1,678 research outputs found
A First Comparison of the responses of a He4-based fast-neutron detector and a NE-213 liquid-scintillator reference detector
A first comparison has been made between the pulse-shape discrimination
characteristics of a novel He-based pressurized scintillation detector
and a NE-213 liquid-scintillator reference detector using an Am/Be mixed-field
neutron and gamma-ray source and a high-resolution scintillation-pulse
digitizer. In particular, the capabilities of the two fast neutron detectors to
discriminate between neutrons and gamma-rays were investigated. The NE-213
liquid-scintillator reference cell produced a wide range of scintillation-light
yields in response to the gamma-ray field of the source. In stark contrast, due
to the size and pressure of the He gas volume, the He-based
detector registered a maximum scintillation-light yield of 750~keV to
the same gamma-ray field. Pulse-shape discrimination for particles with
scintillation-light yields of more than 750~keV was excellent in the
case of the He-based detector. Above 750~keV its signal was
unambiguously neutron, enabling particle identification based entirely upon the
amount of scintillation light produced.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics
Research Section A review addresse
Temperature dependence of polaronic transport through single molecules and quantum dots
Motivated by recent experiments on electric transport through single
molecules and quantum dots, we investigate a model for transport that allows
for significant coupling between the electrons and a boson mode isolated on the
molecule or dot. We focus our attention on the temperature dependent properties
of the transport. In the Holstein picture for polaronic transport in molecular
crystals the temperature dependence of the conductivity exhibits a crossover
from coherent (band) to incoherent (hopping) transport. Here, the temperature
dependence of the differential conductance on resonance does not show such a
crossover, but is mostly determined by the lifetime of the resonant level on
the molecule or dot.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
A measurement of the differential cross section for the two-body photodisintegration of 3He at theta_LAB = 90deg using tagged photons in the energy range 14 -- 31 MeV
The two-body photodisintegration of 3He has been investigated using tagged
photons with energies from 14 -- 31 MeV at MAX-lab in Lund, Sweden. The
two-body breakup channel was unambiguously identified by the (nonsimultaneous)
detection of both protons and deuterons. This approach was made feasible by the
over-determined kinematic situation afforded by the tagged-photon technique.
Proton- and deuteron-energy spectra were measured using four silicon
surface-barrier detector telescopes located at a laboratory angle of 90deg with
respect to the incident photon-beam direction. Average statistical and
systematic uncertainties of 5.7% and 6.6% in the differential cross section
were obtained for 11 photon-energy bins with an average width of 1.2 MeV. The
results are compared to previous experimental data measured at comparable
photon energies as well as to the results of two recent Faddeev calculations
which employ realistic potential models and take into account three-nucleon
forces and final-state interactions. Both the accuracy and precision of the
present data are improved over the previous measurements. The data are in good
agreement with most of the previous results, and favor the inclusion of
three-nucleon forces in the calculations.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures; further Referee comments addresse
Compton Scattering from the Deuteron and Extracted Neutron Polarizabilities
Differential cross sections for Compton scattering from the deuteron were
measured at MAX-lab for incident photon energies of 55 MeV and 66 MeV at
nominal laboratory angles of , , and . Tagged
photons were scattered from liquid deuterium and detected in three NaI
spectrometers. By comparing the data with theoretical calculations in the
framework of a one-boson-exchange potential model, the sum and difference of
the isospin-averaged nucleon polarizabilities, and (in units of fm),
have been determined. By combining the latter with the global-averaged value
for and using the predictions of the Baldin sum rule for
the sum of the nucleon polarizabilities, we have obtained values for the
neutron electric and magnetic polarizabilities of (total) (model) and (total) (model), respectively.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, revtex. The text is substantially revised. The
cross sections are slightly different due to improvements in the analysi
Circulating sex steroids during pregnancy and maternal risk of non-epithelial ovarian cancer.
BACKGROUND: Sex steroid hormones have been proposed to play a role in the development of non-epithelial ovarian cancers (NEOC) but so far no direct epidemiological data are available.METHODS: A case-control study was nested within the Finnish Maternity Cohort, the world's largest bio-repository of serum specimens from pregnant women. Study subjects were selected among women who donated a blood sample during a singleton pregnancy that led to the birth of their last child preceding diagnosis of NEOC. Case subjects were 41 women with sex-cord stromal tumors (SCST) and 21 with germ cell tumors (GCT). Three controls, matching the index case for age, parity at the index pregnancy, and date at blood donation were selected (n=171). Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) associated with concentrations of testosterone, androstenedione, 17-OH-progesterone, progesterone, estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were estimated through conditional logistic regression.RESULTS: For SCST, doubling of testosterone, androstenedione and 17-OH-progesterone concentrations were associated with about 2-fold higher risk of SCST [ORs and 95% CI of 2.16 (1.25-3.74), 2.16 (1.20-3.87), and 2.62 (1.27-5.38), respectively]. These associations remained largely unchanged after excluding women within 2, 4 or 6 years lag-time between blood donation and cancer diagnosis. Sex steroid hormones concentrations were not related to maternal risk of GCT.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first prospective study providing initial evidence that elevated androgens play a role in the pathogenesis of SCST. Impact: Our study may note a particular need for larger confirmatory investigations on sex steroids and NEOC
Magic angle effects of the one-dimensional axis conductivity in quasi-one dimensional conductors
In quasi-one-dimensional conductors, the conductivity in both one-dimensional
axis and interchain direction shows peaks when magnetic field is tilted at the
magic angles in the plane perpendicular to the conducting chain. Although there
are several theoretical studies to explain the magic angle effect, no
satisfactory explanation, especially for the one-dimensional conductivity, has
been obtained. We present a new theory of the magic angle effect in the
one-dimensional conductivity by taking account of the momentum-dependence of
the Fermi velocity, which should be large in the systems close to a spin
density wave instability. The magic angle effect is explained in the
semiclassical equations of motion, but neither the large corrugation of the
Fermi surface due to long-range hoppings nor hot spots, where the relaxation
time is small, on the Fermi surface are required.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Tagging fast neutrons from an 241Am/9Be source
We report on an investigation of the fast-neutron spectrum emitted by
241Am/9Be. Well-understood shielding, coincidence, and time-of-flight
measurement techniques are employed to produce a continuous, polychromatic,
energy-tagged neutron beam.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Journal of Applied Radiation and
Isotope
Towards integration of research and monitoring at forest ecosystems in Europe
Aim of study: The main aim of the work was to summarize availability, quality and comparability of on-going European Research and Monitoring Networks (ERMN), based on the results of a COST FP0903 Action questionnaire carried out in September 2010 and May 2012. Area of study: The COST Action FP0903 involves 29 European countries and 4 non-COST institutions from USA, Morocco and Tunisia. In this study, the total of 22 replies to the questionnaire from 18 countries were included. Materials and methods: Based on the feedback from the Action FP0903 countries, the most popular European Networks were identified. Thereafter, the access to the network database, available quality assurance/quality control procedures and publication were described. Finally, the so-called âSupersitesâ concept, defined as a âhighly instrumented research infrastructure, for both research and monitoring of soil-plant-atmosphere interactionsâ was discussed. Main results: The result of the survey indicate that the vast majority of the Action FP0903 countries participate in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forest (ICP Forest). The multi-disciplinary International Cooperative Programme on Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems (ICPIM) is the second most widespread forest programme. Research highlights: To fully understand biochemical cycles in forest ecosystems, long-term monitoring is needed. Hence, a network of âSupersitesâ, is proposed. The application of the above infrastructure can be an effective way to attain a better integration of research and monitoring networks at forest sites in Europ
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