23 research outputs found
Internet of things in business & management: Current trends, opportunities and future scope
No full textThe study explores the theme of Internet of Things in business and management by conducting bibliometric analysis of extant literature on the topic. SPAR-4-SLR protocol methodology of systematic literature review is employed for bibliometric analysis. Year-wise, Author-wise, Citation-wise, Country-wise, Source-wise, Affiliation-wise, Sponsoring institutions-wise and keywords-wise listing are the parameters to identify the trend, opportunities, and future scope of this theme. We use Scopus database to list the extant literature. The study suggests that IoT in business and management is going to be explored in relation to digital transformation, fog computing, soft computing, embedded system, industry 4.0, circular economy, sustainable development, and smart cities and subsequently this wide-spread application of IoT in Business & Management also brings certain challenges like cyber-security, reliability, privacy, and complexity in working. This study provides insights on current trends and the future scope of IoT in business and management which is equally useful for researchers and policy maker
Analysis of Factors in the Nanoscale Physical and Electrical Characterization of High-K Materials by Conductive Atomic Force Microscope
No full textThe conductive atomic force microscope (CAFM) has been shown to be a powerful tool to study the physical and electrical properties of high-k materials on nanoscale. However, such accurate measurements could be altered by external factors. In this work, the main factors affecting CAFM measurements including environmental conditions, tip coating materials and the tip-sample bias are evaluated by analyzing the topographic and current maps performed on HfO2 stacks in different conditions. It is found that environmental conditions have notable effects on the CAFM measurements due to the water meniscus formed by adsorbed water layers on the tip and sample surface in air. And the lateral resolution of the technique can be improved remarkably by measuring in a high vacuum environment. The mechanical and electrical properties of tip coating materials are found to be related to the stability of tip conductivity and the real voltage drop in the stack, hence have a key influence on the current measurement. Moreover, the tip-sample interaction can be altered by the electrostatic force induced by the applied bias, leading to variations of the topographic image of the surface with the bias voltage. Our results indicate that the impact of these factors must be taken into account when performing CAFM measurements under different conditions or comparing the results obtained in different experiments.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000336495200001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Engineering, Electrical & ElectronicPhysics, AppliedPhysics, Condensed MatterSCI(E)[email protected],SI1-815
Exploring reported causes of vaccine hesitancy among European adolescents and parents: results of a citizen science project
No full textAbstract Background Progress in pediatric immunization is threatened by vaccine hesitancy. While recent estimates show 14–35% of European parents exhibit some degree of hesitancy, little is known about adolescents. We assessed vaccine hesitancy and associated factors in European adolescents and parents through the online Science4Pandemics platform. Methods We conducted two cross-sectional surveys. One in individuals aged ≥ 12 and < 18 years, using a non-validated questionnaire adapted from the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV); and another using the PACV questionnaire in parents aged ≥ 18 years, who were not necessarily related to the adolescents. Results 1877 adolescents from Italy, Portugal, Poland and Spain were included. Of these, 45.9% were aged 12–14 years, and 54.1% were 15–17 years. The prevalence of hesitancy (adapted PACV score ≥ 50%) was 20.8% (390 individuals). Hesitancy prevalence varied between countries, from 12.5% in Spain to 31.6% in Poland (p < 0.001). Geographic region was the only associated factor for hesitancy [Odds Ratio (OR) for Polish adolescents: 3.20 (95%CI: 2.29, 4.51); OR for Italian adolescents: 2.28 (95%CI: 1.62, 3.24); OR for Portuguese adolescents: 1.13 (95%CI: 0.77, 1.66); all compared to Spanish adolescents]. Country remained the only associated factor in the multivariate logistic regression analysis. In contrast, 1135 parents of children under 18 were included, with hesitancy observed in 20.4% (232 individuals). The main associated factors for hesitancy, both in the univariate and multivariate analyses, were country of residence [OR for Italian parents: 2.34 (95%CI: 1.47, 3.80); OR for Polish parents: 2.69 (95%CI: 1.70, 4.36); OR for Portuguese parents: 2.26 (95%CI: 1.41, 3.68); all compared to Spanish parents], and age, with older parents being less hesitant (OR: 0.97, 95%CI: 0.96, 1.00). In both parents and adolescents, the main reasons for vaccine hesitancy were fear of vaccine side effects (56.1% in adolescents, 51.9% in parents) and lack of trust in government recommendations (21.9% in adolescents, 22.8% in parents). Conclusions Vaccine hesitancy in adolescents and parents in Europe is prevalent, with country of residence as a key influencing factor. Targeted strategies to educate both groups about immunization benefits and its side effects are essential, considering the heterogeneity across countries and reasons for hesitancy
Genetic Variants as Predictors of the Success of Colorectal Cancer Treatments
No full textBackground Some genetic polymorphisms (SNPs) have been proposed as predictors for different colorectal cancer (CRC) outcomes. This work aims to assess their performance in our cohort and find new SNPs associated with them. Methods A total of 833 CRC cases were analyzed for seven outcomes, including the use of chemotherapy, and stratified by tumor location and stage. The performance of 63 SNPs was assessed using a generalized linear model and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and local SNPs were detected using logistic regressions. Results In total 26 of the SNPs showed an AUC > 0.6 and a significant association (p < 0.05) with one or more outcomes. However, clinical variables outperformed some of them, and the combination of genetic and clinical data showed better performance. In addition, 49 suggestive (p < 5 × 10-6) SNPs associated with one or more CRC outcomes were detected, and those SNPs were located at or near genes involved in biological mechanisms associated with CRC. Conclusions Some SNPs with clinical data can be used in our population as predictors of some CRC outcomes, and the local SNPs detected in our study could be feasible markers that need further validation as predictors
Performance of the Use of Genetic Information to Assess the Risk of Colorectal Cancer in the Basque Population
No full textThe risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) is partially associated with genetics. Different studies have provided valuable genetic information to understand the biology behind CRC and to build models of genetic risk. However, the study of the applicability of such genetic information within the Basque population is limited. Thus, our objectives were to find out if the genetic variants associated with CRC in other populations are the same in the Basque population and to assess the performance of the use of genetic information to calculate the risk of developing CRC. We found that the available genetic information can be applied to the Basque population, although local genetic variation can affect its use. Our findings will help to refine the use of CRC genetic risk calculation in the Basque population, and we expect that our findings could be useful for other populations
Graphene-Coated Atomic Force Microscope Tips for Reliable Nanoscale Electrical Characterization
No full textGraphene single-layer films are grown by chemical vapor deposition and transferred onto commercially available conductive tips for atomic force microscopy. Graphene-coated tips are much more resistant to both high currents and frictions than commercially available, metal-varnished, conductive atomic force microscopy tips, leading to much larger lifetimes and more reliable imaging due to a lower tip-sample interaction.Copyright ? 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000316007200010&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Chemistry, MultidisciplinaryChemistry, PhysicalNanoscience & NanotechnologyMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, AppliedPhysics, Condensed MatterSCI(E)EIPubMed12ARTICLE101440-14442
Electrical and mechanical performance of graphene sheets exposed to oxidative environments
No full textGraphene coatings have been shown to protect the underlying material from oxidation when exposed to different media. However, the passivating properties of graphene in air at room temperature, which corresponds to the operating conditions of many electronic devices, still remain unclear. In this work, we analyze the oxidation kinetics of graphene/Cu samples in air at room temperature for long periods of time (from 1 day to 113 days) using scanning electron microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy and Auger electron microscopy, and we compare the results with those obtained for similar samples treated in H2O2. We observe that unlike the graphene sheets exposed to H2O2, in which the accumulation of oxygen at the graphene domain boundaries evolves in a very controlled and progressive way, the local oxidation of graphene in air happens in a disordered manner. In both cases the oxide hillocks formed at the graphene domain boundaries can propagate to the domains until reaching a limiting width and height. Our results demonstrate that the local oxidation of the underlying material along the domain boundaries can dramatically decrease the roughness, conductivity, mechanical resistance and frictional characteristics of the graphene sheet, which reduces the performance of the whole device.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000321667400004&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Chemistry, PhysicalNanoscience & NanotechnologyMaterials Science, MultidisciplinaryPhysics, AppliedSCI(E)中国科学引文数据库(CSCD)10ARTICLE7485-495
Tuning graphene morphology by substrate towards wrinkle-free devices: Experiment and simulation
No full textGraphene grown by chemical vapor deposition can be used as the conductive channel in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors, metallic electrodes in capacitors, etc. However, substrate-induced corrugations and strain-related wrinkles formed on the graphene layer impoverish the properties of these devices by lowering the conductance and increasing their variability. Using the scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and atomic force microscopy, we investigated the morphology of as-grown and transferred graphene sheets on different substrates. We show that while the compressive strain (from the growth process) in the graphene sheet on flat substrates is minimized by generating wrinkles, and on rough substrates, it can be minimized by improving the graphene-substrate adhesion, leading to lower densities of wrinkles. This method paves the way to the design of wrinkle-free graphene based devices. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4794521]Physics, AppliedSCI(E)EI4ARTICLE10null11
Nanoscale observations of resistive switching high and low conductivity states on TiN/HfO2/Pt structures
No full textResistive Switching (RS) phenomenon in Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) structures with polycrystalline HfO2 layers as dielectric has been studied at the nanoscale using Conductive Atomic Force Microscope (CAFM). The CAFM measurements reveal that (i) the conductive filaments (CFs) created at very small areas are the origin of the RS phenomenon observed at device level and (ii) RS conductive filaments are primarily formed at the grain boundaries, which exhibit especially low breakdown voltage. CAFM images obtained on MIM structures at the Low and High Resistive states also show that, although the current in the Low Resistive State is mainly driven by a completely formed single CF, the cell area dependence of the conductivity in the High Resistive State could be explained by considering the presence of multiple partially formed CFs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000309785400070&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Engineering, Electrical & ElectronicNanoscience & NanotechnologyPhysics, AppliedSCI(E)EICPCI-S(ISTP)
Grain boundaries as preferential sites for Resistive Switching in the HfO2 RRAM structures
No full textResistive switching (RS) phenomenon in the HfO2 dielectric has been indirectly observed at device level in previous studies using metal-insulator-metal structures, but its origin remains unclear. In this work, using the enhanced conductive atomic force microscope (ECAFM), we have been able to obtain in situ direct observation of RS with nanometric resolution. The ECAFM measurements reveal that the conductive filaments exhibiting the RS are primarily formed at the grain boundaries, which were shown exhibiting especially low breakdown voltage due to their intrinsic high density of the oxygen vacancies
