687 research outputs found
Pulse Shape Discrimination Techniques in Scintillating CsI(Tl) Crystals
There are recent interests with CsI(Tl) scintillating crystals for Dark
Matter experiments. The key merit is the capability to differentiate nuclear
recoil (nr) signatures from the background -events due to
ambient radioactivity on the basis of their different pulse shapes. One of the
major experimental challenges is to perform such pulse shape analysis in the
statistics-limited domain where the light output is close to the detection
threshold. Using data derived from measurements with low energy 's and
nuclear recoils due to neutron elastic scatterings, it was verified that the
pulse shapes between -events are different. Several methods of
pulse shape discrimination are studied, and their relative merits are compared.
Full digitization of the pulse shapes is crucial to achieve good
discrimination. Advanced software techniques with mean time, neural network and
likelihood ratios give rise to satisfactory performance, and are superior to
the conventional Double Charge method commonly applied at higher energies.
Pulse shape discrimination becomes effective starting at a light yield of about
20 photo-electrons. This corresponds to a detection threshold of about 5 keV
electron-equivalence energy, or 4050 keV recoil kinetic energy, in realistic
experiments.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure
Co2 exchange and biomass development of the herbaceous vegetation in the portuguese montado ecosystem during spring
Montado are spatially heterogeneous ecosystems that are economically important for the production of
cork and herbaceous biomass that provide fodder for animals. Understanding of how trees and the
herbaceous layer interact to determine pasture yield and the overall CO2 exchange of the herbaceous
layer is crucial. Portable chamberswere used to study CO2 exchange by the herbaceous layer component
of the montado ecosystem in southern Portugal. Biomass, Net herbaceous layer CO2 exchange (NEE) and
respiration (Reco) were measured in the open and understory locations between March and May, during
the active growing period. Parameter fits on the NEE data were performed using empirical hyperbolic
light response model, while ecosystem respiration (Reco) data were fitted with a two-parameter
exponential model. Annual green biomass productions were 405.8 9.0 and 250.6 6.3 g m 2 in the
open and the understory, respectively. The respective maximum NEE during the day were 24.0 2.9 and
9.6 2.2 mmol m 2 s 1 while maximum Reco were 20.6 2.2 and 10.0 1.6 mmol m 2 s 1, occurring in
April. Photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) explained more that 70% of variations in daytime NEE while
soil temperature at 10 cm depth (Tsoil) explained >50% of the variations in Reco under non-limiting soil
moisture conditions. Both the herbaceous layer communities shared similar plant functional types and no
significant difference in nutrient nitrogen (N) occurred between them. The two herbaceous layer components
shared similar physiological characteristics and differences that arose in their CO2 uptake capacities and
green biomass production were the result of microclimatic differences created by tree shadin
Studies of Prototype CsI(Tl) Crystal Scintillators for Low-Energy Neutrino Experiments
Crystal scintillators provide potential merits for the pursuit of low-energy
low-background experiments. A CsI(Tl) scintillating crystal detector is being
constructed to study low-energy neutrino physics at a nuclear reactor, while
projects are underway to adopt this technique for dark matter searches. The
choice of the geometrical parameters of the crystal modules, as well as the
optimization of the read-out scheme, are the results of an R&D program.
Crystals with 40 cm in length were developed. The detector requirements and the
achieved performance of the prototypes are presented. Future prospects for this
technique are discussed.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figure
Second harmonics and compensation effect in ceramic superconductors
A three-dimensional lattice of the Josephson junctions with a finite
self-conductance is employed to model the ceramic superconductors. The
nonlinear ac susceptibility and the compensation effect are studied by Monte
Carlo simulations in this model. The compensation effect is shown to be due to
the existence of the chiral glass phase. We demonstrate, in agreement with
experiments, that this effect may be present in the ceramic superconductors
which show the paramagnetic Meissner effect.Comment: 6 pages, latex, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. B (accepted
Analysis and modeling of the root system architecture of winter wheat seedling
Plant root system plays an essential role in the acquisition of the edaphic resources, which are subject to local depletion. The size as well as the architecture of the root system determines the efficiency of the acquisition. In the present study, a stochastic model of plant root system architecture is formulated. The continuous growth and development of root system is described and modelled by stochastic processes (discrete events associated with a certain probability). The parameters of the model for each growth cycle include branching probability, w (rhythm ratio main axis vs. lateral roots), b (probability of growth) and c (probability of survival). Root segments were presented as connections of individual nodes. As root has no nodes in the sense of the botanical terms, an imaginary node with an elementary length is introduced. In order to obtain the parameters of the model, winter wheat seedlings were grown in a phytotron in sand culture watered by nutrient solution. Individual roots of 19-days-old se dlings were scanned and the images obtained were analysed with a root image-analysing software WinRhizo. Roots were clustered into 3 relatively homogeneous groups after an analysis of similarity according to 4 criteria: length of main axe, diameter of root apex of the main axe, lateral length density (total length of lateral roots per unit of main axe length), lateral root density (number of lateral roots per unit of main axe). In each root group, the parameters were fitted with a non-linear generalised least square method by comparing the theoretical length of root segments of various orders with the experimental data
Crossing w=-1 in Gauss-Bonnet Brane World with Induced Gravity
Recent type Ia supernovas data seemingly favor a dark energy model whose
equation of state crosses -1 very recently, which is a much more amazing
problem than the acceleration of the universe. In this paper we show that it is
possible to realize such a crossing without introducing any phantom component
in a Gauss-Bonnet brane world with induced gravity, where a four dimensional
curvature scalar on the brane and a five dimensional Gauss-Bonnet term in the
bulk are present. In this realization, the Gauss-Bonnet term and the mass
parameter in the bulk play a crucial role.Comment: Revtex 16 pages including 10 eps files, references added, to appear
in Comm. Theor. Phy
Spontaneous baryogenesis in flat directions
We discuss a spontaneous baryogenesis mechanism in flat directions. After
identifying the Nambu-Goldstone mode which derivatively couples to the
associated (1) current and rotates due to the A-term, we show that
spontaneous baryogenesis can be naturally realized in the context of the flat
direction. As applications, we discuss two scenarios of baryogenesis in detail.
One is baryogenesis in a flat direction with a vanishing charge,
especially, with neither baryon nor lepton charge, which was recently proposed
by Chiba and the present authors. The other is a baryogenesis scenario
compatible with a large lepton asymmetry.Comment: 10 pages, no figure, the version accepted to Phys. Rev. D; a few
explanatory comments are adde
Intra-articular delivery of AAV vectors encoding PD-L1 attenuates joint inflammation and tissue damage in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis
Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common form of autoimmune inflammatory arthritis. Intra-articular gene delivery to block proinflammatory cytokines has been studied in pre-clinical models and human clinical trials. It has been demonstrated that the level of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study examined the therapeutic role of PD-L1 by intra-articular delivery via adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors in the mouse collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model. Methods: Mice were intra-articularly injected with AAV5 vectors encoding human PD-L1 on day 0 and immunized with bovine type II collagen to induce CIA simultaneously. On day 49 post AAV administration, joints were collected for histo-pathological and cytokine analysis. Additionally, the systemic impacts of intra-articular injection of AAV5/PD-L1 vectors were also studied. To study the therapeutic effect of PD-L1, AAV5/PD-L1 vectors were administered into the joints of RA mice on day 21. Results: After administration of AAV5/PD-L1 vectors, strong PD-L1 expression was detected in AAV transduced joints. Joints treated with PD-L1 at the time of arthritis induction exhibited significantly less swelling and improved histopathological scores when compared to untreated joints. Additionally, the infiltration of T cells and macrophages was decreased in joints of CIA mice that received AAV5/PD-L1 vectors (P<0.05). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1, IL-6, IL-17 and TNFα, were lower in AAV5/PD-L1 treated than untreated joints (P<0.05). Furthermore, the administration of AAV5/PD-L1 vectors into the joints of CIA mice did not impact serum cytokine levels and the antibody titers to type II collagen. Biodistribution of AAV vectors after intra-articular injection showed undetectable AAV genomes in other tissues except for a low level in the liver. Similar to the results of AAV5/PD-L1 vector administration on day 0, decreased joint swelling and lower histopathological damage were observed in joints treated with AAV5/PD-L1 vectors on day 21. Conclusion: The results from this study demonstrate that local AAV mediated PD-L1 gene delivery into the joints is able to prevent the development and block the progression of arthritis in CIA mice without impacting systemic immune responses. This study provides a novel strategy to effectively treat inflammatory joint diseases using local AAV gene therapy by interference with immune checkpoint pathways
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Ligand electronic fine-tuning and its repercussion on the photocatalytic activity and mechanistic pathways of the copper-photocatalysed aza-Henry reaction
A family of six structurally related heteroleptic copper(i) complexes of the form of [Cu(N^N)(P^P)]+ bearing a 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline diimine (N^N) ligand and a series of electronically tunable xantphos (P^P) ligands have been synthesized and their optoelectronic properties characterized. The reactivity of these complexes in the copper-photocatalyzed aza-Henry reaction of N-phenyltetrahydroisoquinoline was evaluated, while the related excited state kinetics were comprehensively studied. By subtlety changing the electron-donating properties of the P^P ligands with negligible structural differences, we could tailor the photoredox properties and relate them to the reactivity. Moreover, depending on the exited-state redox potential of the catalysts, the preferred mechanism can shift between reductive quenching, energy transfer and oxidative quenching pathways. A combined study of the structural modulation of copper(i) photocatalysts, optoelectronic properties and photocatalytic reactivity resulted in a clearer understanding of both the rational design of the photocatalyst and the complexity of competing photoinduced electron and energy transfer mechanisms. © The Royal Society of Chemistry
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