Vortical flow in thermo-acoustic devices

Taconis oscillation in a closed long tube with large thermal gradient is studied by numerical calculation of the 2D compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The both ends of tube are hot (T = T_H), and the center of side wall is cold (T = T_C). We analyze the pressure amplitude p_amp and the time averaged temperature T_m in the closed tube. p_amp is almost homogenous in the tube cross section, however, T_m is not homogenous in the central cold region. We also observe two steady states at the same temperature ratio θ = T_H/T_C. It is important to analyze the effects of the boundary layer in this cold region on Taconis oscillations. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Measurement of the kaonic hydrogen x-ray spectrum

The DEAR (DAPhiNE exotic atom research) experiment measured the energy of x rays emitted in the transitions to the ground state of kaonic hydrogen. The measured values for the shift epsilon and the width Gamma of the 1s state due to the K(-)p strong interaction are epsilon(1s)=-193 +/- 37 (stat) +/- 6 (syst) eV and Gamma(1s)=249 +/- 111 (stat) +/- 30 (syst) eV, the most precise values yet obtained. The pattern of the kaonic hydrogen K-series lines, K(alpha), K(beta), and K(gamma), was disentangled for the first time.     

Effects of fly ash on NOx removal by pulsed streamers

NO_x removal methods using plasma chemical reactions in nonthermal plasmas have been widely studied. In this paper, the effects of the addition of fly ash on NO_x removal using short-pulsed discharge plasmas are described. Fly ash which had been collected from a coal-burning thermal electrical power plant was used. Experiments were performed using four different mixtures of gases which included NO. These were (N₂+NO), (N₂+NO+O₂), (N₂+NO+H₂O), and (N₂+NO+O₂+H ₂O). These gas mixtures were used either with or without the addition of fly ash. The initial concentration of NO was fixed at 200 ppm (NO parts per million of the gas mixture), The study of the NO_x (NO+NO₂) removal was performed with the fly ash, as it is relevant to real situations in coal power plants. The results show that the presence of fly ash decreased the NO_x removal rate slightly in the case of dry gas mixtures while it increased the NO_x removal rate substantially in the case of wet gas mixtures. These results suggest that the presence of fly ash in the flue gases, which also contain a few percentages of moisture, would be advantageous to the treatment of flue gases emitted from thermal power plants for the removal of nitrogen oxides     

Effect of gamma softness on the stability of chiral geometry: spectroscopy of 106Ag

A study of the nucleus 106Ag has revealed the presence of two strongly coupled negative-parity rotational bands up to the 19- and 20- states, respectively, which cross each other at spin I approximately 14. The data suggest that near the crossover point the bands correspond to different shapes, which is different to the behavior expected from a pair of chiral bands. Inspection of the properties of these bands indicates a triaxial and a planar nature of rotation for the two structures. Possible causes for this may be understood in terms of a shape transformation resulting from the large degree of gamma softness of 106Ag. These data, along with the systematics of the odd-odd structures in the mass 100 region, suggest that gamma softness has marked implications for the phenomenon of nuclear chirality.     

分子束外延法在Sapphire衬底上生长的Zn1－xMgxO薄膜折射率及厚度的测试

利用偏振光椭圆率测量仪对分子束外延(MBE)法在Sapphire衬底上生长的Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜的薄膜折射率和厚度进行了测试. 结合ICP法测得的薄膜中的Mg组成量，经数值拟合，导出表征薄膜厚度与薄膜生长条件、薄膜折射率与薄膜中的Mg组成量之间关系的曲线，为MBE法在Sapphire衬底上生长Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜时控制薄膜厚度以及在制作Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜的波导时控制薄膜的折射率提供了理论依据. 关键词： ZnMgO薄膜 偏振光椭圆率测量仪 折射率 分子束外延(MBE)     

Development of an ultra-portable echo device connected to USB port

In practical cardiology, a stethoscope based auscultation has been used to reveal the patient's clinical status. Recently, several hand-held echo devices are going on market and they are expected to play a role as "visible" auscultation instead of stethoscope. We have developed a portable and inexpensive echo device which can be used for screening of cardiac function. Two single element transducers were attached 180 degrees apart to a rotor with 14-mm diameter. The mechanical scanner, integrated circuits for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals and an A/D converter were encapsulated in a 150 x 40 mm probe weighing 200 g. The scan was started and the image was displayed on a Windows based personal computer (PC) as soon as the probe was connected to USB 2.0 port of the PC. The central frequency was available between 2.5 and 7.5 MHz, the image depth was 15 cm and the frame rate was 30/s. The estimated price of this ultra-portable ultrasound is about 3000 US dollars with software. For 69 cardiac patients with informed consent, image quality was compared with those obtained with basic range diagnostic echo machines. Left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) derived from normal M-mode image of standard machines (EFm) were compared with visual EF of the ultra-portable ultrasound device (EFv). The image quality was comparable to the basic range diagnostic echo machines although short axis view of aortic root was not clearly visualized because the probe was too large for intercostal approach. EFv agreed well with EFm. The ultra-portable ultrasound may provide useful information on screening and health care.     

ALT in the nucleon-nucleon polarized Drell-Yan process

We present a leading order (LO) estimate for the longitidinal-transverse spin asymmetry (A ) in the nucleon-nucleon polarized Drell-Yan process at RHIC and energies in comparison with A and A . A receives contribution from g₁, the transversity distribution h₁, and the twist-3 distributions g and h . For the twist-3 contribution we use the bag model prediction evolved to a high energy scale by the large-N_c evolution equation. We found that A (normalized by the asymmetry in the parton level) is much smaller than the corresponding A . Twist-3 contribution given by the bag model turned out to be negligible.     

Preparation of cadmium‐containing brown rice grains as calibration standards for X‐ray fluorescence analysis of cadmium in rice grains

A preparation method for Cd‐containing brown rice grains as calibration standards was developed for X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of Cd in rice grains. Calibration standards were prepared by adding 10 g of base rice grains (from Japan) to 100 ml of methanol containing 5?100 µg of Cd. The mixture was heated, cooled, and stored in a silica gel desiccator. Seven grams of each calibration standard was packed into a polyethylene cup (32‐mm internal diameter and 23‐mm height) covered with a 6‐µm‐thick polypropylene film and then subjected to XRF analysis. The calibration curves of Cd in brown and white rice grains showed good linearity in 0.50?10 mg kg^?1. The detection limits of Cd in brown and white rice grains were 0.14 and 0.12 mg kg^?1, respectively. The slopes of the calibration curves for Cd in brown and white rice grains were slightly different owing to absorption effects. The absorption effects were corrected using the ratio of the intensity of Cd Kα to that of Rh Kα‐Compton scattering. After correction, the calibration curves of Cd in brown and white rice grains showed identical slopes. The spike test for 5 mg kg^?1 of Cd in white rice grains (from Thailand), using the corrected calibration curves, showed quantitative recoveries (92?97%). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurement of Mg Content in Zn1-xMgxO Films by Electron Probe Microanalysis

Zn1-xMgxO films are grown on A-sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy, and Mg content in the Zn1-xMgxO films is measured by electron probe microanalysis （EPMA） when the acceleration voltage, the emission current, and the magnification are set to be 1 k V, 30 μA and 1000, respectively. The dead time is controlled within 17%-20% during the measurement with the receive angle of characteristic x-ray of 45°. The Mg content of the ZnMgO film is calculated by the low energy calibration and the ZAF calibration. By comparing the measurement result with the theoretical analysis and the EPMA result with the inductively coupled plasma （ICP）, one can obtain that the measured value of Mg content of the samples is in good agreement with the theoretical analysis no matter whether the phase separation exists or not, and the correctness of ICP and EPMA is valid when Mg content in the samples is less than 0.5.