The half-life of 221^{221}Fr in Si and Au at 4K and at mK temperatures

The half-life of the $\alpha$ decaying nucleus $^{221}$Fr was determined in different environments, i.e. embedded in Si at 4 K, and embedded in Au at 4 K and about 20 mK. No differences in half-life for these different conditions were observed within 0.1%. Furthermore, we quote a new value for the absolute half-life of $^{221}$Fr of t$_{1/2}$ = 286.1(10) s, which is of comparable precision to the most precise value available in literature

Enabling emergency flow prioritization in SDN networks

Emergency services must be able to transfer data with high priority over different networks. With 5G, slicing concepts at mobile network connections are introduced, allowing operators to divide portions of their network for specific use cases. In addition, Software-Defined Networking (SDN) principles allow to assign different Quality-of-Service (QoS) levels to different network slices.This paper proposes an SDN-based solution, executable both offline and online, that guarantees the required bandwidth for the emergency flows and maximizes the best-effort flows over the remaining bandwidth based on their priority. The offline model allows to optimize the problem for a batch of flow requests, but is computationally expensive, especially the variant where flows can be split up over parallel paths. For practical, dynamic situations, an online approach is proposed that periodically recalculates the optimal solution for all requested flows, while using shortest path routing and a greedy heuristic for bandwidth allocation for the intermediate flows.Afterwards, the offline approaches are evaluated through simulations while the online approach is validated through physical experiments with SDN switches, both in a scenario with 500 best-effort and 50 emergency flows. The results show that the offline algorithm is able to guarantee the resource allocation for the emergency flows while optimizing the best-effort flows with a sub-second execution time. As a proof-of-concept, a physical setup with Zodiac switches effectively validates the feasibility of the online approach in a realistic setup

Ion cyclotron wall conditioning experiments on Tore Supra in presence of the toroidal magnetic field

Wall conditioning techniques applicable in the presence of the high toroidal magnetic field will be required for the operation of ITER for tritium removal, isotopic ratio control and recovery to normal operation after disruptions. Recently ion cyclotron wall conditioning (ICWC) experiments have been carried out on Tore Supra in order to assess the efficiency of this technique in ITER relevant conditions. The ICRF discharges were operated in He/H-2 Mixtures at the Tore Supra nominal field (3.8 T) and a RF frequency of 48 MHz, i.e. within the ITER operational space. RF pulses of 60 s (max.) were applied using a standard Tore Supra two-strap resonant double loop antenna in ICWC mode, operated either in pi or 0-phasing with a noticeable improvement of the RF coupling in the latter case. In order to assess the efficiency of the technique for the control of isotopic ratio the wall was first preloaded using a D-2 glow discharge. After 15 minutes of ICWC in He/H-2 gas mixtures the isotopic ratio was altered from 4% to 50% at the price of an important H implantation into the walls. An overall analysis comparing plasma production and the conditioning efficiency as a function of discharge parameters is given

Satisfaction of patients on chronic haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis

BACKGROUND: In contrast to quality of life, patient satisfaction on chronic haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) has only rarely been studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All chronic HD and PD patients of the 19 centres located in western Switzerland were asked to complete a specific questionnaire, assessing dialysis centre characteristics, treatment modalities, and information received before and during dialysis treatment. Comparison between satisfaction with PD and HD was carried out on the patients in the nine centres offering both treatment modalities. RESULTS: Of the 558 questionnaires distributed to chronic HD patients, 455 were returned (response rate 82%). Fifty of 64 PD patients (78%) returned the questionnaire. The two groups were similar in age, gender, and duration of dialysis treatment. Completion rates were >90% for a majority of questions, with the lowest rate for information on sexuality (49% in HD and 54% in PD respectively). The lowest scores were recorded for information received about complications and costs of dialysis, and impact of end-stage kidney disease on sexuality. Satisfaction was lower in anonymous questionnaires. Satisfaction of PD patients was significantly better in 50% of the questions, particularly session tolerance (p<0.001), information about dialysis sessions (p=0.007), and complications (p=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: PD patients were on average more satisfied with their treatment than HD patients. Satisfaction could be improved with more information about potential adverse treatment effects

Weak Interaction Studies with 6He

The 6He nucleus is an ideal candidate to study the weak interaction. To this end we have built a high-intensity source of 6He delivering ~10^10 atoms/s to experiments. Taking full advantage of that available intensity we have performed a high-precision measurement of the 6He half-life that directly probes the axial part of the nuclear Hamiltonian. Currently, we are preparing a measurement of the beta-neutrino angular correlation in 6He beta decay that will allow to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model in the form of tensor currents.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, proceedings for the Eleventh Conference on the Intersections of Particle and Nuclear Physics (CIPANP 2012

Fine structure in the {\alpha}-decay of odd-even nuclei

Systematic study on {\alpha}-decay fine structure is presented for the first time in the case of odd-even nuclei in the range 83 \leq Z \leq 101. The model used for the study is the recently proposed Coulomb and proximity potential model for deformed nuclei (CPPMDN), which employs deformed Coulomb potential, deformed two term proximity potential and centrifugal potential. The computed partial half lives, total half lives and branching ratios are compared with experimental data and are in good agreement. The standard deviation of partial half-life is 1.08 and that for branching ratio is 1.21. Our formalism is also successful in predicting angular momentum hindered and structure hindered transitions. The present study reveals that CPPMDN is a unified theory which is successful in explaining alpha decay from ground and isomeric state; and alpha fine structure of even-even, even-odd and odd-even nuclei. Our study relights that the differences in the parent and daughter surfaces or the changes in the deformation parameters as well as the shell structure of the parent and daughter nuclei, influences the alpha decay probability.Comment: 35 pages, 5 figure

Unexpected borderline malignant and malignant smooth muscle cell tumors of the uterine corpus in women treated with LH-RH analogues

In this report, two cases of uterine smooth muscle cell tumors, one of uncertain malignant potential and one clearly malignant, are described in women treated for prolonged periods with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) analogues. Due to lengthy monitoring of LH-RH therapy, surgical intervention and histologic classification of these tumors was late in the course of disease, resulting in a delay in definite treatment. The risk to these women is discussed. The effects of LH-RH analogue therapy on fibroids is reviewed. Suggestions are put forward for monitoring LH-RH analogue therapy

Estimating and comparing food availability for tree-seed predators in typical pulsed-resource systems: alpine conifer forests.

Alpine conifers produce pulsed resources for the community of tree-seed consumers. Here, we describe field and statistical methods to estimate spatio-temporal variation in seed-crops in forests with different species composition. Annual and between-site variation in seed production was high and characterised by occurrence of mast-crops followed by seed-crop failure the following year. Seed-crops of different species did not fluctuate in parallel. Please see also: Plant Biosystem 143(3), Page 643 for Corrigendu

Squirrelpox virus: assessing prevalence, transmission and environmental degradation

Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) declined in Great Britain and Ireland during the last century, due to habitat loss and the introduction of grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), which competitively exclude the red squirrel and act as a reservoir for squirrelpox virus (SQPV). The disease is generally fatal to red squirrels and their ecological replacement by grey squirrels is up to 25 times faster where the virus is present. We aimed to determine: (1) the seropositivity and prevalence of SQPV DNA in the invasive and native species at a regional scale; (2) possible SQPV transmission routes; and, (3) virus degradation rates under differing environmental conditions. Grey (n = 208) and red (n = 40) squirrel blood and tissues were sampled. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) techniques established seropositivity and viral DNA presence, respectively. Overall 8% of squirrels sampled (both species combined) had evidence of SQPV DNA in their tissues and 22% were in possession of antibodies. SQPV prevalence in sampled red squirrels was 2.5%. Viral loads were typically low in grey squirrels by comparison to red squirrels. There was a trend for a greater number of positive samples in spring and summer than in winter. Possible transmission routes were identified through the presence of viral DNA in faeces (red squirrels only), urine and ectoparasites (both species). Virus degradation analyses suggested that, after 30 days of exposure to six combinations of environments, there were more intact virus particles in scabs kept in warm (25°C) and dry conditions than in cooler (5 and 15°C) or wet conditions. We conclude that SQPV is present at low prevalence in invasive grey squirrel populations with a lower prevalence in native red squirrels. Virus transmission could occur through urine especially during warm dry summer conditions but, more notably, via ectoparasites, which are shared by both species