Management of Critical Machine Settings for Accelerators at CERN

In high energy and high intensity accelerators as the LHC, the energy stored in the beams is orders of magnitude above the damage level of accelerator components like magnets. Uncontrolled release of this energy can lead to serious damage of equipment and long machine downtimes. In order to cope with these potential risks Protection Systems were developed at CERN including two software systems: MCS (Management of Critical Settings) and RBAC (Role Based Access Control). RBAC provides an authentication and authorization facility for access to the critical parts of the control system. A second layer of security is provided by MCS which ensures that critical parameters are coherent within the software and hardware components and can only be changed by an authorized person. The MCS system is aimed at the most critical parameters in either potentially dangerous equipment or protection devices (e.g. Beam Loss Monitors). It is complementary to the RBAC infrastructure. Both systems are fully integrated in the control system for the LHC and SPS and were successfully commissioned already before first beam in the LHC. This paper will describe the MCS architecture, current status and its operational deployment in the LHC

The Intersections of Race, Gender, Age, and Socioeconomic Status: Implications for Reporting Discrimination and Attributions to Discrimination.

This study employed an intersectional approach (operationalized as the combination of more than one social identity) to examine the relationship between aspects of social identity (i.e., race, gender, age, SES), self-reported level of mistreatment, and attributions for discrimination. Self-reported discrimination has been researched extensively and there is substantial evidence of its association with adverse physical and psychological health outcomes. Few studies, however, have examined the relationship of multiple demographic variables (including social identities) to overall levels self-reported mistreatment as well the selection of attributions for discrimination. A diverse community sample (N = 292; 42.12% Black; 47.26% male) reported on experiences of discrimination using the Everyday Discrimination Scale. General linear models were used to test the effect of sociodemographic characteristics (i.e., race, gender, age, SES) on total discrimination score and on attributions for discrimination. To test for intersectional relationships, we tested the effect of two-way interactions of sociodemographic characteristics on total discrimination score and attributions for discrimination. We found preliminary support for intersectional effects, as indicated by a significant race by age interaction on the selection of the race attribution for discrimination; gender by SES on the age attribution; age by gender on the education attribution; and race by SES on the economic situation attribution. Our study extends prior work by highlighting the importance of testing more than one factor as contributing to discrimination, particularly when examining to what sources individuals attribute discrimination

Controls on lithium concentration and diffusion in zircon

This study was supported by ETH Research Grants ETH-34 15-2 (JS), ETH-14 16-1 (FM) and by Swiss National Science Foundation research grant 200020-153112/1 (NK).Thermal annealing of zircons prior to uranium-lead dating by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is a commonly-implemented procedure which improves data accuracy and precision by partially repairing radiation damage from the decay of uranium and thorium. However, it also leads to significantly higher concentrations of lithium in the zircon lattice, which become positively correlated with trivalent yttrium and rare earth elements. Prior to such treatments, zircons typically contain lithium below detection limits (typically <0.55 μg g−1), unless correlated with lanthanum and aluminum (i.e., melt/mineral inclusion tracer elements). This suggests that lithium in zircon is primarily sequestered within inclusions, and is able to permeate the crystal lattice to couple with yttrium and rare earth elements during the thermal annealing procedure. This process occurs 2–3 orders of magnitude faster than diffusion experiments have previously determined, indicating that another diffusion mechanism may apply. A model is proposed, whereby: (i) charge compensation of stoichiometrically over-abundant trivalent cations under water-rich magmatic conditions is likely accomplished by hydrogen, given the incompatibility of lithium in zircon and the abundance of hydrogen. However, (ii) conditions that are high temperature and low pressure (characteristic of both thermal annealing and the syn-eruptive environment), drive silicate melt inclusions to exsolve water, generating a motive force for both hydrogen and lithium from inclusions to permeate the lattice in order to reestablish electrochemical equilibrium between the interior and exterior of the zircon. To test the pressure dependency of lithium migration in the zircon lattice, thermal annealing experiments were performed at 850 °C and 1 bar, 2 kbar and 6 kbar using zircons from the Fish Canyon Tuff. The experiments demonstrate that thermal annealing at 2 and 6 kbar inhibits lithium mobility, with zircons registering lithium concentrations below detection limits similar to controls. The experimental results suggest that lithium concentrations in zircon are vulnerable to rapid perturbation by decompression (concurrent with high temperatures), which further indicate that lithium-in-zircon diffusion data should be interpreted with caution.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Eruption of Shallow Crystal Cumulates during Explosive Phonolitic Eruptions on Tenerife, Canary Islands

The recent eruptive history on the island of Tenerife is characterized in part by the presence of zoned phonolitic ignimbrites, some of which prominently display two types of juvenile clasts (i.e. light-colored, aphyric pumices alongside darker, more crystal-rich pumices, here dubbed ‘crystal-poor' and ‘crystal-rich', respectively). Petrographic observation of the crystal-rich pumices reveals intensely resorbed and intergrown mineral textures, consistent with the system reaching a high crystallinity, followed by perturbation and remobilization prior to eruption. Some trace elements show anomalous concentrations in such crystal-rich pumices (e.g. bulk Ba > 2000 ppm alongside low Zr and a positive Eu anomaly) indicative of crystal accumulation (of feldspar ± biotite). Many biotite and feldspar crystals are reversely zoned, with rim concentrations that are high in Ba but low in Sr, implying crystallization from an ‘enriched' melt, potentially derived from remobilization by partial melting of the aforementioned cumulate zones. Given (1) the presence of cumulates in the eruptive record on Tenerife and a bimodality of pumice textures, (2) the presence of three dominant compositions (basanite, phonotephrite, phonolite, separated by compositional gaps) in the volcanic record, and (3) abundant support for crystal fractionation as the dominant drive for magmatic evolution in Tenerife, it is hypothesized that crystal-poor magmas are extracted from mushy reservoirs in both the lower and upper crust. The thermodynamic software MELTS is used to test a polybaric differentiation model whereby phonolites (sensu lato) are generated by extraction of residual liquids from an intermediate-crystallinity phonotephritic mush in the upper crust, which is in turn generated from the residual liquids of an intermediate-crystallinity basanitic mush at deeper levels. Latent heat spikes following crystallization of successive phases in the upper crustal reservoir provide a thermal buffering mechanism to slow down cooling and crystallization, permitting enhanced melt extraction at a particular crystallinity interval (mostly ∼40-60 vol. % crystals). MELTS modeling typically fits the observed chemical data adequately, although some major elements (mostly Al2O3) also indicate partial ‘cannibalization' of feldspar along with some magma mixing (and potentially minor crustal contamination

Pulmonary haemodynamics in patients with OSAS or an overlap syndrome

Background. Alveolar hypoxia is the most important mechanism leading to pulmonary arterial vasoconstriction, remodelling and pulmonary hypertension. Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) experience multiple short periods of alveolar hypoxia during apnoeic episodes. However, the question as to whether these hypoxic episodes are responsible for the development of permanent pulmonary hypertension is still debatable. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the episodes of nocturnal desaturation and pulmonary haemodynamics in two distinct group patients: with pure OSAS or an overlap syndrome. Methods: We studied 67 patients with severe OSAS (means: age 45±8 years, AHI 62±22, FEV1 3.6±0.8 L = 97±16% of predicted PaO2 72±10 mmHg, PaCO2 40±4 mmHg) and 17 patients with an overlap syndrome (OS), means: age 51±5 years, AHI 64±19, FEV1 1.5±0.7 = 43±16% of predicted PaO2 57±9 mmHg). All subjects underwent pulmonary artery catheterisation with pressure and flow recordings and an overnight full sleep study. Results. On average patients with OSAS had nocturnal desaturation (mean overnight SaO2 = 87±5%) and normal PPA (15.8±4.6 mmHg). Only 11 out of 67 subjects (16%) presented with pulmonary hypertension. Patients with OS had nocturnal desaturation (mean overnight SaO2 = 80.2±8.5%) and mild pulmonary hypertension (PPA 24.2±7.4 mmHg). Only three out of 17 patients had normal pulmonary arterial pressure. Conclusions. In patients with severe OSAS, pulmonary hypertension is rare (16%) and is related best to the severity of the disease and to obesity. In OS patients diurnal pulmonary hypertension is frequent but does not correlate with the severity of nocturnal desaturation

Continuous Processing and Efficient in Situ\textit{in Situ} Reaction Monitoring of a Hypervalent Iodine(III) Mediated Cyclopropanation Using Benchtop NMR Spectroscopy

Real-time NMR spectroscopy has proven to be a rapid and an effective monitoring tool to study the hypervalent iodine(III) mediated cyclopropanation. With the ever increasing number of new synthetic methods for carbon−carbon bond formation, the NMR $\textit{in situ}$ monitoring of reactions is becoming a highly desirable enabling method. In this study, we have demonstrated the versatility of benchtop NMR using inline and online real-time monitoring methods to access mutually complementary information for process understanding, and we developed new approaches for real-time monitoring addressing challenges associated with better integration into continuous processes.University of Cambridge (Daphne Jackson Fellowship), iCON through CMAC (Grant ID: RG74817), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Critical Mass grant (Grant ID: EP/K009494K/1), Core Capability grant (Grant ID: EP/K039520/1

Sleep and cardiometabolic comorbidities in the obstructive sleep apnoea-COPD overlap syndrome: data from the European Sleep Apnoea Database

Aim The impact of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)-COPD overlap syndrome (OVS) on sleep quality and cardiovascular outcomes has not been fully explored. We aimed to compare clinical and polysomnographic characteristics of patients with OVS versus patients with OSA, and to explore pathophysiological links between OVS and comorbidities. Study design and methods This cross-sectional analysis initially included data from 5600 patients with OSA and lung function in the European Sleep Apnoea Database. Two subgroups of patients with OSA (n=1018) or OVS (n=509) were matched (2:1) based on sex, age, body mass index and apnoea-hypopnea index at baseline. Results After matching, patients with OVS had more severe hypoxia, lower sleep efficiency and presented with higher prevalences of arterial hypertension, ischaemic heart disease and heart failure compared with patients with OSA. OVS was associated with a significant decrease in sleep efficiency (mean difference (beta) -3.0%, 95% CI -4.7 to -1.3) and in nocturnal mean peripheral oxyhaemoglobin saturation (S-pO2) (beta -1.1%, 95% CI -1.5 to -0.7). Further analysis revealed that a decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s and arterial oxygen tension was related to a decrease in sleep efficiency and in mean nocturnal S-pO2. A COPD diagnosis increased the odds of having heart failure by 1.75 (95% CI 1.15-2.67) and systemic hypertension by 1.36 (95% CI 1.07-1.73). Nocturnal hypoxia was strongly associated with comorbidities; the mean nocturnal S-pO2 and T90 (increase in time below S-pO2 of 90%) were associated with increased odds of systemic hypertension, diabetes and heart failure but the oxygen desaturation index was only related to hypertension and diabetes. Conclusion Patients with OVS presented with more sleep-related hypoxia, a reduced sleep quality and a higher risk for heart failure and hypertension.The ESADA study group received unrestricted funding grants from the Respironics and Resmed Foundations, and an unrestricted collaboration grant from Bayer AG

Polymorphisms of the dna base excision repair gene mutyh in head and neck cancer

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) comprise about 6% of all malignant neoplasms. The major risk factors of HNSCC are smoking and alcohol consumption. Genetic polymorphisms of DNA repair enzymes may lead to genetic instability and carcinogenesis. MUTYH gene encodes a DNA glycosylase that can initiate the base excision repair (BER) pathway and prevent G:C > T:A transversion by excising adenine mispaired with 8-hydroxyguanine produced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Aim: to perform a case-control study to test the association between polymorphism in the MUTYH gene: Tyr165Cys and head and neck cancer risk progression. Methods: Genotypes were determined in DNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes of 193 patients (among them 97 subjects with precancerous hyperplastic laryngeal lesions and 96 subjects with head and neck cancer) and 140 age, sex and ethnic-matched cancer-free controls by tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system PCR (T-ARMS-PCR). Results: We found an association between head and neck cancer risk and the Tyr165Tyr variant of the MUTYH gene (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.19–3.97). For Tyr165Tyr genotype we also observed positive correlation with cancer progression assessed by tumor size (OR 4.56; 95% CI 1.60–12.95). We did not observe any correlation between Tyr165Cys polymorphism of MUTYHgene and precancerous hyperplastic laryngeal lesions risk. Conclusion: The Tyr165Tyr polymorphic variant of the MUTYHgene may be associated with head and neck cancer in Polish population

Exploring the Role of Relational Practices in Water Governance Using a Game-Based Approach

The growing complexity and interdependence of water management processes requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders in water governance. Multi-party collaboration is increasingly vital at both the strategy development and implementation levels. Multi-party collaboration involves a process of joint decision-making among key stakeholders in a problem domain directed towards the future of that domain. However, the common goal is not present from the beginning; rather, the common goal emerges during the process of collaboration. Unfortunately, when the conflicting interests of different actors are at stake, the large majority of environmental multi-party efforts often do not reliably deliver sustainable improvements to policy and/or practice. One of the reasons for this, which has been long established by many case studies, is that social learning with a focus on relational practices is missing. The purpose of this paper is to present the design and initial results of a pilot study that utilized a game-based approach to explore the effects of relational practices on the effectiveness of water governance. This paper verifies the methods used by addressing the following question: are game mechanisms, protocols for facilitation and observation, the recording of decisions and results, and participant surveys adequate to reliably test hypotheses about behavioral decisions related to water governance? We used the “Lords of the Valley” (LOV) game, which focuses on the local-level management of a hypothetical river valley involving many stakeholders. We used an observation protocol to collect data on the quality of relational practices and compared this data with the quantitative outcomes achieved by participants in the game. In this pilot study, we ran the game three times with different groups of participants, and here we provide the outcomes within the context of verifying and improving the methods