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Assessment of the measurement control program for solution assay instruments at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Facility
This report documents and reviews the measurement control program (MCP) over a 27-month period for four solution assay instruments (SAIs) Facility. SAI measurement data collected during the period January 1982 through March 1984 were analyzed. The sources of these data included computer listings of measurements emanating from operator entries on computer terminals, logbook entries of measurements transcribed by operators, and computer listings of measurements recorded internally in the instruments. Data were also obtained from control charts that are available as part of the MCP. As a result of our analyses we observed agreement between propagated and historical variances and concluded instruments were functioning properly from a precision aspect. We noticed small, persistent biases indicating slight instrument inaccuracies. We suggest that statistical tests for bias be incorporated in the MCP on a monthly basis and if the instrument bias is significantly greater than zero, the instrument should undergo maintenance. We propose the weekly precision test be replaced by a daily test to provide more timely detection of possible problems. We observed that one instrument showed a trend of increasing bias during the past six months and recommend a randomness test be incorporated to detect trends in a more timely fashion. We detected operator transcription errors during data transmissions and advise direct instrument transmission to the MCP to eliminate these errors. A transmission error rate based on those errors that affected decisions in the MCP was estimated as 1%. 11 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs
Effect of Hadron Dynamics on the Proton Lifetime
A detailed, quantitative re-examination of the effect of hadron dynamics on
baryon decay, modeled in terms of Skyrme-field tunneling, indicates that any
hadronic suppression should be quite mild. This appears to be another
illustration of the `Cheshire-cat' phenomenon, that variation of the
apportionment between description of the nucleon as a bag of quarks and
description as a Skyrme field configuration has little influence on many
nucleon properties. Perhaps the largest remaining uncertainty in evaluating the
decay rate has to do with the overlap between a specified quark-antiquark
configuration and a final meson state.Comment: minor corrections, 19 pages, 9 figure
A set of novel CRISPR-based integrative vectors for Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Integrating a desired DNA sequence into the yeast genomes is a widely-used genetic manipulation in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The conventional integration method is to use an integrative plasmid such as pRS or YIplac series as the target DNA carrier. The nature of this method risks multiple integrations of the target DNA and the potential loss of integrated DNA during cell proliferation. In this study, we developed a novel yeast integration strategy based on the widely used CRISPR-Cas9 system and created a set of plasmids for this purpose. In this system, a plasmid bearing Cas9 and gRNA expression cassettes will induce a double-strand break (DSB) inside a biosynthesis gene such as Met15 or Lys2. Repair of the DSB will be mediated by another plasmid bearing upstream and downstream sequences of the DSB and an integration sequence in between. As a result of this repair the sequence is integrated into genome by replacing the biosynthesis gene, the disruption of which leads to a new auxotrophic genotype. The newly-generated auxotroph can serve as a traceable marker for the integration. In this study, we demonstrated that a DNA fragment up to 6.3 kb can be efficiently integrated into the Met15 or Lys2 locus using this system. This novel integration strategy can be applied to various yeasts, including natural yeast isolated from wild environments or different yeast species such as Candida albicans
Identifying topological edge states in 2D optical lattices using light scattering
We recently proposed in a Letter [Physical Review Letters 108 255303] a novel
scheme to detect topological edge states in an optical lattice, based on a
generalization of Bragg spectroscopy. The scope of the present article is to
provide a more detailed and pedagogical description of the system - the
Hofstadter optical lattice - and probing method. We first show the existence of
topological edge states, in an ultra-cold gas trapped in a 2D optical lattice
and subjected to a synthetic magnetic field. The remarkable robustness of the
edge states is verified for a variety of external confining potentials. Then,
we describe a specific laser probe, made from two lasers in Laguerre-Gaussian
modes, which captures unambiguous signatures of these edge states. In
particular, the resulting Bragg spectra provide the dispersion relation of the
edge states, establishing their chiral nature. In order to make the Bragg
signal experimentally detectable, we introduce a "shelving method", which
simultaneously transfers angular momentum and changes the internal atomic
state. This scheme allows to directly visualize the selected edge states on a
dark background, offering an instructive view on topological insulating phases,
not accessible in solid-state experiments.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Revised and extended version, to appear in EJP
Special Topic for the special issue on "Novel Quantum Phases and Mesoscopic
Physics in Quantum Gases". Extended version of arXiv:1203.124
Gallot-Tanno Theorem for closed incomplete pseudo-Riemannian manifolds and applications
We extend the Gallot-Tanno Theorem to closed pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. It
is done by showing that if the cone over a manifold admits a parallel symmetric
tensor then it is Riemannian. Applications of this result to the
existence of metrics with distinct Levi-Civita connections but having the same
unparametrized geodesics and to the projective Obata conjecture are given. We
also apply our result to show that the holonomy group of a closed
-manifold does not preserve any nondegenerate splitting of
.Comment: minor correction
Modeling the Impact and Costs of Semiannual Mass Drug Administration for Accelerated Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis
The Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) has a target date of 2020. This program is progressing well in many countries. However, progress has been slow in some countries, and others have not yet started their mass drug administration (MDA) programs. Acceleration is needed. We studied how increasing MDA frequency from once to twice per year would affect program duration and costs by using computer simulation modeling and cost projections. We used the LYMFASIM simulation model to estimate how many annual or semiannual MDA rounds would be required to eliminate LF for Indian and West African scenarios with varied pre-control endemicity and coverage levels. Results were used to estimate total program costs assuming a target population of 100,000 eligibles, a 3% discount rate, and not counting the costs of donated drugs. A sensitivity analysis was done to investigate the robustness of these results with varied assumptions for key parameters. Model predictions suggested that semiannual MDA will require the same number of MDA rounds to achieve LF elimination as annual MDA in most scenarios. Thus semiannual MDA programs should achieve this goal in half of the time required for annual programs. Due to efficiency gains, total program costs for semiannual MDA programs are projected to be lower than those for annual MDA programs in most scenarios. A sensitivity analysis showed that this conclusion is robust. Semiannual MDA is likely to shorten the time and lower the cost required for LF elimination in countries where it can be implemented. This strategy may improve prospects for global elimination of LF by the target year 2020
Supernova Neutrinos, Neutrino Oscillations, and the Mass of the Progenitor Star
We investigate the initial progenitor mass dependence of the early-phase
neutrino signal from supernovae taking neutrino oscillations into account. The
early-phase analysis has advantages in that it is not affected by the time
evolution of the density structure of the star due to shock propagation or
whether the remnant is a neutron star or a black hole. The initial mass affects
the evolution of the massive star and its presupernova structure, which is
important for two reasons when considering the neutrino signal. First, the
density profile of the mantle affects the dynamics of neutrino oscillation in
supernova. Second, the final iron core structure determines the features of the
neutrino burst, i.e., the luminosity and the average energy. We find that both
effects are rather small. This is desirable when we try to extract information
on neutrino parameters from future supernova-neutrino observations. Although
the uncertainty due to the progenitor mass is not small for intermediate
(), we
can, nevertheless, determine the character of the mass hierarchy and whether
is very large or very small.Comment: 8 pages, 15 figure
Effects of Neutrino Oscillation on the Supernova Neutrino Spectrum
The effects of three-flavor neutrino oscillation on the supernova neutrino
spectrum are studied. We calculate the expected event rate and energy spectra,
and their time evolution at the Superkamiokande (SK) and the Sudbury Neutrino
Observatory (SNO), by using a realistic neutrino burst model based on numerical
simulations of supernova explosions. We also employ a realistic density profile
based on a presupernova model for the calculation of neutrino conversion
probability in supernova envelopes. These realistic models and numerical
calculations allow us to quantitatively estimate the effects of neutrino
oscillation in a more realistic way than previous studies. We then found that
the degeneracy of the solutions of the solar neutrino problem can be broken by
the combination of the SK and SNO detections of a future Galactic supernova.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures, corrected versio
Nonlinear interference in a mean-field quantum model
Using similar nonlinear stationary mean-field models for Bose-Einstein
Condensation of cold atoms and interacting electrons in a Quantum Dot, we
propose to describe the original many-particle ground state as a one-particle
statistical mixed state of the nonlinear eigenstates whose weights are provided
by the eigenstate non-orthogonality. We search for physical grounds in the
interpretation of our two main results, namely, quantum-classical nonlinear
transition and interference between nonlinear eigenstates.Comment: RevTeX (pdfLaTeX), 7 pages with 5 png-figures include
New Longitudinal Waves in Electron-Positron-Ion Quantum Plasmas
A general quantum dispersion equation for electron-positron(hole)-ion quantum
plasmas is derived and studied for some interesting cases. In an
electron-positron degenerate Fermi gas, with or without the Madelung term, a
new type of zero sound waves are found. Whereas in an electron-hole plasmas a
new longitudinal quantum waves are revealed, which have no analogies in quantum
electron-ion plasmas. The excitation of these quantum waves by a low-density
monoenergetic straight electron beam is examined. Furthermore, the KdV equation
for novel quantum waves is derived and the contribution of the Madelung term in
the formation of the KdV solitons is discussed
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