The friction and wear characteristics of a-C:H:Si and a-C:H coatings in an ethanol environment at 120 °C and 10 MPa focusing on the effects of water and dissolved oxygen in ethanol were investigated. ...The friction tests were conducted using an autoclave chamber, with gases (oxygen or nitrogen) and ethanol–water mixtures (0 and 6 vol.%). The wear acceleration of a-C:H:Si took place when it slid in ethanol with 6 vol.% water and pressurized by oxygen, thus the specific wear rate was the highest, approximately 1.8 × 10
−7
mm
3
/Nm. The reason of this wear acceleration was assumed the effect of hardness reduction due to oxidation of the a-C:H:Si, so the O/C ratio by AES and the hardness of topmost surface by AFM nano-scratch were investigated. As a result, the higher O/C ratio showed higher specific wear rate due to the hardness reduction from 13.3 to 6.0 GPa. These findings highlight the role of water and dissolved oxygen in accelerating wear of a-C:H:Si coatings.
Graphical abstract
A large number of particle detectors employ liquid argon as their target material owing to its high scintillation yield and its ability to drift ionization charge over large distances. Scintillation ...light from argon is peaked at 128 nm and a wavelength shifter is required for its efficient detection. In this work, we directly compare the light yield achieved in two identical liquid argon chambers, one of which is equipped with polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and the other with tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB) wavelength shifter. Both chambers are lined with enhanced specular reflectors and instrumented with SiPMs with a coverage fraction of approximately 1%, which represents a geometry comparable to the future large scale detectors. We measured the light yield of the PEN chamber to be 39.4
±
0.4(stat)
±
1.9(syst)% of the yield of the TPB chamber. Using a Monte Carlo simulation this result is used to extract the wavelength shifting efficiency of PEN relative to TPB equal to 47.2
±
5.7%. This result paves the way for the use of easily available PEN foils as a wavelength shifter, which can substantially simplify the construction of future liquid argon detectors.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Marine biogenic sulphur affects Earth's radiation budget and may be an indicator of primary productivity in the Southern Ocean, which is closely related to atmospheric CO
variability through the ...biological pump. Previous ice-core studies in Antarctica show little climate dependence of marine biogenic sulphur emissions and hence primary productivity, contradictory to marine sediment records. Here we present new 720,000-year ice core records from Dome Fuji in East Antarctica and show that a large portion of non-sea-salt sulphate, which was traditionally used as a proxy for marine biogenic sulphate, likely originates from terrestrial dust during glacials. By correcting for this, we make a revised calculation of biogenic sulphate and find that its flux is reduced in glacial periods. Our results suggest reduced dimethylsulphide emissions in the Antarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean during glacials and provide new evidence for the coupling between climate and the Southern Ocean sulphur cycle.
Mutations in ASXL1 are frequent in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and are associated with adverse survival, yet the molecular pathogenesis of ASXL1 mutations (ASXL1-MT) is not fully ...understood. Recently, it has been found that deletion of Asxl1 or expression of C-terminal-truncating ASXL1-MTs inhibit myeloid differentiation and induce MDS-like disease in mice. Here, we find that SET-binding protein 1 (SETBP1) mutations (SETBP1-MT) are enriched among ASXL1-mutated MDS patients and associated with increased incidence of leukemic transformation, as well as shorter survival, suggesting that SETBP1-MT play a critical role in leukemic transformation of MDS. We identify that SETBP1-MT inhibit ubiquitination and subsequent degradation of SETBP1, resulting in increased expression. Expression of SETBP1-MT, in turn, inhibited protein phosphatase 2A activity, leading to Akt activation and enhanced expression of posterior Hoxa genes in ASXL1-mutant cells. Biologically, SETBP1-MT augmented ASXL1-MT-induced differentiation block, inhibited apoptosis and enhanced myeloid colony output. SETBP1-MT collaborated with ASXL1-MT in inducing acute myeloid leukemia in vivo. The combination of ASXL1-MT and SETBP1-MT activated a stem cell signature and repressed the tumor growth factor-β signaling pathway, in contrast to the ASXL1-MT-induced MDS model. These data reveal that SETBP1-MT are critical drivers of ASXL1-mutated MDS and identify several deregulated pathways as potential therapeutic targets in high-risk MDS.
The Large Electron Multipliers (LEMs) are key components of double phase liquid argon TPCs. The drifting charges after being extracted from the liquid are amplified in the LEM positioned half a ...centimeter above the liquid in pure argon vapor at 87 K. The LEM is characterised by the size of its dielectric rim around the holes, the thickness of the LEM insulator, the diameter of the holes as well as their geometrical layout. The impact of those design parameters on the amplification were checked by testing seven different LEMs with an active area of 10x10 cm super(2) in a double phase liquid argon TPC of 21 cm drift. We studied their response in terms of maximal reachable gain and impact on the collected charge uniformity as well as the long-term stability of the gain. We show that we could reach maximal gains of around 150 which corresponds to a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of about 800 for a minimal ionising particle (MIP) signal on 3 mm readout strips. We could also conclude that the dielectric surfaces in the vicinity of the LEM holes charge up with different time constants that depend on their design parameters. Our results demonstrate that the LAr LEM TPC is a robust concept that is well-understood and well-suited for operation in ultra-pure cryogenic environments and that can match the goals of future large-scale liquid argon detectors.
After the occurrence of the 2011 magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake, the seismicity in the overriding plate changed. The seismicity appears to form distinct belts. From the spatiotemporal distribution of ...hypocenters, we can quantify the evolution of seismicity after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. In some earthquake swarms near Sendai (Nagamachi‐Rifu fault), Moriyoshi‐zan volcano, Senya fault, and the Yamagata–Fukushima border (Aizu‐Kitakata area, west of Azuma volcano), we can observe temporal expansion of the focal area. This temporal expansion is attributed to fluid diffusion. Observed diffusivity would correspond to the permeability of about 10−15 (m2). We can detect the area from which fluid migrates as a seismic low‐velocity area. In the lower crust, we found seismic low‐velocity areas, which appear to be elongated along N–S or NE–SW, the strike of the island arc. These seismic low‐velocity areas are located not only beneath the volcanic front but also beneath the fore‐arc region. Seismic activity in the upper crust tends to be high above these low‐velocity areas in the lower crust. Most of the shallow earthquakes after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake are located above the seismic low‐velocity areas. We thus suggest fluid pressure changes are responsible for the belts of seismicity.
Temporal expansion of the focal area in some earthquake swarms near Sendai (Nagamachi‐Rifu fault), Moriyoshi‐zan volcano, Senya fault, and the Yamagata‐Fukushima border (Aizu‐Kitakata area, west of Azuma volcano) induced by the 2011 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake was observed. This temporal expansion can be explained by fluid diffusion. We found seismic low‐velocity areas, which is the possible areas with fluid, beneath the swarms. From the results, the induced earthquakes are thought to be affected by the possible fluid pressure change.
We report on a measurement of the attenuation length for the scintillation light in the tonne size liquid argon target of the ArDM dark matter experiment. The data was recorded in the first ...underground operation of the experiment in single-phase operational mode. The results were achieved by comparing the light yield spectra from 39Ar and 83mKr to a description of the ArDM setup with a model of full light ray tracing. A relatively low value close to 0.5 m was found for the attenuation length of the liquid argon bulk to its own scintillation light. We interpret this result as a presence of optically active impurities in the liquid argon which are not filtered by the installed purification systems. We also present analyses of the argon gas employed for the filling and discuss cross sections in the vacuum ultraviolet of various molecules in respect to purity requirements in the context of large liquid argon installations.
Abstract
In this work we will document the design and the performances of a SiPM-based photo-detector with a surface area of 100 cm
2
conceived to operate as a replacement for PMTs. The signals from ...94 SiPMs are summed up to produce an aggregated output that exhibits in liquid nitrogen a dark count rate (DCR) lower than 100 cps over the entire surface, a signal to noise ratio better than 13, and a timing resolution better than 5.5 ns. The module feeds about 360 mW at 5 V with a dynamic range in excess of 500 photo-electrons on a 100 Ω differential line. The unit can also operate at room temperature, at the cost of an increase of DCR to 10
8
cps.
After having announced the statistically significant observation (5.6σ) of the new exotic πK atom, the DIRAC experiment at the CERN proton synchrotron presents the measurement of the corresponding ...atom lifetime, based on the full πK data sample: τ=(5.5−2.8+5.0)×10−15 s. By means of a precise relation (≈1%) between atom lifetime and scattering length, the following value for the S-wave isospin-odd πK scattering length a0−=13(a1/2−a3/2) has been derived: |a0−|=(0.072−0.020+0.031)Mπ−1.
The observation of hydrogenlike πK atoms, consisting of π^{-}K^{+} or π^{+}K^{-} mesons, is presented. The atoms are produced by 24 GeV/c protons from the CERN PS accelerator, interacting with ...platinum or nickel foil targets. The breakup (ionization) of πK atoms in the same targets yields characteristic πK pairs, called "atomic pairs," with small relative momenta Q in the pair center-of-mass system. The upgraded DIRAC experiment observed 349±62 such atomic πK pairs, corresponding to a signal of 5.6 standard deviations. This is the first statistically significant observation of the strange dimesonic πK atom.
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