Physiotherapists' perspectives on barriers to implementation of direct access of physiotherapy services in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional study.

BackgroundThere are two primary ways of accessing physiotherapy for service users around the world. The direct access, as opposed to the indirect access which requires a referral from a general physician, has several merits including better quality, timeliness, cost effectiveness of treatment and better probability of preventing acute conditions from turning into chronic ailments. Despite these benefits, several countries including the UAE, do not allow direct access to physiotherapists. This study aims to understand the level of awareness among practicing physiotherapists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about direct access and to determine whether any of their demographic variables influence the way they perceive the concept. Further, the study sought to explore the perceived barriers and benefits of direct access according to the participating physiotherapists.Subjects and methodsAn observational cross-sectional study was employed. The questionnaire survey developed by Bury and Stokes in 2013 was adapted and employed in this study. The instrument had six sections with close-ended items using a Likert five-point scale to rate them. Two hundred and sixty-four physiotherapists answered the questionnaire shared with them through a web link. Finally, MANOVA was employed to explore any influence of demographic variables on the opinions of the respondents.ResultsThe findings showed that 70% of participants were aware about direct access while nearly 30% were completely unaware. Younger physiotherapists were more willing to endorse the practice whereas older ones were more apprehensive of the barriers. The main barriers reported were the limited support from the physicians and policy makers, professional autonomy, and the limited scope of practice for the physiotherapists, as well as evidence-based practice. The impact of demographic variables on direct access indicated that physiotherapists under the age of 23 endorsed direct access more strongly than other age groups.ConclusionMore efforts are needed to implement direct access in the UAE, considering the benefits of improved professional status, cost savings, patient satisfaction, and higher efficiency. This study recommends leadership support, professional autonomy, and mentorship as possible ways to achieve this goal

On MMSE methods for blind identification of OFDM-based SIMO systems

This paper considers the problem of channel identification in OFDM-based SIMO systems. In this contribution, we focus on minimum mean square error (MMSE) algorithm, which exploits the system structure and offers superior estimation performance. Simulation results are provided to illustrate this claim and to assess the performance of the proposed algorithms. © 2009 IEEE

Effect of seed size on germination in three species from arid Arabian deserts

In many species, seeds with different sizes show diverse responses in their requirements for temperature and light for optimal germination. In this study, the effect of seed size (i.e., small and large) on germination was tested in seeds of Brassica tournefortii Gouan, Lotus garcinii DC., and Salvadora persica L. from arid Arabian Desert habitats. The mean seed size of all three study species differs significantly between small and large-sized seeds. Differences were observed in seed germination between large and small seeds of B. tournefortii and L. garcinii. We found that the large seeds of B. tournefortii and L. garcinii showed a higher germination percentage at all tested temperatures than that displayed by the small seeds. However, both small and large seeds of S. persica germinated equally (100%) well under all tested incubation conditions. Our results show significant differences in germination percentage between the small and large seeds of B. tournefortii at 25/35°C under a 12 h light regime. However, seeds of L. garcinii showed a significant difference in germination percentage at low temperatures (15/25°C) under a 12 h light regime.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Blind channel identification for OFDM-based SIMO systems

We introduce blind channel identification and equalization for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system using a guard interval (GI). To perform channel identification, Subspace-based methods are proposed. To achieve enhanced performance and robustness to channel frequency nulls, receiver diversity and OFDM is combined. The performance of the proposed system is illustrated by computer simulations. ©2008 IEEE

Tuning the activity of Cu-containing rare earth oxide catalysts for CO oxidation reaction: Cooling while heating paradigm in microwave-assisted synthesis

(Ce-La-xCu)O2 catalysts with low (3 at.%) and high (10 at.%) Cu content were prepared by conventional microwave (MW) and enhanced microwave methods where air cooling (AC), while heating, was applied. The catalysts were tested for the CO oxidation reaction in the 25–500 °C range using 4%CO/20%O2/He feed gas. Varying spectroscopic, microscopic and catalytic studies were used to probe the effect of synthesis on the nanostructure and the CO oxidation performance. It was found that the synthesis method adopted impacts on the extent of the Cu doping into the (Ce-La)O2 fluorite lattice, hence leading to one and two phases system in the case of catalyst prepared through enhanced (AC) and conventional (MW) microwave methods, respectively. Furthermore, only Ce4+ species were found on the surface of the (Ce-La-10Cu)O2 catalysts synthesized using MW and AC (XPS studies), whereas oxygen vacant sites which are associated with Ce3+ ions were indicated in the sub-surface/bulk (Raman studies). Ultimately, the catalysts with the low and high Cu loading, prepared under the AC-promoted microwave method, presented a superior performance against CO oxidation, exhibiting an overall improvement of the catalytic activity by 16% and 32%, respectively.KP wouldlike to acknowledge the financial support from Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) through the ADEC 2015 Award for Research Excellence (ADEC B3111 ). KP thanks Khalifa University Core Nanocharacterization Facilities and acknowledges KU and CNCF staff support. AFZ and ASA acknowledges the support of the grant number NPRP 8-1912-1-354 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The microscopy works have been conducted in the �Laboratorio de Microscopias Avanzadas� at �Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragon - Universidad de Zaragoza�. VS acknowledges the LMA-INA for offering access to their instruments and expertise. CIBER-BBN is an initiative funded by the VI National R&D&i Plan 2008-2011 financed by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III with assistance from the European Regional Development Fund .Scopu

First light of Sharjah-Sat-1: potential targets and early science

Sharjah-Sat-1 is a 3U+ CubeSat developed as a collaborative research project between the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST), University of Sharjah (UoS), Istanbul Technical University (ITU), and Sabanci University (SU). Sharjah-Sat-1 was launched on January 3, 2023, equipped with a dual payload onboard: (i) an improved X-ray Detector (iXRD) and (ii) a system of two optical cameras. Its primary scientific mission is to study bright, hard X-ray sources in our Galaxy and solar coronal holes. The primary science payload onboard is the iXRD (improved X-ray Detector developed by Sabanci University) with CdZnTe-based crystal as the active material and a Tungsten collimator with a field of view of 4 degrees. The energy coverage ranges from 20 keV to 200 keV, with a spectral resolution of 6 keV @ 60 keV. Sharjah-Sat-1 is currently in the commissioning phase, and we anticipate early observation in the next few weeks. Its main science goal is to observe the brightest galactic hard X-ray sources, transient and persistent. Black hole candidates and pulsars emit radiation up to a few 100 keVs, making them potential targets. Long observations of bright Black Hole Candidates will allow observing spectral transition (hard/soft) and studying their variability. Besides, solar observations will be conducted to study hard X-ray spectra of flares and coronal holes. Other targets of opportunity are transient bright events, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRB). While the detector's effective area is only 6.5 cm2, it is expected to reach a sensitivity of around 60 mCrab in a single day in the 20 keV to 100 keV band, assuming 600s exposure for each orbit. However, further in-flight calibrations are needed. By the time of the conference, we anticipate having and presenting the first high-level products (i.e., spectra and lightcurves) of the brightest X-ray galactic sources (e.g., Cyg X-1, Sco X-1, etc.) observed by Sharjah-Sat-1

Tuning the activity of Cu-containing rare earth oxide catalysts for CO oxidation reaction: Cooling while heating paradigm in microwave-assisted synthesis

(Ce-La-xCu)O2 catalysts with low (3 at.%) and high (10 at.%) Cu content were prepared by conventional microwave (MW) and enhanced microwave methods where air cooling (AC), while heating, was applied. The catalysts were tested for the CO oxidation reaction in the 25–500 °C range using 4%CO/20%O2/He feed gas. Varying spectroscopic, microscopic and catalytic studies were used to probe the effect of synthesis on the nanostructure and the CO oxidation performance. It was found that the synthesis method adopted impacts on the extent of the Cu doping into the (Ce-La)O2 fluorite lattice, hence leading to one and two phases system in the case of catalyst prepared through enhanced (AC) and conventional (MW) microwave methods, respectively. Furthermore, only Ce4+ species were found on the surface of the (Ce-La-10Cu)O2 catalysts synthesized using MW and AC (XPS studies), whereas oxygen vacant sites which are associated with Ce3+ ions were indicated in the sub-surface/bulk (Raman studies). Ultimately, the catalysts with the low and high Cu loading, prepared under the AC-promoted microwave method, presented a superior performance against CO oxidation, exhibiting an overall improvement of the catalytic activity by 16% and 32%, respectively

Sharjah-Sat-3: A Low-Cost 6U CubeSat for Space Weather Applications

International audienc

SolSat: A Low-Cost 3-U CubeSat System for Space Weather applications

International audienc