We report on the design and characterization of the plasma mirror system installed on the J-KAREN-P laser at the Kansai Photon Science Institute, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology. The reflectivity of the single plasma mirror system exceeded 80%. In addition, the temporal contrast was improved by two orders of magnitude at 1 ps before the main pulse. Furthermore, the laser near-field spatial distribution after the plasma mirror was kept constant at plasma mirror fluence of less than 100 kJ/cm2. We also present the results of investigating the difference and the fluctuation in energy, pulse width and pointing stability with and without the plasma mirror system.

In this study, a new assemblage of Ediacaran metazoan fossils is reported from the basal Stáhpogieddi Formation on the Digermulen Peninsula of Arctic Norway, including Anulitubus n. gen. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al., Anulitubus formosus n. gen. n. sp. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al., Coniculus n. gen. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al., Coniculus elegantis n. gen. n. sp. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al., Fistula n. gen. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al., and Fistula crenulata n. gen. n. sp. Moczydłowska in Moczydłowska et al. The specimens are three-dimensionally preserved and include tubular and conical skeletons that are morphologically distinguished by their body-wall constructions, radial symmetry, polarity, segmentation, and annulation. The skeletons are interpreted to be biomineralized by primary silica based on computed micro-tomographic, petrographic, geochemical, and spectroscopic evidence of originally rigid body wall with layers of constant thicknesses, composed of opal, microcrystalline quartz, and an admixture of carbonaceous material, which differ from the host sediment mineralogy and do not show replacement or encrustation. The fossil-bearing interval immediately overlies strata of Gaskiers age and can be bracketed within 580–541 Ma, but it is estimated to be ca. 575 Ma on the basis of averaged sedimentation rates and biostratigraphic correlations with Ediacaran biota found in up-section deposits of ca. 558–555 Ma. Future new findings of such fossils in different preservation modes and further multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which shows the silicon fractionation and traces its biogenic origin versus inorganic mineralization, may corroborate the interpretation of biogenic silicification of these earliest skeletal fossils.

UUID: https://zoobank.org/6bccada1-870e-47b0-b819-82685152ea54

Discovery of ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) in the past 15 years blurs the once thought clear division between classic globular clusters (GCs) and early-type galaxies. The intermediate nature of UCDs, which are larger and more massive than typical GCs but more compact than typical dwarf galaxies, has triggered hot debate on whether UCDs should be considered galactic in origin or merely the most extreme GCs. Previous studies of various scaling relations, stellar populations and internal dynamics did not give an unambiguous answer to the primary origin of UCDs. In this contribution, we present the first ever detailed study of global dynamics of 97 UCDs (rh ≳ 10 pc) associated with the central cD galaxy of the Virgo cluster, M87. We found that UCDs follow a different radial number density profile and different rotational properties from GCs. The orbital anisotropies of UCDs are tangentially-biased within ~ 40 kpc of M87 and become radially-biased with radius further out. In contrast, the blue GCs, which have similar median colors to our sample of UCDs, become more tangentially-biased at larger radii beyond ~ 40 kpc. Our analysis suggests that most UCDs in M87 are not consistent with being merely the most luminous and extended examples of otherwise normal GCs. The radially-biased orbital structure of UCDs at large radii is in general agreement with the scenario that most UCDs originated from the tidally threshed dwarf galaxies.

Based on surveys during 2000–2012 and best available knowledge, we estimate the global population size of the Endangered Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus to be c.1,940 pairs (or c.4,660 birds prior to reproduction). In Russia, surveys identified the breeding range in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range and the area adjoining the lower Amur River. Particular effort was made to define the edge of the range. Breeding densities in the Sikhote-Alin were applied to un-surveyed rivers within the range to estimate overall numbers. The breeding range comprises c.7,800 km of 120 rivers: 6,800 km in Russia, 600 in China and 400 in DPR Korea. In Russia it comprises 88 rivers of both the western and eastern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin Range, and two small isolated areas, one in central Khabarovsk and the other in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. All known and potential breeding areas were surveyed in China, where the breeding range comprises the western slope of the Changbai Mountains, and one isolated river system in the Lesser Xingan Mountains. Scaly-sided Mergansers are also assumed to breed on the eastern slope of the Changbai Mountains in DPR Korea. No recent surveys have been made there but numbers were estimated by applying densities from China to rivers with apparently suitable habitat. Detailed examination of past records suggests that an earlier claim of breeding Scaly-sided Mergansers on the Dep River was erroneous and we conclude that the breeding range never extended as far west as has been portrayed in most literature. The lack of comparable surveys previously precludes an assessment of change in population range or size, though it seems inevitable that habitat loss in China is likely to have resulted in some loss of range and numbers, particularly in Heilongjiang Province, in recent decades.

III-V on Si multijunction solar cells represent an alternative to traditional compound III-V multijunction cells as a promising way to achieve high efficiencies. A theoretical study on the energy yield of GaAs/Si tandem solar cells is performed to assess the performance potential and sensitivity to spectral variations. Recorded time-dependent spectral irradiance data in two locations (Singapore and Denver) were used. We found that a 4-terminal contact scheme with thick top cell confers distinctive advantages over a 2-terminal scheme, giving a yield potential 21% higher than the 2-terminal scheme in Singapore and 17% higher in Denver. The theoretical energy yield benefit of a 4-terminal device emphasizes the need for further technology development in this design space.

We report on the optical and charge transport properties of novel alkali metal chalcogenides, Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4, pertaining to their use in radiation detection. Optical absorption, photoconductivity, and gamma ray response measurements for undoped crystals were measured. The band gap energies of the Cs2Hg6S7 and Cs2Cd3Te4 compounds are 1.63 eV and 2.45 eV, respectively. The mobility-lifetime products for charge carriers are of the order of ~10-3 cm2/V for electrons and ~10-4 cm2/V for holes. Detectors fabricated from the ternary compound Cs2Hg6S7 shows well-resolved spectroscopic features at room temperature in response to ϒ -rays at 122 keV from a 57Co source, indicating its potential as a radiation detector.

The effectiveness of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as a weight-loss nutraceutical continues to be debatable, suggesting that there may be value in exploring the physiological effects of the lesser-known isomers. The effects of the minor isomer, trans-8, cis-10 (t8, c10)-CLA, in the form of an equimolar mixture with the cis-9, trans-11 (c9, t11) isomer, on body weight and body composition, circulating glucose and lipid concentrations, and liver weights were studied in sixty male Syrian golden hamsters. Animals were randomised to receive for 28 d a semi-purified, hypercholesterolaemic diet (5 % dietary fat and 0·25 % cholesterol) supplemented at the 2 % level with either the t8, c10+c9, t11-CLA mixture, c9, t11-CLA or trans-10, cis-12 (t10, c12)-CLA replacing lard and safflower-seed oil (control). Results show that compared with control, the t8, c10+c9, t11-CLA mixture and t10, c12-CLA-fed animals had lower (P < 0·0001) fat mass following supplementation. Animals consuming t10, c12-CLA also possessed higher lean mass compared with control and c9, t11-CLA groups (P < 0·001). However, the livers of these animals were larger (P < 0·0001) compared with those in the control and other CLA groups. Body weights of the hamsters did not differ across the experimental groups. CLA treatments had no effect on serum glucose or lipid profile, except for inducing higher (P < 0·05) non-HDL-cholesterol concentration with t10, c12-CLA compared with the c9, t11 isomer. Overall, these results indicate that in male hamsters fed a hypercholesterolaemic diet, the t8, c10+c9, t11-CLA mixture does not have an impact on blood lipid profile, but is able to effectively reduce fat mass, without incurring an accompanying liver enlargement.

High-cycle fatigue (HCF) studies were performed on zirconium (Zr)-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs): Zr41.2Ti13.8Ni10Cu12.5Be22.5, in atomic percent. The HCF experiments were conducted using an electrohydraulic machine at a frequency of 10 Hz with a R ratio of 0.1 and under tension-tension loading, where R = σmin./σmax., where σmin. and σmax. are the applied minimum and maximum stresses, respectively. The test environment was air. A high-speed and high-sensitivity thermographic-infrared (IR) imaging system has been used for nondestructive evaluation of temperature evolution during fatigue testing of BMGs. Limited temperature evolution was observed during fatigue. However, no sparking phenomenon was observed at the final moment of fracture of this BMG. At high stress levels (σmax. > 864 MPa), the fatigue lives of Batch 59 are longer than those of Batch 94 due to the presence of oxides in Batch 94. Moreover, the fatigue-endurance limit of Batch 59 (703 MPa) is somewhat greater than that of Bath 94 (615 MPa) in air. The fatigue-endurance limit of Ti-6–4 is greater than this BMG, but Al 7075 has the lowest fatigue life. The vein pattern with a melted appearance were observed in the apparent melting region. The fracture morphology indicates that fatigue cracks initiate from some defects.

Patterned epitaxial GaAs films have been formed on Si substrates by either growth over patterned substrate (selective -area epitaxy) or chemical etching of patterns after growth. The optical properties of these samples are studied by 77K photoluminescence (PL) and the defect structures are investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The patterned substrate consisted of bare Si stripes with width ranging from 10 µm to 100 µm surrounded by Si3N4 films on both sides and a reference area of bare Si. For 1.5 µmiann d 3 µm thick films, PL intensities from the films inside the 10 µm stripe shows 140% and 75% increase over unpatterned areas while the residual tensile stress in the patterned films is very similar to that of the unpatterned area. The increase in the photoluminescence intensity is ascribed to the reduction of crystalline defects inside the the window area. In the chemically etched sample, the pattern consisted of 4 µm by 4 µm squares and 1 mm long stripes with widths ranging from 100 µm to 4 plm. From the shift of PL peaks, a monotonic decrease in the tensile stress versus stripe width is observed. In particular, when the width of the stripe is less than 7 µm. tensile stress becomes essentially uniaxial in agreement with the results obtained by Yacobi et al [16] on a GaAs on InP sample. The polarization of the luminescence spectra parallel and perpendicular to the uniaxial stress of a 4 µm wide stripe agrees well with theoretical prediction. It is also observed that tensile stress is almost completely relieved in the 4 µm by 4 muentc hed squares.