5,477 research outputs found

    Consideration of Interference Correlation Properties in a JD-CDMA Mobile Radio System with Coherent Receiver Antenna Diversity

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    In code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile radio systems, both intersymbol interference and multiple access interference arise which can be combatted by using Joint Detection (JD) techniques, to reduce the degradation in performance resulting from time variance, coherent receiver antenna diversity (CRAD) can be used. The application of JD techniques offers the possibility to exploit the knowledge of noise covariances at the receiver. If only intercell (cochannel) interference is considered, the noise covariances in the uplink receiver of a multiple receiver antenna CDMA mobile radio system depend mainly on the directions of arrival (DOAs) of the interfering signals and the receiver antenna placement. Therefore, if the interferer DOAs are known at the base station, these covariances could be estimated. In this thesis, a realistic model of the uplink of a JD CDMA mobile radio system with CRAD is described in which the above mentioned interference cancelling method is used. Simulation results according to this model are given and evaluated.Applied SciencesElectrical EngineeringTelecommunications and Traffic Control Systems Grou

    Mia Bauer, Class of 1996, founded Crumbs Bake Shop in 2003.

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    Mia Bauer received her JD from New York Law School in 1996. In 2003 she and her husband founded the Crumbs Bake Shop which became a national chain, and eventually went public in 2012. In July 2014 it filed for bankruptcy. Crumbs is a bakery chain headquartered in New York City. Founded in 2003 as a small mom-and-pop style bakery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan by Mia & Jason Bauer, the company expanded to 79 locations in eight states (New York, Illinois,Virginia, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and California) and Washington, D.C.. Crumbs was the largest cupcake chain in the United States. It produced more than 50 varieties of gourmet cupcakes. Crumbs reopened on October 14, 2014 at its Broadway location in New York. It plans to slowly reopen more stores in the near future.https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/entrepreneurs_inventors_innovators/1001/thumbnail.jp

    Dairy farmers’ perceptions toward the implementation of on-farm Johne’s disease prevention and control strategies

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    mplementation of specific management strategies on dairy farms is currently the most effective way to reduce the prevalence of Johne’s disease (JD), an infectious chronic enteritis of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). However, dairy farmers often fail to implement recommended strategies. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions of farmers participating in a JD prevention and control program toward recommended practices, and explore factors that influence whether or not a farmer adopts risk-reducing measures for MAP transmission. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 dairy farmers enrolled in a voluntary JD control program in Alberta, Canada. Principles of classical grounded theory were used for participant selection, interviewing, and data analysis. Additionally, demographic data and MAP infection status were collected and analyzed using quantitative questionnaires and the JD control program database. Farmers’ perceptions were distinguished according to 2 main categories: first, their belief in the importance of JD, and second, their belief in recommended JD prevention and control strategies. Based on these categories, farmers were classified into 4 groups: proactivists, disillusionists, deniers, and unconcerned. The first 2 groups believed in the importance of JD, and proactivists and unconcerned believed in proposed JD prevention and control measures. Groups that regarded JD as important had better knowledge about best strategies to reduce MAP transmission and had more JD risk assessments conducted on their farm. Although not quantified, it also appeared that these groups had more JD prevention and control practices in place. However, often JD was not perceived as a problem in the herd and generally farmers did not regard JD control as a “hot topic” in communications with their herd veterinarian and other farmers. Recommendations regarding how to communicate with farmers and motivate various groups of farmers according to their specific perceptions were provided to optimize adoption of JD prevention and control measures and thereby increase success of voluntary JD control programs

    “Resources‐Demands Ratio”: Translating the JD‐R‐Model for company stakeholders

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    Objectives Practitioners and organizational leaders are calling for practical ways to explain and monitor factors that affect workplace health and productivity. This article builds on the well‐established Job Demands‐Resources (JD‐R) model and proposes an empirically tested ratio that aggregates indicators of job resources and demands. In this study, we calculate a ratio of generalizable job resources and demands derived from the JD‐R model and then translate the ratio into the language of company stakeholders. Methods We calculated a ratio based on measures applied in a large stress management intervention study (n = 2983) and report the findings from cross‐sectional analysis with health and productivity outcomes from same‐source and separate‐source data. Results Findings showed a strong and unambiguous increase in health and productivity measures with each step of increase in the ratio. Loss in explained variance due to aggregation of two factors into a single ratio is small for measures which are known to be predicted by both factors simultaneously. Conclusions A translation and visualization of the ratio that is accessible to practitioners and organizational leaders is presented and its use in companies discussed

    Altered dietary salt intake for people with chronic kidney disease

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    Background: Evidence indicates that reducing dietary salt may reduce the incidence of heart disease and delay decline in kidney function in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This is an update of a review first published in 2015. Objectives: To evaluate the benefits and harms of altering dietary salt for adults with CKD. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Kidney and Transplant Register of Studies up to 6 October 2020 through contact with the Information Specialist using search terms relevant to this review. Studies in the Register are identified through searches of CENTRAL, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, conference proceedings, the International Clinical Trials Register (ICTRP) Search Portal and ClinicalTrials.gov. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials comparing two or more levels of salt intake in adults with any stage of CKD. Data collection and analysis: Two authors independently assessed studies for eligibility, conducted risk of bias evaluation and evaluated confidence in the evidence using GRADE. Results were summarised using random effects models as risk ratios (RR) for dichotomous outcomes or mean differences (MD) for continuous outcomes, with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main results: We included 21 studies (1197 randomised participants), 12 in the earlier stages of CKD (779 randomised participants), seven in dialysis (363 randomised participants) and two in post-transplant (55 randomised participants). Selection bias was low in seven studies, high in one and unclear in 13. Performance and detection biases were low in four studies, high in two, and unclear in 15. Attrition and reporting biases were low in 10 studies, high in three and unclear in eight. Because duration of the included studies was too short (1 to 36 weeks) to test the effect of salt restriction on endpoints such as death, cardiovascular events or CKD progression, changes in salt intake on blood pressure and other secondary risk factors were examined. Reducing salt by mean -73.51 mmol/day (95% CI -92.76 to -54.27), equivalent to 4.2 g or 1690 mg sodium/day, reduced systolic/diastolic blood pressure by -6.91/-3.91 mm Hg (95% CI -8.82 to -4.99/-4.80 to -3.02; 19 studies, 1405 participants; high certainty evidence). Albuminuria was reduced by 36% (95% CI 26 to 44) in six studies, five of which were carried out in people in the earlier stages of CKD (MD -0.44, 95% CI -0.58 to -0.30; 501 participants; high certainty evidence). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of lower salt intake on weight, as the weight change observed (-1.32 kg, 95% CI -1.94 to -0.70; 12 studies, 759 participants) may have been due to fluid volume, lean tissue, or body fat. Lower salt intake may reduce extracellular fluid volume in the earlier stages of CKD (-0.87 L, 95% CI -1.17 to -0.58; 3 studies; 187 participants; low certainty evidence). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of lower salt intake on reduction in antihypertensive dose (RR 2.45, 95% CI 0.98 to 6.08; 8 studies; 754 participants). Lower salt intake may lead to symptomatic hypotension (RR 6.70, 95% CI 2.40 to 18.69; 6 studies; 678 participants; moderate certainty evidence). Data were sparse for other types of adverse events. Authors' conclusions: We found high certainty evidence that salt reduction reduced blood pressure in people with CKD, and albuminuria in people with earlier stage CKD in the short-term. If such reductions could be maintained long-term, this effect may translate to clinically significant reductions in CKD progression and cardiovascular events. Research into the long-term effects of sodium-restricted diet for people with CKD is warranted.Full Tex

    A critical review of the Job demands-Resources model: Implications for improving work and health

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    The Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R model) became highly popular among researchers. The current version of the model proposes that high job demands lead to strain and health impairment (the health impairment process), and that high resources lead to increased motivation and higher productivity (the motivational process). This chapter reviews the assumptions and development of the JD-R model and presents an overview of important fi ndings obtained with the model. Although these findings largely support the model’s assumptions, there are still several important unresolved issues regarding the JD-R, including the model’s epistemological status, the definition of and distinction between “demands” and “resources,” the incorporation of personal resources, the distinction between the health impairment and the motivational processes, the issue of reciprocal causation, and the model’s applicability beyond the individual level. The chapter concludes with an agenda for future research and a brief discussion of the practical application of the model

    Knowledge gaps that hamper prevention and control of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection

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    In the last decades, many regional and country‐wide control programmes for Johne's disease (JD ) were developed due to associated economic losses, or because of a possible association with Crohn's disease. These control programmes were often not successful, partly because management protocols were not followed, including the introduction of infected replacement cattle, because tests to identify infected animals were unreliable, and uptake by farmers was not high enough because of a perceived low return on investment. In the absence of a cure or effective commercial vaccines, control of JD is currently primarily based on herd management strategies to avoid infection of cattle and restrict within‐farm and farm‐to‐farm transmission. Although JD control programmes have been implemented in most developed countries, lessons learned from JD prevention and control programmes are underreported. Also, JD control programmes are typically evaluated in a limited number of herds and the duration of the study is less than 5 year, making it difficult to adequately assess the efficacy of control programmes. In this manuscript, we identify the most important gaps in knowledge hampering JD prevention and control programmes, including vaccination and diagnostics. Secondly, we discuss directions that research should take to address those knowledge gaps

    Evaluation of an alternative method of herd classification for infection with paratuberculosis in cattle herds in the United States

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    Objective - To develop a better system for classification of herd infection status for paratuberculosis (Johne's disease JD]) in US cattle herds on the basis of the risk of potential transmission of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratubeculosis. Sample - Simulated data for herd size and within-herd prevalence; sensitivity and specificity for test methods obtained from consensus-based estimates. Procedures - Interrelationships among variables influencing interpretation and classification of herd infection status for JD were evaluated by use of simulated data for various herd sizes, true within-herd prevalences, and sampling and testing methods. The probability of finding ≥1 infected animal in herds was estimated for various testing methods and sample sizes by use of hypergeometric random sampling. Results - 2 main components were required for the new herd JD classification system: the probability of detection of infection determined on the basis of test results from a sample of animals and the maximum detected number of animals with positive test results. Tables were constructed of the estimated probability of detection of infection, and the maximum number of cattle with positive test results or fecal pools with positive culture results with 95% confidence for classification of herd JD infection status were plotted. Herd risk for JD was categorized on the basis of 95% confidence that the true within-herd prevalence was ≤15%, ≤10%, ≤5%, or ≤2%. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Analysis of the findings indicated that a scientifically rigorous and transparent herd classification system for JD in cattle is feasible.Source type: Electronic(1

    “Resources‐Demands Ratio”: translating the JD‐R‐Model for company stakeholders

    No full text
    OBJECTIVES: Practitioners and organizational leaders are calling for practical ways to explain and monitor factors that affect workplace health and productivity. This article builds on the well-established Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and proposes an empirically tested ratio that aggregates indicators of job resources and demands. In this study, we calculate a ratio of generalizable job resources and demands derived from the JD-R model and then translate the ratio into the language of company stakeholders. METHODS: We calculated a ratio based on measures applied in a large stress management intervention study (n = 2983) and report the findings from cross-sectional analysis with health and productivity outcomes from same-source and separate-source data. RESULTS: Findings showed a strong and unambiguous increase in health and productivity measures with each step of increase in the ratio. Loss in explained variance due to aggregation of two factors into a single ratio is small for measures which are known to be predicted by both factors simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: A translation and visualization of the ratio that is accessible to practitioners and organizational leaders is presented and its use in companies discussed

    A critical review of the Job Demands-Resources Model: Implications for improving work and health

    No full text
    © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht. All rights are reserved. The Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R model) became highly popular among researchers. The current version of the model proposes that high job demands lead to strain and health impairment (the health impairment process), and that high resources lead to increased motivation and higher productivity (the motivational process). This chapter reviews the assumptions and development of the JD-R model and presents an overview of important findings obtained with the model. Although these findings largely support the model's assumptions, there are still several important unresolved issues regarding the JD-R, including the model's epistemological status, the definition of and distinction between demands and resources, the incorporation of personal resources, the distinction between the health impairment and the motivational processes, the issue of reciprocal causation, and the model's applicability beyond the individual level. The chapter concludes with an agenda for future research and a brief discussion of the practical application of the model.status: Publishe
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