Single-atom control of the optoelectronic response in sub-nanometric cavities

By means of ab-initio time dependent density functional theory calculations carried out on an prototypical hybrid plasmonic device (two metallic nanoparticles bridged by a one-atom junction), we demonstrate the strong interplay between photoinduced excitation of localized surface plasmons and electron transport through the single atom. Such an interplay is remarkably sensitive to the atomic orbitals of the junction. Therefore, we show the possibility of a twofold tuning (plasmonic response and photoinduced current across the juntion) just by changing a single atom in the device.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Food in Tourism: Exploring Inherent Influential Factors in Food Decision Processes of Travelers

Food is a central aspect to the tourist experience and plays an important role to the millions of tourists worldwide. The purpose of this research was to explore the factors that have significant effects on the gastronomic choices of travelers who visit destinations with dissimilar food choices than those available in their home environments. An empirical analysis was performed to test an existing conceptual model (Mak, Lumbers, Eves, & Chang, 2012) was be modified and tested. The interaction between the predicting and the predicted variables was analyzed and a moderating variable, represented by involvement in the decision, was introduced into the existing model. The findings of the study report the factors that influence the decision making process with regard to local food purchases. Base on the responses to a questionnaire by 330 U.S. based participants, the analysis revealed the significant factors in choosing to consume local cuisine at a destination. The dissertation�s findings highlight the key role that Culture, Motivational Factors, and Food-related Personality Traits contribute to the propensity of travelers to consume local foods at a destination.Hospitality Administratio

Oceanographic processes shape genetic signatures of planktonic cephalopod paralarvae in two upwelling regions

The planktonic paralarval stage of cephalopods (octopus, squids and cuttlefishes) is an important dispersal phase, particularly of benthic species, that lasts from days to months. Cephalopod paralarvae modify their vertical position in the water in upwelling ecosystems and such behaviour influences their spatial distribution and genetic structure, but to what extent? In this work specific water masses were sampled with Lagrangian buoys in two contrasting upwelling systems (Iberian Peninsula and Morocco) of the Iberian-Canary current eastern boundary upwelling (ICC) in order to: (i) identify the cephalopod assemblage in the different upwelling systems (ii) define their planktonic dispersal patterns and (iii) analyse the effect of different dispersal patterns on genetic structure and connectivity. Cephalopod paralarvae were identified using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI), revealing 21 different species and F-st values showed no population structure between both upwelling systems. Cephalopod species richness was two times higher in the Moroccan upwelling than in the Iberian Peninsula, with an undescribed Ancistrocheiridae species identified in Moroccan waters. Three common planktonic dispersal patterns were identified in the ICC: coastal, coastal-oceanic and oceanic. Coastal and oceanic dispersal patterns favoured spatio-temporal paralarval retention or "schooling" of different cohorts over the continental shelf and continental slope in 9 and 11 species, respectively. Such spatio-temporal retention was reflected in the complex haplotype networks and high nucleotide/haplotype diversity recorded for these two groups. The only cephalopod species displaying a coastal-oceanic dispersal pattern was Octopus vulgaris, where low nucleotide and haplotype diversity was observed. The observed decline in genetic structure resulted from the dispersal of similar cohorts within upwelling currents and upwelling filaments to the oceanic realm. Seascape analysis revealed that cephalopod paralarvae from two coastal upwelling ecosystems of the ICC display three planktonic dispersal patterns with contrasting distributions and signatures at the genetic level

Clustering Improves the Goemans–Williamson Approximation for the Max-Cut Problem

MAX−CUT is one of the well-studied NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. It can be formulated as an Integer Quadratic Programming problem and admits a simple relaxation obtained by replacing the integer “spin” variables xi by unitary vectors v⃗ i. The Goemans–Williamson rounding algorithm assigns the solution vectors of the relaxed quadratic program to a corresponding integer spin depending on the sign of the scalar product v⃗ i⋅r⃗ with a random vector r⃗ . Here, we investigate whether better graph cuts can be obtained by instead using a more sophisticated clustering algorithm. We answer this question affirmatively. Different initializations of k-means and k-medoids clustering produce better cuts for the graph instances of the most well known benchmark for MAX−CUT. In particular, we found a strong correlation of cluster quality and cut weights during the evolution of the clustering algorithms. Finally, since in general the maximal cut weight of a graph is not known beforehand, we derived instance-specific lower bounds for the approximation ratio, which give information of how close a solution is to the global optima for a particular instance. For the graphs in our benchmark, the instance specific lower bounds significantly exceed the Goemans–Williamson guarantee

The scientific impact of developing nations

This paper analyzes science productivity for nine developing countries. Results show that these nations are reducing their science gap, with R&D investments and scientific impact growing at more than double the rate of the developed world. But this “catching up” hides a very uneven picture among these nations, especially on what they are able to generate in terms of impact and output relative to their levels of investment and available resources. Moreover, unlike what one might expect, it is clear that the size of the nations and the relative scale of their R&D investments are not the key drivers of efficiency

Avocado seed moth, stenoma catenifer walsingham (lepidoptera: elachistidae) in Queretaro, Mexico

The avocado seed moth, Stenoma catenifer Walsingham, is recorded for the first time in the State of Queretaro, Mexico. Aspects about its habits and behavior are described