An efficient coding system for deep space probes with specific application to Pioneer missions

One-half rate convolutional encoding with sequential decoding for deep space probe telemetry links with application to Pioneer mission

A four-week home-based exercise programme is effective in treating subacute low back pain in adults

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition affecting a large portion of the population worldwide and it is one of the leading causes of morbidity and work absenteeism.Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of a four-week, home-based exercise programme in treating subacute LBP in adults.Methods: A quantitative experimental research design was used. Twenty male and female adults (between 18 and 65 years) with subacute LBP were recruited by means of advertisements and word of mouth and allocated into either a control group (CG) or a home-based exercise group (HG). Both groups underwent a pre-test that consisted of answering two questionnaires, the Visual Analogue Scale for Pain (VASP) and the Oswestry Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire. The CG received no intervention over the fourweek intervention period, while the intervention group (HG) was given an exercise programme and instructed to perform the exercises at home, three times a week for four weeks. After four weeks (post-test), the two questionnaires were repeated. After eight weeks (the follow-up test) both groups again completed the two questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, nonparametric inferential statistics and Cohen’s effect size (d) were used to analyse the data and statistical significance was set at a confidence level of 95% (p≤0.05).Results: Following the home-based exercise intervention there were significant improvements observed in low back pain and function for the HG. The HG’s Oswestry scores improved significantly (p=0.005) and their VASP also showed a significant improvement (p=0.011). Significant improvements also occurred between the pre-test and fourweek follow-up for the HG’s Oswestry score (p=0.021) and for the HG’s VASP (p=0.005). No significant improvement was found for the CG between pretest and post-test or between pretest and the four-week follow-up. Large effect sizes (d>0.8) were also observed for the HG between the pretest and the post-test (d=1.6), as well as between the HG and the CG at post-test (d=1.5) and at the four-week follow-up (d=1.6).Conclusion: The exercise intervention resulted in statistically significant and clinically significant improvements in both function and pain in adults with subacute LBP.Keywords: musculoskeletal rehabilitation, spine, function, movemen

A four-week home-based exercise programme is effective in treating subacute low back pain in adults

Abstract: Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent condition affecting a large portion of the population worldwide and it is one of the leading causes of morbidity and work absenteeism. Objectives: To investigate the effectiveness of a four-week, home-based exercise programme in treating subacute LBP in adults..

Public safety officer emotional health: addressing the silent killer

This article focuses on the accumulation of stress and adversity that public safety officer’s experience when carrying out their respective duties. We focus on providing strategies to help officers reduce the impact of danger, adversity, trauma, stress and confronting abnormal situations that may have a deleterious effect on the officer’s health and well-being

Global Experimental Effects of Country of Origin and Product Type on the Structural Parameters of a Purchase Intentions Model.

An empirical assessment of the overall effects of country of origin and product type on the structural parameters of a purchase intentions model is undertaken. First, it is theorized that (1) product involvement, (2) perceived risk, (3) psychic distance, (4) perceived product quality, and (5) national character will directly or indirectly affect purchase intentions of imported goods. These constructs form the operational framework for purchase intentions of foreign-made products, which is presented in the form of a structural equation model. Secondly, it is proposed that country of origin and product type may be viewed as global experimental variables, thereby having a global experimental effect on the parameters of the proposed model. Furthermore, it is posited that the global experimental effect may differ with different levels of the global experimental variables. In order to address this issue, two products: shoes and winter jackets, and three countries: China, Germany, and India, are employed in the research design as specific experimental variables. Covariance structural modeling is utilized to test the proposed model under the six specific experimental conditions. In order to analyze the data, a multi-sample procedure, using LISREL VII (Joreskog and Sorbom 1989), was employed

Merging clusters of galaxies observed with XMM-Newton

We present results from the XMM-Newton observations of our ongoing program on merging clusters. To date three clusters have been observed, covering the temporal sequence from early to late stage mergers: A1750, A2065 and A3921. Using spatially-resolved spectroscopy of discrete regions, hardness ratio and temperature maps, we show that all three clusters display a complex temperature structure. In the case of A1750, a double cluster, we argue that the observed temperature structure is not only related to the ongoing merger but also to previous merger events. A2065 seems an excellent example of a `compact merger', i.e. when the centres of the two clusters have just started to interact, producing a shock in the ICM. Using comparisons with numerical simulations and complementary optical data, the highly complex temperature structure evident in A3921 is interpreted as an off-axis merger between two unequal mass components. These results illustrate the complex physics of merger events. The relaxation time can be larger than the typical time between merger events, so that the present day morphology of clusters depends not only on on-going interaction but also on the more ancient formation history.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Use elsart.cls. Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research. A version with full resolution figures can be found at http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/elena/cospar_3clusters.pd

Discovery of complex narrow X-ray absorption features from the low-mass X-ray binary GX13+1 with XMM-Newton

We report the detection of a complex of narrow X-ray absorption features from the low-mass X-ray binary GX13+1 during 3 XMM-Newton observations in 2000 March and April. The features are consistent with being due to resonant scattering of the K_alpha and K_beta lines of He- and H-like iron (Fe xxv and Fe xxvi) and H-like calcium (Ca xx) K_alpha. Only the Fe xxvi K_alpha line has been previously observed from GX13+1. Due to the closeness in energy the Fe xxv and Fe xxvi K_beta features may also be ascribed to Nixxvii and Nixxviii K_alpha, respectively. We also find evidence for the presence of a deep (tau~0.2) Fe xxv absorption edge at 8.83 keV. The equivalent widths of the lines do not show any obvious variation on a timescale of a few days suggesting that the absorbing material is a stable feature of the system and present during a range of orbital phases

Neural Correlates of Fear in the Periaqueductal Gray

International audienceThe dorsal and ventral periaqueductal gray (dPAG and vPAG, respectively) are embedded in distinct survival networks that coordinate, respectively, innate and conditioned fear-evoked freezing. However, the information encoded by the PAG during these survival behaviors is poorly understood. Recordings in the dPAG and vPAG in rats revealed differences in neuronal activity associated with the two behaviors. During innate fear, neuronal responses were significantly greater in the dPAG compared with the vPAG. After associative fear conditioning and during early extinction (EE), when freezing was maximal, a field potential was evoked in the PAG by the auditory fear conditioned stimulus (CS). With repeated presentations of the unreinforced CS, animals displayed progressively less freezing accompanied by a reduction in event-related field potential amplitude. During EE, the majority of dPAG and vPAG units increased their firing frequency, but spike-triggered averaging showed that only ventral activity during the presentation of the CS was significantly coupled to EMG-related freezing behavior. This PAG–EMG coupling was only present for the onset of freezing activity during the CS in EE. During late extinction, a subpopulation of units in the dPAG and vPAG continued to show CS-evoked responses; that is, they were extinction resistant. Overall, these findings support roles for the dPAG in innate and conditioned fear and for the vPAG in initiating but not maintaining the drive to muscles to generate conditioned freezing. The existence of extinction-susceptible and extinction-resistant cells also suggests that the PAG plays a role in encoding fear memories

The global impact of COVID-19 on solid organ transplantation: two years into a pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a major global impact on solid organ transplantation (SOT). An estimated 16% global reduction in transplant activity occurred over the course of 2020, most markedly impacting kidney transplant and living donor programs, resulting in substantial knock-on effects for waitlisted patients. The increased severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection risk and excess deaths in transplant candidates has resulted in substantial effort to prioritize the safe restart and continuation of transplant programs over the second year of the pandemic, with transplant rates returning towards prepandemic levels. Over the past 2 y, COVID-19 mortality in SOT recipients has fallen from 20%–25% to 8%–10%, attributed to the increased and early availability of SARS-CoV-2 testing, adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions, development of novel treatments, and vaccination. Despite these positive steps, transplant programs and SOT recipients continue to face challenges. Vaccine efficacy in SOT recipients is substantially lower than the general population and SOT recipients remain at an increased risk of adverse outcomes if they develop COVID-19. SOT recipients and transplant teams need to remain vigilant and ongoing adherence to nonpharmaceutical interventions appears essential. In this review, we summarize the global impact of COVID-19 on transplant activity, donor evaluation, and patient outcomes over the past 2 y, discuss the current strategies aimed at preventing and treating SARS-CoV-2 infection in SOT recipients, and based on lessons learnt from this pandemic, propose steps the transplant community could consider as preparation for future pandemics