Search for low-mass WIMPs in a 0.6 kg day exposure of the DAMIC experiment at SNOLAB

We present results of a dark matter search performed with a 0.6 kg day exposure of the DAMIC experiment at the SNOLAB underground laboratory. We measure the energy spectrum of ionization events in the bulk silicon of charge-coupled devices down to a signal of 60 eV electron equivalent. The data are consistent with radiogenic backgrounds, and constraints on the spin-independent WIMP-nucleon elastic-scattering cross section are accordingly placed. A region of parameter space relevant to the potential signal from the CDMS-II Si experiment is excluded using the same target for the first time. This result obtained with a limited exposure demonstrates the potential to explore the low-mass WIMP region (<10 GeV/$c^{2}$) of the upcoming DAMIC100, a 100 g detector currently being installed in SNOLAB.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Systems under the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act: Systemic Flaws and Practical Challenges

The European Union’s (EU) Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) has adopted a risk-based approach to artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, where AI systems are subjected to different regulatory standards depending on the seriousness of the risk they pose to public interest. High-risk AI systems, the largest category, are subject to strict regulatory requirements imposed throughout their life cycle, ranging from comprehensive conformity assessment to human rights impact assessment and risk management systems. However, the EU AI Act’s high-risk classification system has two systemic fundamental flaws that undermine its ability to strike a fair balance between the risks of various uses of AI technologies and their societal benefits. First, it defines high-risk AI systems through hyper-technical enumeration, potentially excluding certain AI systems from the high-risk category, even if they pose significant risks to public interest. The Act grants the European Commission the power to revise the high-risk category by adding new AI use cases to the list, if they pose similar or greater risks as the existing ones. But the Commission’s power to revise the list does not adequately address the potential loopholes to be created by the restrictive method of defining high-risk AI systems. Second, due to its failure to consider the specific contexts in which AI technologies are used, the EU AI Act could impose disproportionate regulatory burdens on providers and deployers by improperly classifying their AI use cases as high-risk. By using practical examples based on assessment of several real-world use cases of AI technologies conducted in July 2023 during the St. Gallen University First Grand Challenge on the EU AI Act, this paper argues that the EU AI Act requires revision to adequately regulate AI technologies. The paper proposes a solution to address the EU AI Act’s shortcomings, based on the way the law defines high-risk in the context of data protection impact assessment

Somatoform dissociative experiences in migraine without aura

Joint Congress of European Neurology -- MAY 31-JUN 03, 2014 -- Istanbul, TURKEY[Anstract Not Available]European Federat Neurol So

Non-motor features in young patients with essential tremor; sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, anxiety, depression, cognitive functions: a case comparison study

Joint Congress of European Neurology -- MAY 31-JUN 03, 2014 -- Istanbul, TURKEY[Anstract Not Available]European Federat Neurol So

Nonmotor features in essential tremor: a comparison with Parkinson's disease

Joint Congress of European Neurology -- MAY 31-JUN 03, 2014 -- Istanbul, TURKEY[Anstract Not Available]European Federat Neurol So

Phytochemical and antioxidant characteristics of medlar fruits (Mespilus germanica L.)

Eleven medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) genotypes sampled from Turkey were analyzed for their fruit weight, fruit dimensions, fruit firmness, ostiole diameter, shape index, skin color, moisture (%), ash (%), reducing sugar (%), crude protein (%), pH, soluble solid content (%), vitamin C (mg/100 g), minerals (P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn), total phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity. A wide variation among genotypes on most of the searched parameters was evident. Fruit weight varied from 11.21 g to 33.24 g indicating high variability among genotypes. Determination of antioxidant activities by β-carotene–linoleic acid and 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assays resulted in average 80.8%, and 46.6 μg/ml FW DPPH, respectively. The total phenolic contents of eleven medlar genotypes varied from 114 to 293 mg gallic acid equivalent in 100 g fresh weight basis. The medlar fruits were found to be rich in terms of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron

Capacity analysis of a PMR system with DAB downlink

Several trunked private mobile radio (PMR) systems have been designed over the last decade, most of which have symmetric downlink and uplink channel capacities. These systems may not be spectrally efficient in case of group or broadcast-based voice and data calls, a common feature of PMR systems. We propose a new asymmetric PMR system comprising a wideband OFDM-based downlink and a narrowband uplink, which not only achieves a better spectral efficiency but also can support high bit rate multimedia applications. The system is shown to have high trunking efficiency since all users are assumed to use the pool of channels available in the wideband downlink. In this paper, we study the performance and capacity of a private mobile radio system using a digital audio broadcasting (DAB) downlink. In particular, we study the efficiency of such a system for voice calls using voice activity detection and statistical multiplexing. Moreover, we show that, the efficiency of the system can significantly increase, if the incoming calls, which can not find an available channel, are allowed to wait a certain amount of time before occupying a channel. © 2003 IEEE

Effect of ß-glucan from Euglena gracilis as an antioxidant on goat semen cryopreservation

This study aimed to determine the influence of different doses of β-glucan on post-thaw spermatological parameters, lipid peroxidation, and total antioxidant activity of buck semen. In the non-breeding season, semen was collected from bucks twice weekly. After then, ejaculates were pooled and divided into four equal aliquots: β-glucan concentrations of 1 mM (βG1), 2 mM (βG2), and 4 mM (βG4), and a control group without antioxidants. Each sample group was diluted for cryopreservation using a dilution method involving two steps. The experimental groups were then evaluated for several parameters including sperm motility, plasma membrane functional integrity [hypoosmotic swelling test (HOST)], damaged acrosome rate [FITC-Pisum sativum agglutinin (FITC-PSA)], DNA integrity [terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)], mitochondrial membrane potential using JC-1, evaluation of lipid peroxidation, and determination of total antioxidant activity. The post-thaw motility and plasma functional integrity of the control group were significantly lower than those values in the βG groups (P &lt; 0.05). Although the numerically greatest acrosome damage was detected in the control group, it was only statistically different from βG1 and βG4 (P&lt;0.05). While the DNA fragmentation rate of the control group was higher than βG4 group (P&lt;0.05), it was similar to βG1 and βG2 groups (P&gt;0.05). There was no statistical difference among all the groups regarding low mitochondrial membrane potential, MDA, and TAC rates. In line with our results, supplementation of 1mM, 2 mM and 4 mM β-glucan to freezing extender improves the post-thaw spermatological characteristics of goat semen