A novel approach to design low-cost two-stage frequency-response masking filters

The multistage frequency-response masking (FRM) technique is widely used to reduce the complexity of a filter when the transition bandwidth is extremely small. In this brief, a real generalized two-stage FRM filter without any constraint on the subfilters or the interpolation factors was proposed. New principles and equations were deduced to determine the design parameters. The subfilters were then jointly optimized using non-linear optimization. Experiential results show that when the proposed algorithm obtains different solutions with the conventional algorithm, the solution of the proposed approach is better with less number of filter coefficients and sometimes with lower delay as well than the conventional two-stage FRM, which can lead to a reduced hardware cost in applications

A reconfigurable sound wave decomposition filterbank for hearing aids based on nonlinear transformation

Hearing impaired people have their own hearing loss characteristics and listening preferences. Therefore hearing aid system should become more natural, humanized and personalized, which requires the filterbank in hearing aids provides flexible sound wave decomposition schemes, so that patients are likely to use the most suitable scheme for their own hearing compensation strategy. In this paper, a reconfigurable sound wave decomposition filterbank is proposed. The prototype filter is first cosine modulated to generate uniform subbands. Then by non-linear transformation the uniform subbands are mapped to nonuniform subbands. By changing the control parameters, the nonlinear transformation changes which leads to different subbands allocations. It provides four different sound wave decomposition schemes without changing the structure of the filterbank. The performance of the proposed reconfigurable filterbank was compared with that of fixed filerbanks, fully customizable filterbanks and other existing reconfigurable filterbanks. It is shown that the proposed filterbank provides satisfactory matching performance as well as low complexity and delay, which make it suitable for real hearing aid applications

GABP transcription factor is required for development of chronic myelogenous leukemia via its control of PRKD2

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the source of all blood lineages, and HSCs must balance quiescence, self-renewal, and differentiation to meet lifelong needs for blood cell development. Transformation of HSCs by the breakpoint cluster region-ABL tyrosine kinase (BCR-ABL) oncogene causes chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The E-twenty six (ets) transcription factor GA binding protein (GABP) is a tetrameric transcription factor complex that contains GABPalpha and GABPbeta proteins. Deletion in bone marrow of Gabpa, the gene that encodes the DNA-binding component, caused cell cycle arrest in HSCs and profound loss of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Loss of Gabpalpha prevented development of CML, although mice continued to generate BCR-ABL-expressing Gabpalpha-null cells for months that were serially transplantable and contributed to all lineages in secondary recipients. A bioinformatic screen identified the serine-threonine kinase protein kinase D2 (PRKD2) as a potential effector of GABP in HSCs. Prkd2 expression was markedly reduced in Gabpalpha-null HSCs and progenitor cells. Reduced expression of PRKD2 or pharmacologic inhibition decreased cell cycling, and PRKD2 rescued growth of Gabpalpha-null BCR-ABL-expressing cells. Thus, GABP is required for HSC cell cycle entry and CML development through its control of PRKD2. This offers a potential therapeutic target in leukemia

Toward interoperable bioscience data

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Nature Genetics 44 (2012): 121-126, doi:10.1038/ng.1054.To make full use of research data, the bioscience community needs to adopt technologies and reward mechanisms that support interoperability and promote the growth of an open 'data commoning' culture. Here we describe the prerequisites for data commoning and present an established and growing ecosystem of solutions using the shared 'Investigation-Study-Assay' framework to support that vision.The authors also acknowledge the following funding sources in particular: UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) BB/I000771/1 to S.-A.S. and A.T.; UK BBSRC BB/I025840/1 to S.-A.S.; UK BBSRC BB/I000917/1 to D.F.; EU CarcinoGENOMICS (PL037712) to J.K.; US National Institutes of Health (NIH) 1RC2CA148222-01 to W.H. and the HSCI; US MIRADA LTERS DEB-0717390 and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (ICoMM) to L.A.-Z.; Swiss Federal Government through the Federal Office of Education and Science (FOES) to L.B. and I.X.; EU Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) Open PHACTS 115191 to C.T.E.; US Department of Energy (DOE) DE-AC02- 06CH11357 and Arthur P. Sloan Foundation (2011- 6-05) to J.G.; UK BBSRC SysMO-DB2 BB/I004637/1 and BBG0102181 to C.G.; UK BBSRC BB/I000933/1 to C.S. and J.L.G.; UK MRC UD99999906 to J.L.G.; US NIH R21 MH087336 (National Institute of Mental Health) and R00 GM079953 (National Institute of General Medical Science) to A.L.; NIH U54 HG006097 to J.C. and C.E.S.; Australian government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS); BIRN U24-RR025736 and BioScholar RO1-GM083871 to G.B. and the 2009 Super Science initiative to C.A.S

Post-capitalist property

When writing about property and property rights in his imagined post-capitalist society of the future, Marx seemed to envisage ‘individual property’ co-existing with ‘socialized property’ in the means of production. As the social and political consequences of faltering growth and increasing inequality, debt and insecurity gradually manifest themselves, and with automation and artificial intelligence lurking in the wings, the future of capitalism, at least in its current form, looks increasingly uncertain. With this, the question of what property and property rights might look like in the future, in a potentially post-capitalist society, is becoming ever more pertinent. Is the choice simply between private property and markets, and public (state-owned) property and planning? Or can individual and social property in the (same) means of production co-exist, as Marx suggested? This paper explores ways in which they might, through an examination of the Chinese household responsibility system (HRS) and the ‘fuzzy’ and seemingly confusing regime of land ownership that it instituted. It examines the HRS against the backdrop of Marx’s ideas about property and subsequent (post-Marx) theorizing about the legal nature of property in which property has come widely to be conceptualized not as a single, unitary ‘ownership’ right to a thing (or, indeed, as the thing itself) but as a ‘bundle of rights’. The bundle-of-rights idea of property, it suggests, enables us to see not only that ‘individual’ and ‘socialized’ property’ in the (same) means of production might indeed co-exist, but that the range of institutional possibility is far greater than that between capitalism and socialism/communism as traditionally conceived

Isolation of Pancreatic Progenitor Cells with the Surface Marker of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

To isolate pancreatic progenitor cells with the surface markers of hematopoietic stem cells, the expression of stem cell antigen (Sca-1) and c-Kit and the coexpression of them with pancreatic duodenal homeobox-1 (PDX-1), neurogenin 3 (Ngn3), and insulin were examined in murine embryonic pancreas. Then different pancreatic cell subpopulations were isolated by magnet-activated cell sorting. Isolated cells were cultured overnight in hanging drops. When cells formed spheres, they were laid on floating filters at the air/medium interface. With this new culture system, pancreatic progenitor cells were induced to differentiate to endocrine and exocrine cells. It was shown that c-Kit and Sca-1 were expressed differently in embryonic pancreas at 12.5, 15.5, and 17.5 days of gestation. The expression of c-Kit and Sca-1 was the highest at 15.5 days of gestation. c-Kit rather than Sca-1 coexpressed with PDX-1, Ngn3, and insulin. Cells differentiated from c-Kit-positive cells contained more insulin-producing cells and secreted more insulin in response to glucose stimulation than that from c-Kit-negative cells. These results suggested that c-Kit could be used to isolate pancreatic progenitor cells and our new culture system permitted pancreatic progenitor cells to differentiate to mature endocrine cells

Difference analysis of gravity decollement structures and its effect on hydrocarbon accumulation: By comparing analysis of Lower Congo-Congo Fan Basin and Niger Delta Basin

Gravitational decollement is a structural pattern commonly developed in passive continental marginal basins on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.Two different types of gravity decollement structures with transitional salt and marine mudstone as decollement layers are developed.Based on the stress mechanism, it can be divided into extensional zone, transitional zone and compressional zone successively from the continent to the ocean.In order to clarify the difference between those two types of gravitational decollement structures and their influence on oil and gas accumulation, this paper makes a comparative analysis of two representative basins, the Lower Congo-Congo Fan Basin and the Niger Delta Basin.Through comparing, the differences of structure patterns, sedimentary reservoir distribution characteristics and hydrocarbon accumulation were clarified in the same zone.On the whole, salt gravitational decollement in extensional zone shows that the salt structures are highly active, the oil-gas accumulation conditions are superior, and there are many oil-gas discoveries in this zone.In transitional zone, the intensity of salt activity is moderate and the degree of oil-gas enrichment is the highest.In compressional zone, the salt activity is strong with a large scale salt accumulation, poor source rock and reservoir, and rare oil-gas discoveries.The extensional zone of marine mudstone gravitational decollement is the main oil-gas accumulation area with relatively weak structure activity and good match between the reservoir and source rock.In transitional zone, it has strong extrusion stress, and large amount of mudstone has been accumulated there.The mud diapir is magnificent, and deep-slow diapir structure is the favorable oil-gas accumulation area.The compressional zone is dominated by typical thrust imbricate structure with good match of source rock, reservoir and oil source faults.The oil-gas enrichment in this zone is relatively high.Based on the analysis of those two types of gravitational decollement in source rock, reservoir and hydrocarbon accumulation, this paper have provided some references for the research related to gravitational decollement

Experimental research on bypass evaporation tower technology for zero liquid discharge of desulfurization wastewater

<p>Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) of wastewater has become the trend of environmental governance after the implementation of ‘The Action Plan for Prevention and Treatment of Water Pollution’ in China, desulfurization wastewater has gained more attention due to its complex composition and heavy metals. However, current technologies for ZLD have some shortcomings such as high cost and insufficient processing capacity, ZLD cannot be achieved actually. This paper proposes a new evaporation drying technology. An independent bypass evaporation tower was built, part of the hot flue gas before the air preheater was introduced into the evaporation tower for desulfurization wastewater evaporation, and the generated dust after evaporation was discharged back to the flue duct before electrostatic precipitator. This paper reports on the performance of desulfurization wastewater evaporation and the characteristics of evaporation products in depth and makes a comprehensive discussion of the impact on the existing equipment based on the self-designed evaporation tower. Research suggests that this technology has high system reliability and little effect on subsequent equipment and provides theoretical and practical data. Due to environmental policies and huge market demand for ZLD of desulfurization wastewater, bypass evaporation tower technology has a great application prospect in the future.</p