Artificial Neural Network to predict mean monthly total ozone in Arosa, Switzerland

Present study deals with the mean monthly total ozone time series over Arosa, Switzerland. The study period is 1932-1971. First of all, the total ozone time series has been identified as a complex system and then Artificial Neural Networks models in the form of Multilayer Perceptron with back propagation learning have been developed. The models are Single-hidden-layer and Two-hidden-layer Perceptrons with sigmoid activation function. After sequential learning with learning rate 0.9 the peak total ozone period (February-May) concentrations of mean monthly total ozone have been predicted by the two neural net models. After training and validation, both of the models are found skillful. But, Two-hidden-layer Perceptron is found to be more adroit in predicting the mean monthly total ozone concentrations over the aforesaid period.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figure

On the growth kinetics of Ni(Pt) silicide thin films

We report on the effect of Pt on the growth kinetics of δ-Ni2Si and Ni 1−xPtxSi thin films formed by solid phase reaction of a Ni(Pt) alloyed thin film on Si(100). The study was performed by real-time Rutherford backscattering spectrometry examining the silicide growth rates for initial Pt concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 7, and 10 at. % relative to the Ni content. Pt was found to exert a drastic effect on the growth kinetics of both phases. δ-Ni2Si growth is slowed down tremendously, which results in the simultaneous growth of this phase with Ni 1−xPtxSi. Activation energies extracted for the Ni 1−xPtxSi growth process exhibit an increase from Ea = 1.35 ± 0.06 eV for binary NiSi to Ea = 2.7 ± 0.2 eV for Ni 1−xPtxSi with an initial Pt concentration of 3 at. %. Further increasing the Pt content to 10 at. % merely increases the activation energy for Ni 1−xPtxSi growth to Ea = 3.1 ± 0.5 eV

Effect of high temperature deposition on CoSi 2 phase formation

Abstract: This paper discusses the nucleation behaviour of the CoSi to CoSi2 transformation from cobalt silicide thin films grown by deposition at elevated substrate temperatures ranging from 375 °C to 600 °C. A combination of channelling, real-time Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, real-time x-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the effect of the deposition temperature on the subsequent formation temperature of CoSi2, its growth behaviour, and the epitaxial quality of the CoSi2 thus formed. The temperature at which deposition took place was observed to exert a significant and systematic influence on both the formation temperature of CoSi2 and its growth mechanism. CoSi films grown at the lowest temperatures were found to increase the CoSi2 nucleation temperature above that of CoSi2 grown by conventional solid phase reaction, whereas the higher deposition temperatures reduced the nucleation temperature significantly. In addition, a systematic change in growth mechanism of the subsequent CoSi2 growth occurs as a function of deposition temperature. First, the CoSi2 growth rate from films grown at the lower reactive deposition temperatures is substantially lower than that grown at higher reactive deposition temperatures, even though the onset of growth occurs at a higher temperature, Second, for deposition temperatures below 450 °C, the growth appears columnar, indicating nucleation controlled growth. Elevated deposition temperatures, on the other hand, render the CoSi2 formation process layer-by-layer which indicates enhanced nucleation of the CoSi2 and diffusion controlled growth. Our results further indicate that this observed trend is most likely related to stress and changes in microstructure introduced during reactive deposition of the CoSi film. The deposition temperature therefore provides a handle to tune the CoSi2 growth mechanism

Sn diffusion during Ni germanide growth on Ge1– xSnx

We report on the redistribution of Sn during Ni germanide formation on Ge1– x Sn x /〈Ge(100)〉 and its influence on the thin film growth and properties. These results show that the reaction involves the formation of Ni5Ge3 and NiGe. Sn redistributes homogenously in both phases, in which the Sn/Ge ratio retains the ratio of the as-deposited Ge1– x Sn x film. Sn continues to diffuse after full NiGe formation and segregates in two regions: (1) at the interface between the germanide and Ge1– x Sn x and (2) at the surface, which has major implications for the thin film and contact properties

Animacy effects on the processing of intransitive verbs:An eye-tracking study

<p>This paper tested an assumption of the gradient model of split intransitivity put forward by Sorace (“Split Intransitivity Hierarchy” (SIH), 2000, 2004), namely that agentivity is a fundamental feature for unergatives but not for unaccusatives. According to this hypothesis, the animacy of the verb’s argument should affect the processing of unergative verbs to a greater extent than unaccusative verbs. By using eye-tracking methodology we monitored the online processing and integration costs of the animacy of the verb’s argument in intransitive verbs. We observed that inanimate subjects caused longer reading times only for unergative verbs, whereas the animacy of the verb’s argument did not influence the pattern of results for unaccusatives. In addition, the unergative verb data directly support the existence of gradient effects on the processing of the subject argument.</p

An outline of an asymmetric two-component theory of aspect

The paper presents the bases of an asymmetric two-component model of aspect. The main theoretical conclusion of the study is that (grammatical) viewpoint aspect and situation aspect are not independent aspectual levels, since the former often modifies the input situation aspect of the phrase/sentence. As it is shown, besides the arguments and adjuncts of the predicate, viewpoint aspect is also an important factor in compositionally marking situation aspect. The aspectual framework put forward in the paper is verified and illustrated on the basis of the aspectual system of Hungarian and some examples taken from English linguistic data

Usability, acceptability, and feasibility of the World Health Organization Labour Care Guide: A mixed-methods, multicountry evaluation.

Introduction The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Labour Care Guide (LCG) is a “next-generation” partograph based on WHO’s latest intrapartum care recommendations. It aims to optimize clinical care provided to women and their experience of care. We evaluated the LCG’s usability, feasibility, and acceptability among maternity care practitioners in clinical settings. Methods Mixed-methods evaluation with doctors, midwives, and nurses in 12 health facilities across Argentina, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Purposively sampled and trained practitioners applied the LCG in low-risk women during labor and rated experiences, satisfaction, and usability. Practitioners were invited to focus group discussions (FGDs) to share experiences and perceptions of the LCG, which were subjected to framework analysis. Results One hundred and thirty-six practitioners applied the LCG in managing labor and birth of 1,226 low-risk women. The majority of women had a spontaneous vaginal birth (91.6%); two cases of intrapartum stillbirths (1.63 per 1000 births) occurred. Practitioner satisfaction with the LCG was high, and median usability score was 67.5%. Practitioners described the LCG as supporting precise and meticulous monitoring during labor, encouraging critical thinking in labor management, and improving the provision of woman-centered care. Conclusions The LCG is feasible and acceptable to use across different clinical settings and can promote woman-centered care, though some design improvements would benefit usability. Implementing the LCG needs to be accompanied by training and supportive supervision, and strategies to promote an enabling environment (including updated policies on supportive care interventions, and ensuring essential equipment is available)