Data blinding for the nEDM experiment at PSI Ayres, N. J.; Ban, G.; Bison, G. ...
European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
2021/4, Letnik:
57, Številka:
4
Journal Article
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Psychological bias towards, or away from, prior measurements or theory predictions is an intrinsic threat to any data analysis. While various methods can be used to try to avoid such a bias,
e.g.
...actively avoiding looking at the result, only data blinding is a traceable and trustworthy method that can circumvent the bias and convince a public audience that there is not even an accidental psychological bias. Data blinding is nowadays a standard practice in particle physics, but it is particularly difficult for experiments searching for the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM), as several cross measurements, in particular of the magnetic field, create a self-consistent network into which it is hard to inject a false signal. We present an algorithm that modifies the data without influencing the experiment. Results of an automated analysis of the data are used to change the recorded spin state of a few neutrons within each measurement cycle. The flexible algorithm may be applied twice (or more) to the data, thus providing the option of sequentially applying various blinding offsets for separate analysis steps with independent teams. The subtle manner in which the data are modified allows one subsequently to adjust the algorithm and to produce a re-blinded data set without revealing the initial blinding offset. The method was designed for the 2015/2016 measurement campaign of the nEDM experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. However, it can be re-used with minor modification for the follow-up experiment n2EDM, and may be suitable for comparable projects elsewhere.
The hypotheses of this study were (1) that the administration of 400IU eCG in a TAI protocol would increase ovarian follicular growth and diameter of the largest follicle (LF), volume of the CL, and ...produce an earlier rise on serum concentration of progesterone (P4) to ultimately improve P/AI compared to non-treated high-producing Holstein cows; and (2) that 600IU of eCG could enhance any potential effects of a greater gonadotropin treatment upon follicular and luteal size and function, improving P/AI. Cows were subjected to a protocol of synchronization of ovulation for timed artificial insemination (TAI): D0–P4 device insert and estradiol benzoate, D8–P4 device removal and PGF2α; Experiment 1, D10PM – GnRH plus TAI; and Experiment 2, D10AM – GnRH, D10PM – TAI. In Experiment 1, at P4 device removal, cows were assigned to one of the two treatments to receive none (n=232) or 400IU (n=232) of eCG. In Experiment 2, again at P4 device removal, cows were assigned to one of the three treatments to receive no eCG, (n=166) 400 (n=145) or 600IU (n=145) of eCG. Pregnancy was diagnosed 35 days after TAI. Ultrasonographic examination of both ovaries was done in a subset of cows in Experiments 1 no eCG (n=27) and 400IU eCG (n=14), and 2 no eCG (n=15), 400IU eCG (n=14) and 600IU eCG (n=11). Exams were conducted at device removal (D8) and TAI (D10) to measure the diameter of the LF; then twice daily from D10 to 13, to determine time to ovulation and the maximum diameter of the LF; and then 3 (D14), 6 (D17), 9 (D20) and 12 (D23) days after presumed ovulation, concurrent with blood sampling, to measure the volume of the CL and serum concentration of P4. In both studies, eCG (400 or 600IU)-treated cows had similar diameter of the LF on D8 and D10, growth rate of the LF from Days 8 to 10, ovulation rate, time to ovulation, volume of the CL, serum concentration of P4 and P/AI as compared to control animals. Thus, adding either 400 or 600IU eCG to TAI protocols was inefficient to alter follicular and luteal dynamics and increase P/AI in high-producing dairy cows under the conditions of these experiments. The lack of positive effects of eCG in the present study might be explained by the small percentage of cows with poor body condition score and lesser incidence of anestrus.
The purpose of this in-vitro study was to compare trueness, 3D deviation, production time and costs of milled and 3D-printed resin single crowns. A total of 20 CAD-CAM resin single crowns were ...fabricated from 10 digital wax patterns designed on 10 tooth preparations available in a reference model. Standardized control linear measurements were performed with a CAD software. Each STL file was then used to fabricate two resins crowns - one milled and one 3D-printed. All crowns underwent physical linear measurements using a digital caliper. The crowns were then scanned using an intraoral scanner for assessing 3D deviation. Finally, time to produce a single crown, as well as costs and production rates of both methods were also compared. Both CAM methods did not present statistically significant differences in linear measurements, as compared to controls (P⟩.05). Furthermore, 3D-printed crowns had significantly greater deviations in cervical margins (P=.032) and occlusal surfaces (P=.041), as compared with milled crowns. Finally, 3D-printing took significantly longer to produce one single crown (P=.001), but with a cheaper and higher production rate than milling. These findings suggest that milling devices produce resin single crowns with smaller 3D deviations but more expensive costs, as compared with low-cost 3D printers.
We present a novel Active Magnetic Shield (AMS), designed and implemented for the n2EDM experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute. The experiment will perform a high-sensitivity search for the ...electric dipole moment of the neutron. Magnetic-field stability and control is of key importance for n2EDM. A large, cubic, 5 m side length, magnetically shielded room (MSR) provides a passive, quasi-static shielding-factor of about
10
5
for its inner sensitive volume. The AMS consists of a system of eight complex, feedback-controlled compensation coils constructed on an irregular grid spanned on a volume of less than 1000 m
3
around the MSR. The AMS is designed to provide a stable and uniform magnetic-field environment around the MSR, while being reasonably compact. The system can compensate static and variable magnetic fields up to
±
50
μ
T
(homogeneous components) and
±
5
μ
T/m
(first-order gradients), suppressing them to a few
μ
T
in the sub-Hertz frequency range. The presented design concept and implementation of the AMS fulfills the requirements of the n2EDM experiment and can be useful for other applications, where magnetically silent environments are important and spatial constraints inhibit simpler geometrical solutions.
This study evaluated whether the four gonadorelin products that are commercially available in the United States produce comparable ovulation responses in lactating cows. Dairy cows at 7 d after last ...gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) treatment of Ovsynch (Day 7), with a corpus luteum (CL) ≥15
mm and at least one follicle ≥10
mm, were evaluated for response to GnRH treatment. Selected cows were randomized to receive (100
μg; im): (1) Cystorelin (n
=
146); (2) Factrel (n
=
132); (3) Fertagyl (n
=
140); or (4) Ovacyst (n
=
140). On Day 14, cows were examined for ovulation by detection of an accessory CL. Circulating luteinizing hormone (LH) concentrations were also evaluated in some cows after treatment with 100
μg (n
=
10 per group) or 50
μg (n
=
5 per group) GnRH. Statistical analyses were performed with the procedures MIXED and GLIMMIX of the SAS program. Percentage of cows ovulating differed (P
<
0.01) among groups, with that for Factrel being lower (55.3%) than that for Cystorelin (76.7%), Fertagyl (73.6%), or Ovacyst (85.0%). There was no effect of batch, parity, or follicle size on ovulation response, but increasing body condition score decreased ovulation response. There was a much greater LH release in cows treated with 100
μg than in those treated with 50
μg, but there were no detectable differences among products in time to LH peak, peak LH concentration, or area under the LH curve and no treatment effects nor treatment by time interactions on circulating LH profile. Thus, ovulation response to Factrel on Day 7 of the cycle was lower than that for other commercial GnRH products, although a definitive mechanism for this difference between products was not demonstrated.
Abstract
We report on a search for a new, short-range, spin-dependent interaction using a modified version of the experimental apparatus used to measure the permanent neutron electric dipole moment ...at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This interaction, which could be mediated by axion-like particles, concerned the unpolarized nucleons (protons and neutrons) near the material surfaces of the apparatus and polarized ultracold neutrons stored in vacuum. The dominant systematic uncertainty resulting from magnetic-field gradients was controlled to an unprecedented level of approximately 4 pT cm
−1
using an array of optically-pumped cesium vapor magnetometers and magnetic-field maps independently recorded using a dedicated measurement device. No signature of a theoretically predicted new interaction was found, and we set a new limit on the product of the scalar and the pseudoscalar couplings
g
s
g
p
λ
2
<
8.3
×
10
−
28
m
2
(95% C.L.) in a range of 5
µ
m
<
λ
<
25
mm for the monopole–dipole interaction. This new result confirms and improves our previous limit by a factor of 2.7 and provides the current tightest limit obtained with free neutrons.
The neutron and its hypothetical mirror counterpart, a sterile state degenerate in mass, could spontaneously mix in a process much faster than the neutron β-decay. Two groups have performed a series ...of experiments in search of neutron – mirror-neutron (
n
−
n
′) oscillations. They reported no evidence, thereby setting stringent limits on the oscillation time τ
nn
′
. Later, these data sets have been further analyzed by Berezhiani et al.(2009–2017), and signals, compatible with
n
−
n
′ oscillations in the presence of mirror magnetic fields, have been reported. The Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Collaboration based at the Paul Scherrer Institute performed a new series of experiments to further test these signals. In this paper, we describe and motivate our choice of run configurations with an optimal filling time of 29 s, storage times of 180 s and 380 s, and applied magnetic fields of 10 μT and 20 μT. The choice of these run configurations ensures a reliable overlap in settings with the previous efforts and also improves the sensitivity to test the signals. We also elaborate on the technique of normalizing the neutron counts, making such a counting experiment at the ultra-cold neutron source at the Paul Scherrer Institute possible. Furthermore, the magnetic field characterization to meet the requirements of this
n
−
n
′ oscillation search is demonstrated. Finally, we show that this effort has a statistical sensitivity to
n
−
n
′ oscillations comparable to the current leading constraints for
B
′ = 0.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of body condition score (BCS) in Nelore cows, and analyze its genetic correlations with mature weight (MW), mature height (MH) and ...gestation length (GL), in order to obtain information supporting the possible use of this score in breeding programs. The BCS was recorded on pregnancy diagnosis and ranged from 1 (very thin) to 5 (extremely fat). Adjusted means for MW, MH and GL according to the BCS classes were obtained using an univariate mixed model for each trait. Bayesian Inference using Gibbs Sampling was applied to estimate (co)variances components and genetic and phenotypic correlations, in two-trait analyses, considering a threshold animal model for BCS and a linear animal model for the other traits. Adjusted means for MW, MH and GL showed significant variation (p<0.0001) among BCS classes, indicating that cows with higher BCS have greater mature size, assessed by MW and MH measures, and longer GL than those with lower BCS. The BCS showed genetic variability, with posterior mean heritability of 0.23±0.05. Genetic correlations between the BCS with MW, MH and GL were 0.41±0.04; −0.06±0.03 and 0.10±0.02, respectively. Selection based on BCS should result in gain for body condition and, by indirect response, in changes in the same direction for cows MW. However, selection for BCS has little or no effect on MH and GL. So that BCS can effectively be used as a selection criterion of beef cows, further studies should be performed in order to obtain genetic associations with other economic traits.
•We show the correlations between body condition and other traits.•Cows with higher body condition presented a greater mature size.•The body condition shows genetic variability and responds to individual selection.•Indirect response on mature weight was expected by correlated response.•Selection for body condition has little effect on height and gestation length.
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