Introducing TAXI: a Transportable Array for eXtremely large area Instrumentation studies

A common challenge in many experiments in high-energy astroparticle physics is the need for sparse instrumentation in areas of 100 km2 and above, often in remote and harsh environments. All these arrays have similar requirements for read-out and communication, power generation and distribution, and synchronization. Within the TAXI project we are developing a transportable, modular four-station test-array that allows us to study different approaches to solve the aforementioned problems in the laboratory and in the field. Well-defined interfaces will provide easy interchange of the components to be tested and easy transport and setup will allow in-situ testing at different sites. Every station consists of three well-understood 1 m2 scintillation detectors with nanosecond time resolution, which provide an air shower trigger. An additional sensor, currently a radio antenna for air shower detection in the 100 MHz band, is connected for testing and calibration purposes. We introduce the TAXI project and report the status and performance of the first TAXI station deployed at the Zeuthen site of DESY.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, presented at ARENA 2014, Annapolis, MD, June 201

Structural optimization and biological evaluation of 2-substituted 5-hydroxyindole-3-carboxylates as potent inhibitors of human 5-lipoxygenase.

Pharmacological suppression of leukotriene biosynthesis by inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) is a strategy to intervene with inflammatory and allergic disorders. We recently presented 2-amino-5-hydroxy-1H-indoles as efficient 5-LO inhibitors in cell-based and cell-free assays. Structural optimization led to novel benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylates exemplified by ethyl 2-(3-chlorobenzyl)-5- hydroxy-1H-benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylate (compound 11a), which inhibits 5-LO activity in human neutrophils and recombinant human 5-LO with IC50 values of 0.23 and 0.086 μM, respectively. Notably, 11a efficiently blocks 5-LO product formation in human whole blood assays (IC50 = 0.83-1.6 μM) and significantly prevented leukotriene B4 production in pleural exudates of carrageenan-treated rats, associated with reduced severity of pleurisy. Together, on the basis of their high potency against 5-LO and the marked efficacy in biological systems, these novel and straightforward benzo[g]indole-3-carboxylates may have potential as anti-inflammatory therapeutics

Two-phonon 1- state in 112Sn observed in resonant photon scattering

Results of a photon scattering experiment on 112Sn using bremsstrahlung with an endpoint energy of E_0 = 3.8 MeV are reported. A J = 1 state at E_x = 3434(1) keV has been excited. Its decay width into the ground state amounts to Gamma_0 = 151(17) meV, making it a candidate for a [2+ x 3-]1- two-phonon state. The results for 112Sn are compared with quasiparticle-phonon model calculations as well as the systematics of the lowest-lying 1- states established in other even-mass tin isotopes. Contrary to findings in the heavier stable even-mass Sn isotopes, no 2+ states between 2 and 3.5 MeV excitation energy have been detected in the present experiment.Comment: 10 pages, including 2 figures, Phys. Rev. C, in pres

Viking Age garden plants from southern Scandinavia: diversity, taphonomy and cultural aspects

Plant finds recovered from archaeological sites in southern Scandinavia dated to the Viking Age reflect the diversity of useful plants that were cultivated and collected. This review presents the results of 14 investigations of deposits that are dated between AD 775 and 1050. The site types are categorized as agrarian, urban, military and burials. Garden plants are unevenly distributed, as the greatest diversity is recorded in features from urban contexts. We argue that taphonomic processes played an important role in the picture displayed. Archaeobotanical research results from neighbouring regions suggest that Viking Age horticulture has its roots in older traditions, and that the spectrum of garden plants is influenced by central and north-western European horticultural customs, which were to a great extent shaped by Roman occupation

How to predict relapse in leukemia using time series data: A comparative in silico study

Risk stratification and treatment decisions for leukemia patients are regularly based on clinical markers determined at diagnosis, while measurements on system dynamics are often neglected. However, there is increasing evidence that linking quantitative time-course information to disease outcomes can improve the predictions for patient-specific treatment responses. We designed a synthetic experiment simulating response kinetics of 5,000 patients to compare different computational methods with respect to their ability to accurately predict relapse for chronic and acute myeloid leukemia treatment. Technically, we used clinical reference data to first fit a model and then generate de novo model simulations of individual patients’ time courses for which we can systematically tune data quality (i.e. measurement error) and quantity (i.e. number of measurements). Based hereon, we compared the prediction accuracy of three different computational methods, namely mechanistic models, generalized linear models, and deep neural networks that have been fitted to the reference data. Reaching prediction accuracies between 60 and close to 100%, our results indicate that data quality has a higher impact on prediction accuracy than the specific choice of the particular method. We further show that adapted treatment and measurement schemes can considerably improve the prediction accuracy by 10 to 20%. Our proof-of-principle study highlights how computational methods and optimized data acquisition strategies can improve risk assessment and treatment of leukemia patients

Nutrient and virtual water flow analysis for Tamale, Ghana and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Nutrients and virtual water in the form of food and other organic goods are transported from the rural hinterland to urban centres. In particular in developing countries, poor waste management in growing cities and the potential to recover nutrients and water for agricultural production have raised interest in quantifying these flows. What are the quantities of organic materials that enter and leave a city? Which materials carry the most important nutrient and virtual water flows? Where does nutrient and water depletion take place? This study has been conducted within the UrbanFoodPlus project (www.urbanfood plus.org) to assess organic material flows and their quantitative nutrient and virtual water contribution for the cities of Tamale in Ghana and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Matter flows (unprocessed foodstuff, firewood, fodder, non-timber forest products, etc.) from regional, national and international sources were systematically recorded at all roads leading to Tamale and Ouagadougo. Organic matter from urban sources aand stocks were captured at major markets. The survey has been conducted within two years covering the peak (November) and lean season (April) for six days in a row. The study maps the virtual water and nutrient transfers of different types of traded food products and other organic goods. The results will improve our understanding of the urban metabolism, and may support the development of standardised methodologies for assessing virtual water and nutrient flows

InGaAs Capacitor-Less DRAM Cells TCAD Demonstration

2D numerical TCAD simulations are used to infer the behavior of III-V capacitor-less dynamic RAM (DRAM) cells. In particular, indium gallium arsenide on insulator technology is selected to verify the viability of III-V meta-stable-dip RAM cells. The cell performance dependence on several parameters (such as the back-gate voltage, semiconductor thickness, indium/gallium mole fraction or interface traps) and simulation models (like ballisticity or spatial quantum confinement) is analyzed and commented. Functional cells are presented and compared with analogous silicon 1T-DRAM memories to highlight the advantages and drawbacks.This work was supported by H2020 REMINDER European under Grant 687931, and in part by the Spanish National Projects under Grant TEC2014-59730 and Grant PCIN-2015-146