Array Configuration Effect on the Spatial Correlation of MU-MIMO Channels in NLoS Environments

In this paper, three different base-station antenna (BSA) configurations are compared in terms of inter-user spatial correlation in a two dimensional (2D) non-line-of-sight (NLoS) environment. The three configurations are: (i) a regular uniform linear array (ULA); (ii) a periodic sparse array; and (iii) an aperiodic sparse array. Electromagnetic modeling of the NLoS channel is proposed where scatterers are considered as resonant dipoles confined in clusters of scatterers (CoSs). While the probability of facing highly correlated user-equipments (UEs) in a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) system is decreasing as the richness of mutipath increases, the sparsity (increased inter-element spacing) is seen to be capable of reducing this probability as well. This is due to the larger spatial variations experienced by the sparse array. Moreover, the results show that further improvement can be achieved by deploying an aperiodic distribution of antenna elements into the sparse antenna aperture

Overview of Advanced LIGO Adaptive Optics

This is an overview of the adaptive optics used in Advanced LIGO (aLIGO), known as the thermal compensation system (TCS). The thermal compensation system was designed to minimize thermally-induced spatial distortions in the interferometer optical modes and to provide some correction for static curvature errors in the core optics of aLIGO. The TCS is comprised of ring heater actuators, spatially tunable CO$_{2}$ laser projectors and Hartmann wavefront sensors. The system meets the requirements of correcting for nominal distortion in Advanced LIGO to a maximum residual error of 5.4nm, weighted across the laser beam, for up to 125W of laser input power into the interferometer

Right ventricular recovery after bilateral lung transplantation for pulmonary arterial hypertension

OBJECTIVES: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive and often fatal disease characterized by increased pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and right ventricular (RV) failure. End-stage PAH is often an indication for a lung transplant (LTX). Our goal was to study ventricular recovery using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging late after LTX. METHODS: We studied 10 patients with PAH who underwent isolated bilateral LTX. RV and left ventricular (LV) volumes, function and mass were measured. In addition, the RV stroke volume/end-systolic ratio (SV/ESV), the LV eccentricity index, the RV/LV volume ratio, the area of the tricuspid valve annulus and the severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) were calculated. RESULTS: The median age was 44 [30-54] years and the mean PVR was 1020 ± 435 dynes·s·cm â ' 5. Six patients had ≥ moderate TR. After LTX, the RV ejection fraction increased from 32 to 64% (P < 0.001) and both RV volume (from 118 to 51 ml/m 2, P < 0.001) and RV mass (from 69 to 33 g/m 2, P < 0.001) decreased. The mean SV/ESV ratio increased from 0.5 to 1.9 (P < 0.001) and the LV mass increased from 55 to 61 g/m 2 (P = 0.005). There was a decrease in both the LV eccentricity index (from 2.8 to 1.1, P < 0.001) and the RV/LV volume ratio (from 2.3 to 0.8, P < 0.001). The area of the tricuspid valve annulus also decreased (from 9.8 to 4.6 cm 2 /m 2, P < 0.001); no patient had ≥ mild TR post-LTX. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirms ventricular recovery after isolated bilateral LTX for end-stage PAH

High prevalence of Trichomonas gallinae in wild columbids across western and southern Europe

Avian trichomonosis is known as a widespread disease in columbids and passerines, and recent findings have highlighted the pathogenic character of some lineages found in wild birds. Trichomonosis can affect wild bird populations including endangered species, as has been shown for Mauritian pink pigeons Nesoenas mayeri in Mauritius and suggested for European turtle doves Streptopelia turtur in the UK. However, the disease trichomonosis is caused only by pathogenic lineages of the parasite Trichomonas gallinae. Therefore, understanding the prevalence and distribution of both potentially pathogenic and non-pathogenic T. gallinae lineages in turtle doves and other columbids across Europe is relevant to estimate the potential impact of the disease on a continental scale

Sex differences in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot support a tailored approach for males and females:a cardiac magnetic resonance study

Purpose Substantial differences between sexes exist with respect to cardiovascular diseases, including congenital heart disease. Nevertheless, clinical decisions in the long-term follow-up of patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) are currently based on unisex thresholds for cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements. This study aimed to assess whether sex differences exist in cardiac adaptation to hemodynamic loading conditions in patients with rTOF. Methods and Results This cross-sectional, two-center, combined pediatric and adult cohort included 320 rTOF patients (163 males, 51%) who underwent routine CMR. Despite similar age (median and interquartile range [m + IQR] 23.4 [15.2-34.4] years), surgical history, and hemodynamic loading, males with rTOF demonstrated higher biventricular CMR-derived volumes and masses, indexed for body surface area, compared to females (e.g. m + IQR right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume: males 123 [100-151] mL/m2, females 114 [94-131] mL/m2, P = 0.007). Sex-specific Z-scores of biventricular volumes and masses were similar for males and females. RV volumes and masses correlated with hemodynamic loading, but these relations did not differ between sexes. Biventricular ejection fraction (EF) appeared to be lower in male patients, compared to female patients (e.g. m + IQR RVEF: males 48 [43-54]%, females 52 [46-57]%, P < 0.001). Conclusion Indexed ventricular volumes and masses are higher in males with rTOF, compared to females, similar to the healthy population. RV hypertrophy and dilatation correlated to loading conditions similarly for both sexes. However, under comparable loading conditions, males demonstrated more severe functional impairment. These results indicate that sex-differences should no longer be ignored in treatment strategies, including timing of pulmonary valve replacement

Anacetrapib reduces progression of atherosclerosis, mainly by reducing non-HDL-cholesterol, improves lesion stability and adds to the beneficial effects of atorvastatin

The present study is the first intervention study in a well-established, translational mouse model for hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis showing that anacetrapib dose-dependently reduces atherosclerosis development and adds to the anti-atherogenic effects of atorvastatin. This effect is mainly ascribed to the reduction in non-HDL-C despite a remarkable increase in HDL-C and without affecting HDL functionality. In addition, anacetrapib improves lesion stabilit

Assessment of algorithms for mitosis detection in breast cancer histopathology images

The proliferative activity of breast tumors, which is routinely estimated by counting of mitotic figures in hematoxylin and eosin stained histology sections, is considered to be one of the most important prognostic markers. However, mitosis counting is laborious, subjective and may suffer from low inter-observer agreement. With the wider acceptance of whole slide images in pathology labs, automatic image analysis has been proposed as a potential solution for these issues. In this paper, the results from the Assessment of Mitosis Detection Algorithms 2013 (AMIDA13) challenge are described. The challenge was based on a data set consisting of 12 training and 11 testing subjects, with more than one thousand annotated mitotic figures by multiple observers. Short descriptions and results from the evaluation of eleven methods are presented. The top performing method has an error rate that is comparable to the inter-observer agreement among pathologists

Sustainability of Global Golden Inland Waterways

Sustainable inland waterways should meet the needs of navigation without compromising the health of riverine ecosystems. Here we propose a hierarchical model to describe sustainable development of the Golden Inland Waterways (GIWs) which are characterized by great bearing capacity and transport need. Based on datasets from 66 large rivers (basin area > 100,000 km2) worldwide, we identify 34 GIWs, mostly distributed in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, typically following a three-stage development path from the initial, through to the developing and on to the developed stage. For most GIWs, the exploitation ratio, defined as the ratio of actual to idealized bearing capacity, should be less than 80% due to ecological considerations. Combined with the indices of regional development, GIWs exploitation, and riverine ecosystem, we reveal the global diversity and evolution of GIWs' sustainability from 2015 to 2050, which highlights the importance of river-specific strategies for waterway exploitation worldwide

Towards broad spectrum activity-based glycosidase probes: synthesis and evaluation of deoxygenated cyclophellitol aziridines

Activity-based protein profiling has emerged as a powerful tool for visualizing glycosidases in complex biological samples. Several configurational cyclophellitol isomers have been shown to display high selectivity as probes for glycosidases processing substrates featuring the same configuration. Here, a set of deoxygenated cyclophellitols are presented which enable inter-class profiling of [small beta]-glucosidases and [small beta]-galactosidases