Test-bed of a real time detection system for L/H and H/L transitions implemented with the ITMS platform

A basic requirement of the data acquisition systems used in long pulse fusion experiments is to detect events of interest in the acquired signals in real time. Developing such applications is usually a complex task, so it is necessary to develop a set of hardware and software tools that simplify their implementation. An example of these tools is the Intelligent Test and Measurement System (ITMS), which offers distributed data acquisition, distribution and real time processing capabilities with advanced, but easy to use, software tools that simplify application development and system setup. This paper presents the application of the ITMS platform to solve the problem of detecting L/H and H/L transitions in real time based on the use of efficient pattern recognition algorithms

Alcohol drinking and low nutritional value food eating behavior of sports bettors in gambling advertisements

The prevalence of sports betting advertising has become a major concern for gambling regulators, particularly since the legalization of online gambling in many European jurisdictions. Although the composition of gambling advertisement narratives has received some limited attention, nothing is known regarding how betting advertisements (often referred to as “adverts” or “commercials”) might be associating gambling with other potentially risky behaviors. The present paper examines the representation of alcohol drinking and low nutritional value food eating in sports betting advertising. By means of a mixed-methods approach to content analysis, a sample of British and Spanish soccer betting adverts was analyzed (N = 135). The results suggest that betting advertising aligns drinking alcohol with sports culture and significantly associates emotionally charged sporting situations such as watching live games or celebrating goals with alcohol. Additionally, alcohol drinking is more frequent in betting adverts with a higher number of characters, linking friendship bonding and alcohol drinking (especially beer) in the context of sports gambling

Water vapor emission from IRC+10216 and other carbon-rich stars: model predictions and prospects for multitransition observations

We have modeled the emission of H2O rotational lines from the extreme C-rich star IRC+10216. Our treatment of the excitation of H2O emissions takes into account the excitation of H2O both through collisions, and through the pumping of the nu2 and nu3 vibrational states by dust emission and subsequent decay to the ground state. Regardless of the spatial distribution of the water molecules, the H2O 1_{10}-1_{01} line at 557 GHz observed by the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is found to be pumped primarily through the absorption of dust-emitted photons at 6 $\mu$m in the nu2 band. As noted by previous authors, the inclusion of radiative pumping lowers the ortho-H2O abundance required to account for the 557 GHz emission, which is found to be (0.5-1)x10^{-7} if the presence of H2O is a consequence of vaporization of orbiting comets or Fischer-Tropsch catalysis. Predictions for other submillimeter H2O lines that can be observed by the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) are reported. Multitransition HSO observations promise to reveal the spatial distribution of the circumstellar water vapor, discriminating among the several hypotheses that have been proposed for the origin of the H2O vapor in the envelope of IRC+10216. We also show that, for observations with HSO, the H2O 1_{10}-1_{01} 557 GHz line affords the greatest sensitivity in searching for H2O in other C-rich AGB stars.Comment: 35 pages, 12 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Mathematics for structure functions

We show some of the mathematics that is being developed for the computation of deep inelastic structure functions to three loops. These include harmonic sums, harmonic polylogarithms and a class of difference equations that can be solved with the use of harmonic sums.Comment: 6 pages LaTeX, uses axodraw.sty and npb.sty (included

A GEANT4 Study of a Gamma-ray Collimation Array

Proton beam therapy uses high-energy protons to destroy cancer cells which are still uncertain about where in the body they hit. A possible way to answer this question is to detect the gamma rays produced during the irradiation and determine where in the body they are produced. This work investigates the use of collimators to determine where the proton interactions occur. GEANT4 is used to simulate the gamma production of a source interacting with a collimator. Each event simulates a number of gammas obtained as a function of the position along the detector. Repeating for different collimator configurations can thus help determine the best characteristics of a detector device

Dependence on the Identification of the Scale Energy Parameter Q 2 in the Quark Distribution Functions for a DIS Production of Za

We discuss the Z-production in a DIS (Deep Inelastic Scattering) process e + p → e + Z + X using the Parton Model, within the context of the Standard Model. In contrast with deep inelastic eP-scattering (e + p → e + X), where the choice of Q2, as the transferred momentum squared, is unambiguous; whereas in the case of boson production , the transferred momentum squared, at quark level, depends on the reaction mechanism (where is the EW interaction taking place). We suggest a proposal based on kinematics of the process considered and the usual criterion for Q2 , which leads to a simple and practical prescription to calculate Z-production via ep-DIS. We also introduce different options in order o perform the convolution of the parton distribution functions (PDFs) and the scattering amplitude of he quark processes. Our aim in this work is to analyze and show how large could be the dependence of the total cross section rates on different possible prescriptions used for the identification of the scale energy parameter Q2 . We present results for the total cross section as a function of the total energy √s of the system ep, in the range 300 <√s ≤ 1300 Ge

Real time dynamic strain monitoring of optical links using the backreflection of live PSK data.

A major cause of faults in optical communication links is related to unintentional third party intrusions (normally related to civil/agricultural works) causing fiber breaks or cable damage. These intrusions could be anticipated and avoided by monitoring the dynamic strain recorded along the cable. In this work, a novel technique is proposed to implement real-time distributed strain sensing in parallel with an operating optical communication channel. The technique relies on monitoring the Rayleigh backscattered light from optical communication data transmitted using standard modulation formats. The system is treated as a phase-sensitive OTDR (ΦOTDR) using random and non-periodical non-return-to-zero (NRZ) phase-shift keying (PSK) pulse coding. An I/Q detection unit allows for a full (amplitude, phase and polarization) characterization of the backscattered optical signal, thus achieving a fully linear system in terms of ΦOTDR trace coding/decoding. The technique can be used with different modulation formats, and operation using 4 Gbaud single-polarization dual PSK and 4 Gbaud dual-polarization quadrature PSK is demonstrated. As a proof of concept, distributed sensing of dynamic strain with a sampling of 125 kHz and a spatial resolution of 2.5 cm (set by the bit size) over 500 m is demonstrated for applied sinusoidal strain signals of 500 Hz. The limitations and possibilities for improvement of the technique are also discussed.This work was supported by the European Research Council through Starting Grant UFINE (Grant no. 307441), the Spanish MINECO through project TEC2013-45265-R, PCIN-2015- 219, and the regional program SINFOTON-CM: S2013/MIT-2790. HFM acknowledges EU funding through the FP7 ITN ICONE program, gr. #608099. SML acknowledges funding from the Spanish MINECO through a “Ramon y Cajal” contract. UK EPSRC funding through project EP/J008842/1

Machining-induced characteristics of microstructure-supported LPBF-IN718 curved thin walls

The microstructure-supported design of engineering components is recently gaining attention due to their high strength-to-weight and high stiffness-to-weight properties. The present study investigates the hybrid manufacturing of Inconel 718 curved thin walls with internal microstructural supports fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). Printed walls contain a fixed curvature and thickness, whereas the internal microstructures were varied at different inclination angles. In this research, a finish milling operation has been performed at different milling parameters. Machining-induced damages on the internal microstructures have been studied and correlated with geometrical deviation and surface integrity features on the outer thin wall surfaces

Modeling the martian atmosphere with the LMD global climate model

Introduction: For several years we have been developing a 3D Global Climate Model (GCM) for Mars derived from the models used on Earth for weather forecasting or climate changes studies [1]. The purpose of such a project is ambitious: we wish to build a 'Mars simulator' based only on physical equations, with no tailor-made forcing, but able to reproduce all the available observations of the Martian climate (temperatures, winds, but also clouds, dust, ices, chemical species, etc...). The GCM is constantly evolving, thanks to a contnuous collaboration between several teams based in France (LMD, SA), the UK (The Open University, University of Oxford) and Spain (Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia), and with the support of ESA and CNES. We are currently working on an improved version of the model. Several new parametrisation are included in the heart of the model (radiative transfer, surface and subsurface processes, dynamics) and the applications of the GCM are in contnuous development (Water, dust, CO2, radon cycles, photochemistry, thermosphere, ionosphere, etc...

Rose Bengal test: diagnostic yield and use for the rapid diagnosis of human brucellosis in emergency departments in endemic areas

ABSTRACTThe aim of the present study was to analyse the diagnostic yield of the rose Bengal test for the rapid diagnosis of human brucellosis in an emergency department in an area where the disease is endemic. The study included 711 patients diagnosed initially with brucellosis and 270 controls. Brucellosis patients were divided into three groups: group I, individuals with no regular exposure to or history of brucellosis; group II, individuals exposed repeatedly to Brucella infection; and group III, individuals infected with Brucella who had received appropriate treatment during the previous 12 months. Blood cultures were positive for 445 (62.6%) brucellosis patients, while the remaining 266 (37.4%) patients were diagnosed according to clinical and serological criteria. The overall sensitivity of the rose Bengal test was 92.9%. The specificities for groups I, II and III were 94.3%, 91.7% and 76.9%, respectively, with positive likelihood ratios of 16.5, 10.4 and 4.2, respectively. The diagnostic gain after the performance of the rose Bengal test was good or very good in patients with no previous exposure to Brucella or history of brucellosis, but poor in patients who were exposed repeatedly to Brucella or had a history of brucellosis and a low pre-test probability. Use of the rose Bengal test as the sole technique for the diagnosis of brucellosis in endemic areas should be considered very carefully in the context of patients who are exposed repeatedly to Brucella or have a history of brucellosis