Performance of the LHCb outer tracker

The LHCb Outer Tracker is a gaseous detector covering an area of 5 × 6 m2 with 12 double layers of straw tubes. The detector with its services are described together with the commissioning and calibration procedures. Based on data of the first LHC running period from 2010 to 2012, the performance of the readout electronics and the single hit resolution and efficiency are presented. The efficiency to detect a hit in the central half of the straw is estimated to be 99.2%, and the position resolution is determined to be approximately 200 μm. The Outer Tracker received a dose in the hottest region corresponding to 0.12 C/cm, and no signs of gain deterioration or other ageing effects are observed

Modeling the Instantaneous Pressure–Volume Relation of the Left Ventricle: A Comparison of Six Models

Simulations are useful to study the heart’s ability to generate flow and the interaction between contractility and loading conditions. The left ventricular pressure–volume (PV) relation has been shown to be nonlinear, but it is unknown whether a linear model is accurate enough for simulations. Six models were fitted to the PV-data measured in five sheep and the estimated parameters were used to simulate PV-loops. Simulated and measured PV-loops were compared with the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Hamming distance, a measure for geometric shape similarity. The compared models were: a time-varying elastance model with fixed volume intercept (LinFix); a time-varying elastance model with varying volume intercept (LinFree); a Langewouter’s pressure-dependent elasticity model (Langew); a sigmoidal model (Sigm); a time-varying elastance model with a systolic flow-dependent resistance (Shroff) and a model with a linear systolic and an exponential diastolic relation (Burkh). Overall, the best model is LinFree (lowest AIC), closely followed by Langew. The remaining models rank: Sigm, Shroff, LinFix and Burkh. If only the shape of the PV-loops is important, all models perform nearly identically (Hamming distance between 20 and 23%). For realistic simulation of the instantaneous PV-relation a linear model suffices

Insights into Land Plant Evolution Garnered from the Marchantia polymorpha Genome.

The evolution of land flora transformed the terrestrial environment. Land plants evolved from an ancestral charophycean alga from which they inherited developmental, biochemical, and cell biological attributes. Additional biochemical and physiological adaptations to land, and a life cycle with an alternation between multicellular haploid and diploid generations that facilitated efficient dispersal of desiccation tolerant spores, evolved in the ancestral land plant. We analyzed the genome of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, a member of a basal land plant lineage. Relative to charophycean algae, land plant genomes are characterized by genes encoding novel biochemical pathways, new phytohormone signaling pathways (notably auxin), expanded repertoires of signaling pathways, and increased diversity in some transcription factor families. Compared with other sequenced land plants, M. polymorpha exhibits low genetic redundancy in most regulatory pathways, with this portion of its genome resembling that predicted for the ancestral land plant. PAPERCLIP

Infantile Myofibromatosis: An Unusual Presentation and a Review of the Literature

An infant with an unusual presentation of Infantile Myofibromatosis (IM) is presented. Massive involvement of the pelvic region complicated the delivery and precluded meaningful therapy. The literature is reviewed. © 1993, Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York. All rights reserved

User preferences and usability of iVitality: optimizing an innovative online research platform for home-based health monitoring

Background: The iVitality online research platform has been developed to gain insight into the relationship between early risk factors (ie, poorly controlled hypertension, physical or mental inactivity) and onset and possibly prevention of dementia. iVitality consists of a website, a smartphone application, and sensors that can monitor these indicators at home. Before iVitality can be implemented, it should fit the needs and preferences of users, ie, offspring of patients with dementia. This study aimed to explore users’ motivation to participate in home-based health monitoring research, to formulate requirements based on users’ preferences to optimize iVitality, and to test usability of the smartphone application of iVitality. Methods: We recruited 13 participants (aged 42–64 years, 85% female), who were offspring of patients with dementia. A user-centered methodology consisting of four iterative phases was used. Three semistructured interviews provided insight into motivation and acceptance of using iVitality (phase 1). A focus group with six participants elaborated on expectations and preferences regarding iVitality (phase 2). Findings from phase 1 and 2 were triangulated by two semistructured interviews (phase 3). Four participants assessed the usability of the smartphone application (phase 4) using a think aloud procedure and a questionnaire measuring ease and efficiency of use (scale 1–7; higher scores indicated better usability). Results: All participants were highly motivated to contribute to dementia research. However, the frequency of home-based health monitoring should not be too high. Participants preferred to receive feedback about their measurements and information regarding the relationship between these measurements and dementia. Despite minor technical errors, iVitality was considered easy and efficient to use (mean score 5.50, standard deviation 1.71). Conclusion: Offspring of patients with dementia are motivated to contribute to home-based monitoring research by using iVitality and are able to use the smartphone application. The formulated requirements will be embedded to optimize iVitality

Design and performance of a silicon test counter for HERMES

A small silicon-detector array has been designed and constructed to investigate the prospects for large-angle tracking and detection of recoiling target fragments for the HERMES experiment at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. The array consists of a two-layered double-sided Silicon Test Counter (STC), which is used to study the feasibility of this technique. The STC has been installed below the center of the HERMES internal storage cell target inside the vacuum chamber, and is thus located in the vicinity of the high-intensity lepton beam of HERA. For the readout, a local front-end with 64-channel Analog Pipeline Chips (APC) has been employed. The large dynamic range of the APC allows for the identification and tracking of protons with momenta ranging from 100 to . The feasibility of the detector concept is shown, thus demonstrating that a multilayer silicon system can be used for the observation of recoiling protons produced in Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS)

Design and performance of a silicon test counter for HERMES

A small silicon-detector array has been designed and constructed to investigate the prospects for large-angle tracking and detection of recoiling target fragments for the HERMES experiment at DESY in Hamburg, Germany. The array consists of a two-layered double-sided Silicon Test Counter (STC), which is used to study the feasibility of this technique. The STC has been installed below the center of the HERMES internal storage cell target inside the vacuum chamber, and is thus located in the vicinity of the high-intensity lepton beam of HERA. For the readout, a local front-end with 64-channel Analog Pipeline Chips (APC) has been employed. The large dynamic range of the APC allows for the identification and tracking of protons with momenta ranging from 100 to 600 MeV/c. The feasibility of the detector concept is shown, thus demonstrating that a multilayer silicon system can be used for the observation of recoiling protons produced in Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS)