A Wire-Line Secure Communication System Based on CCFD Self-Interference Cancellation

This paper presents a design scheme of wire-line telephone system using self-interference (SI) cancellation technology in co-frequency co-time full-duplex (CCFD) system to realize absolute secure communication at the physical layer. This scheme can hide the target signal by skillfully releasing the high-power artificial noise to the whole link at the receiving node, and then make use of the receiver’s knowledge of the SI signal to achieve high dB SI cancellation with the help of analog domain SI cancellation technology in CCFD domain, so that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) received by the eavesdropper at any position of the link is far lower than that of the legitimate receiver, so as to realize the absolutely secure communication in the sense of Wyner principle. This paper not only puts forward the specific design scheme of absolutely secure communication telephone, but also analyzes the calculation of security capacity under different eavesdropping positions, different SI cancellation capability and different system parameters according to Shannon theory.

Nineteen Eighty-Four in the British Telephone System

This chapter explores science fiction, computer simulation, and Thatcherism in the long-range and business planning departments of the British Post Office’s Telecommunications Division and its successor, British Telecom, as Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government transferred telecommunications from public monopoly, run by the Post Office, to liberalized corporation, run by British Telecom. Ward charts the negotiations between simulated and literary utopias and dystopias, analysing managerial representations of information technology’s transformative power. Managers understood computer simulations as interactive futures, bringing techno-moral changes of predictive markets and emancipatory electronics from the future to the present. They dismissed the dystopias of H. G. Wells and George Orwell as outdated, in contrast to the computer’s predictive power, but in doing so, these managers tacitly accepted the ‘hypersurveillant’ power of computer simulation, where customers could be simulated and surveilled ahead of time. Ward thus highlights digital utopianism’s contradictory values of deregulation, personal freedom, and technological planning.

Hospice Family Caregivers’ Use of Audio Diaries

Previous work has shown that emotional processing as part of diary writing improves well-being during and after stress. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of verbal/audio diaries for home hospice family caregivers (HFCGs). We also describe diary content. As part of an ongoing multi-site, prospective longitudinal study, HFCGs of cancer patients report daily fluctuations in patients’ and their own symptoms via an automated telephone system, including a recorded diary entry. HFCGs are randomly assigned instructions to either discuss additional symptoms or discuss their thoughts and feelings. Thirty-six (85.7%) participants to date have completed at least one audio diary. For this preliminary analysis, we selected the 14 longest diary recordings from each condition (n=28) to content analyze using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and NVivo 12. Participants are 78.6% female, 53 years of age on average, and most are spouse/partner (46.4%) or adult child (35.7%) caregivers. There was no difference in the overall positivity (23%) or negativity (77%) of words in either condition, but participants asked to express thoughts/feelings used significantly more anger-related terms (p=0.04) while those asked to describe symptoms used significantly more anxiety-related terms (p = 0.003). Time was the most common theme in both conditions but arose more frequently in the symptom condition (p=.08). Our findings suggest that most audio diaries are feasible for HFCGs, but varied prompts may facilitate different types of emotional expression. Future research should assess potential impact on emotional well-being and bereavement adjustment.

Electronic Patient Reporting of Adverse Events and Quality of Life: A Prospective Feasibility Study in General Oncology

PURPOSE: Adverse event (AE) reporting is essential in clinical trials. Clinician interpretation can result in under-reporting; therefore, the value of patient self-reporting has been recognized. The National Cancer Institute has developed a Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) for direct patient AE reporting. A nonrandomized prospective cohort feasibility study aimed to explore the compliance and acceptability of an electronic (Internet or telephone) system for collecting patient self-reported AEs and quality of life (QOL). METHODS: Oncology patients undergoing treatment (chemotherapy, targeted agents, hormone therapy, radiotherapy, and/or surgery) at 2 hospitals were sent automated weekly reminders to complete PRO-CTCAE once a week and QOL (for a maximum of 12 weeks). Patients had to speak/understand English and have access to the Internet or a touch-tone telephone. Primary outcome was compliance (proportion of expected questionnaires), and recruitment rate, attrition, and patient/staff feedback were also explored. RESULTS: Of 520 patients, 249 consented (47.9%)—mean age was 62 years, 51% were male, and 70% were married—and 230 remained on the study at week 12. PRO-CTCAE was completed at 2,301 (74.9%) of 3,074 timepoints and QOL at 749 (79.1%) of 947 timepoints. Individual weekly/once every 4 weeks compliance reduced over time but was more than 60% throughout. Of 230 patients, 106 (46.1%) completed 13 or more PRO-CTCAE, and 136 (59.1%) of 230 patients completed 4 QOL questionnaires. Most were completed on the Internet (82.3%; mean age, 60.8 years), which was quicker, but older patients preferred the telephone option (mean age, 70.0 years). Positive feedback was received from patients and staff. CONCLUSION: Self-reporting of AEs and QOL using an electronic home-based system is feasible and acceptable. Implementation of this approach in cancer clinical trials may improve the precision and accuracy of AE reporting.

Classification Analysis of Communication System of Nuclear Power Plant

The communication system of nuclear power plants in China is not a safety class system, but it plays an important role in the safe operation of nuclear power plants. Under emergency state, the communication system is a prerequisite for accident management. In order to ensure communication on-site and off-site, diverse communication sub-systems are designed throughout the nuclear power plant, including various communication means for voice, data and images. For an advanced generation II pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant (NPP) in China, there are various subsystems, including normal telephone system, safety telephone system, grid telephone system and so on. Although NPPs have designed diverse communication sub-systems, there is not any clear classification of the sub-systems, which is not enough for the reliability of communication sub-systems under accident conditions. Therefore, it can hardly ensure effective communications between different emergency response organizations and this will influence the mitigation of the accident. In order to identify the importance of different communication sub-systems, to optimize the design of communication system, and to improve the reliability and efficiency of nuclear power plant communication system, it’s necessary to analyze the function and operation of each sub-system, as well as to develop the classification method of nuclear power plant communication system. Considering the availability and reliability of onsite and offsite communication under emergency conditions, slightly considering economic issue, this paper determines 7 assessment factors and develops a set of scoring methods for communication system classification. On this basis, this paper completes the classification of the communication system for an advanced generation II PWR NPP, which provides a reference for communication system classification and provides the technical basis for design modification of the communication system.

The Telephony Engineering History of Western Australia from 1887 to 1987

A historic paper from 1991 which details the development of the public telephone system of Western Australia between 1887 and 1987.

Initial setup of PBX server based on Asterisk

The development of information technology is very dynamic, in particular, actively developing computer networks, which are increasingly used for telephone conversations. Recently, there has been increased interest in IP-telephony technologies, in other words PBX, the use of which can significantly reduce the cost of telephone communication within the company. PBX (Private Branch exchange) is a system of devices that provides automatic connection and support of telephone communication between subscribers of this PBX, who use special end devices — telephones. A virtual PBX is a powerful telephone system that uses an Internet connection as opposed to standard telephone services. A standard PBX is used to transfer calls from the Internet to a public telephone switching network. Virtual PBX can be considered as a more economical version, because no equipment is involved, everything is virtual and hosted by the service provider. Currently, the open communication platform Asterisk occupies almost 85% of the open source PBX market. The Asterisk automatic telephone exchange supports both IP-telephony protocols and traditional communication lines. All basic and advanced PBX functions are supported: voice menu, call recording, call statistics, voicemail, queuing and operator distribution. Video communication is directly supported. The latest versions of Asterisk support call encryption. Asterisk has simple and well-documented interfaces for integration with other systems, making it easy to embed communications in business processes and business applications. There are a large number of various graphical tools for administering Asterisk, both paid and free, among which the most popular is the free WEB interface FreePBX.

Assessing the preparedness of Foundation Year 1 (FY1) doctors during the transition from medical school to the Foundation Training Programme

Background: To assess how ready current FY1 doctors felt when they started their first posting as newly qualified doctors. Methods: We created an online survey where 45 FY1 doctors in South Yorkshire rated how confident they were across different domains (induction and assistantship, hospital systems, and skills) using a scale ranging from 0 (no confidence in performing task) to 5 (highly confident in performing task). Results: Responses showed that the ICE system and observations had a mean rating of 3.645 (95% CI 3.45 to 3.86), 4.425 (95% CI 4.25 to 4.6) with a standard deviation (SD) of 1.1 and 0.83 respectively. The radiological viewing platform, referral system, telephone system, and hospital notes had a mean score of 3.149 (95% CI 2.88 to 3.42), 2.341 (95% CI 2.1 to 2.58), 3.573 (95% CI 3.41 to 3.74) and 4.061 (95% CI 3.93 to 4.19), with a SD of 1.281, 1.154, 0.961 and 0.752 respectively. FY1’s wanted more training on referrals [(84.09%(n=37)) and use of phones [43.2% (n=19)]. Vital observations and diagnostic procedures scored a mean score of 3.933 (95% CI 3.75 to 4.12) and 4.251 (95% CI 4.14 to 4.36) with a SD of 1.19 and 0.944 respectively. The patient care category, the prescribing category and therapeutic procedures gave a mean score of 3.634 (95% CI 3.44 to 3.83), 4.13 (95% CI 3.96 to 4.3), 3.386 (95% CI 3.23 to 3.54) and an SD of 1.128, 0.954 and 1.253 respectively.Conclusion: Overall, junior doctors are confident in most tasks and jobs expected of them. A greater sample size would enable us to compare how different medical schools and deaneries aid this transition.