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1. Search for the double-beta decay of $$^{82}$$Se to the excited states of $$^{82}$$Kr with NEMO-3

   https://doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2020.121701  

   R.Arnolda, C.Augierb (December 2021, Nuclear physics)

   The double-beta decay of 82Se to the 0+1excited state of 82Kr has been studied with the NEMO-3 detector using 0.93kg of enriched 82Se measured for 4.75y, corresponding to an exposure of 4.42kg·y. Adedicated analysis to reconstruct the γ-rays has been performed to search for events in the 2e2γchannel. No evidence of a 2νββdecay to the 0+1state has been observed and a limit of T2ν1/2(82Se, 0+gs→0+1) >1.3 ×1021yat 90%CL has been set. Concerning the 0νββdecay to the 0+1state, alimit for this decay has been obtained with T0ν1/2(82Se, 0+gs→0+1) >2.3 ×1022yat 90%CL, independently from the 2νββdecay process. These results are obtained for the first time with a tracko-calo detector, reconstructing every particle in the final state. 

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2. Recent upgrades to the calibration system of the CMS HCAL

   https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202532000042  

   Thayil, Steffie Ann; Martinez, German (January 2025, EPJ Web of Conferences)

   Chujo, T; Ootani, W (Ed.)

   The irradiation of the CMS Hadron Calorimeter (HCAL) subdetectors results in decreased signal output from the active materials as well as increased noise in the photodetectors used to read out the system. The HCAL has a dedicated calibration system used to monitor and correct for these effects and to help synchronise the timing of the subdetectors. The calibration system is described with a focus on the upgrades to the laser system, which has undergone significant changes since the end of Run 2 of the LHC in 2018. A new solid state laser has been installed and commissioned, and the optical setup for light distribution has been simplified. An upgrade to the laser trigger board has reduced the laser trigger jitter by an order of magnitude. A new system has also been developed to fire the laser, based on existing HCAL electronics. Future improvements to the system are also presented, including ongoing work on extending the system to include remote monitoring capabilities. 

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3. The distractor positivity component and the inhibition of distracting stimuli

   https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_02051  

   Gaspelin, Nicholas; Lamy, Dominique; Egeth, Howard E; Liesefeld, Heinrich R; Kerzel, Dirk; Mandal, Ananya; Müller, Matthias M; Schall, Jeffrey D; Schubö, Anna; Slagter, Heleen A; et al (January 2023, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience)

   Abstract There has been a long-lasting debate about whether salient stimuli, such as uniquely colored objects, have the ability to automatically distract us. To resolve this debate, it has been suggested that salient stimuli do attract attention but that they can be suppressed to prevent distraction. Some research supporting this viewpoint has focused on a newly discovered ERP component called the distractor positivity (PD), which is thought to measure an inhibitory attentional process. This collaborative review summarizes previous research relying on this component with a specific emphasis on how the PD has been used to understand the ability to ignore distracting stimuli. In particular, we outline how the PD component has been used to gain theoretical insights about how search strategy and learning can influence distraction. We also review alternative accounts of the cognitive processes indexed by the PD component. Ultimately, we conclude that the PD component is a useful tool for understanding inhibitory processes related to distraction and may prove to be useful in other areas of study related to cognitive control. 

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4. Changing demographics of scientific careers: The rise of the temporary workforce

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800478115  

   Milojević, Staša; Radicchi, Filippo; Walsh, John P. (December 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Contemporary science has been characterized by an exponential growth in publications and a rise of team science. At the same time, there has been an increase in the number of awarded PhD degrees, which has not been accompanied by a similar expansion in the number of academic positions. In such a competitive environment, an important measure of academic success is the ability to maintain a long active career in science. In this paper, we study workforce trends in three scientific disciplines over half a century. We find dramatic shortening of careers of scientists across all three disciplines. The time over which half of the cohort has left the field has shortened from 35 y in the 1960s to only 5 y in the 2010s. In addition, we find a rapid rise (from 25 to 60% since the 1960s) of a group of scientists who spend their entire career only as supporting authors without having led a publication. Altogether, the fraction of entering researchers who achieve full careers has diminished, while the class of temporary scientists has escalated. We provide an interpretation of our empirical results in terms of a survival model from which we infer potential factors of success in scientific career survivability. Cohort attrition can be successfully modeled by a relatively simple hazard probability function. Although we find statistically significant trends between survivability and an author’s early productivity, neither productivity nor the citation impact of early work or the level of initial collaboration can serve as a reliable predictor of ultimate survivability. 

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5. The Use of Dover-like Tool Stone by Pre-Mississippian Occupations in the Black Bottom of Southern Illinois

   Parish, Ryan M.; Butler, Brian (January 2017, Illinois archaeology)

   null (Ed.)

   The presence of Dover chert artifacts at the Mississippian Kincaid site was established in the 1930s and recent work has shown that Dover, or something very much like it, was being brought into the Black Bottom as early as the late Middle Archaic. There has been a growing concern that some of what has been traditionally identified as Dover chert in the Kincaid area is actually a variety of Fort Payne chert. Samples of Dover-like chert from Archaic and late Early-to-Middle Woodland (Baumer) components at Kincaid have been tested for geological provenance, and the results suggest that a preference for local Fort Payne chert existed during both occupations. 

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