A low complexity DSP driven analog impairment mitigation scheme for low-IF GNSS receivers

Due to the increasing demands for location based services within the wireless mass-market; there has been relentless pressure to reduce both the chip area and power dissipation of the user terminal. Low-IF receivers combine the advantages of superheterodyne and direct-conversion architectures offering a highly integrated solution while avoiding the issues associated with DC offsets and flicker noise. The main drawback of the low-IF architecture is its limited image rejection due to analog impairments. In this paper, the sources of the impairments are analyzed for a low-IF receiver operating at the GPS/Galileo L1 band together with a novel low-complexity solution to compensate for them in the DSP domain is proposed. For processing the combined GPS/Galileo L1 signal, a signal simulator we call GNSScope has been developed together with a low-IF receiver model to analyze the influence of the analog impairments. The idea behind our proposed novel adaptive compensator which estimates and compensates for the imbalances and mismatches is that in the absence of these mismatches no correlation exists between the desired and the image channels, which is not the case when impairments are present. Results show that through the deployment of the proposed approach, image-rejection performance can be enhanced by 75 dB. This enhancement in the image-rejection performance subsequently results in relaxed analog front-end specifications leading to high levels of integration making it possible for highly integrated software-defined Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) receiver to be realistically and economically designed and implemented

Post-injection normal closure of fractures as a mechanism for induced seismicity

Understanding the controlling mechanisms underlying injection-induced seismicity is important for optimizing reservoir productivity and addressing seismicity-related concerns related to hydraulic stimulation in Enhanced Geothermal Systems. Hydraulic stimulation enhances permeability through elevated pressures, which cause normal deformations, and the shear slip of pre-existing fractures. Previous experiments indicate that fracture deformation in the normal direction reverses as the pressure decreases, e.g., at the end of stimulation. We hypothesize that this normal closure of fractures enhances pressure propagation away from the injection region and significantly increases the potential for post-injection seismicity. To test this hypothesis, hydraulic stimulation is modeled by numerically coupling fracture deformation, pressure diffusion and stress alterations for a synthetic geothermal reservoir in which the flow and mechanics are strongly affected by a complex three-dimensional fracture network. The role of the normal closure of fractures is verified by comparing simulations conducted with and without the normal closure effect

Combined XPS and contact angle studies of ethylene vinyl acetate and polyvinyl acetate blends

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this study, we prepared thin films by blending ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) containing 12-33 (wt.%) vinyl acetate (VA) with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and high density polyethylene homopolymers. Large area micropatterns having controlled protrusion sizes were obtained by phase-separation especially for the PVAc/EVA-33 blends using dip coating. These surfaces were characterized by XPS and contact angle measurements. A reasonably linear relation was found between the VA content on the surface (wt.%) obtained from XPS analysis and the VA content in bulk especially for PVAc/EVA-33 blend surfaces. PE segments were more enriched on the surface than that of the bulk for pure EVA copolymer surfaces similar to previous reports and VA enrichment was found on the EVA/HDPE blend surfaces due to high molecular weight of HDPE. Water theta(e) decreased with the increase in the VA content on the blend surface due to the polarity of VA. A good agreement was obtained between gamma(-)(s) and atomic oxygen surface concentration with the increase of VA content. The applicability of Cassie-Baxter equation was tested and found that it gave consistent results with the experimental water contact angles for the case where VA content was lower than 55 wt.% in the bulk composition. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

The effect of kinesio taping versus stretching techniques on muscle soreness, and flexibility during recovery from nordic hamstring exercise

WOS: 000396418800007PubMed ID: 28167188The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of static stretching, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching, or kinesio taping (KT) on muscle soreness and flexibility during recovery from exercise. Sixty-five females were randomly assigned to four groups: PNF stretching (n = 15), static stretching (n = 16), KT (n = 17), and control (n = 17). All participants performed nordic hamstring exercise (5 sets of 8 repetitions). In all groups, hamstring flexibility at 24 h and 48 h was not changed from baseline (p > .05). The muscle soreness was measured higher at 48 h post-exercise compared with baseline in the control group (p = .04) and at 24 h post-exercise compared with baseline in the PNF group (p .05). The KT application and pre-exercise stretching have no contribute to flexibility at 24 h and 48 h after exercise, but may attenuate muscle soreness. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Paget's disease of the breast in a male with lymphomatoid papulosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Paget's disease is an eczematous skin change of the nipple that is usually associated with an underlying breast malignancy. Male breast cancer represents only 1-3% of all breast malignancies and Paget's disease remains very rare.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of a 67-year-old Caucasian man with lymphomatoid papulosis who was diagnosed with Paget's disease of the nipple and who was treated successfully with surgery alone. We discuss the presentation, investigations, management and pathogenesis of Paget's disease of the nipple.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The case highlights the need to be vigilant when new skin lesions arise in the context of an underlying chronic skin disorder.</p

miR-132/212 knockout mice reveal roles for these miRNAs in regulating cortical synaptic transmission and plasticity

miR-132 and miR-212 are two closely related miRNAs encoded in the same intron of a small non-coding gene, which have been suggested to play roles in both immune and neuronal function. We describe here the generation and initial characterisation of a miR-132/212 double knockout mouse. These mice were viable and fertile with no overt adverse phenotype. Analysis of innate immune responses, including TLR-induced cytokine production and IFNβ induction in response to viral infection of primary fibroblasts did not reveal any phenotype in the knockouts. In contrast, the loss of miR-132 and miR-212, while not overtly affecting neuronal morphology, did affect synaptic function. In both hippocampal and neocortical slices miR-132/212 knockout reduced basal synaptic transmission, without affecting paired-pulse facilitation. Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) induced by tetanic stimulation was not affected by miR-132/212 deletion, whilst theta burst LTP was enhanced. In contrast, neocortical theta burst-induced LTP was inhibited by loss of miR-132/212. Together these results indicate that miR-132 and/or miR-212 play a significant role in synaptic function, possibly by regulating the number of postsynaptic AMPA receptors under basal conditions and during activity-dependent synaptic plasticity

Canonical DNA minor groove insertion of bisbenzamidine-Ru(ii) complexes with chiral selectivity

We report the first Ru(ii) coordination compounds that interact with DNA through a canonical minor groove insertion mode and with selectivity for A/T rich sites. This was made possible by integrating a bis-benzamidine minor groove DNA-binding agent with a ruthenium(ii) complex. Importantly, one of the enantiomers (Δ-[Ru(bpy)2b4bpy]2+, Δ-4Ru) shows a considerably higher DNA affinity than the parent organic ligand and the other enantiomer, particularly for the AATT sequence, while the other enantiomer preferentially targets long AAATTT sites with overall lower affinity. Finally, we demonstrate that the photophysical properties of these new binders can be exploited for DNA cleavage using visible light

The influence of prior VATS experience in the learning curvefor single-port VATS lobectomy: a multicenter comparative study

OBJECTIVES: Competency in VATS lobectomy is estimated to be complete after 50 cases. We aimed to ex¬plore the impact of previous multiport VATS lobectomy competency in completing this work¬load of Single-Port procedures ...postprin

Learning pair-wise gene functional similarity by multiplex gene expression maps

Abstract Background The relationships between the gene functional similarity and gene expression profile, and between gene function annotation and gene sequence have been studied extensively. However, not much work has considered the connection between gene functions and location of a gene's expression in the mammalian tissues. On the other hand, although unsupervised learning methods have been commonly used in functional genomics, supervised learning cannot be directly applied to a set of normal genes without having a target (class) attribute. Results Here, we propose a supervised learning methodology to predict pair-wise gene functional similarity from multiplex gene expression maps that provide information about the location of gene expression. The features are extracted from expression maps and the labels denote the functional similarities of pairs of genes. We make use of wavelet features, original expression values, difference and average values of neighboring voxels and other features to perform boosting analysis. The experimental results show that with increasing similarities of gene expression maps, the functional similarities are increased too. The model predicts the functional similarities between genes to a certain degree. The weights of the features in the model indicate the features that are more significant for this prediction. Conclusions By considering pairs of genes, we propose a supervised learning methodology to predict pair-wise gene functional similarity from multiplex gene expression maps. We also explore the relationship between similarities of gene maps and gene functions. By using AdaBoost coupled with our proposed weak classifier we analyze a large-scale gene expression dataset and predict gene functional similarities. We also detect the most significant single voxels and pairs of neighboring voxels and visualize them in the expression map image of a mouse brain. This work is very important for predicting functions of unknown genes. It also has broader applicability since the methodology can be applied to analyze any large-scale dataset without a target attribute and is not restricted to gene expressions

Protective efficiacy of taurine against pulmonary edema progression: experimental study

Re-expansion pulmonary edema (RPE) is an acute, rare and potentially lethal complication [1,2]. Its beginning is sudden and dramatic. The mechanism is not yet fully understood [1]. Some authors suggest that it may occur after rapid re-inflation of a collapsed lung [1]. It was reported by other authors that it may relate to surfactant depletion or may result from hypoxic capillary damage, leading to increased capillary permeability [1,3]. In RPE, unilateral lung injury is initiated by cytotoxic oxygen metabolites and temporally associated with an influx of polymorphonuclear neutrophils [1]. These toxic oxygen products are the results of re-oxygenation of a collapsed lung. Treatment of re-expansion pulmonary edema is basically preventive [4]