1,289 research outputs found
Analysis and design of power management scheme for an on-board solar energy storage system
This paper investigates the power management issues in a mobile solar energy storage system. A multi-converter based energy storage system is proposed, in which solar power is the primary source while the grid or the diesel generator is selected as the secondary source. The existence of the secondary source facilitates the battery state of charge detection by providing a constant battery charging current. Converter modeling, multi-converter control system design, digital implementation and experimental verification are introduced and discussed in details. The prototype experiment indicates that the converter system can provide a constant charging current during solar converter maximum power tracking operation, especially during large solar power output variation, which proves the feasibility of the proposed design
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Progress in chemical treatment of LEU targets by the modified Cintichem process
Presented here are recent experimental results on tests of a modified Cintichem process for producing {sup 99}Mo from low enriched uranium (LEU). Studies were focused in three areas: (1) testing the effects on {sup 99}Mo recovery and purity of dissolving LEU foil in nitric acid alone, rather than in the sulfuric/nitric acid mixture currently used, (2) measuring decontamination factors for radionuclide impurities in each purification step, and (3) testing the effects on processing of adding barrier materials to the LEU metal-foil target. The experimental results show that switching from dissolving the target in the sulfuric/nitric mixture to using nitric acid alone should cause no significant difference in {sup 99}Mo product yield or purity. Further, the results show that overall decontamination factors for gamma emitters in the LEU-target processing are high enough to meet the purity requirements for the {sup 99}Mo product. The results also show that the selected barrier materials, Cu, Fe, and Ni, do not interfere with {sup 99}Mo recovery and can be removed during chemical processing of the LEU target
Probing Cosmic Strings with Satellite CMB measurements
We study the problem of searching for cosmic string signal patterns in the
present high resolution and high sensitivity observations of the Cosmic
Microwave Background (CMB). This article discusses a technique capable of
recognizing Kaiser-Stebbins effect signatures in total intensity anisotropy
maps, and shows that the biggest factor that produces confusion is represented
by the acoustic oscillation features of the scale comparable to the size of
horizon at recombination. Simulations show that the distribution of null
signals for pure Gaussian maps converges to a distribution, with
detectability threshold corresponding to a string induced step signal with an
amplitude of about 100 \muK which corresponds to a limit of roughly . We study the statistics of spurious detections caused by
extra-Galactic and Galactic foregrounds. For diffuse Galactic foregrounds,
which represents the dominant source of contamination, we derive sky masks
outlining the available region of the sky where the Galactic confusion is
sub-dominant, specializing our analysis to the case represented by the
frequency coverage and nominal sensitivity and resolution of the Planck
experiment.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to be published in JCA
Iron pnictides: Single crystal growth and effect of doping on structural, transport and magnetic properties
We demonstrate the preparation of large, free standing iron pnictide single
crystals with a size up to 20 x 10 x 1 mm3 using solvents in zirconia crucibles
under argon atmosphere. Transport and magnetic properties are investigated to
study the effect of potassium doping on the structural and superconducting
property of the compounds. The spin density wave (SDW) anomaly at Ts ~138 K in
BaFe2As2 single crystals from self-flux shifts to Ts ~85 K due to Sn solvent
growth. We show direct evidence for an incorporation of Sn on the Fe site. The
electrical resistivity data show a sharp superconducting transition temperature
Tc~38.5 K for the single crystal of Ba0.68K0.32Fe2As2. A nearly 100% shielding
fraction and bulk nature of the superconductivity for the single crystal were
confirmed by magnetic susceptibility data. A sharp transition Tc~25 K occurred
for the single crystal of Sr0.85K0.15Fe2As2. There is direct evidence for a
coexistence of the SDW and superconductivity in the low doping regime of
Sr1-xKxFe2As2 single crystals. Structural implications of the doping effects as
well as the coexistence of the two order parameters are discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
Mir-223 regulates the number and function of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Myeloid-derived cells play important modulatory and effector roles in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are immature myeloid cells, composed of monocytic (MO) and polymorphonuclear (PMN) fractions, which can suppress T cell activities in EAE. Their role in MS remains poorly characterized. We found decreased numbers of circulating MDSCs, driven by lower frequencies of the MO-MDSCs, and higher MDSC expression of microRNA miR-223 in MS versus healthy subjects. To gain mechanistic insights, we interrogated the EAE model. MiR-223 knock out (miR-223 12/ 12) mice developed less severe EAE with increased MDSC numbers in the spleen and spinal cord compared to littermate controls. MiR-223 12/ 12 MO-MDSCs suppressed T cell proliferation and cytokine production in vitro and EAE in vivo more than wild-type MO-MDSCs. They also displayed an increased expression of critical mediators of MDSC suppressive function, Arginase-1(Arg1), and the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3), which herein, we demonstrate being an miR-223 target gene. Consistently, MDSCs from MS patients displayed decreased STAT3 and ARG1 expression compared with healthy controls, suggesting that circulating MDSCs in MS are not only reduced in numbers but also less suppressive. These results support a critical role for miR-223 in modulating MDSC biology in EAE and in MS and suggest potential novel therapeutic applications
Superconducting properties of RuSr2GdCu2O8 studied by SQUID magnetometry
For polycrystalline RuSr2GdCu2O8 (Ru-1212), distinct peaks have been reported
in d.c. magnetization in the superconducting state of the sample. Sr2GdRuO6
(Sr-2116), the precursor for the preparation of Ru-1212, shows similar peaks in
the same temperature regime. Based on measurements performed on both bulk and
powdered samples of Ru-1212 and Sr-2116, we exclude the possibility, that the
observed behavior of the magnetization of Ru-1212 is due to Sr-2116 impurities.
The effect is related to the superconductivity of Ru-1212, but it is not an
intrinsic property of this compound. We provide evidence that the observation
of magnetization peaks in the superconducting state of Ru-1212 is due to flux
motion generated by the movement of the sample in an inhomogeneous field,
during the measurement in the SQUID magnetometer. We propose several tests,
that help to decide, whether the features observed in a SQUID magnetization
measurement of Ru-1212 represent a property of the compound or not.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure
Has the Universe always expanded ?
We consider a cosmological setting for which the currently expanding era is
preceded by a contracting phase, that is, we assume the Universe experienced at
least one bounce. We show that scalar hydrodynamic perturbations lead to a
singular behavior of the Bardeen potential and/or its derivatives (i.e. the
curvature) for whatever Universe model for which the last bounce epoch can be
smoothly and causally joined to the radiation dominated era. Such a Universe
would be filled with non-linear perturbations long before nucleosynthesis, and
would thus be incompatible with observations. We therefore conclude that no
observable bounce could possibly have taken place in the early universe if
Einstein gravity together with hydrodynamical fluids is to describe its
evolution, and hence, under these conditions, that the Universe has always
expanded.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX-ReVTeX, no figures, submitted to PR
Study of the nucleon-induced preequilibrium reactions in terms of the Quantum Molecular Dynamics
The preequilibrium (nucleon-in, nucleon-out) angular distributions of
Al, Ni and Zr have been analyzed in the energy region from
90 to 200 MeV in terms of the Quantum Moleculear Dynamics (QMD) theory. First,
we show that the present approach can reproduce the measured (p,xp') and (p,xn)
angular distributions leading to continuous final states without adjusing any
parameters. Second, we show the results of the detailed study of the
preequilibrium reaction processes; the step-wise contribution to the angular
distribution, comparison with the quantum-mechanical Feshbach-Kerman-Koonin
theory, the effects of momentum distribution and surface refraction/reflection
to the quasifree scattering. Finally, the present method was used to assess the
importance of multiple preequilibrium particle emission as a function of
projectile energy up to 1 GeV.Comment: 22pages, Revex is used, 10 Postscript figures are available by
request from [email protected]
Global epidemiology of avian influenza A H5N1 virus infection in humans, 1997–2015: a systematic review of individual case data
Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses have caused many, typically severe, human infections since the first human case was reported in 1997. However, no comprehensive epidemiological analysis of global human cases of H5N1 from 1997 to 2015 exists. Moreover, few studies have examined in detail the changing epidemiology of human H5N1 cases in Egypt, especially given the outbreaks since November, 2014, which have the highest number of cases ever reported worldwide in a similar period. Data on individual patients were collated from different sources using a systematic approach to describe the global epidemiology of 907 human H5N1 cases between May, 1997, and April, 2015. The number of affected countries rose between 2003 and 2008, with expansion from east and southeast Asia, then to west Asia and Africa. Most cases (67·2%) occurred from December to March, and the overall case-fatality risk was 483 (53·5%) of 903 cases which varied across geographical regions. Although the incidence in Egypt has increased dramatically since November, 2014, compared with the cases beforehand, there were no significant differences in the fatality risk, history of exposure to poultry, history of patient contact, and time from onset to hospital admission in the recent cases
Transfer Matrices and Partition-Function Zeros for Antiferromagnetic Potts Models. V. Further Results for the Square-Lattice Chromatic Polynomial
We derive some new structural results for the transfer matrix of
square-lattice Potts models with free and cylindrical boundary conditions. In
particular, we obtain explicit closed-form expressions for the dominant (at
large |q|) diagonal entry in the transfer matrix, for arbitrary widths m, as
the solution of a special one-dimensional polymer model. We also obtain the
large-q expansion of the bulk and surface (resp. corner) free energies for the
zero-temperature antiferromagnet (= chromatic polynomial) through order q^{-47}
(resp. q^{-46}). Finally, we compute chromatic roots for strips of widths 9 <=
m <= 12 with free boundary conditions and locate roughly the limiting curves.Comment: 111 pages (LaTeX2e). Includes tex file, three sty files, and 19
Postscript figures. Also included are Mathematica files data_CYL.m and
data_FREE.m. Many changes from version 1: new material on series expansions
and their analysis, and several proofs of previously conjectured results.
Final version to be published in J. Stat. Phy
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