A high resolution scintillating fiber tracker with SiPM readout for the PEBS experiment

Using thin scintillating fibers with Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) readout a mo dular high-resolution charged-particle tracking detector has been designed. The fiber modules consist of 2 x 5 layers of 128 round multiclad scintillating fiber s of 0.250mm diameter. The fibers are read out by four SiPM arrays (8mm x 1mm) e ach on either end of the module.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, presented at the ICATPP 1

Silicon photomultiplier arrays - a novel photon detector for a high resolution tracker produced at FBK-irst, Italy

A silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array has been developed at FBK-irst having 32 channels and a dimension of 8.0 x 1.1 mm^2. Each 250 um wide channel is subdivided into 5 x 22 rectangularly arranged pixels. These sensors are developed to read out a modular high resolution scintillating fiber tracker. Key properties like breakdown voltage, gain and photon detection efficiency (PDE) are found to be homogeneous over all 32 channels of an SiPM array. This could make scintillating fiber trackers with SiPM array readout a promising alternative to available tracker technologies, if noise properties and the PDE are improved

A High-resolution Scintillating Fiber Tracker With Silicon Photomultiplier Array Readout

We present prototype modules for a tracking detector consisting of multiple layers of 0.25 mm diameter scintillating fibers that are read out by linear arrays of silicon photomultipliers. The module production process is described and measurements of the key properties for both the fibers and the readout devices are shown. Five modules have been subjected to a 12 GeV/c proton/pion testbeam at CERN. A spatial resolution of 0.05 mm and light yields exceeding 20 detected photons per minimum ionizing particle have been achieved, at a tracking efficiency of more than 98.5%. Possible techniques for further improvement of the spatial resolution are discussed.Comment: 31 pages, 27 figures, pre-print version of an article published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A, Vol. 62

A Scintillating Fiber Tracker With SiPM Readout

We present a prototype for the first tracking detector consisting of 250 micron thin scintillating fibers and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays. The detector has a modular design, each module consists of a mechanical support structure of 10mm Rohacell foam between two 100 micron thin carbon fiber skins. Five layers of scintillating fibers are glued to both top and bottom of the support structure. SiPM arrays with a channel pitch of 250 micron are placed in front of the fibers. We show the results of the first module prototype using multiclad fibers of types Bicron BCF-20 and Kuraray SCSF-81M that were read out by novel 32-channel SiPM arrays from FBK-irst/INFN Perugia as well as 32-channel SiPM arrays produced by Hamamatsu. A spatial resolution of 88 micron +/- 6 micron at an average yield of 10 detected photons per minimal ionizig particle has been achieved.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, submitted as proceedings to the 11th Topical Seminar on Innovative Particle and Radiation Detectors (IPRD08

More to the Story: Discursive Violence in Aimée and Jaguar

The story of Aimée and Jaguar can be read on multiple levels. Indeed, it comes to us already in two incarnations. Erica Fischer published her novel Aimée and Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 in 1994. In 2001, Max Färberböck\u27s movie, Aimée and Jaguar: A Love Greater than Death was released. Though these two different representations reveal oppositional and competing sociological, political, and cultural agendas, what emerges is that there is no ultimate, objective \u27truth.\u27 This story, as is it is told by Fischer and Färberböck, represents lesbianism as a site of resistance to the National Socialist eugenicist agenda. But finally, this story reinscribes the racist and classist dynamics it sets out to critique. What emerges from close readings of both the novel and the film is that non-heteronormative relationships are not inherently revolutionary, but instead often reproduce (whether consciously or not) hegemonic power relations and discursive violence.&nbsp

Abundance and Distribution of Invasive Woody Shrub Mahonia bealei in the Metropolitan Atlanta Area

Woody invasive plants are a pernicious threat to the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide. However, due to the growing number of invasive species and the variable timeline of invasion, many invasive plants are unrecognized or underreported, leading to long-term ecological damage that is beyond the capability of cost-efficient management programs. Mahonia bealei is a woody shrub native to China that is invading the forests of the southeastern U.S. and is likely underreported. This study identified and mapped all occurrences of Mahonia bealei across 40 woodlots throughout DeKalb County, Georgia, and analyzed vital indicators in the habitats that may promote colonization and establishment. M. bealei was found in 90% of sample sites, frequently in large numbers within the forest interior. The high abundance of M. bealei combined with success in low-light environments indicates an aggressive and successful long-term invasion of the Southeastern Piedmont

Эпидемиологические исследования в сексологии

Представлены результаты эпидемиологического исследования, позволившие автору на примере обследования 1000 человек популяции из западного региона Украины сформулировать основные закономерности изменения отношения к браку и сексуального поведения мужчин и женщин в современном обществе.The findings of epidemiological study, which allowed the author to formulate main regularities of the changes in the attitude to the marriage and sexual behavior of men and women in the contemporary society on the example of the examination of 1000 persons from the western regions of Ukraine, are presented

Breath characteristics and adventitious lung sounds in healthy and asthmatic horses

Thoracic auscultation is central in the diagnostic work-up of horses suffering from respiratory disorders. However, it suffers from limitations, including low sensitivity for transient or localized lung sounds, subjectivity, and lack of systematic analysis. In this study, we introduced a digital stethoscope designed to autonomously record lung sounds over prolonged periods, in multiple locations simultaneously. Breath parameters and occurrence of adventitious sounds were compared between 12 healthy horses and 22 horses with asthma (12 mild to moderate, 5 severe in remission, and 5 severe in exacerbation). Each horse was digitally auscultated in 11 locations simultaneously for 1 hour. One hundred breaths per recording were randomly selected, blindly categorized, and statistically analyzed. Digital auscultation provided high-quality recordings. Compared to clinically healthy controls, all adventitious sounds were significantly more frequent and breath intensity significantly higher in severely asthmatic horses in exacerbation, but not in those in remission and in mild to moderately affected horses. This digital approach overcomes traditional auscultation limitations, offering potentially more accurate assessments of equine respiratory conditions for diagnosis and monitoring. However, larger, well-characterized samples are needed to distinguish mild to moderate asthmatic horses from healthy ones

An in-vitro screening assay for the detection of inhibitors of proinflammatory cytokine synthesis: a useful tool for the development of new antiarthritic and disease modifying drugs

AbstractObjective This work targets the development of a new tool to help develop new anticytokine drugs that prevent or reduce the progression of arthritic diseases. The specific aim of our study was to establish a fast and reliable in vitro screening assay of cytokine synthesis inhibitors (TNFα, IL-1β) which shows better correlation with enzyme assays than previously reported in vitro assays. The test system should be able to detect p38-MAP kinase inhibitors.Material and methods Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation from human EDTA-potassium whole blood. Cells were adjusted at 1×106 cells/ml. PBMCs were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; E. coli serotype 026:B6: 1μg/ml) in the presence of test compound (10−5–10−8M) for 4h at 37°C in a 5% CO2-incubator. Induced TNFα and IL-1β protein were measured by ELISA.Results The following are representative examples of inhibitors which effect cytokine synthesis. Corticoid Dexamethasone inhibits IL-1β and TNFα synthesis at IC50 of 38nM and 25nM, respectively. ERK1/ERK2 inhibitor U0126 effects cytokine synthesis at IC50 of 0.34μM for IL-1β production and 0.26μM for TNFα synthesis.p38-MAP kinase inhibitor SB 203580 inhibits IL-1β- and TNF-α-synthesis (IC50sof 0.052μM and 0.46μM) in the same degree as p38-MAP kinase activity (IC50: 0.34μM). Same results could be shown for SB 210313, which had same efficacy on IL-1β and TNFα biosynthesis (IC50's: 1.88μM and 1.01μM) and on p38-MAP kinase (IC50: 6.85μM). Also for SB 202190 this correlation in inhibition of IL-1β and TNFα synthesis (IC50's: 0.055μM and 1.01μM) and p38-MAP kinase inhibition (IC50: 0.088μM) could be shown.Conclusion This study shows the screening assay using PBMCs stimulated with LPS for IL-1β and TNFα synthesis is a reliable test system for the quantification of the effectiveness of new drugs modulating IL-1β and TNFα synthesis which is mainly mediated by p38-MAP Kinase. These assay allows fast detection of IL-1β and TNFα synthesis inhibitors with different modes of action, including p38-MAP kinase inhibitors. The results obtained with our in-vitro screening assay show good correlation with results from enzyme assays. Copyright 2002 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved