A low energy muon spin rotation and point contact tunneling study of niobium films prepared for superconducting cavities

Point contact tunneling and low energy muon spin rotation are used to probe, on the same samples, the surface superconducting properties of micrometer thick niobium films deposited onto copper substrates using different sputtering techniques: diode, dc magnetron and HIPIMS. The combined results are compared to radio-frequency tests performances of RF cavities made with the same processes. Degraded surface superconducting properties are found to correlate to lower quality factors and stronger Q-slope. In addition, both techniques find evidence for surface paramagnetism on all samples and particularly on Nb films prepared by HIPIMS

Intercalibration of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at start-up

Calibration of the relative response of the individual channels of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS detector was accomplished, before installation, with cosmic ray muons and test beams. One fourth of the calorimeter was exposed to a beam of high energy electrons and the relative calibration of the channels, the intercalibration, was found to be reproducible to a precision of about 0.3%. Additionally, data were collected with cosmic rays for the entire ECAL barrel during the commissioning phase. By comparing the intercalibration constants obtained with the electron beam data with those from the cosmic ray data, it is demonstrated that the latter provide an intercalibration precision of 1.5% over most of the barrel ECAL. The best intercalibration precision is expected to come from the analysis of events collected in situ during the LHC operation. Using data collected with both electrons and pion beams, several aspects of the intercalibration procedures based on electrons or neutral pions were investigated

Surveillance and control of Aedes albopictus in the Swiss-Italian border region: differences in egg densities between intervention and non-intervention areas

BACKGROUND: Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito, originates from the tropical and subtropical regions of Southeast Asia. Over the recent decades it has been passively spread across the globe, primarily through the used tyre trade and passive transportation along major traffic routes. A. albopictus is a proven vector for many arboviruses, most notably chikungunya and dengue, with recent outbreaks also in continental Europe. In southern Switzerland, in the Canton of Ticino A. albopictus was spotted for the first time in 2003. Since then the local authorities have implemented a control programme based on larval source reduction. Despite these efforts, mosquito densities have increased over the last decade, casting doubts on the effectiveness of such larval control programmes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Italian communities just across the Swiss-Italian border lack a control programme. This motivated us to compare the intervention and the non-intervention areas side by side in an attempt to find evidence for, or against, the effectiveness of larval A. albopictus control. Using ovitraps and a randomised sampling scheme, we examined the seasonal and spatial abundance of A. albopictus in sylvatic and urban environments across the Swiss-Italian border in 2012 and 2013. In the urban environments of the non-intervention area, egg densities were 2.26 times higher as compared to the intervention area. In the sylvatic environments, as compared to the urban environments, egg densities were 36% in the intervention area and 18% in the non-intervention area. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Though alternative explanations are also valid, the results support the hypothesis that the Ticino intervention programme does have an impact. At the same time the data also suggest that current larval interventions fall short in gaining full control over the mosquito, calling for the evaluation of additional, or alternative, approaches. Ideally, these should also consider inclusion of the neighbouring Italian communities in the surveillance and control efforts

Effects of “area” and “environment” on average egg counts.

<p>The difference in average egg counts between the urban and sylvatic environments in the intervention area was half the difference between the environments in the non-intervention area. Note that the average egg numbers represent the mode from the back-transformed coefficients.</p

Temporal distribution of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> in the Swiss-Italian border region.

<p>The numbers of <i>A</i>. <i>albopictus</i> eggs found in the ovitraps are shown as sums over all 70 traps for each combination of environment and area. In the calendar week 38 in 2013, an unusually high number of ovitraps was dysfunctional (e.g. traps were found turned over, damaged or missing; <a href="http://www.plosntds.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004315#pntd.0004315.s001" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>), explaining the sudden drop in the curve for the non-intervention area in the urban environment.</p

Altitude range of trap positions.

<p>The boxplots show the distribution of the altitude above sea level for the 140 ovitraps in each of the two areas. The boxes represent the interquartile distances (IQD), while the centrelines through each box show the medians. The dots indicate outliers and the whiskers extend to the extreme values of the data, calculated as ±1.5 x IQD from the median.</p

MR findings associated with positive distraction of the hip joint achieved by axial traction

PURPOSE: To determine which MR-arthrography findings are associated with positive hip joint distraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred patients with MR arthrography of the hip using axial traction were included. Traction was applied during the MR examination with an 8 kg (females) or 10 kg (males) water bag, attached to the ankle over a deflection pulley. Fifty patients showing joint space distraction were compared to an age- and gender-matched control group of 50 patients that did not show a joint distraction under axial traction. Two radiologists assessed the neck-shaft angle, lateral and anterior center-edge (CE) angles, CE angles in the transverse plane, extrusion index of the femoral head, acetabular depth, alpha angle, acetabular version, ligamentum teres, joint capsule and ligaments, iliopsoas tendon and the labrum. RESULTS: Mean joint space distraction in the study group was 0.9 ± 0.6 mm. Patients with positive joint space distraction had significantly higher neck-shaft angles (control group 131.6 ± 5.4°/study group 134.1 ± 6.1°, p < 0.05), smaller lateral CE angles (38.1 ± 5.9°/34.6 ± 7.2°, p < 0.05), smaller overall transverse CE angles (161.4 ± 9.9°/153.6 ± 9.6°, p < 0.001), smaller acetabular depth (4.1 ± 2.4 mm/5.8 ± 2.5 mm, p < 0.01), higher alpha angles (53.5 ± 7.8°/59.2 ± 10.1°, p < 0.01) and a thicker ligamentum teres (4.7 ± 1.4 mm/5.4 ± 1.8 mm, p < 0.05). The other parameters revealed no significant differences. ICC values for interobserver agreement were 0.71-0.95 and kappa values 0.43-0.92. CONCLUSION: Increased neck-shaft angles, small CE angles, small acetabular depth, higher alpha angles and a thick ligamentum teres are associated with positive joint distraction