2,213 research outputs found
Degradation characteristics of hydroxyapatite coatings on orthopedic TiAlV in simulated physiological media investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
This paper concentrates on the degradation characteristics of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on orthopaedic Ti-6Al-4V alloy while immersed in Ringer's salt solution, which were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were used to in situ characterize the electrochemical behavior of the passivated alloy covered with HA during aging in Ringer's solution. Comparison of the electrochemical data for the coated material with that for the uncoated metal substrate was also performed. The characteristic feature that describes the electrochemical behavior of the coated material is the coexistence of large areas of the coating itself with pores where the substrate is exposed to the aggressive media. The interpretation of results was thus performed in terms of a two-layer model of the film, in which the precipitation of hydrated oxide or phosphate compounds seals the pores left by the ceramic coating. The blocking effect due to salt precipitation inside the pores produces an enhancement of the resistance values, thus effectively diminishing the metal ion release in the system.Collaborative Research Programme (AcciĂłn Integrada No. HP1995-0092 and HP1996-0109) between Spain and Portugal
Experimental investigation of quantum key distribution with position and momentum of photon pairs
We investigate the utility of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations of the
position and momentum of photon pairs from parametric down-conversion in the
implementation of a secure quantum key distribution protocol. We show that
security is guaranteed by the entanglement between downconverted pairs, and can
be checked by either direct comparison of Alice and Bob's measurement results
or evaluation of an inequality of the sort proposed by Mancini et al. (Phys.
Rev. Lett. 88, 120401 (2002)).Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, subimitted for publicatio
Production of optical phase space vortices with non-locally distributed mode converters
Optical vortices have been observed in a wide variety of optical systems.
They can be observed directly in the wavefront of optical beams, or in the
correlations between pairs of entangled photons. We present a novel optical
vortex which appears in a non-local plane of the two-photon phase space,
composed of a single degree of freedom of each photon of an entangled pair. The
preparation of this vortex can be viewed as a "non-local" or distributed mode
converter. We show how these novel optical vortices of arbitrary order can be
prepared in the spatial degrees of freedom of entangled photons.Comment: To appear in upcoming special issue "Orbital Angular Momentum" of the
Journal of Optic
A systematic review of customer behavior in business-to-business markets and agenda for future research
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive overview of current research on customer behavior in the business-to-business (B2B) context and propose a research agenda for future studies. Despite being a relatively recent area of interest for academics and practitioners, a literature review that synthesizes existing knowledge into coherent topics and outlines a research agenda for future research is still lacking.
Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a systematic literature review of 219 papers and using a text-mining approach based on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation algorithm, this paper enhances the existing knowledge of B2B customer behavior and provides a descriptive analysis of the literature.
Findings: From this review, ten major research topics are found and analyzed. These topics were analyzed through the lens of the Theory, Context, Characteristics and Method framework, providing a summary of key findings from prior studies. Additionally, an integrative framework was developed, offering insights into future research directions.
Originality/value: This study presents a novel contribution to the field of B2B by providing a systematic review of the topic of customer behavior, filling a gap in the literature and offering a valuable resource for scholars and managers seeking to advance the field.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Topological superconductivity in semiconductor-superconductor-magnetic insulator heterostructures
Hybrid superconductor-semiconductor heterostructures are promising platforms
for realizing topological superconductors and exploring Majorana bound states
physics. Motivated by recent experimental progress, we theoretically study how
magnetic insulators offer an alternative to the use of external magnetic fields
for reaching the topological regime. We consider different setups, where: (1)
the magnetic insulator induces an exchange field in the superconductor, which
leads to a splitting in the semiconductor by proximity effect, and (2) the
magnetic insulator acts as a spin-filter tunnel barrier between the
superconductor and the semiconductor. We show that the spin splitting in the
superconductor alone cannot induce a topological transition in the
semiconductor. To overcome this limitation, we propose to use a spin-filter
barrier that enhances the magnetic exchange and provides a mechanism for a
topological phase transition. Moreover, the spin-dependent tunneling introduces
a strong dependence on the band alignment, which can be crucial in
quantum-confined systems. This mechanism opens up a route towards networks of
topological wires with fewer constraints on device geometry compared to
previous devices that require external magnetic fields.Comment: 9+5 pages, 6 figure
An Analysis of Off-Site Supervision of Banks' Profitability, Risk and Capital Adequacy: a portfolio simulation approach applied to brazilian banks
In most countries, the role of off-site bank supervision involves continuous monitoring of profitability, risk and capital adequacy. The objective of this article is to demonstrate the value of bringing together advanced modeling techniques with data on banks' assets and liabilities and credit worthiness. More specifically, we apply an integrated market and credit risk simulation methodology to a group of six hypothetical banks. We show the capacity of the methodology: (i) to simulate credit transition probabilities of default close to the historical values estimated by the Central Bank of Brazil; and (ii) to simulate asset and equity returns that are unbiased estimators of average historical returns and standard deviations. Our results also indicate that: (i) a sharp reduction in the interest rate spreads of Brazilian banks reduces bank profitability and increases the probability of default; and (ii) most banks have low probability of bankruptcy. Our position is that utilization of forward looking risk evaluation methodologies in databases, such as those developed by the Central Bank of Brazil, has significant potential as an instrument of indirect supervision to identify potential risks before they materialize.
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