1,881 research outputs found
Learning is involved in the response of parasitic wasps Aphidius ervi (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) to volatiles from a broad bean plant, Vicia faba (Fabaceae), infested by aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera: Aphididae)
Development of Nitrided Selective Wave Soldering Tool with Enhanced Lifetime for the Automotive Industry
Polycation-siRNA nanoparticles can disassemble at the kidney glomerular basement membrane
Despite being engineered to avoid renal clearance, many cationic polymer (polycation)-based siRNA nanoparticles that are used for systemic delivery are rapidly eliminated from the circulation. Here, we show that a component of the renal filtration barrier—the glomerular basement membrane (GBM)—can disassemble cationic cyclodextrin-containing polymer (CDP)-based siRNA nanoparticles and, thereby, facilitate their rapid elimination from circulation. Using confocal and electron microscopies, positron emission tomography, and compartment modeling, we demonstrate that siRNA nanoparticles, but not free siRNA, accumulate and disassemble in the GBM. We also confirm that the siRNA nanoparticles do not disassemble in blood plasma in vitro and in vivo. This clearance mechanism may affect any nanoparticles that assemble primarily by electrostatic interactions between cationic delivery components and anionic nucleic acids (or other therapeutic entities)
Fast Purcell-enhanced single photon source in 1,550-nm telecom band from a resonant quantum dot-cavity coupling
High-bit-rate nanocavity-based single photon sources in the 1,550-nm telecom
band are challenges facing the development of fibre-based long-haul quantum
communication networks. Here we report a very fast single photon source in the
1,550-nm telecom band, which is achieved by a large Purcell enhancement that
results from the coupling of a single InAs quantum dot and an InP photonic
crystal nanocavity. At a resonance, the spontaneous emission rate was enhanced
by a factor of 5 resulting a record fast emission lifetime of 0.2 ns at 1,550
nm. We also demonstrate that this emission exhibits an enhanced anti-bunching
dip. This is the first realization of nanocavity-enhanced single photon
emitters in the 1,550-nm telecom band. This coupled quantum dot cavity system
in the telecom band thus provides a bright high-bit-rate non-classical single
photon source that offers appealing novel opportunities for the development of
a long-haul quantum telecommunication system via optical fibres.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of the double-\beta decay half-life of ^{136}Xe with the KamLAND-Zen experiment
We present results from the KamLAND-Zen double-beta decay experiment based on
an exposure of 77.6 days with 129 kg of Xe. The measured two-neutrino
double-beta decay half-life of Xe is yr, consistent with a recent
measurement by EXO-200. We also obtain a lower limit for the neutrinoless
double-beta decay half-life, yr at 90%
confidence level (C.L.), which corresponds to almost a five-fold improvement
over previous limits.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Version as published in PR
Study of electron anti-neutrinos associated with gamma-ray bursts using KamLAND
We search for electron anti-neutrinos () from long and
short-duration gamma-ray bursts~(GRBs) using data taken by the KamLAND detector
from August 2002 to June 2013. No statistically significant excess over the
background level is found. We place the tightest upper limits on
fluence from GRBs below 7 MeV and place first constraints on
the relation between luminosity and effective temperature.Comment: 16 pages and 5 figure
A compact ultra-clean system for deploying radioactive sources inside the KamLAND detector
We describe a compact, ultra-clean device used to deploy radioactive sources
along the vertical axis of the KamLAND liquid-scintillator neutrino detector
for purposes of calibration. The device worked by paying out and reeling in
precise lengths of a hanging, small-gauge wire rope (cable); an assortment of
interchangeable radioactive sources could be attached to a weight at the end of
the cable. All components exposed to the radiopure liquid scintillator were
made of chemically compatible UHV-cleaned materials, primarily stainless steel,
in order to avoid contaminating or degrading the scintillator. To prevent radon
intrusion, the apparatus was enclosed in a hermetically sealed housing inside a
glove box, and both volumes were regularly flushed with purified nitrogen gas.
An infrared camera attached to the side of the housing permitted real-time
visual monitoring of the cable's motion, and the system was controlled via a
graphical user interface.Comment: Revised author affiliations, corrected typos, made minor improvements
to text, and revised reference
Search for extraterrestrial antineutrino sources with the KamLAND detector
We present the results of a search for extraterrestrial electron
antineutrinos ('s) in the energy range using the KamLAND detector. In an exposure of
4.53 kton-year, we identify 25 candidate events. All of the candidate events
can be attributed to background, most importantly neutral current atmospheric
neutrino interactions, setting an upper limit on the probability of B
solar 's converting into 's at
(90% C.L.), if we assume an undistorted shape. This limit
corresponds to a solar flux of or an event
rate of above the energy threshold
. The present data also allows us to set more
stringent limits on the diffuse supernova neutrino flux and on the annihilation
rates for light dark matter particles.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
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