Qualitative characterization of healthcare wastes

The biological hazard inherent in the clinical wastes should be considered during the management and treatment process as well as the disposal into the environment. In this chapter, the risks associated with the clinical wastes as well as the management of these wastes are discussed. The chapter focused on reviewing the types of healthcare wastes generated from hospitals and clinics as well as the regulations and management practices used for these wastes. Moreover, the health risk associated with the infectious agents which have the potential to be transmitted into the environment. It has appeared that the clinical wastes represent real hazards for the human health and the environment if they were not managed properly

Gamma Ray Bursts: Observations and Theoretical Conjectures

Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are short bursts of very high energy photons which were discovered in the late 1960s. Ever since their discovery, scientists have wondered about their origin. Nowadays it is known that they originate outside the Milky Way because of their high red shift rst measured in the afterglows thanks to the Beppo-SAX satellite and ground-based observations. However, theoreticians still do not agree about the mechanism that generates the bursts, and different competing models are animatedly debated. Current GRB experiments include the Swift satellite and the Pierre Auger Observatory that could detect GRBs with an increase of the background. A forthcoming dedicated experiment is GLAST, a satellite observatory for detecting gamma rays with energies up to 300 GeV, whose launch is scheduled for early 2008

Testbeam and Laboratory Characterization of CMS 3D Pixel Sensors

The pixel detector is the innermost tracking device in CMS, reconstructing interaction vertices and charged particle trajectories. The sensors located in the innermost layers of the pixel detector must be upgraded for the ten-fold increase in luminosity expected with the High- Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) phase. As a possible replacement for planar sensors, 3D silicon technology is under consideration due to its good performance after high radiation fluence. In this paper, we report on pre- and post- irradiation measurements for CMS 3D pixel sensors with different electrode configurations. The effects of irradiation on electrical properties, charge collection efficiency, and position resolution of 3D sensors are discussed. Measurements of various test structures for monitoring the fabrication process and studying the bulk and surface properties, such as MOS capacitors, planar and gate-controlled diodes are also presented.Comment: 14 page

Light-limited photosynthesis under energy-saving film decreases eggplant yield

Glasshouse films with adjustable light transmittance and energy-efficient designs have the potential to reduce (up to 80%) the high energy cost for greenhouse horticulture operations. Whether these films compromise the quantity and quality of light transmission for photosynthesis and crop yield remains unclear. A “Smart Glass” film ULR-80 (SG) was applied to a high-tech greenhouse horticulture facility, and two experimental trials were conducted by growing eggplant (Solanum melongena) using commercial vertical cultivation and management practices. SG blocked 85% of ultraviolet (UV), 58% of far-red, and 26% of red light, leading to an overall reduction of 19% in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 380–699 nm) and a 25% reduction in total season fruit yield. There was a 53% (season mean) reduction in net short-wave radiation (radiometer range, 385–2,105 nm upward; 295–2,685 nm downward) that generated a net reduction of 8% in heat load and reduced water and nutrient consumption by 18%, leading to improved energy and resource use efficiency. Eggplant adjusted to the altered SG light environment via decreased maximum light-saturated photosynthetic rates (Amax) and lower xanthophyll de-epoxidation state. The shift in light characteristics under SG led to reduced photosynthesis, which may have reduced source (leaf) to sink (fruit) carbon distribution, increased fruit abortion and decreased fruit yield, but did not affect nutritional quality. We conclude that SG increases energy and resource use efficiency, without affecting fruit quality, but the reduction in photosynthesis and eggplant yield is high. The solution is to re-engineer the SG to increase penetration of UV and PAR, while maintaining blockage of glasshouse heat gain

Deficiency in origin licensing proteins impairs cilia formation: implications for the aetiology of meier-gorlin syndrome

Mutations in ORC1, ORC4, ORC6, CDT1, and CDC6, which encode proteins required for DNA replication origin licensing, cause Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS), a disorder conferring microcephaly, primordial dwarfism, underdeveloped ears, and skeletal abnormalities. Mutations in ATR, which also functions during replication, can cause Seckel syndrome, a clinically related disorder. These findings suggest that impaired DNA replication could underlie the developmental defects characteristic of these disorders. Here, we show that although origin licensing capacity is impaired in all patient cells with mutations in origin licensing component proteins, this does not correlate with the rate of progression through S phase. Thus, the replicative capacity in MGS patient cells does not correlate with clinical manifestation. However, ORC1-deficient cells from MGS patients and siRNA-mediated depletion of origin licensing proteins also have impaired centrosome and centriole copy number. As a novel and unexpected finding, we show that they also display a striking defect in the rate of formation of primary cilia. We demonstrate that this impacts sonic hedgehog signalling in ORC1-deficient primary fibroblasts. Additionally, reduced growth factor-dependent signaling via primary cilia affects the kinetics of cell cycle progression following cell cycle exit and re-entry, highlighting an unexpected mechanism whereby origin licensing components can influence cell cycle progression. Finally, using a cell-based model, we show that defects in cilia function impair chondroinduction. Our findings raise the possibility that a reduced efficiency in forming cilia could contribute to the clinical features of MGS, particularly the bone development abnormalities, and could provide a new dimension for considering developmental impacts of licensing deficiency

A Search for Dark Higgs Bosons

Recent astrophysical and terrestrial experiments have motivated the proposal of a dark sector with GeV-scale gauge boson force carriers and new Higgs bosons. We present a search for a dark Higgs boson using 516 fb-1 of data collected with the BABAR detector. We do not observe a significant signal and we set 90% confidence level upper limits on the product of the Standard Model-dark sector mixing angle and the dark sector coupling constant.Comment: 7 pages, 5 postscript figures, published version with improved plots for b/w printin

Carnitine reduces the lipoperoxidative damage of the membrane and apoptosis after induction of cell stress in experimental glaucoma

The pathological damage caused by glaucoma is associated to a high intraocular pressure. The ocular hypertone is most likely due to a defective efflux of aqueous humor from the anterior chamber of the eye. Ocular hypertension causes apoptotic death of retinal ganglion cells and overexpression of molecular markers typical of cell stress response and apoptosis. In this work, we report on the neuroprotective, antiapoptotic and antioxidant action of a natural substance, -carnitine. This compound is known for its ability to improve the mitochondrial performance. We analyze a number of cellular and molecular markers, typical of ocular hypertension and, in general, of the cell stress response. In particular, -carnitine reduces the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, inducible nitric oxide synthase, ubiquitin and caspase 3 typical markers of cell stress. In addition, the morphological analysis of the optic nerve evidenced a reduction of the pathological excavation of the optic disk. This experimental hypertone protocol induces a severe lipoperoxidation, which is significantly reduced by -carnitine. The overall interpretation is that mortality of the retinal cells is due to membrane damage

Measurement of the t t-bar production cross section in the dilepton channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The t t-bar production cross section (sigma[t t-bar]) is measured in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV in data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.3 inverse femtobarns. The measurement is performed in events with two leptons (electrons or muons) in the final state, at least two jets identified as jets originating from b quarks, and the presence of an imbalance in transverse momentum. The measured value of sigma[t t-bar] for a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV is 161.9 +/- 2.5 (stat.) +5.1/-5.0 (syst.) +/- 3.6(lumi.) pb, consistent with the prediction of the standard model.Comment: Replaced with published version. Included journal reference and DO