A Statistical Analysis of Multipath Interference for Impulse Radio UWB Systems

In this paper, we develop a statistical characterization of the multipath interference in an Impulse Radio (IR)-UWB system, considering the standardized IEEE 802.15.4a channel model. In such systems, the chip length has to be carefully tuned as all the propagation paths located beyond this limit can cause interframe/intersymbol interferences (IFI/ISI). Our approach aims at computing the probability density function (PDF) of the power of all multipath components with delays larger than the chip time, so as to prevent such interferences. Exact analytical expressions are derived first for the probability that the chip length falls into a particular cluster of the multipath propagation model and for the statistics of the number of paths spread over several contiguous clusters. A power delay profile (PDP) approximation is then used to evaluate the total interference power as the problem appears to be mathematically intractable. Using the proposed closed-form expressions, and assuming minimal prior information on the channel state, a rapid update of the chip time value is enabled so as to control the signal to interference plus noise ratio.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures; submitted to the Journal of the Franklin Institute on Sept. 24, 201

18F-FDG PET/MRI Imaging in a Preclinical Rat Model of Cardiorenal Syndrome—An Exploratory Study

Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) denotes the bidirectional interaction of chronic kidney disease and heart failure with an adverse prognosis but with a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study correlates biochemical blood markers, histopathological and immunohistochemistry features, and 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) metabolic data in low-dose doxorubicin-induced heart failure, cardiorenal syndrome, and renocardiac syndrome induced on Wistar male rats. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the underlying mechanisms for CRS progression in rats using 18F-FDG PET. Clinical, metabolic cage monitoring, biochemistry, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry combined with PET/MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) data acquisition at distinct points in the disease progression were employed for this study in order to elucidate the available evidence of organ crosstalk between the heart and kidneys. In our CRS model, we found that chronic treatment with low-dose doxorubicin followed by acute 5/6 nephrectomy incurred the highest mortality among the study groups, while the model for renocardiac syndrome resulted in moderate-to-high mortality. 18F-FDG PET imaging evidenced the doxorubicin cardiotoxicity with vascular alterations, normal kidney development damage, and impaired function. Given the fact that standard clinical markers were insensitive to early renal injury, we believe that the decreasing values of the 18F-FDG PET-derived renal marker across the groups and, compared with their age-matched controls, along with the uniform distribution seen in healthy developing rats, could have a potential diagnostic and prognostic yield in cardiorenal syndrome

¹⁸F-FDG PET/MRI Imaging in a Preclinical Rat Model of Cardiorenal Syndrome—An Exploratory Study

Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) denotes the bidirectional interaction of chronic kidney disease and heart failure with an adverse prognosis but with a limited understanding of its pathogenesis. This study correlates biochemical blood markers, histopathological and immunohistochemistry features, and 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) metabolic data in low-dose doxorubicin-induced heart failure, cardiorenal syndrome, and renocardiac syndrome induced on Wistar male rats. To our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the underlying mechanisms for CRS progression in rats using 18F-FDG PET. Clinical, metabolic cage monitoring, biochemistry, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry combined with PET/MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) data acquisition at distinct points in the disease progression were employed for this study in order to elucidate the available evidence of organ crosstalk between the heart and kidneys. In our CRS model, we found that chronic treatment with low-dose doxorubicin followed by acute 5/6 nephrectomy incurred the highest mortality among the study groups, while the model for renocardiac syndrome resulted in moderate-to-high mortality. 18F-FDG PET imaging evidenced the doxorubicin cardiotoxicity with vascular alterations, normal kidney development damage, and impaired function. Given the fact that standard clinical markers were insensitive to early renal injury, we believe that the decreasing values of the 18F-FDG PET-derived renal marker across the groups and, compared with their age-matched controls, along with the uniform distribution seen in healthy developing rats, could have a potential diagnostic and prognostic yield in cardiorenal syndrome

Medicinal Plants of the Family Lamiaceae in Pain Therapy: A Review

Recently, numerous side effects of synthetic drugs have lead to using medicinal plants as a reliable source of new therapy. Pain is a global public health problem with a high impact on life quality and a huge economic implication, becoming one of the most important enemies in modern medicine. The medicinal use of plants as analgesic or antinociceptive drugs in traditional therapy is estimated to be about 80% of the world population. The Lamiaceae family, one of the most important herbal families, incorporates a wide variety of plants with biological and medical applications. In this study, the analgesic activity, possible active compounds of Lamiaceae genus, and also the possible mechanism of actions of these plants are presented. The data highlighted in this review paper provide valuable scientific information for the specific implications of Lamiaceae plants in pain modulation that might be used for isolation of potentially active compounds from some of these medicinal plants in future and formulation of commercial therapeutic agents