A conceptual proposal has been suggested to improve the confinement of a turbulent plasma in tokamaks with the use of discharges with large safety factors
q
L
at the plasma edge. A number of ...experiments that were performed with increased safety factors
q
L
at tokamaks of different scales and indicated the improvement of the confinement of the plasma in such regimes have been analyzed. The computer simulation of the evolution of the turbulent plasma, including the transition from the ohmic stage to the stage of intense heating by the electron cyclotron resonance method, has been performed for three discharges with the plasma parameters characteristic of the Т-10 tokamak and
q
L
from 3 to 8.5. This simulation has confirmed that the confinement of the plasma can be improved and its parameters can be increased at large
q
L
values.
Based on SDSS data, we consider the fraction of active galactic nuclei among polar-ring galaxies. We have found evidence for an excess of Seyfert galaxies and LINERS among polar-ring galaxies ...compared to ordinary objects. The observed nuclear activity of polar-ring galaxies may be associated with the accretion of gas from the region of the polar structures onto the central galaxies.
Based on the nonlinear techniques for estimation of coupling between oscillatory systems, we investigate the dynamics of climatic modes characterizing global and the Northern Hemisphere (NH) ...processes. In particular, indices of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) for 1950–2004 are analyzed. The methods based on phase dynamics modeling and nonlinear “Granger causality” are used. We infer that ENSO affects NAO during the last half a century with confidence probability higher than 0.95. The influence is characterized with time delay in the range from a couple of months up to three years and increases during the last decade.
Objective
Balloon sinuplasty (BSP) is associated with varied practice patterns. This study sought to identify otolaryngologist characteristics associated with BSP utilization.
Study Design
...Retrospective analysis of Medicare claims data and the National Physician Compare database.
Methods
Outlier otolaryngologists were compared to non‐outliers. Otolaryngologist characteristics included sex, practice size, geographic setting, years of experience, procedure setting, 10 or fewer endoscopic sinus surgeries per year for 3 or more years, and high number of services per unique Medicare beneficiary. Outlier status was defined as performing an annual total of balloon procedures of 2 standard deviations (SDs) above the mean for all otolaryngologists in the same year.
Results
Between January 2012 and December 2017, 1,408 otolaryngologists performed 101,662 endoscopic sinus surgeries and 97,680 BSP procedures. Sixty‐six outlier otolaryngologists (4.7%) accounted for 44.3% of all BSP procedures. Outlier status was associated with practice size of 10 or fewer individual providers (OR, 5.15; 95% CI, 2.73–9.74; P < .001), performance of 10 or fewer total endoscopic sinus surgeries per year for 3 or more years (OR, 3.90; 95% CI, 1.59–9.57; P = .003), and high number of overall services per beneficiary (OR 6.70; 95% CI, 1.19–37.84; P = .031). Provider sex, years of experience, and geographic setting were not associated with outlier status.
Conclusion
Outlier BSP patterns are associated with a few otolaryngologists who are more likely to be identified in small practices and record low numbers of endoscopic surgeries. Although BSP is an appropriate and effective tool, identification of outlier patterns may help to facilitate peer‐to‐peer counsel.
Level of Evidence
3 Laryngoscope, 132:1340–1345, 2022
Co-doped TiO2 is one of the most extensively studied oxides for applying as dilute magnetic semiconductors due to its room temperature magnetism. Here we present results of the studies of ...Ti0.97Co0.03O2 nanopowders synthesized by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method by means of X-ray diffraction, soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (Ti L2,3 and Co L2,3 spectra), hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy (Co K spectra), and 1s3p resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the Co K edge. According to X-ray diffraction data and Ti L2,3 X-ray absorption spectra, all the samples before the thermal treatment exhibit anatase structure with substantial amount of amorphous phase. After annealing the Ti0.97Co0.03O2 samples in vacuum or hydrogen at 700 °C, the anatase structure persists while amorphous phase contribution is eliminated. Surface-sensitive soft X-ray absorption Co L2,3 spectroscopy revealed only Co2+ ions tetrahedrally coordinated by oxygen ions and no sign of metallic Co. Co2+ tetrahedral sites (instead of typical octahedral ones) are an additional evidence for Co2+ localization at the distorted TiO2 particle surface. Bulk-sensitive X-ray diffraction, Co K X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and 1s3p resonant inelastic X-ray scattering at the Co K edge revealed clustering of metallic cobalt inside of the large agglomerates formed by TiO2 nanoparticles in annealed TiO2:Co nanopowders.
Increasing competition in all sectors of the economy, caused by the accelerated introduction of new technological advances in manufacturing processes, the creation of innovative products and the use ...of new business models, generates increased uncertainty in the development prospects of each market organization. The natural reaction of many commercial structures is to deepen specialization and competencies in their core activities. The purpose of the study is to identify the circumstances affecting interaction between a company and a bank in the new conditions. The article for the first time examines these relationships from the point of view of the need for each party to improve its own business, which objectively requires closer cooperation between them. Based on the results of the study, the author concludes that strengthening collaboration between a firm and a bank in the field of credit and payment operations and management of related risks is based on pursuit of each party’s own goals and increases the value of each of them. Forms of cooperation between a company and a bank can be different, but the most effective for each organization seems to be a partnership form of relationship, allowing the participants of cooperation to receive the greatest benefits and, at the same time, to strengthen and reinforce their positions in the core activities of each party.
We present X-ray photoelectron, Co
and O
K
X-ray absorption, as well as Co
X-ray emission spectroscopy results of studies of the spin states of trivalent cobalt ions in single-crystal cobaltite LaCoO
...3
. We show that at room temperature, in the bulk of a LaCoO
3
single crystal, Co
3+
ions are in the low-spin state, while high-spin Co
2+
, high-spin Co
3+
, low-spin Co
3+
, and probably also intermediate-spin Co
3+
ions are located on the surface.
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