Precision electromagnetic calorimetry at the energy frontier: CMS ECAL at LHC Run 2

The CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) is a high-resolution, hermetic, and homogeneous calorimeter made of 75,848 scintillating lead tungstate crystals. Following the discovery of the Higgs boson, the CMS ECAL is at the forefront of precision measurements and the search for new physics in data from the LHC, which recently began producing collisions at the unprecedented energy of 13 TeV. The exceptional precision of the CMS ECAL, as well as its timing performance, are invaluable tools for the discovery of new physics at the LHC Run 2. The excellent performance of the ECAL relies on precise calibration maintained over time, despite severe irradiation conditions. A set of inter-calibration procedures using different physics channels is carried out at regular intervals to normalize the differences in crystal light transparency and photodetector response between channels, which can change due to accumulated radiation. In this talk we present new reconstruction algorithms and calibration strategies which aim to maintain, and even improve, the excellent performance of the CMS ECAL under the new challenging conditions of Run 2.Comment: Presentation at the DPF 2015 Meeting of the American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields, Ann Arbor, Michigan, August 4-8, 201

Evolution studies of the CMS ECAL endcap response and upgrade design options for High-Luminosity LHC

High-Luminosity running at the LHC, which is planned for 2022 and beyond, will imply an order of magnitude increase in radiation levels and particle fluences with respect to the present LHC running conditions. The performance evolution of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL), comprising 75,848 scintillating lead tungstate crystals, indicates that an upgrade of its endcaps will be needed for HL-LHC running, to ensure an adequate performance. Results from LHC collision periods, beam tests and laboratory measurements of proton-irradiated crystals are combined to predict the performance of the current detector at the HL-LHC. In addition, an overview is given of various R and D studies towards a replacement of the ECAL endcaps for the HL-LHC running period

Calibration of the electromagnetic calorimeter of CMS

The electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) of the CMS experiment, that will take data at LHC, has been designed to get an excellent energy resolution, essential to search for diphotonic resonances. ECAL is made of lead tungstate crystals whose individual response, that depends on several contributions, affects the resolution of the Whole detector. Hence, a channel-to-channel intercalibration is required to get the goal performances. The calibration of the detector at the start-up and the in situ calibration strategies are reported

The Devil’s Advocate. Defence and Defending Counsel in the 18th Century Austrian Criminal Procedure

Fin dal XVI secolo la scienza criminalistica di area tedesca interpreta le disposizioni della Constitutio Criminalis Carolina relative all’intervento del difensore nel processo, meno severe rispetto a quelle delle coeve normative europee, da un lato delineando l’avvocato sempre più come persona esperta di diritto, dall’altro limitandone l’azione, per non contrastare la speditezza e l’efficienza perseguite dal processo di stampo inquisitorio. Questa prospettiva influenza le scelte dei legislatori austriaci, che si radicalizzano dal Settecento in poi nell’opera di unificazione legislativa di Maria Teresa e nei successivi codici.The provisions of the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina on the intervention of the defending counsel in the trial seemed to be less strict than other contemporary European criminal rules. Since the 16th century the criminal law scholars from the German area read them on the one hand connoting the lawyer with increasing precision as an expert in law, on the other one limiting his leeway in order to not hinder the rapidity and effectiveness of the inquisitio. This perspective influenced the choices of the Austrian legislators, which were even toughened from the 18th century onwards in the work of legislative unification by Maria Theresia and in the following codes

Renewable Polysaccharides Micro/Nanostructures for Food and Cosmetic Applications

The worldwide diffusion of nanotechnologies into products nowadays has completely revolutionized human life, providing novel comfort and benefits. Their inclusion in food and cosmetic has a heavy impact over the market, allowing the development of higher value products with enhanced properties. Natural origin polymers and in particular polysaccharides represent a versatile platform of materials for the development of micro/nanostructured additives for food and cosmetic products due to their chemical versatility, biocompatibility, and abundance. Here, we review the current applications of polysaccharides-based micro/nanostructures, taking into consideration the precursors’ production, isolation, and extraction methods and highlighting the advantages, possible drawbacks, and market diffusion

Interpretation and processing of ASTER data for geological mapping and granitoids detection in the Saghro massif (eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

Satellite remote sensing analysis is extensively used for geological mapping in arid regions. However, it is not considered readily applicable to the mapping of metamorphic and igneous terrains, where lithological contacts are less predictable. In this work, ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) data were used to clarify the geological framework of the Precambrian basement in the Saghro massif (eastern Anti-Atlas, Morocco). The Saghro basement is composed of low-grade metasedimentary sequences of the Saghro Group (Cryogenian), intruded by calc-alkaline plutons of late Cryogenian age. These rocks are unconformably covered by volcanic to volcaniclastic series of Ediacaran age that are broadly coeval with granitoid plutons. All of these units are cut by a complex network of faults associated with hydrothermal fluid flows, which developed during and shortly after the emplacement of the volcanic rocks. The geological mapping of the Precambrian units was challenging in particular for the Edicaran granitoid bodies, because they are characterized by very similar compositions and a widespread desert varnish coating. For this reason, a two-stage approach has been adopted. In the first step, false color composites, band ratios, and principal components analyses on visible and near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands were chosen and interpreted on the basis of the field and petrographic knowledge of the lithologies in order to detect major lithological contacts and mineralized faults. In the second step, a major effort was dedicated to the detection of granitoid plutons using both thermal infrared (TIR) and VNIR/SWIR data. The ASTER TIR bands were used to evaluate Reststrahlen and Christiansen effects in the granitoid rocks spectra, whereas VNIR/SWIR false color composite and ratio images were chosen directly on the basis of the granitoid spectra (derived from both spectrophotometric analyses of samples and selected sites in the ASTER image). Finally, spectral angle mapper (SAM) and supervised maximum-likelihood classifications (MLL) were carried out on VNIR/SWIR data, mainly to evaluate their potential for discriminating granitoid rocks. The results have further demonstrated the value of ASTER data for geological mapping of basement units, particularly if the processing has been based on a detailed knowledge of the rock mineral assemblages. In addition, the analytical comparison of ASTER TIR and VNIR/SWIR data has demonstrated that the latter are very effective in the distinction of granitoids with very similar silica content, because they can be recognized by secondary effects related to their hydrothermal and surface alterations (K-feldspar kaolinitization, plagioclase saussiritization, substitution of mafic minerals with oxides, inhomogeneous desert varnish coating, and clay/oxide proportions)

An Integrated Geologic Map of the Rembrandt Basin, on Mercury, as a Starting Point for Stratigraphic Analysis

Planetary geologic maps are usually carried out following a morpho-stratigraphic approach where morphology is the dominant character guiding the remote sensing image interpretation. On the other hand, on Earth a more comprehensive stratigraphic approach is preferred, using lithology, overlapping relationship, genetic source, and ages as the main discriminants among the different geologic units. In this work we produced two different geologic maps of the Rembrandt basin of Mercury, following the morpho-stratigraphic methods and symbology adopted by many authors while mapping quadrangles on Mercury, and an integrated geo-stratigraphic approach, where geologic units were distinguished also on the basis of their false colors (derived by multispectral image data of the NASA MESSENGER mission), subsurface stratigraphic position (inferred by crater excavation) and model ages. We distinguished two different resurfacing events within the Rembrandt basin, after the impact event, and four other smooth plains units outside the basin itself. This provided the basis to estimate thicknesses, volumes, and ages of the smooth plains inside the basin. Results from thickness estimates obtained using different methodologies confirm the presence of two distinct volcanic events inside the Rembrandt basin, with a total thickness ranging between 1−1.5 km. Furthermore, model ages suggest that the volcanic infilling of the Rembrandt basin is among the ones that extended well into the mid-Calorian period, when Mercury’s effusive volcanism was previously thought to be largely over

Chromium release from new stainless steel, recycled and nickel-free orthodontic brackets.

Abstract Objective: To test the hypothesis that there is no difference in the amounts of chromium released from new stainless steel brackets, recycled stainless steel brackets, and nickel-free (Ni-free) orthodontic brackets. Materials and Methods: This in vitro study was performed using a classic batch procedure by immersion of the samples in artificial saliva at various acidities (pH 4.2, 6.5, and 7.6) over an extended time interval (t1 = 0.25 h, t2 = 1 h, t3 = 24 h, t4 = 48 h, t5 = 120 h). The amount of chromium release was determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer and an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer. Statistical analysis included a linear regression model for repeated measures, with calculation of Huber-White robust standard errors to account for intrabracket correlation of data. For post hoc comparisons the Bonferroni correction was applied. Results: The greatest amount of chromium was released from new stainless steel brackets (0.52 ± 1.083 μg/g), whereas the recycled brackets released 0.27 ± 0.38 μg/g. The smallest release was measured with Ni-free brackets (0.21 ± 0.51 μg/g). The difference between recycled brackets and Ni-free brackets was not statistically significant (P = .13). For all brackets, the greatest release (P = .000) was measured at pH 4.2, and a significant increase was reported between all time intervals (P < .002). Conclusion: The hypothesis is rejected, but the amount of chromium released in all test solutions was well below the daily dietary intake level

A sensitivity study of triboson production processes to dimension-6 EFT operators at the LHC

We present the first parton-level study of anomalous effects in triboson production in both fully and semi-leptonic channels in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The sensitivity to anomalies induced by a minimal set of bosonic dimension-6 operators from the Warsaw basis is evaluated with specific analyses for each final state. A likelihood-based strategy is employed to assess the most sensitive kinematic observables per channel, where the contribution of Effective Field Theory operators is parameterized at either the linear or quadratic level. The impact of the mutual interference terms of pairs of operators on the sensitivity is also examined. This benchmark study explores the complementarity and overlap in sensitivity between different triboson measurements and paves the way for future analyses at the LHC experiments. The statistical combination of the considered final states allows setting stringent bounds on five bosonic Wilson coefficients

Esophageal chemical clearance and baseline impedance values in patients with chronic autoimmune atrophic gastritis and gastro-esophageal reflux disease

Background: The factors influencing new markers of gastro-esophageal reflux disease detected by impedance-pH monitoring - mean nocturnal baseline impedance (MNBI) and post-reflux swallow-induced peristaltic wave (PSPW) index - need to be evaluated. Aim: To compare endoscopy-negative heartburn with chronic autoimmune atrophic gastritis (CAAG). Materials and methods: 24 patients with CAAG, 25 with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) and 25 with functional heartburn (FH) were included. In all patients the main impedance-pH monitoring parameters were calculated. Results: CAAG and NERD patients had a number of reflux events (non-acid ones being more common among the former group) which was higher than that found in FH (p 3000 Ohm), CAAG (> 2000 Ohm) and NERD (<1000 Ohm) patients (p = 0.0046). The PSPW index was similar between CAAG and NERD patients but significantly lower in comparison to FH (p <0.0001). Conclusion: Patients with CAAG have evidence of non-acid reflux based on the high number of reflux events and confirmed by low values of MNBI and PSPW index. MNBI is a strong marker of acid/non-acid reflux-induced mucosal damage, whereas the PSPW index can reliably discriminate patients with reflux from those with FH, independently of the acidity of refluxate. (C) 2017 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe