Ericsson (Italy)

Subclinical coronary atherosclerosis is common but its biological aggressiveness and interplay with extracoronary disease in asymptomatic individuals remain unclear. We evaluated the prevalence of high-risk coronary plaques (HRPs) and their relationship with mild carotid atherosclerosis and coronary calcium in a cardiovascular (CV) high-risk cohort in primary prevention. This retrospective multicenter study enrolled 269 asymptomatic adults with multiple CV risk factors who underwent Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) after prior carotid duplex ultrasound (CDUS). Coronary artery disease (CAD) was graded as absent, non-obstructive (<50% stenosis) or obstructive (≥50%), and HRPs were identified by ≥1 adverse morphological feature (low attenuation, positive remodeling, napkin-ring sign, spotty calcification). Carotid disease was classified as CDUS 0 (no plaque), CDUS 1-49% (mild), or CDUS ≥ 50% (significant). Pre-specified analyses explored prevalence of HRPs across CDUS-calcium-score strata (cut-off 100 Agatston) and independent predictors within the CDUS 1-49% subgroup. CAD was absent in 31%, non-obstructive in 41%, and obstructive in 28%. HRPs were present in 30.9% of all cases, in 26.6% of non-obstructive and in 64.6% of obstructive CAD. HRPs prevalence rose step-wise from 10.0% (CDUS 0 + Ca < 100) to 27.7% (CDUS 1-49% + Ca < 100), 41.2% (CDUS 0 + Ca ≥ 100) and 59.4% (CDUS 1-49% + Ca ≥ 100). In patients with CDUS 1-49%, current smoking independently predicted HRPs (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.0-4.5; p = 0.049). Nearly one-third of asymptomatic adults with high CV risk already showed HRPs. Mild carotid atherosclerosis synergized with a calcium score ≥ 100 to identify a subgroup in which six of ten individuals exhibited HRPs. Smoking was the only independent clinical correlate identified of plaque vulnerability. Combined carotid ultrasound, calcium scoring and CCTA may substantially refine primary prevention risk stratification beyond traditional factors.

The evolution towards the 6th mobile systems Generation (6G) will be characterized by several factors, among which it is possible to identify two significant trends for the topics of this paper: i) the always increasing Bandwidth (BW) and high data rates, and ii) the increasingly complex radio systems architecture. The former will lead to exploit centimeter-wave (∼ 7-15 GHz), millimeter-wave (∼ 26-43 GHz) and sub-Terahertz (∼ 90-300 GHz) frequencies to achieve ultra-high data rates on air. This means that radio hardware platforms will have to support processing volumes of the order of several hundred Gbit/s up to 1 Tbit/s. The latter will make more intensive use of massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) and beamforming technologies, already introduced in the 5th mobile systems Generation (5G), which will require a very high number of radiating elements, leading to high complexity and energy consuming radio systems. In this scenario, high-speed optical transmission systems, integrated photonics for interconnection systems in high-bandwidth-density hardware platforms, co-packaged optics, advanced photonic communication systems on integrated optical waveguides, radio-over-fiber transmission systems, and microwave photonics components for implementing radio functions (currently dominated by microwave technologies) will all play a critical role, and in some cases, drive disruptive innovation for future 6G radio systems. Extending its traditional definition, in this paper we will refer to all these technologies as Microwave Photonics (MWP), intended as the set of critical photonic technologies, often associated with integrated photonic technologies, contributing to the realization of future radio systems.

The mm-wave frequency spectrum offers the possibility to afford the increasing demand of high data-rate communication links. Microwave-photonics techniques can be advantageously used for reconfigurable generation of very high frequency clocks with no need for high-frequency and high-performance electrical oscillators and the additional functionality of remote distribution of the signal through fiber-optics or free-space optic links. Here we successfully test the spectral purity and stability of a wideband tunable photonic oscillator (WTPO) for supporting analog up-conversion of GHz-rate complex data signals in a W-band wireless transmission testbed. The oscillator output is derived from the beating into a photodiode of two narrow-linewidth lasers which are phase locked thanks to an electronic locking system. In this first demonstration, the WTPO output frequency has been multiplied to reach the target W band and error vector magnitude measurements attest the suitability of the solution for next generation 6G mobile networks.

This paper investigates a millimeter-wave sigma-delta-over-fiber distributed multiple-input-multiple-output (D-MIMO) solution, in which a central unit connects two remote radio heads (RRH) with two standardized QSFP28 fiber connections. The four subchannels of the QSFP28 carry three individually controlled intermediate frequency (IF) sigma-delta modulated bitstreams and one local oscillation signal to each RRH. At each RRH, the upconversion to mm-wave frequency is performed while maintaining full phase coherence between all channels and distributed RRHs. This solution offers an effective and scalable way to feed multiple radio heads with coherent signals proper for high performance millimeter-wave D-MIMO systems. Wireless performance of the transmitter is experimentally verified by multiple-input-single-output (MISO) and multiple-user MIMO cases in a 1.4 m × 1.6 m area with 748 MHz wideband signals. The comparison with other publications shows that the proposed system is the first millimeter-wave sigma-delta-over-fiber D-MIMO solution that serves multiple users and reaches the largest bandwidth.

A fully packaged CMOS-compatible photonic integrated frequency-tunable optical clock synthesizer is used for 93 GHz wireless transmission of complex modulation formats up to 4 Gb/s data rate, with noise performance suitable for upcoming 6G networks.

Optoelectronics is a valuable solution to scale up wireless links frequency to sub-THz in the next generation antenna systems and networks. Here, we propose a low-power consumption, small footprint building block for 6 G and 5 G new radio wireless transmission allowing broadband capacity (e.g., 10–100 Gb/s per link and beyond). We demonstrate a wireless datalink based on graphene, reaching setup limited sub-THz carrier frequency and multi-Gbit/s data rate. Our device consists of a graphene-based integrated optoelectronic mixer capable of mixing an optically generated reference oscillator approaching 100 GHz, with a baseband electrical signal. We report >96 GHz optoelectronic bandwidth and −44 dB upconversion efficiency with a footprint significantly smaller than those of state-of-the-art photonic transmitters (i.e., <0.1 mm2). These results are enabled by an integrated-photonic technology based on wafer-scale high-mobility graphene and pave the way towards the development of optoelectronics-based arrayed-antennas for millimeter-wave technology.

Abstract Dry grassland vegetation on fluvial terraces along middle reaches of river Piave and river Brenta in Northeastern high Po plain were investigated through a phytosociological approach. Comparisons with ecologically analogous communities described from neighbouring territories lead to the description of a new association belonging to Centaureion dichroanthae alliance: Astragalo onobrychidis-Koelerietum pyramidatae. Residual fragments of Chrysopogon gryllus-dominated grassland on slighly deeper soils are refered to Chamaecytiso hirsuti-Chrysopogonetum grylli.

This paper aims to give an outlook of future advanced antenna systems for 5G and 6G wireless networks. The trend to increase the peak data rate and to reduce latency and power consumption will continue in the future. This will be made possible by the exploitation of millimeter wave frequency bands and by the introduction of massive multiple-input multiple-output antenna technology which requires a transformation of the antenna hardware architectures and technologies. Advanced antenna systems based on arrays of several hundreds of antenna elements are under development and to keep the fronthaul throughput manageable, some digital signal processing functions have been moved inside the antenna, creating the need to distribute very big volumes of data at high bit rate across the antenna. The characteristics and hardware architecture of future advanced antenna systems are discussed and the relevant interconnect requirements are presented. A new type of monolithically integrated optical transceiver is presented, integrating electronic and photonic circuits on the same chip with high bandwidth density, high energy efficiency and low latency. The transceiver technology is discussed and results of experimental demonstrations are given.