An economic analysis of ischaemic heart disease in Switzerland

Aims Direct and indirect costs of ischaemic heart disease were assessed in Switzerland, for the period 1988-1993, in order to evaluate the economic consequences of more intensive treatment of the disease and of the decreasing mortality from ischaemic heart disease in the working population. Methods and Results A societal perspective was taken for a prevalence-based assessment of the direct (total resources consumed by outpatients and inpatients) and indirect (due to morbidity, invalidity, and premature death, using the human capital approach) costs. The results showed the total costs were 21 million US dollars per 100 000 population in the year 1993 (47% direct, 53% indirect costs). The largest components were the direct costs of inpatient care and indirect costs due to premature death (each approximately 25% of the total). Trends showed a large increase in direct costs (+9% per year, constant dollars). Indirect costs stabilized or decreased slightly due to the reduction of work losses. Conclusions Today's medicine and preventive measures have proven effective for ischaemic heart disease, although such remedies have required increasingly large financial resources. However, society benefits because indirect costs decrease, although this gain does not compensate for all direct cost

Algebraic lattice constellations: bounds on performance

In this work, we give a bound on performance of any full-diversity lattice constellation constructed from algebraic number fields. We show that most of the already available constructions are almost optimal in the sense that any further improvement of the minimum product distance would lead to a negligible coding gain. Furthermore, we discuss constructions, minimum product distance, and bounds for full-diversity complex rotated Z[i]/sup n/-lattices for any dimension n, which avoid the need of component interleaving

Effects of the Protein Kinase Inhibitor PKC412 on Gene Expression and Link to Physiological Effects in Zebrafish Danio rerio Eleuthero-Embryos

To identify molecular effects of the antineoplastic agent protein kinase C inhibitor 412 (PKC412) (midostaurin), we applied gene expression profiling in zebrafish using whole-genome microarrays. Behavioral, developmental, and physiological effects were investigated in order to analyze for correlations between altered gene expression profiles with effects on development and physiology. Zebrafish blastula-stage embryos were exposed for 6 days postfertilization to nominal levels of 2 and 40 μg/l PKC412. Among the 259 and 511 altered transcripts at both concentrations, respectively, the expressions of genes involved in the circadian rhythm were further investigated. Alteration of swimming behavior was not observed. Pathways of interest affected by PKC412 were angiogenesis, apoptosis, DNA damage response, and response to oxidative stress. Angiogenesis was analyzed in double-transgenic zebrafish embryos Tg(fli1a:EGFP)y1;Tg(gata1:dsRed)sd2; no major defects were induced by PKC412 treatment at both concentrations. Apoptosis occurred in olfactory placodes of embryos exposed to 40 μg/l, and DNA damage was induced at both PKC412 concentrations. However, there were no significant effects on reactive oxygen species formation. This study leads to the conclusion that PKC412-induced alterations of gene transcripts are partly paralleled by physiological effects at high, but not at low PKC412 concentrations expected to be of environmental relevanc

End-to-End Joint Antenna Selection Strategy and Distributed Compress and Forward Strategy for Relay Channels

Multi-hop relay channels use multiple relay stages, each with multiple relay nodes, to facilitate communication between a source and destination. Previously, distributed space-time codes were proposed to maximize the achievable diversity-multiplexing tradeoff, however, they fail to achieve all the points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff. In the presence of a low-rate feedback link from the destination to each relay stage and the source, this paper proposes an end-to-end antenna selection (EEAS) strategy as an alternative to distributed space-time codes. The EEAS strategy uses a subset of antennas of each relay stage for transmission of the source signal to the destination with amplify and forwarding at each relay stage. The subsets are chosen such that they maximize the end-to-end mutual information at the destination. The EEAS strategy achieves the corner points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (corresponding to maximum diversity gain and maximum multiplexing gain) and achieves better diversity gain at intermediate values of multiplexing gain, versus the best known distributed space-time coding strategies. A distributed compress and forward (CF) strategy is also proposed to achieve all points of the optimal diversity-multiplexing tradeoff for a two-hop relay channel with multiple relay nodes.Comment: Accepted for publication in the special issue on cooperative communication in the Eurasip Journal on Wireless Communication and Networkin

Computational design of dynamic receptor-peptide signaling complexes applied to chemotaxis.

Engineering protein biosensors that sensitively respond to specific biomolecules by triggering precise cellular responses is a major goal of diagnostics and synthetic cell biology. Previous biosensor designs have largely relied on binding structurally well-defined molecules. In contrast, approaches that couple the sensing of flexible compounds to intended cellular responses would greatly expand potential biosensor applications. Here, to address these challenges, we develop a computational strategy for designing signaling complexes between conformationally dynamic proteins and peptides. To demonstrate the power of the approach, we create ultrasensitive chemotactic receptor-peptide pairs capable of eliciting potent signaling responses and strong chemotaxis in primary human T cells. Unlike traditional approaches that engineer static binding complexes, our dynamic structure design strategy optimizes contacts with multiple binding and allosteric sites accessible through dynamic conformational ensembles to achieve strongly enhanced signaling efficacy and potency. Our study suggests that a conformationally adaptable binding interface coupled to a robust allosteric transmission region is a key evolutionary determinant of peptidergic GPCR signaling systems. The approach lays a foundation for designing peptide-sensing receptors and signaling peptide ligands for basic and therapeutic applications

Modulation strategy to minimize the reactive power in the AC-link of isolated three-port DC-DC converters

[EN] The isolated three-port DC-DC converter is of interest for hybrid energy storage systems due to its advantages of the bidirectional power flow control, step-up and step-down the voltage, and the operation under soft-switching mode. The conventional control of the power flow is carried out using a phase-shift between the voltages at the transformer terminals, which can generate high reactive power due to circulating current on the AC-link of the converter, and high efficiencies only in a limited operating range. To increase the performance over the whole operating range, this work proposes a modulation strategy that extends the soft-switching region and minimizes reactive power. This strategy applies a pulse width on the higher voltage DC port, maintaining traditional square wave modulation on the opposite port. To validate the strategy, results are presented for different power transfer scenarios.[ES] El convertidor CC-CC de tres puertos aislados es de interés para los sistemas de almacenamiento de energía híbridos por su capacidad para controlar los flujos de energía de manera bidireccional, aumentar y disminuir la tensión y la operación con conmutación suave. El control convencional del flujo de energía se realiza aplicando un desfase entre las tensiones a bornes del transformador, lo que puede generar una elevada potencia reactiva debida a la corriente de circulación en el enlace de CA del convertidor, consiguiéndose rendimientos elevados sólo en un rango de operación limitado. Para aumentar el rendimiento en todo el rango de operación, este trabajo propone una estrategia de modulación que extiende la región de conmutación suave y minimiza la potencia reactiva. Esta estrategia aplica un ancho de pulso en el puerto de mayor tensión de CC, manteniendo la modulación tradicional de onda cuadrada en el puerto opuesto. Para validar la estrategia, se presentan resultados para diferentes escenarios de transferencia de potencia.Este trabajo fue soportado por la Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica de la Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Argentina (SeCyT, UNRC), la Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (FONCyT, Argentina), la Red MEIHAPER CYTED y el proyecto PIN 04/I240 de la Universidad Nacional del Comahue.Troviano, M.; Piris-Botalla, LE.; Oggier, G. (2021). Estrategia de modulación para minimizar la potencia reactiva en el enlace de CA de convertidores CC-CC de tres puertos aislados. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 18(4):347-359. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2021.14612OJS347359184Bai, H., Mi, C., 2008. 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Modulation strategy to operate the dual active bridge dc-dc converter under soft switching in the whole operating range. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 26 (4), 1228-1236. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2010.2072966Oggier, G., Garcia, G., Oliva, A., 2013. Analysis of the influence of switching related parameters in the dab converter under soft-switching. Latin American Applied Research 43 (2), 121-129.Oggier, G., Piris-Botalla, L. E., Garcia, G., 2010. Soft-switching analysis for three-port bidirectional dc-dc converters. In: Industry Applications Conference. INDUSCON 9th IEEE/IAS. pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/INDUSCON.2010.5740014Piris-Botalla, L., Oggier, G., Airabella, A., Garcia, G., 2012. Analysis and evaluation of power switch losses for three-port bidirectional dc-dc converter. In: International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), 2012 IEEE. pp. 950-955. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIT.2012.6210061Piris-Botalla, L., Oggier, G., Airabella, A., Garcia, G., 2013. Power losses evaluation of a bidirectional three-port dc-dc converter for hybrid electric system. International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems (58), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2013.12.021Piris Botalla, L., Oggier, G., Garrido, D., Garcia, G., 2016. Auxiliary inductances design of a bidirectional three-port dc-dc converter. IEEE Latin America Transactions 14 (6), 2582-2587. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLA.2016.7555222Piris-Botalla, L., Oggier, G. G., Airabella, A. M., García, G. O., 2016. Extending the soft-switching operating range of a bidirectional three-port dc-dc converter. Revista Iberoamericana de Autom'atica e Inform'atica Industrial 13 (1), 127-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riai.2015.04.007Piris-Botalla, L., Oggier, G. G., Garcia, G. O., 2017. Extending the power transfer capability of a three-port dc-dc converter for hybrid energy storage systems. IET Power Electronics 10 (13), 1687-1697. https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-pel.2016.0422Purgat, P., Bandyopadhyay, S., Qin, Z., Bauer, P. G., 2020. Zero voltage switching criteria of triple active bridge converter. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 1-1. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2020.3027785Saadatizadeh, Z., Babaei, E., Blaabjerg, F., Cecati, C., 2021. Three-port high step-up and high step-down dc-dc converter with zero input current ripple. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 36 (2), 1804-1813. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2020.3007959Sharma, A., Sharma, S., 2019. Review of power electronics in vehicle-to-grid systems. Journal of Energy Storage 21, 337-361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2018.11.022Sun, Y., Pei, W., Jia, D., Zhang, G., Wang, H., Zhao, L., Feng, Z., 2020. Application of integrated energy storage system in wind power fluctuation mitigation. Journal of Energy Storage 32 (101835). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2020.101835Tao, H., Duarte, J., Hendrix, M., 2008a. Three-port triple-half-bridge bidirectional converter with zero-voltage switching. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 23 (2), 782 -792. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2007.915023Tao, H., Kotsopoulos, A., Duarte, J., Hendrix, M., 2008b. Transformer-coupled multiport zvs bidirectional dc-dc converter with wide input range. IEEE Transaction on Power Electronics 23, 771-781. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2007.915129Wang, L., Wang, Z., Li, H., 2012. Asymmetrical duty cycle control and decoupled power flow design of a three-port bidirectional dc-dc converter for fuel cell vehicle application. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 27 (2), 891-904. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2011.2160405Wu, H., Sun, K., Ding, S., Xing, Y., 2013. Topology derivation of nonisolated three-port dc-dc converters from dic and doc. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 28 (7), 3297-3307. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2012.2221746Wu, Y., Mahmud, M. H., Christian, S., Fantino, R. A., Gomez, R. A., Zhao, Y., Balda, J. C., 2020. A 150-kw 99% efficient all silicon carbide triple-active-bridge converter for solar-plus-storage systems. IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 1-1. https://doi.org/10.1109/JESTPE.2020.3044572Ye, Y., Nian, H., Kong, L., Zheng, D., 2019. Efficiency optimization strategy of three port triple active bridge dc-dc converter. In: 2019 22nd International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS). pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICEMS.2019.8921669Zhao, C., Round, S., J.W., K., 2008. An isolated three-port bidirectional dc-dc converter with decoupled power flow management. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 23 (5), 2443 -2453. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2008.2002056Zhou, H., Bhattacharya, T., Tran, D., Siew, T., Khambadkone, A., 2011. Composite energy storage system involving battery and ultracapacitor with dynamic energy management in microgrid applications. 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Platelet Ice Under Arctic Pack Ice in Winter

The formation of platelet ice is well known to occur under Antarctic sea ice, where subice platelet layers form from supercooled ice shelf water. In the Arctic, however, platelet ice formation has not been extensively observed, and its formation and morphology currently remain enigmatic. Here, we present the first comprehensive, long‐term in situ observations of a decimeter thick subice platelet layer under free‐drifting pack ice of the Central Arctic in winter. Observations carried out with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) during the midwinter leg of the MOSAiC drift expedition provide clear evidence of the growth of platelet ice layers from supercooled water present in the ocean mixed layer. This platelet formation takes place under all ice types present during the surveys. Oceanographic data from autonomous observing platforms lead us to the conclusion that platelet ice formation is a widespread but yet overlooked feature of Arctic winter sea ice growth

Secrecy capacity of a class of orthogonal relay eavesdropper channels

The secrecy capacity of relay channels with orthogonal components is studied in the presence of an additional passive eavesdropper node. The relay and destination receive signals from the source on two orthogonal channels such that the destination also receives transmissions from the relay on its channel. The eavesdropper can overhear either one or both of the orthogonal channels. Inner and outer bounds on the secrecy capacity are developed for both the discrete memoryless and the Gaussian channel models. For the discrete memoryless case, the secrecy capacity is shown to be achieved by a partial decode-and-forward (PDF) scheme when the eavesdropper can overhear only one of the two orthogonal channels. Two new outer bounds are presented for the Gaussian model using recent capacity results for a Gaussian multi-antenna point-to-point channel with a multi-antenna eavesdropper. The outer bounds are shown to be tight for two sub-classes of channels. The first sub-class is one in which the source and relay are clustered and the and the eavesdropper receives signals only on the channel from the source and the relay to the destination, for which the PDF strategy is optimal. The second is a sub-class in which the source does not transmit to the relay, for which a noise-forwarding strategy is optimal.Comment: Submitted to Eurasip Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking special issue on Wireless physical layer security, Dec. 2008, Revised Jun. 200

On the Transmit Beamforming for MIMO Wiretap Channels: Large-System Analysis

With the growth of wireless networks, security has become a fundamental issue in wireless communications due to the broadcast nature of these networks. In this work, we consider MIMO wiretap channels in a fast fading environment, for which the overall performance is characterized by the ergodic MIMO secrecy rate. Unfortunately, the direct solution to finding ergodic secrecy rates is prohibitive due to the expectations in the rates expressions in this setting. To overcome this difficulty, we invoke the large-system assumption, which allows a deterministic approximation to the ergodic mutual information. Leveraging results from random matrix theory, we are able to characterize the achievable ergodic secrecy rates. Based on this characterization, we address the problem of covariance optimization at the transmitter. Our numerical results demonstrate a good match between the large-system approximation and the actual simulated secrecy rates, as well as some interesting features of the precoder optimization.Comment: Published in Lecture Notes in Computer Science 8317, pp. 90-102, 2014. (Proceedings of International Conference on Information-Theoretic Security (ICITS), Singapore, November 2013