RPC Gap Production and Performance for CMS RE4 Upgrade

CMS experiment constructed the fourth Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) trigger station composed of 144 RPCs to enhance the high momentum muon trigger efficiency at both endcap regions. All new CMS endcap RPC gaps are produced in accordance with QA and QC at the Korea Detector Laboratory (KODEL) in Korea. All qualified gaps have been delivered to three assembly sites: CERN in Switzerland, BARC in India, and Ghent University in Belgium for the RPC detector assembly. In this paper, we present the detailed procedures used in the production of RPC gaps adopted for the CMS upgrade.Comment: RPC2014 conference contribution, 7 pages, 8 figure

Double resonance of Raman transitions in a degenerate Fermi gas

We measure momentum-resolved Raman spectra of a spin-polarized degenerate Fermi gas of $^{173}$Yb atoms for a wide range of magnetic fields, where the atoms are irradiated by a pair of counterpropagating Raman laser beams as in the conventional spin-orbit coupling scheme. Double resonance of first- and second-order Raman transitions occurs at a certain magnetic field and the spectrum exhibits a doublet splitting for high laser intensities. The measured spectral splitting is quantitatively accounted for by the Autler-Townes effect. We show that our measurement results are consistent with the spinful band structure of a Fermi gas in the spatially oscillating effective magnetic field generated by the Raman laser fields.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Noninvasive Diagnostic and Prognostic Assessment Tools for Liver Fibrosis and Cirrhosis in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Liver fibrosis, that is, excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix protein, occurs and is the wound‐healing response and common final pathway of various chronic liver diseases. Advanced hepatic fibrosis caused by chronic liver inflammation eventually progresses to cirrhosis, and prognosis and management of chronic liver diseases depend on the fibrotic severities. Therefore, the early and precise evaluation of severity and status of liver fibrosis provides useful information for diagnosis as well as treatment planning and treatment efficacy and prognosis. Although invasive liver biopsy is the gold standard to assess the nature and severity of hepatic fibrosis, it has several recognized limitations including sampling error and inter‐observer variability in interpretation and staging. Furthermore, the dynamic process of fibrosis resulting from progression and regression is difficult to capture with biopsy alone. Therefore, alternative, simple, reliable, and noninvasive direct and indirect serum markers able to predict the presence of significant fibrosis or cirrhosis in patients with chronic liver disease with considerable accuracy were needed. The hepatology experts are actively researching noninvasive methods of fibrosis quantification. The aims of this chapter were to review the nature and limitations of the several noninvasive methods for the assessment of presence and severity of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease

Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in a community-based population : a potential role in adult-onset asthma

Background: Recent studies suggest that Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin sensitization is a risk factor for asthma. However, there is a paucity of epidemiologic evidence on adult-onset asthma in community-based populations. Objective: We sought to evaluate the epidemiology and the clinical significance of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in community-based adult populations. Methods: The present analyses were performed using the baseline data set of Korean adult population surveys, consisting of 1080 adults (mean age=60.2years) recruited from an urban and a rural community. Questionnaires, methacholine challenge tests, and allergen skin tests were performed for defining clinical phenotypes. Sera were analysed for total IgE and enterotoxin-specific IgE using ImmunoCAP. Results: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization (0.35kU/L) had a prevalence of 27.0%. Risk factors were identified as male sex, current smoking, advanced age (61years), and inhalant allergen sensitization. Current asthma was mostly adult onset (18years old) and showed independent associations with high enterotoxin-specific IgE levels in multivariate logistic regression tests. In multivariate linear regressions, staphylococcal enterotoxin-specific IgE level was identified as the major determinant factor for total IgE level. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization was independently associated with adult-onset asthma in adult community populations. Strong correlations between the enterotoxin-specific IgE and total IgE levels support the clinical significance. The present findings warrant further studies for the precise roles of staphylococcal enterotoxin sensitization in the asthma pathogenesis

Determinants Of Enforcement Action By The Financial Supervisory Service Of Korea From The Perspective Of Audit Firms

In this study, we examine the determinants of enforcement action by the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea from the perspective of audit firms. Enforcement action is an indication of audit failure. Both client- and audit firm-specific factors are involved in its occurrence. Most published studies of enforcement after audit failure focus on client characteristics because details about audit firms from financial statements and information about organizational structure are not publicly available. However, examining the issues surrounding enforcement from the perspective of audit firms may also be valuable in elucidating the potential determinants of audit failure resulting in enforcement action. Utilizing publicly available data from audit firms in South Korea, we identify several audit firm characteristics as determinants of enforcement action. The results of our empirical analysis reveal that the likelihood of audit failure is positively associated with the ratio of accounts receivable to total assets, the ratio of audit fees to total revenue, the ratio of partners to the total number of CPAs, CEO ownership, and age of audit firms. In addition, the likelihood of audit failure is negatively associated with ownership concentration and profitability. These associations are more pronounced in non-affiliated audit firms than affiliated audit firms. Several useful implications for regulators are described for improving audit quality by means of enforcement action