bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enseñanza en Investigación en Urología. Análisis Bibliométrico
Authors: Roa Veronica Tobar , López Beatriz Johanna Vega , Solano Catalina , Carvajal Luisana Castillo , Pulido Joan Stefany Duque , Yepes Catalina Gonzalez , Barbosa Pamela Perdomo
Published: December 2020

Objetivo Caracterizar el panorama de la educación en investigación en urología mediante un análisis bibliométrico.

Métodos Realizamos un análisis bibliométrico, utilizando artículos publicados entre 1955- 2019, sin restricción en el idioma. Se utilizaron las herramientass estadísticass PubMed, FABUMED y PubReminer para la obtención de la información de las variables y realización del análisis bibliométrico. Analisis de mapeo utilizando el software: VOSviewer,. Para la obtención del factor de impacto (FI), se utilizó el Journal Citation Reports 2017/2018.

Resultados Desde 1955 hasta 2019 se publicaron 718 referencias en 245 revistas. A partir del 2000 encontramos un aumento significativo en el número de publicaciones con un punto de corte en el año 2009. Las revistas con mayores publicaciones fueron: J Urol (8.6%), BJU Int (6.8%) y Urology (6.5%). De las 20 revistas con mayor número de publicaciones, sólo desolo 5 un FI mayor a 3. Los paises con mayor publicacion fueron: Estados Unidos (23,6%), Reino Unido (20,2%). El país de América Latina con mayor publicacion fué Brasil (0,8%).

Conclusiones El estado de la educación en investigación en urología demuestra un crecimiento en la producción científica , con una baja contribución por parte de los países latinoamericanos. Para poder desarrollar una creación intelectual de calidad se deberá invertir tiempo y recursos en un adecuado entrenamiento en investigación en los programas de formación en urología.
Quantum paraelectric state and critical behavior in Sn(Pb)2P2S(Se)6 ferroelectrics
Authors: Zamaraite I. , Liubachko V. , Yevych R. , Oleaga A. , Salazar A. , Dziaugys A. , Banys J. , Vysochanskii Yu.
Published: December 2020

The dipole ordering in Sn(Pb)2P2S(Se)6 materials may be tuned by chemical substitution realizing a ferroelectric quantum phase transition and quantum glassy or relaxor type phenomena on different parts of the phase diagram. The introduction of Ge impurity increases the temperature of the phase transitions and initiates a more pronounced Ising type critical anomaly in the Sn2P2S6 crystal, does not shift the coordinate of the Lifshitz point xLP in Sn2P2(SexS1−x)6 mixed crystals, and induces the appearance of a ferroelectric phase transition in quantum paraelectrics Pb2P2S6 and inhomogeneous polar ordering in (Pb0.7Sn0.3)2P2S(Se)6 crystals. For the Pb2P2S6 crystal, the real part of the dielectric permittivity in the quantum critical regime varies as 1/T2 instead of the expected 1/T3 behavior for uniaxial materials. Such an observation can be partially explained by a screening phenomenon in the semiconductor materials of the Sn(Pb)2P2S(Se)6 system, which weakens the long-range electric dipole interactions, and also provides, at high temperatures, a critical behavior near the Lifshitz point (studied by thermal diffusivity) similar to the one predicted in the case of systems with short-range interactions. At low temperatures, a quantum critical behavior in the Pb2P2S6 crystal can be established by a small amplitude of electric dipoles together with the nonlinear coupling between polar and antipolar fluctuations. An increase in thermal conductivity is induced by Ge impurity in the Pb2P2S6 crystal, which is explained by the weakening of the acoustic phonons resonance scattering by soft optic phonons because of the appearance of ferroelectric phase polar clusters.
Data-driven assessment of chemical vapor deposition grown MoS2 monolayer thin films
Authors: Costine Anna , Delsa Paige , Li Tianxi , Reinke Petra , Balachandran Prasanna V.
Published: December 2020

Growth of high quality two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers with the desired microstructure and morphology is critical for enabling key technological solutions. This is a non-trivial problem because the processing space is vast and lack of a priori guidelines impedes rapid progress. A machine learning approach is discussed that leverages the data present in published growth experiments to predict growth performance in regions of unexplored parameter space. Starting from the literature data on MoS2 thin films grown using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a database is manually constructed. Unsupervised and supervised machine learning methods are used to learn from the compiled data by extracting trends that underlie the formation of MoS2 monolayers. Design rules are uncovered that establish the phase boundaries classifying monolayers from other possible outcomes, which offers future guidance of CVD experiments.
Connecting dynamic reweighting Algorithms: Derivation of the dynamic reweighting family tree
Authors: Linker Stephanie M. , Weiß R. Gregor , Riniker Sereina
Published: December 2020

Thermally driven processes of molecular systems include transitions of energy barriers on the microsecond timescales and higher. Sufficient sampling of such processes with molecular dynamics simulations is challenging and often requires accelerating slow transitions using external biasing potentials. Different dynamic reweighting algorithms have been proposed in the past few years to recover the unbiased kinetics from biased systems. However, it remains an open question if and how these dynamic reweighting approaches are connected. In this work, we establish the link between the two main reweighting types, i.e., path-based and energy-based reweighting. We derive a path-based correction factor for the energy-based dynamic histogram analysis method, thus connecting the previously separate reweighting types. We show that the correction factor can be used to combine the advantages of path-based and energy-based reweighting algorithms: it is integrator independent, more robust, and at the same time able to reweight time-dependent biases. We can furthermore demonstrate the relationship between two independently derived path-based reweighting algorithms. Our theoretical findings are verified on a one-dimensional four-well system. By connecting different dynamic reweighting algorithms, this work helps to clarify the strengths and limitations of the different methods and enables a more robust usage of the combined types.
O
-operators on hom-Lie algebras
Authors: Mishra Satyendra Kumar , Naolekar Anita
Published: December 2020

O -operators (also known as relative Rota–Baxter operators) on Lie algebras have several applications in integrable systems and the classical Yang–Baxter equations. In this article, we study O-operators on hom-Lie algebras. We define a cochain complex for O-operators on hom-Lie algebras with respect to a representation. Any O-operator induces a hom-pre-Lie algebra structure. We express the cochain complex of an O-operator in terms of the specific hom-Lie algebra cochain complex. If the structure maps in a hom-Lie algebra and its representation are invertible, then we can extend the above cochain complex to a deformation complex for O-operators by adding the space of zero cochains. Subsequently, we study formal deformations of O-operators on regular hom-Lie algebras in terms of the deformation cohomology. In the end, we deduce deformations of s-Rota–Baxter operators (of weight 0) and skew-symmetric r-matrices on hom-Lie algebras as particular cases of O-operators on hom-Lie algebras.
Evolution of a quasi-two-dimensional shear layer in a soap film flow
Authors: Korlimarla Aparna , Vorobieff Peter
Published: December 2020

A quasi-two-dimensional shear layer is produced by merging two gravity-driven flows of soap film at different average velocities. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability dominates the evolution of the shear layer, similar to what is observed in three-dimensional shear layers. However, the constraints that effectively limit the flow to two spatial dimensions have a considerable influence on the development of secondary instabilities and transition to turbulence. Nearly 40 cm downstream in the flow, two two-dimensional instabilities are observed, namely, vortex-pairing and secondary Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. The development of secondary instabilities and transition to turbulence in the flow is also affected by the interaction of the flowing soap film with boundary layers forming in the air surrounding the flowing soap film in the direction normal to the plane of the film. This becomes apparent when the flow is analyzed quantitatively in terms of the mixing interface length and fractal dimension. Initially, the mixing interface length grows exponentially with the downstream distance; however, beyond a certain distance, the growth stops. For the fractal dimension of the mixing interface in our quasi-two-dimensional shear layer, we have observed a peak value of 1.27 as compared to 1.34 reported in the literature for a corresponding section of a three-dimensional shear layer. For scales larger than ∼1 cm, interaction with air begins to dominate as the leading mechanism of dissipation. Coupling with boundary layers in air near the soap film drains energy from the large flow features and apparently “freezes” its evolution, producing “fossil” turbulence at large downstream distances.
Effect of a high-voltage mesh electrode on the volume and surface characteristics of pulsed dielectric barrier discharges
Authors: Kettlitz M. , van Rooij O. , Höft H. , Brandenburg R. , Sobota A.
Published: December 2020

Electrical breakdown in a pulsed asymmetric dielectric barrier discharge between a glass-covered mesh electrode and a grounded metal electrode in the air at atmospheric pressure is investigated. Volume discharge forms between the metal tip and the dielectric surface and spreads over the dielectric surface. Breakdown and discharge behaviors depend on the polarity of the charged electrode covered with glass compared to the metal rod electrode. In the case of the dielectric cathode (covered mesh), volume discharge features a stronger and longer-lasting emission. Volume discharge is weaker with outstretched surface discharge developing on the opposite glass electrode sustained by the embedded mesh when the metal rod functions as a cathode. The development and spatial distribution of the surface discharge depend on the relative polarity of the dielectrics caused by the charge deposition of the preceding discharge and is independent of the polarity of the applied high voltage. The discharge emission is brighter for the metal cathode and dielectric anode than for the metal anode, with a branching discharge developing and spreading in a star-like structure along the embedded grid, while a ring-like structure was observed for the metal anode and dielectric cathode. The duty cycle influences the discharge development and properties through the effects of the gas phase and surface pre-ionization.
Piston driven converging cylindrical shock waves in a non-ideal gas with azimuthal magnetic field
Authors: Singh Deepika , Arora Rajan
Published: December 2020

In this article, we used the perturbation series technique to study the problem of strong converging cylindrical shock waves, collapsing at the axis of symmetry in a non-ideal gas with the effect of the azimuthal magnetic field. We assumed that the density of the undisturbed medium is uniform. With the help of the said method, we obtain a global solution to the shock implosion problem that also provides the results for Guderley’s local self-similar solution accurately, which holds merely in the neighborhood of the axis of implosion. We determined the similarity exponents and the corresponding amplitudes near the shock-collapse by expanding the shock position and flow variables in the Taylor series in t, where t is the time. Furthermore, the computed leading similarity exponents are compared with the already existing results and numerical results obtained by an alternative approach. Distributions of the gas dynamical quantities and shock trajectory are discussed through figures. The effects of variation in the non-ideal parameter (b), shock Cowling number (C0), and adiabatic index (γ) on the flow variables behind the shock and shock trajectory are also analyzed.
Numerically “exact” simulations of entropy production in the fully quantum regime: Boltzmann entropy vs von Neumann entropy
Authors: Sakamoto Souichi , Tanimura Yoshitaka
Published: December 2020

We present a scheme to evaluate thermodynamic variables for a system coupled to a heat bath under a time-dependent external force using the quasi-static Helmholtz energy from the numerically “exact” hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM). We computed the entropy produced by a spin system strongly coupled to a non-Markovian heat bath for various temperatures. We showed that when changes to the external perturbation occurred sufficiently slowly, the system always reached thermal equilibrium. Thus, we calculated the Boltzmann entropy and the von Neumann entropy for an isothermal process, as well as various thermodynamic variables, such as changes in internal energies, heat, and work, for a system in quasi-static equilibrium based on the HEOM. We found that although the characteristic features of the system entropies in the Boltzmann and von Neumann cases as a function of the system–bath coupling strength are similar, those for the total entropy production are completely different. The total entropy production in the Boltzmann case is always positive, whereas that in the von Neumann case becomes negative if we chose a thermal equilibrium state of the total system (an unfactorized thermal equilibrium state) as the initial state. This is because the total entropy production in the von Neumann case does not properly take into account the contribution of the entropy from the system–bath interaction. Thus, the Boltzmann entropy must be used to investigate entropy production in the fully quantum regime. Finally, we examined the applicability of the Jarzynski equality.
Habitat Use and Population Size of The Long-Nosed Potoroo, Potorous tridactylus (Marsupialia: Potoroidae) In A Coastal Reserve, North-Eastern New South Wales.
Authors: Mason R.J.
Published: December 2020

A 22 ha trap grid was established perpendicular to the dune and swale system of a small coastal reserve c.750 ha (Tyagarah Nature Reserve), to investigate habitat use and the population density of Potorous tridactylus. Trapping records indicated that certain habitat types were favoured over others. Most captures occurred in dry open shrubland and moist open shrubland. Population density was relatively low at 0.23 (known to be alive) and 0.26 (Jolly-Seber method) individuals per hectare. The distribution of P. tridactylus in the reserve was established through the random placement of 235 hair-sampling tubes. It was estimated that P. tridactylus utilised a minimum area of about 340 ha within the reserve. This area multiplied by the population density indicated a population of about 80-90 individuals within Tyagarah Nature Reserve.
The Effects of Bromocriptine on The Tasmanian Pademelon, Thylogale billardierii, During Lactational Quiescence.
Authors: Rose R.W.
Published: December 2020

Many macropodids exhibit lactational quiescence during which a blastocyst is retained in utero while a pouch young is sucking. The sucking stimulus presumably maintains secretion of prolactin which inhibits activity of the corpus luteum. When sucking frequency decreases, the blastocyst resumes development. In this study the Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii) was given the dopamine agonist bromocriptine (5mg kg-1) which in most mammals results in decreased secretion of prolactin by the pituitary gland. Of fourteen animals treated, ten came into oestrus and/or gave birth within 31 days of injection. Three older pouch young prematurely vacated the pouch on the night of birth of a new young.
Determining the Distribution of The Platypus (Ornithorhyncus anatinus) in the Eden Region Of South Eastern New South Wales Through Community-Based Surveys.
Authors: Lunney D. , Grant T. , Matthews A. , Esson C. , Moon C. , Ellis M.
Published: December 2020

The distribution of Ornithorhynchus anatinus in the Eden region of south-east New South Wales is defined based on information from two community-based surveys. In 1986-87 a state-wide questionnaire survey was distributed to field staff from various government departments. A search for historical reports was also carried out. Fifty-five reports of platypuses were obtained from the Eden region, including 30 sightings on agricultural land. The second approach was through a joint National Parks and Wildlife Service and State Forests householder postal survey in 1991. The survey returns yielded 273 locations of O. anatinus of which 76% were on freehold rural land, 19% were in State Forests and 5% were in National Parks or Nature Reserves. Records from both surveys, spread from 1930 to the early 1990s, were from all parts of the region. The surveys showed that platypuses have been widespread in the region, but their now fragmented distribution indicates a reduction in the regional population of the species. Management of waterways and catchments are crucial to its long-term survival. The public awareness of the platypus shown by the number of questionnaire returns, is an encouraging sign that local plans to conserve or restore its habitat are likely to be well received if produced through the cooperative approach initiated by community-based surveys.
A Decade of Mark-Recapture of Platypuses on The Duckmaloi River: Any New Insights into Population Dynamics?
Authors: Goldney D.
Published: December 2020

A long-term mark-recapture program has been carried out on the Duckmaloi Weir (near Oberon, New south Wales) and associated river over the period 1986 to the present. The pipehead weir creates a long shallow ·pool' about 2.5 ha in area, ideal for gill-netting platypuses. One hundred and eighty-two (182) individual animals have been captured in excess of 500 times. The majority of animals have been captured in the weir pool. A very dynamic situation exists with new adults and juveniles being captured on a regular basis and conversely captured animals "disappearing" on a regular basis from the system. Some individuals exhibit both transience and site attachment characteristics. However, relatively few animals remain site attached for long periods of time. Sixty nine percent of individuals are captured two or fewer times. Band loss cannot account for this phenomenon. Of the captured animals, 11.3% have been caught more than 5 times. The sex ratio of the population favours females in first capture adults (1:1.72) but males in first capture juveniles (1:0.73). Females are more likely to be recaptured than males. The sex ratio of juveniles varies significantly from year to year. The period between recaptures varies greatly and can be up to 6 years. Four animals have been captured over nine years (3 females/1 male) but no animal has been captured every year of the study. Recruitment has occurred at levels able to maintain the current population numbers. Thirty percent of available adults have been found lactating, including second year females. Seventy one percent of first year capture juveniles and 89.9% of first capture adults "disappear" within two years of first capture. Forty two percent of juvenile animals reach adult status before "disappearing".
Captures, Body Mass and Diet of Platypuses in a Subalpine Tasmanian Lake.
Authors: Munks S.A. , Otley H.M. , Jackson J. , Hindell M.
Published: December 2020

Studies into the ecology of the platypus have concentrated on populations inhabiting !otic waters on mainland Australia. This paper presents preliminary results of a study into the feeding ecology and energetics of the platypus in a subalpine lake in Tasmania. During the autumn, winter and early spring months 29 individual platypuses were captured (13 adult females, 13 adult males and 3 juveniles). Of these, 46% of the adult males, 31% of the adult females and one of the juveniles were recaptured between one and eight times. Catch per unit effort was similar for the 1800-2400hrs, 0600-1200hrs and 1200-1800hrs time periods (0.158, 0.161 and 0.156, respectively). However catch per unit effort was low (0.057) between 2400hr and 0600hrs. There was no significant difference in the mean body mass of adult males and females between autumn, winter and early spring, however the condition of the females, indicated by the tail fat index, decreased in early spring. The overall mean body mass for adult males and adult females caught during the autumn/winter and early spring months was 2293.21g ± 300 (1920-2740g) and 1375.22g ± 147 (1150-1580g), respectively. This supports the observation that platypuses in Tasmania are larger than those occurring in mainland water bodies. The timing of juvenile captures suggests that matings occur at Lake Lea between mid September through to January. This indicates that the breeding season may be later in Tasmania than on the mainland. The contents of cheek pouches were collected from individuals caught during the autumn, winter and early spring months for identification of food items. Food items identified so far include Trichoptera, Gastropod molluscs, Ephemeroptera nymphs, Coleoptera larvae and Diptera, with Trichoptera forming the dominant food item. Measurements of the daily energy expenditure of six adults were attempted during late winter and early spring using the doubly labelled water technique.
A Note on Possible Camouflaging Behaviour by a Little Red Flying-Fox, Pteropus scapulatus (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae)
Authors: Ford G.I. , Young R.A.
Published: December 2020

na
Binding of cardiotonic steroids to Na
+
,K
+
-ATPase in the E2P state
Authors: Kanai Ryuta , Cornelius Flemming , Ogawa Haruo , Motoyama Kanna , Vilsen Bente , Toyoshima Chikashi
Published: December 2020

Significance

Cardiotonic steroids (CTSs) are specific inhibitors of Na
+
,K
+
-ATPase and have been studied over a long period of time because of their potential therapeutic use in heart failure, hypertension, and cancers. Their affinities and binding kinetics are vastly different and seemingly rather inconsistent in the literature. Recent development of nonconventional CTSs with unexpected behaviors has revived interest in CTSs as potential drugs. In this report, we carried out a systematic study on various CTSs, including rostafuroxin and istaroxime, using kinetics and X-ray crystallography of their complexes with Na
+
,K
+
-ATPase, and explain how CTSs block the reaction cycle and why such large differences in inhibitory behaviors arise. The analysis suggests how isoform specificity may be achieved in order to improve their clinical usability.
How Docket Control Shapes Judicial Behavior: A Comparative Analysis of the Norwegian and Danish Supreme Courts
Authors: Skiple Jon Kåre , Bentsen Henrik Litleré , McKenzie Mark Jonathan
Published: December 2020

European courts have responded to increasing caseloads by providing justices or other actors with a higher degree of discretionary docket control. Does docket type—mandatory or discretionary—shape judicial behavior? Using a most similar systems research design regarding tax decisions in the Norwegian and Danish supreme courts, we show that discretionary dockets are associated with higher dissent and reversal rates than mandatory dockets, that low-status litigants have a lower chance of winning under mandatory dockets, and that docket type conditions the effects of justices’ preferences. Our findings have implications for comparative judicial politics and for institutional design.
Inverse engineering of electromagnetically induced transparency in terahertz metamaterial via deep learning
Authors: Huang Wei , Wei Ziming , Tan Benying , Yin Shan , Zhang Wentao
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we apply the deep learning network to the inverse engineering of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in terahertz metamaterial. We take three specific points of the EIT spectrum with six inputs (each specific point has two physical values with frequency and amplitude) into the deep learning model to predict and inversely design the geometrical parameters of EIT metamaterials. We propose this algorithm for the general inverse design of EIT metamaterials, and we demonstrate that our method is functional by taking one example structure. Our deep learning model exhibits a mean square error of 0.0085 in the training set and 0.014 in the test set. We believe that this finding will open a new approach for designing geometrical parameters of EIT metamaterials, and it has great potential to enlarge the applications of the THz EIT metamaterial.
Electrical conductivity enhancement of transparent silver nanowire films on temperature-sensitive flexible substrates using intense pulsed ion beam
Authors: Kaikanov Marat , Kemelbay Aidar , Amanzhulov Bauyrzhan , Demeuova Gulzat , Akhtanova Gulnur , Bozheyev Farabi , Tikhonov Alexander
Published: December 2020

Silver nanowire (AgNW) networks have attracted particular attention as transparent conductive films (TCF) due to their high conductivity, flexibility, transparency, and large scale processing compatible synthesis. As-prepared AgNW percolating networks typically suffer from high contact resistance, requiring additional post-synthetic processing. In this report, large area irradiation with 200 ns short intense pulsed ion beam (IPIB) was used to anneal and enhance the conductivity of AgNW network, deposited on temperature-sensitive polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. A TCF sheet resistance shows irradiation dose dependence, decreasing by four orders of magnitude and reaching a value of 70 Ω/sq without damaging the polymer substrate, which retained a transparency of 94%. The IPIB irradiation fused AgNW network into the PET substrate, resulting in a great adhesion enhancement. Heat transfer simulations show that the heat originates at the near-surface layer of the TCF and lasts an ultra-short period of time. Obtained experimental and simulation results indicate that the irradiation with IPIBs opens new perspectives in the low-temperature annealing of nanomaterials deposited on temperature-sensitive substrates.
First-principles study of sulfur vacancy concentration effect on the electronic structures and hydrogen evolution reaction of MoS2
Authors: Zhou Wenyu , Dong Lichun , Tan Luxi , Tang Qing
Published: December 2020

Defect engineering has been widely used in experiments to modulate the electrocatalytic properties of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). However, the effect of vacancy concentration on the vacancy distribution, electronic properties, and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity remains elusive. Herein, we perform density functional theory (DFT) studies to investigate defective MoS2 with different numbers of sulfur vacancies. In the case of low S-vacancy concentration, the vacancies prefer to agglomerate rather than being dispersed, while at the higher-vacancy concentration, the combination of local point defect and clustered vacancy chain is preferred. The coupling between S-vacancies leads to decreased band gap and increased Mo–H adsorption strength with increasing vacancy concentration. The optimal HER activity is identified to occur below vacancy concentration of 12.50%. Our work provides an atomic-level understanding about the role of S-vacancies in the HER performance of MoS2, and offers useful guidelines for the design of defective MoS2 and other TMDs electrocatalysts.
Freestanding perovskite oxide monolayers as two-dimensional semiconductors
Authors: Xiao Xiang-Bo , Liu Bang-Gui
Published: December 2020

It is highly desirable to search for promising two-dimensional (2D) monolayer materials for obtaining deep insight of 2D materials and developing device applications. We use first-principles method to investigate tetragonal perovskite oxide monolayers as 2D materials, and find three stable freestanding 2D monolayer materials from important perovskite oxides (ABO3), namely SrTiO3, LaAlO3, and KTaO3, denoting them as STO-ML, LAO-ML, and KTO-ML. Such an oxide monolayer consists of one AO and one BO2 atomic layers. Further study shows that the three monolayers are 2D wide-gap semiconducotors, and there is a large electrostatic potential energy difference between the two sides, reflecting a large out-of-plane dipole, in each of the monolayers. We also investigate optical properties of the three monolayer semiconductors and compare them with graphene and MoS2 monolayer. These make a series of 2D monolayer materials, and should be useful in novel electronic and optoelectronic devices considering emerging phenomena in perovskite oxide heterostructures.
Evaluation for half-lives in α-decay chains of 309−312126 based on semi-empirical approaches
Authors: Ly N D , Duy N N , Chae K Y , Pham Vinh N T , Nhan-Hao T V
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we estimated half-lives using semi-empirical formulae for isotopes with Z = 100 − 126 in four α-decay chains, which can appear in the syntheses of the 309−312126 nuclei. The spontaneous fission half-lives were calculated using the Anghel, Karpov, and Xu models, whereas the α-decay ones were predicted using the Viola-Seaborg, Royer, Akrawy, Brown, modified formulae of Royer, Ni, and Qian approaches. We found that there are large differences among the spontaneous fission half-lives estimated using the Xu model and those calculated using the others, which are up to 50 orders of magnitude. The α-decay half-lives also have large uncertainties due to difference in either methods or uncertainties in nuclear mass and spin-parities. Subsequently, there is an argument in determination of α-emitters, especially for the 312126 isotope. On the other hand, the α-decay half-lives are in the range from a few microseconds (309−312126) to thousands of years (257−260Fm) in the decay chains. It was found that the half-lives are very sensitive to not only the shell closure but also the angular momentum in the α decay. For experiments, with relatively long half-lives (a few milliseconds), the 289−292Lv isotopes can be observed as evidences for syntheses of the unknown super-heavy 309−312126 nuclei. Furthermore, measurements for precise mass, fission barrier, and spin-parity are necessary to improve accuracy of half-life predictions for super-heavy nuclei.
Research on the photoluminescence of spectral broadening by rapid thermal annealing on InAs/GaAs quantum dots
Authors: Ning Dandan , Chen Yanan , Li Xinkun , Liang Dechun , Ma Shufang , Jin Peng , Wang Zhanguo
Published: December 2020

Photoluminescence (PL) test was conducted to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the optical performance of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) at the temperatures of 16 and 300 K. It was found that after RTA treatment, the PL spectrum of the QDs sample had a large blue-shift and significantly broadened at 300 K. Compared with the as-grown InAs QDs sample, the PL spectral width has increased by 44.68 meV in the InAs QDs sample RTA-treated at 800 °C. The excitation power-dependent PL measurements showed that the broadening of the PL peaks of the RTA-treated InAs QDs should be related to the emission of the ground state (GS) of different-sized InAs QDs, the InAs wetting layer (WL) and the In0.15Ga0.85As strain reduction layer (SRL) in the epitaxial InAs/GaAs layers.
The influence of total ionizing dose on the hot carrier injection of 22 nm bulk nFinFET
Authors: Wang Baoshun , Cui Jiangwei , Guo Qi , Zheng Qiwen , Wei Ying , Xi Shanxue
Published: December 2020

We investigate the hot carrier injection effect (HCI) and how X-ray radiation impacts the HCI of 22-nm nFinFETs as a function of device geometry and irradiation bias conditions in this paper. In the HCI test, the degradation of threshold voltage and saturation current decreases with the increase of fin number, which means that HCI weakens when the fin number increases. The reason is attributed to the coupling effect between fins. Moreover, irradiation is shown to weaken the degradation during the subsequent hot carrier test. The influence of irradiation on HCI is more obvious with ON bias than that of OFF bias and transmission gate bias. It is supposed that the Si–H bonds can be broken by irradiation before the HCI test, which is one reason for the irradiation influence on HCI. Besides, trapped charges are generated in the shallow trench isolation by the radiation, which could reduce the channel electric field, and then weaken the HCI.
Theoretical study of a group IV p–i–n photodetector with a flat and broad response for visible and infrared detection
Authors: Wu Jinyong , Huang Donglin , Ye Yujie , Wang Jianyuan , Huang Wei , Li Cheng , Chen Songyan , Ke Shaoying
Published: December 2020

We report a theoretical study of a broadband Si/graded-SiGe/Ge/Ge0.9Sn0.1 p–i–n photodetector with a flat response based on modulating thickness of the layers in the active region. The responsivity of the photodetector is about 0.57 A/W in the range of 700 to 1800 nm. This structure is suitable for silicon-based epitaxial growth. Annealing is technically applied to form the graded-SiGe. The photodetector reaches a cut-off wavelength at ~2300 nm and a low dark-current density under 3 V reverse bias about 0.17 mA/cm2 is achieved theoretical at room temperature. This work is of great significance for silicon-based detection and communication, from visible to infrared.
Re-assessing global water storage trends from GRACE time series
Authors: Vishwakarma B D , Bates P , Sneeuw N , Westaway R M , Bamber J L
Published: December 2020

Monitoring changes in freshwater availability is critical for human society and sustainable economic development. To identify regions experiencing secular change in their water resources, many studies compute linear trends in the total water storage (TWS) anomaly derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission data. Such analyses suggest that several major water systems are under stress (Rodell et al 2009 Nature
460 999–1002; Long et al 2013 Geophys. Res. Lett.
40 3395–401; Richey et al 2015 Water Resour. Res.
51 5217–38; Voss et al 2013 Water Resour. Res.
49 904–14; Famiglietti 2014 Nat. Clim. Change.
4 945–8; Rodell et al 2018 Nature 557 651–9). TWS varies in space and time due to low frequency natural variability, anthropogenic intervention, and climate-change (Hamlington et al 2017 Sci. Rep.
7 995; Nerem et al 2018 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci.). Therefore, linear trends from a short time series can only be interpreted in a meaningful way after accounting for natural spatiotemporal variability in TWS (Paolo et al 2015 Science
348 327–31; Edward 2012 Geophys. Res. Lett. 39 L01702). In this study, we first show that GRACE TWS trends from a short time series cannot determine conclusively if an observed change is unprecedented or severe. To address this limitation, we develop a novel metric, trend to variability ratio (TVR), that assesses the severity of TWS trends observed by GRACE from 2003 to 2015 relative to the multi-decadal climate-driven variability. We demonstrate that the TVR combined with the trend provides a more informative and complete assessment of water storage change. We show that similar trends imply markedly different severity of TWS change, depending on location. Currently more than 3.2 billion people are living in regions facing severe water storage depletion w.r.t. past decades. Furthermore, nearly 36% of hydrological catchments losing water in the last decade have suffered from unprecedented loss. Inferences from this study can better inform water resource management.
Testing a simple formula for calculating approximate intensity-duration-frequency curves
Authors: Benestad Rasmus E , Lutz Julia , Dyrrdal Anita Verpe , Haugen Jan Erik , Parding Kajsa M , Dobler Andreas
Published: December 2020

A simple formula for estimating approximate values of return levels for sub-daily rainfall is presented and tested. It was derived from a combination of simple mathematical principles, approximations and fitted to 10 year return levels taken from intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves representing 14 sites in Oslo. The formula was subsequently evaluated against IDF curves from independent sites elsewhere in Norway. Since it only needs 24 h rain gauge data as input, it can provide approximate estimates for the IDF curves used to describe sub-daily rainfall return levels. In this respect, it can be considered as means of downscaling with respect to timescale, given an approximate power-law dependency between temporal scales. One clear benefit with this framework is that observational data is far more abundant for 24 h rain gauge records than for sub-daily measurements. Furthermore, it does not assume stationarity, and is well-suited for projecting IDF curves for a future climate.
On-chip high-definition bioprinting of microvascular structures
Authors: Dobos Agnes , Gantner Franziska , Markovic Marica , Van Hoorick Jasper , Tytgat Liesbeth , Van Vlierberghe Sandra , Ovsianikov Aleksandr
Published: December 2020

‘Organ-on-chip’ devices which integrate three-dimensional (3D) cell culture techniques with microfluidic approaches have the capacity to overcome the limitations of classical 2D platforms. Although several different strategies have been developed to improve the angiogenesis within hydrogels, one of the main challenges in tissue engineering remains the lack of vascularization in the fabricated 3D models. The present work focuses on the high-definition (HD) bioprinting of microvascular structures directly on-chip using two-photon polymerization (2PP). 2PP is a nonlinear process, where the near-infrared laser irradiation will only lead to the polymerization of a very small volume pixel (voxel), allowing the fabrication of channels in the microvascular range (10–30 µm in diameter). Additionally, 2PP not only enables the fabrication of sub-micrometer resolution scaffolds but also allows the direct embedding of cells within the produced structure. The accuracy of the 2PP printing parameters were optimized in order to achieve high-throughput and HD production of microfluidic vessel-on-chip platforms. The spherical aberrations stemming from the refractive index mismatch and the focusing depth inside the sample were simulated and the effect of the voxel compensation as well as different printing modes were demonstrated. Different layer spacings and their dependency on the applied laser power were compared both in terms of accuracy and required printing time resulting in a 10-fold decrease in structuring time while yielding well-defined channels of small diameters. Finally, the capacity of 2PP to create vascular structures within a microfluidic chip was tested with two different settings, by direct embedding of a co-culture of endothelial- and supporting cells during the printing process and by creating a supporting, cell-containing vascular scaffold barrier where the endothelial cell spheroids can be seeded afterwards. The functionality of the formed vessels was demonstrated with immunostaining of vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-Cadherin) endothelial adhesion molecules in both static and perfused culture.
Broadband absorption of infrared dielectric resonators for passive radiative cooling
Authors: Liu Yanning , Weng Xiaolong , Zhang Peng , Li Wenxin , Gong Yu , Zhang Li , Zhou Peiheng , Deng Longjiang
Published: December 2020

Infrared resonator metamaterials, exhibiting spectral selective absorption of light, have recently been of great interest for passive radiative cooling. In this approach, coolers radiate power passively, with emissivity equals to its absorptivity. However, high-efficient energy dissipation requires radiation windows of broad bandwidth, i.e. 8–14 μm, that challenges the narrow-band feature of resonators. Here, we numerically realize the broadband absorption (above 80% in 8–11 μm) for dielectric resonators over a wide incident angle range (0°–60°), predicting 12 °C cooling below the ambient temperature at nighttime. The electromagnetically resonating eigenmodes of the dielectric resonators are perturbated by losses to reshape the dispersion relation in radiation windows, which are implemented by two methods: inserting metal components and coating lossy dielectrics. Retrieval constitutive parameters, as well as S parameters, map the reshaping process for broadband considerations. Additionally, ideal transparency (nearly 100%) above the wavelength of 0.5 mm is achieved. These crucial features offer an effective solution to the microwave signals shielding problem generally encountered in previous radiative coolers, regarding applied scenes such as buildings and cars.
A multiscale optimization framework for reconstructing binary images using multilevel PCA-based control space reduction
Authors: Koolman Priscilla M , Bukshtynov Vladislav
Published: December 2020

An efficient computational approach for optimal reconstructing parameters of binary-type physical properties for models in biomedical applications is developed and validated. The methodology includes gradient-based multiscale optimization with multilevel control space reduction by using principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with dynamical control space upscaling. The reduced dimensional controls are used interchangeably at fine and coarse scales to accumulate the optimization progress and mitigate side effects at both scales. Flexibility is achieved through the proposed procedure for calibrating certain parameters to enhance the performance of the optimization algorithm. Reduced size of control spaces supplied with adjoint-based gradients obtained at both scales facilitate the application of this algorithm to models of higher complexity and also to a broad range of problems in biomedical sciences. This technique is shown to outperform regular gradient-based methods applied to fine scale only in terms of both qualities of binary images and computing time. Performance of the complete computational framework is tested in applications to 2D inverse problems of cancer detection by the electrical impedance tomography (EIT). The results demonstrate the efficient performance of the new method and its high potential for minimizing possibilities for false positive screening and improving the overall quality of the EIT-based procedures.
A hybrid quantum regression model for the prediction of molecular atomization energies
Authors: Reddy Pranath , Bhattacherjee Aranya B
Published: December 2020

Quantum machine learning is a relatively new research field that aims to combine the dramatic performance advantage offered by quantum computing and the ability of machine learning algorithms to learn complex distributions of high-dimensional data. The primary focus of this domain is the implementation of classical machine learning algorithms in the quantum mechanical domain and study of the speedup due to quantum parallelism, which could enable the development of novel techniques for solving problems such as quantum phase recognition and quantum error correction optimization. In this paper, we propose a hybrid quantum machine learning pipeline for predicting the atomization energies of various molecules using the nuclear charges and atomic positions of the constituent atoms. Firstly, we will be using a deep convolutional auto-encoder model for the feature extraction of data constructed from the eigenvalues and eigenvector centralities of the pairwise distance matrix calculated from atomic positions and the unrolled upper triangle of each Coulomb matrix calculated from nuclear charges, and we will then be using a quantum regression algorithm such as quantum linear regression, quantum radial basis function neural network and, a quantum neural network for estimating the atomization energy. The hybrid quantum neural network models do not seem to provide any speedup over their classical counterparts. Before implementing a quantum algorithm, we will also be using state-of-the-art classical machine learning and deep learning models such as XGBoost, multilayer perceptron, deep convolutional neural network, and a long short-term memory network to study the correlation between the extracted features and corresponding atomization energies of molecules.
Haiti: Deconstructing Military Entanglements in Politics
Authors: Laguerre Michel S.
Published: December 2020

Since the independence of Haiti in 1804, the military has played a central role in the governance of the republic, often accessing the presidency through the recurrent phenomenon of the coup d’état, which serves as both a principal mechanism for the transmission of power from one government to another and for reinforcing the domination of the military over the civilian population. The 19th-century model of the coup d’état reflected the de facto decentralization of the military as it was carried out through rebellions concocted and headed by army battalions stationed in the rural provinces. The U.S. occupation (1915–1934), by locating or relocating the military elite, the most prominent military bases, the largest contingent of the military officers and rank and file in the capital city, contributed to the reengineering of a new national infrastructure that facilitates a new model of the coup d’état to emerge: One that germinates among the high command of the military; one that takes the form of a corporate intervention; one that is made possible because of the high command’s control over tactical military weapons, including the heavy military equipment located in the capital city; and one that is swift, thereby preventing any provincial military base from mounting a meaningful or successful military counter-coup.
Japan: The Culture of Insubordination in the Army, 1868–1945
Authors: Orbach Danny
Published: December 2020

The soldiers and sailors of Imperial Japan (1868–1945) are often presented in Western popular publications as obedient robots, unblinkingly following their commanders to certain death. In fact, however, the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were among the most disobedient military forces in modern history. Structural flaws in the political code of the early Japanese state, as well as a series of misguided reforms to the Army, incubated an ideology of military independence from civilian rule. The Army, placed directly under the Emperor, did not institutionally believe it had to unconditionally obey the civilian government. Even worse, generals used their connections with the sovereign as an excuse for their individual disobedience.

In the 1920s, this ideology of military independence converged with a subculture of insubordination from below, recalling revolutionary traditions of the mid-19th century. According to this ideology, prevalent among both officers and civilian activists, spontaneous political violence was justified when motivated by sincere patriotism and imperial loyalty. By the 1930s, insubordination from above and from below converged to produce a strong sense of military superiority, independence from any kind of civilian supervision, and endemic violence. The result was an unending series of unauthorized military operations, political assassinations, and coups d’état. These terrified the civilian leadership and eventually drove Japan to imperial overreach and disastrous, unwinnable wars.