Beam tests of the trigger and digital processing electronics for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment

A prototype of the trigger and digital processing electronics for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment, coupled to a prototype of the PbWO4 crystal calorimeter, was tested during summer 96 in the H4 beamline at the CERN SPS. A very successful operation was achieved for this system, which runs in synchronous and pipelined mode at the LHC clock frequency, and performs the basic trigger and data acquisition functions needed in the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter. The performance of the trigger front-end electronics is well within the established requirements: a highly efficient bunch crossing identification ( > 99.9%), a good trigger energy resolution ( s/E ~9%/sq( E)+2%) and a highly efficient electron cluster shape identification ( ~99%) have been achieved. The FERMI digitizing system based on a dynamic analog compressor and a sampling ADC showed a very good perform ance, in particular the energy resolution for 150 GeV electrons was 0.54%, equal to the resolution obtained with a conventional charge integration ADC system

Energy Resolution Performance of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The energy resolution performance of the CMS lead tungstate crystal electromagnetic calorimeter is presented. Measurements were made with an electron beam using a fully equipped supermodule of the calorimeter barrel. Results are given both for electrons incident on the centre of crystals and for electrons distributed uniformly over the calorimeter surface. The electron energy is reconstructed in matrices of 3 times 3 or 5 times 5 crystals centred on the crystal containing the maximum energy. Corrections for variations in the shower containment are applied in the case of uniform incidence. The resolution measured is consistent with the design goals

Long-term cellular immunity of vaccines for Zaire Ebola Virus Diseases

Recent Ebola outbreaks underscore the importance of continuous prevention and disease control efforts. Authorized vaccines include Merck’s Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) and Johnson & Johnson’s two-dose combination (Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo). Here, in a five-year follow-up of the PREVAC randomized trial (NCT02876328), we report the results of the immunology ancillary study of the trial. The primary endpoint is to evaluate long-term memory T-cell responses induced by three vaccine regimens: Ad26–MVA, rVSV, and rVSV–booster. Polyfunctional EBOV-specific CD4+ T-cell responses increase after Ad26 priming and are further boosted by MVA, whereas minimal responses are observed in the rVSV groups, declining after one year. In-vitro expansion for eight days show sustained EBOV-specific T-cell responses for up to 60 months post-prime vaccination with both Ad26-MVA and rVSV, with no decline. Cytokine production analysis identify shared biomarkers between the Ad26-MVA and rVSV groups. In secondary endpoint, we observed an elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines at Day 7 in the rVSV group. Finally, we establish a correlation between EBOV-specific T-cell responses and anti-EBOV IgG responses. Our findings can guide booster vaccination recommendations and help identify populations likely to benefit from revaccination

Compensation for the settling time and slew rate limitations of the CMS-ECAL Floating Point Preamplifier

The Floating Point Preamplifier of the Very Front End Electronics for the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter has been investigated on a 5x6 crystal prototype matrix. Discontinuities at the signal peak were observed in the pulse shape reconstruction from the 40MHz sampled and digitized data. The propositions linked to those observations are described, together with a focalized overview of the detector readout chain. A settling time problem is identified and it is shown that a 5ns delay applied to the ADC clock provides a secure solution. Finally, the implementation in the FPPA design of this delay is presented

Energy Resolution of the Barrel of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The energy resolution of the barrel part of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter has been studied using electrons of 20 to 250 GeV in a test beam. The incident electron's energy was reconstructed by summing the energy measured in arrays of 3x3 or 5x5 channels. There was no significant amount of correlated noise observed within these arrays. For electrons incident at the centre of the studied 3x3 arrays of crystals, the mean stochastic term was measured to be 2.8% and the mean constant term to be 0.3%. The amount of the incident electron's energy which is contained within the array depends on its position of incidence. The variation of the containment with position is corrected for using the distribution of the measured energy within the array. For uniform illumination of a crystal with 120 GeV electrons a resolution of 0.5% was achieved. The energy resolution meets the design goal for the detector

Results of the first performance tests of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter

CMS ECALPerformance tests of some aspects of the CMS ECAL were carried out on modules of the "barrel" sub-system in 2002 and 2003. A brief test with high energy electron beams was made in late 2003 to validate prototypes of the new Very Front End electronics. The final versions of the monitoring and cooling systems, and of the high and low voltage regulation were used in these tests. The results are consistent with the performance targets including those for noise and overall energy resolution, required to fulfil the physics programme of CMS at the LHC

Partnership for Research on Ebola VACcination (PREVAC): protocol of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial evaluating three vaccine strategies against Ebola in healthy volunteers in four West African countries

International audienceAbstract Introduction The Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in 2014–2016 in West Africa was the largest on record and provided an opportunity for large clinical trials and accelerated efforts to develop an effective and safe preventative vaccine. Multiple questions regarding the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of EVD vaccines remain unanswered. To address these gaps in the evidence base, the Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines (PREVAC) trial was designed. This paper describes the design, methods, and baseline results of the PREVAC trial and discusses challenges that led to different protocol amendments. Methods This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial of three vaccine strategies against the Ebola virus in healthy volunteers 1 year of age and above. The three vaccine strategies being studied are the rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP vaccine, with and without a booster dose at 56 days, and the Ad26.ZEBOV,MVA-FN-Filo vaccine regimen with Ad26.ZEBOV given as the first dose and the MVA-FN-Filo vaccination given 56 days later. There have been 4 versions of the protocol with those enrolled in Version 4.0 comprising the primary analysis cohort. The primary endpoint is based on the antibody titer against the Ebola virus surface glycoprotein measured 12 months following the final injection. Results From April 2017 to December 2018, a total of 5002 volunteers were screened and 4789 enrolled. Participants were enrolled at 6 sites in four countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mali). Of the 4789 participants, 2560 (53%) were adults and 2229 (47%) were children. Those < 18 years of age included 549 (12%) aged 1 to 4 years, 750 (16%) 5 to 11 years, and 930 (19%) aged 12–17 years. At baseline, the median (25th, 75th percentile) antibody titer to Ebola virus glycoprotein for 1090 participants was 72 (50, 116) EU/mL. Discussion The PREVAC trial is evaluating—placebo-controlled—two promising Ebola candidate vaccines in advanced stages of development. The results will address unanswered questions related to short- and long-term safety and immunogenicity for three vaccine strategies in adults and children. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02876328 . Registered on 23 August 2016

The CMS Barrel Calorimeter Response to Particle Beams from 2 to 350 GeV/c

The response of the CMS barrel calorimeter (electromagnetic plus hadronic) to hadrons, electrons and muons over a wide momentum range from 2 to 350 GeV/c has been measured. To our knowledge, this is the widest range of momenta in which any calorimeter system has been studied. These tests, carried out at the H2 beam-line at CERN, provide a wealth of information, especially at low energies. The analysis of the differences in calorimeter response to charged pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons and a detailed discussion of the underlying phenomena are presented. We also show techniques that apply corrections to the signals from the considerably different electromagnetic (EB) and hadronic (HB) barrel calorimeters in reconstructing the energies of hadrons. Above 5 GeV/c, these corrections improve the energy resolution of the combined system where the stochastic term equals 84.7$\pm$1.6$\%$ and the constant term is 7.4$\pm$0.8$\%$. The corrected mean response remains constant within 1.3$\%$ rms