α -event characterization and rejection in point-contact HPGe detectors.

P-type point contact (PPC) HPGe detectors are a leading technology for rare event searches due to their excellent energy resolution, low thresholds, and multi-site event rejection capabilities. We have characterized a PPC detector's response to α particles incident on the sensitive passivated and p + surfaces, a previously poorly-understood source of background. The detector studied is identical to those in the Majorana Demonstrator experiment, a search for neutrinoless double-beta decay ( 0 ν ß ß ) in 76 Ge. α decays on most of the passivated surface exhibit significant energy loss due to charge trapping, with waveforms exhibiting a delayed charge recovery (DCR) signature caused by the slow collection of a fraction of the trapped charge. The DCR is found to be complementary to existing methods of α identification, reliably identifying α background events on the passivated surface of the detector. We demonstrate effective rejection of all surface α events (to within statistical uncertainty) with a loss of only 0.2% of bulk events by combining the DCR discriminator with previously-used methods. The DCR discriminator has been used to reduce the background rate in the 0 ν ß ß region of interest window by an order of magnitude in the Majorana Demonstrator  and will be used in the upcoming LEGEND-200 experiment.

Noradrenergic function in generalized anxiety disorder: impact of treatment with venlafaxine on the physiological and psychological responses to clonidine challenge.

Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants have evidence of efficacy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD); however, it is not clear whether there is an advantage over selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medicines and there is limited evidence for noradrenergic dysfunction in GAD. We tested whether a dysfunctional alpha-2 adrenoceptor system is present in patients with GAD and the effects of SNRI treatment on this system. The method used was an infusion of clonidine (a selective alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist) on psychological and physiological outcomes in three subject groups: 10 untreated GAD patients, five SNRI-treated GAD patients and seven normal controls. The clonidine challenge elicited sedation, a rise in growth hormone, decrease in blood pressure, decline in saccadic eye movement (SEM) variables, and improvement in verbal fluency as anticipated in the 22 subjects examined. Lower cortisol levels were found in controls and higher blood pressure readings in GAD-treated subjects, as well as evidence that GAD-treated subjects had SEMs that were intermediate between control and GAD subjects' scores and have less clonidine-induced sedation. The implications of these findings with reference to the study hypothesis in this small study are discussed.

Incidence, prevalence, and mortality of diabetes mellitus in Wadena, Marshall, and Grand Rapids, Minnesota: the Three-City Study.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in concert with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted population-based studies of diabetes mellitus in three Minnesota communities. The use of hospital and clinic records alone for case ascertainment purposes would have missed 16% of study-eligible diabetic individuals. Thus, studies that use only hospital or clinic records may present a biased view of the natural history of diabetes. Physician-defined diabetes without additional diagnostic review yielded a prevalence of 1.6% (age standardized to the 1970 US Caucasian population). Diabetes incidence was 117 per 100,000 (age standardized to the same population). These results compare well with those of a Mayo Clinic population-based study in Rochester, Minnesota, and indicate the utility of physician-defined diabetes as an epidemiologic case definition. Despite differences in population size and structure as well as different medical care systems, diabetes incidence, prevalence, and mortality in these communities was remarkably similar.

Image reproduction with interactive graphics.

Software application or development in optical image digital data processing requires a fast, good quality, yet inexpensive hard copy of processed images. To achieve this, a Cambo camera with an f 2.8/150-mm Xenotar lens in a Copal shutter having a Graflok back for 4 x 5 Polaroid type 57 pack-film has been interfaced to an existing Adage, AGT-30/Electro-Mechanical, EMR 6050 graphic computer system. Time-lapse photography in conjunction with a log to linear voltage transformation has resulted in an interactive system capable of producing a hard copy in 54 sec (Fig. 1). The interactive aspect of the system lies in a Tektronix 4002 graphic computer terminal and its associated hard copy unit (Fig. 2).