Effect of high intensity light irradiance on CuInSe2 thin films

CuInSe2 has been a good candidate for photovoltaic material due to its direct band gap and high absorption coefficient. As the stability of photovoltaic are generally dependent on the aggressive environment, i.e. sun light, the CuInSe2 thin film can degrade after long exposure of high intensity light irradiance. The present study reports on the effect of high intensity light irradiance to the electrical and optical properties of thermal evaporated CuInSe2 thin films. The thin films were exposed to light intensity of 250 W/m2, 500 W/m2, 750 W/m2, 1000 W/m2 and 1500 W/m2 using halogen lamp. We noticed an increasing trend in resistivity after light exposure at all intensities due to the increase of light-induced defects in the films which act as recombination centre for electron-hole pair. Crystallinity of CuInSe2 thin films decreases with increasing intensity of light exposure as a result of light-induce defect. CuInSe2 thin films are found to have higher optical band gap compared to reported 1.01eV due to the amorphous structure of the film and relatively higher surface roughness

Brane World Cosmological Perturbations

We consider a brane world and its gravitational linear perturbations. We present a general solution of the perturbations in the bulk and find the complete perturbed junction conditions for generic brane dynamics. We also prove that (spin 2) gravitational waves in the great majority of cases can only arise in connection with a non-vanishing anisotropic stress. This has far reaching consequences for inflation in the brane world. Moreover, contrary to the case of the radion, perturbations are stable.Comment: 16 pages, one figur

AN INVESTIGATION OF INFORMATION SHARING AND SEEKING BEHAVIORS IN VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

User participations in virtual communities include both information seeking and sharing behaviors to varying degrees. The intentions to share and to seek information may have different motivations. . However, existing studies rarely analyze the intentions for both types of behaviors. This study explicates the antecedents of the two types of usage intentions – intentions to share and intentions to seek – using a model that integrates social, community, and individual factors. The model is validated using a survey of 502 online investors of the most popular online stock message board in South Korea. The results show that the sense of belonging, entertainment value, and perceived usefulness influence both the intentions to share and seek. In addition, reputation seeking enhances the intention to post while perceived knowledge reduces the intention to seek

Communication Resources Constrained Hierarchical Federated Learning for End-to-End Autonomous Driving

While federated learning (FL) improves the generalization of end-to-end autonomous driving by model aggregation, the conventional single-hop FL (SFL) suffers from slow convergence rate due to long-range communications among vehicles and cloud server. Hierarchical federated learning (HFL) overcomes such drawbacks via introduction of mid-point edge servers. However, the orchestration between constrained communication resources and HFL performance becomes an urgent problem. This paper proposes an optimization-based Communication Resource Constrained Hierarchical Federated Learning (CRCHFL) framework to minimize the generalization error of the autonomous driving model using hybrid data and model aggregation. The effectiveness of the proposed CRCHFL is evaluated in the Car Learning to Act (CARLA) simulation platform. Results show that the proposed CRCHFL both accelerates the convergence rate and enhances the generalization of federated learning autonomous driving model. Moreover, under the same communication resource budget, it outperforms the HFL by 10.33% and the SFL by 12.44%

Plasma levels in sepsis patients of annexin A1, lipoxin A4, macrophage inflammatory protein-3a, and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin

AbstractBackgroundThe relationship between the various cytokine responses that occur during sepsis remains controversial. Emerging evidence indicates that the proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses are regulated simultaneously from the beginning of sepsis. However, the roles of the novel anti-inflammatory mediators annexin (Anx)A1 and lipoxin (LX)A4 and the proinflammatory cytokines neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-3a have been studied.MethodsIn this study, the plasma levels of AnxA1, LXA4, NGAL, MIP-3a, interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-6 in patients with sepsis were determined on admission to the intensive care unit. The patients were classified into survivors and non-survivors based on their outcome on day 28.ResultsAnxA1 and LXA4 levels were decreased in sepsis patients compared with control patients, whereas the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines MIP-3a, NGAL, IL-8, and IL-6 were elevated. Furthermore, a significantly higher level of MIP-3a was detected in nonsurviving patients compared with surviving patients (p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant differences between these two groups for the levels of the other mediators. Correlation analysis demonstrated that only NGAL level was closely correlated with the level of IL-6. Univariate analysis indicated that the levels of MIP-3a and IL-8 were independent factors associated with patient survival, but this was not confirmed by the multivariate analysis.ConclusionAnxA1 and LXA4 plasma levels were found to be decreased in sepsis patients, whereas the levels of MIP-3a and NGAL were found to be elevated. This warrants further study in order to determine the clinical implications of these changes

Mechanosensitive Neurons on the Internal Reproductive Tract Contribute to Egg-Laying-Induced Acetic Acid Attraction in Drosophila

SummarySelecting a suitable site to deposit their eggs is an important reproductive need of Drosophila females. Although their choosiness toward egg-laying sites is well documented, the specific neural mechanism that activates females’ search for attractive egg-laying sites is not known. Here, we show that distention and contraction of females’ internal reproductive tract triggered by egg delivery through the tract plays a critical role in activating such search. We found that females start to exhibit acetic acid (AA) attraction prior to depositing each egg but no attraction when they are not laying eggs. Artificially distending the reproductive tract triggers AA attraction in non-egg-laying females, whereas silencing the mechanosensitive neurons we identified that can sense the contractile status of the tract eliminates such attraction. Our work uncovers the circuit basis of an important reproductive need of Drosophila females and provides a simple model for dissecting the neural mechanism that underlies a reproductive need-induced behavioral modification

Optimal production-shipment decisions for the finite production rate model with scrap

This paper is concerned with the decision-making on the optimal production batch size and optimal number of shipments for a finite production rate model with random scrap rate. The classic finite production rate (FPR) model assumes a continuous inventory issuing policy for satisfying product demand and perfect quality for all items produced. However, in a real life vendor-buyer integrated production-inventory system, a multiple shipment policy is practically used in lieu of the continuous issuing policy, and it is inevitable to generate defective items during a production run. All nonconforming items produced are assumed to be scrap, and the finished (perfect quality) products can only be delivered to customers if the whole lot is quality assured at the end of the production run. The fixed-quantity multiple instalments of the finished batch are delivered to customers at a fixed interval of time. Mathematical modelling is employed and the renewal reward theorem is used to cope with the variable production cycle length. The long-run average cost for the proposed model is derived, and its convexity is proved by the use of the Hessian matrix equations. A closed-form optimal production-shipment policy for such an imperfect FPR model is obtained and a special case is discussed. Finally, a numerical example is provided to demonstrate the model’s practical usage

Evidence of Wealth Effect of Corporate Spin-Offs in China

Is corporate spin-offs less attended as a wealth-generating asset restructuring in the People s Republic of China China Was the wealth effect of China s corporate spin-off occurring in the State Capital Economy Although China s Initial Public Offering IPO incidences and volumes are vigorous China s corporate spin-offs started late and lack extensive applications In July 2020 alone a total of seventy-five companies completed IPO in mainland China and abroad despite the outbreak of the COVID- 19 pandemic This paper aimed to provide evidence on the wealth effect of the combination of China corporate spin-off announcements parent and subsidiary We took twenty-four Chinese listed companies that have been successfully spin-off as a whole to explore the corporate spin-off wealth effect on their market value and the empirical results of positive returns were convincing Compared with the prior corporate spin-off researches in China this paper is more comprehensive as we examined the shareholders wealth effect of the corporate spin-off announcements from the years 2000 to 2018 in the Shanghai Stock Exchange SSE and Shenzhen Stock Exchange SZS

Diazido­bis{2-[3-(dimethyl­amino)propyl­imino­meth­yl]phenol}manganese(III) perchlorate

The title compound, [Mn(N3)2(C12H18N2O)2]ClO4, was synthesized from manganese(III) acetate, sodium azide and 2-[3-(dimethyl­amino)propyl­imino­meth­yl]phenol by a hydro­thermal reaction. The MnIII ion is hexa­coordinated by two N and two O atoms from two phenolate ligands and two N atoms from two azide ligands. The MnIII cation lies on an inversion centre and, as a result, the asymmetric unit comprises one half-mol­ecule