Hybridized surface plasmon polaritons at an interface between a metal and a uniaxial crystal

The surface plasmonpolariton (SPP) at an interface between a metal and a uniaxial crystal is studied. A new class of hybridized SPP found in this work is quite different from the traditional SPP at the interface between a metal and an isotropic dielectric. In contrast to the two evanescent fields for the traditional SPP, the hybridized SPP involves four evanescent fields: transverse-electric-like and transverse-magnetic-like waves in the metal, and ordinary-light-like and extraordinary-light-like waves in the uniaxial crystal. The necessary conditions and the regimes for the existence of the hybridized SPP are presented. Some potential applications are also discussed.This work is supported in part by NSFC under Grant No. 10325417, by the State Key Program for Basic Research of China under Grant No. 2006CB921805, and by the 111 Project under Grant No. B07026

Statistics of X-ray flares of Sagittarius A*: evidence for solar-like self-organized criticality phenomenon

X-ray flares have routinely been observed from the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A$^\star$ (Sgr A$^\star$), at our Galactic center. The nature of these flares remains largely unclear, despite of many theoretical models. In this paper, we study the statistical properties of the Sgr A$^\star$ X-ray flares, by fitting the count rate (CR) distribution and the structure function (SF) of the light curve with a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. With the 3 million second \textit{Chandra} observations accumulated in the Sgr A$^\star$ X-ray Visionary Project, we construct the theoretical light curves through Monte Carlo simulations. We find that the $2-8$ keV X-ray light curve can be decomposed into a quiescent component with a constant count rate of $\sim6\times10^{-3}~$count s$^{-1}$ and a flare component with a power-law fluence distribution $dN/dE\propto E^{-\alpha_{\rm E}}$ with $\alpha_{\rm E}=1.65\pm0.17$. The duration-fluence correlation can also be modelled as a power-law $T\propto E^{\alpha_{\rm ET}}$ with $\alpha_{\rm ET} < 0.55$ ($95\%$ confidence). These statistical properties are consistent with the theoretical prediction of the self-organized criticality (SOC) system with the spatial dimension $S = 3$. We suggest that the X-ray flares represent plasmoid ejections driven by magnetic reconnection (similar to solar flares) in the accretion flow onto the black hole.Comment: to appear in Ap

Survival and breakthrough: A case study of evolutionary change in a state-owned enterprise

This study examines the processes undertaken by a state-owned enterprise to overcome limitations and successfully reverse its decline through moderate, gradual and small-scale evolutionary change. This paper utilizes the "social process research model" to analyze and record organizational changes at Jiangnan Resort, and further observes strategic countermeasures employed to address crises and successful management of organizational change. Results from our study suggest that organizational evolutionary change strategies should include institutionalization strategies, development of marketing channels, festival event marketing, placement marketing, product packaging strategies, niche market segmentation, service quality enhancement, and manpower flexibility strategies. Key factors in change management include Total Quality Management (TQM), Management by Objective (MBO), organizational members understanding of urgency and need of change, gaining support through education and communication, employee empowerment and participation, and institutionalizing change. The resulting information can serve as a reference for future qualitative research and development of strategic concepts for organizations planning to adopt evolutionary change into their companies

Atrial fibrillation episode status and incidence of coronary slow flow: A propensity score-matched analysis

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that patients with a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) have a higher risk of developing coronary slow flow (CSF). However, whether AF episode status affects the incidence of CSF has not been confirmed. This study investigated the correlation between AF episode status and the incidence of CSF.MethodsWe enrolled patients with AF who underwent coronary angiography for symptoms of myocardial ischemia between January 1, 2017, and April 30, 2022, at our institution and classified them according to whether they had an episode of AF in the perioperative period. The outcomes were defined the occurrence of CSF overall and in each of the three coronary arteries. The analysis was repeated after adjusting the baseline information by the propensity score matching method in a 1:1 ratio.Results214 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study (AF episode group: 100 patients, AF non-episode group: 114 patients). Before matching, age, left atrial size, ejection fraction, heart rate, CSF incidence, and mean corrected thrombolysis in myocardial infarction frame counts were higher in patients with intraoperative AF episodes than in patients without episodes. To prevent the dependent variable (CSF incidence) from being confounded by confounding factors, we matched the two groups for age, left atrial size, and ejection fraction. In the logistic regression analysis, the incidence of CSF was significantly higher in the intraoperative AF episode group (P = 0.010, OR = 2.327, 95% CI: 1.226–4.416) than in the non-episode group.ConclusionIn patients with AF, AF episode status is significantly correlated with an increased overall incidence of CSF

Glycemia and peak incremental indices of six popular fruits in Taiwan: healthy and Type 2 diabetes subjects compared

The aim of this study was to evaluate the glycemic index and peak incremental indices of six popular fruits in Taiwan, comparing healthy subjects (n = 20) and patients with Type 2 diabetes (n = 17). The six kinds of fruits tested were grapes, Asian pears, guavas, golden kiwifruit, lychees and bananas. Glycemic index values were tested according to the standard glycemic index testing protocol. The glycemic index and peak incremental indices were calculated according to published formulas. In Type 2 diabetes subjects, the glycemic index values of grapes, Asian pears, guavas, golden kiwifruit, lychees and bananas were 49.0 ± 4.5, 25.9 ± 2.9, 32.8 ± 5.2, 47.0 ± 6.5, 60.0 ± 8.0 and 41.3 ± 3.5. In healthy subjects, the glycemic index values were 49.1 ± 7.3, 18.0 ± 5.4, 31.1 ± 5.1, 47.3 ± 12.1, 47.9 ± 6.8 and 35.1 ± 5.6. There was no significant difference in glycemic index values between healthy and Type 2 diabetes subjects. There was also no significant difference in PII when comparing healthy subjects and subjects with Type 2 diabetes. In conclusion, glycemic index and peak incremental indices in healthy subjects can be approximately the same for Type 2 diabetes