45 research outputs found
A Sharing- and Competition-Aware Framework for Cellular Network Evolution Planning
Mobile network operators are facing the difficult task of significantly
increasing capacity to meet projected demand while keeping CAPEX and OPEX down.
We argue that infrastructure sharing is a key consideration in operators'
planning of the evolution of their networks, and that such planning can be
viewed as a stage in the cognitive cycle. In this paper, we present a framework
to model this planning process while taking into account both the ability to
share resources and the constraints imposed by competition regulation (the
latter quantified using the Herfindahl index). Using real-world demand and
deployment data, we find that the ability to share infrastructure essentially
moves capacity from rural, sparsely populated areas (where some of the current
infrastructure can be decommissioned) to urban ones (where most of the
next-generation base stations would be deployed), with significant increases in
resource efficiency. Tight competition regulation somewhat limits the ability
to share but does not entirely jeopardize those gains, while having the
secondary effect of encouraging the wider deployment of next-generation
technologies
Alternative Journalism as Monitorial Citizenship? A case study of a local news blog
Recent years have seen claims that some examples of online alternative journalism in the form of hyperlocal and local blogs are helping to address society’s “democratic deficit” by subjecting the actions of the powerful to increased public scrutiny, in a process that has been described as “monitorial citizenship”. To explore how this might work in practice, this study examines the origins, motivations and practices of one such site in the United Kingdom: the Leeds Citizen. The aim is to provide the sort of detailed consideration in depth that is almost by definition missing from wider surveys of the field. To this end, the case study is based on a series of interviews with the site’s creator, augmented by analysis of content, all discussed within the context of scholarly literature on how alternative, non-commercial forms of journalism operate in the digital age. The article concludes that this contemporary form of alternative journalism may indeed be described as an example of monitorial citizenship in action, but there is also a need for further research
Frequent HPV-independent p16/INK4A overexpression in head and neck cancer
Objectives
p16INK4A (p16) is the most widely used clinical biomarker for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC). HPV is a favourable prognostic marker in HNSCC and is used for patient stratification. While p16 is a relatively accurate marker for HPV within the oropharynx, recent reports suggest it may be unsuitable for use in other HNSCC subsites, where a smaller proportion of tumors are HPV-driven.
Materials and methods
We integrated reverse phase protein array (RPPA) data for p16 with HPV status based on detection of viral transcripts by RNA-seq in a set of 210 HNSCCs profiled by The Cancer Genome Atlas project. Samples were queried for alterations in CDKN2A, and other pathway genes to investigate possible drivers of p16 expression.
Results
While p16 levels as measured by RPPA were significantly different by HPV status, there were multiple HPV (?) samples with similar expression levels of p16 to HPV (+) samples, particularly at non-oropharyngeal subsites. In many cases, p16 overexpression in HPV (?) tumors could not be explained by mutation or amplification of CDKN2A or by RB1 mutation. Instead, we observed enrichment for inactivating mutations in the histone H3 lysine 36 methyltransferase, NSD1 in HPV (?)/p16-high tumors.
Conclusions
RPPA data suggest high p16 protein expression in many HPV (?) non-oropharyngeal HNSCCs, limiting its potential utility as an HPV biomarker outside of the oropharynx. HPV-independent overexpression of wild-type p16 in non-oropharyngeal HNSCC may be linked to global deregulation of chromatin state by inactivating mutations in NSD1
BLOOM: A 176B-Parameter Open-Access Multilingual Language Model
Large language models (LLMs) have been shown to be able to perform new tasks
based on a few demonstrations or natural language instructions. While these
capabilities have led to widespread adoption, most LLMs are developed by
resource-rich organizations and are frequently kept from the public. As a step
towards democratizing this powerful technology, we present BLOOM, a
176B-parameter open-access language model designed and built thanks to a
collaboration of hundreds of researchers. BLOOM is a decoder-only Transformer
language model that was trained on the ROOTS corpus, a dataset comprising
hundreds of sources in 46 natural and 13 programming languages (59 in total).
We find that BLOOM achieves competitive performance on a wide variety of
benchmarks, with stronger results after undergoing multitask prompted
finetuning. To facilitate future research and applications using LLMs, we
publicly release our models and code under the Responsible AI License
Large-scale exome-wide association analysis identifies loci for White Blood Cell Traits and Pleiotropy with Immune-Mediated Diseases
White blood cells play diverse roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Genetic association analyses of phenotypic variation in circulating white blood cell (WBC) counts from large samples of otherwise healthy individuals can provide insights into genes and biologic pathways involved in production, differentiation, or clearance of particular WBC lineages (myeloid, lymphoid) and also potentially inform the genetic basis of autoimmune, allergic, and blood diseases. We performed an exome array-based meta-analysis of total WBC and subtype counts (neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils) in a multi-ancestry discovery and replication sample of ∼157,622 individuals from 25 studies. We identified 16 common variants (8 of which were coding variants) associated with one or more WBC traits, the majority of which are pleiotropically associated with autoimmune diseases. Based on functional annotation, these loci included genes encoding surface markers of myeloid, lymphoid, or hematopoietic stem cell differentiation (CD69, CD33, CD87), transcription factors regulating lineage specification during hematopoiesis (ASXL1, IRF8, IKZF1, JMJD1C, ETS2-PSMG1), and molecules involved in neutrophil clearance/apoptosis (C10orf54, LTA), adhesion (TNXB), or centrosome and microtubule structure/function (KIF9, TUBD1). Together with recent reports of somatic ASXL1 mutations among individuals with idiopathic cytopenias or clonal hematopoiesis of undetermined significance, the identification of a common regulatory 3 UTR variant of ASXL1 suggests that both germline and somatic ASXL1 mutations contribute to lower blood counts in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. These association results shed light on genetic mechanisms that regulate circulating WBC counts and suggest a prominent shared genetic architecture with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases
Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries
Abstract
Background
Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres.
Methods
This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries.
Results
In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia.
Conclusion
This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries
Combinatorial clock auction for OFDMA-based cognitive wireless networks
peer-reviewedThis paper presents a novel application of
a market-based spectrum assignment mechanism for exploitation
by cognitive radio systems. Advances in DSA
policy mean that regulators are moving towards a more
liberalised system of spectrum rights which give more
freedom to spectrum users to choose the radio and
networking technologies, services and frequencies that suit
their technical and economic needs. The paper describes
a combinatorial clock auction mechanism that allows for
the trade of spectrum rights in the context of an OFDMAbased
cognitive wireless network.
While governments can use complex and cumbersome
auctions to sell off large blocks of spectrum at the macro
level, it will be necessary to employ cognitive wireless
networks to organise the distribution of such spectrum
rights at the network level. Cognitive functionality is
important so that DSA-enabled wireless networks can
understand the regulatory, technical and economic context
within which they find themselves. The combinatorial clock
auction is a mechanism that will facilitate the multilateral
trade of spectrum rights among competing cognitive
radios
Towards a fluid spectrum market for exclusive usage rights
Abstract — This paper focuses on highly fluid markets for trading exclusive spectrum usage-rights. The purpose of the paper is to underline the need for flexible usage-rights policies, as a core facilitator of such markets as well as to stress the need for a greater technical input to the debate. The paper builds on current work in the field of spectrum property rights and exclusive usage-rights. The first half of the paper captures the current state-of-play and presents a framework for visualizing the concepts involved. The paper goes on to make a clear distinction between the defining of a set of exclusive usage-rights and the exercising of those rights. This leads to a discussion of policies that are not alone about defining metrics and setting their desired values but are also about behaviors that involve negotiation and interaction. Through-out the paper the evolution of technology and its affect on the progress towards the goal of fluid spectrum markets is emphasized, as is the need for a very multifaceted approach to the challenges involved. I
IEEE Symposium on New Frontiers in Dynamic Spectrum (DySPAN)
This paper explores the evolving role of transmitter
spectrum masks in the emerging paradigm of service and
technology neutral spectrum planning. We advocate the use of
more dynamic approaches to spectrum mask generation and
design. Furthermore, we advocate a role for such masks in the
implementation of dynamic spectrum access networks. In this
paper we distinguish between the block-edge mask (BEM) and
the spectrum emission mask (SEM). A block-edge mask specifies
permitted power levels over the block of spectrum of interest
and its neighbouring blocks. The spectrum emission mask on
the other hand describes the actual emission profile of a device.
We show how advancements in technologies, especially in the area
of cognitive radio and reconfigurable networks, make the notion
of dynamic SEMs a reality and we argue that a more dynamic
approach to BEMs opens the way for enabling technology and
service neutrality in spectrum management. We present five
different possible interpretations for the dynamic BEM. While
recognising that the dynamic BEM will prove challenging on
both a technological and regulatory front we turn to the Wireless
Access Policy for Electronic Communications Services (WAPECS)
framework as a solid starting point