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This conceptual design report provides a detailed account of the European Spallation Source neutrino Super Beam (ESS$\nu$SB) feasibility study. This facility has been proposed after the measurements reported in 2012 of a relatively large value of the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$, which raised the possibility of observing potential CP violation in the leptonic sector with conventional neutrino beams. The measured value of $\theta_{13}$ also privileges the $2^{nd}$ oscillation maximum for the discovery of CP violation instead of the more typically studied $1^{st}$ maximum. The sensitivity at this $2^{nd}$ oscillation maximum is about three times higher than at the $1^{st}$ one, which implies a reduced influence of systematic errors. Working at the $2^{nd}$ oscillation maximum requires a very intense neutrino beam with an appropriate energy. The world's most intense pulsed spallation neutron source, the European Spallation Source (ESS), will have a proton linac operating at 5\,MW power, 2\,GeV kinetic energy and 14~Hz repetition rate (3~ms pulse duration, 4\% duty cycle) for neutron production. In this design study it is proposed to double the repetition rate and compress the beam pulses to the level of microseconds in order to provide an additional 5~MW proton beam for neutrino production. The physics performance has been evaluated for such a neutrino super beam, in conjunction with a megaton-scale underground water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed at a distance of 360--550\,km from ESS. The ESS proton linac upgrades, the accumulator ring required for proton-pulse compression, the target station design and optimisation, the near and far detector complexes, and the physics potential of the facility are all described in this report. The ESS linac will be operational by 2025, at which point the implementation of upgrades for the neutrino facility could begin., Comment: 216 pages

Cardiovascular diseases, particularly coronary heart disease (CHD) caused by atherosclerosis, have the highest worldwide incidence and mortality rate of any type of disease. Aside from risk factors associated with lifestyle and comorbidities, infectious agents such as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes, which cause Lyme disease, may also play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease. A growing number of scientific papers have mentioned Lyme carditis. The aim of this study was to find the level of anti-Borrelia IgG antibodies in the blood serum of patients with advanced coronary heart disease. Materials and methods: The study group included 70 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery aged 50 to 82 (average 68.26). The ELISA test was used to detect anti-Borrelia/IgG antibodies in the blood serum. Serological testing revealed seropositivity in 34.29% of patients and ‘borderline results’ in 17.14% of patients. We found a link between antibody levels and tick bites but not with other risk factors for the development of CHD. Conclusions: These findings support the idea that, as one of many factors, the contact with spirochetal antigens may indicate a potential positive correlation with the formation of cardiovascular changes. More research, not only at the diagnostic level but also at the advanced research level, is needed.

Primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) is considered a major cause of nephrotic syndrome. The discovery of circulating autoantibodies directed against glomerular podocytes helped to classify them as autoimmune diseases. Over the past years, there has been an increasing significance of anti-Phospholipase A2 Receptor (anti-PLA

The goal of the ESS𝜈SB project is to discover and measure neutrino CP violation with unprecedented sensitivity. The associated ESS𝜈SB H2020 Design Study is aimed at investigating and proposing a conceptual design of a new neutrino superbeam in Europe. The Target Station is a key element of this project, since it will produce a high intensity neutrino superbeam from a 5MW proton beam delivered by the European Spallation Source at Lund. Work Package 4 of this project focuses on the optimization of the physics performance of the elements producing the beam, such as the targets and the magnetic horns, as well as on the technical aspects related to the Target Station design. The 5MW proton beam will be split laterally into four 1.25MW beams, each with 1.3 μs proton pulses and 14 Hz repetition rate, which will hit four separate targets inserted inside four horns. The production of the neutrino beam under such conditions requires the development of technologies capable of working at a MW power scale, both for the target and for the other components of the target station facility.

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a life-threatening disease causing systemic thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) due to the fact of complement dysregulation. Immune activation by viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, can lead to the development of an episode of aHUS against a background of genetic dysregulation in the complement pathway. This paper presents an analysis of two cases of aHUS—siblings diagnosed with familial disease, with a genetic predisposition to aHUS, in whom infection with SARS-CoV-2 was a strong trigger of disease recurrence. The quick recognition and treatment with eculizumab in the early stage of the disease resulted in a rapid improvement in clinical conditions and laboratory parameters.

Fully digital impedance bridges are emerging as measuring instruments for primary electrical impedance metrology and the realization of impedance units and scales. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of electronic fully digital impedance bridges for both generating (based on digital-to-analog converters) and digitizing (based on analog-to-digital converters) bridges. The sources of measurement error are analyzed in detail and expressed by explicit mathematical formulas ready to be applied to the specific bridge and measurement case of interest. The same can be employed also as a basis to optimize the design and the operating parameters of digital bridges and evaluate the measurement uncertainty. A practical application of the analysis to the digital bridges developed and measurements performed in the framework of an international research project is presented.

We present here a comprehensive analysis of the error sources in electronic fully-digital impedance bridges, for both sourcing and digitizing bridges. This work can be used as a basis to optimize the design and the operating parameters of digital bridges, and in the evaluation of the uncertainty.

This paper presents a sampling measurement system designed to compare ac standard resistors within a range from 1 $\text{m}\Omega $ to 10 $\Omega $ at frequencies ranging from 40 Hz to 10 kHz and for measurement currents up to 10 A. The system allows simultaneous measurement of both components of impedance of the calibrated resistor relative to the reference resistor. Built on the basis of commercial PXI modules, complemented by modules developed by the authors, the system stands out relatively simple structure and fully automatic operation. In order to reduce the impact of parasitic impedances on the comparison accuracy, a completely automated interchange method and the original way of connecting a digitizer to the compared impedances were applied. The consistency of the measured ac resistance ratios from 1:1 to 1:10 is better than 1 $\mu \Omega /\Omega $ and phase difference better than 6 $\mu $ rad, over the entire frequency range. The results of several comparisons and the analysis of their uncertainty show that for the comparisons of resistors with a resistance ratio close to one, the relative uncertainty of the resistance ratio measurement is 2.3 $\mu \Omega /\Omega $ ( $k=2$ ) over the entire frequency range. The uncertainty of the difference between the time constants of the compared resistors is at the level of 0.2 ns ( $k=2$ ) at 1 kHz.

The core objective of EMPIR project 17RPT04 VersICaL is to improve the European measurement infrastructure for electrical impedance, with particular emphasis on the capabilities of developing NMIs and calibration centres. The project will seek to exploit the results of existing research on digital impedance bridges (DIBs) by designing, constructing and validating simple, affordable versions suitable to realise the impedance scale in the range 1 nF to 10 μF and 1 mH to 10 H with relative uncertainties in the range 10-5 to 10-6. The first results of the research project, including the bridge designs and details of a polyphase digitally synthesized multichannel source capable of providing voltage outputs of precise ratio and phase are presented.

High-resolution multiplying digital-to-analog converters (MDACs) are often used as digitally controlled ac voltage dividers in precise instruments and measurement systems. Proper application of these converters requires knowledge of their parameters, especially amplitude and phase errors, which are usually not specified by MDAC manufacturers. This paper presents the results of investigations of voltage amplitude ratio errors and phase errors, as well as the time stability of voltage ratio and phase shift of selected commercial 16- and 18-bit MDACs. These parameters were measured with a dedicated high-resolution sampling system. The amplitude ratio and phase errors were determined as a function of the MDAC digital input word. Phase errors were also determined as a function of frequency.

Magnetic biochar nanocomposites were obtained by modification of biochar by zero-valent iron. The article provides information on the impact of contact time, initial Cd(II), Co(II), Zn(II), and Pb(II) ion concentrations, dose of the sorbents, solution pH and temperature on the adsorption capacity. On the basis of experiments, it was found that the optimum parameters for the sorption process are phase contact time 360 min (after this time, the equilibrium of all concentrations is reached), the dose of sorbent equal to 5 g/dm3, pH 5 and the temperature 295 K. The values of parameters calculated from the kinetic models and isotherms present the best match to the pseudo second order and Langmuir isotherm models. The calculated thermodynamic parameters ∆H 0, ∆S 0 and ∆G 0 indicate that the sorption of heavy metal ions is an exothermic and spontaneous process as well as favoured at lower temperatures, suggesting the physical character of sorption. The solution of nitric acid(V) at the concentration 0.1 mol/dm3 was the best acidic desorbing agent used for regeneration of metal-loaded magnetic sorbents. The physicochemical properties of synthesized composites were characterized by FTIR, SEM, XRD, XPS and TG analyses. The point characteristics of the double layer for biochar pHPZC and pHIEP were designated.

In Poland, the national time and frequency standard (NTFS) is realized by means of three caesium atomic clocks, a system for the generation of the Polish time scale UTC(PL), and measuring systems for comparing directly and indirectly the atomic clocks and time scale. In order to ensure the best realization of NTFS, the Institute of Electrical Metrology at the University of Zielona Gora (IME UZ), in cooperation with the Central Office of Measures (GUM), has developed and built an integrated monitoring and control system. This system significantly increases the functional capabilities of autonomous measuring systems used previously at GUM and adds new features that increase the reliability and safety of the NTFS. Examples of such features are: automatic detection of invalid operating conditions (including breakdowns) of the atomic clocks and remote notification of alarms, as well as a new approach to predicting corrections for UTC(PL) using neural networks (NNs). In this paper, the presentation of hardware and software of the NTFS is limited to their general features. However, the application of NNs for predicting corrections for UTC(PL) and automation in determining the standard radio frequency deviation from its nominal value are presented in more detail.

This paper characterizes the metrological properties of a dual-channel high-resolution digitizer designed for use in a system to calibrate standard resistors with values between 1 $\hbox{m} \Omega$ and 10 $\Omega$ at frequencies from 40 Hz to 10 kHz. The possibility of using a digitizer to measure the complex voltage ratio is analyzed for both digitizer operating modes: the dual-channel mode with a simultaneous sampling and the single-channel mode with a sequential sampling in which an additional external multiplexer is used. The method of acquiring samples presented in this paper was used to investigate and compare the short-time stability and temperature influences on the metrological properties of the digitizer. This makes it possible to reduce the influence of the instability of the generator, being the signal source for the tested digitizer, on the research results. Moreover, presented in this paper are the frequency characteristics of the magnitude and phase of the complex voltage ratio, as well as the research results of the digitizer linearity and the phase measurement accuracy. All measurements discussed here were performed for both digitizer operating modes.

The synthesis of the chitosan/magnetite nanocomposites is presented. Composites were prepared by co-precipitation of iron(II) and iron(III) salts by aqueous ammonia in the 0.1 % chitosan solution. It was shown that magnetite synthesis in the chitosan medium does not affect the magnetite crystal structure. The thermal analysis data showed 4.6 % of mass concentration of chitosan in the hybrid chitosan/magnetite composite. In the concentration range of initial Gd-DTPA solution up to 0.4 mmol/L, addition of chitosan to magnetite increases the adsorption capacity and affinity to Gd-DTPA complex. The Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were applied to describe adsorption processes. Nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and specific surface area determination (ASAP) methods.

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter 'D-shuttle' for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the terrestrial background radiation level of other regions/countries. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Streszczenie — Zbadano przebieg zniszczenia w warunkach trojpunktowego zginania statycznego probek laminatow ?ywica poliestrowa — tkanina szklana klasycznych (niezszywanych) oraz ze wzmocnieniem zszywanym. Przebieg zniszczenia rejestrowano fotograficznie oraz dokonywano zapisu sygna³u emisji akustycznej. Stwierdzono, ?e zainicjowanie badanego procesu w laminatach zarowno zszywanych, jak i niezszywanych zachodzi na drodze delaminacji. W laminatach zszywanych jest ona przy tym wyraŸnie ograniczona przez szwy, poniewa? si³y wywo³uj¹ce napre?enia styczne lub translaminarne s¹ w tym przypadku przenoszone przez szwy na warstwy wzmocnienia. Laminat zszywany charakteryzuje mniej gwa³towny przebieg zniszczenia ni? laminat klasyczny. W kompozycie niezszywanym w chwili osi¹gniecia przez materia³ maksimum napre?enia dominuj¹cym mechanizmem zniszczenia jest delaminacyjne pekanie osnowy, w laminacie zszywanym natomiast dominuj¹ce jest pekanie w³okien. W tym ostatnim zaobserwowano znaczniejsz¹ ni? w laminacie klasycznym liczbe elementarnych peknieae obu sk³adnikow, co jest prawdopodobnie efektem obecnoœci wiekszej iloœci defektow struktury. S³owa kluczowe: kompozyt, ?ywica poliestrowa, w³okno szklane, laminat zszywany, zginanie statyczne, przebieg zniszczenia. FAILURE PROGRESS OF STITCHED REINFORCED POLYESTER-GLASS LAMINATE AT STATIC BENDING Summary — The course of failure of polyester-glass fabric laminates, classic (non-stitched) and stitched ones (Fig. 1, 2), has been studied at three-point static bending tests of the samples. The failure progress was recorded using photographic (Fig. 3—5) and acoustic emission (Fig. 6—9) methods. It was found that failure process initiation in stitched or non-stitched laminates run by delamination. Delamination in stitched laminates is clearly limited by stitches as the forces causing tangential or translaminar stresses are carried by the stitches to reinforcement layers in a laminate. So the stitched laminate shows milder failure progress than the classic one. At the moment of reaching the maximal stress a dominant failure mechanism in non-stitched composite is delaminating cracking of a matrix while in stitched laminate — cracking of reinforcing fibers. In the latter the higher number of elementary cracks of both components was observed than in classic one, what probably resulted from the higher number of structural defects.

The authors presents case report of a 59-years-old man with triple vessel coronary artery disease, hypertension after myocardial infarction of the inferior wall with sternal wound complcations after coronary bypass grafting (CABG). On the fourth postoperative day the patient developed sternal dehiscence with wound infection. Infection was caused by Staphylococcus haemolyticus--coagulase-negative methicillin-resistant strain, MRCNS. An antimicrobial therapy and negative pressure wound therapy were used for complete wound healing.

A study of the insects inhabiting of cones of Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) Karst. in the Tatra National Park was conducted during 1987–92. As a result of breeding and analyses of the cones collected from trees at various altitudes above sea level, 53 746 specimens of cono- and seminiphagous insects were collected. Interior damage to cones and the losses of spruce seeds caused by pests were measured, with regard both to the variable cone crop abundance of spruce and to different altitudes above sea level. The role of parasitoids in limiting the numbers of some cono- and seminiphagous insects was also estimated.

The paper characterizes selected properties of a dual-channel digitizer designed for a low value resistor calibration system working in the frequency range from 40 Hz to 10 kHz. There are presented the experimentally determined frequency characteristics of magnitude and phase of the complex voltage ratio, as well as the research results of the digitizer linearity and the phase measurement accuracy.

The original method of the non-linear distortions correction is presented. Aperiodic steady state of the linear periodical time-varying system may be described using a circular parametric operator. Within the domain of discrete time, such an operator takes the form of a constant real entries matrix. This way of system characterization is adopted to describe the steady state of the non-linear system. For reconstructing distorted signals some inverse circular parametric operators are determined using an original identification algorithm based on the set of input and output signals. The non-linear system operation depends on input signal shape and amplitude, thus each operator is determined for the different, so called, basic input signal. The described method is effective in some situations, but it requires further research to improve accuracy.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of C. pneumoniae infection in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) patients by measuring C. pneumoniae specific serum IgG, IgM and IgA levels and the activation of their immune system by measuring the concentrations of IL-10, IL-12, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in patients' serum. Microimmunofluorescence method was applied to evaluate the level of anti-C. pneumoniae IgG, IgA and IgM. The concentrations of cytokines were evaluated using ELISA method. Serologic markers of persistent C. pneumoniae infection have been detected in 25/28 (89.3%) patients and in 6/20 (30%) healthy controls. In 40% (10/25) of patients with serologic markers of persistent C. pneumoniae infection high titers of specific IgG and IgA indicated active infection--reinfection or exacerbation of chronic infection. Mean concentrations of IL-10, IL-12, IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha indicated lack of protection against intracellular pathogens. Since all patients in this group were diagnosed as having symptomatic AAA, we suggest that active infection can exacerbate inflammation in the AAA wall and accelerate progression of the disease. In our opinion patients with active C. pneumoniae infection may be candidates to the antimicrobial treatment.

To investigate the possible role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of female infertility, we examined the peritoneal fluid (PF) and plasma lipid peroxides levels in infertile women.4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were measured in peritoneal fluid and plasma samples obtained from: 10 infertile women with minimal and mild endometriosis, 24 patients with unexplained infertility, 11 women with PCOS and 14 patients with tubal infertility.PF lipid peroxides level was significantly higher in women with idiopathic infertility compared to other groups. Plasma 4-HNE and MDA concentrations did not differ significantly between the infertile groups. No significant difference or relationship was observed between peritoneal fluid and plasma lipid peroxides levels.Increased free radicals activity in the peritoneal fluid environment may be the factor responsible for some cases of "unexplained infertility".

The aim of this study was to determine the concentration of cytokine IL-6 in correlation with its soluble receptor sIL-6R in the serum and CSF of MS patients.The study group consisted of 52 MS patients in clinical stage 2-7 according to the Kurtzke Scale (mean 3.6 +/- 1.8); the disease duration ranged from 2 to 22 years. The levels of interleukin-6 and sIL-6R in serum and CSF were determined using commercial ELISA kits.An significant increase of IL-6 (p=0.03) was found in the serum of MS patients (12.1 +/- 1.8 pg/ml) in comparison to the control group (6.6 +/- 4.5 pg/ml). The concentration of IL-6 in the CSF of MS patients was 13.4 +/- 1.77 pg/ml, and in the majority of patients was higher than in the serum. The highest mean IL-6 concentrations in serum and CSF were found in patients with a longer disease duration, although the differences were not statistically significant. We found some degree of dependence between the serum IL-6 concentration and the level of disability on the Kurtzke scale. The concentrations of sIL-6R in serum (34.0 +/- 39.0 pg/ml) and cerebrospinal fluid (1.4 +/- 3.3 pg/ml) were significantly higher in MS patients than in the controls.IL-6 and its soluble receptors are involved in a complex immunological reaction that is characteristic for MS. However, the significant differences in the results obtained here from those reported in other studies make it rather unlikely that IL-6 and its receptors could be used as surrogate markers of MS activity.

To assess the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and lipid peroxides (the marker of free radicals activity) in peritoneal fluid (PF) of infertile women with minimal and mild endometriosis.19 women were studied, including 9 infertile women with minimal or mild endometriosis and 10 patients with tubal occlusion (the reference group). Lipid peroxides (malonyldialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal), TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma concentrations were measured in the PF using commercially available kits.Concentration of IFN-gamma was detectable in PF of 7 (77.8%) women with endometriosis and in PF from 3 (30%) patients with tubal occlusion. Neither TNF-alpha or lipid peroxides PF concentration differed significantly (p0.05) between the groups. In the group with endometriosis we have found a positive correlation (R = 0.77, p = 0.04) between the concentrations of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma.Our results suggest that oxidative stress in the PF doesn't appear to play a role in endometriosis-associated infertility.

The aim of the study was to determine the plasma level of sICAM-1 in acute psoriatic patients in contrast to normal subjects. Moreover, we have tried to answer whether disease severity index (PASI) correlates with plasma level of sICAM-1. We have determined the plasma levels of sICAM-1 by ELISA (Genzyme Corporation) in 23 patients with acute psoriasis before and after the treatment of the disease and in 11 controls. Patients with acute psoriasis have displayed higher levels of sICAM-1 (306.4 +/- 226.8 ng/ml) compared with the controls (141.2 +/- 49.2 ng/ml) and the same patients after clearing of the disease (154.7 +/- 126.7 ng/ml). We have not found any correlation between plasma levels of sICAM-1 and severity index of psoriasis (PASI). We have concluded: the plasma levels of sICAM-1 are not related to disease severity in acute psoriasis. Clearing of the psoriasis is followed by significant fall of plasma sICAM-1.