Liquid xenon (LXe) is employed in a number of current and future detectors for rare event searches. We use the EXO-200 experimental data to measure the absolute scintillation and ionization yields ...generated by γ interactions from 228Th (2615 keV), 226Ra (1764 keV), and 60Co (1332 keV and 1173 keV) calibration sources, over a range of electric fields. The W value that defines the recombination-independent energy scale is measured to be 11.5 ± 0.5 (syst.) ±0.1 (stat.) eV. These data are also used to measure the recombination fluctuations in the number of electrons and photons produced by the calibration sources at the MeV scale, which deviate from extrapolations of lower-energy data. Additionally, a semiempirical model for the energy resolution of the detector is developed, which is used to constrain the recombination efficiency, i.e., the fraction of recombined electrons that result in the emission of a detectable photon. Detailed measurements of the absolute charge and light yields for MeV-scale electron recoils are important for predicting the performance of future neutrinoless double β-decay detectors.
Abstract
Construction of the new all-silicon Inner Tracker (ITk), developed by the ATLAS collaboration to be
able to track charged particles produced at the High-Luminosity LHC, started in 2020 and ...is expected to
continue till 2028. The ITk detector will include 18,000 highly segmented and radiation hard n+-in-p
silicon strip sensors (ATLAS18), which are being manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics. Mechanical and electrical characteristics of produced sensors are measured upon their delivery at several institutes participating in a complex Quality Control (QC) program. The QC tests performed on each individual sensor check the overall integrity and quality of the sensor.
During the QC testing of ATLAS18 strip sensors, an increased number of sensors that
failed the electrical tests was observed. In particular, IV measurements indicated an early breakdown,
while large areas containing several tens or hundreds of neighbouring strips with low interstrip isolation
were identified by the Full strip tests, and leakage current instabilities were measured in a long-term leakage current stability setup. Moreover, a high surface electrostatic charge reaching a level of several hundreds of volts per inch was measured on a large number of sensors and on the plastic sheets, which
mechanically protect these sensors in their paper envelopes. Accumulated data indicates a clear
correlation between observed electrical failures and the sensor charge-up.
To mitigate the above-described issues, the QC testing sites significantly modified the sensor handling
procedures and introduced sensor recovery techniques based on irradiation of the sensor surface with UV
light or application of intensive flows of ionized gas. In this presentation, we will describe the setups
implemented by the QC testing sites to treat silicon strip sensors affected by static charge and
evaluate the effectiveness of these setups in terms of improvement of the sensor performance.
Abstract
During the prototyping phase of the new ATLAS Inner-Tracker
(ITk) strip sensors, a degradation of the device breakdown voltage
at high humidity was observed. Although the degradation was
...temporary, showing a fast recovery in dry conditions, the study of
the influence of humidity on the sensor performance was critical to
establish counter-measures and handling protocols during production
testing in order to ensure the proper performance of the upgraded
detector.
The work presented here has the objective to study for the first
time the breakdown voltage deterioration in presence of ambient
humidity of ATLAS ITk production-layout strip sensors with different
surface properties, before and after proton, neutron and gamma
irradiations. A study of the humidity sensitivity of miniature ATLAS
ITk strip sensors, before and after proton irradiations, is also
presented to compare the sensitivity of devices with different
sizes.
The sensors were also exposed for several days to high humidity with
the aim to recreate and evaluate the influence of the detector
integration environment expected during the Large Hadron Collider
(LHC) Long Shutdown 3 (LS3) in 2026, where the sensors will be
exposed to ambient humidity for prolonged times.
•Women suffer the experience of vaginal examinations, believing them a necessary part of childbirth.•Vaginal examinations are a core part of the partogram assessment tool and embedded in the ...biomedical model of care.•Context of care changes midwifery care delivered.•Continuity of carer improves women's experience of vaginal examinations.•Vaginal examinations reinforce patriarchal care provision.
To conduct a systematic review exploring women's experiences, views and understanding of any vaginal examinations during intrapartum care, in any care setting and by any healthcare professional. Intrapartum vaginal examination is deemed both an essential assessment tool and routine intervention during labour. It is an intervention that can cause significant distress, embarrassment, and pain for women, as well as reinforce outdated gender roles. In view of its widespread and frequently reported excessive use, it is important to understand women's views on vaginal examination to inform further research and current practice.
A systematic search and meta-ethnography synthesis informed by Noblit and Hare (1988) and the eMERGe guidance (France et al. 2019) was undertaken. Nine electronic databases were searched systematically using predefined search terms in August 2021, and again in March 2023. Studies meeting the following criteria: English language, qualitative and mixed-method studies, published from 2000 onwards, and relevant to the topic, were eligible for quality appraisal and inclusion.
Six studies met the inclusion criteria. Three from Turkey, one from Palestine, one from Hong Kong and one from New Zealand. One disconfirming study was identified. Following both a reciprocal and refutational synthesis, four 3rd order constructs were formed, titled: Suffering the examination, Challenging the power dynamic, Cervical-centric labour culture embedded in societal expectations, and Context of care. Finally, a line of argument was arrived at, which brought together and summarised the 3rd order constructs.
The dominant biomedical discourse of vaginal examination and cervical dilatation as central to the birthing process does not align with midwifery philosophy or women's embodied experience. Women experience examinations as painful and distressing but tolerate them as they view them as necessary and unavoidable. Factors such as context of care setting, environment, privacy, midwifery care, particularly in a continuity of carer model, have considerable positive affect on women's experience of examinations. Further research into women's experiences of vaginal examination in different care models as well as research into less invasive intrapartum assessment tools that promote physiological processes is urgently required.
To review strategies for successful recruitment in small-scale, qualitative research in primary care by exploring those used in a variety of settings and providing a reflective analysis of the ...strategies used in one such study.
Recruitment of participants in small-scale, qualitative research in primary care is problematic. Researchers need to be more aware of the issues involved, but there is little practical guidance available to help them devise efficient strategies for maximising recruitment.
This paper draws on a study conducted in the Highlands of Scotland examining the emotional wellbeing of pregnant and non-pregnant women. This was a qualitative study using diaries and interviews over a period of nine months. Ten women were recruited over a period of more than two years.
The author reviews the strategies for successful recruitment based on both a review of the available literature as well as the experience of one study.
Recruitment of subjects to a study is one of the major elements of a research proposal and requires significant effort, yet there is little to guide researchers through this difficult process. The challenge of recruitment is seldom debated and studies rarely report problems encountered or outline approaches that proved particularly successful. The importance of successful recruitment is discussed and the arguably typical recruitment difficulties encountered by researchers conducting a study in the Highlands of Scotland are outlined. The elements that comprised successful recruitment in this and other studies are appraised.
Although focused specifically on recruitment in small-scale, qualitative studies in primary care, this paper raises broader issues about the recruitment of participants in all types of research. Recruitment has implications for the trustworthiness and dependability of the data and hence the findings of research. Despite this, there remains a lack of evidence about what enhances research recruitment, leaving researchers to rely on guesswork and anecdotes. In a climate of evidence-based practice, researchers should be encouraged to include a formal evaluation of recruitment strategies in their studies and to report their findings.
As recruitment has implications for the trustworthiness and dependability of research, researchers need to consider a wide range of recruitment strategies and include a formal evaluation of their recruitment strategies when reporting on their research.
A Consensus Curriculum – One Model Jessiman, Wendy C; Murray, Irene D
The practising midwife,
02/2021, Letnik:
24, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This paper reports on the development of a curriculum for a Shortened Midwifery Programme. In order to develop consensus around the Shortened Midwifery Programme, a technique similar to a Delphi ...study was used to determine the priority topics for key Stakeholders1 investing in a future midwifery curriculum at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). Using both face-to-face development days with contributions via online conferencing UHI, NHS Highland, Western Isles, Shetland and Orkney built a curriculum in three stages allowing the creation of a consensus curriculum in just over four months. The first cohort commenced the Programme in January 2019 and completed in August 2020, adding midwives directly to the workforce of the region supporting the development of the UHI Programme.
A search for neutrinoless double-β decay (0νββ) in Xe136 is performed with the full EXO-200 dataset using a deep neural network to discriminate between 0νββ and background events. Relative to ...previous analyses, the signal detection efficiency has been raised from 80.8% to 96.4±3.0%, and the energy resolution of the detector at the Q value of Xe136 0νββ has been improved from σ/E=1.23% to 1.15±0.02% with the upgraded detector. Accounting for the new data, the median 90% confidence level 0νββ half-life sensitivity for this analysis is 5.0×1025 yr with a total Xe136 exposure of 234.1 kg yr. No statistically significant evidence for 0νββ is observed, leading to a lower limit on the 0νββ half-life of 3.5×1025 yr at the 90% confidence level.
Preliminary defect level investigation in ATLAS ITk Strip Sensors using DLTS Klein, C.T.; Dandoy, J.; Duvnjak, D. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
August 2024, 2024-08-00, 2024-08-01, Letnik:
1065, Številka:
C
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
As a part of ongoing studies in parallel to ITk Strip Sensor Production quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA), diodes fabricated as test structures were measured using Deep-Level Transient ...Spectroscopy (DLTS). This was done to understand an anomalously large leakage current observed in main sensors, and to improve the precision of sensor simulations as well as to compile a more complete model of radiation damage in ITk Strip Sensors. Utilising DLTS spectra with varying test parameters, trap energy levels and cross-sections associated with defects in the devices were obtained. Furthermore, employing related measurements techniques, such as Thermal Admittance Spectroscopy (TAS), results were supplemented and expanded, or additional points of interest, such as the deep level profile and the capture kinematics of the trap levels, were investigated with double-pulse DLTS (DDLTS). A common trap in unirradiated diodes was identified, but also an additional trap suspected to cause high leakage current. In proton-irradiated diodes, defects common to all devices irrespective of fluence level were observed.
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