A 3.52 Gb/s mmWave Baseband with Delayed Decision Feedback Sequence Estimation in 40 nm

We present a digital baseband ASIC for 60 GHz single-carrier (SC) transmission that is optimized for communication scenarios in which most of the energy is concentrated in the first few channel taps. Such scenarios occur for example in office environments with strong reflections. Our circuit targets close-to-optimum maximum-likelihood performance under such conditions. To this end, we show for the first time how a reduced-state-sequence-estimation algorithm can be realized for the 1760 MHz bandwidth of the IEEE 802.11ad standard. The equalizer is complemented in the frontend by a synchronization unit for frequency offset compensation as well as a Golay-sequence based channel estimator and in the backend by an low density parity check (LDPC) decoder. In 40nm CMOS we achieve a measured data rate of up to 3.52 Gb/s using QPSK modulation

Stratification of asthma phenotypes by airway proteomic signatures

© 2019 Background: Stratification by eosinophil and neutrophil counts increases our understanding of asthma and helps target therapy, but there is room for improvement in our accuracy in prediction of treatment responses and a need for better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Objective: We sought to identify molecular subphenotypes of asthma defined by proteomic signatures for improved stratification. Methods: Unbiased label-free quantitative mass spectrometry and topological data analysis were used to analyze the proteomes of sputum supernatants from 246 participants (206 asthmatic patients) as a novel means of asthma stratification. Microarray analysis of sputum cells provided transcriptomics data additionally to inform on underlying mechanisms. Results: Analysis of the sputum proteome resulted in 10 clusters (ie, proteotypes) based on similarity in proteomic features, representing discrete molecular subphenotypes of asthma. Overlaying granulocyte counts onto the 10 clusters as metadata further defined 3 of these as highly eosinophilic, 3 as highly neutrophilic, and 2 as highly atopic with relatively low granulocytic inflammation. For each of these 3 phenotypes, logistic regression analysis identified candidate protein biomarkers, and matched transcriptomic data pointed to differentially activated underlying mechanisms. Conclusion: This study provides further stratification of asthma currently classified based on quantification of granulocytic inflammation and provided additional insight into their underlying mechanisms, which could become targets for novel therapies

Block-Floating-Point Enhanced MMSE Filter Matrix Computation for MIMO-OFDM Communication Systems

n this paper we present an architecture for an MMSE filter matrix computation unit for signal detection in MIMO-OFDM communication systems. We propose to compute the required matrix inverse based on a Cholesky decomposition, followed by a Gauss-Jordan matrix inversion of the resulting triangular matrix. The high dynamic range required by this approach is traditionally conquered with custom floating-point formats or with fixed-point number representations with a large number of bits. We show in this paper that a block-floating- point scheme with only two normalization steps throughout the computation of the MMSE filter matrix is sufficient to achieve a BER performance close to that of a double precision floating- point implementation for a MIMO-OFDM systems with 64-QAM modulation. The corresponding circuit complexity is superior to that of a pure fixed-point implementation

Proteomics of extremophiles

Functional genomic approaches, such as proteomics, greatly enhance the value of genome sequences by providing a global level assessment of which genes are expressed, when genes are expressed and at what cellular levels gene products are synthesized. With over 1000 complete genome sequences of different microorganisms available, and DNA sequencing for environmental samples (metagenomes) producing vast amounts of gene sequence data, there is a real opportunity and a clear need to generate associated functional genomic data to learn about the source microorganisms. In contrast to the technological advances that have led to the accelerated rate and ease at which DNA sequence data can be generated, mass spectrometry based proteomics remains a technically sophisticated and exacting science. In recognition of the need to make proteomics more accessible to a growing number of environmental microbiologists so that the 'functional genomics gap' may be bridged, this review strives to demystify proteomic technologies and describe ways in which they have been applied, and more importantly, can be applied to study the physiology and ecology of extremophiles

Cold adaptation in the Antarctic archeaon Methanococcoides burtonii: the role of the hydrophobic proteome and variations in cellular morphology

Very little is known about the hydrophobic proteins of psychrophiles and their roles in cold adaptation. In light of this situation, methods were developed to analyse the hydrophobic proteome (HPP) of the model psychrophilic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii. Central to this analysis was a novel differential solubility fractionation procedure, which resulted in a significant increase in the efficiency of resolving the HPP. Over 50% of the detected proteins were not identified in previous whole cell extract analyses, and these underwent an intensive manual annotation process producing high quality functional assignments. Utilising the functional assignments, biological context analysis of the HPP was performed, revealing novel and often unique biology. The analysis acted as a platform for differential proteomics of the organisms response to both temperature and substrate using stable isotope labelling. The results of which revealed that low temperature growth was associated with an increase in the abundance of surface and secreted proteins, and translation apparatus. Conversely, growth at a higher temperature was associated with an increase in the abundance of general protein folding machinery and indications of an oxidative stress response, emphasising that the temperature for maximum growth rate is stressful. Through investigation of the response of M. burtonii to substrate it was found that growth on methanol was stressful, and its low energy yield resulted in an increase in the abundance of energy conserving systems. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) and morphology of M. burtonii was also investigated with respect to both temperature and substrate, using a number of techniques in microscopy. It was found that the EPS was comprised of proteins, sugars and RNA, and that growth at different temperatures resulted in the production of EPS that displayed significantly different properties on dehydration, thus indicating compositional variation. When cells were grown on methanol they took on highly irregular shapes and had electron transparent inclusions. The observations from the ultrastructural analysis were contemplated with respect to the proteomic findings, revealing novel avenues of research. This study has highlighted the roles of hydrophobic proteins in cold adaptation biology, and the value of comprehensive proteomics for the examination of adaptation in microorganism

Integration of genomics and proteomics into marine microbial ecology

Genomics and proteomics of microorganisms are revolutionizing our understanding of marine microbial ecology. In this essay we address this by discussing (1) what microbial genome resources are available for marine ecologists, (2) how single-organism genomics and proteomics have revealed new microbial functions in the marine ecosystem, and (3) how the integration of metagenomics, metaproteomics and biogeochemical studies will further advance the field of marine microbial ecology. Comprehensive knowledge of the genetic blueprints, the functions and the interactions of microbial communities will provide insight into the evolution of marine ecosystems and enable rational predictions of how microbial processes will affect, and be affected by, environmental changes

Analyzing the hydrophobic proteome of the antarctic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii using differential solubility fractionation

Proteomic studies have proven useful for studying the Antarctic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii; however, little has been learned about the hydrophobic and membrane proteins, despite knowledge of their biological importance. In this study, new methods were developed to analyze and maximize the coverage of the hydrophobic proteome. Central to the analysis was a differential solubility fractionation (DSF) procedure using n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside. The study achieved a significant increase (330) in the total number of known expressed proteins. From 612 identified, 185 were predicted to contain transmembrane domains or be associated with the membrane and 190 to be hydrophobic. The DSF procedure increased the efficacy of identifying membrane proteins by up to 169% and was economical, requiring far fewer runs (12% of machine time) to analyze the proteome compared to procedures without DSF. The analysis of peptide spectral counts enabled the assessment of growth temperature specific proteins. This semiquantitative analysis was particularly useful for identifying low abundance proteins unable to be quantified using labeling strategies. The proteogenomic analysis of the newly identified proteins revealed many cellular processes not previously associated with adaptation of the cell. This DSF-based approach is likely to benefit proteomic analyses of hydrophobic proteins for a broad range of biological systems

Large-Scale Label-Free Quantitative Mapping of the Sputum Proteome

Analysis of induced sputum supernatant is a minimally invasive approach to study the epithelial lining fluid and, thereby, provide insight into normal lung biology and the pathobiology of lung diseases. We present here a novel proteomics approach to sputum analysis developed within the U-BIOPRED (unbiased biomarkers predictive of respiratory disease outcomes) international project. We present practical and analytical techniques to optimize the detection of robust biomarkers in proteomic studies. The normal sputum proteome was derived using data-independent HDMS applied to 40 healthy nonsmoking participants, which provides an essential baseline from which to compare modulation of protein expression in respiratory diseases. The "core" sputum proteome (proteins detected in ≥40% of participants) was composed of 284 proteins, and the extended proteome (proteins detected in ≥3 participants) contained 1666 proteins. Quality control procedures were developed to optimize the accuracy and consistency of measurement of sputum proteins and analyze the distribution of sputum proteins in the healthy population. The analysis showed that quantitation of proteins by HDMS is influenced by several factors, with some proteins being measured in all participants' samples and with low measurement variance between samples from the same patient. The measurement of some proteins is highly variable between repeat analyses, susceptible to sample processing effects, or difficult to accurately quantify by mass spectrometry. Other proteins show high interindividual variance. We also highlight that the sputum proteome of healthy individuals is related to sputum neutrophil levels, but not gender or allergic sensitization. We illustrate the importance of design and interpretation of disease biomarker studies considering such protein population and technical measurement variance

Global proteomic analysis of the insoluble, soluble, and supernatant fractions of the psychrophilic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii. Part I: the effect of growth temperature

The response of the cold-adapted (psychrophilic) methanogenic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii to growth temperature was investigated using differential proteomics (postincorporation isobaric labeling) and tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/LC-MS/MS). This is the first proteomic study of M. burtonii to include techniques that specifically enrich for both surface and membrane proteins and to assess the effects of growth temperature (4 vs 23 degrees C) and carbon source (trimethylamine vs methanol) on cellular protein levels. Numerous surface layer proteins were more abundant at 4 degrees C, indicating an extensive remodeling of the cell envelope in response to low temperature. Many of these surface proteins contain domains associated with cell adhesion. Within the cell, small proteins each composed of a single TRAM domain were recovered as important cold adaptation proteins and might serve as RNA chaperones, in an analogous manner to Csp proteins (absent from M. burtonii). Other proteins that had higher abundances at 4 degrees C can be similarly tied to relieving or resolving the adverse affects of cold growth temperature on translational capacity and correct protein folding. The proteome of M. burtonii grown at 23 degrees C was dominated by oxidative stress proteins, as well as a large number of integral membrane proteins of unknown function. This is the first truly global proteomic study of a psychrophilic archaeon and greatly expands knowledge of the cellular mechanisms underpinning cold adaptation in the Archaea