The status of GEO 600

The GEO 600 laser interferometer with 600m armlength is part of a worldwide network of gravitational wave detectors. GEO 600 is unique in having advanced multiple pendulum suspensions with a monolithic last stage and in employing a signal recycled optical design. This paper describes the recent commissioning of the interferometer and its operation in signal recycled mode

Measurement of the longitudinal diffusion of ionization electrons in the MicroBooNE detector

Abstract: Accurate knowledge of electron transport properties is vital to understanding the information provided by liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). Ionization electron drift-lifetime, local electric field distortions caused by positive ion accumulation, and electron diffusion can all significantly impact the measured signal waveforms. This paper presents a measurement of the effective longitudinal electron diffusion coefficient, DL, in MicroBooNE at the nominal electric field strength of 273.9 V/cm. Historically, this measurement has been made in LArTPC prototype detectors. This represents the first measurement in a large-scale (85 tonne active volume) LArTPC operating in a neutrino beam. This is the largest dataset ever used for this measurement. Using a sample of ∼70,000 through-going cosmic ray muon tracks tagged with MicroBooNE's cosmic ray tagger system, we measure DL = 3.74+0.28 -0.29 cm2/s

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Chemical characterization of rainwater at Singapore

10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00028-6Chemosphere518747-755CMSH

Consider using 'soft analyzers' to improve SRU control

Hydrocarbon Processing791101-106HYPR

Protective Effect of Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Stereospermum Suaveolens Against Hepatic Oxidative Stress in STZ Diabetic Rats

Stereospermum suaveolens is a folk remedy for the treatment of diabetes and liver disorders in southern parts of India. In the present study, the protective effect of the ethyl acetate fraction of ethanol extract from S. suaveolens against hepatic oxidative stress was evaluated in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats for 14 days. The ethyl acetate fraction was administered orally to the STZ diabetic rats at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. Blood glucose level was measured according to glucose oxidase method. In order to determine hepatoprotective activity, changes in the levels of serum biomarker enzymes such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and serum alkaline phosphatase (SALP) were assessed in the ethyl acetate fraction treated diabetic rats and were compared with the levels in diabetic control rats. In addition, the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate fraction was evaluated using various hepatic parameters such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). It was found that administration of ethyl acetate fraction (200 and 400 mg/kg) produced a significant (P<0.001) fall in fasting blood glucose level, TBARS, bilirubin, AST, ALT, and SALP, while elevating the GSH levels, and SOD and CAT activities in diabetic rats. Histopathologic studies also revealed the protective effect of ethyl acetate fraction on the liver tissues of diabetic rats. It was concluded from this study that the ethyl acetate fraction from ethanol extract of S. suaveolens modulates the activity of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants and enhances the defense against hepatic oxidative stress in STZ-induced diabetic rats