The CMS RPC gas gain monitoring system: an overview and preliminary results

The status of the CMS RPC Gas Gain Monitoring (GGM) system developed at the Frascati Laboratory of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) is reported on. The GGM system is a cosmic ray telescope based on small RPC detectors operated with the same gas mixture used by the CMS RPC system. The GGM gain and efficiency are continuously monitored on-line, thus providing a fast and accurate determination of any shift in working point conditions. The construction details and the first result of GGM commissioning are described.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, uses lnfprepCMS.sty, presented by L. Benussi at RPC07, Mumbai, INDIA 200

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

Peer reviewe

Presence of a human-like thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in Ciona intestinalis

Using a monoclonal antibody against human Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), we have found that the invertebrate Ciona intestinalis (phylum Chordata, subphylum Tunicata) contains a previously unreported protein which is immunoreactive for anti-human TSH. The amount of this hormone in the blood, endostyle and ovary of C. intestinalis was found to be 0.01+/-0.003, 1.05+/-0.2 and 3.61+/-1.25 mu IU/g of tissue, respectively, using the RIA method, and a value of 0.013+/-0.0043, 1.16+/-0.30 and 3.85+/-1.32 mu IU/g using an immuno-chemiluminescent method. In addition to possessing immunological properties, this protein is able to induce the synthesis of cAMP in rat thyroid cell culture (FRTL-5) and in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells (CHO) transfected with the cDNA for human TSH receptor. This indicates that the putative ciona TSH has the capability to react specifically with receptors for mammalian TSH. Maximum concentrations of ciona TSH-like factor occur during periods of sexual maturity (between May to July), whereas very low concentrations were assayed during the rest of the year suggesting that this hormone may be involved in hormonal function related to sexual maturity. From a phylogenetic point of view, the above data supports the hypothesis for a common origin of a thyroid hormonal system between Tunicata and vertebrates

Compost quality control by hyperspectral imaging

Compost obtained from different organic waste sources (municipal solid waste, biomass, etc.) is more and more utilized as a relatively low-cost product suitable for agricultural purposes reducing at the same time land filling of wastes. Compost product should comply with specific characteristics in order to be competitive with other fertilizer and amendment products. Main aim of the study was to investigate the possibility offered by hyperspectral imaging to evaluate the compost quality in order to develop control strategies to be implemented at plant scale. Reflectance spectra of selected compost samples have been acquired in the visible-near infrared field (VIS-NIR): 400-1000 nm. Correlations have been established between physical-chemical characteristics of the compost products and contaminants (glass and plastic particles) and their detected reflectance spectral signature