Mask Programmable CMOS Transistor Arrays for Wideband RF Integrated Circuits

A mask programmable technology to implement RF and microwave integrated circuits using an array of standard 90-nm CMOS transistors is presented. Using this technology, three wideband amplifiers with more than 15-dB forward transmission gain operating in different frequency bands inside a 4-22-GHz range are implemented. The amplifiers achieve high gain-bandwidth products (79-96 GHz) despite their standard multistage designs. These amplifiers are based on an identical transistor array interconnected with application specific coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission lines and on-chip capacitors and resistors. CPW lines are implemented using a one-metal-layer post-processing technology over a thick Parylene-N (15 mum ) dielectric layer that enables very low loss lines (~0.6 dB/mm at 20 GHz) and high-performance CMOS amplifiers. The proposed integration approach has the potential for implementing cost-efficient and high-performance RF and microwave circuits with a short turnaround time

Seebeck Nanoantennas for Infrared Detection and Energy Harvesting Applications

In this letter we introduce a new type of infrared sensor, based on thermocouple nanoantennas, which enables the energy detection and gathering in the mid-infrared region. The proposed detector combines the Seebeck effect, as a transduction mechanism, with the functionalities of the optical antennas for optical sensing. By using finite-element numerical simulations we evaluate the performance and optical-to-electrical conversion efficiency of the proposed device, unveiling its potential for optical sensing and energy harvesting applications.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Invited paper at EUCAP 201

Are 'STEM from Mars and SSH from Venus'?: Challenging disciplinary stereotypes of research's social value

There is a reasonably settled consensus within the innovation community that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research is more 'useful' to societies than other types of research, notably social sciences and humanities (SSH) researchOlmos-Peñuela, J.; Benneworth, P.; Castro-Martinez, E. (2014). Are 'STEM from Mars and SSH from Venus'?: Challenging disciplinary stereotypes of research's social value. Science and Public Policy. 41(3):384-400. doi:10.1093/scipol/sct071S384400413Abreu, M., & Grinevich, V. (2013). The nature of academic entrepreneurship in the UK: Widening the focus on entrepreneurial activities. Research Policy, 42(2), 408-422. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2012.10.005Alrøe, H. F., & Kristensen, E. S. (2002). Agriculture and Human Values, 19(1), 3-23. doi:10.1023/a:1015040009300Azagra-Caro, J. M. (2007). What type of faculty member interacts with what type of firm? Some reasons for the delocalisation of university–industry interaction. Technovation, 27(11), 704-715. doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2007.05.003Bonaccorsi, A., & Piccaluga, A. (1994). A theoretical framework for the evaluation of university-industry relationships. R&D Management, 24(3), 229-247. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9310.1994.tb00876.xBullen *, E., Robb, S., & Kenway, J. (2004). ‘Creative destruction’: knowledge economy policy and the future of the arts and humanities in the academy1. Journal of Education Policy, 19(1), 3-22. doi:10.1080/0268093042000182609Cohen, W. M., Nelson, R. R., & Walsh, J. P. (2002). Links and Impacts: The Influence of Public Research on Industrial R&D. Management Science, 48(1), 1-23. doi:10.1287/mnsc.48.1.1.14273D’Este, P., & Patel, P. (2007). University–industry linkages in the UK: What are the factors underlying the variety of interactions with industry? Research Policy, 36(9), 1295-1313. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2007.05.002Donovan, C. (2005). The Governance of Social Science and Everyday Epistemology. Public Administration, 83(3), 597-615. doi:10.1111/j.0033-3298.2005.00464.xEdgar, A., & Pattison, S. (2006). Need humanities be so useless? Justifying the place and role of humanities as a critical resource for performance and practice. Medical Humanities, 32(2), 92-98. doi:10.1136/jmh.2006.000226Geuna, A., & Muscio, A. (2009). The Governance of University Knowledge Transfer: A Critical Review of the Literature. Minerva, 47(1), 93-114. doi:10.1007/s11024-009-9118-2Gulbrandsen, M., & Kyvik, S. (2010). Are the concepts basic research, applied research and experimental development still useful? An empirical investigation among Norwegian academics. Science and Public Policy, 37(5), 343-353. doi:10.3152/030234210x501171Hessels, L. K., van Lente, H., & Smits, R. (2009). In search of relevance: the changing contract between science and society. Science and Public Policy, 36(5), 387-401. doi:10.3152/030234209x442034Jaaniste, L. (2009). Placing the creative sector within innovation: The full gamut. Innovation, 11(2), 215-229. doi:10.5172/impp.11.2.215Kaiser, R., & Prange-Gstöhl, H. (2010). A paradigm shift in European R&D policy? The EU Budget Review and the economic crisis. Science and Public Policy, 37(4), 253-265. doi:10.3152/030234210x496655Kyvik, S. (1994). Popular science publishing. Scientometrics, 31(2), 143-153. doi:10.1007/bf02018557Kyvik, S. (2005). Popular Science Publishing and Contributions to Public Discourse among University Faculty. Science Communication, 26(3), 288-311. doi:10.1177/1075547004273022Leisyte, L., & Horta, H. (2011). Introduction to a special issue: Academic knowledge production, diffusion and commercialization: policies, practices and perspectives. Science and Public Policy, 38(6), 422-424. doi:10.3152/030234211x12960315267697Molas-Gallart, J., & Tang, P. (2011). Tracing «productive interactions» to identify social impacts: an example from the social sciences. Research Evaluation, 20(3), 219-226. doi:10.3152/095820211x12941371876706Nightingale, P., & Scott, A. (2007). Peer review and the relevance gap: ten suggestions for policy-makers. Science and Public Policy, 34(8), 543-553. doi:10.3152/030234207x254396Pavitt, K. (1991). What makes basic research economically useful? Research Policy, 20(2), 109-119. doi:10.1016/0048-7333(91)90074-zPerkmann, M., & Walsh, K. (2007). University–industry relationships and open innovation: Towards a research agenda. International Journal of Management Reviews, 9(4), 259-280. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2370.2007.00225.xPilegaard, M., Moroz, P. W., & Neergaard, H. (2010). An Auto-Ethnographic Perspective on Academic Entrepreneurship: Implications for Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(1), 46-61. doi:10.5465/amp.2010.50304416Schartinger, D., Rammer, C., Fischer, M. M., & Fröhlich, J. (2002). Knowledge interactions between universities and industry in Austria: sectoral patterns and determinants. Research Policy, 31(3), 303-328. doi:10.1016/s0048-7333(01)00111-1Spaapen, J., & van Drooge, L. (2011). Introducing «productive interactions» in social impact assessment. Research Evaluation, 20(3), 211-218. doi:10.3152/095820211x12941371876742Van Langenhove, L. (2012). Make social sciences relevant. Nature, 484(7395), 442-442. doi:10.1038/484442

Farm management to mitigate disease and financial risks: optimal combination of stocking density, initial culture time, and length of grow-out period for a semi-intensive shrimp farm in northwest Mexico

Low yields caused by viral diseases and their financial consequences are the most important risks jeopardizing commercial shrimp culture in Mexico. Hence, farmers are continuously testing different production strategies to keep their operations into profitable margins. An optimization model was designed based on a farm's (139 ha) database (2001-2005) to find the strategy that maximizes profit resulting from the optimal combination of three decision variables; stocking density, length of grow-out period and initial culture time. The model interface is in Excel" using risk analysis software (@RISK", RISKOPTIMIZER"). Five non-linear multiple regression models were created to describe growth at different stocking densities (6-9Pl/m2, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-30), randomizing mortality rates, temperatures and feeding ratios; the model was optimized with genetic algorithm-based techniques. Results for production scenarios with the five stocking densities and two initial culture periods March-April and May-June, showed similar harvest weights (min 18g - max 22) to maximize profit but different length of grow-out period (18-22 weeks, 16-19) favoring the second stocking period due to higher survival rates (33%-41%, 38%-45%) and yields (0.69-1.84 tons, 0.74-2.1). Also, the probability of achieving an operation profit margin ratio of 35% was higher (61%, 97%) with less cost ($409,834 U.S. dollar,$398,895) and higher profits ($263,356,$325,512). Optimal solution points out stocking ponds at warmer temperatures (May-June), what brings about reaching marketable sizes faster, reducing operation costs and mainly, reducing the intrinsic risk of longer culture periods. The effect of stocking density is not conclusive. These results confirm the current industry trend to perform one production cycle starting in warmer months as a way to reduce disease and financial risks

Review of the EP activities of US academia

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76897/1/AIAA-2001-3227-398.pd

A lower to middle Eocene astrochronology for the Mentelle Basin (Australia) and its implications for the geologic time scale

The geologic time scale for the Cenozoic Era has been notably improved over the last decades by virtue of integrated stratigraphy, combining high-resolution astrochronologies, biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy with high-precision radioisotopic dates. However, the middle Eocene remains a weak link. The so-called “Eocene time scale gap” reflects the scarcity of suitable study sections with clear astronomically-forced variations in carbonate content, primarily because large parts of the oceans were starved of carbonate during the Eocene greenhouse. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 369 cored a carbonate-rich sedimentary sequence of Eocene age in the Mentelle Basin (Site U1514, offshore southwest Australia). The sequence consists of nannofossil chalk and exhibits rhythmic clay content variability. Here, we show that IODP Site U1514 allows for the extraction of an astronomical signal and the construction of an Eocene astrochronology, using 3-cm resolution X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) core scans. The XRF-derived ratio between calcium and iron content (Ca/Fe) tracks the lithologic variability and serves as the basis for our U1514 astrochronology. We present a 16 million-year-long (40-56 Ma) nearly continuous history of Eocene sedimentation with variations paced by eccentricity and obliquity. We supplement the high-resolution XRF data with low-resolution bulk carbon and oxygen isotopes, recording the long-term cooling trend from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM – ca. 56 Ma) into the middle Eocene (ca. 40 Ma). Our early Eocene astrochronology corroborates existing chronologies based on deep-sea sites and Italian land sections. For the middle Eocene, the sedimentological record at U1514 provides a single-site geochemical backbone and thus offers a further step towards a fully integrated Cenozoic geologic time scale at orbital resolution

Induction of microRNAs, mir-155, mir-222, mir-424 and mir-503, promotes monocytic differentiation through combinatorial regulation

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) involves a block in terminal differentiation of the myeloid lineage and uncontrolled proliferation of a progenitor state. Using phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), it is possible to overcome this block in THP-1 cells (an M5-AML containing the MLL-MLLT3 fusion), resulting in differentiation to an adherent monocytic phenotype. As part of FANTOM4, we used microarrays to identify 23 microRNAs that are regulated by PMA. We identify four PMA-induced micro- RNAs (mir-155, mir-222, mir-424 and mir-503) that when overexpressed cause cell-cycle arrest and partial differentiation and when used in combination induce additional changes not seen by any individual microRNA. We further characterize these prodifferentiative microRNAs and show that mir-155 and mir-222 induce G2 arrest and apoptosis, respectively. We find mir-424 and mir-503 are derived from a polycistronic precursor mir-424-503 that is under repression by the MLL-MLLT3 leukemogenic fusion. Both of these microRNAs directly target cell-cycle regulators and induce G1 cell-cycle arrest when overexpressed in THP-1. We also find that the pro-differentiative mir-424 and mir-503 downregulate the anti-differentiative mir-9 by targeting a site in its primary transcript. Our study highlights the combinatorial effects of multiple microRNAs within cellular systems.Comment: 45 pages 5 figure

Structural Basis for Specificity of Propeptide-Enzyme Interaction in Barley C1A Cysteine Peptidases

C1A cysteine peptidases are synthesized as inactive proenzymes. Activation takes place by proteolysis cleaving off the inhibitory propeptide. The inhibitory capacity of propeptides from barley cathepsin L and B-like peptidases towards commercial and barley cathepsins has been characterized. Differences in selectivity have been found for propeptides from L-cathepsins against their cognate and non cognate enzymes. Besides, the propeptide from barley cathepsin B was not able to inhibit bovine cathepsin B. Modelling of their three-dimensional structures suggests that most propeptide inhibitory properties can be explained from the interaction between the propeptide and the mature cathepsin structures. Their potential use as biotechnological tools is discussed

Molecular characterisation of protist parasites in human-habituated mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), humans and livestock, from Bwindi impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Over 60 % of human emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, and there is growing evidence of the zooanthroponotic transmission of diseases from humans to livestock and wildlife species, with major implications for public health, economics, and conservation. Zooanthroponoses are of relevance to critically endangered species; amongst these is the mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) of Uganda. Here, we assess the occurrence of Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Giardia, and Entamoeba infecting mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, using molecular methods. We also assess the occurrence of these parasites in humans and livestock species living in overlapping/adjacent geographical regions