Pattern recognition receptors in immune disorders affecting the skin.

Contains fulltext : 109004.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) evolved to protect organisms against pathogens, but excessive signaling can induce immune responses that are harmful to the host. Putative PRR dysfunction is associated with numerous immune disorders that affect the skin, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome, and primary inflammatory skin diseases including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. As yet, the evidence is often confined to genetic association studies without additional proof of a causal relationship. However, insight into the role of PRRs in the pathophysiology of some disorders has already resulted in new therapeutic approaches based on immunomodulation of PRRs

Iterative optimization for max-min SINR in dense small-cell multiuser MISO SWIPT system

© 2015 IEEE. Considering a dense small-cell network with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), this work jointly designs transmit beamformers at the base stations (BSs) and receive power splitting ratios at the users (UEs). Our objectives is to maximize the minimum UE signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) under BS transmit power and UE minimum harvested energy constraints. This problem is highly nonconvex, for which semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation may even fail to locate a feasible solution. We propose an efficient spectral optimization method by expressing the rank-one constraints as a single reverse convex nonsmooth constraint and incorporating it in the optimization objective. The proposed algorithm practically achieves the theoretical bound given by SDP relaxation with almost similar complexity

Iterative optimization for max-min SINR in dense small-cell multiuser MISO SWIPT system

© 2015 IEEE. Considering a dense small-cell network with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), this work jointly designs transmit beamformers at the base stations (BSs) and receive power splitting ratios at the users (UEs). Our objectives is to maximize the minimum UE signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) under BS transmit power and UE minimum harvested energy constraints. This problem is highly nonconvex, for which semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation may even fail to locate a feasible solution. We propose an efficient spectral optimization method by expressing the rank-one constraints as a single reverse convex nonsmooth constraint and incorporating it in the optimization objective. The proposed algorithm practically achieves the theoretical bound given by SDP relaxation with almost similar complexity

Secure beamforming for max-min SINR in multi-cell SWIPT systems

© 2016 IEEE. We consider the downlink of a dense multicell network where each cell region is divided into two zones. The users nearby their serving base station (BS) in the inner zone implement simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), thus harvest energy and decode information using the power splitting approach. Further, they try to eavesdrop the information intended for other users within the same cell. The users in the outer zone of each cell only implement information decoding. Our objective is to maximize the minimum user equipment (UE) signal-To-interference-And-noise ratio (SINR) under constraints on the BS transmit power, minimum energy harvesting levels of near-by users, and maximum SINR of eavesdroppers in the presence of multi-cell interference. For such a highly non-convex problem, semidefinite relaxation (SDR) may even fail to locate a feasible solution. We propose two methods to address such a difficult problem. In the spectral optimization, we express the rank-one constraints as a single reverse convex nonsmooth constraint and incorporate it into the optimization objective. In the difference-of-convex-functions iteration method, we directly solve for the beamforming vectors via quadratic programming (QP), avoiding the matrix rank constraints. In each iteration of the proposed algorithms, we only solve one simple convex semidefinite program (SDP) or QP. Our simulation results confirm that the proposed algorithms converge quickly after a few iterations. More importantly, our algorithms yield the performance that is very close to the theoretical bound given by SDP relaxation with comparable computational complexity

Path-Following Algorithms for Beamforming and Signal Splitting in RF Energy Harvesting Networks

© 2016 IEEE. We consider the joint design of transmit beamforming and receive signal-splitting ratios in the downlink of a wireless network with simultaneous radio frequency information and energy transfer. Under constraints on the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio at each user and the total transmit power at the base station, the design objective is to maximize either the sum harvested energy or the minimum harvested energy. We develop a computationally efficient path-following method to solve these challenging nonconvex optimization problems. We mathematically show that the proposed algorithms iteratively progress and converge to locally optimal solutions. Simulation results further show that these locally optimal solutions are the same as the globally optimal solutions for the considered practical network settings

Four symptoms define the piriformis syndrome: an updated systematic review of its clinical features

Purpose: To update the evidence on the clinical features of the piriformis syndrome since the first systematic review published in 2010. Method: A systematic review of all case, cross-sectional and prevalence studies. Results: The commonest features reported were: buttock pain, pain aggravated on sitting, external tenderness near the greater sciatic notch and pain on any maneuver that increases piriformis muscle tension, and limitation of straight leg raising. The quality of case reports since the previous review has not improved with considerable under-reporting of presumed negative tests. Three recent cross-sectional and prevalence studies have been reported, but the two larger studies are at high risk of bias. Conclusions: Piriformis syndrome can be defined by a quartet of symptoms and signs. Many physical tests have been described, but the accuracy of these tests and the symptoms cannot be concluded from studies to date. Straight leg raising does not rule out the diagnosis. Piriformis syndrome is at a stage previously encountered with herniated intervertebral disc: that piriformis muscle pathology can cause sciatica has been demonstrated, but its prevalence among low back pain and sciatica sufferers and the diagnostic accuracy of clinical features requires cross-sectional studies free of incorporation and verification biases. One small cross-sectional study provides an encouraging example of how such studies could be conducted but would need replication in a broader population and better reporting