Changing Effects of Monetary Policy in the U.S. –Evidence from a Time-Varying Coefficient VAR

We estimate a time-varying coefficient VAR model for the U.S. economy to analyse (i) if the effect of monetary policy on output has been changing systematically over time, and (ii) if monetary policy has asymmetric effects over the business cycle. We find that the impact of monetary policy shocks has been gradually declining over the sample period (1962-2002), as some theories of the monetary transmission mechanism imply. In addition, our results indicate that the effects of monetary policy are greater in a recession than in a boom.

The value of [18F]FDG-PET in the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis and the assessment of activity and extent of disease

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG-PET) in the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitis and the assessment of activity and extent of disease. Methods: Twenty-six consecutive patients (21 females, 5 males; median age -years, range 17-86years) with giant cell arteritis or Takayasu's arteritis were examined with [18F]FDG-PET. Follow-up scans were performed in four patients. Twenty-six age- and gender-matched controls (21 females, 5 males; median age 71years, range 17-86years) were included. The severity of large-vessel [18F]FDG uptake was visually graded using a four-point scale. C-reactive protein (CRP) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were measured and correlated with [18F]FDG-PET results by logistic regression. Results: [18F]FDG-PET revealed pathological findings in 18 of 26 patients. Three scans were categorised as grade I, 12 as grade II and 3 as grade III arteritis. Visual grade was significantly correlated with both CRP and ESR levels (p=0.002 and 0.007 respectively; grade I: CRP 4.0mg/l, ESR 6mm/h; grade II: CRP 37mg/l, ESR 46mm/h; grade III: CRP 172mg/l, ESR 90mm/h). Overall sensitivity was 60% (95% CI 40.6-77.3%), specificity 99.8% (95% CI 89.1-100%), positive predictive value 99.7% (95% CI 77-100%), negative predictive value 67.9% (95% CI 49.8-80.9%) and accuracy 78.6% (95% CI 65.6-88.4%). In patients presenting with a CRP <12mg/l or an ESR <12mm/h, logistic regression revealed a sensitivity of less than 50%. In patients with high CRP/ESR levels, sensitivity was 95.5%/80.7%. Conclusion: [18F]FDG-PET is highly effective in assessing the activity and the extent of large-vessel vasculitis. Visual grading was validated as representing the severity of inflammation. Its use is simple and provides high specificity, while high sensitivity is achieved by scanning in the state of active inflammatio

High‐Resolution Printed Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Based Strain Sensor for Impact Sensing

The strongly growing interest in digitalizing society requires simple and reliable strain-sensing concepts. In this work, a highly sensitive stretchable sensor is presented using a straightforward and scalable printing method. The piezoresistive sensor consists of conductive core–shell microspheres embedded in an elastomer. As the elastomer, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is employed as an efficient and cost-effective alternative compared to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). EVA allows for a significantly lower percolation threshold and low hysteresis compared with PDMS. Using 35 µm microspheres, a detection limit of 0.01% is achieved. When using 4 µm microspheres, the sensor shows a detection limit of 0.015% and electromechanical robustness against 1000 cycles of 0–1% strain. The stretchable strain sensor is successfully implemented as an impact sensor and a diaphragm expansion monitoring sensor. Fast (20 ms) and high-resolution response as well as mechanical robustness to strain values greater than the linear working range of the sensor are demonstrated. The results of this research indicate the promising potential of employing conductive microspheres embedded in the EVA matrix for fast and precise strain detection applications

Quantum Circuit Compiler for a Shuttling-Based Trapped-Ion Quantum Computer

The increasing capabilities of quantum computing hardware and the challenge of realizing deep quantum circuits require fully automated and efficient tools for compiling quantum circuits. To express arbitrary circuits in a sequence of native gates specific to the quantum computer architecture, it is necessary to make algorithms portable across the landscape of quantum hardware providers. In this work, we present a compiler capable of transforming and optimizing a quantum circuit targeting a shuttling-based trapped-ion quantum processor. It consists of custom algorithms set on top of the quantum circuit framework Pytket. The performance was evaluated for a wide range of quantum circuits and the results show that the gate counts can be reduced by factors up to 5.1 compared to standard Pytket and up to 2.2 compared to standard Qiskit compilation.Comment: 35 pages, 25 figures, 4 tables, accepted in Quantu

Primary B Cell Lymphoma of the CNS Mimicking Anti-LGI1 Limbic Encephalitis

Limbic encephalitis is a potentially paraneoplastic type of encephalitis mainly involving the limbic system. Recently, diagnostic criteria comprising clinical presentation as well as imaging, laboratory and electrophysiological findings have been established. Here, we show that incipient primary central nervous system lymphoma can closely resemble limbic encephalitis including positive testing for anti-LGI1 antibodies illustrating the need for thorough interpretation of initial laboratory and radiologic findings and tight follow-up examinations