Stabilized lasers for advanced gravitational wave detectors

Second generation gravitational wave detectors require high power lasers with more than 100 W of output power and with very low temporal and spatial fluctuations. To achieve the demanding stability levels required, low noise techniques and adequate control actuators have to be part of the high power laser design. In addition feedback control and passive noise filtering is used to reduce the fluctuations in the so-called prestabilized laser system (PSL). In this paper, we discuss the design of a 200 W PSL which is under development for the Advanced LIGO gravitational wave detector and will present the first results. The PSL noise requirements for advanced gravitational wave detectors will be discussed in general and the stabilization scheme proposed for the Advanced LIGO PSL will be described

Prototype tests for the ALICE TRD

A Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) has been designed to improve the electron identification and trigger capability of the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. We present results from tests of a prototype of the TRD concerning pion rejection for different methods of analysis over a momentum range from 0.7 to 2 GeV/c. We investigate the performance of different radiator types, composed of foils, fibres and foams.Comment: Presented at the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, Lyon, October 15-20, 2000 (accepted for publication in IEEE TNS), Latex (IEEEtran.cls), 7 pages, 11 eps figure

Spontaneous Oscillations of Collective Molecular Motors

We analyze a simple stochastic model to describe motor molecules which cooperate in large groups and present a physical mechanism which can lead to oscillatory motion if the motors are elastically coupled to their environment. Beyond a critical fuel concentration, the non-moving state of the system becomes unstable with respect to a mode with angular frequency omega. We present a perturbative description of the system near the instability and demonstrate that oscillation frequencies are determined by the typical timescales of the motors.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex, 4 pages Figure

Ethical issues in implementation research: a discussion of the problems in achieving informed consent

Background: Improved quality of care is a policy objective of health care systems around the world. Implementation research is the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of clinical research findings into routine clinical practice, and hence to reduce inappropriate care. It includes the study of influences on healthcare professionals' behaviour and methods to enable them to use research findings more effectively. Cluster randomized trials represent the optimal design for evaluating the effectiveness of implementation strategies. Various codes of medical ethics, such as the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki inform medical research, but their relevance to cluster randomised trials in implementation research is unclear. This paper discusses the applicability of various ethical codes to obtaining consent in cluster trials in implementation research. Discussion: The appropriate application of biomedical codes to implementation research is not obvious. Discussion of the nature and practice of informed consent in implementation research cluster trials must consider the levels at which consent can be sought, and for what purpose it can be sought. The level at which an intervention is delivered can render the idea of patient level consent meaningless. Careful consideration of the ownership of information, and rights of access to and exploitation of data is required. For health care professionals and organizations, there is a balance between clinical freedom and responsibility to participate in research. Summary: While ethical justification for clinical trials relies heavily on individual consent, for implementation research aspects of distributive justice, economics, and political philosophy underlie the debate. Societies may need to trade off decisions on the choice between individualized consent and valid implementation research. We suggest that social sciences codes could usefully inform the consideration of implementation research by members of Research Ethics Committees