Physical Communication Research Articles

Transforming systems and improving lives - the social movement of compassion in Wales

Abstract Wales has embarked on a journey towards becoming an adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and trauma-informed nation. In 2021 the Welsh government supported the co-creation and co-production of an all age, all of society framework: Trauma- Informed Wales: A Societal Approach to Understanding, Preventing and Supporting the Impacts of Trauma and Adversity (ACE Hub Wales et al 2021). This framework is not just an operating model, it has the ambition to be a social movement to embed and sustain a culture shift that is rooted in tackling the conditions of inequality in our communities and the work we do in organisations in the clinical and community settings that support, and employ, people who have experienced trauma and adversity in their lives. The starting point is that any of us can have these experiences. The trauma and ace informed toolkit sets out a process of readiness, self assessment, action planning and implementation across six domain areas which include governance and leadership, monitoring and evaluation, policy and practice. Resources and guidance are co-created and co-produced by partners already on the journey, developed and tested in environments to look at trauma-informed physical spaces, communications, workforce development, training and inclusion of marginalised voices. Supporting this work is a national community of practice, promoting good practice, sharing ideas and developing a culture of wisdom supported by reflective practice. This dynamic forum is supported by online and in person capacity and is transforming organisations and sectors including housing, education, substance misuse, criminal justice and health. It places people, compassion, kindness and empathy at the heart and is enabling traumatised systems to understand and meet the needs of the workforce and the people they serve. Key messages • Systems change is sustained by compassion, kindness and love in a social movement supported by the scaffolding of an operating model. • Public Health has a key role to play in co-developing social networks and resources to transform traumatised systems into trauma-informed places that improve lives and health outcomes.

Enhanced Quantum Entanglement Detection of General Two Qubits Systems Based on Modified CNN‐BiLSTM Model

AbstractEntanglement is a key element in quantum information processing. The detection of entanglement is crucial in many long‐range quantum information tasks, including secure communication and fundamental tests of quantum physics, but it is also highly resource‐intensive. Even for simple 2‐qubits systems, satisfactory detection is challenging. In this work, a modified entanglement detection model combining a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a bidirectional long short‐term memory network (BiLSTM) is proposed. It shows that the proposed model can effectively extract the deep features and correlations, enabling accurate classification of simple quantum states, even with only a few tens of training samples. When trained with a large number of highly random samples, the model exhibits outstanding fitting capability, resulting in the reliable classification of nearly all common 2‐qubits systems. Furthermore, the model exhibits exceptional adaptability and significant application potential in higher‐dimensional systems.

Cosmological Inhomogeneities, Primordial Black Holes, and a Hypothesis on the Death of the Universe

We study the impact of the expansion of the universe on a broad class of objects, including black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and others. Using metrics that incorporate primordial inhomogeneities, the effects of a hypothetical “center of the universe” on inflation are calculated. Dynamic coordinates for black holes that account for expansions or contractions with arbitrary rates are provided. We consider the possibility that the universe may be bound to evolve into an ultimate state of “total dilution”, wherein stable particles are so widely separated that physical communication among them will be impossible for eternity. This is also a scenario of “cosmic virtuality”, as no wave-function collapse would occur again. We provide classical models evolving this way, based on the Majumdar–Papapetrou geometries. More realistic configurations, instead, indicate that gravitational forces locally counteract expansion, except in the universe’s early stages. We comment on whether quantum phenomena may dictate that total dilution is indeed the cosmos’ ultimate destiny.

Postpartum Women's Experiences of Postnatal Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.

Postnatal care (PNC) is a critical service for the health and well-being of new mothers and newborns. However, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), most efforts to improve maternal and child health have been directed toward enhancing skilled birth attendance and urgent obstetric and neonatal care. This is despite the fact that more than half of maternal deaths globally occur in the postnatal period, with 65% of these occurring in the first week following birth. One of the health system factors influencing PNC utilization is the women's previous PNC experience at healthcare facilities. The aim of this review was to gain a better understanding of women's experiences of PNC in SSA. This study followed a qualitative evidence synthesis design. The phenomenon of interest was postpartum women's experiences of PNC in SSA. PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Science Direct, Africa Journals Online (AJOL), SCOPUS, and Google Scholar were searched for peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2013 and 2023. To assess the quality of the included studies, we used an appraisal tool developed by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre. Two authors independently extracted relevant data from the included studies. Thomas and Harden's thematic synthesis framework was used to synthesize the data. Eight articles were used in this review. Seven articles reported on qualitative studies, and one reported on a mixed-method study. All the included studies fully or partially met the 12 quality assessment criteria. Synthesis of the data resulted in the development of five analytical themes. The five themes were the adequacy of physical examination and communication of the findings, adequacy of PNC information, the quality of interactions with healthcare workers (HCWs), the availability of resources and adequacy of HCWs, and denial of care. The overall confidence in the review's findings was either moderate or high. Based on our findings, we recommend that countries in the region address staff shortages, implement task shifting, electronic medicine stock management systems, optimal supply chain policies, and train HCWs on PNC and interpersonal communication skills.

Analysis of the multi-term fractional Bateman equations in radioactive decay by means of Mikusiński algebraic calculus

Fractional Bateman equations model the concentrations of nuclear species through a radioactive decay chain, by considering non-Markovian behavior. Cruz-López and Espinosa-Paredes (Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 2022) solved the mathematical problem with a single memory coefficient, based on the Laplace-transform technique. Cruz-López, Espinosa-Paredes and François (Computer Physics Communications, 2022) extended the analysis to several fractional orders, with Laplace transforms and series expansions checked by induction. In this paper, we solve such a case of distinct memory effects, via the more general method of Mikusiński operational calculus. We do not distinguish between equal and different decay rates. Multivariate Mittag-Leffler functions appear in the closed-form expression.

Cyber-Physical Perception Interface for Co-Simulation Applications.

Co-simulation can bring improvements to the development of cyber-physical perceptive systems (CPPS) in critical fields, allowing uninterrupted system operation and flexibility to use both real-time sensor data and non-real-time data. This paper proposes a co-simulation approach that integrates physical systems and communication systems, including both hardware and software components. This study demonstrates how systems of different natures with discrete or continuous events can be simulated using three methods: time stepped, global event driven, and variable stepped. Through two case studies from the medical and energy fields, CPPS and co-simulation reveal their importance for the future by improving precision and efficiency, which leads to more accurate diagnoses and personalized treatments in the medical field and increases the stability of energy networks.

An energy IoT-driven multi-dimension resilience methodology of smart microgrids

Smart microgrids are significant in promoting clean energy development and improving microgrid security and reliability. However, harsh environments make them exposed to various hazards, including natural hazards such as hail and wildfire and digital hazards such as cyberattacks. Due to these complex challenges, performing performance evaluation and resilience analysis for smart microgrids in different periods (e.g., before, during, and after the hazards) and different layers (e.g., a data layer and a physical layer) is difficult. To reduce this research gap, this paper develops a new multi-layer failure and multi-dimension resilience methodology in the energy Internet of Things (IoT). This paper analyses a multi-layer failure mechanism of smart microgrids in energy IoT with the synergy of the “physical layer, perception layer, communication layer, and application layer”, establishes a multi-stage performance model for smart microgrids based on operation loops, and develops a multi-dimension resilience methodology for smart microgrids with consideration of four performance evolution processes (i.e., prevention, degradation, restoration, and reconstitution). A case adopted from the Shandong province in China is used to demonstrate the proposed method under normal operating conditions and different types of disasters.

Una Trieste per due: Saba attraverso gli occhi di Covacich

This paper draws inspiration by the monologue Saba, produced by Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia and premiered in 2023, on the 140th anniversary of the poet’s birth. The performance serves as the final act of a trilogy dedicated to major figures of twentieth-century literature from Trieste, written and performed by Mauro Covacich. Covacich’s choice of performative medium aims to break down barriers and engage in a more direct, authentic, almost physical communication with his third numen, following Svevo and Joyce. In a vivid portrayal, Covacich emphasizes not only the power of Saba’s poetic language but also his human dimension. The backdrop is Trieste itself, a city intrinsically linked to both Covacich and Saba by an intense yet controversial relationship, though each in a different way. Covacich captures this emotional duality by referencing Saba’s most renowned works, as well as private letters and biographical anecdotes, and intertwining the poet’s personal experience with his own, thus turning the entire monologue into a shared journey.

Healthcare providers' perceptions of infant physical activity and communication.

Healthcare providers (HPs) play a critical role in disseminating information about infant health and development. Two key developmental areas for infants are physical activity (PA) and communication. Few studies have examined HPs views of these topics. Thus, HPs may need support to promote these early development outcomes in infants. Thus, the study explored HPs' perceptions of infant PA and communication. A total of 13 HPs with a wide variety of backgrounds were recruited. Zoom semi-structured interviews were based on the Health Belief Model. Deductive content analysis was utilized to analyze data. HPs knew little about PA guidelines. HPs were concerned about an infant's PA because of limited playtime and tummy time. Most HPs advised parents on PA and motor development milestones, with crawling, walking, and tummy time. HPs also wanted to learn about PA measurement tools. PA promotion was hindered by parents' busy schedules, lack of time, and language barriers. Most HPs advised parents on verbal and nonverbal communication. Many HPs were unfamiliar with communication assessment methods and wanted to learn more. HPs had limited knowledge about PA guidelines and communication measurement tools. Efforts are needed to identify easily accessible ways to educate HPs that could be disseminated to parents.

Attitudes and Perceptions of University Students Towards Teachers' Strategies for Managing Large EFL Classrooms

This study explores students' perceptions and attitudes towards managing large classes in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Yogyakarta State University. Using a quantitative survey approach, the research involved 45 master's students from the English Education Department. It examined aspects of classroom management such as physical environment, teacher communication, and instructional strategies. Results show overall positive views on the learning environment and teacher effectiveness but reveal challenges in experiential learning and student-teacher interaction within large classes. The findings emphasize the need for innovative teaching methods, thorough preparation, and tailored lesson plans to address the specific needs of large EFL classrooms. This research offers insights for educators and policymakers to enhance teaching and learning in similar settings

Patient experiences of remote consulting with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis and fibromyalgia: a qualitative study.

Remote and digital consulting in primary care has rapidly expanded since March 2020. It is important to understand patient experiences, particularly for those living with complex long-term conditions, to identify how care can best be delivered, including within the remote space. To explore the experiences of people living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis [CFS/ME] and Fibromyalgia when consulting remotely in primary care. Semi-structured interviews with patients living with CFS/ME and fibromyalgia in general practice in England METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 participants. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically according to a Foucauldian theoretical framework. All participants highlighted needing to feel believed by clinicians. Many reported difficulties with telephone and online consulting due to the lack of physical communication. Positive outcomes were reported when there was a good relationship with a clinician. Continuity in care and recognising the complexity of these conditions were also considered important. This study allowed people living with CFS/ME and Fibromyalgia to describe their experiences when consulting remotely. Participants highlighted needing to feel listened to and felt they benefited from an ongoing relationship with a clinician although this was difficult to achieve when consulting remotely. Some advantages of remoted consulting were reported, particularly when symptoms were troublesome. Flexible access systems with a range of consultation modalities or preferred clinician(s) availability could improve healthcare encounters, particularly given the increased use of remote consulting, in primary care.

Recommendations for patient-centered emergency care.

Patient-centred care is more than just an aspiration, it represents a fundamental shift in the way healthcare must be delivered. Patient-centred emergency care is important for improving the patient and clinician experience and is essential for optimizing health outcomes. Creating a patient-centred emergency department emphasizes the importance of the patient's experience, preferences, and values. To formulate recommendations for patient-centred care, we synthesized a literature review, stakeholder interviews, consensus from an expert panel of diverse healthcare professionals and a patient advocate, andreviewed our recommendations for feedback with a presentation at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) 2023 Annual Conference Academic Symposium. This paper gives practical recommendations for areas and strategies to improve patient-centredness in Emergency Medicine. It delves into the various dimensions of this approach, including the role of the physical environment, communications and interpersonal interactions, systems of care, and measurement, all of which are essential in providing optimal care to match the patients' needs. We seek to inspire a renewed commitment of placing the patient at the heart of emergency care, recognizing that patient-centredness is not merely an option but a fundamental aspect of delivering highquality, compassionate and effective healthcare in the emergency setting. In an era marked by technological advancements and evolving healthcare paradigms, the essence of medicine as a deeply human endeavour is becoming in some ways more possible, if we seize the opportunities.

Physical layer security­-enhanced optical communication based on chaos masking and chaotic hardware encryption

The security and confidentiality of information are crucial in contemporary communication systems. In this work, we propose a physical layer security-enhanced optical communication scheme based on dual-level protection with chaos masking (CMS) and chaotic hardware encryption. The integration of CMS and chaotic hardware encryption contributes to enhancing the security of the system. Different uncorrelated chaos generated from a single Fabry-Perot (FP) laser are employed to independently mask and encrypt the confidential signals for multiple channels in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system. Thanks to the CMS and temporal intensity scrambling, the signals are encrypted into a noise-like signal to against direct demasking or decryption attacks. Compared to individual CMS or encrypting the signals using stand-alone dispersion components, numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly enhances communication security. The decrypted bit error rate (BER) for 10 Gb/s data in each channel at the legitimate receiver is lower than the hard decision forward error correction threshold (HD-FEC) of 3.8 × 10−3 for a proof-of-principle demonstration. This approach enables multi-path parallel and independent security-enhanced chaotic optical communication, offering a promising solution for high-capacity secure optical communication.

A new priority aware routing protocol for efficient emergency data transmissions in MANETs

This paper introduces a new priority-aware routing protocol for mobile Ad-hoc networks to be utilized in emergencies, which is based on AODV. Mobile Ad-hoc networks find extensive use in various domains including military operations, environmental monitoring, healthcare, disaster response, smart transportation systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and smart homes. During emergencies, communication can be severely restricted or even impossible due to the congestion of physical communication channels and unexpected technical failures in the infrastructure. Mobile Ad-hoc networks offer a solution to maintain continuous and reliable communication under such challenging conditions. In emergency scenarios, it is crucial for any node in the network to promptly deliver urgent messages to the intended destination, especially when certain nodes require ongoing active communication. The proposed routing protocol effectively addresses this requirement through its priority-aware mechanisms. The protocol ensures that nodes not involved in emergency tasks select the least congested route to prevent any delays or disruptions in the transmission of critical emergency data. This approach guarantees seamless communication for emergency nodes while allowing non-emergency nodes to communicate with each other as well. The study proposed in this paper introduces a new priority-aware routing protocol based on AODV for mobile Ad-hoc networks in emergencies. The packet transmission ratio of emergency nodes within the network is improved while maintaining the overall network performance unaffected. The adoption of proposed mechanisms to enhance performance does not necessitate an expansion in the size of data and control packets. These mechanisms do not inflict any supplementary latency or incur packet loss expenses on the network. The proposed protocol has been implemented and evaluated using ns-3 simulation software across various emergency scenarios. The results show that emergency nodes using the proposed protocol, achieve better packet delivery ratios compared to the original AODV, DSR, P-AODV, and AOMDV protocols, with improvements of 10.8%, 15.9%, 6.2%, and 5.9% respectively. This improvement in the packet delivery ratio for emergency data traffic is achieved without causing any disruptions in the overall network communication flow.

Mothers' experiences of privacy in neonatal intensive care units: A qualitative study.

Examining the privacy experiences of mothers in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can play a crucial role in bolstering patient privacy safeguards and elevating the overall quality of health care. However, our understanding of mothers' experiences regarding privacy issues they may face after their infants' hospitalization in the NICU is limited. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of mothers concerning privacy within NICUs to contribute valuable insights for improving infant care and privacy protection. A qualitative content analysis using a conventional approach was conducted. A total of 18 participants, with diverse sociodemographic backgrounds, were interviewed using open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis was undertaken for data analysis. The study was conducted in the NICU of an urban teaching hospital in Iran. The study identified four main themes: 'understanding of privacy', 'fluctuating respect for privacy', 'efforts to maintain privacy' and 'privacy barriers'. Participants viewed privacy as multidimensional, influenced by cultural and religious factors. Respect for privacy varied, with instances of both adherence and violation. Mothers employed strategies to preserve privacy, emphasizing the importance of their infants' privacy. Privacy barriers included hospital attire, the physical space of the NICU, inhomogeneous human resources and insufficient supervision and training. This study, the first of its kind in the NICU context, provides valuable insights into maternal experiences of privacy. Integrating these insights into practice and future research can contribute to creating more empathetic and privacy-respecting NICU environments. Health care providers can use these findings to enhance support for mothers, potentially reshaping physical spaces and communication practices within NICUs.

A RSBU-LSTM network for radio frequency fingerprint identification relying on multiple features

Radio frequency fingerprint identification (RFFI) can distinguish highly similar wireless communication devices to protect physical layer security and improve the security of wireless networks effectively, which has been widely used for spectrum management and physical layer secure communication. However, most RFFI methods show a degradation of performance under low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments. In this paper, we propose a RSBU-LSTM network relying on multiple features to improve the identification accuracy with low SNR. Firstly, we use multiple features of in-phase (I), quadrature (Q), and phase as inputs. Then, we use multiple Residual Shrinkage Building Units (RSBUs) to extract the correlation features within the cycle of signals and preserve as many features as possible in low SNR environments. Finally, we use the long short-term memory (LSTM) to extract the relevant features of the signals of non-adjacent cycles. The experimental results show that the proposed network can effectively complete RFFI in low SNR environments and show better performance than other models used for comparison.

Design and implementation of a physical layer optical fiber security communication system based on a ZUC stream cipher

In this work, we have proposed a new physical layer encryption scheme to improve the security of optical fiber communication systems. The secrecy scheme is based on disturbance of the data cluster under the ZUC algorithm (named for Zu Chongzhi, a famous mathematician in ancient China), which is generated by optical XOR using a dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM). A base scrambling pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) generated by the ZUC stream cipher is introduced, which results in a better scrambling effect and randomness in the key stream of the block encryption structure. A simulation setup conducted in an encrypted transmission of the 64×64 grayscale image over 80 km of optical fiber shows that the authorized user can successfully decrypt the received signal, while the eavesdroppers cannot derive useful information with a bit error rate (BER) at approximately 0.5. In the simulation, after setting the delay compensation to 3.125 ps, a correct signal with a Q-factor as high as 11.3642 and a BER as low as 3.14295−30 can be obtained.

An efficient key tag missing identification protocol for multiple regions in the Industrial Internet of Things

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a special wireless network technology that uses radio frequency communication to achieve non-contact automatic identification through tags affixed to items. As one of the core technologies for physical layer communication in the Industrial Internet of Things(IIoT), RFID technology has been widely used in inventory management, supply chain management, access control identification, and many other areas. In practical application scenarios, the value and importance of some special tags far exceeds that of other tags. Therefore, in many cases, managers only need to pay attention to the status of these special tags, i.e., key tags, and not the status of all tags. However, the response of ordinary tags to reader commands will seriously interfere with identifying key missing tags. Therefore, we propose a novel protocol, Random Grouped Missing Key Tag Identification (RGKMTI), designed for multi-region key tag identification. RGKMTI employs a region-based sequential tag identification method to identify each group of tags individually, which effectively reduces collision slots and utilizes the duality property of slots containing only two key tags during the missing key tag verification phase, where the reader can verify two tags by transmitting at most a single tag ID, which significantly reduces the transmission load and shortens the total execution time. The experimental results show that the RGKMTI is significantly better than the existing schemes in terms of execution time and time efficiency, even though it reduces the identification time by 19.83% and improves the time efficiency by 6.82% compared with the best existing schemes.

A Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Confirmation of Prehospital Endotracheal Tube Placement at Emergency Department Transfer of Care

Objectives Rates of prehospital unplanned extubation (UE) range from 0 to 25% and are the result of many factors, including patient movement. Transfer of care of intubated patients to the emergency department (ED) involves significant patient movement and represents a high-risk event for UE. Frequent confirmation of endotracheal tube (ETT) placement is imperative for early recognition of UE and to minimize patient harm. Methods Local Practice—Our baseline rate of verbal ETT position confirmation with a member of the ED team during ED transfer of care was 74%. Our goal was to increase this practice to >90% in six months. This project was completed in partnership with Toronto Paramedic Services. Prehospital electronic patient care records (ePCRs) were reviewed weekly to determine the proportion of intubated patients who had ETT placement confirmed in the ED at transfer of care. Interventions—Pre- and post-project paramedic focus groups were conducted to identify potential drivers, change ideas, and project feedback. Three staggered interventions were introduced over five months: (1) memorandums to paramedics, ED chiefs and respiratory therapy leads, (2) individualized paramedic feedback e-mails, and (3) ePCR changes and closing rules. Results The pre-project focus group identified several potential drivers, such as physical barriers, interprofessional relationships, and communication. ETT confirmation remained ≥90% for the last eight weeks and interventions resulted in special cause variation. Median cases without verbal confirmation between paramedics and ED staff reduced from 5/week (IQR 2.5, 6.5) to 1/week (IQR 0, 2). UE was identified in 0.6% (2/340) of patients with ETT confirmation. The post-project focus group noted improvements in perceived accountability, interprofessional relationships, and satisfaction with interventions. Conclusion Through a series of interventions, we improved the rate of ETT confirmation during ED transfer of care. Although rates of UE were low, improvement in ETT confirmation may lead to faster recognition of UE when it does occur thereby mitigating complications. The observed improvement was sustained after interventions ended.

How Do Chinese Street Food YouTubers Robustly Communicate Cross-Cultural Tourism Destination?

The street food content of YouTubers is an intercultural communication message to promote Chinese culture to viewers around the world. This article aims to analyze cross-cultural interactivity in physical and online intercultural communication. The research uses a qualitative content analysis method continuously produced by non-Chinese-speaking YouTubers to communicate original Chinese culture to viewers outside China. The sample selection was determined using several search keywords on YouTube channels and 21 titles were selected in English, Indonesian, Malay, and French. Data were analysed by coding text, verbal, audio, and visual formats. Research finds that there is social learning about Chinese culture through street food and several other cultural dimensions, such as heritage, fashion, artefacts and history, Chinese language, and customs. YouTubers produce street food content by choosing Chinese culinary specialities to introduce to viewers. Viewers worldwide enjoy Chinese culinary delights in various places because overseas Chinese restaurants and street food are found in Southeast Asia, Europe, and America. Apart from watching online, viewers who are consumers also enjoy Chinese street food. Implications for the culture-based tourism industry are also discussed.