Observation of a linear temperature dependence of the critical current density in a Ba_{0.63}K_{0.37}BiO_3 single crystal

For a Ba_{0.63}K_{0.37}BiO_3 single crystal with T_c=31 K, H_{c1}=750 Oe at 5 K, and dimensions 3x3x1 mm^3, the temperature and field dependences of magnetic hysteresis loops have been measured within 5-25 K in magnetic fields up to 6 Tesla. The critical current density is J_c(0)=1.5 x 10^5 A/cm^2 at zero field and 1 x 10^5 A/cm^2 at 1 kOe at 5 K. J_c decreases exponentially with increasing field up to 10 kOe. A linear temperature dependence of J_c is observed below 25 K, which differs from the exponential and the power-law temperature dependences in high-Tc superconductors including the BKBO. The linear temperature dependence can be regarded as an intrinsic effect in superconductors.Comment: RevTex, Physica C Vol. 341-348, 729 (2000

Frequency aspects of information transmission in a network of three Western equity markets

Cycles in the behavior of stock markets have been widely documented. There is an increasing body of literature on whether stock markets anticipate business cycles or its turning points. Several recent studies assert that financial integration impacts positively on business cycle comovements of economies. We consider three Western equity markets, represented by their respective stock indices: DJIA (USA), FTSE 100 (UK), and Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area). Connecting these three markets together via vector autoregressive processes in index returns, we construct "propagation values" to measure and trace, on a daily basis, the relative importance of a market as a volatility creator within the network, where volatility is due to a return shock in a market. A cross-wavelet analysis reveals the joint frequency structure of pairs of the propagation value series, in particular whether or not two series tend to move in the same direction at a given frequency. Our main findings are: (i) From 2001 onwards, the daily propagation values of markets have been fluctuating much less than before, and high frequencies have become less pronounced; (ii) the European markets are in phase at business cycle frequency, while the US market is not in phase with either European market; (iii) in 2008, the euro area has taken over the leading role. This approach not only provides new insight into the time-dependent interplay of equity markets, but it can also replicate certain findings of traditional business cycle research, and it has the advantage of using only readily available stock market data

The surgical point of view of the geriatric patient — Urinary incontinence

Summary: Background: Urinary incontinence is one of the most frequent diseases in the ageing population. The aim of this manuscript is to present the current knowledge on urinary incontinence regarding (i) prevalence, (ii) pathogenesis, (iii) types, (iv) diagnostic assessment, and (v) treatment options. Methods: The current literature regarding urinary incontinence with special reference to the geriatric patient was reviewed. Results: According to a study performed recently in the Vienna area, 36.0% of women and 11.5% of men aged 70 years or older report urinary incontinence. Several factors, such as urodynamic changes, structural alterations of the lower urinary tract, increased sensory input, and impaired central control of the micturition reflex, contribute to the high prevalence of urinary incontinence with age. The four most common forms of urinary incontinence in the geriatric patient are combined stress/urge incontinence, pure urge incontinence, pure stress incontinence, and overflow incontinence. Diagnostic steps are classified into "mandatory”, "recommended”, and "indicated in selected cases only”. Particularly the "mandatory tests” are simple to perform and need no special equipment. Therapeutic options should be directed to the type of urinary incontinence as well as the physical and mental status of the patient. Conclusions: Urinary incontinence is highly prevalent with age. Conservative treatment is the therapy of choice for urge incontinence and mild to moderate forms of stress and overflow incontinence in the geriatric patien

Market Connectedness: Spillovers, Information Flow, and Relative Market Entropy

The degree of connectedness of equity markets on a given day can be assessed by decomposing the forecast error variance resulting from a vector autoregressive model, applied to daily returns on stock indices. This well-known procedure leads, for each day, to a spillover matrix which can be readily interpreted as a network structure and summarized into the so-called spillover index, to which much recent research work has been devoted. Taking a sequence of spillover matrices as starting point, we show how the scope of this concept can be broadened in several ways. Firstly, we develop a concept to quantify a market's potential to spread information, which is related to the eigenvector structure of spillover matrices. Secondly, a Markov chain approach allows the definition of relative market entropy, quantifying the amount of information gained from day to day. A further entropy concept can be related to the speed of shock digestion and network stability. As an empirical example, we analyze a system of five markets represented by stock indices Dow Jones Industrial Average (USA), FTSE (UK), Euro Stoxx 50 (euro area), Nikkei 225 (Japan), and SSE Composite (China). It is demonstrated that increasing trends in the spillover index as well as in speed of information digestion are an empirical fact but no logical necessity theoretical examples show that there can be opposite trends in these series

World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grading in fine‐needle aspiration biopsies of renal masses

Background Utilization of fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy for the evaluation of renal masses has been increasing at our institution. At times diagnostic material on direct smears is superior to that in the cell block/core biopsy, therefore assigning an accurate nuclear grade in the cytopathology report would provide useful prognostic information. Methods Search of the pathology database identified renal FNAs performed during an 11‐year period (2006–2017). Corresponding core biopsies and resections were identified. Cases with a diagnosis of primary renal neoplasia on FNA, core biopsy, and/or resection were included. Two pathologists reviewed all cases and assigned a World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade to each FNA, core biopsy, and resection case. Results A total of 162 kidney FNAs were identified. Primary renal neoplasia was diagnosed in 137 cases on core biopsy/resection. Among diagnostic FNAs of clear cell RCC and papillary RCC with core biopsy/resection specimens for re‐review (n = 52), reviewers assigned a concordant WHO/ISUP grade to 83% (43/52) of cases. Among 9 cases with discrepant scores, all had a discrepancy of 1 grade and were undergraded on FNA. Using a two tier grading system (low vs. high grade), reviewers assigned a concordant grade to 88% (46/52) of cases. Among 6 cases with discrepant scores, all were classified as low grade (WHO/ISUP grade 2) on FNA versus high grade (WHO/ISUP grade 3) on resection. Conclusion The WHO/ISUP grade assigned on FNA shows good concordance with subsequent resection/core specimens (83%), with all discrepant cases being undergraded by one grade

News on the Machtenstein H5 ordinary chondrite

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OA] 南極隕石11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウ

Structural and optical investigation of non-polar (1-100) GaN grown by the ammonothermal method

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 113, 203513 (2013) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4807581.We studied the structural and optical properties of state-of-the-art non-polar bulk GaN grown by the ammonothermal method. The investigated samples have an extremely low dislocation density (DD) of less than 5 × 104 cm−2, which results in very narrow high-resolution x-ray rocking curves. The a and c lattice parameters of these stress-free GaN samples were precisely determined by using an x-ray diffraction technique based on the modified Bond method. The obtained values are compared to the lattice parameters of free-standing GaN from different methods and sources. The observed differences are discussed in terms of free-electron concentrations, point defects, and DD. Micro Raman spectroscopy revealed a very narrow phonon linewidth and negligible built-in strain in accordance with the high-resolution x-ray diffraction data. The optical transitions were investigated by cathodoluminescence measurements. The analysis of the experimental data clearly demonstrates the excellent crystalline perfection of ammonothermal GaN material and its potential for fabrication of non-polar substrates for homoepitaxial growth of GaN based device structures

Fast computing of scattering maps of nanostructures using graphical processing units

Scattering maps from strained or disordered nano-structures around a Bragg reflection can either be computed quickly using approximations and a (Fast) Fourier transform, or using individual atomic positions. In this article we show that it is possible to compute up to 4.10^10 $reflections.atoms/s using a single graphic card, and we evaluate how this speed depends on number of atoms and points in reciprocal space. An open-source software library (PyNX) allowing easy scattering computations (including grazing incidence conditions) in the Python language is described, with examples of scattering from non-ideal nanostructures.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure