UK term structure decompositions at the zero lower bound

This paper employs a zero lower bound (ZLB) consistent shadow‐rate model to decompose UK nominal yields into expectation and term premium components. Compared to a standard affine term structure model, it performs relatively better in a ZLB setting by capturing the stylized facts of the yield curve. The ZLB model is then exploited to estimate inflation expectations and risk premiums. This entails jointly pricing and decomposing nominal and real UK yields. We find evidence that medium‐ and long‐term inflation expectations are contained within narrower bounds since the early 1990s, suggesting monetary policy credibility improved after the introduction of inflation targeting

Electrode-dependent asymmetric conduction mechanisms in K0.5Na0.5NbO3 micro-capacitors

The ultimate performance of devices employing lead-free piezoelectrics is determined not only by the intrinsic properties of the piezo, but also by processes and materials employed to create the electric contacts. In this paper, we investigate the impact of different metallic electrodes with increasing chemical reactivity (Pt, Ni, Ti, Cr), on the asymmetric behavior of the leakage current in M/K0.5Na0.5NbO3/Pt(111) micro-capacitors, where M stands for the top metallic electrode. For all electrodes we found a marked leakage asymmetry that we ascribed to the presence of a Schottky-like rectifying junction at the M/K0.5Na0.5NbO3/Pt(111) bottom interface, while the corresponding junction at the top interface is deeply affected by the creation of oxygen vacancies due to oxygen scavenging during the growth of the top metallic electrodes, leading to an almost ohmic top contact. The leakage increases with the reactivity of the electrodes, while the asymmetry decreases, thus suggesting that the creation of the top metal/K0.5Na0.5NbO3 interface generates oxygen vacancies diffusing down to the bottom interface and impacting on the rectifying behavior of the Schottky-like junction. Noteworthy, this asymmetric conduction can reflect in an asymmetric piezoelectric and ferroelectric behavior, as a sizable portion of the applied voltage drops across the rectifying junction in reverse bias, thus hampering symmetric bipolar operation, especially in leaky materials

Cutting edge: IgE plays an active role in tumor immunosurveillance in mice

Exogenous IgE acts as an adjuvant in tumor vaccination in mice, and therefore a direct role of endogenous IgE in tumor immunosurveillance was investigated. By using genetically engineered mice, we found that IgE ablation rendered mice more susceptible to the growth of transplantable tumors. Conversely, a strengthened IgE response provided mice with partial or complete resistance to tumor growth, depending on the tumor type. By genetic crosses, we showed that IgE-mediated tumor protection was mostly lost in mice lacking FceRI. Tumor protection was also lost after depletion of CD8+ T cells, highlighting a cross-Talk between IgE and T cell- mediated tumor immunosurveillance. Our findings provide the rationale for clinical observations that relate atopy with a lower risk for developing cancer and open new avenues for the design of immunotherapeutics relevant for clinical oncology. The Journal of Immunology, 2016, 197: 2583-2588

La disfagia nell\u2019Ictus: analisi della nostra esperienza clinica.

La disfagia orofaringea, intesa come difficolt\ue0 del passaggio del bolo alimentare nelle strutture oro-faringee, ha un incidenza tra il 30-47% nei pazienti affetti da esiti di ictus cerebrale (Finestone, 2000; Burlato et al., 2003).Essa \ue8 pi\uf9 frequente nella prima settimana dopo l\u2019evento ictale (29%-64%), e la sua incidenza diminuisce progressivamente nella seconda-terza settimana (47%) per ridursi al 17% a due-quattro mesi dall\u2019evento acuto (Maronian N et al., 2003). Le complicanze pi\uf9 usuali a cui possono andare incontro i pazienti con disfagia sono la disidratazione, la malnutrizione e la polmonite da aspirazione (Westergren et al., 2001). Tali complicanze possono ostacolare i tempi e la qualit\ue0 del recupero funzionale e motorio dei pazienti. Ne consegue l\u2019importanza di una valutazione clinico-strumentale precoce (gi\ue0 in fase sub-acuta) da parte di un\u2019equipe multiprofessionale, al fine di prevenire le possibili complicanze e garantire una migliore prognosi. Lo scopo del nostro studio \ue8 stato quello di valutare l\u2019effetto del trattamento riabilitativo precoce sull\u2019outcome di un gruppo di pazienti disfagici secondariamente ad ictus

Acknowledgement to reviewers of JSAN in 2016

The editors of JSAN would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2016.[...

Start of Packet Detection and Synchronization for LoraWAN Modulated Signals

LoRaWAN is one of the most employed systems among the Low PowerWide Area Networks. An open problem for the LoRaWAN system is the receiver’s overall synchronization, including the detection of the start of the LoRaWAN packet and the correction of the carrier frequency offset and time offset. The implementation of such a subsystem in currently available chipsets for LoRaWAN is not known. This paper provides a description of a new synchronization subsystem for a LoRaWAN receiver in realistic scenarios, considering the usual operating regions (in terms, for example, of Signal-to-Noise Ratio, maximum carrier frequency offset, and allowed Packet Error Rate). The ambiguity of the effects of the time offset and the carrier frequency offset on the LoRaWAN preamble are established analytically. Different options for the synchronization subsystem are provided, one of which is particularly suited if the requirements on the maximum frequency offset are those set for off–the–shelf chipsets. The performance of the proposed synchronization subsystem and the start of the packet detection algorithm is evaluated through a campaign of simulations. The results confirm that the proposed subsystem meets all of the requirements for successful demodulation and detection of the data part following the preamble

Extending the Lora modulation to add parallel channels and improve the LoRaWAN network performance

In this paper, we present a new modulation, called DLoRa, similar in principle to the conventional LoRa modulation and compatible with it in terms of bandwidth and numerology. DLoRa departs from the conventional LoRa modulation as it is using a decreasing instantaneous frequency in the chirps instead of an increasing one as for the conventional LoRa modulation. Furthermore, we describe a software environment to accurately evaluate the "isolation"of the different virtual channels created by LoRa and DLoRa when using different Spreading Factors. Our results are in agreement with the ones present in the literature for the conventional LoRa modulation. They show that it is possible to double the number of channels by simultaneously using LoRa and DLora. The higher (double) number of subchannels available is the key to improve the network level performance of LoRa based networks