170,018 research outputs found
City Networking in Europe Rescaling of the state and increased importance of cities in the multi-level system of governance
No full textThis thesis analyzes city networking from a rescaling perspective, highlighting the shift
from government towards non-hierarchical governance, a development shifting political
power between different scales. In its most institutionalized form, this development can
be found in the EU, where power is moved upwards to the supra-national level and
downwards to the sub-national level. As the EU system of governance is inherently multi-level, the international activity of cities can be understood as Europeanization of domestic practices, increasing the connections between the levels of governance and thus the multi-level character of the European political systems.
Previous research suggests explanations along two lines; city level variables and country level variables, such as domestic institutional relationships between national and sub-national levels. When using Regional Autonomy Index (RAI), World city index, and years of EU membership to measure cities’ international networking, and thus the interconnectedness between scales, the results point towards the country level variables having more explanatory value. Consequently, the level of networking seems to be conditioned by Europeanization in combination with national institutional relations measured by RAI. A longer history of membership, in combination with more
regional autonomy, limits the state ability to act as a gatekeeper and increases the networking. This shows higher adaptation to the multi-level system of governance in accordance with the Europeanization hypothesis
Quantum Computing in Solid State Systems
No full textThe aim of Quantum Computation in Solid State Systems is to report on recent theoretical and experimental results on the macroscopic quantum coherence of mesoscopic systems, as well as on solid state realization of qubits and quantum gates. Particular attention has been given to coherence effects in Josephson devices. Other solid state systems, including quantum dots, optical, ion, and spin devices which exhibit macroscopic quantum coherence are also discussed. Quantum Computation in Solid State Systems discusses experimental implementation of quantum computing and information processing devices, and in particular observations of quantum behavior in several solid state systems. On the theoretical side, the complementary expertise of the contributors provides models of the various structures in connection with the problem of minimizing decoherence
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Novel synthesis of Eu-doped SiAlON luminescent materials from a preceramic polymer and nano-sized fillers
No full textA commercial polysilazane, mixed with nano-sized fillers particles, has been used for the first time for the preparation of Eu-doped β′- and α′-SiAlON-based powders, exhibiting yellow, green and blue luminescence under blue or near UV excitation, depending on processing conditions. β′-Phase was obtained by mixing the preceramic polymer with both γ-Al2O3 and Si3N4 nanoparticles, whereas the Ca α-phase was achieved by adding γ-Al2O3 and CaCO3 nanoparticles. Rare-earth ions were provided by Eu2O3 nano-particles.
The reduction of Eu3+ into Eu2+ incorporated in SiAlON was favored by the presence of carbon derived from the pyrolysis of the preceramic polymers. The nanometric distribution of filler materials and the high yield of the selected preceramic polymers in terms of Si and N atoms led to the formation of the desired phases at relatively low firing temperatures (e.g. 3 h at 1550–1600 °C in pure nitrogen)
Mitomycin C in highly myopic eyes - Author reply
No full textOphthalmology. 2005 Feb;112(2):208-18; discussion 219.
Mitomycin C modulation of corneal wound healing after photorefractive keratectomy in highly myopic eyes.
Gambato C, Ghirlando A, Moretto E, Busato F, Midena E.
SourceRefractive Surgery Service and Antimetabolite Therapy Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of topical mitomycin C in corneal wound healing (CWH) after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in highly myopic eyes.
DESIGN: Prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial.
PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two eyes of 36 patients affected by high (>7 diopters) myopia.
METHODS: In each patient, one eye was randomly assigned to PRK with intraoperative topical 0.02% mitomycin C application, and the fellow eye was treated with a placebo. Postoperatively, mitomycin C-treated eyes received artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months), whereas the fellow eye was treated with fluorometholone sodium 2% and artificial tears (3 times daily, tapered in 3 months).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), contrast sensitivity, manifest refraction, and biomicroscopy. Contrast sensitivity was determined using the Pelli-Robson chart. Corneal confocal microscopy documented CWH.
RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 18 months (range, 12-36). No side effects or toxic effects were documented. At 12-month follow-up examination, UCVAs (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution) were 0.4+/-0.48 and 0.5+/-0.53 (P = .03) in mitomycin C-treated eyes and corticosteroid-treated eyes, respectively. At 1 year, corneal haze developed in 20% of corticosteroid-treated eyes, versus 0% of mitomycin C-treated eyes. At 12, 24, and 36 months, corneal confocal microscopy showed activated keratocytes and extracellular matrix significantly more evident in untreated eyes (Ps = 0.004, 0.024, and 0.046, respectively).
CONCLUSION: Topical intraoperative application of 0.02% mitomycin C can reduce haze formation in highly myopic eyes undergoing PRK.
Comment in
Ophthalmology. 2006 Feb;113(2):357; author reply 357-8
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Next Generation of Engineering Methods and Tools for SOA-Based Large-Scale and Distributed Process Applications
No full textTime evolution of two distant squid rings irradiated with entangled electromagnetic field
No full textA Multi-Language Comparison of Influences on Author Verification using Character N-Grams
No full textWe create a new multi-language corpus for author verification based on Wikipedia talkpages, and evaluate the influence that differences in topic and time have on character n-gram author profiles. Topic alignment between two texts is found to increase author verification precision, and an authors writing style is found to change over time, but not more significantly after 3 years than after 1 year.Information ArchitectureWISElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
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