirmed upon benchmarking the hybrid reactor performance using domestic wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A place of flight expert systems in a general system of means of information support for decision making by an aircraft crew has been reviewed. The specifics of flight expert systems compared to conventional expert systems have been shown. A list of existing systems, their intended use and basic characteristics have been presented. A methodology for choosing means of information support based on expert survey of flight personnel and subsequent ranking of suggested clues for their possible implementation has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FBMC is one of the new emerging multicarrier techniques that are proposed to replace the CP-OFDM in future communications mainly because the FBMC does not need cyclic prefix to combat multipath channels and has better spectral containment that reduces the adjacent channel interference. Both of these properties enhance the overall spectral efficiency of the communication system adopting the FBMC. These desired merits of the FBMC come on the expense of higher implementation complexity. This paper aims to present a unified treatment of the theory of the FBMC alongside with the complexity considerations associated with the implementation of the FBMC system. A comparison between FBMC and CP-OFDM in terms of computational requirement is presented, and a comparison of performance based on LTE parameters is also presented and showed the FBMC capability to perform better without the need for CP using simple pilot based one-tap frequency domain channel estimation and equalization. It is also shown that for backward compatibility, a communication system can operate based on either CP-OFDM or FBMC by sharing the same IFFT/FFT and equalizer blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifth generation wireless communication intends to provide extensive improvement in energy efficiency of long-term evolution-advanced network. This feature can be accomplished by incorporating spatial multiplexing which involves base station antenna in large number known as massive multiple input multiple output system. The potential constraint of this system is pilot contamination which introduces interference instigated by reusing pilots from neighbor cells in a multicell system. The pilot contamination can be reduced by varying the length of pilot sequences. The conventional system known as regular pilot uses data and pilot symbols disjointly for transmission. The proposed system known as superimposed pilots overlays the pilot and data symbols for transmission. This superimposed pilot allows to use pilot symbols in an extended duration and in turn reduces the pilot contamination. To analyze the performance of both the pilots, precoding schemes like maximal ratio combing and zero forcing is used. To enhance the performance further antenna selection algorithm has been implemented along with the precoding scheme. This algorithm will choose the antennas with threshold level for maximization of energy efficiency. The simulation results will prove that superimposed pilot with antenna selection algorithm will archive high average rate and energy efficiency than the conventional random pilots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We conducted a feasibility study to investigate the use of ketogenic diets (KDs) as an adjuvant therapy for patients with glioblastoma (GBM), investigating (i) trial feasibility; (ii) potential impacts of the trial on patients' quality of life and health; (iii) patients' perspectives of their decision-making when invited to participate in the trial and (iv) recommending improvements to optimize future phase III trials. Methods: A single-center, prospective, randomized, pilot study (KEATING), with an embedded qualitative design. Twelve newly diagnosed patients with GBM were randomized 1:1 to modified ketogenic diet (MKD) or medium chain triglyceride ketogenic diet (MCTKD). Primary outcome was retention at three months. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of patients and caregivers (n = 15). Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative outcomes and qualitative data were analyzed thematically aided by NVivo. Results: KEATING achieved recruitment targets, but the recruitment rate was low (28.6%). Retention was poor; only four of 12 patients completed the three-month diet (MCTKD n = 3; MKD n = 1). Participants' decisions were intuitive and emotional; caregivers supported diet implementation and influenced the patients' decision to participate. Those who declined made a deliberative and considered decision factoring diet burden and quality of life. A three-month diet was undesirable to patients who declined and withdrew. Conclusion: Recruitment to a KD trial for patients with GBM is possible. A six-week intervention period is proposed for a phase III trial. The role of caregivers should not be underestimated. Future trials should optimize and adequately support the decision-making of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Toxicity related to calcium-channel blockers remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Amlodipine-induced shock is unique in that its mechanism of action is thought to occur in part via the release of nitric oxide (NO) in the peripheral vasculature. Specific therapeutic interventions, including methylene blue (an NO scavenger), have been suggested, but efficacy studies are severely limited. To facilitate a larger porcine study into the effect of various interventions on amlodipine toxicity, we undertook this model development and feasibility study. Methods: Intravenous amlodipine was prepared by dissolving commercially obtained amlodipine tablets in dimethylsulfoxide. The concentration of the drug was verified using ultraviolet spectroscopy. We administered this solution to three animals in order to determine a toxic dose, capable of facilitating a two-arm study of amlodipine toxicity. Results: The first pig died rapidly after the bolus infusion. The second pig developed mild toxicity, but the dissolution of the plastic tubing by the solvent and subsequent leakage limited the interpretability of the result. The third animal developed expected toxicity with an infusion rate between 2.0 and 5.5 mg/kg/h. Conclusion: This study demonstrates a potentially repeatable model of amlodipine-induced toxic shock using intravenous administration of amlodipine and several methodological considerations for researchers undertaking similar work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pilot-randomised controlled trial (RCT) examined the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on persistent pain patients and assessed the feasibility of conducting a definitive RCT. A brief (15 min) mindfulness body-scan audio was compared with an active control administered in a clinic and then used independently over 1 month. Immediate effects of the intervention were assessed with brief measures of pain severity, distraction and distress. Assessments at baseline, 1 week and 1 month included pain severity and interference, mood, pain-catastrophizing, mindfulness, self-efficacy, quality of life and intervention acceptability. Of 220 referred patients, 147 were randomised and 71 completed all assessments. There were no significant immediate intervention effects. There were significant positive effects for ratings of intervention 'usefulness' at 1 week (p = 0.044), and pain self-efficacy at 1 month (p = 0.039) for the MBI group compared with control. Evidently, it is feasible to recruit persistent pain patients to a brief MBI study. Strategies are needed to maximise retention of participants. Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN61538090. Registered 20 April 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polarized Instrument for Long-wavelength Observation of the Tenuous interstellar medium (PILOT) is a balloon-borne experiment that aims to measure the polarized emission of thermal dust at a wavelength of 240 µm (1.2 THz). A first PILOT flight of the experiment took place from Timmins, Ontario, Canada, in September 2015 and a second flight took place from Alice Springs, Australia in April 2017. In this paper, we present the inflight performance of the instrument. Here we concentrate on the instrument performance as measured during the second flight, but refer to the performance observed during the first flight, if it was significantly different. We present a short description of the instrument and the flights. We measure the time constants of the detectors using the decay of the observed signal during flight following high energy particle impacts (glitches) and switching off the instrument's internal calibration source. We use these time constants to deconvolve the timelines and analyze the optical quality of the instrument as measured on planets. We then analyze the structure and polarization of the instrumental background. We measure the detector response flat field and its time variations using the signal from the residual atmosphere and from the internal calibration source. Finally, we analyze the spectral and temporal properties of the detector noise. The inflight performance is found to be satisfactory and globally in line with expectations from ground calibrations. We conclude by assessing the expected inflight sensitivity of the instrument in light of the measured inflight performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the serious problems in the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system is the very high Doppler frequency effect since the LEO satellite system runs very fast to keep the orbit altitude. Especially, this problem produces the critical performance degradation when the broad bandwidth is necessary for the very high speed satellite transmission of the very high resolution image data. As the data speed is increased, the higher efficient communication technology will be required to transmit the high-capacity of data to the ground station. In the LEO satellite communication systems, very large Doppler influence is generated because of the very fast movement of satellite. This Doppler spectrum shift effect, similar to the carrier frequency offset effect, can cause performance degradation in the satellite communication system. Therefore, it is very important to effectively compensate for this Doppler frequency shift. So, in this paper, we analyze this Doppler effect of LEO satellite receiver and propose an efficient compensation system design against the Doppler frequency. Two compensation methods are proposed: pilot method and phase locked loop (PLL) method. As simulation results show, when the SNR is approximately 5 dB or less, the pilot method provides better performance, compared with the PLL method. When the SNR is approximately 6 dB or more, it can be confirmed that the PLL method outperforms than the pilot method, which is almost same to the theoretical performances. Furthermore, it can be said that the PLL method is very spectrum-efficient than the pilot method since it does not require any pilots. However, it is very difficult and expensive to design the accurate, agile, broadband operating PLL system to compensate the very wide range of Doppler frequency shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Smartphone-based interventions are a potentially effective way to minimize alcohol-related harm in young adult, non-dependent drinkers. This pilot study is the first to evaluate the benefits and feasibility of a personalized alcohol harm-minimization intervention delivered via smartphones. Methods: Within a single-blind, randomized controlled design, 45 young adults were randomly assigned to either the intervention app (n = 25; 18 females; Mage = 21.36 years, SDage = 4.15 years) or the control app (n = 20; 18 females; Mage = 22.75; SDage = 4.41). The two primary outcomes were frequency of risky drinking and drinking-related harms, and the secondary outcome was frequency of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) use. All outcomes were measured at baseline and immediately post-intervention. Using the Enlight framework [1], usability was evaluated via structured one-on-one phone interviews with a subgroup of six participants from the intervention group (3 females; Mage = 19.5 years, SDage = 1.64). Results: There was no significant reduction in the primary outcomes from baseline to post-intervention across the groups. For the secondary outcome, the application of PBS within drinking contexts increased at follow-up for those in the intervention group but not for control participants. End-users rated the app as highly usable but had some concerns with repetition of the app-recommended strategies. Conclusions: This intervention, designed to reduce risky drinking behaviors among young adults, was rated as highly usable and was shown to increase the application of harm minimization strategies within drinking contexts. While the intervention and its delivery show promise, it did not appear to mitigate risky drinking behaviors. Implications of this research and future directions are discussed. Trial Registration: This trial is registered at the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: BLINDED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training peer leaders (PLs) as implementation agents is a state-of-the-art approach in prevention, but the field lacks frameworks for providing support. Text messaging, a powerful tool for direct intervention, may be useful in this regard. We introduce a conceptual framework for engaging, retaining, and educating adolescent PLs and conduct a pilot test of this framework using text messages for delivery to middle school PLs in a new, peer-led substance use prevention program. Fifty eighth-graders were recruited as PLs. We used a newly-developed framework to create text messages to strengthen peer leaders': (a) mission, agency, and team identity; (b) connection to adult mentors; (c) content knowledge and application to their own lives; and (d) preparation for prevention activities. Thirty-four texts were sent to PLs over 4 months. PL replies and participation were recorded to track engagement. Forty-one PLs (71%) received texts and completed baseline and post-program surveys. Parents and school staff completed post-program questionnaires. Eighty-five percent of PLs responded to at least one text message. Response rates for specific messages varied from 22 to 56%. Students were most likely to reply to texts about preparation for their own prevention activities in the school. Ninety-five percent of PLs said they read messages even when they did not reply. Eighty-three percent of PLs said the messages helped them accomplish their mission. PLs reported that they wanted to receive messages in the future. PL attendance had very little variability in two of the three schools, but replies to texts were associated with better attendance in one school. Our study provides a framework for supporting adolescent peer leaders in a network intervention. Automated text messaging supporting middle school PLs was feasible, engaging, and well-received. Texting activity was associated with participation in school-based activities. Future priorities include systematically varying text support to determine its true effect on implementation and on involvement by less engaged PLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychological distress may hinder recovery following surgery. Studies examining the relationship between psychological distress and religiosity in the acute post-operative setting are lacking. The present study investigated this relationship, evaluated protocol design, and explored coping mechanisms. Psychological distress of surgical inpatients was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL). Religiosity was assessed using the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. Correlations were obtained using Minitab software. Qualitative analysis identified coping mechanisms. Of eligible inpatients, 13/54 were recruited. No significant correlation was found between religiosity and psychological distress. The RSCL had a strong correlation with HADS ( R = 0.82, p = 0.001). Assessment of distress was >2 min faster using RSCL compared to HADS. Relationships with pets, friends or family, and God emerged as the most common coping mechanism. Given study limitations, no conclusion was drawn regarding the relationship between religiosity and psychological distress. Weaknesses in study protocol were identified, and recommendations were outlined to facilitate the definitive study. This includes use of RSCL instead of HADS. Further study is warranted to explore how to strengthen relationships for inpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Polarized Instrument for Long-wavelength Observation of the Tenuous interstellar medium ( PILOT) is a balloon-borne astronomy experiment designed to study the linear polarization of thermal dust emission in two photometric bands centred at wavelengths 240 μm (1.2 THz) and 550 μm (545 GHz), with an angular resolution of a few arcminutes. Several end-to-end tests of the instrument were performed on the ground between 2012 and 2014, in order to prepare for the first scientific flight of the experiment that took place in September 2015 from Timmins, Ontario, Canada. This paper presents the results of those tests, focussing on an evaluation of the instrument's optical performance. We quantify image quality across the extent of the focal plane, and describe the tests that we conducted to determine the focal plane geometry, the optimal focus position, and sources of internal straylight. We present estimates of the detector response, obtained using an internal calibration source, and estimates of the background intensity and background polarization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical law is not new in medical literature and can constitute an imperative component in medical education. Some medical schools include medical law as a compulsory component of the curriculum. In line with curriculum re-structuring at the University of Malaya, medical law was integrated in the medical curriculum and the feasibility of this integration into the Year 1 undergraduate curriculum was evaluated. Following implementation of a 4-week medical law module, an evaluation of the suitability of early integration of this module was conducted using a ten-item, 4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) questionnaire. Two open-ended questions were also included to gauge insights of the integration. All items were scored 3 points or more from the students' responses ( n = 129). Using the open-ended questions, recommendations for future directions as well as constraints and issues related to the integration of medical law into teaching and learning was revealed. Overall, findings of the study indicated that integrating medical law into medical curriculum at an early stage was beneficial for the medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable sensors constitute an increasing market in providing various promising opportunities for improving and controlling safety issues for children in day care and schools. This paper presents the technological enablers and requirements for building a complete end-to-end energy-efficient safety system. Our work introduces a proof-of-concept for a wearable sensor vest with integrated wireless charging, designed to enhance the security of children. The wireless charging takes place in the ordinary repository for the vests, such as in a wardrobe or a coat rack, without requiring any specific actions from the user. The developed sensor vest provides information about the location and well-being of children, based on received signal strength indication, global positioning system, accelerometer, and temperature sensors. This paper also discusses the experiences of the 'safety service for children' school pilot, which utilized various sensors with end-to-end applications. Piloting and technological implementations are based on a participatory study conducted among children, teachers, and parents, to gain important knowledge and understanding about the real user needs and service system usability requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless communication systems are increasingly adopting orthogonal frequency division multiplexing to enable high data rate transmission. Such systems employ pilot symbols to estimate wireless channels. While pilot symbols facilitate channel acquisition, they consume part of bandwidth, which in turn reduces spectral efficiency. In this paper, a new pilot design method with virtual subcarriers is proposed. The pilots can be dynamic designed with the previous bit error rate (BER) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The BER sectioned is utilized as the performance metric for the optimization of the total number of pilots. And then the proposed scheme maximizes a simple function relevant to SNR strategy based on the allocation of pilot locations. So the dynamic pilot design will optimize the total number and locations jointly and offer the potential of enhancing data rate while maintaining the quality of service in time-varying wireless channels. Comparing with the conventional pilot design which is commonly used in many protocols, the proposed scheme is more robust to the channel state, which could make good trade-off between data transmission efficiency and channel estimate accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: S-1 chemotherapy is effective against advanced biliary tract cancer. The purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of S-1-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer. Methods: Patients with pathologically-proven advanced biliary tract cancer were eligible. S-1 was orally administered at a dose of 40 mg/m, twice daily from day 1 to 14 and from day 22 to 35; concurrent radiotherapy of 180-200 cGy per fraction was delivered in 25-28 fractions. After treatment completion, tumor response was evaluated by computed tomography. In the first stage of the optimal two-stage phase II design, 18 patients were required. Results: Twenty patients were enrolled between August 2006 and February 2009. The median age was 62.5 years (range 45-77 years). The median follow-up time was 11.6 months (range 1.9-49.1 months). Fifteen patients (75 %) had extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, two patients (10 %) had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and three patients (15 %) had gallbladder cancer. After treatment, a partial response was achieved in three patients (15 %), and stable disease was achieved in 14 patients (70 %). The overall response rate was 15 %, and the disease stabilization rate was 85 %. There was no grade 4 toxicity or treatment-related death. The common grade 3 toxicities were thrombocytopenia (15 %), neutropenia (10 %), and nausea (10 %). The median progression-free survival and median overall survival were 5.9 months (range 2.2-9.5 months) and 10.8 months (range 1.1-20.4 months), respectively. Conclusions: This study shows that S-1-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is feasible and tolerable in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer. It will be further confirmed in a following large-scale phase II study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Perfluorocarbon emulsions (PFC) and nitric oxide (NO) releasing agents have on experimental basis demonstrated therapeutic properties in treating and preventing the formation of venous gas embolism as well as increased survival rate during decompression sickness from diving. The effect is ascribed to an increased solubility and transport capacity of respiratory gases in the PFC emulsion and possibly enhanced nitrogen washout through NO-increased blood flow rate and/or the removal of endothelial micro bubble nuclei precursors. Previous reports have shown that metabolic gases (i.e., oxygen in particular) and water vapor contribute to bubble growth and stabilization during altitude exposures. Accordingly, we hypothesize that the administration of PFC and NO donors upon hypobaric pressure exposures either (1) enhance the bubble disappearance rate through faster desaturation of nitrogen, or in contrast (2) promote bubble growth and stabilization through an increased oxygen supply. Methods: In anesthetized rats, micro air bubbles (containing 79 % nitrogen) of 4-500 nl were injected into exposed abdominal adipose tissue. Rats were decompressed in 36 min to 25 kPa (~10,376 m above sea level) and bubbles studied for 210 min during continued oxygen breathing (FO = 1). Rats were administered PFC, NO, or combined PFC and NO. Results: In all groups, most bubbles grew transiently, followed by a stabilization phase. There were no differences in the overall bubble growth or decay between groups or when compared with previous data during oxygen breathing alone at 25 kPa. Conclusion: During extreme altitude exposures, the contribution of metabolic gases to bubble growth compromises the therapeutic effects of PFC and NO, but PFC and NO do not induce additional bubble growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-directed multimedia resources that provide psycho-educational information to selected populations have been supported in child health related areas including parenting skills in adults and literacy in children. Comparable programs for use with bereaved children and families have not been adequately developed or empirically examined. Examining usability and satisfaction with such materials is critical, especially when dealing with bereavement. Objective: This study evaluated the feasibility of the multimedia kit “Talk, Listen, Connect III: When Families Grieve™ (TLC III)” for use with caregivers and their parentally bereaved children (ages 2–16 years). Primary outcomes included the utilization and overall satisfaction with the TLC III kit and the kit’s impact on caregiver–child communication. Secondary outcomes, engagement, family coping, and caregiver and child grief also were examined. Participants: Ninety-three caregivers completed pre- and post-viewing questionnaires (59 in the TLC III group, 34 in the comparison group). Results: Caregiver’s who viewed the TLC III kit materials reported greater satisfaction with kit materials and greater impact on family coping with death than did caregivers who viewed the Ready kit. No significant differences were found with regard to pre- to post-test changes on any of the primary or secondary outcome measures after controlling for pretest scores. Conclusions: Multimedia programs should be considered as adjuncts or alternatives to traditional therapies and further evaluated for use with parental bereavement; particularly among inaccessible segments of the population. Future studies should consider innovative approaches to examining the effects of such programs on complex problems faced by children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A computationally efficient initial synchronization technique is introduced in cellular orthogonal frequency division multiplexing downlink systems, which includes symbol timing estimation, frequency offset estimation, frame synchronization, and cell search. Novel preamble and pilot structures are proposed and a simple three-step synchronization scheme is developed based on a variety of practical conditions such as low computational complexity, time-varying frequency selective fading, limited preamble length, low peak-to-average-power ratio, and noncoherent synchronization with no channel estimation. The proposed three-step synchronization is sequentially described as (1) joint timing and frequency synchronization, (2) frame synchronization and preamble pattern identification (ID), and (3) pilot group ID. Simulation results show that the proposed technique nicely works even at low signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of developing a novel strategy for identifying vulnerability for early sexual activity and adjustment problems, African American girls ( n = 39) completed partially structured scenarios in which female characters of similar age faced circumstances characterized by varying levels of risk. Most girls indicated that they believed the characters would have sex, regardless of their own sexual history or the level of risk in the scenario. However, the combination of girls' sexual history and girls' predictions of characters' behavior in the scenario provided more information regarding the girls at greatest risk for adjustment problems. Implicit techniques offer an additional strategy for identifying girls most vulnerable to adjustment difficulties in the context of early sexual activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cephalosporium acremonium has been widely applied in industrial cephalosporin C fermentation. However, little is known about the molecular basis of fermentation behavior of this strain. In this study, comparative lipidomic analysis using LC/ESI/MS technology was employed to investigate responses of Cephalosporium acremonium to multiple environment variations in realistic industrial cephalosporin C fermentation process and provide molecular basis for the discrepancies between industrial and pilot fermentations. Totally 77 phospholipids species were detected and 65 species were further quantified. Score plot revealed that phospholipids metabolism differed in industrial and pilot process. Loading pilot indicated that the main variables responsible for the discrimination of industrial and pilot process were phosphatidylinositols (PIs), phosphatidylserines (PSs) and phosphatic acids (PAs). Higher PIs content in industrial process indicated that cells were more vigorous in industrial process than those in pilot process. Larger increases of PSs, PAs and ratio of oleic acid to linoleic acid coincided well with the earlier and more thorough cellular morphological differentiation in industrial process. The synergetic reaction between cellular behavior and cells living environment led to titer discrepancies between industrial and pilot process. These findings provided lipidomic insights into industrial cephalosporin C production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Ireland, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, after prostate cancer, and the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, after breast cancer. By 2020, the number of new cases diagnosed annually in Ireland is projected to have increased by 79% in men and 56% in women. Organised screening for CRC is already underway or is in the process of being rolled out in several European countries, either at a regional or national level. The Adelaide and Meath Hospital/ Trinity College Dublin Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme (TTC-CRC-SP) is Ireland's first pilot population based bowel screening programme. Method: Based on a biennial test model the pilot aimed to assess the accuracy of FIT and to evaluate the whole programme based on established international key performance indices. Results: To date 9,993 individuals aged 50-74 years have been invited to participate in the TTC-CRC-SP with over 5,000 FIT's analysed. Overall uptake was 51% and FIT positivity was 10%. The programme has undertaken over 400 screening colonoscopies and detected 154 precancerous adenomas and 38 cancerous lesions. Conclusions: The first round of The Adelaide and Meath Hospital Tallaght/Trinity College Dublin Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme has been highly successful and confirmed that there is an advantage for FIT based two stage bowel cancer screening programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While the Grid promises to deliver a large number of computation nodes to a user, this computation power is not usable without the proper adaption of the application for the Grid. In this paper, we describe the methods used to port and execute a particular application, Wien2k, on the EGEE production Grid. First, the process of porting the application is described. Then, we investigate the measures necessary to execute the application in this production Grid environment efficiently. Although the focus is on this special application, we describe generic methods which can be applied to all applications. We specifically address: Creating a workflow from an application and mapping this workflow to a Grid workflow using the activity attraction pattern. We discuss workflow engines which support cycles in their application workflow. We investigate naïve and worker scheduling techniques. A short introduction into licensing on the Grid is given. Optimisation techniques such as deployment re-use are discussed. Different data transfer mechanisms, centralised data transfer, data re-use, storage element data transfer, and peer-to-peer data transfer are compared. The paper is concluded with suggestions for further workflow porting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently in the United States, women who have abortions face a societal culture in which disapproval, stigma, and misinformation about the risks and sequelae of abortion are common. The purpose of this study is to pilot test an intervention that introduces abortion patients to a “culture of support” by providing validating messages and information about groups and services that support women in their reproductive decisions, addressing stigma, and providing information to help women identify and avoid sources of abortion misinformation. Twenty-two women who completed their post-operative exam after abortion were enrolled to take part in the study intervention. In-depth interviews were conducted to explore patient experiences and responses to the intervention. All (22/22) participants responded that they believed that interventions like the one studied could help women avoid letting the judgmental actions and attitudes of others “get to them so much”. All (20/20) participants felt that the intervention was personally helpful to them. An intervention that introduces women having abortions to a “culture of support” was well-received. This study provides a framework for future research about the content, strength, and effect of societal and cultural influences on women having abortions and for additional research about interventions to promote resilience after abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tijdschrift voor Bedrijfs- En Verzekeringsgeneeskunde is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

Copyright of Bulletin of Engineering Geology & the Environment is the property of Springer Nature 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.)

OFDM (the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) and its variety DMT (the discrete multitone) as delegates of the multicarrier modulation technology have given a big impact on the conventional data communication applications. Based on the theoretic a analysis of the OFDM technology, the impact of phase noise that introduced by the bit and symbol timing mechanism is discussed. Then a pilot correction and the cyclic prefix protection method are put forwarded to deal with the problem. These methods have been used in our experimental OFDM cable modem system to cope with the impulse noise and narrow band interference in the HFC (hybrid fiber and coax) upstream channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of this pilot study was to assess the iron status and dietary intake of 1–3 year-old apparently healthy toddlers of the lower socio-economic class, and the effect of eight weeks intervention with liquid oral iron in an urban slum in Pune, India. 50 toddlers (M= 25, F= 25) with mean age of 2.4 years (SD 0.82) were evaluated. Anthropometry, Food Frequency Questionnaire, a hemogram and ferritin were measured. Twenty mg of elemental iron was given to all toddlers. After 8 weeks clinical examination, anthropometry, hemoglobin (HGB) and Ferritin were measured. Prevalence of anemia was 66% (HGB <11gm %) and ferritin (iron stores) were low (< 12 μgm/L) in 45 (90%). After therapy prevalence of anemia was 30%. There was a significant difference in the HGB and ferritin levels of children after eight weeks of therapy (p<0.001). The prevalence of anemia decreased from 66 to 30% after treatment with liquid iron. We propose that all concerned in the care of toddlers should join the fight against anemia and prescribe iron to all toddlers when they are seen for minor ailments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparison in the heart rate, oral temperature and lymphocyte DNA damage during heat stress was made in pilots with negative antibodies to heat stress proteins (HSPs) and those with positive antibodies in the man-made climate room with Western blot and comet assay. Our results showed that the increase in oral temperature, heart rate and lymphocyte DNA damage in pilots with the positive antibodies to HSPs were higher than those in pilots with the negative antibodies during heat stress. These results indicated that the presence of autoantibodies in plasma of pilots might reflect heat damage and high sensitivity to heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thallium (Tl) in industrial wastewater is a public health concern due to its extremely high toxicity. However, there has been limited research regarding Tl removal techniques and engineering practices to date. In this investigation, bench and pilot studies on advanced treatment of industrial wastewater to remove Tl to a trace level were conducted. The treatment process involved a combination of hydroxide precipitation, Fenton oxidation, and sulfide precipitation. While hydroxide precipitation was ineffective for Tl+ removal, it enabled the recovery of approximately 70%–80% of Zn as Zn hydroxide in alkaline conditions. The Fenton process provided good Tl removal (>95%) through oxidation and precipitation. Tl was then removed to trace levels (< 1.0 µg/L) via sulfide precipitation. Effective removal of other heavy metals was also achieved, with Cd< 13.4 µg/L, Cu< 39.6 µg/L, Pb< 5.32 µg/L, and Zn< 357 µg/L detected in the effluent. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that Tl2S precipitate formed due to sulfide precipitation. Other heavy metals were removed via the formation of metal hydroxides during hydroxide precipitation and Fenton treatment, as well as via the formation of metal sulfides during sulfide precipitation. This combined process provides a scalable approach for the in-depth removal of Tl and other heavy metals from industrial wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]