This paper addresses the problem of designing asymptotically optimal improper constellations with a given circularity coefficient (correlation coefficient between the constellation and its complex ...conjugate). The designed constellations are optimal in the sense that, at high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and for a large number of symbols, yield the lowest probability of error under an average power constraint for additive white Gaussian noise channels. As the number of symbols grows, the optimal constellation is the intersection of the hexagonal lattice with an ellipse whose eccentricity determines the circularity coefficient. Based on this asymptotic result, we propose an algorithm to design finite improper constellations. The proposed constellations provide significant SNR gains with respect to previous improper designs, which were generated through a widely linear transformation of a standard <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">M </tex-math></inline-formula>-ary quadrature amplitude modulation constellation. As an application example, we study the use of these improper constellations by a secondary user in an underlay cognitive radio network.
The benefits that technology can provide in terms of health and support for independent living are in many cases not enough to break the barriers that prevent older adults from accepting and ...embracing technology. This work proposes a hardware and software platform based on a smart mirror, which is equipped with a set of digital solutions whose main focus is to overcome older adults’ reluctance to use technology at home and wearable devices on the move. The system has been developed in the context of two use cases: the support of independent living for older individuals with neurodegenerative diseases and the promotion of physical rehabilitation activities at home. Aspects such as reliability, usability, consumption of computational resources, performance and accuracy of the proposed platform and digital solutions have been evaluated in the initial stages of the pilots within the SHAPES project, an EU-funded innovation action. It can be concluded that the SHAPES smart mirror has the potential to contribute as a technological breakthrough to overcome the barriers that prevent older adults from engaging in the use of assistive technologies.
The multiple biological effects of vitamin D and its novel activities on inflammation and redox homeostasis have raised high expectations on its use as a therapeutic agent for multiple fibrogenic ...conditions. We have assessed the therapeutic effects of 1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D
, the biologically active form of vitamin D, in the context of lung fibrosis.
We have used representative cellular models for alveolar type II cells and human myofibroblasts. The extension of DNA damage and cellular senescence have been assessed by immunofluorescence, western-blot and senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity. We have also set up a murine model for lung fibrosis by intraperitoneal injections of bleomycin.
Vitamin D induces cellular senescence in bleomycin-treated alveolar epithelial type II cells and aggravates the lung pathology induced by bleomycin. These effects are probably due to an alteration of the cellular DNA double-strand breaks repair in bleomycin-treated cells.
The detrimental effects of vitamin D in the presence of a DNA damaging agent might preclude its use as an antifibrogenic agent for pulmonary fibrosis characterized by DNA damage occurrence and cellular senescence.
Real-time Industrial applications in the scope of Industry 4.0. present significant challenges from the communication perspective: low latency, ultra-reliability, and determinism. Given that wireless ...networks provide a significant cost reduction, lower deployment time, and free movement of the wireless nodes, wireless solutions have attracted the industry attention. However, industrial networks are mostly built by wired means because state-of-the-art wireless networks cannot cope with the industrial applications requirements. In this article, we present the hardware implementation of wireless SHARP (w-SHARP), a promising wireless technology for real-time industrial applications. w-SHARP follows the principles of time-sensitive networking and provides time synchronization, time-aware scheduling with bounded latency and high reliability. The implementation has been carried out on a field-programmable gate array-based software-defined radio platform. We demonstrate, through a hardware testbed, that w-SHARP is able to provide ultra-low control cycles, low latency, and high reliability. This implementation may open new perspectives in the implementation of high-performance industrial wireless networks, as both PHY and MAC layers are now subject to be optimized for specific industrial applications.
Background
Elevated levels of total cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein play an important role in the development of atheromas and, therefore, in cardiovascular diseases. Cholesterol biosynthesis ...follows a circadian rhythm and is principally produced at night (between 12:00 am and 6:00 am). The adjustment of hypolipaemic therapy to biologic rhythms is known as chronotherapy. Chronotherapy is based on the idea that medication can have different effects depending on the hour at which it is taken. Statins are one of the most widely used drugs for the prevention of cardiovascular events. In usual clinical practice, statins are administered once per day without specifying the time when they should be taken. It is unknown whether the timing of statin administration is important for clinical outcomes.
Objectives
To critically evaluate and analyse the evidence available from randomised controlled trials regarding the effects of chronotherapy on the effectiveness and safety of treating hyperlipidaemia with statins.
Search methods
We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, LILACS, ProQuest Health & Medical Complete, OpenSIGLE, Web of Science Conference Proceedings, and various other resources including clinical trials registers up to November 2015. We also searched the reference lists of relevant reviews for eligible studies.
Selection criteria
We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), enrolling people with primary or secondary hyperlipidaemia. To be included, trials must have compared any chronotherapeutic lipid‐lowering regimen with statins and any other statin lipid‐lowering regimen not based on chronotherapy. We considered any type and dosage of statin as eligible, as long as the control and experimental arms differed only in the timing of the administration of the same statin. Quasi‐randomised studies were excluded.
Data collection and analysis
We used the standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. We extracted the key data from studies in relation to participants, interventions, and outcomes for safety and efficacy. We calculated odds ratios (OR) for dichotomous data and mean differences (MD) for continuous data with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Using the GRADE approach, we assessed the quality of the evidence and we used the GRADEpro Guideline Development Tool to import data from Review Manager to create 'Summary of findings' tables.
Main results
This review includes eight RCTs (767 participants analysed in morning and evening arms). The trials used different lipid‐lowering regimens with statins (lovastatin: two trials; simvastatin: three trials; fluvastatin: two trials; pravastatin: one trial). All trials compared the effects between morning and evening statin administration. Trial length ranged from four to 14 weeks. We found a high risk of bias in the domain of selective reporting in three trials and in the domain of incomplete outcome data in one trial of the eight trials included. None of the studies included were judged to be at low risk of bias.
None of the included RCTs reported data on cardiovascular mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, incidence of cardiovascular events, or deaths from any cause. Pooled results showed no evidence of a difference in total cholesterol (MD 4.33, 95% CI ‐1.36 to 10.01), 514 participants, five trials, mean follow‐up 9 weeks, low‐quality evidence), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) levels (MD 4.85 mg/dL, 95% CI ‐0.87 to 10.57, 473 participants, five trials, mean follow‐up 9 weeks, low‐quality evidence), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) (MD 0.54, 95% CI ‐1.08 to 2.17, 514 participants, five trials, mean follow‐up 9 weeks, low‐quality evidence) or triglycerides (MD ‐8.91, 95% CI ‐22 to 4.17, 510 participants, five trials, mean follow‐up 9 weeks, low‐quality evidence) between morning and evening statin administration.
With regard to safety outcomes, five trials (556 participants) reported adverse events. Pooled analysis found no differences in statins adverse events between morning and evening intake (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.44 to 1.15, 556 participants, five trials, mean follow‐up 9 weeks, low‐quality evidence).
Authors' conclusions
Limited and low‐quality evidence suggested that there were no differences between chronomodulated treatment with statins in people with hyperlipidaemia as compared to conventional treatment with statins, in terms of clinically relevant outcomes. Studies were short term and therefore did not report on our primary outcomes, cardiovascular clinical events or death. The review did not find differences in adverse events associated with statins between both regimens. Taking statins in the evening does not have an effect on the improvement of lipid levels with respect to morning administration. Further high‐quality trials with longer‐term follow‐up are needed to confirm the results of this review.
•CFD modeling of unsteady 3-D piston effect in subway tunnels using dynamic meshes.•Effectiveness of typical draught relief shafts are assessed via numerical simulation.•Piston effect may provide ...energy savings to mechanical ventilation up to a 3%.•Instantaneous flow rates due to train-motion can be as high as 50% of inlet ventilation.•Turbulence and comfort parameters are analyzed for possible piston effect disturbances.
This paper analyzes the influence of the piston effect in the longitudinal ventilation system of subway tunnels using numerical methodologies. This aerodynamic effect, highly complex, three-dimensional and unsteady is modeled using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in order to simulate and analyze in detail the flow patterns associated to this effect. This approach improves the description provided by typical conventional tools, based on 1-D numerical modeling, and constitutes a useful benchmark for calibrating existing tunnel environment simulation software. For this study, a 3-D computational model for a typical subway line between two consecutive stations has been considered. The implemented geometry is a typical configuration that mimics any modern infrastructure with 100m long stations connected through a two-way tunnel, 500m in length. The ventilation system is longitudinal, composed of two inlet shafts, with mechanical ventilation for each station, and an exhaust shaft in the middle of the tunnel. Additionally, at the tunnel edges, close to the stations, there are also natural ventilation shafts or draught relief shafts (DRSs) – i.e. without mechanical fans – to attenuate possible pressure fluctuations originating from the piston effect.
The numerical simulation has been conducted using the commercial code, FLUENT, developing an unsteady numerical model with a dynamic mesh technique to simulate the train displacement between the two stations. Different cases have been studied in detail, including a wide range of ventilation conditions, as well as travel frequencies (single train and two trains crossing halfway). The main objective of this analysis has been the definition and quantification of the different parameters influencing the subway ventilation system. Finally, the impact of the piston effect on the global ventilation performance has also been addressed via numerical estimation.
This paper presents the results of a series of studies conducted in two villages located in the region of Asturias, north of the Iberian Peninsula. These studies explore medieval settlements as well ...as agricultural and cattle farming activities in these villages, with a special focus on areas still inhabited today as well as surrounding productive spaces. An interdisciplinary methodology was used, which involves pollen and sedimentological analyses, physical and chemical soil analyses, and includes micromorphological studies and radiocarbon dating. These data are combined with the interpretation of stratigraphic information derived from archaeological excavations. The areas of study in the village of Vigaña comprise the necropolis and a nearby meadow, which provided a stratigraphic sequence from the Neolithic era to the present day, and are characterized by the continued significance of farming activities. In Villanueva, meanwhile, both village areas and productive spaces were excavated, which provided information from the Roman period, and revealed the existence of combined agricultural and farming activities since the early medieval era.
Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) followed by surgical resection is the standard therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer. However, tumor response following NACRT varies, ranging from ...pathologic complete response to disease progression. We evaluated the kinases VRK1 and VRK2, which are known to play multiple roles in cellular proliferation, cell cycle regulation, and carcinogenesis, and as such are potential predictors of tumor response and may aid in identifying patients who could benefit from NACRT.
Sixty-seven pretreatment biopsies were examined for VRK1 and VRK2 expression using tissue microarrays. VRK1 and VRK2 Histoscores were combined by linear addition, resulting in a new variable designated as "composite score", and the statistical significance of this variable was assessed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test and area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis were carried out to evaluate calibration and discrimination, respectively. A nomogram was also developed.
Univariate logistic regression showed that tumor size as well as composite score were statistically significant. Both variables remained significant in the multivariate analysis, obtaining an OR for tumor size of 0.65 (95 % CI, 0.45-0.94; p = 0.021) and composite score of 1.24 (95 % CI, 1.07-1.48; p = 0.005). Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed an adequate model calibration (p = 0.630) and good discrimination was also achieved, AUC 0.79 (95 % CI, 0.68-0.90).
This study provides novel data on the role of VRK1 and VRK2 in predicting tumor response to NACRT, and we propose a model with high predictive ability which could have a substantial impact on clinical management of locally advanced rectal cancer.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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