Performance of irradiated thin n-in-p planar pixel sensors for the ATLAS Inner Tracker upgrade

The ATLAS collaboration will replace its tracking detector with new all silicon pixel and strip systems. This will allow to cope with the higher radiation and occupancy levels expected after the 5-fold increase in the luminosity of the LHC accelerator complex (HL-LHC). In the new tracking detector (ITk) pixel modules with increased granularity will implement to maintain the occupancy with a higher track density. In addition, both sensors and read-out chips composing the hybrid modules will be produced employing more radiation hard technologies with respect to the present pixel detector. Due to their outstanding performance in terms of radiation hardness, thin n-in-p sensors are promising candidates to instrument a section of the new pixel system. Recently produced and developed sensors of new designs will be presented. To test the sensors before interconnection to chips, a punch-through biasing structure has been implemented. Its design has been optimized to decrease the possible tracking efficiency losses observed. After irradiation, they were caused by the punch-through biasing structure. A sensor compatible with the ATLAS FE-I4 chip with a pixel size of 50x250 $\mathrm{\mu}$m$^{2}$, subdivided into smaller pixel implants of 30x30 $\mathrm{\mu}$m$^{2}$ size was designed to investigate the performance of the 50x50 $\mathrm{\mu}$m$^{2}$ pixel cells foreseen for the HL-LHC. Results on sensor performance of 50x250 and 50x50 $\mathrm{\mu}$m$^{2}$ pixel cells in terms of efficiency, charge collection and electric field properties are obtained with beam tests and the Transient Current Technique

PERCEPTIONS ON SUPPORT, CHALLENGES AND NEEDS AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: THE SERBIAN EXPERIENCE

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) significantly impact lives of affected individuals and their families. They confront daunting challenges and multiple demands in their daily life, when compared to parents of children with other disabilities or parents of typically developing children. Subjects and methods: Participants completed The Caregiver Needs Survey, the survey intended for parents or primary caregivers of children with a diagnosis of ASD. During the study, 231 parents were interviewed; 167 mothers and 64 fathers. Parents were recruited from the patient database comprised of families from the two largest cities in Serbia. All of them were contacted before the study, either via phone or at the child’s regular check-in visit. Results: Over 90 percent of the parents reported that additional support at schools, home, and improved relationships with service providers are necessary and important. The most important challenges related to care were child’s communication difficulties, social interaction difficulties, and problems with daily living skills. The significant predictors of lower overall satisfaction were parent’s higher education, having a first concern related to problems of the child’s interaction with others or playing alone, and parent frustration with accessing services in the past 12 months. Greater overall satisfaction, on the other hand, was related to having an in-school tutor training or assistance in managing child’s needs or implementing treatments, and having primary care doctor or pediatrician as a source of information on autism. Conclusions: Future efforts to develop ASD-related policies and services should also take the following into consideration: the low level of awareness among caregivers and health care providers about the early signs of autism; disparities in access to services; educational problems and significant levels of dissatisfaction with the overall care and stigma

The development of METAL-WRF Regional Model for the description of dust mineralogy in the atmosphere

The mineralogical composition of airborne dust particles is an important but often neglected parameter for several physiochemical processes, such as atmospheric radiative transfer and ocean biochemistry. We present the development of the METAL-WRF module for the simulation of the composition of desert dust minerals in atmospheric aerosols. The new development is based on the GOCART-AFWA dust module of WRF-Chem. A new wet deposition scheme has been implemented in the dust module alongside the existing dry deposition scheme. The new model includes separate prognostic fields for nine (9) minerals: illite, kaolinite, smectite, calcite, quartz, feldspar, hematite, gypsum, and phosphorus, derived from the GMINER30 database and also iron derived from the FERRUM30 database. Two regional model sensitivity studies are presented for dust events that occurred in August and December 2017, which include a comparison of the model versus elemental dust composition measurements performed in the North Atlantic (at Izaña Observatory, Tenerife Island) and in the eastern Mediterranean (at Agia Marina Xyliatos station, Cyprus Island). The results indicate the important role of dust minerals, as dominant aerosols, for the greater region of North Africa, South Europe, the North Atlantic, and the Middle East, including the dry and wet depositions away from desert sources. Overall, METAL-WRF was found to be capable of reproducing the relative abundances of the different dust minerals in the atmosphere. In particular, the concentration of iron (Fe), which is an important element for ocean biochemistry and solar absorption, was modeled in good agreement with the corresponding measurements at Izaña Observatory (22% overestimation) and at Agia Marina Xyliatos site (4% overestimation). Further model developments, including the implementation of newer surface mineralogical datasets, e.g., from the NASA-EMIT satellite mission, can be implemented in the model to improve its accuracy.This study was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation project Mineralogy of Dust Emissions and Impacts on Environment and Health (MegDeth - HFRI no. 703). Part of this study was conducted within the framing of the AERO-EXTREME (PID2021-125669NB-I00) project funded by the State Research Agency/Agencia Estatal de Investigación of Spain and the European Regional Development Funds

Oral lesions in patients with psychiatric disorders

Introduction. Oral diseases in psychiatric patients are usually a result of bad oral hygiene and psychopharmaceutical side-effects. Objective. The aim of this study was to detect oral lesions in patients hospitalized in psychiatric institutions with the confirmed diagnosis of psychiatric illness and mood disorder with psychotic characteristics, as well as to discover the factors that can influence these oral lesions. Methods. Cross-section study consisted of 186 hospitalized patients with psychiatric disorders in the experimental group, out of whom 87 were males and 99 females. Patients were aged from 18 to 59 years, mean age 46.0±8.0 years. The control group consisted of 186 healthy persons matched for age and gender. Data on oral lesions were obtained within history and clinical examination of the oral cavity. Other medical data were collected from medical documentation. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t-test, chi-square test and logistic regression. Results. Dry mouth was registered in 78.5% of patients. The difference in tongue and lip lesions, burning and stinging symptoms, bruxism, facial pain, low saliva rates, halitosis, taste changes and swallowing difficulties between the patients and healthy persons was highly statistically significant (p lt 0.001). Age and gender, as well as the factors of main disease, influence burning and stinging, bruxism, low saliva rates, swallowing difficulties, taste changes and facial pain of the psychiatric patients. Conclusion. Results imply that psychiatric patients are more frequently involved with oral lesions than healthy persons. It is necessary to organize specific preventive and educational oral health programmes with these patients, as well as with doctors who treat the basic illness.Uvod. Promene u usnoj duplji osoba s psihijatrijskim oboljenjima najčešće su posledica loše oralne higijene i neželjenog dejstva psihofarmaka. Cilj rada. Cilj rada je bio da se utvrde oralne promene kod osoba bolnički lečenih u psihijatrijskim ustanovama od psihotičnih i poremećaja raspoloženja sa psihotičnim karakteristikama, kao i činioci koji na njih mogu da utiču. Metode rada. Studijom preseka obuhvaćeno je 186 bolesnika s psihijatrijskim oboljenjima (87 muškaraca i 99 žena), starih od 18 do 59 godina (prosečno 46,0±8,0 godina), koji su činili eksperimentalnu grupu. Kontrolnu grupu činilo je 186 zdravih ispitanika iste starosti i pola. Podaci o oralnim promenama ispitanika dobijeni su anamnezom i kliničkim pregledom usne duplje. Ostali podaci prikupljeni su iz medicinske dokumentacije. Za statističku analizu podataka korišćeni su Studentov t-test, χ2-test i logistička regresija. Rezultati. Suvoća usta je zabeležena kod 78,5% bolesnika. Razlika u promenama na jeziku i usnama, žarenju i peckanju u usnoj duplji, škrgutanju zubima, facijalnom bolu, smanjenom lučenju pljuvačke, neprijatnom zadahu iz usta, poremećaju čula ukusa i smetnji pri gutanju između bolesnika i zdravih osoba bila je visoko statistički značajna (p lt 0,001). Pol i starost ispitanika i činioci osnovne bolesti utiču na žarenje i peckanje u usnoj duplji, škrgutanje zubima, smanjeno lučenje pljuvačke, smetnje pri gutanju, poremećaj čula ukusa i facijalni bol psihijatrijskih bolesnika. Zaključak. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da osobe s psihijatrijskim oboljenjima imaju češće oralne promene od zdravih osoba. Neophodno je organizovati specifične preventivne zdravstveno-vaspitne stomatološke programe s ovim osobama, kao i sa lekarima koji leče osnovno oboljenje

Elemental analysis of mussels and possible health risks arising from their consumption as a food: The case of Boka Kotorska Bay, Adriatic Sea

The present study investigated the essential and non-essential elements in cultivated and wild mussels and assessed the health risk arising from their consumption as an impact of rapid growth and intensive production of Mytilus galloprovincialis in the mussel farms of the Boka Kotorska Bay. The concentrations of macro, micro, nonessential and even the small amounts of potentially toxic elements in the cultivated and wild mussels were influenced by industry, tourism and the geohydrology of the Bay. In the case of cultivated mussels, the limiting factor, i.e., the element the elevated concentration of which restricts mussels consumption, was Zr, while in the case of wild mussels the limiting factors were Cr and As. The sites with cultivated mussels stand out as sites with the highest calculated element pollution index, the total hazard index and with higher estimated risk to the health of consumers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The geochemistry model of the surface sediment determined by using ED-XRF technique: a case study of the Boka Kotorska bay, Adriatic Sea

The spatial distribution of major oxides (Na2O, K2O, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, CaO, MgO, MnO, TiO2, P2O5) and numerous elements (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Pb, Sn, Sb, Ba, Sr, Br, Rb, Zr, Mo, Cs, Y, V, Ga, La, U, Th, Nb, W, Sc, Ge, Gd, Yb, Hf, and Ce) was determined by using energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry on the basis of previously measured organic matter and carbonates. The optimal measuring variables for the investigated oxides and elements were determined by using five standard reference materials. The carbonated sediment type can be determined on the basis of the highest Sr, Sc, La, Nb, Hf, and Yb concentrations followed with the lowest concentrations of the remaining elements and the negative Ce anomaly. The complexity of the obtained data was also examined by principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) in the identifying geochemical composition of the surface sediment. Boka Kotorska bays geographical position, orographical configuration, and hydrographic characteristics influence the geochemistry model of the surface sediment, quite different from the open sea