2,916 research outputs found
Initial Vibration Analysis of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator's (ASRG's) Affect on Spacecraft Instruments
Assess if nominal Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG)
vibration levels are sufficiently benign for unimpeded spacecraft
instrument operation
On the reliability of negative heat capacity measurements
A global protocol for the thermostatistical analysis of hot nuclear sources
is discussed. Within our method of minimization of variances we show that the
abnormal kinetic energy fluctuation signal recently reported in different
experimental data (M.D'Agostino et al.-Phys. Lett. B 473 (2000) 219, N. Le
Neindre et al.- contr. to the XXXVIII Bormio Winter Meeting on Nucl. Phys.
(2001) 404) is a genuine signal of a first order phase transition in a finite
system.Comment: 15 Postscript figures, submitted to NUCL. Phys. A on 24-apr-200
Recombination of Geminate (OH,eaq-) Pairs in Concentrated Alkaline Solutions: Lack of Evidence For Hydroxyl Radical Deprotonation
Picosecond dynamics of hydrated electrons and hydroxyl radicals generated in
200 nm photodissociation of aqueous hydroxide and 400 nm (3-photon) ionization
of water in concentrated alkaline solutions were obtained. No deprotonation of
hydroxyl radicals was observed on sub-nanosecond time scale, even in 1-10 M KOH
solutions. This result is completely at odds with the kinetic data for
deprotonation of OH radical in dilute alkaline solutions. We suggest that the
deprotonation of hydroxyl radical is slowed down dramatically in concentrated
alkaline solutions.Comment: 12 pages; 2 figures; submitted to Chem. Phys. Let
Spin oscillations in transient diffusion of a spin pulse in n-type semiconductor quantum wells
By studying the time and spatial evolution of a pulse of the spin
polarization in -type semiconductor quantum wells, we highlight the
importance of the off-diagonal spin coherence in spin diffusion and transport.
Spin oscillations and spin polarization reverse along the the direction of spin
diffusion in the absence of the applied magnetic field are predicted from our
investigation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Studies of a three-stage dark matter and neutrino observatory based on multi-ton combinations of liquid xenon and liquid argon detectors
We study a three stage dark matter and neutrino observatory based on
multi-ton two-phase liquid Xe and Ar detectors with sufficiently low
backgrounds to be sensitive to WIMP dark matter interaction cross sections down
to 10E-47 cm^2, and to provide both identification and two independent
measurements of the WIMP mass through the use of the two target elements in a
5:1 mass ratio, giving an expected similarity of event numbers. The same
detection systems will also allow measurement of the pp solar neutrino
spectrum, the neutrino flux and temperature from a Galactic supernova, and
neutrinoless double beta decay of 136Xe to the lifetime level of 10E27 - 10E28
y corresponding to the Majorana mass predicted from current neutrino
oscillation data. The proposed scheme would be operated in three stages G2, G3,
G4, beginning with fiducial masses 1-ton Xe + 5-ton Ar (G2), progressing to
10-ton Xe + 50-ton Ar (G3) then, dependent on results and performance of the
latter, expandable to 100-ton Xe + 500-ton Ar (G4). This method of scale-up
offers the advantage of utilizing the Ar vessel and ancillary systems of one
stage for the Xe detector of the succeeding stage, requiring only one new
detector vessel at each stage. Simulations show the feasibility of reducing or
rejecting all external and internal background levels to a level <1 events per
year for each succeeding mass level, by utilizing an increasing outer thickness
of target material as self-shielding. The system would, with increasing mass
scale, become increasingly sensitive to annual signal modulation, the agreement
of Xe and Ar results confirming the Galactic origin of the signal. Dark matter
sensitivities for spin-dependent and inelastic interactions are also included,
and we conclude with a discussion of possible further gains from the use of
Xe/Ar mixtures
Betibeglogene Autotemcel Gene Therapy for Non-β⁰/β⁰ Genotype β-Thalassemia
BACKGROUND: Betibeglogene autotemcel (beti-cel) gene therapy for transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia contains autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells transduced with the BB305 lentiviral vector encoding the β-globin (βA-T87Q) gene. METHODS: In this open-label, phase 3 study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of beti-cel in adult and pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and a non-β0/β0 genotype. Patients underwent myeloablation with busulfan (with doses adjusted on the basis of pharmacokinetic analysis) and received beti-cel intravenously. The primary end point was transfusion independence (i.e., a weighted average hemoglobin level of ≥9 g per deciliter without red-cell transfusions for ≥12 months). RESULTS: A total of 23 patients were enrolled and received treatment, with a median follow-up of 29.5 months (range, 13.0 to 48.2). Transfusion independence occurred in 20 of 22 patients who could be evaluated (91%), including 6 of 7 patients (86%) who were younger than 12 years of age. The average hemoglobin level during transfusion independence was 11.7 g per deciliter (range, 9.5 to 12.8). Twelve months after beti-cel infusion, the median level of gene therapy-derived adult hemoglobin (HbA) with a T87Q amino acid substitution (HbAT87Q) was 8.7 g per deciliter (range, 5.2 to 10.6) in patients who had transfusion independence. The safety profile of beti-cel was consistent with that of busulfan-based myeloablation. Four patients had at least one adverse event that was considered by the investigators to be related or possibly related to beti-cel; all events were nonserious except for thrombocytopenia (in 1 patient). No cases of cancer were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with beti-cel resulted in a sustained HbAT87Q level and a total hemoglobin level that was high enough to enable transfusion independence in most patients with a non-β0/β0 genotype, including those younger than 12 years of age. (Funded by Bluebird Bio; HGB-207 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02906202.)
Spin injection and spin accumulation in all-metal mesoscopic spin valves
We study the electrical injection and detection of spin accumulation in
lateral ferromagnetic metal-nonmagnetic metal-ferromagnetic metal (F/N/F) spin
valve devices with transparent interfaces. Different ferromagnetic metals,
permalloy (Py), cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), are used as electrical spin
injectors and detectors. For the nonmagnetic metal both aluminium (Al) and
copper (Cu) are used. Our multi-terminal geometry allows us to experimentally
separate the spin valve effect from other magneto resistance signals such as
the anomalous magneto resistance (AMR) and Hall effects. We find that the AMR
contribution of the ferromagnetic contacts can dominate the amplitude of the
spin valve effect, making it impossible to observe the spin valve effect in a
'conventional' measurement geometry. In a 'non local' spin valve measurement we
are able to completely isolate the spin valve signal and observe clear spin
accumulation signals at T=4.2 K as well as at room temperature (RT). For
aluminum we obtain spin relaxation lengths (lambda_{sf}) of 1.2 mu m and 600 nm
at T=4.2 K and RT respectively, whereas for copper we obtain 1.0 mu m and 350
nm. The spin relaxation times tau_{sf} in Al and Cu are compared with theory
and results obtained from giant magneto resistance (GMR), conduction electron
spin resonance (CESR), anti-weak localization and superconducting tunneling
experiments. The spin valve signals generated by the Py electrodes (alpha_F
lambda_F=0.5 [1.2] nm at RT [T=4.2 K]) are larger than the Co electrodes
(alpha_F lambda_F=0.3 [0.7] nm at RT [T=4.2 K]), whereas for Ni (alpha_F
lambda_F<0.3 nm at RT and T=4.2 K) no spin signal is observed. These values are
compared to the results obtained from GMR experiments.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PR
Genotype-by-Environment Interactions and Adaptation to Local Temperature Affect Immunity and Fecundity in Drosophila melanogaster
Natural populations of most organisms harbor substantial genetic variation for resistance to infection. The continued existence of such variation is unexpected under simple evolutionary models that either posit direct and continuous natural selection on the immune system or an evolved life history “balance” between immunity and other fitness traits in a constant environment. However, both local adaptation to heterogeneous environments and genotype-by-environment interactions can maintain genetic variation in a species. In this study, we test Drosophila melanogaster genotypes sampled from tropical Africa, temperate northeastern North America, and semi-tropical southeastern North America for resistance to bacterial infection and fecundity at three different environmental temperatures. Environmental temperature had absolute effects on all traits, but there were also marked genotype-by-environment interactions that may limit the global efficiency of natural selection on both traits. African flies performed more poorly than North American flies in both immunity and fecundity at the lowest temperature, but not at the higher temperatures, suggesting that the African population is maladapted to low temperature. In contrast, there was no evidence for clinal variation driven by thermal adaptation within North America for either trait. Resistance to infection and reproductive success were generally uncorrelated across genotypes, so this study finds no evidence for a fitness tradeoff between immunity and fecundity under the conditions tested. Both local adaptation to geographically heterogeneous environments and genotype-by-environment interactions may explain the persistence of genetic variation for resistance to infection in natural populations
Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper presents measurements of the and cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a
function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were
collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with
the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity
of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements
varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the
1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured
with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with
predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various
parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between
them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables,
submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at
https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13
Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV
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