Covert repertoires: ecotage in the UK

Ecological sabotage (ecotage) has been a feature of the more radical parts of the environmental movement in the Western world for several decades. While it may be perceived as being the preserve of underground cells of 'eco-terrorists', in the UK those who carry out small-scale acts of sabotage are also often engaged in relatively conventional political activity; view sabotage as a complement to other action, not as an end in itself; and are committed to avoiding physical harm to people. Drawing on ethnographic data from research with British activists, this article seeks to define ecotage and to explain its place in the repertoires of the environmental direct action movement in the UK. It is argued that the self-limiting form of ecotage in the UK has its roots in cross-movement debates that have developed over several decades and that national traditions remain important in understanding the development of social movement repertoires

Explaining the fuel protests

We describe and analyse the fuel protests in the UK in September and November 2000. We draw on theories of social movements to explain the success of the first of these protests and the failure of the second. We show how the loose, network forms of organisation contributed to the success in September, and the attempts to impose more formal organisations helped to cause the failure in November. We also show how the success of the protests depended on the articulation of the aims of the protestors with dominant social forces in British politics, in particular the oil companies, the police, and the mass media

Regulation of components of AP-1 transcription factor by early and late Ras signals

Experiments utilising either tumour cells or over-expression of oncogenes like Ras and its potential downstream mediators have yielded a wealth of information over the last decade. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of AP-1 transcription factor has been extensively analysed in response to various oncogenic signals. One basic criticism is that the continued presence of an activated component of cellular signaling renders the study of early Ras-mediated signaling impossible. Inducible systems for oncogene expression offer a valuable alternative for detailed analysis of signal transduction pathways. Here, we report the comparative analysis of components of oncogenic pathways between tumour cells and cells that carry inducible oncogenes

Forensic DNA databases in European countries: is size linked to performance?

The political and financial investments in the implementation of forensic DNA databases and the ethical issues related to their use and expansion justify inquiries into their performance and general utility. The main function of a forensic DNA database is to produce matches between individuals and crime scene stains, which requires a constant input of individual profiles and crime scene stains. This is conditioned, among other factors, by the legislation, namely the criteria for inclusion of profiles and the periods of time and conditions for their retention and/or deletion. This article aims to provide an overview of the different legislative models for DNA databasing in Europe and ponder if wider inclusion criteria – and, consequently, database size – translates into more matches between profiles of crime scene stains and included individuals (performance ratio). The legislation governing forensic DNA databases in 22 countries in the European Union was analysed in order to propose a typology of two major groups of legislative criteria for inclusion/retention of profiles that can be classified as having either expansive effects or restrictive effects. We argue that expansive criteria for inclusion and retention of profiles do not necessarily translate into significant gains in output performance.MES -Ministry of Education and Science(SFRH/BPD/34143/2006)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance of a Modular Ton-Scale Pixel-Readout Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber

The Module-0 Demonstrator is a single-phase 600 kg liquid argon time projection chamber operated as a prototype for the DUNE liquid argon near detector. Based on the ArgonCube design concept, Module-0 features a novel 80k-channel pixelated charge readout and advanced high-coverage photon detection system. In this paper, we present an analysis of an eight-day data set consisting of 25 million cosmic ray events collected in the spring of 2021. We use this sample to demonstrate the imaging performance of the charge and light readout systems as well as the signal correlations between the two. We also report argon purity and detector uniformity measurements and provide comparisons to detector simulations

DUNE Phase II: scientific opportunities, detector concepts, technological solutions

The international collaboration designing and constructing the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) has developed a two-phase strategy toward the implementation of this leading-edge, large-scale science project. The 2023 report of the US Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) reaffirmed this vision and strongly endorsed DUNE Phase I and Phase II, as did the European Strategy for Particle Physics. While the construction of the DUNE Phase I is well underway, this White Paper focuses on DUNE Phase II planning. DUNE Phase-II consists of a third and fourth far detector (FD) module, an upgraded near detector complex, and an enhanced 2.1 MW beam. The fourth FD module is conceived as a “Module of Opportunity”, aimed at expanding the physics opportunities, in addition to supporting the core DUNE science program, with more advanced technologies. This document highlights the increased science opportunities offered by the DUNE Phase II near and far detectors, including long-baseline neutrino oscillation physics, neutrino astrophysics, and physics beyond the standard model. It describes the DUNE Phase II near and far detector technologies and detector design concepts that are currently under consideration. A summary of key R&D goals and prototyping phases needed to realize the Phase II detector technical designs is also provided. DUNE's Phase II detectors, along with the increased beam power, will complete the full scope of DUNE, enabling a multi-decadal program of groundbreaking science with neutrinos

The track-length extension fitting algorithm for energy measurement of interacting particles in liquid argon TPCs and its performance with ProtoDUNE-SP data

This paper introduces a novel track-length extension fitting algorithm for measuring the kinetic energies of inelastically interacting particles in liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). The algorithm finds the most probable offset in track length for a track-like object by comparing the measured ionization density as a function of position with a theoretical prediction of the energy loss as a function of the energy, including models of electron recombination and detector response. The algorithm can be used to measure the energies of particles that interact before they stop, such as charged pions that are absorbed by argon nuclei. The algorithm's energy measurement resolutions and fractional biases are presented as functions of particle kinetic energy and number of track hits using samples of stopping secondary charged pions in data collected by the ProtoDUNE-SP detector, and also in a detailed simulation. Additional studies describe the impact of the dE/dx model on energy measurement performance. The method described in this paper to characterize the energy measurement performance can be repeated in any LArTPC experiment using stopping secondary charged pions

Neutrino interaction vertex reconstruction in DUNE with Pandora deep learning

The Pandora Software Development Kit and algorithm libraries perform reconstruction of neutrino interactions in liquid argon time projection chamber detectors. Pandora is the primary event reconstruction software used at the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, which will operate four large-scale liquid argon time projection chambers at the far detector site in South Dakota, producing high-resolution images of charged particles emerging from neutrino interactions. While these high-resolution images provide excellent opportunities for physics, the complex topologies require sophisticated pattern recognition capabilities to interpret signals from the detectors as physically meaningful objects that form the inputs to physics analyses. A critical component is the identification of the neutrino interaction vertex. Subsequent reconstruction algorithms use this location to identify the individual primary particles and ensure they each result in a separate reconstructed particle. A new vertex-finding procedure described in this article integrates a U-ResNet neural network performing hit-level classification into the multi-algorithm approach used by Pandora to identify the neutrino interaction vertex. The machine learning solution is seamlessly integrated into a chain of pattern-recognition algorithms. The technique substantially outperforms the previous BDT-based solution, with a more than 20% increase in the efficiency of sub-1 cm vertex reconstruction across all neutrino flavours