Medication adherence across the lifespan: Theory, methods, interventions and six grand challenges

First paragraph: Taking medication as agreed with a health care provider ‘i.e. adherence’, is a critically important health behaviour throughout life for both the prevention and treatment of illness and the maintenance of health (Osterberg & Blaschke, 2005). From childhood use of antibiotics (Baguley, Lim, Bevan, Pallet, & Faust, 2012), to early adulthood use 15 of oral contraceptives (Molloy, Graham, & McGuinness, 2012) to older adulthood use of cardiovascular risk reduction medications (O’Carroll, Chambers, Dennis, Sudlow, & Johnston, 2014), evidence-based treatments such as these can have profound impact on health across the lifespan. Variability in the initiation, execution and persistence of med- ication taking behaviour plays a significant role in explaining the difference between 20 the trial-based efficacy and ‘real-world’ effectiveness for many medications (Blaschke, Osterberg, Vrijens, & Urquhart, 2012). Medication adherence has therefore been the focus of systematic investigation for several decades by both behavioural and clinical scientists (DiMatteo, 2004).Output Type: Editoria

Software-Defined Radio Demonstrators: An Example and Future Trends

Software-defined radio requires the combination of software-based signal processing and the enabling hardware components. In this paper, we present an overview of the criteria for such platforms and the current state of development and future trends in this area. This paper will also provide details of a high-performance flexible radio platform called the maynooth adaptable radio system (MARS) that was developed to explore the use of software-defined radio concepts in the provision of infrastructure elements in a telecommunications application, such as mobile phone basestations or multimedia broadcasters

Experimental results of non-radiative calibration of a tower top adaptive array

The need for calibration in antenna arrays is a persistent challenge and is one of the impediments to their widespread integration into communication infrastructures. The choice of antenna array structure dictates the means by which calibration can be achieved. The antenna structure used here is a distributed source array with an interconnected measurement structure for calibration. This non-radiative approach was taken to remove the need for external calibration sources, or computationally expensive modelling. This approach requires a calibration algorithm to utilise the measurement structure to get the best results. This paper will present a set of three such calibration algorithms used on an experimental setup to show the effectiveness of such calibration

Reconfigurable Radio Hardware & Software Integration and Testing

Software Defined Radio efforts are focused in both software and hardware areas. Nowadays software products are designed to allow newer and better software radio products for a quick reconfiguration and adaptation to new challenges. With the proliferation of reconfigurable radio software, having a complete SDR system has never been as approachable/accessible. This paper focused on the integration and testing efforts of a RF front-end with the existing reconfigurable radio software called IRIS [1] (Implementing Radio in Software) developed by CTVR (Centre for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research). Several papers were presented at SDR’07 Forum in Denver (CO) [2][3] regarding this RF front-end and its lowlevel software elements. The RF front-end consists of four hardware elements, namely a radio transmitter, a radio receiver, a baseband interface and a PC to perform signal processing and configuration. Additionally, there is a substantial software element to configure the hardware and to receive/transmit data via a USB 2.0 interface. The IRIS system is a component framework for building radio systems, which integrates a great variety of signal processing components. In order to integrate our RF front-end with IRIS two new IRIS components were written in C++: one for transmitting and another for receiving. This integration was possible thanks to the high quality of both software elements: IRIS and the RF front-end software elements (USB driver, embedded code and additional API libraries). High quality measured in terms of reusable, maintainable, modifiable and extendible. The full paper version will include a demonstration of the complete SDR system: IRIS and RF front-end working together. This demonstration consists of building two radios in IRIS, one for transmission and another for reception of an image file using DBPSK modulation. This radio makes use of the two new IRIS components that communicate with our RF front-end. Integrations with other software systems for building radios are planned for the near future, such as OSSIE system by Virginia Tech. All this work will lead us to a better understanding about these systems, which will help us to face the challenge of building an improved one

Software Defined Radio Transceiver Implementation

This document presents the design and implementation of a low cost reconfigurable radio transceiver platform. The platform will be used as a research tool in the investigation of software defined radio techniques. The hardware presented is an evolution of work presented at the 2006 RIA colloquium. The platform consists of four hardware elements, namely a radio transmitter, a radio receiver, a baseband interface and a PC to perform signal processing and configuration. Data and control communication is performed via a USB 2.0 interface between the transceiver and a laptop PC. The platform development included a substantial software element to configure the hardware and to receive and transmit data between the PC and the transceiver. The technical choices, design and realization of the prototype are discussed

“Lessons learnt in developing a SDR Platform with USB interface”

Building a new Software Defined Radio (SDR) system requires multidisciplinary research covering the engineering disciplines of communication systems, radio frequency, digital and analog hardware, software and digital signal processing. This paper focuses on the efforts at the low-level software development, such as device drivers, embedded source code at firmware-space and Application- Programming Interfaces (APIs) at user-space. In the early stages of constructing a SDR platform, design decisions are made regarding the interface between the SDR hardware and the PC. These decisions are of great importance and will determine the complexity of the low-level software development, its interoperability with third-party tools for waveform development and its efficiency in terms of bandwidth and configurability. This position paper reviews the experiences in using a USB interface between the PC and the SDR platform and the corresponding impact in the software development stage

Hardware implementation of a versatile low-cost mixed-signal platform for SDR experimentation

This paper presents the design of a reconfigurable mixedsignal platform used in the Software Defined Radio context.It is a single board part of a pre-existing modular system operating from 1.6 to 2.5 GHz that supports GSM1800,DCS1800, PCS1900, UMTS-FDD, UMTS-TDD and 802.11b standards. Its purpose is to facilitate configuration and data exchange between a computer and an RF transceiver. Technical choices, design and overall performances of the prototype are discussed

Reconfigurable High Frequency Class S Power Amplifier Demonstrator

This paper presents an end-to-end high frequency class S power amplifier. A description of the full testbench and some important points on generation of RF outputs from FPGA devices and current mode class D design are given. Experimental measurements are provided for the prototype PA consisting of a signal generator, analog to digital converter, driver circuit, current mode class D switching stage and bandpass filter. Theory and experimentally measured results for this prototype are presented for a multi tone signal centred at 930 MHz and with a total output power of 24.7dBm

Experiences in the co-design of software and hardware elements in a SDR platform

The Center for Telecommunications Value-Chain Research (CTVR) has developed an integrated software radio platform that combines a reconfigurable hardware radio platform, called NUIM SDR transceiver, and a modular software radio framework, called Implementing Radio in Software (IRIS). This paper outlines the design challenges in achieving the integration between these two systems, and also presents experimental results. The test consists of transmitting an image file using DQPSK modulation with IRIS and the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) RF front-end at 2.41GHz, and receiving it with IRIS and the NUIM SDR transceiver. The integrated software radio platform presented in this paper enables new research opportunities testing real-world environments and developing cognitive radios for dynamic spectrum access techniques

Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) for Population Health and Health Inequalities

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, governments around the world have adopted an array of measures intended to control the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, using both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). NPIs are public health interventions that do not rely on vaccines or medicines and include policies such as lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, school closures, and travel restrictions. Although the intention was to slow viral transmission, emerging research indicates that these NPIs have also had unintended consequences for other aspects of public health. Hence, we conducted a narrative review of studies investigating these unintended consequences of NPIs, with a particular emphasis on mental health and on lifestyle risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCD): physical activity (PA), overweight and obesity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking. We reviewed the scientific literature using combinations of search terms such as ‘COVID-190 , ‘pandemic’, ‘lockdowns’, ‘mental health’, ‘physical activity’, and ‘obesity’. NPIs were found to have considerable adverse consequences for mental health, physical activity, and overweight and obesity. The impacts on alcohol and tobacco consumption varied greatly within and between studies. The variability in consequences for different groups implies increased health inequalities by age, sex/gender, socioeconomic status, pre-existing lifestyle, and place of residence. In conclusion, a proper assessment of the use of NPIs in attempts to control the spread of the pandemic should be weighed against the potential adverse impacts on other aspects of public health. Our findings should also be of relevance for future pandemic preparedness and pandemic response teams