We see ICT spillovers everywhere but in the econometric evidence: a reassessment

Using company-level data for the US we study the productivity effects of knowledge spillovers, induced by the diffusion of ICT in the markets where companies operate. We adopt multiple spillover proxies and account for firms' absorptive capacity and lagged effects. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect while the impact of inter-industry spillovers is positive. The overall productivity effect of ICT is negative, except for those companies with a strong absorptive capacity. However, after a 5-year lag the overall spillover effect turns positive while the role of absorptive capacity diminishes as a consequence of decreasing learning costs and more accessible technology

TREX-DM: a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection

Dark Matter experiments are recently focusing their detection techniques in low-mass WIMPs, which requires the use of light elements and low energy threshold. In this context, we describe the TREX-DM experiment, a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection. Its main goal is the operation of an active detection mass $\sim$0.3 kg, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee and fully built with previously selected radiopure materials. This work describes the commissioning of the actual setup situated in a laboratory on surface and the updates needed for a possible physics run at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) in 2016. A preliminary background model of TREX-DM is also presented, based on a Geant4 simulation, the simulation of the detector's response and two discrimination methods: a conservative muon/electron and one based on a neutron source. Based on this background model, TREX-DM could be competitive in the search for low-mass WIMPs. In particular it could be sensitive, e.g., to the low-mass WIMP interpretation of the DAMA/LIBRA and other hints in a conservative scenario.Comment: Proceedings of the XIV International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics (TAUP 2015), 7-11 September 2015, Torino, Ital

CMOS Receiver Front-End Architecture for High-Speed SI-POF Links

This works presents a new CMOS analog front-end for short-reach high-speed optical communications which compensates the limited bandwidth of POF channels and is suitable for the required large area photodetectorf The proposed pseudo-differential architecture, formed by a preamplifier and an equalizer, has been designed in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process with a 1-V supply voltage targeting gigabit transmission for NRZ modulation. The preamplifier is based on the flipped voltage follower stage to attain a very low input resistance in order to handle the large phodiode capacitance (3 pF). The equalizer can adjust the high-frequency boosting and the gain, to compensate for the variation of the characteristics of the channel due to length of the fiber, connections, etc. causing subtantial changes of the fiber bandwidth. Reliable electrical models are employed for a Mitsubishi GH SI-POF with 10-m to 50-m length and for a S5972 silicon photodiode from Hamamatsu suitable for such a fiber due to its large diameter (0.8 mm) and responsivity at 650 nm (0.44A/W). The bandwidth of the received signal can be enhanced from 100 MHz to 1.4 GHz and from 300 MHz to 1.4 GHz for a 50-m and 10-m POF respectively. The proposed circuit shows a transimpedance of 41.5 dBΩ while the theoretical sensitivity from noise performance is below -7.5 dBm with a BER = 10-12. The power consumption is below 16 mW from 1-V supply voltage. In conclusion it targets 1.25 Gbps through a 1-mm SI-POF up to 50-m length with a commercial Si PIN photodiode

Cell biophysical stimuli in lobodopodium formation: a computer based approach

Different cell migration modes have been identified in 3D environments, e.g., modes incorporating lamellopodia or blebs. Recently, a new type of cellular migration has been investigated: lobopodia-based migration, which appears only in three-dimensional matrices under certain conditions. The cell creates a protrusion through which the nucleus slips, dividing the cell into two parts (front and rear) with different hydrostatic pressures. In this work, we elucidate the mechanical conditions that favour this type of migration. One of the hypotheses about this type of migration is that it depends on the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix. That is, lobopodia-based migration is dependent on whether the extracellular matrix is linearly elastic or non-linearly elastic. To determine whether the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix are crucial in the choice of cell migration mode and which mechanotransduction mechanism the cell might use, we develop a finite element model. From our simulations, we identify two different possible mechanotransduction mechanisms that could regulate the cell to switch from a lobopodial to a lamellipodial migration mode. The first relies on a differential pressure increase inside the cytoplasm while the cell contracts, and the second relies on a change in the fluid flow direction in non-linearly elastic extracellular matrices but not in linearly elastic matrices. The biphasic nature of the cell has been determined to mediate this mechanism and the different behaviours of cells in linearly elastic and non-linearly elastic matrices

Finite Element Simulation of the Deformation of a Cell Driven by Creeping Flow

The purpose of this work is to calculate the deformation undergone by a cell in function of its nucleus size and mechanical properties. The cell immersed in a fluid go through a variable section channel and it is deformed by fluid forces.Cell deformation into the channel causes changes at the fluid velocity profile. This fluid configuration change results in diferent normal and viscous forces around the cell. Due to strong correlation between cell deformation and fluid velocity profile, a fluidsolid interacción (FSI) is required

We see ICT spillovers everywhere but in the econometric evidence: a reassessment

Using company-level data for the US we study the productivity effects of knowledge spillovers, induced by the diffusion of ICT in the markets where companies operate. We adopt multiple spillover proxies and account for firms' absorptive capacity and lagged effects. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect while the impact of inter-industry spillovers is positive. The overall productivity effect of ICT is negative, except for those companies with a strong absorptive capacity. However, after a 5-year lag the overall spillover effect turns positive while the role of absorptive capacity diminishes as a consequence of decreasing learning costs and more accessible technology

Las nuevas formas de «religión civil» en el espacio público

Throughout the centuries, societies have enjoyed religious homogeneity and there has been a great level of interdependence between society and the existing religious systems. However, as history progressed and modernization impregnated social foundations, religious practice has been changing due to the rise of secularization and criticism of traditional religious systems. This change has ushered in new forms of religious expression, which have in turn assumed quasireligious forms known as «civil religion». This phenomenon can be seen as a deliberate attempt made by several civil authorities to monopolize man’s natural religious dimension and to hog the public sphere.En la medida que ha ido avanzando la historia y la modernidad, la práctica religiosa ha ido variando paulatinamente, entrando en escena la secularización y la crítica hacia los sistemas religiosos tradicionales. Este cambio ha traído consigo nuevas formas de manifestación religiosa, que incluso han ido asumiendo formas pararreligiosas a modo de «religión civil». Se trata de un intento deliberado por parte de los distintos poderes civiles de monopolizar la dimensión religiosa del hombre y de acaparar el ámbito público

TREX-DM: a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low mass WIMP detection

Dark Matter experiments are recently focusing their detection techniques in low-mass WIMPs, which requires the use of light elements and low energy threshold. In this context, we present the TREX-DM experiment, a low background Micromegas-based TPC for low-mass WIMP detection. Its main goal is the operation of an active detection mass $\sim$0.300 kg, with an energy threshold below 0.4 keVee and fully built with previously selected radiopure materials. This article describes the actual setup, the first results of the comissioning in Ar+2\%iC$_4$H$_{10}$ at 1.2 bar and the future updates for a possible physics run at the Canfranc Underground Laboratory in 2016. A first background model is also presented, based on Geant4 simulations and a muon/electron discrimination method. In a conservative scenario, TREX-DM could be sensitive to DAMA/LIBRA and other hints of positive WIMPs signals, with some space for improvement with a neutron/electron discrimination method or the use of other light gases.Comment: Proceedings of the 7th Symposium on Large TPCs for Low-Energy Rare Event Detectio