Simultaneous Access Research Articles

Performance Analysis of Impaired SWIPT NOMA Relaying Networks Over Imperfect Weibull Channels

This letter considers a simultaneous wireless information and power transfer nonorthogonal multiple access network, where the relay is energy constrained and harvests energy from the source radio frequency signals using a time-switching protocol. Our analysis accounts for imperfect channel state information (ICSI) and residual hardware impairments (RHIs). To characterize the effects of the two imperfections brought in the considered network, the outage probability (OP) and throughput are investigated. More particularly, we derive a lower bound on the OP in closed-form, as well as the asymptotic OP and diversity order. We also investigate the throughput in the delay-limited transmission mode in terms of deriving corresponding expression. It is observed that the performance of system is limited by RHIs and ICSI, which results in error floor for the OP and zero diversity order. In addition, a key conclusion is that by carefully selecting the ratio factor between the energy harvesting and information transmission phases, the throughput can be maximized.

Micropatterned Thermoresponsive Cell Culture Substrates for Dynamically Controlling Neurite Outgrowth and Neuronal Connectivity in Vitro.

In vitro cultured neuronal networks with defined connectivity are required to improve neuronal cell culture models. However, most protocols for their formation do not provide sufficient control of the direction and timing of neurite outgrowth with simultaneous access for analytical tools such as immunocytochemistry or patch-clamp recordings. Here, we present a proof-of-concept for the dynamic (i.e., time-gated) control of neurite outgrowth on a cell culture substrate based on 2D-micropatterned coatings of thermoresponsive polymers (TRP). The pattern consists of uncoated microstructures where neurons can readily adhere and neurites can extend along defined pathways. The surrounding regions are coated with TRP that does not facilitate cell or neurite growth at 33 °C. Increasing the ambient temperature to 37 °C renders the TRP coating cell adhesive and enables the crossing of gaps coated with TRP by neurites to contact neighboring cells. Here, we demonstrate the realization of this approach employing human neuronal SH-SY5Y cells and human induced neuronal cells. Our results suggest that this approach may help to establish a spatiotemporal control over the connectivity of multinodal neuronal networks.

Two-Phase Random Access Procedure for LTE-A Networks

Simultaneous random access attempts from massive machine-type communications (mMTC) devices may severely congest a shared physical random access channel (PRACH) in mobile networks. This paper presents a novel two-phase random access (TPRA) procedure to deal with the congestion caused by mMTC devices accessing the PRACH. During the first phase, the TPRA splits the mMTC devices into smaller groups according to a preamble selected randomly by the devices. Then, in the second phase, each group of devices is assigned with a dedicated channel to complete the random access procedure. The proposed concept allows a base station to adjust the number of dedicated channels in real-time according to the actual network load. We then present an analytical model to estimate the access success probability and the average access delay of the TPRA. Finally, we propose a simple formula to determine the optimal number of random access resources for the second phase of the proposed TPRA. Simulations are carried out to validate the analytical models and to demonstrate the benefits of the TPRA compared to competitive techniques.

Direct removal of RNA polymerase barriers to replication by accessory replicative helicases.

Bacterial genome duplication and transcription require simultaneous access to the same DNA template. Conflicts between the replisome and transcription machinery can lead to interruption of DNA replication and loss of genome stability. Pausing, stalling and backtracking of transcribing RNA polymerases add to this problem and present barriers to replisomes. Accessory helicases promote fork movement through nucleoprotein barriers and exist in viruses, bacteria and eukaryotes. Here, we show that stalled Escherichia coli transcription elongation complexes block reconstituted replisomes. This physiologically relevant block can be alleviated by the accessory helicase Rep or UvrD, resulting in the formation of full-length replication products. Accessory helicase action during replication-transcription collisions therefore promotes continued replication without leaving gaps in the DNA. In contrast, DinG does not promote replisome movement through stalled transcription complexes in vitro. However, our data demonstrate that DinG operates indirectly in vivo to reduce conflicts between replication and transcription. These results suggest that Rep and UvrD helicases operate on DNA at the replication fork whereas DinG helicase acts via a different mechanism.

NOVEL EPICARDIAL-ONLY APPROACH TO LAA LIGATION

Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke, and the left atrial appendage (LAA) is the most common source of thrombus. A percutaneous suture delivery system (LARIAT) for LAA closure has emerged, however it requires simultaneous endo-epicardial access. We describe a new epicardial-only

Voluntary elevated ethanol consumption in adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats: Procedural contributors and age-specificity.

Alcohol consumption is typically initiated during adolescence, with the incidence of binge drinking (production of blood ethanol concentrations [BECs]>80mg/dL) peaking during this stage of development. Studies in outbred rats investigating the consequences of adolescent ethanol exposure have typically employed intragastric, vapor, or intraperitoneal administration to attain BECs in this range. While these procedures have yielded valuable data regarding the consequences of adolescent exposure, they are varyingly stressful, administer the full dose at once, and/or bypass digestion. Consequently, we have worked to develop a model of voluntary elevated ethanol consumption in outbred adolescent Sprague-Dawley males and females, building on our previous work (see Hosová & Spear, 2017). This model utilizes daily 30-min access to 10% ethanol (v/v) in chocolate Boost® from postnatal day (P)28-41. Experiment 1 compared intake levels between (1a) animals given either ball-bearing or open-ended sipper tube tips for solution access, (1b) animals separated from their cage mate by wire mesh or isolated to a separate cage during solution access, (1c) animals given solution access with or without simultaneous access to banana-flavored sugar pellets, and (1d) animals that were either moderately food-restricted or fed ad libitum. Experiment 2 compared intake levels between animals given daily solution access and animals given access only on a "Monday-Wednesday-Friday" intermittent schedule. Experiment 3 compared adolescent and adult (P70-83) consumption using the finalized procedure as based on the results of Experiments 1 and 2. As in our previous work, consumptions well within the binge range were produced on some days, with high-consumption days typically followed by several days of lower consumption before increasing again. Sipper tube type (1a) and simultaneous pellet access (1c) did not affect consumption, while intake was significantly higher in non-isolated (1b), food-restricted (1d), daily-access (2), and adolescent (3) animals. However, although ethanol intake was higher in food-restricted animals, the resulting BECs were equivalent or higher in non-restricted animals, likely due to a hepatoprotective effect of moderate food restriction. Post-consumption intoxication ratings correlated with BECs and were notably higher in adults than adolescents, despite the lower voluntary consumption levels of adults, confirming prior reports of the attenuated sensitivity of adolescents to ethanol intoxication relative to adults. The final model utilized ball-bearing sipper tube tips to provide daily access to 10% ethanol in chocolate Boost® to free-feeding adolescent animals separated from their cage mate by wire mesh, with no food provided during solution access. This easy-to-implement model is effective in producing elevated voluntary ethanol consumption in adolescent, but not adult, Sprague-Dawley rats.

Google search histories of patients presenting to an emergency department: an observational study

ObjectiveTo test patients’ willingness to share and link their prior Google search histories with data from their electronic medical record (EMR), and to explore associations between search histories and clinical...

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy in the supine flank free modified position for the removal of a 3 year Double-J ureteral stent in a horseshoe kidney

Horseshoe kidney is one of the most common congenital renal abnormalities with increased incidence of stone formation. We present a case of an HIV seropositive patient with a both-ends encrustated 3 year forgotten DJ stent and a staghorn stone in the left moiety of a horseshoe kidney. He was treated with percutaneous nephrolithotomy in the supine flank free modified position and simultaneous cystolitholapaxy. Supine percutaneous nephrolithotomy is safe and feasible in horseshoe kidney and facilitates simultaneous thansurethral access for cystolitholapaxy.

Resource Allocation Method of Cognitive Satellite Terrestrial Networks Under Non-Ideal Spectrum Sensing

Recently, the cognitive satellite communication has attracted more attention because of the high spectrum efficiency in the satellite bands. This paper investigates a distributed joint resource allocation algorithm based on the convex optimization theory in the cognitive satellite terrestrial networks under non-ideal spectrum sensing. In the cognitive satellite terrestrial network scenario, satellite users act as secondary users (SUs) who have the ability to transmit over multiple and simultaneous radio access technologies (RATs). Considering primary user activity modeling, the goal of the proposed algorithm is to minimize the end-to-end delay of the SUs in an actual propagation channel scenario. The bandwidth of different RATs and the power of different SUs are jointly allocated, and then, the data being transported by each SU are sent based on the allocated bandwidth and power. The numerical results validate the performance enhancement of the proposed algorithm and show the impact of channel condition parameters on the SUs’ delays under non-ideal spectrum sensing. The SUs transmission delays reduce by 81.31% after the resource allocation when the mean of primary user activity matrix is 0.9.

Китай: інвестиційні амбіції, обмеження та можливості

The article considers financial aspects of the implementation of the People's Republic of China's international initiative of "One Belt, One Way". China's impressive economic success over the last 30 years has shown how it grew into a major global exporter and investor, gaining the second-country status in terms of national GDP and imports. These changes took place against the backdrop of rapid economic growth and deep structural reforms, which were accompanied by increased output and exports of high value-added products. Under these conditions, the country naturally prefers to reorient the global economic system in such a way that it is more conducive to China's economic, financial and political interests. A key practical tool for implementing such a plan is the One Belt, One Way initiative, which is to ensure simultaneous access to (a) Western technologies, (b) global raw materials markets, (c) infrastructure capacities that should maximize the deliveries of Chinese produce to all corners of the world economy. However, such an ambitious plan requires an extraordinary amount of financial resources. Despite China's considerable international reserves (over $3 trillion), its volume is still insufficient to cope with such a task. Moreover, the country itself needs further assimilation of foreign investment and technology due to the relatively low level of capital intensity of its workforce. China will be able to solve this dilemma if it manages to create a system of "counter investment", that is, attraction and absorption of foreign investments from more technologically developed countries, which are denominated in the main reserve currencies, and simultaneously realize their own foreign investments in Yuan, offering their users deliveries of own products of slightly lower technological complexity than those received from foreign investors. This publication was prepared based on the presentation of "The Belt and Road Initiative - A New Shape of Globalization?" presented at the Institute of World Economics and Policy (IWEP) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in May 2019 as part of the International Economic and Economic Conference on "Economic and Trade Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative: Retrospect and Prospect".

Implementation of a low-cost standardized handoff system (IPASS) in a pediatric hematology/oncology unit: Lessons from a low-middle income country.

278 Background: Communication failure is the most common preventable cause of medical adverse event, and almost half of all sentinel events involve handoff failure. Inefficient handoff is labor intensive and time consuming, impacting the quality of patient care provided. A safe and efficient means of exchange of medical information between care teams via a standardized handoff system is essential, especially in high intensity fields such as Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Methods: Pre-intervention, handoff entailed the physical handover of handwritten notes, carbon copied for various team members. A standardized electronic handoff tool (IPASS) was identified, and significantly modified to fit our needs, since we do not have a complete electronic medical record (EMR). Microsoft Sharepoint (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) was used to develop a tabulated online portal incorporating patient demographic, clinical and laboratory details with physician remarks. This allowed remote access, multiple simultaneous inputs, authenticated use and user-specific access control. Implementation included sensitizing residents to the IPASS template, hands-on training, weekly feedback from the residents, directly observed hand-off by the chief and/or senior resident. Following a four-week pilot this was expanded to other sub specialties, and a pre and post intervention survey was conducted to assess its impact. Results: Pre-implementation survey revealed 74% resident and 87% faculty dissatisfaction with the current handoff process. Weekly compliance audits after initial pilot demonstrated a 100% compliance. Post-Implementation results showed that the resident dissatisfaction has gone down to less than 5%. Conclusions: Implementation of an electronic handoff tool in the absence of an EMR with minimal resources is a major breakthrough and can be replicated in other low-resource settings. We successfully implemented IPASS without any added infrastructure cost. In the next phase of our project we will be measuring trends in reduction in medical errors since implementation.

PCP15 - WHY EUROPEAN CROSS-BORDER INITIATIVES ON DRUG PROCUREMENT MAY FAIL?

Over recent years, ten European cross-country collaborations for drug procurement emerged to contain pharmaceutical costs. These initiatives encompass thirty countries. Although they share multiple objectives, the ultimate goal is a joint procurement of expensive medicines, leveraging the population size of involved countries. The prominent one is the Valletta Declaration. It gathers countries with a broad range of GDP and population size. The lack of operational framework is delaying the procurement initiation. To be attractive, they should operate like a single market with a unique price and a simultaneous access; however it is unlikely due to heterogeneous affordability. Due to subsidiarity principle of pricing policies, delegation of price negotiation to Valletta group will require national legislation. Large countries are not ready to give up their additional negotiation power and are looking for a second national negotiation, while smaller countries expect a single negotiation and a same net price for all countries. Low GDP countries expect subsidies from high GDP countries through differential pricing to ensure simultaneous launch which may not happen. Some countries, such as Spain and Portugal have organised joint tenders for generics and biosimilars until the Valletta framework is clarified. BeneluxA-I is expected to be the most promising collaboration; it gathers homogeneous countries with close culture and vision. The first attempt for joint procurement failed highlighting the limited power negotiation despite a quite well established framework. Other initiatives gather small countries, except Poland, with low affordability making them unattractive for providers to offer significant rebates. The top five markets in EU represent 75% of the whole European market providing them a strong negotiation power and leaving the smaller markets unease to achieve substantial discounts even when joining forces. Joined procurement requires a European Union engagement together with a differential pricing to help low affordability countries.

Selective probe of coherent polar phonon and quasiferromagnetic resonance modes in multiferroic GdFeO3

Using time-resolved second harmonic generation (TRSHG) and optical transmission, we demonstrate simultaneous optical access to both magnetic and ferroelectric order parameters in a magnetoelectric multiferroic ${\mathrm{GdFeO}}_{3}$ below the transition temperature 2.2 K. In magnetoelectric phase, the pump pulses impulsively generate polar phonon modes of ${B}_{2}$ and ${A}_{1}$ symmetry and a quasiferromagnetic resonance mode, creating coherent lattice and spin motions. While collective motions associated with the ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic ordering are simultaneously excited, only the polar motion is detected in TRSHG, resulting in a direct subpicosecond excitation of the improper ferroelectric order. Our result also experimentally indicates that the soft mode in improper ferroelectrics is IR inactive above the phase transition, unlike proper ferroelectrics. Furthermore, we investigate the crystal polar symmetry and potential coupling between the polar phonons and the quasiantiferromagnetic resonance mode, which can shed light on the studies of subpicosecond magnetoelectric coupling based on collective quasiparticle excitations.

Superconducting metamaterials for waveguide quantum electrodynamics

Embedding tunable quantum emitters in a photonic bandgap structure enables control of dissipative and dispersive interactions between emitters and their photonic bath. Operation in the transmission band, outside the gap, allows for studying waveguide quantum electrodynamics in the slow-light regime. Alternatively, tuning the emitter into the bandgap results in finite-range emitter–emitter interactions via bound photonic states. Here, we couple a transmon qubit to a superconducting metamaterial with a deep sub-wavelength lattice constant (λ/60). The metamaterial is formed by periodically loading a transmission line with compact, low-loss, low-disorder lumped-element microwave resonators. Tuning the qubit frequency in the vicinity of a band-edge with a group index of ng = 450, we observe an anomalous Lamb shift of −28 MHz accompanied by a 24-fold enhancement in the qubit lifetime. In addition, we demonstrate selective enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission of different transmon transitions, which provide simultaneous access to short-lived radiatively damped and long-lived metastable qubit states.

DIII-D Research to Prepare for Steady State Advanced Tokamak Power Plants

We review progress made on the advanced tokamak path to fusion energy by the DIII-D National Fusion Facility (Luxon et al. in Nucl Fusion 42:614, 2002). The advanced tokamak represents a highly attractive approach for a future steady state fusion power plant. In this concept, there is a natural alignment between high pressure operation, favorable stability and transport properties, and a highly self-driven (‘bootstrap’) plasma current to sustain operation efficiently and without disruptions. Research on DIII-D has identified several promising plasma configurations for fully non-inductive operation with potential applications to a range of future devices, from ITER to nuclear science facilities, to compact or large scale fusion power plants. Significant progress has been made toward realizing these scenarios, with the demonstration of high β access, off-axis current drive techniques, model based profile control, and stability and ELM control in reactor relevant physics regimes. Radiative techniques have also been pioneered to develop improved compatibility with divertor requirements, and simultaneous access to high performance pedestals. Research has also developed major advances in physics understanding, validating concepts of kinetic damping of ideal MHD instabilities that enable high β operation, identifying how current profile and β influence plasma turbulence in order to validate and improve turbulent transport models, and understanding the physics of energetic particle redistribution due to Alfvénic and other instabilities. These advances have been partnered with development of a rigorous integrated modeling framework used to interpret and validate individual physics models of the various aspects of plasma behavior, and to guide development of improved regimes and upgrades. These tools are also being used to develop and validate concepts for future reactors directly. Having established these foundations, DIII-D is now undergoing a substantial upgrade to raise power, current drive, electron heating and 3-D field capabilities in order to validate this physics and test conceptual solutions in reactor-relevant physics regimes, with a goal to resolve the key scientific and technology questions to enable a decision on a future steady state fusion power plant.

Пояснично-тазовая транспедикулярная фиксация вертикально-нестабильных повреждений тазового кольца

Introduction Identification of a proper fixation of the posterior pelvic ring is of paramount importance in treatment of patients with vertically unstable pelvic injuries. Material and methods Outcomes of 29 patients with polytrauma and vertically unstable pelvic injuries treated at Level I Trauma Center between 2013 and 2017 were analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 34.8 ± 99 years. The severity of the injuries and patients’ condition were evaluated using Injury Severity Score (ISS), VPKh-P (MT), VPKh-SP, and Yu. N. Tsibin scales (1975) to determine the sequence of treatment and diagnostic procedures. Classification offered by Pape H. C. (2005) was used to evaluate physiological condition. The ISS score was 27.1 ± 9.9. All patients underwent computed tomography (CT) scan of pelvic for preoperative planning. Lumbopelvic transpedicular fixation (LPTF) was employed as a definitive treatment of vertically unstable pelvic ring fractures in all clinical observations. Posterior half-ring morphology, a need for decompression of the nerve roots of the sacral plexus, timing of surgery were considered to decide on LPTF configuration. Results Three-month-to-six-year follow-ups of 22 patients showed good and excellent results achieved in 72.7 % of the cases that are in line with findings reported in the literature. Discussion Biomechanically adequate method of internal fixation is the method of choice in the definitive treatment of vertical unstable pelvic injuries with the possibility of decompression of compromised neural structures. Lumbopelvic fixation with the possibility of simultaneous access for decompression of neural structures is the most optimal technique for these complicated injuries.

A uW Backscatter-Morse-Leaf Sensor for Low-Power Agricultural Wireless Sensor Networks

Nowadays, the monitoring of plant water stress is of high importance in smart agriculture. Instead of the traditional ground soil-moisture measurement, the leaf sensing is a new technology, which is used for the detection of plants needing water. In this paper, a novel, low-cost, and low-power system for leaf sensing using a new plant backscatter sensor node/tag is presented. The latter, can result in the prevention of water waste (water-use efficiency), when is connected to an irrigation system. Specifically, the sensor measures the temperature differential between the leaf and the air, which is directly related to the plant water stress. Next, the tag collects the information from the leaf sensor through an analog-to-digital converter, and then, communicates remotely with a low-cost software-defined radio reader using monostatic backscatter architecture. The tag consists of the sensor board, a microcontroller, an external timer, and an RF front-end for communication. The timer produces a subcarrier frequency for simultaneous access of multiple tags. The proposed work could be scaled and be a part of a large backscatter wireless sensor network. The communication protocol exploits the low-complexity Morse code modulation on a 868 MHz carrier signal. The presented novel proof-of-consent prototype is batteryless and was powered by a flexible solar panel consuming power around $20~\mu \text{W}$ . The performance was validated in an indoors environment where wireless communication was successfully achieved up to 2 m distance.

A paradox of apparent brainless behavior: The time-course of compound word recognition

A review of the behavioral and neurophysiological estimates of the time-course of compound word recognition brings to light a paradox whereby temporal activity associated with lexical variables in behavioral studies predates temporal activity of seemingly comparable lexical processing in neuroimaging studies. However, under the assumption that brain activity is a cause of behavior, the earliest reliable behavioral effect of a lexical variable must represent an upper temporal bound for the origin of that effect in the neural record. The present research provides these behavioral bounds for lexical variables involved in compound word processing. We report data from five naturalistic reading studies in which participants read sentences containing English compound words, and apply a distributional technique of survival analysis to resulting eye-movement fixation durations (Reingold & Sheridan, 2014). The results of the survival analysis of the eye-movement record place a majority of the earliest discernible onsets of orthographic, morphological, and semantic effects at less than 200 ms (with a range of 138–269 ms). Our results place constraints on the absolute time-course of effects reported in the neurolinguistic literature, and support theories of complex word recognition which posit early simultaneous access of form and meaning.

Racetrack Queues for Extremely Low-Energy FIFOs

Networks-on-chip (NoCs) have become a leading energy consumer in modern multicore processors, with a considerable portion of this energy originating from the large number of virtual channel first-in–first-out (FIFO) buffers. Given this motivation, we propose control schemes that leverage the “shift-register” nature of spintronic domain-wall memory (DWM) to create extremely low-energy FIFO queues. In order to test these queues in the most relevant application context, replacing conventional memory buffers for NoCs, we perform design-space analysis over the different schemes in a network context and then analyze the best schemes with benchmark traffic. Our results indicate that the best shift-based buffer utilizes a dual-nanowire approach to ensure that reads and writes can be more effectively aligned with access ports for simultaneous access in the same cycle. Our approach provides a $2.93\times $ speedup over a DWM buffer using a traditional FIFO memory control scheme with a 23.4% savings in energy. The resulting approach achieves a 39% reduction in energy-delay product compared to SRAM and a 24% reduction in energy-delay product versus spin-transfer torque magnetic memories.

Assessing the usability of tile-based interfaces to visually navigate 3-D parameter domains

Abstract Navigating 3-D parameter domains, such as color and orientation of an object, is a common task performed in most computer graphics applications. Although 1-D sliders are the most common interface for browsing such domains, they provide a tedious and difficult user experience that hampers finding desirable visual solutions. We present the Rhomb-i slider, a novel and visually enriching tile-based interface to navigate arbitrary 3-D parameter domains. Contrary to 1-D sliders, the Rhomb-i slider supports a sketch-based interface that gives simultaneous access to up to two parameters. We conducted a usability study to ascertain whether the proposed Rhomb-i slider is a more natural interface compared to 1-D sliders and other commonly used widgets for different 3-D parameter domains: HSV color space, super-shape curves, and rotation of a 3-D object. On the one hand, qualitative feedback and performance measures reveal that Rhomb-i sliders have similar results when compared to conventional HSV color interfaces, and are the preferred interface to efficiently explore the super-shapes parameter domain. On the other hand, Rhomb-i revealed to be a less efficient and effective interface to rotate a 3D object, thus paving the way to new design explorations regarding this tile-based interface.