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Research examining small commercial and industrial electricity usage patterns have historically received less attention than residential electricity consumption patterns. This study examines electricity as an input to small firm commercial and industrial (CIS) production in Las Cruces, the second largest metropolitan economy in the state of New Mexico, using annual frequency data from 1978 to 2018. Those data include labor, per capita personal income, price measures for electricity and natural gas, and weather variables. The long-run and short-run elasticities of the data are then estimated using an autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL). In the long-run, the CIS derived-demand curve is found to be upward sloping, and Las Cruces CIS customers use natural gas as a complementary input. Real per capita income is also found to have a positive impact in the long-run, while weather impacts are found to be ambiguous. In the short-run, the Las Cruces CIS derived-demand curve is downward sloping, CIS customers use natural gas as a substitute factor, and weather extremes are found to be positively correlated with small firm electricity usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an encoding strategy is used to design specialized fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. The encoding of each sensor requires two binary codewords to define the amplitude and phase patterns of each sensor. The combined pattern (amplitude and phase) makes each sensor unique and therefore two or more sensors can be identified under spectral overlapping. In this way, we add another dimension to the multiplexing of FBG sensors, obtaining an increase factor 'n' to enhance the number of sensors that the system can handle. A proof-of-concept scenario with three sensors was performed, including the manufacturing of the encoded sensors. Furthermore, an interrogation setup to detect the sensors central wavelength was proposed and its working principle was theoretically developed. Results show that total identification of the central wavelength is performed under spectral overlapping between the manufactured sensors, achieving a three-time improvement of the system capacity. Finally, the error due to overlapping between the sensors was assessed obtaining approximately 3 pm, which makes the approach suitable for use in real measurement systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our understanding of gene expression has come far since the ‘one-gene one-polypeptide’ hypothesis proposed by Beadle and Tatum. In this review, we address the gradual recognition that a growing number of polycistronic genes, originally discovered in viruses, are being identified within the mammalian genome, and that these may provide new insights into disease mechanisms and treatment. We carried out a systematic literature review identifying 13 mammalian genes for which there is evidence for polycistronic expression via translation through an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Although the canonical mechanism of translation initiation has been studied extensively, here we highlight a process of noncanonical translation, IRES-mediated translation, that is a growing source for understanding complex inheritance, the elucidation of disease mechanisms, and the discovery of novel therapeutic targets. Identification of additional polycistronic genes may provide new insights into disease therapy and allow for new discoveries of both translational and disease mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent attention has turned to drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) that exploration and production (E&P) companies may manage in order to address market uncertainties. DUCs act as potential supply that bridges the gap when supply and demand are unequal and can play a key role in the operations strategies of producers. This study provides evidence of mildly explosive behavior in the time series of DUCs by applying the Right-Tailed Augmented Dickey Fuller test of Phillips, Shi, and Yu (2015) (PSY). The PSY method tests for mildly explosive behavior of a time series defined by when the volume of DUCs move beyond what would be expected given the fundamental market conditions. The sample spans from December 2013 until May 2020 and includes the major oil producing regions of the United States. The analysis date stamps periods of mild explosivity and matches surges in DUCs with major contemporaneous events including the June 2014 precipitous drop in oil price, midstream bottlenecks and resource constraints, as well as the COVID-related fall in demand for oil. The findings are discussed in the context of exploration and production firms and the use of DUCs as a tool for understanding value and optimization of production over time. • The RTADF test is used to date stamp mild explosivity in DUCs. • Multiple periods of mildly explosive behavior are identified. • Explosive behavior in DUCs is evident in the June 2014 drop in oil price. • Midstream bottlenecks and resource constraints lead to explosive behavior. • Explosive behavior is seen in recent COVID-related fall in demand for oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a complete and closed theoretical model and its subsequent practical verification for a special type of Mach-Zehnder electrooptical modulator with a 2 x 1 optical ports configuration (two optical inputs/one output). This device present special modulation features due to its own optical structure. Its employment for modulation of millimeter and microwave signals and their further transmission through dispersive fiber is addressed, showing interesting and particular features respect to the carrier suppression effect or dispersion fading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel passive scheme for the path monitoring of wavelength-routed networks where optical nodes are implemented by means of arrayed waveguide routers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 31: 319–322, 2001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the work that has been recently carried outjointly by the Optical Communications Group of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia and the Optical Fibre Group of the Universidad de Valancia on the applications of fiber Bragg gratings to microwave photonics is described. The paper investigates separately some applications of linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings (LCFBGs) and uniform fiber Bragg gratings (UFBGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a new kind of radio-frequency filters which are composed by a linearly chirped fiber grating and a laser array. Filter layout and operation; Capability of providing full transfer-function reconfiguration and resonance tunability; Filter reconfiguration by means of on/off laser switching.

We study the bit-error-rate performance in directly detected OFDM/OOK systems using fiber gratings as demultiplexers. An enormous improvement of the system performance has been achieved, in comparison with typical single-cavity Fabry-Perot filters, due to the lower cross-talk power introduced by fiber grating filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose and design a novel EDFA equalizer based on a transmissive filter composed of two or more linearly chirped apodized fiber gratings (LCAFGs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of biomacromolecules onto silicon waveguiding microstructures constitutes a growing trend that pushes towards compact and miniaturized biosensing systems. This paper presents the integration of one-dimensional periodic nanostructures of proteins on the surface of micrometric silicon waveguides for transducing binding events between biomacromolecules. The study demonstrates this new bioanalytical principle by experimental results and theoretical calculations, and proves that rib waveguides (1-–1.6-µm width) together with protein gratings (495-–515-nm period) display suitable spectral responses for this optical biosensing system. Protein assemblies of bovine serum albumin are fabricated on the surface of silicon nitride waveguides, characterized by electron microscopy, and their response is measured by optical frequency domain reflectometry along the fabrication process and the subsequent stages of the biorecognition assays. Detection and quantification limits of 0.3 and 3.7 µg·mL−1, respectively, of specific antibodies are inferred from experimental dose–response curves. Among other interesting features, the results of this study point towards new miniaturized and integrated sensors for label-free bioanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV, EC 3.4.14.5) is an abundant serine aminopeptidase that preferentially cleaves N-terminal Xaa-Pro or Xaa-Ala dipeptides from oligopeptides. Inhibitors of DPP-IV activity are used for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus and other diseases. DPP-IV is also involved in tumor progression. We identified four new non-peptide tight-binding competitive inhibitors of porcine DPP-IV by virtual screening and enzymatic assays. Molecular docking simulations supported the competitive behavior, and the selectivity of one of the compounds in the DPP-IV family. Since three of these inhibitors are also aminopeptidase N (APN) inhibitors, we tested their impact on APN+/DPP-IV+ and DPP-IV+ human tumor cells' viability. Using kinetic assays, we determined that HL-60 tumor cells express both APN and DPP-IV activities and that MDA-MB-231 tumor cells express DPP-IV activity. The inhibitors had a slight inhibitory effect on human HEK-293 cell viability but reduced the viability of APN+/DPP-IV+ and DPP-IV+ human tumor cells more potently. Remarkably, the intraperitoneal injection of these compounds inhibited DPP-IV activity in rat brain, liver, and pancreas. In silico studies suggested inhibitors binding to serum albumin contribute to blood-brain barrier crossing. The spectrum of action of some of these compounds may be useful for niche applications. [Display omitted] • We discovered four tight binding competitive inhibitors of porcine DPP-IV by combining virtual screening and enzymatic assays. • The binding modes suggest that these inhibitors interact with residues located into the human DPP-IV active site. • These inhibitors reduced cell viability in tumoral cell lines overexpressing DPPIV and APN. • The compounds inhibited DPP-IV activity in the brain, liver and pancreas of rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postnatal cerebellar development is a precisely regulated process involving well-orchestrated expression of neural genes. Neurological phenotypes associated with CACNA1A gene defects have been increasingly recognized, yet the molecular principles underlying this association remain elusive. By characterizing a dose-dependent CACNA1A gene deficiency mouse model, we discovered that α1ACT, as a transcription factor and secondary protein of CACNA1A mRNA, drives dynamic gene expression networks within cerebellar Purkinje cells and is indispensable for neonatal survival. Perinatal loss of α1ACT leads to motor dysfunction through disruption of neurogenesis and synaptic regulatory networks. However, its elimination in adulthood has minimal effect on the cerebellum. These findings shed light on the critical role of α1ACT in facilitating neuronal development in both mice and humans and support a rationale for gene therapies for calcium-channel-associated cerebellar disorders. Finally, we show that bicistronic expression may be common to the voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) gene family and may help explain complex genetic syndromes. • α1ACT is essential for early cerebellar development and survival • α1ACT is not crucial in adults, making gene silencing a potential treatment for SCA6 • Several VGCC mRNAs express both VGCCs and transcription factor proteins Du et al. detail how a novel transcription factor, α1ACT, orchestrates postnatal cerebellar development, a finding highly relevant to loss-of-function CACNA1A genetic developmental disorders. The role of α1ACT wanes in adulthood, paving the way for its safe suppression to treat gain-of-function mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the concept and design of an integrated optical device featuring evanescent field sensing and spectrometric analysis is presented. The device, termed integrated optics sensing spectrometer (IOSS), consists of a modified arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) which arms are engineered into two sets having different focal points. Half of the arms are exposed to the outer media, while the other half are left isolated, thus the device can provide both sensing and reference spectra. Two reference designs are provided for the visible and near-infrared wavelengths, aimed at the determination of the concentration of known solutes through absorption spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon nitride photonics is on the rise owing to the broadband nature of the material, allowing applications of biophotonics, tele/datacom, optical signal processing and sensing, from visible, through near to mid-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, a review of the state of the art of silicon nitride strip waveguide platforms is provided, alongside the experimental results on the development of a versatile 300 nm guiding film height silicon nitride platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a method for the fast calculation of a robot’s egomotion using visual features. The method is part of a complete system for automatic map building and Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM). The method uses optical flow to determine whether the robot has undergone a movement. If so, some visual features that do not satisfy several criteria are deleted, and then egomotion is calculated. Thus, the proposed method improves the efficiency of the whole process because not all the data is processed. We use a state-of-the-art algorithm (TORO) to rectify the map and solve the SLAM problem. Additionally, a study of different visual detectors and descriptors has been conducted to identify which of them are more suitable for the SLAM problem. Finally, a navigation method is described using the map obtained from the SLAM solution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The performance evaluation of AWG-based OADMs due to filter cascade in 10 Gb/s WDM metro core networks is presented. The penalty for the through optical channels is investigated versus the laser wavelength drift and OADM temperature stabilization failure. Results are measured and extrapolated with simulation results to obtain the maximum allowable number of OADMs in the metro network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovering nanoscale phenomena to sense biorecognition events introduces new perspectives to exploit nanoscience and nanotechnology for bioanalytical purposes. Here we present Bio Bragg Gratings (BBGs), a novel biosensing approach that consists of diffractive structures of protein bioreceptors patterned on the surface of optical waveguides, and tailored to transduce the magnitude of biorecognition assays into the intensity of single peaks in the reflection spectrum. This work addresses the design, fabrication, and optimization of this system by both theoretical and experimental studies to explore the fundamental physicochemical parameters involved. Functional biomolecular gratings are fabricated by microcontact printing on the surface of tapered optical microfibers, and their structural features were characterized. The transduction principle is experimentally demonstrated, and its quantitative bioanalytical prospects are assessed in a representative immunoassay, based on patterned protein probes and selective IgG targets, in label-free conditions. This biosensing system involves appealing perspectives to avoid unwanted signal contributions from non-specific binding, herein investigated in human serum samples. The work also proves how the optical response of the system can be easily tuned, and it provides insights into the relevance of this feature to conceive multiplexed BBG systems capable to perform multiple label-free biorecognition assays in a single device. • Diffractive bioreceptor nanostructures on optical waveguides to quantify label-free assays. • New transduction phenomenon demonstrated by experimental and theoretical results. • Functional protein assemblies patterned on optical microfibers by microcontact printing. • Minimized non-specific binding signal contributions, assessed in human serum samples. • Tunable optical response and multiplexing perspectives in miniaturized biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]