Design and construction of new central and forward muon counters for CDF II

New scintillation counters have been designed and constructed for the CDF upgrade in order to complete the muon coverage of the central CDF detector, and to extend this coverage to larger pseudorapidity. A novel light collection technique using wavelength shifting fibers, together with high quality polystyrene-based scintillator resulted in compact counters with good and stable light collection efficiency over lengths extending up to 320 cm. Their design and construction is described and results of their initial performance are reported.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figure

Some combinatorial identities related to commuting varieties and Hilbert schemes

In this article we explore some of the combinatorial consequences of recent results relating the isospectral commuting variety and the Hilbert scheme of points in the plane

Biocontrol as a key component to manage brown rot on cherry

Brown rot, caused by Monilinia spp., is one of the most important diseases in stone fruits worldwide. Brown rot can cause blossom wilts and fruit rots in the orchard as well as latent infections of fruit, leading to post-harvest fruit decaying. Current control methods rely on scheduled spraying of fungicides. However, the continuing pressure to reduce fungicide use has seen an increase in research into alternative management methods, such as biological control. NIAB EMR recently identified two microbes that significantly reduced sporulation of Monilinia laxa under laboratory conditions. These two isolates were a bacterial species Bacillus subtilis (B91) and yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (Y126) and are currently being formulated into commercial products. We are investigating how to optimise the use of these two potential biocontrol products in practice, in terms of suppressing Monilinia sporulation on overwintered mummies and preventing infection of blossoms and fruits. When applied to mummified fruits in winter Y126’s population was stable through the winter but at a low concentration. The B91 survived a little longer with the population reaching that of the control group by week 4. Neither Biological control (BCA) treatments had an affected the population of M. laxa when compared to the control treatment of sterile distilled water. The interaction time between the BCAs and M. laxa showed the longer the interaction time the lower the spore count of M. laxa. Another study was performed looking into the ability of our BCAs to colonise and survive on blossoms. B91 did not survive well on blossoms but could survive on fruits. However, its antagonistic compounds need to be in relatively high concentration to be effective against M. laxa. Therefore, it is best used as a fungicide, ensuring the antagonistic compounds are at a high concentration when applied in the field. Y126 can persist throughout the season and was marginally, though not statistically significantly, more effective at long term reduction in M. laxa. This could be because Y126 works through competition, therefore the interaction time with the pathogen could be important for efficacy and something worth investigating further. The difference between the BCAs highlights the need to understand each BCA’s ecology to ensure maximum efficacy. In a latent infection experiment, we inoculated trees with M. laxa and then treated them with the two biocontrol isolates two weeks before harvest. Post-harvest disease development was assessed after four days of storage in 2019 and two weeks in 2020. There was a significant reduction in rot incidence (p < 0.001) of 29% (Y126) and 27% (B91) in 2019 and 62 % (Y126) and 80 % (B91) in 2020 when the harvested fruit was stored at cold store levels. With new products to be introduced into the environment, it's important to understand the effects they may have on the plant's microbiome. Using next-generation sequencing techniques, we looked at the impact B91 and Y126 has on the blossom and cherry microbiomes. There was a treatment effect in both the bacterial and fungal communities on the blossom and ripe cherry. But the biggest variability was between blocks (Geographical effect) and between the years in which we experimented (p < 0.0001). This research will assist in the development of management strategies, especially spray timings for brown rot on stone fruit, integrating BCAs with other management practices

A breakdown of household National Account according to household category for 2003

The household National Account published by the national statistical office presents a picture of the income, consumption and savings of households. It gives a measure of purchasing power within a consistent and integrated framework, which allows comparisons between countries. It is designed at a macro-level on the whole population so it can be used to analyse a "mean" household but without information on disparities between households. On the other hand, several types of household surveys exist providing individual data on income and consumption. Those surveys are used to measure inequalities between individuals. Nevertheless, survey estimates may be different from National Accounts figures. These two approaches (macro and micro levels) have been combined to give a breakdown of income and consumption measured in the national accounts (for the year 2003) according to four criteria: standard of living, household composition, age or socio-professional category of the head of the household. Results published can be found on the website: http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/comptes-nationaux/souschapitre.asp?id=72. This working paper describes the methodology used to breakdown the household national account using survey data.Income, Consumption, Surveys, National Accounts, Households

A prospective, randomized, pragmatic, health outcomes trial evaluating the incorporation of hylan G-F 20 into the treatment paradigm for patients with knee osteoarthritis (Part 2 of 2): economic results

AbstractObjective Viscosupplementation with hylan G-F 20 has recently become registered for treatment of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in most parts of the world. The cost effectiveness and cost utility of this new therapeutic modality were determined as part of a Canadian prospective, randomized, 1-year, open-label, multicentered trial.Design A total of 255 patients were randomized to ‘Appropriate care with hylan G-F 20’ (AC+H) or ‘Appropriate care without hylan G-F 20’ (AC). Costs (1999 Canadian dollars) were collected from the societal viewpoint and included all costs related to OA of the knee and OA in all joints. Patients completed a number of outcomes questionnaires including the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 (HUI3). Data were collected at clinic visits (baseline, 12 months) and by telephone (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months).Results The AC+H group over the year had higher costs ($2125–$1415=$710, P< 0.05), more patients improved (69$2505/patient improved. The incremental cost–utility ratio was $10000/QALY gained. Sensitivity analyses and a second cost perspective gave similar results.Conclusion The cost–utility ratio is below the suggested Canadian adoption threshold. The results provide strong evidence for adoption of treatment with hylan G-F 20 in the patients and settings studied in the trial. Copyright 2002 OsteoArthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Congregational bonding social capital and psychological type : an empirical enquiry among Australian churchgoers

This study explores the variation in levels of bonding social capital experienced by individual churchgoers, drawing on data generated by the Australian National Church Life Survey, and employing a five-item measure of church-related bonding social capital. Data provided by 2065 Australian churchgoers are used to test the thesis that individual differences in bonding social capital are related to a psychological model of psychological types (employing the Jungian distinctions). The data demonstrated that higher levels of bonding social capital were found among extraverts (compared with introverts), among intuitive types (compared with sensing types) and among feeling types (compared with thinking types), but no significant differences were found between judging types and perceiving types

Molecular and Electronic Structure of Electroactive Self-Assembled Monolayers

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) containing electroactive functional groups are excellent model systems for the formation of electronic devices by self-assembly. In particular ferrocene-terminated alkanethiol SAMs have been extensively studied in the past. However, there are still open questions related with their electronic structure including the influence of the ferrocene group in the SAM-induced work function changes of the underlying metal. We have thus carried out a thorough experimental and theoretical investigation in order to determine the molecular and electronic structure of ferrocene-terminated alkanethiol SAMs on Au surfaces. In agreement with previous studies we found that the Fc-containing alkanethiol molecules adsorb forming a thiolate bond with the Au surface with a molecular geometry 30 degrees tilted with respect to the surface normal. Measured surface coverages indicate the formation of a compact monolayer. On the other hand, contrary with previous observations, we found that the ferrocene group has little influence on the observed work function decrease which is largely determined by the alkanethiol. Furthermore, the ferrocene moiety lies 14 Å above the metal surface covalently bonded to the alkanethiol SAM and its HOMO is located at -1.6 eV below the Fermi level. Our results provide new valuable insight into the molecular and electronic structure of electroactive SAMs which are of fundamental importance in the field of molecular electronics.Fil: Méndez de Leo, Lucila Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: de la Llave, Ezequiel Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Scherlis Perel, Damian Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Williams, Federico Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentin

The psychological-type profile of lay church leaders in Australia

A sample of 845 lay church leaders (444 women and 401 men) from a range of 24 different denominations and movements (including house churches and independent churches) completed the Francis Psychological-Type Scales within the context of the 2006 Australian National Church Life Survey. The psychological-type profiles of these lay church leaders were almost identical to the type profiles of 1527 Australian churchgoers (936 women and 591 men) published in an earlier study by Robbins and Francis. The predominant types among female lay church leaders were ISFJ (21%), ESFJ (21%), and ISTJ (18%). The predominant types among male lay church leaders were ISTJ (28%), ISFJ (17%), ESTJ (13%), and ESFJ (12%). The SJ temperament accounted for 67% of the female lay church leaders and for 70% of the male lay church leaders. The strengths and weaknesses of the SJ leadership style are discussed