196,091 research outputs found
Physical and psychological aspects of low back pain among Saudi patients: A case-control study
No full textContext: Low back pain (LBP) is a common public health problem, and has a multifactorial etiology that includes not only physical risk factors, but also psychosocial factors. There were several studies that investigated physical and psychosocial factors and their relationship with LBP. However, up to the researchers′ knowledge, no studies have been conducted in Saudi Arabia.
Aims: To investigate physical and psychological factors in Saudi population with LBP.
Settings and Design: A case-control study using self-report measures.
Materials and Methods: Arabic versions of the following self-report measures were applied: A 10-cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure pain intensity; the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to record average physical activity levels over the last 7 days; and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) to measure the negative emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress. The above self-report measures were handed to the participants and were collected immediately. Thirty-one patients with LBP and thirty-one control participants matched in body mass index and age participated.
Statistical analysis used: Independent t-tests and Pearson Correlation Analysis were used to calculate differences in VAS, IPAQ and DASS between the two groups.
Results: Patients with LBP had moderate stress compared to control participants (19.8 and 4.4 respectively, P = 0.0013). Both groups did not present with anxiety or depression. No significant difference was found in any level of activity between the groups.
Conclusions: Stress was present in this group of Saudi patients with LBP. Targeting psychological factors associated with LBP, not only physical factors may help improve the management of patients with LBP
Novel techniques to enhance LTE and WiMAX throughput indoors and at the cell-edge for femtocells using MIMO
No full textStrong demand for wireless communications encourages academic research centres and
industrial electronics and communication companies to keep improving the performance,
increase the speed, extend the coverage area and enlarge the baud rate and capacity. LTE
(Long Term Evolution) and WiMAX (the Worldwide Interoperability Microwave Access)
are recent solutions for most wireless technologies.
LTE and WiMAX coverage range are one of the important factors that affect the quality of
broadband access services and mobile cellular systems in wireless communication.
Predicting and evaluating the path loss is essential in planning and designing cellular mobile
systems. This thesis presents a comprehensive study of path loss on LTE and mobile
WiMAX to achieve large throughputs and wide coverage at the Cell-edge. The thesis
introduces, analyzes and compares the path loss values, based on LTE and WiMAX standard
at one carrier frequency, namely 3.5GHz and a variation of distances in the range of 1 to 50
km, in flat rural, suburban and urban environments. The thesis discusses and implements the
Okumura, Hata, Cost-231, Ericsson, Erceg, Walfish, Ecc-33, Lee and the simplified free
space path loss models. The objectives of path loss evaluation results are to calculate the link
budget, the power outage and the base station cell coverage area for mobile cellular systems.
A femtocell (FMC) is a low cost low power cellular home base station, operating in licensed
spectrum. Because of the requirement for high data rates and improved coverage indoors,
FMC provides a solution to these requirements. FMC is deployed mainly indoors and
sometimes outdoors at the cell-edge to increase the area of coverage, capacity and in order to
enhance the received signal in the user’s premises. The thesis presents the interference,
SINR and the probability of connection for the downlink with different numbers of FMCs
based on LTE and WiMAX OFDMA. Moreover, comparisons of interference, SINR and
probability of connection for three different numbers of FMCs and for three different indoor
areas are presented. In addition, a comparison for the probability of connection with various
threshold values and numbers of FMCs is simulated and presented in 3-D. The probability of
connection for a varied number of FMCs is a guide study to find the appropriate number of
FMCs that could serve a specific indoor area and the proper number of UEs in the specified
area.
The thesis also presents the interference, SINR and the probability of connection at the
uplink for a user equipment device (UE) to an FMC with varied number of UEs based on
LTE and WiMAX OFDMA. Moreover, comparisons of the interference, SINR and
probability of connection for three different areas at the uplink are presented. Therefore,
analyzing probability of connection with varied number of UEs is a worthy study in order to
identify the appropriate number of UEs that could be served by a specific number of FMCs
at a specific indoor location.
The thesis presents and investigates the capacity of MIMO with the presence of FMCs to
perform cancellation of co-channel interference. The research introduces algorithms to
calculate the capacity of MIMO with the presence of FMCs by two models. The simulation
results show that the capacity equations of model-2 give better results than the capacity
equations of model-1. Therefore, model-2 is used for the interference cancellation of MIMO
in the presence of MIMO. Interference cancellation is performed at the downlink when the
signal is transmitted from FMC to UE by mitigating and cancelling the interference which
comes from the neighbouring FMCs to the target UE. The thesis introduces, explains and
applies a novel algorithm to calculate the capacity of MIMO at the presence of FMCs with
interference cancellation by these channel equalizers ZF, MMSE, VBLAST ZF, VBLAST
MMSE and VBLAST OFDM MMSE
Dr. Duane M. Jackson, Morehouse College, July 2011
No full textThis video is a conversation with Dr. Duane M. Jackson. Dr. Jackson talks about his paper, "Recall and the Serial Position Effect: The Role of Primacy and Recency on Accounting Students' Performance." Jackie Daniel, AUC Woodruff Library, is the interviewer
"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States" By M. Carey.
No full text"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States: containing bried sketches of the moral and political character of those states.
By M. Carey, member of the American philosophical, and of the American Antiquarian Society, and author of The Olive Branch, Cindiciae Hibernicae, essays on banking, on political economy, and on internal improvement.
To which are now added the English editor's comments on the subject; together with Important Advice to Emigrants, and Cautions Against Impositions Practiced in the Outports
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Dr. Glendon Swarthout
No full textHosted by Roger M. Busfield, MSU Assistant Professor of Speech and Theater, Meet the Author is designed to introduce a general audience to a contemporary author and their work through in-depth interviews. This episode features a conversation between Dr. Glendon Swarthout, prolific author and English professor at MSU, and assistant professors Sam S. Baskett and Theodore B. Strandness
Simulation of thermal plant optimization and hydraulic aspects of thermal distribution loops for large campuses
Full text linkFollowing an introduction, the author describes Texas A&M University and its utilities system. After that, the author presents how to construct simulation models for chilled water and heating hot water distribution systems. The simulation model was used in a $2.3 million Ross Street chilled water pipe replacement project at Texas A&M University. A second project conducted at the University of Texas at San Antonio was used as an example to demonstrate how to identify and design an optimal distribution system by using a simulation model. The author found that the minor losses of these closed loop thermal distribution systems are significantly higher than potable water distribution systems. In the second part of the report, the author presents the latest development of software called the Plant Optimization Program, which can simulate cogeneration plant operation, estimate its operation cost and provide optimized operation suggestions. The author also developed detailed simulation models for a gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator and identified significant potential savings. Finally, the author also used a steam turbine as an example to present a multi-regression method on constructing simulation models by using basic statistics and optimization algorithms. This report presents a survey of the author??s working experience at the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University during the period of January 2002 through March 2004. The purpose of the above work was to allow the author to become familiar with the practice of engineering. The result is that the author knows how to complete a project from start to finish and understands how both technical and nontechnical aspects of a project need to be considered in order to ensure a quality deliverable and bring a project to successful completion. This report concludes that the objectives of the internship were successfully accomplished and that the requirements for the degree of Degree of Engineering have been satisfied
Intern experience at CH���M Hill, Inc.: an internship report
Full text linkIncludes author's vita"Submitted to the College of Engineering of Texas A&M University in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Engineering."Includes bibliographical referencesA review of the author's internship experience with CH���M HILL, Inc.
during the period September 1975 through May 1976 is presented. During this nine month
internship the author worked as an Engineer II in the Industrial Processes discipline of this
large consulting engineering firm... The author's prime responsibility was as one of three
lead design engineers on the design of a large wastewater treatment facility for a pulp mill
in Hoquiam, Washington owned by ITT Rayonier Inc. The work generally consisted of the design
of individual treatment units and associated piping and pumping. The purpose of the project
was to provide wastewater treatment capabilities that would satisfy the effluent limitations
(standards) imposed upon the mill by the State of Washington Department of Ecology and the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The author's assignment also entailed necessary
interaction with the project manager and other CH���M HILL design engineers and support staff
members, the client's representatives, and representatives of two other consulting engineering
firms working on the project. Thus, the internship position at CH���M HILL provided considerable
experience coordinating the author's work with the work of other engineers, guiding the design
and administrative efforts of a support staff, and interacting regularly with the client and
other consulting firms. This broad exposure to a variety of engineering and organizational
problems provided a valuable educational experience
Transition to turbulence in a qblique shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction at M=15
No full textDirect numerical simulations are carried out for different forcing techniques to trigger transition during the interaction between an oblique shock-wave and a laminar boundary-layer at M = 1.5. Three forcing methods are used: a) forcing of oblique unstable modes, whose shape and behaviour are determined by the local linear stability theory, b) broadband free-stream acoustic disturbances, and c) a cold plasma flow control device. While the oblique-mode breakdown is dominant for low-amplitude forcing, long streaky structures drive the transition process in a high-amplitude disturbance environment. LES are also performed on the experimental setup by the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM) from Novosibirsk State University with cold plasma actuation. As well as the disturbance type, the effect of Reynolds number and forcing amplitude will be investigated
Letter from Cedrick M. Shimo to the Office of Redress Administration, June 4, 1991
No full textA letter from Cedrick M. Shimo to the Office of Redress Administration arguing that John Y. Udaka is entitled to a redress payment.These materials are from box 73 and 74 of the Frank Chin Papers. The Frank Chin Papers contain personal and professional correspondence between Frank Chin and Michi Weglyn relating to particular projects on which either author was working as well as files related to the Day of Remembrance Tribute to Michi Weglyn
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