2,813 research outputs found
Multi-Pulse Laser Wakefield Acceleration: A New Route to Efficient, High-Repetition-Rate Plasma Accelerators and High Flux Radiation Sources
Laser-driven plasma accelerators can generate accelerating gradients three
orders of magnitude larger than radio-frequency accelerators and have achieved
beam energies above 1 GeV in centimetre long stages. However, the pulse
repetition rate and wall-plug efficiency of plasma accelerators is limited by
the driving laser to less than approximately 1 Hz and 0.1% respectively. Here
we investigate the prospects for exciting the plasma wave with trains of
low-energy laser pulses rather than a single high-energy pulse. Resonantly
exciting the wakefield in this way would enable the use of different
technologies, such as fibre or thin-disc lasers, which are able to operate at
multi-kilohertz pulse repetition rates and with wall-plug efficiencies two
orders of magnitude higher than current laser systems. We outline the
parameters of efficient, GeV-scale, 10-kHz plasma accelerators and show that
they could drive compact X-ray sources with average photon fluxes comparable to
those of third-generation light source but with significantly improved temporal
resolution. Likewise FEL operation could be driven with comparable peak power
but with significantly larger repetition rates than extant FELs
Predicting Hard Disk Failures in Data Centers Using Temporal Convolutional Neural Networks
In modern data centers, storage system failures are major contributors to downtimes and maintenance costs. Predicting these failures by collecting measurements from disks and analyzing them with machine learning techniques can effectively reduce their impact, enabling timely maintenance. While there is a vast literature on this subject, most approaches attempt to predict hard disk failures using either classic machine learning solutions, such as Random Forests (RFs) or deep Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs). In this work, we address hard disk failure prediction using Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCNs), a novel type of deep neural network for time series analysis. Using a real-world dataset, we show that TCNs outperform both RFs and RNNs. Specifically, we can improve the Fault Detection Rate (FDR) of ≈ 7.5% (FDR = 89.1%) compared to the state-of-the-art, while simultaneously reducing the False Alarm Rate (FAR = 0.052%). Moreover, we explore the network architecture design space showing that TCNs are consistently superior to RNNs for a given model size and complexity and that even relatively small TCNs can reach satisfactory performance. All the codes to reproduce the results presented in this paper are available at https://github.com/ABurrello/tcn-hard-disk-failure-prediction
Identification of the Red-Necked Longhorn Beetle Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) with real-Time PCR on frass
Aromia bungii (Faldermann, 1835) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), the red-necked longhorn beetle is native to eastern Asia, where it is an important wood-borer of fruit and ornamental species of the genus Prunus. A. bungii is a quarantine pest in the European Union, following its accidental introduction and establishment in Germany and Italy, and is currently included in the list of priority pests. To confirm its infestations in outbreak areas, adult or larval specimens are needed to perform morphological or molecular analyses. The presence of A. bungii larvae inside the attacked trees makes the collection of specimens particularly difficult. Thus, we present two diagnostic protocols based on frass analysis with real-time PCR (probe and SYBR Green). The results obtained show that a non-invasive approach for detecting the presence of this harmful invasive pest can be a reliable and accurate alternative diagnostic tool in phytosanitary surveys, as well as to outline a sustainable pest management strategy
Role of Microenvironment in Glioma Invasion. What We Learned from In Vitro Models
The invasion properties of glioblastoma hamper a radical surgery and are responsible for its recurrence. Understanding the invasion mechanisms is thus critical to devise new therapeutic strategies. Therefore, the creation of in vitro models that enable these mechanisms to be studied represents a crucial step. Since in vitro models represent an over-simplification of the in vivo system, in these years it has been attempted to increase the level of complexity of in vitro assays to create models that could better mimic the behaviour of the cells in vivo. These levels of complexity involved: 1. The dimension of the system, moving from two-dimensional to three-dimensional models; 2. The use of microfluidic systems; 3. The use of mixed cultures of tumour cells and cells of the tumour micro-environment in order to mimic the complex cross-talk between tumour cells and their micro-environment; 4. And the source of cells used in an attempt to move from commercial lines to patient-based models. In this review, we will summarize the evidence obtained exploring these different levels of complexity and highlighting advantages and limitations of each system used
TaqMan probe assays on different biological samples for the identification of three ambrosia beetle species, Xylosandrus compactus (Eichoff), X. crassiusculus (Motschulsky) and X. germanus (Blandford) (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae)
Molecular assays based on qPCR TaqMan Probes were developed to identify three species of the genus Xylosandrus, X.
compactus, X. crassiusculus and X. germanus (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae). These ambrosia beetles are xylophagous
species alien to Europe, causing damages to many ornamental and fruiting trees as well as shrubs. DNA extraction was
carried out from adults, larvae and biological samples derived from insect damages on infested plants. For X. compactus,
segments of galleries in thin infested twigs were cut and processed; in the case of X. crassiusculus, raw frass extruded from
exit holes was used, while DNA of X. germanus was extracted from small wood chips removed around insect exit holes. The
assays were inclusive for the target species and exclusive for all the non-target species tested. The LoD was 3.2 pg/μL for
the frass of X. crassiusculus and 0.016 ng/μL for the woody matrices of the other two species. Both repeatability and reproducibility
were estimated on adults and woody samples, showing very low values ranging between 0.00 and 4.11. Thus, the
proposed diagnostic assays resulted to be very efficient also on the woody matrices used for DNA extraction, demonstrating
the applicability of the protocol in the absence of dead specimens or living stages
Mono- and disubstituted-3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane derivatives as analgesics structurally related to epibatidine: synthesis, activity, and modeling.
A series of 3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes substituted either at the 3 position compounds 1) or at the 8 position (compounds 2) by a chlorinated heteroaryl ring were synthesized, as potential analogues of the potent natural analgesic epibatidine. When tested in the hot plate assay, the majority of the compounds showed significant effects, the most interesting being the 3-(6-chloro-3-pyridazinyl)-3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane (la). At a subcutaneous dose of 1 mg/kg, 1a induced a significant increase in the pain threshold, its action lasting for about 45 min. 1a also demonstrated good protection at a dose of 5 mg/kg in the mouse abdominal constriction test, while at 20 mg/kg it completely prevented the constrictions in the animals. Administration of naloxone (1 mg/kg ip) did not antagonize its antinociception while mecamylamine (2 mg/kg ip) did, thus suggesting the involvement of the nicotinic system in its action. Binding studies confirmed high affinity for the \u3b1\u3b22 nAChR subtype (K(i) = 4.1\ub10.21 nM). nAChR functional activity studies on three different cell lines showed that 1a was devoid of any activity at the neuromuscular junction. Finally, due to the analogy in their pharmacological profile with that of epibatidine, compounds were compared from a structural and conformational point of view through theoretical calculations and high-field 1H NMR spectroscopy. Results indicate that all of them present one conformation similar to that of epibatidine
FAVOR (FAst Variability Optical Registration) -- A Two-telescope Complex for Detection and Investigation of Short Optical Transients
An astronomical complex intended to detect optical transients (OTs) in a wide
field and follow them up with high time resolution investigation is described.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. To be published in "Il Nuovo Cimento",
Proceedings of the 4th Rome Workshop on Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow
Era, eds. L. Piro, L. Amati, S. Covino, B. Gendr
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