Multihierarchical electrodes based on titanate nanotubes and zinc oxide nanorods for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Studies involving water splitting to form hydrogen and oxygen have attracted attention because H2 is considered the fuel of the future. Photoelectrocatalysts have been widely used for this application, and several metal oxides can be applied as catalysts. Among them, we highlight zinc oxide nanorods (ZnONRs) and titanate nanotubes (TiNTs); however, their individual nanostructures exhibit disadvantages. For example, ZnONR shows rapid recombination of the photogenerated charges, and TiNT gives rise to randomly orientated films; these disadvantages limit their application as photoanodes. In this study, for the first time, we present a new class of multihierarchical electrodes based on TiNT-decorated ZnONR films that exhibited superior results to the individual species. The TiNTs are homogenously dispersed over the surface of the rods without forming agglomerates, giving rise to a heterojunction that exhibits lower recombination rates. It was found that the results are better when the contents of TiNT in the electrode are higher; thus, glycine was successfully used as a bridge to link both of the structures, increasing the amount of TiNT decorating the rods. As a result, the photocurrent generated with these multihierarchical electrodes is higher than that obtained for pure ZnONR electrodes (0.9 mA and 0.45 mA, respectively), and the electrode potentials for O2 evolution is lower than that observed for pure TiNT electrodes (0 V and 0.8 V vs. ERHE, respectively). The IPCE values are also higher for the multihierarchical electrodes

Measurement of the ttbar Production Cross Section in ppbar Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV using Lepton + Jets Events with Lifetime b-tagging

We present a measurement of the top quark pair ($t\bar{t}$) production cross section ($\sigma_{t\bar{t}}$) in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$ TeV using 230 pb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We select events with one charged lepton (electron or muon), missing transverse energy, and jets in the final state. We employ lifetime-based b-jet identification techniques to further enhance the $t\bar{t}$ purity of the selected sample. For a top quark mass of 175 GeV, we measure $\sigma_{t\bar{t}}=8.6^{+1.6}_{-1.5}(stat.+syst.)\pm 0.6(lumi.)$ pb, in agreement with the standard model expectation.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables Submitted to Phys.Rev.Let

Measurement of the Bottom contribution to non-photonic electron production in p+pp+p collisions at s\sqrt{s} =200 GeV

The contribution of $B$ meson decays to non-photonic electrons, which are mainly produced by the semi-leptonic decays of heavy flavor mesons, in $p+p$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} =$ 200 GeV has been measured using azimuthal correlations between non-photonic electrons and hadrons. The extracted $B$ decay contribution is approximately 50% at a transverse momentum of $p_{T} \geq 5$ GeV/$c$. These measurements constrain the nuclear modification factor for electrons from $B$ and $D$ meson decays. The result indicates that $B$ meson production in heavy ion collisions is also suppressed at high $p_{T}$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, accepted by PR

Arabidopsis in the wild—the effect of seasons on seed performance

Climate changes play a central role in the adaptive life histories of organisms all over the world. In higher plants, these changes may impact seed performance, both during seed development and after dispersal. To examine the plasticity of seed performance as a response to environmental fluctuations, eight genotypes known to be affected in seed dormancy and longevity were grown in the field in all seasons of two years. Soil and air temperature, day length, precipitation, and sun hours per day were monitored. We show that seed performance depends on the season. Seeds produced by plants grown in the summer, when the days began to shorten and the temperature started to decrease, were smaller with deeper dormancy and lower seed longevity compared to the other seasons when seeds were matured at higher temperature over longer days. The performance of seeds developed in the different seasons was compared to seeds produced in controlled conditions. This revealed that plants grown in a controlled environment produced larger seeds with lower dormancy than those grown in the field. All together the results show that the effect of the environment largely overrules the genetic effects, and especially, differences in seed dormancy caused by the different seasons were larger than the differences between the genotypes.</p

Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation. The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T < 11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC

Search for W' bosons decaying to an electron and a neutrino with the D0 detector

This Letter describes the search for a new heavy charged gauge boson W' decaying into an electron and a neutrino. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 inverse femtobarn. Lacking any significant excess in the data in comparison with known processes, an upper limit is set on the production cross section times branching fraction, and a W' boson with mass below 1.00 TeV can be excluded at the 95% C.L., assuming standard-model-like couplings to fermions. This result significantly improves upon previous limits, and is the most stringent to date.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Search for new particles in the two-jet decay channel with the D0 detector

We present the results of a search for the production of new particles decaying into two jets in pbarp collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV, using the DZero 1992-1995 data set corresponding to 109 pb^-1. We exclude at the 95% confidence level the production of excited quarks (q*) with masses below 775 GeV/c^2, the most restictive limit to date. We also exclude standard-model-like W' (Z') bosons with masses between 300 and 800 GeV/c^2 (400 and 640 GeV/c^2). A W' boson with mass $<$ 300 GeV/c^2 has been excluded by previous measurements, and our lower limit is therefore the most stringent to date

Soccer and homosexuality: the conflicts that lie within the affective game of the coach-adolescent athlete relationship

Discussions regarding homosexuality within a sports context are mediated by emotional nuances, especially in the world of soccer, where practitioners are required to have attributes such as strength, masculinity and aggressiveness. As a consequence, this work aimed to analyze the symbolic representation of homosexual relationships between adolescent soccer players and their coaches; and, furthermore, to understand the intention behind homoerotic relationships that are established between members of the management team and its players. In this study, researchers used the life history methodology, with participation from three adolescent athletes, ages 14, 15 and 16, and three former athletes, ages 26, 28 and 45, who we called speakers. Based on the collection and analysis of research participants’ testimonies, homosexual relations were found to have occurred between athletes and coaches, or between athletes and other members of the management team, as a part of a “social contract” that is exclusively linked to their professional objectives. These relationships appear to be purely objective; authentic affective links are absent, due apparently to the transient nature of the athletes in these groups. Too, this context is usually marked by the athlete’s physical and emotional vulnerability, and the agreements he makes within this context are accompanied with moral dilemmas, because such adolescents idealize the coach as a paternal archetype.“Futebol e homossexualidade: Os conflitos que se encontram dentro do jogo afetivo da relação treinador-atleta adolescente.” As discussões a respeito da homossexualidade no contexto esportivo são mediadas por nuanças emocionais, especialmente no mundo do futebol que exige de seus praticantes atributos de força, virilidade e agressividade. Por este motivo este trabalho teve como objetivos diagnosticar existência de relações homossexuais entre atletas adolescentes da modalidade de futebol e seus técnicos e sua representação simbólica e ainda, compreender a intencionalidade das relações homoafetivas que se estabelecem entre componentes da equipe diretiva e os jogadores. Esta pesquisa é de natureza qualitativa e a técnica adotada foi a “história de vida” e a participação de três atletas adolescentes em atividade, com idade de 14, 15 e 16 anos e três ex-atletas profissionais, com idades 26, 28 e 45 anos serviram de base metodológica. A partir da análise e tratamento dos depoimentos verificou-se que ocorreram relações homossexuais nas categorias de base envolvendo técnico e atleta, ou com outros membros da equipe diretiva, como parte dos contratos sociais, ligados exclusivamente a objetivos profissionais. Estas relações parecem ser puramente objetais, não parecendo existir vínculos afetivos duradouros, aparentemente, devido à natureza transitória de atletas nesses grupos. Também, nesses ambientes, muitas vezes marcados pela vulnerabilidade física e emocional dos atletas, os acertos para as relações homossexuais são permeadas por dilemas morais, tendo em vista que os atletas adolescentes idealizam o treinador como o arquétipo paterno ideal.“El fútbol y la homosexualidad: Los conflictos que se encuentran dentro del juego afectivo de la relación atleta-entrenador de los adolescentes.” Las discusiones sobre la homosexualidad en contexto deportivo están mediadas por matices emocionales, sobre todo en el mundo del fútbol que exige a sus jugadores atributos como la fuerza, la virilidad y los jugadores. En este estudio, los investigadores utilizaron la metodología de la historia de vida, con la participación de tres atletas adolescentes, con 14, 15 y 16 años, y tres ex atletas con 26, 28 y 45 años, que llamamos ‘oradores’. Basado en la recogida y análisis de testimonios de participantes en la investigación, se encontró que las relaciones homosexuales que se han producido entre los atletas y entrenadores, o entre atletas y otros miembros del equipo de gestión, son como parte de un “contrato social” que está vinculado exclusivamente a sus objetivos profesionales. Estas relaciones parecen ser solamente como un objeto; porque a veces no hay vínculos afectivos auténticos, debido aparentemente a la naturaleza transitoria de los atletas en estos grupos. Demasiado, este contexto es generalmente marcado por la vulnerabilidad física y emocional del deportista, y los acuerdos que hace dentro de este contexto se acompañan con dilemas morales, debido a que tales adolescentes idealizan el entrenador como un arquetipo paterno. la agresividad. Por lo tanto, este estudio tuvo como objetivo diagnosticar la existencia de relaciones homosexuales entre adolescentes atletas de fútbol y sus entrenadores y la representación simbólica de estas relaciones. También comprender la intencionalidad de las relaciones homoafetivas que se intercambian entre algunos componentes del equipo directivo y(undefined

Search for first-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks

We describe a search for the pair production of first-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks in the eejj and enujj channels by the D0 Collaboration. The data are from the 1992--1996 ppbar run at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We find no evidence for leptoquark production; in addition, no kinematically interesting events are observed using relaxed selection criteria. The results from the eejj and enujj channels are combined with those from a previous D0 analysis of the nunujj channel to obtain 95% confidence level (C.L.) upper limits on the leptoquark pair-production cross section as a function of mass and of beta, the branching fraction to a charged lepton. These limits are compared to next-to-leading-order theory to set 95% C.L. lower limits on the mass of a first-generation scalar leptoquark of 225, 204, and 79 GeV/c^2 for beta=1, 1/2, and 0, respectively. For vector leptoquarks with gauge (Yang-Mills) couplings, 95% C.L. lower limits of 345, 337, and 206 GeV/c^2 are set on the mass for beta=1, 1/2, and 0, respectively. Mass limits for vector leptoquarks are also set for anomalous vector couplings