188 research outputs found
High-speed data transfer with FPGAs and QSFP+ modules
We present test results and characterization of a data transmission system
based on a last generation FPGA and a commercial QSFP+ (Quad Small Form
Pluggable +) module. QSFP+ standard defines a hot-pluggable transceiver
available in copper or optical cable assemblies for an aggregated bandwidth of
up to 40 Gbps. We implemented a complete testbench based on a commercial
development card mounting an Altera Stratix IV FPGA with 24 serial transceivers
at 8.5 Gbps, together with a custom mezzanine hosting three QSFP+ modules. We
present test results and signal integrity measurements up to an aggregated
bandwidth of 12 Gbps.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Published on JINST Journal of Instrumentation
proceedings of Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics 2010,
20-24 September 2010, Aachen, Germany(R Ammendola et al 2010 JINST 5 C12019
Status of the EPIC thin and medium filters on-board XMM-Newton after more than 10 years of operation II: analysis of in-flight data
After more than ten years of operation of the EPIC camera on board the X-ray observatory XMM-Newton we have reviewed the status of its thin and medium filters by performing both analysis of data collected in-flight and laboratory measurements on on-ground back-up filters. We have investigated the status of the EPIC thin and medium filters by performing an analysis of the optical loading in the PN offset maps to gauge variations in the optical and UV transmission of the filters. We both investigated repeated observations of single optically bright targets and performed a statistical analysis of the extent of loading versus visual magnitude at different epochs. We report the results of these measurements
GPU-based Real-time Triggering in the NA62 Experiment
Over the last few years the GPGPU (General-Purpose computing on Graphics
Processing Units) paradigm represented a remarkable development in the world of
computing. Computing for High-Energy Physics is no exception: several works
have demonstrated the effectiveness of the integration of GPU-based systems in
high level trigger of different experiments. On the other hand the use of GPUs
in the low level trigger systems, characterized by stringent real-time
constraints, such as tight time budget and high throughput, poses several
challenges. In this paper we focus on the low level trigger in the CERN NA62
experiment, investigating the use of real-time computing on GPUs in this
synchronous system. Our approach aimed at harvesting the GPU computing power to
build in real-time refined physics-related trigger primitives for the RICH
detector, as the the knowledge of Cerenkov rings parameters allows to build
stringent conditions for data selection at trigger level. Latencies of all
components of the trigger chain have been analyzed, pointing out that
networking is the most critical one. To keep the latency of data transfer task
under control, we devised NaNet, an FPGA-based PCIe Network Interface Card
(NIC) with GPUDirect capabilities. For the processing task, we developed
specific multiple ring trigger algorithms to leverage the parallel architecture
of GPUs and increase the processing throughput to keep up with the high event
rate. Results obtained during the first months of 2016 NA62 run are presented
and discussed
Pilot health technology assessment study: organizational and economic impact of remote monitoring system for home automated peritoneal dialysis
Purpose Follow-up of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) has been improved by data transmission by cellular modem and
internet cloud. With the new remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology, clinical control and prescription of dialysis are
performed by software (Baxter Claria-Sharesource), which allows the center to access home operational data. The objective
of this pilot study was to determine the impact of RPM compared to traditional technology, in clinical, organizational, social,
and economic terms in a single center.
Methods We studied 21 prevalent APD patients aged 69 ± 13 years, on dialysis for a median of 9 months, for a period of
6 months with the traditional technology and 6 months with the new technology. A relevant portion of patients lived in
mountainous or hilly areas.
Results Our study shows more proactive calls from the center to patients after the consultation of RPM software, reduction
of calls from patients and caregivers, early detection of clinical problems, a significant reduction of unscheduled visits, and
a not significant reduction of hospitalizations. The analysis also highlighted how the RPM system lead to relevant economic
savings, which for the health system have been calculated € 335 (mean per patient-month). With the social costs represented
by the waste of time of the patient and the caregiver, we calculated € 685 (mean per patient-month).
Conclusion In our pilot report, the RPM system allowed the accurate assessment of daily APD sessions to suggest significative
organizational and economic advantages, and both patients and healthcare providers reported good subjective experiences
in terms of safety and quality of follow-up
APEnet+: high bandwidth 3D torus direct network for petaflops scale commodity clusters
We describe herein the APElink+ board, a PCIe interconnect adapter featuring
the latest advances in wire speed and interface technology plus hardware
support for a RDMA programming model and experimental acceleration of GPU
networking; this design allows us to build a low latency, high bandwidth PC
cluster, the APEnet+ network, the new generation of our cost-effective,
tens-of-thousands-scalable cluster network architecture. Some test results and
characterization of data transmission of a complete testbench, based on a
commercial development card mounting an Altera FPGA, are provided.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, proceeding of CHEP 2010, Taiwan, October 18-2
Simple and fast orotracheal intubation procedure in rat
Introduction: Endotracheal intubation in the rat is difficult because of extremely small size of anatomical structures (oral cavity, epiglottis and vocal cords), small inlet for an endotracheal tube and the lack of proper techniacal instruments. Matherial and Methods: In this study we used seventy rats weighthing 400-500 g. The equipment needed for intubation was an operating table, a longish of cotton, a cotton tip, orotracheal tube, neonatal laryngoscope KTR4, small animal ventilator, and isoflurane for inhalation anaesthesia. Premedication was carried out by medetomidine hydrochloride 1 mg/mL; then, thanks to a closed glass chamber, a mixture of oxygen and isoflurane was administered. By means of neonatal laryngoscope the orotracheal tube was advanced into the oral cavity untile the wire guide was visualized trough the vocal cords; then it was passed through them. The tube was introduced directly into into the larynx over the wire guide; successively, the guide was removed and the tube placed into the trachea. Breathing was confirmed using a glove, cut at the end of a finger, simulating a small ballon. Conclusions: We believe that our procedure is easier and faster than those previously reported in scientific literature. (www.actabiomedica.it
Distinctive features of tumor-infiltrating gd T lymphocytes in human colorectal cancer
gd T cells usually infiltrate many different types of cancer, but it is unclear whether they inhibit or promote tumor progression. Moreover, properties of tumor-infiltrating gd T cells and those in the corresponding normal tissue remain largely unknown. Here we have studied features of gd T cells in colorectal cancer, normal colon tissue and peripheral blood, and correlated their levels with clinicopathologic hallmarks. Flow cytometry and transcriptome analyses showed that the tumor comprised a highly variable rate of TILs (5-90%) and 4%gd T cells on average, with the majority expressing Vd1. Most Vd1 and Vd2 T cells showed a predominant effector memory phenotype and had reduced production of IFN-g which was likely due to yet unidentified inhibitory molecules present in cancer stem cell secretome. Transcriptome analyses revealed that patients containing abundant gd T cells had significantly longer 5-year disease free survival rate, suggesting their efficacy in controlling tumor at very early stage
Multiple Sclerosis in the Mount Etna Region: Possible Role of Volcanogenic Trace Elements
Background: Trace elements have been hypothesised to be involved in the pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis and volcanic
degassing is the major natural sources of trace elements. Both incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in Catania and volcanic activity
of Mount Etna have been significantly increased during the last 30 years. Due to prevailing trade winds direction, volcanic
gases from Etna summit craters are mostly blown towards the eastern and southern sectors of the volcano.
Objective: To evaluate the possible association between Multiple Sclerosis and exposure to volcanogenic trace elements.
Methods: We evaluated prevalence and incidence of Multiple Sclerosis in four communities (47,234 inhabitants) located in
the eastern flank and in two communities (52,210 inhabitants) located in the western flank of Mount Etna, respectively the
most and least exposed area to crater gas emissions.
Results: A higher prevalence was found in the population of the eastern flank compared to the population of the western
one (137.6/100,000 versus 94.3/100,000; p-value 0.04). We found a borderline significantly higher incidence risk during the
incidence study period (1980–2009) in the population of the eastern flank 4.6/100,000 (95% CI 3.1–5.9), compared with the
western population 3.2/100,000 (95% CI 2.4–4.2) with a RR of 1.41 (95% CI 0.97–2.05; p-value 0.06). Incidence risks have
increased over the time in both populations reaching a peak of 6.4/100,000 in the eastern flank and of 4.4/100.000 in the
western flank during 2000–2009.
Conclusion: We found a higher prevalence and incidence of Multiple Sclerosis among populations living in the eastern flank
of Mount Etna. According to our data a possible role of TE cannot be ruled out as possible co-factor in the MS pathogenesis.
However larger epidemiological study are needed to confirm this hypothesis.Publishede742596A. Monitoraggio ambientale, sicurezza e territorioJCR Journalope
Efficacy and tolerability of multiple drug therapy in HIV-infected children
Objectives
To characterize the efficacy and tolerability of multiple drug therapy (MDT) among heavily pre-treated HIV-infected children.
Methods
An observational study of seven children treated with 4\u20137 antiretroviral agents. MDT regimens were chosen with regard to past antiretroviral exposure and genotypic resistance data. Five children received MDT once, one child twice and one child four times. All patients had AIDS and severe CD4+ depletion and failed >2 PI-based HAART regimens.
Results
Virologic response, defined as a 65log10 decrease in plasma HIV-1 RNA at week 24, was achieved in 7/11 MDT. Successful MDT kept a sustained viral suppression (<50 copies/ml) at longest follow-up (72\u201396 weeks). Successful MDT obtained a great immune recovery: the median rise in absolute and percentage of CD4+ cells was 261 and 4 at week 24 and it reached 480 and 16 at 72\u201396 weeks. Adverse events were common but generally manageable. Mild/moderate gastrointestinal complaints and laboratory abnormalities were detected in 5/11 and 8/11 MDT. Grade 2 severity pancreatitis occurred in one case with chronic active hepatitis C. Pancreatitis resolved within 30 days of MDT interruption.
Conclusions
MDT may be a therapeutic option in children who failed to respond to most standard HAART regimens
Direct sunlight facility for testing and research in HCPV
A facility for testing different components for HCPV application has been developed in the framework of
“Fotovoltaico ad Alta Efficienza” (FAE) project funded by the Sicilian Regional Authority (PO FESR Sicilia 2007/2013
4.1.1.1). The testing facility is equipped with an heliostat providing a wide solar beam inside the lab, an optical bench
for mounting and aligning the HCPV components, electronic equipments to characterize the I-V curves of multijunction
cells operated up to 2000 suns, a system to circulate a fluid in the heat sink at controlled temperature and flow-rate, a
data logging system with sensors to measure temperatures in several locations and fluid pressures at the inlet and outlet
of the heat sink, and a climatic chamber with large test volume to test assembled HCPV modules
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