Room temperature mid-infrared InAsSbN multi-quantum well photodiodes grown by MBE

Room temperature photoresponse in the mid-infrared spectral region is demonstrated from InAsSbN/InAs multi-quantum well photodiodes grown by nitrogen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The structural quality of the InAsSbN MQWs was ascertained in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction and ex situ by high resolution x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements. The extended long wavelength photoresponse is identified to originate from the electron–heavy hole (e1–hh1) and electron–light hole (e1–lh1) transitions in the InAsSbN MQW, with a cut off wavelength ~4.20 µm and peak detectivity D *  =  1.25  ×  109 cm Hz1/2 W−1

PARISROC, a Photomultiplier Array Integrated Read Out Chip

PARISROC is a complete read out chip, in AMS SiGe 0.35 !m technology, for photomultipliers array. It allows triggerless acquisition for next generation neutrino experiments and it belongs to an R&D program funded by the French national agency for research (ANR) called PMm2: ?Innovative electronics for photodetectors array used in High Energy Physics and Astroparticles? (ref.ANR-06-BLAN-0186). The ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) integrates 16 independent and auto triggered channels with variable gain and provides charge and time measurement by a Wilkinson ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) and a 24-bit Counter. The charge measurement should be performed from 1 up to 300 photo- electrons (p.e.) with a good linearity. The time measurement allowed to a coarse time with a 24-bit counter at 10 MHz and a fine time on a 100ns ramp to achieve a resolution of 1 ns. The ASIC sends out only the relevant data through network cables to the central data storage. This paper describes the front-end electronics ASIC called PARISROC.Comment: IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium an Medical Imaging Conference (2009 NSS/MIC

Measurements and estimation of the columnar optical depth of tropospheric aerosols in the UV spectral region

International audienceWe report values of the columnar tropospheric aerosol optical depth at UV wavelengths based on experimental measurements of the direct spectral irradiances carried out by a commercial spectroradiometer (Li1800 of Licor company) covering the range from 300?1100 nm at two stations with different climate characteristics in Spain. The first station is located in a rural site in north central Spain with continental climate. The data extend from March to the end of October of 1995. The other station is a coastal site in the Gulf of Cádiz (southwest Spain) of maritime climate type. This study is mainly focused on the capability of estimating aerosol optical depth values in the UV region based on the extracted information in the visible and near infrared ranges. A first method has been used based on the Ångström turbidity parameters. However, since this method requires detailed spectral information, a second method has also been used, based on the correlation between wavelengths. A correlation has been established between the experimental aerosol optical depth values at 350 nm and 500 nm wavelengths. Although the type of aerosol seems to be the key factor that determines the quality of these estimations, the evaluation of the associated error is necessary to know the behaviour of these estimations in each area of study

Use of Placental MSCs and their exosomes as theragnostic agents for cancer treatment and diagnostic

P117 INTRODUCTION: The Na/ I symporter gene (hNIS) is expressed in the thyroid and allows the accumulation of iodine from the diet, to form T3 and T4 hormones. Moreover, it is widely used (i) as a reporter gene for molecular imaging (when the positron emitter isotope is I124 for PET or Tc99 for SPECT) or (ii) as a therapeutic gene for cancer therapy, mediated by the accumulation of I131. An unresolved challenge is how to direct this gene specifically to the tumoral area. Previously, our group demonstrated the migratory capacity of placental mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), carrying an adenovirus-hNIS to tumors, with good results as theragnostic tool. However, as hNIS is expressed at the placental tissue (because transfers iodine to the foetus from the maternal blood), here we decided to study whether placental MSCs and their exosomes (1) express hNIS endogenously and therefore transfers the imaging and therapeutic potentials when administered with radioactive iodine (2) are capable to reach tumoral areas when they are intravenously injected due to the tumoral tissues extravasation. RESULTS/ SUMMARY We proved that human placenta MSCs and their exosomes have endogenous expression of NIS, migrate specifically to the tumour and their endogenous expression of NIS is enough to image both cells or exosomes in vivo, and their accumulation caused significant therapeutic effect combined with 131I. This highlight the use of endogenous NIS expression as therapy but also to trace new metastatic nodules

Digital part of SiPM Integrated Read-Out Chip ASIC for ILC hadronic calorimeter

SPIROC is the Silicium Photo-multiplier (SiPM) Integrated Read-Out Chip designed for the future ILC hadronic calorimeter. It reads 36 SiPMs and has an autotrigger on its 36 channels. Its main requirements are a 100% trigger rate for signal over 1/2 photoelectron, a charge measurement up to 2000 photoelectrons and a time measurement with an accuracy better than 1ns. In order to perform all these functions, SPIROC integrates a complex digital part to manage all the different steps of normal working (acquisition, measure and read-out). This ASIC was submitted in June 2007 (technology AMS SiGe 0.35μm). In this paper, section I describes the general architecture of the ASIC and the main interactions between analogue and digital parts. Section II is dedicated to the different module of the digital part that manages the ASIC

Mobile Applications for Resting Tremor Assessment in Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review

(1) Background: Resting tremor is a motor manifestation present in most Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. For its assessment, several scales have been created, but mobile applications could help in objectively assessing resting tremor in PD patients in person and/or remotely in a more ecological scenario. (2) Methods: a systematic review following the PRISMA recommendations was conducted in scientific databases (PubMed, Medline, Science Direct, Academic Search Premier, and Web of Science) and in the main mobile application markets (Google Play, iOS App Store, and Windows Store) to determine the applications available for the assessment of resting tremor in patients with PD using only the measurement components of the phone itself (accelerometers and gyroscopes). (3) Results: 14 articles that used mobile apps to assess resting tremor in PD were included, and 13 apps were identified in the mobile application markets for the same purpose. The risk of bias and of applicability concerns of the articles analyzed was low. Mobile applications found in the app markets met an average of 85.09% of the recommendations for the development of medical mobile applications. (4) Conclusions: the use of mobile applications for the evaluation of resting tremor in PD patients has great potential, but validation studies for this purpose are scarce

Grassroots Agency: Participation and Conflict in Buenos Aires Shantytowns seen through the Pilot Plan for Villa 7 (1971–1975)

open access articleIn 1971, after more than a decade of national and municipal policies aimed at the top-down removal of shantytowns, the Buenos Aires City Council approved the Plan Piloto para la Relocalización de Villa 7 (Pilot Plan for the Relocation of Shantytown 7; 1971–1975, referred to as the Pilot Plan hereinafter). This particular plan, which resulted in the construction of the housing complex, Barrio Justo Suárez, endures in the collective memory of Argentines as a landmark project regarding grassroots participation in state housing initiatives addressed at shantytowns. Emerging from a context of a housing shortage for the growing urban poor and intense popular mobilizations during the transition to democracy, the authors of the Pilot Plan sought to empower shantytown residents in novel ways by: 1) maintaining the shantytown’s location as opposed to eradication schemes that relocated the residents elsewhere, 2) formally employing some of the residents for the stage of construction, as opposed to “self-help” housing projects in which the residents contributed with unpaid labor, and 3) including them in the urban and architectural design of the of the new housing. This paper will examine the context in which the Pilot Plan was conceived of as a way of re-assessing the roles of the state, the user, and housing-related professionals, often seen as antagonistic. The paper argues that residents’ fair participation and state intervention in housing schemes are not necessarily incompatible, and can function in specific social and political contexts through multiactor proposals backed by a political will that prioritizes grassroots agency

Real Space Observations of Magnesium Hydride Formation and Decomposition

The mechanisms of magnesium hydride formation and thermal decomposition are directly examined using in-situ imaging.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure