Implementation of a Large Scale Control System for a High-Energy Physics Detector: The CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

Control systems for modern High-Energy Physics (HEP) detectors are large distributed software systems managing a signicant data volume and implementing complex operational procedures. The control software for the LHC experiments at CERN is built on top of a commercial software used in industrial automation. However, HEP specic requirements call for extended functionalities. This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of the control system for the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker but presents some general strategies that have been applied in other contexts. Specic design solutions are developed to ensure acceptable response times and to provide the operator with an effective summary of the status of the devices. Detector safety is guaranteed by proper conguration of independent hardware systems. A software protection mechanism is used to avoid the widespread intervention of the hardware safety and to inhibit dangerous commands. A wizard approach allows non expert operators to recover error situations and minimizes the downtime due to errors. Finally, the possibility of using a model-based methodology for prototyping 3D user interfaces for control systems is investigated. The presented software is in continuous operation for the control of the CMS tracker while some general solutions have been adopted in the control systems of other CMS sub-detectors

Results obtained with level II oncoplastic surgery spanning 20 years of breast cancer treatment: Do we really need further demonstration of reliability?

Oncoplastic surgery (OPS) has demonstrated its superiority above traditional breast conserving surgery, but is still struggling to consolidate its role in breast cancer therapeutic protocols mainly because of contrasting scientific evidences and reduced follow-up results available. The objective of our contribution is to analyze results obtained with 381 patients consecutively treated in our Multidisciplinary Breast Center by means of level II OPS between January 1998 and January 2018 for unilateral, primary breast cancer. Surgical endpoints were mean specimen weight and volume, mean diameter of main lesion (MLD), rates of positive margins (PMR), re-excision (RR), conversion to mastectomy (CMR), complications (CR) and oncological endpoints as overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and local recurrence rate (LR). About 29.1% were treated for multifocal/multicentric disease, and 29.1% previously underwent neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Regarding surgical techniques, 53.0% of patients received "inverted T" and 30.1% "J" mammoplasties, whereas 13.6% underwent "round block," 2.3% "Grisotti," and 1% "batwing" techniques. Regarding surgical outcomes, mean specimen weight was 215 g (50-2157) and volume 345 mm3 (21-7980). MLD 23 mm, PMR 7.6%, RR 3.6%, CMR 1.6%, and CR 5.8%. With a mean follow-up of 118 months, oncological outcomes were: OS 93.7%, DFS 82.3%, LR 4.4%. In conclusion, our analysis confirmed level II OPS reliability even for longer follow-up timing and in difficult situations as multifocal disease or after NACT

Low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma of the breast.

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The cosmic X-ray background and the population of the most heavily obscured AGNs

We report on an accurate measurement of the CXB in the 15-50 keV range performed with the Phoswich Detection System (PDS) instrument aboard the BeppoSAX satellite. We establish that the most likely CXB intensity level at its emission peak (26-28 keV) is ~40 keV/cm2/s/sr, a value consistent with that derived from the best available CXB measurement obtained over 25 years ago with the first High Energy Astronomical Observatory satellite mission (HEAO-1; Gruber et al. 1999), whose intensity, lying well below the extrapolation of some lower energy measurements performed with focusing telescopes, was questioned in the recent years. We find that 90% of the acceptable solutions of our best fit model to the PDS data give a 20-50 keV CXB flux lower than 6.5E-08 erg/cm2/s/sr, which is 12% higher than that quoted by Gruber et al. (1999) when we use our best calibration scale. This scale gives a 20-50 keV flux of the Crab Nebula of 9.22E-09 erg/cm2/s, which is in excellent agreement with the most recent Crab Nebula measurements and 6% smaller than that assumed by Gruber et al. (1999). In combination with the CXB synthesis models we infer that about 25% of the intensity at ~30 keV arises from extremely obscured, Compton thick AGNs (absorbing column density N_H > 1.0E+24 H/cm2), while a much larger population would be implied by the highest intensity estimates. We also infer a mass density of supermassive BHs of ~3.0E+05 Msol/Mpc3. The summed contribution of resolved sources (Moretti et al. 2003) in the 2-10 keV band exceeds our best fit CXB intensity extrapolated to lower energies, but it is within our upper limit, so that any significant contribution to the CXB from sources other than AGNs, such as star forming galaxies and diffuse Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), is expected to be mainly confined below a few keV.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Main: 30 pages, 3 Tables, 8 Figures. Many revisions due to the change of the Journa

Management of Nutritional Needs in Pediatric Oncology: A Consensus Statement

Simple Summary Nutritional management is an underestimated issue in treating pediatric cancer, since a systematic approach is currently lacking. In this consensus statement, a cohort of 12 experts selected from four different tertiary pediatric oncology centers formulated 21 clinical questions regarding the identification and treatment of nutritional issues in children with cancer. These questions were discussed, and practical recommendations were provided. With this paper, we aimed to give consensus-based guidance for addressing the nutritional needs of children with cancer, filling a gap in the field. Malnutrition, intended as both overnutrition and undernutrition, is a common problem in children with cancer, impacting quality of life as well as survival. In addition, nutritional imbalances during childhood can significantly affect proper growth. Nevertheless, there is currently a lack of a systematic approach to this issue in the pediatric oncology population. To fill this gap, we aimed to provide practice recommendations for the uniform management of nutritional needs in children with cancer. Twenty-one clinical questions addressing evaluation and treatment of nutritional problems in children with cancer were formulated by selected members from four Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (AIEOP) centers and from the Survivorship Care and Nutritional Support Working Group of Alliance Against Cancer. A literature search in PubMed was performed; during two consensus meetings, all recommendations were discussed and finalized using the nominal group technique. Members representing every institution voted on each recommendation. Finally, recommendations were approved by all authors

The Highly Energetic Expansion of SN2010bh Associated with GRB 100316D

We present the spectroscopic and photometric evolution of the nearby (z = 0.059) spectroscopically confirmed type Ic supernova, SN 2010bh, associated with the soft, long-duration gamma-ray burst (X-ray flash) GRB 100316D. Intensive follow-up observations of SN 2010bh were performed at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) using the X-shooter and FORS2 instruments. Owing to the detailed temporal coverage and the extended wavelength range (3000--24800 A), we obtained an unprecedentedly rich spectral sequence among the hypernovae, making SN 2010bh one of the best studied representatives of this SN class. We find that SN 2010bh has a more rapid rise to maximum brightness (8.0 +/- 1.0 rest-frame days) and a fainter absolute peak luminosity (L_bol~3e42 erg/s) than previously observed SN events associated with GRBs. Our estimate of the ejected (56)Ni mass is 0.12 +/- 0.02 Msun. From the broad spectral features we measure expansion velocities up to 47,000 km/s, higher than those of SNe 1998bw (GRB 980425) and 2006aj (GRB 060218). Helium absorption lines He I lambda5876 and He I 1.083 microm, blueshifted by ~20,000--30,000 km/s and ~28,000--38,000 km/s, respectively, may be present in the optical spectra. However, the lack of coverage of the He I 2.058 microm line prevents us from confirming such identifications. The nebular spectrum, taken at ~186 days after the explosion, shows a broad but faint [O I] emission at 6340 A. The light-curve shape and photospheric expansion velocities of SN 2010bh suggest that we witnessed a highly energetic explosion with a small ejected mass (E_k ~ 1e52 erg and M_ej ~ 3 Msun). The observed properties of SN 2010bh further extend the heterogeneity of the class of GRB supernovae.Comment: 37 pages and 12 figures (one-column pre-print format), accepted for publication in Ap