Allen: A High-Level Trigger on GPUs for LHCb.

We describe a fully GPU-based implementation of the first level trigger for the upgrade of the LHCb detector, due to start data taking in 2021. We demonstrate that our implementation, named Allen, can process the 40 Tbit/s data rate of the upgraded LHCb detector and perform a wide variety of pattern recognition tasks. These include finding the trajectories of charged particles, finding proton-proton collision points, identifying particles as hadrons or muons, and finding the displaced decay vertices of long-lived particles. We further demonstrate that Allen can be implemented in around 500 scientific or consumer GPU cards, that it is not I/O bound, and can be operated at the full LHC collision rate of 30 MHz. Allen is the first complete high-throughput GPU trigger proposed for a HEP experiment.

Dehydropolymerisation of methylamine borane using a dinuclear 1,3-allenediyl bridged zirconocene complex.

The dinuclear zirconocene chloride complex 1 is a highly active precatalyst for the dehydropolymerisation of methylamine borane. Comparison with mononuclear Zr chlorides and related dinuclear complexes suggests that the nature of the bridging motif is essential for the unique reactivity of 1.

Epidemiological and histopathological study of leprosy cases in the state of Sergipe, Brazil.

Leprosy is a disease with different ratings due to the diversity of clinical manifestations. The most used classification by Reference Centers is the histopathological, which has been considered to have better specificity and sensitivity. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the histopathological types of profile of Leprosy patients from different parts of Sergipe, Brazil, from 1985 to 2005. For this purpose, it was used histopathological diagnosis reports filed at Prof. Dr. Nestor Piva Memorial from 1985 to 2005. There were 2,102 reports with Leprosy diagnosis, from which 1,165 (55.4%) cases were women, 1,224 (58.2%) cases were of mixed race and 1,835 (87.3%) were from the metropolitan area of Aracaju/SE. The mean age was 36.62 year. The smear microscopy classified 1,669 (79.4%) lesions as paucibacillary and there was a predominance of tuberculoid and indeterminate forms. Men were more likely to be multibacillary, as well as being the lepromatous pole. The determination of histopathological forms and the knowledge about the association and the epidemiological profile are important tools to contribute to public health policies.

Electrical impedance imaging at multiple frequencies in phantoms.

We have recently built and tested a 32 channel, multi-frequency (1 kHz to 1 MHz) voltage mode system to investigate electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) imaging. We completed a series of phantom experiments to define the baseline imaging performance of our system. Our phantom consisted of a plastic circular tank (20 cm diameter) filled with 0.9% aqueous NaCl solution. Conductors and nonconductors of decreasing width (W5: 3.4 cm, W4: 2.54 cm, W3: 0.95 cm, W2: 0.64 cm and WI: 0.32 cm) were positioned at various distances from the tank edge (1 cm, 2 cm, 4 cm and 8 cm). The results suggest that the detection of objects less than 1 cm in width is limited to the first 1 to 2 cm from the tank edge for absolute images, but this depth can extend to 8 cm in difference images. Larger 3.4 cm wide objects can be detected in absolute images at depths up to 8 cm from the tank edge. Generally, conductor images were clearer than their nonconductor counterparts. Not only did electrode artefacts lessen as the frequency increased, but the system's maximum resolution was attained at the highest operating frequencies. Although the system recovered the value of the electrical conductivity at the correct order of magnitude, it tended to smooth out large property discontinuities. The calculated electrical permittivity in these phantom studies was inconclusive due to the presence of electrode artefacts.

A multichannel continuously selectable multifrequency electrical impedance spectroscopy measurement system.

There is increasing evidence that alterations in the electrical property spectrum of tissues below 10 MHz is diagnostic for tissue pathology and/or pathophysiology. Yet, the complexity associated with constructing a high-fidelity multichannel, multifrequency data acquisition instrument has limited widespread development of spectroscopic electrical impedance imaging concepts. To contribute to the relatively sparse experience with multichannel spectroscopy systems this paper reports on the design, realization and evaluation of a prototype 32-channel instrument. The salient features of the system include a continuously selectable driving frequency up to 1 MHz, either voltage or current source modes of operation and simultaneous measurement of both voltage and current on each channel in either of these driving configurations. Comparisons of performance with recently reported fixed-frequency systems is favorable. Volts dc (VDC) signal-to-noise ratios of 75-80 dB are achieved and the noise floor for ac signals is near 100 dB below the signal strength of interest at 10 kHz and 60 dB down at 1 MHz. The added benefit of being able to record multispectral information on source and sense signal amplitudes and phases has also been realized. Phase-sensitive detection schemes and multiperiod undersampling techniques have been deployed to ensure measurement fidelity over the full bandwidth of system operation.

Pulmonary function assessment during bleomycin therapy.

20 male patients were treated for various tumors, most of them by combination therapy program including Cis-diammino-dichloroplatinum, Methotrexate and Bleomycin, the mean total dose for this last drug being 225 mg in 3 months (75 mg-300 mg). Spirometric tests, carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) and its components Dm (membrane diffusing capacity) and Vc (capillary blood volume) were performed before each course and at the end of the chemotherapy, to assess their value in detecting Bleomycin pulmonary toxicity. There was no statistically significant change in any ventilatory nor diffusional test among these 20 patients, carefully selected for the absence of cardiopulmonary history. There was a slight decrease of DLCO for 3 patients having received 300 mg of Bleomycin. The lack of cardiopulmonary history, the mean total dose under the toxic threshold, and perhaps the insufficient delay between the end of the treatment and the last control test, may explain this absence of variability of functional tests.

Influence of pre-incubation with one antibody on the binding of a second by human lymphocytes.

The reaction was studied of the J5-monoclonal antibody with the common acute leukemia antigen (CALLA) on non-malignant human tonsil lymphatic cells, which were double labelled also with antibodies against the B1 and HLA-DR antigens or the kappa and lambda light chains. There were few cells (mean 0-1.4%) which were positive with J5 but not B1. Other percentages of labelled cells depended on the order in which the antibodies were added. If the J5-antibody was added first, more B1 positive cells are found than if the B1 antibody is added first. Similarly, a significant (p less than 0.01-p less than 0.001) increase (3.3-18.8%) in the percentage of cells positive with J5 was found when the B1, kappa, and HLA-DR antibodies were added first, but not if antibody against lambda chains is added first. This difference was most pronounced and most significant for B1. This difference can be explained inter alia by steric differences between antibody conjugated and non-conjugated antigens followed by unmasking of other antigens. Double labelling is thus not equal to two single labellings.

Difference between monoclonal antibodies against the common acute leukemia antigen from two different hybridomas.

Antibodies directed against the common acute lymphoid leukemia antigen (CALLA) were obtained from 2 hybridomas: J5 (Schlossman, mice sensitized with patient ALL cells), and Vil-A1 (Knapp, sensitization with the Reh cell line). The percentage of lymphoid cells reacting with these 2 monoclonal antibodies were compared. Antibody dilution curves indicated that the dilutions used yielded maximum percentages of positive cells. The percentage of CALLA-positive cells with the J5 antibody was significantly (p less than 0.001) higher than that found with the Vil-A1 antibody in 16 non-neoplastic inflammatory tonsils and in 13 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphatic leukemia lymph-nodes (p less than 0.05). In contrast, the difference between CALLA positive cells with J5 and Vil-A1 was not significant (p greater than 0.5) in 19 acute lymphoid leukemias. The difference between the ALL-cells, presumably pre-B, and the B-cells from the non-ALL subjects was also statistically significant (p less than 0.01). The results suggest that the two hybridomas form antibodies against different CALLA epitopes. Vil-A1 seems somewhat more specific for ALL than J5.

Direct administration of methotrexate into the central nervous system of primates. Part 1: Distribution and degradation of methotrexate in nervous and systemic tissue after intraventricular injection.

Levels of methotrexate (MTX) measured by both 3H radioactivity and dihydrofolate reductase assays were determined in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), plasma, urine, and both neural and non-neural tissues at varying times after a single intraventricular injection into Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). Clearance of the MTX from CSF was rapid after injection. A relatively constant level of 3HMTX was reached in plasma 2 1/2 hours after injection, and about 30% of the 3HMTX dose was excreted in the urine within 4 hours after injection. Maximum levels in CNS tissues were obtained by 4 hours after injection, and average concentrations of 10(-6) M MTX (moles/kg wet weight) were maintained in CSF for up to 12 hours and in brain for up to 24 hours after injection. Conversion of MTX to non-MTX products was detected in CSF between 4 and 12 hours, and in brain tissue between 12 and 24 hours after injection, and the amount of these products increased with time. Regional distribution studies in the cerebrum showed a U-shaped distribution curve for 3HMTX up to 12 hours after injection, which closely followed the 14C inulin distribution. Thus, the levels in deep cerebral tissue were less than the average level for brain, and this suggests that treatment of CNS tumors by intraventricular injection may have variable results, partly due to complex tissue distribution patterns.

Direct administration of methotrexate into the central nervous system of primates. Part 2: Distribution of 3H methotrexate after intrathecal lumbar injection.

The kinetics of distribution of 3H methotrexate (3HMTX) in the central nervous system, plasma, and urine after intraventricular, lumbar percutaneous puncture, and spinal catheter injections were compared. Levels of 3HMTX in whole brain after lumbar percutaneous injection were 40 times less than after intraventricular injection. Injection of 3HMTX via a spinal catheter increased the level of 3HMTX in whole brain but this was still tenfold less than after direct intraventricular instillation. Also, it was found that a disproportionately high amount of 3HMTX was in the brain-stem-cerebellum region which would further reduce the concentration of methotrexate in the cerebral hemispheres. Both intraventricular and lumbar spinal catheter administration of 3HMTX produced 3HMTX levels greater than 10(-6)M (moles/kg wet weight) in spinal cord tissue as measured by 3H specific activity between 2 to 8 hours after injection. Administration by lumbar percutaneous puncture, however, rarely resulted in this suggested therapeutic level of 10(-6)M. Initial 3HMTX levels in plasma after lumbar percutaneous instillation was 24 times greater than after intraventricular or lumbar spinal catheter injections. This indicated significant and unavoidable extradural leakage after lumbar percutaneous puncture, which may account for the substantially lower levels of 3HMTX in the brain and spinal cord tissue. It is concluded that intraventricular instillation of methotrexate is the best route of administering the drug to achieve therapeutic levels of methotrexate in both whole brain and throughout the spinal cord.

Leukonychia trichophytica caused by Trichophyton rubrum.

A case of leukonychia is reported, in which Trichophyton rubrum was isolated from the nail plates and interdigital spaces of the toes. Treatment consisted of oral griseofulvin, which produced appreciable improvement after ten months' therapy.

Immunization of mice with a mutant of Cryptococcus neoformans. Characterization of the mutant, actively acquired resistance to experimental cryptococcosis in mice.

In 69% of subdermally and 50% of subcutaneously immunized mice, immunity against Cryptococcus neoformans was obtained. The vaccine consisted of a gamma-irradiated mutant, which grew well at 5 degree C and at room temperature. Many subcultures and animal passages did not restore this mutant to the encapsulated, pathogenic wild type.

Immunological studies of the anticryptococcal factor of normal human serum.

Preliminary studies have shown a very high inhibitory activity in the alpha2 and gamma zone of human serum towards the growth of Cryptococcus neoformans. These findings are now corroborated by single radial immunodiffusion tests, which showed the some loss of IgA and IgM globulins and of the other three globulin fractions (ceruloplasmin, alpha2 macroglobulin and alpha2 HS glycoprotein) which migrate in the alpha2 zone. The data was obtained by single radial immunodiffusion tests. The losses were not statistically significant however. No change in the immunoglobulin content of the sera kept for 6 days in contact with a heat-killed suspension of C. neoformans was noted. These findings suggest, that the inhibitory activity of the normal human serum on the in-vitro growth of C. neoformans is due to the above mentioned globulin fractions and not to a single specific factor.