86 research outputs found
Commissioning and operation of the Cherenkov detector for proton Flux Measurement of the UA9 Experiment
The UA9 Experiment at CERN-SPS investigates channeling processes in bent
silicon crystals with the aim to manipulate hadron beams. Monitoring and
characterization of channeled beams in the high energy accelerators environment
ideally requires in-vacuum and radiation hard detectors. For this purpose the
Cherenkov detector for proton Flux Measurement (CpFM) was designed and
developed. It is based on thin fused silica bars in the beam pipe vacuum which
intercept charged particles and generate Cherenkov light. The first version of
the CpFM is installed since 2015 in the crystal-assisted collimation setup of
the UA9 experiment. In this paper the procedures to make the detector
operational and fully integrated in the UA9 setup are described. The most
important standard operations of the detector are presented. They have been
used to commission and characterize the detector, providing moreover the
measurement of the integrated channeled beam profile and several functionality
tests as the determination of the crystal bending angle.
The calibration has been performed with Lead (Pb) and Xenon (Xe) beams and
the results are applied to the flux measurement discussed here in detail.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
Denjoy-Carleman differentiable perturbation of polynomials and unbounded operators
Let for be a -mapping with values unbounded
operators with compact resolvents and common domain of definition which are
self-adjoint or normal. Here stands for C^\om (real analytic), a
quasianalytic or non-quasianalytic Denjoy-Carleman class, , or a
H\"older continuity class C^{0,\al}. The parameter domain is either
or or an infinite dimensional convenient vector
space. We prove and review results on -dependence on of the
eigenvalues and eigenvectors of .Comment: 8 page
PHIL photoinjector test line
LAL is now equiped with its own platform for photoinjectors tests and
Research and Developement, named PHIL (PHotoInjectors at LAL). This facility
has two main purposes: push the limits of the photoinjectors performances
working on both the design and the associated technology and provide a low
energy (MeV) short pulses (ps) electron beam for the interested users. Another
very important goal of this machine will be to provide an opportunity to form
accelerator physics students, working in a high technology environment. To
achieve this goal a test line was realised equipped with an RF source, magnets
and beam diagnostics. In this article we will desrcibe the PHIL beamline and
its characteristics together with the description of the first two
photoinjector realised in LAL and tested: the ALPHAX and the PHIN RF Guns
High-efficiency deflection of high energy protons due to channeling along the (110) axis of a bent silicon crystal
A deflection efficiency of about 61% was observed for 400 GeV/c protons due to channeling, most strongly along the 〈110〉 axis of a bent silicon crystal. It is comparable with the deflection efficiency in planar channeling and considerably larger than in the case of the 〈111〉 axis. The measured probability of inelastic nuclear interactions of protons in channeling along the 〈110〉 axis is only about 10% of its amorphous level whereas in channeling along the (110) planes it is about 25%. High efficiency deflection and small beam losses make this axial orientation of a silicon crystal a useful tool for the beam steering of high energy charged particles
Large scale dynamics in turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection
The progress in our understanding of several aspects of turbulent
Rayleigh-Benard convection is reviewed. The focus is on the question of how the
Nusselt number and the Reynolds number depend on the Rayleigh number Ra and the
Prandtl number Pr, and on how the thicknesses of the thermal and the kinetic
boundary layers scale with Ra and Pr. Non-Oberbeck-Boussinesq effects and the
dynamics of the large-scale convection-roll are addressed as well. The review
ends with a list of challenges for future research on the turbulent
Rayleigh-Benard system.Comment: Review article, 34 pages, 13 figures, Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, in press
(2009
The Clacton Spear: the last one hundred years
In 1911 an eminent amateur prehistorian pulled the broken end of a pointed wooden shaft from Palaeolithic-age sediments at a seaside town in Essex. This artefact, still the earliest worked wood to be discovered in the world, became known as the Clacton Spear. Over the past 100 years it has variously been interpreted as a projectile weapon, a stave, a digging stick, a snow probe, a lance, a game stake and a prod to ward off rival scavengers. These perspectives have followed academic fashions, as the popular views of early hominins have altered. Since discovery the Clacton spear has also been replicated twice, has undergone physical transformations due to preservation treatments, and has featured in two public exhibitions. Within this article the changing context of the spear, its parallels, and all previous conservation treatments and their impacts are assessed.© 2015 Royal Archaeological Institute. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The Archaeological Journal on 3rd March 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi.org/10.1080/00665983.2015.1008839.The attached document is the author(’s’) final accepted/submitted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it
The ThomX project status
Work supported by the French Agence Nationale de la recherche as part of the program EQUIPEX under reference ANR-10-EQPX-51, the Ile de France region, CNRS-IN2P3 and Université Paris Sud XI - http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/AccelConf/IPAC2014/papers/wepro052.pdfA collaboration of seven research institutes and an industry has been set up for the ThomX project, a compact Compton Backscattering Source (CBS) based in Orsay - France. After a period of study and definition of the machine performance, a full description of all the systems has been provided. The infrastructure work has been started and the main systems are in the call for tender phase. In this paper we will illustrate the definitive machine parameters and components characteristics. We will also update the results of the different technical and experimental activities on optical resonators, RF power supplies and on the electron gun
Increased serum miR-193a-5p during non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression: Diagnostic and mechanistic relevance
Background & Aims: Serum microRNA (miRNA) levels are known to change in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and may serve as useful biomarkers. This study aimed to profile miRNAs comprehensively at all NAFLD stages. Methods: We profiled 2,083 serum miRNAs in a discovery cohort (183 cases with NAFLD representing the complete NAFLD spectrum and 10 population controls). miRNA libraries generated by HTG EdgeSeq were sequenced by Illumina NextSeq. Selected serum miRNAs were profiled in 372 additional cases with NAFLD and 15 population controls by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR. Results: Levels of 275 miRNAs differed between cases and population controls. Fewer differences were seen within individual NAFLD stages, but miR-193a-5p consistently showed increased levels in all comparisons. Relative to NAFL/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with mild fibrosis (stage 0/1), 3 miRNAs (miR-193a-5p, miR-378d, and miR378d) were increased in cases with NASH and clinically significant fibrosis (stages 2–4), 7 (miR193a-5p, miR-378d, miR-378e, miR-320b, miR-320c, miR-320d, and miR-320e) increased in cases with NAFLD activity score (NAS) 5–8 compared with lower NAS, and 3 (miR-193a-5p, miR-378d, and miR-378e) increased but 1 (miR-19b-3p) decreased in steatosis, activity, and fibrosis (SAF) activity score 2–4 compared with lower SAF activity. The significant findings for miR-193a-5p were replicated in the additional cohort with NAFLD. Studies in Hep G2 cells showed that following palmitic acid treatment, miR-193a-5p expression decreased significantly. Gene targets for miR-193a-5p were investigated in liver RNAseq data for a case subgroup (n = 80); liver GPX8 levels correlated positively with serum miR-193a-5p. Conclusions: Serum miR-193a-5p levels correlate strongly with NAFLD activity grade and fibrosis stage. MiR-193a-5p may have a role in the hepatic response to oxidative stress and is a potential clinically tractable circulating biomarker for progressive NAFLD. Lay summary: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small pieces of nucleic acid that may turn expression of genes on or off. These molecules can be detected in the blood circulation, and their levels in blood may change in liver disease including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). To see if we could detect specific miRNA associated with advanced stages of NAFLD, we carried out miRNA sequencing in a group of 183 patients with NAFLD of varying severity together with 10 population controls. We found that a number of miRNAs showed changes, mainly increases, in serum levels but that 1 particular miRNA miR-193a-5p consistently increased. We confirmed this increase in a second group of cases with NAFLD. Measuring this miRNA in a blood sample may be a useful way to determine whether a patient has advanced NAFLD without an invasive liver biopsy
Diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive tests for advanced fibrosis in patients with NAFLD: An individual patient data meta-analysis
Objective Liver biopsy is still needed for fibrosis staging in many patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The aims of this study were to evaluate the individual diagnostic performance of liver stiffness measurement by vibration controlled transient elastography (LSM-VCTE), Fibrosis-4 Index (FIB-4) and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) Fibrosis Score (NFS) and to derive diagnostic strategies that could reduce the need for liver biopsies. Design Individual patient data meta-analysis of studies evaluating LSM-VCTE against liver histology was conducted. FIB-4 and NFS were computed where possible. Sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) were calculated. Biomarkers were assessed individually and in sequential combinations. Results Data were included from 37 primary studies (n=5735; 45% women; median age: 54 years; median body mass index: 30 kg/m2; 33% had type 2 diabetes; 30% had advanced fibrosis). AUROCs of individual LSM-VCTE, FIB-4 and NFS for advanced fibrosis were 0.85, 0.76 and 0.73. Sequential combination of FIB-4 cut-offs (<1.3; ≥2.67) followed by LSM-VCTE cut-offs (<8.0; ≥10.0 kPa) to rule-in or rule-out advanced fibrosis had sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) of 66% (63-68) and 86% (84-87) with 33% needing a biopsy to establish a final diagnosis. FIB-4 cut-offs (<1.3; ≥3.48) followed by LSM cut-offs (<8.0; ≥20.0 kPa) to rule out advanced fibrosis or rule in cirrhosis had a sensitivity of 38% (37-39) and specificity of 90% (89-91) with 19% needing biopsy. Conclusion Sequential combinations of markers with a lower cut-off to rule-out advanced fibrosis and a higher cut-off to rule-in cirrhosis can reduce the need for liver biopsies
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