CLIC Background Studies and optimization of the innermost tracker elements

The harsh machine background at the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) forms a strong constraint on the design of the innermost part of the tracker. For the CLIC Conceptual Design Report, the detector concepts developed for the International Linear Collider (ILC) were adapted to the CLIC environment. We present the new layout for the Vertex Detector and the Forward Tracking Disks of the CLIC detector concepts, as well as the background levels in these detectors. We also study the dependence of the background rates on technology parameters like thickness of the active layer and detection threshold.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, LCWS 201

Moment equations in a Lotka-Volterra extended system with time correlated noise

A spatially extended Lotka-Volterra system of two competing species in the presence of two correlated noise sources is analyzed: (i) an external multiplicative time correlated noise, which mimics the interaction between the system and the environment; (ii) a dichotomous stochastic process, whose jump rate is a periodic function, which represents the interaction parameter between the species. The moment equations for the species densities are derived in Gaussian approximation, using a mean field approach. Within this formalism we study the effect of the external time correlated noise on the ecosystem dynamics. We find that the time behavior of the $1^{st}$ order moments are independent on the multiplicative noise source. However the behavior of the $2^{nd}$ order moments is strongly affected both by the intensity and the correlation time of the multiplicative noise. Finally we compare our results with those obtained studying the system dynamics by a coupled map lattice model.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Acta Phys. Pol.

Sensory acceptance of organic and conventional food by children in the age of 2 to 7 years

This study is initialized to find out which sensory factors might influence the acceptance of organic food by young children. 138 children aged from 2 to 7 years were recruited at the German Research Institute of Child Nutrition in Dortmund. All these children are participating in the DONALD-Study. Detailed nutrition records are available about breastfeeding and feeding of these children from birth to the age of one and further on. In a 2-year testing-period children tasted organic and conventional food in two-sided Paired Comparison Tests. In both years parents were asked a number of questions, mainly about the nutrition behaviour of their children. Sensory tests were analyzed and connected in different ways: with data of sensory profiles, nutrition records and different questionnaires

A longitudinal study of abnormalities on MRI and disability from multiple sclerosis

Background: In patients with isolated syndromes that are clinically suggestive of multiple sclerosis, such as optic neuritis or brain-stem or spinal cord syndromes, the presence of lesions as determined by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain increases the likelihood that multiple sclerosis will develop. We sought to determine the relation between early lesion volume, changes in volume, and long-term disability. Methods: Seventy-one patients in a serial MRI study of patients with isolated syndromes were reassessed after a mean of 14.1 years. Disability was measured with the use of Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS; possible range, 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a greater degree of disability). Results: Clinically definite multiple sclerosis developed in 44 of the 50 patients (88 percent) with abnormal results on MRI at presentation and in 4 of 21 patients (19 percent) with normal results on MRI. The median EDSS score at follow-up for those with multiple sclerosis was 3.25 (range, 0 to 10); 31 percent had an EDSS score of 6 or more (including three patients whose deaths were due to multiple sclerosis). The EDSS score at 14 years correlated moderately with lesion volume on MRI at 5 years (r=0.60) and with the increase in lesion volume over the first 5 years (r=0.61). Conclusions: In patients who first present with isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis, the increases in the volume of the lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in the first five years correlate with the degree of long-term disability from multiple sclerosis. This relation is only moderate, so the volume of the lesions alone may not be an adequate basis for decisions about the use of disease-modifying treatment

The dynamic nature of caregiver communication networks and spatialised work processes in hospital wards

This paper presents an empirical study of four hospital wards in two UK hospitals. Of interest are caregiver communication networks and behaviours because they form an important part of care provision. Space syntax research argues that the spatial configuration of buildings has an effect on social behaviours. However, only few notable studies investigate how inpatient wards influence work processes and relationships amongst caregivers. The dynamic nature of this work environment is particularly challenging to observe. Therefore, this study focuses on spatial layouts and dynamically evolving communication networks and behaviours adopting a set of complimentary methods to disentangle the complex and dynamic social processes in hospital wards. The two case studies are situated in London and were specifically selected to contrast in their setup and spatial organisation. Two corresponding inpatient departments in each hospital were chosen for a comparison – the intensive care unit and one medical ward. Space syntax was used alongside a staff survey including social network analysis to assess communication networks amongst caregivers. The survey was carried out for four consecutive days and asked about communication partners on each particular day to capture snapshots of everyday communication that could explain the dynamics of social networks. Sociometric sensors developed at MIT were run for eight consecutive days and provided information about frequency and duration of conversations. The dynamic nature of the workflow was captured by shadowing caregivers and recording digitally type and durations of sequential activities and locations. The study offers several contributions by bringing together spatial analysis, observational data, self-reported surveys and sensor data. Results indicate that the structure of communication networks of doctors and nurses became less hierarchical to keep the network stable when a key role was missing. It was also shown that distance influence the frequency and duration of conversations in the intensive care unit assuming that caregivers are fixed to their assigned beds. However, for the general nursing ward, a different methodology to model distance is required as one caregiver takes care of several physically dispersed patients. Finally, it was shown that nurses spent a great proportion of their time in various activities in different locations pointing towards the dynamic nature of the workplace. The outcome of this study generates insights into everyday life in hospital wards and how spatial practices play out

Wave-function renormalization for the Coulomb-gas in Wegner-Houghton's RG method

The RG flow for the sine-Gordon model is determined by means of the method of Wegner and Houghton in next-to-leading order of the derivative expansion. For small values of the fugacity this agrees with the well-known RG flow of the two-dimensional Coulomb-gas found in the dilute gas approximation and a systematic way of obtaining higher-order corrections to this approximation is given.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Social and non-social feedback stimuli lead to comparable levels of reward learning and reward responsiveness in an online probabilistic reward task

Social stimuli seem to be processed more easily and efficiently than non-social stimuli. The current study tested whether social feedback stimuli improve reward learning in a probabilistic reward task (PRT), in which one response option is usually rewarded more often than the other via presentation of non-social reward stimuli. In a pre-registered online study with 305 participants, 75 participants were presented with a non-social feedback stimulus (a star) and information about gains, which is typically used in published PRT studies. Three other groups (with 73–82 participants each) were presented with one of three social feedback stimuli: verbal praise, an attractive happy face, or a “thumbs up”-picture. The data were analysed based on classical signal detection theory, drift diffusion modelling, and Bayesian analyses of null effects. All PRT variants yielded the expected behavioural preference for the more frequently rewarded response. There was no processing advantage of social over non-social feedback stimuli. Bayesian analyses further supported the observation that social feedback stimuli neither increased nor decreased behavioural preferences in the PRT. The current findings suggest that the PRT is a robust experimental paradigm independent of the applied feedback stimuli. They also suggest that the occurrence of a processing advantage for social feedback stimuli is dependent on the experimental task and design.publishedVersio

The Innovation Deficit: The importance of the physical office post-COVID-19

After more than a year of dealing with the fallout from COVID-19, much has been learnt about the benefits of working from home. There is plenty of evidence for people wishing to retain at least some of the flexibility that working from home has brought post-pandemic. However, what has also been shown is that a well-designed office is more often better than home at supporting some types of activity, especially those involving socialisation and collaboration with others. This paper takes stock of what the office is good for and argues that without opportunities to meet in unplanned ways face-to-face, innovation, the life blood of many businesses, is at risk. In so doing a different way to think about the post-pandemic office is proffered; one that is designed to realise the benefits that being physically co-present can bring and thus avoid the so-called innovation deficit. By using this way of thinking, this paper concludes with an evaluation of how some organisations are already ‘re-imagining’ their post-pandemic workplaces

Big Data and Workplace Micro-Behaviours: A closer inspection of the social behaviour of eating and interacting

Evidence-based design aims to understand human behaviour so that strategic decisions are well-informed when creating a new space. Workplace research to date has provided interesting insights, but has mostly done so on a case-by-case basis. This approach does not yield generalisable patterns, making results problematic to use in an evidence-based design context. This paper builds upon previous large-scale analysis done by the authors and focuses on two aspects of workplace behaviour – eating and interacting. We aim to understand the nuances of these behaviours, thus we explore them as independent phenomena, separate them into subcategories and set out to understand the reasons behind these observations. The examined dataset includes 23 organisations in the UK, with a wide variety of sizes, numbers of floors and buildings. It consists of human activity data collected through direct observation, Visibility Graph Analysis and organisational parameters such as industry and flexibility of desk occupancy. The first behaviour we focus on – interaction – has already been explored in previous research and has been found to happen primarily in workspace and meeting rooms. In this instance we initially classify interactions according to the activity of the members and the type of space they occur in. The analysis of the second behaviour – eating – revolves around the activities and locations of people at lunchtime. We aim to discover where people choose to eat and how this is affected by the characteristics and availability of eating spaces. For the two behaviours studied, we examine how each activity relates to the space it is happening in, taking into account a set of spatial and organisational factors. In the first case we test each interaction against proximity to circulation and local visibility of the space, while in the second we examine the popularity of different types of spaces, for example canteens and breakout spaces, against their proximity to workspace and what possibilities of inter-visibility they offer. This paper provides detailed insights into the phenomena of interacting and eating, and reflects on limitations of traditional statistical analysis. It will also highlight further opportunities for handling these types of big datasets using different techniques such as Principal Component Analysis and machine learning