Experimental characterization of the COndensation PArticle counting System for high altitude aircraft-borne application

A characterization of the ultra-fine aerosol particle counter COPAS (COndensation PArticle counting System) for operation on board the Russian high altitude research aircraft M-55 Geophysika is presented. The COPAS instrument consists of an aerosol inlet and two dual-channel continuous flow Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) operated with the chlorofluorocarbon FC-43. It operates at pressures between 400 and 50 hPa for aerosol detection in the particle diameter (dp) range from 6 nm up to 1 micro m. The aerosol inlet, designed for the M-55, is characterized with respect to aspiration, transmission, and transport losses. The experimental characterization of counting efficiencies of three CPCs yields dp50 (50% detection particle diameter) of 6 nm, 11 nm, and 15 nm at temperature differences (DeltaT) between saturator and condenser of 17°C, 30°C, and 33°C, respectively. Non-volatile particles are quantified with a fourth CPC, with dp50=11 nm. It includes an aerosol heating line (250°C) to evaporate H2SO4-H2O particles of 11 nm<dp<200 nm at pressures between 70 and 300 hPa. An instrumental in-flight inter-comparison of the different COPAS CPCs yields correlation coefficients of 0.996 and 0.985. The particle emission index for the M-55 in the range of 1.4–8.4×10 16 kg -1 fuel burned has been estimated based on measurements of the Geophysika's own exhaust

FlexibleSUSY: Precise automated calculations in any BSM theory

FlexibleSUSY is a software package for various calculations in any model of physics beyond the standard model (not just any supersymmetric model). FlexibleSUSY can solve boundary value problems and uses this to find $\overline{DR}/\overline{MS}$ parameters and calculate the Higgs and BSM particle masses, as well as other observables. FlexibleSUSY is designed to be adaptable, fast, precise and reliable. We describe FlexibleSUSY with particular emphasis on recent developments and the state of the art Higgs mass calculations it can perform. We also show some applications to illustrate how it can be used to obtain interesting physics results with the highest precision possible and with remarkable speed.Comment: 4 pages plus title page, 1 figure. Contribution to proceedings of ICHEP 2018, the 39th International Conference on High Energy Physic

GM2Calc: Precise MSSM prediction for (g−2)(g - 2) of the muon

We present GM2Calc, a public C++ program for the calculation of MSSM contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, $(g-2)_\mu$. The code computes $(g-2)_\mu$ precisely, by taking into account the latest two-loop corrections and by performing the calculation in a physical on-shell renormalization scheme. In particular the program includes a $\tan\beta$ resummation so that it is valid for arbitrarily high values of $\tan\beta$, as well as fermion/sfermion-loop corrections which lead to non-decoupling effects from heavy squarks. GM2Calc can be run with a standard SLHA input file, internally converting the input into on-shell parameters. Alternatively, input parameters may be specified directly in this on-shell scheme. In both cases the input file allows one to switch on/off individual contributions to study their relative impact. This paper also provides typical usage examples not only in conjunction with spectrum generators and plotting programs but also as C++ subroutines linked to other programs.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures, 4 listings; version sent to EPJ

Business Modeling Needs Process-Orientation - Framework Development and Testing

Organizations have to continuously align their value propositions with changing market requirements. Business modeling is an established approach for capturing new business ideas that deliver value to customers. Business model frameworks are an instrument for structuring business models. However, existent frameworks disregard the process as central element of business models. Process-orientation in business modeling is potentially useful, since information from the business model may be seamlessly transformed to business operations. Furthermore, views of different organizational stakeholders may be naturally integrated in the process perspective. Hence, we propose the process-oriented business model framework Octoproz. We present its iterative development and apply Octoproz to a real-life scenario to exemplify and discuss its advantages and disadvantages. Results suggest that the application of Octoproz leads to a better understanding of the expected business process, more efficient project coordination, and improved alignment of stakeholder expectations

Duets recorded in the wild reveal that interindividually coordinated motor control enables cooperative behavior

Many organisms coordinate rhythmic motor actions with those of a partner to generate cooperative social behavior such as duet singing. The neural mechanisms that enable rhythmic interindividual coordination of motor actions are unknown. Here we investigate the neural basis of vocal duetting behavior by using an approach that enables simultaneous recordings of individual vocalizations and multiunit vocal premotor activity in songbird pairs ranging freely in their natural habitat. We find that in the duet-initiating bird, the onset of the partner's contribution to the duet triggers a change in rhythm in the periodic neural discharges that are exclusively locked to the initiating bird's own vocalizations. The resulting interindividually synchronized neural activity pattern elicits vocalizations that perfectly alternate between partners in the ongoing song. We suggest that rhythmic cooperative behavior requires exact interindividual coordination of premotor neural activity, which might be achieved by integration of sensory information originating from the interacting partner

Corrosion fatigue behavior of electron beam melted iron in simulated body fluid

Pure iron is very attractive as a biodegradable implant material due to its high biocompatibility. In combination with additive manufacturing, which facilitates great flexibility of the implant design, it is possible to selectively adjust the microstructure of the material in the process, thereby control the corrosion and fatigue behavior. In the present study, conventional hot-rolled (HR) pure iron is compared to pure iron manufactured by electron beam melting (EBM). The microstructure, the corrosion behavior and the fatigue properties were studied comprehensively. The investigated sample conditions showed significant differences in the microstructures that led to changes in corrosion and fatigue properties. The EBM iron showed significantly lower fatigue strength compared to the HR iron. These different fatigue responses were observed under purely mechanical loading as well as with superimposed corrosion influence and are summarized in a model that describes the underlying failure mechanisms

Working With Environmental Noise and Noise-Cancelation: A Workload Assessment With EEG and Subjective Measures

As working and learning environments become open and flexible, people are also potentially surrounded by ambient noise, which causes an increase in mental workload. The present study uses electroencephalogram (EEG) and subjective measures to investigate if noise-canceling technologies can fade out external distractions and free up mental resources. Therefore, participants had to solve spoken arithmetic tasks that were read out via headphones in three sound environments: a quiet environment (no noise), a noisy environment (noise), and a noisy environment but with active noise-canceling headphones (noise-canceling). Our results of brain activity partially confirm an assumed lower mental load in no noise and noise-canceling compared to noise test condition. The mean P300 activation at Cz resulted in a significant differentiation between the no noise and the other two test conditions. Subjective data indicate an improved situation for the participants when using the noise-canceling technology compared to “normal” headphones but shows no significant discrimination. The present results provide a foundation for further investigations into the relationship between noise-canceling technology and mental workload. Additionally, we give recommendations for an adaptation of the test design for future studies

Branch point strength controls species-specific CAMK2B alternative splicing and regulates LTP

Regulation and functionality of species-specific alternative splicing has remained enigmatic to the present date. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIβ (CaMKIIβ) is expressed in several splice variants and plays a key role in learning and memory. Here, we identify and characterize several primate-specific CAMK2B splice isoforms, which show altered kinetic properties and changes in substrate specificity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that primate-specific CAMK2B alternative splicing is achieved through branch point weakening during evolution. We show that reducing branch point and splice site strengths during evolution globally renders constitutive exons alternative, thus providing novel mechanistic insight into cis-directed species-specific alternative splicing regulation. Using CRISPR/Cas9, we introduce a weaker, human branch point sequence into the mouse genome, resulting in strongly altered Camk2b splicing in the brains of mutant mice. We observe a strong impairment of long-term potentiation in CA3-CA1 synapses of mutant mice, thus connecting branch point–controlled CAMK2B alternative splicing with a fundamental function in learning and memory