In the trials of adversity work on character strength

The Impact of Signal Bandwidth on Indoor Wireless Systems in Dense Multipath Environments Daniel J. Hibbard Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE In Electrical Engineering Dr. R. Michael Buehrer, Chair Dr. William A. Davis Dr. Jeffery Reed May 13, 2004 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Spreading Bandwidth, Propagation Measurements, Sliding Correlator, Rake Receiver, Channel Estimation, Channel Characterization, CDMA Copyright 2004, Daniel J. Hibbard The Impact of Signal Bandwidth on Indoor Wireless Systems in Dense Multipath Environments Daniel J. Hibbard Abstract Recently there has been a significant amount of interest in the area of wideband and ultra-wideband (UWB) signaling for use in indoor wireless systems. This interest is in part motivated by the notion that the use of large bandwidth signals makes systems less sensitive to the degrading effects of multipath propagation. By reducing the sensitivity to multipath, more robust and higher capacity systems can be realized. However, as signal bandwidth is increased, the complexity of a Rake receiver (or other receiver structure) required to capture the available power also increases. In addition, accurate channel estimation is required to realize this performance, which becomes increasingly difficult as energy is dispersed among more multipath components. In this thesis we quantify the channel response for six signal bandwidths ranging from continuous wave (CW) to 1 GHz transmission bandwidths. We present large scale and small scale fading statistics for both LOS and NLOS indoor channels based on an indoor measurement campaign conducted in Durham Hall at Virginia Tech. Using newly developed antenna positioning equipment we also quantify the spatial correlation of these signals. It is shown that the incremental performance gains due to reduced fading of large bandwidths level off as signals approach UWB bandwidths. Furthermore, we analyze the performance of Rake receivers for the different signal bandwidths and compare their performance for binary phase modulation (BPSK). It is shown that the receiver structure and performance is critical in realizing the reduced fading benefit of large signal bandwidths. We show practical channel estimation degrades performance more for larger bandwidths. We also demonstrate for a fixed finger Rake receiver there is an optimal signal bandwidth beyond which increased signal bandwidth produces degrading results. iii For Ashley, who was there every step of the way iv Acknowledgments At this time I would like to thank Michael Buehrer, William Davis, Jeffery Reed, and Raqib Mostafa for serving on my advisory committee and providing technical expertise as well as encouragement along the way. I would also like to acknowledge the Via family for the generous endowment provided by the Harry Lynde Bradley Fellowship which allowed me to pursue this research almost completely un-tethered from the reins. I would also like to express my In the trials of adversity work on character strength In the trials of adversity work on character strength Bởi: Joe Tye “It is through character that personal leadership and excellence are exercised; it is character that sets the example and the standards by which you behave… The greatest gift you can give yourself is the practice of good character; the greatest gift you can give to others is a model character Character inspires and is inspiring.” Gary Ryan Blair: Everything Counts: 52 Remarkable Ways to Inspire Excellence and Drive Results “Character is destiny” said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus It’s true From Enron to Lance Armstrong, we’ve seen over and over how character flaws can bring down an organization and permanently damage the reputation of an individual When your world turns upside down, it really is a test of character Will you be a victim or a fighter? Will you accept responsibility or point fingers? Will you tell the hard truth or try to pass off the easy lie? Character is tested, defined, and refined by adversity Helen Keller, a woman who had more than her share of adversity and so spoke from experience, said it best: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Confucius thought a great deal about character, often using the contrast between what he called the superior man and the small man to make his point His sayings were included in The Analects, a collection of his teachings compiled by his followers after his death, which I’ve excerpted in the illustration As you read each line, ask yourself where you fall on the “small-superior” continuum, and what you can to move yourself in the direction of superior character Be completely honest with yourself because no one will see it but you It’s a test of character Confucius on character The superior man works to develop the superior aspects of his character The small man allows the inferior aspects of his character to flourish 1/2 In the trials of adversity work on character strength The superior man is easy to serve but difficult to please The small man is difficult to serve but easy to please The superior man can see a question from all sides The small man can see it only from his biased perspective The superior man calls attention to the good points in others The small man calls attention to their defects The superior man can influence those who are above him The small man can influence only those below him The demands that the superior man makes are on himself The demands of the small man are placed upon others The superior man is slow in word but prompt in deed The small man is quick to make promises but slow to keep them The superior man is diligent in ascertaining what is right The small man is diligent in ascertaining what will pay The superior man is calm and at ease The small man is fretful and ill at ease When things go wrong, the superior man seeks blame in himself When things go wrong, The small man seeks blame in others The small man thinks he is a superior man The superior man knows he is a small man In the presence of a superior man, think all the time how you might equal him In the presence of a small man, evaluate your own character to be sure you are not like him The superior man has the quality of wind The small man has the quality of grass When the wind blows, the grass cannot help but to bend “To see what is right and not to it is cowardice.” Confucius: The Analects 2/2 1 Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Language and culture are interdependent and interactional. Culture affects the way language is used and language may reflect many factors of culture in turn. In addition, what is right in one culture may not be accepted in another culture. As people move from one country to another, cultural differences become apparent to them. For instance, American society values simple and direct communication. Being open and direct in expressing desires, preferences, and feelings or in discussing issues is highly appreciated in the United States. Americans are likely to be, to various degrees, honest in delivering negative evaluations. However, in Vietnamese culture, where positive face saving is important, directness may be perceived as being blunt, rude and impolite, especially when complaining and criticizing someone or something (face-damaging acts). Therefore, most Vietnamese are at first shocked at the American direct way of communicating in general and criticizing in particular. In addition, with the popularity of Internet and online magazines in English language, people have more chances to interact and know more about other countries. As a reporter of a Vietnamese e-newspaper, the thesis author would like to find out the differences in article- writing style among countries and how culture affects it. For the limitation of time and resources, she only focuses on expressions of criticizing in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers in the light of Directness/Indirectness to see if they cause culture shock. Such is her hope that this paper will have some contributions to the study of cross-cultural communication between America and Vietnam. 1.2 Aims of the study The aims of this paper are: + To study cultural aspects which affect criticism in American and Vietnamese online newspapers + To compare the use of directness and indirectness in criticism between American and Vietnamese online newspapers + To study ways to express criticism in American and Vietnamese online newspapers 1 1.3 Scope of the study This research only analyzes the degree of directness and indirectness in criticism of some selected American and Vietnamese newspapers. 1.4 Methods of the study The analysis uses inductive and deductive methods with the following techniques: + Selecting some online newspapers with great readership and popularity + Collecting and analyzing articles with criticism + Consulting reference books + Discussing with teachers and friends + Conducting surveying 1.5 Designs of the study Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Criticism in American and Vietnamese e-newspapers Chapter 4: Data analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion 2 2 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Culture 2.1.1 Definition of culture Culture is one of the most complicated concepts to define. This is partly because of its long historical development, but mainly because it now has been used in important background for a lot of distinct intellectual systems. The word “culture” comes from the Latin root - “colere” which means “to inhabit, cultivate, or honor”. In other words, it refers to Journal of Water and Environment Technology, Vol.4, No.1, 2006 - 61 - Effect of urban emissions on the horizontal distribution of metal concentration in sediments in the vicinity of Asian large cities T. Urase 1* , K. Nadaoka 2 , H. Yagi 2 , T. Iwasa 1 , Y. Suzuki 1 F. Siringan 3 , T. P. Garcia 4 , T. T. Thao 5 1: Dept. of Civil Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8552 Japan. *: Corresponding author. turase@fluid.cv.titech.ac.jp , +81-3-5734-3548 2: Dept. of Mechanical and Environmental Informatics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo, 152-8552 Japan. 3: National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines, 1101 Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines 4: Dept. Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Technological University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines 5: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Hanoi University of Science, 19- LeThanh Tong street, Hanoi, Vietnam Abstract: Metal contents of sediments in Manila Bay – Laguna Lake watershed in the Philippines were measured and detailed horizontal distribution was obtained. The distribution of zinc and lead concentration in Manila Bay clearly shows the effect of anthropogenic contamination and it was explained by the diffusion of lead and zinc rich anthropogenic particles discharged from Pasig River. The sediments in Laguna Lake were mostly natural particulate matters from surrounding mountains and they contained 20 mgPb/kg and 100 mgZn/kg, while the sediment taken at the heavily polluted branches of the Pasig River contained as high as 88 mgPb/kg and 310 mgZn/kg. The lead and zinc concentrations in the sediments of Manila Bay – Laguna Lake watershed were compared with those in the mouth of the Tama River, Tokyo, where the faster deposition of coarser natural origin particles and slower deposition of lead and zinc rich anthropogenic particles determined the sediment concentration. The comparison was also made with Hanoi City, Vietnam. In spite of the difference in time when leaded gasoline was prohibited, the difference in the lead concentrations of roadside deposits and sediments was not obvious in the vicinity of these three target cities. This is probably due to dilution by a large amount of suspended solids conveyed by the Pasig River in the case of the Philippines. Storm water runoff containing roadside deposits and discharge of untreated wastewater were identified as factors increasing zinc and lead concentrations of sediments in receiving waters based on the measurements on roadside deposits and the estimation of the contribution of untreated wastewater. Keywords: Laguna Lake; lead; Manila Bay; sediment; wastewater; zinc. Introduction Asian cities generally have large populations. Human activities and their impacts on natural environments are concentrated in the vicinity of urban regions. High precipitation in Asian regions results in erosion of land and induces urban runoff during wet weather days. A large amount of particulate matters having natural and anthropogenic sources flows into receiving watersheds. Incomplete sewer problems such as low coverage and STUDY PROTO C O L Open Access The efficacy of computer reminders on external quality assessment for point-of-care testing in Danish general practice: rationale and methodology for two randomized trials Frans B Waldorff 1* , Volkert Siersma 1 , Ruth Ertmann 2 , Marius Brostrøm Kousgaard 1 , Anette Sonne Nielsen 4 , Peter Felding 3 , Niels Mosbæk 3 , Else Hjortsø 4 and Susanne Reventlow 1 Abstract Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) is increasingly being used in general practice to assist general practitioners (GPs) in their management of patients with diseases. However, low adherence to quality guidelines in terms of split test procedures has been observed among GPs in parts of the Capital Region in Denmark. Computer reminders embedded in GPs electronic medical records (ComRem) may facilitate improved quality control behaviour, but more research is needed to identify what types of reminders work and when. The overall aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ComRem to improve GPs adherence to quality guidelines. This article describes the rationale and methods of the study that constitute this research project. Methods/design: The study is conducted as two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) among general practices in two districts of the Capital Region in Denmark. These districts contain a total of 739 GPs in 567 practices with a total of 1.1 million patients allocated to practice lists. In the first RCT (RCT A), ComRem is compared to postal reminder letters. In the second RCT (RCT B), ComRem is compared to usual activities (no reminders) with a crossover approach. In both of these studies, outcomes are measured by the number of split tests received by the laboratory. Conclusions: This study will contribute to knowledge on the efficacy of ComRem in primary care. Because the study does not explore GPs’ perceptions and experiences with regard to ComRem, we will subsequently conduct a qualitative survey focusing on these aspects. Trial registrations: Study A: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01152151 Study B: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01152177 Background Point-of-care testing (POCT) is increasingly being used in general practice to assist general practitioners (GPs) in their daily work with patients. For adequate deployment of POCT, an external quality assessment (EQA) is recommended on a monthly basis [1]. In the Copenhagen area, EQA is enforced by a split test procedure as well as annual outreach consultant visits. In a split test, the actual POCT result is compared to a result fro m a blood sample from the same individual analyzed at the central laboratory. The quotient of these two results should ide- ally be 1.00, but a value inside the interval ranging from 0.85 to 1.15 is acceptable [1]. This quotient is returned to the practice for self-evaluation. However, the adherence to the monthly split test procedure has not been satisfac- tory among GPs in two districts of the Capital Region (Table 1). T herefore, the Copenhagen General Pract i- tioners’ Laboratory (hereafter simply referred to as ‘the laboratory’) planned to improve adherence. * Correspondence: fransw@sund.ku.dk 1 The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Waldorff et al. Implementation Science 2011, 6:79 http://www.implementationscience.com/content/6/1/79 Implementation Science © 2011 Waldorff et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/l icenses/by/2.0 ), whic h permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Dissemination of guidelines alone rarely brings about improvements in clinical practice [2], and e ven an mul- tifaceted implementation of guidelines may not change clinical RESEARC H Open Access A systematic review of randomized controlled trials exploring the effect of immunomodulative interventions on infection, organ failure, and mortality in trauma patients Nicole E Spruijt, Tjaakje Visser, Luke PH Leenen * Abstract Introduction: Following trauma, patients may suffer an overwhelming pro-inflammatory response and immune paralysis resulting in infection and multiple organ failure (MOF). Various potentially immunomodulative interventions have been tested. The objective of this study is to systematically review the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that investigate the effect of potentially immunomo dulative interventions in comparison to a placebo or standard therapy on infection, MOF, and mortality in trauma patients. Methods: A computerized search of MEDLINE, the Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE yielded 502 studies, of which 18 unique RCTs were deemed relevant for this study. The methodological quality of these RCTs was assessed using a critical appraisal checklist for therapy articles from the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine. The effects of the test interventions on infection, MOF, and mortality rates and inflammatory parameters relative to the controls were recorded. Results: In most studies, the inflammatory parameters differed significantly between the test and control groups. However, significant changes in infection, MOF, and mortality rates were only measured in studies testing immunoglobulin, IFN-g, and glucan. Conclusions: Based on level 1b and 2b stud ies, administration of immunoglobulin, IFN-g, or glucan have shown the most promising results to improve the outcome of trauma patients. Introduction Trauma remains the leading cause of death in people under the age of 40 years [1], with multiple organ failure (MOF) accounting f or 27.5% of deaths among trauma patients [2]. MOF can be a result of an early over-reac- tion of the immune system or a late immune paralysis [3]. Several groups have reviewed the changes that occur in the immune system as a result of injury and concluded that pro- and anti-inflammatory reactions play a role in the development of MOF [4-7]. Early MOF, which develops within the first three days after injury without signs of infection, is attributed to an overwhelming leukocyte driven pro-inflammatory response clinically defined as a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Late MOF, on the other hand, is most often associated with infection and occurs more than three days after injury. Late MOF seems to be the result an inadequate specific immune response with diminished antigen presentation, referred to as compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrom e (CARS). Many argue that SIRS and CARS occur simul- taneously as a mixed antagonisticresponsesyndrome (MARS) [4,6] and therefore both reactions contribute to the occurrence of infection, sepsis, and MOF. This knowledge needs to be applied. Which interven- tions attenuate both the hyper-inflammatory response and immune paralysis and subsequently improve the clinical outcome in trauma patients? Montejo et al. [8] have sys- tematically reviewed the effect of immunonutrition on * Correspondence: L.P.H.Leenen@umcutrecht.nl Department of Surgery, University Medical Centre Utrecht, H.P. G04.228, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 GX Utrecht, The Netherlands Spruijt et al. Critical Care 2010, 14:R150 http://ccforum.com/content/14/4/R150 © 2010 Spruijt et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access articl e distributed under the terms of the Creative C ommons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted us e, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original wor k is properly cited. clinical outcome in trauma patients. Although immuno- nutrition shortened the time of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, and resulted in a lower incidence of bacteremias and intra-abdominal infections, the incidence of nosoco- mial ... question from all sides The small man can see it only from his biased perspective The superior man calls attention to the good points in others The small man calls attention to their defects The. .. influence those who are above him The small man can influence only those below him The demands that the superior man makes are on himself The demands of the small man are placed upon others The. . .In the trials of adversity work on character strength The superior man is easy to serve but difficult to please The small man is difficult to serve but easy to please The superior