A Fully Integrated 24-GHz Eight-Element Phased-Array Receiver in Silicon

This paper reports the first fully integrated 24-GHz eight-element phased-array receiver in a SiGe BiCMOS technology. The receiver utilizes a heterodyne topology and the signal combining is performed at an IF of 4.8 GHz. The phase-shifting with 4 bits of resolution is realized at the LO port of the first down-conversion mixer. A ring LC voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) generates 16 different phases of the LO. An integrated 19.2-GHz frequency synthesizer locks the VCO frequency to a 75-MHz external reference. Each signal path achieves a gain of 43 dB, a noise figure of 7.4 dB, and an IIP3 of -11 dBm. The eight-path array achieves an array gain of 61 dB and a peak-to-null ratio of 20 dB and improves the signal-to-noise ratio at the output by 9 dB

Off-diagonal Yukawa Couplings in the s-channel Charged Higgs Production at LHC

The search for the heavy charged Higgs (mH+ > mtop) has been mainly based on the off-shell top pair production process. However, resonance production in s-channel single top events is an important channel to search for this particle. In a previous work, it was shown that this process, i.e., qq' -> H+ -> tb + h.c., can lead to comparable results to what is already obtained from LHC searches through gb -> tH- process. What was obtained was, however, based on diagonal Yukawa couplings between incoming quarks assuming cs as the main incoming pair due to the CKM matrix element being close to unity. The aim of this paper is to show that off-diagonal couplings, like cb, may lead to substantial contributions to the cross section, even if the corresponding CKM matrix element is two orders of magnitude smaller. For this reason, the cross section is calculated for each initial state including all diagonal and off-diagonal terms, and all is finally added together to get the total cross section which is observed to be ~ 2.7 times larger than what is obtained from cs initial state. Results are eventually reflected into 95% C.L. exclusion and $5\sigma$ discovery contours at different integrated luminosities of LHC. A reasonable coverage of the parameter space is obtained by the 95% C.L. exclusion contour.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

A 24-GHz SiGe Phased-Array Receiver—LO Phase-Shifting Approach

A local-oscillator phase-shifting approach is introduced to implement a fully integrated 24-GHz phased-array receiver using an SiGe technology. Sixteen phases of the local oscillator are generated in one oscillator core, resulting in a raw beam-forming accuracy of 4 bits. These phases are distributed to all eight receiving paths of the array by a symmetric network. The appropriate phase for each path is selected using high-frequency analog multiplexers. The raw beam-steering resolution of the array is better than 10 [degrees] for a forward-looking angle, while the array spatial selectivity, without any amplitude correction, is better than 20 dB. The overall gain of the array is 61 dB, while the array improves the input signal-to-noise ratio by 9 dB

ESSAYS ON SALES FORCE TURNOVER AND JOB SATISFACTION

Salespeople are among the most valuable resources of a firm. The salesperson’s roles in value realization includes translating a firm’s offerings into financial and relational rewards, co-creating value with customers, and forming and maintaining business relationships. Thus, retaining salespeople and enhancing their job satisfaction are among the top priorities of managers and the focus of this dissertation. This dissertation presents three essays in sales management. Essay 1 provides a quantitative synthesis of turnover literature using meta-analytical methods. Using 129 samples of 36,436 salespeople, this study conceptualizes the antecedents of salesperson turnover into 30 unique groups and presents a bivariate meta-analysis of the relationships between these antecedents and turnover. In addition, the study provides moderation analyses of contextual, methodological, and measurement factors and tests the top three turnover theories applied in the literature: job demands–resources, social exchange, and social identity theories. The bivariate analyses highlight the importance of emotional exhaustion and trust in supervisors in turnover decisions among salespeople. The moderation analyses reveal that, compared with nonsales employees, for salespeople, performance has twice the impact on actual turnover. The analyses also provide evidence for the distinction between turnover intention and action, suggesting a need for fresh theory development in the field. The study concludes by outlining future research directions at the individual, team, and organizational levels. Essay 2 focuses on the importance of salesforce job satisfaction from a measurement perspective. Job Satisfaction (JS) is a key construct in sales literature, yet recently researchers warned that studies have confounded affective and cognitive elements in JS measures. This study examines the impact of this issue through meta-analytical methods. Building on Affective Event Theory (AET) and using 173 samples of 53,755 salespeople, this study theoretically examines the role of the level of affect and cognition in the measures of JS on the relationship between JS and its antecedents and consequences. The results indicate that the level of affect in a JS measure moderates the relationship between JS and dispositional traits as well as extra-role performance, while the level of cognition in the JS measure moderates the relationship between JS and sales force turnover. The findings contribute to JS literature and call for robust conceptualization and measurement of JS. Essay 3 introduces a new theory and framework for understanding turnover decisions. Drawing on ideas from the migration literature and building on Rational Choice Theory, the study examines the forces that push, pull or moor salespeople to/from a sales role and shape turnover decision. This framework also incorporates the attractiveness of alternative employment opportunities, an often overlooked aspect in current sales force turnover research. The findings show that the relationship with one\u27s manager and social norms of trust and procedural justice play a significant role in shaping the push and pull factors. Our research also reveals that the impact of alternative employers on turnover decisions is influenced by the level of trust an employee has in their manager. Furthermore, our study suggests that an increase in perceived procedural justice weakens the relationship between distributive justice and the intention to leave one\u27s current job

Avestan architecture: a descriptive etymological lexicon

The Avesta could be considered as the most important masterpiece of ancient literature of Iran and its older parts as the oldest belletristic exploits. The importance of Avesta is firstly in its religious value and its sanctity and secondly in the picture it draws for us of ancient Iran. On the other hand, architecture is the greatest aspect of art and a very old one. Not many people have analyzed or interpreted the ancient Iranian texts in the context of architecture. In this research, the focus was on viewing the ancient Architecture of Iran through the Avesta, which was definitely used for religious purposes at that time. There is no doubt that nowadays, centuries after the era of Avesta, there is a huge difference between our modern architecture and the Avestan architecture. The main goal of this research was making a descriptive and etymological lexicon on Avestan architecture. Therefore, firstly every single vocabulary was studied etymologically, discussed literary and also given one example of the use of it in the Avesta. Finally, the authors have reached the conclusion that the Ahuramazda versus Ahriman fight can even be traced in the ancient architecture of Iran and its architectural descriptions, which can be studied more in the future

Integrated phased array systems in silicon

Silicon offers a new set of possibilities and challenges for RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave applications. While the high cutoff frequencies of the SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors and the ever-shrinking feature sizes of MOSFETs hold a lot of promise, new design techniques need to be devised to deal with the realities of these technologies, such as low breakdown voltages, lossy substrates, low-Q passives, long interconnect parasitics, and high-frequency coupling issues. As an example of complete system integration in silicon, this paper presents the first fully integrated 24-GHz eight-element phased array receiver in 0.18-μm silicon-germanium and the first fully integrated 24-GHz four-element phased array transmitter with integrated power amplifiers in 0.18-μm CMOS. The transmitter and receiver are capable of beam forming and can be used for communication, ranging, positioning, and sensing applications

Association of tRNAThr 15927G→A Mutation with the Incidence of Coronary Artery Disease

One of the leading causes of death in the world are cardiovascular diseases, among which coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common one. It occurs as a result of narrowing of the arteries which supply blood to the heart due to a theroma plaque formation. This kind of heart disease can be considered as a multifactorial one as genetic and environmental factors are involved in its incidence. The already conducted studies have investigated the relationship between some of polymorphisms in different loci and CAD with the aim of on-time diagnosis of this disease, which may lead to its prevention and appropriate treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the association of tRNA Thr 15927 G → A mutation with the risk of CAD incidence to offer programs for early diagnosis and treatment of this disease in Iran. Fifty patients with CAD were included in the patient group, and fifty healthy participants were selected for the control group. 5mL of peripheral blood samples drawn from subjects in patient and control groups were collected in the tubes containing Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). After DNA extraction from blood with the employment of DNA extraction kit, its quality and quantity were measured using electrophoresis and NanoDrop devices, respectively. Then, the isolated DNA with the implementation of  amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS)  and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques was examined to determine and evaluate the target polymorphism in the intended locus. Sequencing method was also used to confirm the findings. To this end, 4 samples were randomly selected and sequenced.In the control group, 6 screened patients had the mutation while the others did not. Similar result was observed in the patient group. The findings of the present study reveal that there was not any significant relationship between tRNAThr 15927G → A mutation and risk of CAD incidence