The Approximate Capacity of the MIMO Relay Channel

Capacity bounds are studied for the multiple-antenna complex Gaussian relay channel with t1 transmitting antennas at the sender, r2 receiving and t2 transmitting antennas at the relay, and r3 receiving antennas at the receiver. It is shown that the partial decode-forward coding scheme achieves within min(t1,r2) bits from the cutset bound and at least one half of the cutset bound, establishing a good approximate expression of the capacity. A similar additive gap of min(t1 + t2, r3) + r2 bits is shown to be achieved by the compress-forward coding scheme.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, submitted to the IEEE Transactions on Information Theor

Administration of Interleukin-35-Conditioned Autologous Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells Prolong Allograft Survival After Heart Transplantation

Background/Aims: IL-35, a powerful suppressor of inflammation and autoimmunity, is primarily secreted by regulatory T cells (Tregs) and can, in turn, promote Treg differentiation. However, the precise effect of IL-35 on dendritic cells (DCs) remains to be clarified. Methods: In this study, we investigated the expression of IL-35 in DCs after stimulation with LPS utilizing enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA), quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting, and the influence of IL-35 on the maturation and function of DCs by mixed lymphocyte reaction assay and flow cytometry. We further examined the regulation of IL-35 in DCs by the microRNA let-7i (let-7i) via transfected with let-7i mimic, inhibitor or suppressor of cytokine signalling 1 (SOCS1) siRNA. IL-35-overexpressing DCs were transfused into BALB/c recipients with C57BL/6 heart transplantations to verify the role of immune tolerance in transplantation. Results: The results showed that IL-35 expression was significantly up-regulated following lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced DC maturation. Overexpression of IL-35 suppressed DC maturation, promoted the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and subsequently affected the balance between Treg and Th17 cells. IL-35 expression in DCs was regulated by let-7i, which targets SOCS1. The transfusion of IL-35-transfected DCs induced Treg generation in mice and prolonged cardiac allograft survival. Conclusion: Our data demonstrated that IL-35 induces tolerogenic DCs which are capable of alleviating allograft rejection. Clinical application of IL-35-treated DCs might be a promising approach for eliciting cardiac allograft immune tolerance

The Long Noncoding RNA MALAT1 Induces Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells and Regulatory T Cells via miR155/Dendritic Cell-Specific Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-3 Grabbing Nonintegrin/IL10 Axis

By shaping T cell immunity, tolerogenic dendritic cells (tDCs) play critical roles in the induction of immune tolerance after transplantation. However, the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the function and immune tolerance of dendritic cells (DCs) is largely unknown. Here, we found that the lncRNA MALAT1 is upregulated in the infiltrating cells of tolerized mice with cardiac allografts and activated DCs. Functionally, MALAT1 overexpression favored a switch in DCs toward a tolerant phenotype. Mechanistically, ectopic MALAT1 promoted dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) expression by functioning as an miR155 sponge, which is essential for the tolerogenic maintenance of DCs and the DC-SIGN-positive subset with more potent tolerogenic ability. The adoptive transfer of MALAT1-overexpressing DCs promoted cardiac allograft survival and protected from the development of experimental autoimmune myocarditis, accompanied with increasing antigen-specific regulatory T cells. Therefore, overexpressed MALAT1 induces tDCs and immune tolerance in heart transplantation and autoimmune disease by the miRNA-155/DC-SIGH/IL10 axis. This study highlights that the lncRNA MALAT1 is a novel tolerance regulator in immunity that has important implications in settings in which tDCs are preferred

A qualitative study exploring perceptions and attitudes of community pharmacists about extended pharmacy services in Lahore, Pakistan

Background In recent decades, community pharmacies reported a change of business model, whereby a shift from traditional services to the provision of extended roles was observed. However, such delivery of extended pharmacy services (EPS) is reported from the developed world, and there is scarcity of information from the developing nations. Within this context, the present study was aimed to explore knowledge, perception and attitude of community pharmacists (CPs) about EPS and their readiness and acceptance for practice change in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods A qualitative approach was used to gain an in-depth knowledge of the issues. By using a semi-structured interview guide, 12 CPs practicing in the city of Lahore, Pakistan were conveniently selected. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and were then analyzed for thematic contents by the standard content analysis framework. Results Thematic content analysis yielded five major themes. (1) Familiarity with EPS, (2) current practice of EPS, (3) training needed to provide EPS, (4) acceptance of EPS and (5) barriers toward EPS. Majority of the CPs were unaware of EPS and only a handful had the concept of extended services. Although majority of our study respondents were unaware of pharmaceutical care, they were ready to accept practice change if provided with the required skills and training. Lack of personal knowledge, poor public awareness, inadequate physician-pharmacist collaboration and deprived salary structures were reported as barriers towards the provision of EPS at the practice settings. Conclusion Although the study reported poor awareness towards EPS, the findings indicated a number of key themes that can be used in establishing the concept of EPS in Pakistan. Over all, CPs reported a positive attitude toward practice change provided to the support and facilitation of health and community based agencies in Pakistan

Using a Food Bank as a Platform for Educating Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: To describe a partnership between a public university and a regional foodbank aimed to promote health in food insecure communities, and to support nursing students\u27 learning experiences in community health. DESIGN: A single setting case study. METHODS: A comprehensive health needs assessment conducted through a windshield survey and key informant interviews was used to identify the community\u27s priorities. FINDINGS: Nursing interventions were tailored to the community\u27s needs by creating healthy recipes and providing education on food safety, lower back injury prevention, and chronic disease prevention and 15 management. CONCLUSION: During pandemics, nursing program partnerships with food banks could play pivotal roles in community health promotion. CLINICAL EVIDENCE: Food banks can serve as clinical platforms for nursing education and community wellness activities

On the Relation between Outage Probability and Effective Frequency Diversity Order

In this paper, the relation between the outage probability and the effective frequency diversity order will be investigated. If the number of nonzero elements in power delay profile (PDP) is two, there is one-to-one correspondence between the outage probability and the effective frequency diversity order. On the other hand, if the number of nonzero elements in PDP is greater than two, the effective frequency diversity order provides the upper and lower bounds on the outage probability rather than the exact outage probability. Also, the effective frequency diversity order and the outage probability of cyclic delay diversity (CDD) schemes will be discussed