Experimental demonstration of flexible information rate PON beyond 100 Gb/s with rate-compatible LDPC codes.

The applications of rate-compatible low-density parity-check (RC-LDPC) codes are investigated for a 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) signal and coherent detection system. With rate-compatible signals, we can provide the flexible net data rate between 135.5 Gb/s and 169.7 Gb/s in a passive optical network (PON) link. Based on the LDPC codes defined in the IEEE 802.3ca standard, we construct two sets of RC-LDPC codes with a fixed and variable information bit length. Since the puncturing operation may degrade the performance of LDPC codes, we apply the protograph-based extrinsic information transfer (PEXIT) technique to optimize the puncturing positions to mitigate the degradation. Additionally, we explore four low-complexity LDPC decoding algorithms (min sum, offset min sum, variable weight min sum, and relaxed min sum with 2nd min emulation) to investigate the relationship between the computational complexity and decoding performance. Simulation results indicate that the constructed codewords exhibit good performance in the waterfall region across a range of code rates. Finally, we conduct an experimental setup in a dual-polarization 25 GBaud 16QAM coherent PON to verify the effectiveness of the constructed LDPC codes with four decoding algorithms. The experimental results show maximal 4.8 dB receiver sensitivity differences, which demonstrate the feasibility of the method for constructing RC-LDPC codes in future high-speed flexible coherent PON.

Coherent optical transmitter IQ imbalance mitigation with embedded carrier phase and frequency offset estimation.

We present a 4×4 real-valued channel equalizer with embedded phase estimator, designed for carrier phase and frequency offset estimation and compensation in coherent optical communications with in-phase/quadrature (IQ) impairments. These impairments include IQ timing skew, gain imbalance, and quadrature phase errors at the transmitter side. To achieve adaptive control of the equalizer's filter coefficients, we employ the decision-directed least mean square (DD-LMS) algorithm. This algorithm minimizes the error between the filter outputs and the desired signals in a symbol-by-symbol manner, resulting in faster channel coefficients adaptation speed. Simulation results for a 60 GBaud polarization-multiplexing 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (PM-16QAM) signal demonstrate that our proposed equalizer outperforms a 2×2 cascaded multi modulus algorithm-based (CMMA-based) equalizer, a 2×2 complex-valued method based on the DD-LMS algorithm, and the 4×4 real-valued equalizer without embedded frequency offset estimation (FOE), when the transmitter IQ impairments exist. Experimental validation is also conducted for the 60 GBaud PM-16QAM and 45 GBaud PM-64QAM signals. Similar to the simulation results, our experiments show that the proposed 4×4 real-valued equalizer with embedded FOE can achieve effective SNR penalties of less than 0.41 dB at 7 ps skew, 1.33 dB at 3.5 dB gain imbalance, and 1.64 dB at the bias voltage shift of 0.5 V for the 60 GBaud PM-16QAM signal. Finally, our experimental results confirm the effectiveness of our proposed method in carrier phase estimation as well as the frequency offset compensation, when compared with 4×4 real-valued equalizer without embedded FOE.

Primary medical and health preparedness and people's life satisfaction in China: The mediating role of satisfaction with medical and health services.

Objective: To examine the association between primary medical and health preparedness (PMHP), satisfaction with medical and health services (SMHS), and life satisfaction (LS). Methods: Using the latest national representative data from the 2019 Chinese Social Survey and the 2018 Health Statistics Yearbook for each province in China, we conducted multi-level models to test the effect of three aspects of PMHP (the number of primary medical and health institutions (PMHIs), the number of beds in PMHIs, and the number of staff in PMHIs) on LS, and the mediation role of SMHS in this effect. Results: The number of staff in PMHIs has a significant positive effect on people's LS. Besides, this effect is mediated completely by SMHS. However, the number of PMHIs and the number of beds in PMHIs do not affect LS significantly. Conclusions: PMHP has a positive impact on LS, but this impact is associated only with the number of staff in PMHIs. Therefore, governments should focus on optimizing human resources in PMHIs to meet the LS needs of individuals.

Does the Message Frame Promote People's Willingness to Vaccinate when they Worry about Side Effects from the COVID-19 Vaccine? Evidence from an Online Survey Experiment in China.

Vaccination is an effective strategy for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, worrying about side effects (WSE) from the COVID-19 vaccine is the leading concern making people hesitant to get vaccinated. Regrettably, there are few studies on alleviating the negative impacts of WSE on COVID-19 vaccination. This study aimed to assess whether message framing (gain- and loss-framed) can moderate the impacts of WSE on the willingness to vaccinate. We conducted an online self-administered survey experiment with three groups: control group (non-framed group), gain-framed groups, and loss-framed groups. In total, 981 participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups, and their willingness to vaccinate themselves, their children, and elderly members was recorded. People with a higher level of WSE exhibited a lower willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19. However, the gain- and loss-framed messages increased people's willingness to vaccinate themselves, their children, and the elderly. Compared to the gain-framed messages, the loss-framed messages had a greater impact on enhancing people's willingness to self-vaccinate, but not on vaccinating their children and the elderly. Although the gain- and loss-framed messages weakened the negative impacts of WSE on the willingness to be vaccinated, their buffer effect was non-significantly different. The findings in this study suggest that a loss-framed messaging strategy could be a valuable tool in disseminating information on vaccination against COVID-19.

Environmental barriers and participation restrictions in community-dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury in Jiangsu and Sichuan Provinces of China: Results from a cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: (1) to describe environmental barriers and participation restrictions experienced by people with spinal cord injury (SCI) from China, (2) to examine associations between lesion characteristics and participation restrictions, considering a mediating role of environmental barriers, (3) to identify those environmental barriers that have the largest influence on participation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. This study is part of the International Spinal Cord Injury Survey (InSCI). SETTING: Community, Jiangsu and Sichuan Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: 1355 persons with SCI. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. OUTCOME MEASURES: Participation restrictions were measured with items from the Model Disability Survey, Environmental Barriers were measured with the Nottwil Environmental Factors Inventory-Short Form. RESULTS: Participants experienced a median of five (IQR 1-9) environmental barriers and five (IQR 0-9) participation restrictions. Environmental barriers were mainly reported in relation to climate, insufficient resources and accessibility, and participation restrictions mainly occurred in using public transportation, taking care of others, and getting to places. In an adjusted zero-inflated Poisson model, people with more severe injuries reported a greater number of environmental barriers (complete injury: IRR = 1.31, 95%CI = [1.24,1.38]) and participation restrictions (tetraplegia: IRR = 1.15, 95%CI = [1.10,1.21]; complete injury: IRR = 1.25, 95%CI = [1.18,1.31]). Moreover, environmental barriers (IRR = 1.07, 95%CI = [1.06,1.08]) were a significant predictor of participation restrictions and partially mediated the association of lesion completeness with participation restrictions. Barriers related to accessibility of public places (IRR = 1.47, 95%CI = [1.33,1.62]), accessing homes (IRR = 1.32, 95%CI = [1.21,1.44]), long distance transportation (IRR = 1.11, 95%CI = [1.04,1.20]), communication devices (IRR = 1.07, 95%CI = [1.01,1.15]) and state services (IRR = 1.10, 95%CI = [1.02,1.19]) had the greatest negative impact on participation. CONCLUSION: Social participation of people with SCI is seriously restricted in China. Removing environmental barriers will be an important element of programs to address this problem.

Associations between school bullying and anxiety in children and adolescents from an ethnic autonomous county in China.

School bullying is a widespread public health issue that negatively impacts the mental health of children and adolescents. This study aimed to investigate associations between school bullying involvement and anxiety of children and adolescents. A survey covering all types of pre-college schools (primary, middle, high, and vocational school) was conducted in an ethnic autonomous county in China. 1,943 students participated in this study. Being a victim of verbal (OR=3.08, 95%CI = [2.43,3.91]), physical (OR=3.24, 95%CI = [2.46,4.27]), relational (OR=3.72, 95%CI = [2.90,4.76]), or cyberbullying (OR=3.47, 95%CI = [2.61,4.61]) were associated with increased symptoms of generalized anxiety. Similarly, being a perpetrator of verbal (OR=2.12, 95%CI = [1.45,3.10]), physical (OR=1.85, 95%CI = [1.22,2.79]), relational (OR=1.78, 95%CI = [1.15,2.74]), or cyber-bullying (OR=1.59, 95%CI = [1.08,2.33]) were related to a higher degree of anxiety. Moreover, in both victims and perpetrators higher levels of anxiety were associated with a greater number of types of bullying they were involved in, suggesting a dose-response relation between school bullying involvement and anxiety. Therefore, both bullying victims and perpetrators need mental health support and anti-bullying strategies should address different forms of bullying evenhandedly.

What Do You Mean by Community Resilience? More Assets or Better Prepared?

OBJECTIVES: Understanding people's perception of community resilience to disaster is important. This study explores the correlations of household livelihood assets, the adopted household disaster preparedness activities, and individuals' assessment of community resilience. METHODS: The data was collected in 2018 by surveying a group of survivors affected by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. The CART (Community Advancing Resilience Toolkit) was used to measure individuals' perception of community resilience, while the livelihood assets included financial, physical, natural, human, and social capitals owned by the family, and the preparedness contained 13 activities. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were used to test our hypotheses. RESULTS: Social capital is consistently and positively associated with the overall individuals' perceived community resilience, while the natural, human, and financial capitals' effects are not significant. The awareness and participation preparedness activities are positively correlated with the perceived community resilience, but the material preparedness activities are not. CONCLUSIONS: Social capital and disaster preparedness activities are critical in building community resilience. Community resilience can be achieved by making the community more connected and by providing disaster preparedness interventions.

What Strategy Is Better for Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination? A Comparison Between Gain-Framed, Loss-Framed, and Altruistic Messages.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Vaccination is an efficient public health strategy for controlling infectious diseases like the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study evaluates the effect of gain-framed, loss-framed, and altruism messages on willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine and confirms the best strategy for promoting vaccination. METHODS: Herein, we designed an online survey experiment, including a control (exposure to non-framed information) and three experimental (exposure to gain-framed, loss-framed, or altruistic messages) groups, to assess the vaccination willingness. All participants (n = 1316) were randomly assigned into one of the four groups. RESULTS: The individuals exposed to gain-framed, loss-framed, or altruism messages exhibited a higher willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine than those exposed to non-framed information. Moreover, the loss-framed information effect on vaccination willingness was more substantial than the other two messages. However, no significant difference was observed between the gain-framed and altruism messages. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a loss-framed information dissemination strategy could be preferable to motivate vaccination willingness against COVID-19.

Validation of the Chinese Version of KIDSCREEN-10 Quality of Life Questionnaire: A Rasch Model Estimation.

The KIDSCREEN-10 was deemed as a cross-national instrument for measuring Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL). However, no empirical endeavor has explored its reliability and validity in the context of China. This study aims to translate and validate the Chinese version of the KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire. The KIDSCREEN-10 was translated into Chinese (Mandarin) using a blindly bilingual forward-backward-forward technique. A cross-sectional survey, including 1,830 students aged from 8 to 18 years, was conducted in a county located in Gansu province, China. Psychometric properties were evaluated using the Rasch partial credit model, ANOVA, and the correlation analysis. Results indicated that the KIDSCREEN-10 performed good internal consistency, known-group validity, and concurrent validity, but there were still some deficiencies in psychometrics: first, disordered response categories were found between category 2 (seldom) and category 3 (sometimes); second, item 3 ("Have you felt sad?"), item 4 ("Have you felt lonely?"), and item 5 ("Have enough time for self?") demonstrated misfit to the Rasch model; third, items 3 and 4 exhibited differential item functioning. After collapsing the disordered response categories and removing the three misfit items, the seven-item questionnaire performed good psychometric properties. However, the seven-item version does not cover the psychological well-being dimension of HRQoL, and that may lead to inappropriate measures of HRQoL. Therefore, this paper suggested to use classical test theory to investigate the psychological properties of the KIDSCREEN-10.

What makes people intend to take protective measures against influenza? Perceived risk, efficacy, or trust in authorities.

BACKGROUND: Influenza outbreaks occur annually across the world, causing a global health challenge. This study aims to explore the association between risk perception (perceived severity and perceived probability), perceived efficacy (individual's efficacy and government's efficacy), trust in authorities, and intention to implement influenza protective behaviors. METHODS: The data (N = 1,372) used in this paper comes from the 2013 Taiwan Social Change Survey dataset. Six intentions of protective behaviors (getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, washing hands, avoiding going to public settings, sanitizing home, and eating nutritional supplements) were investigated. Tobit and ordered logistic regressions were used to conduct data analysis. RESULTS: Respondents were most inclined to washing hands, followed by wearing a mask, avoiding going to public settings, getting vaccine, sanitizing their homes, and eating nutritional supplements. Perceived severity and individual's efficacy were positively correlated with all 6 behavioral intentions. Trust in authorities has positive effect on all the protective behaviors except sanitizing home. Moreover, perceived probability has positive relationships with overall intention, intention to wear mask, and intention to wash hands. Government's efficacy was only positively correlated with eating nutritional supplements. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived severity and perceived response efficacy towards flu, as well as trust in authorities were relatively important factors in motivating people's intention to adopt influenza protective behaviors.

Weight Status and School Bullying Experiences in Urban China: The Difference Between Boys and Girls.

This article examined the associations between weight status (body mass index [BMI] and perceived weight measures) and school bullying experiences (being bullied and bullying others) of children and adolescents in urban China. A national representative sample (n = 3,675) of all types of pre-college schools from seven Chinese cities was employed for the analysis. Students from all grades in high school, vocational school, middle school, and primary grades 4 to 6 were surveyed. Height, weight, perceived weight status, and experiences of being bullied and bullying others were obtained. The results demonstrated that the objective weight status (BMI) was neither associated with being bullied overall by others nor associated with bullying others, but the subjective/perceived weight status was significantly related to being bullied. Regarding the specific forms of being bullied, underweight (measured by BMI) students were less likely to be cyberbullied, whereas obese (measured by BMI) students were more likely to be cyberbullied. Students who perceived themselves as slightly fat and too fat were more likely to be verbally bullied. Overweight and obese students were more likely to bully others physically and relationally, and the students who perceived themselves as too thin were positively associated with physically bullying others. Moreover, BMI had a role in the involvement in school bullying for boys, whereas perceived weight status had a role in school bullying involvement in girls. These results indicate that school bullying prevention and intervention should consider weight status, as well as gender differences.

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Online Health Consultation Services: The Role of Subjective Norm, Trust, Perceived Benefit, and Offline Habit.

The cyberspace plays an important role in improving the quality, equity, and efficiency of health services. Studying people's adoption of online health services, such as online health consultation services (OHCS) can benefit both industry and policy in the health service sector. This paper investigates influencing factors and paths of people's intention of adopting OHCS by employing the extended valence framework, with our new contribution of integrating subjective norm and offline habit into the model. Five hundred forty-three university students participated in the survey. Structural equation models and Sobel-Goodman tests were applied to test the models. The results show that subjective norm (ß = 0.077, p = 0.041), trust in providers (ß = 0.194, p = 0.002) and perceived benefit (ß = 0.463, p < 0.001) positively affect the intention to adopt OHCS, while offline habit (ß = -0.111, p = 0.026) has a negative effect. However, the association of perceived risk (ß = -0.062, p = 0.315) and adoption is not supported. Moreover, trust in providers plays a mediating role between subjective norm and the intention of adopting, while perceived benefit mediates the relationship between trust in providers and the intention of adopting. This study highlights the importance of trust, subjective norm, perceived benefit, and persisting habits in promoting the adoption of OHCS.