Measurement of the νμ charged current quasielastic cross section on carbon with the T2K on-axis neutrino beam

We report a measurement of the νµ charged current quasi-elastic cross-sections on carbon in the T2K on-axis neutrino beam. The measured charged current quasi-elastic cross-sections on carbon at mean neutrino energies of 1.94 GeV and 0.93 GeV are (11.95 ± 0.19(stat.) +1.82−1.47(syst.)) ×10^−39 cm^2/neutron, and (10.64 ± 0.37(stat.)+2.03−1.65(syst.)) × 10^−39 cm^2/neutron, respectively. These results agree well with the predictions of neutrino interaction models. In addition, we investigated the effects of the nuclear model and the multi-nucleon interaction.

Triple-junction solar cell performance under Fresnel-based concentrators taking into account chromatic aberration and off-axis operation

Concentration photovoltaic (CPV) systems might produce quite uneven irradiance distributions (both on their level and on their spectral distribution) on the solar cell. This effect can be even more evident when the CPV system is slightly off-axis, since they are often designed to assure good uniformity only at normal incidence. The non-uniformities both in absolute irradiance and spectral content produced by the CPV systems, can originate electrical losses in multi-junction solar cells (MJSC). This works is focused on the integration of ray-tracing methods for simulating the irradiance and spectrum maps produced by different optic systems throughout the solar cell surface, with a 3D fully distributed circuit model which simulates the electrical behavior of a state-of-the-art triple-junction solar cell under the different light distributions obtained with ray-tracing. In this study four different CPV system (SILO, XTP, RTP, and FK) comprising Fresnel lenses concentrating sunlight onto the same solar cell are modeled when working on-axis and 0.6 degrees off-axis. In this study the impact of non-uniformities on a CPV system behavior is revealed. The FK outperforms other Fresnel-based CPV systems in both on-axis and off-axis conditions.

Field experiment of 800× off-axis XR-Köhler concentrator module on a carousel tracker

This paper presents the design and preliminary experimental results of a concentrator-type photovoltaic module based on a free-form off-axis 800×XR-Köhler concentrator. The off-axis XR-Köhler concentrator is one of the advanced concentrators that perform high concentration with a large acceptance angle and excellent irradiance uniformity on a solar cell. As a result of on-sun characterization of the unglazed single-cell unit test rig, the temperature-corrected DC module efficiency was 32.2% at 25 °C without an anti-reflective (AR) coating on the secondary optics, and the acceptance angle was more than ±1.0°. In addition, the non-corrected DC efficiency of an individual cell in a glazed 8-cell unit module mounted on a carousel tracking system was measured. The individual efficiency deviated in the range of 24.3-27.4%, owing to the mirror shape and alignment errors. The resultant series-connected efficiency was approximately 25% at direct normal irradiation (DNI) of 770 W/m2.

Glucose intolerance caused by a defect in the entero-insular axis: A study in gastric inhibitory polypeptide receptor knockout mice

Mice with a targeted mutation of the gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) receptor gene (GIPR) were generated to determine the role of GIP as a mediator of signals from the gut to pancreatic β cells. GIPR−/− mice have higher blood glucose levels with impaired initial insulin response after oral glucose load. Although blood glucose levels after meal ingestion are not increased by high-fat diet in GIPR+/+ mice because of compensatory higher insulin secretion, they are significantly increased in GIPR−/− mice because of the lack of such enhancement. Accordingly, early insulin secretion mediated by GIP determines glucose tolerance after oral glucose load in vivo, and because GIP plays an important role in the compensatory enhancement of insulin secretion produced by a high insulin demand, a defect in this entero-insular axis may contribute to the pathogenesis of diabetes.

β-Trcp couples β-catenin phosphorylation-degradation and regulates Xenopus axis formation

Regulation of β-catenin stability is essential for Wnt signal transduction during development and tumorigenesis. It is well known that serine-phosphorylation of β-catenin by the Axin–glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)–3β complex targets β-catenin for ubiquitination–degradation, and mutations at critical phosphoserine residues stabilize β-catenin and cause human cancers. How β-catenin phosphorylation results in its degradation is undefined. Here we show that phosphorylated β-catenin is specifically recognized by β-Trcp, an F-box/WD40-repeat protein that also associates with Skp1, an essential component of the ubiquitination apparatus. β-catenin harboring mutations at the critical phosphoserine residues escapes recognition by β-Trcp, thus providing a molecular explanation for why these mutations cause β-catenin accumulation that leads to cancer. Inhibition of endogenous β-Trcp function by a dominant negative mutant stabilizes β-catenin, activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and induces axis formation in Xenopus embryos. Therefore, β-Trcp plays a central role in recruiting phosphorylated β-catenin for degradation and in dorsoventral patterning of the Xenopus embryo.