Proton irradiation of EMCCDs

This paper describes the irradiation of 95 electron multiplication charge coupled devices (EMCCDs) at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) in Switzerland, to investigate the effects of proton irradiation on the operational characteristics of CCDs featuring electron multiplication technology for space use. This work was carried out in support of the CCD development for the radial velocity spectrometer (RVS) instrument of the European Space Agency's cornerstone Gaia mission. Previous proton irradiations of EMCCDs, have shown the technology to be radiation hard to /spl sim/10/spl times/ the required six-year Gaia lifetime proton fluence, with no device failures or unexpected operational changes. The purpose of the study described in this paper was to further investigate the statistical probability of device failure as a result of radiation damage, the large number of devices and high proton fluence used, making the study equivalent to testing /spl sim/50 complete RVS CCD focal planes to the expected end of life proton dose. An outline of the earlier EMCCD proton irradiations is given, followed by a detailed description of the proton irradiation and characterization of the 95 devices used in this latest study

A methodology for estimating dog noise in an animal housing facility

A rectangular reverberation chamber was designed, constructed and calibrated for the experimental measurement of the sound power level (acoustic power) of a dog. Calibration of the chamber consisted of comparing the acoustic power measured for a random noise source in the chamber with that for the identical source in a free field environment. Data from dogs indicate that barking noise can be modeled as a square wave pattern with short duration and peak sound power levels in the 500 Hz octave band. A-weighted sound pressure levels of up to 114.7 dBA were absorbed, indicating a potential concern for both animals and man chronically exposed to such environments

GDPR: Governance implications for regimes outside the EU

It is estimated that as of 2017 around 120 nations around the globe had legislation to protect personal data with at least another 30 in train. Many of the early regimes (dating back to the 1980s and 90s) reflect the OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data (1980, updated 2013). However, there are also increasing concerns that these guidelines may no longer be fit for purpose with recent issues regarding breaches of data security and privacy. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (2016) implements a reformed data privacy regime. Tellingly, some of the new and pending privacy regulations elsewhere reflect the GDPR, a characteristic that suggests much about the impact of international trade. Two questions arise: first, how is the GDPR likely to affect and influence governance of organisations, not only those domiciled in the EU, but also those trading with the Union or having a presence there? Second, compared to the GDPR, what gaps are there in other existing privacy regimes and what are the implications for the governance of those organisations and their risk management strategies? This paper compares the GDPR with privacy regimes in place in New Zealand and Australia (the first of which has GDPR “approved country status” for receipt of data) and attempts to answer the questions above, thus providing a focus for empirical research. As such, the paper provides insight into the impact of the data privacy and security legislative reform, on corporate governance, strategy and risk management beyond the EU in its reach to far distant regions. © The Authors, 2018. All Rights Reserved.Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Management, Leadership and Governance, ECMLG 201

EMCCDs for space applications

This paper describes a qualification programme for Electron-Multiplication Charge Coupled Devices (EMCCDs) for use in space applications. While the presented results are generally applicable, the programme was carried out in the context of CCD development for the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) instrument on the European Space Agency's cornerstone Gaia mission. We discuss the issues of device radiation tolerance, charge transfer efficiency at low signal levels and life time effects on the electron-multiplication gain. The development of EMCCD technology to allow operation at longer wavelengths using high resistivity silicon, and the cryogenic characterisation of EMCCDs are also described

Problems in radiation dose calculations in spacecraft. Part 1 - Electrons

Calculation of radiation dose produced by high energy electrons on earth orbiting manned spacecraf

LES DETERMINANTS «TRADITIONNELS» DE LA PERFORMANCE DES CONSEILS D'ADMINISTRATION ONT-IL ENCORE DU SENS DANS LES PME ?: UNE ETUDE EXPLORATOIRE DANS LE CONTEXTE FRANÇAIS

Soutenue par la théorie d'agence, la performance des conseils d'administration a largement été associée aux déterminants traditionnels (taille du conseil, indépendance des administrateurs et séparation des fonctions). Les théories cognitives apportent des arguments pouvant réfuter cette association. L'objectif de ce papier est de mettre en exergue l'existence d'autres types de variables impliquant la performance des CA avec un pouvoir explicatif plus important. En effet, sur un échantillon de 123 PME françaises, nous montrons que la performance du CA n'est pas tant reliée aux déterminants dits traditionnels mais plutôt à des composants relevant de variables de compétences des administrateurs ainsi que des modes de fonctionnement du CA.conseil d'administration, performance, déterminants, PME françaises

Control of nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of Ankrd54 by PKCδ

AIM To identify and characterize the effect of phosphorylation on the subcellular localization of Ankrd54. METHODS HEK293T cells were treated with calyculin A, staurosporin or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Cells were transfected with eGFP-tagged Ankrd54 with or without Lyn tyrosine kinase (wild-type, Y397F mutant, or Y508F mutant). The subcellular localization was assessed by immunofluorescence imaging of cells, immunoblotting of subcellular fractionations. The phosphorylation of Ankrd54 was monitored using Phos-tagTM gel retardation. Phosphorylated peptides were analysed by multiple-reaction-monitoring (MRM) proteomic analysis. RESULTS Activation of PKC kinases using PMA promoted nuclear export of Ankrd54 and correlated with increased Ankrd54 phosphorylation, assayed using Phos-tagTM gel retardation. Co-expression of an active form of the PKCδ isoform specifically promoted both phosphorylation and cytoplasmic localization of Ankrd54, while PKCδ, Akt and PKA did not. Alanine mutation of several serine residues in the amino-terminal region of Ankrd54 (Ser14, Ser17, Ser18, Ser19) reduced both PMA induced cytoplasmic localization and phosphorylation of Ankrd54. Using MRM proteomic analysis, phosphorylation of the Ser18 residue of Ankrd54 was readily detectable in response to PMA stimulation. PMA stimulation of cells co-expressing Ankrd54 and Lyn tyrosine kinase displayed increased co-immunoprecipitation and enhanced co-localization in the cytoplasm. CONCLUSION We identify phosphorylation by PKCδ as a major regulator of nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of Ankrd54, and its interaction with the tyrosine kinase Lyn

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis of Geological and Biogeological Specimens of Relevance to the ExoMars Mission

H.G.M.E., I.H., and R.I. acknowledge the support of the STFC Research Council in the UK ExoMars programme. J.J. and P.V. acknowledge the support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (210/10/0467) and of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (MSM0021620855).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Author Correction: Identification of a novel cAMP dependent protein kinase A phosphorylation site on the human cardiac calcium channel

The original version of this Article contained a typographical error in the spelling of the author A. Harvey Millar, which was incorrectly given as Harvey A. Millar. This has now been corrected in the PDF and HTML versions of the Article and in the Supplementary Information