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isbn: 9783031439216, Pages: 159-161

Tiger conservation necessitates the strategic deployment of multifaceted initiatives encompassing the preservation of ecological habitats, anti-poaching measures, and community involvement for sustainable growth in the tiger population. With the advent of artificial intelligence, tiger surveillance can be automated using object detection. In this paper, an accurate illumination invariant framework is proposed based on EnlightenGAN and YOLOv8 for tiger detection. The fine-tuned YOLOv8 model achieves a mAP score of 61% without illumination enhancement. The illumination enhancement improves the mAP by 0.7%. The approaches elevate the state-of-the-art performance on the ATRW dataset by approximately 6% to 7%., Comment: accepted at ICCIS 2023

Cybersecurity is a major concern due to the increasing reliance on technology and interconnected systems. Malware detectors help mitigate cyber-attacks by comparing malware signatures. Machine learning can improve these detectors by automating feature extraction, identifying patterns, and enhancing dynamic analysis. In this paper, the performance of six multiclass classification models is compared on the Malimg dataset, Blended dataset, and Malevis dataset to gain insights into the effect of class imbalance on model performance and convergence. It is observed that the more the class imbalance less the number of epochs required for convergence and a high variance across the performance of different models. Moreover, it is also observed that for malware detectors ResNet50, EfficientNetB0, and DenseNet169 can handle imbalanced and balanced data well. A maximum precision of 97% is obtained for the imbalanced dataset, a maximum precision of 95% is obtained on the intermediate imbalance dataset, and a maximum precision of 95% is obtained for the perfectly balanced dataset., Comment: accepted at PEIS2023 and will be published in Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering

The Data availability statement of this article has been modified to add the accession link to the raw data. The old Data availability statement read “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. All data are available from the corresponding author upon request”. This has been replaced by “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper.

Strong spin–orbit semiconductor nanowires coupled to a superconductor are predicted to host Majorana zero modes. Exchange (braiding) operations of Majorana modes form the logical gates of a topological quantum computer and require a network of nanowires. Here, we utilize an in-plane selective area growth technique for InSb–Al semiconductor–superconductor nanowire networks. Transport channels, free from extended defects, in InSb nanowire networks are realized on insulating, but heavily mismatched InP (111)B substrates by full relaxation of the lattice mismatch at the nanowire/substrate interface and nucleation of a complete network from a single nucleation site by optimizing the surface diffusion length of the adatoms. Essential quantum transport phenomena for topological quantum computing are demonstrated in these structures including phase-coherence lengths exceeding several micrometers with Aharonov–Bohm oscillations up to five harmonics and a hard superconducting gap accompanied by 2e-periodic Coulomb oscillations with an Al-based Cooper pair island integrated in the nanowire network.

Strong spin–orbit semiconductor nanowires coupled to a superconductor are predicted to host Majorana zero modes. Exchange (braiding) operations of Majorana modes form the logical gates of a topological quantum computer and require a network of nanowires. Here, we utilize an in-plane selective area growth technique for InSb–Al semiconductor–superconductor nanowire networks. Transport channels, free from extended defects, in InSb nanowire networks are realized on insulating, but heavily mismatched InP (111)B substrates by full relaxation of the lattice mismatch at the nanowire/substrate interface and nucleation of a complete network from a single nucleation site by optimizing the surface diffusion length of the adatoms. Essential quantum transport phenomena for topological quantum computing are demonstrated in these structures including phase-coherence lengths exceeding several micrometers with Aharonov–Bohm oscillations up to five harmonics and a hard superconducting gap accompanied by 2e-periodic Coulomb oscillations with an Al-based Cooper pair island integrated in the nanowire network.

Motivated by observations of extreme magnetoresistance (XMR) in bulk crystals of rare-earth monopnictide (RE-V) compounds and emerging applications in novel spintronic and plasmonic devices based on thin-film semimetals, we have investigated the electronic band structure and transport behavior of epitaxial GdSb thin films grown on III-V semiconductor surfaces. The Gd3+ ion in GdSb has a high spin S=7/2 and no orbital angular momentum, serving as a model system for studying the effects of antiferromagnetic order and strong exchange coupling on the resulting Fermi surface and magnetotransport properties of RE-Vs. We present a surface and structural characterization study mapping the optimal synthesis window of thin epitaxial GdSb films grown on III-V lattice-matched buffer layers via molecular-beam epitaxy. To determine the factors limiting XMR in RE-V thin films and provide a benchmark for band-structure predictions of topological phases of RE-Vs, the electronic band structure of GdSb thin films is studied, comparing carrier densities extracted from magnetotransport, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. ARPES shows a hole-carrier rich, topologically trivial, semimetallic band structure close to complete electron-hole compensation, with quantum confinement effects in the thin films observed through the presence of quantum-well states. DFT-predicted Fermi wave vectors are in excellent agreement with values obtained from quantum oscillations observed in magnetic field-dependent resistivity measurements. An electron-rich Hall coefficient is measured despite the higher hole-carrier density, attributed to the higher electron Hall mobility. The carrier mobilities are limited by surface and interface scattering, resulting in lower magnetoresistance than that measured for bulk crystals.

Silent Errors within hardware devices occur when an internal defect manifests in a part of the circuit which does not have check logic to detect the incorrect circuit operation. The results of such a defect can range from flipping a single bit in a single data value, up to causing the software to execute the wrong instructions. Silent data corruptions (SDC) in hardware impact computational integrity for large-scale applications. Manifestations of silent errors are accelerated by datapath variations, temperature variance, and age, among other silicon factors. These errors do not leave any record or trace in system logs. As a result, silent errors stay undetected within workloads, and their effects can propagate across several services, causing problems to appear in systems far removed from the original defect. In this paper, we describe testing strategies to detect silent data corruptions within a large scale infrastructure. Given the challenging nature of the problem, we experimented with different methods for detection and mitigation. We compare and contrast two such approaches - 1. Fleetscanner (out-of-production testing) and 2. Ripple (in-production testing).We evaluate the infrastructure tradeoffs associated with the silicon testing funnel across 3+ years of production experience., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, 31 references

Theoretically proposed by Ettore Majorana in 1937, Majorana fermions are a unique class of particles which are their own anti-particles. This concept is realized in Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs), which are quasi-particles bound to zero energy, with no measurable charge and mass. Arising out of topological states of matter, signatures of MZMs were first experimentally observed in 2012. These quasi-particles are predicted to exhibit non-abelian braiding statistics, allowing them to “remember” whether they were moved clockwise or counterclockwise around each other, forming a braid in time and position. Being their own anti-particles, fusion or annihilation of a pair of MZMs is expected to lead to a different outcome based on how they were braided, making a pair of MZMs the simplest quantum bit or ‘qubit’, forming the basis of Topological Quantum Computation.As MZMs are indistinguishable from each other and quantum information is encoded in the exchange of MZMs, it is protected from environmental perturbations (noise), referred to as topological protection. Computation based on these qubits is predicted to be fault tolerant and scalable.This work focusses on the device heterostructure design, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) growth and low temperature electrical characterization of superconductor-semiconductor hybrid systems hosting MZMs. Low dimensional electron systems (2D quantum wells, 1D nanowires) in semiconductors with strong spin-orbit interaction (e.g. InAs, InAsxSb1-x and InSb), transparently coupled to a superconductor (e.g. Aluminum), have been investigated.With an emphasis on improving electron mobility, the first demonstration of an InSb quantum well on InSb substrate, as part of this work, showed a record quantum mobility of 50,000 cm2/Vs. Top and bottom gate control of InSb quantum wells on GaSb substrates has also been demonstrated. MBE of InAs and InAsSb nanowires has also been studied, with demonstration of induced superconductivity in InAsSb nanowires. Rece

Theoretically proposed by Ettore Majorana in 1937, Majorana fermions are a unique class of particles which are their own anti-particles. This concept is realized in Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs), which are quasi-particles bound to zero energy, with no measurable charge and mass. Arising out of topological states of matter, signatures of MZMs were first experimentally observed in 2012. These quasi-particles are predicted to exhibit non-abelian braiding statistics, allowing them to “remember” whether they were moved clockwise or counterclockwise around each other, forming a braid in time and position. Being their own anti-particles, fusion or annihilation of a pair of MZMs is expected to lead to a different outcome based on how they were braided, making a pair of MZMs the simplest quantum bit or ‘qubit’, forming the basis of Topological Quantum Computation.As MZMs are indistinguishable from each other and quantum information is encoded in the exchange of MZMs, it is protected from environmental perturbations (noise), referred to as topological protection. Computation based on these qubits is predicted to be fault tolerant and scalable.This work focusses on the device heterostructure design, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) growth and low temperature electrical characterization of superconductor-semiconductor hybrid systems hosting MZMs. Low dimensional electron systems (2D quantum wells, 1D nanowires) in semiconductors with strong spin-orbit interaction (e.g. InAs, InAsxSb1-x and InSb), transparently coupled to a superconductor (e.g. Aluminum), have been investigated.With an emphasis on improving electron mobility, the first demonstration of an InSb quantum well on InSb substrate, as part of this work, showed a record quantum mobility of 50,000 cm2/Vs. Top and bottom gate control of InSb quantum wells on GaSb substrates has also been demonstrated. MBE of InAs and InAsSb nanowires has also been studied, with demonstration of induced superconductivity in InAsSb nanowires. Rece

Theoretically proposed by Ettore Majorana in 1937, Majorana fermions are a unique class of particles which are their own anti-particles. This concept is realized in Majorana Zero Modes (MZMs), which are quasi-particles bound to zero energy, with no measurable charge and mass. Arising out of topological states of matter, signatures of MZMs were first experimentally observed in 2012. These quasi-particles are predicted to exhibit non-abelian braiding statistics, allowing them to “remember” whether they were moved clockwise or counterclockwise around each other, forming a braid in time and position. Being their own anti-particles, fusion or annihilation of a pair of MZMs is expected to lead to a different outcome based on how they were braided, making a pair of MZMs the simplest quantum bit or ‘qubit’, forming the basis of Topological Quantum Computation.As MZMs are indistinguishable from each other and quantum information is encoded in the exchange of MZMs, it is protected from environmental perturbations (noise), referred to as topological protection. Computation based on these qubits is predicted to be fault tolerant and scalable.This work focusses on the device heterostructure design, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) growth and low temperature electrical characterization of superconductor-semiconductor hybrid systems hosting MZMs. Low dimensional electron systems (2D quantum wells, 1D nanowires) in semiconductors with strong spin-orbit interaction (e.g. InAs, InAsxSb1-x and InSb), transparently coupled to a superconductor (e.g. Aluminum), have been investigated.With an emphasis on improving electron mobility, the first demonstration of an InSb quantum well on InSb substrate, as part of this work, showed a record quantum mobility of 50,000 cm2/Vs. Top and bottom gate control of InSb quantum wells on GaSb substrates has also been demonstrated. MBE of InAs and InAsSb nanowires has also been studied, with demonstration of induced superconductivity in InAsSb nanowires. Rece

Study Design: This was an epidemiological study using national administrative data from the MarketScan database. Objective: To investigate the impact of early versus delayed adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) on wound healing following surgical resection for spinal metastatic disease. Methods: We queried the MarketScan database (2007-2016), identifying patients with a diagnosis of spinal metastasis who also underwent RT within 8 weeks of surgery. Patients were categorized into “Early RT” if they received RT within 4 weeks of surgery and as “Late RT” if they received RT between 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing were used to compare baseline characteristics and wound complication outcomes. Results: A total of 540 patients met the inclusion criteria: 307 (56.9%) received RT within 4 weeks (Early RT) and 233 (43.1%) received RT within 4 to 8 weeks (Late RT) of surgery. Mean days to RT for the Early RT cohort was 18.5 (SD, 6.9) and 39.7 (SD, 7.6) for the Late RT cohort. In a 90-day surveillance period, n = 9 (2.9%) of Early RT and n = 8 (3.4%) of Late RT patients developed wound complications (P = .574). Conclusions: When comparing patients who received RT early versus delayed following surgery, there were no significant differences in the rates of wound complications. Further prospective studies should aim to identify optimal patient criteria for early postoperative RT for spinal metastases.

The Data availability statement of this article has been modified to add the accession link to the raw data. The old Data availability statement read “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. All data are available from the corresponding author upon request”. This has been replaced by “Materials and data that support the findings of this research are available within the paper. The raw data have been deposited at https://zenodo.org/record/4589484#.YEoEOy1Y7Sd”. This has been corrected in both the HTML and PDF version of the article.

An approach based on answer set programming (ASP) is proposed in this paper for representing knowledge generated from natural language texts. Knowledge in a text is modeled using a Neo Davidsonian-like formalism, which is then represented as an answer set program. Relevant commonsense knowledge is additionally imported from resources such as WordNet and represented in ASP. The resulting knowledge-base can then be used to perform reasoning with the help of an ASP system. This approach can facilitate many natural language tasks such as automated question answering, text summarization, and automated question generation. ASP-based representation of techniques such as default reasoning, hierarchical knowledge organization, preferences over defaults, etc., are used to model commonsense reasoning methods required to accomplish these tasks. In this paper, we describe the CASPR system that we have developed to automate the task of answering natural language questions given English text. CASPR can be regarded as a system that answers questions by "understanding" the text and has been tested on the SQuAD data set, with promising results.

Silent Data Corruption (SDC) can have negative impact on large-scale infrastructure services. SDCs are not captured by error reporting mechanisms within a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and hence are not traceable at the hardware level. However, the data corruptions propagate across the stack and manifest as application-level problems. These types of errors can result in data loss and can require months of debug engineering time. In this paper, we describe common defect types observed in silicon manufacturing that leads to SDCs. We discuss a real-world example of silent data corruption within a datacenter application. We provide the debug flow followed to root-cause and triage faulty instructions within a CPU using a case study, as an illustration on how to debug this class of errors. We provide a high-level overview of the mitigations to reduce the risk of silent data corruptions within a large production fleet. In our large-scale infrastructure, we have run a vast library of silent error test scenarios across hundreds of thousands of machines in our fleet. This has resulted in hundreds of CPUs detected for these errors, showing that SDCs are a systemic issue across generations. We have monitored SDCs for a period longer than 18 months. Based on this experience, we determine that reducing silent data corruptions requires not only hardware resiliency and production detection mechanisms, but also robust fault-tolerant software architectures., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 33 references

We investigate time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) in AlGaN/GaN Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor High Electron Mobility Transistors (MIS-HEMTs) under forward bias AC stress which better emulates real-world operational conditions. To this end, we have performed TDDB experiments across a wide range of frequencies, temperatures, and recovery voltage levels. We find that TDDB under AC stress shows longer breakdown times than under DC stress and that this increase is more prominent with higher frequency, lower temperature, and more negative recovery voltage. We hypothesize that this is due to the dynamics of the gate stack in GaN MIS-HEMTs biased with a high positive gate voltage. Under these conditions, a second electron channel forms at the dielectric/AlGaN interface. This process is relatively slow as these electrons come from the 2DEG at the AlGaN/GaN interface and must overcome the energy barrier presented by the AlGaN. At the same gate voltage then, the electric field across the gate oxide is lower in magnitude under AC stress at high enough frequency than under DC stress explaining the obtained results.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: To provide insight into postoperative complications, short-term quality outcomes, and costs of the surgical approaches of adult cervical deformity (ACD). Methods: A national database was queried from 2007 to 2016 to identify patients who underwent cervical fusion for ACD. Patients were stratified by approach type—anterior, posterior, or circumferential. Patients undergoing anterior and posterior approach surgeries were additionally compared using propensity score matching. Results: A total of 6575 patients underwent multilevel cervical fusion for ACD correction. Circumferential fusion had the highest postoperative complication rate (46.9% vs posterior: 36.7% vs anterior: 18.5%, P < .0001). Anterior fusion patients more commonly required reoperation compared with posterior fusion patients (P < .0001), and 90-day readmission rate was highest for patients undergoing circumferential fusion (P < .0001). After propensity score matching, the complication rate remained higher in the posterior, as compared to the anterior fusion group (P < .0001). Readmission rate also remained higher in the posterior fusion group; however, anterior fusion patients were more likely to require reoperation. At index hospitalization, posterior fusion led to 1.5× higher costs, and total payments at 90 days were 1.6× higher than their anterior fusion counterparts. Conclusion: Patients who undergo posterior fusion for ACD have higher complication rates, readmission rates, and higher cost burden than patients who undergo anterior fusion; however, posterior correction of ACD is associated with a lower rate of reoperation.

We present conductance-matrix measurements of a three-terminal superconductor-semiconductor hybrid device consisting of two normal leads and one superconducting lead. Using a symmetry decomposition of the conductance, we find that antisymmetric components of pairs of local and nonlocal conductances qualitatively match at energies below the superconducting gap, and we compare this finding with symmetry relations based on a noninteracting scattering matrix approach. Further, the local charge character of Andreev bound states is extracted from the symmetry-decomposed conductance data and is found to be similar at both ends of the device and tunable with gate voltage. Finally, we measure the conductance matrix as a function of magnetic field and identify correlated splittings in low-energy features, demonstrating how conductance-matrix measurements can complement traditional single-probe measurements in the search for Majorana zero modes.

We present conductance-matrix measurements of a three-terminal superconductor-semiconductor hybrid device consisting of two normal leads and one superconducting lead. Using a symmetry decomposition of the conductance, we find that antisymmetric components of pairs of local and nonlocal conductances qualitatively match at energies below the superconducting gap, and we compare this finding with symmetry relations based on a noninteracting scattering matrix approach. Further, the local charge character of Andreev bound states is extracted from the symmetry-decomposed conductance data and is found to be similar at both ends of the device and tunable with gate voltage. Finally, we measure the conductance matrix as a function of magnetic field and identify correlated splittings in low-energy features, demonstrating how conductance-matrix measurements can complement traditional single-probe measurements in the search for Majorana zero modes.

We have investigated time-dependent dielectric breakdown in high-voltage AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron mobility transistors, with a focus specifically on the role of temperature under positive gate stress conditions. We aim toward understanding the temperature dependence of progressive breakdown (PBD) as well as hard breakdown. We find that the temperature dependence of time-to-first breakdown, hard breakdown, and the gate current evolution during PBD all share similar, shallow activation energies that suggest a common underlying mechanism. However, the gate current noise during PBD seems to be independent of temperature and is likely due to a tunneling process. Understanding of temperature-dependent breakdown is essential to developing accurate device lifetime estimates.

STUDY DESIGN An epidemiological study using national administrative data from the MarketScan database. OBJECTIVE To identify the impact of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing adult cervical deformity (ACD) surgery. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA BMP has been shown to stimulate bone growth and improve fusion rates in spine surgery. However, the impact of BMP on reoperation rates and postoperative complication rate is controversial. METHODS We queried the MarketScan database to identify patients who underwent ACD surgery from 2007-2015. Patients were stratified by BMP use in the index operation. Patients under 18 and those with any history of tumor or trauma were excluded. Baseline demographics and comorbidities, postoperative complication rates and reoperation rates were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 13,549 patients underwent primary ACD surgery, of which 1155 (8.5%) had intraoperative BMP use. The overall 90-day complication rate was 27.6% in the non-BMP cohort and 31.1% in the BMP cohort (p < 0.05). Patients in the BMP cohort had longer average length of stay (4.0 days vs 3.7 days, p < 0.05) but lower revision surgery rates at 90-days (14.5% vs 28.3%, p < 0.05), 6 months (14.9% vs 28.6%, p < 0.05), 1 year (15.7% vs 29.2%, p < 0.05), and 2 years (16.5% vs 29.9%, p < 0.05) postoperatively. BMP use was associated with higher payments throughout the 2-year follow-up period ($107,975 vs $97,620, p < 0.05). When controlling for baseline group differences, BMP use independently increased the odds of postoperative complication (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.1 - 1.4) and reduced the odds of reoperation throughout 2-years of follow-up (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.4 - 0.6). CONCLUSIONS Intraoperative BMP use has benefits for fusion integrity in ACD surgery but is associated with increased postoperative complication rate. Spine surgeons should weigh these benefits and drawbacks to identify optimal candidates for BMP use in ACD surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.

We report on the selective-area chemical beam epitaxial growth of InAs in-plane, one-dimensional (1D) channels using patterned SiO2-coated InP(001), InP(111)B, and InP(011) substrates to establish a scalable platform for topological superconductor networks. Top-view scanning electron micrographs show excellent surface selectivity and dependence of major facet planes on the substrate orientations and ridge directions, and the ratios of the surface energies of the major facet planes were estimated. Detailed structural properties and defects in the InAs nanowires (NWs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopic analysis of cross-sections perpendicular to the NW ridge direction and along the NW ridge direction. Electrical transport properties of the InAs NWs were investigated using Hall bars, a field effect mobility device, a quantum dot, and an Aharonov-Bohm loop device, which reflect the strong spin-orbit interaction and phase-coherent transport characteristic present in the selectively grown InAs systems. This study demonstrates that selective-area chemical beam epitaxy is a scalable approach to realize semiconductor 1D channel networks with the excellent surface selectivity and this material system is suitable for quantum transport studies.

Background & aimsBoth liver disease (LD) and pancreatitis pose substantial burdens. There have been no general population-based studies on frequency of LD after an episode of pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of LD in a population-based cohort of patients following pancreatitis.MethodsNationwide data on the general population of nearly 3 million people were used to identify retrospectively diagnoses of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis (CP), LD and cirrhosis from 1998 to 2016. Acute pancreatitis was categorised as first (FAP) or recurrent (RAP) episode. Number of pancreatitis recurrences prior to LD diagnosis was determined.ResultsA total of 20,931 pancreatitis patients were included, of which 874 developed LD following pancreatitis. The incidence of LD in FAP was 115.59 (95% confidence interval 102.19-128.98), in RAP - 217.63 (95% confidence interval 173.31-261.94), and in CP - 539.43 (95% confidence interval 494.72-584.13) patients per 100,000 pancreatitis patients per year. There was a significant increase in the probability of LD with increasing number of pancreatitis recurrences and, for the same number of pancreatitis recurrences, LD was significantly more frequent after CP than RAP (hazard ratio 1.666 (95% confidence interval 1.322-2.098; p = <0.001)).ConclusionsThe frequency of LD increases from FAP to RAP to CP. While number of pancreatitis recurrences is a significant risk factor for development of LD, there is a higher probability of LD following CP than RAP even for the same number of recurrences. Interventions preventing pancreatitis and its progression may lower the burden of LD.

We report on the selective-area chemical beam epitaxial growth of InAs in-plane, one-dimensional (1D) channels using patterned SiO2-coated InP(001), InP(111)B, and InP(011) substrates to establish a scalable platform for topological superconductor networks. Top-view scanning electron micrographs show excellent surface selectivity and dependence of major facet planes on the substrate orientations and ridge directions, and the ratios of the surface energies of the major facet planes were estimated. Detailed structural properties and defects in the InAs nanowires (NWs) were characterized by transmission electron microscopic analysis of cross-sections perpendicular to the NW ridge direction and along the NW ridge direction. Electrical transport properties of the InAs NWs were investigated using Hall bars, a field effect mobility device, a quantum dot, and an Aharonov-Bohm loop device, which reflect the strong spin-orbit interaction and phase-coherent transport characteristic present in the selectively grown InAs systems. This study demonstrates that selective-area chemical beam epitaxy is a scalable approach to realize semiconductor 1D channel networks with the excellent surface selectivity and this material system is suitable for quantum transport studies.

Majorana zero-modes - a type of localized quasiparticle - hold great promise for topological quantum computing. Tunnelling spectroscopy in electrical transport is the primary tool for identifying the presence of Majorana zero-modes, for instance as a zero-bias peak in differential conductance. The height of the Majorana zero-bias peak is predicted to be quantized at the universal conductance value of 2e 2 /h at zero temperature (where e is the charge of an electron and h is the Planck constant), as a direct consequence of the famous Majorana symmetry in which a particle is its own antiparticle. The Majorana symmetry protects the quantization against disorder, interactions and variations in the tunnel coupling. Previous experiments, however, have mostly shown zero-bias peaks much smaller than 2e 2 /h, with a recent observation of a peak height close to 2e 2 /h. Here we report a quantized conductance plateau at 2e 2 /h in the zero-bias conductance measured in indium antimonide semiconductor nanowires covered with an aluminium superconducting shell. The height of our zero-bias peak remains constant despite changing parameters such as the magnetic field and tunnel coupling, indicating that it is a quantized conductance plateau. We distinguish this quantized Majorana peak from possible non-Majorana origins by investigating its robustness to electric and magnetic fields as well as its temperature dependence. The observation of a quantized conductance plateau strongly supports the existence of Majorana zero-modes in the system, consequently paving the way for future braiding experiments that could lead to topological quantum computing., Accepted Author Manuscript This title has a addendum: editorial expression of concern, see Relations below, QRD/Kouwenhoven Lab, Applied Sciences, Integral Design and Management, QN/Bakkers Lab

We study transport mediated by Andreev bound states formed in InSb nanowire quantum dots. Two kinds of superconducting source and drain contacts are used: epitaxial Al/InSb devices exhibit a doubling of tunneling resonances, while, in NbTiN/InSb devices, Andreev spectra of the dot appear to be replicated multiple times at increasing source-drain bias voltages. In both devices, a mirage of a crowded spectrum is created. To describe the observations a model is developed that combines the effects of a soft induced gap and of additional Andreev bound states both in the quantum dot and in the finite regions of the nanowire adjacent to the quantum dot. Understanding of Andreev spectroscopy is important for the correct interpretation of Majorana experiments done on the same structures.

The number of electrons in small metallic or semiconducting islands is quantised. When tunnelling is enabled via opaque barriers this number can change by an integer. In superconductors the addition is in units of two electron charges (2e), reflecting that the Cooper pair condensate must have an even parity. This ground state (GS) is foundational for all superconducting qubit devices. Here, we study a hybrid superconducting-semiconducting island and find three typical GS evolutions in a parallel magnetic field: a robust 2e-periodic even-parity GS, a transition to a 2e-periodic odd-parity GS, and a transition from a 2e- to a 1e-periodic GS. The 2e-periodic odd-parity GS persistent in gate-voltage occurs when a spin-resolved subgap state crosses zero energy. For our 1e-periodic GSs we explicitly show the origin being a single zero-energy state gapped from the continuum, i.e., compatible with an Andreev bound states stabilized at zero energy or the presence of Majorana zero modes.

We study the effect of external electric fields on superconductor-semiconductor coupling by measuring the electron transport in InSb semiconductor nanowires coupled to an epitaxially grown Al superconductor. We find that the gate voltage induced electric fields can greatly modify the coupling strength, which has consequences for the proximity induced superconducting gap, effective g-factor, and spin-orbit coupling, which all play a key role in understanding Majorana physics. We further show that level repulsion due to spin-orbit coupling in a finite size system can lead to seemingly stable zero bias conductance peaks, which mimic the behavior of Majorana zero modes. Our results improve the understanding of realistic Majorana nanowire systems.

We study the effect of external electric fields on superconductor-semiconductor coupling by measuring the electron transport in InSb semiconductor nanowires coupled to an epitaxially grown Al superconductor. We find that the gate voltage induced electric fields can greatly modify the coupling strength, which has consequences for the proximity induced superconducting gap, effective g-factor, and spin-orbit coupling, which all play a key role in understanding Majorana physics. We further show that level repulsion due to spin-orbit coupling in a finite size system can lead to seemingly stable zero bias conductance peaks, which mimic the behavior of Majorana zero modes. Our results improve the understanding of realistic Majorana nanowire systems.

The number of electrons in small metallic or semiconducting islands is quantised. When tunnelling is enabled via opaque barriers this number can change by an integer. In superconductors the addition is in units of two electron charges (2e), reflecting that the Cooper pair condensate must have an even parity. This ground state (GS) is foundational for all superconducting qubit devices. Here, we study a hybrid superconducting-semiconducting island and find three typical GS evolutions in a parallel magnetic field: a robust 2e-periodic even-parity GS, a transition to a 2e-periodic odd-parity GS, and a transition from a 2e- to a 1e-periodic GS. The 2e-periodic odd-parity GS persistent in gate-voltage occurs when a spin-resolved subgap state crosses zero energy. For our 1e-periodic GSs we explicitly show the origin being a single zero-energy state gapped from the continuum, i.e., compatible with an Andreev bound states stabilized at zero energy or the presence of Majorana zero modes.

We study transport mediated by Andreev bound states formed in InSb nanowire quantum dots. Two kinds of superconducting source and drain contacts are used: epitaxial Al/InSb devices exhibit a doubling of tunneling resonances, while, in NbTiN/InSb devices, Andreev spectra of the dot appear to be replicated multiple times at increasing source-drain bias voltages. In both devices, a mirage of a crowded spectrum is created. To describe the observations a model is developed that combines the effects of a soft induced gap and of additional Andreev bound states both in the quantum dot and in the finite regions of the nanowire adjacent to the quantum dot. Understanding of Andreev spectroscopy is important for the correct interpretation of Majorana experiments done on the same structures.

Majorana zero-modes - a type of localized quasiparticle - hold great promise for topological quantum computing. Tunnelling spectroscopy in electrical transport is the primary tool for identifying the presence of Majorana zero-modes, for instance as a zero-bias peak in differential conductance. The height of the Majorana zero-bias peak is predicted to be quantized at the universal conductance value of 2e 2 /h at zero temperature (where e is the charge of an electron and h is the Planck constant), as a direct consequence of the famous Majorana symmetry in which a particle is its own antiparticle. The Majorana symmetry protects the quantization against disorder, interactions and variations in the tunnel coupling. Previous experiments, however, have mostly shown zero-bias peaks much smaller than 2e 2 /h, with a recent observation of a peak height close to 2e 2 /h. Here we report a quantized conductance plateau at 2e 2 /h in the zero-bias conductance measured in indium antimonide semiconductor nanowires covered with an aluminium superconducting shell. The height of our zero-bias peak remains constant despite changing parameters such as the magnetic field and tunnel coupling, indicating that it is a quantized conductance plateau. We distinguish this quantized Majorana peak from possible non-Majorana origins by investigating its robustness to electric and magnetic fields as well as its temperature dependence. The observation of a quantized conductance plateau strongly supports the existence of Majorana zero-modes in the system, consequently paving the way for future braiding experiments that could lead to topological quantum computing., Accepted Author Manuscript This title has a addendum: editorial expression of concern, see Relations below, QRD/Kouwenhoven Lab, Applied Sciences, Integral Design & Management, QN/Bakkers Lab

BackgroundWhile the close morphological relationship between the exocrine and endocrine pancreas is well established, their functional interaction remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between circulating levels of pancreatic proteolytic enzymes and insulin, as well as other pancreatic hormones.MethodsFasting venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for trypsin, chymotrypsin, insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide. Linear regression analysis was used in unadjusted and two adjusted (accounting for prediabetes/diabetes, body mass index, smoking, and other covariates) statistical models.ResultsA total of 93 individuals with a history of acute pancreatitis were included in this cross-sectional study. Chymotrypsin was significantly associated with insulin in the two adjusted models (p = 0.005; p = 0.003) and just missed statistical significance in the unadjusted model (p = 0.066). Chymotrypsin was significantly associated with glucagon in both unadjusted (p = 0.025) and adjusted models (p = 0.014; p = 0.015); as well as with somatostatin - in both unadjusted (p = 0.001) and adjusted models (p = 0.001; p = 0.002). Trypsin was not significantly associated with insulin in any of the models but was significantly associated with glucagon in both unadjusted (p < 0.001) and adjusted models (p < 0.001), and pancreatic polypeptide in both unadjusted (p < 0.001) and adjusted (p < 0.001) models.ConclusionThe state of hyperinsulinemia is characterized by a dysfunction of the exocrine pancreas. In particular, chymotrypsin is increased in the state of hyperinsulinemia and trypsin is significantly associated with glucagon and pancreatic polypeptide.

Navika D Shukla, Allen L Ho, Arjun V Pendharkar, Eric S Sussman, Casey H Halpern Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA Abstract: Medically intractable epilepsy is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. For those with focal epilepsy and correlated electrophysiological or radiographic features, open surgical resection can achieve high rates of seizure control, but can be associated with neurologic deficits and cognitive effects. Recent innovations have allowed for more minimally invasive methods of surgical seizure control such as magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial therapy (MRgLITT). MRgLITT achieves the goal of ablating seizure foci while preserving neuropsychological function and offering real-time feedback and monitoring of tissue ablation. This review summarizes the utilization of MRgLITT for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and other seizure disorders. Overall, the efficacy of MRgLITT is comparable to that of open surgery and offers a less invasive approach in patients with significantly less morbidity. Keywords: laser ablation, MRgLITT, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, epilepsy surgery, corpus callostomy

As information service professionals, librarians need to keep abreast of the current research interests and trends. On one hand, the recent refugee crisis has brought the spotlight on migrants and migration. On the other hand, increased migration has led to ethnically diverse and multicultural societies problematising the monochromatic ideas of nation and culture in the process. The two together have the potential of revolutionising the information service profession, in New Zealand and across the world, in two distinct ways – 1) the need to cater to the demands of a heightened research interest in migration, migrants as well as in the related issues of host society-diaspora relationship, and expressions of this relationship in literature, institutional and societal practices, 2) the need to serve information needs of a user populace that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the present day nations and institutions. This is already evident in the demands on archival services, as various migrant communities, as minority communities, seek to find out and assert their role and their place in the host nation’s and society’s history/story. At the same time, in the field of archival studies, there is an enhanced awareness of: 1) the potential role of traditional archival practices in silencing certain voices and in marginalising minorities, and 2) the need to rethink traditional archival theories and practices. As a result, community archives movement and migrant community archives are focus of increased cross-disciplinary academic attention and interest, and a cutting edge area of research. The proposed annotated bibliography will offer an online advisory tool for reference librarians, from New Zealand and in other places, helping them support research on the topic. The bibliography will be created using Zotero referencing software and made available as an online Zotero library. It will provide brief descriptions of information sources that deal with various asp

As information service professionals, librarians need to keep abreast of the current research interests and trends. On one hand, the recent refugee crisis has brought the spotlight on migrants and migration. On the other hand, increased migration has led to ethnically diverse and multicultural societies problematising the monochromatic ideas of nation and culture in the process. The two together have the potential of revolutionising the information service profession, in New Zealand and across the world, in two distinct ways – 1) the need to cater to the demands of a heightened research interest in migration, migrants as well as in the related issues of host society-diaspora relationship, and expressions of this relationship in literature, institutional and societal practices, 2) the need to serve information needs of a user populace that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the present day nations and institutions. This is already evident in the demands on archival services, as various migrant communities, as minority communities, seek to find out and assert their role and their place in the host nation’s and society’s history/story. At the same time, in the field of archival studies, there is an enhanced awareness of: 1) the potential role of traditional archival practices in silencing certain voices and in marginalising minorities, and 2) the need to rethink traditional archival theories and practices. As a result, community archives movement and migrant community archives are focus of increased cross-disciplinary academic attention and interest, and a cutting edge area of research. The proposed annotated bibliography will offer an online advisory tool for reference librarians, from New Zealand and in other places, helping them support research on the topic. The bibliography will be created using Zotero referencing software and made available as an online Zotero library. It will provide brief descriptions of information sources that deal with various asp

As information service professionals, librarians need to keep abreast of the current research interests and trends. On one hand, the recent refugee crisis has brought the spotlight on migrants and migration. On the other hand, increased migration has led to ethnically diverse and multicultural societies problematising the monochromatic ideas of nation and culture in the process. The two together have the potential of revolutionising the information service profession, in New Zealand and across the world, in two distinct ways – 1) the need to cater to the demands of a heightened research interest in migration, migrants as well as in the related issues of host society-diaspora relationship, and expressions of this relationship in literature, institutional and societal practices, 2) the need to serve information needs of a user populace that reflects the ethnic and cultural diversity of the present day nations and institutions. This is already evident in the demands on archival services, as various migrant communities, as minority communities, seek to find out and assert their role and their place in the host nation’s and society’s history/story. At the same time, in the field of archival studies, there is an enhanced awareness of: 1) the potential role of traditional archival practices in silencing certain voices and in marginalising minorities, and 2) the need to rethink traditional archival theories and practices. As a result, community archives movement and migrant community archives are focus of increased cross-disciplinary academic attention and interest, and a cutting edge area of research. The proposed annotated bibliography will offer an online advisory tool for reference librarians, from New Zealand and in other places, helping them support research on the topic. The bibliography will be created using Zotero referencing software and made available as an online Zotero library. It will provide brief descriptions of information sources that deal with various asp

The growth and the density dependence of the low temperature mobility of a series of two-dimensional electron systems confined to un-intentionally doped, low extended defect density InAs quantum wells with Al$_{1-x}$Ga$_{x}$Sb barriers are reported. The electron mobility limiting scattering mechanisms were determined by utilizing dual-gated devices to study the dependence of mobility on carrier density and electric field independently. Analysis of the possible scattering mechanisms indicate the mobility was limited primarily by rough interfaces in narrow quantum wells and a combination of alloy disorder and interface roughness in wide wells at high carrier density within the first occupied electronic sub-band. At low carrier density the functional dependence of the mobility on carrier density provided evidence of coulombic scattering from charged defects. A gate-tuned electron mobility exceeding 750,000 cm$^{2}$/Vs was achieved at a sample temperature of 2 K.

© 2016 IEEE. Nowadays portable devices with more number of sensors are used for gait assessment and monitoring for elderly and disabled. However, the problem with using multiple sensors is that if they are placed on the same platform or base, there could be cross talk between them, which could change the signal amplitude or add noise to the signal. Hence, this study uses wavelet PCA as a signal processing technique to separate the original sensor signal from the signal obtained from the sensors through the integrated unit to compare the two types of walking (with and without an exoskeleton). This comparison using wavelet PCA will enable the researchers to obtain accurate sensor data and compare and analyze the data in order to further improve the design of compact portable devices used to monitor and assess the gait in stroke or paralyzed subjects. The advantage of designing such systems is that they can also be used to assess and monitor the gait of the stroke subjects at home, which will save them time and efforts to visit the laboratory or clinic.

© 2016 IEEE. Nowadays portable devices with more number of sensors are used for gait assessment and monitoring for elderly and disabled. However, the problem with using multiple sensors is that if they are placed on the same platform or base, there could be cross talk between them, which could change the signal amplitude or add noise to the signal. Hence, this study uses wavelet PCA as a signal processing technique to separate the original sensor signal from the signal obtained from the sensors through the integrated unit to compare the two types of walking (with and without an exoskeleton). This comparison using wavelet PCA will enable the researchers to obtain accurate sensor data and compare and analyze the data in order to further improve the design of compact portable devices used to monitor and assess the gait in stroke or paralyzed subjects. The advantage of designing such systems is that they can also be used to assess and monitor the gait of the stroke subjects at home, which will save them time and efforts to visit the laboratory or clinic.