1,470 research outputs found
Galactic-Center Hyper-Shell Model for the North Polar Spurs
The bipolar-hyper shell (BHS) model for the North Polar Spurs (NPS-E, -W, and
Loop I) and counter southern spurs (SPS-E and -W) is revisited based on
numerical hydrodynamical simulations. Propagations of shock waves produced by
energetic explosive events in the Galactic Center are examined. Distributions
of soft X-ray brightness on the sky at 0.25, 0.7, and 1.5 keV in a +/-50 deg x
+/-50 deg region around the Galactic Center are modeled by thermal emission
from high-temperature plasma in the shock-compressed shell considering
shadowing by the interstellar HI and H2 gases. The result is compared with the
ROSAT wide field X-ray images in R2, 4 and 6 bands. The NPS and southern spurs
are well reproduced by the simulation as shadowed dumbbell-shaped shock waves.
We discuss the origin and energetics of the event in relation to the starburst
and/or AGN activities in the Galactic Center. [ High resolution pdf is
available at http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~sofue/htdocs/2016bhs/ ]Comment: 13 pages, 20 figures; To appear in MNRA
i-Perception
We tested the influence of perceptual features on semantic associations between the acoustic characteristics of vowels and the notion of size. To this end, we designed an experiment in which we manipulated size on two dissociable levels: the physical size of the pictures presented during the experiment (perceptual level) and the implied size of the objects depicted in the pictures (semantic level). Participants performed an Implicit Association Test in which the pictures of small objects were larger than those of large objects – that is, the actual size ratio on the semantic level was inverted on the perceptual level. Our results suggest that participants matched visual and acoustic stimuli in accordance with the content of the pictures (i.e., the inferred size of the depicted object), whereas directly perceivable features (i.e., the physical size of the picture) had only a marginal influence on participants’ performance. Moreover, as the experiment has been conducted at two different sites (Japan and Germany), the results also suggest that the participants’ cultural background or mother tongue had only a negligible influence on the effect. Our results, therefore, support the assumption that associations across sensory modalities can be motivated by the semantic interpretation of presemantic stimuli
Single Crystal Growth of Skutterudite CoP3 under High Pressure
A new method to grow single crystals of skutterudite compounds is examined.
Using a wedge-type, cubic-anvil, high-pressure apparatus, single crystals of
CoP3 were grown from stoichiometric melts under a pressure of 3.5 GPa. Powder
x-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis measurements indicate that
the as-grown boules are a single phase of CoP3. The results suggest that CoP3
is a congruent melting compound under high pressure.Comment: 6pages,5 figures, J. Crystal Growth (in press
Electric field and tip geometry effects on dielectrophoretic growth of carbon nanotube nanofibrils on scanning probes
Single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) nanofibrils were assembled onto a variety
of conductive scanning probes including atomic force microscope (AFM) tips and
scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) needles using positive dielectrophoresis
(DEP). The magnitude of the applied electric field was varied in the range of
1-20 V to investigate its effect on the dimensions of the assembled SWNT
nanofibrils. Both length and diameter grew asymptotically as voltage increased
from 5 to 18 V. Below 4 V, stable attachment of SWNT nanofibrils could not be
achieved due to the relatively weak DEP force versus Brownian motion. At
voltages of 20 V and higher, low quality nanofibrils resulted from
incorporating large amounts of impurities. For intermediate voltages, optimal
nanofibrils were achieved, though pivotal to this assembly is the wetting
behaviour upon tip immersion in the SWNT suspension drop. This process was
monitored in situ to correlate wetting angle and probe geometry (cone angles
and tip height), revealing that probes with narrow cone angles and long shanks
are optimal. It is proposed that this results from less wetting of the probe
apex, and therefore reduces capillary forces and especially force transients
during the nanofibril drawing process. Relatively rigid probes (force constant
>= 2 N/m) exhibited no perceivable cantilever bending upon wetting and
de-wetting, resulting in the most stable process control
Lack of association with interleukin 1 receptor antagonist and interleukin-1 β gene polymorphisms in sarcoidosis patients
AbstractInterleukin-1 β (IL-1 β) and its endogenous antagonist, the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), play important roles in immune responses. In sarcoidosis, IL-1 β is reported to be increased whereas IL-1ra is decreased. It has recently been shown that polymorphisms in the IL-1ra and IL-1 β genes may account for variation in the two proteins. These polymorphisms are also reported to be associated with several autoimmune diseases. Since this might be expected to affect sarcoidosis, an investigation of 108 sarcoidosis patients and 113 healthy control subjects was performed.The IL-1ra genotype was determined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the IL-1β genotype by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism.We found no significant differences in IL-ra and IL-1 β genotypes between sarcoidosis patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, there was no association between the IL-1 β genotype and the roentgenographic stage, disappearance of chest X-ray shadows or organ involvement.In conclusion, there is no bias in the IL-1ra and IL-1 β genotype in Japanese sarcoidosis patients
Development of a dose distribution shifter to fit inside the collimator of a Boron Neutron Capture Therapy irradiation system to treat superficial tumours
The Kansai BNCT Medical Center has a cyclotron based epithermal neutron source for clinical Boron Neutron Capture Therapy. The system accelerates a proton to an energy of 30 MeV which strikes a beryllium target producing fast neutrons which are moderated down to epithermal neutrons for BNCT use. While clinical studies in the past have shown BNCT to be highly effective for malignant melanoma of the skin, to apply BNCT for superficial lesions using this system it is necessary to shift the thermal neutron distribution so that the maximum dose occurs near the surface. A dose distribution shifter was designed to fit inside the collimator to further moderate the neutrons to increase the surface dose and reduce the dose to the underlying normal tissue. Pure polyethylene was selected, and a Monte Carlo simulation was performed to determine the optimum thickness of the polyethylene slab. Compared with the original neutron beam, the shifter increased the thermal neutron flux at the skin by approximately 4 times. The measured and simulated central axis depth distribution and off axis distribution of the thermal neutron flux were found to be in good agreement. Compared with a 2 cm thick water equivalent bolus, a 26% increase in the thermal neutron flux at the surface was obtained, which would reduce the treatment time by approximately 29%. The DDS is a safe, simple and an effective tool for the treatment of superficial tumours for BNCT if an initially fast neutron beam requires moderation to maximise the thermal neutron flux at the tissue surface
AlN/AlGaN HEMTs on AlN substrate for stable high-temperature operation
We demonstrate an AlN/AlGaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) fabricated on a free-standing AlN substrate. A metal stack,
composed of Zr/Al/Mo/Au, was found to show low contact resistivity for source and drain ohmic contacts. The fabricated AlN/AlGaN HEMT
exhibited a maximum drain current of 38 mA/mm with a threshold voltage of -3.4 V. Negligible drain current degradation was observed at temperatures from 300 to 573 K, emonstrating that our AlN/AlGaN approach on an AlN substrate is promising for stable high-temperature operation
Integral Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch theorem
We show that, in characteristic zero, the obvious integral version of the
Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch formula obtained by clearing the denominators of the
Todd and Chern characters is true (without having to divide the Chow groups by
their torsion subgroups). The proof introduces an alternative to Grothendieck's
strategy: we use resolution of singularities and the weak factorization theorem
for birational maps.Comment: 24 page
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