Front-End electronics configuration system for CMS

The four LHC experiments at CERN have decided to use a commercial SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) product for the supervision of their DCS (Detector Control System). The selected SCADA, which is therefore used for the CMS DCS, is PVSS II from the company ETM. This SCADA has its own database, which is suitable for storing conventional controls data such as voltages, temperatures and pressures. In addition, calibration data and FE (Front-End) electronics configuration need to be stored. The amount of these data is too large to be stored in the SCADA database [1]. Therefore an external database will be used for managing such data. However, this database should be completely integrated into the SCADA framework, it should be accessible from the SCADA and the SCADA features, e.g. alarming, logging should be benefited from. For prototyping, Oracle 8i was selected as the external database manager. The development of the control system for calibration constants and FE electronics configuration has been done in close collaboration with the CMS tracker group and JCOP (Joint COntrols Project)(1). (1)The four LHC experiments and the CERN IT/CO group has merged their efforts to build the experiments controls systems and set up the JCOP at the end of December, 1997 for this purpose.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, Icaleps'01 conference PSN WEDT00

The GeV-TeV Connection in Galactic gamma-ray sources

Recent observations with atmospheric Cherenkov telescope systems such as H.E.S.S. and MAGIC have revealed a large number of new sources of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-rays from 100 GeV - 100 TeV, mostly concentrated along the Galactic plane. At lower energies (100 MeV - 10 GeV) the satellite-based instrument EGRET revealed a population of sources clustering along the Galactic Plane. Given their adjacent energy bands a systematic correlation study between the two source catalogues seems appropriate. Here, the populations of Galactic sources in both energy domains are characterised on observational as well as on phenomenological grounds. Surprisingly few common sources are found in terms of positional coincidence and spectral consistency. These common sources and their potential counterparts and emission mechanisms will be discussed in detail. In cases of detection only in one energy band, for the first time consistent upper limits in the other energy band have been derived. The EGRET upper limits are rather unconstraining due to the sensitivity mismatch to current VHE instruments. The VHE upper limits put strong constraints on simple power-law extrapolation of several of the EGRET spectra and thus strongly suggest cutoffs in the unexplored energy range from 10 GeV - 100 GeV. Physical reasons for the existence of cutoffs and for differences in the source population at GeV and TeV energies will be discussed. Finally, predictions will be derived for common GeV - TeV sources for the upcoming GLAST mission bridging for the first time the energy gap between current GeV and TeV instruments.Comment: (1) Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), Stanford, USA (2) Stanford University, W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Lab (HEPL) and KIPAC, Stanford, USA (3) ICREA & Institut de Ciencies de l'Espai (IEEC-CSIC) Campus UAB, Fac. de Ciencies, Barcelona, Spain. (4) School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, UK. Paper Submitted to Ap

\u3ci\u3eAcrobasis\u3c/i\u3e Shoot Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Infestation-Tree Height Link in a Young Black Walnut Plantation

Acrobasis shoot moth infestations were evaluated in a young black walnut progeny test for 4 years, from ages 3 to 6. Infestation levels were greatest on the largest trees in the fourth and fifth year after plantation establishment, and were declining by the sixth year. Acrobasis infestation appears to be a problem primarily on young trees less than 2.5 m in height. There was no evidence for genetic resistance to Acrobasis infestation in black walnut

Laser net - A concept for monitoring wingtip vortices on runways

Network of laser beams passes over runway to photodetectors on opposite side, magnitude of beam deflection indicates magnitude of density gradient encountered. Visual display of beam deflections affects go, no-go decision for takeoff and landing

Fermi Detection of the Pulsar Wind Nebula HESS J1640-465

We present observations of HESS J1640-465 with the Fermi-LAT. The source is detected with high confidence as an emitter of high-energy gamma-rays. The spectrum lacks any evidence for the characteristic cutoff associated with emission from pulsars, indicating that the emission arises primarily from the pulsar wind nebula. Broadband modeling implies an evolved nebula with a low magnetic field resulting in a high gamma-ray to X-ray flux ratio. The Fermi emission exceeds predictions of the broadband model, and has a steeper spectrum, possibly resulting from a distinct excess of low energy electrons similar to what is inferred for both the Vela X and Crab pulsar wind nebulae.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Muscular dystrophy meets protein biochemistry, the mother of invention

Muscular dystrophies result from a defect in the linkage between the muscle fiber cytoskeleton and the basement membrane (BM). Congenital muscular dystrophy type MDC1A is caused by mutations in laminin α2 that either reduce its expression or impair its ability to polymerize within the muscle fiber BM. Defects in this BM lead to muscle fiber damage from the force of contraction. In this issue of the JCI, McKee and colleagues use a laminin polymerization–competent, designer chimeric BM protein in vivo to restore function of a polymerization-defective laminin, leading to normalized muscle structure and strength in a mouse model of MDC1A. Delivery of such a protein to patients could ameliorate many aspects of their disease

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF A CORN-SOYBEAN CROP ROTATION UNDER VARIOUS INPUT COMBINATIONS IN SOUTH CENTRAL TEXAS

Eight input combinations of commercial fertilizer, insecticides, and herbicides on a corn-soybean crop rotation in the Brazos River Bottom of Texas are evaluated. Input combinations which do not fully utilize all three inputs are consistently ranked higher by all criteria as the preferred input strategy for the corn-soybean rotation system. These results, which indicate limited input crop rotations that fall somewhere between the extremes of conventional agricultural production and organic agriculture, deserve further attention as a possible production alternative.corn, limited input, soybean, Crop Production/Industries,

Liver-specific knockout of arginase-1 leads to a profound phenotype similar to inducible whole body arginase-1 deficiency

Arginase-1 (Arg1) converts arginine to urea and ornithine in the distal step of the urea cycle in liver. We previously generated a tamoxifen-inducible Arg1 deficient mouse model (Arg1-Cre) that disrupts Arg1 expression throughout the whole body and leads to lethality ≈ 2 weeks after gene disruption. Here, we evaluate if liver-selective Arg1 loss is sufficient to recapitulate the phenotype observed in global Arg1 knockout mice, as well as to gauge the effectiveness of gene delivery or hepatocyte transplantation to rescue the phenotype. Liver-selective Arg1 deletion was induced by using an adeno-associated viral (AAV)-thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) promoter-Cre recombinase vector administered to Arg1 "floxed" mice; Arg1(fl/fl) ). An AAV vector expressing an Arg1-enhanced green fluorescent protein (Arg1-eGFP) transgene was used for gene delivery, while intrasplenic injection of wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 hepatocytes after partial hepatectomy was used for cell delivery to "rescue" tamoxifen-treated Arg1-Cre mice. The results indicate that liver-selective loss of Arg1 (> 90% deficient) leads to a phenotype resembling the whole body knockout of Arg1 with lethality ≈ 3 weeks after Cre-induced gene disruption. Delivery of Arg1-eGFP AAV rescues more than half of Arg1 global knockout male mice (survival > 4 months) but a significant proportion still succumb to the enzyme deficiency even though liver expression and enzyme activity of the fusion protein reach levels observed in WT animals. Significant Arg1 enzyme activity from engrafted WT hepatocytes into knockout livers can be achieved but not sufficient for rescuing the lethal phenotype. This raises a conundrum relating to liver-specific expression of Arg1. On the one hand, loss of expression in this organ appears to be both necessary and sufficient to explain the lethal phenotype of the genetic disorder in mice. On the other hand, gene and cell-directed therapies suggest that rescue of extra-hepatic Arg1 expression may also be necessary for disease correction. Further studies are needed in order to illuminate the detailed mechanisms for pathogenesis of Arg1-deficiency