Event Reconstruction with MarlinReco at the ILC

After an overview of the modular analysis and reconstruction framework Marlin an introduction on the functionality of the Marlin-based reconstruction package MarlinReco is given. This package includes a full set of modules for event reconstruction based on the Particle Flow approach. The status of the software is reviewed and recent results using this software package for event reconstruction are presented.Comment: 6 pages, 2 .eps figures, to appear in Proc. LCWS06, Bangalore, March 200

The social and clinical characteristics of patients on antiretroviral therapy who are ‘lost to follow-up’ in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: a prospective study

A significant proportion of those initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV infection are lost to follow-up. Causes (including HIV symptoms, quality of life, depression, herbal treatment and alcohol use) for discontinuing ART follow-up in predominantly rural resource-limited settings are not well understood. This is a prospective study of the treatment-naïve patients recruited from three (one urban, one-semi-urban and one rural) public hospitals in Uthukela health district in KwaZulu-Natal from October 2007 to February 2008. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of loss to follow-up or all caused attrition from an ART programme within a cohort followed up for over 12 months. A total of 735 patients (217 men and 518 women) prior to initiating ART completed a baseline questionnaire and 6- and 12-months’ follow-up. At 12-months follow-up 557 (75.9%) individuals continued active ART, 177 (24.1%)were all cause attrition, there were 82 deaths (13.8%), 58 (7.9%) transfers, 7 (1.0%) refused participation, 8 (1.1%) were not yet on ARTand 22 (3.0%) could not be traced. Death by 12-months of follow-up was associated with lower CD4 cell counts (risk ratio, RR=2.05, confidence intervals, CI=1.20 - 3.49) and higher depression levels (RR=1.05, CI=1.01 - 1.09) at baseline assessment. The high early mortality rates indicate that patients are enrolling into ART programmes with far too advanced immunodeficiency; median CD4 cell counts 119 (IQR=59 - 163). Causes of late access to the ART programme, such as delays in health care access (delayed health care seeking), health system delays, or inappropriate treatment criteria, need to be addressed. Differences in health status (lower CD4 cell counts and higher depression scores) should be taken into account when initiating patients on ART. Treating depression at ART initiation is recommended to improve treatment outcome

Monolithic Pixel Sensors in Deep-Submicron SOI Technology

Monolithic pixel sensors for charged particle detection and imaging applications have been designed and fabricated using commercially available, deep-submicron Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) processes, which insulate a thin layer of integrated full CMOS electronics from a high-resistivity substrate by means of a buried oxide. The substrate is contacted from the electronics layer through vias etched in the buried oxide, allowing pixel implanting and reverse biasing. This paper summarizes the performances achieved with a first prototype manufactured in the OKI 0.15 micrometer FD-SOI process, featuring analog and digital pixels on a 10 micrometer pitch. The design and preliminary results on the analog section of a second prototype manufactured in the OKI 0.20 micrometer FD-SOI process are briefly discussed.Comment: Proceedings of the PIXEL 2008 International Workshop, FNAL, Batavia, IL, 23-26 September 2008. Submitted to JINST - Journal of Instrumentatio

High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T and copeptin assays to improve diagnostic accuracy of exercise stress test in patients with suspected coronary artery disease

Background: The average diagnostic sensitivity of exercise stress tests (ESTs) is lower than that of other non-invasive cardiac stress tests. The aim of the study was to examine whether high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) or copeptin concentrations rise in response to inducible myocardial ischaemia and may improve the diagnostic accuracy of ESTs. Methods and results: An EST was performed stepwise on a bicycle ergometer by 383 consecutive patients with suspected or progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). In addition venous blood samples for measurement of hs-cTnT and copeptin were collected prior to EST, at peak exercise, and 4 h after EST. Coronary angiography was assessed for all patients. Patients with significant CAD (n=224) were more likely to be male and older compared to patients with non-significant CAD (n=169). Positive EST was documented in 125 (55.8%) patients with significant CAD and in 69 (43.4%) patients with non-significant CAD. Copeptin and hs-cTnT concentrations at baseline were higher in patients with significant CAD (copeptin: 10.8 pmol/l (interquartile range (IQR) 8.1–15.6) vs 9.4 pmol/l (IQR 7.1–13.9); p=0.04; hs-cTnT: 3.0 ng/l (IQR <3.0–5.4) vs <3.0 ng/l (IQR <3.0); p=0.006). Hs-cTnT improved sensitivity (61.6% vs 55.8%), specificity (67.7% vs 56.6%) and the positive predictive value (PPV) (72.3% vs 64.4%) and negative (55.2% vs 47.6%) predictive value (NPV) of EST. Copeptin could not improve sensitivity (55.4% vs 55.8%) and reduced specificity, PPV and NPV. Conclusions: The measurement of hs-cTnT during EST improves sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. In contrast, measurement of copeptin does not improve diagnostic sensitivity and reduces specificity

A Summary of the ADVANCE Trial

The publication of the U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) in 1998 helped to shape the management of type 2 diabetes in recent years (1). The study demonstrated several points. First, sulfonylureas are as safe as insulin in controlling blood glucose. Second, metformin reduced cardiovascular disease in an overweight subgroup. Third, the same benefit of glycemic control in reducing microvascular disease (previously noted in type 1 diabetes) is applied equally to patients with type 2 diabetes. A separation in A1C of ∼1% in the UKPDS reduced the risk of microvascular disease (largely diabetic retinopathy) by ∼25%. This reflected the data from the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, where a separation in A1C of 2% in intensive and standard groups led to a reduction in microvascular disease of ∼50% (2). A fourth demonstration was that there was no significant reduction in macrovascular disease but a trend toward fewer myocardial infarctions with more intensive glucose control. Fifth, using the current treatment of the time (first-generation sulfonylureas, human ultratard insulin, or metformin), it proved impossible to maintain glucose control, which tended to deteriorate throughout the study. It is now generally believed that the progressive fall in endogenous insulin production as β-cell numbers decline makes it difficult, if not impossible, to maintain tight control using standard treatment. Sixth, the UKPDS also showed that in those patients with hypertension, lowering blood pressure (BP) to moderate levels with either captopril or atenolol could reduce microvascular disease (3). In a subsequent study, the UKPDS investigators presented the rates of both micro- and macrovascular disease according to the achieved levels of A1C during the study (4). They showed a linear relationship between A1C and both groups of complications. The implication of the article was that if glycemic control could be tightened below the levels achieved in the UKPDS, then it might be possible to reduce rates, not only of microvascular complications, but also cardiovascular disease as well. The aim of the glucose arm of the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial (5) was to build on the information gained by the UKPDS and to answer the question as to whether intensifying glucose control to achieve an A1C of <6.5% would provide additional benefit in reducing the risk of both micro- and macrovascular disease. ADVANCE also asked questions about BP lowering in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aims of the BP arm were to establish whether routine provision of BP-lowering therapy produced additional benefits in terms of macro- and microvascular disease, irrespective of baseline BP, and added to the benefits produced by other cardiovascular preventive therapies, including ACE inhibitors

Hot off the press! A comparative media analysis of energy storage framing in Canadian newspapers

The final publication is available at Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.06.011. © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Energy storage (ES) is a keystone technology for advancing low-carbon energy transitions, yet energy system change continues to be influenced by socio-political acceptance of emerging innovations such as storage. An initial Canadian contribution to the social-scientific study of ES, we conduct a comparative media analysis of news coverage on storage technologies in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Applying the Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED) framework, we analyse representations of ES risks and benefits in 143 articles drawn from top-circulating Canadian newspapers between 2007–2017. We then evaluate frame and narrative trends describing ES in these provinces. In doing so, we identify: (1) a generally optimistic national perspective on ES, despite regional variance in risk and benefit framing; (2) greater attention paid to high-profile, smaller-scale ES technologies; (3) a prominence of sustainability and transition narratives around ES; and (4) a positive temporal shift in ES discourse, reflecting changing regional energy priorities and Canada’s increasing commitment to clean energy development. Our findings provide insight on interprovincial differences in social perception on ES and identify possible drivers for these variations to help inform future ES research, deployment and policy strategies in Canada and other evolving national energy markets.This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) as part of the NSERC Energy Storage Technology (NEST) Network (grant number 468468)

Pretectal projections to the oculomotor cerebellum in hummingbirds ( Calypte anna ), zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ), and pigeons ( Columba livia )

In birds, optic flow is processed by a retinal‐recipient nucleus in the pretectum, the nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (LM), which then projects to the cerebellum, a key site for sensorimotor integration. Previous studies have shown that the LM is hypertrophied in hummingbirds, and that LM cell response properties differ between hummingbirds and other birds. Given these differences in anatomy and physiology, we ask here if there are also species differences in the connectivity of the LM. The LM is separated into lateral and medial subdivisions, which project to the oculomotor cerebellum and the vestibulocerebellum. In pigeons, the projection to the vestibulocerebellum largely arises from the lateral LM; the projection to the oculomotor cerebellum largely arises from the medial LM. Here, using retrograde tracing, we demonstrate differences in the distribution of projections in these pathways between Anna's hummingbirds (Calypte anna ), zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata ), and pigeons (Columba livia ). In all three species, the projections to the vestibulocerebellum were largely from lateral LM. In contrast, projections to the oculomotor cerebellum in hummingbirds and zebra finches do not originate in the medial LM (as in pigeons) but instead largely arise from pretectal structures just medial, the nucleus laminaris precommissuralis and nucleus principalis precommissuralis. These species differences in projection patterns provide further evidence that optic flow circuits differ among bird species with distinct modes of fligh

Theoretical study of dark resonances in micro-metric thin cells

We investigate theoretically dark resonance spectroscopy for a dilute atomic vapor confined in a thin (micro-metric) cell. We identify the physical parameters characterizing the spectra and study their influence. We focus on a Hanle-type situation, with an optical irradiation under normal incidence and resonant with the atomic transition. The dark resonance spectrum is predicted to combine broad wings with a sharp maximum at line-center, that can be singled out when detecting a derivative of the dark resonance spectrum. This narrow signal derivative, shown to broaden only sub-linearly with the cell length, is a signature of the contribution of atoms slow enough to fly between the cell windows in a time as long as the characteristic ground state optical pumping time. We suggest that this dark resonance spectroscopy in micro-metric thin cells could be a suitable tool for probing the effective velocity distribution in the thin cell arising from the atomic desorption processes, and notably to identify the limiting factors affecting desorption under a grazing incidence.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures theoretical articl