311 research outputs found
Online Pattern Recognition for the ALICE High Level Trigger
The ALICE High Level Trigger has to process data online, in order to select
interesting (sub)events, or to compress data efficiently by modeling
techniques.Focusing on the main data source, the Time Projection Chamber (TPC),
we present two pattern recognition methods under investigation: a sequential
approach "cluster finder" and "track follower") and an iterative approach
("track candidate finder" and "cluster deconvoluter"). We show, that the former
is suited for pp and low multiplicity PbPb collisions, whereas the latter might
be applicable for high multiplicity PbPb collisions, if it turns out, that more
than 8000 charged particles would have to be reconstructed inside the TPC.
Based on the developed tracking schemes we show, that using modeling techniques
a compression factor of around 10 might be achievableComment: Realtime Conference 2003, Montreal, Canada to be published in IEEE
Transactions on Nuclear Science (TNS), 6 pages, 8 figure
Development of Wireless Techniques in Data and Power Transmission - Application for Particle Physics Detectors
Wireless techniques have developed extremely fast over the last decade and
using them for data and power transmission in particle physics detectors is not
science- fiction any more. During the last years several research groups have
independently thought of making it a reality. Wireless techniques became a
mature field for research and new developments might have impact on future
particle physics experiments. The Instrumentation Frontier was set up as a part
of the SnowMass 2013 Community Summer Study [1] to examine the instrumentation
R&D for the particle physics research over the coming decades: {\guillemotleft}
To succeed we need to make technical and scientific innovation a priority in
the field {\guillemotright}. Wireless data transmission was identified as one
of the innovations that could revolutionize the transmission of data out of the
detector. Power delivery was another challenge mentioned in the same report. We
propose a collaboration to identify the specific needs of different projects
that might benefit from wireless techniques. The objective is to provide a
common platform for research and development in order to optimize effectiveness
and cost, with the aim of designing and testing wireless demonstrators for
large instrumentation systems
Recent results on strangeness production from NA49
We present a summary of measurements of strange particles performed by the
experiment NA49 in inelastic p+p interactions, as well as semi-central C+C and
Si+Si, central Pb+Pb, and minimum bias Pb+Pb collisions in the energy range
= 6.3 - 17.3 GeV. New results on , and
production in minimum bias Pb+Pb collisions at = 8.7 and 17.3
are shown. Furthermore the strangeness enhancement factor at =
17.3 GeV is presented and compared to the results from NA57 and STAR. Energy
dependence of strange particle yields normalized to pion yields is presented.
New data on production are shown at = 17.3
GeV. Furthermore we present the energy dependence of and
fluctuations. The data are compared with model predictions.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, Submitted to J. Phys. G (Proceedings of the
International Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter, Buzios, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, September 27 - October 2, 2009
NA61/SHINE facility at the CERN SPS: beams and detector system
NA61/SHINE (SPS Heavy Ion and Neutrino Experiment) is a multi-purpose
experimental facility to study hadron production in hadron-proton,
hadron-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton
Synchrotron. It recorded the first physics data with hadron beams in 2009 and
with ion beams (secondary 7Be beams) in 2011.
NA61/SHINE has greatly profited from the long development of the CERN proton
and ion sources and the accelerator chain as well as the H2 beamline of the
CERN North Area. The latter has recently been modified to also serve as a
fragment separator as needed to produce the Be beams for NA61/SHINE. Numerous
components of the NA61/SHINE set-up were inherited from its predecessors, in
particular, the last one, the NA49 experiment. Important new detectors and
upgrades of the legacy equipment were introduced by the NA61/SHINE
Collaboration.
This paper describes the state of the NA61/SHINE facility - the beams and the
detector system - before the CERN Long Shutdown I, which started in March 2013
MadQCI: a heterogeneous and scalable SDN QKD network deployed in production facilities
Current quantum key distribution (QKD) networks focus almost exclusively on
transporting secret keys with the highest possible rate. Consequently, they are
built as mostly fixed, ad hoc, logically, and physically isolated
infrastructures designed to avoid any penalty to the quantum channel. This
architecture is neither scalable nor cost-effective and future, real-world
deployments will differ considerably. The structure of the MadQCI QKD network
presented here is based on disaggregated components and modern paradigms
especially designed for flexibility, upgradability, and facilitating the
integration of QKD in the security and telecommunications-networks ecosystem.
These underlying ideas have been tested by deploying many QKD systems from
several manufacturers in a real-world, multi-tenant telecommunications network,
installed in production facilities and sharing the infrastructure with
commercial traffic. Different technologies have been used in different links to
address the variety of situations and needs that arise in real networks,
exploring a wide range of possibilities. Finally, a set of realistic use cases
have been implemented to demonstrate the validity and performance of the
network. The testing took place during a period close to three years, where
most of the nodes were continuously active
Signatures of Quark-Gluon-Plasma formation in high energy heavy-ion collisions: A critical review
A critical review on signatures of Quark-Gluon-Plasma formation is given and
the current (1998) experimental status is discussed. After giving an
introduction to the properties of QCD matter in both, equilibrium- and
non-equilibrium theories, we focus on observables which may yield experimental
evidence for QGP formation. For each individual observable the discussion is
divided into three sections: first the connection between the respective
observable and QGP formation in terms of the underlying theoretical concepts is
given, then the relevant experimental results are reviewed and finally the
current status concerning the interpretation of both, theory and experiment, is
discussed. A comprehensive summary including an outlook towards RHIC is given
in the final section.Comment: Topical review, submitted to Journal of Physics G: 68 pages,
including 39 figures (revised version: only minor modifications, some
references added
The N-terminus of IpaB provides a potential anchor to the Shigella type III secretion system tip complex protein IpaD
The type III secretion system (T3SS) is an essential virulence factor for Shigella flexneri, providing a conduit through which host-altering effectors are injected directly into a host cell to promote uptake. The type III secretion apparatus (T3SA) is comprised of a basal body, external needle, and regulatory tip complex. The nascent needle is a polymer of MxiH capped by a pentamer of invasion plasmid antigen D (IpaD). Exposure to bile salts (e.g. deoxycholate) causes a conformational change in IpaD and promotes recruitment of IpaB to the needle tip. It has been proposed that IpaB senses contact with host cell membranes, recruiting IpaC and inducing full secretion of T3SS effectors. While the steps of T3SA maturation and their external triggers have been identified, details of specific protein interactions and mechanisms have remained difficult to study due to the hydrophobic nature of the IpaB and IpaC translocator proteins. Here we explored the ability for a series of soluble N-terminal IpaB peptides to interact with IpaD. We found that DOC is required for the interaction and that a region of IpaB between residues 11–27 is required for maximum binding, which was confirmed in vivo. Furthermore, intramolecular FRET measurements indicated that movement of the IpaD distal domain away from the protein core accompanied the binding of IpaB11-226. Together these new findings provide important new insight into the interactions and potential mechanisms that define the maturation of the Shigella T3SA needle tip complex and provide a foundation for further studies probing T3SS activation
Structural Characterization of a Novel Chlamydia pneumoniae Type III Secretion-Associated Protein, Cpn0803
Type III secretion (T3S) is an essential virulence factor used by Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria to deliver effector proteins into the host cell to establish and maintain an intracellular infection. Chlamydia is known to use T3S to facilitate invasion of host cells but many proteins in the system remain uncharacterized. The C. trachomatis protein CT584 has previously been implicated in T3S. Thus, we analyzed the CT584 ortholog in C. pneumoniae (Cpn0803) and found that it associates with known T3S proteins including the needle-filament protein (CdsF), the ATPase (CdsN), and the C-ring protein (CdsQ). Using membrane lipid strips, Cpn0803 interacted with phosphatidic acid and phosphatidylinositol, suggesting that Cpn0803 may associate with host cells. Crystallographic analysis revealed a unique structure of Cpn0803 with a hydrophobic pocket buried within the dimerization interface that may be important for binding small molecules. Also, the binding domains on Cpn0803 for CdsN, CdsQ, and CdsF were identified using Pepscan epitope mapping. Collectively, these data suggest that Cpn0803 plays a role in T3S
A cost and performance comparison of Public Private Partnership and public hospitals in Spain
© 2016 Caballer-Tarazona and Vivas-Consuelo. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.The Erratum to this article has been published in Health Economics Review 2016 6:20[EN] Public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives are extending around the world, especially in Europe, as an innovation to
traditional public health systems, with the intention of making them more efficient.
There is a varied range of PPP models with different degrees of responsibility from simple public sector contracts
with the private, up to the complete privatisation of the service. As such, we may say the involvement of the
private sector embraces the development, financing and provision of public infrastructures and delivery services.
In this paper, one of the oldest PPP initiatives developed in Spain and transferred to other European and Latin
American countries is evaluated for first time: the integrated healthcare delivery Alzira model.
Through a comparison of public and PPP hospital performance, cost and quality indicators, the efficiency of the
PPP experience in five hospitals is evaluated to identify the influence of private management in the results.
Regarding the performance and efficiency analysis, it is seen that the PPP group obtains good results, above the
average, but not always better than those directly managed. It is necessary to conduct studies with a greater
number of PPP hospitals to obtain conclusive results.Caballer Tarazona, M.; Vivas Consuelo, DJJ. (2016). A cost and performance comparison of Public Private Partnership and public hospitals in Spain. Health Economics Review. 6(17):1-7. doi:10.1186/s13561-016-0095-5S17617La Forgia GM, Harding A. Public-Private Partnerships and Public Hospital Performance in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Health Aff. 2009;28(4):1114–26.Vecchi V, Hellowell M, Longo F. Are Italian healthcare organizations paying too much for their public-private partnerships? Public Money Manage. 2010;30(2):125–32.Hellowell M, Pollock AM. The private financing of NHS hospitals: politics, policy and practice. Econ Aff. 2009;29(1):13–9.McIntosh N, Grabowski A, Jack B, Nkabane-Nkholongo EL, Vian T. A public-private partnership improves clinical performance in a hospital network in Lesotho. Health Aff. 2015;34(6):954–62.Roehrich JK, Lewis MA, George G. Are public–private partnerships a healthy option? A systematic literature review. Soc Sci Med. 2014;113:110–9.Barlow J, Roehrich J, Wright S. Europe sees mixed results from public-private partnerships for building and managing health care facilities and services. Health Aff. 2013;32(1):146–54.Hoppe EI, Kusterer DJ, Schmitz PW. Public-private partnerships versus traditional procurement: an experimental investigation. J Econ Behav Organ. 2013;89:145–66.Vivas-Consuelo D, Uso-Talamantes R, Trillo-Mata JL, Caballer-Tarazona M, Barrachina-Martinez I, Buigues-Pastor L. Predictability of pharmaceutical spending in primary health services using Clinical Risk Groups. Health Policy. 2014;116(2-3):188–95.Lopez-Casasnovas G, Costa-Font J, Planas I. Diversity and regional inequalities in the Spanish ‘system of health care services’. Health Econ. 2005;14 Suppl 1:S221–S35.Spain NHSo. National Health System of Spain. National Health System of Spain; 2010.McKee M, Edwards N, Atun R. Public-private partnerships for hospitals. Bull World Health Organ. 2006;84(11):890–6.Caballer-Tarazona M, Moya-Clemente I, Vivas-Consuelo D, Barrachina-Martínez I. A model to measure the efficiency of hospital performance. Math Comput Model. 2010;52(7-8):1095–102.Barlow J, Roehrich JK, Wright S. De facto privatization or a renewed role for the EU? Paying for Europe’s healthcare infrastructure in a recession. J R Soc Med. 2010;103(2):51–5.Herr A, Schmitz H, Augurzky B. Profit efficiency and ownership of German hospitals. Health Econ. 2011;20(6):660–74.Alonso JM, Clifton J, Díaz-Fuentes D. The impact of New Public Management on efficiency: an analysis of Madrid’s hospitals. Health Policy. 2015;119(3):333–40.IASIST. Desarrollo metodológico de los indicadores ajustados 2009 [cited 2015 July 26]. Available from: ( http://www.iasist.com/archivos/top20-2009-metodologia_161215235006.pdf ). Accessed Sept 2015.Hollingsworth B. The measurement of efficiency and productivity of health care delivery. Health Econ. 2008;17(10):1107–28.Ozgen H, Ozcan YA. A national study of efficiency for dialysis centers: an examination of market competition and facility characteristics for production of multiple dialysis outputs. Health Serv Res. 2002;37(3):711–32.Valdmanis VG, Rosko MD, Mutter RL. Hospital quality, efficiency, and input slack differentials. Health Serv Res. 2008;43(5):1830–48.Acerete B, Stafford A, Stapleton P. Spanish healthcare public private partnerships: The ‘Alzira model’. Crit Perspect Account. 2011;22(6):533–49.Allard G, Trabant A. Public-private partnerships in Spain: lessons and opportunities. Int Business Econ Res J. 2008;7(2):1–24.Shaoul J, Stafford A, Stapleton P. The cost of using private finance to build, finance and operate hospitals. Public Money Manage. 2008;28(2):101–8
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