Monitoring the CMS strip tracker readout system

The CMS Silicon Strip Tracker at the LHC comprises a sensitive area of approximately 200 m2 and 10 million readout channels. Its data acquisition system is based around a custom analogue front-end chip. Both the control and the readout of the front-end electronics are performed by off-detector VME boards in the counting room, which digitise the raw event data and perform zero-suppression and formatting. The data acquisition system uses the CMS online software framework to configure, control and monitor the hardware components and steer the data acquisition. The first data analysis is performed online within the official CMS reconstruction framework, which provides many services, such as distributed analysis, access to geometry and conditions data, and a Data Quality Monitoring tool based on the online physics reconstruction. The data acquisition monitoring of the Strip Tracker uses both the data acquisition and the reconstruction software frameworks in order to provide real-time feedback to shifters on the operational state of the detector, archiving for later analysis and possibly trigger automatic recovery actions in case of errors. Here we review the proposed architecture of the monitoring system and we describe its software components, which are already in place, the various monitoring streams available, and our experiences of operating and monitoring a large-scale system

Commissioning and Calibrating the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

The data acquisition system for the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker (SST) is based around a custom analogue front-end ASIC, an analogue optical link system and an off-detector VME board that performs digitization, zero-suppression and data formatting. A complex procedure is required to optimally configure, calibrate and synchronize the 107 channels of the SST readout system. We present an overview of this procedure, which will be used to commission and calibrate the SST during the integration, Start-Up and operational phases of the experiment. Recent experiences from the CMS Magnet Test Cosmic Challenge and system tests at the Tracker Integration Facility are also reported

Using XDAQ in Application Scenarios of the CMS Experiment

XDAQ is a generic data acquisition software environment that emerged from a rich set of of use-cases encountered in the CMS experiment. They cover not the deployment for multiple sub-detectors and the operation of different processing and networking equipment as well as a distributed collaboration of users with different needs. The use of the software in various application scenarios demonstrated the viability of the approach. We discuss two applications, the tracker local DAQ system for front-end commissioning and the muon chamber validation system. The description is completed by a brief overview of XDAQ.Comment: Conference CHEP 2003 (Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, La Jolla, CA

Targeting angiotensinogen with RNA-based therapeutics

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To summarize all available data on targeting angiotensinogen with RNA-based therapeutics as a new tool to combat cardiovascular diseases. RECENT FINDINGS: Liver-targeted, stable antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNA targeting angiotensinogen are now available, and may allow treatment with at most a few injections per year, thereby improving adherence. Promising results have been obtained in hypertensive animal models, as well as in rodent models of atherosclerosis, polycystic kidney disease and pulmonary fibrosis. The next step will be to evaluate the optimal degree of suppression, synergy with existing renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers, and to determine harmful effects of suppressing angiotensinogen in the context of common comorbidities, such as heart failure and chronic kidney disease. SUMMARY: Targeting angiotensinogen with RNA-based therapeutics is a promising new tool to treat hypertension and diseases beyond. Their long-lasting effects are particularly exciting, and if translated to a clinical application of at most a few administrations per year, may help to eliminate nonadherence

Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor Stimulation Increases Renal Function in Female, but Not Male, Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Accumulating evidence suggests that the protective pathways of the renin–angiotensin system are enhanced in women, including the angiotensin type 2 receptor (AT 2 R), which mediates vasodilatory and natriuretic effects. To provide insight into the sex-specific ability of pharmacological AT 2 R stimulation to modulate renal function in hypertension, we examined the influence of the AT 2 R agonist, compound 21 (100–300 ng/kg per minute), on renal function in 18- to 19-week-old anesthetized male and female spontaneously hypertensive rats. AT 2 R stimulation significantly increased renal blood flow in female hypertensive rats ( P Treatment &lt;0.001), without influencing arterial pressure. For example, at 300 ng/kg per minute of compound 21, renal blood flow increased by 14.3±1.8% from baseline. Furthermore, at 300 ng/kg per minute of compound 21, a significant increase in urinary sodium excretion was observed in female hypertensive rats (+180±59% from baseline; P &lt;0.05 versus vehicle-treated rats). This was seen in the absence of any major change in glomerular filtration rate, indicating that the natriuretic effects of AT 2 R stimulation were likely the result of altered renal tubular function. Conversely, we did not observe any significant effect of AT 2 R stimulation on renal hemodynamic or excretory function in male hypertensive rats. Finally, gene expression studies confirmed greater renal AT 2 R expression in female than in male hypertensive rats. Taken together, acute AT 2 R stimulation enhanced renal vasodilatation and sodium excretion without concomitant alterations in glomerular filtration rate in female hypertensive rats. Chronic studies of AT 2 R agonist therapy on renal function and arterial pressure in hypertensive states are now required to establish the suitability of AT 2 R as a therapeutic target for cardiovascular disease, particularly in women. </jats:p

Novel Telomere-Anchored PCR Approach for Studying Sexual Stage Telomeres in Aspergillus nidulans

Telomere length varies between germline and somatic cells of the same organism, leading to the hypothesis that telomeres are lengthened during meiosis. However, little is known about the meiotic telomere length in many organisms. In the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, the telomere lengths in hyphae and asexual spores are invariant. No study using existing techniques has determined the telomere length of the sexual ascospores due to the relatively low abundance of pure meiotic cells in A. nidulans and the small quantity of DNA present. To address this, we developed a simple and sensitive PCR strategy to measure the telomere length of A. nidulans meiotic cells. This novel technique, termed telomere-anchored PCR, measures the length of the telomere on chromosome II-L using a small fraction of the DNA required for the traditional terminal restriction fragment (TRF) Southern analysis. Using this approach, we determined that the A. nidulans ascospore telomere length is virtually identical to telomeres of other cell types from this organism, approximately 110 bp, indicating that a surprisingly strict telomere length regulation exists in the major cell types of A. nidulans. When the hyphal telomeres were measured in a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) knockout strain, small decreases in length were readily detected. Thus, this technique can detect telomeres in relatively rare cell types and is particularly sensitive in measuring exceptionally short telomeres. This rapid and inexpensive telomere-anchored PCR method potentially can be utilized in other filamentous fungi and types of organisms

Data acquisition software for the CMS strip tracker

The CMS silicon strip tracker, providing a sensitive area of approximately 200 m2 and comprising 10 million readout channels, has recently been completed at the tracker integration facility at CERN. The strip tracker community is currently working to develop and integrate the online and offline software frameworks, known as XDAQ and CMSSW respectively, for the purposes of data acquisition and detector commissioning and monitoring. Recent developments have seen the integration of many new services and tools within the online data acquisition system, such as event building, online distributed analysis, an online monitoring framework, and data storage management. We review the various software components that comprise the strip tracker data acquisition system, the software architectures used for stand-alone and global data-taking modes. Our experiences in commissioning and operating one of the largest ever silicon micro-strip tracking systems are also reviewed

Construction and commissioning of a technological prototype of a high-granularity semi-digital hadronic calorimeter

A large prototype of 1.3m3 was designed and built as a demonstrator of the semi-digital hadronic calorimeter (SDHCAL) concept proposed for the future ILC experiments. The prototype is a sampling hadronic calorimeter of 48 units. Each unit is built of an active layer made of 1m2 Glass Resistive Plate Chamber(GRPC) detector placed inside a cassette whose walls are made of stainless steel. The cassette contains also the electronics used to read out the GRPC detector. The lateral granularity of the active layer is provided by the electronics pick-up pads of 1cm2 each. The cassettes are inserted into a self-supporting mechanical structure built also of stainless steel plates which, with the cassettes walls, play the role of the absorber. The prototype was designed to be very compact and important efforts were made to minimize the number of services cables to optimize the efficiency of the Particle Flow Algorithm techniques to be used in the future ILC experiments. The different components of the SDHCAL prototype were studied individually and strict criteria were applied for the final selection of these components. Basic calibration procedures were performed after the prototype assembling. The prototype is the first of a series of new-generation detectors equipped with a power-pulsing mode intended to reduce the power consumption of this highly granular detector. A dedicated acquisition system was developed to deal with the output of more than 440000 electronics channels in both trigger and triggerless modes. After its completion in 2011, the prototype was commissioned using cosmic rays and particles beams at CERN.Comment: 49 pages, 41 figure