Sub-Nanosecond Switching of HV SiC MOS Transistors for Impact Ionisation Triggering

Pulse generators with multi kV/kA pulses are necessary for the particle accelerator environment for beam transfer magnets. Traditionally these generators are using thyratrons - until recently the only switches capable of switching such pulses within tens of ns. There is a strong demand to replace thyratrons with semiconductor switches to avoid their future obsolescence. Very promising candidates are components from the family of fast ionization dynistors triggered by impact ionization. Their sub-nanosecond switching time and extreme current densities can provide performances superior to that of thyratrons. Recent investigations showed that impact ionization triggering is feasible also in cheap industrial thyristors. The main issue is the generation of triggering pulses with slew rates in the multi kV/ns region and with the required output current for charging the parasitic capacitance of the thyristor. We present an approach of generating > 1 kV/ns pulses by ultra-boosted gate driving of HV SiC MOS transistors. We found that the MOS lifetime under these extreme triggering conditions can still reach more than 10⁸ pulses, enough for kicker generator applications

Ultra-Fast Generator for Impact Ionization Triggering

Impact ionization triggering can be successfully applied to standard thyristors, thus boosting their dI/dt capability by up to 1000x. This groundbreaking triggering requires applying significant overvoltage on the anode-cathode of thyristor with a slew rate > 1kV/ns. Compact pulse generators based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components would allow the spread of this technology into numerous applications, including fast kicker generators for particle accelerators. In our approach, the beginning of the triggering chain is a HV SiC MOS with an ultra-fast super-boosting gate driver. The super boosting of a 1.7kV rated SiC MOS allows to reduce the MOS rise time by a factor of > 25 (datasheet tr = §I{20}{ns} vs. measured tr 1kV/ns and an amplitude > 1kV. Additional boosting is obtained by a Marx generator with GaAs diodes, reaching an output voltage slew rate > 11kV/ns. The final stage will be a Marx generator with medium size thyristors triggered in impact ionization mode with sufficient voltage and current rating necessary for the triggering of a big thyristor. This paper presents the impact ionization triggering of a small size thyristor

Estructura europea para la supervisión y el seguimiento de hábitats: aproximación metodológica para España

There is a well defined policy requirement for a practical and reproducible procedure for surveillance and monitoring of habitats in Spain that can subsequently be fitted into a European framework. Any such procedure also needs to incorporate records of the Spanish habitat classification. A procedure is described that will satisfy those requirements and has been field tested both in Spain and in Europe. Rigorous rules and training are required; otherwise changes from baseline records cannot reliably be separated from background noise. The procedure uses the classical plant life forms long used in biogeography and is based on their statistical relationship with the environment. This relationship has been validated statistically and the procedure has also been tested in the field in all European environmental zones and widely in Spain. 130 General Habitat Categories are defined and these are enhanced in the field by recording environmental, site and management qualities to produce a flexible database that can then be interrogated. The rules for mapping the habitats mean that they can be used for descriptive purposes or for monitoring. In conjunction with stratification and subsequent sampling, national estimates of stock and change can then be produced. Finally, based on the previous experience of SISPARES, a methodological scheme is proposed for adapting the approach to Spain. The proposal will allow links to be made between European scale surveillance and monitoring to those already obtained for Spain.en España políticas bien definidas que demandan procedimientos prácticos y reproducibles para llevar a cabo la supervisión y seguimiento de los hábitats, de modo que subsecuentemente puedan ajustarse al marco Europeo. Cualquier procedimiento de estas características necesita poder incorporar datos registrados de la clasificación española de hábitats. Aquí se describe un procedimiento que satisface dichos requisitos y que ha sido probado tanto en España como en el resto de Europa. El método exige reglas rigurosas y entrenamiento de campo; si no los cambios en los registros básicos no se podrán separar de manera fiable de los errores subjetivos cometidos durante la toma de datos. El procedimiento utiliza las clásicas formas de vida, ampliamente utilizadas en estudios biogeográficos y está basado en sus relaciones con el medio ambiente. Esta relación ha sido validada estadísticamente y el procedimiento ha sido probado en el campo en todas las zonas ambientales de Europa. En España, se han definido 130 Categorías Generales de Hábitats y se han verificado en el campo mediante el registro de atributos ambientales, estacionales y de manejo, de forma que puedan ser incluidas en una base de datos suficientemente flexible. Las directrices para la cartografía de hábitats posibilitan su uso descriptivo y permiten su seguimiento. Al mismo tiempo, con la estratificación y subsecuente muestreo, es posible hacer estimaciones nacionales de existencias y de cambios Finalmente, basados en las experiencias previas de SISPARES, se propone un esquema metodológico para adaptar BIOHAB a España. La propuesta permitirá conectar los resultados a escala Europea de supervisión y seguimiento con los obtenidos a escala española

The FXII c.-4T > C Polymorphism as a Disease Modifier in Patients With Hereditary Angioedema Due to the FXII p.Thr328Lys Variant

Background: Hereditary angioedema due to the Thr328Lys variant in the coagulation factor XII (HAE-FXII) affects mainly women in whom the symptomatology is dependent on high estrogen levels. Clinical variability and incomplete penetrance are challenging features that hinder the diagnosis and management of HAE-FXII. The c.-4T>C Kozak polymorphism is the only common variation accounting for FXII plasma levels and was previously shown to modify the course of HAE due to C1-Inhibitor deficiency. Objectives: To assess the influence of the c.-4T>C polymorphism on disease expression in 39 Spanish HAE-FXII index patients. Methods: The c.-4T>C polymorphism was sequenced by the standard Sanger method, and HAE severity was calculated according to the score by Cumming et al. (2003) The activation of the contact system was quantified by the kallikrein-like activity of plasma in chromogenic assays upon activation with high-molecular-weight dextran sulfate. Results: The c.-4CC genotype was overrepresented in the studied cohort: 82% were CC-homozygous (expected frequency = 59%) and 18% were CT-heterozygous (expected frequency = 39%) (p = 0.001). Patients with a c.-4CC genotype exhibited higher kallikrein-like activity (0.9659 +/- 0.1136) than those with a c.-4TC genotype (0.7645 +/- 0.1235) (p = 0.024) or healthy donors. Moreover, the polymorphism influenced HAE-FXII severity score (c.-4CC = 4.43 +/- 2.28 vs c.-4TC = 2.0 +/- 1.15; p = 0.006) but not the degree of estrogen dependence or time until remission. Conclusion: The c.-4T>C polymorphism is overrepresented in a Spanish HAE-FXII cohort and significantly influences the degree of contact system activation and the clinical severity of the disease

Somatic Integration of Single Ion Channel Responses of α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Enhanced by PNU-120596

Positive allosteric modulators of highly Ca2+-permeable α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, such as PNU-120596, may become useful therapeutic tools supporting neuronal survival and function. However, despite promising results, the initial optimism has been tempered by the concerns for cytotoxicity. The same concentration of a given nicotinic agent can be neuroprotective, ineffective or neurotoxic due to differences in the expression of α7 receptors and susceptibility to Ca2+ influx among various subtypes of neurons. Resolution of these concerns may require an ability to reliably detect, evaluate and optimize the extent of α7 somatic ionic influx, a key determinant of the likelihood of neuronal survival and function. In the presence of PNU-120596 and physiological choline (∼10 µM), the activity of individual α7 channels can be detected in whole-cell recordings as step-like current/voltage deviations. However, the extent of α7 somatic influx remains elusive because the activity of individual α7 channels may not be integrated across the entire soma, instead affecting only specific subdomains located in the channel vicinity. Such a compartmentalization may obstruct detection and integration of α7 currents, causing an underestimation of α7 activity. By contrast, if step-like α7 currents are integrated across the soma, then a reliable quantification of α7 influx in whole-cell recordings is possible and could provide a rational basis for optimization of conditions that support survival of α7-expressing neurons. This approach can be used to directly correlate α7 single-channel activity to neuronal function. In this study, somatic dual-patch recordings were conducted using large hypothalamic and hippocampal neurons in acute coronal rat brain slices. The results demonstrate that the membrane electrotonic properties do not impede somatic signaling, allowing reliable estimates of somatic ionic and Ca2+ influx through α7 channels, while the somatic space-clamp error is minimal (∼0.01 mV/µm). These research efforts could benefit optimization of potential α7-PAM-based therapies

Resultados de las llamadas recibidas por el Servicio de Información Telefonica sobre Teratogenos Español (SITTE) y por el Servicio de Informacion Telefónica para la Embarazada (SITE) durante el año 2002

Resultados de otras actividades del ECEMCWe present the results of the Spanish Teratology Information Services (SITTE addressed to health professionals and SITE addressed to the general population) during 2002. The total number of calls received in both services was 5,587 (1,416 of them by the SITTE and 4,171 by the SITE). As in the last years, the most frequent enquiry in both services was the drugs exposure during pregnancy. However, we would like to point out that questions on environmental and working chemicals products are increasing. Probably this is so because of a higher concern in this area on primary prevention of congenital malformations.N

Psychometric Evidence of a Multidimensional Measure of Prosocial Behaviors for Spanish Adolescents

Prior theories and scholars rarely distinguished between distinct forms of prosocial behaviors (i.e., actions intended to benefit others) and most scholars operationalize prosocial behaviors as a global construct. Furthermore, stringent tests of psychometric properties of prosocial behavior measures are rare, especially in countries other than the United States. The present study was designed to examine the structure and functions of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors in youth from Spain. Six hundred and 66 adolescents (46% girls; M age = 15.33 years, SD = 0.47 years) from Valencia, Spain, completed the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), measures of sympathy, perspective taking, and a global measure of prosocial behavior. Results showed that the hypothesized 6-factor structure of the PTM-R had good fit, the best fit model as compared to alternative models, and that there were several unique patterns of relations between specific forms of prosocial behaviors and sympathy, perspective taking, and the global measure of prosocial behavior. Furthermore, although there were significant gender differences in some forms of prosocial behaviors, the structure of the PTM-R was equivalent across gender. Discussion focuses on the implications for theories and measurement of prosocial behaviors

Quality of life in hidradenitis suppurativa : Validation of the hsqol-24

Altres ajuts: reports grants, personal fees, non-financial support and other from Abbvie, Almirall, Amgen, Boehringer, Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, Leo Pharma, Lilly, MSD-Schering-Plough, Novartis, Pfizer and UCB, outside the submitted work. TGC reports personal fees from Lilly and Novartis, outside the submitted work. LP reports grants and personal fees from AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Janssen, Leo-Pharma, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron, Roche, Sanofi, and UCB, personal fees from Baxalta, Biogen, Fresenius-Kabi, JS Biocad, Mylan, Sandoz, Samsung-Bioepis, and Bristol Myers Squibb, outside the submitted work. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.To date, there are no disease-specific instruments in Spanish to assess quality of life of patients with hidra-denitis suppurativa. A multicentre study was pre-viously carried out in Spain between 2016 and 2017 to develop the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quality of Life-24 (HSQoL-24), a disease-specific questionnaire to assess quality of life in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa. The objectives of this study are to revali-date the HSQoL-24 in Spanish with a larger sample of patients, and to present the English version. In this multi centre study in Spain, patients with hidradenitis suppurativa completed the HSQoL-24, the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Skindex-29. The Hurley staging system was used to assess the severity of the disease. Validation of the questionnaire was carried out in 130 patients, of whom 75 (57.7%) were women. This study demonstrates adequate values of reliability and validity of the HSQoL-24, confirming the previous test re-test validation and making this questionnaire one of wide clinical validity in terms of results perceiv-ed by patients

First bounds on the high-energy emission from isolated Wolf-Rayet binary systems

High-energy gamma-ray emission is theoretically expected to arise in tight binary star systems (with high mass loss and high velocity winds), although the evidence of this relationship has proven to be elusive so far. Here we present the first bounds on this putative emission from isolated Wolf-Rayet (WR) star binaries, WR 147 and WR 146, obtained from observations with the MAGIC telescope.Comment: (Authors are the MAGIC Collaboration.) Manuscript in press at The Astrophysical Journal Letter

Observation of Pulsed Gamma-rays Above 25 GeV from the Crab Pulsar with MAGIC

One fundamental question about pulsars concerns the mechanism of their pulsed electromagnetic emission. Measuring the high-end region of a pulsar's spectrum would shed light on this question. By developing a new electronic trigger, we lowered the threshold of the Major Atmospheric gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope to 25 GeV. In this configuration, we detected pulsed gamma-rays from the Crab pulsar that were greater than 25 GeV, revealing a relatively high cutoff energy in the phase-averaged spectrum. This indicates that the emission occurs far out in the magnetosphere, hence excluding the polar-cap scenario as a possible explanation of our measurement. The high cutoff energy also challenges the slot-gap scenario.Comment: Slight modification of the analysis: Fitting a more general function to the combined data set of COMPTEL, EGRET and MAGIC. Final result and conclusion is unchange