Growth with work ethics.

Economic development is the result of hard work, discipline and frugality – qualities, which can be learned through an education process. This is the gist of Max Weber's writings on the development of capitalism, which I have modeled in this paper. The model shows how an educational sector that produces a composite of work ethics and skills can lead to sustained growth. Human capital in this model reduces the disutility of effort exertion and thereby induces people to work harder. Along balanced growth path, effort exertion is constant in this mode. The model shows that growth is an increasing function of effort exertion which itself is a function of a number of efficiency parameters. Historical anecdotal evidence and a regression analysis looking at the effects of formal education on growth with a new interpretation are presented in support of the model.

Synergistic effects of cigarette smoke and saliva

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of Cigarette Smoke on the human peripheral blood lymphocytes in the presence of stimulated or non-stimulated saliva in an in vitro model.Methods and Materials: Ten healthy volunteers in the age range of 21 to 29 were selected and samples of peripheral blood lymphocytes and saliva (whole and stimulated saliva) collected. Peripheral blood lymphocytes suspensions (PBS) were taken and exposed to 6 different media. Samples were collected from all media at both 20 and 80 minute time points. The survival rates of PBL were then determined at both 20 and 80 minute time points.Results: The cell survival rates following exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) in the presence of PBS supplemented with whole or stimulated saliva were significantly lower at 80 minutes when compared with the 20 minute rates (P<0.05).Conclusion: Tobacco effects were significantly increased in the presence of saliva especially stimulated saliva

Fabrication and Physics-Based Modeling of Polar AlGaN/GaN and AlInGaN/GaN HFETs

Since their advent, polar AlGaN/GaN hetero-junction field effect transistors (HFETs) have drawn a great deal of attention especially in high frequency/high power applications. However, the superb prospects of these transistors are affected by a few drawbacks such as aging/crack formation under strain, presence of high gate-leakage, and challenging realization of enhancement-mode (normally-off) devices. Quite recently, study of quaternary AlInGaN barriers has been presented as a promising avenue for fulfilling various design demands including: lattice matching, polarization matching, and positive shifting the inherently negative threshold voltage of AlGaN/GaN HFETs. However, thus far only a limited scope of theoretical studies on AlInGaN/GaN hetero-structure characteristics has been reported. As part of this thesis, the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) characteristics of gated metal-face wurtzite AlInGaN/GaN hetero-junctions as function of physical and compositional properties of the hetero-junction are theoretically evaluated using the variational method. According to this study, a considerable shift in the positive direction for the threshold voltage of AlInGaN/GaN HFETs can be achieved by engineering both the spontaneous and the piezoelectric polarization (using a quaternary AlInGaN barrier-layer of appropriate mole-fractions). Succeeding this study, a novel quaternary lattice-match layer structure based on employing a bilayer barrier for improving the carrier confinement in the channel of enhancement-mode AlInGaN/GaN HFETs is for the first time proposed. It is shown that while the proposed layer structure substantially improves the carrier confinement in the GaN channel layer, it also upholds the merits of employing a lattice-match barrier towards achieving an enhancement-mode operation. One of the most important device characteristics of AlGaN/GaN HFETs which is often poorly understood is the gate-leakage current. As part of this thesis, reverse gate-leakage of AlGaN/GaN HFETs is studied over a wide range of lattice-temperatures. While unveiling an obscure path for gate leakage through the mesa sidewall, a model considering different leakage paths, including the identified sidewall leakage, is presented. It is illustrated that the sidewall path to the 2DEG is associated with the Poole-Frenkel electron emission. The novel contribution of the present analysis is that it postulates that in absence of absolute uniformity, Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling takes place through only a small portion of the surface of the barrier, which boasts the highest electric field or the smallest Schottky barrier height. This consideration, allows the model to avoid unrealistic values for quantities such as effective electron mass (that has plagued many of the existing models). Also as part of this thesis work, process recipe for microfabrication of submicron gate AlGaN/GaN HFETs using electron beam lithography was developed at McGill’s nano-tools micro-fabrication facilities. The results of DC characterization of the fabricated transistors along with the results of the DC stress test are presented

Characteristics of anatomical landmarks in the mandibular interforaminal region : a cone-beam computed tomography study

Objectives: This study was conducted to assess appearance, visibility, location and course of anatomical landmarks in mandibular interforaminal region using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Study design: A total of 96 CBCT examinations was re-evaluated to exploit anatomical landmarks. The examinations used the Promax 3D CBCT unit. A sole examiner carried out all the measurements. Visibilities of the anatomical landmarks were scored using a four-point rating scale. Results: The mandibular foramen, anterior loop, incisive canal and lingual foramen were observed in 100,84,83,49 % of the images, respectively. The mean size, diameter and width of anterior loop, incisive canal and lingual foramen were obtained 3.54± 1.41, 1.47±0.50 and 0.8 ± 0.09mm, respectively. Conclusion: It is not safe to recommend any definite distance mesially from the mental foramen. The diameter of the canals and foramens should be determined on a case-by-case basis to exploit the appropriate location for each individual

Addressing the programming challenges of practical interferometric mesh based optical processors

We demonstrate a novel mesh of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) for programmable optical processors. The proposed mesh, referred to as Bokun mesh, is an architecture that merges the attributes of the prior topologies Diamond and Clements. Similar to Diamond, Bokun provides diagonal paths passing through every individual MZI enabling direct phase monitoring. However, unlike Diamond and similar to Clements, Bokun maintains a minimum optical depth leading to better scalability. Providing the monitoring option, Bokun's programming is faster improving the total energy efficiency of the processor. The performance of Bokun mesh enabled by an optimal optical depth is also more resilient to the loss and fabrication imperfections compared to architectures with longer depth such as Reck and Diamond. Employing an efficient programming scheme, the proposed architecture improves energy efficiency by 83% maintaining the same computation accuracy for weight matrix changes at 2 kHz

A Scanning Electron Microscope Study on the Effect of an Experimental Irrigation Solution on Smear Layer Removal

Introduction: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the effect of an experimental irrigation solution, containing two different concentrations of papain, Tween 80, 2% chlorhexidine and EDTA, on removal of the smear layer. Methods and Materials: Thirty-six single-rooted teeth were divided into two experimental groups (n=12) and two positive and negative control groups of six. The canals were prepared with BioRaCe instruments up to BR7 (60/0.02). In group 1, canals were irrigated with a combination of 1% papain, 17% EDTA, Tween 80 and 2% CHX; in group 2, canals were irrigated with a combination of 0.1% papain, 17% EDTA, Tween 80 and 2% CHX. In group 3 (the negative control), the canal was irrigated with 2.5% NaOCl during instrumentation and at the end of preparation with 1 mL of 17% EDTA was used; in group 4 (positive control), normal saline was used for irrigation. The amount of the remaining smear layer was quantified according to Hulsmann method using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Data was analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Results: Two-by-two comparisons of the groups revealed no significant differences in terms of smear layer removal at different canal sections between the negative control group (standard regiment for smear layer removal) and 1% papain groups (P&lt;0.05). Conclusion: Under the limitations of the present study, combination of 1% papain, EDTA, 2% chlorhexidine and Tween 80 can effectively remove smear layer from canal walls

Amorphous layer formation in Al86.0Co7.6Ce6.4 glass-forming alloy by large-area electron beam irradiation

Amorphous Al-Co-Ce alloys are of interest because of their resistance to corrosion, but high cooling rates are generally required to suppress the formation of crystalline phases. In this study, the surface of a bulk crystalline Al-Co-Ce alloy of a glass-forming composition was treated using large area electron beam (LAEB) irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy shows that, compared to the microstructure of the original crystalline material, the treated surface exhibits greatly improved microstructural and compositional uniformity. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction conducted on the surface of treated samples indicates the formation of the amorphous phase following 25 and 50 pulses at 35 kV cathode voltage. However, when the samples are treated with 100 and 150 pulses at 35 kV cathode voltage of electron beam irradiation, the treated layer comprises localised crystalline regions in an amorphous matrix. In addition, the formation of cracks in the treated layer is found to be localised around the Al8Co2Ce phase in the bulk material. Overall, crack length per unit area had no clear change with an increase in the number of pulses

First X-ray polarization measurement confirms the low black-hole spin in LMC X-3

X-ray polarization is a powerful tool to investigate the geometry of accreting material around black holes, allowing independent measurements of the black hole spin and orientation of the innermost parts of the accretion disk. We perform the X-ray spectro-polarimetric analysis of an X-ray binary system in the Large Magellanic Cloud, LMC X-3, that hosts a stellar-mass black hole, known to be persistently accreting since its discovery. We report the first detection of the X-ray polarization in LMC X-3 with the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, and find the average polarization degree of 3.2% +- 0.6% and a constant polarization angle -42 deg +- 6 deg over the 2-8 keV range. Using accompanying spectroscopic observations by NICER, NuSTAR, and the Neil Gehrels Swift observatories, we confirm previous measurements of the black hole spin via the X-ray continuum method, a ~ 0.2. From polarization analysis only, we found consistent results with low black-hole spin, with an upper limit of a < 0.7 at a 90% confidence level. A slight increase of the polarization degree with energy, similar to other black-hole X-ray binaries in the soft state, is suggested from the data but with a low statistical significance.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap

The CMS High Level Trigger

At the Large Hadron Collider at CERN the proton bunches cross at a rate of 40MHz. At the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment the original collision rate is reduced by a factor of O (1000) using a Level-1 hardware trigger. A subsequent factor of O(1000) data reduction is obtained by a software-implemented High Level Trigger (HLT) selection that is executed on a multi-processor farm. In this review we present in detail prototype CMS HLT physics selection algorithms, expected trigger rates and trigger performance in terms of both physics efficiency and timing.Comment: accepted by EPJ Nov 200

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

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