Accelerated Financial Applications through Specialized Hardware, FPGA

This project will investigate Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology in financial applications. FPGA implementation in high performance computing is still in its infancy. Certain companies like XtremeData inc. advertized speed improvements of 50 to 1000 times for DNA sequencing using FPGAs, while using an FPGA as a coprocessor to handle specific tasks provides two to three times more processing power. FPGA technology increases performance by parallelizing calculations. This project will specifically address speed and accuracy improvements of both fundamental and transcendental functions when implemented using FPGA technology. The results of this project will lead to a series of recommendations for effective utilization of FPGA technology in financial applications

Energy Profiling for Off-Grid Energization Solutions in Namibia

In Namibia, over 3800 unelectrified settlements will not receive grid power for 20 years. The Namibian government has proposed the implementation of privately-owned, institutionally-regulated renewable energy businesses to help provide energy services to these areas. The EPOGES toolkit, prepared for the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, allows an entrepreneur to assess the market in an unelectrified area for the introduction of a renewable energy business. These businesses will provide income generation and accessible energy services to unelectrified communities

Increased expression of the glucose-responsive gene, RCAN1, causes hypoinsulinemia, Beta-cell dysfunction, and diabetes

RCAN1 is a chromosome 21 gene that controls secretion in endocrine cells, regulates mitochondrial function, and is sensitive to oxidative stress. Regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) is also an endogenous inhibitor of the protein phosphatase calcineurin, the inhibition of which leads to hypoinsulinemia and diabetes in humans and mice. However, the presence or the role of RCAN1 in insulin-secreting β-cells and its potential role in the pathogenesis of diabetes is unknown. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the presence of RCAN1 in β-cells and identify its role in β-cell function. RCAN1 is expressed in mouse islets and in the cytosol of pancreatic β-cells. We find RCAN1 is a glucose-responsive gene with a 1.5-fold increase in expression observed in pancreatic islets in response to chronic hyperglycemia. The overexpression of the human RCAN1.1 isoform in mice under the regulation of its endogenous promoter causes diabetes, age-associated hyperglycemia, reduced glucose tolerance, hypoinsulinemia, loss of β-cells, reduced β-cell insulin secretion, aberrant mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production, and the down-regulation of key β-cell genes. Our data therefore identifies a novel molecular link between the overexpression of RCAN1 and β-cell dysfunction. The glucose-responsive nature of RCAN1 provides a potential mechanism of action associated with the β-cell dysfunction observed in diabetes.Heshan Peiris, Ravinarayan Raghupathi, Claire F. Jessup, Mark P. Zanin, Daisy Mohanasundaram, Kimberly D. Mackenzie, Tim Chataway, Jennifer N. Clarke, John Brealey, P. Toby Coates, Melanie A. Pritchard and Damien J. Keatin

Deficiency of the Transcriptional Regulator p8 Results in Increased Autophagy and Apoptosis, and Causes Impaired Heart Function

In this study, we investigate a role for p8 in autophagy in vitro and in vivo, by using p8 −/− mice. In both settings, silencing of p8 is associated with basal up-regulation of autophagy and apoptosis. In vivo, the hearts of p8 knockout mice develop features that provoke a decreased left ventricular functionality