An experiment to search for light sterile neutrinos is conducted at a reactor with a thermal power of 2.8 GW located at the Hanbit nuclear power complex. The search is done with a detector consisting ...of a ton of Gd-loaded liquid scintillator in a tendon gallery approximately 24 m from the reactor core. The measured antineutrino event rate is 1976 per day with a signal to background ratio of about 22. The shape of the antineutrino energy spectrum obtained from the eight-month data-taking period is compared with a hypothesis of oscillations due to active-sterile antineutrino mixing. No strong evidence of 3+1 neutrino oscillation is found. An excess around the 5 MeV prompt energy range is observed as seen in existing longer-baseline experiments. The mixing parameter sin^{2}2θ_{14} is limited up to less than 0.1 for Δm_{41}^{2} ranging from 0.2 to 2.3 eV^{2} with a 90% confidence level.
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Development of advanced high energy density lithium ion batteries is important for promoting electromobility. Making electric vehicles attractive and competitive compared to conventional automobiles ...depends on the availability of reliable, safe, high power, and highly energetic batteries whose components are abundant and cost effective. Nickel rich LiNi x Co y Mn 1−x−y O 2 layered cathode materials ( x > 0.5) are of interest because they can provide very high specific capacity without pushing charging potentials to levels that oxidize the electrolyte solutions. However, these cathode materials suffer from stability problems. We discovered that doping these materials with tungsten (1 mol%) remarkably increases their stability due to a partial layered to cubic (rock salt) phase transition. We demonstrate herein highly stable Li ion battery prototypes consisting of tungsten-stabilized Ni rich cathode materials ( x > 0.9) with specific capacities >220 mA h g -1 . This development can increase the energy density of Li ion batteries more than 30% above the state of the art without compromising durability.
The RENO experiment has observed the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos, consistent with neutrino oscillations, with a significance of 4.9 standard deviations. Antineutrinos from six 2.8 ... GW(th) reactors at the Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Korea, are detected by two identical detectors located at 294 and 1383 m, respectively, from the reactor array center. In the 229 d data-taking period between 11 August 2011 and 26 March 2012, the far (near) detector observed 17102 (154088) electron antineutrino candidate events with a background fraction of 5.5% (2.7%). The ratio of observed to expected numbers of antineutrinos in the far detector is 0.920±0.009(stat)±0.014(syst). From this deficit, we determine sin(2)2θ(13)=0.113±0.013(stat)±0.019(syst) based on a rate-only analysis.
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Edge localized modes (ELMs) in high-confinement mode plasmas were completely suppressed in KSTAR by applying n=1 nonaxisymmetric magnetic perturbations. Initially, the ELMs were intensified with a ...reduction of frequency, but completely suppressed later. The electron density had an initial 10% decrease followed by a gradual increase as ELMs were suppressed. Interesting phenomena such as a saturated evolution of edge T(e) and broadband changes of magnetic fluctuations were observed, suggesting the change of edge transport by the applied magnetic perturbations.
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The Korea Invisible Mass Search (KIMS) collaboration has developed low-background NaI(Tl) crystals that are suitable for the direct detection of WIMP dark matter. Building on experience accumulated ...during the KIMS-CsI programs, the KIMS-NaI experiment will consist of a 200 kg NaI(Tl) crystal array surrounded by layers of shielding structures and will be operated at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The goal is to provide an unambiguous test of the DAMA/LIBRA annual modulation signature. Measurements of six prototype crystals show progress in the reduction of internal contamination from radioisotopes. Based on our understanding of these measurements, we expect to achieve a background level in the final detector configuration that is less than 1 count/day/keV/kg for recoil energies around 2 keV. The annual modulation sensitivity for the KIMS-NaI experiment shows that an unambiguous 7
σ
test of the DAMA/LIBRA signature would be possible with a 600 kg year exposure with this system.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Background
Asthma in the elderly (aged ≥ 65 years old) is a significant concern with high morbidity, but the pathophysiology remains unclear particularly in late‐onset asthma. Recent studies ...suggest staphylococcal enterotoxin IgE (SE‐IgE) sensitization to be a risk factor for asthma in general populations; however, the associations have not been examined in late‐onset elderly asthma.
Objective
We aimed to examine the associations of SE‐IgE sensitization with late‐onset asthma in the elderly, using a database of elderly asthma cohort study.
Methods
A total of 249 elderly patients with asthma and 98 controls were analysed. At baseline, patients were assessed for demographics, atopy, induced sputum profiles and comorbidities including chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Serum total IgE and SE‐IgE levels were measured. Asthma severity was assessed on the basis of asthma outcomes during a 12‐month follow‐up period.
Results
At baseline, serum SE‐IgE concentrations were significantly higher in patients with asthma than in controls median 0.16 (interquartile range 0.04–0.53) vs. 0.10 (0.01–0.19), P < 0.001. Elderly asthma patients with high SE‐IgE levels had specific characteristics of having more severe asthma, sputum eosinophilia and CRS, compared to those with lower SE‐IgE levels. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, the associations between serum SE‐IgE concentrations and severe asthma were significant, independently of covariables SE‐IgE‐high (≥ 0.35 kU/L) vs. negative (< 0.10 kU/L) group: odds ratio 7.47, 95% confidence interval 1.86–30.03, P = 0.005. Multiple correspondence analyses also showed that high serum SE‐IgE level had close relationships with severe asthma, CRS and sputum eosinophilia together.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
This is the first report on the significant associations of SE‐IgE sensitization with late‐onset asthma in the elderly, particularly severe eosinophilic asthma with CRS comorbidity. Our findings indicate a potential implication of SE in the high morbidity burden of elderly asthma and suggest clues to the pathogenesis of severe late‐onset eosinophilic asthma in the elderly.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present new constraints on the dark matter-induced annual modulation signal using 1.7 years of COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg yr. The COSINE-100 experiment, consisting of 106 kg ...of NaI(Tl) target material, is designed to carry out a model-independent test of DAMA/LIBRA's claim of WIMP discovery by searching for the same annual modulation signal using the same NaI(Tl) target. The crystal data show a 2.7 cpd/kg/keV background rate on average in the 2-6 keV energy region of interest. Using a χ-squared minimization method we observe best fit values for modulation amplitude and phase of 0.0092±0.0067 cpd/kg/keV and 127.2±45.9 d, respectively.
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