Effect of buffer gases on the performance of SO2 trace measurement based on photoacoustic spectroscopy

In this experimental work a laser photoacoustic spectrometer designed and fabricated. System sensitivity for detection of SO2 and NO 2 was measured. Resonance frequency variation versus pressure increase of Nitrogen, Argon, Helium and Air buffer gases was studied. Results show that, sensitivity of system for SO2 and NO2 are 353 ppb and 963 ppb respectively. It was shown that resonance frequency for Nitrogen, Argon, and Air buffer gases was not noticeably varied by buffer gas pressure increasing, but for Helium, resonance frequency not only is not in range of three other gases, but also grows by pressure increasing. The system noises were damped preparing two buffer chambers. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Mycobacterium Bovis infection in children in the same family: transmission through inhalation

Two children in the same family were infected with Mycobacterium bovis (“M. bovis”). The molecular typing showed an identical source of infection. Althoughon school of thought was that the route of transmission was by ingestion of contaminated dairy milk, in other it was thought to be by air-borne transmission. The presentation highlighted the possibility of M. bovis infection in the pediatrics populations through aerosols

Consequences Of On-Track Competition In Railways By Use Of Simulations

Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Metabolic syndrome is linked to a mild elevation in liver aminotransferases in diabetic patients with undetectable non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by ultrasound

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite ongoing findings on the relationship between elevated levels of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST) and metabolic syndrome (MetS), this association in diabetic patients without a known cause for liver enzymes elevation other than diabetes, per se, remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to assess the relationship between circulating liver enzymes and MetS in a relatively large sample of patients with diabetes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 670 diabetic patients, without known causes of hepatocellular injury, were enrolled. Patients with ultrasonographic signs of fatty liver disease were not included. Fasting blood samples were obtained and biochemical characteristics were measured. MetS was defined according to the international diabetes federation criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum ALT and AST were significantly higher in patients with MetS (p < 0.001). High waist circumference and low HDL-cholesterol were significantly associated with elevated ALT (OR = 2.56 and 2.0, respectively) and AST (OR = 2.23 and 2.21, respectively). ALT and AST were significantly associated with MetS (OR = 2.17 and 2.31, respectively). These associations remained significant after multiple adjustments for age, sex, BMI, diabetes duration, HbA1c and medications. There was a significant (p < 0.01) positive association between the number of the MetS features and the level of ALT or AST.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In diabetic patients without ultrasonographic evidence of fatty liver, elevated aminotransferases are independently associated with MetS. Despite negative ultrasound results in diabetic patients with MetS, the serum level of liver aminotransferases may be elevated and should be more thoroughly monitored.</p

Transforming Growth Factor β Signaling Pathway Associated Gene Polymorphisms May Explain Lower Breast Cancer Risk in Western Indian Women

Transforming growth factor β1 (TGFB1) T29C and TGF β receptor type 1 (TGFBR1) 6A/9A polymorphisms have been implicated in the modulation of risk for breast cancer in Caucasian women. We analyzed these polymorphisms and combinations of their genotypes, in pre menopausal breast cancer patients (N = 182) and healthy women (N = 236) from western India as well as in breast cancer patients and healthy women from the Parsi community (N = 48 & 171, respectively). Western Indian women were characterized by a higher frequency of TGFB1*C allele of the TGF β T29C polymorphism (0.48 vs 0.44) and a significantly lower frequency of TGFBR1*6A allele of the TGFBR1 6A/9A polymorphism (0.02 vs 0.068, p<0.01) as compared to healthy Parsi women. A strong protective effect of TGFB1*29C allele was seen in younger western Indian women (<40 yrs; OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.25–0.81). Compared to healthy women, the strikingly higher frequencies of low or intermediate TGF β signalers in patients suggested a strong influence of the combination of these genotypes on the risk for breast cancer in Parsi women (for intermediate signalers, OR = 4.47 95%CI 1.01–19.69). The frequency of low signalers in Parsi healthy women, while comparable to that reported in Europeans and Americans, was three times higher than that in healthy women from western India (10.6% vs 3.3%, p<0.01). These observations, in conjunction with the low incidence rate of breast cancer in Indian women compared to White women, raise a possibility that the higher frequency of TGFB1*29C allele and lower frequency of TGFBR1*6A allele may represent important genetic determinants that together contribute to a lower risk of breast cancer in western Indian women

The Political Economy of Tax Reform in Bangladesh: Political Settlements, Informal Institutions and the Negotiation of Reform

political economy, tax reform, political settlementsThis paper explores the political economy of tax reform in Bangladesh over several decades, shedding light on the complex factors that account for unusually effective and sustained resistance to significant reform. We contend that it is necessary to understand both deep-seated formal and informal institutions and the micro-level incentives that shape the negotiation of short-term reform in order to comprehend tax outcomes. We describe a tax system that is highly informal, largely manual and characterised by high levels of discretion and corruption. However, despite appearing highly dysfunctional on the surface, this system serves the core interests of powerful political, economic and administrative actors. Underpinned by robust informal institutions, the current system delivers low and predictable tax rates to businesses, provides extensive discretion and opportunities for corruption to the tax administration, and acts as an important vehicle for political elites to raise funds and distribute patronage and economic rents. While the tax system has not been without reform, individual reform efforts have been constrained by the parameters of this broader settlement, leaving competing interest groups to pursue strategic gains at the margins while seeking to satisfy external reform demands. This tax bargain reflects Bangladesh’s broader political economy, which is characterised by entrenched informal institutions underpinning the combination of generally weak governance and high levels of economic growth – the so-called ‘paradox of Bangladesh’.DfID, NORA

Search for new Higgs bosons via same-sign top quark pair production in association with a jet in proton-proton collisions at s = 13 TeV

A search is presented for new Higgs bosons in proton-proton (pp) collision events in which a same-sign top quark pair is produced in association with a jet, via the pp→tH/A→ttc‾ and pp→tH/A→ttu‾ processes. Here, H and A represent the extra scalar and pseudoscalar boson, respectively, of the second Higgs doublet in the generalized two-Higgs-doublet model (g2HDM). The search is based on pp collision data collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Final states with a same-sign lepton pair in association with jets and missing transverse momentum are considered. New Higgs bosons in the 200–1000 GeV mass range and new Yukawa couplings between 0.1 and 1.0 are targeted in the search, for scenarios in which either H or A appear alone, or in which they coexist and interfere. No significant excess above the standard model prediction is observed. Exclusion limits are derived in the context of the g2HDM

Evaluation of planar silicon pixel sensors with the RD53A readout chip for the Phase-2 Upgrade of the CMS Inner Tracker

Shared via Kudos: https://www.growkudos.com/publications/10.1088%25252F1748-0221%25252F18%25252F11%25252Fp11015The Large Hadron Collider at CERN will undergo an upgrade in order to increase its luminosity to 7.5 × 10^34 cm^-2s^-1. The increased luminosity during this High-Luminosity running phase, starting around 2029, means a higher rate of proton-proton interactions, hence a larger ionizing dose and particle fluence for the detectors. The current tracking system of the CMS experiment will be fully replaced in order to cope with the new operating conditions. Prototype planar pixel sensors for the CMS Inner Tracker with square 50 μm × 50 μm and rectangular 100 μm × 25 μm pixels read out by the RD53A chip were characterized in the lab and at the DESY-II testbeam facility in order to identify designs that meet the requirements of CMS during the High-Luminosity running phase. A spatial resolution of approximately 3.4 μm (2 μm) is obtained using the modules with 50 μm × 50 μm (100 μm × 25 μm) pixels at the optimal angle of incidence before irradiation. After irradiation to a 1 MeV neutron equivalent fluence of Φeq = 5.3 × 10^15 cm^-2, a resolution of 9.4 μm is achieved at a bias voltage of 800 V using a module with 50 μm × 50 μm pixel size. All modules retain a hit efficiency in excess of 99% after irradiation to fluences up to 2.1 × 10^16 cm^-2. Further studies of the electrical properties of the modules, especially crosstalk, are also presented in this paper.BMWFWandFWF(Austria);FNRSandFWO(Belgium);CERN;MSEandCSF(Croatia);Academy of Finland, MEC, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); NKFIA K124850, and Bolyai Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); INFN (Italy); PAEC (Pakistan); SEIDI, CPAN, PCTI and FEDER(Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); MST (Taipei); STFC (United Kingdom); DOEandNSF(U.S.A.). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 884104 (PSI-FELLOW-III-3i) and project AIDA-2020, GA no. 654168. Individuals have received support from HFRI (Greece)

Search for ZZ and ZH production in the bb̅bb̅ final state using proton-proton collisions at √s = 13TeV

A preprint version of the article is available at arXiv - https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.20241A search for ZZ and ZH production in the bb̅bb̅ final state is presented, where H is the standard model (SM) Higgs boson. The search uses an event sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 133fb−1 collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The analysis introduces several novel techniques for deriving and validating a multi-dimensional background model based on control samples in data. A multiclass multivariate classifier customized for the bb̅bb̅ final state is developed to derive the background model and extract the signal. The data are found to be consistent, within uncertainties, with the SM predictions. The observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are found to be 3.8 (3.8) and 5.0 (2.9) times the SM prediction for the ZZ and ZH production cross sections, respectively.SCOAP

Search for flavor changing neutral current interactions of the top quark in final states with a photon and additional jets in proton-proton collisions at s=13 TeV

A search for the production of a top quark in association with a photon and additional jets via flavor changing neutral current interactions is presented. The analysis uses proton-proton collision data recorded by the CMS detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of Formula Presented. The search is performed by looking for processes where a single top quark is produced in association with a photon, or a pair of top quarks where one of the top quarks decays into a photon and an up or charm quark. Events with an electron or a muon, a photon, one or more jets, and missing transverse momentum are selected. Multivariate analysis techniques are used to discriminate signal and standard model background processes. No significant deviation is observed over the predicted background. Observed (expected) upper limits are set on the branching fractions of top quark decays: Formula Presented (Formula Presented) and Formula Presented (Formula Presented) at 95% confidence level, assuming a single nonzero coupling at a time. The obtained limit for Formula Presented is similar to the current best limit, while the limit for Formula Presented is significantly tighter than previous results