Search results for "PASS"
showing 10 items of 1629 documents
Prehatching maternal investment and offspring immunity in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).
2007
Maternal investment in offspring immunity via egg quality may be an adaptive evolutionary strategy shaped by natural selection. We investigated how maternal investment in eggs can influence offspring immunity by conducting two experiments. First, we manipulated foraging performance of the mothers before egg laying by attaching a small weight to their back feathers. During the nestling period, we investigated offspring total antibody production at the age of 7 days and after antibody challenge, and conducted a partial cross-fostering design to separate the effects of the experiment and rearing-related variation on offspring immunity. In a separate experiment, partial cross-fostering with ant…
The Speed of Exchange Rate Pass-Through
2016
On January 15, 2015, the Swiss National Bank terminated its minimum exchange rate policy of one euro against 1.2 Swiss francs. This policy shift resulted in a sharp, unanticipated and permanent appreciation of the Swiss franc by more than 11% against the euro. We analyze the exchange rate pass-through into import unit values of this shock at the daily frequency using Swiss transaction-level trade data. Our key findings are twofold. First, for goods invoiced in euro the pass-through is immediate and complete. This finding is consistent with no systematic nominal price adjustment in this subset of goods. Second, for goods invoiced in Swiss francs the pass-through is partial and very fast: it …
Jejunoileal bypass as the main procedure in the onset of immune-related conditions: the model of BADAS
2013
Bariatric surgery represents a common approach for the control of severe morbid obesity, reducing caloric intake by modifying the anatomy of the gastrointestinal tract. Following jejunoileal bypass, a large spectrum of complications has been described, with rheumatic manifestation present in up to 20% of cases. Although bowel bypass syndrome, also called blind loop syndrome, is a well-recognized complication of jejunoileal bypass, the same syndrome was recognized in patients who had not had intestinal bypass surgery, and the term the 'bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome' (BADAS) was coined. The pathogenesis of BADAS is as yet poorly understood and only few data concerning this is…
Sull’espressione non prototipica dell’agentività nei testi siciliani del XIV secolo
2009
L’esistenza di più opzioni lessicali per la codifica dell’agente nelle costruzioni passive dell’italoromanzo è sempre stata assunta come semplice dato di fatto. Tuttavia, un’analisi accurata dei testi rivela l’esistenza di una distribuzione funzionale, che si manifesta in modo coerente, sebbene non identico, nei diversi vernacoli. Sulla base di quest’osservazione, viene formulata e testata l’ipotesi secondo cui tale distribuzione sia semanticamente determinata: essa si motiva nel tipo di rappresentazione dell’evento codificato dalle due preposizioni, che articola in forme diverse la nozione di agentività. Sullo sfondo di un approccio teorico di matrice cognitivista e sulla base di un esame …
Effect of E. coli biofilm formation and removal on passive films on AISI 316L during fermentation processes
2021
Abstract 316L coupons were sanitized in hot water vapour inducing iron enrichment in passive films. Coupons were then immersed in a pilot fed-batch fermenter in presence of E. coli. Sanitization causes iron enrichment in passive films. Fermentation causes the growth of biofilm on the SS, constituted by bacteria embedded in an extracellular polymeric substance. During fermentation SS open circuit potential is very negative due to low oxygen concentration on its surface, while the chelating action of siderophores induces chromium enrichment in the passive film. Disinfection in NaClO for 30 min allows removal of biofilm and formation of a protective passive film.
Design of SCMA Codebooks using Differential Evolution
2020
Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is a promising technology which meets the demands of massive connectivity in future wireless networks. Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a popular code-domain NOMA technique. The effectiveness of SCMA comes from: (1) the multi-dimensional sparse codebooks offering high shaping gain and (2) sophisticated multi-user detection based on message passing algorithm (MPA). The codebooks of the users play the main role in determining the performance of SCMA system. This paper presents a framework to design the codebooks by taking into account the entire system including the SCMA encoder and the MPA-based detector. The symbol-error rate (SER) is considered as…
Synergistic integration of optical and microwave satellite data for crop yield estimation
2019
Developing accurate models of crop stress, phenology and productivity is of paramount importance, given the increasing need of food. Earth observation (EO) remote sensing data provides a unique source of information to monitor crops in a temporally resolved and spatially explicit way. In this study, we propose the combination of multisensor (optical and microwave) remote sensing data for crop yield estimation and forecasting using two novel approaches. We first propose the lag between Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived from MODIS and Vegetation Optical Depth (VOD) derived from SMAP as a new joint metric combining the information from the two satellite sensors in a unique feature or des…
Improving the performance of acousto-optic tunable filters in imaging applications
2010
Acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs) can be used as spectral filters for the implementation of multispectral imaging systems. However, obtaining quality images is challenging. In this work, we propose several improvements that enable the use of these systems in quantitative spectroscopic imaging applications. The improvements are based on three pillars: 1. a finer spectral bandpass shaping by dynamically optimizing the radio frequency (rf) driving signal, 2. an extensive calibration process, and 3. careful image preprocessing that uses calibration data to correct some well known AOTF issues in imaging applications. A novel multispectral imaging instrument is built using commercial off-the-…
Configurable Passband Imaging Spectrometer Based on Acousto-optic Tunable Filter
2008
This work presents a new configurable imaging spectrometer called Autonomous Tunable Filtering System (ATFS). The system can be configured to acquire a single narrow spectral band, a composite multispectral image, or a broad pass-band. This flexibility is given by the use of an Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) driven by a programmable radio frequency (rf) signal generator. The AOTF acts as a light-diffraction element which output wavelength is selected by the frequency of an rf signal applied to it. The designed rf driver is based on a high-speed Digital-to-Analog converter, which can synthesize any composite rf waveform formed by a combination of sine signals. The images are formed thro…
Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Bandpass Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum Modulation Systems
1982
The effects of a linear transmission channel on the performance of a correlator receiver for a direct-sequence spreadspectrum system are analyzed and a complete treatment of the influence of a periodic spreading code is carried out. The output data signal is obtained as a function of the channel characteristic and the code sequence employed; this allows maximizing the output signal level and evaluation of the influence of the synchronization error of the local code. The asymptotic value of the correlation loss has also been derived together with the intersymbol inteference power. The general expression of a figure of merit of the effectiveness of the system is also obtained in simple terms …