Search

JSNS 2 (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that searches for sterile neutrinos via the observation of ν ¯ μ → ν ¯ e appearance oscillations using muon decay-at-rest neutrinos. The JSNS 2 experiment performed data taking from 2021. In this manuscript, a study of the accidental background is presented. The rate of the accidental background is ( 9.29 ± 0.39) × 10 - 8 /spill with 0.75 MW beam power and comparable to the expected number of signal events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JSNS 2 (J-PARC Sterile Neutrino Search at J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source) is an experiment that is searching for sterile neutrinos via the observation of ν ¯ μ → ν ¯ e appearance oscillations using muon decay-at-rest neutrinos. Before dedicated data taking in the first-half of 2021, we performed a commissioning run for 10 days in June 2020. Using the data obtained in this commissioning run, in this paper, we present an estimate of the correlated background which imitates the ν ¯ e signal in a sterile neutrino search. In addition, in order to demonstrate future prospects of the JSNS 2 experiment, possible pulse shape discrimination improvements towards reducing cosmic ray induced fast neutron background are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sterile Neutrino Search at the J-PARC Spallation Neutron Source (JSNS |$^2$|⁠) experiment aims to search for sterile neutrino oscillations using a neutrino beam from muon decays at rest. The JSNS |$^2$| detector contains 17 tons of 0.1 |$\%$| gadolinium (Gd) loaded liquid scintillator (LS) as a neutrino target. Detector construction was completed in the spring of 2020. A slow control and monitoring system (SCMS) was implemented for reliable control and quick monitoring of the detector operational status and environmental conditions. It issues an alarm if any of the monitored parameters exceed a preset acceptable range. The SCMS monitors the high voltage of the photomultiplier tubes, the LS level in the detector, possible LS overflow and leakage, the temperature and air pressure in the detector, the humidity of the experimental hall, and the LS flow rate during filling and extraction. An initial 10 days of data-taking with a neutrino beam was done following a successful commissioning of the detector and SCMS in 2020 June. In this paper, we present a description of the assembly and installation of the SCMS and its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reactor Experiment for Neutrino Oscillation (RENO) experiment has been taking data using two identical liquid scintillator detectors since August 2011. The experiment has observed the disappearance of reactor neutrinos in their interactions with free protons, followed by neutron capture on hydrogen (n-H). Based on 1500 live days of data taken with 16.8 GWth reactors at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Korea, the near (far) detector observes 567690 (90747) electron antineutrino candidate events with the n-H data. This provides an independent measurement of neutrino mixing angle θ13 and a consistency check on the validity of the result obtained from the data with neutron capture on Gadolinium (n-Gd). Furthermore, it provides an important cross-check on the systematic uncertainties of the n-Gd measurement. Based on a rate-only analysis, we obtain sin2 2θ13 = 0.086 ± 0.008(stat.) ± 0.014(syst.). The combination of this result with that of n-Gd is also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although conventional conveyor-based vehicle assembly systems have proved to be very efficient in terms of plant productivity, it has also been recognized as a system which puts too much pressure on people. This paper introduces an alternative to conventional conveyor-based assembly lines, one that is designed to enrich the work environment of employees without sacrificing productivity. The reforming methodology suggested here applies the idea of cell manufacturing to the conventional conveyor-based assembly line system, but it does not require making any major changes to the existing hardware configurations of the plant. Benefits of the reformed line for workers include a longer cycle time, more balanced work loads, and greater protection against developing musculoskeletal disorders. To prove the effectiveness of the suggested methodology, we built a virtual factory model and performed simulations to assess the performance of the reformed line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interbody fusion cage surgery with discectomy has been the major surgical method for treating back pain and degenerative diseases. However, highly rigid fusion devices cause great concentrations of mechanical stress, engendering stress concentration effects. In this study, various geometric structures with single porosity and gradient porosity were designed and 3D printed with selective laser melting. ANSYS software was applied to analyze the stress and strain distributions for different motion modes. For a disc fusion cage comprising three concentric rings surrounding a solid cylinder, with gradient porosity values of 60%-70%-80%-solid (from outside to inside), both the stress and strain showed closer agreement with the intervertebral disc stress and strain. Both the cage and the disc exhibited uniform stress distributions with bone, which would be able to avoid stress concentration. The patterns of the designed models were then printed using Ti-6Al-4V powders. The morphologies of the printed porous structures were examined by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The porosities of the printed specimens were investigated using the Archimedes method. The results revealed only minor geometric deviation between the computer-aided design patterns and the as-printed samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence of LED lighting, IT convergence technology using the visible spectrum of LEDs, such as Visible Light Communication (VLC), has been highlighted. Among the many VLC applications, vehicular VLCs based on LED headlamps and transportation lighting infrastructure, such as street lamps, traffic lights, etc., are considered good alternatives for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) or Active Safety applications. This paper introduces a demonstration system of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) VLC based on LED headlamps. By applying an inverse 4-PPM modulation scheme satisfying a 75 % dimming level under the light distribution regulation of LED headlamp, the proposed system showed its capability for V2V VLC with a 10 kbps data rate for more than 30 m under day time conditions. By measuring the BER performance according to distance, outdoor V2V VLC was possible for more than 30 m even in the day time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSix(x = 0, 0·5, 1·0, 1·5) bulk metallic glass (BMG) rods with a diameter of 2–4 mm have been successfully fabricated by suction casting method and characterised. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that these entire (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSixalloy rods exhibit a typical amorphous diffraction pattern with only a broad maximum at 2θ∼40°. The optimum glass forming ability values γ and γm(0·430 and 0·774 respectively) occur at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5amorphous alloy. This suggests that the Si element present a positive effect on increasing glass forming ability in the Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14alloy system. The hardness of these Ti based BMGs exhibits an increasing trend with Si addition and saturated ∼710 HV. In addition, the result of compression test shows that the optimum mechanical property occurs at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5amorphous alloy, which presents 2050 MPa fracture strength and 8% failure strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSix(x = 0, 0·5, 1·0, 1·5) bulk metallic glass (BMG) rods with a diameter of 2–4 mm have been successfully fabricated by suction casting method and characterised. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that these entire (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)100 − xSixalloy rods exhibit a typical amorphous diffraction pattern with only a broad maximum at 2θ∼40°. The optimum glass forming ability values γ and γm(0·430 and 0·774 respectively) occur at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5amorphous alloy. This suggests that the Si element present a positive effect on increasing glass forming ability in the Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14alloy system. The hardness of these Ti based BMGs exhibits an increasing trend with Si addition and saturated ∼710 HV. In addition, the result of compression test shows that the optimum mechanical property occurs at the (Ti40Zr10Cu36Pd14)99·5Si0·5amorphous alloy, which presents 2050 MPa fracture strength and 8% failure strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The peripheral artery questionnaire ( PAQ) is a disease-specific health status measure of patients with peripheral artery disease ( PAD). Whether the PAQ scores are associated with a PAD diagnosis among patients with symptoms suspicious for PAD is unknown and could help increase the pretest probability of ankle brachial index ( ABI) screening among patients with suspicious symptoms. Methods The PAQ was completed by 567 patients evaluated for potential intermittent claudication at six tertiary centres. Demographics, medical history, physical examination findings and the PAQ domain scores were compared with ABI. A diagnostic threshold < 0.90 for a PAD diagnosis was assessed with a ROC of PAQ scores. The correlation between the PAQ Summary Score and ABI was also calculated. Results The PAQ Summary Score was significantly lower in patients with low ABI as compared with those having a normal ABI (37.6 ± 19.0 vs. 70.1 ± 22.7, p < 0.001). The PAQ Summary Score and ABI were highly correlated (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) and the optimal PAQ Summary Score for predicting low ABI was 50.3 ( AUC = 0.86, sensitivity 80.3%, specificity 78.3%). Conclusions The PAQ Summary Score was associated with an increased likelihood of PAD in patients with suspected PAD symptoms, and a low summary score (≤ 50.3) was an optimal threshold for predicting PAD among patients referred for ABI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the design of two-stage reliability test plans. In the first stage, a bogey test was performed, which will allow the user to demonstrate reliability at a high confidence level. If the lots pass the bogey test, the reliability sampling test is applied to the lots in the second stage. The purpose of the proposed sampling plan was to test the mean time to failure of the product as well as the minimum reliability at bogey. Under the assumption that the lifetime distribution follows Weibull distribution and the shape parameter is known, the two-stage reliability sampling plans with bogey tests are developed and the tables for users are constructed. An illustrative example is given, and the effects of errors in estimates of a Weibull shape parameter are investigated. A comparison of the proposed two-stage test with corresponding bogey and one-stage tests was also performed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of entecavir (ETV) in adefovir (ADV)-refractory chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with prior lamivudine (LMV) resistance. A total of 55 ADV-refractory CHB patients with prior LMV resistance, who received rescue therapy with ETV 1 mg daily for at least 12 months, were consecutively enrolled and analysed. Forty-four patients were men, and their median age was 47 (25-69). Ten patients had liver cirrhosis and 46 patients were positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). Median hepatitis B virus DNA levels were 6.6 (4.3-8.0) log10 copies/mL, and the median duration of ETV therapy was 24 (12-47) months. Cumulative virologic response rates at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months were 18%, 29%, 58% and 75%, respectively. HBeAg loss occurred in 10 (21.7%) of 46 HBeAg-positive patients. In multivariate analysis, only initial virologic response at 3 months remained as an independent predictor for virologic response (RR 3.143; 95% CI 1.387-7.120; P = 0.006). The patients with a virological response at 3 months had not only a significantly higher probability of achieving a virologic response ( P < 0.001) but also lower probability of experiencing a virologic breakthrough ( P = 0.043) than the patients without an early response. Viral breakthrough was observed in 29 patients during the follow-up period. Cumulative breakthrough rates at 6, 12, 24 and 36 months were 0%, 15%, 45% and 73%, respectively. ETV monotherapy may be considerably efficacious in cases with an initial virological response but its efficacy is attenuated by frequent emergence of ETV resistance in ADV-refractory CHB patients with prior LMV resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the (FePt)100-xCux (x=0, 4.6, 6.7, 8.8, 10.9) (FePtCu) alloy films were prepared by co-sputtering. The effects of Cu addition content and heat treatment on the nanostructure and magnetic properties of the polycrystalline (FePt)100-xCux films are reported. The experimental results show that the ordering temperature of the (FePt)100-xCux (x=6.7) films reduced to 320°C, which is much lower than that of the FePt alloy. After heat treatment at 600°C for 1 hour, the (FePt)100-xCux (x=6.7) film shows a coercive force of 15 kOe and the magnetization of 576 emu/cc. The magnetic properties of the FePtCu films can be adjusted by varying the Cu content in the films. The enhancement of the magnetic properties of the FePtCu films mainly resulted from the formation of the order L10 phase. DSC traces of as-deposited disorder films at different heating rates, to evaluate the crystallization of the order phase, showed that the addition of Cu atoms reduced the activation energy of ordering from 217 kJ/mol to 87 kJ/mol for the (FePt)100-xCux films (x= 0 and 6.7, respectively). The reduction of the ordering temperature and corresponding activation energy might due to the solid solution of the Cu atoms in the FePt films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an investigation on the micro-structure of an Fe-base oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) alloy irradiated with high-energy 20Ne ions to different doses at a temperature around 0.5 Tm (Tm is the melting point of the alloy) is presented. Investigation with the transmission electron microscopy found that the accelerated growth of voids at grain-boundaries, which is usually a concern in conventional Fe-base alloys under conditions of inert-gas implantation, was not observed in the ODS alloy irradiated even to the highest dose (12000 at.ppm Ne). The reason is ascribed to the enhanced recombination of point defects and strong trapping of Ne atoms at the interfaces of the nano-scale oxide particles in grains. The study showed that ODS alloys have good resistance to the high-temperature inter-granular embrittlement due to inert-gas accumulation, exhibiting prominence of application in harsh situations of considerable helium production at elevated temperatures like in a fusion reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of strain rate and environment on the mechanical behavior at different temperatures of the Ni–19Si–3Nb–0.15B–0.1C alloy is investigated by atmosphere-controlled tensile testing under various conditions at different strain rates and different temperatures). The results reveal that the Ni–19Si–3Nb–0.15B–0.1C alloy exhibits ductile mechanical behavior (UTS ∼ 1250 MPa, ε ~ 14%) at temperatures below 873 K under different atmosphere conditions. However, the alloy without boron and carbon addition shows ductile mechanical behavior only when the sample is tested in vacuum. This indicates that the microalloying of boron and carbon does overcome the environmental embrittlement from water vapor at test temperatures below 873 K for the Ni–19Si–3Nb base alloy. However, the boron and carbon doped alloy still suffers from embrittlement associated with oxygen at a medium high temperature (i.e. 973 K). In parallel, both of the ultimate tensile strength and elongation exhibit quite insensitive response with respect to the loading strain rate when tests are held at temperatures below 873 K. However, the ultimate tensile strength exhibits high dependence on the strain rate in air at temperatures above 873 K, decreasing the ultimate tensile strength with decreasing strain rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new near detector for the K2K long baseline neutrino experiment, the SciBar, was constructed and started data taking to study neutrino interactions. In K2K, neutrino oscillation is studied by comparing the number of neutrino interactions and energy spectrum between near and far detectors. In order to study neutrino oscillations more precisely, it is necessary to improve the measurement of neutrino spectrum and interactions below 1 GeV, where the latest K2K results suggest maximum oscillation. For that purpose, SciBar is designed to be fully active with fine segmentation. We present the design and basic performance. All detector components have been working as expected. Also presented are the measurements of charged current interactions which are used in the latest K2K oscillation analysis [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies the evolution of microstructure of nickel-based brazing fillers with different silicon content synthesized by mechanical alloying. Specimens of stainless steel use for microstructure characterization and shear tests; Properties of nickel-based brazing fillers obtained by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.

This paper reports on the theoretical and experimental study on the discharge pressure ripples in a variable displacement vane pump. The pressure ripple in the delivery port is caused by flow ripple, which is induced by variation of pumping chamber volume. The other reason is the reverse flow from the outlet volume produced by the pressure difference between the pumping chamber and the outlet volume when the pumping chamber is connected to the outlet volume. In this study, a mathematical model is presented for analysing discharge pressure ripple, which includes vane detachment, cam ring movement and fluid inertia effects in a V-groove in the side plate. The model is applied to predict the level and the waveform of the discharge pressure ripples for various operating conditions. An experiment was performed to verify the theoretical analysis. The theoretical results provided in this study show a good agreement with the experimental results. This analytical model can predict the magnitude of discharge pressure ripple in variable displacement vane pumps and thus is useful for achieving optimal design of vane pumps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow serration in bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) was analyzed using high-sensitivity strain gauges. Based on the displacement-time profile for one serration, shear-band propagating speed was determined and found to be insensitive to the applied strain rates. The disappearance of serration at high strain rates is a result that the signal of displacement burst was overwhelmed by the applied strain rate. In comparison with the ductile Pd-based and brittle Mg-based BMGs, the ductility of BMGs appears to be closely related to the dynamics during shear-band propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a porous ductile Mo particles reinforced Mg-based metallic glass composite, exhibiting superior mechanical performance with up to 10% compressive strain and 1100 MPa stress at room temperature. For a given amount of particles, the porous particles will generate more interfaces between the reinforcements and matrix and, thus, can confine lots of microsized compartments of the Mg based glassy phase within the porous particles. This promotes the deformation to distribute more uniformly across the specimens, improving the ductility. We suggest that porous ductile particles might preferably be used to toughen amorphous materials with stubborn brittleness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the computational-thermodynamic approach, the potential compositions of Zr–Cu–Ni–Al alloy system exhibiting the two-liquid miscibility phase equilibrium in the liquid temperature region have been identified. The resulting Zr base bulk metallic glasses show a microstructure of two microscaled glassy phases. The glass possesses a remarkable macroscopic plastic strain of 30% at room temperature. The gain of mechanical properties is attributed to the unique glassy structure correlated with the chemical inhomogeneity on the micron scale, the hard phases surrounded by the soft phases, leading extensive shear-band formation, interactions, and multiplication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have demonstrated high-performance InGaN-GaN multiple quantum-wells light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using polarization-induced (PI) p-InGaN-GaN superlattice. Electrical measurements show that PI LEDs produce much lower series resistance and turn-on voltage (at 20 mA) as compared to those of normal LEDs without the superlattice. It is also shown that the output power and photon wavelength of the PI LEDs remain electrically stable up to a high stress region of 200 mA. However, those of normal LEDs become electrically and optically degraded in excess of 120 mA. These results show that the use of the PI effect is very effective to the improvement of the electrical properties of LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]