Architectural Exploration of Blind CFO Estimation in OFDM Systems for Prototyping on a Reconfigurable Platform

This paper presents two architectures for prototyping an advanced carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation technique for OFDM systems on field programmable gate array (FPGA). The parallel stream architecture (PSA) exploits the FPGA parallelism while the multiplexed stream architecture (MSA) employs multiplexing for more efficient hardware implementation. The dual-mode of operation for the proposed architectures has been proposed to achieve optimum performance depending on channel conditions. The proposed architectures with different implementation alternatives have been simulated and verified for FPGA implementation using the Xilinx’s DSP design flow. The estimation accuracy and the resource utilization for the proposed architectures have been evaluated. The prototyping results showed that MSA allows for more resource efficient implementation, where a single FFT core can be shared between parallel streams compared with PSA

Identification of Reproduction-Specific Genes Associated with Maturation and Estrogen Exposure in a Marine Bivalve Mytilus edulis

Background: While it is established that vertebrate-like steroids, particularly estrogens (estradiol, estrone) and androgens (testosterone), are present in various tissues of molluscs, it is still unclear what role these play in reproductive endocrinology in such organisms. This is despite the significant commercial shellfishery interest in several bivalve species and their decline. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using suppression subtraction hybridisation of mussel gonad samples at two stages (early and mature) of gametogenesis and (in parallel) following controlled laboratory estrogen exposure, we isolate several differentially regulated genes including testis-specific kinases, vitelline lysin and envelope sequences. Conclusions: The differentially expressed mRNAs isolated provide evidence that mussels may be impacted by exogenous estrogen exposure

Individual Farming as a Labour Sink: Evidence from Poland and Russia

In Poland and Russia, which provide two widely different examples of transition countries, small-scale individual farms employ more labour per hectare of land than large-scale corporate farms without suffering from lower productivity. Individual farming is a labour sink for the rural population, and land policies promoting individualization of agriculture in transition countries can alleviate the social consequences of rural unemployment without sacrificing agricultural productivity. Pending long-term development of nonagricultural employment opportunities, the average transition country should encourage the rural population to remain in agriculture by emphasising individual rather than corporate farming. Comparative Economic Studies (2005) 47, 675–695. doi:10.1057/palgrave.ces.8100068

Reforms and agricultural productivity in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Republics: 1989–2005

Transition agriculture, Labor productivity, Yields, Technical efficiency, Total factor productivity, Resource endowment, Reform implementation, Q12, P27, P32, R11,

The Eurasian Economic Union: integration without liberalisation?

The Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) came into being in 2015 with the ostensible goal of increasing integration among its member states. An implicit assumption behind this goal was to further trade liberalisation, at least within the bloc, as a means to promote additional trade. This paper assesses the development of the EaEU against this promise. Going beyond an analysis of the dynamics of mutual trade, the main focus of this paper is to understand the EaEU’s institutional processes, examining if the commitments and framework put in place by the EaEU could actually contribute to trade liberalisation. Focusing on the trade policies at the level of the EaEU and the political economy of protectionism, our assessment is not favourable. In particular, the charge that the EaEU remains a geopolitical rather than economic project rings true, as trade liberalisation has been halting in individual member states and across the bloc as a whole. This reality is further illustrated in the external trade policies of the Union, most prominently in trade agreements concluded with Vietnam, Iran, Singapore and Serbia, and relations with other major trade partners. The paper argues that, in line with often overlooked theoretical predictions, the institutional framework of the EaEU is not robust enough to ensure that integration processes actually deliver on their stated objectives