390 research outputs found
Dermatology and Syphilology
Author Institution: Department of Medicine, The Ohio State Universit
CARACTERISATION D'UN LASER Nd : YAG CONTINU A MODES COUPLES
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Laboratory toxicity studies demonstrate no adverse effects of Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1 to larvae of Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): the importance of study design
Scientific studies are frequently used to support policy decisions related to transgenic crops. Schmidt et al., Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 56:221–228 (2009) recently reported that Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb were toxic to larvae of Adalia bipunctata in direct feeding studies. This study was quoted, among others, to justify the ban of Bt maize (MON 810) in Germany. The study has subsequently been criticized because of methodological shortcomings that make it questionable whether the observed effects were due to direct toxicity of the two Cry proteins. We therefore conducted tritrophic studies assessing whether an effect of the two proteins on A. bipunctata could be detected under more realistic routes of exposure. Spider mites that had fed on Bt maize (events MON810 and MON88017) were used as carriers to expose young A. bipunctata larvae to high doses of biologically active Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1. Ingestion of the two Cry proteins by A. bipunctata did not affect larval mortality, weight, or development time. These results were confirmed in a subsequent experiment in which A. bipunctata were directly fed with a sucrose solution containing dissolved purified proteins at concentrations approximately 10 times higher than measured in Bt maize-fed spider mites. Hence, our study does not provide any evidence that larvae of A. bipunctata are sensitive to Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1 or that Bt maize expressing these proteins would adversely affect this predator. The results suggest that the apparent harmful effects of Cry1Ab and Cry3Bb1 reported by Schmidt et al., Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 56:221–228 (2009) were artifacts of poor study design and procedures. It is thus important that decision-makers evaluate the quality of individual scientific studies and do not view all as equally rigorous and relevant
Mitigation of Ar/K background for the GERDA Phase II experiment
Background coming from the Ar decay chain is considered to be one of
the most relevant for the GERDA experiment, which aims to search of the
neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge. The sensitivity strongly relies on
the absence of background around the Q-value of the decay. Background coming
from K, a progeny of Ar, can contribute to that background via
electrons from the continuous spectrum with an endpoint of 3.5 MeV. Research
and development on the suppression methods targeting this source of background
were performed at the low-background test facility LArGe. It was demonstrated
that by reducing K ion collection on the surfaces of the broad energy
germanium detectors in combination with pulse shape discrimination techniques
and an argon scintillation veto, it is possible to suppress the K
background by three orders of magnitude. This is sufficient for Phase II of the
GERDA experiment
Material screening and selection for XENON100
Results of the extensive radioactivity screening campaign to identify
materials for the construction of XENON100 are reported. This Dark Matter
search experiment is operated underground at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran
Sasso (LNGS), Italy. Several ultra sensitive High Purity Germanium detectors
(HPGe) have been used for gamma ray spectrometry. Mass spectrometry has been
applied for a few low mass plastic samples. Detailed tables with the
radioactive contaminations of all screened samples are presented, together with
the implications for XENON100.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Characterization of 30 Ge enriched Broad Energy Ge detectors for GERDA Phase II
The GERmanium Detector Array (GERDA) is a low background experiment located
at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, which searches for
neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge into Se+2e. GERDA has
been conceived in two phases. Phase II, which started in December 2015,
features several novelties including 30 new Ge detectors. These were
manufactured according to the Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) detector design
that has a better background discrimination capability and energy resolution
compared to formerly widely-used types. Prior to their installation, the new
BEGe detectors were mounted in vacuum cryostats and characterized in detail in
the HADES underground laboratory in Belgium. This paper describes the
properties and the overall performance of these detectors during operation in
vacuum. The characterization campaign provided not only direct input for GERDA
Phase II data collection and analyses, but also allowed to study detector
phenomena, detector correlations as well as to test the strength of pulse shape
simulation codes.Comment: 29 pages, 18 figure
Background free search for neutrinoless double beta decay with GERDA Phase II
The Standard Model of particle physics cannot explain the dominance of matter
over anti-matter in our Universe. In many model extensions this is a very
natural consequence of neutrinos being their own anti-particles (Majorana
particles) which implies that a lepton number violating radioactive decay named
neutrinoless double beta () decay should exist. The detection
of this extremely rare hypothetical process requires utmost suppression of any
kind of backgrounds.
The GERDA collaboration searches for decay of Ge
(^{76}\rm{Ge} \rightarrow\,^{76}\rm{Se} + 2e^-) by operating bare detectors
made from germanium with enriched Ge fraction in liquid argon. Here, we
report on first data of GERDA Phase II. A background level of
cts/(keVkgyr) has been achieved which is the world-best if
weighted by the narrow energy-signal region of germanium detectors. Combining
Phase I and II data we find no signal and deduce a new lower limit for the
half-life of yr at 90 % C.L. Our sensitivity of
yr is competitive with the one of experiments with
significantly larger isotope mass.
GERDA is the first experiment that will be background-free
up to its design exposure. This progress relies on a novel active veto system,
the superior germanium detector energy resolution and the improved background
recognition of our new detectors. The unique discovery potential of an
essentially background-free search for decay motivates a
larger germanium experiment with higher sensitivity.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; ; data, figures and images available at
http://www.mpi-hd.mpg/gerda/publi
Limits on uranium and thorium bulk content in GERDA Phase I detectors
Internal contaminations of U, U and Th in the bulk of
high purity germanium detectors are potential backgrounds for experiments
searching for neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge. The data from GERDA
Phase~I have been analyzed for alpha events from the decay chain of these
contaminations by looking for full decay chains and for time correlations
between successive decays in the same detector. No candidate events for a full
chain have been found. Upper limits on the activities in the range of a few
nBq/kg for Ra, Ac and Th, the long-lived daughter
nuclides of U, U and Th, respectively, have been
derived. With these upper limits a background index in the energy region of
interest from Ra and Th contamination is estimated which
satisfies the prerequisites of a future ton scale germanium double beta decay
experiment.Comment: 2 figures, 7 page
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