Age of Information for Short-Packet Covert Communication with Time Modulated Retrodirective Array

In this paper,the covert age of information(CAoI),which characterizes the timeliness and covertness performance of communication,is first investigated in the short-packet covert communication with time modulated retrodirective array(TMRDA).Specifically,the TMRDA is designed to maximize the antenna gain in the target direction while the side lobe is sufficiently suppressed.On this basis,the covertness constraint and CAoI are derived in closed form.To facilitate the covert transmission design,the transmit power and block-length are jointly optimized to minimize the CAoI,which demonstrates the trade-off between covertness and timelessness.Our results illustrate that there exists an optimal block-length that yields the minimum CAoI,and the presented optimization results can achieve enhanced performance compared with the fixed block-length case.Additionally,we observe that smaller beam pointing error at Bob leads to improvements in CAoI.

Soft Direct-Adaptation Based Bidirectional Turbo Equalization for MIMO Underwater Acoustic Communications

This paper proposes a soft direct-adaptation based bidirectional turbo equalizer for multiple-input multiple-output underwater acoustic communication systems. Soft, rather than hard, direct-adaptation based equalizer combined with the fast self-optimized least mean square algorithm is employed to achieve a faster convergence rate, and the second-order phase-locked loop is embedded into the equalizer to track the time-varying channel. Meanwhile, by utilizing a weighted linear combining scheme, the conventional soft direct-adaptation based equalizer is combined with the time-reversed soft direct-adaptation based equalizer to exploit bidirectional diversity and mitigate error propagation. Both the simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the soft direct-adaptation based bidirectional turbo equalizer outperforms the single-direction soft direct-adaptation based turbo equalizer, and achieves a faster convergence rate than the hard direct-adaptation based bidirectional turbo equalizer.

Iterative Signal Detection Based Soft Interference Cancellation for Satellite-Terrestrial Downlink NOMA Systems

To improve the bit error rate(BER)performance of multi-user signal detection in satelliteterrestrial downlink non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)systems,an iterative signal detection algorithm based on soft interference cancellation with optimal power allocation is proposed.Given that power allocation has a significant impact on BER performance,the optimal power allocation is obtained by minimizing the average BER of NOMA users.According to the allocated powers,successive interference cancellation(SIC)between NOMA users is performed in descending power order.For each user,an iterative soft interference cancellation is performed,and soft symbol probabilities are calculated for soft decision.To improve detection accuracy and without increasing the complexity,the aforementioned algorithm is optimized by adding minimum mean square error(MMSE)signal estimation before detection,and in each iteration soft symbol probabilities are utilized for soft-decision of the current user and also for the update of soft interference of the previous user.Simulation results illustrate that the optimized algorithm i.e.MMSE-IDBSIC significantly outperforms joint multi-user detection and SIC detection by 7.57dB and 8.03dB in terms of BER performance.

Soft Base Station Technology in Wireless Communication Systems

With the rapid development of wireless communications systems, different system standards are being merged. Operators take stringent measures to reduce Operational Expenditure （OPEX） and Capital Expenditure （CAPEX）; and as a result, soft base stations supporting multiple standards become the evolutionary tend of wireless base stations. This paper introduces the background of soft base stations and analyzes their architecture design, system modules. The key technologies in system implementation and future directions are also presented.

Analysis of Communication Strategies in the New Media Age

This paper explores how enterprises respond to changes in consumers and make corresponding adjustments in communication strategies in the new media age.The cases of Jiang Xiaobai and Netease Cloud are selected for the present analysis,providing suggestions for communication strategies in the new media age.

Defining soft skills in nursing:a concept analysis

Objective:To define soft skills in nursing.Methods:This is a concept analysis using the Walker and Avant approach.Multiple electronic databases in the English language including CINAHL,Science Direct,MEDLINE on EBSCOhost,and Scopus were consulted.Results:Soft skills in nursing include the intrapersonal attributes,interpersonal skills,and creativity of the nurse,which,when combined with professionalism,teamwork,and effective communication skills,improve the quality of nursing care and client satisfaction.Conclusions:Although hard and soft skills are compatible and synergetic,soft skills are to be prioritized for the success of nursing care in the healthcare industry.This concept analysis adds to the body of knowledge by identifying the attributes of soft skills in nursing and revealing that a good nurse needs more than just good grades to be successful.

Minimizing Age of Information in the Uplink Multi-User Networks via Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation

Improving the information freshness is critical for the monitoring and controlling applications in the cellular Internet of Things(IoT).In this paper,we are interested in optimizing the bandwidth allocation dynamically to improve the information freshness of the short packet based uplink status updates,which is characterized by a recently proposed metric,age of information(Ao I).We first design a status update scheme with channel distribution information(CDI).By relaxing the hard bandwidth constraint and introducing a Lagrangian multiplier,we first decouple the multi-MTCD bandwidth allocation problem into a single MTCD Markov decision process(MDP).Under the MDP framework,after variable substitution,we obtain the single-MTCD status update scheme by solving a linear programming problem.Then,we adjust the Lagrangian multiplier to make the obtained scheme satisfy the relaxed bandwidth constraint.Finally,a greedy policy is built on the proposed scheme to adjust the bandwidth allocation in each slot to satisfy the hard bandwidth constraint.In the unknown environment without CDI,we further design a bandwidth allocation scheme which only maximizes the expected sum Ao I drop within each time slot.Simulation results show that in terms of AoI,the proposed schemes outperform the benchmark schemes.

Medication Error and Interprofessional Communication-Related Factors Contributing to Hospitalisation in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Australia

Background: Population ageing is a worldwide phenomenon. It is common for older adults to develop multiple age-related illnesses and the prevalence of multimorbidity increases substantially with age. Multimorbid adults are frequently treated with several concurrent medications and the regimen may be complex requiring multiple steps in the preparation of a medication prior to its administration. Polypharmacy is a concerning trend and older adults have a 100% risk of experiencing adverse drug events when taking ten or more medications concurrently. Discharge summaries communicating the number of medications, changes made to medication regimens during hospitalisations and the requirement for ongoing monitoring in the community are often incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate contributing factors to medication-related hospitalisation, length of stay or readmission in older community-dwelling persons and examine the quality of discharge summaries. Methods: Descriptive and correlational analyses of demographic, clinical, admission, readmission, length of stay and medication variables were examined in Australia in 2016-2018. Discharge summaries were analysed for completeness, timeliness and interprofessional communication. Results: There were 295 participants, mean age 80 years, 55% were female, taking an average of 11 prescribed medications and with a mean Medication Regimen Complexity Index score of 34. Medication errors that were unrecognised at the time of hospitalisation were present in 19% of the sample. Factors associated with medication error were older age and a longer median length of stay. Fewer than 52% of these older patients had detailed discharge summaries. Conclusion: The prevalence of polypharmacy and medication regimen complexity at admission was high. A high proportion of older adults on medical units may have unrecognised medication errors impacting their admission. Medical discharge summaries are inadequately addressing this issue for patients returning to the care of their family physician.

An analysis of Chinese-English soft news translation from a relevance theory perspective

The author gives a thorough interpretation of the translation process and methods under the framework of relevance theory based on the actual pairs of Chinese soft news and the counterpart English versions well selected from authoritative bilingual magazines. The author attests the explanatory force of relevance theory to soft news translation and shows that the aim of all the translation methods is to provide adequate contextual effects and achieve optimal relevance to the target audience, namely, to guarantee the successful communication--the intentions of the communicator and the expectations of the audience meet.

Mutual Experiences of Japanese Parents and Their Children When Late School-Age Children Engage in Meal-Related Family Routines: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent and Child Dyads

Purpose: The objective of the present study was to identify the type of experiences that parents and their children have with each other when late-school age children take on roles in family routines related to daily meals. Methods: A grounded theory approach was used. The participants were children in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades of elementary school and their main caregivers. First, 10 parent and child dyads were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule. Next, online group interviews were conducted for 17 parent and child dyads to deductively confirm the categories. Results: The average age of the subjects was 41.9 years for parents and 10.4 years for children in parent-child interviews, and 41.1 years for parents and 9.6 years for children in group interviews. Six categories emerged with nineteen subcategories. Conclusions: Experiences mutually nurtured by parents and their children included experiences in which children used negotiation and conversation skills to consensually engage in family routines related to meals. It also included experiences that socialized the children in family life and fostered good communication. The six categories will be useful for healthcare professionals and school authorities in providing health guidance that addresses health functions of late school-age children and their families.

Beautification of Chinese Architectural Images in the New Media Age

From the perspective of communication science,the communication of architectural images in the new media age has an obvious beautifying trend.Due to the differences in politics,economics,and cultural environment between China and western countries,the beautification of architectural images in China is a unique phenomenon.This study classifies the beautification of Chinese architectural images into different types in terms of image communication:audience orientation,time orientation,space orientation,and cultural orientation.By investigating and analyzing relevant cases,this study explores the beautification of Chinese architectural images in the new media age and puts forward thoughts and evaluation,aiming to better comprehend the relationship between beautification and architectural communication.

Ideals and Prospects for Anthropology and Communication Research in the Digital Age

In this dialoguebetween Chen Weixing and Daniel Miller,the influence of internet technology means that culture is no longer a remote,distant,romantic idyll.Local globalization and global localization have appeared on the scene.As people interact and communicate with eachother,a pattern forms:“You are in me and I in you.”

Demand analysis of an intelligent medication administration system for older adults with chronic diseases based on the Kano model

Objectives Gerontechnology has great potential in promoting older adults’well-being.With the accelerated aging process,gerontechnology has a promising market prospect.However,most technological developers and healthcare professionals attached importance to products’effectiveness,and ignored older adults’demands and user experience,which reduced older adults'adoption intention of gerontechnology use.The inclusion of older adults in the design process of technologies is essential to maximize the effect.This study explored older adults’demands for a self-developed intelligent medication administration system and proposed optimization schemes,thus providing reference to developing geriatric-friendly technologies and products.Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore older adults’technological demands for the self-developed intelligent medication administration system,and data were analyzed based on the Kano model.A self-made questionnaire was administered from July 2020 to October 2020 after participants used this system for two weeks.The study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(ChiCTR2000040644).Results A total of 354 older adults participated in the survey.Four items,namely larger font size,simpler operation process,scheduled medication reminders and reliable hardware,were classified as must-be attributes;three items,namely searching drug instructions through WeChat,more sensitive system and longer battery life,as attractive attributes;one item,viewing disease-related information through WeChat,as the one-dimensional attribute;and the rest were indifferent attributes,including simple and beautiful displays,blocking advertisements automatically,providing user privacy protection protocol,viewing personal medical information only by logged-in users,recording all the medications,ordering medications through WeChat.The satisfaction values were between 0.24 and 0.69,and dissatisfaction values were between 0.06 and 0.94.Conclusion This study suggested that older adults had personalized technology demands.Including their technological demands and desire may assist in decreasing the digital divide and promoting the satisfaction of e-health and/or m-health.Based on older adults’demands,our study proposed optimization schemes of the intelligent medication administration system,which may help developers design geriatric-friendly intelligent products and nurses to perform older adults-centered and efficient medication management.

复杂软件系统的分散式构造:一个电子商务案例研究(英文)

Software development skills are only partially trained with traditional programming languages and software engineering courses. To achieve practical skills needed in software industry, complex examples are necessary which have to be generated in a project-like setting. This includes common solution finding, intensive communication and structured programming tasks. Here, a case study from the domain of eCommerce is presented, showing the complexity needed for these learning processes.

Acupuncture Treatment of Superficial Pain by Subcutaneous Needling

Subcutaneous needling is an old art of the 'twelve needling methods' in TCM for treating arthralgia due to cold or disorders in the superficial tissues. Some cases are effectively treated as introduced below.……

Mobilization and Radicalization Through Persuasion： Manipulative Techniques in ISIS＇ Propaganda

This paper explores the recent findings of some empirical research concerning Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham＇s （ISIS＇） communication and tries to synthesize them under the theoretical frame of propaganda＇s concept and practices. Many authors demonstrated how ISIS propaganda campaigns, in particular those deployed on cyberspace, proved to be effective in recruiting new members in both western and Muslim countries. However, while most of the researches focused on ISIS＇s communication contents and narratives, few works considered other methods and techniques used for actually delivering them. This is a regrettable missing point given the fact that communication＇s and neurosciences＇ studies demonstrate that not only what is communicated but also the techniques adopted bear important consequences on the receiver＇s perceptions and behavior. Therefore, this article analyzes in particular the findings of researches carried out by communication scholars, social psychologists, and neuro-cognitive scientists on ISIS＇ persuasive communication techniques and demonstrates their importance for security studies＇ analysis of ISIS＇ propaganda. It argues that ISIS＇ success in mobilizing people and make them prone to violent action relies on-among other factors-its knowledge and exploitation of sophisticated methods of perceptions＇ manipulation and behavior＇s influence. This, in turn, demonstrates ISIS＇ possession of state-like soft power capabilities effectively deployed in propaganda campaigns and therefore calls for a more complex understanding of its agency.

An Analysis of Cultural Values of Chinese and Foreign Cities' Publicity Videos

The trend of globalization has a profound impact on the development of the whole world, and there are a lot of events held by several countries. The publicity videos have become a significant tool to disseminate connotation of the city and to attract people all over the world. At the same time, videos also show us different cultural values between China and foreign countries.To analyse different cultural values, the importance of intercultural communication will be deeply understood, and it will be helpful for promoting China's cultural soft power.

The impact of social capital on children's (6–12) use of ICT in urban communities: A field survey from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province

Purpose： This paper focuses on the impact of social capital on urban children＇s use behavior of information communication technology （ICT）.Design/methodology/approach： Using the field survey and in-depth interviews, we interviewed 40 children aged 6 to 12 and their parents from a staff residential quarter of the Zhengzhou University--＂Shengheyuan＂ community （SHY）, and a commercial residential quarter--＂Wanfenghuicheng＂ community （WFHC） in the high-tech zone of Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. We used the social capital theory to analyze the interviewees＇ record.Findings： In urban communities, social capital is the most important factor for children （aged 6 to 12） in their ICT use. Our findings indicate that children in families with higher levels of social capital, such as internal resources, family income, parent educational backgrounds and parents＇ social network, have more-highly developed ICT skills. Personal motivation and obstacles, such as lack of access to computers on a regular basis, also have an impact on children＇s ICT use. External social capital, including schools, libraries, and public service institutes, have little impact on children＇s ICT use, if not combined with internal social capital factors.Research limitations： Our research samples were collected from two communities within the same city, which may influence the generalization of this research result.Originality/value： To explore the social capital＇s influence on children＇s ICT use, we used field observation for ICT use of children aged 6 to 12 in urban communities in China, and studied the children＇s ICT behavior from the perspective of internal and external social capital.

小儿软组织肉瘤(附43例报告)

本文报告23年内收治的小儿软组织肉瘤43例,其中横纹肌肉瘤19例,占总数的44%.20例获随访,均在两年以上,两年存活率为55%.本文分析了影响小儿软组织肉瘤预后的因素:①肉瘤的性质、分期及肿瘤细胞的分化程度,②是否广泛彻底切除了肿瘤,③单纯手术切除还是综合治疗.