4,256 research outputs found
Characterisation of Hybrid Pixel Detectors with capacitive charge division
In order to fully exploit the physics potential of the future high energy e+
e- linear collider, a Vertex Tracker providing high resolution track
reconstruction is required. Hybrid pixel sensors are an attractive technology
due to their fast read-out capabilities and radiation hardness. A novel pixel
detector layout with interleaved cells between the readout nodes has been
developed to improve the single point resolution. The results of the
characterisation of the first processed prototypes are reported.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, presented at LCWS2000, Linear Collider Workshop,
October 24-28 2000, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, Illinois,
U.S.A. Proceedings to be published by the American Institute of Physic
KURD-ARAB TENSIONS ALONG THE GREEN LINE: IRAQ’S ROADBLOCK TO LONG-TERM STABILITY
For nearly two millennia, the Kurds have inhabited a mountainous region known as Kurdistan, a territory including parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Within Iraq, Kurds are the second largest ethnic group, comprising 15–20% of the population and constituting the majority of citizens in the provinces of Dohuk, Irbil and Sulaymaniyah. Historic rivalries between Iraqi Kurds and Arabs contribute to current social and political unrest, and pose an even greater challenge to long-term stability in the country. One of the most volatile issues fuelling Kurd-Arab tensions concerns the „Green Line‟, which on various maps separates Iraq‟s Kurdish and Arab populations. Initially established by Saddam Hussein in 1991, the ambiguous boundary has shifted north during Arabisation schemes and south as a result of Kurdish settlement and encroachment. More recently, on 19 March 2003, the Green Line was defined as the area controlled by the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and recognised by the Iraqi Transitional Government when it passed the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) in 2004. Although the Iraqi Constitution recognises Kurdistan as a federal region, the precise boundary remains contentious. At stake are the historical ties to the territory along the Green Line, the associated oil reserves, and the status of the symbolic city of Kirkuk. Resolution of the disputed territories along the Green Line, the associated revenue sharing of the oil wealth, and the fate of Kirkuk, constitute a single, complex, multifaceted issue that will have a decisive impact on the future stability, if not integrity, of Iraq
Predict collagen hydroxyproline sites using support vector machines.
addresses: School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom. [email protected]: Journal ArticleThis is a copy of an article published in the Journal of Computational Biology © 2009 copyright Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.; Journal of Computational Biology is available online at: http://online.liebertpub.com.Collagen hydroxyproline is an important posttranslational modification activity because of its close relationship with various diseases and signaling activities. However, there is no study to date for constructing models for predicting collagen hydroxyproline sites. Support vector machines with two kernel functions (the identity kernel function and the bio-kernel function) have been used for constructing models for predicting collagen hydroxyproline sites in this study. The models are constructed based on 37 sequences collected from NCBI. Peptide data are generated using a sliding window with various sizes to scan the sequences. Fivefold cross-validation is used for model evaluation. The best model has specificity of 70% and sensitivity of 90%
The Lambek calculus with iteration: two variants
Formulae of the Lambek calculus are constructed using three binary
connectives, multiplication and two divisions. We extend it using a unary
connective, positive Kleene iteration. For this new operation, following its
natural interpretation, we present two lines of calculi. The first one is a
fragment of infinitary action logic and includes an omega-rule for introducing
iteration to the antecedent. We also consider a version with infinite (but
finitely branching) derivations and prove equivalence of these two versions. In
Kleene algebras, this line of calculi corresponds to the *-continuous case. For
the second line, we restrict our infinite derivations to cyclic (regular) ones.
We show that this system is equivalent to a variant of action logic that
corresponds to general residuated Kleene algebras, not necessarily
*-continuous. Finally, we show that, in contrast with the case without division
operations (considered by Kozen), the first system is strictly stronger than
the second one. To prove this, we use a complexity argument. Namely, we show,
using methods of Buszkowski and Palka, that the first system is -hard,
and therefore is not recursively enumerable and cannot be described by a
calculus with finite derivations
Performances of multi-gap timing RPCs for relativistic ions in the range Z=1-6
We present the performance of Multi-gap timing RPCs under irradiation by
fully stripped relativistic ions (gamma*beta=2.7, Z=1-6). A time resolution of
80 ps at high efficiency has been obtained by just using standard `off the
shelf' 4-gap timing RPCs from the new HADES ToF wall. The resolution worsened
to 100 ps for ~ 1 kHz/cm2 proton flux and for ~ 100 Hz/cm2 Carbon flux. The
chambers were operated at a standard field of E=100 kV/cm and showed a high
stability during the experiment, supporting the fact that RPCs are a convenient
choice when accommodating a very broad range of ionizing particles is needed.
The data provides insight in the region of very highly ionizing particles (up
to x 36 mips) and can be used to constrain the existing avalanche and
Space-Charge models far from the usual `mip valley'. The implications of these
results for the general case of detection based on secondary processes (n,
gamma) resulting in highly ionizing particles with characteristic energy
distributions will be discussed, together with the nature of the time-charge
correlation curve.Comment: 31 pages, 19 figures, submitted to JINS
Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor inhibitor, AMG-479, in cetuximab-refractory head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Background Recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a difficult cancer to treat. Here, we describe a patient with HNSCC who had complete response to methotrexate (MTX) after progressing on multiple cytotoxic agents, cetuximab, and AMG-479 (monoclonal antibody against insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor [IGF-1R]). Methods The clinical information was collected by a retrospective medical record review under an Institutional Review Board-approved protocol. From 4 tumors and 2 normal mucosal epithelia, global gene expression, and IGF-1R and dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) protein levels were determined. Results Effective target inhibition in the tumor was confirmed by the decreased protein levels of total and phospho-IGF-1R after treatment with AMG-479. Decreased level of DHFR and conversion of a gene expression profile associated with cetuximab-resistance to cetuximab-sensitivity were also observed. Conclusion This suggests that the combination of AMG-479 and MTX or cetuximab may be a promising therapeutic approach in refractory HNSCC
The Force Awakens: Artificial intelligence for consumer law
Recent years have been tainted by market practices that continuously expose us, as consumers, to new risks and threats. We have become accustomed, and sometimes even resigned, to businesses monitoring our activities, examining our data, and even meddling with our choices. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often depicted as a weapon in the hands of businesses and blamed for allowing this to happen. In this paper, we envision a paradigm shift, where AI technologies are brought to the side of consumers and their organizations, with the aim of building an efficient and effective counter-power. AI-powered tools can support a massive-scale automated analysis of textual and audiovisual data, as well as code, for the benefit of consumers and their organizations. This in turn can lead to a better oversight of business activities, help consumers exercise their rights, and enable the civil society to mitigate information overload. We discuss the societal, political, and technological challenges that stand before that vision
Compressive Sensing of Signals Generated in Plastic Scintillators in a Novel J-PET Instrument
The J-PET scanner, which allows for single bed imaging of the whole human
body, is currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. The dis-
cussed detector offers improvement of the Time of Flight (TOF) resolution due
to the use of fast plastic scintillators and dedicated electronics allowing for
sam- pling in the voltage domain of signals with durations of few nanoseconds.
In this paper we show that recovery of the whole signal, based on only a few
samples, is possible. In order to do that, we incorporate the training signals
into the Tikhonov regularization framework and we perform the Principal
Component Analysis decomposition, which is well known for its compaction
properties. The method yields a simple closed form analytical solution that
does not require iter- ative processing. Moreover, from the Bayes theory the
properties of regularized solution, especially its covariance matrix, may be
easily derived. This is the key to introduce and prove the formula for
calculations of the signal recovery error. In this paper we show that an
average recovery error is approximately inversely proportional to the number of
acquired samples
Application of the Compress Sensing Theory for Improvement of the TOF Resolution in a Novel J-PET Instrument
Nowadays, in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) systems, a Time of Flight
information is used to improve the image reconstruction process. In Time of
Flight PET (TOF-PET), fast detectors are able to measure the difference in the
arrival time of the two gamma rays, with the precision enabling to shorten
significantly a range along the line-of-response (LOR) where the annihilation
occurred. In the new concept, called J-PET scanner, gamma rays are detected in
plastic scintillators. In a single strip of J-PET system, time values are
obtained by probing signals in the amplitude domain. Owing to Compress Sensing
theory, information about the shape and amplitude of the signals is recovered.
In this paper we demonstrate that based on the acquired signals parameters, a
better signal normalization may be provided in order to improve the TOF
resolution. The procedure was tested using large sample of data registered by a
dedicated detection setup enabling sampling of signals with 50 ps intervals.
Experimental setup provided irradiation of a chosen position in the plastic
scintillator strip with annihilation gamma quanta
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