3D Millimeter-Wave Peer-to-Peer Networks With Boundary Located Destination

This letter presents a theoretical analysis for estimating the coverage probability and the average link capacity of an interfered peer-to-peer millimeter-wave communication, when the destination lies at the boundary of a three-dimensional cell. The proposed model provides closed-form expressions for the statistics of the desired and undesired signal powers, by accounting for the impact of directional antenna gains, path-loss attenuation, mid-scale fading, interference, and noise

New Fourier Transform Approach to the Synthesis of Shaped Patterns by Linear Antenna Arrays

A new Fourier Transform (NFT) approach is developed for the synthesis of shaped patterns radiated by linear antenna arrays. The proposed method exploits in an innovative way the FT relation between the source distribution and the radiated pattern. Precisely, the finite dimension of real sources is firstly taken into account by using the sampling theorem to approximate the desired pattern as a band-limited function. It is this step that allows one to obtain an important performance improvement. Then, a continuous source is evaluated from the approximate desired pattern to finally obtain the element excitations. Numerical examples validate the method

Role of the product \u3bb\u2032(0)\u3c1\u2032(1) in determining ldpc code performance

The objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the product \u3bb\u2032 (0)\u3c1\u2032 (1) in determining low density parity check (LDPC) code performance, as far as its influence on the weight distribution function and on the decoding thresholds. This analysis is based on the 2006 paper by Di et al., as far as the weight distribution function is concerned, and on the 2018 paper by Vatta et al., regarding the LDPC decoding thresholds. In particular, the first paper Di et al. analyzed the relation between the above mentioned product and the minimum weight of an ensemble of random LDPC codewords, whereas in the second some analytical upper bounds to the LDPC decoding thresholds were determined. In the present work, besides analyzing the performance of an ensemble of LDPC codes through the outcomes of Di et al.\u2019s 2006 paper, we give the relation between one of the upper bounds found in Vatta et al.\u2019s 2018 paper and the above mentioned product \u3bb\u2032 (0)\u3c1\u2032 (1), thus showing its role in also determining an upper bound to LDPC decoding thresholds

A new accurate approximation of the Gaussian Q-function with relative error less than 1 thousandth in a significant domain

The approximations of the Gaussian Q-function found in the literature have been often developed with the goal of obtaining high estimation accuracies in deriving the error probability for digital modulation schemes. Unfortunately, the obtained mathematical expressions are often too complex, even difficultly tractable. A new approximation for the Gaussian Q-function is presented in the form of the standard normal density multiplied by a rational function. The rational function is simply a linear combination of the first 5 integer negative powers of the same term, linear in x, using only 4 decimal constants. In this paper we make some considerations about the significant interval where to consider the Q-function in telecommunication theory. The relative error in absolute value of the given approximation is less than 0.06% in the considered significant interval

Performance Study of a Class of Irregular Near Capacity Achieving LDPC Codes

This paper investigates the performance of a class of irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes through a recently published low complexity upper bound on their beliefpropagation decoding thresholds. Moreover, their performance analysis is carried out through a recently published algorithmic method, presented in Babich et al. 2017 paper. In particular, the class considered is characterized by variable node degree distributions λ(x) of minimum degree i1 > 2: being, in this case, λ0(0) = λ2 = 0, this is useful to design LDPC codes presenting a linear minimum distance growth with the block length with probability 1, as shown in Di et al.'s 2006 paper. These codes unfortunately cannot reach capacity under iterative decoding, since the achievement of capacity requires λ2 ≠ 0. However, in this latter case, the block error probability might converge to a constant, as shown in the aforementioned paper

Calcium-Sensing Receptor Genotype and Response to Cinacalcet in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) alter the response to the calcimimetic cinacalcet. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We analyzed DNA samples in the Evaluation of Cinacalcet HCl Therapy to Lower Cardiovascular Events (EVOLVE) trial, a randomized trial comparing cinacalcet to placebo on a background of usual care. Of the 3883 patients randomized, 1919 (49%) consented to DNA collection, and samples from 1852 participants were genotyped for 18 CASR polymorphisms. The European ancestry (EA; n=1067) and African ancestry (AfAn; n=405) groups were assessed separately. SNPs in CASR were tested for their association with biochemical measures of mineral metabolism at baseline, percent change from baseline to 20 weeks, and risk of clinical fracture as dependent variables. RESULTS: There were modest associations of CASR SNPs with increased baseline serum parathyroid hormone and bone alkaline phosphatase primarily with the minor allele in the EA group (all P≤0.03), but not in the AfAn sample. In contrast, there was a modest association of decreased baseline serum calcium and FGF23 with CASR SNPs (P=0.04) primarily with the minor allele in the AfAn but not in the EA sample. The minor allele of two SNPs was associated with decreased percent reduction in parathyroid hormone from baseline to 20 weeks in the EA population (P<0.04) and this was not altered with cinacalcet. In both EA and AfAn, the same SNP (rs9740) was associated with decreased calcium with cinacalcet treatment (EA and AfAn P≤0.03). Three SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium were associated with a higher risk of clinical fracture that was attenuated by cinacalcet treatment in the EA sample (P<0.04). CONCLUSIONS: These modest associations, if validated, may provide explanations for differences in CKD-mineral bone disorder observed in EA and AfAn populations, and for differential biochemical responses to calcimimetics

Evidence for replicative mechanism in a CHD7 rearrangement in a patient with CHARGE syndrome

Haploinsufficiency of CHD7 (OMIM# 608892) is known to cause CHARGE syndrome (OMIM# 214800). Molecular testing supports a definitive diagnosis in approximately 65-70% of cases. Most CHD7 mutations arise de novo, and no mutations affecting exon-7 have been reported to date. We report on an 8-year-old girl diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome that was referred to our laboratory for comprehensive CHD7 gene screening. Genomic DNA from the subject with a suspected diagnosis of CHARGE was isolated from peripheral blood lymphocytes and comprehensive Sanger sequencing, along with deletion/duplication analysis of the CHD7 gene using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), was performed. MLPA analysis identified a reduced single probe signal for exon-7 of the CHD7 gene consistent with potential heterozygous deletion. Long-range PCR breakpoint analysis identified a complex genomic rearrangement (CGR) leading to the deletion of exon-7 and breakpoints consistent with a replicative mechanism such as fork stalling and template switching (FoSTeS) or microhomology-mediated break-induced replication (MMBIR). Taken together this represents the first evidence for a CHD7 intragenic CGR in a patient with CHARGE syndrome leading to what appears to be also the first report of a mutation specifically disrupting exon-7. Although likely rare, CGR may represent an overlooked mechanism in subjects with CHARGE syndrome that can be missed by current sequencing and dosage assays

A Simple Blass Matrix Design Strategy for Multibeam Arbitrary Linear Antenna Arrays

Multibeam antenna arrays are currently recognized as one of the enabling technologies for the next-generation communication standards. One of the key components of these systems is the beamforming network (BFN) that implements the array element excitations. This article addresses this issue by presenting a novel strategy to realize an analog feeding network, which allows an arbitrary linear array (LA) to radiate multiple arbitrary beams. In particular, an iterative procedure is conceived to design a Blass matrix using an identical directional coupler for all nodes, resulting in a very simple structure suitable for large-scale production. Two applications with arbitrary directions are illustrated as proofs-of-concept for the developed architecture: a dual-beam configuration with a null involving an aperiodic LA, and a four-beam configuration involving a periodic LA. For this second application, the effectiveness of the proposed solution is further verified by full-wave simulations and experimental measurements carried out on a fabricated prototype

Myocardial Alternative RNA Splicing and Gene Expression Profiling in Early Stage Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) is a congenital defect characterized by underdevelopment of the left ventricle and pathological compensation of the right ventricle. If untreated, HLHS is invariably lethal due to the extensive increase in right ventricular workload and eventual failure. Despite the clinical significance, little is known about the molecular pathobiological state of HLHS. Splicing of mRNA transcripts is an important regulatory mechanism of gene expression. Tissue specific alterations of this process have been associated with several cardiac diseases, however, transcriptional signature profiles related to HLHS are unknown. In this study, we performed genome-wide exon array analysis to determine differentially expressed genes and alternatively spliced transcripts in the right ventricle (RV) of six neonates with HLHS, compared to the RV and left ventricle (LV) from non-diseased control subjects. In HLHS, over 180 genes were differentially expressed and 1800 were differentially spliced, leading to changes in a variety of biological processes involving cell metabolism, cytoskeleton, and cell adherence. Additional hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that differential gene expression and mRNA splicing patterns identified in HLHS are unique compared to non-diseased tissue. Our findings suggest that gene expression and mRNA splicing are broadly dysregulated in the RV myocardium of HLHS neonates. In addition, our analysis identified transcriptome profiles representative of molecular biomarkers of HLHS that could be used in the future for diagnostic and prognostic stratification to improve patient outcome

Response to comment on "preserved feedforward but impaired top-down processes in the vegetative state".

King et al. raise some technical issues about our recent study showing impaired top-down processes in the vegetative state. We welcome the opportunity to provide more details about our methods and results and to resolve their concerns. We substantiate our interpretation of the results and provide a point-by-point response to the issues raised.Peer reviewe