Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Silicon nanowires: catalytic growth and electrical characterization

Nominally undoped silicon nanowires (NW) were grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The growth process was optimized to control the NWs diameters by using different Au catalyst thicknesses on amorphous SiO2, Si3N4, or crystalline‐Si substrates. For SiO2 substrates an Ar plasma treatment was used to homogenize the catalyst coalescence, and thus the NWs diameter. Furthermore, planar field effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated by implementing 13 to 30 nm thin nominally undoped Si‐NWs as the active region. Various silicides were investigated as Schottky‐barrier source and drain contacts for the active region. For CoSi, NiSi and PdSi contacts, the FETs transfer characteristics showed p‐type behavior. A FET consisting of a single Si‐NW with 20 nanometers diameter and 2.5 µm gate‐length delivers as much as 0.15 µA on‐current at 1 volt bias voltage and has an on/off current ratio of 107. This is in contrast to recent reports of low conductance in undoped Si. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Chapter 11 From concession bargaining to broad workplace solidarity : the IG Metall response to agency work

Market integration at a global level has opened new opportunities for companies to expand into new markets and to shift their production abroad, leading to growing international competition (Buckley and Ghauri 2004; Rees and Edwards 2010). The resulting pressure on costs has affected the dynamics of collective bargaining, especially in exportoriented manufacturing companies in Europe and other highly developed countries where labour bargaining power has increasingly come under pressure (Tilly 1995; Raess 2006; Greer and Hauptmeier 2008).
Novel Therapeutic Approaches Enhance PGC1-alpha to Reduce Oxidant Stress-Inflammatory Signaling and Improve Functional Recovery in Hibernating Myocardium

Ischemic heart disease affects millions of people around the world. Current treatment options, including coronary artery bypass grafting, do not result in full functional recovery, highlighting the need for novel adjunctive therapeutic approaches. Hibernation describes the myocardial response to prolonged ischemia and involves a set of complex cytoprotective metabolic and functional adaptations. PGC1-alpha, a key regulator of mitochondrial energy metabolism and inhibitor of oxidant-stress-inflammatory signaling, is known to be downregulated in hibernating myocardium. PGC1-alpha is a critical component of cellular stress responses and links cellular metabolism with inflammation in the ischemic heart. While beneficial in the acute setting, a chronic state of hibernation can be associated with self-perpetuating oxidant stress-inflammatory signaling which leads to tissue injury. It is likely that incomplete functional recovery following revascularization of chronically ischemic myocardium is due to persistence of metabolic changes as well as prooxidant and proinflammatory signaling. Enhancement of PGC1-alpha signaling has been proposed as a possible way to improve functional recovery in patients with ischemic heart disease. Adjunctive mesenchymal stem cell therapy has been shown to induce PGC1-alpha signaling in hibernating myocardium and could help improve clinical outcomes for patients undergoing bypass surgery.
Stringy effects during inflation and reheating

We consider inflationary cosmology in the context of string compactifications with multiple throats. In scenarios where the warping differs significantly between throats, string and Kaluza-Klein physics can generate potentially observable corrections to the cosmology of inflation and reheating. First we demonstrate that a very low string scale in the ground state compactification is incompatible with a high Hubble scale during inflation, and we propose that the compactification geometry is altered during inflation. In this configuration, the lowest scale is just above the Hubble scale, which is compatible with the effective field theory but still leads to potentially observable cosmic microwave background corrections. Also in the appropriate region of parameter space, we find that reheating leads to a phase of long open strings in the standard model sector (before the usual radiation-dominated phase). We sketch the cosmology of the long string phase and we discuss possible observational consequences.
Coupling to real and virtual phonons in tunneling spectroscopy of superconductors

Fine structures in the tunneling spectra of superconductors have been widely used to identify fingerprints of the interaction responsible for Cooper pairing. Here, we show that for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of Pb, the inclusion of inelastic tunneling processes is essential for the proper interpretation of these fine structures. For STM the usual McMillan inversion algorithm of tunneling spectra must therefore be modified to include inelastic tunneling events, an insight that is crucial for the identification of the pairing glue in conventional and unconventional superconductors alike.
Enhanced Lot Acceptance Testing Based on Defect Counts and Posterior Odds Ratios

Optimal defects-per-unit test plans based on posterior odds ratios are developed for the disposition of product lots. The number of nonconformities per unit is modeled by the Conway–Maxwell–Poisson distribution rather than the typical Poisson model. In essence, a submitted batch is conforming if its posterior acceptability is sufficiently large. First, a useful approximation of the optimal test plan is derived in closed form using the asymptotic normality of the log ratio. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem is then solved via Monte Carlo simulation to find the smallest number of inspected items per lot and the maximum tolerable posterior odds ratio. The methodology is applied to the manufacturing of paper and glass. The suggested sampling plan for lot sentencing provides the specified protections to both manufacturers and customers and minimizes the needed sample size. In terms of inspection effort and accuracy, the proposed approach is virtually an advantageous extension of the classical frequentist perspective. In many practical cases, it yields more precise assessments of the current consumer and producer risks, as well as more realistic decision rules.
The Physics of Flash (Supernova) Spectroscopy

We examine flash spectroscopy of a circumstellar medium (CSM) ionized by the hard radiation pulse produced by the emerging shock of a supernova (SN). We first find that the rise and fall times of the Hα emission constrains the location of the CSM with a peak at tpeak ≃ R∗ √ 2/cvs for a star of radius R∗ and a shock velocity of vs. The dropping temperature of the transient emission naturally reproduces the evolution of lines with different ionization energies. Second, for red supergiants (RSGs), the shock break out radiatively accelerates the CSM to produce broad, early-time line wings independent of the Thomson optical depth of the CSM. Finally, the CSM recombination rates in binaries can be dominated by a dense, cool, wind collision interface like those seen in Wolf-Rayet binaries rather than the individual stellar winds. Combining these three results, the flash spectroscopy observations of the normal Type IIP iPTF13dqy (SN 2013fs) are naturally explained by an RSG with a normal, Thomson optically thin wind in a binary with a separation of ∼ 104R⊙ without any need for a pre-SN eruption. Similarly, the broad line wings seen for the Type IIb iPTF13ast (SN 2013cu), whose progenitors are generally yellow supergiants in binaries, are likely due to radiative acceleration of the CSM rather than a pre-existing, Wolf-Rayet-like wind.
Compressive sensing for noisy video reconstruction

In this paper, a compressing and reconstruction method for a noise video based on Compressed Sensing (CS) theory is proposed. At first, the CS theory is presented. Then the noise video is estimated from noisy measurement by solving the convex minimization problem. The video recovery algorithms based on gradient-based method is used to compressing and reconstructing the noise signal. And a compressive sensing algorithm with gradient-based method is proposed. At last, the performance of the proposed approach is shown and compared with some conventional algorithms. Our method can obtain best results in terms of peak signal noise ratio (PSNR) than those achieved by common methods with only a little runtime.
The discovery of a five-image lensed quasar at z=3.34 using PanSTARRS1 and Gaia

We report the discovery, spectroscopic confirmation, and mass modelling of the gravitationally lensed quasar system PS J0630-1201. The lens was discovered by matching a photometric quasar catalogue compiled from Pan-STARRS and WISE photometry to the Gaia DR1 catalogue, exploiting the high spatial resolution of the latter (FWHM $\sim $0.1") to identify the three brightest components of the lens. Follow-up spectroscopic observations with the WHT confirm the multiple objects are quasars at redshift $z_{q}=3.34$. Further follow-up with Keck AO high-resolution imaging reveals that the system is composed of two lensing galaxies and the quasar is lensed into a $\sim$2.8" separation four-image cusp configuration with a fifth image clearly visible, and a 1.0" arc due to the lensed quasar host galaxy. The system is well-modelled with two singular isothermal ellipsoids, reproducing the position of the fifth image. We discuss future prospects for measuring time delays between the images and constraining any offset between mass and light using the faintly detected Einstein arcs associated with the quasar host galaxy.
On distilling secure key from reducible private states and (non)existence of entangled key-undistillable states

Hereunder, we study the class of irreducible private states that are private states from which all the secret content is accessible via measuring their key part. We provide the first protocol which distills key not only from the key part, but also from the shield if only the state is reducible. We prove also a tighter upper bound on the performance of that protocol, given in terms of regularized relative entropy of entanglement instead of relative entropy of entanglement previously known. This implies in particular that the irreducible private states are all strictly irreducible if and only if the entangled but key-undistillable states (‘entangled key-undistilable states’) exist. In turn, all the irreducible private states of the dimension 4 ⨂ 4 are strictly irreducible, that is, after an attack on the key part they become separable. Provided the bound key states exist, we consider different subclasses of the irreducible private states and their properties. Finally we provide a lower bound on the trace norm distance between key-undistillable states and private states, in sufficiently high dimensions.
Variation of Anthocyanin, Phenol, and Antioxidant Capacity in Straw among Rice Varieties and Growing Locations as a Potential Source of Natural Bioactive Compounds

This study evaluated the variation in bioactive compounds (anthocyanins, phenols, and antioxidants) among 22 rice varieties in the same growing locations and among four varieties collected from eight different provinces in Northern Thailand. Wide variation in anthocyanins, phenols, and antioxidant capacity was established, ranging from 1.6 to 33.0 mg/100 g, 249.9 to 477.7 mg gallic acid/100 g, and 0 to 3,288.5 mg trolox equivalent/100 g, respectively. The highest straw anthocyanin and phenol concentrations were found in KDK (a traditional photoperiod-sensitive variety with purple pericarp and leaves) and K4 (an advanced, photoperiod-insensitive variety with purple pericarp and leaves), while the highest antioxidant capacity was found in KH CMU (an improved traditional photoperiod sensitive variety with a purple pericarp and green leaves) and K4. The variation of the bioactive compounds was also found in the same variety grown at different locations, e.g., the KDMl105 grown in Prayao province had a straw anthocyanin concentration higher than when grown in Mae Hong Son province. The effect was also observed in phenol content and antioxidant capacity when the same rice variety was grown across various locations. A significant correlation between total phenol and antioxidant capacity was observed across rice varieties and growing locations but was not found between anthocyanin and antioxidant capacity. This study found that the bioactive compounds in rice straw varied among rice varieties and growing locations. Straw phenol acts as a major antioxidant that can be used as a characteristic for the selection of rice varieties with high antioxidant capacity for use at the industrial scale for the processing of food, pharmaceuticals, and medicinal products.
Observations of radio-quiet quasars at 10-mas resolution by use of gravitational lensing

We present Very Large Array detections of radio emission in 4 four-image gravitational lens systems with quasar sources: HS 0810+2554, RX J0911+0511, HE 0435? 1223 and SDSS J0924+0219, and extended Multi-Element Remote Linked Interferometer (e-MERLIN) observations of two of the systems. The first three are detected at a high level of significance, and SDSS J0924+0219 is detected. HS 0810+2554 is resolved, allowing us for the first time to achieve 10-mas resolution of the source frame in the structure of a radio-quiet quasar. The others are unresolved or marginally resolved. All four objects are among the faintest radio sources yet detected, with intrinsic flux densities in the range 1? 5 ? Jy; such radio objects, if unlensed, will only be observable routinely with the Square Kilometre Array. The observations of HS 0810+2554, which is also detected with e-MERLIN, strongly suggest the presence of a mini active galactic nucleus, with a radio core and milliarcsecond scale jet. The flux densities of the lensed images in all but HE 0435? 1223 are consistent with smooth galaxy lens models without the requirement for smaller scale substructure in the model, although some interesting anomalies are seen between optical and radio flux densities. These are probably due to microlensing effects in the optical.
Reinforced Nafion Membrane with Ultrathin MWCNTs/Ceria Layers for Durable Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

For further commercializing proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, it is crucial to attain long-term durability while achieving high performance. In this study, a strategy for modifying commercial Nafion membranes by introducing ultrathin multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/CeO2 layers on both sides of the membrane was developed to construct a mechanically and chemically reinforced membrane electrode assembly. The dispersion properties of the MWCNTs were greatly improved through chemical modification with acid treatment, and the mixed solution of MWCNTs/CeO2 was uniformly prepared through a high-energy ball-milling process. By employing a spray-coating technique, the ultrathin MWCNTs/CeO2 layers were introduced onto the membrane surfaces without any agglomeration problem because the solvent rapidly evaporated during the layer-by-layer stacking process. These ultrathin and highly dispersed MWCNTs/CeO2 layers effectively reinforced the mechanical properties and chemical durability of the membrane while minimizing the performance drop despite their non-ion-conducting properties. The characteristics of the MWCNTs/CeO2 layers and the reinforced Nafion membrane were investigated using various in situ and ex situ measurement techniques; in addition, electrochemical measurements for fuel cells were conducted.
Polymorphic Variants of the PDGFRB Gene Influence Efficacy of PRP Therapy in Treating Tennis Elbow: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: Differences in response to PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy may be linked to the variability of growth factors and their receptor’s genes. Considering that, we checked whether the platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta gene (PDGFRB) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affect the effectiveness of PRP therapy in treating tennis elbow patients. Methods: The treatment efficacy was analyzed over time (2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 52, and 104 weeks after PRP injection) on 107 patients (132 elbows) using PROMs (patient-reported outcome measures), namely VAS (Visual Analog Scale), QDASH (quick version of Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand) and PRTEE (Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation). Five polymorphisms of the PDGFRB gene (rs4324662, rs758588, rs3828610, rs3756311, and rs3756312) were genotyped. Results: The CC (rs3828610) and GG (rs3756311 and rs3756312) genotypes had a particularly strong impact on the effectiveness of the therapy, as measured by the values of PROMs, both in additive as well as dominant/recessive models. These homozygotes were also characterized by significantly higher values of MPV (mean platelet volume). Conclusions: The PDGFRB gene SNPs affect the effectiveness of PRP therapy in treating tennis elbow patients and it may result from the differentiated metabolic activity of platelets in particular genotype variants.
Charged jet cross section and fragmentation in proton-proton collisions at √s=7 TeV

We report the differential charged jet cross section and jet fragmentation distributions measured with the ALICE detector in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy s=7 TeV. Jets with pseudorapidity |η|40 GeV/c, the pythia calculations also agree with the measured charged jet cross section. pythia6 simulations describe the fragmentation distributions to 15%. Larger discrepancies are observed for pythia8. © 2019 CERN, for the ALICE Collaboration. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the »https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/» Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI. (Less)
On predictive distributions for exchangeable sequences related to exponentially tilted Poisson-Kingman models

where, according to Levy-Kintchine formula, for λ ≥ 0, ψ(λ) = ∫∞ 0 (1 − e −λx)ρ(dx) is the Laplace exponent, (i.e. T is an infinite divisible r.v.), fT (·) is uniquely identified by its unique Levy measure ρ(·), which satisfies ∫∞ 0 ρ(x)dx = ∞. If H(·) is a probability measure on a Polish space (S,S), fixed and non-atomic, then for each T and H , one may construct (see e.g. Kingman, 1993) a completely random measure μ on S, characterized by its Laplace functional for every positive measurable function g on S as
The distinct experience of supportive care needs among cervical cancer patients: A qualitative study

Introduction: Patients with cervical cancer report experiencing physical, psychological, economic, and social problems daily. An exploration of supportive care needs is important for patients and their families to cope with diagnosis, treatment, recovery or even death. Objective: This study explores the perceived supportive care needs of Nepali patients with cervical cancer who are undergoing cancer treatment. Methods: A descriptive qualitative research design was utilized with semi-structured interviews to probe patients with cervical cancer’s supportive care needs. The study was conducted at a cancer-specific hospital in Nepal. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 30 patients with cervical cancer. Qualitative thematic analysis techniques were employed to identify the supportive care needs of Nepalese patients with cervical cancer. Results: Supportive care needs were identified with five main themes and sixteen sub-themes: 1) psychological trauma (regret on delaying medical consultation, fear of disease, death and dying, ambivalence about the future and treatment, feeling of loss, caring/rearing of children, feeling and burden to partner/family); 2) financial distress (loss of income and challenges with treatment costs); 3) sexual disharmony; 4) physical dependency on others for day-to-day care and; 5) hunger for information (cause of disease, prognosis of disease, dietary counseling, and information on sexuality). Conclusion: Recognizing the supportive care needs of patients with cervical cancer during treatment by health care professional and family members is vital to facilitate optimal care at the hospital and home for overall improvement in the patient’s quality of life. Acknowledgment that the expensive treatment regime creates an economic and psychological burden for the patients.
Adaptive estimation of a time-varying phase with coherent states: Smoothing can give an unbounded improvement over filtering

The problem of measuring a time-varying phase, even when the statistics of the variation is known, is considerably harder than that of measuring a constant phase. In particular, the usual bounds on accuracy, such as the 1/(4n¯) standard quantum limit with coherent states, do not apply. Here, by restricting to coherent states, we are able to analytically obtain the achievable accuracy, the equivalent of the standard quantum limit, for a wide class of phase variation. In particular, we consider the case where the phase has Gaussian statistics and a power-law spectrum equal to κp−1/|ω|p for large ω, for some p > 1. For coherent states with mean photon flux N , we give the quantum Cramer-Rao bound on the mean-square phase error as [p sin(π/p)]−1(4N /κ)−(p−1)/p. Next, we consider whether the bound can be achieved by an adaptive homodyne measurement in the limit N /κ≫1, which allows the photocurrent to be linearized. Applying the optimal filtering for the resultant linear Gaussian system, we find the same scaling with N , but with a prefactor larger by a factor of p. By contrast, if we employ optimal smoothing we can exactly obtain the quantum Cramer-Rao bound. That is, contrary to previously considered (p = 2) cases of phase estimation, here the improvement offered by smoothing over filtering is not limited to a factor of 2 but rather can be unbounded by a factor of p. We also study numerically the performance of these estimators for an adaptive measurement in the limit where N /κ is not large and find a more complicated picture.
Assessment of bioconversion performance after alkaline fermentation process to recover biogas and nutrients

Alkaline fermentation of two distinct types of waste activated sludge was assessed to evaluate the recovery of by-products, such as nutrients, organic matter as a source of bioenergy, volatile fatty acids, and water. Also, to reduce the amount of solids to be disposed of, and the total management costs. Sludge 1 was from conventional activated sludge, and Sludge 2 was from a sequential batch reactor set for biological phosphorus removal. In the laboratory three different fermentation processes were provided in parallel, treating Sludge 1, followed by Sludge 2. Treatment A was the control, wherein the fermentation process occurred without alkali addition. Treatment B was alkaline fermen- tation with a controlled pH 10 of pre-solubilized sludge, and treatment C was alkaline fermentation at a controlled pH 10. The results indicated that alkaline fermentation significantly reduced the vol- atile suspended solids (VSS) to 45% treating Sludge 1, and to 50% treating Sludge 2, which was significantly improved for both sludges when pre-solubilized achieving 59% and 60%, respec- tively. Also, comparing the biogas production test of treatment A to the other conditions set, both increased almost four, and three times, for B and C, respectively. Orthophosphate, chem- ical oxygen demand, carbohydrates, and proteins in soluble fractions significantly increased under alkaline fermentation compared with the control, and all of these parameters were boosted with pre-solubilization. Comparing both sludges, the one from biological phosphorus removal systems achieved higher VSS reduction, and a significantly higher rate of orthophosphate release.