15,508 research outputs found
Anode-Coupled Readout for Light Collection in Liquid Argon TPCs
This paper will discuss a new method of signal read-out from photon detectors
in ultra-large, underground liquid argon time projection chambers. In this
design, the signal from the light collection system is coupled via capacitive
plates to the TPC wire-planes. This signal is then read out using the same
cabling and electronics as the charge information. This greatly benefits light
collection: it eliminates the need for an independent readout, substantially
reducing cost; It reduces the number of cables in the vapor region of the TPC
that can produce impurities; And it cuts down on the number of feed-throughs in
the cryostat wall that can cause heat-leaks and potential points of failure. We
present experimental results that demonstrate the sensitivity of a LArTPC wire
plane to photon detector signals. We also simulate the effect of a 1 s
shaping time and a 2 MHz sampling rate on these signals in the presence of
noise, and find that a single photoelectron timing resolution of 30 ns
can be achieved.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure
Cosmological Constraints on Dissipative Models of Inflation
(Abridged) We study dissipative inflation in the regime where the dissipative
term takes a specific form, \Gamma=\Gamma(\phi), analyzing two models in the
weak and strong dissipative regimes with a SUSY breaking potential. After
developing intuition about the predictions from these models through analytic
approximations, we compute the predicted cosmological observables through full
numerical evolution of the equations of motion, relating the mass scale and
scale of dissipation to the characteristic amplitude and shape of the
primordial power spectrum. We then use Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques to
constrain a subset of the models with cosmological data from the cosmic
microwave background (WMAP three-year data) and large scale structure (SDSS
Luminous Red Galaxy power spectrum). We find that the posterior distributions
of the dissipative parameters are highly non-Gaussian and their allowed ranges
agree well with the expectations obtained using analytic approximations. In the
weak regime, only the mass scale is tightly constrained; conversely, in the
strong regime, only the dissipative coefficient is tightly constrained. A lower
limit is seen on the inflation scale: a sub-Planckian inflaton is disfavoured
by the data. In both weak and strong regimes, we reconstruct the limits on the
primordial power spectrum and show that these models prefer a {\it red}
spectrum, with no significant running of the index. We calculate the reheat
temperature and show that the gravitino problem can be overcome with large
dissipation, which in turn leads to large levels of non-Gaussianity: if
dissipative inflation is to evade the gravitino problem, the predicted level of
non-Gaussianity might be seen by the Planck satellite.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by JCAP without text changes,
References adde
Exploring a Non-Minimal Sterile Neutrino Model Involving Decay at IceCube and Beyond
We study the phenomenology of neutrino decay together with neutrino
oscillations in the context of eV-scale sterile neutrinos. We review the
formalism of visible neutrino decay in which one of the decay products is a
neutrino that potentially can be observed. We apply the formalism developed for
decay to the recent sterile neutrino search performed by IceCube with TeV
neutrinos. We show that for lifetime , the interpretation of the high-energy IceCube analysis can be
significantly changed.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Find code at:
https://github.com/arguelles/nuSQUIDSDeca
Comparison of Allen Carr's Easyway programme with a specialist behavioural and pharmacological smoking cessation support service: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A combination of behavioural and pharmacological support is judged to be the optimal approach for assisting smoking cessation. Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) is a single-session pharmacotherapy-free programme that has been in operation internationally for 38 years. We compared the effectiveness of ACE with specialist behavioural and pharmacological support delivered to the national standard in England. DESIGN: A two-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: London, UK, between February 2017 and May 2018. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 620 participants (310 in ACE and 310 in the combined behavioural and pharmacological support condition) were included in the analysis. Adult (⼠18 years) smokers wanting to quit were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio. Mean age for the total sample was 40.8 years, with 53.4% being male. Participant baseline characteristics (ethnicity, educational level, number of previous quit attempts, nicotine dependence) were evenly balanced between treatment groups. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: The intervention was the ACE method of stopping smoking. This centres on a 4.5-6-hour session of group-based support, alongside subsequent text messages and top-up sessions if needed. It aims to make it easy to stop smoking by convincing smokers that smoking provides no benefits for them. The comparator was a specialist stop smoking service (SSS) providing behavioural and pharmacological support in accordance with national standards. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was self-reported continuous abstinence for 26 weeks from the quit/quit re-set date verified by exhaled breath carbon monoxide measurement < 10 parts per million (p.p.m.). Primary analysis was by intention to treat. Secondary outcomes were: use of pharmacotherapy, adverse events and continuous abstinence up to 4 and 12 weeks. FINDINGS: A total of 468 participants attended treatment (255 ACE versus 213 SSS, P < 0.05). Of those who did attend treatment, 100 completed 6-month measures (23.7% ACE versus 20.7% SSS). Continuous abstinence to 26 weeks was 19.4% (60 of 310) in the ACE intervention and 14.8% (46 of 310) in the SSS intervention [risk difference for ACE versus SSS 4.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.4 to 10.4%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.38)]. The Bayes factor for superiority of the ACE condition was 1.24. CONCLUSION: There was no clear evidence of a difference in the efficacies of the Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) and specialist smoking cessation support involving behavioural support and pharmacotherapy
Exposure to the complement C5b-9 complex sensitizes 661W photoreceptor cells to both apoptosis and necroptosis.
The loss of photoreceptors is the defining characteristic of many retinal degenerative diseases, but the mechanisms that regulate photoreceptor cell death are not fully understood. Here we have used the 661W cone photoreceptor cell line to ask whether exposure to the terminal complement complex C5b-9 induces cell death and/or modulates the sensitivity of these cells to other cellular stressors. 661W cone photoreceptors were exposed to complete normal human serum following antibody blockade of CD59. Apoptosis induction was assessed morphologically, by flow cytometry, and on western blotting by probing for cleaved PARP and activated caspase-3. Necroptosis was assessed by flow cytometry and Sirtuin 2 inhibition using 2-cyano-3-[5-(2,5-dichlorophenyl)-2-furyl]-N-5-quinolinylacrylamide (AGK2). The sensitivity of 661W cells to ionomycin, staurosporine, peroxide and chelerythrine was also investigated, with or without prior formation of C5b-9. 661W cells underwent apoptotic cell death following exposure to C5b-9, as judged by poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 cleavage and activation of caspase-3. We also observed apoptotic cell death in response to staurosporine, but 661W cells were resistant to both ionomycin and peroxide. Interestingly, C5b-9 significantly increased 661W sensitivity to staurosporine-induced apoptosis and necroptosis. These studies show that low levels of C5b-9 on 661W cells can induce apoptosis, and that C5b-9 specifically sensitizes 661W cells to certain apoptotic and necroptotic pathways. Our observations provide new insight into the potential role of the complement system in photoreceptor loss, with implications for the molecular aetiology of retinal disease
Testing models of inflation with CMB non-gaussianity
Two different predictions for the primordial curvature fluctuation bispectrum
are compared through their effects on the Cosmic Microwave Background
temperature fluctuations. The first has a local form described by a single
parameter f_{NL}. The second is based on a prediction from the warm
inflationary scenario, with a different dependence on wavenumber and a
parameter f_{WI}. New expressions are obtained for the angular bispectra of the
temperature fluctuations and for the estimators used to determine and
f_{WI}. The standard deviation of the estimators in an ideal experiment is
roughly 5 times larger for f_{WI} than for f_{NL}. Using 3 year WMAP data gives
limits -375<f_{WI}<36.8, but there is a possibility of detecting a signal for
f_{WI} from the Planck satellite.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures in ReVTe
Confusions in orbivirus protein classification
An extensive comparative analysis of orbivirus genomes revealed four cases of unclear numeration and protein designation, due to confused reference to protein size or segment size by which they are encoded. A concise nomenclature based on type species, sequence homology and functional characteristics independent of segment or protein size is suggested
Dissociation and ionization of small molecules steered by external noise
We show that ionization and dissociation can be influenced separately in a
molecule with appropriate external noise. Specifically we investigate the
hydrogen molecular ion under a stochastic force quantum mechanically beyond the
Born-Oppenheimer approximation. We find that up to 30% of dissociation without
ionization can be achieved by suitably tuning the forcing parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
- âŚ