TSpack: a unified tabu search code for multi-dimensional bin packing problems

We present a computer code that implements a general Tabu Search technique for the solution of two- and three-dimensional bin packing problems, as well as virtually any of their variants requiring the minimization of the number of bins. The user is only requested to provide a procedure that gives an approximate solution to the actual variant to be solve

Models and bounds for two-dimensional level packing problems

We consider two-dimensional bin packing and strip packing problems where the items have to be packed by levels. We introduce new mathematical models involving a polynomial number of variables and constraints, and show that their LP relaxations dominate the standard area relaxations. We then propose new (combinatorial) bounds that can be computed in O(nlog n) time. We show that they dominate the other bounds, and establish their absolute worst-case behavior. The quality of models and bounds is evaluated through extensive computational experiment

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Depletion of Trichoplein (TpMs) Causes Chromosome Mis-Segregation, DNA Damage and Chromosome Instability in Cancer Cells

Mitotic perturbations frequently lead to chromosome mis-segregation that generates genome instability, thereby triggering tumor onset and/or progression. Error-free mitosis depends on fidelity-monitoring systems that ensure the temporal and spatial coordination of chromosome segregation. Recent investigations are focused on mitotic DNA damage response (DDR) and chromosome mis-segregations with the aim of developing more efficient anti-cancer therapies. We previously demonstrated that trichoplein keratin filament binding protein (TpMs) exhibits hallmarks of a tumor suppressor gene in cancer-derived cells and human tumors. Here, we show that silencing of TpMs expression results in chromosome mis-segregation, DNA damage and chromosomal instability. TpMs interacts with Mad2, and TpMs depletion results in decreased levels of Mad2 and Cyclin B1 proteins. All the genetic alterations observed are consistent with both defective activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint and mitotic progression. Thus, low levels of TpMs found in certain human tumors may contribute to cellular transformation by promoting genomic instability

Laser-driven muon production for material inspection and imaging

We numerically show that laser-wakefield accelerated electron beams obtained using a PetaWatt-scale laser system can produce high-flux sources of relativistic muons that are suitable for radiographic applications. Scalings of muon energy and flux with the properties of the wakefield electron beams are presented. Applying these results to the expected performance of the 10-PW class laser at the Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) demonstrates that ultra-high power laser facilities currently in the commissioning phase can generate ultra-relativistic muon beams with more than 104 muons per shot reaching the detector plane. Simple magnetic beamlines are shown to be effective in separating the muons from noise, allowing for their detection using, for example, silicon-based detectors. It is shown that a laser facility like the one at ELI-NP can produce high-fidelity and spatially resolved muon radiographs of enclosed strategically sensitive materials in a matter of minutes