Design of the CMS-CASTOR subdetector readout system by reusing existing designs

CASTOR is a cylindrical calorimeter with a length of 1.5m and a diameter of 60cm located at 14.3 meters from the CMS interaction point and covering the range in pseudorapidity corresponding to 5.1 < | eta | < 6.6. The CASTOR project was approved in the middle of 2007. Given the limited resources and time, developing a readout system from scratch was excluded. Here the final implementations of the readout chain, the considerations for the different choices as well as the performance of the installed equipment are discussed

A survey of parallel algorithms for fractal image compression

This paper presents a short survey of the key research work that has been undertaken in the application of parallel algorithms for Fractal image compression. The interest in fractal image compression techniques stems from their ability to achieve high compression ratios whilst maintaining a very high quality in the reconstructed image. The main drawback of this compression method is the very high computational cost that is associated with the encoding phase. Consequently, there has been significant interest in exploiting parallel computing architectures in order to speed up this phase, whilst still maintaining the advantageous features of the approach. This paper presents a brief introduction to fractal image compression, including the iterated function system theory upon which it is based, and then reviews the different techniques that have been, and can be, applied in order to parallelize the compression algorithm

Spectroscopic ellipsometry on thin titanium oxide layers grown on titanium by plasma oxidation

Abstract : Electronic devices based on tunnel junctions require tools able to accurately control the thickness of thin metal and oxide layers on the order of the nanometer. This article shows that multisample ellipsometry is an accurate method to reach this goal on plain uniform layers, in particular for titanium. From these measurements, the authors carefully studied the oxidation rate of titanium thin films in an oxygen plasma. The authors found that the oxide thickness saturates at 5.4±0.4 nm5.4±0.4 nm after 10 min in the plasma with an ion acceleration power of 30 W. Increasing this power to 240 W increases the saturation value to 7.6±0.4 nm7.6±0.4 nm. An x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the oxide has shown that the oxide created by O2O2 plasma is stoichiometric (TiO2)(TiO2). The developed model was also used to measure the thicknesses of titanium and titanium oxide layers that have been polished using a chemical mechanical planarization process and a material removal rate of 5.9 nm/min is found with our planarization parameters. I. INTRODUCTIO

The effects of Compassionate Mind Training on student psychotherapists

Purpose: This study examines pre and post outcome measures following a course of Compassionate Mind Training (CMT). Participants were students enrolled on a Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBP). The aim of the research was to explore whether CMT would increase self-compassion, compassion for others, dispositional empathy and reduce self-critical judgement. Method: Twenty-one participants who had enrolled on the CBP programme took part in the study. Data were collected using the Self-Compassion Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Compassion for Others Scale. Findings: Results reveal an overall statistically significant increase in self-compassion scores and statistically significant reduction in self-critical judgement scores post training. There was no statistically significant difference post training on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index or the Compassion for Others Scale. Research limitations/implications: CMT training may help students develop healthy coping strategies, which they can use to balance their affect regulation systems when faced with organisational, placement, client, academic, personal and supervision demands. Further research and longitudinal studies, using larger sample sizes are needed to explore if cultivating compassion whilst on psychotherapy training helps students build resilience and provide a barrier against empathic distress fatigue, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. Practical Implications: Incorporating CMT into a CBP programme may bring changes in student levels of self-compassion and self-critical judgement. Originality/value of the paper: This inaugural study examines whether incorporating CMT into a CBP programme impacts on students levels of compassion, dispositional empathy and self-critical judgement. The findings from this preliminary study suggest the potential benefits of training students in compassion focused practices

Continental-scale patterns of pathogen prevalence: a case study on the corncrake

Pathogen infections can represent a substantial threat to wild populations, especially those already limited in size. To determine how much variation in the pathogens observed among fragmented populations is caused by ecological factors, one needs to examine systems where host genetic diversity is consistent among the populations, thus controlling for any potentially confounding genetic effects. Here, we report geographic variation in haemosporidian infection among European populations of corncrake. This species now occurs in fragmented populations, but there is little genetic structure and equally high levels of genetic diversity among these populations. We observed a longitudinal gradient of prevalence from western to Eastern Europe negatively correlated with national agricultural yield, but positively correlated with corncrake census population sizes when only the most widespread lineage is considered. This likely reveals a possible impact of local agriculture intensity, which reduced host population densities in Western Europe and, potentially, insect vector abundance, thus reducing the transmission of pathogens. We conclude that in the corncrake system, where metapopulation dynamics resulted in variations in local census population sizes, but not in the genetic impoverishment of these populations, anthropogenic activity has led to a reduction in host populations and pathogen prevalence

An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of the Effects of Supply Air Conditions on Computational Efficiency in Data Centers Employing Aisle Containment

Aisle containment is increasingly common in data centres, and is widely believed to improve efficiency and effectiveness of cooling. Investigations into the impacts of aisle containment on the behavior and power consumption of cooling infrastructure and servers have been limited. Nor has the impact of supply air conditions on these factors been extensively investigated. This work uses measurements of bypass in a test data centre and observations on server behavior in a wind tunnel, in conjunction with a system model, to investigate the efficiency with which computations can be undertaken in an aisle contained data centre, and how this is impacted by supply air conditions

An evaluation of individually delivered secret agent society social skills program for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: A pilot study

© The Author(s) 2015. High-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders display social skill deficits that can have a debilitating impact on their daily lives. The Secret Agent Society (SAS) program has been shown to be effective in improving the social skills of these children when delivered in a group setting. This pilot study evaluated whether individually delivered SAS would yield similar outcomes. Three participants were recruited for the 9-week intervention. Measures of social competence were administered at four points: pretest 1, pretest 2, post-intervention, and 6-week follow-up. Participants showed significant improvement in half of the measures assessing social competence. On a third of these measures, two participants demonstrated improvements to within the range of their typically developing peers. Follow-up results suggested that improvements were maintained at 6 weeks' post-intervention. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed