Digit-Level Serial-In Parallel-Out Multiplier Using Redundant Representation for a Class of Finite Fields

Two digit-level finite field multipliers in F2m using redundant representation are presented. Embedding F2m in cyclotomic field F2(n) causes a certain amount of redundancy and consequently performing field multiplication using redundant representation would require more hardware resources. Based on a specific feature of redundant representation in a class of finite fields, two new multiplication algorithms along with their pertaining architectures are proposed to alleviate this problem. Considering area-delay product as a measure of evaluation, it has been shown that both the proposed architectures considerably outperform existing digit-level multipliers using the same basis. It is also shown that for a subset of the fields, the proposed multipliers are of higher performance in terms of area-delay complexities among several recently proposed optimal normal basis multipliers. The main characteristics of the postplace&route application specific integrated circuit implementation of the proposed multipliers for three practical digit sizes are also reported

A Low-Power Two-Digit Multi-dimensional Logarithmic Number System Filterbank Architecture for a Digital Hearing Aid

This paper addresses the implementation of a filterbank for digital hearing aids using a multi-dimensional logarithmic number system (MDLNS). The MDLNS, which has similar properties to the classical logarithmic number system (LNS), provides more degrees of freedom than the LNS by virtue of having two, or more, orthogonal bases and the ability to use multiple MDLNS components or digits. The logarithmic properties of the MDLNS also allow for reduced complexity multiplication and large dynamic range, and a multiple-digit MDLNS provides a considerable reduction in hardware complexity compared to a conventional LNS approach. We discuss an improved design for a two-digit 2D MDLNS filterbank implementation which reduces power and area by over two times compared to the original design

A randomized trial of glutamine and antioxidants in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Critically ill patients have considerable oxidative stress. Glutamine and antioxidant supplementation may offer therapeutic benefit, although current data are conflicting. METHODS: In this blinded 2-by-2 factorial trial, we randomly assigned 1223 critically ill adults in 40 intensive care units (ICUs) in Canada, the United States, and Europe who had multiorgan failure and were receiving mechanical ventilation to receive supplements of glutamine, antioxidants, both, or placebo. Supplements were started within 24 hours after admission to the ICU and were provided both intravenously and enterally. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality. Because of the interim-analysis plan, a P value of less than 0.044 at the final analysis was considered to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: There was a trend toward increased mortality at 28 days among patients who received glutamine as compared with those who did not receive glutamine (32.4% vs. 27.2%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.64; P=0.05). In-hospital mortality and mortality at 6 months were significantly higher among those who received glutamine than among those who did not. Glutamine had no effect on rates of organ failure or infectious complications. Antioxidants had no effect on 28-day mortality (30.8%, vs. 28.8% with no antioxidants; adjusted odds ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.40; P=0.48) or any other secondary end point. There were no differences among the groups with respect to serious adverse events (P=0.83). CONCLUSIONS: Early provision of glutamine or antioxidants did not improve clinical outcomes, and glutamine was associated with an increase in mortality among critically ill patients with multiorgan failure. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00133978.)

Eusociality and Senescence: Neuroprotection and Physiological Resilience to Aging in Insect and Mammalian Systems.

Are eusociality and extraordinary aging polyphenisms evolutionarily coupled? The remarkable disparity in longevity between social insect queens and sterile workers-decades vs. months, respectively-has long been recognized. In mammals, the lifespan of eusocial naked mole rats is extremely long-roughly 10 times greater than that of mice. Is this robustness to senescence associated with social evolution and shared mechanisms of developmental timing, neuroprotection, antioxidant defenses, and neurophysiology? Focusing on brain senescence, we examine correlates and consequences of aging across two divergent eusocial clades and how they differ from solitary taxa. Chronological age and physiological indicators of neural deterioration, including DNA damage or cell death, appear to be decoupled in eusocial insects. In some species, brain cell death does not increase with worker age and DNA damage occurs at similar rates between queens and workers. In comparison, naked mole rats exhibit characteristics of neonatal mice such as protracted development that may offer protection from aging and environmental stressors. Antioxidant defenses appear to be regulated differently across taxa, suggesting independent adaptations to life history and environment. Eusocial insects and naked mole rats appear to have evolved different mechanisms that lead to similar senescence-resistant phenotypes. Careful selection of comparison taxa and further exploration of the role of metabolism in aging can reveal mechanisms that preserve brain functionality and physiological resilience in eusocial species