1,961 research outputs found
Plasticised regenerated silk/gold nanorods hybrids as sealant and bio-piezoelectric materials
Manual and mechanical suturing are currently the gold standard for bowel anastomosis. If tissue approximation fails, anastomotic leaks occur. Anastomotic leaks may have catastrophic consequences. The development of a fully absorbable, biocompatible sealant material based on a bio-ink silk fibroin can reduce the chance of anastomotic leaks. We have produced a Ca-modified plasticised regenerated silk (RS) with gold nanorods sealant. This sealant was applied to anastomosed porcine intestine. Water absorption from wet tissue substrate applied compressive strains on hybrid RS films. This compression results in a sealant effect on anastomosis. The increased toughness of the hybrid plasticised RS resulted in the designing of a bio-film with superior elongation at break (i.e., ≈200%) and bursting pressure. We have also reported structure-dependent piezoelectricity of the RS film that shows a piezoelectric effect out of the plane. We hope that in the future, bowel anastomosis can be simplified by providing a multifunctional bio-film that makes feasible the mechanical tissue joint without the need for specific tools and could be used in piezoelectric sealant heads
Validity of the rigid band picture for the t-J model
We present an exact diagonalization study of the doping dependence of the
single particle Green's function in 16, 18 and 20 site clusters of t-J model.
We find evidence for rigid-band behaviour starting from the half-filled case:
upon doping, the topmost states of the quasiparticle band observed in the
photoemisson spectrum at half-filling cross the chemical potential and reappear
as the lowermost states of the inverse photoemission spectrum. Features in the
inverse photoemission spectra which are inconsistent with rigid-band behaviour
are shown to originate from the nontrivial point group symmetry of the ground
state with two holes, which enforces different selection rules than at
half-filling. Deviations from rigid band behaviour which lead to the formation
of the `large Fermi surface' in the momentum distribution occur only at
energies far from the chemical potential. A Luttinger Fermi surface and a
nearest neighbor hopping band do not exist.Comment: Remarks: Revtex file + 7 figures attached as compressed postscript
files Figures can also be obtained by ordinary mail on reques
Infrared Excess and Molecular Gas in the Galactic Worm GW46.4+5.5
We have carried out high-resolution (~3') HI and CO line observations along
one-dimensional cuts through the Galactic worm GW46.4+5.5. By comparing the HI
data with IRAS data, we have derived the distributions of I_100 excess and
tau_100 excess, which are respectively the 100 mum intensity and 100 mum
optical depth in excess of what would be expected from HI emission. In two
observed regions, we were able to make a detailed comparison of the infrared
excess and the CO emission. We have found that tau_100 excess has a very good
correlation with the integrated intensity of CO emission, W_CO, but I_100
excess does not. There are two reasons for the poor correlation between I_100
excess and W_CO: firstly, there are regions with enhanced infrared emissivity
without CO, and secondly, dust grains associated with molecular gas have a low
infrared emissivity. In one region, these two factors completely hide the
presence of molecular gas in the infrared. In the second region, we could
identify the area with molecular gas, but I_100 excess significantly
underestimates the column density of molecular hydrogen because of the second
factor mentioned above. We therefore conclude that tau_100 excess, rather than
I_100 excess, is an accurate indicator of molecular content along the line of
sight. We derive tau_100/N(H)=(1.00+-0.02)*10^-5~(10^20 cm^-2)^-1, and
X=N(H_2)/W_CO=~0.7*10^20 cm^-2 (K km s^-1)^-1. Our results suggest that I_100
excess could still be used to estimate the molecular content if the result is
multiplied by a correction factor xi_c=_HI/_H_2 (~2 in
the second region), which accounts for the different infrared emissivities of
atomic and molecular gas. We also discuss some limitations of this work.Comment: 10 pages, 9 postscript figures, uses aas2pp4.sty to be published in
Astrophyslcal Journa
Governance of Offshore IT Outsourcing at Shell Global Functions IT-BAM Development and Application of a Governance Framework to Improve Outsourcing Relationships
The lack of effective IT governance is widely recognized as a key inhibitor to successful global IT outsourcing relationships. In this study we present the development and application of a governance framework to improve outsourcing relationships. The approach used to developing an IT governance framework includes a meta model and a customization process to fit the framework to the target organization. The IT governance framework consists of four different elements (1) organisational structures, (2) joint processes between in- and outsourcer, (3) responsibilities that link roles to processes and (4) a diverse set of control indicators to measure the success of the relationship. The IT governance framework is put in practice in Shell GFIT BAM, a part of Shell that concluded to have a lack of management control over at least one of their outsourcing relationships. In a workshop the governance framework was used to perform a gap analysis between the current and desired governance. Several gaps were identified in the way roles and responsibilities are assigned and joint processes are set-up. Moreover, this workshop also showed the usefulness and usability of the IT governance framework in structuring, providing input and managing stakeholders in the discussions around IT governance
The integrated academic information system support for education 3.0 in higher education institution: lecturer perspective
Education 3.0 has been implemented in many higher education institutions (HEIs). Education 3.0 has been directed the institution toward better educational experience. But on the other hands, the implementation of Education 3.0 also caused some problems. Previous research has found administrative problem experienced by the lecturer. This research explores deeper from the lecturer and suggested the solution from lecturer perspective, combined with information technology capabilities owned by the HEIs. The research used a case study as the method and conducted a qualitative research with a semi-structured interview. The interview analysis has found that the increase of the administrative processes is caused by online and offline administrative activities. The online activities are from e-learning and the offline activities are from traditional learning (face-to-face). The administrative processes also involved the academic information system (AIS). Simplified all of the administrative processes are more preferred. To overcome the problems, integrating the AIS and e-learning become necessary. This research suggests transforming the existing AIS into an integrated AIS and hopes the solution can simplify the administration process
Hole-Hole Contact Interaction in the t-J Model
Using an analytical variational approach we calculate the hole-hole contact
interaction on the N\'{e}el background. Solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation
with this interaction gives bound states in - and p-waves with binding
energies close to those obtained by numerical methods. At the
bound state disappears. In conclusion we discuss the relation between short
range and long range interactions and analogy with the problem of pion
condensation in nuclear matter.Comment: 11 pp. (LATEX), 7 figures (PostScript) appended, report N
LCrowdV: Generating Labeled Videos for Simulation-based Crowd Behavior Learning
We present a novel procedural framework to generate an arbitrary number of
labeled crowd videos (LCrowdV). The resulting crowd video datasets are used to
design accurate algorithms or training models for crowded scene understanding.
Our overall approach is composed of two components: a procedural simulation
framework for generating crowd movements and behaviors, and a procedural
rendering framework to generate different videos or images. Each video or image
is automatically labeled based on the environment, number of pedestrians,
density, behavior, flow, lighting conditions, viewpoint, noise, etc.
Furthermore, we can increase the realism by combining synthetically-generated
behaviors with real-world background videos. We demonstrate the benefits of
LCrowdV over prior lableled crowd datasets by improving the accuracy of
pedestrian detection and crowd behavior classification algorithms. LCrowdV
would be released on the WWW
Late stages of the evolution of A-type stars on the main sequence: comparison between observed chemical abundances and diffusion models for 8 Am stars of the Praesepe cluster
Aims. We aim to provide observational constraints on diffusion models that
predict peculiar chemical abundances in the atmospheres of Am stars. We also
intend to check if chemical peculiarities and slow rotation can be explained by
the presence of a weak magnetic field.
Methods. We have obtained high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra
of eight previously-classified Am stars, two normal A-type stars and one Blue
Straggler, considered to be members of the Praesepe cluster. For all of these
stars we have determined fundamental parameters and photospheric abundances for
a large number of chemical elements, with a higher precision than was ever
obtained before for this cluster. For seven of these stars we also obtained
spectra in circular polarization and applied the LSD technique to constrain the
longitudinal magnetic field.
Results. No magnetic field was detected in any of the analysed stars. HD
73666, a Blue Straggler previously considered as an Ap (Si) star, turns out to
have the abundances of a normal A-type star. Am classification is not confirmed
for HD 72942. For HD 73709 we have also calculated synthetic Delta-a photometry
that is in good agreement with the observations. There is a generally good
agreement between abundance predictions of diffusion models and values that we
have obtained for the remaining Am stars. However, the observed Na and S
abundances deviate from the predictions by 0.6 dex and >0.25 dex respectively.
Li appears to be overabundant in three stars of our sample.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&
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