737 research outputs found
Resonant photonuclear isotope detection using medium-energy photon beam
Resonant photonuclear isotope detection (RPID) is a nondestructive
detection/assay of nuclear isotopes by measuring gamma rays following
photonuclear reaction products. Medium-energy wideband photons of 12-16 MeV are
used for the photonuclear reactions and gamma rays characteristic of the
reaction products are measured by means of high-sensitivity Ge detectors.
Impurities of stable and radioactive isotopes of the orders of micro-nano gr
and ppm-ppb are investigated. RPID is used to study nuclear isotopes of
astronuclear and particle physics interests and those of geological and
historical interests. It is used to identify radioactive isotopes of fission
products as well.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
State Concentration Exponent as a Measure of Quickness in Kauffman-type Networks
We study the dynamics of randomly connected networks composed of binary
Boolean elements and those composed of binary majority vote elements. We
elucidate their differences in both sparsely and densely connected cases. The
quickness of large network dynamics is usually quantified by the length of
transient paths, an analytically intractable measure. For discrete-time
dynamics of networks of binary elements, we address this dilemma with an
alternative unified framework by using a concept termed state concentration,
defined as the exponent of the average number of t-step ancestors in state
transition graphs. The state transition graph is defined by nodes corresponding
to network states and directed links corresponding to transitions. Using this
exponent, we interrogate the dynamics of random Boolean and majority vote
networks. We find that extremely sparse Boolean networks and majority vote
networks with arbitrary density achieve quickness, owing in part to long-tailed
in-degree distributions. As a corollary, only relatively dense majority vote
networks can achieve both quickness and robustness.Comment: 6 figure
Chaotic Phase Synchronization in Bursting-neuron Models Driven by a Weak Periodic Force
We investigate the entrainment of a neuron model exhibiting a chaotic
spiking-bursting behavior in response to a weak periodic force. This model
exhibits two types of oscillations with different characteristic time scales,
namely, long and short time scales. Several types of phase synchronization are
observed, such as 1 : 1 phase locking between a single spike and one period of
the force and 1 : l phase locking between the period of slow oscillation
underlying bursts and l periods of the force. Moreover, spiking-bursting
oscillations with chaotic firing patterns can be synchronized with the periodic
force. Such a type of phase synchronization is detected from the position of a
set of points on a unit circle, which is determined by the phase of the
periodic force at each spiking time. We show that this detection method is
effective for a system with multiple time scales. Owing to the existence of
both the short and the long time scales, two characteristic phenomena are found
around the transition point to chaotic phase synchronization. One phenomenon
shows that the average time interval between successive phase slips exhibits a
power-law scaling against the driving force strength and that the scaling
exponent has an unsmooth dependence on the changes in the driving force
strength. The other phenomenon shows that Kuramoto's order parameter before the
transition exhibits stepwise behavior as a function of the driving force
strength, contrary to the smooth transition in a model with a single time
scale
Are Two z~6 Quasars Gravitationally Lensed ?
Several high-z (z > 5.7) quasars have been found in the course of Sloan
Digital Sky Survey. The presence of such very high-z quasars is expected to
give constraints on early structure formation. On one hand, it is suggested
that these most luminous objects at high redshift are biased toward the highly
magnified objects by gravitational lensing. To clarify the effect of
gravitational lensing on the high-z quasars, we began the imaging survey of
intervening lensing galaxies. Indeed our previous optical image showed that
SDSSp J104433.04+012502.2 at z=5.74 is gravitationally magnified by a factor 2.
In this paper, we report our new optical imaging of other two high-z quasars,
SDSSp J103027.10+052455.0 at z=6.28 and SDSSp J130608.26+035626.3 at z=5.99.
Since we find neither intervening galaxy nor counter image with i^{\prime} <
25.4-25.8 around each quasar, we conclude that they are not strongly magnified
regardless that a lens galaxy is dusty.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for PAS
SDSSp J104433.04012502.2 at is Gravitationally Magnified by an Intervening Galaxy
During the course of our optical deep survey program on L emitters at
in the sky area surrounding the quasar SDSSp
J104433.04012502.2 at , we found that a faint galaxy with (AB)
is located at \timeform{1".9} southwest of the quasar. Its
broad-band color properties from to suggest that the galaxy is
located at a redshift of -- 2.5. This is consistent with no strong
emission line in our optical spectroscopy. Since the counter image of the
quasar cannot be seen in our deep optical images, the magnification factor
seems not to be very high. Our modest estimate is that this quasar is
gravitationally magnified by a factor of 2.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, PASJ, in pres
The Discovery of a Very Narrow-Line Star Forming Obat a Redshift of 5.66ject
We report on the discovery of a very narrow-line star forming object beyond
redshift of 5. Using the prime-focus camera, Suprime-Cam, on the 8.2 m Subaru
telescope together with a narrow-passband filter centered at
= 8150 \AA with passband of = 120 \AA, we have obtained a very
deep image of the field surrounding the quasar SDSSp J104433.04012502.2 at a
redshift of 5.74. Comparing this image with optical broad-band images, we have
found an object with a very strong emission line. Our follow-up optical
spectroscopy has revealed that this source is at a redshift of
, forming stars at a rate
yr. Remarkably, the velocity dispersion of Ly-emitting gas is
only 22 km s. Since a blue half of the Ly emission could be
absorbed by neutral hydrogen gas, perhaps in the system, a modest estimate of
the velocity dispersion may be 44 km s. Together with a linear
size of 7.7 kpc, we estimate a lower limit of the dynamical mass
of this object to be . It is thus suggested that
LAE J10440123 is a star-forming dwarf galaxy (i.e., a subgalactic object or
a building block) beyond redshift 5 although we cannot exclude a possibility
that most Ly emission is absorbed by the red damping wing of neutral
intergalactic matter.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. ApJ Letters, in pres
Novel method to rescue a lethal phenotype through integration of target gene onto the X-chromosome.
The loss-of-function mutations of serine protease inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene are associated with human chronic pancreatitis, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We previously reported that mice lacking Spink3, the murine homologue of human SPINK1, die perinatally due to massive pancreatic acinar cell death, precluding investigation of the effects of SPINK1 deficiency. To circumvent perinatal lethality, we have developed a novel method to integrate human SPINK1 gene on the X chromosome using Cre-loxP technology and thus generated transgenic mice termed "X-SPINK1". Consistent with the fact that one of the two X chromosomes is randomly inactivated, X-SPINK1 mice exhibit mosaic pattern of SPINK1 expression. Crossing of X-SPINK1 mice with Spink3+/- mice rescued perinatal lethality, but the resulting Spink3-/-;XXSPINK1 mice developed spontaneous pancreatitis characterized by chronic inflammation and fibrosis. The results show that mice lacking a gene essential for cell survival can be rescued by expressing this gene on the X chromosome. The Spink3-/-;XXSPINK1 mice, in which this method has been applied to partially restore SPINK1 function, present a novel genetic model of chronic pancreatitis
The Subaru Deep Field Project: Lyman Emitters at Redshift of 6.6
We present new results of a deep optical imaging survey using a narrowband
filter () centered at 9196 \AA ~ together with , ,
, , and broadband filters in the sky area of the Subaru
Deep Field which has been promoted as one of legacy programs of the 8.2m Subaru
Telescope. We obtained a photometric sample of 58 Ly emitter candidates
at 6.5 -- 6.6 among strong -excess () objects together with a color criterion of . We then obtained optical spectra of 20 objects in our -excess
sample and identified at least nine Ly emitters at -- 6.6
including the two emitters reported by Kodaira et al. (2003). Since our
Ly emitter candidates are free from strong amplification of
gravitational lensing, we are able to discuss their observational properties
from a statistical point of view. Based on these new results, we obtain a lower
limit of the star formation rate density of yr Mpc at , being
consistent with our previous estimate. We discuss the nature of star-formation
activity in galaxies beyond .Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, PASJ, Vol. 57, No. 1, in pres
Interstellar Object Accessibility and Mission Design
Interstellar objects (ISOs) are fascinating and under-explored celestial
objects, providing physical laboratories to understand the formation of our
solar system and probe the composition and properties of material formed in
exoplanetary systems. This paper will discuss the accessibility of and mission
design to ISOs with varying characteristics, including a discussion of state
covariance estimation over the course of a cruise, handoffs from traditional
navigation approaches to novel autonomous navigation for fast flyby regimes,
and overall recommendations about preparing for the future in situ exploration
of these targets. The lessons learned also apply to the fast flyby of other
small bodies including long-period comets and potentially hazardous asteroids,
which also require a tactical response with similar characteristicsComment: Accepted at IEEE Aerospace Conferenc
Associations between Supper Timing and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease among People with and without Hypertension
Inui, Tomoki, Sakaniwa, Ryoto, Shirai, Kokoro, et al. Associations between Supper Timing and Mortality from Cardiovascular Disease among People with and without Hypertension : . Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis advpub, (2024); https://doi.org/10.5551/jat.64192 .Aim: Less is known about the impact of supper time on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among hypertensives and nonhypertensives. We aimed to explore this issue in a cohort study. Methods: We analyzed the data of 72,658 participants (15,386 hypertensives and 57,272 nonhypertensives) aged 40–79 years without a history of CVD at baseline (1988–1990) under the Japan Collaborative Cohort study. Supper time was assessed based on self-reported questionnaires categorized as before 17:00, between 17:00 and 20:00, after 20:00, irregular supper time, and reference supper time (17:00–20:00). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of CVD mortality were calculated according to supper time after adjustment for potential confounders, stratified by hypertensive status and age group (<65 and ≥ 65 years).Results: During a median of 19.4 years of follow-up, 4,850 CVD deaths were recorded. Compared with the reference time, the risk of CVD mortality was higher for irregular supper time for the total population, either hypertensives or nonhypertensives, more specifically hypertensives aged ≥ 65 years; the multivariable HR (95% CI) of CVD mortality in the total population was 1.28 (1.11–1.50, P<0.01). The supper time of >20:00 tended to be associated with the higher risk only for hypertensives; the multivariable HR was 1.39 (0.98–1.96, P=0.06). Conclusion: Irregular supper time was associated with an increased risk of CVD mortality. Supper timing could be a surrogate marker for CVD risk
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