Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Si/SiGe Heterointerfaces in One-, Two-, and Three-Dimensional Nanostructures: Their Impact on SiGe Light Emission

Fast optical interconnects together with an associated light emitter that are both compatible with conventional Si-based complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit technology is an unavoidable requirement for the next-generation microprocessors and computers. Self-assembled Si/Si1-xGex nanostructures, which can emit light at wavelengths within the important optical communication wavelength range of 1.3 – 1.55 μm, are already compatible with standard CMOS practices. However, the expected long carrier radiative lifetimes observed to date in Si and Si/Si1-xGex nanostructures have prevented the attainment of efficient light-emitting devices including the desired lasers. Thus, the engineering of Si/Si1-xGex heterostructures having a controlled composition and sharp interfaces is crucial for producing the requisite fast and efficient photoluminescence (PL) at energies in the range 0.8-0.9 eV. In this paper we assess how the nature of the interfaces between SiGe nanostructures and Si in heterostructures strongly affects carrier mobility and recombination for physical confinement in three dimensions (corresponding to the case of quantum dots), two dimensions (corresponding to quantum wires), and one dimension (corresponding to quantum wells). The interface sharpness is influenced by many factors such as growth conditions, strain, and thermal processing, which in practice can make it difficult to attain the ideal structures required. This is certainly the case for nanostructure confinement in one dimension. However, we demonstrate that axial Si/Ge nanowire (NW) heterojunctions (HJs) with a Si/Ge NW diameter in the range 50 – 120 nm produce a clear PL signal associated with band-to-band electron-hole recombination at the NW HJ that is attributed to a specific interfacial SiGe alloy composition. For three-dimensional confinement, the experiments outlined here show that two quite different Si1-xGex nanostructures incorporated into a Si0.6Ge0. 4 wavy superlattice structure display PL of high intensity while exhibiting a characteristic decay time that is up to 1000 times shorter than that found in conventional Si/SiGe nanostructures. The non-exponential PL decay found experimentally in Si/SiGe nanostructures can be interpreted as resulting from variations in the separation distance between electrons and holes at the Si/SiGe heterointerface. The results demonstrate that a sharp Si/SiGe heterointerface acts to reduce the carrier radiative recombination lifetime and increase the PL quantum
A technique for implementing monolithic resistors with near-zero temperature coefficient

A technique for implementing monolithic resistors with near-zero temperature coefficient (NZ-TC) over a wide temperature range is presented. The typical structure of monolithic resistors contains a core resistor that is connected to the circuit interconnects through contacts. Typically, the temperature behaviour of contact resistors is ignored, however, we show that one can take advantage of contact resistors and their temperature dependancy to control/minimize the temperature coefficient (TC) of the overall resistor structure. As a proof of concept several resistor structures have been implemented in a 0.13-μm CMOS technology. The measurement results over the temperature range of 25 to 200°C confirm the validity of the proposed technique. The temperature performance of the implemented resistors is compared with that of conventional resistors. Without loss of generality, the proposed approach can be used to implement a resistor with a given temperature coefficient.
Stability of monotone solutions for the shadow Gierer-Meinhardt system with finite diffusivity

We consider the following shadow system of the GiererMeinhardt model: ⎧⎨ ⎩ At = Axx −A+ A ξq , 0 0, τξt = −ξ + ξ−s ∫ 1 0 A dx, A > 0, Ax(0, t) = Ax(1, t) = 0, where 1 s + 1, s ≥ 0, and τ > 0. It is known that a nontrivial monotone steady-state solution exists if and only if 0 such that for τ τc it is linearly unstable. (This result is optimal.) The transversality of this Hopf bifurcation is proven. Other cases for the exponents as well as extensions to higher dimensions are also considered. Our proof makes use of functional analysis and the properties of Weierstrass functions and elliptic integrals.
Literature education as a school for thinking: Students' learning experiences in secondary literature education

Critical thinking and cognitive well-being are commonly associated to tendencies that do not come natu-rally to humans: inhibition of automatized cognitive processing (de-automatization) and thoughtful (re)construction of meaning. A previous study showed that students’ growth in literary interpretation skills can be partly explained by skills and dispositions related to de-automatization and (re)construction. The present study aims to identify students’ learning experiences of de-automatization and (re)construc-tion during lessons in literary fiction. We selected 21 students (grade 10-12, mean age 17,2) of whom 15 students had shown growth in literary understanding (Growth group) and 6 had not (No-growth group). We conducted stimulated recall interviews focused on learning experiences during four months of a spe-cific literature course, using students’ literature portfolio as stimulus. All interviews were fully transcribed. First, segments containing learning experiences with de-automatization and/or (re)construction were se-lected. To chart the nature of de-automatization and (re)construction experiences each segment was then coded bottom-up, iteratively and axially. Findings indicate three types of de-automatization (questioning, interpretation awareness and delay), and three types of (re)construction (reasoning, considering alterna-tives and concluding), with participants in the No-growth group recalling significantly less experiences of questioning, delay and reasoning than students in the Growth-group. Thus, the specific literature educa-tion under study potentially offered students experiences that might stimulate their tendency to engage in de-automatized (re)construction of meaning.
A fourth-order algorithm with automatic stepsize control for the transient analysis of DSPNs

This paper presents on efficient and numerically reliable method for the transient analysis of DSPNs. An analysis algorithm based on the method of supplementary variables is redesigned in order to improve its efficiency (with respect to both CPU-time and memory space) and its numerical quality (control of numerical errors) and to remove earlier restrictions (concerning the initial enabling of deterministic transitions). Significant features of the redesigned algorithm of fourth order (with respect to the step size) are an automatic stepsize control and a two-stage relative error control. Furthermore a formal way of dealing with discontinuities in the transient state equations is developed. This allows to cope with initially enabled deterministic transitions and also improves the numerical quality of the algorithm. Numerical experiments with a queueing system with failure and repair illustrate the advantages of the new algorithm.
Variation and Change in Behavioral Ecology

This paper argues for the importance of time in the behavioral ecology of changing environments; that is, how behavior changes in response to the time scale of environmental change. I distinguish between change, which occurs over time, and variation, which is measured instantaneously. Variation and change can be equated; this amounts to viewing a dynamical process as static. For example, a predator-prey oscillation involves changes, over time, in numbers of predators and prey. An atemporal measure of such changes might be the range of variation in population sizes, corresponding to the amplitude of the oscillation. Consideration of time scale tends to be submerged when variation is confounded with change. There are two reasons why time-dependent behavior merits further attention. First, it has important ecological consequences. Second, in the theory of evolution in changing environments, questions of the time scales of phenotypic and environmental change are crucial. But such questions have received less attention in behavioral ecology. A further emphasis on temporal factors is needed to link empirical, behavioral studies of changing environments with theoretical, evolutionary ones. After providing some definitions, to clarify what is meant here by time-dependent behavioral responses, variation, and change, I use some examples of the behavior of seed-eating ants to illustrate the ecological importance of time-dependent behavioral change. The following section reviews how current work on behavior in changing environments treats questions of variation and change, arguing that this work emphasizes instantaneous variation rather than temporal change. Finally, I consider how models of phenotypic response to changing environments, derived from other fields of evolutionary ecology, have explicitly considered temporal factors, and how these models might be extended to behavioral ecology.
Long-distance gene flow outweighs a century of local selection and prevents local adaptation in the Irish famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans

Sustainably managing plant resistance to epidemic pathogens implies controlling the genetic and demographic changes in pathogen populations faced with resistant hosts. Resistance management thus depends upon the dynamics of local adaptation, mainly driven by the balance between selection and gene flow. This dynamics is best investigated with populations from locally dominant hosts in islands with long histories of local selection. We used the unique case of the potato late blight pathosystem on Jersey, where a monoculture of potato cultivar ‘Jersey Royal’ has been in place for over a century. We also sampled populations from the coasts of Brittany and Normandy, as likely sources for gene flow. The isolation by distance pattern and the absence of genetic differentiation between Jersey and the closest French sites revealed gene flow at that spatial scale. Microsatellite allele frequencies revealed no evidence of recombination in the populations, but admixture of two genotypic clusters. No local adaptation in Jersey was detected from pathogenicity tests on Jersey Royal and on French cultivars. These data suggest that long‐distance gene flow (~ 50/100 km) prevents local adaptation in Jersey despite a century of local selection by a single host cultivar and emphasize the need for regional rather than local management of resistance gene deployment.
Terahertz and Cultural Heritage Science: Examination of Art and Archaeology

Cultural Heritage scientists need methodologies to examine Art and Archaeology in order to understand artistic materials and techniques and devise better conservation procedures. This review discusses the most successful and promising applications of Terahertz (THz) technology in Cultural Heritage Science. THz is used in homeland security and for plenty of other industrial sectors and it presents a number of valuable features specifically for the investigation of Art and Archaeology: No radiation risk, low power, non-contact and reflection mode. Recent technical advancements are also making its application fast, mobile and relatively affordable creating a potential for its diffused implementation in museums. While THz is most promising for the investigation of multilayered art, such as paintings, it has been tested on a very large range of artifacts, from manuscripts to mummies and lacquered historical furniture.
The Stochastic Multi‐strain Dengue Model: Analysis of the Dynamics

Dengue dynamics is well known to be particularly complex with large fluctuations of disease incidences. An epidemic multi‐strain model motivated by dengue fever epidemiology shows deterministic chaos in wide parameter regions. The addition of seasonal forcing, mimicking the vectorial dynamics, and a low import of infected individuals, which is realistic in the dynamics of infectious diseases epidemics show complex dynamics and qualitatively a good agreement between empirical DHF monitoring data and the obtained model simulation. The addition of noise can explain the fluctuations observed in the empirical data and for large enough population size, the stochastic system can be well described by the deterministic skeleton.
What Makes Investors Trade?

A unique data set allows us to monitor the buys, sells, and holds of individuals and institutions in the Finnish stock market on a daily basis. With this data set, we employ Logit regressions to identify the determinants of buying and selling activity over a two-year period. We find evidence that investors are reluctant to realize losses, that they engage in tax-loss selling activity, and that past returns and historical price patterns, such as being at a monthly high or low, affect trading. There also is modest evidence that life-cycle trading plays a role in the pattern of buys and sells.
Tax Elasticity and Buoyancy in Nepal: A Revisit

Tax elasticity and buoyancy estimates are the dynamic tools for measuring the tax performance. This study makes a revisit to the studies carried out earlier to measure tax elasticity and buoyancy in Nepal, in the context of the structural changes that have taken place in the tax system in recent years. The main objectives of the study are to measure the elasticity and buoyancy of tax and to ensure whether or not the tax system in Nepal is elastic. The study has applied time series regression approach for this empirical measurement. This study reveals that the tax system in Nepal is inelastic (less than unity) in the period 1975-2005 with a more than unitary buoyancy coefficients, thus reflecting that the bulk of revenue collection emanates from discretionary changes in the tax policy, rather than from automatic responses.
Awareness, Interest, and Purchase: The Effects of User- and Marketer-Generated Content on Purchase Decision Processes

Companies use Facebook fan pages to promote their products or services. Recent research shows that user- (UGC) and marketer-generated content (MGC) created on fan pages affect online sales. But it is still unclear how exactly they affect consumers during their purchase process. We analyze field data from a large German e-tailer to investigate the effects of UGC and MGC in a multi-stage model of purchase decision processes: awareness creation, interest stimulation, and final purchase decision. We find that MGC and UGC create awareness by attracting users to the fan page. Increased numbers of active users stimulate user interest, and more users visit the e-tailer's online shop. Neutral UGC increase the conversion rate of online shop visitors. Comparisons between one-, two- and three-stage modes show that neglecting one or two stages hides several important effects of MGC and UGC on consumers and ultimately leads to inaccurate predictions of key business figures.
Parallel Discrete Event Simulation Using Shared Memory

With traditional event-list techniques, evaluating a detailed discrete event simulation-model can often require hours or even days of computation time. By eliminating the event list and maintaining only sufficient synchronization to ensure causality, parallel simulation can potentially provide speedups that are linear in the numbers of processors. A set of shared-memory experiments using the Chandy-Misra distributed simulation algorithm, to simulate networks of queues is presented. Parameters of the study include queueing network topology and routing probabilities, number of processors, and assignment of network nodes to processors. These experiments show that Chandy-Misra distributed simulation is a questionable alternative to sequential simulation of most queuing network models. >
Aberrant Liver Insulin Receptor Isoform A Expression Normalises with Remission of Type 2 Diabetes after Gastric Bypass Surgery

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) results from a combination of progressive insulin resistance and loss of pancreatic beta cell function and/or mass. Insulin signalling occurs through the insulin receptor, (INSR) which is alternatively spliced into two isoforms: INSRA (-exon 11) and INSRB (+exon 11). Because the INSR isoforms have different functional characteristics, their relative expression ratio has been implicated in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and T2DM. We studied levels of INSR isoform mRNA in liver samples taken from 46 individuals with or without T2DM at Roux-en-Y (RYGB) surgery, and on average 17 (± 5.6) months later in 16 of the same individuals (8 diabetic and non-diabetic patients). INSRA or INSRB was also overexpressed in HepG2 cells to ascertain their effect on AKT phosphorylation and PCK1 expression as markers of insulin-mediated metabolic signalling. We found the INSRB:A isoform ratio was reduced in individuals with T2DM in comparison to those with normal glucose tolerance and normalised with remission of diabetes. The INSRB:A ratio increased due to a reduction in the alternatively spliced INSRA isoform following remission of diabetes. Overexpressing INSRA isoform in HepG2 hepatoma cells reduced inhibition of PCK1 transcription and did not increase AKT phosphorylation in response to insulin load compared to the effect of overexpressing the B isoform. Data presented here revitalizes the role of the INSR isoforms in the pathogenesis of T2DM, and suggests that an abrogated INSRB:A ratio that favours the INSRA isoform may negatively impact insulin-mediated metabolic signalling.
Low-Luminosity Early-Type Galaxies in the Coma Cluster: Variations in Spectral Properties

We present spectra of nine low-luminosity early-type galaxies (MB > -17.5) in the Coma Cluster. The spectra, which were obtained with the Multiple Mirror Telescope and cover the spectral region 3300–5350 Å, exhibit a large variation in Balmer line strengths. In fact, the line-strength variation among the Coma low-luminosity galaxies is as large as that found among a sample of low-luminosity elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and lower density environments. When compared with detailed population synthesis models, the variation in Balmer line strengths among the Coma galaxies indicates a range in luminosity-weighted mean age from ∼1 to ∼12 Gyr. The two youngest galaxies are shown to be in a poststarburst state, i.e., they are not simply former spirals whose star formation was recently terminated. Moreover, the ∼1 Gyr ages of these two youngest low-luminosity galaxies are similar to those of the brighter poststarburst galaxies in the Coma Cluster.
EdgeWrite: a stylus-based text entry method designed for high accuracy and stability of motion

EdgeWrite is a new unistroke text entry method for handheld devices designed to provide high accuracy and stability of motion for people with motor impairments. It is also effective for able-bodied people. An EdgeWrite user enters text by traversing the edges and diagonals of a square hole imposed over the usual text input area. Gesture recognition is accomplished not through pattern recognition but through the sequence of corners that are hit. This means that the full stroke path is unimportant and recognition is highly deterministic, enabling better accuracy than other gestural alphabets such as Graffiti. A study of able-bodied users showed subjects with no prior experience were 18% more accurate during text entry with Edge Write than with Graffiti (p>.05), with no significant difference in speed. A study of 4 subjects with motor impairments revealed that some of them were unable to do Graffiti, but all of them could do Edge Write. Those who could do both methods had dramatically better accuracy with Edge Write.
From Tar City to Smart City Living with the Smart City Ideology as a Senior City Dweller

In smart cities, technologies are designed to assist people in their everyday lives, including intelligent homes, public transportation and e-services. However, these technologies can lead to new kinds of marginalisation for people who do not fit into the mold of a ‘smart citizen’. In this article, I explore how seniors experience everyday practices in the smart city of Oulu in northern Finland and how they perceive themselves as smart citizens. Through generating ethnographic composition of ICT-biographies, walk-along interviews, and a series of participatory workshops; and thinking this process as collaborative knowledge making, the configuration of ageing in a smart city has emerged. In this configuration, the city is understood as an assemblage with distinct temporal dynamics and interactions of structures, communities and individuals within a global power geometry. Seniors support the ideology of smart city as a regional strategy but they want to make a voluntary decision to become smart citizens. The current smart city is mainly made for and by technology savvy people, excluding other citizens. To become a truly smart community the city must include a variety of citizens in the making of the city, and many seniors are willing to take up this challenge.
Power Optimization of Large Scale Mobile Cloud System Using Cooperative Cloudlets

Reducing the total power consumption and network delay are among the most interesting issues facing large scale Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) systems and their ability to satisfy the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Such systems utilize cloudlet based infrastructure to support off-loading some of user's computationally heavy tasks to the cloudlets. However, the limited capabilities of the cloudlet system (in terms of the ability of serve different request type and the ability to serve users in large geographical regions) represent serious challenges to achieve those objectives. To cover the users demand for different types of services and in wide geographical regions, cloudlets cooperate among each others by passing user requests from one cloudlets to another. By adapting this cooperation, the total power consumption per request will be increased so that it includes the power consumption between the user and the local cloudlet and the power consumption of passing the request to a remote cloudlet. In this paper, we consider two types of cloudlets: local cloudlets and global cloudlets. The global cloudlets are a special kind of local cloudlets but with higher capabilities. The user can connect only to the local cloudlet and sends all its traffics to it. If the local cloudlet cannot serve the desired request, then the request is moved to other local cloudlet. If no local cloudlet can serve the request, then it is moved to a global cloudlet in which it can serve all service types. We optimize the power consumption for large scale cooperative cloudlets and evaluate the proposed model under two realistic scenarios. The result prove that the proposed model can be used to optimize power consumption in large scale MCC systems.