129 research outputs found

    A Novel PAPR Reduction in Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC) with Offset Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (OQAM) Based VLC Systems

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    The peak to average power ratio (PAPR) is one of the major problem with multicarrier-based systems. Due to its improved spectral efficiency and decreased PAPR, Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) has recently become an effective alternative to the orthogonal multiplexing division (OFDM). For filter bank multicarrier communication/offset quadrature amplitude modulation-Visible light communication (FBMC/OQAM-VLC) systems is proposed a PAPR reduction technique. The suggested approach overlaps the proposed FBMC/OQAM-based VLC data signal with the existing signals. Non-redundant signals and data signals do not overlap in the frequency domain because data signals are scattered on odd subcarriers whereas built signals use even subcarriers. To reduce the effects of large-amplitude signal reduction, the suggested technique converts negative signals into positive signals rather than clipping them off as in conventional FBMC-based VLC systems. The PAPR reduction and bit error rate (BER) are realized using a scaling factor in the transformed signals. Complementary cumulative distribution function(CCDF) and BER are used to calculate the performance of the proposed approach. The presented study found that FBMC/OQAM-VLC systems to achieve a good trade-off between PAPR reduction and BER

    Successful tips to apply regarding telehealth occupational therapy: START OT

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    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most occupational therapists used telehealth technology to provide services, and many continue to do so. From a parent’s perspective, sitting with their child in front of the computer or any electronic device can be challenging. The lack of support and direction for parents/guardians/care partners of children with disabilities during telehealth occupational therapy (OT) sessions can create feelings of frustration and a sense of loss of control. These individuals may lack experience with hands-on therapeutic techniques or the education and training necessary to assist their child in successfully engaging in telehealth OT sessions. Successful Tips to Apply Regarding Telehealth Occupational Therapy (START OT) is an educational resource manual targeted toward increasing a parent/guardian/care partner’s confidence, competence, and perceived self-efficacy to work collaboratively with their child in the home environment. Some concepts that will be included in the START OT manual are telehealth orientation, suggestions on ways to set up the home environment with visual graphics, ideas on using household objects and furniture for fine and gross motor activities, and sensory strategies to improve attention and engagement

    How Does the Next Generation of Pacific Diaspora From Blended Backgrounds Construct and Maintain Their Identities Through the Spaces They Inhabit?

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    How does the next generation of Pacific diaspora from ‘blended backgrounds’ construct and maintain their identities through the spaces they inhabit? The aim of this research is to highlight the importance of space in relation to identity for Pacific diasporic communities in Auckland, specifically looking at the identities of blended backgrounds of ethnicity, culture and race. It examines possible ways of thinking about the Pacific concept of vā (between-ness, non-empty and relational space; see Wendt, 1996) to create possibilities of space. Aspects that will be further pursued in the thesis, within the broad concept of vā, are: Lala-Vā; stirring the vā (Refiti, 2008b), qualities of relational space (Wendt, 1996), location and diaspora, and Pacific traditions, knowledges and cultures. Studio methods will utilise various approaches to photographic documentation, experimental approaches, and collaborative practices from the participant interviews. The collaborative practice is informed by the research methods, which include talanoa (oral communication), thus allowing me to draw on different knowledge systems and concepts, and design and make reference to Pacific traditions, knowledges, and cultures. Further to this investigation, I will design an intervention for the community in order to display and create spaces of blended identity and multiculturalism. The relational space created in this proposed project is aimed at all cultures, religions and members in the community; it will be a space for those who may feel disconnected from their own Pacific identity in the diaspora. In this project, I will align myself with standpoint epistemologies, which emphasise the diversity and situatedness of knowledges. Indeed, Gegeo & Watson-Gegeo (2001) hold that any knowing is always a knowing from a certain perspective, and that this perspective needs to be made explicit. The term ‘blended backgrounds’ I refer to in my research is significant, because it will be an increasingly common background to the next generation of Pacific diasporic youth. In the past, diaspora meant leaving the homeland forever; it has gone from being associated specifically with the Jewish community to being a term used to describe dispersed communities within a period of migration. Diaspora is an interesting concept because of the evolution of identity for Pacific peoples in the Aotearoa/New Zealand context, especially against the backdrop of ongoing links to the ‘homeland’, which is often reflected in one’s ‘space’. The growth of these Pacific communities in New Zealand over coming decades means that the politics of place and identity will become more significant, and will add to the complexity of culturally diverse societies in a globalised world. This thesis will also focus on deconstructing the between-ness of space at the intersection of design, blended identity and diaspora

    Organisational citizenship behaviour and employee engagement in IT employees

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     The study focuses on understanding the association between organisational citizenship behaviour and employee engagement in the IT industry. Employee engagement is studied with two dimensions namely job engagement and organisational engagement. Convenience sampling method is used to collect data from 62 employees. Multiple linear regression is used to analyse the data. The results prove that both job engagement and organisational engagement are significant positive predictors of above citizenship behaviour. Suggestions for incorporating employee engagement activities in the workplace is provided for HR managers

    Alcoholic vs non-alcoholic fatty liver in rats: distinct differences in endocytosis and vesicle trafficking despite similar pathology

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    Background: Non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD and AFLD, respectively) are major health problems, as patients with either condition can progress to hepatitis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Although histologically similar, key differences likely exist in these two models. For example, altered content of several vesicle trafficking proteins have been identified in AFLD, but their content in NAFLD is unknown. In this study, we compared select parameters in NAFLD and AFLD in a rat model. Methods: We fed either Lieber- DeCarli liquid control or alcohol-containing (35 % as calories) diet (AFLD model) or lean or high-fat (12 or 60 % derived from fat, respectively) pellets (NAFLD model) for 8–10 weeks, n = 8 in each model. Serum, hepatocytes and liver tissue were analyzed. Liver injury markers were measured in serum, triglyceride content and endocytosis (binding and internalization of 125I- asialoorosomucoid) was measured in isolated hepatocytes, and content of selected trafficking proteins (Rab3D, Rab7 and Rab18) were determined in whole liver tissue. Results: Although liver injury markers and triglyceride content were similar in both models, binding and internalization of 125I- asialoorosomucoid was significantly impaired in the hepatocytes from AFLD, but not NAFLD, animals. In addition, protein content of the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) and three trafficking proteins, Rab3D, Rab7and Rab18, were significantly decreased after alcohol, but not high-fat feeding. Levels of protein carbonylation, amount of glutathione stores, and lipid peroxidation were similar irrespective of the insult to the livers that resulted in fatty liver. Conclusion: Impairments in protein trafficking in AFLD are likely a direct result of alcohol administration, and not a function of fatty liver

    Role of apoptotic hepatocytes in HCV dissemination: regulation by acetaldehyde

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    Alcohol consumption exacerbates hepatitis C virus (HCV) pathogenesis and promotes disease progression, although the mechanisms are not quite clear. We have previously observed that acetaldehyde (Ach) continuously produced by the acetaldehyde-generating system (AGS), temporarily enhanced HCV RNA levels, followed by a decrease to normal or lower levels, which corresponded to apoptosis induction. Here, we studied whether Ach-induced apoptosis caused depletion of HCV-infected cells and what role apoptotic bodies (AB) play in HCV-alcohol crosstalk. In liver cells exposed to AGS, we observed the induction of miR-122 and miR-34a. As miR-34a has been associated with apoptotic signaling and miR-122 with HCV replication, these findings may suggest that cells with intensive viral replication undergo apoptosis. Furthermore, when AGS-induced apoptosis was blocked by a pan-caspase inhibitor, the expression of HCV RNA was not changed. AB from HCV-infected cells contained HCV core protein and the assembled HCV particle that infect intact hepatocytes, thereby promoting the spread of infection. In addition, AB are captured by macrophages to switch their cytokine profile to the proinflammatory one. Macrophages exposed to HCV+ AB expressed more IL-1ÎČ, IL-18, IL-6, and IL-10 mRNAs compared with those exposed to HCV-AB. The generation of AB from AGS-treated HCV-infected cells even enhanced the induction of aforementioned cytokines. We conclude that HCV and alcohol metabolites trigger the formation of AB containing HCV particles. The consequent spread of HCV to neighboring hepatocytes via infected AB, as well as the induction of liver inflammation by AB-mediated macrophage activation potentially exacerbate the HCV infection course by alcohol and worsen disease progression

    A Thalamocortical Neural Mass Model of the EEG during NREM Sleep and Its Response to Auditory Stimulation

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    Few models exist that accurately reproduce the complex rhythms of the thalamocortical system that are apparent in measured scalp EEG and at the same time, are suitable for large-scale simulations of brain activity. Here, we present a neural mass model of the thalamocortical system during natural non-REM sleep, which is able to generate fast sleep spindles (12–15 Hz), slow oscillations (<1 Hz) and K-complexes, as well as their distinct temporal relations, and response to auditory stimuli. We show that with the inclusion of detailed calcium currents, the thalamic neural mass model is able to generate different firing modes, and validate the model with EEG-data from a recent sleep study in humans, where closed-loop auditory stimulation was applied. The model output relates directly to the EEG, which makes it a useful basis to develop new stimulation protocols

    Meta-analysis of shared genetic architecture across ten pediatric autoimmune diseases

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    Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of susceptibility genes, including shared associations across clinically distinct autoimmune diseases. We performed an inverse χ(2) meta-analysis across ten pediatric-age-of-onset autoimmune diseases (pAIDs) in a case-control study including more than 6,035 cases and 10,718 shared population-based controls. We identified 27 genome-wide significant loci associated with one or more pAIDs, mapping to in silico-replicated autoimmune-associated genes (including IL2RA) and new candidate loci with established immunoregulatory functions such as ADGRL2, TENM3, ANKRD30A, ADCY7 and CD40LG. The pAID-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were functionally enriched for deoxyribonuclease (DNase)-hypersensitivity sites, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), microRNA (miRNA)-binding sites and coding variants. We also identified biologically correlated, pAID-associated candidate gene sets on the basis of immune cell expression profiling and found evidence of genetic sharing. Network and protein-interaction analyses demonstrated converging roles for the signaling pathways of type 1, 2 and 17 helper T cells (TH1, TH2 and TH17), JAK-STAT, interferon and interleukin in multiple autoimmune diseases
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