The low terahertz band (0.1 THz -1 THz) offers very high data rates for novel mobile applications and constitutes a promising candidate to meet the requirements in aviation, enabling future wireless in-flight entertainment systems. An extensive knowledge of the propagation effects in the radio channel in complex scenarios is a prerequisite to successfully design a communication system. This paper presents a measurement campaign in a real aircraft investigating the radio channel at 300 GHz for different deployments of a wireless inflight entertainment system. The propagation effects as well as temporal and spatial channel characteristics are analyzed for likely communication links between an access point and a user equipment. In the same way, interference links between two user equipments are studied, reporting transmission and reflection losses for various components of the aircraft. A deterministic and geometry-based channel model is derived and extended to cover the effect of human blockage that suggests an integration of the access point into the passenger service unit. The measurement and realistic path loss models can be used in further link-and system level simulations and contribute to the design of future in-flight entertainment systems.
International multicenter trials have the advantage of being able to recruit many patients within a short period. This is particularly useful for rare diseases. Ideally, conclusions drawn from the results of a global clinical trial apply to all study centers and countries involved, potentially expediting drug development and facilitating approval in foreign markets. However, several challenges must be overcome to ensure optimal trial conduct and coordinate trial sites working under different regulations and technical and cultural conditions. Thus, standardizing these trial elements is essential and may include training courses for the medical and technical staff at the study sites. Considering a rare disease, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), it is the trial sponsor's responsibility to seek consensus among clinical experts and regulatory agencies about fundamental questions, including a consistent diagnosis. In cross-cultural studies, it is important to use hard (objective) efficacy endpoints rather than patient-reported (subjective) measures, such as quality of life. A quality assurance program should be implemented, including the central review of diagnostic findings. Careful safety monitoring and an external independent data monitoring committee that periodically assesses a study treatment's risk-benefit ratio are required to protect trial patients from potential harm. Over the past few years, Boehringer Ingelheim has conducted two large-scale global clinical trials for the treatment of IPF (INPULSIS™-1 and INPULSIS™-2). These studies have just been completed and, as a result of careful planning, have successfully complied with the standards and needs of an international, cross-cultural study.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.