Performance of an endcap prototype of the Atlas accordion electromagnetic calorimeter

The design and construction of a lead-liquid argon endcap calorimeter prototype using an accordion geometry and conceived as a sector of the inner wheel of the endcap calorimeter of the future ATLAS experiment at the LHC is described. The performance obtained using electron beam data is presented. The main results are an energy resolution with a sampling term below $11\%/\sqrt{E(\rm GeV)}$ and a small local constant term, a good linearity of the response with the incident energy and a global constant term of 0.8\% over an extended area in the rapidity range of $2.2\eta 2.9$. These properties make the design suitable for the ATLAS electromagnetic endcap calorimeter

Test beam results of a stereo preshower integrated in the liquid argon accordion calorimeter

This paper describes the construction of an integrated preshower within the RD3 liquid argon accordion calorimeter. It has a stereo view which enables the measurement of two transverse coordinates. The prototype was tested at CERN with electrons, photons and muons to validate its capability to work at LHC (Energy resolution, impact point resolution, angular resolution, π o γ rejection). (Elsevier

The geosystem services concept – What is it and can it support subsurface planning?

The subsurface is a multifunctional natural resource. However, a mindset of “out of sight, out of mind” and a first-come-first-served principle are prevalent when accessing these resources, compromising fair intergenerational and intragenerational distribution and sustainable development. As with the ecosystem services (ES) concept, which acknowledges the contribution of the living part of nature to human well-being, the concept of geosystem services (GS) has been suggested as a way to highlight abiotic services and services provided by the subsurface. The overall aim of this study was to review current definitions of GS and their categorisation, and to suggest how the concept of GS can support subsurface planning. A systematic literature review on GS was carried out following the PRISMA protocol drawing from the Scopus database. The emerging picture from the reviewed articles is that the GS concept is both one of novelty and one currently showing inconsistency, with two prominent definitions: A) GS are abiotic services that are the direct result of the planet\u27s geodiversity, independent of the interactions with biotic nature – there is no differentiation between suprasurface and subsurface features, and B) GS provide benefits specifically resulting from the subsurface. Thirty-one out of thirty-nine GS listed in the reviewed literature are included in the abiotic extension of the common ES framework CICES v5.1, but some essential services are omitted. A unified definition of GS is desirable to build a common framework for classifying and describing GS, potentially following the CICES structure for ES. Such a framework can support systematic inclusion of GS in planning processes and contribute to improved subsurface planning. In planning practice, there are examples of important GS that are already included under the ES umbrella because planners are aware of their importance but a comprehensive framework to handle these services is lacking

The progestational and androgenic properties of medroxyprogesterone acetate: gene regulatory overlap with dihydrotestosterone in breast cancer cells

INTRODUCTION: Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), the major progestin used for oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy, has been implicated in increased breast cancer risk. Is this risk due to its progestational or androgenic properties? To address this, we assessed the transcriptional effects of MPA as compared with those of progesterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in human breast cancer cells. METHOD: A new progesterone receptor-negative, androgen receptor-positive human breast cancer cell line, designated Y-AR, was engineered and characterized. Transcription assays using a synthetic promoter/reporter construct, as well as endogenous gene expression profiling comparing progesterone, MPA and DHT, were performed in cells either lacking or containing progesterone receptor and/or androgen receptor. RESULTS: In progesterone receptor-positive cells, MPA was found to be an effective progestin through both progesterone receptor isoforms in transient transcription assays. Interestingly, DHT signaled through progesterone receptor type B. Expression profiling of endogenous progesterone receptor-regulated genes comparing progesterone and MPA suggested that although MPA may be a somewhat more potent progestin than progesterone, it is qualitatively similar to progesterone. To address effects of MPA through androgen receptor, expression profiling was performed comparing progesterone, MPA and DHT using Y-AR cells. These studies showed extensive gene regulatory overlap between DHT and MPA through androgen receptor and none with progesterone. Interestingly, there was no difference between pharmacological MPA and physiological MPA, suggesting that high-dose therapeutic MPA may be superfluous. CONCLUSION: Our comparison of the gene regulatory profiles of MPA and progesterone suggests that, for physiologic hormone replacement therapy, the actions of MPA do not mimic those of endogenous progesterone alone. Clinically, the complex pharmacology of MPA not only influences its side-effect profile; but it is also possible that the increased breast cancer risk and/or the therapeutic efficacy of MPA in cancer treatment is in part mediated by androgen receptor