Anomaly analysis of Hawking radiation from Kaluza-Klein black hole with squashed horizon

Considering gravitational and gauge anomalies at the horizon, a new method that to derive Hawking radiations from black holes has been developed by Wilczek et al. In this paper, we apply this method to non-rotating and rotating Kaluza-Klein black holes with squashed horizon, respectively. For the rotating case, we found that, after the dimensional reduction, an effective U(1) gauge field is generated by an angular isometry. The results show that the gauge current and energy-momentum tensor fluxes are exactly equivalent to Hawking radiation from the event horizon.Comment: 15 pages, no figures, the improved version, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Spectroscopy of the Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Axion black hole

The entropy spectrum of a spherically symmetric black hole was derived via the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule in Majhi and Vagenas's work. Extending this work to charged and rotating black holes, we quantize the horizon area and the entropy of an Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Axion (EMDA) black hole via the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule and the adiabatic invariance. The result shows the area spectrum and the entropy spectrum are respectively equally spaced and independent on the parameters of the black hole.Comment: 9 page

The ARGO-YBJ Experiment Progresses and Future Extension

Gamma ray source detection above 30TeV is an encouraging approach for finding galactic cosmic ray origins. All sky survey for gamma ray sources using wide field of view detector is essential for population accumulation for various types of sources above 100GeV. To target the goals, the ARGO-YBJ experiment has been established. Significant progresses have been made in the experiment. A large air shower detector array in an area of 1km2 is proposed to boost the sensitivity. Hybrid detection with multi-techniques will allow a good discrimination between different types of primary particles, including photons and protons, thus enable an energy spectrum measurement for individual specie. Fluorescence light detector array will extend the spectrum measurement above 100PeV where the second knee is located. An energy scale determined by balloon experiments at 10TeV will be propagated to ultra high energy cosmic ray experiments

Measurement of the Atmospheric Muon Spectrum from 20 to 3000 GeV

The absolute muon flux between 20 GeV and 3000 GeV is measured with the L3 magnetic muon spectrometer for zenith angles ranging from 0 degree to 58 degree. Due to the large exposure of about 150 m2 sr d, and the excellent momentum resolution of the L3 muon chambers, a precision of 2.3 % at 150 GeV in the vertical direction is achieved. The ratio of positive to negative muons is studied between 20 GeV and 500 GeV, and the average vertical muon charge ratio is found to be 1.285 +- 0.003 (stat.) +- 0.019 (syst.).Comment: Total 32 pages, 9Figure

ARGO-YBJ constraints on very high energy emission from GRBs

The ARGO-YBJ (Astrophysical Radiation Ground-based Observatory at YangBaJing) experiment is designed for very high energy $\gamma$-astronomy and cosmic ray researches. Due to the full coverage of a large area ($5600 m^2$) with resistive plate chambers at a very high altitude (4300 m a.s.l.), the ARGO-YBJ detector is used to search for transient phenomena, such as Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Because the ARGO-YBJ detector has a large field of view ($\sim$2 sr) and is operated with a high duty cycle ($>$90%), it is well suited for GRB surveying and can be operated in searches for high energy GRBs following alarms set by satellite-borne observations at lower energies. In this paper, the sensitivity of the ARGO-YBJ detector for GRB detection is estimated. Upper limits to fluence with 99% confidence level for 26 GRBs inside the field of view from June 2006 to January 2009 are set in the two energy ranges 10$-$100 GeV and 10 GeV$-$1 TeV.Comment: accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physic

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Formation of β′ phase in LPSO structures in an Mg88Co5Y7 alloy

Formation of β′ phase in long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) structures in an Mg88Co5Y7 (at.%) alloy after aging at 200 °C for 24 h or electron beam (EB) irradiation has been studied by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). β′ phase was precipitated only in the Mg matrix but not in LPSO structures after aging at 200 °C for 24 h. LPSO structure containing stacking defects transforms into the β′-long phase during EB irradiation, which plays a key role in accelerating solute atoms’ diffusion. New complex β′(LPSO) structures formed in the alloy after EB irradiation, such as β′(12H) structure with an orthorhombic lattice (Mg7Y, Cmcm, a = 2a0 = 0.642 nm, b = 43a0 = 2.27 nm, c = 6c0 = 3.12 nm)

Quantification and antioxidant and anti-HCV activities of the constituents from the inflorescences of <i>Scabiosa comosa</i> and <i>S. tschilliensis</i>

<div><p>To investigate the bioactive constituents of the inflorescences of <i>Scabiosa comosa</i> and <i>S. tschilliensis</i>, which are used traditionally for liver diseases, we tested the antioxidant activity using 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS), ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP), and DPPH-ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS) assay. In addition, cell-based anti-HCV activity of the major compounds were evaluated. The plant extracts showed strong antioxidant activity. For the first time, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid (DCQA), 3,5-DCQA and 4,5-DCQA were identified from genus <i>Scabiosa</i>. A UPLC-MS method in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was established to quantify 18 constituents in the inflorescences of <i>Scabiosa.</i> The 3,5-DCQA, chlorogenic acid and some glycosides of luteolin or apigenin were found to be the most abundant constituents. Chlorogenic acid and 3,5-DCQA showed excellent radical scavenging activity and demonstrated anti-HCV activity. These findings provided scientific evidences for the clinic use of this herbal medicine for liver diseases.</p></div

Effect of partial Nd-substitution on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in spin-reorientation PrCo

Partial Nd-substitution effects on the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in spin-reorientation Pr1−xNdxCo4Al (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8) alloys are investigated. All these alloys undergo two successive spin-reorientation transitions. Accordingly, the successive positive and negative magnetic entropy changes (ΔSM) for all these alloys are obtained. With the increase of Nd content, the spin reorientation transition temperatures increase from about 170 and 186 K for x = 0 to room temperature (276 and 294 K) for x = 0.8, covering a wide temperature interval. More interestingly, the values of positive ΔSM values increase gradually from 0.1 to 0.9 J/kg K-1, while the negative ΔSM decrease from 1.3 to 0.2 J/kg K-1 in the field change of 10 kOe. In addition, the series has an appreciable relative cooling power, which is therefore suitable to be used in a magnetic refrigerator

In situ TEM investigation of electron irradiation and aging-induced high-density nanoprecipitates in an Mg-10Gd-3Y-1Zn-0.5Zr alloy

In-situ electron irradiation and aging are applied to introduce high-density precipitates in an Mg-10Gd-3Y-1Zn-0.5Zr (GWZ1031K, wt.%) alloy to improve the hardness. The results show that the hardness of the Mg alloy after irradiation for 10 h and aging for 9 h at 250 °C is 1.64 GPa, which is approximately 64% higher than that of the samples before being treated. It is mainly attributed to γ′ precipitates on the basal plane after irradiation and the high-density nanoscale β′ precipitates on the prismatic plane after aging, which should be closely related to the irradiation-induced homogenous clusters. The latter plays a key role in precipitation hardening. This result paves a way to improve the mechanical properties of metallic materials by tailoring the precipitation through irradiation and aging