Developing institutional capacity for reproductive health in humanitarian settings: A descriptive study

© 2015 Tran et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Introduction. Institutions play a central role in advancing the field of reproductive health in humanitarian settings (RHHS), yet little is known about organizational capacity to deliver RHHS and how this has developed over the past decade. This study aimed to document the current institutional experiences and capacities related to RHHS. Materials and Methods. Descriptive study using an online questionnaire tool. Results. Respondents represented 82 institutions from 48 countries, of which two-thirds originated from low-and middle-income countries. RHHS work was found not to be restricted to humanitarian agencies (25%), but was also embraced by development organizations (25%) and institutions with dual humanitarian and development mandates (50%). Agencies reported working with refugees (81%), internally-displaced (87%) and stateless persons (20%), in camp-based settings (78%), and in urban (83%) and rural settings (78%). Sixtyeight percent of represented institutions indicated having an RHHS-related policy, 79% an accountability mechanism including humanitarian work, and 90% formal partnerships with other institutions. Seventy-three percent reported routinely appointing RH focal points to ensure coordination of RHHS implementation. There was reported progress in RHHSrelated disaster risk reduction (DRR), emergency management and coordination, delivery of the Minimum Initial Services Package (MISP) for RH, comprehensive RH services in post-crisis/recovery situations, gender mainstreaming, and community-based programming. Other reported institutional areas of work included capacity development, program delivery, advocacy/policy work, followed by research and donor activities. Except for abortion-related services, respondents cited improved efforts in advocacy, capacity development and technical support in their institutions for RHHS to address clinical services, including maternal and newborn health, sexual violence prevention and response, HIV prevention, management of sexually-transmitted infections, adolescent RH, and family planning. Approximately half of participants reported that their institutions had experienced an increase in dedicated budget and staff for RHHS, a fifth no change, and 1 in 10 a decrease. The Interagency RH Kits were reportedly the most commonly used supplies to support RHHS implementation. Conclusion. The results suggest overall growth in institutional capacity in RHHS over the past decade, indicating that the field has matured and expanded from crisis response to include RHHS into DRR and other elements of the emergency management cycle. It is critical to consolidate the progress to date, address gaps, and sustain momentum

Interference management techniques for non-terrestrial networks in 5G/6G systems"

Non-Terrestrial Network can be defined as communication systems that use air-/space-borne platforms to establish communication links among various points on Earth’s surface. In the context of (5G), NTN aims at the use of NTN platforms to enhance the flexibility, adaptability and the resilience of 5G Terrestrial Network system as well as to extend its coverage and provide connectivity to rural and underserved/un-served areas. In 6G, NTN is expected to play an even more pivotal role, potentially forming a significant part of the global communication infrastructure. The unification of TN and NTN in 6G is envisioned to enable global coverage, low-latency communication, and support for massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. This unification will require advances in satellite and aerial communication technologies, as well as seamless integration with terrestrial networks to ensure ubiquitous and reliable connectivity. Furthermore, the use of NTN in 6G is expected to bring about new challenges in terms of network architecture and spectrum management. The scarcity of spectrum resources to meet the demanding requirements of future Beyond 5G (B5G)/6G communication systems is considered one of the main challenges. To this aim, the current state of the art considers several strategies aimed at efficient utilization of the available spectrum bandwidth through either dynamic spectrum utilization schemes, such as Cognitive Radio solutions, or by fully exploiting the spectrum by decreasing the frequency reuse factor down to Full Frequency Reuse. However, the latter solution introduces substantial Co-Channel Interference or also known as Inter-Beam Interference, thus calling for the use of advanced interference management techniques at the transmitter side, i.e, at the satellite. This issue is addressed throughout the thesis by introducing interference management schemes and solutions by evaluation MIMO beamforming algorithms

Evaluation of MU-MIMO Digital Beamforming Algorithms in B5G/6G LEO Satellite Systems

Satellite Communication (SatCom) systems will be a key component of 5G and 6G networks to achieve the goal of providing unlimited and ubiquitous communications and deploying smart and sustainable networks. To meet the ever-increasing demand for higher throughput in 5G and beyond, aggressive frequency reuse schemes (i.e., full frequency reuse), combined with digital beamforming techniques to cope with the massive co-channel interference, are recognized as a key solution. Aimed at (i) eliminating the joint optimization problem among the beamforming vectors of all users, (ii) splitting it into distinct ones, and (iii) finding a closed-form solution, we propose a beamforming algorithm based on maximizing the users' Signal-to-Leakage-and-Noise Ratio (SLNR) served by a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. We investigate and assess the performance of several beamforming algorithms, including both those based on Channel State Information (CSI) at the transmitter, i.e., Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) and Zero-Forcing (ZF), and those only requiring the users' locations, i.e., Switchable Multi-Beam (MB). Through a detailed numerical analysis, we provide a thorough comparison of the performance in terms of per-user achievable spectral efficiency of the aforementioned beamforming schemes, and we show that the proposed SLNR beamforming technique is able to outperform both MMSE and ZF schemes in the presented SatCom scenario

Evaluation of multi-user multiple-input multiple-output digital beamforming algorithms in B5G/6G low Earth orbit satellite systems

Satellite communication systems will be a key component of 5G and 6G networks to achieve the goal of providing unlimited and ubiquitous communications and deploying smart and sustainable networks. To meet the ever-increasing demand for higher throughput in 5G and beyond, aggressive frequency reuse schemes (i.e., full frequency reuse), combined with digital beamforming techniques to cope with the massive co-channel interference, are recognized as a key solution. Aimed at (i) eliminating the joint optimization problem among the beamforming vectors of all users, (ii) splitting it into distinct ones, and (iii) finding a closed-form solution, we propose a beamforming algorithm based on maximizing the users' signal-to-leakage-and-noise ratio served by a low Earth orbit satellite. We investigate and assess the performance of several beamforming algorithms, including both those based on channel state information at the transmitter, that is, minimum mean square error and zero forcing, and those only requiring the users' locations, that is, switchable multi-beam. Through a detailed numerical analysis, we provide a thorough comparison of the performance in terms of per-user achievable spectral efficiency of the aforementioned beamforming schemes, and we show that the proposed signal to-leakage-plus-noise ratio beamforming technique is able to outperform both minimum mean square error and multi-beam schemes in the presented satellite communication scenario

Federated Beamforming with Subarrayed Planar Arrays for B5G/6G LEO Non-Terrestrial Networks

Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) will be an es-sential element in Beyond -5G (BSG) and 6G ecosystems, with the purpose of enabling seamless and global coverage, as well as supporting high data rate services. To achieve that, Full Frequency Reuse (FFR) schemes, along with digital beamforming techniques to cope with the Co-Channel Interference (CCI), are considered as promising strategies in 6G NTN. In this paper, we address the design of Cell-Free (CF) MIMO algorithms in NTN composed of multiple swarms of Non-GeoSynchronous Orbit (NGSO) nodes, in which each swarm performs distributed digital beamforming schemes. Furthermore, aiming at increasing the directivity of on-board antenna arrays for each NGSO node and enhancing the interference mitigation, we propose a Limited Field of View (LFoV) planar array architecture built up of smaller planar subarrays. We evaluate the performance of distributed beamforming schemes including both Channel State Information (CSI)-based, e.g., digital Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), and position-based such as analog Conventional Beamforming (CBF). We provide a numerical analysis of the performance in terms of per-user spectral efficiency. The results show that our proposed sub arrayed architecture designed for federated CF-MIMO beamforming outperforms the reference approach without subarraying in the proposed NTN system architecture

Assessment of Beamforming Algorithms with Subarrayed Planar Arrays for B5G/6G LEO Non-Terrestrial Networks

Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) in Beyond 5G (B5G) and 6G ecosystems are expected to play a crucial role in providing the requests of connections anywhere and anytime by offering wide-area coverage and ensuring service availability, continuity, and scalability. Full Frequency Reuse (FFR) schemes, which are able in cooperation with digital beamforming algorithms to cope with the substantial co-channel interference, are considered to be an efficient solution to meet the growing demand of high data rates in B5G/6G systems. In this paper, we propose a Limited Field Of View (LFOV) planar array architecture composed of smaller planar subarrays in order to increase the directivity of an on-board Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite antenna array and mitigate the interference. We evaluate the performance of feed-space beamforming schemes, including both full digital schemes based on Channel State Information (CSI) at the transmitter, such as Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), and full analog schemes that only require the users' locations, such as Conventional Beamforming (CBF). The numerical results of the system performance, presented by means of spectral efficiency, demonstrate a remarkable improvement in the proposed beamforming design with subarraying w.r.t. the one with no subarrayed configuration; in particular, we show that an analog beamforming scheme with subarraying can outperform a full digital beamforming scheme with no subarraying

Selection of Liner Materials and Design of Hazardous Water Facilities in Saudi Arabia

Rapid development in Saudi Arabia has produced a broad spectrum of wastes.  In the last two decades, several refineries and petrochemical industries have been established. These industries have produced sludges and other toxic wastes which need proper planning for their handling and disposal. This paper covers design and selection of liner materials for two hazardous waste disposal sites. One of them is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, while the second one is located in the Western part. The paper will present complete design details of the natural compacted and geosynthetic soil liners and the leachate collection and removal system for primary liners and leak detection/leachate collection and removal system for secondary liners

Validity of the rheumatoid arthritis MRI score applied to the forefeet using the OMERACT filter: a systematic literature review

Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas

Walking disabilities are associated with tenosynovitis at the metatarsophalangeal joints: a longitudinal MRI‐study in early arthritis

Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease