Rotating Metal Band Target for Pion Production at Muon Colliders and Neutrino Factories

A conceptual design is presented for a high power pion production target for muon colliders and neutrino factories that is based around a rotating metal band.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beam

Radiation Effects in Material Microstructure

Next generation nuclear power systems, high-power particle accelerators and space technology will inevitably rely on higher performance materials that will be able to function in the extreme environments of high irradiation, high temperatures, corrosion and stress. The ability of any material to maintain its functionality under exposure to harsh conditions is directly linked to the material structure at the nano- and micro-scales. Understanding of the underlying processes is key to the success of such undertakings. This paper presents experimental results of the effects of radiation exposure on several unique alloys, composites and crystals through induced changes in the physio-mechanical macroscopic properties

Achieving Vibration Stability of the NSLS-II Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Beamline

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Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Conceptual Design Report Volume 2: The Physics Program for DUNE at LBNF

The Physics Program for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Fermilab Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) is described

Quantitative identification of functional connectivity disturbances in neuropsychiatric lupus based on resting-state fMRI: a robust machine learning approach

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is an autoimmune entity comprised of heterogenous syndromes affecting both the peripheral and central nervous system. Research on the pathophysiological substrate of NPSLE manifestations, including functional neuroimaging studies, is extremely limited. The present study examined person-specific patterns of whole-brain functional connectivity in NPSLE patients (n = 44) and age-matched healthy control participants (n = 39). Static functional connectivity graphs were calculated comprised of connection strengths between 90 brain regions. These connections were subsequently filtered through rigorous surrogate analysis, a technique borrowed from physics, novel to neuroimaging. Next, global as well as nodal network metrics were estimated for each individual functional brain network and were input to a robust machine learning algorithm consisting of a random forest feature selection and nested cross-validation strategy. The proposed pipeline is data-driven in its entirety, and several tests were performed in order to ensure model robustness. The best-fitting model utilizing nodal graph metrics for 11 brain regions was associated with 73.5% accuracy (74.5% sensitivity and 73% specificity) in discriminating NPSLE from healthy individuals with adequate statistical power. Closer inspection of graph metric values suggested an increased role within the functional brain network in NSPLE (indicated by higher nodal degree, local efficiency, betweenness centrality, or eigenvalue efficiency) as compared to healthy controls for seven brain regions and a reduced role for four areas. These findings corroborate earlier work regarding hemodynamic disturbances in these brain regions in NPSLE. The validity of the results is further supported by significant associations of certain selected graph metrics with accumulated organ damage incurred by lupus, with visuomotor performance and mental flexibility scores obtained independently from NPSLE patients. View Full-Text Keywords: neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus; rs-fMRI; graph theory; functional connectivity; surrogate data; machine learning; visuomotor ability; mental flexibilit

Assessment of adult cognitive abilities in Greece: A differential item functioning study of the General Ability Measure for Adults (GAMA)

Ο σκοπός αυτής της μελέτης ήταν να αξιολογήσει την πιθανή χρήση μιας μη-λεκτικής κλίμακας γενικής νοημοσύνης για ενήλικες (GAMA; Naglieri & Bardos, 1997) στην Ελλάδα, ερευνώντας τη διαφορική λειτουργία των ερωτήσεων. Η ανάλυση πραγματοποιήθηκε χρησιμοποιώντας τη διαδικασία λογιστικής παλινδρόμησης με συμμετέχοντες/ουσες από τις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες (n =2,369) και την Ελλάδα (n = 1,273). Η μεθοδολογία της στατιστικής ανάλυσης χρησιμοποιεί τις δυσανάλογες ομαδικές πιθανότητες των συμμετεχόντων να απαντήσουν σωστά στις ερωτήσεις της κλίμακας GAMA. Τα ευρήματα από την ανάλυση δείχνουν έναν μικρό αριθμό στοιχείων (<1%) που λειτουργούν διαφορικά μεταξύ αυτών των δύο πολιτισμικών ομάδων. Συζητιούνται οι επιπτώσεις σχετικά με την ανάπτυξη και στάθμιση διαπολιτισμικών δοκιμασιών αξιολόγησης της νοημοσύνης χρησιμοποιώντας μη-λεκτικές μετρήσεις.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the generalizability and possible adaptation for use of a non-verbal measure of intelligence developed in the United States, the General Ability Measure for Adults (GAMA; Naglieri & Bardos, 1997) in Greece. As a validity evidence the study examined the differential item function of its questions in order to explore potential item bias utilizing the disproportionate group probabilities of participants’ correctly endorsing test items. The analysis was performed using a logistic regression procedure with samples from the United States (n = 2,369) and Greece (n = 1,273). The findings indicate a small (<1%) number of items that work differentially between these two cultural groups. Implications for the development and weighting of cross-cultural intelligence assessment tests using non-verbal measures are discussed