GeMSE: A new Low-Background Facility for Meteorite and Material Screening

We are currently setting up a facility for low-background gamma-ray spectrometry based on a HPGe detector. It is dedicated to material screening for the XENON and DARWIN dark matter projects as well as to the characterization of meteorites. The detector will be installed in a medium depth ($\sim$620 m.w.e.) underground laboratory in Switzerland with several layers of shielding and an active muon-veto. The GeMSE facility will be operational by fall 2015 with an expected background rate of $\sim$250 counts/day (100-2700 keV).Comment: The following article appeared in AIP Conf. Proc. 1672, 120004 (2015) and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/proceeding/aipcp/10.1063/1.4928010. The muon spectrum in Figure 4 (left) was corrected due to a bug in the code. After correction the muon flux is reduced by a factor of about

Settling of an asymmetric dumbbell in a quiescent fluid

We compute the hydrodynamic torque on a dumbbell (two spheres linked by a massless rigid rod) settling in a quiescent fluid at small but finite Reynolds number. The spheres have the same mass densities but different sizes. When the sizes are quite different the dumbbell settles vertically, aligned with the direction of gravity, the largest sphere first. But when the size difference is sufficiently small then its steady-state angle is determined by a competition between the size difference and the Reynolds number. When the sizes of the spheres are exactly equal then fluid inertia causes the dumbbell to settle in a horizontal orientation.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, as publishe

Self-reported cold sensitivity in normal subjects and in patients with traumatic hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome

Background: Cold sensitivity is a common and disabling complaint following hand injuries. The main purpose of this study was to describe self-reported consequences of cold sensitivity and the association with disability and health-related quality of life in patients with hand injuries or hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) and in normal subjects. Methods: Responses to the Cold Intolerance Symptom Severity (CISS) questionnaire, Potential Work Exposure Scale (PWES), Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Short-Form 36 questionnaire (SF-36) were investigated in normal subjects (n = 94), hand injured patients (amputation and nerve injuries, n = 88) and patients with HAVS (n = 30). The results are presented as median (range), percent and mean deviation from norms. The Kruskal Wallis Test or Mann-Whitney U-Test were used to identify significant differences between multiple groups or subgroups. The Spearman rank correlation was used to study the relationship between cold sensitivity and disability. Results: Abnormal cold sensitivity (CISS score > 50) was seen in 75% and 45% of patients with HAVS and a traumatic hand injury, respectively. Patients were significantly more exposed to cold in their work environment than the normal population, with a consequently negative effect on work ability due to cold sensitivity. Patients with abnormal cold sensitivity were more seriously disabled and had a poorer health-related quality of life than patients with normal cold sensitivity [higher DASH scores and e. g. significantly larger mean deviation from norms in the subscales Role Physical and Bodily Pain (SF-36)]. Conclusion: Severe and abnormal cold sensitivity may have a profound impact on work capacity, leisure, disability and health-related quality of life. It is frequently seen in patients with traumatic hand injuries and particularly apparent in patients with HAVS

Empirical evaluation of spin-on-glass-layers on steel surfaces by wear tests

Dies and moulds with high precision surfaces are being used in various branches, e.g. in the plastic industry where the surface finish are conventionally performed by manual polishers. With ever increasing demands of shorter lead times and reduced costs, efforts have been made to automate this finishing process. This paper presents an empirical study performed to test durability properties of SOG (spin-on-glass)-layers on steel surfaces. The results showed that the thin coating last longer than the thicker ones, and that the harder coatings withstood wear significantly better than the steel reference samples thus motivating further investigations

Interobserver agreement for neonatal seizure detection using multichannel EEG

Objective To determine the interobserver agreement (IOA) of neonatal seizure detection using the gold standard of conventional, multichannel EEG. Methods A cohort of full-term neonates at risk of acute encephalopathy was included in this prospective study. The EEG recordings of these neonates were independently reviewed for seizures by three international experts. The IOA was estimated using statistical measures including Fleiss' kappa and percentage agreement assessed over seizure events (event basis) and seizure duration (temporal basis). Results A total of 4066 h of EEG recordings from 70 neonates were reviewed with an average of 2555 seizures detected. The IOA was high with temporal assessment resulting in a kappa of 0.827 (95% CI: 0.769–0.865; n = 70). The median agreement was 83.0% (interquartile range [IQR]: 76.6–89.5%; n = 33) for seizure and 99.7% (IQR: 98.9–99.8%; n = 70) for nonseizure EEG. Analysis of events showed a median agreement of 83.0% (IQR: 72.9–86.6%; n = 33) for seizures with 0.018 disagreements per hour (IQR: 0.000–0.090 per hour; n = 70). Observers were more likely to disagree when a seizure was less than 30 sec. Overall, 33 neonates were diagnosed with seizures and 28 neonates were not, by all three observers. Of the remaining nine neonates with contradictory EEG detections, seven presented with low total seizure burden. Interpretation The IOA is high among experts for the detection of neonatal seizures using conventional, multichannel EEG. Agreement is reduced when seizures are rare or have short duration. These findings support EEG-based decision making in the neonatal intensive care unit, inform EEG interpretation guidelines, and provide benchmarks for seizure detection algorithms.Peer reviewe