Isospin dependence of 6He+p optical potential and the symmetry energy

A consistent folding analysis of the elastic p(6He,6He)p scattering and charge exchange p(6He,6Li*)n reaction data measured at Elab=41.6A MeV has been performed within the coupled channels formalism. We have used the isovector coupling to link the isospin dependence of 6He+p optical potential to the cross section of p(6He,6Li*)n reaction exciting the 0+ isobaric analog state (IAS) at 3.563 MeV in 6Li. Based on these results and the Hartree-Fock calculation of asymmetric nuclear matter using the same isospin-dependent effective nucleon-nucleon interaction, we were able to confirm that the most realistic value of the symmetry energy Esym is around 31 MeV. Our analysis has also shown that the measured charge exchange p(6He,6Li*)n data are quite sensitive to the halo tail of the 6He density used in the folding calculation and the IAS of 6Li is likely to have a halo structure similar to that established for the ground state of 6He.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

R&D ERL: Cryogenic System

The ERL cryogenic system will supply cooling to a super-conducting RF (SCRF) gun and the 5-cell super-conducting RF cavity system that need to be held cold at 2K. The engineering of the cavity cryomodules were carried out by AES in collaboration with BNL. The 2K superfluid bath is produced by pumping on the bath using a sub-atmospheric warm compression system. The cryogenic system makes use of mainly existing equipment relocated from other facilities: a 300W 4.5K coldbox, an 45 g/s screw compressor, a 3800 liter liquid helium storage dewar, a 170 m{sup 3} warm gas storage tank, and a 40,000 liter vertical low pressure liquid nitrogen storage dewar. An existing wet expander obtained from another facility has been added to increase the plant capacity. In order to deliver the required 3 to 4 bar helium to the cryomodules while using up stored liquid capacity at low pressure, a new subcooler will be installed to function as the capacity transfer device. A 2K to 4K recovery heat exchanger is also implemented for each cryomodule to recover refrigeration below 4K, thus maximizing 2K cooling capacity with the given sub-atmospheric pump. No 4K-300K refrigeration recovery is implemented at this time of the returning sub-atmospheric cold vapor, hence the 2K load appears as a liquefaction1 load on the cryogenic plant. A separate LN2 cooling loop supplies liquid nitrogen to the superconducting gun's cathode tip

Cryogenic and Cryostat System for the 56 MHZ SRF Cavity

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Cryogenic and Crysostat System for the 56 MHZ SRF Cavity

This report addresses the cryogenic and cryostat system for the 56 MHZ SRF Cavit

An Unusual Case of Hematochezia

Lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition warranting hospital admission. The most frequent causes include diverticular disease, colitis, hemorrhoids, neoplasm, inflammatory bowel disease, and varices. Varices usually occur secondary to liver cirrhosis and are frequently located in the gastroesophageal region. Those occurring elsewhere are known as ectopic varices. The diagnosis and management of ectopic varices is challenging, and guidelines are not currently available. We report the case of recurrent large-volume hematochezia secondary to a cecal varix in a 60-year-old female with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Initial investigation with CT angiography and endoscopy failed to identify the source of bleeding. A second CT angiogram identified a large varix in the cecum, and the patient was successfully managed with radiological embolization and transjugular intra-hepatic porto-systemic shunt (TIPSS)

Parsimonious Inference of Hybridization in the Presence of Incomplete Lineage Sorting

Hybridization plays an important evolutionary role in several groups of organisms. A phylogenetic approach to detect hybridization entails sequencing multiple loci across the genomes of a group of species of interest, reconstructing their gene trees, and taking their differences as indicators of hybridization. However, methods that follow this approach mostly ignore population effects, such as incomplete lineage sorting (ILS). Given that hybridization occurs between closely related organisms, ILS may very well be at play and, hence, must be accounted for in the analysis framework. To address this issue, we present a parsimony criterion for reconciling gene trees within the branches of a phylogenetic network, and a local search heuristic for inferring phylogenetic networks from collections of gene-tree topologies under this criterion. This framework enables phylogenetic analyses while accounting for both hybridization and ILS. Further, we propose two techniques for incorporating information about uncertainty in gene-tree estimates. Our simulation studies demonstrate the good performance of our framework in terms of identifying the location of hybridization events, as well as estimating the proportions of genes that underwent hybridization. Also, our framework shows good performance in terms of efficiency on handling large data sets in our experiments. Further, in analyzing a yeast data set, we demonstrate issues that arise when analyzing real data sets. While a probabilistic approach was recently introduced for this problem, and while parsimonious reconciliations have accuracy issues under certain settings, our parsimony framework provides a much more computationally efficient technique for this type of analysis. Our framework now allows for genome-wide scans for hybridization, while also accounting for ILS

Cyclic Voltammetric Experiment - Simulation. Comparisons of the Complex Mechanism Associated with Electrochemical Reduction of Zr4+ in LiCl-KCl Eutectic Molten Salt

Nuclear energy increasingly represents an important option for generating largely clean CO2-free electricity and zirconium is a fission product that is expected to be present in irradiated fuels. The present investigation addresses the electrochemical reduction of Zr4+ to Zro in LiCl - KCl eutectic molten salt in the temperature range 425–550◦C using cyclic voltammetry (CV), square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and bulk electrolysis. Simulations of the CV data indicate that the initial reduction proceeds through surface confined steps: Zr4+* + 2e− ↔Zr2+* and Zr2+* + 2e− ↔Zr* processes (* adsorbed species) followed by a peak-shaped complex diffusion controlled step that consists of a combination of closely spaced processes associated with the reactions Zr4+ + 4e− →Zr and Zr4+ + 3e− →Zr+*. Zr+*, probably in the form of ZrCl* is then further reduced to Zro* at even more negative potentials. The simulations provide the first quantitative analysis of the thermodynamics and kinetics of the Zr4+ reduction in the LiCl-KCl eutectic

Method and Apparatus for Measuring Fluid Flow

The invention is a method and apparatus for monitoring the presence, concentration, and the movement of fluids. It is based on utilizing electromagnetic measurements of the complex permittivity of the fluids for detecting and monitoring the fluid. More particularly the apparatus uses one or more microwave probes which are placed at the locations where the measurements are to be made. A radio frequency signal is transmitted to the probe and the reflected signal is phase and amplitude detected at a rapid rate for the purpose of identifying the fluids, based on their dielectric constant at the probe. The apparatus can be used for multiple purposes including measures of flow rates, turbulence, dispersion, fluid identification, and changes in flow conditions of multiple fluids or multiple states of a single fluid in a flowline or a holding container. The apparatus includes a probe consisting of two electrical conductors separated by an insulator. A radio frequency signal is communicated to the probe and is reflected back from the portion of the probe exposed to the fluid. The radio frequency signal also provides a reference signal. An oscillator generates a second signal which combined with each of the reference signal and the reflected signal to produce signals of lower frequencies to facilitate filtering and amplifying those signals. The two signals are then mixed in a detector to produce an output signal that is representative of the phase and amplitude change caused by the reflection of the signal at the probe exposed to the fluid. The detector may be a dual phase detector that provides two such output signals that are in phase quadrature. A phase shifter may be provided for selectively changing the phase of the reference signal to improve the sensitivity of at least one of the output signals for more accurate readings and/or for calibration purposes. The two outputs that are in quadrature with respect to each other may be simultaneously monitored to account for drift errors. The output signals are digitized and provided to a computer at a sample rate which may be very high. The computer is operable to identify the fluid based on its complex permittivity as may be useful for identifying the flow rates, determining the fluid mixture ratio, detecting impurities in the fluid, and so forth. Novelty is believed to reside in the use of the real part of complex permittivity to measure small difference in permittivity of the fluid

Characteristic Changes in Decidual Gene Expression Signature in Spontaneous Term Parturition

Background: The decidua has been implicated in the "terminal pathway" of human term parturition, which is characterized by the activation of pro-inflammatory pathways in gestational tissues. However, the transcriptomic changes in the decidua leading to terminal pathway activation have not been systematically explored. This study aimed to compare the decidual expression of developmental signaling and inflammation-related genes before and after spontaneous term labor in order to reveal their involvement in this process. Materials and Methods: Chorioamniotic membranes were obtained from normal pregnant women who delivered at term with spontaneous labor (TIL, n=14) or without labor (TNL, n=15). Decidual cells were isolated from snap-frozen chorioamniotic membranes with laser microdissection. The expression of 46 genes involved in decidual development, sex steroid and prostaglandin signaling, as well as pro- and anti-inflammatory pathways was analyzed using high-throughput quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Chorioamniotic membrane sections were immunostained and then semi-quantified for five proteins, and immunoassays for three chemokines were performed on maternal plasma samples. Results: The genes with the highest expression in the decidua at term gestation included insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1), galectin-1 (LGALS1), and progestogen-associated endometrial protein (PAEP); the expression of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), homeobox A11 (HOXA11), interleukin 1beta (IL1B), IL8, progesterone receptor membrane component 2 (PGRMC2), and prostaglandin E synthase (PTGES) was higher in TIL than in TNL cases; the expression of chemokine C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL5, LGALS1, LGALS3, and PAEP was lower in TIL than in TNL cases; immunostaining confirmed qRT-PCR data for IL-8, CCL2, galectin-1, galectin-3, and PAEP; and no correlations between the decidual gene expression and the maternal plasma protein concentrations of CCL2, CCL5, and IL-8 were found. Conclusion: Our data suggests that with the initiation of parturition, the decidual expression of anti-inflammatory mediators decreases, while the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators and steroid receptors increases. This shift may affect downstream signaling pathways that can lead to parturition