1,692 research outputs found
Performance of the ABCN-25 readout chip for the ATLAS Inner Detector Upgrade
We present the test results of the ABCN-25 front end chip implemented in CMOS 0.25 μm technology and optimised for the short, 2.5 cm, silicon strips intended to be used in the upgrade of the ATLAS Inner Detector. We have obtained the full functionality of the readout part, the expected performance of the analogue front-end and the operation of the power control circuits. The performance is evaluated in view of the minimization of the power consumption, as the upgrade detector may contain up to 70 million of channels. System tests with different power distribution schemes proposed for the future tracker detectors are possible with this chip. The ABCN-25 ASIC is now serving as the prototype readout chip in the developments of the modules and staves for the upgrade of the ATLAS Inner Detector
Histidine switch controlling pH-dependent protein folding and DNA binding in a transcription factor at the core of synthetic network devices
© 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Therapeutic strategies have been reported that depend on synthetic network devices in which a urate-sensing transcriptional regulator detects pathological levels of urate and triggers production or release of urate oxidase. The transcription factor involved, HucR, is a member of the multiple antibiotic resistance (MarR) protein family. We show that protonation of stacked histidine residues at the pivot point of long helices that form the scaffold of the dimer interface leads to reversible formation of a molten globule state and significantly attenuated DNA binding at physiological temperatures. We also show that binding of urate to symmetrical sites in each protein lobe is communicated via the dimer interface. This is the first demonstration of regulation of a MarR family transcription factor by pH-dependent interconversion between a molten globule and a compact folded state. Our data further suggest that HucR may be utilized in synthetic devices that depend on detection of pH changes
Structure and tissue distribution of some retinoid-binding proteins
Vitamin A has, apart from its function in the visual pigments, general effects on several organs. Early signs of vitamin A deficiency include keratinization of epithelia and hyperkeratosis of the skin. To elucidate a generalized function for vitamin A, we have taken the approach of tracing the vitamin from its storage site in the liver via its blood transport by the retinol-binding protein (RBP) to its uptake by susceptible cells. We have also examined the intracellular occurrence of vitamin A as regards its binding to specific receptor proteins. Here we summarize data on the amino acid sequences of several vitamin A-binding proteins. The finding that CRBP and CRABP, the two intracellular proteins, are homologous to each other, to a myelin protein, and to a fatty acid-binding protein may shed light on the functions of these proteins. Retinoic acid, which binds to CRABP but not CRBP, induces differentiation of teratocarcinoma cells. This is accompanied by a lowering of the CRABP concentration, an increase of the CRBP level, and an increase in the uptake of retinol from RBP. The epidermis contains both CRBP and CRABP, and their distributions are rather similar. However, in contrast to CRBP, CRABP is most abundant in cells lining the hair follicles. CRBP occurs in greatest relative amounts in the outer layers of the epidermis. Since techniques have been developed to measure CRBP and CRABP, normal and disease-affected skin may now be explored as to quantity and cellular distribution of the retinoid-binding proteins
The HADES Tracking System
The tracking system of the dielectron spectrometer HADES at GSI Darmstadt is
formed out of 24 low-mass, trapezoidal multi-layer drift chambers providing in
total about 30 square meter of active area. Low multiple scattering in the in
total four planes of drift chambers before and after the magnetic field is
ensured by using helium-based gas mixtures and aluminum cathode and field
wires. First in-beam performance results are contrasted with expectations from
simulations. Emphasis is placed on the energy loss information, exploring its
relevance regarding track recognition.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, presented at the 10th Vienna Conference on
Instrumentation, Vienna, February 2004, to be published in NIM A (special
issue
Isometric force production parameters during normal and experimental low back pain conditions
BACKGROUND: The control of force and its between-trial variability are often taken as critical determinants of motor performance. Subjects performed isometric trunk flexion and extension forces without and with experiment pain to examine if pain yields changes in the control of trunk forces. The objective of this study is to determine if experimental low back pain modifies trunk isometric force production. METHODS: Ten control subjects participated in this study. They were required to exert 50 and 75% of their isometric maximal trunk flexion and extension torque. In a learning phase preceding the non painful and painful trials, visual and verbal feedbacks were provided. Then, subjects were asked to perform 10 trials without any feedback. Time to peak torque, time to peak torque variability, peak torque variability as well as constant and absolute error in peak torque were calculated. Time to peak and peak dF/dt were computed to determine if the first peak of dF/dt could predict the peak torque achieved. RESULTS: Absolute and constant errors were higher in the presence of a painful electrical stimulation. Furthermore, peak torque variability for the higher level of force was increased with in the presence of experimental pain. The linear regressions between peak dF/dt, time to peak dF/dt and peak torque were similar for both conditions. Experimental low back pain yielded increased absolute and constant errors as well as a greater peak torque variability for the higher levels of force. The control strategy, however, remained the same between the non painful and painful condition. Cutaneous pain affects some isometric force production parameters but modifications of motor control strategies are not implemented spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS: It is hypothesized that adaptation of motor strategies to low back pain is implemented gradually over time. This would enable LBP patients to perform their daily tasks with presumably less pain and more accuracy
The HERA-B Ring Imaging Cherenkov Counter
The HERA-B RICH uses a radiation path length of 2.8 m in C_4F_10 gas and a
large 24 square meters spherical mirror for imaging Cherenkov rings. The photon
detector consists of 2240 Hamamatsu multi-anode photomultipliers with about
27000 channels. A 2:1 reducing two-lens telescope in front of each PMT
increases the sensitive area at the expense of increased pixel size, resulting
in a contribution to the resolution which roughly matches that of dispersion.
The counter was completed in January of 1999, and its performance has been
steady and reliable over the years it has been in operation. The design
performance of the RICH was fully reached: the average number of detected
photons in the RICH for a beta=1 particle was found to be 33 with a single hit
resolution of 0.7 mrad and 1 mrad in the fine and coarse granularity regions,
respectively.Comment: 29 pages, 23 figure
Creative and Stylistic Devices Employed by Children During a Storybook Narrative Task: A Cross-Cultural Study
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of culture on the creative and stylistic features children employ when producing narratives based on wordless picture books.
Method: Participants included 60 first- and second-grade African American, Latino American, and Caucasian children. A subset of narratives based on wordless picture books collected as part of a larger study was coded and analyzed for the following creative and stylistic conventions: organizational style (topic centered, linear, cyclical), dialogue (direct, indirect), reference to character relationships (nature, naming, conduct), embellishment (fantasy, suspense, conflict), and paralinguistic devices (expressive sounds, exclamatory utterances).
Results: Many similarities and differences between ethnic groups were found. No significant differences were found between ethnic groups in organizational style or use of paralinguistic devices. African American children included more fantasy in their stories, Latino children named their characters more often, and Caucasian children made more references to the nature of character relationships.
Conclusion: Even within the context of a highly structured narrative task based on wordless picture books, culture influences children’s production of narratives. Enhanced understanding of narrative structure, creativity, and style is necessary to provide ecologically valid narrative assessment and intervention for children from diverse cultural backgrounds
A double-sided silicon micro-strip super-module for the ATLAS inner detector upgrade in the high-luminosity LHC
The ATLAS experiment is a general purpose detector aiming to fully exploit the discovery potential of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is foreseen that after several years of successful data-taking, the LHC physics programme will be extended in the so-called High-Luminosity LHC, where the instantaneous luminosity will be increased up to 5 × 1034 cm−2 s−1. For ATLAS, an upgrade scenario will imply the complete replacement of its internal tracker, as the existing detector will not provide the required performance due to the cumulated radiation damage and the increase in the detector occupancy. The current baseline layout for the new ATLAS tracker is an all-silicon-based detector, with pixel sensors in the inner layers and silicon micro-strip detectors at intermediate and outer radii. The super-module is an integration concept proposed for the strip region of the future ATLAS tracker, where double-sided stereo silicon micro-strip modules are assembled into a low-mass local support structure. An electrical super-module prototype for eight double-sided strip modules has been constructed. The aim is to exercise the multi-module readout chain and to investigate the noise performance of such a system. In this paper, the main components of the current super-module prototype are described and its electrical performance is presented in detail
The Outer Tracker Detector of the HERA-B Experiment. Part II: Front-End Electronics
The HERA-B Outer Tracker is a large detector with 112674 drift chamber
channels. It is exposed to a particle flux of up to 2x10^5/cm^2/s thus coping
with conditions similar to those expected for the LHC experiments. The
front-end readout system, based on the ASD-8 chip and a customized TDC chip, is
designed to fulfil the requirements on low noise, high sensitivity, rate
tolerance, and high integration density. The TDC system is based on an ASIC
which digitizes the time in bins of about 0.5 ns within a total of 256 bins.
The chip also comprises a pipeline to store data from 128 events which is
required for a deadtime-free trigger and data acquisition system. We report on
the development, installation, and commissioning of the front-end electronics,
including the grounding and noise suppression schemes, and discuss its
performance in the HERA-B experiment
Measurement of the rate of nu_e + d --> p + p + e^- interactions produced by 8B solar neutrinos at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Solar neutrinos from the decay of B have been detected at the Sudbury
Neutrino Observatory (SNO) via the charged current (CC) reaction on deuterium
and by the elastic scattering (ES) of electrons. The CC reaction is sensitive
exclusively to nu_e's, while the ES reaction also has a small sensitivity to
nu_mu's and nu_tau's. The flux of nu_e's from ^8B decay measured by the CC
reaction rate is
\phi^CC(nu_e) = 1.75 +/- 0.07 (stat)+0.12/-0.11 (sys.) +/- 0.05(theor) x 10^6
/cm^2 s.
Assuming no flavor transformation, the flux inferred from the ES reaction
rate is
\phi^ES(nu_x) = 2.39+/-0.34 (stat.)+0.16}/-0.14 (sys) x 10^6 /cm^2 s.
Comparison of \phi^CC(nu_e) to the Super-Kamiokande Collaboration's precision
value of \phi^ES(\nu_x) yields a 3.3 sigma difference, providing evidence that
there is a non-electron flavor active neutrino component in the solar flux. The
total flux of active ^8B neutrinos is thus determined to be 5.44 +/-0.99 x
10^6/cm^2 s, in close agreement with the predictions of solar models.Comment: 6 pages (LaTex), 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
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