Radiogenic backgrounds in the NEXT double beta decay experiment

Natural radioactivity represents one of the main backgrounds in the search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Within the NEXT physics program, the radioactivity- induced backgrounds are measured with the NEXT-White detector. Data from 37.9 days of low-background operations at the Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc with xenon depleted in 136Xe are analyzed to derive a total background rate of (0.84±0.02) mHz above 1000 keV. The comparison of data samples with and without the use of the radon abatement system demonstrates that the contribution of airborne-Rn is negligible. A radiogenic background model is built upon the extensive radiopurity screening campaign conducted by the NEXT collaboration. A spectral fit to this model yields the specific contributions of 60Co, 40K, 214Bi and 208Tl to the total background rate, as well as their location in the detector volumes. The results are used to evaluate the impact of the radiogenic backgrounds in the double beta decay analyses, after the application of topological cuts that reduce the total rate to (0.25±0.01) mHz. Based on the best-fit background model, the NEXT-White median sensitivity to the two-neutrino double beta decay is found to be 3.5σ after 1 year of data taking. The background measurement in a Qββ±100 keV energy window validates the best-fit background model also for the neutrinoless double beta decay search with NEXT-100. Only one event is found, while the model expectation is (0.75±0.12) events. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Demonstration of the event identification capabilities of the NEXT-White detector

In experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay, the possibility of identifying the two emitted electrons is a powerful tool in rejecting background events and therefore improving the overall sensitivity of the experiment. In this paper we present the first measurement of the efficiency of a cut based on the different event signatures of double and single electron tracks, using the data of the NEXT-White detector, the first detector of the NEXT experiment operating underground. Using a 228Th calibration source to produce signal-like and background-like events with energies near 1.6 MeV, a signal efficiency of 71.6 ± 1.5 stat± 0.3 sys% for a background acceptance of 20.6 ± 0.4 stat± 0.3 sys% is found, in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations. An extrapolation to the energy region of the neutrinoless double beta decay by means of Monte Carlo simulations is also carried out, and the results obtained show an improvement in background rejection over those obtained at lower energies. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Electroluminescence TPCs at the thermal diffusion limit

[EN] The NEXT experiment aims at searching for the hypothetical neutrinoless double-beta decay from the 136Xe isotope using a high-purity xenon TPC. Efficient discrimination of the events through pattern recognition of the topology of primary ionisation tracks is a major requirement for the experiment. However, it is limited by the diffusion of electrons. It is known that the addition of a small fraction of a molecular gas to xenon reduces electron diffusion. On the other hand, the electroluminescence (EL) yield drops and the achievable energy resolution may be compromised. We have studied the effect of adding several molecular gases to xenon (CO2, CH4 and CF4) on the EL yield and energy resolution obtained in a small prototype of driftless gas proportional scintillation counter. We have compared our results on the scintillation characteristics (EL yield and energy resolution) with a microscopic simulation, obtaining the diffusion coefficients in those conditions as well. Accordingly, electron diffusion may be reduced from about 10 mm/ sqrt(¿) for pure xenon down to 2.5 mm/sqrt(m) using additive concentrations of about 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.02% for CO2, CH4 and CF4, respectively. Our results show that CF4 admixtures present the highest EL yield in those conditions, but very poor energy resolution as a result of huge fluctuations observed in the EL formation. CH4 presents the best energy resolution despite the EL yield being the lowest. The results obtained with xenon admixtures are extrapolated to the operational conditions of the NEXT-100 TPC. CO2 and CH4 show potential as molecular additives in a large xenon TPC. While CO2 has some operational constraints, making it difficult to be used in a large TPC, CH4 shows the best performance and stability as molecular additive to be used in the NEXT-100 TPC, with an extrapolated energy resolution of 0.4% at 2.45 MeV for concentrations below 0.4%, which is only slightly worse than the one obtained for pure xenon. We demonstrate the possibility to have an electroluminescence TPC operating very close to the thermal diffusion limit without jeopardizing the TPC performance, if CO2 or CH4 are chosen as additives.The NEXT Collaboration acknowledges support from the following agencies and institutions: the European Research Council (ERC) under the Advanced Grant 339787-NEXT; the European Union's Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (2014-2020) under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreements No. 674896, 690575 and 740055; the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain under grants FIS2014-53371-C04, the Severo Ochoa Program SEV-2014-0398 and the Maria de Maetzu Program MDM-2016-0692; the GVA of Spain under grants PROMETEO/2016/120 and SEJI/2017/011; the Portuguese FCT under project PTDC/FIS-NUC/2525/2014, under project UID/FIS/04559/2013 to fund the activities of LIBPhys, and under grants PD/BD/105921/2014, SFRH/BPD/109180/2015 and SFRH/BPD/76842/2011; the U.S. Department of Energy under contracts number DE-AC02-07CH11359 (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory), DE-AC02-06CH11357 (Argonne National Laboratory), DE-FG02-13ER42020 (Texas A&M) and DE-SC0017721 (University of Texas at Arlington); and the University of Texas at Arlington. DGD acknowledges Ramon y Cajal program (Spain) under contract number RYC-2015-18820. We also warmly acknowledge the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) and the Dark Side collaboration for their help with TPB coating of various parts of the NEXT-White TPC. Finally, we are grateful to the Laboratorio Subterraneo de Canfranc for hosting and supporting the NEXT experiment.Henriques, CAO.; Monteiro, CMB.; Gonzalez-Diaz, D.; Azevedo, CDR.; Freitas, EDC.; Mano, RDP.; Jorge, MR.... (2019). Electroluminescence TPCs at the thermal diffusion limit. Journal of High Energy Physics (Online). 1:1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/JHEP01(2019)027S1201NEXT collaboration, J. Martín-Albo et al., Sensitivity of NEXT-100 to neutrinoless double beta decay, JHEP 05 (2016) 159 [ arXiv:1511.09246 ] [ INSPIRE ].T. Brunner et al., An RF-only ion-funnel for extraction from high-pressure gases, Intern. J. Mass Spectrom. 379 (2015) 110 [ INSPIRE ].PANDAX-III collaboration, J. Galan, Microbulk MicrOMEGAs for the search of 0νββ of 136 Xe in the PandaX-III experiment, 2016 JINST 11 P04024 [ arXiv:1512.09034 ] [ INSPIRE ].D. Yu. Akimov, A.A. Burenkov, V.F. Kuzichev, V.L. Morgunov and V.N. Solovev, Low background experiments with high pressure gas scintillation proportional detector, physics/9704021 [ INSPIRE ].Yu. M. Gavrilyuk et al., A technique for searching for the 2K capture in 124 Xe with a copper proportional counter, Phys. Atom. Nucl. 78 (2015) 1563 [ INSPIRE ].D.R. Nygren, Columnar recombination: a tool for nuclear recoil directional sensitivity in a xenon-based direct detection WIMP search, J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 460 (2013) 012006 [ INSPIRE ].XENON collaboration, E. Aprile et al., First Dark Matter Search Results from the XENON1T Experiment, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (2017) 181301 [ arXiv:1705.06655 ] [ INSPIRE ].XENON100 collaboration, E. Aprile et al., Dark Matter Results from 225 Live Days of XENON100 Data, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 (2012) 181301 [ arXiv:1207.5988 ] [ INSPIRE ].LUX collaboration, D.S. Akerib et al., Results from a search for dark matter in the complete LUX exposure, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118 (2017) 021303 [ arXiv:1608.07648 ] [ INSPIRE ].PandaX-II collaboration, X. Cui et al., Dark Matter Results From 54-Ton-Day Exposure of PandaX-II Experiment, Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 (2017) 181302 [ arXiv:1708.06917 ] [ INSPIRE ].EXO collaboration, J.B. Albert et al., Search for Neutrinoless Double-Beta Decay with the Upgraded EXO-200 Detector, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120 (2018) 072701 [ arXiv:1707.08707 ] [ INSPIRE ].KamLAND-Zen collaboration, A. Gando et al., Search for Majorana Neutrinos near the Inverted Mass Hierarchy Region with KamLAND-Zen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117 (2016) 082503 [ arXiv:1605.02889 ] [ INSPIRE ].XMASS collaboration, K. Abe et al., Search for two-neutrino double electron capture on 124 Xe with the XMASS-I detector, Phys. Lett. B 759 (2016) 64 [ arXiv:1510.00754 ] [ INSPIRE ].XENON collaboration, E. Aprile et al., Search for two-neutrino double electron capture of 124 Xe with XENON100, Phys. Rev. C 95 (2017) 024605 [ arXiv:1609.03354 ] [ INSPIRE ].R. Lüscher et al., Search for ββ decay in 136 Xe: new results from the Gotthard experiment, Phys. Lett. B 434 (1998) 407 [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, P. Ferrario et al., First proof of topological signature in the high pressure xenon gas TPC with electroluminescence amplification for the NEXT experiment, JHEP 01 (2016) 104 [ arXiv:1507.05902 ] [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, D. Lorca et al., Characterisation of NEXT-DEMO using xenon K α X-rays, 2014 JINST 9 P10007 [ arXiv:1407.3966 ] [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, D. González-Díaz et al., Accurate γ and MeV-electron track reconstruction with an ultra-low diffusion Xenon/TMA TPC at 10 atm, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 804 (2015) 8 [ arXiv:1504.03678 ] [ INSPIRE ].C.M.B. Monteiro et al., Secondary Scintillation Yield in Pure Xenon, 2007 JINST 2 P05001 [ physics/0702142 ] [ INSPIRE ].C.M.B. Monteiro, J.A.M. Lopes, J.F. C.A. Veloso and J.M.F. dos Santos, Secondary scintillation yield in pure argon, Phys. Lett. B 668 (2008) 167 [ INSPIRE ].E.D.C. Freitas et al., Secondary scintillation yield in high-pressure xenon gas for neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) search, Phys. Lett. B 684 (2010) 205 [ INSPIRE ].C.M.B. Monteiro et al., Secondary scintillation yield from gaseous micropattern electron multipliers in direct dark matter detection, Phys. Lett. B 677 (2009) 133 [ INSPIRE ].C.M.B. Monteiro, L.M.P. Fernandes, J.F. C.A. Veloso, C.A.B. Oliveira and J.M.F. dos Santos, Secondary scintillation yield from GEM and THGEM gaseous electron multipliers for direct dark matter search, Phys. Lett. B 714 (2012) 18 [ INSPIRE ].C. Balan et al., MicrOMEGAs operation in high pressure xenon: Charge and scintillation readout, 2011 JINST 6 P02006 [ arXiv:1009.2960 ] [ INSPIRE ].J.M.F. dos Santos et al., Development of portable gas proportional scintillation counters for x-ray spectrometry, X-Ray Spectrom. 30 (2001) 373.NEXT collaboration, J. Renner et al., Background rejection in NEXT using deep neural networks, 2017 JINST 12 T01004 [ arXiv:1609.06202 ] [ INSPIRE ].T. Himi et al., Emission spectra from Ar-Xe, Ar-Kr, Ar-N2, Ar-CH4, Ar-CO2 and Xe-N2 gas proportional scintillation counters, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. 205 (1983) 591.C.D.R. Azevedo et al., An homeopathic cure to pure Xenon large diffusion, 2016 JINST 11 C02007 [ arXiv:1511.07189 ] [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, C.A.O. Henriques et al., Secondary scintillation yield of xenon with sub-percent levels of CO 2 additive for rare-event detection, Phys. Lett. B 773 (2017) 663 [ arXiv:1704.01623 ] [ INSPIRE ].P.C.P.S. Simões, J.M.F. dos Santos and C.A.N. Conde, Driftless gas proportional scintillation counter pulse analysis using digital processing techniques, X Ray Spectrom. 30 (2001) 342.P.C.P.S. Simões et al., A new method for pulse analysis of driftless-gas proportional scintillation counters, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 505 (2003) 247.C.D.R. Azevedo et al., Microscopic simulation of xenon-based optical TPCs in the presence of molecular additives, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 877 (2018) 157 [ arXiv:1705.09481 ] [ INSPIRE ].L.M.P. Fernandes et al., Primary and secondary scintillation measurements in a xenon Gas Proportional Scintillation Counter, 2010 JINST 5 P09006 [Erratum ibid. 5 (2010) A12001] [ arXiv:1009.2719 ] [ INSPIRE ].C.M.B. Monteiro et al., An argon gas proportional scintillation counter with UV avalanche photodiode scintillation readout, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 48 (2001) 1081.J.A.M. Lopes et al., A xenon gas proportional scintillation counter with a UV-sensitive large-area avalanche photodiode, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 48 (2001) 312.D.F. Anderson et al., A large area gas scintillation proportional counter, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. 163 (1979) 125.Z. Kowalski et al., Fano factor implications from gas scintillation proportional counter measurements, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 279 (1989) 567.S.J.C. do Carmo et al., Experimental study of the ω-values and Fano factors of gaseous xenon and Ar-Xe mixtures for X-rays, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 55 (2008) 2637.http://magboltz.web.cern.ch/magboltz/ (accessed 14.11.2016).T.H.V.T. Dias et al., Full-energy absorption of x-ray energies near the Xe L- and K-photoionization thresholds in xenon gas detectors: Simulation and experimental results, J. Appl. Phys. 82 (1997) 2742.D. Nygren, High-pressure xenon gas electroluminescent TPC for 0νββ-decay search, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A 603 (2009) 337 [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, V. Álvarez et al., The NEXT-100 experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay searches (Conceptual Design Report), arXiv:1106.3630 [ INSPIRE ].NEXT collaboration, V. Álvarez et al., Operation and first results of the NEXT-DEMO prototype using a silicon photomultiplier tracking array, 2013 JINST 8 P09011 [ arXiv:1306.0471 ] [ INSPIRE ]

Late diagnosis and vulnerabilities of the elderly living with HIV/AIDS

OBJECTIVE To identify vulnerabilities of elderly people with HIV/AIDS and the trajectory that they follow until reaching the diagnosis of the disease. METHOD Qualitative research conducted in specialized clinics in the state of São Paulo, from January to June 2011. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 elderly people who were found to be infected with the virus at the age of 60 years or older. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS In this process four categories emerged, then analyzed with reference to the theoretical framework of vulnerability. CONCLUSION Late diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS among the elderly happens in the secondary or tertiary service. Issues related to sexual life of the elderly are only questioned by health professionals after the diagnosis, also the time that condom use becomes absolute. It is believed that the investigation of the vulnerability of the elderly to HIV/AIDS allows for carrying out appropriate interventions for this population

Demonstration of background rejection using deep convolutional neural networks in the NEXT experiment

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely used state-of-the-art computer vision tools that are becoming increasingly popular in high-energy physics. In this paper, we attempt to understand the potential of CNNs for event classification in the NEXT experiment, which will search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 136Xe. To do so, we demonstrate the usage of CNNs for the identification of electron-positron pair production events, which exhibit a topology similar to that of a neutrinoless double-beta decay event. These events were produced in the NEXT-White high-pressure xenon TPC using 2.6 MeV gamma rays from a 228Th calibration source. We train a network on Monte Carlo-simulated events and show that, by applying on-the-fly data augmentation, the network can be made robust against differences between simulation and data. The use of CNNs offers significant improvement in signal efficiency and background rejection when compared to previous non-CNN-based analyses. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

VALIDAÇÃO DE TÉCNICA HEMOSTÁTICA DO COMPLEXO ARTERIOVENOSO OVARIANO NA OVARIOSALPINGOHISTERECTOMIA DE GATAS

The present study aimed at describing ovarian arterial venous complex (OVAC) obliteration technique consisting in tying a knot over its own axis. It also aimed at evaluating the efficacy of this hemostatic technique in queens ovariosalpingohisterectomy, as well as checking partial OVAC obliteration time and total procedure time. After previous training – based on alternative methods – for the demanded surgical skills acquisition, in vivo surgical procedures were conducted. Once gathered the necessary skills, an experimental study was carried in order to compare this technique with the linking technique in which three hemostatic clamps are used. In vivo training, firstly applied in healthy queens, and later in uterine affection carriers, helped consolidating the dexterity previously acquired through alternative practice methods, and also contributed to the feasibility verification of the described technique, which showed to be effective. Comparative study did not reveal any significant statistic difference between both groups on total surgical elapsed time (p =0.2848) and time spent for the right OVAC obliteration (p=0.1036), however significant difference was observed on the left OVAC obliteration (p=0.0001). The results obtained during trans-operatory observation led to the conclusion that the described technique is feasible and provides appropriate OVAC hemostasis.O estudo objetivou descrever a técnica de obliteração do complexo arteriovenoso ovariano (CAVO) por meio da confecção de um nó sob seu próprio eixo, além de avaliar a eficácia desta técnica hemostática na ovariosalpingohisterectomia de gatas, bem como averiguar os tempos parciais de obliteração dos CAVOs e o tempo total do procedimento. Após treinamento prévio, com auxílio de métodos alternativos para ganho de habilidade cirúrgica, foram realizados procedimentos cirúrgicos in vivo. Realizou-se estudo experimental com finalidade de comparar a técnica proposta com a técnica de ligadura com três pinças hemostáticas. O treinamento in vivo, inicialmente em gatas hígidas e, posteriormente, em portadoras de afecções uterinas, serviu para consolidar a destreza adquirida por meio de métodos alternativos e para averiguar a exequibilidade da técnica descrita, que se mostrou eficaz. No estudo comparativo não houve diferença estatística significativa entre o tempo cirúrgico (p=0,2848) e a obliteração do CAVO direito (p=0,1036) entre os dois grupos, porém foram observadas diferenças significativas no tempo de obliteração do CAVO esquerdo (p=0,0001). Diante dos resultados obtidos a partir das avaliações realizadas no período de observação transoperatória, podemos inferir que a técnica descrita é exequível e promove adequada hemostasia do CAVO.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, BrasilUniversidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, BrasilUnião Metropolitana de Educação e Cultura, Lauro de Freitas, BA, Brasil.Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, Brasi

Geology, petrography and geochemistry of the A-type granites from the Morro Redondo Complex (PR-SC), southern Brazil, Graciosa Province

The Morro Redondo Complex is one of the most important occurrences of the Graciosa A-type Province, southern Brazil. It consists of the Papanduva and Quiriri granitic plutons and a contemporaneous bimodal volcanic association. The Papanduva Pluton includes massive and deformed peralkaline alkali-feldspar granites with Na-Ca and Na-amphiboles and clinopyroxenes. The deformed types are the most evolved rocks in the province and carry rare ‘agpaitic’ minerals, some being described for the first time in granites from Brazil. The larger Quiriri Pluton comprises massive, slightly peraluminous, biotite syeno- and monzogranites with rare Ca-amphibole. Biotite compositions are relatively homogeneous, whereas sodic amphiboles and clinopyroxenes show increasing Na and Fe3+ evolving paths. The Morro Redondo granites are ferroan, with high SiO2, alkalis and HFSE contents; the peralkaline types registering the highest fe#. LILE and HFSE abundances increase with the agpaitic index and the most evolved are HHP granites, with radiogenic heat production up to 5.7 µWm–3. Geothermobarometric estimates indicate emplacement under low pressures (∼100 MPa), at temperatures up to 850-800 °C, and relatively reduced (QFM) and oxidized (+1 REPLACE_LT ΔQFM REPLACE_LT +3) environments for the Papanduva and Quiriri Plutons, respectively. In both cases, melts evolved to relatively high oxidation states upon crystallization progress