ATLAS RPC offline monitoring and data quality assessment

In this work several aspects of ATLAS RPC offline monitoring and data quality assessment are illustrated with cosmics data selected by RPC trigger. These correspond to trigger selection, front-end mapping, detection efficiency and occupancy, which are studied in terms of low level quantities such as: RPC off-line hits and standalone tracks. The tools and techniques presented are also extended to the forthcoming LHC p-p beam collisions.Comment: Poster section at ICHEP08, Philadelphia, USA, July 2008. 3 pages, LaTeX, 3 eps figure

25th International Congress of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES) Frankfurt, Germany, 14-17 June 2017 : Oral Presentations

Introduction: Ouyang has recently proposed hiatal surface area (HSA) calculation by multiplanar multislice computer tomography (MDCT) scan as a useful tool for planning treatment of hiatus defects with hiatal hernia (HH), with or without gastroesophageal reflux (MRGE). Preoperative upper endoscopy or barium swallow cannot predict the HSA and pillars conditions. Aim to asses the efficacy of MDCT’s calculation of HSA for planning the best approach for the hiatal defects treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 25 patients, candidates to laparoscopic antireflux surgery as primary surgery or hiatus repair concomitant with or after bariatric surgery. Patients were analyzed preoperatively and after one-year follow-up by MDCT scan measurement of esophageal hiatus surface. Five normal patients were enrolled as control group. The HSA’s intraoperative calculation was performed after complete dissection of the area considered a triangle. Postoperative CT-scan was done after 12 months or any time reflux symptoms appeared. Results: (1) Mean HSA in control patients with no HH, no MRGE was cm2 and similar in non-complicated patients with previous LSG and cruroplasty. (2) Mean HSA in patients candidates to cruroplasty was 7.40 cm2. (3) Mean HSA in patients candidates to redo cruroplasty for recurrence was 10.11 cm2. Discussion. MDCT scan offer the possibility to obtain an objective measurement of the HSA and the correlation with endoscopic findings and symptoms. The preoperative information allow to discuss with patients the proper technique when a HSA[5 cm2 is detected. During the follow-up a correlation between symptoms and failure of cruroplasty can be assessed. Conclusions: MDCT scan seems to be an effective non-invasive method to plan hiatal defect treatment and to check during the follow-up the potential recurrence. Future research should correlate in larger series imaging data with intraoperative findings

Critical renormalized coupling constants in the symmetric phase of the Ising models

Using a novel finite size scaling Monte Carlo method, we calculate the four, six and eight point renormalized coupling constants defined at zero momentum in the symmetric phase of the three dimensional Ising system. The results of the 2D Ising system that were directly measured are also reported. Our values of the six and eight point coupling constants are significantly different from those obtained from other methods.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Scaling Functions in the Odd Charge Sector of Sine-Gordon/Massive Thirring Theory

A non-linear integral equation (NLIE) governing the finite size effects of excited states of even topological charge in the sine-Gordon (sG) / massive Thirring (mTh) field theory, deducible from a light-cone lattice formulation of the model, has been known for some time. In this letter we conjecture an extension of this NLIE to states with odd topological charge, thus completing the spectrum of the theory. The scaling functions obtained as solutions to our conjectured NLIE are compared successfully with Truncated Conformal Space data and the construction is shown to be compatible with all other facts known about the local Hilbert spaces of sG and mTh models. With the present results we have achieved a full control over the finite size behaviour of energy levels of sG/mTh theory.Comment: LaTeX2e, 12 pp., 3 eps figs. Remarks on locality adde

GRB970228 and the class of GRBs with an initial spikelike emission: do they follow the Amati relation?

On the basis of the recent understanding of GRB050315 and GRB060218, we return to GRB970228, the first Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) with detected afterglow. We proposed it as the prototype for a new class of GRBs with "an occasional softer extended emission lasting tenths of seconds after an initial spikelike emission". Detailed theoretical computation of the GRB970228 light curves in selected energy bands for the prompt emission are presented and compared with observational BeppoSAX data. From our analysis we conclude that GRB970228 and likely the ones of the above mentioned new class of GRBs are "canonical GRBs" have only one peculiarity: they exploded in a galactic environment, possibly the halo, with a very low value of CBM density. Here we investigate how GRB970228 unveils another peculiarity of this class of GRBs: they do not fulfill the "Amati relation". We provide a theoretical explanation within the fireshell model for the apparent absence of such correlation for the GRBs belonging to this new class.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, in the Proceedings of the "4th Italian-Sino Workshop on Relativistic Astrophysics", held in Pescara, Italy, July 20-28, 2007, C.L. Bianco, S.-S. Xue, Editor

A New Estimation Algorithm for Interval Censored Data from Repairable Systems

For a minimally repaired system, whose failure process is described by a non-homogeneous Poisson process (NHPP), the classical maximum likelihood estimation procedures cannot be used when the system failures are hidden and detected only at inspection epochs. By assuming that the failure process follows a NHPP with power law intensity function, the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm was recently proposed to estimate the model parameters and a procedure to test the presence of trend in the real failure data of some components of identical medical infusion pumps was discussed. However, the EM algorithm suffers in this application from some limitations due to its complexity and the large computational time required for convergence. This paper proposes a new estimation algorithm which is still iterative but, unlike the EM algorithm, is not based on the expectation of the log-likelihood function with respect to the conditional distribution of the unobserved data, but rather on the expectation of the conditioning variables, that is, of the unknown age of the system at the previous failure. This approach allows one to specify a simpler and much faster estimation procedure. A comparison between the proposed and the EM algorithms shows that the former performs as well as the latter, while requiring a drastically reduced computational burden. In addition, the proposed scheme can be applied to other intensity functions, such as the log-linear and the 2-parameter logarithmic functions. As a result, the test hypothesis of no trend in one of the analyzed datasets, which can not be rejected under the power law intensity function, is instead rejected under the alternative hypothesis of a log-linear intensity function

Energy Storage System Control for Energy Management in Advanced Aeronautic Applications

In this paper an issue related to electric energy management on board an aircraft is considered. A battery pack is connected to a high-voltage bus through a controlled Battery Charge/Discharge Unit (BCDU) that makes the overall behaviour of the battery “intelligent.” Specifically, when the aeronautic generator feeding the high-voltage bus has enough energy the battery is kept under charge, while if more loads are connected to the bus, so that the overload capacity of the generator is exceeded, the battery “helps” the generator by releasing its stored energy. The core of the application is a robust, supervised control strategy for the BCDU that automatically reverts the flow of power in the battery, when needed. Robustness is guaranteed by a low-level high gain control strategy. Switching from full-charge mode (i.e., when the battery absorbs power from the generator) to generator mode (i.e., when the battery pumps energy on the high-voltage bus) is imposed by a high-level supervisor. Different from previous approaches, mathematical proofs of stability are given for the controlled system. A switching implementation using a finite-time convergent controller is also proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is shown by detailed simulations in Matlab/Stateflow/SimPowerSystem

Contraceptive use and sexual function: a comparison of Italian female medical students and women attending family planning services

Objectives: The aims of the study were to understand how education relates to contraceptive choice and how sexual function can vary in relation to the use of a contraceptive method. Methods: We surveyed female medical students and women attending a family planning service (FPS) in Italy. Participants completed an online questionnaire which asked for information on sociodemographics, lifestyle, sexuality and contraceptive use and also included items of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Results: The questionnaire was completed by 413 women (362 students and 51 women attending the FPS) between the ages of 18 and 30 years. FSFI scores revealed a lower risk of sexual dysfunction among women in the control group who did not use oral hormonal contraception. The differences in FSFI total scores between the two study groups, when subdivided by the primary contraceptive method used, was statistically significant (p < 0.005). Women using the vaginal ring had the lowest risk of sexual dysfunction, compared with all other women, and had a positive sexual function profile. In particular, the highest FSFI domain scores were lubrication, orgasm and satisfaction, also among the control group. Expensive contraception, such as long-acting reversible contraception, was not preferred by this young population, even though such methods are more contemporary and manageable. Compared with controls, students had lower compliance with contraception and a negative attitude towards voluntary termination of pregnancy. Conclusion: Despite their scientific knowledge, Italian female medical students were found to need sexual and contraceptive assistance. A woman's sexual function responds to her awareness of her body and varies in relation to how she is guided in her contraceptive choice. Contraceptive counselling is an excellent means to improve female sexuality