Methodology to improve the model of series inductance in CMOS integrated inductors

This paper presents a systematic optimization methodology to achieve an accurate estimation of series inductance of inductors implemented in standard CMOS technologies. Proposed method is based on an optimization procedure which aims to obtain adjustment factors associated to main physical inductor characteristics, allowing to estimate more accurate series inductance values that can be used in design stage. Experimental measurements of diverse square inductor geometries are shown and compared with previous approaches in order to demonstrate and validate presented approach.National Council of Science and Technology of México (CONACYT) TEC2013-45638-C3-3-RSpanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness TEC2013-45638-C3-3-REuropean Regional Development Fund TEC2013-45638-C3-3-RConsejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo de la Junta de Andalucía P12-TIC-148

Sex bias in diagnostic delay in bronchiectasis : An analysis of the Spanish Historical Registry of Bronchiectasis

Diagnostic delay is common in most respiratory diseases, particularly in bronchiectasis. However, sex bias in diagnostic delay has not been studied to date. Objective: Assessment of diagnostic delay in bronchiectasis by sex. Methods: The Spanish Historical Registry of Bronchiectasis recruited adults diagnosed with bronchiectasis from 2002 to 2011 in 36 centres in Spain. From a total of 2113 patients registered we studied 2099, of whom 1125 (53.6%) were women. Results: No differences were found for sex or age (61.0 ± 20.6, p = 0.88) or for localization of bronchiectasis (p = 0.31). Bronchiectasis of unknown aetiology and secondary to asthma, childhood infections and tuberculosis was more common in women (all p s 2 years). Independent factors associated with this sex bias were age at onset of symptoms, smoking history, daily expectoration and reduced lung function

Sex bias in diagnostic delay in bronchiectasis: An analysis of the Spanish Historical Registry of Bronchiectasis

Diagnostic delay is common in most respiratory diseases, particularly in bronchiectasis. However, sex bias in diagnostic delay has not been studied to date. Objective: Assessment of diagnostic delay in bronchiectasis by sex. Methods: The Spanish Historical Registry of Bronchiectasis recruited adults diagnosed with bronchiectasis from 2002 to 2011 in 36 centres in Spain. From a total of 2113 patients registered we studied 2099, of whom 1125 (53.6%) were women. Results: No differences were found for sex or age (61.0 ± 20.6, p = 0.88) or for localization of bronchiectasis (p = 0.31). Bronchiectasis of unknown aetiology and secondary to asthma, childhood infections and tuberculosis was more common in women (all ps 2 years). Independent factors associated with this sex bias were age at onset of symptoms, smoking history, daily expectoration and reduced lung function

A new cerkl mouse model generated by CRISPR-Cas9 shows progressive retinal degeneration and altered morphological and electrophysiological phenotype

Purpose: Close to 100 genes cause retinitis pigmentosa, a Mendelian rare disease that affects 1 out of 4000 people worldwide. Mutations in the ceramide kinase-like gene (CERKL) are a prevalent cause of autosomal recessive cause retinitis pigmentosa and cone-rod dystrophy, but the functional role of this gene in the retina has yet to be fully determined. We aimed to generate a mouse model that resembles the phenotypic traits of patients carrying CERKL mutations to undertake functional studies and assay therapeutic approaches. Methods: The Cerkl locus has been deleted (around 97 kb of genomic DNA) by gene editing using the CRISPR-Cas9 D10A nickase. Because the deletion of the Cerkl locus is lethal in mice in homozygosis, a double heterozygote mouse model with less than 10% residual Cerkl expression has been generated. The phenotypic alterations of the retina of this new model have been characterized at the morphological and electrophysiological levels. Results: This CerklKD/KO model shows retinal degeneration, with a decreased number of cones and progressive photoreceptor loss, poorly stacked photoreceptor outer segment membranes, defective retinal pigment epithelium phagocytosis, and altered electrophysiological recordings in aged retinas. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first Cerkl mouse model to mimic many of the phenotypic traits, including the slow but progressive retinal degeneration, shown by human patients carrying CERKL mutations. This useful model will provide unprecedented insights into the retinal molecular pathways altered in these patients and will contribute to the design of effective treatments

Pelagic habitat and offspring survival in the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna

In this manuscript, we test how an understanding of geographical variation in larval fitness in relation to temperature and habitat use could be a useful method to improve our understanding of recruitment and develop better indices of annual recruitment. On the basis of the assumption that growth and survival of tuna larvae are influenced by temperature, we have developed a potential larval survival index for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) by combining empirical data from egg and larval rearing experiments with temperature data from hydrodynamic models. The experiments were designed to test the full range of temperature variability that bluefin larvae would experience in the field and provide a mechanistic understanding of the processes driving egg and larval survival. We then developed a biological model using the temperature-related growth expressions and a size-dependent survival function for the larvae. The biological model was applied to a time-series of spatially explicit temperature data for the western Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar to 6 E, which includes the major recognized bluefin tuna eastern stock spawning area, the Balearic Sea. Our results show that areas with high probabilities of larval survival coincide with those that would be considered as optimal based on other data sources (ichthyoplankton surveys, spawning female locations from commercial fisheries data, and adult tracking data). However, evidence of spawning has been found in areas with suboptimal thermal habitats, as predicted by the model, which we discuss regarding sampling effort and salinity fronts. There was a good match between the survival index and recruitment indices from standardized CPUE fisheries data. These results have implications for our understanding of the recruitment process of the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna, since they suggest that the combined effects of temporal and spatial variability of the environment drive recruitment success, which has important implications for the management of the species.Versión del editor2,27

Trophic niche partitioning of five skate species of genus Bathyraja in northern and central Patagonia, Argentina

Overexploitation of marine communities can lead to modifications in the structure of the food web and can force organisms like elasmobranchs to change their feeding habits. To evaluate the impact that fisheries have on food webs and on the interactions between species, it is necessary to describe and quantify the diet of the species involved and follow it through time. This study compares the diet of five skate species using the data obtained from the by-catch of the Argentine hake (Merluccius hubbsi) fishery in north and central Patagonia, Argentina. Diet composition was assessed by analysing the digestive tract contents and trophic overlapping between species of the genus Bathyraja: Bathyraja albomaculata, Bathyraja brachyurops, Bathyraja macloviana, Bathyraja magellanica and Bathyraja multispinis. A total of 184 stomachs were analysed. The diets of B. albomaculata and B. macloviana mainly comprised annelids, whereas that of B. brachyurops primarily comprised fish, including hake heads discarded by the fishery. The diets of B. magellanica and B. multispinis were largely based on crustaceans. Despite the morphological similarities and their shared preference for benthic habitats, no complete diet overlaps were found between the different species. These results suggest that these skate species have undergone a process of diet specialisation. This is a common feeding strategy that occurs to successfully eliminate competition when resources are limited, which corresponds to the conditions found in an environment being affected by the pressures of overfishing.Fil: Tschopp, Ayelen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Cristiani, Franco. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Nestor Anibal. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; ArgentinaFil: Crespo, Enrique Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Coscarella, Mariano Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Centro para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Puerto Madryn. Departamento de Biología y Ambiente; Argentin

EMIR, the GTC NIR multi-object imager-spectrograph

EMIR, currently entering into its fabrication and AIV phase, will be one of the first common user instruments for the GTC, the 10 meter telescope under construction by GRANTECAN at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (Canary Islands, Spain). EMIR is being built by a Consortium of Spanish and French institutes led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). EMIR is designed to realize one of the central goals of 10m class telescopes, allowing observers to obtain spectra for large numbers of faint sources in a time-efficient manner. EMIR is primarily designed to be operated as a MOS in the K band, but others a wide range of observing modes, including imaging and spectroscopy, both long slit and multi-object, in the wavelength range 0.9 to 2.5 um. It is equipped with two innovative subsystems: a robotic reconfigurable multi-slit mask and dispersive elements formed by the combination of high quality distraction grating and conventional prisms, both at the heart of the instrument. The present status of development, expected performances, schedule and plans for scientific exploitation are described and discussed. The development and fabrication of EMIR is funded by GRANTECAN and the Plan Nacional de Astronomía y Astrofísica (National Plan for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spain).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Decision making impairment: A shared vulnerability in obesity, gambling disorder and substance use disorders?

Introduction: Addictions are associated with decision making impairments. The present study explores decision making in Substance use disorder (SUD), Gambling disorder (GD) and Obesity (OB) when assessed by Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and compares them with healthy controls (HC). Methods: For the aims of this study, 591 participants (194 HC, 178 GD, 113 OB, 106 SUD) were assessed according to DSM criteria, completed a sociodemographic interview and conducted the IGT. Results: SUD, GD and OB present impaired decision making when compared to the HC in the overall task and task learning, however no differences are found for the overall performance in the IGT among the clinical groups. Results also reveal some specific learning across the task patterns within the clinical groups: OB maintains negative scores until the third set where learning starts but with a less extend to HC, SUD presents an early learning followed by a progressive although slow improvement and GD presents more random choices with no learning. Conclusions: Decision making impairments are present in the studied clinical samples and they display individual differences in the task learning. Results can help understanding the underlying mechanisms of OB and addiction behaviors as well as improve current clinical treatments