Development of Superconducting Tuning Quadrupole Corrector (MQT) Prototypes for the LHC

The main quadrupoles of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are connected in families of focusing and defocusing magnets. In order to make tuning corrections in the machine a number of quadrupole corrector magnets (designated MQT) are necessary. These 56 mm diameter aperture magnets have to be compact, with a maximum length of 395 mm and a coil radial thickness of 5 to 7.5 mm, while generating a minimum field gradient of 110 T/m. Two design options have been explored, both using the "counter-winding" system developed at CERN for the fabrication of low cost corrector coils. The first design, with the poles composed of two double-pancake coils, each counter-wound using a single wire, superposed to create 4-layer coils, was developed and built by ACCEL Instruments GmbH. A second design where single coils were counter-wound using a 3-wire ribbon to obtain 6-layer coils was developed at CERN. This paper describes the two designs and reports on the performance of the prototypes during testing

The Portable Ice Nucleation Experiment (PINE): A new online instrument for laboratory studies and automated long-term field observations of ice-nucleating particles

Atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs) play an important role in determining the phase of clouds, which affects their albedo and lifetime. A lack of data on the spatial and temporal variation of INPs around the globe limits our predictive capacity and understanding of clouds containing ice. Automated instrumentation that can robustly measure INP concentrations across the full range of tropospheric temperatures is needed in order to address this knowledge gap. In this study, we demonstrate the functionality and capacity of the new Portable Ice Nucleation Experiment (PINE) to study ice nucleation processes and to measure INP concentrations under conditions pertinent for mixed-phase clouds, with temperatures from about −10 to about −40 C. PINE is a cloud expansion chamber which avoids frost formation on the cold walls and thereby omits frost fragmentation and related background ice signals during the operation. The development, working principle and treatment of data for the PINE instrument is discussed in detail. We present laboratory-based tests where PINE measurements were compared with those from the established AIDA (Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere) cloud chamber. Within experimental uncertainties, PINE agreed with AIDA for homogeneous freezing of pure water droplets and the immersion freezing activity of mineral aerosols. Results from a first field campaign conducted at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) observatory in Oklahoma, USA, from 1 October to 14 November 2019 with the latest PINE design (a commercially available PINE chamber) are also shown, demonstrating PINE\u27s ability to make automated field measurements of INP concentrations at a time resolution of about 8 min with continuous temperature scans for INP measurements between −10 and −30 ∘C. During this field campaign, PINE was continuously operated for 45 d in a fully automated and semi-autonomous way, demonstrating the capability of this new instrument to also be used for longer-term field measurements and INP monitoring activities in observatories

Performance of the single and twin-aperture models of the 6 kA superconducting quadrupole for the LHC insertions

The LHC dispersion suppressors and matching sections will be equipped with individually powered superconducting quadrupoles with an aperture of 56 mm. In order to optimise the parameters and cost of the magnets and of their powering, the quadrupole has been designed on the basis of an 8.2 mm wide Rutherford-type cable for a nominal current of 5300 A, corresponding to a gradient of 200 T/m at 1.9 K. In order to validate the design two 1-m single-aperture quadrupoles and one twin-aperture quadrupole have been built and tested. In this report we describe the construction features of the magnets and present the results of the magnet tests. (4 refs)

BASE-STEP: A transportable antiproton reservoir for fundamental interaction studies

Currently, the only worldwide source of low-energy antiprotons is the AD/ELENA facility located at CERN. To date, all precision measurements on single antiprotons have been conducted at this facility and provide stringent tests of the fundamental interactions and their symmetries. However, the magnetic field fluctuations from the facility operation limit the precision of upcoming measurements. To overcome this limitation, we have designed the transportable antiproton trap system BASE-STEP to relocate antiprotons to laboratories with a calm magnetic environment. We anticipate that the transportable antiproton trap will facilitate enhanced tests of CPT invariance with antiprotons, and provide new experimental possibilities of using transported antiprotons and other accelerator-produced exotic ions. We present here the technical design of the transportable trap system. This includes the transportable superconducting magnet, the cryogenic inlay consisting of the trap stack and the detection systems, and the differential pumping section to suppress the residual gas flow into the cryogenic trap chamber.Comment: To be submitted to Rev. Sci. Instrument

A Study of Platelet Inhibition, Using a 'Point of Care' Platelet Function Test, following Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction [PINPOINT-PPCI].

BACKGROUND: Rapid coronary recanalization following ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) requires effective anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic therapies. This study tested the impact of door to end of procedure ('door-to-end') time and baseline platelet activity on platelet inhibition within 24hours post-STEMI. METHODS AND FINDINGS: 108 patients, treated with prasugrel and procedural bivalirudin, underwent Multiplate® platelet function testing at baseline, 0, 1, 2 and 24hours post-procedure. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE), bleeding and stent thrombosis (ST) were recorded. Baseline ADP activity was high (88.3U [71.8-109.0]), procedural time and consequently bivalirudin infusion duration were short (median door-to-end time 55minutes [40-70] and infusion duration 30minutes [20-42]). Baseline ADP was observed to influence all subsequent measurements of ADP activity, whereas door-to-end time only influenced ADP immediately post-procedure. High residual platelet reactivity (HRPR ADP>46.8U) was observed in 75% of patients immediately post-procedure and persisted in 24% of patients at 2hours. Five patients suffered in-hospital MACE (4.6%). Acute ST occurred in 4 patients, all were <120mins post-procedure and had HRPR. No significant bleeding was observed. In a post-hoc analysis, pre-procedural morphine use was associated with significantly higher ADP activity following intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Baseline platelet function, time to STEMI treatment and opiate use all significantly influence immediate post-procedural platelet activity

Methotrexate Is a JAK/STAT Pathway Inhibitor

Background: The JAK/STAT pathway transduces signals from multiple cytokines and controls haematopoiesis, immunity and inflammation. In addition, pathological activation is seen in multiple malignancies including the myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Given this, drug development efforts have targeted the pathway with JAK inhibitors such as ruxolitinib. Although effective, high costs and side effects have limited its adoption. Thus, a need for effective low cost treatments remains. Methods & Findings: We used the low-complexity Drosophila melanogaster pathway to screen for small molecules that modulate JAK/STAT signalling. This screen identified methotrexate and the closely related aminopterin as potent suppressors of STAT activation. We show that methotrexate suppresses human JAK/STAT signalling without affecting other phosphorylation-dependent pathways. Furthermore, methotrexate significantly reduces STAT5 phosphorylation in cells expressing JAK2 V617F, a mutation associated with most human MPNs. Methotrexate acts independently of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and is comparable to the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib. However, cells treated with methotrexate still retain their ability to respond to physiological levels of the ligand erythropoietin. Conclusions: Aminopterin and methotrexate represent the first chemotherapy agents developed and act as competitive inhibitors of DHFR. Methotrexate is also widely used at low doses to treat inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions including rheumatoid arthritis. In this low-dose regime, folate supplements are given to mitigate side effects by bypassing the biochemical requirement for DHFR. Although independent of DHFR, the mechanism-of-action underlying the low-dose effects of methotrexate is unknown. Given that multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines signal through the pathway, we suggest that suppression of the JAK/STAT pathway is likely to be the principal anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive mechanism-of-action of low-dose methotrexate. In addition, we suggest that patients with JAK/STAT-associated haematological malignancies may benefit from low-dose methotrexate treatments. While the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib is effective, a £43,200 annual cost precludes widespread adoption. With an annual methotrexate cost of around £32, our findings represent an important development with significant future potential

Spanning Tree Calculations on D-Wave 2 Machines

Calculations on D-Wave machines are presented, both for the 500-qubit and the 1000-qubit machines. Results are presented for spanning trees on the available K4,4 Chimera graphs of both machines. Comparing trees of approximately the same size, the frequency of finding the ground state for the 1000-qubit machine is significantly improved over the 500- qubit older generation machine. Spanning trees are difficult problems for solution by adiabatic quantum computers, so the enhanced frequency of finding the ground state for newer machine generations and larger machines is encouraging for this immature technology

Magnetic shielding properties of a superconducting hollow cylinder containing slits: Modelling and experiment

This paper deals with the magnetic properties of bulk high temperature superconducting cylinders used as magnetic shields. We investigate, both numerically and experimentally, the magnetic properties of a hollow cylinder with two axial slits which cut the cylinder in equal halves. Finite element method modelling has been used with a three-dimensional geometry to help us in understanding how the superconducting currents flow in such a cut cylinder and therefore how the magnetic shielding properties are affected, depending on the magnetic field orientation. Modelling results show that the slits block the shielding current flow and act as an entrance channel for the magnetic flux lines. The contribution of the slits to the total flux density that enters the cylinder is studied through the angle formed between the applied field and the internal field. The modelled data agree nicely with magnetic shielding properties measured on a bulk Bi-2212 hollow cylinder at 77K. The results demonstrate that the magnetic flux penetration in such a geometry can be modelled successfully using only two parameters of the superconductor (constant J c and n value), which were determined from magnetic measurements on the plain cylinder. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd

Quench testing of HTS sub-elements for 13 kA and 600 A leads designed to the specifications for the CERN Large Hadron Collider project

Ability to safely withstand and survive self quench conditions is an important consideration in the design and utilisation of HTS current leads. The provision of a non superconducting shunt path allows current to be diverted in the event of a transition to the normal state. This shunt should allow very rapid transfer of current out of the HTS material and be able to safely support the full load current for the time required to detect the fault and reduce the current to zero. However, the shunt should also be designed to minimise the increased heat load which will result from it's addition to the lead. Test of leads based on melt cast BSCCO 2212 utilising a fully integrated silver gold alloy sheath are described. The HTS sub- elements form part of a full 13 kA lead, designed to the specifications of CERN for the LHC project. The sub-elements proved able to fully comply with and exceed the quench performance required by CERN. The HTS module was quenched at the full design current and continued to maintain this current for a further minute in the absence of any coolant without any damage being incurred or degradation of subsequent performance. Results were in full agreement with calculated quench performance. Work continues on similar modules for a 600 A lead. (5 refs)

Magnetic shielding properties of a cut superconducting hollow cylinder : modelling and experiment

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