Influence of bandwidth restriction on the signal-to-noise performance of a modulated PCM/NRZ signal, part 2 Final report

Influence of bandwidth restriction on signal to noise performance of modulated PCM/NRZ signa

Investigation of arcsine devices for phase modulation product detector applications, part 3 Final report

Mathematical model capable of performing arcsine function applicable to phase modulation receive

Numerical Study for a Marine Current Turbine Blade Performance under Varying Angle of Attack

Energy generation from marine currents is a promising technology for sustainable development. The success of using marine current turbines to tap the ocean hydrodynamic energy depends on predicting the hydrodynamic characteristics and performance of such turbines. This paper presents an analysis of the two-dimensional flow using commercial CFD software over a marine current turbine blade. The 2D flow is simulated for HF-SX NACA foil modified from S1210 NACA foil at various angles of attack with Reynolds number of 19×104, which represents the marine current flow. The hydrofoil is designed with considerations for lift and drag coefficients. The flow is simulated by solving the steady-state Navier-Stokes equations coupled with the k-ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model. The aim of this work is to study the effect of the angle of attack on the lift and drag coefficients. The computational domain is composed of non-homogenous structured meshing, with sufficient refinement of the domain near the foil blade in order to capture the boundary layer effects. Hence, all calculations are done at constant flow velocity while varying the angle attack for every model tested. The results have shown that the drag and lift coefficient, Cd and Cl coefficient increases with increasing the value of the angle of attack, ratio Cl/Cd curve related on performance at the peak 7o angle of attack

The effectiveness of artificial intelligence conversational agents in healthcare: a systematic review

Background: High demand on healthcare services and the growing capability of artificial intelligence has led to the development of conversational agents designed to support a variety of health-related activities - including behaviour change, treatment support, health monitoring, training, triage, and screening support. Automation of these tasks could free clinicians to focus on more complex work and increase accessibility to healthcare services for the general public. An overarching assessment of the acceptability, usability, and effectiveness of these agents in healthcare is needed to collate the evidence so that future development can target areas for improvement and potential for sustainable adoption. Objective: This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness and usability of conversational agents in healthcare and identify the elements that users like and dislike, to inform future research and development of these agents. Methods: PubMed, Medline (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and ACM Digital Library were systematically searched for articles published since 2008 that evaluated unconstrained natural language processing conversational agents used in healthcare. Endnote (version X9; Clarivate Analytics) reference management software was used for initial screening, then full-text screening was conducted by one reviewer. Data was extracted and risk of bias was assessed by one reviewer and validated by another. Results: A total of 31 studies were selected and included a variety of conversational agents - 14 chatbots (two of which were voice chatbots), 6 embodied conversational agents, 3 each of interactive voice response calls, virtual patients, and speech recognition screening systems, as well as one contextual question answering agent and one voice recognition triage system. Overall, the evidence reported was mostly positive or mixed. Usability and satisfaction performed well (27/30 and 26/31) and positive or mixed effectiveness was found in three quarters of the studies (23/30), but there were several limitations of the agents highlighted in specific qualitative feedback. Conclusions: The studies generally reported positive or mixed evidence for the effectiveness, usability, and satisfactoriness of the conversational agents investigated, but qualitative user perceptions were more mixed. The quality of many of the studies was limited, and improved study design and reporting is necessary to more accurately evaluate the usefulness of the agents in healthcare and identify key areas for improvement. Further research should also analyse the cost-effectiveness, privacy, and security of the agents

A preliminary assessment of the effects of ATI-2042 in subjects with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using implanted pacemaker methodology

Aims ATI-2042 (budiodarone) is a chemical analogue of amiodarone with a half life of 7 h. It is electrophysiologically similar to amiodarone, but may not have metabolic and interaction side effects. The sophisticated electrocardiograph logs of advanced DDDRP pacemakers were used to monitor the efficacy of ATI-2042. The aim of this study was to determine the preliminary efficacy and safety of ATI-2042 in patients with paroxsymal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and pacemakers. Methods and results Six women with AF burden (AFB) between 1 and 50% underwent six sequential 2-week study periods. Patients received 200 mg bid of ATI-2042 during Period 2 (p2), 400 mg bid during p3, 600 mg bid during p4, 800 mg bid during p5, and no drug during baseline and washout (p1 and p6). Pacemaker data for the primary outcome measure AFB were downloaded during each period. Mean AFB decreased between baseline and all doses: AFB at baseline (SD) was 20.3 ± 14.6% and mean AFB at 200 mg bid was 5.2 ± 4.2%, at 400 mg bid 5.2 ± 5.2%, at 600 mg bid 2.8 ± 3.4%, and at 800 mg bid 1.5 ± 0.5%. The mean reductions in AFB at all doses of ATI-2042 were statistically significant (P < 0.005). Atrial fibrillation burden increased in washout. Atrial fibrillation episodes tended to increase with ATI-2042, but this was offset by substantial decreases in episode duration. ATI-2042 was generally well tolerated. Conclusion ATI-2042 effectively reduced AFB over all doses studied by reducing mean episode duration. A large-scale study will be required to confirm this effect

The One-State as a Demand of International Law: Jus Cogens

This article provides the initial contours of an argument that uses International Law to challenge the validity of Israeli apartheid. It challenges the conventional discourse of legal debates on Israel’s actions and bordersand seeks to link the illegalities of these actions to the validity of an inbuilt Israeli apartheid. The argument also connects the deontological doctrine of peremptory norms of International Law (jus cogens), the right of self-determination and the International Crime of Apartheid to the doctrine of state recognition. It applies these to the State of Israel and the vision of a single democratic state in historic Palestine

Rethinking justice beyond human rights. Anti-colonialism and intersectionality in the politics of the Palestinian Youth Movement

This article discusses the politics of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) – a contemporary social movement operating across a number of Arab and western countries. Unlike analysis on the Arab Uprisings which focused on the national dimension of youth activism, we explore how the PYM politics fosters and upholds an explicitly transnational anti-colonial and intersectional solidarity framework, which foregrounds a radical critique of conventional notions of self-determination based on state-framed human rights discourses and international law paradigms. The struggle becomes instead framed as an issue of justice, freedom and liberation from interlocking forms and hierarchies of oppression. KEYWORDS: Palestine, transnational social movements, intersectionality, human rights, anti-colonialis

Establishing glycaemic control with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes: experience of the PedPump Study in 17 countries

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: To assess the use of paediatric continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSII) under real-life conditions by analysing data recorded for up to 90 days and relating them to outcome. METHODS: Pump programming data from patients aged 0-18 years treated with CSII in 30 centres from 16 European countries and Israel were recorded during routine clinical visits. HbA(1c) was measured centrally. RESULTS: A total of 1,041 patients (age: 11.8 +/- 4.2 years; diabetes duration: 6.0 +/- 3.6 years; average CSII duration: 2.0 +/- 1.3 years; HbA(1c): 8.0 +/- 1.3% [means +/- SD]) participated. Glycaemic control was better in preschool (n = 142; 7.5 +/- 0.9%) and pre-adolescent (6-11 years, n = 321; 7.7 +/- 1.0%) children than in adolescent patients (12-18 years, n = 578; 8.3 +/- 1.4%). There was a significant negative correlation between HbA(1c) and daily bolus number, but not between HbA(1c) and total daily insulin dose. The use of 7.5%. The incidence of severe hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis was 6.63 and 6.26 events per 100 patient-years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: This large paediatric survey of CSII shows that glycaemic targets can be frequently achieved, particularly in young children, and the incidence of acute complications is low. Adequate substitution of basal and prandial insulin is associated with a better HbA(1c)

Phase I study of bortezomib and cetuximab in patients with solid tumours expressing epidermal growth factor receptor

Bortezomib inhibits nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). Cetuximab is a chimeric mouse–human antibody targeted against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We hypothesised that concomitant blockade of NF-κB and EGFR signalling would overcome EGFR-mediated resistance to single-agent bortezomib and induce apoptosis through two molecular pathways. The aim of this phase I trial was to establish the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) for bortezomib plus cetuximab in patients with EGFR-expressing epithelial tumours. The 21-day treatment cycle consisted of bortezomib administered on days 1 and 8 through dose escalation (1.3–2 mg m−2). Cetuximab was delivered at a dose of 250 mg m−2 on days 1, 8 and 15 (400 mg m−2 day 1 cycle 1). A total of 37 patients were enroled and given a total 91 cycles. No grade ⩾3 haematological toxicity was noted. Non-hematological grade ⩾3 toxicities included fatigue (22% of patients), dyspnoea (16%) and infection (11%). The MTD was not reached at the highest tested bortezomib dose (2.0 mg m−2). Efficacy outcomes included disease progression in 21 patients (56.7%) and stable disease (SD) at 6 weeks in 16 patients (43.3%). Five of the six patients with SD at 12 weeks were diagnosed with cancers of the lungs or head and neck. This combination therapy was moderately effective in extensively pretreated patients with non-small cell lung or head and neck cancers and warrants further investigation