2,295 research outputs found
Foreword
This work reports on the performances of ohmic contacts fabricated on highly p-type doped 4H-SiC epitaxial layer selectively grown by vapor-liquid-solid transport. Due to the very high doping level obtained, the contacts have an ohmic behavior even without any annealing process. Upon variation of annealing temperatures, it was shown that both 500 and 800 °C annealing temperature lead to a minimum value of the Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) down to 1.3×10−6 Ω⋅cm2. However, a large variation of the minimum SCR values has been observed (up to 4×10−4 Ω⋅cm2). Possible sources of this fluctuation have been also discussed in this paper
Parallel Shooting Sequential Quadratic Programming for Nonlinear MPC Problems
In this paper, we propose a parallel shooting algorithm for solving nonlinear
model predictive control problems using sequential quadratic programming. This
algorithm is built on a two-phase approach where we first test and assess
sequential convergence over many initial trajectories in parallel. However, if
none converge, the algorithm starts varying the Newton step size in parallel
instead. Through this parallel shooting approach, it is expected that the
number of iterations to converge to an optimal solution can be decreased.
Furthermore, the algorithm can be further expanded and accelerated by
implementing it on GPUs. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed
Parallel Shooting Sequential Quadratic Programming (PS-SQP) method in some
benchmark examples for nonlinear model predictive control. The developed PS-SQP
parallel solver converges faster on average and especially when significant
nonlinear behaviour is excited in the NMPC horizon.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted and accepted for the 7th IEEE
Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA) 202
Methoden zur Analyse der vokalen Gestaltung populärer Musik
Although voice and singing play a crucial role in many genres of popular music, to date there are only few approaches to an in-depth exploration of vocal expression. The paper aims at presenting new ways for describing, analysing and visualizing several aspects of singing using computer-based tools. After outlining a theoretical framework for the study of voice and singing in popular music, some of those tools are introduced and exemplified by vocal recordings from various genres (blues, gospel music, country music, jazz). Firstly, pitch gliding (slurs, slides, bends, melismas) and vibrato are discussed referring to a computer-based visualization of pitch contour. Secondly, vocal timbre and phonation (e.g. vocal roughness) are explored and visualized using spectrograms
Diagnosis and treatment of carotid body paraganglioma: 21 years of experience at a clinical center of Serbia
BACKGROUND: The carotid body paraganglioma (chemodectoma) is a relatively rare neoplasm of obscure origin. These are usually benign and commonly present as asymptomatic cervical mass. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of 12 patients (9 female and 3 male) with carotid body tumors treated between 1982 and 2003, treated at our center were retrospectively reviewed. Data on classification, clinical presentation, and surgical treatment were extracted from the case records. Surgical complications and treatment outcome were noted and survival was calculated by actuarial method. The literature on carotid body paraganglioma was reviewed. RESULTS: The average age of the patients was 52 years (range 30–78 years). Eight of these cases presented as a large asymptomatic non-tender neck mass, and two each presented with dysphagia, and hoarseness of voice. As per Shamblin classification seven of tumors were type II and 5 were types III. In 7 cases subadventitial tumor excision was performed, while in 5 associated resection of both external and internal carotid arteries was carried out. The artery was repaired by end-to-end anastomosis in one case, with Dacron graft in one case, and with saphenous vein graft in 3 cases. There was no operative mortality. After a mean follow-up of 6.2 years (range 6 months to 20 years), there were no signs of tumor recurrence in any of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical excision is the treatment of choice for carotid body paragangliomas although radiation therapy is an option for patients who are not ideal candidates for surgery. For the tumors that are in intimate contact with carotid arteries, the treatment by vascular surgeon is recommended
Critical temperature of superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers
Superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers are known to exhibit nontrivial
dependence of the critical temperature T_c on the thickness d_f of the
ferromagnetic layer. We develop a general method for investigation of T_c as a
function of the bilayer's parameters. It is shown that interference of
quasiparticles makes T_c(d_f) a nonmonotonic function. The results are in good
agreement with experiment. Our method also applies to multilayered structures.Comment: 4 pages, 2 EPS figures; the style file jetpl.cls is included. Version
2: typos correcte
Deletion of nuoG from the Vaccine Candidate Mycobacterium bovis BCG ΔureC::hly Improves Protection against Tuberculosis
The current tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guàérin (BCG), provides insufficient protection against pulmonary TB. Previously, we generated a listeriolysin-expressing recombinant BCG strain, which to date has successfully completed phase I and phase IIa clinical trials. In an attempt to further improve efficacy, we deleted the antiapoptotic virulence gene nuoG, encoding NADH dehydrogenase 1 subunit G, from BCG ΔureC::hly. In vitro, deletion of nuoG unexpectedly led to strongly increased recruitment of the autophagosome marker LC3 to the engulfed vaccine, suggesting that nuoG also affects xenophagic pathways. In mice, BCG ΔureC::hly ΔnuoG vaccination was safer than BCG and improved protection over that of parental BCG ΔureC::hly, significantly reducing TB load in murine lungs, ameliorating pulmonary pathology, and enhancing immune responses. Transcriptome analysis of draining lymph nodes after vaccination with either BCG ΔureC::hly or BCG ΔureC::hly ΔnuoG demonstrated earlier and stronger induction of immune responses than that with BCG SSI and suggested upregulation of inflammasome activation and interferon-induced GTPases. In summary, BCG ΔureC::hly ΔnuoG is a promising next-generation TB vaccine candidate with excellent efficacy and safety
Parton distribution functions from nonlocal light-cone operators with definite twist
We introduce the chiral-even and chiral-odd quark distributions as forward
matrix elements of related bilocal quark operators with well-defined
(geometric) twist. Thereby, we achieve a Lorentz invariant classification of
these distributions which differ from the conventional ones by explicitly
taking into account the necessary trace terms. The relations between both kinds
of distribution functions are given and the mismatch between their different
definition of twist is discussed. Wandzura-Wilczek--like relations between the
conventional distributions (based on dynamical twist) are derived by means of
geometric twist distribution functions.Comment: 17 pages, REVTEX, Extended version, The Introduction has been
rewritten, Setion V "Wandzura-Wilczek--like relations" and App. B are added;
Sign errors are correcte
Order parameter oscillations in Fe/Ag/Bi2Sr2CaCu2O{8+delta} tunnel junctions
We have performed temperature dependent tunneling conductance spectroscopy on
Fe/Ag/Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BSCCO) planar junctions. The multilayered Fe
counterelectrode was designed to probe the proximity region of the ab-plane of
BSCCO. The spectra manifested a coherent oscillatory behavior with magnitude
and sign dependent on the energy, decaying with increasing distance from the
junction barrier, in conjunction with the theoretical predictions involving
d-wave superconductors coupled with ferromagnets. The conductance oscillates in
antiphase at E = 0 and E = +/-Delta. Spectral features characteristic to a
broken time-reversal pairing symmetry are detected and they do not depend on
the geometrical characteristics of the ferromagnetic film.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures Submitted to Physical Review Letter
A preexisting rare PIK3CA e545k subpopulation confers clinical resistance to MEK plus CDK4/6 inhibition in NRAS melanoma and is dependent on S6K1 signaling
Combined MEK and CDK4/6 inhibition (MEKi + CDK4i) has shown promising clinical outcomes in patients with NRAS- mutant melanoma. Here, we interrogated longitudinal biopsies from a patient who initially responded to MEKi + CDK4i therapy but subsequently developed resistance. Whole-exome sequencing and functional validation identified an acquired PIK3CA E545K mutation as conferring drug resistance. We demonstrate that PIK3CA E545K preexisted in a rare subpopulation that was missed by both clinical and research testing, but was revealed upon multiregion sampling due to PIK3CA E545K being nonuniformly distributed. This resistant population rapidly expanded after the initiation of MEKi + CDK4i therapy and persisted in all successive samples even after immune checkpoint therapy and distant metastasis. Functional studies identified activated S6K1 as both a key marker and specific therapeutic vulnerability downstream of PIK3CA E545K -induced resistance. These results demonstrate that difficult-to-detect preexisting resistance mutations may exist more often than previously appreciated and also posit S6K1 as a common downstream therapeutic nexus for the MAPK, CDK4/6, and PI3K pathways. SIGNIFICANCE: We report the first characterization of clinical acquired resistance to MEKi + CDK4i, identifying a rare preexisting PIK3CA E545K subpopulation that expands upon therapy and exhibits drug resistance. We suggest that single-region pretreatment biopsy is insufficient to detect rare, spatially segregated drug-resistant subclones. Inhibition of S6K1 is able to resensitize PIK3CA E545K -expressing NRAS-mutant melanoma cells to MEKi + CDK4i. © 2018 AAC
HATS-17b: A Transiting Compact Warm Jupiter in a 16.3 Days Circular Orbit
We report the discovery of HATS-17b, the first transiting warm Jupiter of the
HATSouth network. HATS-17b transits its bright (V=12.4) G-type
(M=1.131 0.030 M,
R=1.091 R) metal-rich ([Fe/H]=+0.3 dex)
host star in a circular orbit with a period of P=16.2546 days. HATS-17b has a
very compact radius of 0.777 0.056 R given its Jupiter-like mass of
1.338 0.065 M. Up to 50% of the mass of HATS-17b may be composed of
heavy elements in order to explain its high density with current models of
planetary structure. HATS-17b is the longest period transiting planet
discovered to date by a ground-based photometric survey, and is one of the
brightest transiting warm Jupiter systems known. The brightness of HATS-17b
will allow detailed follow-up observations to characterize the orbital geometry
of the system and the atmosphere of the planet.Comment: 12 page, 8 figures, submitted to A
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