ABSTRACT We report the results of the statistical analysis of planetary signals discovered in MOA-II microlensing survey alert system events from 2007 to 2012. We determine the survey sensitivity as ...a function of planet-star mass ratio, q, and projected planet-star separation, s, in Einstein radius units. We find that the mass-ratio function is not a single power law, but has a change in slope at q ∼ 10−4, corresponding to ∼20 M⊕ for the median host-star mass of ∼0.6 . We find significant planetary signals in 23 of the 1474 alert events that are well-characterized by the MOA-II survey data alone. Data from other groups are used only to characterize planetary signals that have been identified in the MOA data alone. The distribution of mass ratios and separations of the planets found in our sample are well fit by a broken power-law model of the form for q > qbr and for q < qbr, where qbr is the mass ratio of the break. We also combine this analysis with the previous analyses of Gould et al. and Cassan et al., bringing the total sample to 30 planets. This combined analysis yields , n = −0.93 0.13, , and for qbr 1.7 × 10−4. The unbroken power-law model is disfavored with a p-value of 0.0022, which corresponds to a Bayes factor of 27 favoring the broken power-law model. These results imply that cold Neptunes are likely to be the most common type of planets beyond the snow line.
The quantum Hall effect is a macroscopic quantum phenomenon in a two-dimensional electron system. The two-dimensional electron system in SrTiO3 has sparked a great deal of interest, mainly because of ...the strong electron correlation effects expected from the 3d orbitals. Here we report the observation of the quantum Hall effect in a dilute La-doped SrTiO3-two-dimensional electron system, fabricated by metal organic molecular-beam epitaxy. The quantized Hall plateaus are found to be solely stemming from the low Landau levels with even integer-filling factors, ν=4 and 6 without any contribution from odd ν's. For ν=4, the corresponding plateau disappears on decreasing the carrier density. Such peculiar behaviours are proposed to be due to the crossing between the Landau levels originating from the two subbands composed of d orbitals with different effective masses. Our findings pave a way to explore unprecedented quantum phenomena in d-electron systems.
In the present study, the in vitro antifungal potential of seven
Lamiaceae
herbs against
Fusarium oxysporum
f. sp.
cyclaminis
were investigated. On the basis of the results, the in vivo antifungal ...effects of sage water extract on Fusarium wilt in cyclamen were evaluated, and the antifungal properties of the extract were identified. Among the seven herbs, sage water extract (0.5% and 2%,
w
/
v
) showed considerable suppression of
F. oxysporum
f. sp.
cyclaminis
in vitro. For the in vivo evaluation, cyclamen plants were treated with sage water extract (20%,
w
/
v
) two times and inoculated with
F. oxysporum
f. sp.
cyclaminis
. Six weeks after the inoculation, a lower disease incidence and disease severity indices were observed in roots and shoots of the treated plants. These effects could be attributed to reduced
Fusarium
populations in the plant roots because of the fungistatic and fungicidal effects of the sage extract. Consequently, the dry weights of the shoots and roots treated with the sage extract were higher than those of the control. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was performed, and caffeic acid and rosmarinic acid were identified to be important metabolites in the sage water extract. In addition, the antifungal effects of these compounds against
F. oxysporum
f. sp.
cyclaminis
were confirmed using an in vitro test. Thus, it can be concluded that sage water extract can suppress Fusarium wilt in cyclamen and the two identified compounds play key roles in the antifungal properties of sage.
MOA-2006-BLG-074 was selected as one of the most promising planetary candidates in a retrospective analysis of the MOA collaboration: its asymmetric high-magnification peak can be perfectly explained ...by a source passing across a central caustic deformed by a small planet. However, after a detailed analysis of the residuals, we have realized that a single lens and a source orbiting with a faint companion provides a more satisfactory explanation for all the observed deviations from a Paczynski curve and the only physically acceptable interpretation. Indeed the orbital motion of the source is constrained enough to allow a very good characterization of the binary source from the microlensing light curve. The case of MOA-2006-BLG-074 suggests that the so-called xallarap effect must be taken seriously in any attempts to obtain accurate planetary demographics from microlensing surveys.
RNF213 was recently reported as a susceptibility gene for moyamoya disease (MMD). Our aim was to clarify the correlation between the RNF213 genotype and MMD phenotype.
The entire coding region of the ...RNF213 gene was sequenced in 204 patients with MMD, and corresponding variants were checked in 62 pairs of parents, 13 mothers and 4 fathers of the patients, and 283 normal controls. Clinical information was collected. Genotype-phenotype correlations were statistically analyzed.
The c.14576G>A variant was identified in 95.1% of patients with familial MMD, 79.2% of patients with sporadic MMD, and 1.8% of controls, thus confirming its association with MMD, with an odds ratio of 259 and p < 0.001 for either heterozygotes or homozygotes. Homozygous c.14576G>A was observed in 15 patients but not in the controls and unaffected parents. The incidence rate for homozygotes was calculated to be >78%. Homozygotes had a significantly earlier age at onset compared with heterozygotes or wild types (median age at onset 3, 7, and 8 years, respectively). Of homozygotes, 60% were diagnosed with MMD before age 4, and all had infarctions as the first symptom. Infarctions at initial presentation and involvement of posterior cerebral arteries, both known as poor prognostic factors for MMD, were of significantly higher frequency in homozygotes than in heterozygotes and wild types. Variants other than c.14576G>A were not associated with clinical phenotypes.
The homozygous c.14576G>A variant in RNF213 could be a good DNA biomarker for predicting the severe type of MMD, for which early medical/surgical intervention is recommended, and may provide a better monitoring and prevention strategy.
Since 1995, more than 500 exoplanets have been detected using different techniques, of which 12 were detected with gravitational microlensing. Most of these are gravitationally bound to their host ...stars. There is some evidence of free-floating planetary-mass objects in young star-forming regions, but these objects are limited to massive objects of 3 to 15 Jupiter masses with large uncertainties in photometric mass estimates and their abundance. Here, we report the discovery of a population of unbound or distant Jupiter-mass objects, which are almost twice (1.8(+1.7)(-0.8)) as common as main-sequence stars, based on two years of gravitational microlensing survey observations towards the Galactic Bulge. These planetary-mass objects have no host stars that can be detected within about ten astronomical units by gravitational microlensing. However, a comparison with constraints from direct imaging suggests that most of these planetary-mass objects are not bound to any host star. An abrupt change in the mass function at about one Jupiter mass favours the idea that their formation process is different from that of stars and brown dwarfs. They may have formed in proto-planetary disks and subsequently scattered into unbound or very distant orbits.
The heat treatment behavior of semi-multi-alloyed white cast iron with relatively lower carbide-forming elements compared with regular multi-alloyed white cast iron was investigated. The ...semi-multi-alloyed white cast iron with carbon balance (C
bal
) of − 0.68 to + 0.53 wt% was prepared by varying chromium (Cr) content from around 3–9 wt% under the fixed contents of 2 wt% molybdenum (Mo), 1 wt% tungsten (W) and 5 wt% vanadium (V). After annealing, the test specimens were hardened after austenitizing at 1050 °C and 1100 °C. The tempering was carried out between 400 and 600 °C. In as-hardened state, the macro-hardness and micro-hardness increased greatly as the C
bal
rose from − 0.68 to − 0.01 wt% and then decreased gradually with an increase in the C
bal
value. The volume fraction of retained austenite (V
γ
) increased continuously as the C
bal
increased, and more V
γ
was obtained in the case of hardening from higher austenitizing temperature. In tempered state, the hardness curve showed an evident secondary hardening due to the precipitation of fine secondary carbides during holding and the transformation of retained austenite to martensite during post-cooling. The maximum tempered macro-hardness (
H
Tmax
) was obtained by tempering at 500–550 °C. The highest values, 862 HV30 and 795 HV0.1, were obtained in the specimen with − 0.01 wt%C
bal
where the V
γ
was about 2%. As the C
bal
value increased, the maximum tempered micro-hardness (
H
Tmax-M
) increased remarkably toward − 0.01 wt%C
bal
and then it decreased regardless of austenitizing temperature. At the same C
bal
value, the
H
Tmax-M
of specimens hardened from 1100 °C were larger than those hardened from 1050 °C. It was found that the 10–50% V
γ
in as-hardened state was necessary to obtain hardness over 800 HV30 and 750 HV0.1 by tempering. The degree of secondary hardening (ΔHs) increased with an increase in the C
bal
and the V
γ
in the as-hardened state.
Ferroelectric polarization and metallic conduction are two seemingly irreconcilable properties that cannot normally coexist in a single system, as the latter tends to screen the former. Polar metals, ...however, defy this rule and have thus attracted considerable attention as a new class of ferroelectrics exhibiting novel properties. Here, we fabricate a new polar metal film based on the typical ferroelectric material BaTiO
by combining chemical doping and epitaxial strain induced by a substrate. The temperature dependences of the c-axis lattice constant and the second harmonic generation intensity of La-doped BaTiO
films indicate the existence of polar transitions. In addition, through La doping, films become metallic at the polar phase, and metallicity enhancement at the polar state occurs in low-La-doped films. This intriguing behaviour is effectively explained by our first-principles calculations. Our demonstration suggests that the carrier doping to ferroelectric material with epitaxial strain serves as a new way to explore polar metals.