AlNiGe kao nov namjenski materijal za kontakte na n–GaAs

Al(150 nm)/Ni(30 nm)/Ge(40 nm) layers have been deposited onto n-type GaAs by thermal evaporation. The samples have been annealed for 20 minutes in flowing forming gas H2:N2 (30%:70%). The alloying behaviour of the specimens has been investigated by electron microscope. The contacts show a bilayer structure in the case of as-deposited samples. The top layer is pure Al and the second one is Ni-Ge. The metal-semiconductor interface is sharp. Annealing at 400 °C resulted in the formation of florets on the surface assumed to be AlGe eutectic; meanwhile, randomly distributed pits of size 10 nm have been grown into the GaAs. The samples annealed at 450 °C show bilayer structure. The top layer is pure Ge and the second one consists of Al-Ni(Ge). On samples annealed at 500 °C thick alloyed layer has been found with deep pyramidal pits of size 0.25 µm. The interface region between GaAs and the pits contains substantial amount of Al. Contrary to the published results, I-V (current-voltage) characteristics of the annealed specimens show that the contacts remained rectifying at each applied annealing process. The temperature dependence of parameters evaluated from either current-voltage or capacitance-voltage characteristics prove that the characteristic form of conductance is the anomalous thermionic-field emission.Slojevi Al(150 nm)/Ni(30 nm)/Ge(40 nm) termički su napareni na GaAs n–tipa. Uzorci su otpuštani u plinskoj smjesi H2(30%)+N2(70%) na 400 ◦C, 450 ◦C i 500 ◦C i njihovo legiranje je ispitivano elektronskom mikroskopijom. Suprotno objavljenim rezultatima, I − V krivulje pokazuju da spojevi zadržavaju ispravljačko svojstvo nakon otpuštanja na svim primijenjenim temperaturama. Temperaturna ovisnost parametara koji su bili određeni na osnovi ovisnosti struje o naponu ili kapaciteta o naponu potvrđuju da je vodenje struje posljedica anomalne termionske emisije polja

AlNiGe kao nov namjenski materijal za kontakte na n–GaAs

Al(150 nm)/Ni(30 nm)/Ge(40 nm) layers have been deposited onto n-type GaAs by thermal evaporation. The samples have been annealed for 20 minutes in flowing forming gas H2:N2 (30%:70%). The alloying behaviour of the specimens has been investigated by electron microscope. The contacts show a bilayer structure in the case of as-deposited samples. The top layer is pure Al and the second one is Ni-Ge. The metal-semiconductor interface is sharp. Annealing at 400 °C resulted in the formation of florets on the surface assumed to be AlGe eutectic; meanwhile, randomly distributed pits of size 10 nm have been grown into the GaAs. The samples annealed at 450 °C show bilayer structure. The top layer is pure Ge and the second one consists of Al-Ni(Ge). On samples annealed at 500 °C thick alloyed layer has been found with deep pyramidal pits of size 0.25 µm. The interface region between GaAs and the pits contains substantial amount of Al. Contrary to the published results, I-V (current-voltage) characteristics of the annealed specimens show that the contacts remained rectifying at each applied annealing process. The temperature dependence of parameters evaluated from either current-voltage or capacitance-voltage characteristics prove that the characteristic form of conductance is the anomalous thermionic-field emission.Slojevi Al(150 nm)/Ni(30 nm)/Ge(40 nm) termički su napareni na GaAs n–tipa. Uzorci su otpuštani u plinskoj smjesi H2(30%)+N2(70%) na 400 ◦C, 450 ◦C i 500 ◦C i njihovo legiranje je ispitivano elektronskom mikroskopijom. Suprotno objavljenim rezultatima, I − V krivulje pokazuju da spojevi zadržavaju ispravljačko svojstvo nakon otpuštanja na svim primijenjenim temperaturama. Temperaturna ovisnost parametara koji su bili određeni na osnovi ovisnosti struje o naponu ili kapaciteta o naponu potvrđuju da je vodenje struje posljedica anomalne termionske emisije polja

A Novel Application of the 3D VirCA Environment: Modeling a Standard Ethological Test of Dog-Human Interactions

The concept of ‘Future Internet’, ‘Internet of Things’ and ‘3D Internet’ opens a novel way for modeling ethological tests by rebuilding models of human-animal interaction in an augmented environment as an interactive mixture of virtual actors and real human observers. On the one hand these experiments can serve as a proof of concept, as a kind of experimental validation of formal ethological models, but on the other hand they can also serve as examples for the ways a human can communicate with things (i.e., with everyday objects) in a virtual environment (e.g. on the Internet). These kinds of experiments can also support Cognitive Infocommunication related research, the field that investigates how a human can co-evolve with artificially cognitive systems through infocommunications devices. The goal of the paper is to introduce an example for such an ethological test system, a possible way for embedding a prototype ethological model described as a fuzzy automaton in MATLAB to the 3D VirCA collaborative augmented reality environment. Some details of the applied ethological experiment paradigm developed for studying the dog-owner relationship in a standard laboratory procedure, as a demonstrative example for ethological model implementation, will also be discussed briefly in this paper

Értsük meg a magyar entitásfelismerő rendszerek viselkedését!

A nyelvtechnológiai megoldásokat hagyományosan egy valós életből származó szöveghalmaz tanító és tesztadatbázisra bontott verzióján szokás kiértékelni, e módszer azonban több buktatóval is rendelkezik. A CheckList egy újfajta kiértékelési módszertan, mely különböző nyelvi jelenségeket definiál, továbbá az egyes jelenségekre külön tesztkörnyezeteket állít fel, melyek az adott alkalmazás viselkedését hivatottak tesztelni. Ebben a tanulmányban a magyar nyelvű névelem-felismerési (NER) feladatra alkalmazzuk a CheckList módszertanát. Ehhez 9 nyelvi jelenséget1 definiálunk, mondatsablonokon keresztül 27 tesztkörnyezetet állítunk fel és három magyar névelem-felismerő rendszert értékelünk ki a CheckList módszertanában. Elemzésünk megmutatja, hogy ez a módszertan közelebb visz minket ahhoz, hogy megértsük a magyar entitásfelismerők viselkedésének megértését

Experiences with fecal microbiota transplantation in Clostridium difficile infections via upper gastrointestinal tract

Dramatic changes in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infections have been reported from the western world in the past decade. The proportion of severe cases is significantly elevating and clinicians now have to contend with the problem of additional and more frequent episodes of recurrences including an upward trend in the mortality rate. This situation led us to investigate the possibility of the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). An amount of 100 ml of fecal microbiota solution was instilled into a nasojejunal (NJ) tube in 16 cases and into a nasogastric (NG) tube in 44 cases. In all of the cases, where the solution was instilled via nasojejunal tubes, the symptoms resolved within 24 h. We did not note any recurrences in this group. When the material was flushed in through nasogastric tubes, the symptoms resolved in 39 (88.64%) cases within 24 h. In this group, we have experienced a recurrent episode of C. difficile infection in five (11.36%) cases. Three of them were cured with a second transplantation. We have found that in our practice the upper gastrointestinal tract methods had the primary cure rate of 91.67%, whereas the secondary cure rate is 96.67%. When we compared the NJ and NG methods, we have found that the differences in the outcomes are not significant statistically (p = 0.3113 using Fisher’s exact probability test). In conclusion, FMT proved to be very effective, particularly in recurrent infections and in cases where conventional treatment had failed

Selective intraoperative cholangiography should be considered over routine intraoperative cholangiography during cholecystectomy : a systematic review and meta-analysis

Decades of debate surround the use of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) during cholecystectomy. To the present day, the role of IOC is controversial as regards decreasing the rate of bile duct injury (BDI). We aimed to review and analyse the available literature on the benefits of IOC during cholecystectomy.A systematic literature search was performed until 19 October 2020 in five databases using the following search keys: cholangiogra* and cholecystectomy. The primary outcomes were BDI and retained stone rate. To investigate the differences between the groups (routine IOC vs selective IOC and IOC vs no IOC), we calculated weighted mean differences (WMD) for continuous outcomes and relative risks (RR) for dichotomous outcomes, with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Of the 19,863 articles, 38 were selected and 32 were included in the quantitative synthesis. Routine IOC showed no superiority compared to selective IOC in decreasing BDI (RR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.66; 1.24). Comparing IOC and no IOC, no statistically significant differences were found in the case of BDI, retained stone rate, readmission rate, and length of hospital stay. We found an increased risk of conversion rate to open surgery in the no IOC group (RR = 0.64, CI 0.51; 0.78). The operation time was significantly longer in the IOC group compared to the no IOC group (WMD = 11.25 min, 95% CI 6.57; 15.93).Our findings suggest that IOC may not be indicated in every case, however, the evidence is very uncertain. Further good quality research is required to address this question

Noninvasive ventilation improves the outcome in patients with pneumonia-associated respiratory failure: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) is beneficial in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but its effectiveness in pneumonia-associated respiratory failure is still controversial. In the current meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate whether the use of NIV before intubation in pneumonia improves the mortality and intubation rates of respiratory failure as compared to no use of NIV in adults.We searched three databases from inception to December 2019. We included studies, in which pneumonia patients were randomized initially into either NIV-treated or non-NIV-treated groups. Five full-text publications, including 121 patients, reported eligible data for statistical analysis.With NIV the overall hospital mortality rate seemed lower in patients with pneumonia-associated respiratory failure, but this was not significant [odds ratio (OR) = 0.39; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.13-1.14; P = 0.085]. In the intensive care unit, the mortality was significantly lower when NIV was applied compared to no NIV treatment (OR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.07-0.75; P = 0.015). NIV also decreased mortality compared to no NIV in patient groups, which did not exclude patients with COPD (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.08-0.74; P = 0.013). The need for intubation was significantly reduced in NIV-treated patients (OR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.09-0.53; P = 0.001), which effect was more prominent in pneumonia patient groups not excluding patients with pre-existing COPD (OR = 0.13; 95% CI: 0.03-0.46; P = 0.002).NIV markedly decreases the death rate in the intensive care unit and reduces the need for intubation in patients with pneumonia-associated respiratory failure. The beneficial effects of NIV seem more pronounced in populations that include patients with COPD. Our findings suggest that NIV should be considered in the therapeutic guidelines of pneumonia, given that future clinical trials confirm the results of our meta-analysis.All data and materials generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request