Interference Reduction Research Articles

Reduced symptom burden after implementation of an electronic symptom management program.

12006 Background: The SIMPRO consortium implemented an electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO) symptom management program as part of routine clinical care for patients (pts) receiving systemic cancer therapy or surgery across six health systems including rural and community cancer centers. To evaluate impact of the Epic-integrated electronic symptom management (eSyM) program on quality of life, pre- and post-implementation surveys were sent to a subset of gastrointestinal, thoracic, and gynecologic medical oncology (MO) and surgical (Surg) patients at all sites. Methods: A survey assessing symptom burden, health literacy, and self-efficacy was administered to separate groups of MO and Surg pts before (Pre-Implementation) and after (Post-Implementation) eSyM deployment. A waiver of documentation of consent was obtained for participation. Questions were derived from validated instruments including PROMIS, a standardized measurement tool for patient-reported symptoms. Surveys were completed 30-90 days after surgery or start of systemic therapy. PROMIS item responses were scored individually then translated into standardized T-scores with a mean of 50 based on an established reference population. Mean T-scores for PROMIS depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference were calculated. Higher T-score correlated with greater symptom burden. Comparison between groups utilized non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis testing. Results: The number of survey responses were 498 MO Pre-Implementation, 518 MO Post-Implementation, 566 Surg Pre-Implementation, and 507 Surg Post-Implementation. MO pts reported significantly lower PROMIS mean T-scores for depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference after eSyM compared to a similar group of MO pts prior to eSyM. Surg pts reported lower T-scores for depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference after eSyM compared to a similar group of Surg pts prior to eSyM, although reduction in pain interference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: eSyM deployment in MO was associated with a significant reduction in patient reported depression, anxiety, fatigue, and pain interference. Surgical pts after eSyM deployment reported significantly lower rates of depression, anxiety, and fatigue. External validation with PROMIS based surveys demonstrated small but meaningful benefits of ePRO symptom monitoring as part of routine clinical care across six diverse health systems. Clinical trial information: NCT03850912 . [Table: see text]

Power quality disturbance detection based on IEWT

With the continuous development of distributed generation, power quality problems are more complex. In order to ensure that the power quality of the active distribution network meets the requirements of users, it is of great significance to accurately obtain the power quality disturbance parameters. For the problem that the traditional empirical wavelet transform needs to manually select the number of frequency bands when analyzing unknown power quality disturbances, this paper proposes an improved empirical wavelet transform (IEWT) algorithm. The algorithm uses the Piecewise Cubic Hermite Interpolation (PCHIP) method and the improvement of the transition region to achieve adaptive frequency band division and noise interference reduction, and different amplitude (AM) and pitch (FM) components can be obtained. Then the Normalized Direct Quadrature (NDQ) algorithm and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) algorithm are used to extract frequency, amplitude and time parameters of the AM-FM components. Simulation and experimental results show that the power quality disturbance parameters extracted by the proposed method are more accurate and less affected by noise.

Matched-filter design to improve self-interference cancellation in full-duplex communication systems

A new method for capacity and spectral efficiency increases is a full-duplex (FD) communication, where sending and receiving are done simultaneously. Hence, severe interference leaked from the transmitter to the receiver, which can disrupt the system's operation completely. For interference reduction, the transceiver tries to estimate the interfering symbols to remove their effects. A typical method is to use the Hammerstein model. In this method, nonlinear power amplifier (PA) and multipath channel are modeled with a successive nonlinear system and a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. Then, the model parameters are adjusted, and interference symbols are estimated from the transmitted symbols. In the Hammerstein method, the interference symbols are estimated directly from the transmitted symbols. But practically, the transmitted symbols first pass through the pulse-shaping filter and become a signal. Then, this signal passes through the nonlinear PA and communication channel. Finally, the received signal is filtered by the matched filter (MF) at the receiver and converted to the symbols again. In this procedure, the amplifier and the communication channel affect the transmitted signal directly and distort transmitted symbols indirectly. Therefore, in the practical situation, when we consider the transmitter's pulse-shaping filter and the receiver's MF, the estimated symbols with the Hammerstein method are erroneous. To solve this problem, a new MF at the receiver is proposed and adjusted according to the interfering signal. We have shown that this method is far better than the Hammerstein method.

In band full duplex (IBFD) technology for next generation wireless networks: A survey in cellular networks

Next-Generation (NextG) wireless communication networks with their widespread applications require high data rates, seamless connectivity and high quality of service (QoS). To cope up with an unprecedented rise of data hungry applications, users demand more spectral resources imposing a limitation on available wireless spectrum. One of the potential solutions to address the spectrum scarce issue is to incorporate in band full duplex (IBFD) or full duplex (FD) paradigm in next generation networks including 5G new radio (NR). Recently, FD has gained the research interest in cellular networks for its potential to double the wireless link capacity and enhancing spectral efficiency (SE). In half duplex (HD) cellular networks, base stations (BSs) can either perform uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmission at a particular time instant leading to reduced throughput levels. Due to the advancement in the self interference reduction (SIR) techniques, full duplex base stations (FD-BSs) can be employed to allow simultaneous UL and DL transmissions at the same time-frequency resources as compared to its HD counterpart. It ideally achieves twice the throughput without any additional complexity at user-equipment(UE). This paper covers a detailed survey on FD cellular networks. A series of SIR approaches, UE-UE mitigation techniques are summarized. Various existing MAC protocols and antenna architectures for FD cellular networks are outlined. An overview of security aspects for FD in cellular networks is also presented. Lastly, various open issues and possible research directions are brought up for FD cellular networks.

Abstract #1399039: Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: 10 kHz SCS Provides Durable Pain Relief and Sensory Improvements

Of the 37 million Americans who have diabetes, up to 25% experience painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN). While conventional medical management (CMM), which includes pharmacotherapies, can be ineffective for many patients, high-frequency (10 kHz) spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been shown to provide substantial symptom relief for PDN. Here we report durability of outcomes to 24 months (24M) months for 10 kHz SCS treatment of PDN. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate 10 kHz SCS in PDN patients. Key inclusion criteria were: PDN symptoms ≥12M refractory to medications, lower limb pain intensity ≥5cm (0-10cm visual analog scale [VAS]), and hemoglobin A1c ≤10%. Patients (n=216) were randomized 1:1 to 10 kHz SCS plus CMM or CMM alone, with optional treatment group crossover at 6M. Patients randomized to 10 kHz SCS experienced average pain relief of 76% at 6M, while patients receiving CMM alone experienced average pain increase of 2%. After 6M, 93% of eligible CMM patients crossed over to 10 kHz SCS, while no 10 kHz SCS patients crossed over to CMM. At 24M, patients receiving 10 kHz SCS experienced durable pain relief, with average pain relief of 80%. Reductions in pain-associated sleep disturbance and pain interference with mood and daily activities were consistent with pain relief. At 6M, 10 kHz SCS provided substantial reductions vs. CMM. At 24M, patients receiving 10 kHz SCS experienced a 65% decrease in pain-associated sleep disturbance and a 67% decrease in pain interference with mood and daily activities. Clinician-assessed sensory function improvements in the feet and legs were observed with 10 kHz SCS. At 6M, improvements were observed in 59% of patients receiving 10 kHz SCS vs. only 9% of patients receiving CMM alone. Sensory improvements were durable as 65% of patients receiving 10 kHz SCS had improvements at 24M. In total, 154 patients received an SCS implant. There were eight (5.2%) study-related infections (n=3 resolved; n=5 (3.2%) explanted), which is within the range reported across all SCS patient populations (2.5-10%). The results of this RCT demonstrate that 10 kHz SCS provides durable reductions in pain and pain-associated effects on health-related quality of life with acceptable safety, now observed through 24-month follow-up. The durable sensory function improvements highlight the disease-modifying potential of 10 kHz SCS.

45. Outcomes of Targeted Muscle Reinnervation and Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interface in Oncologic Amputees: The MD Anderson Cancer Center Experience

PURPOSE: The outcomes of targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) in oncologic amputees have been limited to small series. Herein, we report the MD Anderson experience with the surgical and postamputation outcomes of TMR and RPNI in the oncologic population. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients who underwent oncologic amputation followed by TMR or RPNI from November 2018 to May 2022. Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement System (PROMIS) and Numerical Rating Scales for residual limb pain (RLP) and phantom limb pain (PLP) were obtained and compared with published benchmarked outcomes. RESULTS: We compared 68 patients with oncologic amputation at our institution with 727 patients with benchedmarked outcomes. Patients had mean follow-up period of 10.9±8.7 months. Oncologic amputees experienced significant reductions in pain intensity (-5.39; 95%CI,-4.28, -6.50; p<0.001), interference (-11.98; 95%CI, -8.19, -15.8; p<0.001), behavior (-32.95; 95%CI, -25.5,-40.4; p<0.001) and global health (-26.25; 95%CI, -22.09, -30.42; p<0.001) following TMR or RPNI from baseline to final follow-up. Delayed wound healing was the most common complication (14.7%) and tumor recurrence occurred in 36.8% of patients. Compared with benchedmarked outcomes, oncologic amputees who underwent TMR or RPNI demonstrated significantly lower median PLP (0.0 vs. 4.0, p<0.001), RLP (1.0 vs. 4, p<0.001), pain intensity (6.0 vs. 46.6, p<0.001), pain interference (9.5 vs. 55.9, p<0.001), and pain behavior (36.0 vs. 56.7, p<0.001) scores. CONCLUSION: Oncologic amputees who underwent TMR and RPNI demonstrated significant reductions in postamputation pain compared with their baseline and benchedmarked outcomes with relatively low postoperative complications rate.

Efficacy of Videoconference Group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression (BATD) for Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) Plus Comorbid Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial (IMPACT Study)

This study examined the efficacy of adding a remote, synchronous, group, videoconference-based form of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) or behavioral activation therapy for depression (BATD) to treatment-as-usual (TAU) in 234 patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) plus comorbid depressive symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to ACT, BATD, or TAU. Compared to TAU, ACT produced a significant reduction in pain interference at posttreatment (d = .64) and at follow-up (d = .73). BATD was only superior to TAU at follow-up (d = .66). A significant reduction in pain catastrophizing was reported by patients assigned to ACT and BATD at posttreatment (d = .45 and d = .59, respectively) and at follow-up (d = .59, in both) compared to TAU. Stress was significantly reduced at posttreatment by ACT in comparison to TAU (d = .69). No significant between-group differences were found in depressive or anxiety symptoms. Clinically relevant number needed to treat (NNT) values for reduction in pain interference were obtained at posttreatment (ACT vs TAU = 4) and at follow-up (ACT vs TAU = 3; BATD vs TAU = 5). In both active therapies, improvements in pain interference at follow-up were significantly related to improvements at posttreatment in psychological flexibility. These findings suggest that new forms of cognitive-behavioral therapy are clinically useful in improving pain interference and pain catastrophizing. Further research on evidence-based change processes is required to understand the therapeutic needs of patients with chronic pain and comorbid conditions. Trial numberNCT04140838. PerspectiveGroup videoconference-based ACT and BATD showed greater efficacy than TAU for reducing pain interference and pain catastrophizing in patients with CLBP plus clinically relevant depression. Psychological flexibility appeared to be the main contributor to treatment effects for both ACT and BATD.

Spectrum sensing-focused cognitive radio network for 5G revolution

The cognitive radio network (CRN), an instrumental part of the next-generation wireless communication systems, is mainly dependent on spectrum sensing to function properly. The radio spectrum can help in clean energy transition and load capacity factors by providing a more efficient and accurate spectrum utilization. By using it, the number of spectrums that is used for communication can be optimized, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by the network. Additionally, 5G radio spectrum sensing can be used to identify and classify different types of signals, which can help reduce the amount of interference in the network and improve the efficiency of energy utilization. It can also allow for the digitization of clean energy infrastructure and facilitate better decision-making processes that take into account environmental impacts while optimizing energy use because of its efficient characteristics like non-linearity, detection, scalability, robustness, generalization, non-stationarity in wireless environments, dynamic entity, weighted sum of Gaussian functions centered at specific frequencies, and robustness against noise and interference. It can adapt to noise and interference by adjusting its parameters, and this allows accurate distinguishing between primary and secondary users in the wireless spectrum, which is why a radial basis function is a popular choice for spectrum sensing in 5G networks. Radial basis function networks (RBFNs) can work better in 5G spectrum sensing for better signal classification, dynamic adaptation, fast detection, faster decision-making, and improved noise and interference reduction. One of the most sought-after goals in the field of wireless research is the creation of spectrum-sensing technology that is dependable and intelligent because multilayer learning approaches are inappropriate for dealing with time-series data due to the higher misclassification rate and inherent computational complexity. To address this, the study proposed the radial basis function network that learns the temporal aspects from spectral data and makes use of additional environmental statistics such as frequency, efficiency, energy, spectrum allocation, distance, and duty-cycle time, which are considered environmental data that may be used to fine-tune sensor performance. The scheme is simulated with real-time parameters, and the results are quite promising in terms of evaluation parameters.

440 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) Provides Significant, Durable Pain Relief for Patients with Painful Diabetic Neuropathy (PDN): 24-Month Results

INTRODUCTION: Approximately 37 million Americans have diabetes, 1 with 25-30% experiencing PDN. 2 High-frequency (10 kHz) SCS has been shown to provide substantial symptom relief for PDN, 3 and here we report durability of these outcomes to 24 months (24M). METHODS: This prospective, multicenter, RCT evaluated 10 kHz SCS with these key inclusion criteria: PDN symptoms ≥12 M refractory to medications, lower limb pain intensity ≥5 cm (0-10 cm visual analog scale [VAS]), and hemoglobin A1c ≤ 10%. Patients (n = 216) were randomized 1:1 to 10 kHz SCS plus CMM or CMM alone, with optional crossover at 6M. RESULTS: At 6M, patients receiving 10 kHz SCS experienced average pain relief of 76.1% (95% CI: 70.5–81.6%), which increased to 82.0% (95% CI: 77.3–86.6%) at 24M. At 24M, 10 kHz SCS patients experienced 70% decreases in pain-associated sleep disturbance and interference with mood and daily activities. At 24M, neurological improvements were observed in 72% of patients receiving 10 kHz SCS. After 6M, 93% of eligible CMM patients elected to cross over to 10 kHz SCS, while zero 10 kHz patients crossed over. With 10 kHz SCS, both groups experienced similar, significant reductions in pain and pain-associated interference. There were zero device explants due to lack of efficacy and eight (5.2%) procedure-related infections (n = 3 resolved with antibiotics; n=5 explanted), which is within the range reported for SCS in non-diabetic patients (2.5-10%).4 CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest RCT to date for SCS management of PDN. The 24M results support that 10 kHz SCS can provide safe, durable pain and symptom relief for PDN. REFERENCES: 1 CDC. National Diabetes Statistics Report; 2022. 2 Finnerup et al. Lancet Neurol 2015; 14(2):162-73. 3 Petersen et al. Diabetes Care; 45(1):e3-e6. 4 Eldabe et al. Pain Med 2016; 17(2):325-36.

Parallel Induction Analysis for Reduction of Interference Due to Lighting Strikes At 70 kV SUTT Parakan-Kadipaten

SUTT 70 kV Parakan-Kadipaten is one of the transmission networks located in areas with high lightning activity so that there is the potential for interference. If the voltage (V) caused by lightning > Basic Insulation Level (BIL) insulator, a backflash over will occur. One of the efforts made to minimize interference is by paralleling the tower inductance with NA2XSY cable which has a lower inductance than the tower. This study aims to determine the installation method and the effect of parallel installation of inductance to reduce interference due to lightning strikes. The research was carried out by performing calculations to determine the lightning Vimpuls before and after the parallel inductance and then comparing it with the BIL value of the insulator and network disturbance data. If the lightning Vimpuls > BIL insulator then a backflash over occurs and if the lightning Vimpuls < BIL insulator then there is no backflash over. From the calculation results, it is found that the value of lightning Vimpuls before parallel inductance > BIL insulator and after parallel inductance drops significantly to < BIL insulator. Meanwhile, when compared with the fault data 3 years before and 3 years after parallel, the fault inductance also decreased. In the year before the parallel inductance, namely 2015 there were 4 disturbances, in 2016 4 disturbances, in 2017 1 disturbance, and in 2018 the January-June period there were no disturbances. In the year after the parallel inductance installation, namely in 2018 for the July-December period there were no disturbances, in 2019 there were no disturbances, in 2020 there were 2 disturbances, and in 2021 the period (January-June) had 2 disturbances.

Weed dynamics, wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield and irrigation water-use efficiency under conservation agriculture

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impacts of a 12-year old conservation agriculture (CA)- based pigeon pea-wheat system on weeds, wheat crop, and resource use during winter (rabi) 2021–22. Results indicated that surface retention of residue irrespective of ZT permanent bed and N dose led to significant reduction in weed interference at 60 DAS. CA-based systems reduced weed density and dry weight considerably than CT. CA- based systems led to significantly higher wheat grain yield (by 11.6–14.9%) and net B:C (by 24.0 –28.0%) than CT, and PFBR100N and PBBR100N were slightly superior to others. PBBR100N and PBBR75N had lower irrigation water use and significantly higher irrigation water productivity than CT. Contrast analysis showed that wheat yield and water productivity were comparable between 75% N and 100% N in CA, indicating a saving of 25% N under CA.

Development of a Zeolite H-ZSM-5-Based D-μSPE Method for the Determination of Organophosphorus Pesticides in Tea Beverages

In this study, a novel dispersive micro-solid phase extraction (D-μSPE) technique with H-ZSM-5 zeolite as an adsorbent was developed for the determination of 21 trace pesticides in tea beverages. The adsorption and desorption of H-ZSM-5 zeolites were investigated based on structural characteristics and adsorption properties similar to those of H-beta zeolites. In combination with the properties of the adsorbates, it was explained that the adsorption reaction occurred on the microporous surface and mesopores of H-ZSM-5. Based on optimal parameters, the beverage samples were extracted by 50 mg of zeolite within 1 min. The zeolite was eluted with 2 mL of an acetonitrile-water mixture after separation, and the eluent was filtered prior to HPLC-MS/MS analysis. The D-μSPE protocol demonstrated acceptable accuracy and precision, with recoveries between 62.1% and 106.6% and relative standard deviations of 1.4% to 12.6%, as validated by analytical reliability. The correlation coefficient in the linear range of 0.2–50 ng·mL−1 was greater than 0.98, with limits of detection of 0.05–0.1 ng·mL−1 and limits of quantification of 0.1–0.2 ng·mL−1. The matrix effects ranged from 76.2% to 112.7%. The results indicate that the novel D-μSPE technique based on H-ZSM-5 is a rapid, simple, green and economical method for the determination of pesticide residues in tea beverages. The proposed method achieved simultaneously low adsorbent dosage, 20-fold enrichment factor, rapid pre-concentration in 12 min, minimal organic wastes, and effective reduction of matrix interference.

Radio Frequency Cavity’s Analytical Model and Control Design

Reduction or suppression of microphonic interference in radio frequency (RF) cavities, such as those used in Electron Linear Accelerators, is necessary to precisely control accelerating fields. In this paper, we investigate modeling the cavity as a cylindrical shell and present its free vibration analysis along with an appropriate control scheme to suppress vibrations. To this end, we first obtain an analytical mechanical dynamic model of a nine-cell cavity using a modified Fourier-Ritz method that provides a unified solution for cylindrical shell systems with general boundary conditions. The model is then verified using the ANSYS software in terms of a comparison of eigenfrequencies which prove to be identical to the proposed model. We also present an active observer-based vibration control scheme to suppress the dominant mechanical modes of the cavity. The control system performance is investigated using simulations.

Changes in Brain GABA and Glutamate and Improvements in Physical Functioning Following Intensive Pain Rehabilitation in Youth With Chronic Pain

Intensive interdisciplinary pain treatments (IIPT) have been developed to treat youth with unmanaged chronic pain and functional disability. Dysregulation of metabolites gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate are thought to play a role in the chronification of pain due to imbalances in inhibition and excitation in adults. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), we investigated the effect of IIPT on GABA and Glx (glutamate + glutamine) in 2 pain-related brain regions: the left posterior insula (LPI) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Data were collected in 23 youth (mean age = 16.09 ± 1.40, 19 female) at entry and discharge from a hospital-based outpatient IIPT. GABA and Glx were measured using GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS and analyzed using Gannet. Physical measures including a 6-minute walk test were recorded, and patients completed the PLAYSelf Physical Literacy Questionnaire, PROMIS Pain Interference Questionnaire, and Functional Disability Inventory. LPI GABA (P < .05) significantly decreased, but not ACC GABA (P > .05), following IIPT. There were no significant Glx changes (P > .05). The decrease in LPI GABA was associated with increased distance in the 6-minute walk test (P < .001). IIPT may decrease GABAergic inhibitory tone within the LPI, thereby promoting plasticity and contributing to improvements in physical outcomes with IIPT. PerspectiveRegional GABA changes are associated with a reduction in pain interference and improvement in physical function in youth following intensive pain rehabilitation. GABA may serve as a possible biomarker for IIPT; and may also further aid in the development of IIPT, and other treatments for chronic pain in youth.

Influence of partially exposed nonabsorbable membrane for alveolar ridge preservation: A randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of a partially exposed non-absorbable membrane (dPTFE) in Alveolar Ridge Preservation (ARP) procedures on clinical, tomographic, immunoenzymatic, implant-related, and patient-centered outcomes. Patients with a hopeless maxillary single-rooted tooth demanding rehabilitation with implants were included. Patients were randomized into two groups: dPTFE (n=22)-tooth extraction followed by ARP using a partially exposed dPTFE membrane; USH (n=22)-unassisted socket healing. Clinical and tomographic analyses were performed at baseline and after 3 months. After 3 months, patients received one dental implant. Implant stability quotient was obtained following implant placement. Bone-related markers were analyzed in bone biopsies using an immunoenzymatic assay. Greater gain in Keratinized Mucosa Width (KMW) was observed in the dPTFE (1.33 ± 0.98 mm) compared to USH (0.59± 0.98 mm) (Mann-Whitney test, Z=2,28, p < 0.05). USH showed a reduction of pain/discomfort, edema, and interference with daily life from the seventh day (Friedman/Wilcoxon test, maxT=7.48, 8.00, and 5.92, respectively, p < 0.05). dPTFE presents a reduction of edema and interference with daily life from the 7th day and pain/discomfort from the 14th day (Friedman/Wilcoxon test, maxT=5.40, 5.26, and 4.78, respectively, p < 0.05). The dPTFE group presented higher pain/discomfort in the 35 and 42 days and higher edema from 7 to 42 days postoperatively than USH group (Mann-Whitney test, p < 0.05). No differences between groups were observed in the tomographic measures, immunoenzymatic analysis, and implant stability (p > 0.05). dPTFE was superior to USH by increasing KMW gain. However, dPTFE without bone graft presented similar bone loss compared to USH. This clinical trial was not registered prior to participant recruitment and randomization (NCT04329351).

Effects of a dynamically changing response set overlap on n − 2 repetition costs

N − 2 repetition costs are a marker for inhibition processes during task switching that are supposed to reduce interference from currently irrelevant information. The present study aimed at elucidating effects of response set overlap on n − 2 repetition costs while keeping stimulus set overlap constant. For this purpose, each task was associated with two different response sets. The relevant response set was visually cued in every trial. N − 2 repetition costs were present when the response set overlapped from trial n − 2 to trial n − 1. In contrast, they were abolished when the response set switched. This result is interpreted in terms of stronger interference for overlapping response sets that need to be inhibited to a high degree, resulting in large n − 2 repetition costs. Furthermore, the present results support the notion that two means for interference reduction, task inhibition and task shielding, are deployed in a flexible way depending on environmental demands.

STYLAR MOVEMENT IN Talinum fruticosum (TALINACEAE): CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF THE SPECIES IN POPULATIONS FROM CENTRAL-WEST BRAZIL

In plant species, the movement of reproductive structures can be an adaptive advantage in mating system studies. This phenomenon can promote outcrossing or cause a reduction in intrafloral male-female sexual interference. Consequently, this contributes to the avoidance of self-pollination and/or delayed autonomous self-pollination. The aim of this short communication is to report the results of assessments done in two natural populations of a native species from central-west Brazil that grows spontaneously and sub-spontaneously in opening and ruderal areas of Pantanal. In this study, the movement of the stigma was recorded throughout floral anthesis, and the mating system was determined. Floral measurements such as: flower opening time, pollen viability and the period that the stigma was receptive were also reported. The formation of fruits by spontaneous self-pollination and cross-pollination reinforces the hypothesis that stylar movement in Talinum fruticosum can facilitate or hinder self-pollination in some situations.

Research on interference and noise reduction technology of solar radio observation system

The dynamic spectrum of solar radio burst is a very important tool to study the characteristics of solar radio burst. However, due to the influence of the instruments noise of the solar radio telescope, external interference, the change of ambient temperature, absorption of clouds and so on, the sensitivity of the observation system will be reduced. In particular, the weak solar radio burst signal is easily submerged by various interference signals. In order to improve the sensitivity of solar radio telescope to observe solar radio burst signals and remove narrow-band interference signals, a spectrum data processing algorithm of spectral subtraction method based on entropy and energy threshold values (SSM-EE) is proposed in this article. There are multiple processing steps of SSM-EE. The first step is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) through accumulating and averaging the spectrum data. The second step is to eliminate narrowband interference. The spectral kurtosis algorithm is used to calculate the spectral kurtosis of the narrowband interference signal, and then whether to smooth it is determined according to whether it is greater than the threshold. The third step is to establish a noise model. Calculating the power spectrum entropy and energy entropy of each frame of the processed spectrum data, judge whether it is a noise signal by judging the relationship between the power spectrum entropy and energy entropy and the corresponding threshold. The update model for noise floor is used to obtain the real-time noise floor data. The last step is to eliminate the background noise through spectral subtraction. The new spectrum data are obtained by subtraction method between the original spectrum data and the noise floor data. After a large number of data simulation and verification of the actual observation data, it shows that the method proposed in this article has good practical value.

Energy efficient degree of freedom aided multi beam transmit antenna precoding for mmWave MIMO system

Millimeter-wave communication system provides the feasible solution for the bandwidth limitation present in the sub 6-GHz system. This millimeter-wave communication system requires large antenna array for transmission and needs better RF chain utilization methods. Often single beam transmission over multiple antennas are deployed for RF chain reduction and inter user interference reduction. Multi beam Multi RF transmission system despite capable of providing maximum capacity is affected by power leakage and hence experiences poor energy efficiency. A Multi Beam Transmit Antenna Precoding for Multi beam Multi RF mmWave MIMO system based on analog power splitter arrangement was proposed instead of existing large digital switching network to reduce complexity. In this Multi Beam Transmit Antenna Precoder setup four new precoding algorithms based on alamouti, hadamard, toeplitz and zero correlation sequence were proposed. Sum rate and energy efficiency of the proposed methods were derived theoretically, simulated and compared with existing methods. Computational complexity and degree of freedom were also analyzed for the proposed methods.

Improvements in pain coping predict treatment success among patients with chronic primary pain

ObjectiveGiven the increasing incidence and prevalence of chronic pain, effective treatments for chronic pain are needed. This study aimed to investigate the role of cognitive and behavioral pain coping regarding the prediction of treatment outcomes among inpatients with chronic primary pain participating in an interdisciplinary multimodal treatment program. MethodsAt intake and discharge, 500 patients with chronic primary pain completed questionnaires on pain intensity, pain interference, psychological distress, and pain processing. ResultsPatients' symptoms, cognitive and behavioral pain coping improved significantly after treatment. Similarly, separate cognitive and behaviroal coping skills improved significantly after treatment. Hierarchical linear models revealed no significant associations of pain coping with reductions in pain intensity. Whereas the overall level and improvements in cognitive pain coping predicted reductions in pain interference and psychological distress, the overall level and improvements in behavioral pain coping were associated with reductions in pain interference alone. DiscussionSince pain coping seems to influence both pain interference and psychological distress, improving cognitive and behavioral pain coping during an interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment seems to be a key component in the successful treatment of inpatients with chronic primary pain, enabling them to function better physically and mentally despite their chronic pain. Clinically, it might be worth fostering and exercising cognitive restructuring as well as action planning in treatment to reduce both pain interference and psychological distress levels post-treatment. In addition, practicing relaxation techniques might help reduce pain interference post-treatment, whereas making experiences of personal competence might help reduce psychological distress post-treatment.