Enabling 5G and beyond: millimeter wave propagation and cloud RAN evolution

In the last few years, mobile wireless technology has gone through a revolutionary change. Web-enabled devices have evolved into essential tools for communication, information, and entertainment. The fifth generation (5G) of mobile communication networks is envisioned to be a key enabler of the next upcoming wireless revolution. Millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and the evolution of Cloud Radio Access Networks (C-RANs) are two of the main technological innovations of 5G wireless systems and beyond. Because of the current spectrum-shortage condition, mmWaves have been proposed for the next generation systems, providing larger bandwidths and higher data rates. Consequently, new radio channel models are being developed. Recently, deterministic ray-based models such as Ray-Tracing (RT) are getting more attractive thanks to their frequency-agility and reliable predictions. A modern RT software has been calibrated and used to analyze the mmWave channel. Knowledge of the electromagnetic properties of materials is therefore essential. Hence, an item-level electromagnetic characterization of common construction materials has been successfully achieved to obtain information about their complex relative permittivity. A complete tuning of the RT tool has been performed against indoor and outdoor measurement campaigns at 27 and 38 GHz, setting the basis for the future development of advanced beamforming techniques which rely on deterministic propagation models (as RT). C-RAN is a novel mobile network architecture which can address a number of challenges that network operators are facing in order to meet the continuous customers’ demands. C-RANs have already been adopted in advanced 4G deployments; however, there are still some issues to deal with, especially considering the bandwidth requirements set by the forthcoming 5G systems. Open RAN specifications have been proposed to overcome the new 5G challenges set on C-RAN architectures, including synchronization aspects. In this work it is described an FPGA implementation of the Synchronization Plane for an O-RAN-compliant radio system.

Genetic Aspects Of Athletic Performance: The African Runners Phenomenon.

The current dominance of African runners in long-distance running is an intriguing phenomenon that highlights the close relationship between genetics and physical performance. Many factors in the interesting interaction between genotype and phenotype (eg, high cardiorespiratory fitness, higher hemoglobin concentration, good metabolic efficiency, muscle fiber composition, enzyme profile, diet, altitude training, and psychological aspects) have been proposed in the attempt to explain the extraordinary success of these runners. Increasing evidence shows that genetics may be a determining factor in physical and athletic performance. But, could this also be true for African long-distance runners? Based on this question, this brief review proposed the role of genetic factors (mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid, the Y chromosome, and the angiotensin-converting enzyme and the alpha-actinin-3 genes) in the amazing athletic performance observed in African runners, especially the Kenyans and Ethiopians, despite their environmental constraints.

Selection And Validation Of Reference Genes For Functional Studies In The Calliphoridae Family.

The genera Cochliomyia and Chrysomya contain both obligate and saprophagous flies, which allows the comparison of different feeding habits between closely related species. Among the different strategies for comparing these habits is the use of qPCR to investigate the expression levels of candidate genes involved in feeding behavior. To ensure an accurate measure of the levels of gene expression, it is necessary to normalize the amount of the target gene with the amount of a reference gene having a stable expression across the compared species. Since there is no universal gene that can be used as a reference in functional studies, candidate genes for qPCR data normalization were selected and validated in three Calliphoridae (Diptera) species, Cochliomyia hominivorax Coquerel, Cochliomyia macellaria Fabricius, and Chrysomya albiceps Wiedemann . The expression stability of six genes ( Actin, Gapdh, Rp49, Rps17, α -tubulin, and GstD1) was evaluated among species within the same life stage and between life stages within each species. The expression levels of Actin, Gapdh, and Rp49 were the most stable among the selected genes. These genes can be used as reliable reference genes for functional studies in Calliphoridae using similar experimental settings.

A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reports of clinical trials published in six Brazilian dental journals indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)

INTRODUCTION: Open access publishing is becoming increasingly popular within the biomedical sciences. SciELO, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, is a digital library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals many of which provide open access to full-text articles.This library includes a number of dental journals some of which may include reports of clinical trials in English, Portuguese and/or Spanish. Thus, SciELO could play an important role as a source of evidence for dental healthcare interventions especially if it yields a sizeable number of high quality reports. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify reports of clinical trials by handsearching of dental journals that are accessible through SciELO, and to assess the overall quality of these reports. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Electronic versions of six Brazilian dental Journals indexed in SciELO were handsearched at www.scielo.br in September 2008. Reports of clinical trials were identified and classified as controlled clinical trials (CCTs - prospective, experimental studies comparing 2 or more healthcare interventions in human beings) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs - a random allocation method is clearly reported), according to Cochrane eligibility criteria. CRITERIA TO ASSESS METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY INCLUDED: method of randomization, concealment of treatment allocation, blinded outcome assessment, handling of withdrawals and losses and whether an intention-to-treat analysis had been carried out. RESULTS: The search retrieved 33 CCTs and 43 RCTs. A majority of the reports provided no description of either the method of randomization (75.3%) or concealment of the allocation sequence (84.2%). Participants and outcome assessors were reported as blinded in only 31.2% of the reports. Withdrawals and losses were only clearly described in 6.5% of the reports and none mentioned an intention-to-treat analysis or any similar procedure. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that a substantial number of reports of trials and systematic reviews are available in the dental journals listed in SciELO, and that these could provide valuable evidence for clinical decision making. However, it is clear that the quality of a number of these reports is of some concern and that improvement in the conduct and reporting of these trials could be achieved if authors adhered to internationally accepted guidelines, e.g. the CONSORT statement.

Lack of Antilipoprotein Lipase Antibodies in Takayasu's Arteritis

Background. Antilipoprotein lipase (anti-LPL) antibodies were described in rheumatic diseases. In systemic lupus erythematosus they were highly associated with inflammatory markers and dyslipidemia, and may ultimately contribute to vascular damage. The relevance of this association in Takayasu's arteritis, which is characterized by major inflammatory process affecting vessels, has not been determined. Objectives. To analyze the presence of anti-LPL antibodies in patients with Takayasu's arteritis and its association with inflammatory markers and lipoprotein risk levels. Methods. Thirty sera from patients with Takayasu's arteritis, according to ACR criteria, were consecutively included. IgG anti-LPL was detected by a standard ELISA. Lipoprotein risk levels were evaluated according to NCEP/ATPIII. Inflammatory markers included ESR and CRP values. Results. Takayasu's arteritis patients had a mean age of 34 years old and all were females. Half of the patients presented high ESR and 60% elevated CRP. Lipoprotein NCEP risk levels were observed in approximately half of the patients: 53% for total cholesterol, 43% for triglycerides, 16% for HDL-c and 47% for LDL-c. In spite of the high frequency of dyslipidemia and inflammatory markers in these patients no anti-LPL were detected. Conclusions. The lack of anti-LPL antibodies in Takayasu's disease implies distinct mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia compared to systemic lupus erythematosus. Copyright (C) 2009 Jozelio Freire de Carvalho et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Afferent Connections to the Rostrolateral Part of the Periaqueductal Gray: A Critical Region Influencing the Motivation Drive to Hunt and Forage

Previous studies have shown that a particular site in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), the rostrolateral PAG, influences the motivation drive to forage or hunt. To have a deeper understanding on the putative paths involved in the decision-making process between foraging, hunting, and other behavioral responses, in the present investigation, we carried out a systematic analysis of the neural inputs to the rostrolateral PAG (rlPAG), using Fluorogold as a retrograde tracer. According to the present findings, the rlPAG appears to be importantly driven by medial prefrontal cortical areas involved in controlling attention-related and decision-making processes. Moreover, the rlPAG also receives a wealth of information from different amygdalar, hypothalamic, and brainstem sites related to feeding, drinking, or hunting behavioral responses. Therefore, this unique combination of afferent connections puts the rlPAG in a privileged position to influence the motivation drive to choose whether hunting and foraging would be the most appropriate adaptive responses. Copyright (C) 2009 Sandra Regina Mota-Ortiz et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

In silico analysis of candidate genes involved in light sensing and signal transduction pathways in soybean

Several aspects of photoperception and light signal transduction have been elucidated by studies with model plants. However, the information available for economically important crops, such as Fabaceae species, is scarce. In order to incorporate the existing genomic tools into a strategy to advance soybean research, we have investigated publicly available expressed sequence tag ( EST) sequence databases in order to identify Glycine max sequences related to genes involved in light-regulated developmental control in model plants. Approximately 38,000 sequences from open-access databases were investigated, and all bona fide and putative photoreceptor gene families were found in soybean sequence databases. We have identified G. max orthologs for several families of transcriptional regulators and cytoplasmic proteins mediating photoreceptor-induced responses, although some important Arabidopsis phytochrome-signaling components are absent. Moreover, soybean and Arabidopsis gene-family homologs appear to have undergone a distinct expansion process in some cases. We propose a working model of light perception, signal transduction and response-eliciting in G. max, based on the identified key components from Arabidopsis. These results demonstrate the power of comparative genomics between model systems and crop species to elucidate several aspects of plant physiology and metabolism.

UQ eSpace Poster

UQ eSpace (http://espace.uq.edu.au/) is The University of Queensland's institutional digital repository. The poster outlines all the different ways academic staff and postgraduate students can make use of the repository.

Impact of Commercial Search Engines and International Databases on Engineering Teaching and Research

For the last three decades, the engineering higher education and professional environments have been completely transformed by the "electronic/digital information revolution" that has included the introduction of personal computer, the development of email and world wide web, and broadband Internet connections at home. Herein the writer compares the performances of several digital tools with traditional library resources. While new specialised search engines and open access digital repositories may fill a gap between conventional search engines and traditional references, these should be not be confused with real libraries and international scientific databases that encompass textbooks and peer-reviewed scholarly works. An absence of listing in some Internet search listings, databases and repositories is not an indication of standing. Researchers, engineers and academics should remember these key differences in assessing the quality of bibliographic "research" based solely upon Internet searches.

Economics of Environmental Conservation

This fully updated and comprehensively revised edition of a classic text concentrates on the economics of conserving the living environment. It begins by covering the ethical foundations and basic economic paradigms’ essential for understanding and assessing ecological economics. General strategies for global environmental conservation, policies for government intervention, developing countries, preserving wildlife and biodiversity, open-access to and common property in natural resources, conservation of natural areas, forestry, agriculture and the environment, tourism, sustainable development and demographic change are also all covered.

Bioeconomic analysis of aquaculture's impact on wild stocks and biodiversity

Anderson theorizes that development of the aquaculture of a species of fish (also captured in an open-access fishery) favours the conservation of its wild stocks, if competitive market conditions prevail. However, this theory is shown to be subject to significant limitations. While this is less so within his model, it is particularly so in an extended one outlined here. The extended model allows for the possibility that aquaculture development can impact negatively on wild stocks thereby shifting the supply curve of the capture fishery, or raise the demand for the fish species subject both to aquaculture and capture. Such development can threaten wild stocks and their biodiversity. While aquaculture development could in principle have no impact on the biodiversity of wild stocks or even raise aquatic biodiversity overall, its impact in the long-term probably will be one of reducing aquatic diversity both in the wild and overall.

Property rights of landholders in non-captive wildlife and prospects for conservation

In order to reduce the rate of human-induced biodiversity loss of wild species, it has become increasingly important to stem this loss on private and tribal lands and to find effective policies to do this. Some writers believe that granting landholders commercial property rights in wildlife might be effective in dealing with this matter and result in the sustainable use of wildlife. This paper explores this view using economic theory. In doing so, it takes into account the total economic valuation concept. While granting of commercial property rights is found to be effective for conserving some species, it is predicted to be a complete failure as a means of conserving other species. In addition, particular attention is given to the economics of the utilisation and conservation of non-captive fugitive (or mobile) wildlife. The economic theory involved is contrasted and compared with that for the exploitation of open-access resources.

A flexible method for rapid force computation in elliptical magnets

The design of open-access elliptical cross-section magnet systems has recently come under consideration. Obtaining values for the forces generated within these unusual magnets is important to progress the designs towards feasible instruments. This paper presents a novel and flexible method for the rapid computation of forces within elliptical magnets. The method is demonstrated by the analysis of a clinical magnetic resonance imaging magnet of elliptical cross-section and open design. The analysis reveals the non-symmetric nature of the generated Maxwell forces, which are an important consideration, particularly in the design of superconducting systems.

Saberes em gest??o p??blica: um ambiente colaborativo de constru????o do conhecimento e de dissemina????o das inova????es em gest??o p??blica

Apresenta o SabeRES em Gest??o P??blica (www.saberes.seap.pr.gov.br), um reposit??rio institucional de acesso livre, aberto a todos os temas relativos ?? gest??o nas organiza????es p??blicas, com ampla tipologia multim??dia de documentos. Inserida no Movimento Mundial do Open Access, dos Recursos Educacionais Abertos e da Ecologia do Conhecimento (pol??tica de compartilhamento), a Escola de Governo do Paran?? desenvolveu, em 2008, um espa??o digital de armazenamento, preserva????o, divulga????o e acesso ?? produ????o do conhecimento em Gest??o P??blica. A metodologia constou de uma an??lise SWOT, seguida de planejamento gr??fico e estrutural, defini????o da arquitetura (conte??do e forma), constru????o da interface gr??fica com ferramenta XOOPS (software livre) e defini????o da ??rvore inicial de menus. Ap??s a constru????o da arquitetura da informa????o come??ou o treinamento da equipe para a gest??o e a manuten????o, a inser????o dos documentos (publica????es, artigos, v??deos, materiais de curso), a disponibiliza????o e a difus??o na Internet, a constitui????o de C??mara T??cnica para apreciar os documentos recebidos e a gest??o continuada do SabeRES. Definiu-se que no SabeRES em Gest??o P??blica ser??o inclu??das publica????es em gest??o p??blica de outros Estados, do Conselho Nacional de Secret??rios de Estado da Administra????o (CONSAD) e da Rede Nacional de Escolas de Governo. A tend??ncia ?? que num futuro pr??ximo seja poss??vel oportunizar o auto-arquivamento dos documentos, preenchendo os metadados relacionados ao seu tema. Al??m disso, espera-se que o sistema estabelecido pela Institui????o seja compat??vel e gere interoperabilidade com o portal de reposit??rios O??sis do Instituto Brasileiro de Informa????o em Ci??ncia e Tecnologia (IBICT) / Minist??rio da Ci??ncia e Tecnologia. Partindo do princ??pio que s?? se cria conhecimento novo a partir da informa????o que est?? acess??vel, com a cria????o do SabeRES em Gest??o P??blica amplia-se a visibilidade e a acessibilidade da produ????o do conhecimento, para que se produza cada vez mais e com mais qualidade

Saberes em gest??o p??blica: uma pr??tica de gest??o do conhecimento para as organiza????es

Neste paper, relata-se uma pr??tica de gest??o do conhecimento da Escola de Governo do Paran??: o SabeRES em Gest??o P??blica, um reposit??rio institucional de acesso livre que disponibiliza na Internet toda a produ????o t??cnica e cient??fica da Escola de Governo do Paran?? e de outras organiza????es de aprendizagem. Inicialmente discute-se a defini????o de conte??do e conhecimento, passando ao marco legal dos reposit??rios institucionais, com o Movimento Mundial Open Access. Em seguida, discute-se a tecnologia de software livre na cria????o de reposit??rios e as suas caracter??sticas e quais os sistemas de gest??o de conte??dos mais utilizados em open source. Na seq????ncia, apresenta-se a experi??ncia da Escola de Governo do Paran?? nas tr??s fases do SabeRES: na cria????o, na gest??o e na publica????o dos documentos. A metodologia utilizada constou de uma an??lise SWOT, seguida de planejamento gr??fico e estrutural, defini????o da arquitetura, constru????o da interface gr??fica com ferramenta XOOPS (software livre) e defini????o da ??rvore inicial de menus. O treinamento da equipe para a gest??o e manuten????o do reposit??rio foi imprescind??vel para a inser????o dos documentos e a disponibiliza????o do sistema na Internet. Por fim, uma C??mara T??cnica foi constitu??da para a aprecia????o dos materiais recebidos e para dar contribui????es de melhoria na gest??o do SabeRES.