Communication and Jamming BDA of OFDMA communication systems using the software defined radio platform WARP

The aim of this research is to demonstrate and evaluate the ability to eavesdrop and interfere with orthogonal frequency division multiple access-down link (OFDMA-DL) signal features utilising Wireless Open Access Research Platform (WARP) boards. The OFDMA-DL waveforms have been developed with 64 sub carriers and have guards and pilots as comparable to the 802.11a WiFi standard. An eavesdropper/interferer (ExJx) is used to estimate signal features, remotely gaining intelligence without alerting the communication system. This research also demonstrates how estimated signal features can be used to interfere with an established communication system. Methods used to perform the signal feature estimation exploit the cyclostationary nature of the OFDMA-DL waveform, with higher order cumulants utilised to classify modulation schemes. To assess the ability of the ExJx system to eavesdrop (Ex), Communication Battle Damage Assessment (CBDA) techniques are used. To assess the ability of the ExJx system to interfere (Jx), Jamming Battle Damage Assessment (JBDA) techniques are used

An experimental study of carbonated eclogite at 3.5-5.5 GPa – Implications for silicate and carbonate metasomatism in the cratonic mantle

We have experimentally investigated a K-bearing altered mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) composition to which 10% CaCO3 was added (GA1+10%cc), at temperatures of 1050-1400oC and pressures of 3•5-5•5 GPa. Experiments were conducted in piston-cylinder apparatus in Pt-Gr (Pt with inner graphite) and Au-Pd capsules. Sub-solidus assemblages for both sets of experiments contain clinopyroxene, garnet, carbonate, rutile, coesite and K-feldspar. Apatite was observed only in the Pt-Gr experiments. Melting behaviour in experiments using different capsule materials contrasted markedly. Experiments in Pt-Gr capsules showed the silicate solidus to be at temperatures less than 1100oC at 3•5GPa and less than 1050oC at 4•5-5•0 GPa.These are similar (3•5GPa) or lower (4•5-5•0 GPa) temperatures compared with the carbonate solidus (1075-1125oC at 3•5-5•0 GPa). Melts in the Pt-Gr runs evolve with increasing degree of melting from K-rich silicate melts at the lowest degree of melting to carbonate-silicate immiscible liquids and silicate-carbonate melts at intermediate degrees of melting, and finally to silicate melts at the highest degrees of melting. Experiments in Au-Pd capsules were performed only at 5•0GPa. The carbonate solidus is between 1200 and 1225oC (at least 100oC higher than in the experiments in Pt-Gr capsules at the same pressure-temperature conditions).The first melts to be produced are carbonatitic and exhibit increasing SiO2 content with increasing temperature.This contrast in melting behaviour is explained by the relatively rapid diffusion of H through the Pt-Gr capsules, resulting in formation of H2O, and thus dramatically depressing both the silicate and the carbonate solidi in the Pt-Gr experiments compared with those in the Au-Pd experiments. This presumably reflects the lower permeability of Au-Pd to H, resulting in a much lower H2O/CO2 ratio in the Au-Pd encapsulated experiments. The presence of water in the melt was demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis of one Pt-Gr experiment, indicating ~0•5wt % H2O in the bulk composition. Further confirmation that H2O plays such a role in the Pt-Gr experiments was provided by an additional experiment performed in a Au-Pd capsule with ~10 wt % H2Ospecifically added. In this experiment immiscible carbonate and silicate melts were observed. Carbonate- silicate liquid immiscibility is considered to occur as a result of the H2O present in the system. These results can be applied to natural systems in several ways. First, the presence of a small amount of either silicate melt or H2O-fluid in the system will act as a ‘flux’, depressing the carbonate solidus to much lower temperatures than inanhydrous systems. Second, the full trend in melt evolution from silicate-rich to carbonate-rich melts, which is also observed in inclusions in diamonds, can be explained by melting of K- and CO2-bearing, water-undersaturated MORB compositions. In cratonic environments low-degree silicate and immiscible silicate and carbonate melts will metasomatize the overlying mantle in different ways, producing, in the first instance, Si enrichment and crystallization of additional orthopyroxene, phlogopite, pyrope-rich garnet and consuming olivine, and, in the second case, carbonate metasomatism, with additional magnesite-dolomite, clinopyroxene and apatite. Both metasomatic styles have been described in natural peridotite xenoliths from the cratonic lithosphere

Long-term Survival Outcomes for Men Who Provided Ejaculate Specimens for Prostate Cancer Research: Implications for Patient Management

Background: Determining whether men diagnosed with early prostate cancer (PCa) will live long enough to benefit from interventions with curative intent is difficult. Although validated instruments for predicting patient survival are available, these do not have clinical utility so are not used routinely in practice. Objective: To test the hypothesis that volunteers who provided ejaculate specimens had a high survival rate at 10 and 15 yr and beyond. Design, setting, and participants: A total of 290 patients investigated because of high serum prostate-specific antigen donated ejaculate specimens for research between January 1992 and May 2003. The median age at the time of ejaculation was 63.5 yr. 153 of the donors were diagnosed with PCa and followed up to December 31, 2013. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: Survival outcomes were compared with those for the whole population, as indicated by life expectancy tables up to 20 yr. Results and limitations: Men in the PCa group had life expectancies comparable with values listed in life expectancy tables for the whole population. Overall, PCa-specific and relative survival were significantly better for men in the non-PCa and PCa groups in comparison with men diagnosed with PCa in Queensland during the same period. Relative survival for those aged 20-49, 50-64, and ≥65 yr was >100% for ejaculate donors and 81.5%, 82.7%, and 65.2%, respectively, for the Queensland Cancer Registry reference at 10 yr. These findings for this highly selected patient cohort support the hypothesis that an ability to provide an ejaculate specimen is associated with a high likelihood of surviving 10-20 yr after donation, whether or not PCa was detected. Conclusion: Life expectancy tables may serve as a quick and simple life expectancy indicator for biopsy patients who donate ejaculate. Patient summary: Life expectancy tables indicated survival of up to 20 yr for men who provided ejaculate specimens for prostate cancer research. Life expectancy tables indicated survival of up to 20 yr for men who provided ejaculate specimens for prostate cancer research

Neighbours and relatives: accounting for spatial distribution when testing causal hypotheses in cultural evolution

Many important and interesting hypotheses about cultural evolution are evaluated using cross-cultural correlations: if knowing one particular feature of a culture (e.g. environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity or parasite load) allows you to predict other features (e.g. language features, religious beliefs, cuisine), it is often interpreted as indicating a causal link between the two (e.g. hotter climates carry greater disease risk which encourages belief in supernatural forces and favours use of antimicrobial ingredients in food preparation; dry climates make production of distinct tones more difficult). But testing such hypotheses from cross-cultural comparisons requires us to take proximity of cultures into account: nearby cultures share many aspects of their environment and are more likely to be similar in many culturally-inherited traits. This can generate indirect associations between environment and culture which could be misinterpreted as signal of a direct causal link. Evaluating examples of cross-cultural correlations from the literature, we show that significant correlations interpreted as causal relationships can often be explained as a result of similarity between neighbouring cultures. We discuss some strategies for sorting the explanatory wheat from the co-varying chaff, distinguishing incidental correlations from causal relationships

Seminal plasma enables selection and monitoring of active surveillance candidates using nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics: A preliminary investigation

Background: Diagnosis and monitoring of localized prostate cancer requires discovery and validation of noninvasive biomarkers. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics of seminal plasma reportedly improves diagnostic accuracy, but requires validation in a high-risk clinical cohort. Materials and methods: Seminal plasma samples of 151 men being investigated for prostate cancer were analyzed with 1H-NMR spectroscopy. After adjustment for buffer (add-to-subtract) and endogenous enzyme influence on metabolites, metabolite profiling was performed with multivariate statistical analysis (principal components analysis, partial least squares) and targeted quantitation. Results: Seminal plasma metabolites best predicted low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer with differences observed between these groups and benign samples. Lipids/lipoproteins dominated spectra of high grade samples with less metabolite contributions. Overall prostate cancer prediction using previously described metabolites was not validated. Conclusion: Metabolomics of seminal plasma in vitro may assist urologists with diagnosis and monitoring of either low or intermediate grade prostate cancer. Less clinical benefit may be observed for high-risk patients. Further investigation in active surveillance cohorts, and/or in combination with in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging may further optimize localized prostate cancer outcomes

The role of color diagnosticity in object recognition and representation

Abstract The role of color diagnosticity in object recognition and representation was assessed in three Experiments. In Experiment 1a, participants named pictured objects that were strongly associated with a particular color (e.g., pumpkin and orange). Stimuli were presented in a congruent color, incongruent color, or grayscale. Results indicated that congruent color facilitated naming time, incongruent color impeded naming time, and naming times for grayscale items were situated between the congruent and incongruent conditions. Experiment 1b replicated Experiment 1a using a verification task. Experiment 2 employed a picture rebus paradigm in which participants read sentences one word at a time that included pictures of color diagnostic objects (i.e., pictures were substituted for critical nouns). Results indicated that the ''reading'' times of these pictures mirrored the pattern found in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, an attempt was made to override color diagnosticity using linguistic context (e.g., a pumpkin was described as painted green). Linguistic context did not override color diagnosticity. Collectively, the results demonstrate that color information is regularly utilized in object recognition and representation for highly color diagnostic items

A randomised trial of robotic and open prostatectomy in men with localised prostate cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the Western world however there is ongoing debate about the optimal treatment strategy for localised disease. While surgery remains the most commonly received treatment for localised disease in Australia more recently a robotic approach has emerged as an alternative to open and laparoscopic surgery. However, high level data is not yet available to support this as a superior approach or to guide treatment decision making between the alternatives. This paper presents the design of a randomised trial of Robotic and Open Prostatectomy for men newly diagnosed with localised prostate cancer that seeks to answer this question.Methods/design: 200 men per treatment arm (400 men in total) are being recruited after diagnosis and before treatment through a major public hospital outpatient clinic and randomised to 1) Robotic Prostatectomy or 2) Open Prostatectomy. All robotic prostatectomies are being performed by one surgeon and all open prostatectomies are being performed by one other surgeon. Outcomes are being measured pre-operatively and at 6 weeks and 3, 6, 12 and 24 months post-surgery. Oncological outcomes are being related to positive surgical margins, biochemical recurrence +/- the need for further treatment. Non-oncological outcome measures include: pain, physical and mental functioning, fatigue, summary (preference-based utility scores) and domain-specific QoL (urinary incontinence, bowel function and erectile function), cancer specific distress, psychological distress, decision-related distress and time to return to usual activities. Cost modelling of each approach, as well as full economic appraisal, is also being undertaken.Discussion: The study will provide recommendations about the relative benefits of Robotic and Open Prostatectomy to support informed patient decision making about treatment for localised prostate cancer; and to assist in treatment services planning for this patient group.Trial registration: ACTRN12611000661976

Prostate-based biofluids for the detection of prostate cancer: A comparative study of the diagnostic performance of cell-sourced RNA biomarkers

Background Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis requires improvement with the aid of more accurate biomarkers. Postejaculate urethral washings (PEUW) could be a physiological equivalent to urine obtained following rectal prostatic massage, the current basis for the prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) test. The aim of this study was to investigate if PEUW contained prostate-based material, evidenced by the presence of prostate specific antigen (PSA), and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PEUW-based biomarkers. Methods Male patients referred for elevated serum PSA or abnormal digital rectal examination provided ejaculate and PEUW samples. PSA, PCA3, and β2-microglobulin (β2M) were quantified in ejaculate and PEUW and compared with absolute and clinically significant (according to D\u27Amico criteria) PCa presence, as determined by biopsies. Diagnostic performance was determined and compared with serum PSA using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Results From 83 patients who provided PEUW samples, paired analysis with ejaculate samples was possible for 38 patients, while analysis in an unpaired, extended cohort was possible for 62 patients. PSA and PCA3 were detected in PEUW, normalized to β2M, and PCA3:PSA was calculated. In predicting absolute PCa status, PCA3:β2M in ejaculate [area under the curve (AUC) 0.717] and PEUW (AUC 0.569) were insignificantly better than PCA3:PSA (AUC 0.668 and 0.431, respectively) and comparable with serum PSA (AUC 0.617) with similar trends observed for the extended cohort. When considering clinically significant PCa presence, serum PSA in the comparison (AUC 0.640) and extended cohorts (AUC 0.665) was comparable with PCA3: β2M (AUC 0.667) and PCA3:PSA (AUC 0.605) in ejaculate, with lower estimates for PEUW in the comparison (PCA3: β2M AUC 0.496; PCA3:PSA AUC 0.342) and extended (PCA3: β2M AUC 0.497; PCA3:PSA AUC 0.469) cohorts. The statistical analysis was limited by sample size. Conclusion PEUW contains prostatic material, but has limited diagnostic accuracy when considering cell-derived DNA analysis. PCA3-based markers in ejaculate are comparable to serum PSA and digital rectal examination–urine markers

On the evolutionary history of a simulated disc galaxy as seen by phylogenetic trees

© The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Phylogenetic methods have long been used in biology, and more recently have been extended to other fields - for example, linguistics and technology - to study evolutionary histories. Galaxies also have an evolutionary history, and fall within this broad phylogenetic framework. Under the hypothesis that chemical abundances can be used as a proxy for interstellar medium's DNA, phylogenetic methods allow us to reconstruct hierarchical similarities and differences among stars - essentially a tree of evolutionary relationships and thus history. In this work, we apply phylogenetic methods to a simulated disc galaxy obtained with a chemo-dynamical code to test the approach. We found that at least 100 stellar particles are required to reliably portray the evolutionary history of a selected stellar population in this simulation, and that the overall evolutionary history is reliably preserved when the typical uncertainties in the chemical abundances are smaller than 0.08 dex. The results show that the shape of the trees are strongly affected by the age-metallicity relation, as well as the star formation history of the galaxy. We found that regions with low star formation rates produce shorter trees than regions with high star formation rates. Our analysis demonstrates that phylogenetic methods can shed light on the process of galaxy evolution.Peer reviewe

On the evolutionary history of a simulated disc galaxy as seen by phylogenetic trees

Phylogenetic methods have long been used in biology, and more recently have been extended to other fields - for example, linguistics and technology - to study evolutionary histories. Galaxies also have an evolutionary history, and fall within this broad phylogenetic framework. Under the hypothesis that chemical abundances can be used as a proxy for interstellar medium's DNA, phylogenetic methods allow us to reconstruct hierarchical similarities and differences among stars - essentially a tree of evolutionary relationships and thus history. In this work, we apply phylogenetic methods to a simulated disc galaxy obtained with a chemo-dynamical code to test the approach. We found that at least 100 stellar particles are required to reliably portray the evolutionary history of a selected stellar population in this simulation, and that the overall evolutionary history is reliably preserved when the typical uncertainties in the chemical abundances are smaller than 0.08 dex. The results show that the shape of the trees are strongly affected by the age-metallicity relation, as well as the star formation history of the galaxy. We found that regions with low star formation rates produce shorter trees than regions with high star formation rates. Our analysis demonstrates that phylogenetic methods can shed light on the process of galaxy evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, October 12th 202