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Deep Learning for Channel Estimation of 6G RIS-NOMA Systems with Hardware Impairments
Get PDFReconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) integrated with non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) are essential technologies for enhancing spectrum efficiency and coverage in sixth generation (6G) wireless networks. Accurate channel estimation in RIS-NOMA systems is challenged by hardware impairments and user mobility, which introduce distortions and dynamic channel conditions. This paper proposes a hybrid convolutional neural network-long short-term memory (CNN-LSTM) model designed to improve channel estimation in RIS-NOMA environments affected by hardware impairments. The model leverages CNNs to extract spatial features from high-dimensional channel matrices and employs LSTMs to capture temporal variations resulting from user movement. Additionally, a dataset generation algorithm is developed to simulate time-varying RIS-NOMA scenarios with realistic hardware impairments. We evaluated the proposed model performance across various noise factors, demonstrating its capability to maintain accurate channel estimation under different hardware impairment levels and quantization bit settings, as measured by root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Across different settings in RIS-NOMA systems, the proposed model achieved its best performance with an RMSE of 0.00186, MAE of 0.00148, and MAPE of 0.06501. Our findings highlight the model’s adaptability and robustness, providing valuable insights for reliable channel estimation in complex RIS-NOMA systems
The Effects of Monte Carlo Sampling on Automated Valuation Model Performance in Real Estate Assessment
Get PDFPurpose: The aim of this research is to examine the effects of Monte Carlo sampling methods on the accuracy, precision, and consistency of automated valuation models (AVMs). Currently, compliance to international ratio standards has been measured against one single configuration of an AVM. However, the application of Monte Carlo sampling within AVMs has the potential to improve on model performance indicators concerning accuracy, precision, and consistency and provide more flexibility for the assessment community. Methodology: This paper examines the process of both in-sample and hold-out sample selection. It applies 750 Monte Carlo simulations and calibrates three AVMs using multi-linear regression, gradient boosting machine regression, and geographically weighted regression approaches. Each of the model iterations are evaluated for accuracy, precision and consistency based on the IAAO (2013) Standard on Ratio Studies.Findings: The findings show that applying Monte Carlo techniques to the sampling process in automated valuation model calibration allows for the emergence of normal distributions in the frequency distributions of the model performance indicator results. These normal distributions can subsequently be used to calculate inferential statistics to estimate the probability of non-compliance of an AVM.Originality: While the Monte Carlo method has been applied to real estate studies previously, this technique has not been used to estimate non-compliance against international standards. This paper solely addresses the outcomes of the model performance indicators rather than the coefficients in the AVMs. For scenarios where there is limited sales evidence, the analysis indicates that the application of different sample selection configurations can provide support for performance analysis
Decolonisation and Multiculturalism: Navigating a Theoretical Cul-de-Sac
Get PDFWhat does it mean to decolonise education in a multicultural society? Can this society be decolonised after all? In this article, I ask these questions and try to provide some answers. I draw on qualitative responses from some graduate students in South Africa to argue that decolonisation is mainly about ensuring multicultural sensitivity. As both a process and practice, decolonisation challenges cultural and epistemic ethnocentrism in significant ways. With this argument, the article presents a new way of reigniting the debate on decolonisation and offers possible ways of altering existing misinterpretations of what it means to decolonise education or the academy in the global South and beyond. I argue that any discussion about decolonisation should not be about the North–South divide. Rather, any thinking about decolonisation should focus on ways to enhance multicultural interaction and dialogue.</p
Temporal Trends in Inadequate Vegetable and Fruit Consumption Among Adolescents Aged 12-15 Years From 31 Countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas
Get PDFBackground and Aims: A low intake of fruit and vegetable consumption has been found to be associated with a plethora of negative health outcomes in adolescents. However, there is a scarcity of literature on long-term trends in fruit and vegetable intake in the adolescent population. Therefore, we examined this trend in a nationally representative sample of adolescents (12–15 years) attending school in 31 countries, including Africa, Asia, and the Americas, where investigation of such trends has been scarce. Methods: The present study analyzed data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003–2017. The prevalence (95% CI) of inadequate fruit and vegetable intake (i.e., consumption < 5 times/day) was calculated for each survey, and crude linear trends were examined by linear regression models for each country. Results: We analyzed data from students (n = 193,388) aged 12–15 years [mean (SD) age 13.7 (1.0) years; 49.0% boys]. A high overall prevalence of inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption was found (75%). We observed increasing, decreasing, and stable trends in 6, 3, and 22 countries, respectively. In countries where decreasing trends were found, this decrease was minimal. Moreover, the majority of countries with stable trends exhibited a high prevalence of inadequate fruit and vegetable intake across multiple years. Conclusion: Our data show that inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption among adolescents is a major global problem with almost no improvements being observed in recent years. Intensification of global efforts to combat inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption is necessary.</p
Preparation, characterisation, and testing of reservoir-based implantable devices loaded with tizanidine and lidocaine
Get PDFMultiple sclerosis is a chronic neuroimmunological disorder that causes progressive disability, primarily in young adults. It places a significant burden on healthcare systems due to high medication costs and long-term care needs. Implantable devices offer a promising alternative for delivering sustained drug doses in the treatment of chronic conditions. This study introduces a novel long-acting subcutaneous implant for dual-drug delivery: tizanidine (TZ) for spasticity management and lidocaine (LD) for post-insertion pain relief. Reservoir-type implants were developed with TZ in the core and LD in the shell. Two fabrication methods—direct compression and vacuum compression moulding (VCM)—were evaluated for TZ-loaded pellets (3 mm diameter, ~ 10 mm length) using TZ base and TZ hydrochloride. Pellets were encapsulated inside a biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) tubular membrane to control drug release. Direct compression pellets, made with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, disintegrated quickly, releasing TZ over 20 days. VCM pellets, formulated with PCL or PCL/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), offered prolonged release: up to 200 days for TZ base and 80 days for TZ hydrochloride. Adding PEG accelerated TZ release, reducing duration to 20 days (TZ base) and 125 days (TZ hydrochloride). LD was incorporated into the PCL membrane, providing up to three days of sustained release. Physicochemical analysis confirmed formulation homogeneity and no covalent interactions. These findings highlight the potential of this implant system for MS-related spasticity management, supporting further research into long-acting implants to improve treatment adherence and patient outcomes.</p
Paclitaxel resistance in breast cancer: Current challenges and recent advanced therapeutic strategies
Get PDFBreast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Paclitaxel (PTX), a chemotherapeutic agent derived from the taxane family, is commonly used in treating BC due to its ability to disrupt microtubule dynamics and induce cell death. However, resistance to PTX presents a significant challenge, as it diminishes the drug's effectiveness and can lead to treatment failure. This review explores the mechanisms by which PTX exerts its effects and the various factors contributing to resistance. These factors include genetic mutations that affect tubulin dynamics, the role of non-coding RNAs, molecular pathways involved in chemoresistance, epigenetic changes, post-transcriptional modifications, increased activity of ABC transporters that promote drug efflux, immunosuppressive interactions within the tumor microenvironment, and resistance mediated by autophagy. This review also explores strategies to overcome PTX resistance, including molecular and genetic innovations, combination therapies, and nanotechnology-based approaches. These strategies may improve PTX efficacy and enhance treatment outcomes for BC patients.</p
FrostRune: An Asymmetric Translational Framework for Spiking Neural Networks from High-Level Models to FPGA Deployment
Get PDFSpiking Neural Networks (SNNs) provide energy-efficient neuromorphic computing, but their deployment on FPGAs requires specialised hardware knowledge. We introduce FrostRune, a framework for automatically converting Python-based SNN descriptions into FPGA-ready VHDL code using the YAML format. Our experiments on the MNIST-DVS dataset demonstrate that FrostRune achieves high accuracy and behavioural equivalence, while significantly reducing latency, power consumption, and resource usage compared to traditional HDL coding approaches. This work lowers the barrier to FPGA-based neuromorphic computing and enables efficient SNN deployment
Relative validity of the Chrono-Nutrition Behavior Questionnaire (CNBQ) against 11-day event-based ecological momentary assessment diaries of eating
Get PDFBackground: A growing number of studies have investigated chrononutrition-related variables in relation to health outcomes. However, only a few questionnaires specifically designed for assessing chrononutrition-related parameters have been validated. We aimed to examine the relative validity of the Chrono-Nutrition Behavior Questionnaire (CNBQ) against 11-day event-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) diaries of eating. Methods: Informed by previous research, we developed the CNBQ for the comprehensive assessment of chrononutrition-related parameters, including sleep variables, eating frequency, timing of eating, duration of eating occasions, duration of eating windows, and time interval between sleep and eating, for workdays and non-workdays separately. Between February and April 2023, a total of 1050 Japanese adults aged 20–69 years completed the online CNBQ and subsequently kept event-based EMA food diaries for 11 days, including 6.5 workdays and 4.5 non-workdays on average. Results: Mean differences between estimates derived from the CNBQ and the EMA food diaries were < 10% for most of the variables examined, both for workdays (27 of 33; 82%) and non-workdays (25 of 33; 76%), and for variables based on differences between workdays and non-workdays, such as eating jetlag (5 of 6; 83%). Spearman correlation coefficients between estimates based on the CNBQ and estimates based on the EMA food diaries were ≥ 0.50 for 26 variables (79%) on workdays and 22 variables (67%) on non-workdays (e.g., mid-sleep time; total eating frequency; timing of first eating occasion, last eating occasion, first meal, and last meal; duration of first meal and last meal; duration of eating window; eating midpoint; and time interval between wake time and first eating occasion and between last meal and sleep time), and 2 variables based on differences between workdays and non-workdays (e.g., eating jetlag base on breakfast timing). Bland–Altman analysis showed that the limits of agreement were wide and that the bias of overestimation by the CNBQ was proportional as mean estimates of the CNBQ and EMA food diaries increased. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the relative validity of the CNBQ justifies its use in estimating mean values and ranking individuals for the majority of chrononutrition-related parameters.</p
Gender, nation and reproduction in the afterward of repeal and decriminalisation
Get PDFUntil 2019, abortion was illegal, with little exception, on both parts of the island of Ireland with the laws dating from the Offences Against the Person Act (1861), a vestige of British colonial law. However, in each country, very different approaches changed the law. In the Republic of Ireland, the process involved a Citizens Assembly, a government committee and a referendum of all citizens. In Northern Ireland, as the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended, the UK government, based in Westminster, introduced new legislation. This study explores how these different processes impacted on how abortion seekers feel about their capacity to access abortion care; being a citizen and how this relates to their sense of belonging in each country, what we are calling reproductive citizenship. We are interested in how legalising abortion on the island of Ireland matters for people’s sense of citizenship. Specifically, we are asking how the local availability of abortion matters to abortion seekers sense of belonging and how this shapes their understanding of citizenship. This article sketches out our conceptual framework for Reproductive Citizenship, expanding upon Bryan Turner’s initial formulation of reproductive citizenship to encompass abortion.
Challenging ableism and disablism in English football fandom: Disabled supporters and repertoires of ‘everyday resistance’
Get PDFRecent research has shown that disabled people who attend professional football matches in England are confronted with a series of barriers rooted in ableism and disablism. However, we know significantly less about how they respond to, navigate and resist these. Addressing growing calls among scholars of disability activism to capture the whole spectrum of resistance articulated by disabled people, particularly more individual, spontaneous forms, this study aims to expose the mundane, individualised and ‘everyday’ resistance enacted by disabled football supporters. Drawing on a dual-phased netnographic methodology involving online observations of fan message boards and online semi-structured interviews with 33 disabled supporters, we uncover three primary ‘repertoires of resistance’ consisting of: visibility politics; avoidance; and speaking up. Through these verbal, cognitive, and/or physical acts of resistance, this study reveals that disabled people do not remain ‘passive’ when confronted with discriminatory discourses and practises in English football but rather, actively challenge them