386 research outputs found
Time and position sensitive single photon detector for scintillator read-out
We have developed a photon counting detector system for combined neutron and
gamma radiography which can determine position, time and intensity of a
secondary photon flash created by a high-energy particle or photon within a
scintillator screen. The system is based on a micro-channel plate
photomultiplier concept utilizing image charge coupling to a position- and
time-sensitive read-out anode placed outside the vacuum tube in air, aided by a
standard photomultiplier and very fast pulse-height analyzing electronics. Due
to the low dead time of all system components it can cope with the high
throughput demands of a proposed combined fast neutron and dual discrete energy
gamma radiography method (FNDDER). We show tests with different types of
delay-line read-out anodes and present a novel pulse-height-to-time converter
circuit with its potential to discriminate gamma energies for the projected
FNDDER devices for an automated cargo container inspection system (ACCIS).Comment: Proceedings of FNDA 201
A Reduction from Unbounded Linear Mixed Arithmetic Problems into Bounded Problems
We present a combination of the Mixed-Echelon-Hermite transformation and the
Double-Bounded Reduction for systems of linear mixed arithmetic that preserve
satisfiability and can be computed in polynomial time. Together, the two
transformations turn any system of linear mixed constraints into a bounded
system, i.e., a system for which termination can be achieved easily. Existing
approaches for linear mixed arithmetic, e.g., branch-and-bound and cuts from
proofs, only explore a finite search space after application of our two
transformations. Instead of generating a priori bounds for the variables, e.g.,
as suggested by Papadimitriou, unbounded variables are eliminated through the
two transformations. The transformations orient themselves on the structure of
an input system instead of computing a priori (over-)approximations out of the
available constants. Experiments provide further evidence to the efficiency of
the transformations in practice. We also present a polynomial method for
converting certificates of (un)satisfiability from the transformed to the
original system
Driving magnetic order in a manganite by ultrafast lattice excitation
Optical control of magnetism, of interest for high-speed data processing and
storage, has only been demonstrated with near-infrared excitation to date.
However, in absorbing materials, such high photon energies can lead to
significant dissipation, making switch back times long and miniaturization
challenging. In manganites, magnetism is directly coupled to the lattice, as
evidenced by the response to external and chemical pressure, or to
ferroelectric polarization. Here, femtosecond mid-infrared pulses are used to
excite the lattice in La0.5Sr1.5MnO4 and the dynamics of electronic order are
measured by femtosecond resonant soft x-ray scattering with an x-ray free
electron laser. We observe that magnetic and orbital orders are reduced by
excitation of the lattice. This process, which occurs within few picoseconds,
is interpreted as relaxation of the complex charge-orbital-spin structure
following a displacive exchange quench - a prompt shift in the equilibrium
value of the magnetic and orbital order parameters after the lattice has been
distorted. A microscopic picture of the underlying unidirectional lattice
displacement is proposed, based on nonlinear rectification of the
directly-excited vibrational field, as analyzed in the specific lattice
symmetry of La0.5Sr1.5MnO4. Control of magnetism through ultrafast lattice
excitation has important analogies to the multiferroic effect and may serve as
a new paradigm for high-speed optomagnetism.Comment: 10 pages manuscript, 4 figure
PDB16 GLYCEMIC CONTROL WITH INSULIN GLARGINE PLUS GLULISINE VERSUS PREMIX IN REALWORLD PRACTICESâA RANDOMIZED, PROSPECTIVE, OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
A Pluralistic Theory of Wordhood
What are words and how should we individuate them? There are two main answers on the philosophical market. For some, words are bundles of structural-functional features defining a unique performance profile. For others, words are non-eternal continuants individuated by their causal-historical ancestry. These conceptions offer competing views of the nature of words, and it seems natural to assume that at most one of them can capture the essence of wordhood. This paper makes a case for pluralism about wordhood: the view that there is a plurality of acceptable conceptions of the nature of words, none of which is uniquely entitled to inform us as to what wordhood consists in
An Optical Readout TPC (O-TPC) for Studies in Nuclear Astrophysics With Gamma-Ray Beams at HIgS
We report on the construction, tests, calibrations and commissioning of an
Optical Readout Time Projection Chamber (O-TPC) detector operating with a
CO2(80%) + N2(20%) gas mixture at 100 and 150 Torr. It was designed to measure
the cross sections of several key nuclear reactions involved in stellar
evolution. In particular, a study of the rate of formation of oxygen and carbon
during the process of helium burning will be performed by exposing the chamber
gas to intense nearly mono-energetic gamma-ray beams at the High Intensity
Gamma Source (HIgS) facility. The O-TPC has a sensitive target-drift volume of
30x30x21 cm^3. Ionization electrons drift towards a double parallel grid
avalanche multiplier, yielding charge multiplication and light emission.
Avalanche induced photons from N2 emission are collected, intensified and
recorded with a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) camera, providing two-dimensional
track images. The event's time projection (third coordinate) and the deposited
energy are recorded by photomultipliers and by the TPC charge-signal,
respectively. A dedicated VME-based data acquisition system and associated data
analysis tools were developed to record and analyze these data. The O-TPC has
been tested and calibrated with 3.183 MeV alpha-particles emitted by a 148Gd
source placed within its volume with a measured energy resolution of 3.0%.
Tracks of alpha and 12C particles from the dissociation of 16O and of three
alpha-particles from the dissociation of 12C have been measured during initial
in-beam test experiments performed at the HIgS facility at Duke University. The
full detection system and its performance are described and the results of the
preliminary in-beam test experiments are reported.Comment: Supported by the Richard F. Goodman Yale-Weizmann Exchange Program,
ACWIS, NY, and USDOE grant Numbers: DE-FG02-94ER40870 and DE-FG02-97ER4103
Negotiations of minority ethnic rugby league players in the Cathar country of France
This article is based on new empirical, qualitative research with minority ethnic rugby league players in the southwest of France. Drawing on similar research on rugby league in the north and the south of England, the article examines how rugby league, traditionally viewed as a white, working-class male game (Collins, 2006; Denham, 2004; Spracklen, 1995, 2001) has had to re-imagine its symbolic boundaries as they are constituted globally and locally to accommodate the needs of players from minority ethnic backgrounds. In particular, the article examines the sense in which experiences of minority ethnic rugby league players in France compare with those of their counterparts in England (Spracklen, 2001, 2007), how rugby league is used in France to construct identity, and in what sense the norms associated with the imaginary community of rugby league are replicated or challenged by the involvement of minority ethnic rugby league players in France. Questions about what it means to be (provincial, national) French (Kumar, 2006) are posed, questions that relate to the role of sport in the construction of Frenchness, and in particular the role of rugby league (and union). © Copyright ISSA and SAGE Publications
Monte-Carlo Simulations of Radiation-Induced Activation in a Fast-Neutron and Gamma- Based Cargo Inspection System
An air cargo inspection system combining two nuclear reaction based
techniques, namely Fast-Neutron Resonance Radiography and Dual-Discrete-Energy
Gamma Radiography is currently being developed. This system is expected to
allow detection of standard and improvised explosives as well as special
nuclear materials. An important aspect for the applicability of nuclear
techniques in an airport inspection facility is the inventory and lifetimes of
radioactive isotopes produced by the neutron and gamma radiation inside the
cargo, as well as the dose delivered by these isotopes to people in contact
with the cargo during and following the interrogation procedure. Using MCNPX
and CINDER90 we have calculated the activation levels for several typical
inspection scenarios. One example is the activation of various metal samples
embedded in a cotton-filled container. To validate the simulation results, a
benchmark experiment was performed, in which metal samples were activated by
fast-neutrons in a water-filled glass jar. The induced activity was determined
by analyzing the gamma spectra. Based on the calculated radioactive inventory
in the container, the dose levels due to the induced gamma radiation were
calculated at several distances from the container and in relevant time windows
after the irradiation, in order to evaluate the radiation exposure of the cargo
handling staff, air crew and passengers during flight. The possibility of
remanent long-lived radioactive inventory after cargo is delivered to the
client is also of concern and was evaluated.Comment: Proceedings of FNDA 201
Rap1 binding and a lipid-dependent helix in talin F1 domain promote integrin activation in tandem.
Rap1 GTPases bind effectors, such as RIAM, to enable talin1 to induce integrin activation. In addition, Rap1 binds directly to the talin1 F0 domain (F0); however, this interaction makes a limited contribution to integrin activation in CHO cells or platelets. Here, we show that talin1 F1 domain (F1) contains a previously undetected Rap1-binding site of similar affinity to that in F0. A structure-guided point mutant (R118E) in F1, which blocks Rap1 binding, abolishes the capacity of Rap1 to potentiate talin1-induced integrin activation. The capacity of F1 to mediate Rap1-dependent integrin activation depends on a unique loop in F1 that has a propensity to form a helix upon binding to membrane lipids. Basic membrane-facing residues of this helix are critical, as charge-reversal mutations led to dramatic suppression of talin1-dependent activation. Thus, a novel Rap1-binding site and a transient lipid-dependent helix in F1 work in tandem to enable a direct Rap1-talin1 interaction to cause integrin activation
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