Status of the ILC Main Linac BPM R&D

An introduction and the status of R&D activities for a high-resolution, "cold" beam position monitor (BPM) and the related read-out electronics are discussed. Two different BPM detector concepts, to be attached to the SC quadrupole and located inside the ILC cryomodule, are currently under investigation: A resonant dipole-mode cavity-style BPM pickup, developed at Fermilab, and a re-entrant resonant coaxial waveguide BPM, designed by CEA-Saclay. While the 1.5 GHz dipole-mode cavity BPM is still in the R&D phase, the re-entrant BPM has already passed first beam tests, including its read-out system. Furthermore, the LAPP group is developing radiation tolerant digital read-out systems, which are tested at the CLIC test facility (CTF).Comment: LCWS / ILC08 conference contribution, 6 pages, 6 figure

Rotating mandrel for assembly of inflatable devices Patent

Rotating, multisided mandrel for fabricating gored inflatable spacecraf

A Population Genetic Investigation of the Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) on Eglin Air Force Base

The reticulated flatwoods salamander (RFS) is an endangered salamander with a unique life history. One of the largest known, best studied refuges for RFS is found on Eglin Air Force Base, and these RFS have been sampled and managed extensively since 2010. My thesis seeks to better understand RFS by using genetic techniques to address several unknowns, including: 1) determining the population structuring of RFS and the manageable units for species conservation, 2) estimating the size and status of populations, 3) understanding dispersal of RFS and factors that influence this, 4) exploring the breeding biology and recruitment patterns of RFS and how they affect population sizes, and 5) drawing general conclusions about RFS population biology and recommendations for future management. The first, second, and third objectives are addressed in Chapter 1, by analyzing variation at nuclear microsatellite genetic markers within and among known, extant breeding populations on Eglin to determine the genetic structuring of RFS as well as landscape factors that would influence dispersal between the breeding ponds. The fourth objective is addressed in Chapter 2 and utilizes the same microsatellite markers but focuses on two ponds and two years in which extensive sampling of adult and larval RFS was conducted. The fifth objective is addressed in the General Conclusion section in which I use data from both chapters to provide management suggestions that can be utilized both on Eglin and elsewhere

Composite materials for space applications

The objectives of the program were to: generate mechanical, thermal, and physical property test data for as-fabricated advanced materials; design and fabricate an accelerated thermal cycling chamber; and determine the effect of thermal cycling on thermomechanical properties and dimensional stability of composites. In the current program, extensive mechanical and thermophysical property tests of various organic matrix, metal matrix, glass matrix, and carbon-carbon composites were conducted, and a reliable database was constructed for spacecraft material selection. Material property results for the majority of the as-fabricated composites were consistent with the predicted values, providing a measure of consolidation integrity attained during fabrication. To determine the effect of thermal cycling on mechanical properties, microcracking, and thermal expansion behavior, approximately 500 composite specimens were exposed to 10,000 cycles between -150 and +150 F. These specimens were placed in a large (18 cu ft work space) thermal cycling chamber that was specially designed and fabricated to simulate one year low earth orbital (LEO) thermal cycling in 20 days. With this rate of thermal cycling, this is the largest thermal cycling unit in the country. Material property measurements of the thermal cycled organic matrix composite laminate specimens exhibited less than 24 percent decrease in strength, whereas, the remaining materials exhibited less than 8 percent decrease in strength. The thermal expansion response of each of the thermal cycled specimens revealed significant reduction in hysteresis and residual strain, and the average CTE values were close to the predicted values

Broad-band chopper for a CW proton linac at Fermilab

Requirements and technical limitations to the bunch-by-bunch chopper for the Fermilab Project X are discussed.Comment: 3 pp. Particle Accelerator, 24th Conference (PAC'11) 2011. 28 Mar - 1 Apr 2011. New York, US

A mobile system for active otpical pollution monitoring

The remote monitoring of atmospheric pollutants can now be performed in several ways. Laser radar techniques have proven their ability to reveal the spatial distribution of different species or particles. Classical optical techniques can also be used, but yield the average concentration over a given path and hence no range resolution. One such technique is Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy, DOAS. Such schemes can be used to monitor paths that a preliminary lidar investigation has shown to be of interest. Having previously had access to a mobile lidar system, a new system has been completed. The construction builds on experience from using the other system and it is meant to be more of a mobile optical laboratory than just a lidar system. A complete system description is given along with some preliminary usage. Future uses are contemplated

Event Reconstruction with MarlinReco at the ILC

After an overview of the modular analysis and reconstruction framework Marlin an introduction on the functionality of the Marlin-based reconstruction package MarlinReco is given. This package includes a full set of modules for event reconstruction based on the Particle Flow approach. The status of the software is reviewed and recent results using this software package for event reconstruction are presented.Comment: 6 pages, 2 .eps figures, to appear in Proc. LCWS06, Bangalore, March 200

Mycophenolate mofetil as second line immunosuppressant in myasthenia gravis - a long-term prospective open-label study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The preferred immunosuppressive drug for long term treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) is azathioprine (AZA). Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) was suggested as an effective and safe second line alternative to AZA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a prospective open-label study, 11 patients with acetylcholine receptor antibody (AchR-ab) positive MG (n = 4 ocular MG, n = 7 generalized MG) were treated with MMF which replaced AZA. Reasons for the change of immunosuppressant therapy were side effects (n = 9) or unresponsiveness under AZA (n = 3).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean duration of MMF treatment was 16.9 months (6-46 months). During MMF treatment AZA side effects resolved in 8/9 patients, concomitant therapy could be discontinued in 4 patients and reduced in 5 patients, and 5 patients remitted and 3 remained in remission. One MMF-refractory patient required add-on IVIG therapy and another with ocular MG showed signs of generalization after 20 months of MG treatment. One patient was diagnosed with bronchial carcinoma after 10 months of MMF treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Due to its favourable spectrum of side effects compared to AZA MMF might serve as a second-line immunosuppressant in those MG patients who have not tolerated AZA.</p

Effects of three-nucleon forces and two-body currents on Gamow-Teller strengths

We optimize chiral interactions at next-to-next-to leading order to observables in two- and three-nucleon systems, and compute Gamow-Teller transitions in carbon-14, oxygen-22 and oxygen-24 using consistent two-body currents. We compute spectra of the daughter nuclei nitrogen-14, fluorine-22 and fluorine-24 via an isospin-breaking coupled-cluster technique, with several predictions. The two-body currents reduce the Ikeda sum rule, corresponding to a quenching factor q^2 ~ 0.84-0.92 of the axial-vector coupling. The half life of carbon-14 depends on the energy of the first excited 1+ state, the three-nucleon force, and the two-body current