Abstract
It is commonly considered that frost damage is caused by sudden freezing of supercooled water, which is a random phenomenon. Therefore, the aims of this study are to establish a prediction ...model for the probability of freezing until any lowest reached temperature, and to obtain the probability distribution function of the freezing point for the proposed analytical prediction model. First, theoretical prediction model for the probability of the instantaneous increment of ice content when lowest achieving temperature was known was derived based on these assumptions that building structure is an aggregation of small elements. Next, the freezing point measurement was carried out by using saturated mortar samples as the small element. As the results, it could be found that the first freezing due to supercooling occurred from -4 to -11 deg. C and the maximum probability was appeared at -7.5 deg. C. The average increment of ice content at every temperature closed to the 40 % volume of pore water until the thermodynamically-based freezing point. Moreover, the proposed method that can calculate the probability distributions of the instantaneous increment of ice content for any lowest achieving temperature from pore size distribution had good agreements with the measurement results.
The KamLAND-Zen experiment has provided stringent constraints on the neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay half-life in ^{136}Xe using a xenon-loaded liquid scintillator. We report an improved search ...using an upgraded detector with almost double the amount of xenon and an ultralow radioactivity container, corresponding to an exposure of 970 kg yr of ^{136}Xe. These new data provide valuable insight into backgrounds, especially from cosmic muon spallation of xenon, and have required the use of novel background rejection techniques. We obtain a lower limit for the 0νββ decay half-life of T_{1/2}^{0ν}>2.3×10^{26} yr at 90% C.L., corresponding to upper limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of 36-156 meV using commonly adopted nuclear matrix element calculations.
This paper presents a review of multi-scale interactions between small-scale turbulence and large scale magnetic islands. In finite beta plasmas, zonal flows are relatively weak, and thus another ...electromagnetic coherent structure formation such as magnetic islands becomes important for regulating turbulence. In multi-scale interactions, large-scale modes dominate turbulent fluctuations even when the growth rate of the large-scale mode is much smaller than small-scale modes. On the other hand, small-scale modes influence large-scale modes when the large-scale modes are stable/marginally stable. Thus, the multi-scale interactions are categorized according to the stability of tearing mode (TM), which drives large-scale magnetic islands. When the TM is unstable, wide magnetic islands are produced, and as a result of the multi-scale interactions, the turbulent transport is significantly enhanced inside the separatrix of the island, because large-scale stable modes are excited by mutual interactions between turbulence and the island. On the other hand, a steep temperature gradient is formed around the separatrix of the island, which is consistent with zonal flow shear appearing at the separatrix. When the TM is stable/marginally stable, turbulence drives and sustains magnetic islands of width equal to multiples of the Larmor radius. This excitation of islands by turbulence can be related to the seed island formation of neo-classical TMs. The parity of fluctuations plays crucial role in the multi-scale nonlinear interactions, because pure twisting parity mode does not satisfy the nonlinear fluid/gyrokinetic equations. Magnetic islands belongs to the tearing parity mode and drift-wave instabilities normally belong to the twisting parity mode, and each parity is conserved in the linear growth of the instability. However, when the amplitude of the twisting parity mode becomes finite, the nonlinear energy transfer takes place from the twisting parity to tearing parity modes. Through this nonlinear parity mixture, the magnetic islands are produced by the turbulence. The influence of anomalous current drive and polarization current on the multi-scale interactions is discussed as well.
Polyphenols are common constituents of the diet, and research on their health benefits has developed quickly over the past few years. Our purpose is to review recent findings highlighting daily ...dietary polyphenol intake and the diverse function of polyphenols and their possible relationships to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Several cohort studies have reported an inverse relationship between the daily consumption of polyphenols and CVD risk. Many studies showed that beverages could be a large source of polyphenols. Our previous findings provide that Japanese people intake polyphenols mainly from beverages, especially coffee and green tea (in descending order of polyphenol content). Many kinds of polyphenols act as an antioxidant against low-density lipoprotein oxidation, which is known to promote atherosclerosis. Recent accumulating evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols could exert their cardioprotective actions through their potential to improve metabolic disorder and vascular inflammation. These findings raise the possibility that polyphenols have a wide variety of roles in the intestine, liver and vascular tissue. In addition to identifying mechanisms of polyphenol bioactivity by basic research, much more epidemiological and clinical evidence linking reduced cardiovascular risk with dietary polyphenols intake are needed.
Abstract
We report on a search for electron antineutrinos (
ν
¯
e
) from astrophysical sources in the neutrino energy range 8.3–30.8 MeV with the KamLAND detector. In an exposure of 6.72 kton-year of ...the liquid scintillator, we observe 18 candidate events via the inverse beta decay reaction. Although there is a large background uncertainty from neutral current atmospheric neutrino interactions, we find no significant excess over background model predictions. Assuming several supernova relic neutrino spectra, we give upper flux limits of 60–110 cm
−2
s
−1
(90% confidence level, CL) in the analysis range and present a model-independent flux. We also set limits on the annihilation rates for light dark matter pairs to neutrino pairs. These data improve on the upper probability limit of
8
B solar neutrinos converting into
ν
¯
e
,
P
ν
e
→
ν
¯
e
<
3.5
×
10
−
5
(90% CL) assuming an undistorted
ν
¯
e
shape. This corresponds to a solar
ν
¯
e
flux of 60 cm
−2
s
−1
(90% CL) in the analysis energy range.
Insulin from the beta-cells of the pancreatic islets of Langerhans controls energy homeostasis in vertebrates, and its deficiency causes diabetes mellitus. During embryonic development, the ...transcription factor neurogenin 3 (Neurog3) initiates the differentiation of the beta-cells and other islet cell types from pancreatic endoderm, but the genetic program that subsequently completes this differentiation remains incompletely understood. Here we show that the transcription factor Rfx6 directs islet cell differentiation downstream of Neurog3. Mice lacking Rfx6 failed to generate any of the normal islet cell types except for pancreatic-polypeptide-producing cells. In human infants with a similar autosomal recessive syndrome of neonatal diabetes, genetic mapping and subsequent sequencing identified mutations in the human RFX6 gene. These studies demonstrate a unique position for Rfx6 in the hierarchy of factors that coordinate pancreatic islet development in both mice and humans. Rfx6 could prove useful in efforts to generate beta-cells for patients with diabetes.
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