Spatial networks with wireless applications

Many networks have nodes located in physical space, with links more common between closely spaced pairs of nodes. For example, the nodes could be wireless devices and links communication channels in a wireless mesh network. We describe recent work involving such networks, considering effects due to the geometry (convex,non-convex, and fractal), node distribution, distance-dependent link probability, mobility, directivity and interference.Comment: Review article- an amended version with a new title from the origina

Optimal Non-uniform Deployments in Ultra-Dense Finite-Area Cellular Networks

Network densification and heterogenisation through the deployment of small cellular access points (picocells and femtocells) are seen as key mechanisms in handling the exponential increase in cellular data traffic. Modelling such networks by leveraging tools from Stochastic Geometry has proven particularly useful in understanding the fundamental limits imposed on network coverage and capacity by co-channel interference. Most of these works however assume infinite sized and uniformly distributed networks on the Euclidean plane. In contrast, we study finite sized non-uniformly distributed networks, and find the optimal non-uniform distribution of access points which maximises network coverage for a given non-uniform distribution of mobile users, and vice versa.Comment: 4 Pages, 6 Figures, Letter for IEEE Wireless Communication

Temporal connectivity in finite networks with non-uniform measures

Soft Random Geometric Graphs (SRGGs) have been widely applied to various models including those of wireless sensor, communication, social and neural networks. SRGGs are constructed by randomly placing nodes in some space and making pairwise links probabilistically using a connection function that is system specific and usually decays with distance. In this paper we focus on the application of SRGGs to wireless communication networks where information is relayed in a multi hop fashion, although the analysis is more general and can be applied elsewhere by using different distributions of nodes and/or connection functions. We adopt a general non-uniform density which can model the stationary distribution of different mobility models, with the interesting case being when the density goes to zero along the boundaries. The global connectivity properties of these non-uniform networks are likely to be determined by highly isolated nodes, where isolation can be caused by the spatial distribution or the local geometry (boundaries). We extend the analysis to temporal-spatial networks where we fix the underlying non-uniform distribution of points and the dynamics are caused by the temporal variations in the link set, and explore the probability a node near the corner is isolated at time $T$. This work allows for insight into how non-uniformity (caused by mobility) and boundaries impact the connectivity features of temporal-spatial networks. We provide a simple method for approximating these probabilities for a range of different connection functions and verify them against simulations. Boundary nodes are numerically shown to dominate the connectivity properties of these finite networks with non-uniform measure.Comment: 13 Pages - 4 figure

DataSheet_1_Fluorine labelling of therapeutic human tolerogenic dendritic cells for 19F-magnetic resonance imaging.pdf

Tolerogenic dendritic cell (tolDC) therapies aim to restore self-tolerance in patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. Phase 1 clinical trials with tolDC have shown the feasibility and safety of this approach, but have also highlighted a lack of understanding of their distribution in vivo. Fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging (19F-MRI) promises an attractive cell tracking method because it allows for detection of 19F-labelled cells in a non-invasive and longitudinal manner. Here, we tested the suitability of nanoparticles containing 19F (19F-NP) for labelling of therapeutic human tolDC for detection by 19F-MRI. We found that tolDC readily endocytosed 19F-NP with acceptable effects on cell viability and yield. The MRI signal-to-noise ratios obtained are more than sufficient for detection of the administered tolDC dose (10 million cells) at the injection site in vivo, depending on the tissue depth and the rate of cell dispersal. Importantly, 19F-NP labelling did not revert tolDC into immunogenic DC, as confirmed by their low expression of typical mature DC surface markers (CD83, CD86), low secretion of pro-inflammatory IL-12p70, and low capacity to induce IFN-γ in allogeneic CD4+ T cells. In addition, the capacity of tolDC to secrete anti-inflammatory IL-10 was not diminished by 19F-NP labelling. We conclude that 19F-NP is a suitable imaging agent for tolDC. With currently available technologies, this imaging approach does not yet approach the sensitivity required to detect small numbers of migrating cells, but could have important utility for determining the accuracy of injecting tolDC into the desired target tissue and their efflux rate.</p

DataSheet_2_Fluorine labelling of therapeutic human tolerogenic dendritic cells for 19F-magnetic resonance imaging.pdf

Tolerogenic dendritic cell (tolDC) therapies aim to restore self-tolerance in patients suffering from autoimmune diseases. Phase 1 clinical trials with tolDC have shown the feasibility and safety of this approach, but have also highlighted a lack of understanding of their distribution in vivo. Fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging (19F-MRI) promises an attractive cell tracking method because it allows for detection of 19F-labelled cells in a non-invasive and longitudinal manner. Here, we tested the suitability of nanoparticles containing 19F (19F-NP) for labelling of therapeutic human tolDC for detection by 19F-MRI. We found that tolDC readily endocytosed 19F-NP with acceptable effects on cell viability and yield. The MRI signal-to-noise ratios obtained are more than sufficient for detection of the administered tolDC dose (10 million cells) at the injection site in vivo, depending on the tissue depth and the rate of cell dispersal. Importantly, 19F-NP labelling did not revert tolDC into immunogenic DC, as confirmed by their low expression of typical mature DC surface markers (CD83, CD86), low secretion of pro-inflammatory IL-12p70, and low capacity to induce IFN-γ in allogeneic CD4+ T cells. In addition, the capacity of tolDC to secrete anti-inflammatory IL-10 was not diminished by 19F-NP labelling. We conclude that 19F-NP is a suitable imaging agent for tolDC. With currently available technologies, this imaging approach does not yet approach the sensitivity required to detect small numbers of migrating cells, but could have important utility for determining the accuracy of injecting tolDC into the desired target tissue and their efflux rate.</p

Antihuman factor VIII C2 domain antibodies in hemophilia A mice recognize a functionally complex continuous spectrum of epitopes dominated by inhibitors of factor VIII activation

The diversity of factor VIII (fVIII) C2 domain antibody epitopes was investigated by competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a panel of 56 antibodies. The overlap patterns produced 5 groups of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), designated A, AB, B, BC, and C, and yielded a set of 18 distinct epitopes. Group-specific loss of antigenicity was associated with mutations at the Met2199/Phe2200 phospholipid binding β-hairpin (group AB MAbs) and at Lys2227 (group BC MAbs), which allowed orientation of the epitope structure as a continuum that covers one face of the C2 β-sandwich. MAbs from groups A, AB, and B inhibit the binding of fVIIIa to phospholipid membranes. Group BC was the most common group and displayed the highest specific fVIII inhibitor activities. MAbs in this group are type II inhibitors that inhibit the activation of fVIII by either thrombin or factor Xa and poorly inhibit the binding of fVIII to phospholipid membranes or von Willebrand factor (VWF). Group BC MAbs are epitopically and mechanistically distinct from the extensively studied group C MAb, ESH8. These results reveal the structural and functional complexity of the anti-C2 domain antibody response and indicate that interference with fVIII activation is a major attribute of the inhibitor landscape