546 research outputs found
Alternative pest control approaches NPV for pod borer control and its uptake in Nepal
Pod borer is the most serious pest of chickpea in Nepal and its control based upon chemical insecticides alone has met major problems of resistance. There is a clear need for alternative pod borer control techniques. One of the most promising alternative controls i nucleopolyhedrovirus or NPV This is effective, safe and has bee adopted in a number of countries as part of the national pod bore IPM strategy. The chickpea IPM project has conducted evaluation of NPV in Nepal and results show it to be as effective or better than existing chemical control. However, if promotion of NPV in Nepal for pod borer control were to be adopted, a policy for the supply of NPV would need to be developed. Importation is feasible but local production would probably be cheaper. Several models of local production exist including farmer production, village production, state or extension service production and commercial private sector production and these models need to be evaluated for adoption in Nepal. A national system of regulation for NPV would also need to be developed
Beta decay of 71,73Co; probing single particle states approaching doubly magic 78Ni
Low-energy excited states in 71,73Ni populated via the {\beta} decay of
71,73Co were investigated in an experiment performed at the National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (MSU).
Detailed analysis led to the construction of level schemes of 71,73Ni, which
are interpreted using systematics and analyzed using shell model calculations.
The 5/2- states attributed to the the f5/2 orbital and positive parity 5/2+ and
7/2+ states from the g9/2 orbital have been identified in both 71,73Ni. In 71Ni
the location of a 1/2- {\beta}-decaying isomer is proposed and limits are
suggested as to the location of the isomer in 73Ni. The location of positive
parity cluster states are also identified in 71,73Ni. Beta-delayed neutron
branching ratios obtained from this data are given for both 71,73Co.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR
Orbital dependent nucleonic pairing in the lightest known isotopes of tin
By studying the 109Xe-->105Te-->101Sn superallowed alpha-decay chain, we
observe low-lying states in 101Sn, the one-neutron system outside doubly magic
100Sn. We find that the spins of the ground state (J = 7=2) and first excited
state (J = 5=2) in 101Sn are reversed with respect to the traditional level
ordering postulated for 103Sn and the heavier tin isotopes. Through simple
arguments and state-of-the-art shell model calculations we explain this
unexpected switch in terms of a transition from the single-particle regime to
the collective mode in which orbital-dependent pairing correlations, dominate.Comment: 5 pages 3 figure
Realistic Shell-Model Calculations for Proton-Rich N=50 Isotones
The structure of the N=50 isotones 98Cd, 97Ag, and 96Pd is studied in terms
of shell model employing a realistic effective interaction derived from the
Bonn-A nucleon-nucleon potential. The single-hole energies are fixed by
resorting to an analysis of the low-energy spectra of the isotones with A>= 91.
Comparison shows that our results are in very satisfactory agreement with the
available experimental data. This supports confidence in the predictions of our
calculationsComment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to be published on Journal of Physics
Precision measurement of Zn electron-capture decays with the KDK coincidence setup
Zn is a common calibration source, moreover used as a radioactive
tracer in medical and biological studies. In many cases, -spectroscopy
is a preferred method of Zn standardization, which relies directly on
the branching ratio of via electron capture (EC*). We measure the relative
intensity of this branch to that proceeding directly to the ground state
(EC) using a novel coincidence technique, finding
. Re-evaluating the decay
scheme of Zn by adopting the commonly evaluated branching ratio of
we obtain , and
I_\text{EC^0} = (48.50 \pm 0.06) \%. The associated 1115 keV gamma intensity
agrees with the previously reported NNDC value, and is now accessible with a
factor of ~2 increase in precision. Our re-evaluation removes reliance on the
deduction of this gamma intensity from numerous measurements, some of which
disagree and depend directly on total activity determination. The KDK
experimental technique provides a new avenue for verification or updates to the
decay scheme of Zn, and is applicable to other isotopes.Comment: Uses similar methodology to the 40K measurement by the KDK
Collaboration (Stukel et al PRL 2023, arXiv:2211.10319; Hariasz et al PRC
2023, arXiv:2211.10343), as such there may be some similarity in figures and
tex
Action Recognition with a Bio--Inspired Feedforward Motion Processing Model: The Richness of Center-Surround Interactions
International audienceHere we show that reproducing the functional properties of MT cells with various center--surround interactions enriches motion representation and improves the action recognition performance. To do so, we propose a simplified bio--inspired model of the motion pathway in primates: It is a feedforward model restricted to V1-MT cortical layers, cortical cells cover the visual space with a foveated structure, and more importantly, we reproduce some of the richness of center-surround interactions of MT cells. Interestingly, as observed in neurophysiology, our MT cells not only behave like simple velocity detectors, but also respond to several kinds of motion contrasts. Results show that this diversity of motion representation at the MT level is a major advantage for an action recognition task. Defining motion maps as our feature vectors, we used a standard classification method on the Weizmann database: We obtained an average recognition rate of 98.9%, which is superior to the recent results by Jhuang et al. (2007). These promising results encourage us to further develop bio--inspired models incorporating other brain mechanisms and cortical layers in order to deal with more complex videos
The Nab Experiment: A Precision Measurement of Unpolarized Neutron Beta Decay
Neutron beta decay is one of the most fundamental processes in nuclear
physics and provides sensitive means to uncover the details of the weak
interaction. Neutron beta decay can evaluate the ratio of axial-vector to
vector coupling constants in the standard model, , through
multiple decay correlations. The Nab experiment will carry out measurements of
the electron-neutrino correlation parameter with a precision of and the Fierz interference term to
in unpolarized free neutron beta decay. These results, along with a more
precise measurement of the neutron lifetime, aim to deliver an independent
determination of the ratio with a precision of that will allow an evaluation of and sensitively
test CKM unitarity, independent of nuclear models. Nab utilizes a novel, long
asymmetric spectrometer that guides the decay electron and proton to two large
area silicon detectors in order to precisely determine the electron energy and
an estimation of the proton momentum from the proton time of flight. The Nab
spectrometer is being commissioned at the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline
at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Lab. We present an
overview of the Nab experiment and recent updates on the spectrometer,
analysis, and systematic effects.Comment: Presented at PPNS201
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