Electrical Characterisation of Polypyrrole Thin Film Conducting Polymer

It is known that organic acids doped Polypyrrole (PPy) will conduct electricity, and the electrical characteristics of the polymer is presented in this paper. The PPy is deposited on a glass substrate using a spin coater, resulted in a thin film with of 0.0823 μm thickness. The I/V characteristics of the PPy thin film were measured using two-point and four-point probe at room temperature. The finding shows that the I/V characteristic is nonlinear. Comparison between these two methods is further explored, and statistically it shows that there is no mean difference between the two methods. Hence, it helps in designing future experiment to measure I/V characteristics at elevated temperature.

Matter versus vacuum oscillations at long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiments

The neutrino oscillation probabilities at the long-baseline accelerator neutrino experiments are expected to be modified by matter effects. We search for evidence of such modification in the data of T2K and NO[Formula: see text]A, by fitting the data to the hypothesis of (a) matter modified oscillations and (b) vacuum oscillations. We find that vacuum oscillations provide as good a fit to the data as matter modified oscillations. Even extended runs of T2K and NO[Formula: see text]A, with five years in neutrino mode [Formula: see text] and five years in anti-neutrino mode [Formula: see text], cannot make a [Formula: see text] distinction between vacuum and matter modified oscillations. The future experiment DUNE, with neutrino and anti-neutrino runs of five years each [Formula: see text], can rule out vacuum oscillations by itself at [Formula: see text] if the hierarchy is normal. If the hierarchy is inverted, a [Formula: see text] discrimination against vacuum oscillations requires the combination of [Formula: see text] runs of T2K, NO[Formula: see text]A and DUNE.

No consistent startle modulation by reward

Previous studies have not clearly demonstrated whether motivational tendencies during reward feedback are mainly characterized by appetitive responses to a gain or mainly by aversive consequences of reward omission. In the current study this issue was addressed employing a passive head or tails game and using the startle reflex as an index of the appetitive-aversive continuum. A second aim of the current study was to use startle-reflex modulation as a means to compare the subjective value of monetary rewards of varying magnitude. Startle responses after receiving feedback that a potential reward was won or not won were compared with a baseline condition without a potential gain. Furthermore, startle responses during anticipation of no versus potential gain were compared. Consistent with previous studies, startle-reflex magnitudes were significantly potentiated when participants anticipated a reward compared to no reward, which may reflect anticipatory arousal. Specifically for the largest reward (20-cents) startle magnitudes were potentiated when a reward was at stake but not won, compared to a neutral baseline without potential gain. In contrast, startle was not inhibited relative to baseline when a reward was won. This suggests that startle modulation during feedback is better characterized in terms of potentiation when missing out on reward rather than in terms of inhibition as a result of winning. However, neither of these effects were replicated in a more targeted second experiment. The discrepancy between these experiments may be due to differences in motivation to obtain rewards or differences in task engagement. From these experiments it may be concluded that the nature of the processing of reward feedback and reward cues is very sensitive to experimental parameters and settings. These studies show how apparently modest changes in these parameters and settings may lead to quite different modulations of appetitive/aversive motivation. A future experiment may shed more light on the question whether startle-reflex modulation after feedback is indeed mainly characterized by the aversive consequences of reward omission for relatively large rewards.

Repeatability Assessment and Sensitivity Analysis of Needle Insertion Physical Experiment

Needle insertion physical experiments are used as the ground truth for model validation and parameter estimation by measuring the needle defection and tissue deformation during the needle-tissue interactions. Hence parameter uncertainties can contribute experiment errors. To improve the repeatability and accuracy of such experiments, one-at-a-time (OAT) sensitivity analysis is used to study the impacts of the factors, such as stirring temperature, frozen time, thawing time during the process of making hydrogels as well as repeated path insertion and different puncture plane in the planer needle insertion experiments. The results show that the puncture plane has the greatest effect on the repeatability of needle insertion physic experiments, followed by repeated path insertion, while other factors have the least effect. The results serve to guide future experiment design for greater repeatability and accuracy.

A Short Review of Submerged Breakwaters

Breakwaters are used around the globe as a mean of protection against beach erosion by reducing the height of incoming waves into smaller transmitted waves. In addition, breakwaters can efficiently be used to preserve tranquillity inside the harbour basin, to decrease the deposition of sediments that can lead to water pollution at the harbour entrances, and to be a sanctuary for marine habitats. The purpose of this study is to discuss the application of the innovative submerged breakwater globally and in Malaysia. In addition, the comparison between submerged and emerged breakwater are briefly explained to understand the distinction between these two structures. The future experiment of the newly developed breakwater in Malaysia known as WABCORE is also included in this paper where the experimental setup and expected results are discussed.

Discovery Potential for the Neutral Charmonium-LikeZ0(4200)byp-pAnnihilation

Inspired by the observation of charmonium-likeZ(4200), we explore the discovery potential of the neutralZ0(4200)production by antiproton-proton annihilation with an effective Lagrangian approach. By investigating thep-p→J/ψπ0process including theZ0(4200)signal and background contributions, it is found that the center of mass energyEc.m.≃4.0–4.5 GeV is the best energy window for searching the neutralZ0(4200), where the signal can be clearly distinguished from background. The relevant calculations not only are helpful to search for the neutralZ0(4200)in the future experiment but also will promote the understanding of the nature and production mechanism of neutralZ0(4200)better.

ARGO-YBJ: A MULTI-PURPOSE EXPERIMENT OPERATION FOR 5 YEARS

The ARGO-YBJ experiment has been smoothly operated for 5 years and has achieved many scientific goals. Here, we summarize all the major contributions and report them to the community. A future experiment LHAASO is proposed. It will greatly enhance the capabilities in both gamma ray astronomy and cosmic ray research.

A NEW EXPERIMENT TO STUDY HYPERON CP VIOLATION AND THE CHARMONIUM SYSTEM

Fermilab operates the world's most intense antiproton source, now exclusively dedicated to serving the needs of the Tevatron Collider. The anticipated 2009 shutdown of the Tevatron presents the opportunity for a world-leading low- and medium-energy antiproton program. We summarize the status of the Fermilab antiproton facility and review physics topics for which a future experiment could make the world's best measurements.

PRESENT STATUS OF HIRFL IN LANZHOU

HIRFL has been upgraded for basic research on nuclear physics, atomic physics, irradiative material and biology from beginning of this decade. So far, the main performances of HIRFL have improved in the beam species from light ion to uranium and the maximum beam intensities reaching ~10μA from SFC, 1.5 μA from SSC. Therefore, some experiments have been performed during this period, especially, on new isotope synthesis and unstable nuclear physics. The new upgrading project Cooling Storage Ring (CSR) is under commissioning by ~2p μA carbon beam stripping injection. About 109 C ion have stored inside CSRm, and part of them have been cooling down by the electron cooler. The acceleration of CSRm also has been test successful. Some future experiment are under development.