Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Monolithic Millimeter-Wave Air-Filled Waveguide Resonator for Filter Applications

This letter demonstrates the first successful realization of a monolithic wafer-level integrated air-filled waveguide resonator in the millimeter-wave W-band. The fabrication of the proposed design builds upon previously published processes by spin-coating two layers of thick positive resist to construct the waveguide channel. The fabricated design achieves an insertion loss of 2.12 dB, unloaded quality factor of 97.6, and 3-dB fractional bandwidth of 3.0% at the center frequency of 76.6 GHz. The proposed concept illustrates a new technique for integrated filter realization at such frequencies.
High-frequency investigation of planar transformers

Planar transformers are a novel type of devices used in integrated power systems. Having many advantages compared to classic wire wound technology; it's used to minimize size and weight and to increase their ability to withstand mechanical vibrations. For efficiency point of view, literature demonstrated that the power losses at high frequency of a given planar transformer are significant. However, a tradeoff between the power losses and the frequency of the transformer leads to various levels of optimization. So far, literature has not studied this issue. In our point of view, such a trade-off can be studied by an electromagnetic analysis. A Finite Element Method (FEM) is, however, used to give the planar transformer field and current density distributions windings and the simulations results are obtained. During verification process, simulation results are quite compared with those of Dowell method.
Fructose uptake and influence on growth of and nitrogen fixation by Anabaena variabilis

Fructose is specifically taken up by nitrogen-fixing cultures of Anabaena variabilis in the light and lowers the doubling time from 24 to 8 h. The kinetics for both fructose-dependent growth and fructose uptake are exponential. The apparent Km for fructose uptake in N2-fixing cultures is 160 microM for cells not previously exposed to fructose and 50 microM in cells adapted to fructose. Picomolar amounts of [14C]fructose are scavenged from the medium and accumulate in filaments. Heterocysts of fructose-adapted filaments accumulate 14C from fructose within 20 min. Short-term experiments with fructose-starved cultures provide evidence that nitrogenase activity, protein, and chlorophyll content change within one generation time upon addition of fructose. In long-term experiments, the amount of fructose initially present in the medium determines heterocyst number and packed-cell volume. Photosynthetic oxygen evolution and amounts of chlorophyll decrease with exogenous fructose concentrations greater than 20 mM.
Export Sector Contribution to Economic Growth in Zimbabwe: A Causality Analysis

Foreign currency reserves are of great significance to any developing country’s economic growth prospects. Exports have been for long decades regarded as a major source of foreign currency and a driving force for economic growth. This paper empirically examines the export-led growth paradigm for Zimbabwe using historical data from 1975 to 2013. The study uses unit root tests, cointegration analysis, Granger causality tests, vector auto regression (VAR), Vector Error Correction (VEC) and impulse response function (IRF) in the analysis. The study aims at determining whether GDP, exports and imports are cointegrated; whether exports Granger cause growth, and whether exports Granger cause investment. Using STATA, the study found that the variables were not stationary in levels, hence differencing them to attain stationarity. No cointegration was found among the variables, and the Granger causality tests indicated a one-way causality between GDP and exports. There is no strong evidence for short-run causality running from export growth to economic growth. However, the use of VEC model and IRFs reveals that a long-run relationship exists between exports and non-export GDP, thereby supporting an export-led growth. Possible policy implications are distilled which encourage policy makers to favour export diversification and global value chains in improving export competitiveness.
Multimodal multi-objective optimization: A preliminary study

In real world applications, there are many multi-objective optimization problems. Most existing multi-objective optimization algorithms focus on improving the diversity, spread and convergence of the solutions in the objective space. Few works study the distribution of solutions in the decision space. In practical applications, some multi-objective problems have different Pareto sets with the same objective values and these problems are defined as multimodal multi-objective optimization problems. It is of great significance to provide all the Pareto sets for the decision maker. This paper describes the concept of multimodal multi-objective optimization problems in detail. Novel test functions are also designed to judge the performance of different algorithms. Moreover, some existing multi-objective algorithms are tested and compared. Finally, a decision space based niching multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is proposed to solve these problems. The experimental results suggest that existing multi-objective optimization algorithms fail to find all the Pareto sets while the proposed algorithm is able to find almost all the Pareto sets without deteriorating the distribution of solutions in the objective space.
Short-lived shocks and aggregate productivity

When investment is partially irreversible, a short lived spike in the real interest rate can cause a decline in measured total factor productivity. The increased interest rate widens the inaction region, causing firms to be less responsive to productivity shocks and leading to a less effi cient allocation of capital. In 1982, the Chilean manufacturing sector suffered a large contraction following a spike in real interest rates and a large run up in real wages. I test the model using microdata on Chilean manufacturing firms with mixed success. The timing of changes in the dispersion of average product of capital is consistent with the model. I find that this increased dispersion has a substantial impact on total factor productivity, but is unlikely to be the main determinant of changes in TFP during the recession.
Clustering of Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors Modulates Tonic Inhibition in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons*

Tonic inhibition plays a crucial role in regulating neuronal excitability because it sets the threshold for action potential generation and integrates excitatory signals. Tonic currents are known to be largely mediated by extrasynaptic γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors that are persistently activated by submicromo-lar concentrations of ambient GABA. We recently reported that, in cultured hippocampal neurons, the clustering of synaptic GABAA receptors significantly affects synaptic transmission (Petrini, E. M., Zacchi, P., Barberis, A., Mozrzymas, J. W., and Cherubini, E. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 16271–16279). In this work, we demonstrated that the clustering of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors modulated tonic inhibition. Depolymerization of the cytoskeleton with nocodazole promoted the disassembly of extrasynaptic clusters of δ and γ2 subunit-containing GABAA receptors. This effect was associated with a reduction in the amplitude of tonic currents and diminished shunting inhibition. Moreover, diffuse GABAA receptors were less sensitive to the GAT-1 inhibitor NO-711 and to flurazepam. Quantitative analysis of GABA-evoked currents after prolonged exposure to submicromolar concentrations of GABA and model simulations suggest that clustering affects the gating properties of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors. In particular, a larger occupancy of the singly and doubly bound desensitized states can account for the modulation of tonic inhibition recorded after nocodazole treatment. Moreover, comparison of tonic currents recorded during spontaneous activity and those elicited by exogenously applied low agonist concentrations allows estimation of the concentration of ambient GABA. In conclusion, receptor clustering appears to be an additional regulating factor for tonic inhibition.
Productivity, Credit Constraints and the Role of Short-Run Localization Economies: Micro-Evidence from Italy

Ganau R. Productivity, credit constraints and the role of short-run localization economies: micro-evidence from Italy, Regional Studies. This paper investigates whether Italian manufacturing firms’ productivity is affected by credit constraints, and whether short-run localization economies foster productivity both directly and indirectly, moderating the negative effects of credit rationing via inter-firm credit relationships. Results suggest a negative effect of credit rationing on firms’ productivity, while a positive relationship exists between short-run localization economies and productivity. It emerges that location in an industrially concentrated area reduces firms’ investment-to-cash flow sensitivity, and that it positively moderates the negative effect of credit rationing on productivity. Moreover, the positive moderation effect seems to be increasing in the density of the local banking system.
The SONATA data format for efficient description of large-scale network models

Increasing availability of comprehensive experimental datasets and of high-performance computing resources are driving rapid growth in scale, complexity, and biological realism of computational models in neuroscience. To support construction and simulation, as well as sharing of such large-scale models, a broadly applicable, flexible, and high-performance data format is necessary. To address this need, we have developed the Scalable Open Network Architecture TemplAte (SONATA) data format. It is designed for memory and computational efficiency and works across multiple platforms. The format represents neuronal circuits and simulation inputs and outputs via standardized files and provides much flexibility for adding new conventions or extensions. SONATA is used in multiple modeling and visualization tools, and we also provide reference Application Programming Interfaces and model examples to catalyze further adoption. SONATA format is free and open for the community to use and build upon with the goal of enabling efficient model building, sharing, and reproducibility.
Telmisartan to prevent recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events.

BACKGROUND Prolonged lowering of blood pressure after a stroke reduces the risk of recurrent stroke. In addition, inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system in high-risk patients reduces the rate of subsequent cardiovascular events, including stroke. However, the effect of lowering of blood pressure with a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor soon after a stroke has not been clearly established. We evaluated the effects of therapy with an angiotensin-receptor blocker, telmisartan, initiated early after a stroke. METHODS In a multicenter trial involving 20,332 patients who recently had an ischemic stroke, we randomly assigned 10,146 to receive telmisartan (80 mg daily) and 10,186 to receive placebo. The primary outcome was recurrent stroke. Secondary outcomes were major cardiovascular events (death from cardiovascular causes, recurrent stroke, myocardial infarction, or new or worsening heart failure) and new-onset diabetes. RESULTS The median interval from stroke to randomization was 15 days. During a mean follow-up of 2.5 years, the mean blood pressure was 3.8/2.0 mm Hg lower in the telmisartan group than in the placebo group. A total of 880 patients (8.7%) in the telmisartan group and 934 patients (9.2%) in the placebo group had a subsequent stroke (hazard ratio in the telmisartan group, 0.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.86 to 1.04; P=0.23). Major cardiovascular events occurred in 1367 patients (13.5%) in the telmisartan group and 1463 patients (14.4%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.01; P=0.11). New-onset diabetes occurred in 1.7% of the telmisartan group and 2.1% of the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.65 to 1.04; P=0.10). CONCLUSIONS Therapy with telmisartan initiated soon after an ischemic stroke and continued for 2.5 years did not significantly lower the rate of recurrent stroke, major cardiovascular events, or diabetes. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00153062.)
Highly efficient and wideband digital quadrature transmitter

A digital quadrature transmitter employing RF DACs, with an array of class-D PA and a distributed capacitor power combiner, directly generates RF signal from digital I and Q signals. Employing a disable opposite cell technique on this RF DAC enables good performances. The measured drain efficiencies and total efficiencies of the implemented transmitter are 14.4/11.0/10.6% and 10.8/6.7/6.3% at peak output power of 7.87/0.26/-0.11 dBm for CW/LTE 5-MHz/LTE 10-MHz signals, respectively.
Signal Transduction in SARS‐CoV‐Infected Cells

Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly found infectious disease that is caused by a novel human coronavirus, SARS coronavirus (SARS‐CoV). Because the mortality rate of SARS patients is very high, understanding the pathological mechanisms of SARS not only in vivo but in vitro is important for the prevention of SARS. Activation of signaling pathways caused by SARS‐CoV infection leads to the phosphorylation and activation of downstream molecules. Two conflicting cellular programs, apoptosis to eliminate virus‐infected cells and survival to delay apoptosis by producing antiviral cytokines, occur in SARS patients. Recent studies regarding SARS and SARS‐CoV have clarified that activation of mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) plays important roles in upregulation of cytokine expression and apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. Both Akt and p38 MAPK are keys for determination of cell survival or death in SARS‐CoV‐infected cells in vitro. Agents being developed to target these signaling cascades may be important for the design of anti‐SARS‐CoV drugs. This review highlights recent progress regarding SARS‐CoV biology, especially signal transduction in SARS‐CoV‐infected cells.
Une photographie du marché du travail en 2013

En 2013, 25,8 millions de personnes ont un travail et 2,8 millions sont au chomage au sens du BIT. Plus des trois quarts des emplois sont occupes dans le secteur tertiaire. Pres de neuf actifs occupes sur dix sont des salaries, la plupart d’entre eux beneficiant d’un contrat a duree indeterminee. Le sous-emploi, qui touche plus particulierement les femmes et les jeunes, progresse de 0,4 point en 2013 pour atteindre 6,5 % des actifs occupes. Le chomage s’etablit en moyenne a 9,8 % des actifs en 2013, en hausse de 0,4 point sur un an. La degradation observee sur ces deux dernieres annees a davantage affecte les hommes, dont le taux de chomage a depasse celui des femmes. En 2013, en ajoutant les chomeurs au « halo » autour du chomage, 4,1 millions de personnes sont sans emploi et souhaitent travailler.
IFN‐γ enhances neurogenesis in wild‐type mice and in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

The generation of new neurons and glia from a precursor stem cell appears to take place in the adult brain. However, new neurons generated in the dentate gyrus decline sharply with age and to an even greater extent in neurodegenerative diseases. Here we raise the question whether peripheral immune mechanisms can generate immunity to such deficits in neuronal repair. We demonstrate that in contrast to primarily innate immunity cytokines, such as interleukin‐6 and tumor necrosis factor‐α, the adaptive immunity cytokine IFN‐γ enhances neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult mice and improves the spatial learning and memory performance of the animals. In older mice, the effect of IFN‐γ is more pronounced in both wild‐type mice and mice with Alzheimer's‐like disease and is associated with neuroprotection. In addition, IFN‐γ reverses the increase in oligodendrogenesis observed in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. We demonstrate that limited amounts of IFN‐γ in the brain shape the neuropoietic milieu to enhance neurogenesis, possibly representing the normal function of the immune system in controlling brain inflammation and repair. —Baron, R. , Nemirovsky, A. , Harpaz, I. , Cohen, H. , Owens, T. , Monsonego, A. IFN‐γ enhances neurogenesis in wild‐type mice and in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. FASEB J. 22, 2843–2852 (2008)
Caution in cryptotephra correlation: resolving Lateglacial chemical controversies at Sluggan Bog, Northern Ireland

Tephra layers are valuable stratigraphic and chronological markers in palaeoenviromental studies. Establishing robust linkages requires complete comparative databases of eruptive events to ensure that potential correlatives are not overlooked. This is achieved through the construction of tephrostratigraphical inventories from exposures proximal to the volcanic source. Proximally characterized ash layers are frequently detected thousands of kilometres from source alongside a limited number of tephras with no apparent proximal correlative. Despite the inability to correlate with a specific eruption, source volcanoes can be proposed and many of these far‐field occurrences have become well‐established stratigraphic markers. However, careful scrutiny is essential to verify the primary and instantaneous fallout origin of these distant occurrences. Here we present new data which provide an explanation for the long‐standing controversy surrounding the source of Lateglacial age cryptotephras within Sluggan Bog, Northern Ireland. Chemical analysis of glass shards detected within this sequence suggests they originate from an obsidian exposure located 11 km from the site, rather than from a contemporaneous eruptive event. This discovery highlights the importance of giving appropriate consideration to the enclosing geology of a particular palaeorecord. We suggest locations where geological sources might complicate air‐fall records of tephra deposition and propose a means by which to address this challenge.
A New Compatible Remeshing Approach for 3D Face Construction and Expression Clone

This paper presents a new compatible remeshing approach, by morphing with Radial Basis Function based on approximate geodesic distance (G-RBF) followed by a mesh optimization to generate compatible meshes efficiently while approximating the input target geometry accurately. To test the proposed approach, a prototype is implemented to clone expressions onto the personalized 3D face model. A PCA based reconstruction algorithm is employed firstly to reconstruct a personalized 3D face model. Then, a personalized cartoon model is obtained by morphing and blending of the existing cartoon model and the 3D face model using the proposed compatible remeshing algorithm. Finally, an efficient expression cloning algorithm based on compatible remeshing is presented to clone the existing facial animation onto the personalized cartoon model. The proposed technique is useful for a wide range of applications, such as computer games, animation films and online avatars. Index Terms - morphing, shape blending, motion retargeting, 3D face reconstruction
Interleukin‐10 promoter polymorphisms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus from the Canary Islands

The purpose of this study was to examine whether several allelic variants in the polymorphic interleukin (IL)‐10 promoter region were related with an increased risk of developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Spanish patients from Canary Islands. Microsatellites (MS) at positions –4000 and –1200 (IL10R and IL10G, respectively) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (MS) at positions –1082G/A, –819C/T and –592C/A of the IL‐10 promoter were analysed in patients with SLE and healthy controls from Canary Islands (Spain). We found that SNPs but not MS were associated with SLE. The GCC haplotype frequency was significantly higher in SLE patients (0.43) than in healthy donors (0.33) [P = 0.02; OR = 1.50 (95% CI = 1.06–2.14)], whereas the ACC haplotype was less represented in patients (0.28 vs. 0.37) [P = 0.02; OR = 0.64 (95% CI = 0.44–0.92)]. To assess the functional role of genotypes, serum IL‐10 levels from patients and controls were quantified by ELISA. Also, the lipopolysaccharide‐induced IL‐10 secretion by monocytes from healthy controls was evaluated in vitro. Serum IL‐10 levels were higher in patients [median (interquartile range) = 2.8 pg/mL (1.8–4.2)] than in controls [0.9 pg/mL (0–3.5)] (P = 0.02), but no association was observed between serum IL‐10 levels or lipopolysaccharide‐induced IL‐10 secretion and the IL‐10 promoter haplotypes. These data suggest that the IL‐10 promoter haplotype that produces higher levels of cytokine is associated with SLE in patients from Canary Islands.
Long term neuropsychological outcome after head injury: relation to APOE genotype

Background: Existing evidence suggests that some patients who sustain a head injury suffer cognitive decline many years later, and that head injury and possession of the APOE ε4 allele are each risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Objective: To determine whether late cognitive decline after head injury is more prevalent among carriers of APOE ε4. Methods: A database of head injured patients was used. Initial assessment was at the time of their injury, between 1968 and 1985, and outcome data at six months were available. Their ages at the time of injury ranged between 2 and 70 years. A cohort of 396 subjects was reassessed at a mean of 18 years later, with determination of APOE genotype and detailed neuropyschological testing. Results: Judging by the Glasgow outcome scale, twice as many patients had deteriorated as improved between six months after injury and the late assessment; 22.2% of APOE ε4 carriers had a good late outcome compared with 30.5% of non-carriers (95% confidence interval for the difference, −0.7% to 17.2%; p = 0.084). There were no clear differences between ε4 carriers and non-carriers in detailed neuropsychological assessments. Conclusions: Although this study provides additional evidence that a late decline may occur after head injury, there was no clear relation to APOE genotype. Despite the follow up interval of 15 to 25 years, the cohort is still too young (mean age 42.1 years) to assess the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.