A photoresponsive polymeric hydrogel cantilever that deflects under illumination has been fabricated by using two‐photon three‐dimensional lithography. The hydrogel was prepared from a comonomer ...solution containing acryloylacetone, acrylamide, and N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide. The photoresponse of the cantilever was activated by photoexcitation of acetylacetone groups at 244 nm. Deflection of the cantilever by ∼ 45° was effected upon UV irradiation for 20 min.
A photoresponsive polymeric hydrogel cantilever that deflects under illumination has been fabricated by using two‐photon three‐dimensional lithography. The hydrogel is prepared from a comonomer solution containing acryloylacetone, acrylamide, and N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide. The Figure shows an optical microscopy image of a micro‐cantilever in water after UV irradiation.
The OPERA experiment was designed to search for ν_{μ}→ν_{τ} oscillations in appearance mode, i.e., by detecting the τ leptons produced in charged current ν_{τ} interactions. The experiment took data ...from 2008 to 2012 in the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso beam. The observation of the ν_{μ}→ν_{τ} appearance, achieved with four candidate events in a subsample of the data, was previously reported. In this Letter, a fifth ν_{τ} candidate event, found in an enlarged data sample, is described. Together with a further reduction of the expected background, the candidate events detected so far allow us to assess the discovery of ν_{μ}→ν_{τ} oscillations in appearance mode with a significance larger than 5σ.
•We developed a SQI to evaluate the interaction between soil quality parameters.•The fertiliser level appeared to drive SQI results.•No effects due to cropping sequence and stubble management were ...found.•The water extractable N was particularly sensitive to soil management.•The SQI was not significantly correlated with annual grain yield.
Due to increasing land-use pressures, soil-quality assessment is in growing demand, thus a standard set of procedures to assign a soil quality index (SQI) would be beneficial. In this study, the effectiveness of different managements in upholding soil quality (for crop productivity) was compared using soil quality indicators incorporated systematically to determine a SQI. The managements included three cropping sequences (wheat based three-year crop rotation, wheat+dry bean double-cropping and continuous wheat), two stubble managements (burning vs. incorporation), and three NPK-rates (nil, intermediate and optimal). Soil physical and chemical parameters were measured, screened through principal component analysis (PCA), normalised, and then integrated into a weighted-additive SQI. Crop sequence significantly affected soil pH and had a measurable effect on plant available P, with lower pH and higher P availability for the legume-based annual rotation. Stubble incorporation enhanced the labile N pool in spring, while ashes generated from burning of residues increased the level of exchangeable cations. Changes in total N were not detectable for any management. The SQI indicated that soil quality was most affected by NPK rate. The correlation between SQI and yield was not statistically significant, suggesting that other soil quality indicators, not measured in this study, were more influential upon yield at the experimental site in 2006. The SQI obtained using the method described herein was able to synthesise the complex information contained in large multivariate data-sets, and therefore would be useful for application at regional and national scales.
The OPERA experiment has conclusively observed the appearance of tau neutrinos in the muon neutrino CNGS beam. Exploiting the OPERA detector capabilities, it was possible to isolate high purity ...samples of νe, νμ and ντ charged current weak neutrino interactions, as well as neutral current weak interactions. In this paper, the full dataset is used for the first time to test the three-flavor neutrino oscillation model and to derive constraints on the existence of a light sterile neutrino within the framework of the 3+1 neutrino model. For the first time, tau and electron neutrino appearance channels are jointly used to test the sterile neutrino hypothesis. A significant fraction of the sterile neutrino parameter space allowed by LSND and MiniBooNE experiments is excluded at 90% C.L. In particular, the best-fit values obtained by MiniBooNE combining neutrino and antineutrino data are excluded at 3.3σ significance.
Improving the detection efficiency in nuclear emulsion trackers Alexandrov, A.; Bozza, C.; Buonaura, A. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
03/2015, Letnik:
776
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Nuclear emulsion films are a tracking device with unique space resolution. Their use in nowadays large-scale experiments relies on the availability of automated microscope operating at very high ...speed. In this paper we describe the features and the latest improvements of the European Scanning System, a last-generation automated microscope for emulsion scanning. In particular, we present a new method for the recovery of tracking inefficiencies. Stacks of double coated emulsion films have been exposed to a 10GeV/c pion beam. Efficiencies as high as 98% have been achieved for minimum ionising particle tracks perpendicular to the emulsion films and of 93% for tracks with tan(θ)≃0.8.
A
bstract
The OPERA experiment has discovered the tau neutrino appearance in the CNGS muon neutrino beam, in agreement with the 3 neutrino flavour oscillation hypothesis. The OPERA neutrino ...interaction target, made of Emulsion Cloud Chambers, was particularly efficient in the reconstruction of electromagnetic showers. Moreover, thanks to the very high granularity of the emulsion films, showers induced by electrons can be distinguished from those induced by
π
0
s, thus allowing the detection of charged current interactions of electron neutrinos. In this paper the results of the search for electron neutrino events using the full dataset are reported. An improved method for the electron neutrino energy estimation is exploited. Data are compatible with the 3 neutrino flavour mixing model expectations and are used to set limits on the oscillation parameters of the 3+1 neutrino mixing model, in which an additional mass eigenstate
m
4
is introduced. At high Δ
m
41
2
(≳0.1 eV
2
), an upper limit on sin
2
2
θ
μe
is set to 0.021 at 90% C.L. and Δ
m
41
2
≳ 4 × 10
− 3
eV
2
is excluded for maximal mixing in appearance mode.
The results of the analysis of the data collected with the NEMO Phase-2 tower, deployed at 3500m depth about 80km off-shore Capo Passero (Italy), are presented. Čerenkov photons detected with the ...photomultipliers tubes were used to reconstruct the tracks of atmospheric muons. Their zenith-angle distribution was measured and the results compared with Monte Carlo simulations. An evaluation of the systematic effects due to uncertainties on environmental and detector parameters is also included. The associated depth intensity relation was evaluated and compared with previous measurements and theoretical predictions. With the present analysis, the muon depth intensity relation has been measured up to 13km of water equivalent.
3D free‐standing and embedded metallic structures with a height of 100 μm (see Figure and also cover) have been microfabricated and characterized. Polymer nanocomposites containing metal ...nanoparticles, a metal salt, and an appropriate photoreducing dye are found to be efficient precursors for direct laser writing of continuous metal structures. The authors offer a versatile new approach to the 2D and 3D patterning of metals on different length scales.
•Severe water stress produced positive effect on tomato yield quality.•Strobilurin can attenuate negative effects of water stress on tomato growth.•Strobilurin application improved yield water use ...efficiency by 17%.•Strobilurin can improve plant water status in terms of canopy conductance and leaf water potential.
This study focused on the assessment of the interactive effect of deficit irrigation and strobilurin application in improving tomato physiological and yield response under water shortage.
A two-year field research (2011 and 2012) was carried out in southern Italy, on tomato grown under three irrigation regimes – full recovering of crop evapotranspiration (I100), 50% of full irrigation supply (I50) and rainfed (I0) – and with three fungicide treatments – control (F0) without any fungicide; application of fungicides without strobilurin (F1); application of a strobilurin based fungicide (Cabrio® Duo) (F2).
Plant water status, yield and quality parameters, biomass and yield water use efficiencies (B_WUE and Y_WUE), yield and biomass water response factors (Ky and Kby) were assessed.
Water shortage significantly affected yield and quality response: as an average of the two years, a marketable yield decrement of 52.7 and 80.5% was observed in I50 and I0 in respect to I100 treatment, respectively, because of the reduction in both fruit weight and number. Fruit dry matter, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, firmness and redness showed an increase to the decline of water availability. Strobilurin based fungicide application increased total and marketable yield by 14.2% and 19.1%, respectively. In addition, strobilurin improved the plant water status under water shortage as a consequence of reduction in stomatal conductance.
Deficit irrigation caused a decrease of B_WUE and Y_WUE, while the strobilurin application improved Y_WUE by 17%. Kby and Ky on average were equal to 1.11 and 1.40, respectively, and were unaffected by fungicide treatments. These results indicated the potential benefits of using strobilurin based agrochemicals in tomato disease management, due to their complementary action in improving yield, WUE, and plant water status under water stress conditions.
An event topology with two secondary vertices compatible with the decay of short-lived particles was found in the analysis of neutrino interactions in the OPERA target. The observed topology is ...compatible with tau neutrino charged current (CC) interactions with charm production and neutrino neutral current (NC) interactions with
c
c
¯
pair production. However, other processes can mimic this topology. A dedicated analysis was implemented to identify the underlying process. A Monte Carlo simulation was developed and complementary procedures were introduced in the kinematic reconstruction. A multivariate analysis technique was used to achieve an optimal separation of signal from background. Most likely, this event is a
ν
τ
CC interaction with charm production, the tau and charm particle decaying into 1 prong and 2 prongs, respectively. The significance of this observation is evaluated.
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