The CUPID Collaboration is designing a tonne-scale, background-free detector to search for double beta decay with sufficient sensitivity to fully explore the parameter space corresponding to the ...inverted neutrino mass hierarchy scenario. One of the CUPID demonstrators, CUPID-Mo, has proved the potential of enriched Li
2
100
MoO
4
crystals as suitable detectors for neutrinoless double beta decay search. In this work, we characterised cubic crystals that, compared to the cylindrical crystals used by CUPID-Mo, are more appealing for the construction of tightly packed arrays. We measured an average energy resolution of (
6.7
±
0.6
) keV FWHM in the region of interest, approaching the CUPID target of 5 keV FWHM. We assessed the identification of
α
particles with and without a reflecting foil that enhances the scintillation light collection efficiency, proving that the baseline design of CUPID already ensures a complete suppression of this
α
-induced background contribution. We also used the collected data to validate a Monte Carlo simulation modelling the light collection efficiency, which will enable further optimisations of the detector.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Research in high energy physics (HEP) requires huge amounts of computing and storage, putting strong constraints on the code speed and resource usage. To meet these requirements, a compiled ...high-performance language is typically used; while for physicists, who focus on the application when developing the code, better research productivity pleads for a high-level programming language. A popular approach consists of combining Python, used for the high-level interface, and C++, used for the computing intensive part of the code. A more convenient and efficient approach would be to use a language that provides both high-level programming and high-performance. The Julia programming language, developed at MIT especially to allow the use of a single language in research activities, has followed this path. In this paper the applicability of using the Julia language for HEP research is explored, covering the different aspects that are important for HEP code development: runtime performance, handling of large projects, interface with legacy code, distributed computing, training, and ease of programming. The study shows that the HEP community would benefit from a large scale adoption of this programming language. The HEP-specific foundation libraries that would need to be consolidated are identified.
Abstract
In preparation for the CROSS experiment to search for
double-beta (2β) decay of
100
Mo, we upgraded a
low-background facility at the Canfranc underground laboratory
(Spain) by installing a ...magnetic damping-based detector suspension
inside a pulse-tube cryostat. We tested the suspension in
low-temperature (15 mK) measurements with two scintillating
bolometers made of large-volume crystals of
116
CdWO
4
(reference of the set-up) and Li
2
MoO
4
(R&D of the CLYMENE
project in view of the CUPID 2β experiment), each coupled to a
thin Ge bolometric light detector. Despite the evidence of a
residual pulse-tube-induced noise, picked up by cabling, we achieved
high performance with all tested devices. In particular, the energy
resolution for 2615 keV γ-ray measured with both
116
CdWO
4
and Li
2
MoO
4
bolometers is ∼6 keV FWHM,
among the best-reported results for thermal detectors based on such
compounds representing a great interest to searches for 2β
decay in
116
Cd (Q-value is 2813 keV) and
100
Mo
(3034 keV) respectively. Highly efficient particle identification
(α vs. β/γ) is achieved also with the
scintillating bolometer made of a low light yield crystal
(Li
2
MoO
4
), thanks to the low noise (10 eV RMS) exhibited by
the light detector exploiting the Neganov-Trofimov-Luke effect for
signal amplification. We also found a rather high level of
radiopurity in the Li
2
MoO
4
crystal; only traces of
210
Po
and
226
Ra were detected (∼0.1 mBq/kg each), while the
228
Th activity is expected to be at least an order of magnitude
lower, as well as a
40
K activity is below 6 mBq/kg.
This paper describes the selective read-out processor (SRP) proposed for the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at LHC (CERN). The aim is to reduce raw ...ECAL data to a level acceptable by the CMS data acquisition (DAQ) system. For each positive level 1 trigger, the SRP is guided by trigger primitive generation electronics to identify ECAL regions with energy deposition satisfying certain programmable criteria. It then directs the ECAL read-out electronics to apply predefined zero suppression levels to the crystal data, depending whether the crystals fall within these regions or not. The main challenges for the SRP are some 200 high speed (1.6 Gbit/s) I/O channels, asynchronous operation at up to 100 kHz level 1 trigger rate, a 5-/spl mu/s real-time latency requirement and a need to retain flexibility in choice of selection algorithms. The architecture adopted for the SRP is based on modern parallel optic pluggable modules and high density field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices with embedded processors and multigigabit transceivers. Implementation studies to validate proposed solutions are presented. The performance of envisaged selection algorithms is investigated with the CMS detector simulation software. The robustness of optical communication channels is estimated via direct measurements and calculations. The feasibility to perform data reduction operations within the allocated timing budget is verified by running a representative SRP firmware on a development board with a Xilinx Virtex2Pro FPGA device.
EHT0202 (etazolate hydrochloride) is a new compound exhibiting both potential disease-modifying and symptomatic treatment properties in Alzheimer's Disease increasing alpha-secretase activity and ...sAPP alpha secretion, as well as acting as a GABA-A receptor modulator and as a PDE-4 inhibitor.
This pilot, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group, multicentre, Phase IIA study was conducted in 159 randomized patients suffering from mild to moderate Alzheimer's Disease. EHT0202 (40 or 80 mg bid) or placebo was administered as adjunctive therapy to one acetylcholinesterase inhibitor over a 3-month period. This study was designed to assess the clinical safety and tolerability of EHT0202 as a primary objective, with secondary endpoints (cognitive function, daily living activities, behaviour, caregiver burden and global functioning) included to explore clinical efficacy of EHT0202 versus placebo.
EHT0202 was shown to be safe and generally well tolerated. Dose-dependent numbers of early withdrawal and central nervous system related adverse events were observed. As expected, since the study was not powered and not designed to show drug efficacy, and except for ratings on the ADCS-ADL scale, no significant differences were seen between treatment groups.
These first encouraging safety results do support further development of EHT0202 in order to assess its clinical efficacy and to confirm its tolerability in a larger cohort of Alzheimer patients and for a longer period.
BCMA is a human gene expressed preferentially in mature B lymphocytes as a 1.2 kb mRNA, which encodes a 184 amino acid peptide (BCMAp). The study of BCMA mRNA expression, using human malignant B cell ...lines characteristic of different stages of B lymphocyte differentiation, demonstrated that the BCMA mRNA is absent in the pro-B lymphocyte stage. It is expressed faintly at the pre-B cell stage and its expression increases with B lymphocyte maturation. Polyclonal antibodies were used to show, by cellular fractionation and immunoprecipitation, that BCMAp is a non-glycosylated integral membrane protein. Furthermore, BCMAp inserts, in vitro, into canine microsomes, as a type I integral membrane protein. Cell surface labeling showed that BCMAp is not expressed in the plasma membrane of mature B lymphocytes. Immunofluorescence studies revealed that BCMAp lies in a cap-like structure near the nucleus, that was identified as the Golgi apparatus by co-localization of BCMAp with CTR433, a marker of the medial cisternae of the Golgi apparatus. Confocal scanning laser microscopy of U266 plasma cells labeled with markers of various Golgi apparatus subcompartments strongly suggests that BCMAp is located in the cis part of the Golgi apparatus. Thus, BCMAp is the first Golgi resident protein with a tissue specificity and whose expression is linked to the stage of differentiation of B lymphocytes. The location of BCMAp in the Golgi apparatus and its high expression in plasmocytes (secreting large amounts of Ig) suggest that BCMAp is implicated in the intracellular traffic of Ig.
The age- and sex-specific incidence and survival rates over two years of intracerebral and subarachnoid haemorrhages, cortical infarcts, lacunes and transient ischaemic attacks (TIA) in a town of ...140,000 inhabitants, are reported. During the five years, (1985 to 1989), 984 patients suffering from first stroke were registered by the Dijon Stroke Registry. The diagnosis was established by a CT-Scan in 88% of cases. Intracerebral haemorrhages (ICH) account for 8.8% of strokes, subarachnoid haemorrhages (SH) for 1.5%, cortical infarcts (CI) for 45.6%, lacunes for 16.7%, TIA for 15.8%, and 11% were undetermined. The annual average incidence rates per 100,000 are 13.4 for ICH, 2.0 for SH, 69.0 for Cl, 30.0 for lacunes and 25.5 for TIA. The survival rates for the acute stage (up to four weeks) differ between ICH and SH (46% and 67%), and the other types of strokes: 77% for Cl, 90% for lacunes and 98% for TIA. The survival rates of unclassified stroke are similar to ICH rates. At two years, survival rates of lacune and TIA are the highest. The divergences between public hospital based data and population-registry data are discussed. A population registry is necessary for studying the natural history of stroke.
When examining quantitatively the material properties of wheat flour dough, the need arises to model the mixing of the dough in terms of some constitutive relationship which simulates the changing ...rheology of the dough during the mixing. In formulating a mathematical model of the mixing one key issue is the extent to which the mixing of the dough displays, at least with respect to certain mixers, rate-independent characteristics. Evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that, at least to first order, the evolving rheology, resulting from the mixing of a wheat flour dough in a MixographTM, (but not necessarily in some other recording or commercial mixers), has a clear rate-independent character. When mixed on a variable speed 35 gm MixographTM, flour water dough of constant moisture content, prepared from seven flours of widely differing protein contents, showed statistically significant differences in the number of mixer revolutions required to reach peak dough development and in their resistance at peak dough development. For each of the flours, the number of revolutions was essentially constant at the five different speeds examined, whereas the resistance increased gradually (and steadily) as the mixer speed increased.
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