Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

The radicalization of democracy: conflict, social movements and terrorism

The idea of democracy is being championed across the world, with some fifty new countries embracing this type of political system between 1974 and 2011 (Freedom House, 2016). Simultaneously, however, dissatisfaction has grown due to the perceived incapacity of democracy to deal with collective problems, hence the necessity to reconfigure it and redraw some of its principles. This paper links the analysis of the recent evolution of democratic systems with the trajectory of socio-political conflicts and the changing features of contemporary terrorism. It examines, therefore, two intertwined phenomena, namely the radicalization of democracy and the radicalization of the other. It concludes by stressing that encouraging dissent and heeding contentious claims made by social movements may be one way of mitigating both types of radicalization. Embedded in the tradition of critical criminology, this paper attempts to demonstrate that only by outflanking conventional categories of analysis can the criminological community aspire to grasp such thorny contemporary phenomena

Brain tumor location influences the onset of acute psychiatric adverse events of levetiracetam therapy: an observational study.

To explore possible correlations among brain lesion location, development of psychiatric symptoms and the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in a population of patients with brain tumor and epilepsy. The medical records of 283 patients with various types of brain tumor (161 M/122 F, mean age 64.9 years) were analysed retrospectively. Patients with grade III and IV glioma, previous history of epileptic seizures and/or psychiatric disorders were excluded. Psychiatric symptoms occurring after initiation of AED therapy were considered as treatment emergent psychiatric adverse events (TE-PAEs) if they fulfilled the following conditions: (1) onset within 4 weeks after the beginning of AED therapy; (2) disappearance on drug discontinuation; (3) absence of any other identified possible concurrent cause. The possible influence of the following variables were analysed: (a) AED drug and dose; (b) location and neuroradiologic features of the tumor, (c) location and type of EEG epileptic abnormalities, (d) tumor excision already or not yet performed; (e) initiation or not of radiotherapy. TE-PAEs occurred in 27 of the 175 AED-treated patients (15.4%). Multivariate analysis showed a significant association of TE-PAEs occurrence with location of the tumor in the frontal lobe (Odds ratio: 5.56; 95% confidence interval 1.95-15.82; p value: 0.005) and treatment with levetiracetam (Odds ratio: 3.61; 95% confidence interval 1.48-8.2; p value: 0.001). Drug-unrelated acute psychiatric symptoms were observed in 4 of the 108 AED-untreated patients (3.7%) and in 7 of the 175 AED-treated patients (4%). The results of the present study suggest that an AED alternative to levetiracetam should be chosen to treat epileptic seizures in patients with a brain tumor located in the frontal lobe to minimize the possible onset of TE-PAEs

Retropubic, laparoscopic and mini-laparoscopic radical prostatectomy : a prospective assessment of patient scar satisfaction

Published online: 26 October 2014PURPOSE: To compare patient scar satisfaction after retropubic, standard laparoscopic, mini-laparoscopic (ML) and open radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: Patients undergoing RP for a diagnosis of localized prostate cancer at a single academic hospital between September 2012 and December 2013 were enrolled in this prospective nonrandomized study. The patients were included in three study arms: open surgery, VLP and ML. A skin stapler was used for surgical wound closure in all cases. Demographic and main surgical outcomes, including perioperative complications, were analyzed. Surgical scar satisfaction was measured using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Questionnaire (POSAS) and the two Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ) scales, respectively, recorded at skin clips removal and either at 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: Overall, 32 patients were enrolled and completed the 6 month of follow-up. At clips removal, laparoscopic approaches offered better scar result than open surgery according to the POSAS. However, at 6 months, no differences were detected between VLP and open, whereas ML was still associated with a better scar outcome (p = 0.001). This finding was also confirmed by both BIQ scales, including the body image score (ML 9.8 ± 1.69, open 15.73 ± 3.47, VLP 13.27 ± 3.64; p = 0.001) and the cosmetic score (ML 16.6 ± 4.12, open 10 ± 1.9, LP 12.91 ± 3.59; p = 0.001). Small sample size and lack of randomization represent the main limitations of this study. CONCLUSIONS: ML RP offers a better cosmetic outcome when compared to both open and standard laparoscopic RP, representing a step toward minimal surgical scar. The impact of scar outcome on RP patients' quality of life remains to be determined

The COGs (context, object, and goals) in multisensory processing

Our understanding of how perception operates in real-world environments has been substantially advanced by studying both multisensory processes and “top-down” control processes influencing sensory processing via activity from higher-order brain areas, such as attention, memory, and expectations. As the two topics have been traditionally studied separately, the mechanisms orchestrating real-world multisensory processing remain unclear. Past work has revealed that the observer’s goals gate the influence of many multisensory processes on brain and behavioural responses, whereas some other multisensory processes might occur independently of these goals. Consequently, other forms of top-down control beyond goal dependence are necessary to explain the full range of multisensory effects currently reported at the brain and the cognitive level. These forms of control include sensitivity to stimulus context as well as the detection of matches (or lack thereof) between a multisensory stimulus and categorical attributes of naturalistic objects (e.g. tools, animals). In this review we discuss and integrate the existing findings that demonstrate the importance of such goal-, object- and context-based top-down control over multisensory processing. We then put forward a few principles emerging from this literature review with respect to the mechanisms underlying multisensory processing and discuss their possible broader implications

Simulation of dilated heart failure with continuous flow circulatory support

Lumped parameter models have been employed for decades to simulate important hemodynamic couplings between a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and the native circulation. However, these studies seldom consider the pathological descending limb of the Frank-Starling response of the overloaded ventricle. This study introduces a dilated heart failure model featuring a unimodal end systolic pressure-volume relationship (ESPVR) to address this critical shortcoming. The resulting hemodynamic response to mechanical circulatory support are illustrated through numerical simulations of a rotodynamic, continuous flow ventricular assist device (cfVAD) coupled to systemic and pulmonary circulations with baroreflex control. The model further incorporated septal interaction to capture the influence of left ventricular (LV) unloading on right ventricular function. Four heart failure conditions were simulated (LV and bi-ventricular failure with/ without pulmonary hypertension) in addition to normal baseline. Several metrics of LV function, including cardiac output and stroke work, exhibited a unimodal response whereby initial unloading improved function, and further unloading depleted preload reserve thereby reducing ventricular output. The concept of extremal loading was introduced to reflect the loading condition in which the intrinsic LV stroke work is maximized. Simulation of bi-ventricular failure with pulmonary hypertension revealed inadequacy of LV support alone. These simulations motivate the implementation of an extremum tracking feedback controller to potentially optimize ventricular recovery. © 2014 Wang et al

Stepwise Implementation of Vaginal Cleansing and Azithromycin at Cesarean Delivery to Decrease Postoperative Infections; A Quality Improvement Study

Aims for Improvement We aimed to decrease our SSI rate by 30% by sequential implementation of vaginal cleaning1,2 and azithromycin3 for women who underwent a CD after having labored or experienced rupture of membranes

Identification and Filtering of Uncharacteristic Noise in the CMS Hadron Calorimeter

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Histologic assessment of biliary obstruction with different percutaneous endoluminal techniques

BACKGROUND: Despite the sophisticated cross sectional image techniques currently available, a number of biliary stenosis or obstructions remain of an uncertain nature. In these pathological conditions, an "intrinsic" parietal alteration is the cause of biliary obstruction and it is very difficult to differentiate benign from malignant lesions using cross-sectional imaging procedures alone. We evaluated the efficacy of different endoluminal techniques to achieve a definitive pathological diagnosis in these situations. METHODS: Eighty patients underwent brushing, and or biopsy of the biliary tree through an existing transhepatic biliary drainage route. A subcoort of 12 patients needed balloon-dilatation of the bile duct and the material covering the balloon surface was also sent for pathological examination (balloon surface sampling). Pathological results were compared with surgical findings or with long-term clinical and instrumental follow-ups. Success rates, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, confidential intervals, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the three percutaneous techniques in differentiating benign from malignant disease were assessed. The agreement coefficient of biopsy and brushing with final diagnosis was calculated using the Cohen's "K" value. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients had malignant strictures confirmed by surgery, histology, and by clinical follow-ups. Success rates of brushing, balloon surface sampling, and biopsy were 90.7, 100, and 100%, respectively. The comparative efficacy of brushing, balloon-surface sampling, and biopsy resulted as follows: sensitivity of 47.8, 87.5, and 92.1%, respectively; specificity of 100% for all the techniques; accuracy of 69.2, 91.7 and 93.6%, Positive Predictive Value of 100% for all the procedures and Negative Predictive Value of 55, 80, and 75%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous endoluminal biopsy is more accurate and sensitive than percutaneous bile duct brushing in the detection of malignant diseases (p < 0.01)

Potential role and chronology of abnormal expression of the Deleted in Colon Cancer (DCC) and the p53 proteins in the development of gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: Loss of activity of tumor suppressor genes is considered a fundamental step in a genetic model of carcinogenesis. Altered expression of the p53 and the Deleted in Colon Cancer (DCC) proteins has been described in gastric cancer and this event may have a role in the development of the disease. According to this hypothesis, we investigated the p53 and the DCC proteins expression in different stages of gastric carcinomas. METHODS: An immunohistochemical analysis for detection of p53 and DCC proteins expression was performed in tumor tissue samples of patients with UICC stage I and II gastric cancer. For the purpose of the analysis, the staining results were related to the pathologic data and compared between stage categories. RESULTS: Ninety-four cases of gastric cancer were analyzed. Disease stage categories were pT1N0 in 23 cases, pT2N0 in 20 cases, pT3N0 in 20 cases and pT1-3 with nodal involvment in 31 cases. Stage pT1-2N0 tumors maintained a positive DCC expression while it was abolished in pT3N0 tumors (p <.001). A significant higher proportion of patients with N2 nodal involvement showed DCC negative tumors. In muscular-invading tumors (pT2-3N0) the majority of cases showed p53 overexpression, whereas a significantly higher proportion of cases confined into the mucosa (pT1N0) showed p53 negative tumors. Also, a higher frequency of p53 overexpression was detected in cases with N1 and N2 metastatic lymphnodal involvement. CONCLUSIONS: Altered expression of both DCC and p53 proteins is detectable in gastric carcinomas. It seems that loss of wild-type p53 gene function and consequent p53 overexpression may be involved in early stages of tumor progression while DCC abnormalities are a late event