We are researching set partitioning 64APSK coded modulation for satellite transmission. We previously developed a constellation-design method based on channel capacity and evaluated the transmission performance under the condition that the constellation was restricted to circumferential arrangement. We confirmed that this conventional method exhibited better transmission performance than DVB-S2X. In this paper, we expanded the numbers of circle of 64APSK from four to seven. Especially, applying the number of five shows good channel capacity. We also applied the design scheme whose constellation points-assignment is not restricted to circumferential arrangement because of the free constellation points-assignment in the IQ plane. We show that the proposed 64APSK applying these design schemes achieved better transmission performance than conventional method through computer simulation under the AWGN model.

We developed a new transmission system for 8K Super Hi-Vision satellite broadcasting in Japan. This system has a transmission capacity of over 100 Mbps in a single 34.5MHz satellite transponder. The key technical feature of the new system are lowering roll-off factor to 0.03 and using 16APSK and LDPC code with a coding rate of 7/9. To confirm the transmission performance in a satellite channel, we conducted indoor transmission tests and transmission tests using Japanese communication and broadcasting satellites. This paper shows the transmission performance of this system and similar performance was obtained in indoor-transmission and satellite-transmission tests.

This paper describes the recent progress of research and development on transmission technologies for Super Hi-Vision (SHV), which is the form of ultrahigh-definition television (UHDTV) with the highest resolution class. The paper covers the transmission systems for SHV program production and satellite broadcasting. For short-haul transmission, an optical digital interface for video equipment was developed. It wavelength-multiplexes eight 10-Gb/s optical signals. It was experimentally confirmed that the transmission distance was at least 2 km, and that a series connection of the interfaces did not severely deteriorate jitter performance. We are also developing a 120-GHz-band wireless contribution short-haul link consisting of three transmitter/receiver pairs. All three pairs transmit and receive a 10.3-Gb/s signal at the same frequency. Experiments showed that transmission with little crosstalk is possible over a distance of 1.25 km when the receiver spacing is 8 m. A long-haul optical contribution link that we developed can transmit a 24-Gb/s SHV signal over a distance of 260 km by using optical amplifiers and no electronic repeaters. An IP network would be a good choice for long-distance links such as an international live contribution link. Several live IP transmissions of compressed video were conducted. Satellite relay transmission and broadcasting technology is also being developed. In particular, we have developed a QPSK/8PSK wide-band modem that uses LDPC and BCH codes. The modem could transmit 251-Mb/s (QPSK) and 677-Mb/s (8PSK) signals and was used in a live SHV satellite-transmission experiment.

By making use of LDPC codes and a smaller roll-off factor, the advanced satellite broadcasting system proposed by us has a 30% higher transmission channel capacity in comparison with the current ISDB-S system. In addition, the transmission channel capacity can be more increased by using multi-level amplitude phase shift keying (M-APSK) modulation. However, the APSK signal is more sensitive to the non-linear distortion. Hence, a careful consideration for APSK should be paid for transmission over a satellite channel. In this paper, we report on adaptive equalizers that are designed for APSK transmission over a satellite channel. We also report on computer simulation results of equalized 16/32APSK performances under a satellite channel model and discuss the equalization effect for the advanced ISDB-S system transmission format.

A middleware named EnGrid for distributed computing has been developed. The EnGrid employs the notion of pure peer-to-peer (P2P) for ease of use, not for sharing computer resources across the world as in conventional P2P. We have also developed three PSE systems on EnGrid for civil engineering applications: parameter sweep system for finite element method (FEM), parameter optimization system for FEM, and the visualization system for geological sections of 3 dimensional models. We show that the calculation time of these systems can be shortened by distributed computing on EnGrid. Due to its general nature, EnGrid will be useful not only for civil engineering but also in other fields as well.

BACKGROUND: Screening of various gene markers such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and correlation between these markers and development of multifactorial disease have previously been studied. Here, we propose a susceptible marker-selectable artificial neural network (ANN) for predicting development of allergic disease. RESULTS: To predict development of childhood allergic asthma (CAA) and select susceptible SNPs, we used an ANN with a parameter decreasing method (PDM) to analyze 25 SNPs of 17 genes in 344 Japanese people, and select 10 susceptible SNPs of CAA. The accuracy of the ANN model with 10 SNPs was 97.7% for learning data and 74.4% for evaluation data. Important combinations were determined by effective combination value (ECV) defined in the present paper. Effective 2-SNP or 3-SNP combinations were found to be concentrated among the 10 selected SNPs. CONCLUSION: ANN can reliably select SNP combinations that are associated with CAA. Thus, the ANN can be used to characterize development of complex diseases caused by multiple factors. This is the first report of automatic selection of SNPs related to development of multifactorial disease from SNP data of more than 300 patients.