S-Link to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter New Frame Segmentation for LHCb Data Acquisition System

Data Acquisition and Control Systems used in high energy physics experiments, such as those which will take place in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, require the specification of data formats and transmission protocols as well as the use of high speed links and interfaces. In this context, a new Frame Segmentation process will be presented and discussed, based on data formats adopted by the LHCb experience for the interconnection of two standardized systems: S-link and Gigabit Ethernet. Simulation results of the transfer capacity of the proposed mechanism will be also reported, together with guidelines for its physical implementation.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics - CHEP03, La Jolla, CA, March 200

The Effect of Post Consumer Waste on Flexographic and Rotogravure Printing Operations

The impact of deinked post-consumer secondary fiber (PCW) on the printability and runnability of an uncoated recycled sheet through printing operations was studied. The PCW was substituted into the base stock (50/50 HW/SW) at levels of 25%, 50%, and 100%; and printed on web fed flexographic and rotogravure printing presses. Tensile strength, brightness, and Δ gloss decreased with the addition of secondary fiber, while opacity, roughness, and bond strength increased. Stretch, tensile energy absorption, and tonal response remained relatively unchanged as the percentage of post-consumer waste increased

Taxonomy and evolutionary relationships within species of section Rimosae (Inocybe) based on ITS, LSU and mtSSU sequence data

The present study aimed at elucidating the structure of Inocybe subg. Inosperma sect. Rimosae but included also representatives from subg. Mallocybe and the genus Auritella. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using ITS, LSU and mtSSU sequence data. The analyses recovered the ingroup as a monophyletic, strongly supported clade. The results indicate that recognizing Auritella on the genus level renders Inocybe paraphyletic. The species traditionally placed in sect. Rimosae were found to be distributed over two strongly supported clades, Maculata and Rimosae s.s. The Maculata clade clusters with sect. Cervicolores and the two represent subg. Inosperma in a strict sense. Rimosae s.s. emerges as an independent, supported clade well separated from Inosperma s.s. Twenty-one terminal groups were correlated with morphologically distinct species. In addition several taxa on single branches and minor less supported clades were recovered. A key to the identified species of the Maculata and Rimosae s.s. clades which occur in Northwest Europe is provided

Antimicrobial resistance and Neisseria gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) genotypes in N. gonorrhoeae during 2012-2014 in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Globally, increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoea has led to decreased treatment options for gonorrhoea. Continuous monitoring of resistance is crucial to determine evolving resistance trends in Neisseria gonorrhoea and to suggest treatment recommendations. Quality assured gonococcal AMR data from Pakistan are mainly lacking. This study was performed to determine prevalence and trends of gonococcal AMR and molecular epidemiology of local strains during 2012-2014 in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: Gonococcal isolates (n = 100) were obtained from urogenital specimens submitted to the Aga Khan University Laboratory, Karachi, Pakistan. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using Etest and molecular epidemiology was assessed by N. gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). Quality control was performed using N. gonorrhoeae WHO reference strains C, F, G, K, L, M, N, O, and P, and ATCC 49226. Results: Susceptibility to spectinomycin, ceftriaxone and cefixime was 100 % and to azithromycin was 99 %. All isolates had low ceftriaxone MICs, i.e., ≤0.032 mg/L. Resistance to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and penicillin G were 86 %, 51 % and 43 %, respectively. NG-MAST analysis identified 74 different sequence types (STs). Conclusions: A highly diversified gonococcal population, 74 NG-MAST STs (62 novel STs) with an increased resistance to penicillin G, ciprofloxacin and tetracycline circulated in Karachi, Pakistan. Fortunately, no resistance to ceftriaxone was detected. Accordingly, ceftriaxone can continuously be recommended as the treatment of choice. However it is recommended to increase the dose of ceftriaxone from 125 mg intramuscularly to 250 mg intramuscularly due to ceftriaxone MIC creep and emerging resistance reported in the region. Furthermore, due to the high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin (86 %) it is essential to exclude ciprofloxacin from the recommended first-line therapy. It is imperative to significantly broaden the gonococcal AMR monitoring with participation from other laboratories and cities in Pakistan

Khovanov-Rozansky Homology and Topological Strings

We conjecture a relation between the sl(N) knot homology, recently introduced by Khovanov and Rozansky, and the spectrum of BPS states captured by open topological strings. This conjecture leads to new regularities among the sl(N) knot homology groups and suggests that they can be interpreted directly in topological string theory. We use this approach in various examples to predict the sl(N) knot homology groups for all values of N. We verify that our predictions pass some non-trivial checks.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, harvmac; minor corrections, references adde

Liver Transplantation for Advanced Liver Disease with Alpha-1antitrypsin Deficiency

ALPHA-1-antitrypsin deficiency associated with chronic obstructive airway disease was recognized in 1963 by Laurell and Ericksson.1 In 1969, Sharp2 described the first cases of alpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency disease in children with cirrhosis. Since then, this inborn error has been recognized as one of the more common factors in cirrhosis of infancy and childhood,3 including “neonatal hepatitis.”4 Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a glycoprotein that accounts for a major portion of the alpha-1 globulin fraction of the serum.5 It is responsible for approximately 90 per cent of the antitrypsin activity6 of the serum, and it also inhibits several other plasma enzymes, including plasmin,7 elastase,8 collagenase,9 and. © 1980, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved

Design of a high power production target for the Beam Dump Facility at CERN

The Beam Dump Facility (BDF) project is a proposed general-purpose facility at CERN, dedicated to beam dump and fixed target experiments. In its initial phase, the facility is foreseen to be exploited by the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment. Physics requirements call for a pulsed 400 GeV/c proton beam as well as the highest possible number of protons on target (POT) each year of operation, in order to search for feebly interacting particles. The target/dump assembly lies at the heart of the facility, with the aim of safely absorbing the full high intensity Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) beam, while maximizing the production of charmed and beauty mesons. High-Z materials are required for the target/dump, in order to have the shortest possible absorber and reduce muon background for the downstream experiment. The high average power deposited on target (305 kW) creates a challenge for heat removal. During the BDF facility Comprehensive Design Study (CDS), launched by CERN in 2016, extensive studies have been carried out in order to define and assess the target assembly design. These studies are described in the present contribution, which details the proposed design of the BDF production target, as well as the material selection process and the optimization of the target configuration and beam dilution. One of the specific challenges and novelty of this work is the need to consider new target materials, such as a molybdenum alloy (TZM) as core absorbing material and Ta2.5W as cladding. Thermo-structural and fluid dynamics calculations have been performed to evaluate the reliability of the target and its cooling system under beam operation. In the framework of the target comprehensive design, a preliminary mechanical design of the full target assembly has also been carried out, assessing the feasibility of the whole target system.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure