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BACKGROUND: Despite major advances in the clinical management of long QT syndrome, some patients are not fully protected by beta-blocker therapy. Mexiletine is a well-known sodium channel blocker, with proven efficacy in patients with sodium channel-mediated long QT syndrome type 3. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of mexiletine in long QT syndrome type 2 (LQT2) using cardiomyocytes derived from patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells, a transgenic LQT2 rabbit model, and patients with LQT2. METHODS: Heart rate-corrected field potential duration, a surrogate for QTc, was measured in human induced pluripotent stem cells from 2 patients with LQT2 (KCNH2-p.A561V, KCNH2-p.R366X) before and after mexiletine using a multiwell multi-electrode array system. Action potential duration at 90% repolarization (APD90) was evaluated in cardiomyocytes isolated from transgenic LQT2 rabbits (KCNH2-p.G628S) at baseline and after mexiletine application. Mexiletine was given to 96 patients with LQT2. Patients were defined as responders in the presence of a QTc shortening >= 40 ms. Antiarrhythmic efficacy of mexiletine was evaluated by a Poisson regression model. RESULTS: After acute treatment with mexiletine, human induced pluripotent stem cells from both patients with LQT2 showed a significant shortening of heart rate-corrected field potential duration compared with dimethyl sulfoxide control. In cardiomyocytes isolated from LQT2 rabbits, acute mexiletine significantly shortened APD90 by 113 ms, indicating a strong mexiletine-mediated shortening across different LQT2 model systems. Mexiletine was given to 96 patients with LQT2 either chronically (n=60) or after the acute oral drug test (n=36): 65% of the patients taking mexiletine only chronically and 75% of the patients who performed the acute oral test were responders. There was a significant correlation between basal QTc and triangle QTc during the test (r= -0.8; P<0.001). The oral drug test correctly predicte

Aim: Striatin (Strn) is a scaffold protein expressed in cardiomyocytes (CMs) and alteration of its expression are described in various cardiac diseases. However, the alteration underlying its pathogenicity have been poorly investigated. Methods: We studied the role(s) of cardiac Strn gene (STRN) by comparing the functional properties of CMs, generated from Strn-KO and isogenic WT mouse embryonic stem cell lines. Results: The spontaneous beating rate of Strn-KO CMs was faster than WT cells, and this correlated with a larger fast INa conductance and no changes in If. Paced (2–8 Hz) Strn-KO CMs showed prolonged action potential (AP) duration in comparison with WT CMs and this was not associated with changes in ICaL and IKr. Motion video tracking analysis highlighted an altered contraction in Strn-KO CMs; this was associated with a global increase in intracellular Ca2+, caused by an enhanced late Na+ current density (INaL) and a reduced Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) activity and expression. Immunofluorescence analysis confirmed the higher Na+ channel expression and a more dynamic microtubule network in Strn-KO CMs than in WT. Indeed, incubation of Strn-KO CMs with the microtubule stabilizer taxol, induced a rescue (downregulation) of INa conductance toward WT levels. Conclusion: Loss of STRN alters CMs electrical and contractile profiles and affects cell functionality by a disarrangement of Strn-related multi-protein complexes. This leads to impaired microtubules dynamics and Na+ channels trafficking to the plasma membrane, causing a global Na+ and Ca2+ enhancement.

Carbon assimilation and wood production are influenced by environmental conditions and endogenous factors, such as species auto-ecology, age, and hierarchical position within the forest structure. Disentangling the intricate relationships between those factors is more pressing than ever due to climate change’s pressure. We employed the 3D-CMCC-FEM model to simulate undisturbed forests of different ages under four climate change (plus one no climate change) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios from five Earth system models. In this context, carbon stocks and increment were simulated via total carbon woody stocks and mean annual increment, which depends mainly on climate trends. We find greater differences among different age cohorts under the same scenario than among different climate scenarios under the same age class. Increasing temperature and changes in precipitation patterns led to a decline in above-ground biomass in spruce stands, especially in the older age classes. On the contrary, the results show that beech forests will maintain and even increase C-storage rates under most RCP scenarios. Scots pine forests show an intermediate behavior with a stable stock capacity over time and in different scenarios but with decreasing mean volume annual increment. These results confirm current observations worldwide that indicate a stronger climate-related decline in conifers forests than in broadleaves.

AIMS: Current long QT syndrome (LQTS) therapy, largely based on beta-blockade, does not prevent arrhythmias in all patients; therefore, novel therapies are warranted. Pharmacological inhibition of the serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1-Inh) has been shown to shorten action potential duration (APD) in LQTS type 3. We aimed to investigate whether SGK1-Inh could similarly shorten APD in LQTS types 1 and 2. METHODS AND RESULTS: Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and hiPSC-cardiac cell sheets (CCS) were obtained from LQT1 and LQT2 patients; CMs were isolated from transgenic LQT1, LQT2, and wild-type (WT) rabbits. Serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 inhibition effects (300 nM-10 µM) on field potential durations (FPD) were investigated in hiPSC-CMs with multielectrode arrays; optical mapping was performed in LQT2 CCS. Whole-cell and perforated patch clamp recordings were performed in isolated LQT1, LQT2, and WT rabbit CMs to investigate SGK1-Inh (3 µM) effects on APD. In all LQT2 models across different species (hiPSC-CMs, hiPSC-CCS, and rabbit CMs) and independent of the disease-causing variant (KCNH2-p.A561V/p.A614V/p.G628S/IVS9-28A/G), SGK1-Inh dose-dependently shortened FPD/APD at 0.3-10 µM (by 20-32%/25-30%/44-45%). Importantly, in LQT2 rabbit CMs, 3 µM SGK1-Inh normalized APD to its WT value. A significant FPD shortening was observed in KCNQ1-p.R594Q hiPSC-CMs at 1/3/10 µM (by 19/26/35%) and in KCNQ1-p.A341V hiPSC-CMs at 10 µM (by 29%). No SGK1-Inh-induced FPD/APD shortening effect was observed in LQT1 KCNQ1-p.A341V hiPSC-CMs or KCNQ1-p.Y315S rabbit CMs at 0.3-3 µM. CONCLUSION: A robust SGK1-Inh-induced APD shortening was observed across different LQT2 models, species, and genetic variants but less consistently in LQT1 models. This suggests a genotype- and variant-specific beneficial effect of this novel therapeutic approach in LQTS.

A Coordinated Research Project on “Benchmark Analysis of FFTF Loss of Flow Without Scram Test” was launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2018. A series of passive safety tests were conducted from 1980-1992 at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), 400 MW(th) liquid sodium cooled nuclear test reactor owned by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the potential of FFTF to survive severe accident initiators with no core damage. Amongst these tests was a series of Loss of Flow Without Scram (LOFWOS) tests from power levels up to 50%, also commonly referred to as Unprotected Loss of Flow (ULOF) tests, which were studied in the IAEA CRP. The data were provided by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Another Research Coordinated Project on “Benchmark of Transition from Forced to Natural Circulation Experiment with Heavy Liquid Metal Loop” was launched by the IAEA in 2022. Three tests were conducted in 2017 to study the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a test fuel assembly cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic alloy during transition from forced to natural convection at the NACIE-UP facility at Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy. This project is the first IAEA CRP that is dedicated to the thermal hydraulics of lead and lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) technology. The paper provides a general overview of the two CRPs within the framework of the IAEA activities on thermal hydraulics of fast reactors.

A Coordinated Research Project on “Benchmark Analysis of FFTF Loss of Flow Without Scram Test” was launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2018. A series of passive safety tests were conducted from 1980-1992 at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), 400 MW(th) liquid sodium cooled nuclear test reactor owned by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the potential of FFTF to survive severe accident initiators with no core damage. Amongst these tests was a series of Loss of Flow Without Scram (LOFWOS) tests from power levels up to 50%, also commonly referred to as Unprotected Loss of Flow (ULOF) tests, which were studied in the IAEA CRP. The data were provided by the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Another Research Coordinated Project on “Benchmark of Transition from Forced to Natural Circulation Experiment with Heavy Liquid Metal Loop” was launched by the IAEA in 2022. Three tests were conducted in 2017 to study the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a test fuel assembly cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic alloy during transition from forced to natural convection at the NACIE-UP facility at Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Italy. This project is the first IAEA CRP that is dedicated to the thermal hydraulics of lead and lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) technology. The paper provides a general overview of the two CRPs within the framework of the IAEA activities on thermal hydraulics of fast reactors.

In the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, drug repurposing was widely used to identify compounds that could improve the prognosis of symptomatic patients infected by SARS-CoV-2. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was one of the first drugs used to treat COVID-19 due to its supposed capacity of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication in vitro. While its efficacy is debated, HCQ has been associated with QT interval prolongation and potentially Torsades de Pointes, especially in patients predisposed to developing drug-induced Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) as silent carriers of variants associated with congenital LQTS. If confirmed, these effects represent a limitation to the at-home use of HCQ for COVID-19 infection as adequate ECG monitoring is challenging. We investigated the proarrhythmic profile of HCQ with Multi-Electrode Arrays after exposure of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) from two healthy donors, one asymptomatic and two symptomatic LQTS patients. We demonstrated that: I) HCQ induced a concentration-dependent Field Potential Duration (FPD) prolongation and halted the beating at high concentration due to the combined effect of HCQ on multiple ion currents. II) hiPSC-CMs from healthy or asymptomatic carriers tolerated higher concentrations of HCQ and showed lower susceptibility to HCQ-induced electrical abnormalities regardless of baseline FPD. These findings agree with the clinical safety records of HCQ and demonstrated that hiPSC-CMs potentially discriminates symptomatic vs. asymptomatic mutation carriers through pharmacological interventions. Disease-specific cohorts of hiPSC-CMs may be a valid preliminary addition to assess drug safety in vulnerable populations, offering rapid preclinical results with valuable translational relevance for precision medicine.

This work investigates adaptive coding and modulation (ACM) algorithms under the realistic assumption that the available channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter is imperfect due to estimation errors and/or feedback delays. First, we introduce an optimal performance metric for the secondary user (SU) bit-interleaved coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BIC-OFDM) system, called the expected goodput (EGP). By using an accurate modeling approximation, we succeed in deriving a tractable and very accurate approximation for the EGP. This approximate EGP (AEGP) is then used for the derivation of several ACM algorithms which optimize the code rate and bit and energy allocation under a constraint on the interference caused to the PU network. In the numerical results, we show that the AEGP is far more accurate than previous attempts to model the GP in the presence of imperfect CSI. Further, we verify that, in spite of the imperfect nature of the available CSI, the derived ACM algorithms significantly increase the goodput of the SU network, compared to a non-adaptive selection of the transmission parameters. © 2016, The Author(s).

The two-dimensional stationary flow past a rotating cylinder is investigated for both two- and three-dimensional perturbations. The instability mechanisms are analysed using linear stability analysis and the complete neutral curve is presented. It is shown that the first bifurcation in the case of the rotating cylinder occurs for stationary three-dimensional perturbations, confirming recent experiments. Interestingly, the critical Reynolds number at high rotation rates is lower than that for the stationary circular cylinder. The spatial characteristics of the disturbance and a qualitative comparison with the results obtained for linear flows suggest that the stationary unstable three-dimensional mode could be of hyperbolic nature., QC 20130819

In this work, we investigate the power allocation (PA) problem aimed at minimizing the users' packet error rate (PER) over a noncooperative link, i.e., a link where the set of users, employing packet-oriented bit-interleaved coded (BIC) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, compete for the same bandwidth. For these kind of systems, the PER is not available in closed-form, but a very efficient solution is offered by the effective SNR mapping (ESM) technique. This method allows each user to evaluate a single scalar value, the effective SNR (ESNR), accounting for all the SNIRs experienced over the active subcarriers, and to univocally map it into a PER value. Thus, in order to derive a decentralized strategy allowing each user to minimize its own PER, the problem is described as a strategic game, called min-PER game, with the set of player, utilities and strategies represented by the competitive users, the ESNRs and the set of feasible power allocations, respectively. We will show both the existence of at least one Nash Equilibrium (NE) for the min-PER game and its equivalence with a Nonlinear Variational Inequality (NVI) problem. Finally, relying on the theory of contraction mappings, we will derive a distributed algorithm to reach the NE of the game.

The availability of flexible radio interfaces capable of adapting their configuration to the time-varying operating environment is the key response to the demand encountered in modern wireless networks for high data rates under strict quality of service (QoS) constraints. To this end, this paper develops a novel link resource adaptation (LRA) scheme for soft-decoded multiantenna (MIMO) bit interleaved coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BIC-OFDM) transmissions employing automatic repeat request (ARQ) mechanisms. As the first step, a simple link performance evaluation model based on the effective signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) mapping concept is derived in a closed-form expression that it is shown to yield better accuracy than previous techniques. Then, an effective LRA strategy is formulated taking advantage of that framework. The aim is maximizing the goodput (GP) metric, that is to say, the number of information bits delivered without error to the user by unit of time, over the available radio resources, such as the power distribution on the subchannels, coding rate, modulation order and the MIMO configuration. The numerical results demonstrate considerable performance gains compared with nonadaptive transmissions, while keeping the computational complexity at affordable levels in view of the specific structure of the GP objective function. © 2012 IEEE.

The availability of flexible radio interfaces capable of adapting their configuration to the time-varying operating environment is the key response to the demand encountered in modern wireless networks for high data rates under strict quality of service (QoS) constraints. To this end, this paper develops a novel link resource adaptation (LRA) scheme for soft-decoded multiantenna (MIMO) bit interleaved coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BIC-OFDM) transmissions employing automatic repeat request (ARQ) mechanisms. As the first step, a simple link performance evaluation model based on the effective signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) mapping concept is derived in a closed-form expression that it is shown to yield better accuracy than previous techniques. Then, an effective LRA strategy is formulated taking advantage of that framework. The aim is maximizing the goodput (GP) metric, that is to say, the number of information bits delivered without error to the user by unit of time, over the available radio resources, such as the power distribution on the subchannels, coding rate, modulation order and the MIMO configuration. The numerical results demonstrate considerable performance gains compared with nonadaptive transmissions, while keeping the computational complexity at affordable levels in view of the specific structure of the GP objective function. © 2012 IEEE.

In next generation wireless networks, high data rates under strict quality of service (QoS) constraints call for flexible radio interfaces capable of adapting their configuration on the fly to the time-varying operating environment. Motivated by this need, this paper first derives a simple link performance prediction model for bit interleaved coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BIC-OFDM) systems using incremental redundancy (IR) hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanisms. Then, an adaptive HARQ strategy is formulated whose aim is maximizing the goodput (GP) metric, i.e., the number of error-free information bits delivered to the user by unit of time, over the coding rate, the bit distribution and an on-off power allocation across the active subchannels. Simulation results corroborate the GP performance gains of the proposed approach compared with non-adaptive transmissions, while keeping the computational complexity at affordable levels. © 2011 IEEE.

In this paper, an approximate analytical expression for the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of a Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) signal is derived. Then, it is demonstrated that the PAPR of a MC-CDMA system employing Walsh-Hadamard (WH) codes can be suitably reduced by resorting to a judicious strategy for the allocation of the spreading signature codes. Eventually, a low-complexity implementation of the proposed strategy is presented and the relevant benefits, in terms of peak signal occurrence and robustness against nonlinear distortions, is numerically assessed over conventional random allocation strategy. © 2011 IEEE.

This paper presents an accurate tool yielding a reliable prediction of the link quality for the down-link of a BIC-OFDM system featuring bandlimited pulse shaping to control spectral sidelobe emission, plus AMC, and operating over a nonlinear channel. The tool enables an effective design of the communication system, with special respect to the setting of the operating point of the transmitter's power amplifier. First, an analytical characterization of the nonlinear distortion effects caused by the amplifier on bandlimited BIC-OFDM signals is carried out by resorting to the extended version of the Bussgang theorem. Then, the equivalent additive noise model provided by the Bussgang-based analysis is taken into account in the derivation of a novel link quality prediction method, named BkappaESM. Finally, the novel BkappaESM tool is employed in the link design phase for choosing the best amplifier setting, aimed at maximizing the layer-3 offered traffic over a realistic wireless channel, featuring both multipath propagation and nonlinear distortions.

In next generation wireless networks, high data rates under strict quality of service (QoS) constraints call for flexible radio interfaces capable of adapting their configuration on the fly to the time-varying operating environment. Motivated by this need, this paper first derives a simple link performance prediction model for bit interleaved coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BIC-OFDM) systems using incremental redundancy (IR) hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanisms. Then, an adaptive HARQ strategy is formulated whose aim is maximizing the goodput (GP) metric, i.e., the number of error-free information bits delivered to the user by unit of time, over the coding rate, the bit distribution and an on-off power allocation across the active subchannels. Simulation results corroborate the GP performance gains of the proposed approach compared with non-adaptive transmissions, while keeping the computational complexity at affordable levels. © 2011 IEEE.

In this paper, an approximate analytical expression for the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of a Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) signal is derived. Then, it is demonstrated that the PAPR of a MC-CDMA system employing Walsh-Hadamard (WH) codes can be suitably reduced by resorting to a judicious strategy for the allocation of the spreading signature codes. Eventually, a low-complexity implementation of the proposed strategy is presented and the relevant benefits, in terms of peak signal occurrence and robustness against nonlinear distortions, is numerically assessed over conventional random allocation strategy. © 2011 IEEE.

This paper develops cross-layer adaptive modulation and coding as an efficient method for bit interleaved coded OFDM packet transmission. As objective function, we adopt the goodput, or the number of data bits delivered without error per unit of time. After the formalization of the optimization problem through an accurate modeling on the link performance, an iterative solution is derived based on the framework of greedy algorithms. Simulation results show that the proposed method improves upon the performance of static transmission and uniform bit allocation by 2-4 dB., Anglais

This paper presents a novel technique for cross-layer adaptive modulation and coding, suited for bit interleaved turbo-coded OFDM packet transmission, and aimed at maximizing the goodput (i.e., the number of data bits delivered without error per unit of time). The optimization problem is formalized through an accurate modeling on the link performance, and a greedy iterative solution is derived. Simulation results demonstrate that performance improvement provided by the proposed method amount to 4 dB with respect to static transmission and about 1.2 dB with respect to adaptive transmission with uniform bit allocation. Copyright © The authors.

This paper presents a novel technique for cross-layer adaptive modulation and coding, suited for bit interleaved turbo-coded OFDM packet transmission, and aimed at maximizing the goodput (i.e., the number of data bits delivered without error per unit of time). The optimization problem is formalized through an accurate modeling on the link performance, and a greedy iterative solution is derived. Simulation results demonstrate that performance improvement provided by the proposed method amount to 4 dB with respect to static transmission and about 1.2 dB with respect to adaptive transmission with uniform bit allocation. Copyright © The authors.

An efficient and flexible air interface is the necessary condition for enabling high data rates next generation wireless systems. A practical answer to this need consists in exploiting channel state information at the transmitter for an adaptive and efficient use of the available radio link resources. This paper contributes with a novel strategy for the allocation of the subcarrier transmit power in the case of a wireless system featuring: i) bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM); ii) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM); iii) multiple antenna profile (MIMO). The proposed power-allocation algorithm aims at maximizing the so-called goodput performance metric for packet transmissions employing automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes. In addition, it is also proven to be near-optimum in maximizing the input/output mutual information of the MIMO-OFDM subchannels. Numerical simulations over typical wireless indoor scenarios confirm the effectiveness of the procedure when applied in the context of MIMO-BICM-OFDM systems. ©2009 IEEE.

Coded multi-antenna and multi-carrier techniques combined together with link resources adaptation algorithms are the key technologies toward efficient high-data-rate communications over wireless fading channels. The practicability of this concept, however, requires that the transmitter can perform accurate and simple evaluation of the actual link performance. This paper contributes with a novel method specifically developed to predict the link performance of bit-interleaved coded MIMOOFDM links, which offers improved accuracy at the price of lower complexity when compared with conventional techniques. Its effectiveness is confirmed through extensive simulation results obtained over typical wireless channel environments. © 2009 IEEE.

In multicarrier (MC) broadband wireless networks, nonlinear power amplification is one of the main performance limiting factor, and therefore its effects have to be properly quantified during the design phase of the radio links. This letter outlines an analytical framework for the forward-link of a bandlimited MC code division multiple access that intends to fulfill this need while improving the scarce efficiency of conventional simulation-based-only design procedures. Through the extended Bussgang theorem, the approach presented herein yields a theoretical description of several time- and frequency-domain system features, such as transmitted signal power spectrum, constellation warping, nonlinear distortion noise and BER metric. Extensive simulation results verify the accuracy of the proposed analysis under typical multiple-access operating conditions. © 2009 IEEE.

Coded multicarrier techniques combined together with link resources adaptation algorithms are the key technologies toward efficient high-data-rate communications over wireless fading channels. This paper contributes with a novel accurate yet simple method to predict at the transmitter the link performance of bit-interleaved coded (BIC) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) links, which offers appealing features when compared with conventional techniques. Its effectiveness is confirmed through extensive simulation results obtained over typical wireless channel environments. © 2009 Springer-Verlag.

In multicarrier (MC) broadband wireless networks, nonlinear power amplification is one of the main performance limiting factor, and therefore its effects have to be properly quantified during the design phase of the radio links. This letter outlines an analytical framework for the forward-link of a bandlimited MC code division multiple access that intends to fulfill this need while improving the scarce efficiency of conventional simulation-based-only design procedures. Through the extended Bussgang theorem, the approach presented herein yields a theoretical description of several time- and frequency-domain system features, such as transmitted signal power spectrum, constellation warping, nonlinear distortion noise and BER metric. Extensive simulation results verify the accuracy of the proposed analysis under typical multiple-access operating conditions. © 2009 IEEE.

This paper deals with the power allocation problem for coded multicarrier transmission. Specifically, we focus on a bit interleaved coded modulation (BICM) packet transmission implemented with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and in the presence of automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocol. Capitalizing on the binary-input output-symmetric (BIOS) nature of the BICM channel it is provided a simple upper-bound of the rate of information bits received without any error, the so called goodput. Based on this theoretical characterization, we develop a power allocation strategy among the different subcarriers so that the system goodput performance metric is maximized. The effectiveness of the proposed method is numerically testified for BICM-OFDM transmission in the context of the typical WLAN scenario. ©2008 IEEE.

In this contribution we study the optimal power allocation scheme for a coded multicarrier transmission. Specifically, we focus on a bit interleaved coded modulation (BICM) packet transmission implemented with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and in the presence of automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocol. Based on a simple lower-bound of the rate of information bits received without any error, the so called goodput, we develop a power allocation strategy among the different subcarriers so that the system goodput performance metric is maximized. We also demonstrate the optimality of the solution for the proposed objective function under the given power constraint. The effectiveness of the power allocation policy is numerically testified for BIC-OFDM transmission in the context of typical indoor environment. © 2008 IEEE.

An efficient and flexible air interface is the necessary condition to achieve the ambitious goals of next generation broadband wireless networks. Multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) is a practical answer to this need, but the considerable vulnerability to nonlinear distortions induced by high power amplifiers at the transmitter side hinders its appealing features, thereby demanding for adequate countermeasures. The current paper contributes to this issue with a novel multiuser data predistortion (MUDP) procedure aimed at mitigating the performance degradation of a MC-CDMA forward-link in the presence of a nonlinear channel. The proposed MUDP resides entirely at the transmitter of the base station, and simply requires a set of modified constellations, which are jointly and iteratively optimized so that the distortions experienced by each active user are significantly reduced. The required computational complexity is then kept at affordable levels by resorting to a suboptimal yet effective scheme based on the identification of the strongest interfering users combined with the set-partitioning and the symmetry properties of their constellations. Numerical simulation results corroborate the effectiveness of the MUDP in improving the link performance under typical demanding multiple-access operating conditions. © 2008 IEEE.

In this contribution we demonstrate that the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of a Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) signal can be suitably minimized by resorting to a judicious strategy for the allocation of the spreading signature codes. A low-complexity implementation of the proposed strategy is presented and its performance gain over conventional random allocation strategy is numerically assessed. ©2007 IEEE.

In this contribution we demonstrate that the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of a Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) signal can be suitably minimized by resorting to a judicious strategy for the allocation of the spreading signature codes. A low-complexity implementation of the proposed strategy is presented and its performance gain over conventional random allocation strategy is numerically assessed.

This paper presents an analytical framework for the theoretical characterization and performance evaluation of an MC-CDMA forward-link in the presence of nonlinear distortions induced by transmitter's high-power amplifiers. The analytical characterization of the signal features, both in the time and frequency domains, is carried out through the application of the Bussgang theorem. Simulation results are derived to validate the accuracy of the proposed method under typical operating conditions 1. © 2006 IEEE.

This paper presents an analytical framework for the performance evaluation of an MC-CDMA forward-link in the presence of nonlinear distortions induced by transmitter's high-power amplifiers. The statistical characterization of the decision variable used for data detection is carried out through the application of the Bussgang theorem. Simulation results validate the accuracy of the proposed method under typical operating conditions.