Development and Characterisation of a Gas System and its Associated Slow-Control System for an ATLAS Small-Strip Thin Gap Chamber Testing Facility

A quality assurance and performance qualification laboratory was built at McGill University for the Canadian-made small-strip Thin Gap Chamber (sTGC) muon detectors produced for the 2019-2020 ATLAS experiment muon spectrometer upgrade. The facility uses cosmic rays as a muon source to ionise the quenching gas mixture of pentane and carbon dioxide flowing through the sTGC detector. A gas system was developed and characterised for this purpose, with a simple and efficient gas condenser design utilizing a Peltier thermoelectric cooler (TEC). The gas system was tested to provide the desired 45 vol% pentane concentration. For continuous operations, a state-machine system was implemented with alerting and remote monitoring features to run all cosmic-ray data-acquisition associated slow-control systems, such as high/low voltage, gas system and environmental monitoring, in a safe and continuous mode, even in the absence of an operator.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, 14 figures, 4 tables, proof corrections for Journal of Instrumentation (JINST), including corrected Fig. 8b

A Cost Benefit Analysis of Transitioning the USN to a Single Fuel Type

NPS NRP Executive SummaryFuel distribution and its availability is key to maintain force posture during all phases of a conflict. Given the great power competition (GPC) increasing between the U.S., China, and Russia, and a shift to distributed maritime operations, it is important to assess the cost benefit of changing the fuel distribution to a single fuel type. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) proposes to conduct a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of switching entirely or partially to JP-5 fuel as opposed to the current multiple fuel types used on ships aircrafts and vehicles. Specifically, this research addresses these main questions: If the Navy adopted a policy allowing a 50% JP-5 and 50% F-76 mixture to be issued to surface vessels in lieu of F-76, what would be the cost benefit? Would this policy improve historical turnover rates of the Department of Defense's JP-5 inventory? What infrastructure investments are necessary to adopt a single-type Naval fuel? We use past list purchase cost and standard sales prices for JP-5 and F-76 as our primary data sources to calculate potential savings from shifting to the SFC. Regression analysis is used to calculate the estimated purchase costs and sales costs for fuel under the current two-fuel concept. The predicted consumption figures for a single fuel concept (SFC) were used to predict the total fuel cost of JP-5 for future years as a single fuel in the fleet. We find significant cost savings by switching to a single fuel concept instead of a fuel policy mixture of using 50% JP-5 and 50% F-76. If the purchase and sales prices of JP-5 remain the same upon implementation of the SFC, there is potential for substantial savings for the government.N4 - Fleet Readiness & LogisticsThis research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

A Cost Benefit Analysis of Transitioning the USN to a Single Fuel Type

NPS NRP Project PosterFuel distribution and its availability is key to maintain force posture during all phases of a conflict. Given the great power competition (GPC) increasing between the U.S., China, and Russia, and a shift to distributed maritime operations, it is important to assess the cost benefit of changing the fuel distribution to a single fuel type. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) proposes to conduct a cost benefit analysis (CBA) of switching entirely or partially to JP-5 fuel as opposed to the current multiple fuel types used on ships aircrafts and vehicles. Specifically, this research addresses these main questions: If the Navy adopted a policy allowing a 50% JP-5 and 50% F-76 mixture to be issued to surface vessels in lieu of F-76, what would be the cost benefit? Would this policy improve historical turnover rates of the Department of Defense's JP-5 inventory? What infrastructure investments are necessary to adopt a single-type Naval fuel? We use past list purchase cost and standard sales prices for JP-5 and F-76 as our primary data sources to calculate potential savings from shifting to the SFC. Regression analysis is used to calculate the estimated purchase costs and sales costs for fuel under the current two-fuel concept. The predicted consumption figures for a single fuel concept (SFC) were used to predict the total fuel cost of JP-5 for future years as a single fuel in the fleet. We find significant cost savings by switching to a single fuel concept instead of a fuel policy mixture of using 50% JP-5 and 50% F-76. If the purchase and sales prices of JP-5 remain the same upon implementation of the SFC, there is potential for substantial savings for the government.N4 - Fleet Readiness & LogisticsThis research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Variance component estimation uncertainty for unbalanced data: Application to a continent-wide vertical datum

Variance component estimation (VCE) is used to update the stochastic model in least-squares adjustments, but the uncertainty associated with the VCE-derived weights is rarely considered. Unbalanced data is where there is an unequal number of observations in each heterogeneous dataset comprising the variance component groups. As a case study using highly unbalanced data, we redefine a continent-wide vertical datum from a combined least-squares adjustment using iterative VCE and its uncertainties to update weights for each data set. These are: (1) a continent-wide levelling network, (2) a model of the ocean’s mean dynamic topography and mean sea level observations, and (3) GPS-derived ellipsoidal heights minus a gravimetric quasigeoid model. VCE uncertainty differs for each observation group in the highly unbalanced data, being dependent on the number of observations in each group. It also changes within each group after each VCE iteration, depending on the magnitude of change for each observation group’s variances. It is recommended that VCE uncertainty is computed for VCE updates to the weight matrix for unbalanced data so that the quality of the updates for each group can be properly assessed. This is particularly important if some groups contain relatively small numbers of observations. VCE uncertainty can also be used as a threshold for ceasing iterations, as it is shown—for this data set at least—that it is not necessary to continue time-consuming iterations to fully converge to unity

The Data Acquisition and Calibration System for the ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker

The SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) data acquisition (DAQ) system will calibrate, configure, and control the approximately six million front-end channels of the ATLAS silicon strip detector. It will provide a synchronized bunch-crossing clock to the front-end modules, communicate first-level triggers to the front-end chips, and transfer information about hit strips to the ATLAS high-level trigger system. The system has been used extensively for calibration and quality assurance during SCT barrel and endcap assembly and for performance confirmation tests after transport of the barrels and endcaps to CERN. Operating in data-taking mode, the DAQ has recorded nearly twenty million synchronously-triggered events during commissioning tests including almost a million cosmic ray triggered events. In this paper we describe the components of the data acquisition system, discuss its operation in calibration and data-taking modes and present some detector performance results from these tests

Nanomolar oxytocin synergizes with weak electrical afferent stimulation to activate the locomotor CPG of the rat spinal cord in vitro.

Synergizing the effect of afferent fibre stimulation with pharmacological interventions is a desirable goal to trigger spinal locomotor activity, especially after injury. Thus, to better understand the mechanisms to optimize this process, we studied the role of the neuropeptide oxytocin (previously shown to stimulate locomotor networks) on network and motoneuron properties using the isolated neonatal rat spinal cord. On motoneurons oxytocin (1 nM-1 \u3bcM) generated sporadic bursts with superimposed firing and dose-dependent depolarization. No desensitization was observed despite repeated applications. Tetrodotoxin completely blocked the effects of oxytocin, demonstrating the network origin of the responses. Recording motoneuron pool activity from lumbar ventral roots showed oxytocin mediated depolarization with synchronous bursts, and depression of reflex responses in a stimulus and peptide-concentration dependent fashion. Disinhibited bursting caused by strychnine and bicuculline was accelerated by oxytocin whose action was blocked by the oxytocin antagonist atosiban. Fictive locomotion appeared when subthreshold concentrations of NMDA plus 5HT were coapplied with oxytocin, an effect prevented after 24 h incubation with the inhibitor of 5HT synthesis, PCPA. When fictive locomotion was fully manifested, oxytocin did not change periodicity, although cycle amplitude became smaller. A novel protocol of electrical stimulation based on noisy waveforms and applied to one dorsal root evoked stereotypic fictive locomotion. Whenever the stimulus intensity was subthreshold, low doses of oxytocin triggered fictive locomotion although oxytocin per se did not affect primary afferent depolarization evoked by dorsal root pulses. Among the several functional targets for the action of oxytocin at lumbar spinal cord level, the present results highlight how small concentrations of this peptide could bring spinal networks to threshold for fictive locomotion in combination with other protocols, and delineate the use of oxytocin to strengthen the efficiency of electrical stimulation to activate locomotor circuits

School Effects on the Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents

Well-being is a multidimensional construct, with psychological, physical and social components. As theoretical basis to help understand this concept and how it relates to school, we propose the Self-Determination Theory, which contends that self-determined motivation and personality integration, growth and well-being are dependent on a healthy balance of three innate psychological needs of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Thus, current indicators involve school effects on children’s well-being, in many diverse modalities which have been explored. Some are described in this chapter, mainly: the importance of peer relationships; the benefits of friendship; the effects of schools in conjunction with some forms of family influence; the school climate in terms of safety and physical ecology; the relevance of the teacher input; the school goal structure and the implementation of cooperative learning. All these parameters have an influence in promoting optimal functioning among children and increasing their well-being by meeting the above mentioned needs. The empirical support for the importance of schools indicates significant small effects, which often translate into important real-life effects as it is admitted at present. The conclusion is that schools do make a difference in children’s peer relationships and well-being