Neural networks for gamma-hadron separation in MAGIC

Neural networks have proved to be versatile and robust for particle separation in many experiments related to particle astrophysics. We apply these techniques to separate gamma rays from hadrons for the MAGIC Cerenkov Telescope. Two types of neural network architectures have been used for the classi cation task: one is the MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP) based on supervised learning, and the other is the Self-Organising Tree Algorithm (SOTA), which is based on unsupervised learning. We propose a new architecture by combining these two neural networks types to yield better and faster classi cation results for our classi cation problem.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium ''Frontiers of Fundamental and Computational Physics'' (FFP6), Udine (Italy), Sep. 26-29, 200

Discharge quality from municipal wastewater treatment plants and the Sludge Biotic Index for activated sludge: integrative assessment

Abstract Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are scrutinized by Environmental Authorities particularly regarding the compliance to discharge limit values fixed by national and local regulations. An integrated approach is necessary to achieve the objectives established with Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) considering the ecological status of the receiving water body and the quality of the discharge. Specifically, documentary, technical, management and analytical controls should be developed. Moreover, integrative information on the behaviour of the activated sludge in the aeration tank can be useful for plant managers as well as for the regulating Authorities. The study presents the experience concerning WWTP regulation considering the analytic assessment of the discharge as well the monitoring of the Sludge Biotic Index (SBI) for activated sludge. Data from monitoring during the period 2008–14 on SBI values and chemical and microbiological data on the discharges of a sample of 35 WWTPs in the province of Venice (north-east Italy, Veneto region) are presented and discussed. Together with chemical and microbiological analysis, the SBI appears to be a highly useful index for the integrative assessment of plant functionality, in particular when monitoring and identifying critical situations that can determine the exceedance of discharge limit values. The SBI method, in an integrated control approach, can be used for small and medium sized WWTPs that only treat domestic wastewaters. In a case by case assessment this may even substitute part of the analytical monitoring carried out in the WWTPs' control process

DNA HLA-DRB1 analysis in children of positive mothers and estimated risk of vertical HIV transmission.

RFLP HLA-DRB I analysis was performed on a total of 83 children born from HIV -infected mothers, 35 of whom were shown to be HIV -infected, while 48 reverted from seropositivity to seronegativity, indicating that they were not infected. Moreover, 89 healthy children were used as controls. It has been found that DRBI-14a and DRBI-13a.4 alleles were not present in the HIV-infected children, but were found in the sero-reverted (HIV-uninfected) children (in the proportion of 9·6 per cent and 5·3 per cent, respectively), and in the controls (5·6 per cent and 3·9 per cent, respectively). The possible correlation between DR and risk of HIV transmission from mother to baby was analysed considering every single allele, estimated by the ratio between the number of infected children and the number of all children born from seropositive mothers. There was also introduced a statisticGfor the control of 'statistical validity' of data

Effect of atmospheric nitric oxide (NO) on measurements of exhaled NO in asthmatic children

The measurement of exhaled nitric oxide concentrations [NO] may provide a simple, noninvasive means for measuring airway inflammation. However, several measurement conditions may influence exhaled NO levels, and ambient NO may be one of these. We measured exhaled NO levels in 47 stable asthmatic children age 5 to 17 years and in 47 healthy children, gender and age matched. Exhaled [NO] in expired air was measured by a tidal breathing method with a chemiluminescence analyzer, sampling at the expiratory side of the mouthpiece. NO steady\u2010state levels were recorded. In order to keep the soft palate closed and avoid nasal contamination, the breathing circuit had a restrictor providing an expiratory pressure of 3\u20134 cm H2O at the mouthpiece. To evaluate the effect of [NO] in ambient air, measurements were randomly performed by breathing ambient air or NO\u2010free air from a closed circuit. Breathing NO\u2010free air, exhaled [NO] in asthmatics (mean \ub1 SEM) was 23.7 \ub1 1.4 ppb, significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in healthy controls (8.7 \ub1 0.4 ppb). Exhaled NO concentrations measured during ambient air breathing were higher (49 \ub1 4.6 ppb, P < 0.001) than when breathing NO\u2010free air (23.7 \ub1 1.4 ppb) and were significantly correlated (r = 0.89, P < 0.001) with atmospheric concentrations of NO (range 3\u2013430 ppb). These findings show that (1) exhaled [NO] values of asthmatic children are significantly higher than in healthy controls, and (2) atmospheric NO levels critically influence the measurement of exhaled [NO]. Therefore, using a tidal breathing method the inhalation of NO\u2010free air during the test is recommended. Pediatr Pulmonol. 1998; 26:30\u201334. \ua9 1998 Wiley\u2010Liss, Inc

Agriculturally Improved and Semi-Natural Permanent Grasslands Provide Complementary Ecosystem Services in Swedish Boreal Landscapes

\ua9 2024 by the authors. Permanent grasslands cover more than a third of European agricultural land and are important for a number of ecosystem services. Permanent grasslands used for agriculture are broadly separated into agriculturally improved and semi-natural grasslands. High cultural and natural values linked to semi-natural grasslands are well documented. However, in boreal and hemi-boreal agricultural landscapes, less information is available about the areal coverage of improved permanent grasslands and their role for ecosystem service provision and biodiversity. In Sweden, grasslands are administratively separated into semi-natural (i.e., land that cannot be ploughed) or arable (i.e., improved temporary or permanent grassland on land that can be ploughed). We used data from a large-scale environmental monitoring program to show that improved permanent grassland (i.e., permanent grasslands on arable fields) may be a previously unrecognised large area of the agricultural land use in Sweden. We show that improved permanent grasslands together with semi-natural grasslands are both comparable but also complementary providers of a range of ecosystem services (plant species richness, plant resources for pollinators and forage amount for livestock production). However, as expected, semi-natural grasslands with the highest-level AESs (special values) show high species richness values for vascular plants, plants indicating traditional semi-natural management conditions and red-listed species. Improved permanent grasslands on arable fields are likely an underestimated but integral part of the agricultural economy and ecological function in boreal landscapes that together with high nature value semi-natural grasslands provide a broad range of ecosystem services

Process analysis and economic evaluation of mixed aqueous ionic liquid and monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent for CO2 capture from a coke oven plant

This study investigates the process and economic impacts of using an aqueous mixture of 1-butylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate ([Bpy][BF4]) ionic liquid (IL) and monoethanolamine (MEA) as the solvent for CO2capture from a coke-oven plant. The gaps highlighted in the literature on the study of an aqueous mixture of IL and MEA for CO2capture include lack of detailed process models or information on the impacts of varying the IL concentration on different process conditions and economics. This study addressed these needs by developing a rate-based, solvent-based CO2capture process model with a mixed IL and MEA solvent and using the model to perform process and economic evaluations. The model was developed with Aspen Plus® and was used to investigate seven different aqueous mixtures of IL and MEA. The MEA concentration was 30 wt% for all the seven aqueous solvent mixtures, and the corresponding IL concentration was 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 wt% for each combination. The hybrid IL solvent mixtures (i.e. 5-30 wt% IL) have 7-9% and 12-27% less regeneration energy and solvent circulation rate respectively compared to the base case (i.e. 30 wt% MEA). Based on a commercial-scale cost benchmark for the IL, the initial solvent cost for the mixed solution is predictably higher. However, the solvent makeup cost is less for the mixed solvent

Rapid determination of p-aminohippuric acid in serum and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography

We report a simple and rapid HPLC procedure for measuring p-aminohippuric acid in serum and urine. After deproteinization with acetonitrile and addition of p-aminobenzoic acid as an internal standard, the chromatographic run is performed on a C18 column with the absorbance detector set at 275 nm. The separation is carried out in 10 min at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min with a mobile phase composed of 7 mmol/l l-decanesulfonic acid, pH 3.70, and acetonitrile (82:18, v/v). The relationship between p-aminohippuric acid concentration and the p-aminohippuric acid/internal standard peak area is linear up to 100 \u3bcg/ml. Within-run precision measured at three different p-aminohippuric acid concentrations ranges from 1.73 to 1.98% in serum and from 0.72 to 1.32% in urine. Between-run precision varies from 1.80 to 3.06% in serum and from 1.05 to 2.66% in urine. Analytical recovery is between 98.26 and 99.44% in serum and from 99.57 to 100.45% in urine. The method is very simple, sensitive, and requires small volumes of sample for the assay (100 \u3bcl). Therefore, it could be a useful tool for the analysis of p-aminohippuric acid in the evaluation of renal plasma flow

Evoked potentials in pediatrics: Economic audit

In the present era of resource management, there is increasing emphasis on the need to make the best possible use of available re sources. We therefore measured the productive factors directly involved in performance of 59 evoked potential examinations (brainstem auditory evoked potentials, BAEPs; flash visual evoked potentials, F-VEPs; and electroretinograms, ERGs) in different pediatric age groups. In order to ascertain the gap between the costs of instrumental examinations performed in our service on children and the fees reimbursed by the Italian national health service (NHS) a breakdown was made of the costs of tests and their scheduling in relation to the different age variables involved. It was found that the fees reimbursed do not cover the real costs, because they underestimate the actual consumption of resources. The findings recorded indicate that for pediatric tests the economic audit should be graded according to the ages of the children examined and should include an analysis of different test phases. The economic audit should also be considered a preliminary step in clinical audit. It is concluded that it is financially punitive to reimburse a pediatric service with a fee based on the examination of adults, because in pediatrics the variable 'age' influences the duration and complexity of tests and also their interpretation

Flow limitation in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and respiratory function at school age

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is associated with abnormalities in lung function during infancy, yet many infants recover with no respiratory problems in the long term. We therefore did a longitudinal study of pulmonary function in 18 children with moderate to severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced mid-expiratory flow (FEF25-75) at school age were lower than normal in 15 of 18 children, and both showed a significant positive correlation with the maximal flow at functional residual capacity (Vmax(FRC)) at 24 months of age (r=0.68 and 0.85, respectively). Our results suggest that assessment of respiratory function during infancy can help to identify children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia at risk of incomplete recovery of respiratory function during childhood

Low exhaled NO in school-age children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and airflow limitation

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the chronic lung disease of prematurity, may be associated with long-term airflow limitation. Survivors of BPD may develop asthma-like symptoms in childhood, with a variable response to beta(2)-agonists. However, the pathologic pathways underlying these respiratory manifestations are still unknown. The aim of this study was to measure exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) and lung function in a group of 31 school-age survivors of BPD. They showed variable degrees of airflow obstruction (mean FEV(1) 77.8 +/- 2.3% predicted) unresponsive to beta(2)-agonists in 72% of the subjects. Their FE(NO) values (geometric mean [95% confidence interval]: 7.7 [+/- 1.1] ppb) were significantly lower than in a group of healthy matched control subjects born at term (10.7 [+/- 1.1] ppb, p < 0.05) and a group of preterm children without BPD (9.9 [+/- 1.1] ppb, p < 0.05). The children with BPD were also compared with a group of 31 patients with asthma with a comparable airflow limitation (FEV(1) 80.2 +/- 2.1% predicted) and showed FE(NO) values four times lower than in those with asthma (24.9 [+/- 1.2] ppb, p < 0.001). In conclusion, unlike children with asthma, school-age survivors of BPD have airflow limitation associated with low FE(NO) values and lack of reversibility to beta(2)-agonists, probably as a result of mechanisms related to early life structural changes in the airways