LT Code Design for Inactivation Decoding

We present a simple model of inactivation decoding for LT codes which can be used to estimate the decoding complexity as a function of the LT code degree distribution. The model is shown to be accurate in variety of settings of practical importance. The proposed method allows to perform a numerical optimization on the degree distribution of a LT code aiming at minimizing the number of inactivations required for decoding.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

On the Weight Distribution of Fixed-Rate Raptor Codes

In this paper Raptor code ensembles with linear random precodes in a fixed-rate setting are considered. An expression for the average distance spectrum is derived and this expression is used to obtain the asymptotic exponent of the weight distribution. The asymptotic growth rate analysis is then exploited to develop a necessary and sufficient condition under which the fixed-rate Raptor code ensemble exhibits a strictly positive typical minimum distance

Mechano-chemical kinetics of DNA replication: identification of the translocation step of a replicative DNA polymerase

[EN] During DNA replication replicative polymerases move in discrete mechanical steps along the DNA template. To address how the chemical cycle is coupled to mechanical motion of the enzyme, here we use optical tweezers to study the translocation mechanism of individual bacteriophage Phi29 DNA polymerases during processive DNA replication. We determine the main kinetic parameters of the nucleotide incorporation cycle and their dependence on external load and nucleotide (dNTP) concentration. The data is inconsistent with power stroke models for translocation, instead supports a loose-coupling mechanism between chemical catalysis and mechanical translocation during DNA replication. According to this mechanism the DNA polymerase works by alternating between a dNTP/PPi-free state, which diffuses thermally between pre- and post-translocated states, and a dNTP/PPi-bound state where dNTP binding stabilizes the post-translocated state. We show how this thermal ratchet mechanism is used by the polymerase to generate work against large opposing loads (~50 pN).We thank Stephan Grill laboratory (MPI-CBG, Dresden) for help with data collection and E. Galburt, M. Manosas and M. De Vega for critical reading of the manuscript. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [BFU2011-29038 to J.L.C., BFU2013-44202 to J.M.V., BFU2011-23645 to M.S., FIS2010-17440, GR35/10-A920GR35/10-A-911 to F.J.C., MAT2013-49455-EXP to J.R.A.-G. and BFU2012-31825 to B.I.]; Regional Government of Madrid [S2009/MAT 1507 to J.L.C. and CDS2007-0015 to M.S.]; European Molecular Biology Organization [ASTF 276-2012 to J.M.L.]. Funding for open access charge: Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [BFU2012-31825 to B.I.].Morin, J.; Cao, F.; Lázaro, J.; Arias-Gonzalez, JR.; Valpuesta, J.; Carrascosa, J.; Salas, M.... (2015). 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The EMBO Journal, 25(15), 3458-3468. doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601211Zhang, H., Cao, W., Zakharova, E., Konigsberg, W., & De La Cruz, E. M. (2007). Fluorescence of 2-aminopurine reveals rapid conformational changes in the RB69 DNA polymerase-primer/template complexes upon binding and incorporation of matched deoxynucleoside triphosphates. Nucleic Acids Research, 35(18), 6052-6062. doi:10.1093/nar/gkm587Wang, W., Wu, E. Y., Hellinga, H. W., & Beese, L. S. (2012). Structural Factors That Determine Selectivity of a High Fidelity DNA Polymerase for Deoxy-, Dideoxy-, and Ribonucleotides. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287(34), 28215-28226. doi:10.1074/jbc.m112.366609Berezhna, S. Y., Gill, J. P., Lamichhane, R., & Millar, D. P. (2012). Single-Molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Reveals an Innate Fidelity Checkpoint in DNA Polymerase I. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 134(27), 11261-11268. doi:10.1021/ja3038273Hariharan, C., Bloom, L. B., Helquist, S. A., Kool, E. 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Q., Hovde, S. L., Yamaguchi, Y., Handa, H., Geiger, J. H., … Burton, Z. F. (2003). NTP-driven Translocation by Human RNA Polymerase II. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 278(20), 18303-18312. doi:10.1074/jbc.m301103200Gong, X. Q., Zhang, C., Feig, M., & Burton, Z. F. (2005). Dynamic Error Correction and Regulation of Downstream Bubble Opening by Human RNA Polymerase II. Molecular Cell, 18(4), 461-470. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2005.04.011Guajardo, R., & Sousa, R. (1997). A model for the mechanism of polymerase translocation 1 1Edited by A. R. Fersht. Journal of Molecular Biology, 265(1), 8-19. doi:10.1006/jmbi.1996.0707Thomen, P., Lopez, P. J., & Heslot, F. (2005). Unravelling the Mechanism of RNA-Polymerase Forward Motion by Using Mechanical Force. Physical Review Letters, 94(12). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.94.128102Larson, M. H., Zhou, J., Kaplan, C. D., Palangat, M., Kornberg, R. D., Landick, R., & Block, S. M. (2012). Trigger loop dynamics mediate the balance between the transcriptional fidelity and speed of RNA polymerase II. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(17), 6555-6560. doi:10.1073/pnas.1200939109Bar-Nahum, G., Epshtein, V., Ruckenstein, A. E., Rafikov, R., Mustaev, A., & Nudler, E. (2005). A Ratchet Mechanism of Transcription Elongation and Its Control. Cell, 120(2), 183-193. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2004.11.045Bai, L., Fulbright, R. M., & Wang, M. D. (2007). Mechanochemical Kinetics of Transcription Elongation. Physical Review Letters, 98(6). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.98.068103Abbondanzieri, E. A., Greenleaf, W. J., Shaevitz, J. W., Landick, R., & Block, S. M. (2005). Direct observation of base-pair stepping by RNA polymerase. Nature, 438(7067), 460-465. doi:10.1038/nature04268Dangkulwanich, M., Ishibashi, T., Liu, S., Kireeva, M. L., Lubkowska, L., Kashlev, M., & Bustamante, C. J. (2013). Complete dissection of transcription elongation reveals slow translocation of RNA polymerase II in a linear ratchet mechanism. eLife, 2. doi:10.7554/elife.00971Lieberman, K. R., Dahl, J. M., Mai, A. H., Cox, A., Akeson, M., & Wang, H. (2013). Kinetic Mechanism of Translocation and dNTP Binding in Individual DNA Polymerase Complexes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135(24), 9149-9155. doi:10.1021/ja403640bLieberman, K. R., Dahl, J. M., Mai, A. H., Akeson, M., & Wang, H. (2012). Dynamics of the Translocation Step Measured in Individual DNA Polymerase Complexes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 134(45), 18816-18823. doi:10.1021/ja3090302Dahl, J. M., Mai, A. H., Cherf, G. M., Jetha, N. N., Garalde, D. R., Marziali, A., … Lieberman, K. R. (2012). Direct Observation of Translocation in Individual DNA Polymerase Complexes. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287(16), 13407-13421. doi:10.1074/jbc.m111.338418Rodriguez, I., Lazaro, J. M., Blanco, L., Kamtekar, S., Berman, A. J., Wang, J., … de Vega, M. (2005). A specific subdomain in  29 DNA polymerase confers both processivity and strand-displacement capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(18), 6407-6412. doi:10.1073/pnas.0500597102Morin, J. A., Cao, F. J., Valpuesta, J. M., Carrascosa, J. L., Salas, M., & Ibarra, B. (2012). Manipulation of single polymerase-DNA complexes: A mechanical view of DNA unwinding during replication. Cell Cycle, 11(16), 2967-2968. doi:10.4161/cc.21389Morin, J. A., Cao, F. J., Lazaro, J. M., Arias-Gonzalez, J. R., Valpuesta, J. M., Carrascosa, J. L., … Ibarra, B. (2012). Active DNA unwinding dynamics during processive DNA replication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(21), 8115-8120. doi:10.1073/pnas.1204759109Ibarra, B., Chemla, Y. R., Plyasunov, S., Smith, S. B., Lázaro, J. M., Salas, M., & Bustamante, C. (2009). Proofreading dynamics of a processive DNA polymerase. 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Decisions of refusal Intensive Care Units' admission as a measure of limitation of life support treatments: geographical variability in Spain

From a post hoc analysis of the ADENI-UCI study (multicenter, observational, cohort, prospective study, with a follow-up period of 13 months, in 62 Intensive Medicine Services in Spain. geographical differences in the reason for denial of income in UCI as a LTSV measure are analyzed. A total of 2284 with an average age of 75.25 (12.45) years were included. 59.43% male. By means of multinominal regression adjusted by age, sex, APACHE and SOFA, was evident (by choosing the northern for reference) that age in the south was a less significantly exposed reason (OR: 0.48 (IC95%: 0.35-0.65). p

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Implementation of a Multi-User Detector for Satellite Return Links on a GPU Platform

Due to the scarcity and high cost of satellite frequency spectrum, it is very important to utilize the available spectrum as efficiently as possible. The efficient usage of the spectrum in the satellite return link is a challenging task, especially if multiple users are present. In previous works Multi- User Detection (MUD) techniques have been widely studied to increase the spectral efficiency of the satellite return link. However, due to the high computational complexity and its sensitivity to synchronization and channel estimation errors, only few implementations of MUD for satellite communications exist. In this paper a novel Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-based Software Defined Radio (SDR) implementation of a MUD receiver for transparent satellite return link is presented, which uses iterative channel estimation and decoding. The implementation can cope with the presence of strong phase noise. In addition to its high flexibility and low cost, with the GPU acceleration our SDR MUD receiver implementation achieves a decoding throughput of 270 Kbps using a single GPU card

GPU-accelerated SDR Implementation of a Multi-User Detector for Satellite Return Links

In the past decade new satellite applications have emerged, which require a bidirectional satellite link. Due to the scarcity and high cost of satellite frequency spectrum, it is very important to utilize the available spectrum as efficiently as possible. The efficient usage of the spectrum in the satellite return link is a challenging task, especially if multiple users are present. In previous works Multi-User Detection (MUD) techniques have been widely studied to increase the spectral efficiency of the satellite return link. However, due to the high computational complexity and its sensitivity to synchronization and channel estimation errors, only few implementations of MUD for satellite communications exist. In this paper a novel Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)-based Software Defined Radio (SDR) implementation of a MUD receiver for transparent satellite return link is presented, which uses iterative channel estimation and decoding. In addition to its high flexibility and low cost, with the GPU acceleration our SDR MUD receiver implementation achieves a decoding throughput of 290 Kbps, which is sufficient to operate in real time in satellite return links

On the Weight Distribution of Fixed-Rate Raptor Codes

In this paper Raptor code ensembles with linear random precodes in a fixed-rate setting are considered. An expression for the average distance spectrum is derived and this expression is used to obtain the asymptotic exponent of the weight distribution. The asymptotic growth rate analysis is then exploited to develop a necessary and sufficient condition under which the fixed-rate Raptor code ensemble exhibits a strictly positive typical minimum distance

On Fragmentation for Fountain Codes

We study the performance of selected communication schemes based on fountain codes, under maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding, as a function of the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) erasure probability. In particular, we also consider a scheme that reduces the performance loss due to fragmentation of fountain coding symbols into several PDUs. For the presented schemes, tight upper bounds on the failure probabilities are derived and finite length decoding complexity analysis are provided. Furthermore, we propose an enhanced decoding technique for one of the selected schemes