Proposal of Single Sideband Modulation Scheme Using Frequency Domain Filtering

With the rapid development of wireless systems, the demand for frequency resources has been increasing in recent years. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the high-quality communication method that efficiently utilizes finite frequency resources. In this paper, Single Sideband 16 Pulse Amplitude Modulation (SSB 16PAM) scheme for the uplink communication is proposed. It transmits data in only Lower Sideband (LSB) without extra Hilbert components. Under Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel environment, Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of the proposed scheme is superior by 3 dB in terms of Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) to 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (256QAM) scheme with the same frequency efficiency and the same Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR). Our proposed scheme employs the original frequency domain filter on the transmitter side to form an ideal spectrum. The configuration of its process is almost similar to Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), moreover, half of the input data on the frequency domain is removed. The proposed frequency domain filter produces the SSBmodulated spectrum with a roll-off rate of zero without degrading the BER performance

Cross-talk between IL-6 and TGF-β signaling in hepatoma cells

AbstractInterleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays important roles in the immune system, hematopoiesis, and acute phase reactions. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) also has pleiotropy including the production of acute phase proteins in hepatocytes. To elucidate the cross-talk between IL-6 and TGF-β signaling pathways in hepatic cells, we investigated the effects of TGF-β on IL-6-induced signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) activation in a human hepatoma cell line, Hep3B. IL-6-induced activation of STAT3 activity and STAT3-mediated gene expression were augmented by TGF-β in Hep3B cells. We provide evidence that these activities were due to physical interactions between STAT3 and Sma- and MAD-related protein-3, bridged by p300. These results demonstrate a molecular mechanism of a cross-talk between STAT3 and TGF-β signaling pathways in hepatocytes

Age-related increase of autoantibodies to interleukin 1α in healthy Japanese blood donors

Although autoantibodies to interleukin-1α (IL-1α autoantibodies) are known to be present in sera of apparently healthy humans, their frequency of occurrence and significance are unclear. To determine the prevalence of detectable IL-1α autoantibodies in normal human blood, we screened the plasma of blood donors (6290 subjects : 3977 men and 2313 women, ages 16 to 64 yr) by a radioimmunoassay which we developed using a method that could detect over 5 ng/ml. Moreover, we investigated immunoglobulin class of IL-1α autoantibodies and also their function. IL-1α autoantibodies were detected in 14.6% of the 6290 donors. Their frequency was higher in males than females (16.6% vs.11.2%, p<0.01) and increased with age in both sexes. The proportion of subjects with a high IL-1α autoantibodies titers also increased with age. We showed that IL-1α autoantibodies were of the IgG class and that they had neutralizing function to IL-1α by receptor assay. Neutralizing activity was only shown in plasma with concentration of IL-1α autoantibodies, the level of which was over 1000 ng/ml. The affinity of the IL-1α autoantibodies in plasma was between 2.1 X 10-10and 1.2 X 10-9 M (mean 6.4 X 10-10M). Our results provide a basis for comparison with IL-1α autoantibodies prevalence between healthy states and disease states, and suggest that IL-1α autoantibodies may play a significant role in modulating the effects of excessive IL-1α at local site or in systemic regions

Correlation between salivary secretion and salivary AQP5 levels in health and disease

Saliva samples are useful for noninvasive diagnosis of oral and systemic diseases. The water channel protein aquaporin-5 (AQP5) is released into human saliva. Salivary AQP5 levels show a diurnal variation with the secretion of high levels during the waking hours. An age-related decrease in salivary AQP5 levels parallels a decrease in the volume of saliva. Cevimeline, a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) agonist, induces the release of AQP5. Changes in salivary AQP5 levels after cevimeline administration occur simultaneously with changes in saliva flow rate. AQP5 and lipid rafts are released separately from human salivary glands upon M3 mAChR stimulation. In patients with diabetes mellitus or Sjögren’s syndrome, a decrease in salivary secretion occurs concomitantly with low salivary AQP5 levels. Salivary AQP5 levels correlate with salivary secretion in both healthy and disease states, suggesting that changes in salivary AQP5 levels can be used as an indicator of salivary flow rate and the effect of M3 mAChR agonists on human salivary glands

Autoantibodies to IL-1α in sera from rapidly progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

To clarify the clinical significance of autoantibodies to interleukin-1α (IL-1α autoantibodies) in rapidly progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ( IPF ), we measured the level of IL-1α autoantibodies in serum of 11 patients on the first hospital day, when patients were admitted due to severe symptoms, and on the 21st hospital day. IL-1α autoantibodies in serum were measured using radioimmunoassay, and the limitation of this assay for IL-1α autoantibodies was 5 ng/ml. These antibodies were detected in 5 of 11 patients on the first hospital day. On the 21st hospital day, these antibodies were detected in all patients, and its level was increased compared with that on the first hospital day. IL-1α autoantibodies that appeared in patients corresponded to that of IgG. The half life of exogeneous autoantibodies was investigated following administration of autoantibody rich plasma obtained from healthy blood donors to 6 control patients (CP) and 6 progressive IPF patients. These autoantibody levels in their serum were less than 5 ng/ml before administration. Serum was obtained at the indicated time after administration of IL-1α autoantibodies and the level of these autoantibodies in serum was measured, then the half life was calculated. Half life of exogeneous IL-1α autoantibodies in progressive IPF patients was significantly shorter than that in CP (71.3±31.8 hr vs 352.0±98.3 hr, p<0.01).These findings suggested that IL-1α autoantibodies were generated in response to the inflammatory process of rapidly progressive IPF and may act as a regulatory factor for IL-1α