Firm size distribution and mobility of the top 500 firms in China,the United States and the world

This paper considers the macroscopic and microscopic statistical features of the top 500 firms in China, the United States and the world, denoted as China 500 (CH500), Fortune 500 (US500) and Fortune Global 500 (FG500). From a macroscopic perspective, the firm size distribution of each category, when measured by revenue, is steadily distributed over the observed period, even during periods of financial crises. As is evidenced by the Gini coefficient, divergences between firm scales are most significant for the CH500. From a microscopic perspective, the underlying micro-dynamics are volatile and often turbulent due to the exit and entry of firms as well as shifts in their revenues and ranks. Such fluctuations, or mobility, are visualized in rank/revenue/share clocks. We also propose a revenue/rank/share mobility index that is a quantitative measurement of mobility. Among these, we find that the share mobility acts as an effective indicator of economic status; where there is a share mobility spike, there is an ailing economy. The share mobility indexes indicate that the 2008 Financial Crisis had little impact on the Chinese economy, while it triggered violent changes in the top 500 firms in the United States and the world.     

GESFIDE-PROPELLER Approach for Simultaneous R2 and R2* Measurements in the Abdomen

Purpose

To investigate the feasibility of combining GESFIDE with PROPELLER sampling approaches for simultaneous abdominal R2 and R2* mapping.

Materials and Methods

R2 and R2* measurements were performed in 9 healthy volunteers and phantoms using the GESFIDE-PROPELLER and the conventional Cartesian-sampling GESFIDE approaches.

Results

Images acquired with the GESFIDE-PROPELLER sequence effectively mitigated the respiratory motion artifacts, which were clearly evident in the images acquired using the conventional GESFIDE approach. There was no significant difference between GESFIDE-PROPELLER and reference MGRE R2* measurements (p = 0.162) whereas the Cartesian-sampling based GESFIDE methods significantly overestimated R2* values compared to MGRE measurements (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

The GESFIDE-PROPELLER sequence provided high quality images and accurate abdominal R2 and R2* maps while avoiding the motion artifacts common to the conventional Cartesian-sampling GESFIDE approaches.     

Phase transformation in Sm2O3 at high pressure: In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study and ab initio DFT calculation

Sm₂O₃ was compressed at room temperature up to 44.0 GPa and then decompressed back to ambient pressure. In situ X-ray diffraction was used to monitor the structural changes in the sample. A cubic to hexagonal phase transformation was observed in Sm₂O₃ for the first time. After decompression back to ambient pressure, the hexagonal phase was not quenchable and transformed to a monoclinic phase. Ab initio Density- Functional-Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to obtain theoretical data for comparison with the experimental results and elucidation of the transformation mechanism. A possible phase transformation mechanism that is consistent with the experimental results and theoretical calculations is proposed.     

Negative slope of resistivity–temperature curve and positive magnetoresistance in antiperovskite ZnCNi3−x Mn x (1.15≤x≤1.5)

In antiperovskite intermetallics ZnCNi_3?x Mn _x , the negative slope coefficient (NSC) dρ/dT of resistivity–temperature curves is observed when x=1.15,1.25,1.4,1.5. The sample with x=1.25 shows a semiconductor-like behavior in the whole temperature range of 15–290 K. By study of the magnetization, magnetoresistance, and low-temperature X-ray diffraction, it is found that Mn dopant significantly affects the physical properties of ZnCNi_3?x Mn _x by changing both the carrier density and the magnetism. The origin of the NSC dρ/dT can be ascribed to the change of hole-like carrier density, which is adjusted by Mn content. The existence of hole-like carriers can be understood rationally by the two-band model. The change of sign of magnetoresistance from positive to negative has been observed in ZnCNi_3?x Mn _x with the change of Mn content, which could be ascribed to the competition between the contribution from field-induced suppression of the thermally excited ferromagnetic spin fluctuations and the Lorentz contribution. When Mn content is low, the Lorentz contribution dominates the sign of magnetoresistance. On the other hand, when Mn content is high, the contribution from field-induced suppression of the thermally excited ferromagnetic spin fluctuations dominates the sign of magnetoresistance.     

Efficient Fluorescent Recognition of Carboxylates in Aqueous Media Using Facilely Electrosynthesized Poly(9-Aminofluorene)

A variety of carboxylates were recognized using poly(9-aminofluorene) (P9AF) in the HEPES buffer (pH 7.4), and a proposed possible mechanism was proposed as following. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions resulted in electron transfer between P9AF and carboxylates. P9AF was facilely electrosynthesized in boron trifluoride diethyl etherate and could be used as an efficient fluorescent sensing material for the detection of AcO^?. On binding to AcO^?, fluorescence quenching of P9AF was demonstrated by a maximum 80 % reduction in the fluorescence intensity, while no obvious fluorescence change could be observed in the presence of some other common anions. Some different carboxylates could be recognized at different levels by P9AF. Substituent groups in carboxylates could affect the intermolecular interaction between carboxylates and P9AF. These could be explained by a possible mechanism that hydrogen bonding was the main way of intermolecular interactions between P9AF and carboxylates, which was further confirmed by absorption spectra monitoring and density functional calculations. The significant advantage of this strategy is that it does not require a prequenching procedure and the polymer can be used directly for analyte detection.     

Effect of ZnAl2O4 coating on the compressive behaviors of aluminum borate whiskers-reinforced aluminum composites at elevated temperatures

Aluminum borate whiskers (ABOw) with or without ZnAl₂O₄ coating reinforced pure aluminum composites (ABOw/Al, ABOw/ZnAl₂O₄/Al) were fabricated by squeeze casting. The effects of ZnAl₂O₄ coating on the compressive behaviors, microstructures, and matrix textures of the composites were investigated at different temperatures and strain rates. The results indicate that the maximum compressive flow stress of the composites almost linearly decreases with the increase in temperature. The maximum compressive flow stress of ABOw/ZnAl₂O₄/Al composite is higher than that of ABOw/Al composite at the same temperature when the strain rate is larger, however, it is reversed when the strain rate is smaller. It is more serious for the fracture of whiskers in ABOw/ZnAl₂O₄/Al composite than that in ABOw/Al composite at the high compressive strain rate. However, the average length of whiskers in ABOw/ZnAl₂O₄/Al composite is larger than that in ABOw/Al composite at the low compressive strain rate. The strong matrix texture in ABOw/ZnAl₂O₄/Al composite appears at the high compressive strain rate, however, it is observed in ABOw/Al composite at the low compressive strain rate.     

Measurement of B(0)(d)-B_(0)(d) mixing rate from the time evolution of dilepton events at the upsilon(4S)

We report a determination of the B(0)(d)-&B_(0)(d) mixing parameter Deltam(d) based on the time evolution of dilepton yields in Upsilon(4S) decays. The measurement is based on a 5.9 fb(-1) data sample collected by the Belle detector at KEKB. The proper-time difference distributions for same-sign and opposite-sign dilepton events are simultaneously fitted to an expression containing Deltam(d) as a free parameter. Using both muons and electrons, we obtain Deltam(d) = 0.463+/-0.008 (stat)+/-0.016 (syst) ps(-1). This is the first determination of Deltam(d) from time evolution measurements at the Upsilon(4S). We also place limits on possible CPT violations.     

垂直加热管外自由降膜流的破断特性

在较宽液膜雷诺数和进口温度范围内对垂直加热管外自由降膜流破断特性进行了实验研究。应用热物理学相似分析的方法整理实验数据，给出新的破断准则数综合关系式，并与１９９３年发表的另一些作者的结果作了比较。实验参数的变化范围如下：ｔｉｎ＝２０～９０℃，最大液膜雷诺数Ｒｅ为１．２１×１０４，最大热流密度达１．３９×１０５ｗ／ｍ２。     

Study of synthetic diamonds by dynamic nuclear polarization-enhanced13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Four I_b-type synthetic diamond crystals were studied by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-enhanced high resolution solid state¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The home built DNP magic-angle-spinning (MAS) NMR spectrometer operates at a field strength of 1.9 T and the highest DNP enhancement factor of synthetic diamonds came near to 10³. Comparing with I_b-type natural diamonds, the¹³C NMR linewidths of synthetic diamonds in static spectra are broader. The¹³C spin-lattice relaxation time and DNP polarization time of synthetic diamond are shorter than those of I_b-type natural diamond. From the hyperfine structure of the DNP enhancement curve, four kinds of nitrogen-centred free radicals could be identified in synthetic diamond.