Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Flood risk management in Flanders: from flood risk objectives to appropriate measures through state assessment

In compliance with the EU Flood Directive to reduce flood risk, flood risk management objectives are indispensable for the delineation of necessary measures. In Flanders, flood risk management objectives are part of the environmental objectives which are judicially integrated by the Decree on Integrated Water Policy. Appropriate objectives were derived by supporting studies and extensive consultation on a local, regional and policy level. Under a general flood risk objective sub-objectives are formulated for different aspects: water management and safety, shipping, ecology, and water supply. By developing a risk matrix, it is possible to assess the current state of flood risk and to judge where action is needed to decrease the risk. Three different states of flood risk are distinguished: a) acceptable risk, where no action is needed, b) intermediate risk where the risk should be reduced by cost efficient actions, and c) unacceptable risk, where action is necessary. For each particular aspect, the severity of the consequences of flooding is assessed by quantifiable indicators, such as economic risk, people at risk and ecological flood tolerance. The framework also allows evaluating the effects of the implemented measures and the autonomous development such as climate change and land use change. This approach gives a quantifiable assessment of state, and enables a prioritization of flood risk measures for the reduction of flood risk in a cost efficient and sustainable way

Insights into the architecture and stoichiometry of Escherichia coli PepA•DNA complexes involved in transcriptional control and site-specific DNA recombination by atomic force microscopy

Multifunctional Aminopeptidase A (PepA) from Escherichia coli is involved in the control of two distinct DNA transaction processes: transcriptional repression of the carAB operon, encoding carbamoyl phosphate synthase and site-specific resolution of ColE1-type plasmid multimers. Both processes require communication at a distance along a DNA molecule and PepA is the major structural component of the nucleoprotein complexes that underlie this communication. Atomic Force Microscopy was used to analyze the architecture of PepA·carAB and PepA·cer site complexes. Contour length measurements, bending angle analyses and volume determinations demonstrate that the carP1 operator is foreshortened by ∼235 bp through wrapping around one PepA hexamer. The highly deformed part of the operator extends from slightly upstream of the –35 hexamer of the carP1 promoter to just downstream of the IHF-binding site, and comprises the binding sites for the PurR and RutR transcriptional regulators. This extreme remodeling of the carP1 control region provides a straightforward explanation for the strict requirement of PepA in the establishment of pyrimidine and purine-specific repression of carAB transcription. We further provide a direct physical proof that PepA is able to synapse two cer sites in direct repeat in a large interwrapped nucleoprotein complex, likely comprising two PepA hexamers

Performance studies of the CMS strip tracker before installation

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