A Compact Cylindrical-Shape Microstrip Structure with Cloaking Properties for Mutual Coupling Reduction in Array Antennas

A cylindrical-shaped microstrip structure with cloaking properties is presented as a shielding device to reduce the mutual coupling between two patch antennas. The surface comprises of a number of 2-port microstrip (2-PM) elements printed on individual substrates and, to enclose a particular region, several 2-PM elements are interconnected into a cylindrical shape. Each 2-PM element has the capability of coupling an incident EM field on the surface to the adjacent interconnected elements. Then, because the 2-PM elements are connected into a cylindrical shape, the incident EM field is re-radiated from the other interconnected 2-PM elements in a direction away from the transmitter; achieving a behavior similar to a cloak. The prototypes in this dissertation illustrates that this surface has the additional benefit of overcoming many of the manufacturing difficulties of traditional cloaks because microstrip structures are used. To demonstrate this concept, a cylindrical surface operating at 3.89 GHz and a frequency reconfigurable surface (consisting of 2-port frequency reconfigurable microstrip elements (2-PFRM)) operating at 3.68 GHz and 3.89 GHz is simulated in HFSS, manufactured and measured in a full anechoic chamber. Moreover, as an application, the cylindrical surface operating at 3.89 GHz is used to reduce the mutual coupling between two patch antennas operating simultaneously at 3.89 GHz. The radiation pattern and the gain of a 2-element array is measured to demonstrate the negligible effects of a cylindrical surface on the far field antenna array parameters. Simulation and measurement results are in good agreement and validate the proposed EM cloak-based surface for applications such as antenna array shielding, radar cross section and communications in complex EM environments

Caregivers’ burden among parents of children with Cerebral Palsy

Introduction: Caregivers help a person in those actions which cannot be performed by an individual independently; a person’s personal needs, environmental barriers that hinders an individual’s abilities etc. This ultimately puts an increased burden on the caregiver. This study was conducted to determine the levels of caregivers’ burden among the parents of children with cerebral palsy. Material & Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 298 parents of children with cerebral palsy. Non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from the parents coming to the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Islamabad. The parents of children with cerebral palsy who were having auditory, cognitive or visual impairment were excluded from this study. Demographic information form and Caregiver Burden Inventory were used for the data collection. The data was analysed through IBM SPSS version 21 and results were presented in the form of frequency, percentages and mean ± sd with p-value wherever needed. Results: the result of this study showed a greater need for respite and other services for caregivers of children with cerebral palsy. The overall Caregiver Burden Inventory score was 45.19 ± 11.9. Out of the total included participants, 163 (54.33%) participants sometimes needed relief, 116 (36.67%) needed frequent need for relief and other services while 19 (6.33%) of the included parents rarely needed relief and other services. Conclusion: Majority of the caregivers of children with cerebral palsy needed relief and other services (compromise the growth, physical and emotional health and social relationship) to manage caregivers’ burden

Printed closely spaced antennas loaded by linear stubs in a MIMO style for portable wireless electronic devices

This article belongs to the Special Issue Transmit and Receive Techniques for Next Generation Massive MIMO Systems.An easy-to-manufacture and efficient four-port-printed Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna operating across an ultra-wideband (UWB) region (2.9–13.6 GHz) is proposed and investigated here. The phenomenon of the polarization diversity is used to improve the isolation between MIMO antenna elements by deploying four orthogonal antenna elements. The proposed printed antenna (40 × 40 × 1.524 mm3) is made compact by optimizing the circular-shaped radiating components via vertical stubs on top of the initial design to maximally reduce unwanted interaction while placing them together in proximity. The measurements of the prototype MIMO antennas corroborate the simulation performance. The findings are compared to the recent relevant works presented in the literature to show that the proposed antenna is suitable for UWB MIMO applications. The proposed printed UWB MIMO antenna could be a good fit for compact portable wireless electronic devices.This project received funding from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant 801538. Furthermore, this work was partially supported by the Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP-2021/58), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

Current Physiotherapy Practices of Outcome Measures in the Management of Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The patients with low back pain have the frequency to seek physiotherapy. There are various outcome measures for low back pain with proven reliability and validity. Objective: To investigate the practice level of physiotherapists working in clinical settings about the usage of outcome measures for low back pain and its barriers. Study type,settings& duration:A cross-sectional study was conducted at different public and private hospital/ clinical setting or health care setting of Karachi, Pakistan from August to December 2019. Methodology:A questionnaire was used to conduct study among 335 physiotherapists. Frequencies and percentages were reported of all descriptive variables. Mean and standard deviation was used to report continuous data. Results:Among 335 physiotherapists, 118 (35.2%) were males, and 217 (64.8%) were females with a mean age of 29.88±5.92 and clinical experience of 5±5.9 years. About 244(72.8%) physiotherapists use outcome measures. Mostly, physiotherapists use a pain visual analogue scale. Approximately 88 (26.2%), 83 (24.7), and 61 (18.2%) physiotherapists identify lack of access to information, lack of time and knowledge as barriers to use outcome measures, respectively. Conclusion:The outcome measures in low back pain being used in physiotherapy practices like other health care professions. However, the lack of access to the information is the most perceived barrier to use outcome measures. The study suggests improving physiotherapists' access to outcome measures and their relevant information can enhance its usage

Impact of religiosity on subjective life satisfaction and perceived academic stress in undergraduate pharmacy students

Objective: To evaluate the impact of religiosity on subjective life satisfaction and perceived academic stress in undergraduate pharmacy students. Materials and Methods: This 1-month descriptive study focused on pharmacy students of a public-sector university and used three survey questionnaires. The questionnaires included: the Duke University Religion Index to assess religiosity, Subjective Happiness Scale for documenting subjective happiness of life, and Perceived Stress Scale for evaluation of perceived stress due to academic load. The data were analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Services software, version 22. Chi-square test, Pearson’s correlation, and logistic regression were used. Study was exempted from ethical review. Result: Subjective happiness was positively (+) correlated with non-organized religious activity and intrinsic religiosity (P < 0.01). Perceived stress score reported negative (–) correlation with organized religious activity (P < 0.05). Female students appeared more stressed (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Religiosity may enhance life satisfaction and may relieve academic stress in pharmacy students

Development of Evidence-Based Disease Education Literature for Pakistani Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rheumatoid arthritis affects 0.5% to 1% of the population globally and is one of the most common causes of disability. Patient education plays a key role in improving treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study was to discuss the process involved in designing an evidence-based disease education literature for rheumatoid arthritis patients of Pakistan in Urdu language with culturally relevant illustrations. A study was conducted to develop disease education literature using Delphi consensus, content validity, and patient feedback. A panel of experts comprised of university professors and health care experts, including health practitioners and pharmacists as well as a social scientist, was set up to assess the need. Eight patients were randomly selected and were asked to give their feedback. Their feedback was incorporated in the development process. The entire process was carried out in eight steps. A disease education literature for patients of rheumatoid arthritis was developed and edited in the form of a booklet. The booklet contained evidence-based information that must be provided to patients in both Urdu and English languages with culturally relevant illustrations. The availability of such literature is significant, as it enables the patients to seek knowledge at home at their convenience. This home-based knowledge support is as helpful as any other means of medical care. The developed literature is planned to be used in further studies which will evaluate its impact in improving knowledge of RA patients

A Novel Meander Line Metamaterial Absorber Operating at 24 GHz and 28 GHz for the 5G Applications

Fifth generation (5G) communication systems deploy a massive MIMO technique to enhance gain and spatial multiplexing in arrays of 16 to 128 antennas. In these arrays, it is critical to isolate the adjacent antennas to prevent unwanted interaction between them. Fifth generation absorbers, in this regard, are the recent interest of many researchers nowadays. The authors present a dual-band novel metamaterial-based 5G absorber. The absorber operates at 24 GHz and 28 GHz and is composed of symmetric meander lines connected through a transmission line. An analytical model used to calculate the total number of required meander lines to design the absorber is delineated. The analytical model is based on the total inductance offered by the meander line structure in an impedance-matched electronic circuit. The proposed absorber works on the principal of resonance and absorbs two 5G bands (24 GHz and 28 GHz). A complete angular stability analysis was carried out prior to experiments for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations. Further, the resonance conditions are altered by changing the substrate thickness and incidence angle of the incident fields to demonstrate the functionality of the absorber. The comparison between simulated and measured results shows that such an absorber would be a strong candidate for the absorption in millimetre-wave array antennas, where elements are placed in proximity within compact 5G devices