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Petit-exposure at neutrino beamline (PEANUT)
The advantages of using nuclear emulsion as a particle detector are well known. The high resolution of emulsion has made it a medium of choice for a number of applications where the required spatial and angular resolution are paramount and its limitations due to the lack of timing information are less important. Emulsions are commonly used as cosmic ray detectors and have found applications in high energy experiments for detecting short lived particles such as charm, beauty and tau. The addition of electronic detectors to emulsion experiments solved the problem of the lack of timing information in the emulsion, but it was the development of automatic scanning machines that revolutionized the use of these hybrid detectors, making them capable of performing even in high rate environments. Most recently, The DONuT experiment (FNAL-E872), used a hybrid emulsion spectrometer to make the first direct observation of tau neutrino interactions [1]. The CNGS facility is being constructed to deliver a {nu}{sub {mu}} beam from the CERN SPS to the Gran Sasso Laboratory. Since it is believed that {nu}{sub {mu}} {leftrightarrow} {nu}{sub {tau}} oscillations explain the observed atmospheric {nu}{sub {mu}} deficit, the CNGS beam, coupled with a detector capable of observing {tau} appearance is an important experiment in the context of the world wide effort to determine the neutrino mass mixing matrix. The OPERA detector has been optimized to detect a significant sample of {nu}{sub {tau}} interactions by the subsequent observation of {tau} production and decay [2]. The OPERA target is a massive emulsion detector made in a sandwich structure of lead plates and layers of nuclear emulsion. For historical reasons this arrangement has been called an Emulsion Cloud Chamber or ECC. The ECC concept, which has many advantages over the use of bulk emulsion, has been used in the DONuT experiment. The ECC detector is capable of measuring all of the tracks, not due to nuclear fragments, coming from the primary neutrino interaction vertex, with their three dimensional slopes and momenta. It is also capable of electron identification with good e/{gamma} separation, due to its very fine segmentation. The OPERA ECC target modules are constructed as bricks of dimensions 12.5 x 10.0 x 7.5 cm{sup 3} in horizontal, vertical and along the beam axis. Each brick consists of series of 56 (1 mm thick) plates of passive material (lead or iron) alternated with emulsion films (43 {micro}m emulsion layer on both sides of a transparent 200 {micro}m thick plastic film). In preparation for OPERA we would like to expose the OPERA target modules to a beam of neutrinos. This will allow us to test many of our analysis procedures and techniques as well as to validate the simulation of neutrino interactions, both for the production of forward and backward particles. Although the HE (high energy) beam of NuMI would be a better match to the CNGS energy, data acquired with NuMI LE (low energy) beam would serve the same purpose, albeit more challenging. Given the high interaction rate from the NuMI beam, the test detector target mass can be kept low and additional detectors can easily be built around a small target. These measurements are not possible in the CNGS beam, since it has no short baseline hall
Collective motion of active Brownian particles in one dimension
We analyze a model of active Brownian particles with non-linear friction and
velocity coupling in one spatial dimension. The model exhibits two modes of
motion observed in biological swarms: A disordered phase with vanishing mean
velocity and an ordered phase with finite mean velocity. Starting from the
microscopic Langevin equations, we derive mean-field equations of the
collective dynamics. We identify the fixed points of the mean-field equations
corresponding to the two modes and analyze their stability with respect to the
model parameters. Finally, we compare our analytical findings with numerical
simulations of the microscopic model.Comment: submitted to Eur. Phys J. Special Topic
Expressing oneâs feelings and listening to others increases emotional intelligence: a pilot study of Asian medical students
<p>Background: There has been considerable interest in Emotional Intelligence (EI) in undergraduate medical education, with respect to student selection and admissions, health and well-being and academic performance. EI is a significant component of the physician-patient relationship. The emotional well-being of the physician is, therefore, a significant component in patient care. The aim is to examine the measurement of TEIQue-SF in Asian medical students and to explore how the practice of listening to the feelings of others and expressing oneâs own feelings influences an individualâs EI, set in the context of the emotional well-being of a medical practitioner.</p>
<p>Methods: A group of 183 international undergraduate medical students attended a half-day workshop (WS) about mental-health and well-being. They completed a self-reported measure of EI on three occasions, pre- and post-workshop, and a 1-year follow-up.</p>
<p>Result: The reliability of TEIQue-SF was high and the reliabilities of its four factors were acceptable. There were strong correlations between the TEIQue-SF and personality traits. A paired t-test indicated significant positive changes after the WS for all students (n=181, p=â.014), male students (n=78, p=â.015) and non-Japanese students (n=112, p=â.007), but a repeated measures analysis showed that one year post-workshop there were significant positive changes for all students (n=55, p=â.034), female students (n=31, p=â.007), especially Japanese female students (n=13, p=â.023). Moreover, 80% of the students reported that they were more attentive listeners, and 60% agreed that they were more confident in dealing with emotional issues, both within themselves and in others, as a result of the workshop.</p>
<p>Conclusion: This study found the measurement of TEIQue-SF is appropriate and reliable to use for Asian medical students. The mental health workshop was helpful to develop medical studentsâ EI but showed different results for gender and nationality. The immediate impact on the emotional awareness of individuals was particularly significant for male students and the non-Japanese group. The impact over the long term was notable for the significant increase in EI for females and Japanese. Japanese female students were more conscious about emotionality. Emotion-driven communication exercises might strongly influence the development of studentsâ EI over a year.</p>
The carcinogenic potential of tacrolimus ointment beyond immune suppression: a hypothesis creating case report
BACKGROUND: Since tacrolimus ointment was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a promising treatment for atopic dermatitis, it has been approved in more than 30 additional countries, including numerous European Union member nations. Moreover, in the current clinical routine the use of this drug is no longer restricted to the approved indication, but has been extended to a wide variety of inflammatory skin diseases including some with the potential of malignant transformation. So far, the side-effects reported from the topical use of tacrolimus have been relatively minor (e.g. burning, pruritus, erythema). Recently, however, the FDA reviewed the safety of topical tacrolimus, which resulted in a warning that the use of calcineurin inhibitors may be associated with an increased risk of cancer. CASE PRESENTATION: Oral lichen planus (OLP) was diagnosed in a 56-year-old women in February 1999. After several ineffective local and systemic therapeutic measures an off-label treatment of this recalcitrant condition using Tacrolimus 0.1% ointment was initiated in May 2002. After a few weeks of treatment most of the lesions ameliorated, with the exception of the plaques on the sides of the tongue. Nevertheless, the patient became free of symptoms which, however, reoccurred once tacrolimus was weaned, as a consequence treatment was maintained. In April 2005, the plaques on the left side of the tongue appeared increasingly compact and a biopsy specimen confirmed the suspected diagnosis of an oral squamous cell carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The suspected causal relationship between topical use of tacrolimus and the development of a squamous cell carcinoma prompted us to test the notion that the carcinogenicity of tacrolimus may go beyond mere immune suppression. To this end, tacrolimus has been shown to have an impact on cancer signalling pathways such as the MAPK and the p53 pathway. In the given case, we were able to demonstrate that these pathways had also been altered subsequent to tacrolimus therapy
Remodelling of human atrial K+ currents but not ion channel expression by chronic ÎČ-blockade
Chronic ÎČ-adrenoceptor antagonist (ÎČ-blocker) treatment in patients is associated with a potentially anti-arrhythmic prolongation of the atrial action potential duration (APD), which may involve remodelling of repolarising K+ currents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic ÎČ-blockade on transient outward, sustained and inward rectifier K+ currents (ITO, IKSUS and IK1) in human atrial myocytes and on the expression of underlying ion channel subunits. Ion currents were recorded from human right atrial isolated myocytes using the whole-cell-patch clamp technique. Tissue mRNA and protein levels were measured using real time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Chronic ÎČ-blockade was associated with a 41% reduction in ITO density: 9.3â±â0.8 (30 myocytes, 15 patients) vs 15.7â±â1.1 pA/pF (32, 14), pâ<â0.05; without affecting its voltage-, time- or rate dependence. IK1 was reduced by 34% at â120 mV (pâ<â0.05). Neither IKSUS, nor its increase by acute ÎČ-stimulation with isoprenaline, was affected by chronic ÎČ-blockade. Mathematical modelling suggested that the combination of ITO- and IK1-decrease could result in a 28% increase in APD90. Chronic ÎČ-blockade did not alter mRNA or protein expression of the ITO pore-forming subunit, Kv4.3, or mRNA expression of the accessory subunits KChIP2, KChAP, KvÎČ1, KvÎČ2 or frequenin. There was no reduction in mRNA expression of Kir2.1 or TWIK to account for the reduction in IK1. A reduction in atrial ITO and IK1 associated with chronic ÎČ-blocker treatment in patients may contribute to the associated action potential prolongation, and this cannot be explained by a reduction in expression of associated ion channel subunits
Suv4-20h Histone Methyltransferases Promote Neuroectodermal Differentiation by Silencing the Pluripotency-Associated Oct-25 Gene
Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histones exert fundamental roles in regulating gene expression. During development, groups of PTMs are constrained by unknown mechanisms into combinatorial patterns, which facilitate transitions from uncommitted embryonic cells into differentiated somatic cell lineages. Repressive histone modifications such as H3K9me3 or H3K27me3 have been investigated in detail, but the role of H4K20me3 in development is currently unknown. Here we show that Xenopus laevis Suv4-20h1 and h2 histone methyltransferases (HMTases) are essential for induction and differentiation of the neuroectoderm. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of the two HMTases leads to a selective and specific downregulation of genes controlling neural induction, thereby effectively blocking differentiation of the neuroectoderm. Global transcriptome analysis supports the notion that these effects arise from the transcriptional deregulation of specific genes rather than widespread, pleiotropic effects. Interestingly, morphant embryos fail to repress the Oct4-related Xenopus gene Oct-25. We validate Oct-25 as a direct target of xSu4-20h enzyme mediated gene repression, showing by chromatin immunoprecipitaton that it is decorated with the H4K20me3 mark downstream of the promoter in normal, but not in double-morphant, embryos. Since knockdown of Oct-25 protein significantly rescues the neural differentiation defect in xSuv4-20h double-morphant embryos, we conclude that the epistatic relationship between Suv4-20h enzymes and Oct-25 controls the transit from pluripotent to differentiation-competent neural cells. Consistent with these results in Xenopus, murine Suv4-20h1/h2 double-knockout embryonic stem (DKO ES) cells exhibit increased Oct4 protein levels before and during EB formation, and reveal a compromised and biased capacity for in vitro differentiation, when compared to normal ES cells. Together, these results suggest a regulatory mechanism, conserved between amphibians and mammals, in which H4K20me3-dependent restriction of specific POU-V genes directs cell fate decisions, when embryonic cells exit the pluripotent state
Leading order analysis of neutrino induced dimuon events in the CHORUS experiment
We present a leading order QCD analysis of a sample of neutrino induced
charged-current events with two muons in the final state originating in the
lead-scintillating fibre calorimeter of the CHORUS detector. The results are
based on a sample of 8910 neutrino and 430 antineutrino induced opposite-sign
dimuon events collected during the exposure of the detector to the CERN Wide
Band Neutrino Beam between 1995 and 1998. % with GeV
and GeV collected %between 1995 and 1998. The analysis yields a
value of the charm quark mass of \mc = (1.26\pm 0.16 \pm 0.09) \GeVcc and a
value of the ratio of the strange to non-strange sea in the nucleon of , improving the results obtained in similar analyses
by previous experiments.Comment: Submitted to Nuclear Physics
Charged-Particle Multiplicities in Charged-Current Neutrino-- and Anti-Neutrino--Nucleus Interactions
The CHORUS experiment, designed to search for
oscillations, consists of a nuclear emulsion target and electronic detectors.
In this paper, results on the production of charged particles in a small sample
of charged-current neutrino-- and anti-neutrino--nucleus interactions at high
energy are presented. For each event, the emission angle and the ionization
features of the charged particles produced in the interaction are recorded,
while the standard kinematic variables are reconstructed using the electronic
detectors. The average multiplicities for charged tracks, the pseudo-rapidity
distributions, the dispersion in the multiplicity of charged particles and the
KNO scaling are studied in different kinematical regions. A study of
quasi-elastic topologies performed for the first time in nuclear emulsions is
also reported. The results are presented in a form suitable for use in the
validation of Monte Carlo generators of neutrino--nucleus interactions.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Associated Charm Production in Neutrino-Nucleus Interactions
In this paper a search for associated charm production both in neutral and
charged current -nucleus interactions is presented. The improvement of
automatic scanning systems in the {CHORUS} experiment allows an efficient
search to be performed in emulsion for short-lived particles. Hence a search
for rare processes, like the associated charm production, becomes possible
through the observation of the double charm-decay topology with a very low
background. About 130,000 interactions located in the emulsion target
have been analysed. Three events with two charm decays have been observed in
the neutral-current sample with an estimated background of 0.180.05. The
relative rate of the associated charm cross-section in deep inelastic
interactions, has been
measured. One event with two charm decays has been observed in charged-current
interactions with an estimated background of 0.180.06 and the
upper limit on associated charm production in charged-current interactions at
90% C.L. has been found to be .Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment
The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS)
was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in
appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The
apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic
detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam
(CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with
CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events
was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity.
After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we
report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some
analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic
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