Is There a Significant Difference Between the Results of the Coulomb Dissociation of 8B and the Direct Capture 7Be(p,g)8B Reaction?

Recent claims of the Seattle group of evidence of "slope difference between CD [Coulomb Dissociation] and direct [capture] results" are based on wrong and selective data. When the RIKEN2 data are included correctly, and previously published Direct Capture (DC) data are also included, we observe only a 1.9 sigma difference in the extracted so called "scale independent slope (b)", considerably smaller than claimed by the Seattle group. The very parameterization used by the Seattle group to extract the so called b-slope parameter has no physical foundation. Considering the physical slope (S' = dS/dE), we observe a 1.0 sigma agreement between slopes (S') measured in CD and DC, refuting the need for new theoretical investigation. The claim that S17(0) values extracted from CD data are approximately 10% lower than DC results, is based on misunderstanding of the CD method. Considering all of the published CD S17(0) results, with adding back an unconfirmed E2 correction of the MSU data, yields very consistent S17(0) results that agree with recent DC measurements of the Seattle and Weizmann groups. The recent correction of the b-slope parameter (0.25 1/MeV) suggested by Esbensen, Bertsch and Snover was applied to the wrong b-slope parameter calculated by the Seattle group. When considering the correct slope of the RIKEN2 data, this correction in fact leads to a very small b-slope parameter (0.14 1/MeV), less than half the central value observed for DC data, refuting the need to correct the RIKEN2 data. In particular it confirms that the E2 contribution in the RIKEN2 data is negligible. The dispersion of measured S17(0) is mostly due to disagreement among individual DC experiments and not due to either experimental or theoretical aspects of CD.Comment: Reference 12 amended with an important communication from Dr. Bertsc

How Well Do We Know the Beta-Decay of 16N and Oxygen Formation in Helium Burning

We review the status of the 12C(a,g)16O reaction rate, of importance for stellar processes in a progenitor star prior to a super-nova collapse. Several attempts to constrain the p-wave S-factor of the 12C(a,g)16O reaction at Helium burning temperatures (200 MK) using the beta-delayed alpha-particle emission of 16N have been made, and it is claimed that this S-factor is known, as quoted by the TRIUMF collaboration. In contrast reanalyses (by G.M. hale) of all thus far available data (including the 16N data) does not rule out a small S-factor solution. Furthermore, we improved our previous Yale-UConn study of the beta- delayed alpha-particle emission of \n16 by improving our statistical sample (by more than a factor of 5), improving the energy resolution of the experiment (by 20%), and in understanding our line shape, deduced from measured quantities. Our newly measured spectrum of the beta-delayed alpha-particle emission of 16N is not consistent with the TRIUMF('94) data, but is consistent with the Seattle('95) data, as well as the earlier (unaltered !) data of Mainz('71). The implication of this discrepancies for the extracted astrophysical p-wave s-factor is briefly discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Invited Talk, Physics With Radioactive Beams, Puri, India, Jan. 12-17, 1998, Work Supported by USDOE Grant No. DE-FG02-94ER4087

Salivary extracellular vesicle-associated exRNA as cancer biomarker

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted in biological fluids contain several transcripts of the cell of origin, which may modify the functions and phenotype of proximal and distant cells. Cancer-derived EVs may promote a favorable microenvironment for cancer growth and invasion by acting on stroma and endothelial cells and may favor metastasis formation. The transcripts contained in cancer EVs may be exploited as biomarkers. Protein and extracellular RNA (exRNA) profiling in patient bio-fluids, such as blood and urine, was performed to identify molecular features with potential diagnostic and prognostic values. EVs are concentrated in saliva, and salivary EVs are particularly enriched in exRNAs. Several studies were focused on salivary EVs for the detection of biomarkers either of non-oral or oral cancers. The present paper provides an overview of the available studies on the diagnostic potential of exRNA profiling in salivary EVs

Replacement of Maize/Soybean Meal Concentrate by High Moisture Maize Grain Plus Wholeseed Soybean Silage for Cattle

Ensiling high moisture maize grain with wholeseed soybean can increase quality of silage, mainly in relation to protein and energy (Jobim et al., 2002) working as concentrate. This fact contributes to reduced use of concentrate and costs for milk and beef production, and costs related to grain storage on the farms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of high moisture maize grain plus wholeseed soybean silage through partial and total digestibility in cattle

Effect of low-Raman window position on correlated photon-pair generation in a chalcogenide Ge11.5As24Se64.5 nanowire

We investigated correlated photon-pair generation via spontaneous four-wave mixing in an integrated chalcogenideGe11.5As24Se64.5photonicnanowire. The coincidence to accidental ratio, a key measurement for the quality of correlated photon-pair sources, was measured to be only 0.4 when the photon pairs were generated at 1.9 THz detuning from the pump frequency due to high spontaneous Raman noise in this regime. However, the existence of a characteristic low-Raman window at around 5.1 THz in this material's Raman spectrum and dispersion engineering of the nanowire allowed us to generate photon pairs with a coincidence to accidental ratio of 4.5, more than 10 times higher than the 1.9 THz case. Through comparing the results with those achieved in chalcogenide As2S3waveguides which also exhibit a low Raman-window but at a larger detuning of 7.4 THz, we find that the position of the characteristic low-Raman window plays an important role on reducing spontaneous Raman noise because the phonon population is higher at smaller detuning. Therefore the ultimate solution for Raman noise reduction in Ge11.5As24Se64.5 is to generate photon pairs outside the Raman gain band at more than 10 THz detuning

Extraction efficiency of drifting electrons in a two-phase xenon time projection chamber

We present a measurement of the extraction efficiency of quasi-free electrons from the liquid into the gas phase in a two-phase xenon time-projection chamber. The measurements span a range of electric fields from 2.4 to 7.1 kV/cm in the liquid xenon, corresponding to 4.5 to 13.1 kV/cm in the gaseous xenon. Extraction efficiency continues to increase at the highest extraction fields, implying that additional charge signal may be attained in two-phase xenon detectors through careful high-voltage engineering of the gate-anode region

Growth diagram of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films using pulsed laser deposition

An experimental study was conducted on controlling the growth mode of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films on SrTiO3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) by tuning growth temperature, pressure and laser fluence. Different thin film morphology, crystallinity and stoichiometry have been observed depending on growth parameters. To understand the microscopic origin, the adatom nucleation, step advance processes and their relationship to film growth were theoretically analyzed and a growth diagram was constructed. Three boundaries between highly and poorly crystallized growth, 2D and 3D growth, stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric growth were identified in the growth diagram. A good fit of our experimental observation with the growth diagram was found. This case study demonstrates that a more comprehensive understanding of the growth mode in PLD is possible

Evaluation of carcass and meat traits of Muscovy duck fed with black soldier fly partially defatted meal

The aim of this study was to evaluate the carcass characteristics and breast meat quality in Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata domestica) fed different inclusion levels of a partially defatted black soldier fly larva (BSF) meal. A total of 256 Muscovy ducklings (average live weight, LW: 71.32\ub12.70 g) were reared from day 3 to day 48 and randomly allotted in 32 pens (8 replicates/treatment). Four different diets were formulated with increasing substitution level of corn gluten meal with BSF larva meal (0, 3, 6 and 9%; BSF0, BSF3, BSF6 and BSF9, respectively) and divided in 3 feeding phases: starter (1-14 days), grower (14-35 days) and finisher (35-48 days). At day 48, 2 animals/replicate were slaughtered and dissected to determine their carcass yields. The weights of spleen, bursa of Fabricius, liver, heart and abdominal fat were recorded. Breast and thigh muscles were then excised from 16 ducks/treatment and weighted. Ultimate pH (pHu) and L*, a*, b* colour values were then measured on breast muscle. The collected data were tested by means of oneway ANOVA evaluating the effect of dietary BSF inclusion level by polynomial contrasts. Significance was declared at P<0.05. The inclusion of BSF did not affect final LW (2,515.68\ub192.42 g on average). Hot and cold carcass weights showed a quadratic response (P<0.05) to increasing BSF larva meal, with a minimum corresponding to BSF6; however, refrigeration losses were not affected by treatments. Weight of spleen, bursa of Fabricius, liver and heart did not differ among treatments. The weight of abdominal fat showed a quadratic response to increasing BSF meal with a minimum corresponding to BSF6 group (P<0.05). Breast and thigh yields, pHu and L*, a*, b* colour values did not differ among groups. With the exception of BSF6, the inclusion of BSF meal did not affect meat traits and carcass characteristics, confirming the potential use of BSF meal in Muscovy duck diets