2,851 research outputs found
Electrostatic charging artefacts in Lorentz electron tomography of MFM tip stray fields
Using the technique of differential phase contrast (DPC) Lorentz electron microscopy, the magnetic stray field distribution from magnetic force microscopy (MFM) tips can be calculated in a plane in front of the tip using tomographic reconstruction techniques. Electrostatic charging of the tip during DPC imaging can significantly distort these field reconstructions. Using a simple point charge model, this paper illustrates the effect of electrostatic charging of the sample on the accuracy of tomographic field reconstructions. A procedure for separating electrostatic and magnetic effects is described, and is demonstrated using experimental tomographic data obtained from a modified MFM tip
The informativeness of stochastic frontier and programming frontier efficiency scores: Cost efficiency and other measures of bank holding company performance
This paper examines the properties of the X-inefficiencies in U.S. bank holding companies derived from both stochastic and linear programming frontiers. This examination allows the robustness of results across methods to be compared. While we find that calculated programming inefficiency scores are two to three times larger than those estimated using a stochastic frontier, the patterns of the scores across banks and time are similar, and there is a relatively high correlation of the rankings of banks' efficiencies under the two methods. However, when we examine the "informativeness" of the efficiency measured by the two different techniques, we find some large differences. We find evidence that the stochastic frontier scores are more closely related to risk-taking behavior, managerial competence, and bank stock returns. Based on these findings, we conclude that while both methods produce informative efficiency scores, for this data set decision makers should put more weight on the stochastic frontier efficiency estimates.Bank holding companies ; Banks and banking - Costs
Complete and Voluntary Starvation of 50 days
A 34-year-old obese male (96.8 kg; BMI, 30.2 kg mâ»Âč) volitionally undertook a 50-day fast with the stated goal of losing body mass. During this time, only tea, coffee, water, and a daily multivitamin were consumed. Severe and linear loss of body mass is recorded during these 50 days (final 75.4 kg; BMI, 23.5 kg mâ»Âč). A surprising resilience to effects of fasting on activity levels and physical function is noted. Plasma samples are suggestive of early impairment of liver function, and perturbations to cardiovascular dynamics are also noted. One month following resumption of feeding behavior, body weight was maintained (75.0 kg; BMI, 23.4 kg mâ»Âč). Evidence-based decision-making with the fasting or hunger striking patient is limited by a lack of evidence. This case report suggests that total body mass, not mass lost, may be a key observation in clinical decision-making during fasting and starvation
Glimpses, Glances and Gossip: Seventeenth-Century Dutch Paintings of Domestic Interiors on Their Neighbourhoodâs Doorstep
Les Ă©tudes des peintures hollandaises du milieu du XVIIe siĂšcle reprĂ©sentant des intĂ©rieurs domestiques se sont gĂ©nĂ©ralement concentrĂ©es sur les personnages et les activitĂ©s du premier plan. Les portes et fenĂȘtres ouvertes en arriĂšre-plan, donnant sur des rues adjacentes, ne sont que mentionnĂ©es au passage comme reprĂ©sentant la ville ou le monde. Cet article met au contraire lâaccent sur les vues donnant sur la rue Ă travers la lentille inexplorĂ©e du quartier nĂ©erlandais, qui constitue un rĂ©seau social et une organisation officielle avec des rĂšglements, des membres mandatĂ©s, un contrĂŽle social substantiel, de la camaraderie et un sentiment dâidentitĂ© et de lieu. Veillant aux portes et fenĂȘtres ouvertes sur la rue, les rĂ©sidents se gardaient informĂ©s des activitĂ©s et des nouvelles qui formaient le flux et le reflux des Ă©changes sociaux dans le quartier et contribuaient Ă prĂ©server lâhonneur de la petite communautĂ©. Dans leur Ă©vocation de personnages Ă cĂŽtĂ© de portes et de fenĂȘtres ouvertes ou de mobiliers favorisant lâexamen du quartier, ces peintures ont contribuĂ© Ă façonner, affirmer et perpĂ©tuer les moeurs des organisations officielles de quartier
0- quantum transition in a carbon nanotube Josephson junction: universal phase dependence and orbital degeneracy
We investigate experimentally the supercurrent in a clean carbon nanotube
quantum dot, close to orbital degeneracy, connected to superconducting leads in
a regime of strong competition between local electronic correlations and
superconducting proximity effect. For an odd occupancy of the dot and
intermediate coupling to the reservoir, the Kondo effect can develop in the
normal state and screen the local magnetic moment of the dot. This leads to
singlet-doublet transitions that strongly affect the Josephson effect in a
single-level quantum dot: the sign of the supercurrent changes from positive to
negative (0 to -junction). In the regime of strongest competition between
the Kondo effect and proximity effect, meaning that the Kondo temperature
equals the superconducting gap, the magnetic state of the dot undergoes a first
order quantum transition induced by the superconducting phase difference across
the junction. This is revealed experimentally by anharmonic current-phase
relations. In addition, the very specific electronic configuration of clean
carbon nanotubes, with two nearly orbitally degenerated states, leads to
different physics depending whether only one or both quasi-degenerate upper
levels of the dots participate to transport, which is determined by their
occupancy and relative widths. When the transport of Cooper pairs takes place
through only one of these levels, we find that the phase diagram of the
phase-dependent 0- transition is a universal characteristic of a
discontinuous level-crossing quantum transition at zero temperature. In the
case were two levels participate to transport, the nanotube Josephson current
exhibits a continuous 0- transition, independent of the superconducting
phase, revealing a different physical mechanism of the transition.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure
Superconductivity in ropes of carbon nanotubes
Recent experimental and theoretical results on intrinsic superconductivity in
ropes of single-wall carbon nanotubes are reviewed and compared. We find strong
experimental evidence for superconductivity when the distance between the
normal electrodes is large enough. This indicates the presence of attractive
phonon-mediated interactions in carbon nanotubes, which can even overcome the
repulsive Coulomb interactions. The effective low-energy theory of rope
superconductivity explains the experimental results on the
temperature-dependent resistance below the transition temperature in terms of
quantum phase slips. Quantitative agreement with only one fit parameter can be
obtained. Nanotube ropes thus represent superconductors in an extreme 1D limit
never explored before.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, to appear in special issue of Sol. State Com
Rivalsâ Reactions to Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions research has principally focused on attributes of the acquiring firm and post-acquisition outcomes. To extend our knowledge, we focus on external factors, in particular rival responses, and explore when and how rivals respond to their competitorâs acquisitions. Leveraging the awarenessâmotivationâcapability framework, we predict and find evidence that a rivalâs dependence on markets in common with the acquirer, resource similarity between rival and acquirer, and a rivalâs organizational slack increase the volume and, in some cases, also the complexity of a rivalâs competitive actions following an acquisition. Furthermore, the type of acquisition positively moderates some of these relationships. The results extend our understanding of the influence of mergers and acquisitions on competitive dynamics in the marketplace
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