Improvement of accuracy for measurement of 100-km fibre latency with Correlation OTDR

We measured the latency of a 100 km fibre link using a Correlation OTDR. Improvements over previous results were achieved by increasing the probe signal rate to 10 Gbit/s, using dispersion compensation gratings, and coupling the receiver time base to an external PPS signal.Comment: This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 762055 (BlueSpace Project

Incidence and correlates of delirium in a West African mental health clinic

Objective: <br/> <br/> To determine the incidence of delirium in those patients presenting to a psychiatric clinic in Nigeria and to examine if any demographic or clinical variables were correlated with this diagnosis. <br/> <br/> Method <br/> <br/> A prospective survey design; 264 consecutive new referrals to a psychiatric clinic in Nigeria were assessed for the presence of delirium using a standardised diagnostic scale. Data was analysed for normality and appropriate statistical test employed to examine the relationships between the presence of delirium and demographic and clinical variables. <br/> <br/> Results <br/> <br/> Of individuals presenting to the mental health clinics, 18.2% had delirium. No demographic variable was significant regarding the presence or absence of delirium. With regard to clinical variables duration of current symptoms, referral source and the presence of comorbid physical illness were significantly associated with the presence of delirium. Most delirium was due to infections. Nearly all patients with delirium were prescribed psychotropic medication (95.2%), and most attributed their symptoms to a spiritual cause.Conclusion(s) Delirium presents more commonly to psychiatry services in the less developed world compared to the West. Development efforts should focus on recognition and management of delirium to improve outcomes and maximise resource

A Converged Evolved Ethernet Fronthaul for the 5G Era

We assess the performance of two distinct functional splits based on latency/latency variation and mapping efficiency, both individually and in unison. By considering hardware-offloading possibilities for a low-layer split (especially a pre-resource mapper split) using an Option-6 software-based LTE split as an example, we show how data rate, Ethernet frame size and in general, traffic generation characteristics will be very important aspects in the design of the future Ethernet mapping function. Then, an integrated Ethernet fronthaul with legacy and new/evolved split functionality, operating at 100 Gb/s link rate is presented with state-of-the art sub-100 ns latency variation for a timing-protocol flow. This is achieved through the application of a gap-filling aggregator, used for the first time in such a mobile fronthaul application

Next-Generation Optical Fronthaul in the iCirrus Project

We discuss next-generation fronthaul solutions for 5G and legacy radio access networks. Architectures, findings and experimental results from recent lab and field trial activities are reported

Testbed Verification of New Fronthaul Technology for 5G Systems

The fronthaul for 5th generation mobile systems (and beyond) has evolved with new splits for the radio access network functions defined, and the transport for these split interfaces having very different requirements. Testing of the transport for such split interfaces is reported, and it is shown that an Ethernet fronthaul transport network, which is capable of bringing efficiency gains through statistical multiplexing, can meet stringent latency and latency variation requirements, assuming buffering and playout of the radio waveforms and that timing/synchronization signals are prioritized. An aggregation technique for a 100 Gb/s Ethernet trunk which provides for such timing signals is demonstrated. Real-time monitoring of the Ethernet fronthaul for software-defined networking control and performance optimization is also shown

Current understanding of CTLA-4: from mechanism to autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases (ADs) are characterized by the production of autoreactive lymphocytes, immune responses to self-antigens, and inflammation in related tissues and organs. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is majorly expressed in activated T cells and works as a critical regulator in the inflammatory response. In this review, we first describe the structure, expression, and how the signaling pathways of CTLA-4 participate in reducing effector T-cell activity and enhancing the immunomodulatory ability of regulatory T (Treg) cells to reduce immune response, maintain immune homeostasis, and maintain autoimmune silence. We then focused on the correlation between CTLA-4 and different ADs and how this molecule regulates the immune activity of the diseases and inhibits the onset, progression, and pathology of various ADs. Finally, we summarized the current progress of CTLA-4 as a therapeutic target for various ADs

A Digital Repository and Execution Platform for Interactive Scholarly Publications in Neuroscience

The CARMEN Virtual Laboratory (VL) is a cloud-based platform which allows neuroscientists to store, share, develop, execute, reproduce and publicise their work. This paper describes new functionality in the CARMEN VL: an interactive publications repository. This new facility allows users to link data and software to publications. This enables other users to examine data and software associated with the publication and execute the associated software within the VL using the same data as the authors used in the publication. The cloud-based architecture and SaaS (Software as a Service) framework allows vast data sets to be uploaded and analysed using software services. Thus, this new interactive publications facility allows others to build on research results through reuse. This aligns with recent developments by funding agencies, institutions, and publishers with a move to open access research. Open access provides reproducibility and verification of research resources and results. Publications and their associated data and software will be assured of long-term preservation and curation in the repository. Further, analysing research data and the evaluations described in publications frequently requires a number of execution stages many of which are iterative. The VL provides a scientific workflow environment to combine software services into a processing tree. These workflows can also be associated with publications and executed by users. The VL also provides a secure environment where users can decide the access rights for each resource to ensure copyright and privacy restrictions are met

5G-XHaul:a converged optical and wireless solution for 5G transport networks

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Gutiérrez-Terán, J., Maletic, N., Camps, D., Garcia-Villegas, E., Berberana, I., Anastasopoulos, M., Tzanakaki, A., Kalokidou, V., Flegkas, P., Syrivelis, D., Korakis, T., Legg, P., Markovic, D., Limperopoulos, G., Bartelt, J., Chaudhary, J.K., Grieger, M., Vucic, N., Zou, J., Grass, E. 5G-XHaul: a converged optical and wireless solution for 5G transport networks. "Transactions on emerging telecommunications technologies", 8 Juliol 2016, vol. 27, núm. 9, p. 1187-1195, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.recursos.biblioteca.upc.edu/doi/10.1002/ett.3063/epdf. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The common European Information and Communications Technology sector vision for 5G is that it should leverage on the strengths of both optical and wireless technologies. In the 5G context, a wide spectra of radio access technologies—such as millimetre wave transmission, massive multiple-input multiple-output and new waveforms—demand for high capacity, highly flexible and convergent transport networks. As the requirements imposed on future 5G networks rise, so do the challenges in the transport network. Hence, 5G-XHaul proposes a converged optical and wireless transport network solution with a unified control plane based on software defined networking. This solution is able to support the flexible backhaul and fronthaul—X-Haul—options required to tackle the future challenges imposed by 5G radio access technologies. 5G-XHaul studies the trade-offs involving fully or partially converged backhaul and fronthaul functions, with the aim of maximising the associated sharing benefits, improving efficiency in resource utilisation and providing measurable benefits in terms of overall cost, scalability and sustainabilityPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Urban hedges: a review of plant species and cultivars for ecosystem service delivery in north-west Europe

Urban hedges provide a number of important ecosystem services (ESs) including microclimate alteration, flood and pollution mitigation, and biodiversity provision, along with some disservices (DSs, e.g. invasiveness, allergenicity). However, hedge plant species differ in their capacity to promote different services, so it is important that the decision to plant hedges is evidence-based. The objectives of this study were thus to (i) to review the role of urban hedges within NW Europe; (ii) review the available literature detailing the ESs and DSs provided by different plant species and cultivars when used as hedge plants; (iii) identify where there is a lack of evidence for certain species or ESs/DSs; and (iv) develop a starting point for a discussion about appropriate species/cultivar selection to deliver multiple ESs, and avoid DSs. Many studies consider biodiversity and air quality ESs. There are significant gaps in the literature relating to rainfall mitigation/flood protection, but also CO2 sequestration, allergenicity and human psychological well-being impact of different species. Additionally, for noise and pollution mitigation studies, a range of methodologies and units are used, making comparisons between hedge species difficult/impossible. A number of common hedge species demonstrated high levels of ESs delivery, including Fagus sylvatica, Crataegus monogyna, Ilex aquifolium and Rosa rugosa. No species surveyed had an entirely negative association with ESs, and most provide at least some benefits in supporting ESs provision (e.g. Viburnum tinus, Laurus nobilis). We created a matrix, in a table form, linking plant species, key plant traits and ESs/DSs, which should make it easier for professionals to choose species best suited to provide multiple benefits, whilst minimising the drawbacks. Our review suggests that the relative contribution of urban hedges to ESs delivery may be under-valued currently, and calls for more research

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio