Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term stability of Cu surface nanotips

Sharp nanoscale tips on the metal surfaces of electrodes enhance locally applied electric fields. Strongly enhanced electric fields trigger electron field emission and atom evaporation from the apexes of nanotips. Together, these processes may explain electric discharges in the form of small local arcs observed near metal surfaces in the presence of electric fields, even in ultra-high vacuum conditions. In the present work, we investigate the stability of nanoscale tips by means of computer simulations of surface diffusion processes on copper, the main material used in high-voltage electronics. We study the stability and lifetime of thin copper (Cu) surface nanotips at different temperatures in terms of diffusion processes. For this purpose we have developed a surface kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model where the jump processes are described by tabulated precalculated energy barriers. We show that tall surface features with high aspect ratios can be fairly stable at room temperature. However, the stability was found to depend strongly on the temperature: 13 nm nanotips with the major axes in the 〈 110 〉 crystallographic directions were found to flatten down to half of the original height in less than 100 ns at temperatures close to the melting point, whereas no significant change in the height of these nanotips was observed after 10 μ s at room temperature. Moreover, the nanotips built up along the 〈 110 〉 crystallographic directions were found to be significantly more stable than those oriented in the 〈 100 〉 or 〈 111 〉 crystallographic directions. The proposed KMC model has been found to be well-suited for simulating atomic surface processes and was validated against molecular dynamics simulation results via the comparison of the flattening times obtained by both methods. We also note that the KMC simulations were two orders of magnitude computationally faster than the corresponding molecular dynamics calculations.
Use of a Green Fluorescent Protein-Based Reporter Fusion for Detection of Nitric Oxide Produced by Denitrifiers

ABSTRACT To determine if green fluorescent protein could be used as a reporter for detecting nitric oxide production, gfp was fused to nnrS from Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4. 3. nnrS was chosen because its expression requires nitric oxide. The presence of the fusion in R. sphaeroides 2.4. 3 resulted in a significant increase in fluorescent intensity of the cells, but only when nitrite reductase was active. Cells lacking nitrite reductase activity and consequently the ability to generate nitric oxide were only weakly fluorescent when grown under denitrification-inducing conditions. One of the R. sphaeroides strains unable to generate nitric oxide endogenously was used as a reporter to detect exogenously produced nitric oxide. Incubation of this strain with sodium nitroprusside, a nitric oxide generator, significantly increased its fluorescence intensity. Mixing of known denitrifiers with the reporter strain also led to significant increases in fluorescence intensity, although the level varied depending on the denitrifier used. The reporter was tested on unknown isolates capable of growing anaerobically in the presence of nitrate, and one of these was able to induce expression of the fusion. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of this isolate placed it within the Thauera aromatica subgroup, which is known to contain denitrifiers. These experiments demonstrate that this green fluorescent protein-based assay provides a useful method for assessing the ability of bacteria to produce nitric oxide.
Learning L 2 Prosody Is More Difficult than You Realize – F 0 Characteristics and Chunking Size of L 1 English , TW L 2 English and TW L 1 Mandarin

We compare the F0 output and chunking size of speech units of L1 English, TW L2 English and L1 Mandarin to see what some of the major intrinsic prosodic difference could be, what prosodic features could account for TW L2 English and in what way prosodic transfer occurs. Results show that the fundamental prosodic difference of the two languages is how in the pitch domain English requires sharper high/low contrast by higher-level prosodic units but less such contrast in accentuating lower-level prosodic units whereas Mandarin patterns are the exact opposite. Explanations are provided regarding how TW L2 English differs from L1, why prosodic transfer merits detailed analysis, and why mastering English prosody is especially difficult.
Importance of isolation and biotypization of Gardnerella vaginalis in diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.

The natural habitat of Gardnerella vaginalis is a vagina since it could be located among 69% of women who have no signs of vaginal infection and in the vagina of as many as 13.5% girls. G. vaginalis is almost certainly identified among women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis as well as in the urethra of their sexual partner. The increase in prevalence and concentration of G. vaginalis among patients diagnosed with this syndrome confirms that G. vaginalis plays a significant role in its pathogenesis. In our research, based on Amsel criteria for three or more clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis, it was diagnosed in 20.5% of women with subjective problems of vaginal infection, and in 48.80% of women with subjective symptoms characteristic of this disease. G. vaginalis was isolated from vaginal secretion of women without clinical signs characteristic of bacterial vaginosis. In 2.58% of cases it was solitary, while in 1.28% it was found in combination with other aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and, in 1.28% women combined with Candida albicans. The isolation of G. vaginalis was significantly increased (p<0.05) in the group of women with clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis in comparison to the group of women without these signs. Frequent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis, which is found in 20-30% of women within a three months treatment, is explained as reinfection with other biotype of G. vaginalis, different from a source biotype or as a consequence of wrong treatment. Following Piot biotype scheme, biotypes 2. , 3. and 7. G. vaginalis are significantly more often isolated from women who suffer from bacterial vaginosis. Biotype 7. G. vaginalis, isolated from the group of women without clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis, accounted for 2.58% cases. Following Benit biotype scheme, biotypes IVa, IVc and IIc were identified in 12.90% cases, while biotypes IIIa, IIa, Ia, IVb, IIb were found in 6.45% cases. Lipase-positive isolates of G. vaginalis were significantly more frequently accompanied by the syndrome of bacterial vaginosis.
An examination of box office relationship quality and relationship selling in Division I college athletics.

College athletics departments have experienced unprecedented growth. However, expenses have risen even faster (Fulks, 2016), and university athletics departments have relied on increased subsidies from host institutions and donations to make ends meet (Fulks, 2016). Considering revenues from multimedia and broadcast contracts are usually locked in for many years (Sherman, 2016), ticket sales remain as one of the few controllable revenues a school may use to manipulate their bottom line and increase profitability.
Risk Management in Public Private Partnership Projects in Health Care: Application of Current Approach and Its Improvement

The present article investigates the risk management in public private partnership (PPP) projects. This study reviews and highlights the drawbacks and limitations of the current approach towards the process PPP and finally proposes the strategies and solutions to overcome them. The author proposes to make the concept of risks in PPP projects more precise in order to manage these risks. Due to this reason, the paper presents series of criteria which allow identifying events that can be definitely regarded as risks from the huge number of events affecting PPP project. It is also justified in the article that implementation of risk classification based on the objective and justified classification criteria is preferable than in the absence of these criteria. In this respect, three classification criteria are offered and based on them the author creates her own classification of risks in PPP projects. Besides, not only general risks but also specific risks inherent in PPP projects in health care and actions to mitigate these risks are identified and described. The author shows her findings on the case of PPP projects in health care in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Pengaruh Nilai Pelanggan Dan Kualitas Pelayanan Terhadap Kepuasan Dampaknya Terhadap Loyalitas Nasabah

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of customer value on customer satisfaction BNI KCU Manado, the influence of service quality to customer satisfaction BNI KCU Manado, the influence of customer value to customer loyalty through customer satisfaction BNI KCU Manado, the influence of service quality on customer loyalty through customer satisfaction of BNI KCU Manado and the influence of customer satisfaction to customer loyalty BNI KCU Manado. This type of research is a kind of research associative by using data analysis technique that is path analysis (Path Analysis). The result of the research shows that (1) Customer Value has significant effect on Customer Satisfaction of BNI KCU Manado, (2) Service Quality has no significant effect on Customer Satisfaction of BNI KCU Manado, (3) Customer value has no significant effect on Customer Loyalty through Customer Satisfaction of BNI KCU Manado (4) Service Quality has no significant effect on Customer Loyalty through Customer Satisfaction of BNI KCU Manado, and (5) Customer Satisfaction has significant effect on Customer Loyalty of BNI KCU Manado. Keywords: Customer Value, Service Quality, Satisfaction, Loyalty
Nursing Homes’ Competition and Distributional Implications When the Market Is Two-Sided

We investigate the effect of competition in the nursing homes sector with a two-sided market approach. More precisely, we investigate the distributional implications across the three key actors involved (residents, nurses and nursing homes) that arise from the two- sidedness of the market. Within a Hotelling set up, nursing homes compete for residents and for nurses, who provide quality to residents, by setting residents price and nurses wage. Nurses are assumed altruistic and therefore motivated to provide quality. The market is two- sided because: i) a higher number of residents a¤ects nurses workload, which affects their willingness to provide labour supply; and ii) a higher number of nurses affects residents? quality through a better matching process and by relaxing nurses time constraints. Our key findings are that i) the two-sidedness of the market leads to higher wages for nurses, which makes the nurses better off; ii) this is then passed to residents in the form of higher prices, which makes residents worse off; iii) nursing homes profits are instead unaffected. In contrast, when nurses wages are regulated, the two-sidedness of the market implies a transfer between residents and nursing homes. When residents price are regulated, it implies a transfer between nurses and nursing homes. These results are robust to institutional settings which employ pay-for-performance schemes (that reward either nursing homes or nurses): the two-sidedness of the market is strengthened and residents are still worse off.
Observation of Bloch-point domain walls in cylindrical magnetic nanowires

Topological protection is an elegant way of warranting the integrity of quantum and nanosized systems. In magnetism one example is the Bloch-point, a peculiar object implying the local vanishing of magnetization within a ferromagnet. Its existence had been postulated and described theoretically since several decades, however it has never been observed. We con rm experimentally the existence of Bloch points, imaged within domain walls in cylindrical magnetic nanowires, combining surface and transmission XMCD-PEEM magnetic microscopy. This opens the way to the experimental search for peculiar phenomena predicted during the motion of Bloch-point-based domain walls.
A simple and non‐invasive visualization for assessment of carbonylated protein in the stratum corneum

Background/purpose: Stratum corneum (SC) is the interface of body and environment and is continuously exposed to oxidative stress, resulting in oxidative modification of proteins. Consequent carbonylated proteins (CPs) have so far been labeled with 2,4‐dinitrophenyl (DNP) hydrazine and subsequently detected with anti‐DNP antibody. We developed a simpler, non‐invasive method to assess CP level in the SC and applied it to following research.
Maternal human polyomavirus infection and risk of neuroblastoma in the child

To investigate if polyomavirus infection during pregnancy is linked to development of neuroblastoma in the child, serum samples of 115 index mothers from the pregnancy where the child eventually developed neuroblastoma were identified and matched with serum samples from 8 control mothers per index mother. The samples were tested for specific IgG and IgM antibodies to BK and JC virus using enzyme immunoassays based on purified yeast‐expressed virus‐like particles (VLPs). The serum samples as well as 10 neuroblastoma cell lines were also analyzed using Real Time (TaqMan) PCR for detection and quantification of BK virus DNA. The BK virus IgG seroprevalence was similar among index mothers (80%) and control mothers (83%) [OR 0.8; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.5–1.3]. BK virus IgM was also not associated with neuroblastoma risk (OR was OR = 0.6; 95% with CI, 0.2–1.9). Also JC virus had no association, neither for IgG (OR = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.6–1.4) nor for IgM (OR = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.4–1.9). All serum samples and all neuroblastoma cell lines were negative for BKV DNA. In summary, a comprehensive cohort using both serology and polyomavirus DNA detection found no evidence for association between BKV or JCV polyomaviruses and neuroblastoma.
Segment Reporting Level And Analyst Forecast Accuracy

In a setting where the primary financial statements have been converted from individual financial statements to consolidated financial statements in Korea, we examine the effect of segment information disclosed by the firm on analysts’ consolidated-base earnings forecast accuracy. Since Korean firms have prepared the primary financial statements on a non-consolidated basis in the pre-IFRS regime, the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) leads to a great deal of difficulties and complexities in making accurate consolidated forecasts for users of financial statements, even for financial analysts who are sophisticated users of financial statements. In this situation, we conjecture that the amount of details and types of information in segment disclosure will influence analysts’ forecast accuracy. Consistent with the prediction, we find that financial analysts are able to make more accurate earnings projections when firms provide more disaggregated accounting figures by each segment. Moreover, we find that analysts can make forecasts more accurately when firms disclose more persistent earnings component (i.e., segment operating income). Furthermore, we find that the effect of the segment disclosure levels on analysts’ forecast accuracy is more pronounced for firms with multi-segments. Our results indicate that disaggregated segment information is a useful source for financial analysts to have better understanding about complete picture of firms’ consolidated earnings and improve their forecasting performance.
Exploration of green technologies in SMEs: the role of ambidexterity, domain separation and commercialization

In ambidexterity, a central issue is the undesirable spillover of harmful routines and cognitive representations from core business to the exploratory innovation space. This paper examines a conventional manufacturing SME in a business-to-business market that developed renewable energy technologies in the scope of a new business unit, but has ultimately failed to innovate. The aim is to examine how the interface between the old and new business was managed over time. Using an in-depth longitudinal case study, we investigated innovation processes over time and identified three major sources for failure. First, several modes of separation can simultaneously coevolve within the firm, which increases management complexity. Second, an organizational separation drift from a textbook-like to a looser form of separation allows for undesirable spillover of routines cannibalizing the new business. A third cause for failure is the mismatch between the intended product-market strategy and the actual product-market exploration.
The economic theory of a professional sports league

This chapter applies economic theory to the analysis of the business operations of a professional sports league. Special emphasis is given to the implications of the player reservation system-the rules structure for the distribution of playing strengths among the teams in a league-since partisans of professional sports claim that this system is essential to the goal of "equalizing competitive playing strengths" among teams.
Noise Robust Keyword Spotting Using Deep Neural Networks For Embedded Platforms

The recent development of embedded platforms along with spectacular growth in communication networking technologies is driving the Internet of things to thrive. More complex tasks are now possible to operate in small devices such as speech recognition and keyword spotting which are in great demand. Traditional voice recognition approaches are already being used in several embedded applications, some are hybrid(cloud-based and embedded) while others are fully embedded. However, the environment surrounding the embedded devices is usually accompanied by noise. Conventional approaches to add noise robustness to speech recognition are effective but also costly in terms of memory consumption and hardware complexities which limit their use in embedded platforms. The purpose of this thesis is to increase the robustness of keyword spotting to more than one type of noise at once without increasing the memory footprint or the need for a denoiser while maintaining the recognition accuracy to an acceptable level. In this work, robustness in treated at the phoneme classification level as the phoneme based keyword spotting is the best technique for embedded keyword spotting. Deep Neural Networks have been successfully deployed in many applications including noise robust speech recognition. In this work, we use mutil-condition utterances training of a Deep Neural Networks model to increase the keyword spotting noise robustness. This technique is also used for a Gaussian mixture model training. The two approaches are compared and the deep learning proved to not only outperform the Gaussian approach, but has also outperformed the use of a denoiser system. This results in a smaller, more accurate and noise robust model for phoneme recognition.
Magnetic Field Observations near Mercury: Preliminary Results from Mariner 10

Results are presented from a preliminary analysis of data obtained near Mercury on 29 March 1974 by the NASA-GSFC magnetic field experiment on Mariner 10. Rather unexpectedly, a very well-developed, detached bow shock wave, which develops as the super-Alfv�nic solar wind interacts with the planet, has been observed. In addition, a magnetosphere-like region, with maximum field strength of 98 gammas at closest approach (704 kilometers altitude), has been observed, contained within boundaries similar to the terrestrial magnetopause. The obstacle deflecting the solar wind flow is global in size, but the origin of the enhanced magnetic field has not yet been uniquely established. The field may be intrinsic to the planet and distorted by interaction with the solar wind. It may also be associated with a complex induction process whereby the planetary interior-atmosphere-ionosphere interacts with the solar wind flow to generate the observed field by a dynamo action. The complete body of data favors the preliminary conclusion that Mercury has an intrinsic magnetic field. If this is correct, it represents a major scientific discovery in planetary magnetism and will have considerable impact on studies of the origin of the solar system.
Globalisation and Internationalisation of Higher Education

This thematic issue deals with internationalisation and globalisation in higher education. The five papers that follow this introduction examine some of a broad range of aspects related to this theme and are a reflection of the importance and current attention being paid to the international dimension of higher education in Europe and beyond. Over the past 25 years, the international dimension of higher education has become more central on the agenda of international organisations and national governments, institutions of higher education and their representative bodies, student organisations and accreditation agencies. Uwe Brandenburg and I in a polemic essay, The End of Internationalization (Brandenburg & De Wit, 2011), write:
Football Injuries during FIFA Tournaments and the Olympic Games, 1998-2001

Background Standardized assessment of sports injuries provides not only important epidemiological information, but also directions for injury prevention, and the opportunity for monitoring long-term changes in the frequency and characteristics of injury. Purpose Development and implementation of an easy to use injury-reporting system to analyze the incidence, circumstances and characteristics of injury during major international football tournaments. Study Design Prospective survey. Methods A comprehensive injury report form was developed, and implemented during 12 international football tournaments. The physicians of all participating teams were asked to report all injuries after each match. The response rate was 84% on average. Results A total of 901 injuries were reported from 334 matches, which is equivalent to an incidence of 2.7 injuries per match. Approximately one injury per match resulted in a player's absence from training or matches. On average 86% of the injuries arose as a result of contact with another player, and approximately half of all injuries were caused by foul play. The number of injuries per match differed substantially between the tournaments for players of different age, sex and skill-level. Conclusion An injury-reporting system has been implemented as matter of routine in FIFA tournaments. The consistent findings in the present study demonstrate the high quality of the data obtained.
Photon-Number-Resolving Detector Based on Superconducting Serial Nanowires

A novel photon-number-resolving detector based on serially connected superconducting nanowires is presented. The serial nanowire detector (SND) uses spatial multiplexing on a subwavelength scale, the same as the parallel nanowire detector (PND), to provide an output signal proportional to the number of incident photons and avoids the problem of leakage current that the PND suffers from, thus allowing both high quantum efficiency and large number of resolvable photons. Electrothermal simulation results of the SND exhibit a better linearity than that of the PND, and the influence of some important design parameters on the detector's performance is investigated. In addition, noise analysis is done in order to estimate the upper limit of the element number of the SND. Finally, a modified segmental current supply scheme is proposed to overcome the problem of constrictions.
Early postnatal cellular proliferation and survival in the olfactory bulb and rostral migratory stream of normal and unilaterally odor‐deprived rats

Unilateral naris occlusion in rats on postnatal Day 1 results in dramatic decreases in the size of specific olfactory bulb cell populations when pups are examined 30 days later (Frazier and Brunjes: J. Comp. Neurol. 269:355–370, '88). The observed reductions must result from alterations in cell proliferation and/or survival, alternatives examined in the present study.