Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

Feasibility Studies for 100 GeV Beam Transfer Lines for a CERN Neutrino Facility

For a potential future CERN neutrino facility it is considered to extract a 100 GeV proton beam from the second long straight section in the SPS into the existing TT20 transfer line leading to the North Area. Two transfer line design options were developed simultaneously: early-branching from TT20 using existing, recuperated ‘experimental area’ DC dipoles and alternatively late-branching close to the target area, which requires superconducting magnets. This paper describes the feasibility of the two concepts in addition to the detailed study of the early-branching option. Optics and line geometry optimization are discussed and orbit correction is presented

Injection tolerances for AWAKE Run 2c

Particle acceleration in a quasilinear plasma wake provides access to high acceleration gradients while avoiding self-trapping of the background electrons. However, the plasma response to the externally injected witness bunch leads to a variation of the focussing fields along the bunch length, which can lead to a emittance growth. In order to investigate the impact of this emittance growth on the overall beam quality, we develop a single figure of merit based on a potential high-energy application for the AWAKE experiment at CERN. We show that the development of such a figure of merit naturally gives rise to constraints on both the tunability and stability of the initial witness bunch parameters. It is further shown that the unique physics of the quasilinear wake gives rise to broad tolerances for the witness bunch radius at the injection point, as the plasma wakefields self-match to the witness bunch

On the critical technological issues of friction stir welding lap joints of dissimilar aluminum alloys

In this article, friction stir welded lap joints of innovative dissimilar aluminum alloys have been produced and tested to investigate the feasibility of using this joining technique in this configuration. The introduction of both this new welding technique alloys, such as AA 2198, could allow making lighter and stronger structures. Some experiments, carried out previously, have shown that the fixturing device, the tool geometry, and the tilt angle play a significant role in the joint soundness. A wide experimental characterization has been carried out on friction stir welded lap joints of AA 7075T6 extrudes to AA 2198T351 rolled plates. The results attained are allowed to put in evidence some critical issues on the investigated configuration and can be considered as a further acquired knowledge in the understanding and the design of friction stir process

Target Bypass Beam Optics for Future High Intensity Fixed Target Experiments in the CERN North Area

Several of the proposed experiments for operation at the K12 beam line would profit from significant beam intensity increase. Among those, there is the KLEVER experiment that would require an intensity of 2x10¹³ protons per 4.8 s long spill. The main goal of the experiment is to measure BR(KL->pi0 nu nu) to test the Standard Model structure by itself, and in combination with results from NA62 for BR(K±>pi+ nu nu). NA62 could also profit from higher intensities, and could be run in a new configuration called NA62HI(gher intensity). In the current configuration the beam is transported from the SPS to the TT24 beamline. This beamline leads to the T4 target that attenuates the beam for P42. After T4 the beam is directed into the P42 beamline before impinging on the T10 target and creating the particles necessary for the experiment. Those are finally transported to the detector via K12. This paper presents the idea of partially bypassing T4 and changing the P42 beamline configuration in order to have a sufficiently small beam size at the T10 target for both KLEVER and NA62-HI. Optics studies are developed in MADX and the AppLE.py, software developed at CERN

Design and evaluation of injection protection schemes for the FCC-hh injector options

The Future Circular Collider (FCC) study considers several injector scenarios for FCC-hh, the proposed 100~TeV centre of mass hadron collider located at CERN. The investigated options include amongst others to use the LHC at 3.3~TeV or a superconducting SPS at 1.3~TeV as a High Energy Booster (HEB). Due to the high energy of the injected proton beam and the short time constant of injection failures, a thorough consideration of potential failure cases is of major importance. Further attention has to be given to the fact that the injection is - as in LHC - located upstream of the side experiments. Failure scenarios are identified for both injector options, appropriate designs of injection protection schemes are proposed and first simulations are conducted to validate the protection efficiency

Beam studies and experimental facility for the AWAKE experiment at CERN

A Proton Driven Plasma Wakefield Acceleration Experiment has been proposed as an approach to eventually accelerate an electron beam to the TeV energy range in a single plasma section. To verify this novel technique, a proof of principle R&D experiment, AWAKE, is planned at CERN using 400 GeV proton bunches from the SPS. An electron beam will be injected into the plasma cell to probe the accelerating wakefield. The AWAKE experiment will be installed in the CNGS facility profiting from existing infrastructure where only minor modifications need to be foreseen. The design of the experimental area and the proton and electron beam lines are shown. The achievable SPS proton bunch properties and their reproducibility have been measured and are presented