Recent Results from the K2K (KEK-to-Kamioka) Neutrino Oscillation Experiment

The latest results of the K2K experiment are reported. The results are based on data taken from June, 1999, to June, 2000, corresponding to a total $2.6 \cdot 10^{19}$ protons on target. Twenty seven fully-contained events in the 22.5 kton fiducial volume of Super-Kamiokande (SK) are observed. The expected number of events is estimated to be 40.3^{+4.7}_{-4.6} assuming the null oscillations hypothesis.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Talk given at the Sixth International Workshop on Tau Lepton Physics, Victoria, BC, Canada, September 19, 200

Focused-ion-beam-induced deposition of superconducting nanowires

Superconducting nanowires, with a critical temperature of 5.2 K, have been synthesized using an ion-beam-induced deposition, with a Gallium focused ion beam and Tungsten Carboxyl, W(CO)6, as precursor. The films are amorphous, with atomic concentrations of about 40, 40, and 20 % for W, C, and Ga, respectively. Zero Kelvin values of the upper critical field and coherence length of 9.5 T and 5.9 nm, respectively, are deduced from the resistivity data at different applied magnetic fields. The critical current density is Jc= 1.5 10^5 A/cm2 at 3 K. This technique can be used as a template-free fabrication method for superconducting devices.Comment: Accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letter

Symbol detection in online handwritten graphics using Faster R-CNN

Symbol detection techniques in online handwritten graphics (e.g. diagrams and mathematical expressions) consist of methods specifically designed for a single graphic type. In this work, we evaluate the Faster R-CNN object detection algorithm as a general method for detection of symbols in handwritten graphics. We evaluate different configurations of the Faster R-CNN method, and point out issues relative to the handwritten nature of the data. Considering the online recognition context, we evaluate efficiency and accuracy trade-offs of using Deep Neural Networks of different complexities as feature extractors. We evaluate the method on publicly available flowchart and mathematical expression (CROHME-2016) datasets. Results show that Faster R-CNN can be effectively used on both datasets, enabling the possibility of developing general methods for symbol detection, and furthermore, general graphic understanding methods that could be built on top of the algorithm.Comment: Submitted to DAS-201

Transparency of 0.2% GdCl3 Doped Water in a Stainless Steel Test Environment

The possibility of neutron and neutrino detection using water Cerenkov detectors doped with gadolinium holds the promise of constructing very large high-efficiency detectors with wide-ranging application in basic science and national security. This study addressed a major concern regarding the feasibility of such detectors: the transparency of the doped water to the ultraviolet Cerenkov light. We report on experiments conducted using a 19-meter water transparency measuring instrument and associated materials test tank. Sensitive measurements of the transparency of water doped with 0.2% GdCl3 at 337nm, 400nm and 420nm were made using this instrument. These measurements indicate that GdCl3 is not an appropriate dopant in stainless steel constructed water Cerenkov detectors.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, corrects typos, changes formatting, adds error bars to figure

Relationships between Spatial Distributions of Herbage Mass and Utilization in a Pasture Progressively Grazed by Cattle

To obtain some information about the mechanisms behind the spatially heterogeneous grazing of a pasture by large herbivores, the relationships between the spatial distributions of herbage mass, herbage consumption and ingestive behavior were investigated on a bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) pasture during a 6-day grazing period with cattle. The animals almost always consumed more herbage from locations with higher pre-grazing herbage masses, which was attributed to greater bite weights. It was suggested that the high spatial heterogeneity in the rate of defoliation was caused mainly by the spatial heterogeneity in both the bite weight and the number of visits when the mean pre-grazing herbage mass of the pasture was relatively high, and by the spatial heterogeneity in the bite weight when the mean pre-grazing herbage mass was relatively low