Phase tuning of multiple Andreev reflections of Dirac fermions and the Josephson supercurrent in Al-MoTe2-Al junctions.

When an electron is incident on a superconductor from a metal, it is reflected as a hole in a process called Andreev reflection. If the metal N is sandwiched between two superconductors S in an SNS junction, multiple Andreev reflections (MARs) occur. We have found that, in SNS junctions with high transparency ([Formula: see text]) based on the Dirac semimetal MoTe2, the MAR features are observed with exceptional resolution. By tuning the phase difference [Formula: see text] between the bracketing Al superconductors, we establish that the MARs coexist with a Josephson supercurrent [Formula: see text]. As we vary the junction voltage V, the supercurrent amplitude [Formula: see text] varies in step with the MAR order n, revealing a direct relation between them. Two successive Andreev reflections serve to shuttle a Cooper pair across the junction. If the pair is shuttled coherently, it contributes to [Formula: see text]. The experiment measures the fraction of pairs shuttled coherently vs. V. Surprisingly, superconductivity in MoTe2 does not affect the MAR features.

Does the limelight foster the green transition of listed industrial companies? An empirical analysis from Chinese A-share market.

This paper contributes current research by investigating the extent to which equity linkage networks impact enterprise green transition in sustainable development. By adopting a complex network approach, we constructed a common shareholding network based on the top ten shareholders of listed industrial enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares from 2013 to 2022. The empirical results indicate that enterprises closer to the centre of the equity linkage network tend to have higher degrees of green transition. This impact is facilitated through three mechanism channels of capital flow, information exchange, and knowledge transfer within the network. We find enterprises at the core of the network can effectively reduce their financing constraints on enterprises, mitigate risks associated with external environmental uncertainties and managerial myopia, and promote knowledge exchange and innovation cooperation between enterprises. We have also discovered that the centrality of equity network has a greater impact on promoting transition in state-owned, large-scale enterprises, and enterprises with less heavy pollution and the network effect can be enhanced by strong regional environmental regulations. The above findings not only provide policy makers with policy recommendations to guide the enterprises green transition, but also provide industry practitioners with practical paths and directions, which can help promote the green development process of the whole society.

Does higher education matter for health in the UK?

Using six sweeps of data from the 1958 British National Child Development Study (NCDS), we employ a quasi-parametric approach of propensity score matching to estimate the impacts of higher education attainment on a wide range of health-related outcomes for cohorts at ages 33, 42, and 50. The non-pecuniary benefits of higher education on health are substantial. Cohorts with higher levels of education are more likely to report better health, maintain a healthy weight, refrain from smoking, exhibit a lower frequency of alcohol consumption, and are less likely to be obese. The effects on self-reported health, body mass index (BMI), drinking alcohol increase with age, but continuously decrease with smoking frequency. When considering gender heterogeneity, higher education has a more significant effect on BMI and the likelihood of obesity for males, while it has a greater impact on self-reported health, drinking alcohol, and smoking frequencies for females. Furthermore, we find no significant evidence that higher education reduces the likelihood of depression. The results of the Rosenbaum bounds sensitivity analysis suggest that, although our overall results demonstrate robustness, there may still be unobserved hidden bias in the relationship between higher education and self-reported health.

Clinical Features, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Congenital and Neonatal Tuberculosis: A Retrospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: Limited studies have explored the clinical features, treatment, and prognosis of neonatal tuberculosis (TB). Here, we attempted to delineate the clinical characteristics of neonatal TB, which may help clinicians further understand this disease. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of neonates diagnosed with congenital and/or neonatal TB disease from January 2010 to December 2020 was performed. Information on the demographic and epidemiological features, clinical symptoms, laboratory and imaging examinations, therapeutic regimens, and outcomes was collected. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to present the time to disease onset, time to diagnosis, etc. Results: Forty-eight cases of neonatal TB were classified into congenital (n = 33) and postnatal (n = 15). The median time to disease onset in postnatal group was significantly longer than that in congenital group. Positive results for gastric fluid acid-fast bacilli, TB culture, Xpert MTB/RIF, interferon-γ release assay (IGRA), and tuberculin skin test were detected in 26/48 (54.2%), 14/34 (41.2%), 11/18 (61.1%), 19/29 (65.5%), and 8/24 (33.3%) patients, respectively. For lymphadenopathy, computed tomography (CT) scans showed a higher detection rate than did X-ray (80.0% vs. 0). Of the 48 infants, 44/48 (91.7%) received anti-TB therapy, and 33/44 (75%) were clinically improved or cured after 22.1 months (interquartile range: 12.4-27.7) of follow-up. Drug-induced liver injury occurred in 14/44 (31.8%) patients. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: IGRA and Xpert MTB/RIF showed good positive rate in neonatal TB infection/disease. In cases where TB is presumed but etiological evidence is lacking, low-dose CT could be considered. Prompt treatment under careful surveillance is important for preventing mortality and avoiding severe adverse effects.

A novel approach based on similarity measure for the multiple attribute group decision-making problem in selecting a sustainable cryptocurrency.

Environmental impact and sustainability challenges in the cryptocurrencies has become increasingly examined in the literature. However, studies of the multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) method for major selection of cryptocurrencies in advancing sustainability are still at an early stage. In particular, research on the fuzzy-MAGDM method in the evaluation of sustainability in cryptocurrencies is scarce. This paper adds contributions by developing a novel MAGDM approach to evaluate the sustainability development of major cryptocurrencies. It proposes a similarity measure for interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy numbers (IVPFNs) based on whitenisation weight function and membership function in grey systems theory for IVPFNs. It further developed a novel generalised interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy weighted grey similarity (GIPFWGS) measure approach to provide a more rigorous evaluation in complex decision marking problem with embedding ideal solution and membership degree. It also conducts a sustainability evaluation model of major cryptocurrencies as a numerical application and performs a robustness assessment with different variations of the expert's weight to test how different values of parameter θ can affect the ranking results of alternatives. The results suggest that Stellar is the most sustainable cryptocurrency, while Bitcoin with its intensive energy consumption, high mining cost and high computing power provides the least effective support for its sustainable development. A comparative analysis with the average value method and Euclidean distance method was performed to validate the reliability of the proposed decision-making model and provides evidence that the GIPFWGS has better fault tolerance.

3/2 fractional quantum Hall plateau in confined two-dimensional electron gas.

Even-denominator fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, such as 5/2 and 7/2, have been well known in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) for decades and are still investigated as candidates of non-Abelian statistics. In this paper, we present the observation of a 3/2 FQH plateau in a single-layer 2DEG with lateral confinement at a bulk filling factor of 5/3. The 3/2 FQH plateau is quantized at [Formula: see text] within 0.02%, and can survive up to 300 mK. This even-denominator FQH plateau may imply intriguing edge structure and excitation in FQH system with lateral confinement. The observations in this work demonstrate that understanding the effect of the lateral confinement on the many-body system is critical in the pursuit of important theoretical proposals involving edge physics, such as the demonstration of non-Abelian statistics and the realization of braiding for fault-tolerant quantum computation.