Evolution: Complexity, uncertainty and innovation

Complexity science provides a general mathematical basis for evolutionary thinking. It makes us face the inherent, irreducible nature of uncertainty and the limits to knowledge and prediction. Complex, evolutionary systems work on the basis of on-going, continuous internal processes of exploration, experimentation and innovation at their underlying levels. This is acted upon by the level above, leading to a selection process on the lower levels and a probing of the stability of the level above. This could either be an organizational level above, or the potential market place. Models aimed at predicting system behaviour therefore consist of assumptions of constraints on the micro-level – and because of inertia or conformity may be approximately true for some unspecified time. However, systems without strong mechanisms of repression and conformity will evolve, innovate and change, creating new emergent structures, capabilities and characteristics. Systems with no individual freedom at their lower levels will have predictable behaviour in the short term – but will not survive in the long term. Creative, innovative, evolving systems, on the other hand, will more probably survive over longer times, but will not have predictable characteristics or behaviour. These minimal mechanisms are all that are required to explain (though not predict) the co-evolutionary processes occurring in markets, organizations, and indeed in emergent, evolutionary communities of practice. Some examples will be presented briefly

Sensor development and readout prototyping for the STAR Pixel detector

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is designing a new vertex detector. The purpose of this upgrade detector is to provide high resolution pointing to allow for the direct topological reconstruction of heavy flavor decays such as the D{sup 0} by finding vertices displaced from the collision vertex by greater than 60 microns. We are using Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) as the sensor technology and have a coupled sensor development and readout system plan that leads to a final detector with a <200 {micro}s integration time, 400 M pixels and a coverage of -1 < {eta} < 1. We present our coupled sensor and readout development plan and the status of the prototyping work that has been accomplished

Mechanical Design Analysis of MQXFB, the 7.2-m-Long Low-β Quadrupole for the High-Luminosity LHC Upgrade

As part of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Project, a set of Nb Snquadrupoles are being developed, aiming to enhance the performance of the inner triplets. The new magnets, identified as MQXFA and MQXFB, will share the same cross section with two different lengths, 4.2 and 7.2 m, respectively. During the magnet development, three short models were tested, along with a number of mechanical models, demonstrating the capability of the magnet cross section to achieve the specified performances. The same performances are now required for the full-length magnets. To ensure this, the authors studied the impact of the magnet length on the capability of the structure to provide an adequate support to the coils. Finite element and simplified analytical models were used to evaluate the impact of the magnet length on the stresses in the magnet ends and coil elongation during powering. The models were calibrated using the results from the short model tests, and used to provide an indication on the required prestress and its foreseen impact on the magnet performance.

Mechanical Performance of Short Models for MQXF, the Nb3Sn Low-β Quadrupole for the Hi-Lumi LHC

In the framework of the Hi-Lumi LHC Project, CERN and U.S. LARP are jointly developing MQXF, a 150-mm aperture high-field Nb3Sn quadrupole for the upgrade of the inner triplet of the low-beta interaction regions. The magnet is supported by a shell-based structure, providing the preload by means of bladder-key technology and differential thermal contraction of the various components. Two short models have been produced using the same cross section currently considered for the final magnet. The structures were preliminarily tested replacing the superconducting coils with blocks of aluminum. This procedure allows for model validation and calibration, and also to set performance goals for the real magnet. Strain gauges were used to monitor the behavior of the structure during assembly, cool down and also excitation in the case of the magnets. The various structures differ for the shell partitioning strategies adopted and for the presence of thick or thin laminations. This paper presents the results obtained and discusses the mechanical performance of all the short models produced up to now

Discretization of variational regularization in Banach spaces

Consider a nonlinear ill-posed operator equation $F(u)=y$ where $F$ is defined on a Banach space $X$. In general, for solving this equation numerically, a finite dimensional approximation of $X$ and an approximation of $F$ are required. Moreover, in general the given data \yd of $y$ are noisy. In this paper we analyze finite dimensional variational regularization, which takes into account operator approximations and noisy data: We show (semi-)convergence of the regularized solution of the finite dimensional problems and establish convergence rates in terms of Bregman distances under appropriate sourcewise representation of a solution of the equation. The more involved case of regularization in nonseparable Banach spaces is discussed in detail. In particular we consider the space of finite total variation functions, the space of functions of finite bounded deformation, and the $L^\infty$--space

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of Short Analogues of the Marine Antimicrobial Peptide Turgencin A: Effects of SAR Optimizations, Cys-Cys Cyclization and Lipopeptide Modifications

We have synthesised short analogues of the marine antimicrobial peptide Turgencin A from the colonial Arctic ascidian Synoicum turgens. In this study, we focused on a central, cationic 12-residue Cys-Cys loop region within the sequence. Modified (tryptophan- and arginine-enriched) linear peptides were compared with Cys-Cys cyclic derivatives, and both linear and Cys-cyclic peptides were N-terminally acylated with octanoic acid (C8 ), decanoic acid (C10) or dodecanoic acid (C12). The highest antimicrobial potency was achieved by introducing dodecanoic acid to a cyclic Turgencin A analogue with low intrinsic hydrophobicity, and by introducing octanoic acid to a cyclic analogue displaying a higher intrinsic hydrophobicity. Among all tested synthetic Turgencin A lipopeptide analogues, the most promising candidates regarding both antimicrobial and haemolytic activity were C12-cTurg-1 and C8-cTurg-2. These optimized cyclic lipopeptides displayed minimum inhibitory concentrations of 4 µg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and the fungus Rhodothorula sp. Mode of action studies on bacteria showed a rapid membrane disruption and bactericidal effect of the cyclic lipopeptides. Haemolytic activity against human erythrocytes was low, indicating favorable selective targeting of bacterial cells

Assembly of a Mechanical Model of MQXFB, the 7.2-m-Long Low-β Quadrupole for the High-Luminosity LHC Upgrade

The Nb Sn low-β quadrupole MQXF is being developed as a part of the High-Luminosity large hadron collider (LHC) upgrade project. The magnet will be produced in two different configurations, sharing the same cross section but with different lengths. A 7.2-m mechanical model of MQXFB was recently assembled at european organization for nuclear research (CERN) with one copper coil, two low-grade coils, and one rejected coil. Coil dimensions were measured with a portable coordinate measurement machine. The coil pack shimming was designed in order to optimize the field quality and the contacts between the coils and the collars. The azimuthal preload target was defined using the short models experience. The mechanical behavior during loading was monitored by means of strain gauges. The results demonstrated that the structure can provide the required prestress to the coils.