Characterization of the TruSense S310 Laser Range System for Contact-less Measurement of Liquid Levels in Large-Volume Neutrino Detectors

Neutrino experiments often use large volumes of water, organic scintillators or noble liquids as active detection material. Due to the large hydrostatic and buoyancy forces involved, precise knowledge of the liquid levels inside the detector tank are mandatory. Here we present the main characteristics of the TruSense S310 Laser Range System. Level measurements can be performed without direct contact to the liquid and through a gas-proof acrylic window, thus preserving the strict radiopurity and chemical requirements of the target liquid. We report the results of a suit of laboratory experiments for short-term precision tests ($\pm$5\,mm) and long-term stability studies. Moreover, we demonstrate that the infrared laser can be used while standard bi-alkali PMTs are operational. We discuss the mechanical layout and integration of the system in the OSIRIS pre-detector that will monitor the radiopurity of the liquid scintillator for the large-volume neutrino experiment JUNO

Cryogenic silicon detectors with implanted contacts for the detection of visible photons using the Neganov-Luke Effect

There is a common need in astroparticle experiments such as direct dark matter detection, 0{\nu}\b{eta}\b{eta} (double beta decay without emission of neutrinos) and Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering experiments for light detectors with a very low energy threshold. By employing the Neganov-Luke Effect, the thermal signal of particle interactions in a semiconductor absorber operated at cryogenic temperatures, can be amplified by drifting the photogenerated electrons and holes in an electric field. This technology is not used in current experiments, in particular because of a reduction of the signal amplitude with time which is due to trapping of the charges within the absorber. We present here the first results of a novel type of Neganov-Luke Effect detector with an electric field configuration designed to improve the charge collection within the semiconductor.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic

Non-linear retreat of Jakobshavn Isbræ since the Little Ice Age controlled by geometry

Rapid acceleration and retreat of Greenland's marine-terminating glaciers during the last two decades have initiated questions on the trigger and processes governing observed changes. Destabilization of these glaciers coincides with atmosphere and ocean warming, which broadly has been used to explain the rapid changes. To assess the relative role of external forcing versus fjord geometry, we investigate the retreat of Jakobshavn Isbræ in West Greenland, where margin positions exist since the Little Ice Age maximum in 1850. We use a one-dimensional ice flow model and isolate geometric effects on the retreat using a linear increase in external forcing. We find that the observed retreat of 43 km from 1850 until 2014 can only be simulated when multiple forcing parameters – such as hydrofracturing, submarine melt and frontal buttressing by sea ice – are changed simultaneously. Surface mass balance, in contrast, has a negligible effect. While changing external forcing initiates retreat, fjord geometry controls the retreat pattern. Basal and lateral topography govern shifts from temporary stabilization to rapid retreat, resulting in a highly non-linear glacier response. For example, we simulate a disintegration of a 15 km long floating tongue within one model year, which dislodges the grounding line onto the next pinning point. The retreat pattern loses complexity and becomes linear when we artificially straighten the glacier walls and bed, confirming the topographic controls. For real complex fjord systems such as Jakobshavn Isbræ, geometric pinning points predetermine grounding line stabilization and may therefore be used as a proxy for moraine build-up. Also, we find that after decades of stability and with constant external forcing, grounding lines may retreat rapidly without any trigger. This means that past changes may precondition marine-terminating glaciers to reach tipping-points, and that retreat can occur without additional climate warming. Present-day changes and future projections can therefore not be viewed in isolation of historic retreat.submittedVersio

9. Effect of insecticide-treated bed nets on haemoglobin values, prevalence and multiplicity of infection with Plasmodium falciparum in a randomized controlled trial in Tanzania

A randomized controlled trial of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) was conducted in an area of high malaria transmission in Tanzania in order to assess the effects of ITNs on infection and anaemia. One hundred and twenty-two children, aged 5 to 24 months, were randomly allocated to 2 groups, one of which received ITNs. Outcome measures were assessed in 6 consecutive months with monthly cross-sectional surveys. These measures were haemoglobin values, Plasmodium falciparum prevalence and density, and multiplicity of infection determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) of the msp2 locus. There was a significant increase in mean heamoglobin values and a significant decrease of 16·4% in microscopically determined P. falciparum prevalence in children in the ITN group six months after the start of the trial. Both effects were more pronounced in younger children. However, no significant difference was observed in parasite density or multiplicity of infection among infected children. Comparison with PCR results indicated that microscopically subpatent parasitaemia was more frequently found in children in the ITN group. This, together with the observed similar multiplicity in the 2 groups, suggests that infections are maintained despite ITN use, owing to the chronicity of infections. This study shows that ITNs reduce the risk of anaemia in highly exposed young children. The virtually unchanged multiplicity of infection indicates that the potentially protective concomitant immunity is not compromise

Analysis of Multiple Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Tanzanian Children during the Phase III Trial of the Malaria Vaccine SPf66

In the first phase III efficacy trial of the malaria vaccine SPf66 in Africa, MOIs in SPf66- and placebo-vaccinated children were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigen 2 (MSA2). MOIs were significantly reduced in asymptomatic vaccine recipients compared with those in asymptomatic placebo recipients; however, no differences were observed among symptomatic children in the vaccine and control groups. These results show that immunization with SPf66 modulates the course of naturally occurring infections, as reflected by reduced MOIs. In placebo recipients, however, there was a significant negative correlation between numbers of infecting genotypes, as identified by MSA2, and morbidity. Asymptomatic placebo recipients had an average of 5 concurrent infections, whereas children with clinical cases had an average of 3.4 infections. These data provide further evidence that premunition from concurrent infections is important in immunity against clinical malaria. No such effect of multiple infections was found in the vaccinated grou

Speaking of That: Terms to Avoid or Reconsider in the Eating Disorders Field

Inspired by an article on 50 terms that, in the interest of clarity in scientific reasoning and communication in psychology, psychiatry, and allied fields, “should be avoided or at most be used sparingly and only with explicit caveats,”1 we propose a list of terms to avoid or think twice about before using when writing for the International Journal of Eating Disorders (IJED). Drawing upon our experience as reviewers or editors for the IJED, we generated an abridged list of such terms. For each term, we explain why it made our list and what alternatives we recommend. We hope that our list will contribute to improved clarity in scientific thinking about eating disorders, and that it will stimulate discussion of terms that may need to be reconsidered in our field's vocabulary to ensure the use of language that is respectful and sensitive to individuals who experience an eating disorder

Computed tomography-osteoabsorptiometry for assessing the density distribution of subchondral bone as a measure of long-term mechanical adaptation in individual joints

To estimate subchondral mineralisation patterns which represent the long-term loading history of individual joints, a method has been developed employing computed tomography (CT) which permits repeated examination of living joints. The method was tested on 5 knee, 3 sacroiliac, 3 ankle and 5 shoulder joints and then investigated with X-ray densitometry. A CT absorptiometric presentation and maps of the area distribution of the subchondral bone density areas were derived using an image analyser. Comparison of the results from both X-ray densitometry and CT-absorptiometry revealed almost identical pictures of distribution of the subchondral bone density. The method may be used to examine subchondral mineralisation as a measure of the mechanical adaptability of joints in the living subject

Site 1220

Site 1220 (10°10.600´N, 142°45.503´W; 5218 meters below sea level (mbsl); Fig. F1) forms a southerly component of the 56-Ma transect drilled during Leg 199. It is situated about midway between the Clipperton and Clarion Fracture Zones in typical abyssal hill topography. On the basis of regional magnetic anomalies, we anticipated basement age at Site 1220 to be equivalent to Chron C25n (~56 Ma; Cande et al., 1989), slightly older than at Site 1219. At the outset of drilling at Site 1220, our estimate for total sediment depth was ~225 meters below seafloor (mbsf) (Fig. F2). Based upon a fixed hotspot model (Gripp and Gordon, 1990, for 0- to 5-Ma Pacific hotspot rotation pole; Engebretson et al., 1985, for older poles), Site 1220 should have been located ~3° south of the equator at 56 Ma and in an equatorial position at 40 Ma. Thus, Site 1220 should have been situated underneath the South Equatorial Current in the early Eocene. A nearby piston core (EW9709-13PC) taken during the site survey cruise recovered >16 m of red clay, with the base of the core dated as middle-early Miocene on the basis of radiolarian biostratigraphy (Lyle, 2000). Site 1220 will be used to study equatorial ocean circulation from the late Paleocene through the late Eocene during the early Cenozoic thermal maximum. Sediment records from this site will help to define the calcite compensation depth (CCD) and lysocline during the Paleocene-Eocene and Eocene-Oligocene transitions. In this and other respects, Site 1220 will act as an interesting analog to Site 1218. Both sites are thought to have been located on the equator at ~40 Ma, but the older crustal age anticipated at Site 1220 dictates a greater paleowater depth than for contemporaneous sediments accumulating at Site 1218