We theoretically investigate an optimized tip-film system that supports in-situ measurement of tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) and tip-enhanced fluorescence (TEF) of dye molecules. A scanning ...tunneling microscope (STM) is proposed to precisely control the tip-film distance, and thus in-situ measurement of TERS and TEF can be realized utilizing the specific surface plasmon resonance (SPR) properties of the tip-film system. Our calculations show that the optimized tip-film distance of 2 nm suggests a possibility of efficient acquisition of TERS and TEF in-situ. The calculated spatial resolution of TERS and spectral resolution of TEF can be down to 6.5 nm and 10 nm, respectively. Our theoretical results may find promising application in developing multiple functional nano-spectroscopy through which Raman and fluorescence can be measured in-situ at the nanoscale level.
The prevalence of personal connections in China, or guanxi, constitutes an institution that governs how people exchange favors. This study explores the effects of the guanxi institution on interfirm ...relational ties, information sharing, and the acquisition of skills across firms. According to social network theory, the marginal benefit of interfirm relational ties on information sharing should decrease with the strength of ties; according to information overload theory, information sharing should have an inverted U‐shaped effect on the acquisition of skills. Institutional theory further suggests that the links across these three constructs are subject to the influence of the guanxi institution. With data collected from 338 manufacturing companies, this study shows that the links differ across environments that have strong versus weak guanxi institutions. A strong guanxi institution generally promotes information sharing and skill acquisition, but it also has a dark side.
This paper deals with the existence and uniqueness of positive solutions for the second-order integral boundary value problem
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Formal control and trust are two typical governance mechanisms employed to safeguard business transactions. Yet the effectiveness of each mechanism for firm relationship outcomes remains unclear. ...Some relevant literature suggests that formal control and trust simultaneously can help secure transactions, whereas other research argues the two control mechanisms can substitute for each other. This study applies social embeddedness theory and differentiates strong tie from weak tie relationships. In so doing, it reveals the role of strong versus weak social ties in leading to parallel conclusions about the relationship between formal control and trust and their effects on relationship outcomes. On the basis of empirical tests in a Chinese marketing channels context, this study finds that the joint effects of formal control and trust on governing transactions depends on the relational tie that the focal partners share. Specifically, formal control and trust complement each other only in weak tie relations. On the basis of this new perspective, the authors offer theoretical and managerial implications for managing interfirm governance mechanisms in transitional economies such as China.
Government subsidies play a crucial role in optimizing industrial structures, eliminating outdated production capacities, and facilitating industrial transformation and upgrading in traditional ...industries. This paper is based on data collected from 112 sources, including 26 listed companies in China's steel industry and 30 companies in the photovoltaic sector, during the period from 2019 to 2020. Utilizing the three-stage undesirable output SBM model, we examine the impact of government subsidies on input-output slack and production efficiency. We find that the production efficiency of steel enterprises and photovoltaic enterprises is seriously polarized after considering the undesirable output, and the production efficiency of relatively small enterprises is high for the steel industry. In an unstable economic environment, it is advisable for the government to provide pre-subsidies to steel enterprises to assist them in adjusting resource allocation and effectively responding to unforeseen events. Regardless of the economic conditions, photovoltaic enterprises rely more on post-subsidies to mitigate personnel and technology investment slack. Overall, this study sheds light on the effectiveness of government subsidies in driving efficiency improvements in traditional and emerging industries.
•This article examines the relationship between government subsidies and firm productivity from the perspectives of traditional industries and emerging industries.•The three-stage undesirable output slack-based measure (SBM) model is used to measure firm productivity.•A comparative analysis is conducted to examine the changes in firm productivity with and without government subsidies.•This study sheds light on the effectiveness of government subsidies in driving efficiency improvements in traditional and emerging industries.
Understanding the spatial radiation pattern in tip-enhanced spectroscopy (TES) is crucial for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy, chemical analysis and biochemical sensing. Although the TES technique has ...many excellent advantages, there is still room for improvement in terms of detection sensitivity. In this paper, we theoretically demonstrate the tip-tilted TES configuration featuring high directivity by using side illumination-collection condition. Taking full advantage of the characteristic of high directional emission ascribed to the far-field interference between localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and surface plasmon polariton (SPP) modes, the collection efficiency of TES signals can be largely improved, greatly boosting the detection sensitivity of TES technology. Our theoretical results not only provide a deep understanding of the underlying physical mechanism of the directional surface plasmon-coupled emission of TES, but also serves as a promising guide for the rational construction of a highly efficient TES platform at the single molecular level.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to analyze the efficacy of segment urethroplasty to treat severe chordee with congenital short urethra and compared one‐stage and two‐stage segment urethroplasty. ...This procedure involved urethral transection to correct the chordee, and urethroplasty was performed to restore natural penile length.
Methods
We retrospectively studied a cohort of patients with severe chordee and congenital short urethra who underwent one‐ or two‐stage segment urethroplasty at our institution between February 2006 and May 2020. We evaluated the efficacy of the procedures based on the incidence of complications.
Results
A total of 37 children were included in this study: 25 were treated with two‐stage segment urethroplasty and 12 were treated with one‐stage segment urethroplasty. The median length of neourethra in the one‐stage repair group (3.21 cm) was similar to that in the two‐stage repair group (3.23 cm; P > 0.05). Of the 37 patients, 32 (86.5%) were cured after urethroplasty. There were three patients with complications in the one‐stage repair group (one urethral fistula and two urethral strictures) and two patients with fistula in the two‐stage repair group. Among the five patients with complications, the three fistulas were successfully repaired through reoperation and the two urethral strictures were cured after urethral dilatation. No patient had diverticulum or recurrent chordee.
Conclusions
Segment urethroplasty achieved satisfactory outcomes in the treatment of severe chordee with congenital short urethra. This can restore natural penile length, and the recurrence rate of severe chordee is low. The overall success rate of the two‐stage procedure tends to be better than that of the one‐stage procedure.
The gigahertz acoustic vibration of nano-optomechanical systems plays an indispensable role in all-optical manipulation of light, quantum control of mechanical modes, on-chip data processing, and ...optomechanical sensing. However, the high optical, thermal, and mechanical energy losses severely limit the development of nano-optomechanical metasurfaces. Here, we demonstrated a high-quality 5 GHz optoacoustic vibration and ultrafast optomechanical all-optical manipulation in a sub-5 nm tip-supported nano-optomechanical metasurface (TSNOMS). The physical rationale is that the design of the semi-suspended metasurface supported by nanotips of <5 nm enhances the optical energy input into the metasurface and closes the mechanical and thermal output loss channels, result in dramatically improvement of the optomechanical conversion efficiency and oscillation quality of the metasurface. The design strategy of a multichannel-loss-mitigating semi-suspended metasurface can be generalized to performance improvements of on-chip processed nano-optomechanical systems. Applications include all-optical operation of nanomechanical systems, reconfigurable nanophotonic devices, optomechanical sensing, and nonlinear and self-adaptive photonic functionalities.
We develop a two-stage conceptual consumer decision model from the risk perspective to understand the role of online user reviews in consumers' Willingness-To-Pay (WTP). In stage one, consumers ...assess product uncertainty with product reviews. In stage two, they assess seller uncertainty with seller reviews, conditional on their assessment of product uncertainty in stage one. We further develop an operationalization of our conceptual model using the expected utility theory and derive hypotheses on the effects of online user reviews on consumers' WTP. We test our hypotheses using data from an experimental study and an empirical study.
► We model consumers' decision on their willingness-to-pay as a two-stage process. ► Consumers use online product reviews to assess product uncertainty in stage one. ► Consumers use online seller reviews to assess seller uncertainty in stage two. ► We consider volume, valence, and variance of user reviews and consumer risk attitude. ► Our research offers a possibility for consumer risk attitude based marketing strategy.
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