1,048 research outputs found
Low-Complexity Distance-Based Scheduling for Multi-User XL-MIMO Systems
© 2021 IEEE. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1109//LWC.2021.3101940[Abstract]: We introduce Distance-Based Scheduling (DBS), a new technique for user selection in downlink multi-user communications with extra-large (XL) antenna arrays. DBS categorizes users according to their equivalent distance to the antenna array. Such categorization effectively accounts for inter-user interference while largely reducing the computational burden. Results show that ( i ) DBS achieves the same performance as the reference zero-forcing beamforming scheme with a lower complexity; ( ii ) a simplified version of DBS achieves a similar performance when realistic spherical-wavefront (SW) propagation features are considered; ( iii ) SW propagation brings additional degrees of freedom, which allows for increasing the number of served users.This work was funded by the Xunta de Galicia (ED431G2019/01), the Agencia Estatal de
Investigación of Spain (TEC2016-75067-C4-1-R, PID2020-118139RB-I00),
ERDF funds of the EU (AEI/FEDER, UE), the Junta de Andalucia and the
European Fund for Regional Development FEDER (project P18-RT-3175
Increasing trend in the prevalence of morbid obesity in Spain: from 1.8 to 6.1 per thousand in 14 years
Obesity, and especiallymorbid obesity, increases the risk of cardiovascular as well as non-cardiovascular
diseases. Our objective was to ascertain the trends in morbid obesity in Spain from 1993 to 2006 using
representative data from 106,048 participants in the National Health Surveys. An age-adjusted Poisson
regression model stratified by sex was fitted using morbid obesity as the dependent variable.
An increasing trend in prevalent morbid obesity from 1.8 to 6.1 per thousand participants was found
(increase > 200%). Morbid obesity prevalence was higher in women. After adjusting for age, a
monotonically increasing prevalence of morbid obesity was apparent for both men and women: the
relative increase was 4% per year in women and 12% per year in men. These trends highlight the
importance of preventive actions
Prognostic utility of serum free light chain ratios and heavy-light chain ratios in multiple myeloma in three PETHEMA/GEM phase III clinical trials
We investigated the prognostic impact and clinical utility of serum free light chains (sFLC) and serum heavy-light chains (sHLC) in patients with multiple myeloma treated according to the GEM2005MENOS65, GEM2005MAS65, and GEM2010MAS65 PETHEMA/GEM phase III clinical trials. Serum samples collected at diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed for sFLC (n = 623) and sHLC (n = 183). After induction or autologous transplantation, 309 and 89 samples respectively were available for sFLC and sHLC assays. At diagnosis, a highly abnormal (HA) sFLC ratio (sFLCr) (32) was not associated with higher risk of progression. After therapy, persistence of involved-sFLC levels >100 mg/L implied worse survival (overall survival [OS], P = 0.03; progression-free survival [PFS], P = 0.007). Among patients that achieved a complete response, sFLCr normalization did not necessarily indicate a higher quality response. We conducted sHLC investigations for IgG and IgA MM. Absolute sHLC values were correlated with monoclonal protein levels measured with serum protein electrophoresis. At diagnosis, HA-sHLCrs (73) showed a higher risk of progression (P = 0.006). Additionally, involved-sHLC levels >5 g/L after treatment were associated with shorter survival (OS, P = 0.001; PFS, P = 0.018). The HA-sHLCr could have prognostic value at diagnosis; absolute values of involved-sFLC >100 mg/L and involved-sHLC >5 g/L could have prognostic value after treatment
The nutrigenetic influence of the interaction between dietary vitamin E and TXN and COMT gene polymorphisms on waist circumference: a case control study
Background: Abdominal obesity (AO) is a common modifiable risk factor for certain non-communicable diseases
associated with enhanced oxidative stress (OS). The objective of this work was to investigate whether the interaction
between antioxidant vitamin intake and OS-related polymorphisms modulates gene-associated anthropometry in a
Spanish population.
Methods: A total of 246 subjects with AO, and 492 age and gender matched non-AO subjects were included in the
study. Anthropometric, biochemical, and OS parameters, and antioxidant dietary intake data were assessed using validated
procedures. DNA from white blood cells was isolated and the genotype of seven polymorphisms from genes
involved in OS (pro-oxidant and antioxidant) were analyzed using the SNPlex system. The effects of the c.-793T > C
polymorphism on promoter activity and thus thioredoxin (TXN) activity were examined using reporter assays.
Results: The AO group had higher 8-Oxo-2′-deoxyguanosine levels and took in less vitamin A and vitamin E compared
to the non-AO group. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the rs2301241 polymorphism in TXN and
rs740603 in catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) were associated with waist circumference (WC) and AO. Moreover,
these polymorphisms were more strongly associated with variations in WC in subjects with low vitamin E intakes. A
promoter assay revealed that the T to C conversion at c.-793 (rs2301241) induced a more than two fold increase in
reporter gene expression.
Conclusions: WC is associated both with dietary vitamin E intake and genetic variants of TXN and COMT suggesting
that existence of a complex nutrigenetic pathway that involves regulation of AO
Conservative management of perforated duodenal diverticulum: a case report and review of the literature
Duodenal diverticula are a relatively common condition. They are asymptomatic, unless they become complicated, with perforation being the rarest but most severe complication. Surgical treatment is the most frequently performed approach. We report the case of a patient with a perforated duodenal diverticulum, which was diagnosed early and treated conservatively with antibiotics and percutaneous drainage of secondary retroperitoneal abscesses. We suggest this method could be an acceptable option for the management of similar cases, provided that the patient is in good general condition and without septic signs
Non-invasive ventilation in obesity hypoventilation syndrome without severe obstructive sleep apnoea
Background Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is an effective form of treatment in patients with obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) who have concomitant severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). However, there is a paucity of evidence on the efficacy of NIV in patients with OHS without severe OSA. We performed a multicentre randomised clinical trial to determine the comparative efficacy of NIV versus lifestyle modification (control group) using daytime arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) as the main outcome measure. Methods Between May 2009 and December 2014 we sequentially screened patients with OHS without severe OSA. Participants were randomised to NIV versus lifestyle modification and were followed for 2 months. Arterial blood gas parameters, clinical symptoms, health-related quality of life assessments, polysomnography, spirometry, 6-min walk distance test, blood pressure measurements and healthcare resource utilisation were evaluated. Statistical analysis was performed using intention-to-treat analysis. Results A total of 365 patients were screened of whom 58 were excluded. Severe OSA was present in 221 and the remaining 86 patients without severe OSA were randomised. NIV led to a significantly larger improvement in PaCO2 of -6 (95% CI -7.7 to -4.2) mm Hg versus -2.8 (95% CI -4.3 to -1.3) mm Hg, (p<0.001) and serum bicarbonate of -3.4 (95% CI -4.5 to -2.3) versus -1 (95% CI -1.7 to -0.2 95% CI) mmol/L (p<0.001). PaCO2 change adjusted for NIV compliance did not further improve the inter-group statistical significance. Sleepiness, some health-related quality of life assessments and polysomnographic parameters improved significantly more with NIV than with lifestyle modification. Additionally, there was a tendency towards lower healthcare resource utilisation in the NIV group. Conclusions NIV is more effective than lifestyle modification in improving daytime PaCO2, sleepiness and polysomnographic parameters. Long-term prospective studies are necessary to determine whether NIV reduces healthcare resource utilisation, cardiovascular events and mortality
Cancer immunotherapy with immunomodulatory anti-CD137 and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies requires Batf3-dependent dendritic cells
Weak and ineffective antitumor cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses can be rescued by immunomodulatory mAbs targeting PD-1 or CD137. Using Batf3−/− mice, which are defective for cross-presentation of cell-associated antigens, we show that BATF3-dependent dendritic cells (DC) are essential for the response to therapy with anti-CD137 or anti–PD-1 mAbs. Batf3−/− mice failed to prime an endogenous CTL-mediated immune response toward tumor-associated antigens, including neoantigens. As a result, the immunomodulatory mAbs could not amplify any therapeutically functional immune response in these mice. Moreover, administration of systemic sFLT3L and local poly-ICLC enhanced DC-mediated cross-priming and synergized with anti–CD137- and anti–PD-1–mediated immunostimulation in tumor therapy against B16-ovalbumin–derived melanomas, whereas this function was lost in Batf3−/− mice. These experiments show that cross-priming of tumor antigens by FLT3L- and BATF3-dependent DCs is crucial to the efficacy of immunostimulatory mAbs and represents a very attractive point of intervention to enhance their clinical antitumor effects
Search for composite and exotic fermions at LEP 2
A search for unstable heavy fermions with the DELPHI detector at LEP is
reported. Sequential and non-canonical leptons, as well as excited leptons and
quarks, are considered. The data analysed correspond to an integrated
luminosity of about 48 pb^{-1} at an e^+e^- centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV
and about 20 pb^{-1} equally shared between the centre-of-mass energies of 172
GeV and 161 GeV. The search for pair-produced new leptons establishes 95%
confidence level mass limits in the region between 70 GeV/c^2 and 90 GeV/c^2,
depending on the channel. The search for singly produced excited leptons and
quarks establishes upper limits on the ratio of the coupling of the excited
fermio
Search for charginos in e+e- interactions at sqrt(s) = 189 GeV
An update of the searches for charginos and gravitinos is presented, based on
a data sample corresponding to the 158 pb^{-1} recorded by the DELPHI detector
in 1998, at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No evidence for a signal was
found. The lower mass limits are 4-5 GeV/c^2 higher than those obtained at a
centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The (\mu,M_2) MSSM domain excluded by
combining the chargino searches with neutralino searches at the Z resonance
implies a limit on the mass of the lightest neutralino which, for a heavy
sneutrino, is constrained to be above 31.0 GeV/c^2 for tan(beta) \geq 1.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure
Prognostic factors of a lower CD4/CD8 ratio in long term viral suppression HIV infected children
Background
Combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is associated with marked immune reconstitution. Although a long term viral suppression is achievable, not all children however, attain complete immunological recovery due to persistent immune activation. We use CD4/CD8 ratio like a marker of immune reconstitution.
Methods
Perinatal HIV-infected children who underwent a first-line cART, achieved viral suppression in the first year and maintained it for more than 5 years, with no viral rebound were included. Logistic models were applied to estimate the prognostic factors, clinical characteristics at cART start, of a lower CD4/CD8 ratio at the last visit.
Results
146 HIV-infected children were included: 77% Caucasian, 45% male and 28% CDC C. Median age at cART initiation was 2.3 years (IQR: 0.5-6.2). 42 (30%) children received mono-dual therapy previously to cART. Time of undetectable viral load was 9.5 years (IQR: 7.8, 12.5). 33% of the children not achieved CD4/CD8 ratio >1. Univariate analysis showed an association between CD4/CD8 <1 with lower CD4 nadir and baseline CD4; older age at diagnosis and at cART initiation; and a previous exposure to mono-dual therapy. Multivariate analysis also revealed relationship between CD4/CD8 <1 and lower CD4 nadir (OR: 1.002, CI 95% 1.000-1.004) as well as previous exposure to mono-dual therapy (OR: 0.16, CI 95% 0.003-0.720).
Conclusions
CD4/CD8 > 1 was not achieved in 33% of the children. Lower CD4 nadir and previous exposure to suboptimal therapy, before initiating cART, are factors showing independently association with a worse immune recovery (CD4/CD8 < 1)
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