Shank's transformation revisited

AbstractA unified and self-contained approach to the block structure of Shank's table and its cross rules is presented. Wynn's regular and Cordellier's singular cross rules are derived by the Schur-complement method in a unified manner without appealing to Padé approximation. Moreover, by extending the definition of Shank's transformation to certain biinfinite sequences and by introducing a parameter it is possible to get more consistency with respect to Möbius transformations. It is well known that Padé approximants in general don't have this property

Heating Based Model Analysis for Explosive Emission Intitiation at Metal Cathodes

This contribution presents a model analysis for the initiation of explosive emission; a phenomena that is observed at cathode surfaces under high current densities. Here, localized heating is quantitatively evaluated on ultrashort time scales as a potential mechanism that initiates explosive emission, based on a two-temperature, relaxation time model. Our calculations demonstrate a strong production of nonequilibrium phonons, ultimately leading to localized melting. Temperatures are predicted to reach the cathode melting point over nanosecond times within the first few monolayers of the protrusion. This result is in keeping with the temporal scales observed experimentally for the initiation of explosive emission

Characteristics of ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains in N{\'e}el-type skyrmion host GaV4_4S8_8

GaV$_4$S$_8$ is a multiferroic semiconductor hosting N{\'e}el-type magnetic skyrmions dressed with electric polarization. At T$_s$ = 42K, the compound undergoes a structural phase transition of weakly first-order, from a non-centrosymmetric cubic phase at high temperatures to a polar rhombohedral structure at low temperatures. Below T$_s$, ferroelectric domains are formed with the electric polarization pointing along any of the four $\left< 111 \right>$ axes. Although in this material the size and the shape of the ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains may act as important limiting factors in the formation of the N{\'e}el-type skyrmion lattice emerging below T$_C$=13\:K, the characteristics of polar domains in GaV$_4$S$_8$ have not been studied yet. Here, we report on the inspection of the local-scale ferroelectric domain distribution in rhombohedral GaV$_4$S$_8$ using low-temperature piezoresponse force microscopy. We observed mechanically and electrically compatible lamellar domain patterns, where the lamellae are aligned parallel to the (100)-type planes with a typical spacing between 100 nm-1.2 $\mu$m. We expect that the control of ferroelectric domain size in polar skyrmion hosts can be exploited for the spatial confinement and manupulation of N{\'e}el-type skyrmions

Modern Pulsed Power: Charlie Martin and Beyond

International Symposium on New Paradigm VLSI Computing, Sendai, Japan, Dec. 12-14, 2002, pp.31-36.This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, may not be copyrighted.Modern pulsed power has its genesis in the pioneering work of the late John Christopher Martin and his colleagues at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, U.K., in the 1960s [1]. “Charlie,” as he was known to the community, was a hydrodynamicist who was frustrated by his inability to purchase an adequate X-ray radiography source to image the dynamic phenomena he was interested in. As a result, he pursued a new generation of radiography sources that were based on high-power Marx generators, coupled with low-impedance transmission lines, and cold cathode single-stage accelerating gaps. Thus was the birth of modern pulsed power.U. S. Army Research OfficeSponsor/Monitor's Report Number(s):42713.8-PHDAAD19-01-1-069

Quantitative Antibiotic Use in Hospitals: Comparison of Measurements, Literature Review, and Recommendations for a Standard of Reporting

Abstract : Background: : Reports on antibiotic use often lack complete definitions of the units of measurement, hampering the comparison of data between hospitals or hospital units. Patients and Methods: : To compare methods of measures of in-hospital antimicrobial use, we determined aggregate in-hospital consumption data at a tertiary care university hospital using variations of nominators and denominators. Means of defined daily doses (DDD) of individual antimicrobials per 100 bed-days and per 100 admissions at each hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) were calculated. Furthermore, a literature review was performed for benchmarking purposes. Results: : Antibiotic use in different hospital units ranged from 0.105 to 323.37 DDD/100 bed-days and from 4.23 to 6737.92 DDD/100 admissions, respectively. Including the day of discharge in the denominator ‘bed-days' underestimated antibiotic use in various hospital wards by up to 27.7 DDD/100 bed-days (26.0%). Equating ‘numbers of patients admitted to the hospital' and ‘numbers of admissions' on a hospital level resulted in a difference of 192.6 DDD/100 admissions (64%) because patients transferred between hospital units accounted for multiple admissions. Likewise, reporting antimicrobial (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical [ATC] group ‘J') instead of antibiotic (ATC group ‘J01') use led to a difference of 16.5 DDD/100 bed-days (19.3%). The literature review revealed underreporting of complete definitions of antibiotic use measurements. Conclusions: : Data on in-hospital antimicrobial use vary widely not only due to different antibiotic policies at different institutions but also due to different methods of measures. Adherence to the standard of reporting the methods of measurement is warranted for benchmarking and promotion of rational antimicrobial us

Influence of molecular weight of polycation polydimethyldiallylammonium and carbon nanotube content on electric conductivity of layer-by-layer films

For biological and engineering applications, nm-thin films with high electrical conductivity and tunable sheet resistance are desirable. Multilayers of polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (PDADMA) with two different molecular weights (322 and 44.3 kDa) and oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were constructed using the layer-by-layer technique. The surface coverage of the CNTs was monitored with a selected visible near infrared absorption peak. Both the film thickness and the surface coverage of the CNTs increased linearly with the number of CNT/PDADMA bilayers deposited (film thickness up to 80 nm). Atomic force microscopy images showed a predominantly surface-parallel orientation of CNTs. Ohmic behavior with constant electrical conductivity of each CNT/PDADMA film and conductivity up to 4 · 103 S/m was found. A change in PDADMA molecular weight by almost a factor of ten has no effect on the film thickness and electrical conductivity, only the film/air roughness is reduced. However, increasing CNT concentration in the deposition dispersion from 0.15 up to 0.25 mg/ml results in an increased thickness of a CNT/PDADMA bilayer (by a factor of three). The increased bilayer thickness is accompanied by a decreased electrical conductivity (by a factor of four). The decreased conductivity is attributed to the increased monomer/CNT ratio