Onset of carbon-carbon bonding in the Nb(5)C(y) (y = 0-6) clusters: a threshold photo-ionisation and density functional theory study.

PubMed

Dryza, Viktoras; Gascooke, Jason R; Buntine, Mark A; Metha, Gregory F

2009-02-21

We have used photo-ionisation efficiency spectroscopy to determine the ionisation potentials (IPs) of the niobium-carbide clusters, Nb(5)C(y) (y = 0-6). Of these clusters Nb(5)C(2) and Nb(5)C(3) exhibit the lowest IPs. Complementary density functional theory calculations have been performed to locate the lowest energy isomers for each cluster. By comparing the experimental IPs with those calculated for candidate isomers, the structures of the Nb(5)C(y) clusters observed in the experiment are inferred. For all these structures, the underlying Nb(5) cluster has either a "prolate" or "oblate" trigonal bipyramid geometry. Both Nb(5)C(5) and Nb(5)C(6) are shown to contain carbon-carbon bonding in the form of one and two molecular C(2) units, respectively.

The interaction of excited atoms and few-cycle laser pulses

PubMed Central

Calvert, J. E.; Xu, Han; Palmer, A. J.; Glover, R. D.; Laban, D. E.; Tong, X. M.; Kheifets, A. S.; Bartschat, K.; Litvinyuk, I. V.; Kielpinski, D.; Sang, R. T.

2016-01-01

This work describes the first observations of the ionisation of neon in a metastable atomic state utilising a strong-field, few-cycle light pulse. We compare the observations to theoretical predictions based on the Ammosov-Delone-Krainov (ADK) theory and a solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE). The TDSE provides better agreement with the experimental data than the ADK theory. We optically pump the target atomic species and measure the ionisation rate as the a function of different steady-state populations in the fine structure of the target state which shows significant ionisation rate dependence on populations of spin-polarised states. The physical mechanism for this effect is unknown. PMID:27666403

The interaction of excited atoms and few-cycle laser pulses.

PubMed

Calvert, J E; Xu, Han; Palmer, A J; Glover, R D; Laban, D E; Tong, X M; Kheifets, A S; Bartschat, K; Litvinyuk, I V; Kielpinski, D; Sang, R T

2016-09-26

This work describes the first observations of the ionisation of neon in a metastable atomic state utilising a strong-field, few-cycle light pulse. We compare the observations to theoretical predictions based on the Ammosov-Delone-Krainov (ADK) theory and a solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE). The TDSE provides better agreement with the experimental data than the ADK theory. We optically pump the target atomic species and measure the ionisation rate as the a function of different steady-state populations in the fine structure of the target state which shows significant ionisation rate dependence on populations of spin-polarised states. The physical mechanism for this effect is unknown.

[Morphology determination of multi-needle bipolar corona discharge by OES].

PubMed

Chen, Hai-Feng; Su, Peng-Hao; Zhu, Yi-Min

2009-01-01

Using the method of OES (optical emission spectrum) for measuring N2 emission spectrum, the spacial distribution of energetic electrons in multi-needle bipolar corona discharge at atmospheric pressure was investigated. According to the distribution of N2 second positive band's intensity ISPB, the outline of ionisation region was drawn accurately. The relationship between ISPB and discharge current I was obtained through the sum of ISPB. There are two ionisation regions in the multi-needle bipolar corona discharge. One is near the HV electrode and the other is near the grounded electrode. The ionisation region exists around the needlepoint within 2-3 mm. The volume of ionisation region becomes big with the applied voltage U increasing. The ionisation region of negative corona is bigger than that of positive corona. Near the HV discharge electrode, the outline of electron avalanche is similar to the configuration of electric field lines in the ionisation region, so the electron avalanche along the axis direction of needle develops farther than that along the radial direction. The electric field in the migration area is weak, and the distribution of space charges is large along the radial direction. The sum of ISPB in each ionisation region is second order linear with I, but the quadratic coefficient is very small. So the sum of ISPB is nearly linear with I, the distribution of ISPB is corresponding to the density distribution of energetic electrons. So the charged particles forming the discharge current in ionisation region are electrons. No emission spectrum of N2 can be measured in migration area, so there is no energetic electron. The energetic electrons only exist in ionisation region and the charged particles in migration area are ions.

Electron-induced scattering dynamics of Boron, Aluminium and Gallium trihalides in the intermediate energy domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Pankaj; Alam, Mohammad Jane; Ahmad, Shabbir; Antony, Bobby

2018-05-01

This article is focused on the calculation of electron-induced ionisation and total scattering cross sections by Boron, Aluminium and Gallium trihalide molecules in the intermediate energy domain. The computational formalism, spherical complex optical potential has been employed for the study of these two scattering cross sections. The ionisation cross section has been derived from the inelastic cross section using a semi-empirical method called complex scattering potential-ionisation contribution (CSP-ic) method. We have also calculated the ionisation cross section using the BEB theory with Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT- ωB97XD) orbitals so that a comparison can be made with the cross sections predicted by CSP-ic method. For this theoretical study, we have also calculated polarisability and bond length of some targets which were not found in literature using DFT/B3LYP in Gaussian 09 software.

An investigation of the matrix sensitivity of refinery gas analysis using gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection.

PubMed

Ferracci, Valerio; Brown, Andrew S; Harris, Peter M; Brown, Richard J C

2015-02-27

The response of a flame ionisation detector (FID) on a gas chromatograph to methane, ethane, propane, i-butane and n-butane in a series of multi-component refinery gas standards was investigated to assess the matrix sensitivity of the instrument. High-accuracy synthetic gas standards, traceable to the International System of Units, were used to minimise uncertainties. The instrument response exhibited a small dependence on the component amount fraction: this behaviour, consistent with that of another FID, was thoroughly characterised over a wide range of component amount fractions and was shown to introduce a negligible bias in the analysis of refinery gas samples, provided a suitable reference standard is employed. No significant effects of the molar volume, density and viscosity of the gas mixtures on the instrument response were observed, indicating that the FID is suitable for the analysis of refinery gas mixtures over a wide range of component amount fractions provided that appropriate drift-correction procedures are employed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concentration-dependent effect of hypocalcaemia on in vitro clot strength in patients at risk of bleeding: a retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Ho, K M; Yip, C B

2016-02-01

It is uncertain whether hypocalcaemia is associated with an increased risk of bleeding. This study assessed the dose-related relationship between ionised calcium concentrations and in vitro clot strength measured by maximum amplitude (MA) on the thromboelastograph (TEG). A total of 610 patients who were at risk of bleeding or had active bleeding between 2010 and 2014 were considered in this retrospective cohort study. A scatter plot with Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and multiple linear regression was used to assess the dose-related relationship between ionised calcium concentrations and MA on the TEG. The mean ionised calcium of the patients was 1·10 mmol L(-1) (interquartile range: 1·04-1·17) and 235 (38·5%) of them had hypocalcaemia (<1·1 mmol L(-1) ). Hypocalcaemia was more common in patients with significant coexisting coagulopathy. Ionised calcium concentrations (r = 0·285, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·211-0·356, P = 0·001), as well as fibrinogen concentrations, platelet counts, international normalised ratio (INR) and activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT), had a significant linear correlation with the MA on the TEG. Ionised calcium concentrations and its interaction term with platelet count were both significantly associated with the MA on the TEG (slope of the regression line 1·1 per 0·1 mmol L(-1) increment, 95%CI 0·3 to 1·9, P = 0·011), after adjusting for fibrinogen concentrations, platelet counts, INR and aPTT. Ionised calcium concentrations had a concentration-dependent association with in vitro clot strength after adjusting for other coagulation abnormalities in patients with coexisting coagulopathy. Maintaining a normal ionised calcium concentration, >1 mmol L(-1) , during critical bleeding is recommended. © 2016 British Blood Transfusion Society.

How do air ions reflect variations in ionising radiation in the lower atmosphere in a boreal forest?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xuemeng; Kerminen, Veli-Matti; Paatero, Jussi; Paasonen, Pauli; Manninen, Hanna E.; Nieminen, Tuomo; Petäjä, Tuukka; Kulmala, Markku

2016-11-01

Most of the ion production in the atmosphere is attributed to ionising radiation. In the lower atmosphere, ionising radiation consists mainly of the decay emissions of radon and its progeny, gamma radiation of the terrestrial origin as well as photons and elementary particles of cosmic radiation. These types of radiation produce ion pairs via the ionisation of nitrogen and oxygen as well as trace species in the atmosphere, the rate of which is defined as the ionising capacity. Larger air ions are produced out of the initial charge carriers by processes such as clustering or attachment to pre-existing aerosol particles. This study aimed (1) to identify the key factors responsible for the variability in ionising radiation and in the observed air ion concentrations, (2) to reveal the linkage between them and (3) to provide an in-depth analysis into the effects of ionising radiation on air ion formation, based on measurement data collected during 2003-2006 from a boreal forest site in southern Finland. In general, gamma radiation dominated the ion production in the lower atmosphere. Variations in the ionising capacity came from mixing layer dynamics, soil type and moisture content, meteorological conditions, long-distance transportation, snow cover attenuation and precipitation. Slightly similar diurnal patterns to variations in the ionising capacity were observed in air ion concentrations of the cluster size (0.8-1.7 nm in mobility diameters). However, features observed in the 0.8-1 nm ion concentration were in good connection to variations of the ionising capacity. Further, by carefully constraining perturbing variables, a strong dependency of the cluster ion concentration on the ionising capacity was identified, proving the functionality of ionising radiation in air ion production in the lower atmosphere. This relationship, however, was only clearly observed on new particle formation (NPF) days, possibly indicating that charges after being born underwent different processes on NPF days and non-event days and also that the transformation of newly formed charges to cluster ions occurred in a shorter timescale on NPF days than on non-event days.

Ionisation density effects following optical excitation in LiF:Mg, Ti (TLD-100).

PubMed

Weiss, D; Horowitz, Y; Oster, L

2007-01-01

The TL signal following 5 eV photon excitation of previously irradiated and readout material has been studied as a function of ionisation density and various experimental parameters: (i) maximum temperature of the first readout; (ii) photon fluence; (iii) photon energy and (iv) beta ray dose. Following alpha particle irradiation, the ratio of the second-readout to first-readout TL signal, epsilon(alpha,) has been found to be 10-20 times higher than that following beta irradiation, indicative of the possibility of using the double ratio epsilon(alpha)/epsilon(beta) as a mixed-field discriminator. The beginning of an attempt to explain this unusual effect is offered in the framework of the track structure theory and kinetic modelling of the beta ray dose-response of the first and second readouts.

Basis sets for the calculation of core-electron binding energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanson-Heine, Magnus W. D.; George, Michael W.; Besley, Nicholas A.

2018-05-01

Core-electron binding energies (CEBEs) computed within a Δ self-consistent field approach require large basis sets to achieve convergence with respect to the basis set limit. It is shown that supplementing a basis set with basis functions from the corresponding basis set for the element with the next highest nuclear charge (Z + 1) provides basis sets that give CEBEs close to the basis set limit. This simple procedure provides relatively small basis sets that are well suited for calculations where the description of a core-ionised state is important, such as time-dependent density functional theory calculations of X-ray emission spectroscopy.

Lemna minor plants chronically exposed to ionising radiation: RNA-seq analysis indicates a dose rate dependent shift from acclimation to survival strategies.

PubMed

Van Hoeck, Arne; Horemans, Nele; Nauts, Robin; Van Hees, May; Vandenhove, Hildegarde; Blust, Ronny

2017-04-01

Ecotoxicological research provides knowledge on ionising radiation-induced responses in different plant species. However, the sparse data currently available are mainly extracted from acute exposure treatments. To provide a better understanding of environmental exposure scenarios, the response to stress in plants must be followed in more natural relevant chronic conditions. We previously showed morphological and biochemical responses in Lemna minor plants continuously exposed for 7days in a dose-rate dependent manner. In this study responses on molecular (gene expression) and physiological (photosynthetic) level are evaluated in L. minor plants exposed to ionising radiation. To enable this, we examined the gene expression profiles of irradiated L. minor plants by using an RNA-seq approach. The gene expression data reveal indications that L. minor plants exposed at lower dose rates, can tolerate the exposure by triggering acclimation responses. In contrast, at the highest dose rate tested, a high number of genes related to antioxidative defense systems, DNA repair and cell cycle were differentially expressed suggesting that only high dose rates of ionising radiation drive L. minor plants into survival strategies. Notably, the photosynthetic process seems to be unaffected in L. minor plants among the tested dose rates. This study, supported by our earlier work, clearly indicates that plants shift from acclimation responses towards survival responses at increasing dose rates of ionising radiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photodissociation and photoionisation of atoms and molecules of astrophysical interest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heays, A. N.; Bosman, A. D.; van Dishoeck, E. F.

2017-06-01

A new collection of photodissociation and photoionisation cross sections for 102 atoms and molecules of astrochemical interest has been assembled, along with a brief review of the basic physical processes involved. These have been used to calculate dissociation and ionisation rates, with uncertainties, in a standard ultraviolet interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and for other wavelength-dependent radiation fields, including cool stellar and solar radiation, Lyman-α dominated radiation, and a cosmic-ray induced ultraviolet flux. The new ISRF rates generally agree within 30% with our previous compilations, with a few notable exceptions. Comparison with other databases such as PHIDRATES is made. The reduction of rates in shielded regions was calculated as a function of dust, molecular and atomic hydrogen, atomic C, and self-shielding column densities. The relative importance of these shielding types depends on the atom or molecule in question and the assumed dust optical properties. All of the new data are publicly available from the Leiden photodissociation and ionisation database. Sensitivity of the calculated rates to variation of temperature and isotope, and uncertainties in measured or calculated cross sections, are tested and discussed. Tests were conducted on the new rates with an interstellar-cloud chemical model, and find general agreement (within a factor of two) in abundances obtained with the previous iteration of the Leiden database assuming an ISRF, and order-of-magnitude variations assuming various kinds of stellar radiation. The newly parameterised dust-shielding factors makes a factor-of-two difference to many atomic and molecular abundances relative to parameters currently in the UDfA and KIDA astrochemical reaction databases. The newly-calculated cosmic-ray induced photodissociation and ionisation rates differ from current standard values up to a factor of 5. Under high temperature and cosmic-ray-flux conditions the new rates alter the equilibrium abundances of abundant dark cloud abundances by up to a factor of two. The partial cross sections for H2O and NH3 photodissociation forming OH, O, NH2 and NH are also evaluated and lead to radiation-field-dependent branching ratios.

Ionised outflows in z ~ 2.4 quasar host galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carniani, S.; Marconi, A.; Maiolino, R.; Balmaverde, B.; Brusa, M.; Cano-Díaz, M.; Cicone, C.; Comastri, A.; Cresci, G.; Fiore, F.; Feruglio, C.; La Franca, F.; Mainieri, V.; Mannucci, F.; Nagao, T.; Netzer, H.; Piconcelli, E.; Risaliti, G.; Schneider, R.; Shemmer, O.

2015-08-01

Aims: Outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are invoked by galaxy evolutionary models to quench star formation and to explain the origin of the relations observed locally between super-massive black holes and their host galaxies. We here aim to detect extended ionised outflows in luminous quasars, where we expect the highest activity both in star formation and in black-hole accretion. Currently, there are only a few studies based on spatially resolved observations of outflows at high redshift, z > 2. Methods: We analysed a sample of six luminous (L > 1047 erg/s) quasars at z ~ 2.4, observed in H-band using the near-IR integral field spectrometer SINFONI at the VLT. We performed a kinematic analysis of the [Oiii] emission line at λ = 5007 Å. Results: We detect fast, spatially extended outflows in five out of six targets. [Oiii]λ5007 has a complex gas kinematic, with blue-shifted velocities of a few hundreds of km s-1 and line widths up to 1500 km s-1. Using the spectroastrometric method, we infer a size of the ionised outflows of up to ~2 kpc. The properties of the ionised outflows, mass outflow rate, momentum rate, and kinetic power, are correlated with the AGN luminosity. The increase in outflow rate with increasing AGN luminosity is consistent with the idea that a luminous AGN pushes away the surrounding gas through fast outflows that are driven by radiation pressure, which depends on the emitted luminosity. Conclusions: We derive mass outflow rates of about 6-700 M⊙ yr-1 for our sample, which are lower than those observed in molecular outflows. The physical properties of ionised outflows show dependences on AGN luminosity that are similar to those of molecular outflows, but indicate that the mass of ionised gas is lower than that of molecular outflows. Alternatively, this discrepancy between ionised and molecular outflows could be explained with different acceleration mechanisms. Based on Observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, Chile, P.ID: 086.B-0579(A).

An X-ray/SDSS sample. II. AGN-driven outflowing gas plasma properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perna, M.; Lanzuisi, G.; Brusa, M.; Cresci, G.; Mignoli, M.

2017-10-01

Aims: Galaxy-scale outflows are currently observed in many active galactic nuclei (AGNs); however, characterisation of them in terms of their (multi-) phase nature, amount of flowing material, and effects on their host galaxy is still unresolved. In particular, ionised gas mass outflow rate and related energetics are still affected by many sources of uncertainty. In this respect, outflowing gas plasma conditions, being largely unknown, play a crucial role. Methods: We have analysed stacked spectra and sub-samples of sources with high signal-to-noise temperature- and density-sensitive emission lines to derive the plasma properties of the outflowing ionised gas component. We did this by taking advantage of the spectroscopic analysis results we obtained while studying the X-ray/SDSS sample of 563 AGNs at z < 0.8 presented in our companion paper. For these sources, we also studied in detail various diagnostic diagrams to infer information about outflowing gas ionisation mechanisms. Results: We derive, for the first time, median values for electron temperature and density of outflowing gas from medium-size samples ( 30 targets) and stacked spectra of AGNs. Evidence of shock excitation are found for outflowing gas. Conclusions: We measure electron temperatures of the order of 1.7 × 104 K and densities of 1200 cm-3 for faint and moderately luminous AGNs (intrinsic X-ray luminosity 40.5 < log (LX) < 44 in the 2-10 keV band). We note that the electron density that is usually assumed (Ne = 100 cm-3) in ejected material might result in relevant overestimates of flow mass rates and energetics and, as a consequence, of the effects of AGN-driven outflows on the host galaxy.

Plasma parameters in a multidipole plasma system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruscanu, D.; Anita, V.; Popa, G.

Plasma potential and electron number densities and electron temperatures under bi-Maxwellian approximation for electron distribution function of the multidipole argon plasma source system were measured for a gas pressure ranging between 10-4 and 10-3 mbar and an anode-cathode voltage ranging between 40 and 120 V but a constant discharge current intensity. The first group, as ultimate or cold electrons and main electron plasma population, results by trapping of the slow electrons produced by ionisation process due to primary-neutral collisions. The trapping process is produced by potential well due to positive plasma potential with respect to the anode so that electron temperature of the ultimate electrons does not depend on both the gas pressure and discharge voltage. The second group, as secondary or hot electrons, results as degrading process of the primaries and their number density increases while their temperature decreases with the increase of both the gas pressure and discharge voltage.

Diagnostics of red-shifted H-alpha line emission from a C-class flare with full non-LTE radiative and hydrodynamic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Druett, M. K.; Zharkova, V. V.; Scullion, E.; Zharkov, S.; Matthews, S. A.

2016-12-01

We analyse H-alpha line profiles with strong redshifts during the C1.8 flare on 1st July 2012 obtained from the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST) closely resembling the previous observations (Wuelser and Marti, 1989). The flare has a magnetic field configuration with two levels of loop structures. The kernels with red shifts are observed in one of the H-alpha ribbons in the south-west location formed after the main impulse recorded in the north-east. The locations of H-alpha kernels with red shifts reveal close temporal and spatial correlation with weaker HXR signatures and coincide with the locations of coronal jets observed with AIA/SDO. For interpretation we apply a revised 1D hydrodynamic and non-LTE (NLTE) radiative model for 5 level plus continuum model hydrogen atom (Druett & Zharkova, 2016) considering radiative, thermal and non-thermal excitation and ionisation by beam electrons with the updated beam densities (Zharkova & Dobranskis, 2016) and analytical excitation/ionisation rates (Zharkova& Kobylinskijj, 1993). We find the simultaneous solutions of steady state and radiative transfer equations in all optically-thick lines and continua. The electron and ion temperatures, ambient density and macrovelocity of the ambient plasma are derived from a 1D hydrodynamic model with initial condition of the pre-flaring photosphere for the two fluid ambient plasma heated by beam electrons (Zharkova & Zharkov, 2007). We simulate distributions over precipitation depth of ionisation and departure coefficients for all the hydrogen atom transitions including the deviation of ionisation from Saha equation affected by non-thermal electron beams. We show that in the very first seconds after the beam onset Balmer line profiles are sensitive to the effect of beam electrons. The combination of the additional ionisation caused by beam electrons leading to a very strong Stark effect in Balmer lines with the hydrodynamic heating and formation of a low temperature shock in the chromosphere is shown to closely account for the visible asymmetric H-alpha line profiles with strong red shifts observed now and in the past. The interplay between the ambient plasma heating and non-thermal collisional excitation and ionisation rates by beam electrons is shown to define the Balmer line red shifts and continuum enhancements.

Modelling the ionosphere of gas-giant exoplanets irradiated by low-mass stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chadney, J.; Galand, M.; Unruh, Y.; Koskinen, T.; Sanz-Forcada, J.

2015-10-01

The composition and structure of the upper atmosphere of Extrasolar Giant Planets (EGPs) are affected by the high-energy spectrum of the host star from soft X-rays to Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) (0.1-10 nm). This emission depends on the activity level of the star, which is primarily determined by its age [1]. In this study, we focus upon EGPs orbiting K- and M-dwarf stars of different ages. XUV spectra for these stars are constructed using a coronal model [2]. These spectra are used to drive both a thermospheric [3] and an ionospheric model, providing densities of neutral and ion species. Ionisation is included through photo-ionisation and electronimpact processes. The former is calculated by solving the Lambert-Beer law, while the latter is calculated from a supra-thermal electron transport model [4]. Planets orbiting far from the star are found to undergo Jeans escape, whereas close-orbiting planets undergo hydrodynamic escape. The critical orbital distance of transition between the two regimes is dependent on the level of stellar activity. We also find that EGP ionospheres at all orbital distances considered (0.1-1 AU) and around all stars selected (eps Eri, AD Leo, AU Mic) are dominated by the long-lived H+ ion. In addition, planets in the Jeans escape regime also have a layer in which H3 + is the major ion at the base of the ionosphere. For fast-rotating planets, densities of short-lived H3 + undergo significant diurnal variations, their peak value being determined by the stellar X-ray flux. In contrast, densities of longer-lived H+ show very little day/night variability and their value is determined by the level of stellar EUV flux. The H3 + peak in EGPs in the hydrodynamic escape regime under strong stellar illumination is pushed to altitudes below the homopause, where this ion is likely to be destroyed through reactions with heavy species (e.g., hydrocarbons, water). Infrared emissions from H3 + shall also be discussed, as well as the impact of stellar variability.

Deuterium chemistry in the young massive protostellar core NGC 2264 CMM3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awad, Z.; Shalabiea, O. M.

2018-01-01

In this work we present the first attempt of modelling the deuterium chemistry in the massive young protostellar core NGC 2264 CMM3. We investigated the sensitivity of this chemistry to the physical conditions in its surrounding environment. The results showed that deuteration, in the protostellar gas, is affected by variations in the core density, the amount of gas depletion onto grain surfaces, the CR ionisation rate, but it is insensitive to variations in the H2 ortho-to-para ratio. Our results, also, showed that deuteration is often enhanced in less-dense, partially depleted (<85%), or cores that are exerted to high CR ionisation rates (≥6.5×10^{-17} s^{-1}). However, in NGC 2264 CMM3, decreasing the amount of gas depleted onto grains and enhancing the CR ionisation rate are often overestimating the observed values in the core. The best fit time to observations occurs around (1-5) × 104 yrs for core densities in the range (1-5)×106 cm^{-3} with CR ionisation rate between (1.7-6.5)×10^{-17} s^{-1}. These values are in agreement with the results of the most recent theoretical chemical model of CMM3, and the time range of best fit is, also, in-line with the estimated age of young protostellar objects. We conclude that deuterium chemistry in protostellar cores is: (i) sensitive to variations in the physical conditions in its environment, (ii) insensitive to changes in the H2 ortho-to-para ratio. We also conclude that the core NGC 2264 CMM3 is in its early stages of chemical evolution with an estimated age of (1-5)×104 yrs.

Effective homogeneity of the exchange-correlation and non-interacting kinetic energy functionals under density scaling.

PubMed

Borgoo, Alex; Teale, Andrew M; Tozer, David J

2012-01-21

Correlated electron densities, experimental ionisation potentials, and experimental electron affinities are used to investigate the homogeneity of the exchange-correlation and non-interacting kinetic energy functionals of Kohn-Sham density functional theory under density scaling. Results are presented for atoms and small molecules, paying attention to the influence of the integer discontinuity and the choice of the electron affinity. For the exchange-correlation functional, effective homogeneities are highly system-dependent on either side of the integer discontinuity. By contrast, the average homogeneity-associated with the potential that averages over the discontinuity-is generally close to 4/3 when the discontinuity is computed using positive affinities for systems that do bind an excess electron and negative affinities for those that do not. The proximity to 4/3 becomes increasingly pronounced with increasing atomic number. Evaluating the discontinuity using a zero affinity in systems that do not bind an excess electron instead leads to effective homogeneities on the electron abundant side that are close to 4/3. For the non-interacting kinetic energy functional, the effective homogeneities are less system-dependent and the effect of the integer discontinuity is less pronounced. Average values are uniformly below 5/3. The study provides information that may aid the development of improved exchange-correlation and non-interacting kinetic energy functionals. © 2012 American Institute of Physics

The cause of spatial structure in solar He I 1083 nm multiplet images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leenaarts, Jorrit; Golding, Thomas; Carlsson, Mats; Libbrecht, Tine; Joshi, Jayant

2016-10-01

Context. The He I 1083 nm is a powerful diagnostic for inferring properties of the upper solar chromosphere, in particular for the magnetic field. The basic formation of the line in one-dimensional models is well understood, but the influence of the complex three-dimensional structure of the chromosphere and corona has however never been investigated. This structure must play an essential role because images taken in He I 1083 nm show structures with widths down to 100 km. Aims: We aim to understand the effect of the three-dimensional temperature and density structure in the solar atmosphere on the formation of the He I 1083 nm line. Methods: We solved the non-LTE radiative transfer problem assuming statistical equilibrium for a simple nine-level helium atom that nevertheless captures all essential physics. As a model atmosphere we used a snapshot from a 3D radiation-MHD simulation computed with the Bifrost code. Ionising radiation from the corona was self-consistently taken into account. Results: The emergent intensity in the He I 1083 nm is set by the source function and the opacity in the upper chromosphere. The former is dominated by scattering of photospheric radiation and does not vary much with spatial location. The latter is determined by the photonionisation rate in the He I ground state continuum, as well as the electron density in the chromosphere. The spatial variation of the flux of ionising radiation is caused by the spatially-structured emissivity of the ionising photons from material at T ≈ 100 kK in the transition region. The hotter coronal material produces more ionising photons, but the resulting radiation field is smooth and does not lead to small-scale variation of the UV flux. The corrugation of the transition region further increases the spatial variation of the amount of UV radiation in the chromosphere. Finally we find that variations in the chromospheric electron density also cause strong variation in He I 1083 nm opacity. We compare our findings to observations using SST, IRIS and SDO/AIA data. A movie associated to Fig. 4 is available at http://www.aanda.org

Erich Regener and the ionisation maximum of the atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlson, P.; Watson, A. A.

2014-12-01

In the 1930s the German physicist Erich Regener (1881-1955) did important work on the measurement of the rate of production of ionisation deep under water and in the atmosphere. Along with one of his students, Georg Pfotzer, he discovered the altitude at which the production of ionisation in the atmosphere reaches a maximum, often, but misleadingly, called the Pfotzer maximum. Regener was one of the first to estimate the energy density of cosmic rays, an estimate that was used by Baade and Zwicky to bolster their postulate that supernovae might be their source. Yet Regener's name is less recognised by present-day cosmic ray physicists than it should be, largely because in 1937 he was forced to take early retirement by the National Socialists as his wife had Jewish ancestors. In this paper we briefly review his work on cosmic rays and recommend an alternative naming of the ionisation maximum. The influence that Regener had on the field through his son, his son-in-law, his grandsons and his students, and through his links with Rutherford's group in Cambridge, is discussed in an appendix. Regener was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics by Schrödinger in 1938. He died in 1955 at the age of 73.

Development of an inductively coupled impulse sputtering source for coating deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loch, Daniel Alexander Llewellyn

In recent years, highly ionised pulsed plasma processes have had a great impact on improving the coating performance of various applications, such as for cutting tools and ITO coatings, allowing for a longer service life and improved defect densities. These improvements stem from the higher ionisation degree of the sputtered material in these processes and with this the possibility of controlling the flux of sputtered material, allowing the regulation of the hardness and density of coatings and the ability to sputter onto complex contoured substrates. The development of Inductively Coupled Impulse Sputtering (ICIS) is aimed at the potential of utilising the advantages of highly ionised plasma for the sputtering of ferromagnetic material. In traditional magnetron based sputter processes ferromagnetic materials would shunt the magnetic field of the magnetron, thus reducing the sputter yield and ionisation efficiency. By generating the plasma within a high power pulsed radio frequency (RF) driven coil in front of the cathode, it is possible to remove the need for a magnetron by applying a high voltage pulsed direct current to the cathode attracting argon ions from the plasma to initiate sputtering. This is the first time that ICIS technology has been deployed in a sputter coating system. To study the characteristics of ICIS, current and voltage waveforms have been measured to examine the effect of increasing RF-power. Plasma analysis has been conducted by optical emission spectroscopy to investigate the excitation mechanisms and the emission intensity. These are correlated to the set RF-power by modelling assumptions based on electron collisions. Mass spectroscopy is used to measure the plasma potential and ion energy distribution function. Pure copper, titanium and nickel coatings have been deposited on silicon with high aspect ratio via to measure the deposition rate and characterise the microstructure. For titanium and nickel the emission modelling results are in good agreement with the model expectations showing that electron collisions are the main excitation mechanism. The plasma potential was measured as 20 eV, this is an ideal level for good adatom mobility with reduced lattice defects. All surfaces in the via were coated, perpendicular column growth on the sidewalls indicates a predominantly ionised metal flux to the substrate and the deposition rates agree with the literature value of the sputter yield of the materials. The results of the studies show that ICIS is a viable process for the deposition of magnetic coatings with high ionisation in the plasma.

Physical conditions in CaFe interstellar clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gnaciński, P.; Krogulec, M.

2008-01-01

Interstellar clouds that exhibit strong Ca I and Fe I lines are called CaFe clouds. Ionisation equilibrium equations were used to model the column densities of Ca II, Ca I, K I, Na I, Fe I and Ti II in CaFe clouds. We find that the chemical composition of CaFe clouds is solar and that there is no depletion into dust grains. CaFe clouds have high electron densities, n_e≈1 cm-3, that lead to high column densities of neutral Ca and Fe.

A Census of the LyC Photons that Form the UV Background During Reionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, Harley; Kimm, Taysun; Haehnelt, Martin; Sijacki, Debora; Rosdahl, Joakim; Blaizot, Jeremy

2018-05-01

We present a new, on-the-fly photon flux and absorption tracer algorithm designed to directly measure the contribution of different source populations to the metagalactic UV background and to the ionisation fraction of gas in the Universe. We use a suite of multifrequency radiation hydrodynamics simulations that are carefully calibrated to reproduce a realistic reionization history and galaxy properties at z ≥ 6, to disentangle the contribution of photons emitted by different mass haloes and by stars with different metallicities and ages to the UV background during reionization. While at very early cosmic times low mass, metal poor haloes provide most of the LyC photons, their contribution decreases steadily with time. At z = 6 it is the photons emitted by massive systems (Mhalo/M⊙ > 1010 h-1) and by the metal enriched stars (10-3 < Z/Z⊙ < 10-1.5) that provide the largest contribution to the ionising UV background. We demonstrate that there are large variations in the escape fraction depending on the source, with the escape fraction being highest (˜45 - 60%) for photons emitted by the oldest stars that penetrate into the IGM via low opacity channels carved by the ionising photons and supernova from younger stars. Before HII regions begin to overlap, the photoionisation rate strongly fluctuates between different, isolated HII bubbles, depending on the embedded ionising source, which we suggest may result in spatial variations in the properties of dwarf galaxies.

Non-equilibrium calculations of atmospheric processes initiated by electron impact.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, L.; Brunger, M. J.

2007-05-01

Electron impact in the atmosphere produces ionisation, dissociation, electronic excitation and vibrational excitation of atoms and molecules. The products can then take part in chemical reactions, recombination with electrons, or radiative or collisional deactivation. While most such processes are fast, some longer--lived species do not reach equilibrium. The electron source (photoelectrons or auroral electrons) also varies over time and longer-lived species can move substantially in altitude by molecular, ambipolar or eddy diffusion. Hence non-equilibrium calculations are required in some circumstances. Such time-step calculations need to have sufficiently short steps so that the fastest processes are still calculated correctly, but this can lead to computation times that are too large. Hence techniques to allow for longer time steps by incorporating equilibrium calculations are described. Examples are given for results of atmospheric non-equilibrium calculations, including the populations of the vibrational levels of ground state N2, the electron density and its dependence on vibrationally excited N2, predictions of nitric oxide density, and detailed processes during short duration auroral events.

Versatile plasma ion source with an internal evaporator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turek, M.; Prucnal, S.; Drozdziel, A.; Pyszniak, K.

2011-04-01

A novel construction of an ion source with an evaporator placed inside a plasma chamber is presented. The crucible is heated to high temperatures directly by arc discharge, which makes the ion source suitable for substances with high melting points. The compact ion source enables production of intense ion beams for wide spectrum of solid elements with typical separated beam currents of ˜100-150 μA for Al +, Mn +, As + (which corresponds to emission current densities of 15-25 mA/cm 2) for the extraction voltage of 25 kV. The ion source works for approximately 50-70 h at 100% duty cycle, which enables high ion dose implantation. The typical power consumption of the ion source is 350-400 W. The paper presents detailed experimental data (e.g. dependences of ion currents and anode voltages on discharge and filament currents and magnetic flux densities) for Cr, Fe, Al, As, Mn and In. The discussion is supported by results of Monte Carlo method based numerical simulation of ionisation in the ion source.

Surface damage characterization of FBK devices for High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moscatelli, F.; Passeri, D.; Morozzi, A.; Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Mattiazzo, S.; Bomben, M.; Bilei, G. M.

2017-12-01

The very high fluences (e.g. up to 2×1016 1 MeV neq/cm2) and total ionising doses (TID) of the order of 1 Grad, expected at the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), impose new challenges for the design of effective, radiation resistant detectors. Ionising energy loss is the dominant effect for what concerns SiO2 and SiO2/Si interface radiation damage. In particular, surface damage can create a positive charge layer near the SiO2/Si interface and interface traps along the SiO2/Si interface, which strongly influence the breakdown voltage, the inter-electrode isolation and capacitance, and might also impact the charge collection properties of silicon sensors. To better understand in a comprehensive framework the complex and articulated phenomena related to surface damage at these very high doses, measurements on test structures have been carried out in this work (e.g. C-V and I-V). In particular, we have studied the properties of the SiO2 layer and of the SiO2/Si interface, using MOS capacitors, gated diodes (GD) and MOSFETs manufactured by FBK on high-resistivity n-type and p-type silicon, before and after irradiation with X-rays in the range from 50 krad(SiO2) to 20 Mrad(SiO2). Relevant parameters have been determined for all the tested devices, converging in the oxide charge density NOX, the surface generation velocity s0 and the integrated interface-trap density NIT dose-dependent values. These parameters have been extracted to both characterize the technology as a function of the dose and to be used in TCAD simulations for the surface damage effect modeling and the analysis and optimization of different classes of detectors for the next HEP experiments.

Evidence for a Circum-Nuclear and Ionised Absorber in the X-ray Obscured Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 445

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Braito, V.; Reeves, J. N.; Sambruna, R. M.; Gofford, J.

2012-01-01

Here we present the results of a Suzaku observation of the Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 445. We confirm the results obtained with the previous X-ray observations which unveiled the presence of several soft X-ray emission lines and an overall X-ray emission which strongly resembles a typical Seyfert 2 despite of the optical classification as an unobscured AGN. The broad band spectrum allowed us to measure for the first time the amount of reflection (R approximately 0.9) which together with the relatively strong neutral Fe Ka emission line (EW approximately 100 eV) strongly supports a scenario where a Compton-thick mirror is present. The primary X ray continuum is strongly obscured by an absorber with a column density of NH = 2 - 3 x 10(exp 23) per square centimeter. Two possible scenarios are proposed for the absorber: a neutral partial covering or a mildly ionised absorber with an ionisation parameter log xi approximately 1.0 erg centimeter per second. A comparison with the past and more recent X-ray observations of 3C 445 performed with XMM-Newton and Chandra is presented, which provided tentative evidence that the ionised and outflowing absorber varied. We argue that the absorber is probably associated with an equatorial diskwind located within the parsec scale molecular torus.

Ellipticity-dependent of multiple ionisation methyl iodide cluster using 532 nm nanosecond laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Bin; Zhao, Wuduo; Wang, Weiguo; Hua, Lei; Chen, Ping; Hou, Keyong; Huang, Yunguang; Li, Haiyang

2016-03-01

The dependence of multiply charged ions on laser ellipticity in methyl iodide clusters with 532 nm nanosecond laser was measured using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The intensities of multiply charged ions Iq+(q = 2-4) with circularly polarised laser pulse were clearly higher than those with linearly polarised laser pulse but the intensity of single charged ions I+ was inverse. And the dependences of ions on the optical polarisation state were investigated and a flower petal and square distribution for single charged ions (I+, C+) and multiply charged ions (I2+, I3+, I4+, C2+) were observed, respectively. A theoretical calculation was also proposed to simulate the distributions of ions and theoretical results fitted well with the experimental ones. It indicated that the high multiphoton ionisation probability in the initial stage would result in the disintegration of big clusters into small ones and suppress the production of multiply charged ions.

Occupational exposures and mammographic density in Spanish women.

PubMed

Lope, Virginia; García-Pérez, Javier; Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz; Pedraza-Flechas, Ana María; Alguacil, Juan; González-Galarzo, Mª Carmen; Alba, Miguel Angel; van der Haar, Rudolf; Cortés-Barragán, Rosa Ana; Pedraz-Pingarrón, Carmen; Moreo, Pilar; Santamariña, Carmen; Ederra, María; Vidal, Carmen; Salas-Trejo, Dolores; Sánchez-Contador, Carmen; Llobet, Rafael; Pollán, Marina

2018-02-01

The association between occupational exposures and mammographic density (MD), a marker of breast cancer risk, has not been previously explored. Our objective was to investigate the influence of occupational exposure to chemical, physical and microbiological agents on MD in adult women. This is a population-based cross-sectional study based on 1476 female workers aged 45-65 years from seven Spanish breast cancer screening programmes. Occupational history was surveyed by trained staff. Exposure to occupational agents was assessed using the Spanish job-exposure matrix MatEmESp. Percentage of MD was measured by two radiologists using a semiautomatic computer tool. The association was estimated using mixed log-linear regression models adjusting for age, education, body mass index, menopausal status, parity, smoking, alcohol intake, type of mammography, family history of breast cancer and hormonal therapy use, and including screening centre and professional reader as random effects terms. Although no association was found with most of the agents, women occupationally exposed to perchloroethylene (e β =1.51; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.19), ionising radiation (e β =1.23; 95% CI 0.99 to 1.52) and mould spores (e β =1.44; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.04) tended to have higher MD. The percentage of density increased 12% for every 5 years exposure to perchloroethylene or mould spores, 11% for every 5 years exposure to aliphatic/alicyclic hydrocarbon solvents and 3% for each 5 years exposure to ionising radiation. Exposure to perchloroethylene, ionising radiation, mould spores or aliphatic/alicyclic hydrocarbon solvents in occupational settings could be associated with higher MD. Further studies are needed to clarify the accuracy and the reasons for these findings. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Effect of laser pulse repetition frequency on the optical breakdown threshold of quartz glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kononenko, T. V.; Schöneseiffen, S.; Konov, V. I.; Dausinger, F.

2013-08-01

The thresholds of optical breakdown in the volume of quartz glass were measured in relation to the number of pulses under irradiation by ultrashort laser pulses with different pulse repetition frequencies (1 - 400 kHz). Increasing this frequency from 10 to 400 kHz was found to substantially lower the breakdown threshold for 500-fs long pulses (at a wavelength of 1030 nm) and to lower to a smaller degree for 5-ps long pulses (515 nm). A strong frequency dependence of the breakdown threshold is observed under the same conditions as a manifold decrease of the breakdown threshold with increase in the number of pulses in a pulse train. The dependence of the optical breakdown on the number of pulses is attributable to the accumulation of point defects under multiple subthreshold irradiation, which affects the mechanism of collisional ionisation. In this case, the frequency dependence of the breakdown threshold of quartz glass is determined by the engagement of shortlived defects in the ionisation mechanism.

DFT/TDDFT investigation on the photophysical properties of a series of phosphorescent cyclometalated complexes based on the benchmark complex FIrpic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Deming; Gong, Ping; Lv, Shuhui; Zhao, Lihui; Zhao, Henan

2018-05-01

The photophysical properties of four Ir(III) complexes have been investigated by means of the density functional theory/time-dependent density functional theory (DFT/TDDFT). The effect of the electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents on charge injection, transport, absorption and phosphorescent properties has been studied. The theoretical calculation shows that the lowest-lying singlet absorptions for complexes 1-4 are located at 387, 385, 418 and 386 nm, respectively. For 1-4, the phosphorescence at 465, 485, 494 and 478 nm is mainly attributed to the LUMO → HOMO and LUMO → HOMO-1 transition configurations characteristics. In addition, ionisation potential (IP), electron affinities (EAs) and reorganisation energy have been investigated to evaluate the charge transfer and balance properties between hole and electron. The balance of the reorganisation energies for complex 3 is better than others. The difference between hole transport and electron transport for complex 3 is the smallest among these complexes, which is beneficial to achieve the hole and electron transfer balance in emitting layer.

The solar ionisation rate deduced from Ulysses measurements and its implications to interplanetary Lyman alpha-intensity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summanen, T.; Kyroelae, E.

1995-01-01

We have developed a computer code which can be used to study 3-dimensional and time-dependent effects of the solar cycle on the interplanetary (IP) hydrogen distribution. The code is based on the inverted Monte Carlo simulation. In this work we have modelled the temporal behaviour of the solar ionisation rate. We have assumed that during the most of the time of the solar cycle there is an anisotopic latitudinal structure but right at the solar maximum the anisotropy disappears. The effects of this behaviour will be discussed both in regard to the IP hydrogen distribution and IP Lyman a a-intensity.

Potential errors in relative dose measurements in kilovoltage photon beams due to polarity effects in plane-parallel ionisation chambers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dowdell, S.; Tyler, M.; McNamara, J.; Sloan, K.; Ceylan, A.; Rinks, A.

2016-12-01

Plane-parallel ionisation chambers are regularly used to conduct relative dosimetry measurements for therapeutic kilovoltage beams during commissioning and routine quality assurance. This paper presents the first quantification of the polarity effect in kilovoltage photon beams for two types of commercially available plane-parallel ionisation chambers used for such measurements. Measurements were performed at various depths along the central axis in a solid water phantom and for different field sizes at 2 cm depth to determine the polarity effect for PTW Advanced Markus and Roos ionisation chambers (PTW-Freiburg, Germany). Data was acquired for kilovoltage beams between 100 kVp (half-value layer (HVL)  =  2.88 mm Al) and 250 kVp (HVL  =  2.12 mm Cu) and field sizes of 3-15 cm diameter for 30 cm focus-source distance (FSD) and 4  ×  4 cm2-20  ×  20 cm2 for 50 cm FSD. Substantial polarity effects, up to 9.6%, were observed for the Advanced Markus chamber compared to a maximum 0.5% for the Roos chamber. The magnitude of the polarity effect was observed to increase with field size and beam energy but was consistent with depth. The polarity effect is directly influenced by chamber design, with potentially large polarity effects for some plane-parallel ionisation chambers. Depending on the specific chamber used, polarity corrections may be required for output factor measurements of kilovoltage photon beams. Failure to account for polarity effects could lead to an incorrect dose being delivered to the patient.

Modeling of plasma distortions by laser-induced ablation spectroscopy (LIAS) and implications for the interpretation of LIAS measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokar, M. Z.; Gierse, N.; Philipps, V.; Samm, U.

2015-09-01

For the interpretation of the line radiation observed from laser induced ablation spectroscopy (LIAS) such parameters as the density and temperature of electrons within very compact clouds of atoms and singly charged ions of ablated material have to be known. Compared to the local plasma conditions prior to the laser pulse, these can be strongly changed during LIAS since new electrons are generated by the ionisation of particles ejected from the irradiated target. Because of their transience and spatial inhomogeneity it is technically difficult to measure disturbances induced in the plasma by LIAS. To overcome this uncertainty a numerical model has been elaborated, providing a self-consistent description for the spreading of ablated particles and accompanying modifications in the plasma. The results of calculations for LIAS performed on carbon-containing targets in Ohmic and additionally heated discharges in the tokamak TEXTOR are presented. Due to the increase in the electron density the ‘ionisation per photon’ ratio, S/XB factor, is significantly enhanced compared to unperturbed plasma conditions. The impact of the amount of material ablated and of the plasma conditions before LIAS on the level of the S/XB-enhancement is investigated.

Retention of ionisable compounds on high-performance liquid chromatography XVII. Estimation of the pH variation of aqueous buffers with the change of the methanol fraction of the mobile phase.

PubMed

Subirats, Xavier; Bosch, Elisabeth; Rosés, Martí

2007-01-05

The use of methanol-aqueous buffer mobile phases in HPLC is a common election when performing chromatographic separations of ionisable analytes. The addition of methanol to the aqueous buffer to prepare such a mobile phase changes the buffer capacity and the pH of the solution. In the present work, the variation of these buffer properties is studied for acetic acid-acetate, phosphoric acid-dihydrogenphosphate-hydrogenphosphate, citric acid-dihydrogencitrate-hydrogencitrate-citrate, and ammonium-ammonia buffers. It is well established that the pH change of the buffers depends on the initial concentration and aqueous pH of the buffer, on the percentage of methanol added, and on the particular buffer used. The proposed equations allow the pH estimation of methanol-water buffered mobile phases up to 80% in volume of organic modifier from initial aqueous buffer pH and buffer concentration (before adding methanol) between 0.001 and 0.01 mol L(-1). From both the estimated pH values of the mobile phase and the estimated pKa of the ionisable analytes, it is possible to predict the degree of ionisation of the analytes and therefore, the interpretation of acid-base analytes behaviour in a particular methanol-water buffered mobile phase.

Characterisation of Plasma Filled Rod Pinch electron beam diode operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDonald, James; Bland, Simon; Chittenden, Jeremy

2016-10-01

The plasma filled rod pinch diode (aka PFRP) offers a small radiographic spot size and a high brightness source. It operates in a very similar to plasma opening switches and dense plasma focus devices - with a plasma prefill, supplied via a number of simple coaxial plasma guns, being snowploughed along a thin rod cathode, before detaching at the end. The aim of this study is to model the PFRP and understand the factors that affect its performance, potentially improving future output. Given the dependence on the PFRP on the prefill, we are making detailed measurements of the density (1015-1018 cm-3), velocity, ionisation and temperature of the plasma emitted from a plasma gun/set of plasma guns. This will then be used to provide initial conditions to the Gorgon 3D MHD code, and the dynamics of the entire rod pinch process studied.

Measurement of inelastic cross sections for low-energy electron scattering from DNA bases.

PubMed

Michaud, Marc; Bazin, Marc; Sanche, Léon

2012-01-01

To determine experimentally the absolute cross sections (CS) to deposit various amount of energies into DNA bases by low-energy electron (LEE) impact. Electron energy loss (EEL) spectra of DNA bases were recorded for different LEE impact energies on the molecules deposited at very low coverage on an inert argon (Ar) substrate. Following their normalisation to the effective incident electron current and molecular surface number density, the EEL spectra were then fitted with multiple Gaussian functions in order to delimit the various excitation energy regions. The CS to excite a molecule into its various excitation modes were finally obtained from computing the area under the corresponding Gaussians. The EEL spectra and absolute CS for the electronic excitations of pyrimidine and the DNA bases thymine, adenine, and cytosine by electron impacts below 18 eV were reported for the molecules deposited at about monolayer coverage on a solid Ar substrate. The CS for electronic excitations of DNA bases by LEE impact were found to lie within the 10(216) to 10(218) cm(2) range. The large value of the total ionisation CS indicated that ionisation of DNA bases by LEE is an important dissipative process via which ionising radiation degrades and is absorbed in DNA.

Measurement of inelastic cross sections for low-energy electron scattering from DNA bases

PubMed Central

Michaud, Marc; Bazin, Marc.; Sanche, Léon

2013-01-01

Purpose Determine experimentally the absolute cross sections (CS) to deposit various amount of energies into DNA bases by low-energy electron (LEE) impact. Materials and methods Electron energy loss (EEL) spectra of DNA bases are recorded for different LEE impact energies on the molecules deposited at very low coverage on an inert argon (Ar) substrate. Following their normalisation to the effective incident electron current and molecular surface number density, the EEL spectra are then fitted with multiple Gaussian functions in order to delimit the various excitation energy regions. The CS to excite a molecule into its various excitation modes are finally obtained from computing the area under the corresponding Gaussians. Results The EEL spectra and absolute CS for the electronic excitations of pyrimidine and the DNA bases thymine, adenine, and cytosine by electron impacts below 18 eV are reported for the molecules deposited at about monolayer coverage on a solid Ar substrate. Conclusions The CS for electronic excitations of DNA bases by LEE impact are found to lie within the 10−16 – 10−18 cm2 range. The large value of the total ionisation CS indicates that ionisation of DNA bases by LEE is an important dissipative process via which ionising radiation degrades and is absorbed in DNA. PMID:21615242

KYNREFREV - the XSPEC model for X-ray reverberation in the lamp-post geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dovciak, M.; Caballero-Garcia, M.; Epitropakis, A.; Papadakis, I.; Alston, W.; Miniutti, G.; Kara, E.; De Marco, B.; Karas, V.; Matt, G.

2017-10-01

In the last decade the X-ray reverberation echos produced by reflection of the coronal emission from the inner parts of the accretion disc was observed in several AGN. To estimate the properties of the system showing these features fast and modular XSPEC model is needed. In this contribution we want to introduce such a model that is ready to be used for both the frequency and energy dependencies of lags in the lamp-post geometry and is fast enough for fitting the data effectively. The parameters of the model, like the black hole spin, height of the corona, density of the disc affecting the disc ionisation profile, reflecting disc region (inner and outer edge and azimuthal segment), circular obscuring cloud and others will be described. The black-body reverberation due to the thermalised part of the illuminating radiation, that is important mainly for low mass AGN and for soft X-ray energy band, is included as well. The power-law hard lag for frequency dependence is also available directly in the model.

AN EVALUATION OF THE BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A PLASTIC SCINTILLATING FIBRE DETECTOR IN CT RADIATION FIELDS.

PubMed

Terasaki, Kento; Fujibuchi, Toshioh; Toyoda, Takatoshi; Yoshida, Yutaka; Akasaka, Tsutomu; Nohtomi, Akihiro; Morishita, Junji

2016-12-01

The ionisation chamber for computed tomography (CT) is an instrument that is most commonly used to measure the computed tomography dose index. However, it has been reported that the 10 cm effective detection length of the ionisation chamber is insufficient due to the extent of the dose distribution outside the chamber. The purpose of this study was to estimate the basic characteristics of a plastic scintillating fibre (PSF) detector with a long detection length of 50 cm in CT radiation fields. The authors investigated position dependence using diagnostic X-ray equipment and dependencies for energy, dose rate and slice thickness using an X-ray CT system. The PSF detector outputs piled up at a count rate of 10 000 counts ms -1 in dose rate dependence study. With calibration, this detector may be useful as a CT dosemeter with a long detection length except for the measurement at high dose rate. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The vacuum-ultraviolet photoelectron spectra of CH2F2 and CH2Cl2 revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuckett, Richard; Harvey, Jonelle; Hemberger, Patrick; Bodi, Andras

2015-09-01

The threshold photoelectron spectrum (TPES) of difluoromethane and dichloromethane has been recorded at the Swiss Light Source with a resolution of 2 meV or 16 cm-1. Electronic and vibronic transitions are simulated and assigned with the help of Franck-Condon (FC) calculations based on coupled cluster electronic structure calculations for the equilibrium geometries and harmonic vibrational frequencies of the neutrals, and of the ground and excited electronic states of the cations. Notwithstanding a high-resolution pulsed-field ionisation study on CH2F2 (Forysinski et al., 2010) in which a number of transitions to the X∼+ state have been recorded with unprecedented accuracy, we report the first complete vibrationally resolved overview of the low-lying electronic states of CH2X2+, X = F or Cl. Hydrogen atom loss from CH2F2+ occurs at low energy, making the ground state rather anharmonic and interpretation of the X∼+ band challenging in the harmonic approximation. By Franck-Condon fits, the adiabatic ionisation energies to the A∼+ 2B2, C∼+ 2A2 and D∼+ 2B2 states have been determined as 14.3 ± 0.1, 15.57 ± 0.01 and 18.0 ± 0.1 eV, respectively. The first band in the CH2Cl2 TPES is complex for a different reason, as it is the result of two overlapping ionic states, X∼+ 2B2 and A∼+ 2B1, with derived ionisation energies of 11.0 ± 0.2 and 11.317 ± 0.006 eV, and dominated by an extended progression in the CCl2 bend (in X∼+) and a short progression in the CCl2 symmetric stretch (in A∼+), respectively. Furthermore, even though Koopmans' approximation holds for the vertical ionisations, the X∼+ state of CH2Cl2+ is stabilized by geometry relaxation and corresponds to ionisation from the (HOMO-1) orbital. That is, the first two vertical ionisation energies are in the same order as the negative of the orbital energies of the highest occupied orbitals, but the adiabatic ionisation energy corresponding to electron removal from the (HOMO-1) is lower than the adiabatic ionisation energy corresponding to electron removal from the HOMO. The second band in the spectrum could be analysed to identify the vibrational progressions and determine adiabatic ionisation energies of 12.15 and 12.25 eV for the B∼+ 2A1 and C∼+ 2A2 states. A comparison of the assignment of electronic states with the literature is made difficult by the fact that the B1 and B2 irreducible representations in C2v symmetry depend on the principal plane, i.e. whether the CX2 moiety is in the xz or the yz plane, which is often undefined in older papers.

Concentration-dependent effect of hypocalcaemia on mortality of patients with critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion: a cohort study.

PubMed

Ho, K M; Leonard, A D

2011-01-01

Mortality of patients with critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion is high. Although hypothermia, acidosis and coagulopathy have been well described as important determinants of mortality in patients with critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion, the risk factors and outcome associated with hypocalcaemia in these patients remain uncertain. This cohort study assessed the relationship between the lowest ionised calcium concentration during the 24-hour period of critical bleeding and the hospital mortality of 352 consecutive patients, while adjusting for diagnosis, acidosis, coagulation results, transfusion requirements and use of recombinant factor VIIa. Hypocalcaemia was common (mean concentrations 0.77 mmol/l, SD 0.19) and had a linear; concentration-dependent relationship with mortality (odds ratio [OR] 1.25 per 0.1 mmol/l decrement, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04 to 1.52; P = 0.02). Hypocalcaemia accounted for 12.5% of the variability and was more important than the lowest fibrinogen concentrations (10.8%), acidosis (7.9%) and lowest platelet counts (7.7%) in predicting hospital mortality. The amount of fresh frozen plasma transfused (OR 1.09 per unit, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.17; P = 0.02) and acidosis (OR 1.45 per 0.1 decrement, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.72; P = 0.01) were associated with the occurrence of severe hypocalcaemia (< 0.8 mmol/l). In conclusion, ionised calcium concentrations had an inverse concentration-dependent relationship with mortality of patients with critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion. Both acidosis and the amount of fresh frozen plasma transfused were the main risk factors for severe hypocalcaemia. Further research is needed to determine whether preventing ionised hypocalcaemia can reduce mortality of patients with critical bleeding requiring massive transfusion.

Magnetic monopole search with the MoEDAL test trapping detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katre, Akshay

2016-11-01

IMoEDAL is designed to search for monopoles produced in high-energy Large Hadron Collider (LHC) collisions, based on two complementary techniques: nucleartrack detectors for high-ionisation signatures and other highly ionising avatars of new physics, and trapping volumes for direct magnetic charge measurements with a superconducting magnetometer. The MoEDAL test trapping detector array deployed in 2012, consisting of over 600 aluminium samples, was analysed and found to be consistent with zero trapped magnetic charge. Stopping acceptances are obtained from a simulation of monopole propagation in matter for a range of charges and masses, allowing to set modelindependent and model-dependent limits on monopole production cross sections. Multiples of the fundamental Dirac magnetic charge are probed for the first time at the LHC.

A Discussion about Ionising and Non-Ionising Radiation and the Critical Issue of Mobile Phones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kontomaris, Stylianos-Vasileios; Malamou, Anna

2018-01-01

Electromagnetic radiation is one of the most important issues affecting peoples' lives today. The misunderstanding of students and the general population of the effects of electromagnetic radiation is a problem which must be eliminated. Thus, a discussion about ionising and non-ionising radiation focusing on the crucial issue of radiation emitted…

A discussion about ionising and non-ionising radiation and the critical issue of mobile phones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontomaris, Stylianos-Vasileios; Malamou, Anna

2018-01-01

Electromagnetic radiation is one of the most important issues affecting peoples’ lives today. The misunderstanding of students and the general population of the effects of electromagnetic radiation is a problem which must be eliminated. Thus, a discussion about ionising and non-ionising radiation focusing on the crucial issue of radiation emitted by mobile phones is presented.

Electron Impact Ionization Cross Sections in Rb and Cs.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reddish, T. J.; Lukomski, M.; Sutton, S.; Kedzierski, W.; McConkey, J. W.; Bartschat, K.; Bartlett, P. L.; Stelbovics, A. T.; Bray, I.

2006-05-01

We present a new atom trapping technique for determining absolute, total ionisation cross sections (TICS) out of an excited atom. The novel feature of this method is in utilizing Doppler cooling of neutral atoms to determine ionisation cross sections. This fluorescence-monitoring experiment, which is a variant of the `trap loss' technique, has enabled us to obtain the experimental electron impact ionisation cross sections out of the Cs 6^2P3/2 excited state between 7 - 400 eV. New CCC, R-Matrix with Pseudo-States (RMPS), and Born approximation single ionisation cross sections (SICS) are also presented for both the ground and excited states of Cs and Rb, and compared with the available experimental data. The comparison of the results reveals the importance of the autoionisation and multiple ionisation contributions to the TICS. The autoionisation contribution appears to be substantial for ionisation out of the Cs 6^2P and Rb 5^2P excited states; ˜ 3-4 larger than the direct ionisation contribution predicted by CCC at ˜ 30-50 eV. This surprising result shows the importance of multi-electron processes in determining the ionisation cross sections of heavy alkali atoms.

Diffusion in Stellar Envelopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seaton, M. J.

Abundances in stellar atmospheres can depend on diffusive movements in much deeper layers of stellar envelopes. Diffusion in envelopes is also of interest in that it can lead to changes in opacities and hence to the structures of stars. For envelopes the radiative accelerations grad can be expressed in terms of quantities which depend only on temperatures, densities and chemical compositions. Computations have been made for the elements C, N, O, Ne, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe and Ni and tables are being made generally available through CDS (Strasbourg). Some results from those computations will be presented. The computed values of grad are used to study diffusion of iron-group elements in envelopes of HgMn stars. It is shown that one can define a value tau_0 of the Rosseland-mean optical depth tau such that diffusive movements for tau >= tau_0 do not depend on those for tau <= tau_0. For Cr and Mn we obtain solutions with tau_0 = 1 and are able to make some meaningful comparisons of abundances, as computed and as observed in atmospheres. For Fe we find that diffusive movements are slowed down in regions of T ~= 10^5 K where the dominant ionisation stages are near argon-like. Diffusion of Fe-group elements can produce substantial changes in opacities.

Effects of ionised or chelated water-soluble mineral mixture supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, meat quality and intestinal microbiota in broilers.

PubMed

Upadhaya, S D; Lee, B R; Kim, I H

2016-04-01

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplementation of water-soluble ionised or chelated mineral mixture on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, relative organ weight, meat quality and excreta microflora in broilers. A total of 408 Arbor Acres broilers (17 birds in 8 replicate pens) were randomly allocated into one of the following three treatments: (1) Control/basal diet (CON), (2) T1 (basal diet + 0.5% ionised mineral mixture solution, pH 3.0) and (3) T2 (basal diet + 0.5% chelated mineral mixture solution, pH 3.0). The body weight gain was greater and feed conversion ratio was lower in broilers supplemented with ionised or chelated mineral liquid complex compared to CON during the grower and overall phase of the experiment. No significant effect in the concentration of Ca and P in the blood was observed in birds supplemented with ionised or chelated mineral mixture solution. No adverse effects were observed in organ weight and meat quality with ionised or chelated mineral mixture supplementation. Regarding intestinal microbiota counts there was a reduction of Escherichia coli counts in the small intestine in ionised mineral supplemented birds. In the large intestine, E. coli as well as Salmonella populations were reduced in ionised mineral supplemented birds. In conclusion, ionised or chelated minerals have partial positive effects in improving growth performance and reducing pathogenic bacteria load in the gastro-intestinal tract.

History and destiny of an emerging early-type galaxy. New IFU insights on the major-merger remnant NGC 7252

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weaver, J.; Husemann, B.; Kuntschner, H.; Martín-Navarro, I.; Bournaud, F.; Duc, P.-A.; Emsellem, E.; Krajnović, D.; Lyubenova, M.; McDermid, R. M.

2018-06-01

Context. The merging of galaxies is one key aspect in our favourite hierarchical ΛCDM Universe and is an important channel leading to massive quiescent elliptical galaxies. Understanding this complex transformational process is ongoing. Aims: We aim to study NGC 7252, which is one of the nearest major-merger galaxy remnants, observed 1 Gyr after the collision of presumably two gas-rich disc galaxies. It is therefore an ideal laboratory to study the processes inherent to the transformation of disc galaxies to ellipticals. Methods: We obtained wide-field IFU spectroscopy with the VLT-VIMOS integral-field spectrograph covering the central 50'' × 50'' of NGC 7252 to map the stellar and ionised gas kinematics, and the distribution and conditions of the ionised gas, revealing the extent of ongoing star formation and recent star formation history. Results: Contrary to previous studies, we find the inner gas disc not to be counter-rotating with respect to the stars. In addition, the stellar kinematics appear complex with a clear indication of a prolate-like rotation component which suggests a polar merger configuration. The ongoing star formation rate is 2.2 ± 0.6 M⊙ yr-1 and implies a typical depletion time of 2 Gyr given the molecular gas content. Furthermore, the spatially resolved star formation history suggests a slight radial dependence, moving outwards at later times. We confirm a large AGN-ionised gas cloud previously discovered 5 kpc south of the nucleus, and find a higher ionisation state of the ionised gas at the galaxy centre relative to the surrounding gas disc. Although the higher ionisation towards the centre is potentially degenerate within the central star forming ring, it may be associated with a low-luminosity AGN. Conclusions: Although NGC 7252 has been classified as post-starburst galaxy at the centre, the elliptical-like major-merger remnant still appears very active. A central kpc-scale gas disc has presumably re-formed quickly within the last 100 Myr after final coalescence. The disc features ongoing star formation, implying Gyr long timescale to reach the red sequence through gas consumption alone. While NGC 7252 is useful to probe the transformation from discs to ellipticals, it is not well-suited to study the transformation from blue to red at this point.

Structure and dynamics of the umagnetized plasma around comet 67P/CG

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henri, P.; Vallières, X.; Gilet, N.; Hajra, R.; Moré, J.; Goetz, C.; Richter, I.; Glassmeier, K. H.; Galand, M. F.; Heritier, K. L.; Eriksson, A. I.; Nemeth, Z.; Tsurutani, B.; Rubin, M.; Altwegg, K.

2016-12-01

At distances close enough to the Sun, when comets are characterised by a significant outgassing, the cometary neutral density may become large enough for both the cometary plasma and the cometary gas to be coupled, through ion-neutral and electron-neutral collisions. This coupling enables the formation of an unmagnetised expanding cometary ionosphere around the comet nucleus, also called diamagnetic cavity, within which the solar wind magnetic field cannot penetrate. The instruments of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC), onboard the Rosetta Orbiter, enable us to better constrain the structure, dynamics and stability of the plasma around comet 67P/CG. Recently, magnetic field measurements (RPC-MAG) have shown the existence of such a diamagnetic region around comet 67P/CG [Götz et al., 2016]. Contrary to a single, large scale, diamagnetic cavity such as what was observed around comet Halley, Rosetta have crossed several diamagnetic structures along its trajectory around comet 67P/CG. Using electron density measurements from the Mutual Impedance Probe (RPC-MIP) during the different diamagnetic cavity crossings, identified by the flux gate magnetometer (RPC-MAG), we map the unmagnetised plasma density around comet 67P/CG. Our aims is to better constrain the structure, dynamics and stability of this inner cometary plasma layer characterised by cold electrons (as witnessed by the Langmuir Probes RPC-LAP). The ionisation ratio in these unmagnetised region(s) is computed from the measured electron (RPC-MIP) and neutral gas (ROSINA/COPS) densities. In order to assess the importance of solar EUV radiation as a source of ionisation, the observed electron density will be compared to a the density expected from an ionospheric model taking into account solar radiation absorption. The crossings of diamagnetic region(s) by Rosetta show that the unmagnetised cometary plasma is particularly homogeneous, compared to the highly dynamical magnetised plasma observed in adjacent magnetised regions. Moreover, during the crossings of multiple, successive diamagnetic region(s) over time scales of tens of minutes or hours, the plasma density is almost identical in the different unmagnetised regions, suggesting that these unmagnetised regions may be a single diamagnetic structure crossed several times by Rosetta.

3D modelling of HCO+ and its isotopologues in the low-mass proto-star IRAS16293-2422

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quénard, D.; Bottinelli, S.; Caux, E.; Wakelam, V.

2018-04-01

Ions and electrons play an important role in various stages of the star formation process. By following the magnetic field of their environment and interacting with neutral species, they slow down the gravitational collapse of the proto-star envelope. This process (known as ambipolar diffusion) depends on the ionisation degree, which can be derived from the HCO+abundance. We present a study of HCO+and its isotopologues (H13CO+, HC18O+, DCO+, and D13CO+) in the low-mass proto-star IRAS16293-2422. The structure of this object is complex, and the HCO+emission arises from the contribution of a young NW-SE outflow, the proto-stellar envelope and the foreground cloud. We aim at constraining the physical parameters of these structures using all the observed transitions. For the young NW-SE outflow, we derive Tkin = 180 - 220 K and n(H2) = (4 - 7) × 106 cm-3 with an HCO+abundance of (3 - 5) × 10-9. Following previous studies, we demonstrate that the presence of a cold (Tkin≤30 K) and low density (n(H2) ≤ 1 × 104 cm-3) foreground cloud is also necessary to reproduce the observed line profiles. We have used the gas-grain chemical code NAUTILUS to derive the HCO+abundance profile across the envelope and the external regions where X(HCO+)≳ 1 × 10-9 dominate the envelope emission. From this, we derive an ionisation degree of 10-8.9 ≲ x(e) ≲ 10-7.9. The ambipolar diffusion timescale is ˜5 times the free-fall timescale, indicating that the magnetic field starts to support the source against gravitational collapse and the magnetic field strength is estimated to be 6 - 46 μG.

Dissipative instability in a partially ionised prominence plasma slab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballai, I.; Pintér, B.; Oliver, R.; Alexandrou, M.

2017-07-01

Aims: We aim to investigate the nature of dissipative instability appearing in a prominence planar thread filled with partially ionised plasma in the incompressible limit. The importance of partial ionisation is investigated in terms of the ionisation factor and the wavelength of sausage and kink waves propagating in the slab. Methods: In order to highlight the role of partial ionisation, we have constructed models describing various situations we can meet in solar prominence fine structure. Matching the solutions for the transversal component of the velocity and total pressure at the interfaces between the prominence slab and surrounding plasmas, we derived a dispersion relation whose imaginary part describes the evolution of the instability. Results were obtained in the limit of weak dissipation. We have investigated the appearance of instabilities in prominence dark plumes using single and two-fluid approximations. Results: Using simple analytical methods, we show that dissipative instabilities appear for flow speeds that are less than the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability threshold. The onset of instability is determined by the equilibrium flow strength, the ionisation factor of the plasma, the wavelength of waves and the ion-neutral collisional rate. For a given wavelength and for ionisation degrees closer to a neutral gas, the propagating waves become unstable for a narrow band of flow speeds, meaning that neutrals have a stabilising effect. Our results show that the partially ionised plasma describing prominence dark plumes becomes unstable only in a two-fluid (charged particles-neutrals) model, that is for periods that are smaller than the ion-neutral collision time. Conclusions: The present study improves our understanding of the complexity of dynamical processes and stability of solar prominences and the role partial ionisation in destabilising the plasma. We showed the necessity of two-fluid approximation when discussing the nature of instabilities: waves in a single fluid approximation show a great deal of stability. Our results clearly show that the problem of partial ionisation introduces new aspects of plasma stability with consequences on the evolution of partially ionised plasmas and solar prominences, in particular.

Dust cloud evolution in sub-stellar atmospheres via plasma deposition and plasma sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, C. R.; Diver, D. A.

2018-04-01

Context. In contemporary sub-stellar model atmospheres, dust growth occurs through neutral gas-phase surface chemistry. Recently, there has been a growing body of theoretical and observational evidence suggesting that ionisation processes can also occur. As a result, atmospheres are populated by regions composed of plasma, gas and dust, and the consequent influence of plasma processes on dust evolution is enhanced. Aim. This paper aims to introduce a new model of dust growth and destruction in sub-stellar atmospheres via plasma deposition and plasma sputtering. Methods: Using example sub-stellar atmospheres from DRIFT-PHOENIX, we have compared plasma deposition and sputtering timescales to those from neutral gas-phase surface chemistry to ascertain their regimes of influence. We calculated the plasma sputtering yield and discuss the circumstances where plasma sputtering dominates over deposition. Results: Within the highest dust density cloud regions, plasma deposition and sputtering dominates over neutral gas-phase surface chemistry if the degree of ionisation is ≳10-4. Loosely bound grains with surface binding energies of the order of 0.1-1 eV are susceptible to destruction through plasma sputtering for feasible degrees of ionisation and electron temperatures; whereas, strong crystalline grains with binding energies of the order 10 eV are resistant to sputtering. Conclusions: The mathematical framework outlined sets the foundation for the inclusion of plasma deposition and plasma sputtering in global dust cloud formation models of sub-stellar atmospheres.

Production of extended plasma channels in atmospheric air by amplitude-modulated UV radiation of GARPUN-MTW Ti : sapphire—KrF laser. Part 2. Accumulation of plasma electrons and electric discharge control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zvorykin, V. D.; Ionin, Andrei A.; Levchenko, A. O.; Mesyats, Gennadii A.; Seleznev, L. V.; Sinitsyn, D. V.; Smetanin, Igor V.; Sunchugasheva, E. S.; Ustinovskii, N. N.; Shutov, A. V.

2013-04-01

The problem of the production of extended (~1 m) plasma channels is studied in atmospheric air by amplitude-modulated laser pulses of UV radiation, which are a superposition of a subpicosecond USP train amplified in a regenerative KrF amplifier with an unstable confocal resonator and a quasi-stationary lasing pulse. The USPs possess a high (0.2-0.3 TW) peak power and efficiently ionise oxygen molecules due to multiphoton ionisation, and the quasi-stationary lasing pulse, which has a relatively long duration (~100 ns), maintains the electron density at a level ne = (3-5) × 1014 cm—3 by suppressing electron attachment to oxygen. Experiments in laser triggering of high-voltage electric discharges suggest that the use of combined pulses results in a significant lowering of the breakdown threshold and enables controlling the discharge trajectory with a higher efficiency in comparison with smooth pulses. It was shown that controlled breakdowns may develop with a delay of tens of microseconds relative to the laser pulse, which is many orders of magnitude greater than the lifetime of free electrons in the laser-induced plasma. We propose a mechanism for this breakdown, which involves speeding-up of the avalanche ionisation of the air by negative molecular oxygen ions with a low electron binding energy (~0.5 eV) and a long lifetime (~1 ms), which are produced upon cessation of the laser pulse.

Conditions for Aeronomic Applicability of the Classical Electron Heat Conduction Formula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cole, K. D.; Hoegy, W. R.

1998-01-01

Conditions for the applicability of the classical formula for heat conduction in the electrons in ionized gas are investigated. In a fully ionised gas ( V(sub en) much greater than V(sub ei)), when the mean free path for electron-electron (or electron-ion) collisions is much larger than the characteristic thermal scale length of the observed system, the conditions for applicability break down. In the case of the Venus ionosphere this breakdown is indicated for a large fraction of the electron temperature data from altitudes greater than 180 km, for electron densities less than 10(exp 4)/cc cm. In a partially ionised gas such that V(sub en) much greater than V(sub ei) there is breakdown of the formula not only when the mean free path of electrons greatly exceeds the thermal scale length, but also when the gradient of neutral particle density exceeds the electron thermal gradient. It is shown that electron heat conduction may be neglected in estimating the temperature of joule heated electrons by observed strong 100 Hz electric fields when the conduction flux is limited by the saturation flux. The results of this paper support our earlier aeronomical arguments against the hypothesis of planetary scale whistlers for the 100 Hz electric field signal. In turn this means that data from the 100 Hz signal may not be used to support the case for lightning on Venus.

Generation of warm dense matter using an argon based capillary discharge laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossall, A. K.; Tallents, G. J.

2015-06-01

Argon based capillary discharge lasers operating in the extreme ultra violet (EUV) at 46.9 nm with output up to 0.5 mJ energy per pulse and repetition rates up to 10 Hz are capable of focused irradiances of 109-1012 W cm-2 and can be used to generate plasma in the warm dense matter regime by irradiating solid material. To model the interaction between such an EUV laser and solid material, the 2D radiative-hydrodynamic code POLLUX has been modified to include absorption via direct photo-ionisation, a super-configuration model to describe the ionization-dependent electronic configurations and a calculation of plasma refractive indices for ray tracing of the incident EUV laser radiation. A simulation study is presented, demonstrating how capillary discharge lasers of 1200 ps pulse duration can be used to generate warm dense matter at close to solid densities with temperatures of a few eV and energy densities up to 1 × 105 J cm-3. Plasmas produced by EUV laser irradiation are shown to be useful for examining the properties of warm dense matter as, for example, plasma emission is not masked by hotter, less dense plasma emission that occurs with visible/infra-red laser target irradiation.

Life Depends upon Two Kinds of Water

PubMed Central

Wiggins, Philippa

2008-01-01

Background Many well-documented biochemical processes lack a molecular mechanism. Examples are: how ATP hydrolysis and an enzyme contrive to perform work, such as active transport; how peptides are formed from amino acids and DNA from nucleotides; how proteases cleave peptide bonds, how bone mineralises; how enzymes distinguish between sodium and potassium; how chirality of biopolymers was established prebiotically. Methodology/Principal Findings It is shown that involvement of water in all these processes is mandatory, but the water must be of the simplified configuration in which there are only two strengths of water-water hydrogen bonds, and in which these two types of water coexist as microdomains throughout the liquid temperature range. Since they have different strengths of hydrogen bonds, the microdomains differ in all their physical and chemical properties. Solutes partition asymmetrically, generating osmotic pressure gradients which must be compensated for or abolished. Displacement of the equilibrium between high and low density waters incurs a thermodynamic cost which limits solubility, depresses ionisation of water, drives protein folding and prevents high density water from boiling at its intrinsic boiling point which appears to be below 0°C. Active processes in biochemistry take place in sequential partial reactions, most of which release small amounts of free energy as heat. This ensures that the system is never far from equilibrium so that efficiency is extremely high. Energy transduction is neither possible and nor necessary. Chirality was probably established in prebiotic clays which must have carried stable populations of high density and low density water domains. Bioactive enantiomorphs partition into low density water in which they polymerise spontaneously. Conclusions/Significance The simplified model of water has great explanatory power. PMID:18183287

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Radiative forces for stellar envelopes (Seaton, 1997)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seaton, M. J.; Yan, Y.; Mihalas, D.; Pradhan, A. K.

2000-02-01

(1) Primary data files, stages.zz These files give data for the calculation of radiative accelerations, GRAD, for elements with nuclear charge zz. Data are available for zz=06, 07, 08, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25, 26 and 28. Calculations are made using data from the Opacity Project (see papers SYMP and IXZ). The data are given for each ionisation stage, j. They are tabulated on a mesh of (T, Ne, CHI) where T is temperature, Ne electron density and CHI is abundance multiplier. The files include data for ionisation fractions, for each (T, Ne). The file contents are described in the paper ACC and as comments in the code add.f (2) Code add.f This reads a file stages.zz and creates a file acc.zz giving radiative accelerations averaged over ionisation stages. The code prompts for names of input and output files. The code, as provided, gives equal weights (as defined in the paper ACC) to all stages. Th weights are set in SUBROUTINE WEIGHTS, which could be changed to give any weights preferred by the user. The dependence of diffusion coefficients on ionisation stage is given by a function ZET, which is defined in SUBROUTINE ZETA. The expressions used for ZET are as given in the paper. The user can change that subroutine if other expressions are preferred. The output file contains values, ZETBAR, of ZET, averaged over ionisation stages. (3) Files acc.zz Radiative accelerations computed using add.f as provided. The user will need to run the code add.f only if it is required to change the subroutines WEIGHTS or ZETA. The contents of the files acc.zz are described in the paper ACC and in comments contained in the code add.f. (4) Code accfit.f This code gives gives radiative accelerations, and some related data, for a stellar model. Methods used to interpolate data to the values of (T, RHO) for the stellar model are based on those used in the code opfit.for (see the paper OPF). The executable file accfit.com runs accfit.f. It uses a list of files given in accfit.files (see that file for further description). The mesh used for the abundance-multiplier CHI on the output file will generally be finer than that used in the input files acc.zz. The mesh to be used is specified on a file chi.dat. For a test run, the stellar model used is given in the file 10000_4.2 (Teff=10000 K, LOG10(g)=4.2) The output file from that test run is acc100004.2. The contents of the output file are described in the paper ACC and as comments in the code accfit.f. (5) The code diff.f This code reads the output file (e.g. acc1000004.2) created by accfit.f. For any specified depth point in the model and value of CHI, it gives values of radiative accelerations, the quantity ZETBAR required for calculation of diffusion coefficients, and Rosseland-mean opacities. The code prompts for input data. It creates a file recording all data calculated. The code diff.f is intended for incorporation, as a set of subroutines, in codes for diffusion calculations. (1 data file).

Some characteristics of the glutathione cycle revealed by ionising and non-ionising electromagnetic radiation.

PubMed

Holt, J A

1995-10-01

The cyclic reaction of GSH-->GSSG-->GSH (designated R(exp) or R(e)) obeys the three specific features of life by producing energy in exponential quantities relative to time, is in effect irreversible and is inherited from generation to generation. In multicellular life, this reaction produces the energy for mitosis and is kept in controlled inactivity until needed to maintain perfection of form and function by energising mitosis. The immediate control of Re appears to be feedback process-dependent on the concentration of GSSG. Ultra high-frequency electromagnetic radiation of 434 MHz (UHF) will change Re from inactive to active and, in so doing, it causes resonance and/or fluorescence of the glutathione cycle which changes its radiosensitivity. Re is the primary direct target of ionising radiation and produces the energy for mitosis. Clinical observations suggest that, in the normal cell, Re is inactive and is not killed by 3 x 2700 rads or 6 x 1650 rads yet, when active, its sensitivity value (DO) is approximately 160 rads. Using the standard radiobiological equation of response to ionising radiation, it can be deduced that radiosensitive cancers have two or three Re units active per cell and radioresistance increases in proportion to the number of potentially active Re units per cell. Re appears to be the main cause of cancers' increased conductivity of electricity compared with normal tissue. In cancer therapy, UHF is the best radiosensitiser ever discovered (up to two or more decades). Re is also intelligent compared with non-exponential reactions but cannot be the basis of intellectual brain functions which must be based on non-electrical chemical processes.

Study of point- and cluster-defects in radiation-damaged silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donegani, Elena M.; Fretwurst, Eckhart; Garutti, Erika; Klanner, Robert; Lindstroem, Gunnar; Pintilie, Ioana; Radu, Roxana; Schwandt, Joern

2018-08-01

Non-ionising energy loss of radiation produces point defects and defect clusters in silicon, which result in a significant degradation of sensor performance. In this contribution results from TSC (Thermally Stimulated Current) defect spectroscopy for silicon pad diodes irradiated by electrons to fluences of a few 1014 cm-2 and energies between 3.5 and 27 MeV for isochronal annealing between 80 and 280∘C, are presented. A method based on SRH (Shockley-Read-Hall) statistics is introduced, which assumes that the ionisation energy of the defects in a cluster depends on the fraction of occupied traps. The difference of ionisation energy of an isolated point defect and a fully occupied cluster, ΔEa, is extracted from the TSC data. For the VOi (vacancy-oxygen interstitial) defect ΔEa = 0 is found, which confirms that it is a point defect, and validates the method for point defects. For clusters made of deep acceptors the ΔEa values for different defects are determined after annealing at 80∘C as a function of electron energy, and for the irradiation with 15 MeV electrons as a function of annealing temperature. For the irradiation with 3.5 MeV electrons the value ΔEa = 0 is found, whereas for the electron energies of 6-27 MeV ΔEa > 0. This agrees with the expected threshold of about 5 MeV for cluster formation by electrons. The ΔEa values determined as a function of annealing temperature show that the annealing rate is different for different defects. A naive diffusion model is used to estimate the temperature dependencies of the diffusion of the defects in the clusters.

Spectrometre de masse a ionisation Penning selective: Elimination des corrections necessaires a la determination du rapport isotopique de l'hydrogene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Letarte, Sylvain

Dans le but d'ameliorer la precision avec laquelle le rapport isotopique de l'hydrogene peut etre determine, un spectrometre de masse a ionisation Penning a ete construit pour provoquer l'ionisation selective de l'hydrogene moleculaire et de l'hydrure de deuterium a partir d'un melange gazeux. L'utilisation d'atomes dans des etats d'excitation metastable s'est averee une solution adequate pour reponde a cette attente. L'emploi de l'helium, a l'interieur d'une source d'atomes metastables construit specifiquement pour ce travail, ne permet pas d'obtenir un spectre de masse compose uniquement des deux molecules d'interet. L'ionisation de ces dernieres provient de deux processus distincts, soient l'ionisation Penning et l'ionisation par bombardement electronique. Contrairement a l'helium, il a ete demontre que le neon metastable est un candidat ideal pour produire l'ionisation selective de type Penning. Le nombre d'ions produits est directement proportionnel au courant de la decharge electrique et de la pression d'operation de la source d'atomes metastables. Ces resultats demontrent le potentiel d'un tel spectrometre de masse pour ameliorer la precision a laquelle le rapport isotopique peut etre determine comparativement aux autres techniques existantes.

Nurses', physicians' and radiographers' perceptions of the safety of a nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative: A cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Hyde, Abbey; Coughlan, Barbara; Naughton, Corina; Hegarty, Josephine; Savage, Eileen; Grehan, Jennifer; Kavanagh, Eoin; Moughty, Adrian; Drennan, Jonathan

2016-06-01

A new initiative was introduced in Ireland following legislative changes that allowed nurses with special training to prescribe ionising radiation (X-ray) for the first time. A small number of studies on nurse prescribing of ionising radiation in other contexts have found it to be broadly as safe as ionising radiation prescribing by physicians. Sociological literature on perceptions of safety indicates that these tend to be shaped by the ideological position of the professional rather than based on objective evidence. To describe, compare and analyse perceptions of the safety of a nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative across three occupational groups: nursing, radiography and medicine. A cross-sectional survey design. Participants were drawn from a range of clinical settings in Ireland. Respondents were 167 health professionals comprised of 49 nurses, 91 radiographers, and 27 physicians out of a total of 300 who were invited to participate. Non-probability sampling was employed and the survey was targeted specifically at health professionals with a specific interest in, or involvement with, the development of the nurse prescribing of ionising radiation initiative in Ireland. Comparisons of perspectives on the safety of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation across the three occupational groups captured by questionnaire were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test. Pairwise post hoc tests were conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. While the majority of respondents from all three groups perceived nurse prescribing of ionising radiation to be safe, the extent to which this view was held varied. A higher proportion of nurses was found to display confidence in the safety of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation compared to physicians and radiographers with differences between nurses' perceptions and those of the other two groups being statistically significant. That an occupational patterning emerged suggests that perceptions about safety and risk of nurse prescribing of ionising radiation are socially constructed according to the vantage point of the professional and may not reflect objective measures of safety. These findings need to be considered more broadly in the context of ideological barriers to expanding the role of nurses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cosmic-ray ionisation of dense molecular clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaupre, Solenn

2015-07-01

Cosmic rays (CR) are of tremendous importance in the dynamical and chemical evolution of interstellar molecular clouds, where stars and planets form. CRs are likely accelerated in the shells of supernova remnants (SNR), thus molecular clouds nearby can be irradiated by intense fluxes of CRs. CR protons have two major effects on dense molecular clouds: 1) when they encounter the dense medium, high-energy protons (>280 MeV) create pions that decay into gamma-rays. This process makes SNR-molecular cloud associations intense GeV and/or TeV sources whose spectra mimic the CR spectrum. 2) at lower energies, CRs penetrate the cloud and ionise the gas, leading to the formation of molecular species characteristic of the presence of CRs, called tracers of the ionisation. Studying these tracers gives information on low-energy CRs that are unaccessible to any other observations. I studied the CR ionisation of molecular clouds next to three SNRs: W28, W51C and W44. These SNRs are known to be interacting with the nearby clouds, from the presence of shocked gas, OH masers and pion-decay induced gamma-ray emission. My work includes millimeter observations and chemical modeling of tracers of the ionisation in these dense molecular clouds. In these three regions, we determined an enhanced CR ionisation rate, supporting the hypothesis of an origin of the CRs in the SNR nearby. The evolution of the CR ionisation rate with the distance to the SNR brings valuable constraints on the propagation properties of low-energy CRs. The method used relies on observations of the molecular ions HCO+ and DCO+, which shows crucial limitations at high ionisation. Therefore, I investigated, both through modeling and observations, the chemical abundances of several other species to try and identity alternative tracers of the ionisation. In particular, in the W44 region, observations of N2H+ bring additional constraints on the physical conditions, volatile abundances in the cloud, and the ionisation state. This research brought valuable insight in to the CR induced chemistry in the interstellar medium. It also brought new perspectives of interdisciplinary research towards the understanding of CRs, from millimeter to gamma-ray observations.

European Code against Cancer 4th Edition: Ionising and non-ionising radiation and cancer.

PubMed

McColl, Neil; Auvinen, Anssi; Kesminiene, Ausrele; Espina, Carolina; Erdmann, Friederike; de Vries, Esther; Greinert, Rüdiger; Harrison, John; Schüz, Joachim

2015-12-01

Ionising radiation can transfer sufficient energy to ionise molecules, and this can lead to chemical changes, including DNA damage in cells. Key evidence for the carcinogenicity of ionising radiation comes from: follow-up studies of the survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan; other epidemiological studies of groups that have been exposed to radiation from medical, occupational or environmental sources; experimental animal studies; and studies of cellular responses to radiation. Considering exposure to environmental ionising radiation, inhalation of naturally occurring radon is the major source of radiation in the population - in doses orders of magnitude higher than those from nuclear power production or nuclear fallout. Indoor exposure to radon and its decay products is an important cause of lung cancer; radon may cause approximately one in ten lung cancers in Europe. Exposures to radon in buildings can be reduced via a three-step process of identifying those with potentially elevated radon levels, measuring radon levels, and reducing exposure by installation of remediation systems. In the 4th Edition of the European Code against Cancer it is therefore recommended to: "Find out if you are exposed to radiation from naturally high radon levels in your home. Take action to reduce high radon levels". Non-ionising types of radiation (those with insufficient energy to ionise molecules) - including extremely low-frequency electric and magnetic fields as well as radiofrequency electromagnetic fields - are not an established cause of cancer and are therefore not addressed in the recommendations to reduce cancer risk. Copyright © 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The modified unified interaction model: incorporation of dose-dependent localised recombination.

PubMed

Lavon, A; Eliyahu, I; Oster, L; Horowitz, Y S

2015-02-01

The unified interaction model (UNIM) was developed to simulate thermoluminescence (TL) linear/supralinear dose-response and the dependence of the supralinearity on ionisation density, i.e. particle type and energy. Before the development of the UNIM, this behaviour had eluded all types of TL modelling including conduction band/valence band (CB/VB) kinetic models. The dependence of the supralinearity on photon energy was explained in the UNIM as due to the increasing role of geminate (localised recombination) with decreasing photon/electron energy. Recently, the Ben Gurion University group has incorporated the concept of trapping centre/luminescent centre (TC/LC) spatially correlated complexes and localised/delocalised recombination into the CB/VB kinetic modelling of the LiF:Mg,Ti system. Track structure considerations are used to describe the relative population of the TC/LC complexes by an electron-hole or by an electron-only as a function of both photon/electron energy and dose. The latter dependence was not included in the original UNIM formulation, a significant over-simplification that is herein corrected. The modified version, the M-UNIM, is then applied to the simulation of the linear/supralinear dose-response characteristics of composite peak 5 in the TL glow curve of LiF:Mg,Ti at two representative average photon/electron energies of 500 and 8 keV. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Electron impact ionisation cross section for organoplatinum compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahato, Dibyendu; Naghma, Rahla; Alam, Mohammad Jane; Ahmad, Shabbir; Antony, Bobby

2016-11-01

This article reports electron impact ionisation cross sections for platinum-based drugs viz., cisplatin (H6N2Cl2Pt), carboplatin (C6H12N2O4Pt), oxaliplatin (C8H14N2O4Pt), nedaplatin (C2H8N2O3Pt) and satraplatin (C10H22ClN2O4Pt) complexes used in the cancer chemotherapy. The multi-scattering centre spherical complex optical potential formalism is used to obtain the inelastic cross section for these large molecules upon electron impact. The ionisation cross section is derived from the inelastic cross section employing complex scattering potential-ionisation contribution method. Comparison is made with previous results, where ever available and overall a reasonable agreement is observed. This is the first attempt to report total ionisation cross sections for nedaplatin and satraplatin complexes.

Excitation of low-frequency residual currents at combination frequencies of an ionising two-colour laser pulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vvedenskii, N. V.; Kostin, V. A.; Laryushin, I. D.; Silaev, A. A.

2016-05-01

We have studied the processes of excitation of low-frequency residual currents in a plasma produced through ionisation of gases by two-colour laser pulses in laser-plasma schemes for THz generation. We have developed an analytical approach that allows one to find residual currents in the case when one of the components of a two-colour pulse is weak enough. The derived analytical expressions show that the effective generation of the residual current (and hence the effective THz generation) is possible if the ratio of the frequencies in the two-colour laser pulse is close to a rational fraction with a not very big odd sum of the numerator and denominator. The results of numerical calculations (including those based on the solution of the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation) agree well with the analytical results.

Selective laser ionisation of radionuclide 63Ni

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsvetkov, G. O.; D'yachkov, A. B.; Gorkunov, A. A.; Labozin, A. V.; Mironov, S. M.; Firsov, V. A.; Panchenko, V. Ya.

2017-02-01

We report a search for a scheme of selective laser stepwise ionisation of radionuclide 63Ni by radiation of a dye laser pumped by a copper vapour laser. A three-stage scheme is found with ionisation through an autoionising state (AIS): 3d 84s2 3F4(E = 0) → 3d 94p 1Fo3(31030.99 cm-1) → 3d 94d 2[7/2]4(49322.56 cm-1) → AIS(67707.61 cm-1) which, by employing saturated radiation intensities provides the ionisation selectivity of above 1200 for 63Ni.

Exploring the inner parsecs of active galactic nuclei using near-infrared high resolution polarimetric simulations with MontAGN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosset, L.; Rouan, D.; Gratadour, D.; Pelat, D.; Orkisz, J.; Marin, F.; Goosmann, R.

2018-04-01

Aims: In this paper we aim to constrain the properties of dust structures in the central first parsecs of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Our goal is to study the required optical depth and composition of different dusty and ionised structures. Methods: We developed a radiative transfer code called Monte Carlo for Active Galactic Nuclei (MontAGN), which is optimised for polarimetric observations in the infrared. With both this code and STOKES, designed to be relevant from the hard X-ray band to near-infrared wavelengths, we investigate the polarisation emerging from a characteristic model of the AGN environment. For this purpose, we compare predictions of our models with previous infrared observations of NGC 1068, and try to reproduce several key polarisation patterns revealed by polarisation mapping. Results: We constrain the required dust structures and their densities. More precisely, we find that the electron density inside the ionisation cone is about 2.0 × 109 m-3. With structures constituted of spherical grains of constant density, we also highlight that the torus should be thicker than 20 in term of K-band optical depth to block direct light from the centre. It should also have a stratification in density: a less dense outer rim with an optical depth at 2.2 μm typically between 0.8 and 4 for observing the double scattering effect previously proposed. Conclusions: We bring constraints on the dust structures in the inner parsecs of an AGN model supposed to describe NGC 1068. When compared to observations, this leads to an optical depth of at least 20 in the Ks band for the torus of NGC 1068, corresponding to τV ≈ 170, which is within the range of current estimation based on observations. In the future, we will improve our study by including non-uniform dust structures and aligned elongated grains to constrain other possible interpretations of the observations.

Isochoric heating of low Z solid targets with sub 10 fs laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterholz, Jens

2004-11-01

The investigation of high density plasmas plays an important role for astrophysics, inertial confinement fusion and x-ray lasers. Therefore the generation of dense plasmas with ultra-intense laser pulses is a field of enormous topical interest. An upper limit of the maximum plasma density that can be achieved with this method, however, occurs due to the formation of a preplasma and the expansion of the plasma during the interaction [1,2]. Here we describe a novel approach that is based on a laser system that generates sub 10 fs pulses with a low prepulse energy. Isochoric heating is demonstrated with small Z solid targets. Time integrated XUV spectroscopy is used to investigate K-shell emission from the plasma. In the spectra, only the Ly α and He α lines are observed, whereas transitions from orbitals with principal quantum numbers n > 2 are not present. This series limit is explained by pressure ionisation in the dense plasma. The XUV spectra were simulated by two different models [3]. The first calculates the effect of pressure ionisation and the second calculates the line intensity ratios. Preliminary calculations suggest that the plasma density of the emitting region is close to solid density with an electron temperature of about 100eV. We conclude that our laser system is well suited for isochoric heating of solid targets and an efficient transfer of the laser energy to the dense region of the target is possible. In cooperation with: T. Fischer, F. Brandl, G. Pretzler and O. Willi, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Germany, S. J. Rose, University of Oxford, United Kingdom [1] D. Riley et al., PRL 69, 3739 (1992). [2] A. Saemann et al., PRL 82, 4843 (1999). [3] S. J. Rose, J Phys B: Atom Molec Opt Phys, 25, 1667 (1992), 31, 2129 (1998).

Modelling Photoelectron Production in the Enceladus Plume and Comparison with Observations by CAPS-ELS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, S. A.; Coates, A. J.; Jones, G.; Wellbrock, A.; Waite, J. H., Jr.

2016-12-01

The Electron Spectrometer (ELS) of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) measures electrons in the energy range 0.6-28,000 eV with an energy resolution of 16.7%. ELS has observed photoelectrons produced in the plume of Enceladus. These photoelectrons are found during Enceladus encounters in the energetic particle shadow where the spacecraft is shielded from penetrating radiation by the moon [Coates et al, 2013]. Observable is a population of photoelectrons at 20-30eV, which are seen at other bodies in the solar system and are usually associated with ionisation by the strong solar He II (30.4 nm) line. We have identified secondary peaks at 40-50eV detected by ELS which are also interpreted as a warmer population of photoelectrons created through the ionisation of neutrals in the Enceladus torus. We have constructed a model of photoelectron production in the plume and compared it with ELS Enceladus flyby data using automated fitting procedures. This has yielded estimates for electron temperature and density as well as a spacecraft potential estimate which is corrected for.

Physical structure and dust reprocessing in a sample of HH jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podio, L.; Medves, S.; Bacciotti, F.; Eislöffel, J.; Ray, T.

2009-11-01

Context: Stellar jets are an essential ingredient of the star formation process and a wealth of information can be derived from their characteristic emission-line spectra. Aims: We investigate the physical structure and dust reprocessing in the shocks along the beam of a number of classical Herbig-Haro (HH) jets in the Orion and Lupus molecular clouds (HH 111, HH 1/2, HH 83, HH 24 M/A/E/C, and Sz68). Parameters describing plasma conditions, as well as dust content, are derived as a function of distance from the source and, for HH 111, of gas velocity. Methods: Spectral diagnostic techniques are applied to obtain the jet physical conditions (the electron and total density, ne and n_H, the ionisation fraction, x_e, and the temperature, T_e) from the ratios of selected forbidden lines. The presence of dust grains is investigated by estimating the gas-phase abundance of calcium with respect to its solar value. Results: We find the electron density varies between 0.05-4×103 cm-3, the ionisation fraction xe from 0.01-0.7, the temperature ranges between 0.6-3×104 K, and the hydrogen density between 0.01-6×104 cm-3. Interestingly, in the HH 111 jet, n_e, x_e, and Te peak in the high velocity interval (HVI) of the strongest working surfaces, confirming a prediction from shocks models. Calcium turns out to be depleted with respect to its solar value, but its gas-phase abundance is higher than estimates for the interstellar medium in Orion. The depletion is high (up to 80%) along the low-excited jets, while low or no depletion is measured in those jets which show higher excitation conditions. Moreover, for HH 111 the depletion is lower in the HVI of the fastest shock. Conclusions: Our results confirm the shock structure predicted by models and indicate that shocks occurring along jets, and presumably those present in the launch zone, only partially destroy dust grains and that the efficiency of dust reprocessing strongly depends on shock velocity. However, the high Ca gas-phase abundance estimated in some of the knots, is not well understood in terms of existing models of dust reprocessing in shocks, and indicates that the dust must have been partially reprocessed in the region where the flow originates. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile (ESO programmes 60.C-0398(A). Appendix A is only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

[The concept of nuclear physics].

PubMed

Ducassou, D

1995-03-15

Understanding of the biological effects of radioactivity on living matter requires some basic notions of nuclear physics. The interreactions between living matter and ionising rays, emitted by natural or artificial radioelements, are responsible for such effects. These radioelements are characterised by the period, the nature and the energy of the rays they emit; they constitute the source of radiation whose effects generally depend on their activity.

Peter J Derrick and the Grand Scale 'Magnificent Mass Machine' mass spectrometer at Warwick.

PubMed

Colburn, A W; Derrick, Peter J; Bowen, Richard D

2017-12-01

The value of the Grand Scale 'Magnificent Mass Machine' mass spectrometer in investigating the reactivity of ions in the gas phase is illustrated by a brief analysis of previously unpublished work on metastable ionised n-pentyl methyl ether, which loses predominantly methanol and an ethyl radical, with very minor contributions for elimination of ethane and water. Expulsion of an ethyl radical is interpreted in terms of isomerisation to ionised 3-pentyl methyl ether, via distonic ions and, possibly, an ion-neutral complex comprising ionised ethylcyclopropane and methanol. This explanation is consistent with the closely similar behaviour of the labelled analogues, C 3 H 7 CH 2 CD 2 OCH 3 +. and C 3 H 7 CD 2 CH 2 OCH 3 +. , and is supported by the greater kinetic energy release associated with loss of ethane from ionised n-propyl methyl ether compared to that starting from directly generated ionised 3-pentyl methyl ether.

Multidisciplinary approach to assess the sensitivity of dwarf tomato plants to low-LET ionising radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Micco, Veronica; De Pascale, Stefania; Aronne, Giovanna; Paradiso, Roberta; Vitaglione, Paola; Turano, Mimmo; Arena, Carmen

Ionising radiation, acting alone or in interaction with microgravity and other environmental constraints, may affect plant at molecular, morpho-structural and physiological level. The intensity of the plant’s response depends on the properties of radiation and on the features of the plant itself. Indeed, different species are characterised by different susceptibility to radiation which may change during the life course. The aim of this research was to study the radiosensitivity to low-LET ionising radiation of plants of dwarf tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Microtom’) at two phenological phases (vegetative and reproductive), within the purpose of analysing plants for consideration as candidates for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS) in Space. To pursue this objective, plants of the cultivar Microtom were irradiated with different doses of X-rays either at the stage of the second true leaf (VP - vegetative phase) or when at least one flower was blossomed (RP - reproductive phase). Plant’s response to ionising radiation was assessed through a multidisciplinary approach combining genetic analyses, ecophysiological measurements, morpho-anatomical characterisation of leaves and fruits, nutritional analyses of fruits. Growth, molecular and morpho-functional traits were measured during plant development up to fruiting in both VP and RP plant groups, and compared with non-irradiated control plants. Plant growth was monitored weekly recording parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, flowering and fruiting rate. Potential DNA alterations were explored through Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. The efficiency of the photosynthetic apparatus was evaluated by determining photosynthetic pigment composition, photochemistry and leaf gas exchanges. Leaf and fruit structure were analysed through light and epi-fluorescence microscopy. Leaf anatomical traits related to photosynthetic efficiency, and to structural radioprotection, were quantified through digital image analysis. Antioxidant content was analysed in fruits, with specific reference to different carotenoids. Results showed that different doses of X-rays determine differential responses depending on the plant phenological phase at the time of exposure. Irradiation at very high doses at specific stages causes detrimental outcomes leading to plant sterility and death. However, at irradiation doses closer to those likely occurring in Space, positive effects, such as an increase in the content of antioxidant compounds, was found. Given that such molecules play an important role in radioprotection and considering altogether the obtained results, tomato Microtom can be considered a valuable candidate for BLSS in Space.

Radiation-induced cardiovascular effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tapio, Soile

Recent epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to ionising radiation enhances the risk of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in a moderate but significant manner. Our goal is to identify molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of radiation-induced cardiovascular disease using cellular and mouse models. Two radiation targets are studied in detail: the vascular endothelium that plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cardiac function, and the myocardium, in particular damage to the cardiac mitochondria. Ionising radiation causes immediate and persistent alterations in several biological pathways in the endothelium in a dose- and dose-rate dependent manner. High acute and cumulative doses result in rapid, non-transient remodelling of the endothelial cytoskeleton, as well as increased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation of the heart tissue, independent of whether exposure is local or total body. Proteomic and functional changes are observed in lipid metabolism, glycolysis, mitochondrial function (respiration, ROS production etc.), oxidative stress, cellular adhesion, and cellular structure. The transcriptional regulators Akt and PPAR alpha seem to play a central role in the radiation-response of the endothelium and myocardium, respectively. We have recently started co-operation with GSI in Darmstadt to study the effect of heavy ions on the endothelium. Our research will facilitate the identification of biomarkers associated with adverse cardiac effects of ionising radiation and may lead to the development of countermeasures against radiation-induced cardiac damage.

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides. XXXII. Effect of chirality on ionisation state, stoichiometry and aggregation in the complexes of oxalic acid with DL- and L-lysine.

PubMed

Venkatraman, J; Prabu, M M; Vijayan, M

1997-08-01

Crystals of the oxalic acid complex of DL-lysine (triclinic P1; a = 5.540(1), b = 10.764(2), c = 12.056(2) A, alpha = 77.8(1), beta = 80.6(1), gamma = 75.6(1).; R = 4.7% for 2023 observed reflections) contain lysine and semioxalate ions in the 1:1 ratio, whereas the ratio of lysine and semioxalate/oxalate ions is 2:3 in the crystals of the L-lysine complex (monoclinic P2(1); alpha = 4.906(1), b = 20.145(4), c = 12.455(1) A, beta = 92.5(1).; R = 4.4% for 1494 observed reflections). The amino acid molecule in the L-lysine complex has an unusual ionisation state with positively charged alpha- and side-chain amino groups and a neutral carboxyl group. The unlike molecules aggregate into separate alternating layers in the DL-lysine complex in a manner similar to that observed in several of the amino acid complexes. The L-lysine complex exhibits a new aggregation pattern which cannot be easily explained in terms of planar features, thus emphasizing the fundamental dependence of aggregation on molecular characteristics. Despite the differences in stoichiometry, ionisation state and long-range aggregation patterns, the basic element of aggregation in the two complexes exhibits considerable similarity.

Strong optical field ionisation of solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, C. R.; Ben Taher, A.; Brabec, T.

2017-11-01

Population transfer from the valence to conduction band in the presence of an intense laser field is explored theoretically in semiconductors and dielectrics. Experiments performed on dielectrics exposed to an intense laser field have divulged a population dynamics between valence and conduction band that differs from that observed in semiconductors. Our paper explores two aspects of ionisation in solids. (i) Contemporary ionisation theories do not take account of the coupling between the valence and conduction bands resulting in the absence the dynamic Stark shift. Our single-particle analysis identifies the absence of the dynamic Stark shift as a possible cause for the contrasting ionisation behaviours observed in dielectric and semiconductor materials. The dynamic Stark shift results in an increased bandgap as the laser intensity is increased. This suppresses ionisation to an extent where the main population dynamics results from virtual oscillations in the conduction band population. The dynamic Stark shift mainly affects larger bandgap materials which can be exposed to decidedly higher laser intensities. (ii) In the presence of laser dressed virtual population of the conduction band, elastic collisions potentially transmute virtual into real population resulting in ionisation. This process is explored in the context of the relaxation time approximation.

Excitation energies from Görling-Levy perturbation theory along the range-separated adiabatic connection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rebolini, Elisa; Teale, Andrew M.; Helgaker, Trygve; Savin, Andreas; Toulouse, Julien

2018-06-01

A Görling-Levy (GL)-based perturbation theory along the range-separated adiabatic connection is assessed for the calculation of electronic excitation energies. In comparison with the Rayleigh-Schrödinger (RS)-based perturbation theory this GL-based perturbation theory keeps the ground-state density constant at each order and thus gives the correct ionisation energy at each order. Excitation energies up to first order in the perturbation have been calculated numerically for the helium and beryllium atoms and the hydrogen molecule without introducing any density-functional approximations. In comparison with the RS-based perturbation theory, the present GL-based perturbation theory gives much more accurate excitation energies for Rydberg states but similar excitation energies for valence states.

Reactions of the ionized enol tautomer of acetanilide: elimination of HNCO via a novel rearrangement.

PubMed

Heydorn, Lisa N; Carter, Lynn M; Bowen, Richard D; Terlouw, Johan K

2003-01-01

The reactions of ionised acetanilide, C(6)H(5)NH(=O)CH(3)(.+), and its enol, C(6)H(5)NH(OH)=CH(2)(.+), have been studied by a combination of tandem mass spectrometric and computational methods. These two isomeric radical cations have distinct chemistries at low internal energies. The keto tautomer eliminates exclusively CH(2)=C=O to give ionised aniline. In contrast, the enol tautomer loses H-N=C=O, via an unusual skeletal rearrangement, to form predominantly ionised methylene cyclohexadiene. Hydrogen atom loss also occurs from the enol tautomer, with the formation of protonated oxindole. The mechanisms for H-N=C=O and hydrogen atom loss both involve cyclisation; the former proceeds via a spiro transition state formed by attachment of the methylene group to the ipso position, whereas the latter entails the formation of a five-membered ring by attachment to the ortho position. The behaviour of labelled analogues reveals that these two processes have different site selectivities. Hydrogen atom loss involves a reverse critical energy and is subject to an isotope effect. Surprisingly, attempts to promote the enolisation of ionised acetanilide by proton-transport catalysis were unsuccessful. In a reversal of the usual situation for ionised carbonyl compounds, ionised acetanilide is actually more stable than its enol tautomer. The enol tautomer was resistant to proton-transport catalysed ketonisation to ionised acetanilide, possibly because the favoured geometry of the encounter complex with the base molecule is inappropriate for facilitating tautomerisation.

Helicons, History, High Technology and Heliacs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boswell, Rod

1998-11-01

Helicon waves depend basically on the Hall effect and propagate between the ion and electron gyro frequencies: they are whistlers masquerading under another name hence their history goes back to the great war and subsequently involved such people as Appleton, Hartree and Storey. Considerable experimental and theoretical research was carried out on linear propagation during the 1960's and at the end of the decade it was discovered that the wave could actually heat the plasma electrons and increase the ionisation rate considerably. Nothing much happened during the 1970's but in the early 1980's it was realised that this high density source could be used for processing thin films and an increasing number of papers were published, which continues to this day. The first experiments on using helicons to create and heat toroidal plasmas were carried out at the end of the 1980's in a small heliac. Recent experiments with helicon excitation in the large heliac H1 at the ANU have shown that the ion temperature increases with the wave power. This mystery is being actively investigated.

Theoretical studies on the electronic and optoelectronic properties of [A.2AP(w)/A*.2AP(WC)/C.2AP(w)/C*.2AP(WC)/C.A(w)/C*.A(WC)]-Au8 mismatch nucleobase complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Ruby

2018-01-01

The electronic and optoelectronic properties of [A.2AP(w)/A*.2AP(WC)/C.2AP(w)/C*.2AP(WC)/C.A(w)/ C*.A(WC)]-Au8 metal-mismatch nucleobase complexes are investigated by means of density functional theory and time-dependent methods. We selected these mispairs as 2-aminopurine (2AP) produces incorporation errors when binding with cytosine (C) into the wobble (w) C.2AP(w) mispair, and is tautomerised into Watson-Crick (WC)-like base mispair C*.2AP(WC) and less effectively produces A.2AP(w)/A*.2AP(WC) mispairs. The vertical ionisation potential, vertical electron affinity, hardness and electrophilicity index of these complexes have also been discussed. The modifications of energy levels and charge density distributions of the frontier orbitals are also analysed. The absorption spectra of these complexes lie in the visible region, which suggests their application in fluorescent-bio imaging. The mechanism of cooperativity effect is studied by molecular orbital potential (MEP), atoms-in-molecules (AIM) and natural bond orbital analyses. Most metalated pairs have smaller HOMO-LUMO band gaps than the isolated mismatch nucleobases which suggest interesting consequences for electron transfer through DNA duplexes.

Bite-outs and other depletions of mesospheric electrons

PubMed Central

Friedrich, Martin; Rapp, Markus; Plane, John M.C.; Torkar, Klaus M.

2011-01-01

The ionised mesosphere is less understood than other parts of the ionosphere because of the challenges of making appropriate measurements in this complex region. We use rocket borne in situ measurements of absolute electron density by the Faraday rotation technique and accompanying DC-probe measurements to study the effect of particles on the D-region charge balance. Several examples of electron bite-outs, their actual depth as well as simultaneous observations of positive ions are presented. For a better understanding of the various dependencies we use the ratio β/αi (attachment rate over ion–ion recombination coefficient), derived from the electron and ion density profiles by applying a simplified ion-chemical scheme, and correlate this term with solar zenith angle and moon brightness. The probable causes are different for day and night; recent in situ measurements support existing hypotheses for daytime cases, but also reveal behaviour at night hitherto not reported in the literature. Within the large range of β/αi values obtained from the analysis of 28 high latitude night flights one finds that the intensity of scattered sunlight after sunset, and even moonlight, apparently can photodetach electrons from meteoric smoke particles (MSP) and molecular anions. The large range of values itself can best be explained by the variability of the MSPs and by occasionally occurring atomic oxygen impacting on the negative ion chemistry in the night-time mesosphere under disturbed conditions. PMID:27570472

Radiation safety.

PubMed

Skinner, Sarah

2013-06-01

Diagnostic radiology procedures, such as computed tomography (CT) and X-ray, are an increasing source of ionising radiation exposure to our community. Exposure to ionising radiation is associated with increased risk of malignancy, proportional to the level of exposure. Every diagnostic test using ionising radiation needs to be justified by clinical need. General practitioners need a working knowledge of radiation safety so they can adequately inform their patients of the risks and benefits of diagnostic imaging procedures.

Measurement of air kerma rates for 6- to 7-MeV high-energy gamma-ray field by ionisation chamber and build-up plate.

PubMed

Kowatari, Munehiko; Tanimura, Yoshihiko; Tsutsumi, Masahiro

2014-12-01

The 6- to 7-MeV high-energy gamma-ray calibration field by the (19)F(p, αγ)(16)O reaction is to be served at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. For the determination of air kerma rates using an ionisation chamber in the 6- to 7-MeV high-energy gamma-ray field, the establishment of the charged particle equilibrium must be achieved during measurement. In addition to measurement of air kerma rates by the ionisation chamber with a thick build-up cap, measurement using the ionisation chamber and a build-up plate (BUP) was attempted, in order to directly determine air kerma rates under the condition of regular calibration for ordinary survey meters and personal dosemeters. Before measurements, Monte Carlo calculations were made to find the optimum arrangement of BUP in front of the ionisation chamber so that the charged particle equilibrium could be well established. Measured results imply that air kerma rates for the 6- to 7-MeV high-energy gamma-ray field could be directly determined under the appropriate condition using an ionisation chamber coupled with build-up materials. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Ionised gas kinematics in bipolar H II regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalgleish, Hannah S.; Longmore, Steven N.; Peters, Thomas; Henshaw, Jonathan D.; Veitch-Michaelis, Joshua L.; Urquhart, James S.

2018-05-01

Stellar feedback plays a fundamental role in shaping the evolution of galaxies. Here we explore the use of ionised gas kinematics in young, bipolar H II regions as a probe of early feedback in these star-forming environments. We have undertaken a multi-wavelength study of a young, bipolar H II region in the Galactic disc, G316.81-0.06, which lies at the centre of a massive (˜103 M⊙) infrared-dark cloud filament. It is still accreting molecular gas as well as driving a ˜0.2 pc ionised gas outflow perpendicular to the filament. Intriguingly, we observe a large velocity gradient (47.81 ± 3.21 km s-1 pc-1) across the ionised gas in a direction perpendicular to the outflow. This kinematic signature of the ionised gas shows a reasonable correspondence with the simulations of young H II regions. Based on a qualitative comparison between our observations and these simulations, we put forward a possible explanation for the velocity gradients observed in G316.81-0.06. If the velocity gradient perpendicular to the outflow is caused by rotation of the ionised gas, then we infer that this rotation is a direct result of the initial net angular momentum in the natal molecular cloud. If this explanation is correct, this kinematic signature should be common in other young (bipolar) H II regions. We suggest that further quantitative analysis of the ionised gas kinematics of young H II regions, combined with additional simulations, should improve our understanding of feedback at these early stages.

Ionised gas structure of 100 kpc in an over-dense region of the galaxy group COSMOS-Gr30 at z 0.7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epinat, B.; Contini, T.; Finley, H.; Boogaard, L. A.; Guérou, A.; Brinchmann, J.; Carton, D.; Michel-Dansac, L.; Bacon, R.; Cantalupo, S.; Carollo, M.; Hamer, S.; Kollatschny, W.; Krajnović, D.; Marino, R. A.; Richard, J.; Soucail, G.; Weilbacher, P. M.; Wisotzki, L.

2018-01-01

We report the discovery of a 104 kpc2 gaseous structure detected in [O II]λλ3727, 3729 in an over-dense region of the COSMOS-Gr30 galaxy group at z 0.725 with deep MUSE Guaranteed Time Observations. We estimate the total amount of diffuse ionised gas to be of the order of ( 5 ± 3) × 1010 M⊙ and explore its physical properties to understand its origin and the source(s) of the ionisation. The MUSE data allow the identification of a dozen group members that are embedded in this structure through emission and absorption lines. We extracted spectra from small apertures defined for both the diffuse ionised gas and the galaxies. We investigated the kinematics and ionisation properties of the various galaxies and extended gas regions through line diagnostics (R23, O32, and [O III]/Hβ) that are available within the MUSE wavelength range. We compared these diagnostics to photo-ionisation models and shock models. The structure is divided into two kinematically distinct sub-structures. The most extended sub-structure of ionised gas is likely rotating around a massive galaxy and displays filamentary patterns that link some galaxies. The second sub-structure links another massive galaxy that hosts an active galactic nucleus (AGN) to a low-mass galaxy, but it also extends orthogonally to the AGN host disc over 35 kpc. This extent is likely ionised by the AGN itself. The location of small diffuse regions in the R23 vs. O32 diagram is compatible with photo-ionisation. However, the location of three of these regions in this diagram (low O32, high R23) can also be explained by shocks, which is supported by their high velocity dispersions. One edge-on galaxy shares the same properties and may be a source of shocks. Regardless of the hypothesis, the extended gas seems to be non-primordial. We favour a scenario where the gas has been extracted from galaxies by tidal forces and AGN triggered by interactions between at least the two sub-structures. Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the Paranal Observatory under programs 094.A-0247 and 095.A-0118.

Metabolite signal identification in accurate mass metabolomics data with MZedDB, an interactive m/z annotation tool utilising predicted ionisation behaviour 'rules'

PubMed Central

Draper, John; Enot, David P; Parker, David; Beckmann, Manfred; Snowdon, Stuart; Lin, Wanchang; Zubair, Hassan

2009-01-01

Background Metabolomics experiments using Mass Spectrometry (MS) technology measure the mass to charge ratio (m/z) and intensity of ionised molecules in crude extracts of complex biological samples to generate high dimensional metabolite 'fingerprint' or metabolite 'profile' data. High resolution MS instruments perform routinely with a mass accuracy of < 5 ppm (parts per million) thus providing potentially a direct method for signal putative annotation using databases containing metabolite mass information. Most database interfaces support only simple queries with the default assumption that molecules either gain or lose a single proton when ionised. In reality the annotation process is confounded by the fact that many ionisation products will be not only molecular isotopes but also salt/solvent adducts and neutral loss fragments of original metabolites. This report describes an annotation strategy that will allow searching based on all potential ionisation products predicted to form during electrospray ionisation (ESI). Results Metabolite 'structures' harvested from publicly accessible databases were converted into a common format to generate a comprehensive archive in MZedDB. 'Rules' were derived from chemical information that allowed MZedDB to generate a list of adducts and neutral loss fragments putatively able to form for each structure and calculate, on the fly, the exact molecular weight of every potential ionisation product to provide targets for annotation searches based on accurate mass. We demonstrate that data matrices representing populations of ionisation products generated from different biological matrices contain a large proportion (sometimes > 50%) of molecular isotopes, salt adducts and neutral loss fragments. Correlation analysis of ESI-MS data features confirmed the predicted relationships of m/z signals. An integrated isotope enumerator in MZedDB allowed verification of exact isotopic pattern distributions to corroborate experimental data. Conclusion We conclude that although ultra-high accurate mass instruments provide major insight into the chemical diversity of biological extracts, the facile annotation of a large proportion of signals is not possible by simple, automated query of current databases using computed molecular formulae. Parameterising MZedDB to take into account predicted ionisation behaviour and the biological source of any sample improves greatly both the frequency and accuracy of potential annotation 'hits' in ESI-MS data. PMID:19622150

The effectiveness of photocatalytic ionisation disinfection of filter materials.

PubMed

Pietrzak, Katarzyna; Gutarowska, Beata

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of photocatalytic ionisation as a disinfection method for filter materials contaminated by microorganisms, and to assess how air relative humidity (RH), time and microbe type influence the effectiveness of this disinfection. In the quantitative analysis of a used car air filter, bacterial contamination equalled 1.2 x 10(5) cfu/cm2, fungal contamination was 3.8 x 10(6) cfu/cm2, and the isolated microorganisms were Aspergillus niger, Bacillus megaterium, Cladosporium herbarum, Cryptococcus laurenti, Micrococcus sp., Rhodotorula glutinis and Staphylococcus cohnii. In the model experiment, three isolates (C. herbarum, R. glutinis, S. cohnii) and 3 ATCC species (A. niger, E. coli, S. aureus) were used for photocatalytic ionisation disinfection. The conditions of effective photocatalytic ionisation disinfection (R > or = 99.9%) were established as 2-3 h at RH = 77% (bacteria) and 6-24 h at RH = 53% (fungi). RH has an influence on the effectiveness of the photocatalytic disinfection process; the highest effectiveness was obtained for bacteria at RH = 77%, with results 5% higher than for RH = 49%. The studies show that the sensitivity of microorganisms to photocatalytic ionisation disinfection is ordered as follows: Gram-positive bacteria (S. cohnii, S. aureus), Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli), yeasts (R. glutinis), and moulds (C. herbarum, A. niger). Of all the mathematical models used for the description of death dynamics after photocatalytic ionisation disinfection, the Chick-Watson model is the most useful, but for more resistant microorganisms, the delayed Chick-Watson model is highly recommended. It therefore seems, that the presented disinfection method of photocatalytic ionisation can be successfully used to clean filtration materials.

Medical exposure to ionising radiation and the risk of brain tumours: Interphone study group, Germany.

PubMed

Blettner, Maria; Schlehofer, Brigitte; Samkange-Zeeb, Florence; Berg, Gabriele; Schlaefer, Klaus; Schüz, Joachim

2007-09-01

The role of exposure to low doses of ionising radiation in the aetiology of brain tumours has yet to be clarified. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between medically or occupationally related exposure to ionising radiation and brain tumours. We used self-reported medical and occupational data collected during the German part of a multinational case-control study on mobile phone use and the risk of brain tumours (Interphone study) for the analyses. For any exposure to medical ionising radiation we found odds ratios (ORs) of 0.63 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.48-0.83), 1.08 (95% CI=0.80-1.45) and 0.97 (95% CI=0.54-1.75) for glioma, meningioma and acoustic neuroma, respectively. Elevated ORs were found for meningioma (OR 2.32, 95% CI: 0.90-5.96) and acoustic neuroma (OR 6.45, 95% CI: 0.62-67.16) for radiotherapy to the head and neck regions. We did not find any significant increased risk of brain tumours for exposure to medical ionising radiation.

Investigation of colloidal graphite as a matrix for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry of low molecular weight analytes.

PubMed

Warren, Alexander D; Conway, Ulric; Arthur, Christopher J; Gates, Paul J

2016-07-01

The analysis of low molecular weight compounds by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry is problematic due to the interference and suppression of analyte ionisation by the matrices typically employed - which are themselves low molecular weight compounds. The application of colloidal graphite is demonstrated here as an easy to use matrix that can promote the ionisation of a wide range of analytes including low molecular weight organic compounds, complex natural products and inorganic complexes. Analyte ionisation with colloidal graphite is compared with traditional organic matrices along with various other sources of graphite (e.g. graphite rods and charcoal pencils). Factors such as ease of application, spectra reproducibility, spot longevity, spot-to-spot reproducibility and spot homogeneity (through single spot imaging) are explored. For some analytes, considerable matrix suppression effects are observed resulting in spectra completely devoid of matrix ions. We also report the observation of radical molecular ions [M(-●) ] in the negative ion mode, particularly with some aromatic analytes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of carbohydrates by matrix-free material-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Hashir, Muhammad Ahsan; Stecher, Guenther; Bakry, Rania; Kasemsook, Saowapak; Blassnig, Bernhard; Feuerstein, Isabel; Abel, Gudrun; Popp, Michael; Bobleter, Ortwin; Bonn, Guenther K

2007-01-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is a sensitive mass spectrometric technique which utilises acidic materials as matrices for laser energy absorption, desorption and ionisation of analytes. These matrix materials produce background signals particularly in the low-mass range and make the detection and identification of small molecules difficult and nearly impossible. To overcome this problem this paper introduces matrix-free material-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (mf-MELDI-MS) for the screening and analysis of small molecules such as carbohydrates. For this purpose, 4,4'-azo-dianiline was immobilised on silica gel enabling the absorption of laser energy sufficient for successful desorption and ionisation of low molecular weight compounds. The particle and pore sizes, the solvent system for suspension and the sample preparation procedures have been optimised. The newly synthesised MELDI material delivered excellent spectra with regard to signal-to-noise ratio and detection sensitivity. Finally, wheat straw degradation products and Salix alba L. plant extracts were analysed proving the high performance and excellent behaviour of the introduced material. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array and electrospray-mass spectrometry analysis of non-allowed substances in cosmetic products for preventing hair loss and other hormone-dependent skin diseases.

PubMed

De Orsi, Daniela; Pellegrini, Manuela; Pichini, Simona; Mattioli, Donatella; Marchei, Emilia; Gagliardi, Luigi

2008-11-04

A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet diode array (UV-DAD) and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) detection has been developed for the determination of minoxidil, progesterone, estrone, spironolactone, canrenone, hydrocortisone and triamcinolone acetonide in cosmetic products. The presence of these substances in commercial cosmetic samples is prohibited. The compounds were separated by reversed phase chromatography with water (0.1% trifluoroacetic acid) and acetonitrile gradient elution and detected by UV-DAD at 230, 254 and 280 nm and by ESI-MS positive ionisation mode. Benzoic acid was used as internal standard. Linearity was studied with UV-DAD detection from 1.50 to 1,000 microg/ml or mug/g range, depending on the different compounds and type of cosmetic preparation and with ESI-MS in the 50-1,000 ng/ml or ng/g range. Good determination coefficients (r(2)>or=0.99) were found in both UV and ESI-MS. At three concentrations spanning the linear dynamic ranges of both UV-DAD and ESI-MS assay, mean recoveries were always higher than 90% for the different analytes. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of substances under investigations illegally added in cosmetic cream and lotions, sold on internet web sites to prevent hair loss and other hormone-dependent skin diseases, like acne and hirsutism.

Determination of Energy of a Clinical Electron Beam as Part of a Routine Quality Assurance and Audit System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández-Bello, Jimmy; D'Souza, Derek; Rossenberg, Ivan

2002-08-01

A method to determine the electron beam energy and an electron audit based on the current IPEM electron Code of Practice has been devised. During the commissioning on the new Varian 2100CD linear accelerator in The Middlesex Hospital, two methods were devised for the determination of electron energy. The first method involves the use of a two-depth method, whereby the ratio of ionisation (presented as a percentage) measured by an ion chamber at two depths in solid water is used to compare against the baseline ionisation depth value for that energy. The second method involves the irradiation of an X-ray film in solid water to obtain a depth dose curve and, hence determine the half value depth and practical range of the electrons. The results showed that the two-depth method has a better accuracy, repeatability, reliability and consistency than the X-ray method. The results for the electron audit showed that electron absolute outputs are obtained from ionisation measurements in solid water, where the energy-range parameters such as practical range and the depth at which ionisation is 50% of that at the maximum for the depth-ionisation curve are determined.

Ionisation in ultra-cool, cloud forming extrasolar planetary atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helling, Christiane; the LEAP Team

2015-04-01

Transit spectroscopy provides evidence that extrasolare planets are covered in clouds, a finding that has been forecast by cloud model simulations 15 years ago. Atmospheres are strongly affected by clouds through their large opacity and their chemical activity. Cloud formation models allow to predict cloud particle sizes, their chemical composition and the composition of the remaining atmospheric gas (Woitke & Helling 2004, A&A 414; Helling & Woitke 2006, A&A 455), for example, as input for radiative transfer codes like Drift-Phoenix (Witte et al. 2009; A&A 506). These cloud particles are charged and can discharge, for example in form of lighting (Helling et al. 2013, ApJ 767; Bailey et al. 2014, ApJ 784). Earth observations demonstrate that lighting effects not only the local chemistry but also the electron budget of the atmosphere. This talk will present our work on cloud formation modelling and ionisation processes in cloud forming atmospheres. An hierarchy of ionisation processes leads to a vertically inhomogenously ionised atmosphere which has implications for planetary mass loss and global circulation pattern of planetary atmospheres. Processes involved, like Cosmic Ray ionisation, do also activate the local chemistry such that large hydrocarbon molecules form (Rimmer et al. 2014, IJAsB 13).

Quantum coherence in photo-ionisation with tailored XUV pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlström, Stefanos; Mauritsson, Johan; Schafer, Kenneth J.; L'Huillier, Anne; Gisselbrecht, Mathieu

2018-01-01

Ionisation with ultrashort pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) regime can be used to prepare an ion in a superposition of spin-orbit substates. In this work, we study the coherence properties of such a superposition, created by ionising xenon atoms using two phase-locked XUV pulses at different frequencies. In general, if the duration of the driving pulse exceeds the quantum beat period, dephasing will occur. If however, the frequency difference of the two pulses matches the spin-orbit splitting, the coherence can be efficiently increased and dephasing does not occur.

The Influence of the Solar Coronal Radiation on Coronal Plasma Structures, I: Determination of the Incident Coronal Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Gerrard M.; Labrosse, Nicolas

2018-02-01

Coronal structures receive radiation not only from the solar disc, but also from the corona. This height-dependent incident radiation plays a crucial role in the excitation and the ionisation of the illuminated plasma. The aim of this article is to present a method for computing the detailed incident radiation coming from the solar corona, which is perceived at a point located at an arbitrary height. The coronal radiation is calculated by integrating the radiation received at a point in the corona over all of the corona visible from this point. The emission from the corona at all wavelengths of interest is computed using atomic data provided by CHIANTI. We obtain the spectrum illuminating points located at varying heights in the corona at wavelengths between 100 and 912 Å when photons can ionise H or He atoms and ions in their ground states. As expected, individual spectral lines will contribute most at the height within the corona where the local temperature is closest to their formation temperature. As there are many spectral lines produced by many ions, the coronal intensity cannot be assumed to vary in the same way at all wavelengths and so must be calculated for each separate height that is to be considered. This code can be used to compute the spectrum from the corona illuminating a point at any given height above the solar surface. This brings a necessary improvement to models where an accurate determination of the excitation and ionisation states of coronal plasma structures is crucial.

Morphological and compositional study of 238U thin film targets for nuclear experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibbens, Goedele; Ernstberger, Markus; Gouder, Thomas; Marouli, Maria; Moens, André; Seibert, Alice; Vanleeuw, David; Zúñiga, Martin Vargas; Wiss, Thierry; Zampella, Mariavittoria; Zuleger, Evelyn

2018-05-01

The uncertainty in neutron cross section values strongly depends on the quality and characteristics of the deposited actinide films which are used as "targets" in the nuclear experiments. Until recently, at the Joint Research Centre in Geel (JRC-Geel), mass and areal densities of actinide layers were determined by measuring activity (using alpha-particle counting), isotopic composition (using thermal ionisation mass spectrometry) and diameter. In this study a series of 238U deposits, prepared by molecular plating and vacuum deposition on different substrates, were characterized with additional non-destructive and destructive analysis techniques. The quality of the deposits was investigated by autoradiography, high-resolution alpha-particle spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy. The elemental composition was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The latter technique was also applied on the U3O8 starting material and the converted UF4 powder. This paper compares the quality and morphology of deposited 238U films prepared by molecular plating and vacuum deposition on various backings, including their elemental composition determined by different characterization techniques. Also discussed are problems in target preparation and characterization.

Novel experimental technique for 3D investigation of high-speed cavitating diesel fuel flows by X-ray micro computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenzi, M.; Mitroglou, N.; Santini, M.; Gavaises, M.

2017-03-01

An experimental technique for the estimation of the temporal-averaged vapour volume fraction within high-speed cavitating flow orifices is presented. The scientific instrument is designed to employ X-ray micro computed tomography (microCT) as a quantitative 3D measuring technique applied to custom designed, large-scale, orifice-type flow channels made from Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK). The attenuation of the ionising electromagnetic radiation by the fluid under examination depends on its local density; the transmitted radiation through the cavitation volume is compared to the incident radiation, and combination of radiographies from sufficient number of angles leads to the reconstruction of attenuation coefficients versus the spatial position. This results to a 3D volume fraction distribution measurement of the developing multiphase flow. The experimental results obtained are compared against the high speed shadowgraph visualisation images obtained in an optically transparent nozzle with identical injection geometry; comparison between the temporal mean image and the microCT reconstruction shows excellent agreement. At the same time, the real 3D internal channel geometry (possibly eroded) has been measured and compared to the nominal manufacturing CAD drawing of the test nozzle.

Novel experimental technique for 3D investigation of high-speed cavitating diesel fuel flows by X-ray micro computed tomography.

PubMed

Lorenzi, M; Mitroglou, N; Santini, M; Gavaises, M

2017-03-01

An experimental technique for the estimation of the temporal-averaged vapour volume fraction within high-speed cavitating flow orifices is presented. The scientific instrument is designed to employ X-ray micro computed tomography (microCT) as a quantitative 3D measuring technique applied to custom designed, large-scale, orifice-type flow channels made from Polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK). The attenuation of the ionising electromagnetic radiation by the fluid under examination depends on its local density; the transmitted radiation through the cavitation volume is compared to the incident radiation, and combination of radiographies from sufficient number of angles leads to the reconstruction of attenuation coefficients versus the spatial position. This results to a 3D volume fraction distribution measurement of the developing multiphase flow. The experimental results obtained are compared against the high speed shadowgraph visualisation images obtained in an optically transparent nozzle with identical injection geometry; comparison between the temporal mean image and the microCT reconstruction shows excellent agreement. At the same time, the real 3D internal channel geometry (possibly eroded) has been measured and compared to the nominal manufacturing CAD drawing of the test nozzle.

Ionising radiation risk disclosure: When should radiographers assume a duty to inform?

PubMed

Younger, C W E; Douglas, C; Warren-Forward, H

2018-05-01

Autonomy is a fundamental patient right for ethical practice, and informed consent is the mechanism by which health care professionals ensure this right has been respected. The ethical notion of informed consent has evolved alongside legal developments. Under Australian law, a provider who fails to disclose risk may be found to be in breach of a duty of disclosure, potentially facing legal consequences if the patient experiences harm that is attributable to an undisclosed risk. These consequences may include the common law tort of negligence. Ionising radiation, in the form of a medical imaging examination, has the potential to cause harm. However, stochastic effects cannot be attributable to a specific ionising radiation event. What then is the role of the Australian medical imaging service provider in disclosing ionising radiation risk? The ethical and legal principles of informed consent, and the duty of information provision to the patient are investigated. These general principles are then applied to the specific and unusual case of ionising radiation, and what responsibilities apply to the medical imaging provider. Finally, the legal, professional and ethical duties of the radiographer to disclose information to their patients are investigated. Australian law is unclear as to whether a radiographer has a common law responsibility to disclose radiation risk. There is ambiguity as to whether stochastic ionising radiation risk could be considered a legal disclosure responsibility. While it is unlikely that not disclosing risk will have medicolegal consequences, doing so represents sound ethical practice. Copyright © 2017 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Ionising Radiation on MEMS Silicon Strain Gauges: Preliminary Background and Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

due to the cosmic radiation background depends not only on altitude, but also on the geomagnetic latitude and on the solar cycle. The Earth’s...angles to the magnetic field, but is less effective at higher latitudes. In addition, solar flare events can have a particularly significant...adhesive can impair the formation and dispensing of a sufficiently small droplet. The solution arrived at was to use the dispenser as a form of

Biodamage via shock waves initiated by irradiation with ions.

PubMed

Surdutovich, Eugene; Yakubovich, Alexander V; Solov'yov, Andrey V

2013-01-01

Radiation damage following the ionising radiation of tissue has different scenarios and mechanisms depending on the projectiles or radiation modality. We investigate the radiation damage effects due to shock waves produced by ions. We analyse the strength of the shock wave capable of directly producing DNA strand breaks and, depending on the ion's linear energy transfer, estimate the radius from the ion's path, within which DNA damage by the shock wave mechanism is dominant. At much smaller values of linear energy transfer, the shock waves turn out to be instrumental in propagating reactive species formed close to the ion's path to large distances, successfully competing with diffusion.

Ionisation Feedback in Star and Cluster Formation Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercolano, Barbara; Gritschneder, Matthias

2011-04-01

Feedback from photoionisation may dominate on parsec scales in massive star-forming regions. Such feedback may inhibit or enhance the star formation efficiency and sustain or even drive turbulence in the parent molecular cloud. Photoionisation feedback may also provide a mechanism for the rapid expulsion of gas from young clusters' potentials, often invoked as the main cause of `infant mortality'. There is currently no agreement, however, with regards to the efficiency of this process and how environment may affect the direction (positive or negative) in which it proceeds. The study of the photoionisation process as part of hydrodynamical simulations is key to understanding these issues, however, due to the computational demand of the problem, crude approximations for the radiation transfer are often employed. We will briefly review some of the most commonly used approximations and discuss their major drawbacks. We will then present the results of detailed tests carried out using the detailed photoionisation code mocassin and the SPH+ionisation code iVINE code, aimed at understanding the error introduced by the simplified photoionisation algorithms. This is particularly relevant as a number of new codes have recently been developed along those lines. We will finally propose a new approach that should allow to efficiently and self-consistently treat the photoionisation problem for complex radiation and density fields.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bockris, J.O.; Devanathan, M.A.V.

The galvanostatic double charging method was applied to determine the coverage of Ni cathodes with adsorbed atomic H in 2 N NaOH solutions. Anodic current densities were varied from 0.05 to 1.8 amp/sq cm. The plateau indicating absence of readsorption was between 0.6 and 1.8 amp/sq cm, for a constant cathodic c.d. of 1/10,000 amp/sq cm. The variation of the adsorbed H over cathodic c.d.'s ranging from 10 to the -6th power to 1/10 at a constant anodic c.d. of 1 amp/sq cm were calculated and the coverage calculated. The mechanism of the H evolution reaction was elucidated. The ratemore » determining step is discharge from a water molecules followed by rapid Tafel recombination. The rate constants for these processes and the rate constant for the ionisation, calculated with the extrapolated value of coverage for the reversible H electrode, were determined. A modification of the Tafel equation which takes into account both coverage and ionisation is in harmony with the results. A new method for the determination of coverage suitable for corrodible metals is described which involves the measurement of the rate of permeation of H by electrochemical techniques which enhances the sensitivity of the method. (Author)« less

When shape matters: Correcting the ICFs to derive the chemical abundances of bipolar and elliptical PNe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonçalves, Denise R.; Wesson, Roger; Morisset, Cristophe; Barlow, Michael; Ercolano, Barbara

2012-08-01

The extraction of chemical abundances of ionised nebulae from a limited spectral range is usually hampered by the lack of emission lines corresponding to certain ionic stages. So far, the missing emission lines have been accounted for by the ionisation correction factors (ICFs), constructed under simplistic assumptions like spherical geometry by using 1-D photoionisation modelling. In this contribution we discuss the results (Gonçalves et al. 2011, in prep.) of our ongoing project to find a new set of ICFs to determine total abundances of N, O, Ne, Ar, and S, with optical spectra, in the case of non-spherical PNe. These results are based on a grid of 3-D photoionisation modelling of round, elliptical and bipolar shaped PNe, spanning the typical PN luminosities, effective temperatures and densities. We show that the additional corrections to the widely used Kingsburgh & Barlow (1994) ICFs are always higher for bipolars than for ellipticals. Moreover, these additional corrections are, for bipolars, up to: 17% for oxygen, 33% for nitrogen, 40% for neon, 28% for argon and 50% for sulphur. Finally, on top of the fact that corrections change greatly with shape, they vary also greatly with the central star temperature, while the luminosity is a less important parameter.

A special ionisation chamber for quality control of diagnostic and mammography X ray equipment.

PubMed

Costa, A M; Caldas, L V E

2003-01-01

A quality control program for X ray equipment used for conventional radiography and mammography requires the constancy check of the beam qualities in terms of the half-value layers. In this work, a special double-faced parallel-plate ionisation chamber was developed with inner electrodes of different materials, in a tandem system. Its application will be in quality control programs of diagnostic and mammography X ray equipment for confirmation of half-value layers previously determined by the conventional method. Moreover, the chamber also may be utilised for measurements of air kerma values (and air kerma rates) in X radiation fields used for conventional radiography and mammography. The chamber was studied in relation to the characteristics of saturation, ion collection efficiency, polarity effects, leakage current, and short-term stability. The energy dependence in response of each of the two faces of the chamber was determined over the conventional radiography and mammography X ray ranges (unattenuated beams). The different energy response of the two faces of the chamber allowed the formation of a tandem system useful for the constancy check of beam qualities.

Multichannel dosemeter and Al2O3:C optically stimulated luminescence fibre sensors for use in radiation therapy: evaluation with electron beams.

PubMed

Magne, S; Auger, L; Bordy, J M; de Carlan, L; Isambert, A; Bridier, A; Ferdinand, P; Barthe, J

2008-01-01

This article proposes an innovative multichannel optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosemeter for on-line in vivo dose verification in radiation therapy. OSL fibre sensors incorporating small Al(2)O(3):C fibre crystals (TLD(500)) have been tested with an X-ray generator. A reproducible readout procedure should reduce the fading-induced uncertainty ( approximately - 1% per decade). OSL readouts are temperature-dependent [ approximately 0.3% K(-1) when OSL stimulation is performed at the same temperature as irradiation; approximately 0.16% K(-1) after thermalisation (20 degrees C)]. Sensor calibration and depth-dose measurements with electron beams have been performed with a Saturne 43 linear accelerator in reference conditions at CEA-LNHB (ionising radiation reference laboratory in France). Predosed OSL sensors show a good repeatability in multichannel operation and independence versus electron energy in the range (9, 18 MeV). The difference between absorbed doses measured by OSL and an ionisation chamber were within +/-0.9% (for a dose of about 1 Gy) despite a sublinear calibration curve.

Confronting the Gaia and NLTE spectroscopic parallaxes for the FGK stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitnova, Tatyana; Mashonkina, Lyudmila; Pakhomov, Yury

2018-04-01

The understanding of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy relies on the stellar chemical composition. Accurate atmospheric parameters is a prerequisite of determination of accurate chemical abundances. For late type stars with known distance, surface gravity (log g) can be calculated from well-known relation between stellar mass, T eff, and absolute bolometric magnitude. This method weakly depends on model atmospheres, and provides reliable log g. However, accurate distances are available for limited number of stars. Another way to determine log g for cool stars is based on ionisation equilibrium, i.e. consistent abundances from lines of neutral and ionised species. In this study we determine atmospheric parameters moving step-by-step from well-studied nearby dwarfs to ultra-metal poor (UMP) giants. In each sample, we select stars with the most reliable T eff based on photometry and the distance-based log g, and compare with spectroscopic gravity calculated taking into account deviations from local thermodinamic equilibrium (LTE). After that, we apply spectroscopic method of log g determination to other stars of the sample with unknown distances.

Correlation of the ionisation response at selected points of IC sensitive regions with SEE sensitivity parameters under pulsed laser irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gordienko, A V; Mavritskii, O B; Egorov, A N

2014-12-31

The statistics of the ionisation response amplitude measured at selected points and their surroundings within sensitive regions of integrated circuits (ICs) under focused femtosecond laser irradiation is obtained for samples chosen from large batches of two types of ICs. A correlation between these data and the results of full-chip scanning is found for each type. The criteria for express validation of IC single-event effect (SEE) hardness based on ionisation response measurements at selected points are discussed. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

The influence of non-ionisable excipients on precipitation parameters measured using the CheqSol method.

PubMed

Etherson, Kelly; Halbert, Gavin; Elliott, Moira

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of non-ionisable excipients hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and poloxamers 407 and 188 on the supersaturation and precipitation kinetics of ibuprofen, gliclazide, propranolol and atenolol induced through solution pH shifts using the CheqSol method. The drug's kinetic and intrinsic aqueous solubilities were measured in the presence of increasing excipient concentrations using the CheqSol method. Experimental data rate of change of pH with time was also examined to determine excipient-induced parachute effects and influence on precipitation rates. The measured kinetic and intrinsic solubilities provide a determination of the influence of each excipient on supersaturation index, and the area under the CheqSol curve can measure the parachute capability of excipients. The excipients influence on precipitation kinetics can be measured with novel parameters; for example, the precipitation pH or percentage ionised drug at the precipitation point, which provide further information on the excipient-induced changes in precipitation performance. This method can therefore be employed to measure the influence of non-ionisable excipients on the kinetic solubility behaviour of supersaturated solutions of ionisable drugs and to provide data, which discriminates between excipient systems during precipitation. © 2016 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Rapid detection of nicotine from breath using desorption ionisation on porous silicon.

PubMed

Guinan, T M; Abdelmaksoud, H; Voelcker, N H

2017-05-04

Desorption ionisation on porous silicon (DIOS) was used for the detection of nicotine from exhaled breath. This result represents proof-of-principle of the ability of DIOS to detect small molecular analytes in breath including biomarkers and illicit drugs.

Destruction of Raman biosignatures by ionising radiation and the implications for life detection on Mars.

PubMed

Dartnell, Lewis R; Page, Kristian; Jorge-Villar, Susana E; Wright, Gary; Munshi, Tasnim; Scowen, Ian J; Ward, John M; Edwards, Howell G M

2012-04-01

Raman spectroscopy has proven to be a very effective approach for the detection of microorganisms colonising hostile environments on Earth. The ExoMars rover, due for launch in 2018, will carry a Raman laser spectrometer to analyse samples of the martian subsurface collected by the probe's 2-m drill in a search for similar biosignatures. The martian surface is unprotected from the flux of cosmic rays, an ionising radiation field that will degrade organic molecules and so diminish and distort the detectable Raman signature of potential martian microbial life. This study employs Raman spectroscopy to analyse samples of two model organisms, the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and the extremely radiation resistant polyextremophile Deinococcus radiodurans, that have been exposed to increasing doses of ionising radiation. The three most prominent peaks in the Raman spectra are from cellular carotenoids: deinoxanthin in D. radiodurans and β-carotene in Synechocystis. The degradative effect of ionising radiation is clearly seen, with significant diminishment of carotenoid spectral peak heights after 15 kGy and complete erasure of Raman biosignatures by 150 kGy of ionising radiation. The Raman signal of carotenoid in D. radiodurans diminishes more rapidly than that of Synechocystis, believed to be due to deinoxanthin acting as a superior scavenger of radiolytically produced reactive oxygen species, and so being destroyed more quickly than the less efficient antioxidant β-carotene. This study highlights the necessity for further experimental work on the manner and rate of degradation of Raman biosignatures by ionising radiation, as this is of prime importance for the successful detection of microbial life in the martian near subsurface.

Gamma radiation-induced blue shift of resonance peaks of Bragg gratings in pure silica fibres

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Faustov, A V; Mégret, P; Wuilpart, M

2016-02-28

We report the first observation of a significant gamma radiation-induced blue shift of the reflection/transmission peak of fibre Bragg gratings inscribed into pure-silica core fibres via multiphoton absorption of femtosecond pulses. At a total dose of ∼100 kGy, the shift is ∼20 pm. The observed effect is attributable to the ionising radiation-induced decrease in the density of the silica glass when the rate of colour centre formation is slow. We present results of experimental measurements that provide the key parameters of the dynamics of the gratings for remote dosimetry and temperature sensing. (laser crystals and braggg ratings)

Studies for determining thermal ion extraction potential for aluminium plasma generated by electron beam evaporator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dileep Kumar, V.; Barnwal, Tripti A.; Mukherjee, Jaya; Gantayet, L. M.

2010-02-01

For effective evaporation of refractory metal, electron beam is found to be most suitable vapour generator source. Using electron beam, high throughput laser based purification processes are carried out. But due to highly concentrated electron beam, the vapour gets ionised and these ions lead to dilution of the pure product of laser based separation process. To estimate the concentration of these ions and extraction potential requirement to remove these ions from vapour stream, experiments have been conducted using aluminium as evaporant. The aluminium ingots were placed in water cooled copper crucible. Inserts were used to hold the evaporant, in order to attain higher number density in the vapour processing zone and also for confining the liquid metal. Parametric studies with beam power, number density and extraction potential were conducted. In this paper we discuss the trend of the generation of thermal ions and electrostatic field requirement for extraction.

Characterisation of organometallic and coordination compounds by solvent-free matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wyatt, Mark F; Stein, Bridget K; Brenton, A Gareth

2008-01-01

Insoluble or low solubility organometallic and coordination compounds have been characterised by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, with solvent-free sample preparation being the key step toward successful analysis.

Matrix-free mass spectrometric imaging using laser desorption ionisation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Goodwin, Richard J A; Pitt, Andrew R; Harrison, David; Weidt, Stefan K; Langridge-Smith, Pat R R; Barrett, Michael P; Logan Mackay, C

2011-04-15

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool in metabolomics and proteomics for the spatial localization and identification of pharmaceuticals, metabolites, lipids, peptides and proteins in biological tissues. However, sample preparation remains a crucial variable in obtaining the most accurate distributions. Common washing steps used to remove salts, and solvent-based matrix application, allow analyte spreading to occur. Solvent-free matrix applications can reduce this risk, but increase the possibility of ionisation bias due to matrix adhesion to tissue sections. We report here the use of matrix-free MSI using laser desorption ionisation performed on a 12 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. We used unprocessed tissue with no post-processing following thaw-mounting on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) indium-tin oxide (ITO) target plates. The identification and distribution of a range of phospholipids in mouse brain and kidney sections are presented and compared with previously published MALDI time-of-flight (TOF) MSI distributions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Secondary ionisations in a wall-less ion-counting nanodosimeter: quantitative analysis and the effect on the comparison of measured and simulated track structure parameters in nanometric volumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilgers, Gerhard; Bug, Marion U.; Gargioni, Elisabetta; Rabus, Hans

2015-10-01

The object of investigation in nanodosimetry is the physical characteristics of the microscopic structure of ionising particle tracks, i.e. the sequence of the interaction types and interaction sites of a primary particle and all its secondaries, which reflects the stochastic nature of the radiation interaction. In view of the upcoming radiation therapy with protons and carbon ions, the ionisation structure of the ion track is of particular interest. Owing to limitations in current detector technology, the only way to determine the ionisation cluster size distribution in a DNA segment is to simulate the particle track structure in condensed matter. This is done using dedicated computer programs based on Monte Carlo procedures simulating the interaction of the primary ions with the target. Hence, there is a need to benchmark these computer codes using suitable experimental data. Ionisation cluster size distributions produced in the nanodosimeter's sensitive volume by monoenergetic protons and alpha particles (with energies between 0.1 MeV and 20 MeV) were measured at the PTB ion accelerator facilities. C3H8 and N2 were alternately used as the working gas. The measured data were compared with the simulation results obtained with the PTB Monte-Carlo code PTra [B. Grosswendt, Radiat. Environ. Biophys. 41, 103 (2002); M.U. Bug, E. Gargioni, H. Nettelbeck, W.Y. Baek, G. Hilgers, A.B. Rosenfeld, H. Rabus, Phys. Rev. E 88, 043308 (2013)]. Measured and simulated characteristics of the particle track structure are generally in good agreement for protons over the entire energy range investigated. For alpha particles with energies higher than the Bragg peak energy, a good agreement can also be seen, whereas for energies lower than the Bragg peak energy differences of as much as 25% occur. Significant deviations are only observed for large ionisation cluster sizes. These deviations can be explained by a background consisting of secondary ions. These ions are produced in the region downstream of the extraction aperture by electrons with a kinetic energy of about 2.5 keV, which are themselves released by ions of the "primary" ionisation cluster hitting an electrode in the ion transport system. Including this background of secondary ions in the simulated cluster size distributions leads to a significantly better agreement between measured and simulated data, especially for large ionisation clusters.

The vapour of imidazolium-based ionic liquids: a mass spectrometry study.

PubMed

Deyko, A; Lovelock, K R J; Licence, P; Jones, R G

2011-10-06

Eight common dialkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids have been successfully evaporated in ultra-high vacuum and their vapours analysed by line of sight mass spectrometry using electron ionisation. The ionic liquids investigated were 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide, [C(n)C(1)Im][Tf(2)N] (where n = 2, 4, 6, 8), 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [C(n)C(1)Im][BF(4)] (where n = 4, 8), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium octylsulfate, [C(4)C(1)Im][C(8)OSO(3)] and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate, [C(4)C(1)Im][FeCl(4)]. All ionic liquids studied here evaporated as neutral ion pairs; no evidence of decomposition products in the vapour phase were observed. Key fragment cations of the ionised vapour of the ionic liquids are identified. The appearance energies, E(app), of the parent cation were measured and used to estimate the ionisation energies, E(i), for the vapour phase neutral ion pairs. Measured ionisation energies ranged from 10.5 eV to 13.0 eV. Using both the identity and E(app) values, the fragmentation pathways for a number of fragment cations are postulated. It will be shown that the enthalpy of vaporisation, Δ(vap)H, can successfully be measured using more than one fragment cation, although caution is required as many fragment cations can also be formed by ionisation of decomposition products.

Role of Excited Nitrogen In The Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, L.; Brunger, M. J.; Cartwright, D. C.; Bolorizadeh, M. A.

2006-12-01

Sunlight photoionises atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, producing ions and photoelectrons. The photoelectrons then produce further ionisation by electron impact. These processes produce the ionosphere, which contains various positive ions, such as NO+, N+, and O+, and an equal density of free electrons. O+(4S) ions are long-lived and so the electron density is determined mainly by the density of O+(4S). This density is dependent on ambipolar diffusion and on loss processes, which are principally reactions with O2 and N2. The reaction with N2 is known to be strongly dependent on the vibrational state of N2 but the rate constants are not well determined for the ionosphere. Vibrational excitation of N2 is produced by direct excitation by thermal electrons and photoelectrons and by cascade from the excited states of N2 that are produced by photoelectron impact. It can also be produced by a chemical reaction and by vibrational-translational transitions. The vibrational excitation is lost by deexcitation by electron impact, by step-wise quenching in collisions with O atoms, and in the reaction with O+(4S). The distribution of vibrational levels is rearranged by vibrational-vibrational transitions, and by molecular diffusion vertically in the atmosphere. A computational model that includes these processes and predicts the electron density as a function of height in the ionosphere is described. This model is a combination of a "statistical equilibrium" calculation, which is used to predict the populations of the excited states of N2, and a time-step calculation of the atmospheric reactions and processes. The latter includes a calculation of photoionisation down through the atmosphere as a function of time of day and solar activity, and calculations at 0.1 s intervals of the changing densities of positive ions, electrons and N2 in the different vibrational levels. The validity of the model is tested by comparison of the predicted electron densities with the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) of electron density measurements. The contribution of various input parameters can be investigated by their effect on the accuracy of the calculated electron densities. Here the effects of two different sets of rate constants for the reaction of vibrationally excited N2 with O+(4S) are investigated. For reference, predictions using the different sets are compared with laboratory measurements. Then the effect of using the different sets in the computational model of the ionosphere is investigated. It is shown that one set gives predictions of electron densities that are in reasonable agreement with the IRI, while the other set does not. Both sets result in underestimation of the electron density at the height of the peak electron density in the atmosphere, suggesting that either the amount of vibrational excitation or the rate constants may be overestimated. Our comparison is made for two cases with different conditions, to give an indication of the limitations of the atmospheric modeling and also insight into ways in which the sets of rate constants may be deficient.

Solar flare induced ionospheric D-region enhancements from VLF amplitude observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomson, N. R.; Clilverd, M. A.

2001-11-01

Enhancements of D-region electron densities caused by solar flares are determined from observations of VLF subionospheric amplitude changes and these enhancements are then related to the magnitudes of the X-ray fluxes measured by the GOES satellites. The electron densities are characterised by the two traditional parameters, /H' and /β (being measures of the ionospheric height and the rate of increase of electron density with height, respectively), which are found by VLF radio modelling of the observed amplitudes using the NOSC Earth-ionosphere waveguide programs (LWPC and Modefinder) mainly on two paths, one short and one long. The short path measurements were made near Cambridge, UK, on the 18.3kHz signals from the French transmitter 617km to the south while the long path measurements were made near Dunedin, NZ, on the 24.8kHz signals from NLK in Seattle, USA, 12.3Mm across the Pacific Ocean. The observations include flares up to a magnitude of about M5 (5×10-5Wm-2 at 0.1-0.8nm) which gave VLF amplitude enhancements up to about 8dB; these corresponded, under near solar maximum conditions (1992), to a reduction in /H' from about 71km down to about 63km and an increase in /β from 0.43km-1 up to about 0.49km-1. The increased values of /β during a flare are caused by the solar X-rays dominating all sources of ionisation during the flare in contrast with the normal unperturbed daytime values of /β which are significantly lower than for a single solar UV or X-ray source due to the extra electrons from the normal galactic cosmic ray ionisation in the lowest parts of the D-region. This steady, normal (unperturbed) cosmic ray influence on /β, and hence unperturbed VLF attenuation, is more marked at times of reduced solar Lyman-/α flux in the D-region such as at solar minimum, high latitudes or early or late in the day, thus explaining the normal (unperturbed) higher VLF attenuation rates previously reported in these conditions.

Development of a numerical model for the electric current in burner-stabilised methane-air flames

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speelman, N.; de Goey, L. P. H.; van Oijen, J. A.

2015-03-01

This study presents a new model to simulate the electric behaviour of one-dimensional ionised flames and to predict the electric currents in these flames. The model utilises Poisson's equation to compute the electric potential. A multi-component diffusion model, including the influence of an electric field, is used to model the diffusion of neutral and charged species. The model is incorporated into the existing CHEM1D flame simulation software. A comparison between the computed electric currents and experimental values from the literature shows good qualitative agreement for the voltage-current characteristic. Physical phenomena, such as saturation and the diodic effect, are captured by the model. The dependence of the saturation current on the equivalence ratio is also captured well for equivalence ratios between 0.6 and 1.2. Simulations show a clear relation between the saturation current and the total number of charged particles created. The model shows that the potential at which the electric field saturates is strongly dependent on the recombination rate and the diffusivity of the charged particles. The onset of saturation occurs because most created charged particles are withdrawn from the flame and because the electric field effects start dominating over mass based diffusion. It is shown that this knowledge can be used to optimise ionisation chemistry mechanisms. It is shown numerically that the so-called diodic effect is caused primarily by the distance the heavier cations have to travel to the cathode.

Exploring the Powerful Ionised Wind in the Seyfert Galaxy PG1211+143

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pounds, Ken

2013-10-01

Highly-ionised high-speed winds in AGN (UFOs) were first detected with XMM-Newton a decade ago, and are now established as a key factor in the study of SMBH accretion, and in the growth and metal enrichment of their host galaxies. However, information on the ionisation and dynamical structure, and the ultimate fate of UFOs remains very limited. We request a 600ks extended XMM-Newton study of the prototype UFO PG1211+143 in AO-13, to obtain high quality EPIC and RGS spectra, to map the flow structure and variability, while seeking evidence for the anticipated interaction with the ISM and possible conversion of the energetic wind to a momentum-driven flow.

Ambient ionisation mass spectrometry for in situ analysis of intact proteins

PubMed Central

Kocurek, Klaudia I.; Griffiths, Rian L.

2018-01-01

Abstract Ambient surface mass spectrometry is an emerging field which shows great promise for the analysis of biomolecules directly from their biological substrate. In this article, we describe ambient ionisation mass spectrometry techniques for the in situ analysis of intact proteins. As a broad approach, the analysis of intact proteins offers unique advantages for the determination of primary sequence variations and posttranslational modifications, as well as interrogation of tertiary and quaternary structure and protein‐protein/ligand interactions. In situ analysis of intact proteins offers the potential to couple these advantages with information relating to their biological environment, for example, their spatial distributions within healthy and diseased tissues. Here, we describe the techniques most commonly applied to in situ protein analysis (liquid extraction surface analysis, continuous flow liquid microjunction surface sampling, nano desorption electrospray ionisation, and desorption electrospray ionisation), their advantages, and limitations and describe their applications to date. We also discuss the incorporation of ion mobility spectrometry techniques (high field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry and travelling wave ion mobility spectrometry) into ambient workflows. Finally, future directions for the field are discussed. PMID:29607564

Matrix-free mass spectrometric imaging using laser desorption ionisation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

PubMed Central

Goodwin, Richard J A; Pitt, Andrew R; Harrison, David; Weidt, Stefan K; Langridge-Smith, Pat R R; Barrett, Michael P; Logan Mackay, C

2011-01-01

Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a powerful tool in metabolomics and proteomics for the spatial localization and identification of pharmaceuticals, metabolites, lipids, peptides and proteins in biological tissues. However, sample preparation remains a crucial variable in obtaining the most accurate distributions. Common washing steps used to remove salts, and solvent-based matrix application, allow analyte spreading to occur. Solvent-free matrix applications can reduce this risk, but increase the possibility of ionisation bias due to matrix adhesion to tissue sections. We report here the use of matrix-free MSI using laser desorption ionisation performed on a 12 T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometer. We used unprocessed tissue with no post-processing following thaw-mounting on matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) indium-tin oxide (ITO) target plates. The identification and distribution of a range of phospholipids in mouse brain and kidney sections are presented and compared with previously published MALDI time-of-flight (TOF) MSI distributions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:21416534

Improving serum calcium test ordering according to a decision algorithm.

PubMed

Faria, Daniel K; Taniguchi, Leandro U; Fonseca, Luiz A M; Ferreira-Junior, Mario; Aguiar, Francisco J B; Lichtenstein, Arnaldo; Sumita, Nairo M; Duarte, Alberto J S; Sales, Maria M

2018-05-18

To detect differences in the pattern of serum calcium tests ordering before and after the implementation of a decision algorithm. We studied patients admitted to an internal medicine ward of a university hospital on April 2013 and April 2016. Patients were classified as critical or non-critical on the day when each test was performed. Adequacy of ordering was defined according to adherence to a decision algorithm implemented in 2014. Total and ionised calcium tests per patient-day of hospitalisation significantly decreased after the algorithm implementation; and duplication of tests (total and ionised calcium measured in the same blood sample) was reduced by 49%. Overall adequacy of ionised calcium determinations increased by 23% (P=0.0001) due to the increase in the adequacy of ionised calcium ordering in non-critical conditions. A decision algorithm can be a useful educational tool to improve adequacy of the process of ordering serum calcium tests. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Ambient ionisation mass spectrometry for the characterisation of polymers and polymer additives: a review.

PubMed

Paine, Martin R L; Barker, Philip J; Blanksby, Stephen J

2014-01-15

The purpose of this review is to showcase the present capabilities of ambient sampling and ionisation technologies for the analysis of polymers and polymer additives by mass spectrometry (MS) while simultaneously highlighting their advantages and limitations in a critical fashion. To qualify as an ambient ionisation technique, the method must be able to probe the surface of solid or liquid samples while operating in an open environment, allowing a variety of sample sizes, shapes, and substrate materials to be analysed. The main sections of this review will be guided by the underlying principle governing the desorption/extraction step of the analysis; liquid extraction, laser ablation, or thermal desorption, and the major component investigated, either the polymer itself or exogenous compounds (additives and contaminants) present within or on the polymer substrate. The review will conclude by summarising some of the challenges these technologies still face and possible directions that would further enhance the utility of ambient ionisation mass spectrometry as a tool for polymer analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A modification of the Hammett equation for predicting ionisation constants of p-vinyl phenols.

PubMed

Sipilä, Julius; Nurmi, Harri; Kaukonen, Ann Marie; Hirvonen, Jouni; Taskinen, Jyrki; Yli-Kauhaluoma, Jari

2005-01-01

Currently there are several compounds used as drugs or studied as new chemical entities, which have an electron withdrawing group connected to a vinylic double bond in a phenolic or catecholic core structure. These compounds share a common feature--current computational methods utilizing the Hammett type equation for the prediction of ionisation constants fail to give accurate prediction of pK(a)'s for compounds containing the vinylic moiety. The hypothesis was that the effect of electron-withdrawing substituents on the pK(a) of p-vinyl phenols is due to the delocalized electronic structure of these compounds. Thus, this effect should be additive for multiple substituents attached to the vinylic double bond and quantifiable by LFER-based methods. The aim of this study was to produce an improved equation with a reduced tendency to underestimate the effect of the double bond on the ionisation of the phenolic hydroxyl. To this end a set of 19 para-substituted vinyl phenols was used. The ionisation constants were measured potentiometrically, and a training set of 10 compounds was selected to build a regression model (r2 = 0.987 and S.E. = 0.09). The average error with an external test set of six compounds was 0.19 for our model and 1.27 for the ACD-labs 7.0. Thus, we have been able to significantly improve the existing model for prediction of the ionisation constants of substituted p-vinyl phenols.

Organic superalkalis with closed-shell structure and aromaticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srivastava, Ambrish Kumar

2018-06-01

Benzene (C6H6) and polycyclic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene (C10H8), anthracene (C14H10) and coronene (C24H12) are well known aromatic organic compounds. We study the substitution of Li replacing all H-atoms in these hydrocarbons using density functional method. The vertical ionisation energy of such lithiated species, i.e. C6Li6, C10Li8, C14Li10 and C24Li12 ranges 4.24-4.50 eV, which is lower than the ionisation energy (IE) of Li atom. Thus, these species may behave as superalkalis due to their lower IE than alkali metal. However, these lithiated species possess planar and closed-shell structure, unlike typical superalkalis. Furthermore, all Li-substituted species are aromatic although their degree of aromaticity is reduced as compared to corresponding hydrocarbon analogues. We have further explored the structure of C6Li6 as star-like, unlike its inorganic analogue B3N3Li6, which appears as fan-like structure. We have also demonstrated that the interaction of C6Li6 with a superhalogen (such as BF4) is similar to that of a typical superalkali (such as OLi3). This may further suggest that the proposed lithiated species may form a new class of closed-shell organic superalkalis with aromaticity.

Warm Absorbers in X-rays (WAX), a comprehensive high resolution grating spectral study of a sample of Seyfert galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laha, S.; Guainazzi, M.; Dewangan, G.; Chakravorty, S.; Kembhavi, A.

2014-07-01

We present results from a homogeneous analysis of the broadband 0.3-10 keV CCD resolution as well as of soft X-ray high-resolution grating spectra of a hard X-ray flux-limited sample of 26 Seyfert galaxies observed with XMM-Newton. We could put a strict lower limit on the detection fraction of 50%. We find a gap in the distribution of the ionisation parameter in the range 0.5

Suzaku Observations of the Monogem Ring and the Origin of the Gemini Hα Ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knies, Jonathan R.; Sasaki, Manami; Plucinsky, Paul P.

2018-04-01

We present the analysis of Suzaku X-ray observations of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) 'Monogem Ring', a large structure observed in X-rays with an extent of ≈ 25°, located at an anti-centre position. One observation close to the shock also coincides with a large ring-like structure observed in Hα, which is called the 'Gemini Hα ring'. We investigate the origin of the ring-like structure and also possible interactions with the SNR. We show that the SNR is expanding in a region with a density gradient, which has an effect on the morphology of the SNR and the properties of the plasma. The X-ray spectra are fit well with a collisional ionisation equilibrium (CIE) model with a temperature of kT ≈ 0.3 keV. The spectra obtained at a position where the SNR coincides with the Gemini Hα ring are better described with non-equilibrium ionisation (NEI) with a temperature of kT ≈ 1.0 keV. Based on the spectral analysis results, we estimate an age of t ≈ 6.8 × 104 yr for a distance of ≈300 pc, using the Sedov-Taylor solution. We have identified several early-type stars in the Hipparcos catalogue at a distance of 200- 300pc, which have most likely formed the 'Gemini Hα ring' by their powerful stellar winds.

The potential of organic (electrospray- and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation) mass spectrometric techniques coupled to liquid-phase separation for speciation analysis.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Erwin

2003-06-06

The use of mass spectrometry based on atmospheric pressure ionisation techniques (atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation, APCI, and electrospray ionisation, ESI) for speciation analysis is reviewed with emphasis on the literature published in and after 1999. This report accounts for the increasing interest that atmospheric pressure ionisation techniques, and in particular ESI, have found in the past years for qualitative and quantitative speciation analysis. In contrast to element-selective detectors, organic mass spectrometric techniques provide information on the intact metal species which can be used for the identification of unknown species (particularly with MS-MS detection) or the confirmation of the actual presence of species in a given sample. Due to the complexity of real samples, it is inevitable in all but the simplest cases to couple atmospheric pressure MS detection to a separation technique. Separation in the liquid phase (capillary electrophoresis or liquid chromatography in reversed phase, ion chromatographic or size-exclusion mode) is particularly suitable since the available techniques cover a very wide range of analyte polarities and molecular mass. Moreover, derivatisation can normally be avoided in liquid-phase separation. Particularly in complex environmental or biological samples, separation in one dimension is not sufficient for obtaining adequate resolution for all relevant species. In this case, multi-dimensional separation, based on orthogonal separation techniques, has proven successful. ESI-MS is also often used in parallel with inductively coupled plasma MS detection. This review is structured in two parts. In the first, the fundamentals of atmospheric pressure ionisation techniques are briefly reviewed. The second part of the review discusses recent applications including redox species, use of ESI-MS for structural elucidation of metal complexes, characterisation and quantification of small organometallic species with relevance to environment, health and food. Particular attention is given to the characterisation of biomolecules and metalloproteins (metallothioneins and phytochelatins) and to the investigation of the interaction of metals and biomolecules. Particularly in the latter field, ESI-MS is the ideal technique due to the softness of the ionisation process which allows to assume that the detected gas-phase ions are a true representation of the ions or ion-biomolecule complexes prevalent in solution. It is particularly this field, important to biochemistry, physiology and medical chemistry, where we can expect significant developments also in the future.

Scattering characteristics of electromagnetic waves in time and space inhomogeneous weakly ionized dusty plasma sheath

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Li-xin; Chen, Wei; Li, Jiang-ting; Ren, Yi; Liu, Song-hua

2018-05-01

The dielectric coefficient of a weakly ionised dusty plasma is used to establish a three-dimensional time and space inhomogeneous dusty plasma sheath. The effects of scattering on electromagnetic (EM) waves in this dusty plasma sheath are investigated using the auxiliary differential equation finite-difference time-domain method. Backward radar cross-sectional values of various parameters, including the dust particle radius, charging frequency of dust particles, dust particle concentration, effective collision frequency, rate of the electron density variation with time, angle of EM wave incidence, and plasma frequency, are analysed within the time and space inhomogeneous plasma sheath. The results show the noticeable effects of dusty plasma parameters on EM waves.

Performance evaluation of different diamond-like carbon samples as charge state conversion surfaces for neutral atom imaging detectors in space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigitte Neuland, Maike; Allenbach, Marc; Föhn, Martina; Wurz, Peter

2017-04-01

The detection of energetic neutral atoms is a substantial requirement on every space mission mapping particle populations of a planetary magnetosphere or plasma of the interstellar medium. For imaging neutrals, these first have to be ionised. Regarding the constraints of weight, volume and power consumption, the technique of surface ionisation complies with all specifications of a space mission. Particularly low energy neutral atoms, which cannot be ionised by passing through a foil, are ionised by scattering on a charge state conversion surface [1]. Since more than 30 years intense research work is done to find and optimise suitable materials for use as charge state conversion surfaces for space application. Crucial parameters are the ionisation efficiency of the surface material and the scattering properties. Regarding these parameters, diamond-like carbon was proven advantageously: While efficiently ionising incoming neutral atoms, diamond stands out by its durability and chemical inertness [2]. In the IBEX-Lo sensor, a diamond-like carbon surface is used for ionisation of neutral atoms. Building on the successes of the IBEX mission [3], the follow up mission IMAP (InterstellarMApping Probe) will take up to further explore the boundaries of the heliosphere. The IMAP mission is planned to map neutral atoms in a larger energy range and with a distinct better angular resolution and sensitivity than IBEX [4]. The aspired performance of the IMAP sensors implies also for charge state conversion surfaces with improved characteristics. We investigated samples of diamond-like carbon, manufactured by the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method, regarding their ionisation efficiency, scattering and reflexion properties. Experiments were carried out at the ILENA facility at the University of Bern [5] with hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which are the species of main interest in magnetospheric research [1]. We compare the results of earlier investigations of a metallised CVD sample [6] to our latest measurements of a Boron-doped CVD diamond sample. We additionally measured the B-concentration in the sample to prove our predictions of the B-concentration needed to reach sufficient conductibility for the sample not getting electrostatically charged during instrument operation. The results of narrower scattering cones and higher ionisation efficiency show that diamond-like carbon still is the preferred material for charge state conversion surfaces and that new surface technologies offer improved diamond conversion surfaces with different properties and hence the possibility for improvement of the performance of neutral atom imaging instruments. References: [1] P. Wurz, Detection of Energetic Neutral Atoms, in The Outer Heliosphere: Beyond the Planets, Copernicus Gesellschaft e.V., Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, 2000, p. 251-288. [2] P. Wurz, R. Schletti, M.R. Aellig, Surf. Sci. 373(1997), 56-66. [3] D.J. McComas et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. 38(2011), L18101. [4] N.A. Schwadron et al., J. of Phys.. Conf. Series 767(2016): 012025 [5] P. Wahlström, J.A. Scheer, A. Riedo, P. Wurz and M. Wieser, J. Spacecr. Rockets 50 (2013): 402-410. [6] M.B. Neuland, J.A. Scheer, A. Riedo and P. Wurz, Appl. Surf. Sci. 313(2014):293-303.

Examining Pre-Service Teachers' Use of Atomic Models in Explaining Subsequent Ionisation Energy Values

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wheeldon, Ruth

2012-01-01

Chemistry students' explanations of ionisation energy phenomena often involve a number of non-scientific or inappropriate ideas being used to form causality arguments. Research has attributed this to many science teachers using these ideas themselves (Tan and Taber, in "J Chem Educ" 86(5):623-629, 2009). This research extends this work by…

Biophysical damage in metallo-enzyme and mammalian cells by Cu-K X-rays and radioisotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Younis, Abdul-Redha Sahib

In the fields of radiobiology and nuclear medicine there is considerable interest in the important role played by Auger electron cascades caused by inner-shell ionisation in realistic risk. It is necessary to quantify this risk when radionuclides are used on a routine basis as investigative, diagnostic and radiotherapeutic tools, whether the applications involve incorporated electron capture radionuclides or K-shell ionisation of selected stable nuclides by X-rays, as in "photon activation therapy". Relevant published survival data on biological damage caused by the internal emitters 125I, 77Br, 3H, 33P, 131I and 32P which are incorporated into the DNA of mammalian cells, bacteria (E. Coli) and bacteriophages have been collected and the results re-analysed in terms of the parameters of a new damage model to determine an inactivation cross-section for each internal emitter. These quality parameters are the absolute specification of radiation quality and are compared with cross-sections similarly determined for the effects of external radiations from heavy charged particles and photons (chapter 2). The inactivation probabilities obtained for the nuclides 125I, 77Br and 3H extend over a wide range of values depending on the type of nuclide and its distribution, the type of sensitive target and its shape and distribution, and the environmental temperature during both irradiation and post-irradiation incubation. The higher values approach those determined for heavy charged particles with the same mean free path for primary ionisation, and are an order of magnitude larger than would be expected for external irradiation with photon generated electrons. The results for 33P, 131I and 32P nuclides are appreciably smaller than that expected for external irradiation since the long range electrons dissipate most of their energy out of the sensitive target. A theoretical equation for X-ray production by accelerated electrons incident on a thick target has been revised by including factors to compensate for backscattering, direct and indirect ionisation, attenuation in the target and the incident angle of electrons (chapter 3). An electron accelerator X-ray machine capable of delivering monoenergetic photons up to 4.8 gray/sec exposure dose rate from four different targets has been designed, constructed and tested (chapter 4) The biophysical mechanisms of direct and indirect radiation action has also been studied using the metallo-enzyme dihydroorotic dehydrogenase. The enzyme was irradiated both in dry state and in solution at different concentrations and at different dose rates using monoenergetic Cu-K photons from our X-ray machine. A technique was developed whereby it was possible to isolate and quantify each type of radiation action (chapter 5). The inactivation of the enzyme in both solution and in dry state was found to be a single-hit/single-target process. It was also found that in solution the inactivation of the enzyme was dose-rate-and concentration-dependent with efficiency of radical inactivation has an exponential dependence on dose-rate and the inverse of the enzyme concentration. A new model for the inactivation of the enzyme has been suggested and its parameters, namely direct and indirect cross-sections, geometrical cross-section, saturated concentration constant, root mean square diffusion constant, mean free path of radicals absorption, life time and G value of radical production, have been determined. It is expected that this model can be generalised to suit other enzymes (chapter 6).

Further investigations of the effect of pressure on retention in ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Fallas, Morgane M; Neue, Uwe D; Hadley, Mark R; McCalley, David V

2010-01-15

In this study, we investigated further the large increases in retention with pressure that we observed previously in RP-LC especially for ionised solutes. These findings were initially confirmed on a conventional silica C(18) column, which gave extremely similar results to the hybrid C(18) phase originally used. Large increases in retention factor of approximately 50% for a pressure increase of 500 bar were also shown for high MW polar but neutral solutes. However, experiments with the same bases in ionised and non-ionised forms suggest that somewhat greater pressure-induced retention increases are found for ionised solutes. Retention increases with pressure were found to be considerably smaller for a C(1) column compared with a C(18) column; decreases in retention with increasing pressure were noted for ionised bases when using a bare silica column in the hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) mode. These observations are consistent with the partial loss of the solvation layer in RP-LC as the solute is forced into the hydrophobic environment of the stationary phase, and consequent reduction in the solute molar volume, while the water layer on the surface of a HILIC packing increases the hydration of a basic analyte. Finally, retention changes with pressure in RP-LC can also be observed at a mobile phase pH close to the solute pK(a), due to changes in pK(a) with pressure. However, this effect has no influence on the results of most of our studies. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiation Effects on LWS Detectors and Deglitching of LWS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgdorf, M.; Harwood, A.; Sidher, S. D.

Glitches are caused by the effects of ionising particles (either a primary cosmic ray, interplanetary or belt electron, or a secondary generated in the spacecraft structure) on the detectors. There was roughly one glitch per ten seconds per detector during the normal period of LWS operation. These energetic particles cause a sudden jump in the ramp voltage, due to a quantity of charge being dumped on the integrating amplifier. They also cause a change in the detector responsivity which affects the following ramps. Glitches were detected in the automatic pipeline processing for each observation with the LWS that was performed with a standard Astronomical Observation Template. We describe the method with which this deglitching was carried out. Based on the findings from the deglitching algorithms we compare proton and electron fluences with average glitch rates and look for correlations. >From the glitch statistics one can also derive the energy distribution of the ionising radiation that hit the detectors. This energy spectrum agrees roughly with model predictions and therefore shows that it is in principle possible to predict the properties of the ionising radiation to which the detectors of future missions will be exposed. This is important, because for the LWS we found that the effect of an ionising radiation hit on the detectors was rather different, and more severe, than had been predicted before launch: An ionising particle could cause the detector to become unstable and spike spontaneously for some seconds following a hit, resulting in a strongly increased noise and requiring a re-adjustment of the bias levels.

Exploring Learners' Conceptual Resources: Singapore a Level Students' Explanations in the Topic of Ionisation Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Keith S.; Tan, Kim Chwee Daniel

2007-01-01

This paper describes findings from a study to explore Singapore A-level (Grades 11 and 12, 16-19 yr old) students' understanding of ionisation energy, an abstract and complex topic that is featured in school chemistry courses. Previous research had reported that students in the United Kingdom commonly use alternative notions based on the perceived…

Characterisation of semi-insulating GaAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walukiewicz, W.; Pawlowicz, L.; Lagowski, J.; Gatos, H. C.

1982-01-01

Hole and electron mobilities as functions of temperature and ionised impurity concentration are calculated for GaAs. It is shown that these calculations, when used to analyse electrical properties of semi-insulating GaAs, enable an assessment of the Fermi energy position and ionised impurity concentration to be made. In contrast to previous work, the analysis does not require any phenomenological assumptions.

Airborne laser-spark for ambient desorption/ionisation.

PubMed

Bierstedt, Andreas; Riedel, Jens

A novel direct sampling ionisation scheme for ambient mass spectrometry is presented. Desorption and ionisation are achieved by a quasi-continuous laser induced plasma in air. Since there are no solid or liquid electrodes involved the ion source does not suffer from chemical interferences or fatigue originating from erosive burning or from electrode consumption. The overall plasma maintains electro-neutrality, minimising charge effects and accompanying long term drift of the charged particles trajectories. In the airborne plasma approach the ambient air not only serves as the plasma medium but at the same time also slows down the nascent ions via collisional cooling. Ionisation of the analyte molecules does not occur in the plasma itself but is induced by interaction with nascent ionic fragments, electrons and/or far ultraviolet photons in the plasma vicinity. At each individual air-spark an audible shockwave is formed, providing new reactive species, which expands concentrically and, thus, prevents direct contact of the analyte with the hot region inside the plasma itself. As a consequence the interaction volume between plasma and analyte does not exceed the threshold temperature for thermal dissociation or fragmentation. Experimentally this indirect ionisation scheme is demonstrated to be widely unspecific to the chemical nature of the analyte and to hardly result in any fragmentation of the studied molecules. A vast ensemble of different test analytes including polar and non-polar hydrocarbons, sugars, low mass active ingredients of pharmaceuticals as well as natural biomolecules in food samples directly out of their complex matrices could be shown to yield easily accessible yet meaningful spectra. Since the plasma medium is humid air, the chemical reaction mechanism of the ionisation is likely to be similar to other ambient ionisation techniques. Wir stellen hier eine neue Ionisationsmethode für die Umgebungsionisation (ambient ionisation) vor. Sowohl die Desorption als auch die Ionisation erfolgen hierbei durch ein laserbetriebenes Luftplasma. Die Abwesenheit fester oder flüssiger Elektroden hat zur Folge, dass die Methode weder unter chemischen Interferenzen noch unter Verschleiß durch Korrosionsbrand oder abgetragenes Elektrodenmaterial leidet. Insgesamt betrachtet herrscht in dem Plasma Elektroneutralität, wodurch Aufladungseffekte minimiert werden, die andernfalls zu einer langfristigenÄderung der Flugbahnen von Ionen während der Experimente führen kann. In dem Ansatz eine freischwebende Luftentladung bei Atmosphärendruck zu verwenden agiert die Luft nicht nur als Plasmamedium sondert dient zusätzlich als Badgas für die stoßinduzierte Kühlung der entstehenden Ionen. Die Ionisierung der Analytmoleküle erfolgt nicht unmittelbar im Plasma sondern in dessen direkter Umgebung durch Wechselwirkung mit freigesetzten ionischen Luftspezies, freien Elektronen oder Photonen im kurzwelligen ultravioletten Bereich. Jede Laserentladung erzeugt eine hörbare Stoßwelle, in welcher neu produzierte reaktive Spezies freigesetzt werden, welche sich konzentrisch ausbreiten, so dass eine Diffusion der Analytmoleküle ins heiße Innere des Plasmas verhindert wird. Daraus folgt, dass im Interaktionsvolumen zwischen Plasma und Analyt der Temperaturgrenzwert für eine thermische Dissoziation oder Fragmentierung der Moleküle nicht überschritten wird. Experimentell konnte belegt werden, dass das vorgestellte Ionisierungsschema sehr unselektiv bezüglich der chemischen Analytklasse ist und kaum Fragmentierungsprodukte beobachtet werden können. Messungen einer breitgefächerten Auswahl unterschiedlicher Testsubstanzen, wie beispielsweise polarer und unpolarer Kohlenwasserstoffe, Zuckern, niedermolekularer pharmazeutischer Wirkstoffe, sowie natürlicher Biomoleküle in Lebensmittelproben unmittelbar aus ihren komplexen Matrizes, führten zu aussagekräftigen Massenspektren. Zumal das Lasermedium feuchte Luft ist, scheint der Reaktionsmechanismus dem anderer Atmosphärendruckionisierungsmethoden zuähneln.

HYDRO2GEN: Non-thermal hydrogen Balmer and Paschen emission in solar flares generated by electron beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Druett, M. K.; Zharkova, V. V.

2018-03-01

Aim. Sharp rises of hard X-ray (HXR) emission accompanied by Hα line profiles with strong red-shifts up to 4 Å from the central wavelength, often observed at the onset of flares with the Specola Solare Ticinese Telescope (STT) and the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST), are not fully explained by existing radiative models. Moreover, observations of white light (WL) and Balmer continuum emission with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRISH) reveal strong co-temporal enhancements and are often nearly co-spatial with HXR emission. These effects indicate a fast effective source of excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms in flaring atmospheres associated with HXR emission. In this paper, we investigate electron beams as the agents accounting for the observed hydrogen line and continuum emission. Methods: Flaring atmospheres are considered to be produced by a 1D hydrodynamic response to the injection of an electron beam defining their kinetic temperatures, densities, and macro velocities. We simulated a radiative response in these atmospheres using a fully non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) approach for a 5-level plus continuum hydrogen atom model, considering its excitation and ionisation by spontaneous, external, and internal diffusive radiation and by inelastic collisions with thermal and beam electrons. Simultaneous steady-state and integral radiative transfer equations in all optically thick transitions (Lyman and Balmer series) were solved iteratively for all the transitions to define their source functions with the relative accuracy of 10-5. The solutions of the radiative transfer equations were found using the L2 approximation. Resulting intensities of hydrogen line and continuum emission were also calculated for Balmer and Paschen series. Results: We find that inelastic collisions with beam electrons strongly increase excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms from the chromosphere to photosphere. This leads to an increase in Lyman continuum radiation, which has high optical thickness, and after the beam is off it governs hydrogen ionisation and leads to the long lasting orders of magnitude enhancement of emission in Balmer and Paschen continua. The ratio of Balmer-to-other-continuum head intensities are found to be correlated with the initial flux of the beam. The height distribution of contribution functions for Paschen continuum emission indicate a close correlation with the observations of heights of WL and HXR emission reported for limb flares. This process also leads to a strong increase of wing emission (Stark's wings) in Balmer and Paschen lines, which is superimposed on large red-shifted enhancements of Hα-Hγ line emission resulting from a downward motion by hydrodynamic shocks. The simulated line profiles are shown to fit closely the observations for various flaring events.

Ullage Tank Fuel-Air Mixture Characterisation

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

247-252 Woodrow, J.E., Seiber, J.N., 1988, ‘Vapor-pressure measurement of complex mixtures by headspace gas chromatography ’, Journal of...Electron Ionisation FAR Fuel to Air Mass Ratio FID Flame Ionisation Detector GC Gas Chromatography HS Headspace MS Mass Spectrometry NIST...Determination of volatile substances in biological headspace gas chromatography ’, Journal of Chromatography A, vol. 674, pp. 25-62 Shepherd, J.E, Krok, J.C

Enzyme/non-enzyme discrimination and prediction of enzyme active site location using charge-based methods.

PubMed

Bate, Paul; Warwicker, Jim

2004-07-02

Calculations of charge interactions complement analysis of a characterised active site, rationalising pH-dependence of activity and transition state stabilisation. Prediction of active site location through large DeltapK(a)s or electrostatic strain is relevant for structural genomics. We report a study of ionisable groups in a set of 20 enzymes, finding that false positives obscure predictive potential. In a larger set of 156 enzymes, peaks in solvent-space electrostatic properties are calculated. Both electric field and potential match well to active site location. The best correlation is found with electrostatic potential calculated from uniform charge density over enzyme volume, rather than from assignment of a standard atom-specific charge set. Studying a shell around each molecule, for 77% of enzymes the potential peak is within that 5% of the shell closest to the active site centre, and 86% within 10%. Active site identification by largest cleft, also with projection onto a shell, gives 58% of enzymes for which the centre of the largest cleft lies within 5% of the active site, and 70% within 10%. Dielectric boundary conditions emphasise clefts in the uniform charge density method, which is suited to recognition of binding pockets embedded within larger clefts. The variation of peak potential with distance from active site, and comparison between enzyme and non-enzyme sets, gives an optimal threshold distinguishing enzyme from non-enzyme. We find that 87% of the enzyme set exceeds the threshold as compared to 29% of the non-enzyme set. Enzyme/non-enzyme homologues, "structural genomics" annotated proteins and catalytic/non-catalytic RNAs are studied in this context.

On the populating mechanisms of the autoionising states of Al III ions produced in a Penning ionisation discharge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Finkenthal, M.; Littman, A.; Stutman, D.; Bhatia, A. K.

1989-01-01

Spectra emitted by Al II and Al III in the 100-1900-A range from a Penning ionization discharge (PID) have been analyzed in order to study the populating mechanisms of the autoionizing levels of the Al III ion. Electron temperature and density estimates and Al III line intensities obtained using a collisional-radiative model are found to differ from those obtained experimentally, implying that the autoionizing levels of the Na I-like ion may be populated, in the PID plasma, by the inner-shell ionization of excited Mg I-like ions. It is suggested that such autoionizing lines could be used to search for populations inversions in the soft X-ray domain.

LASER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: On the possibility of pumping Xe2* lasers and VUV lamps in the afterglow of a background-electron multiplication wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boichenko, Aleksandr M.; Yakovlenko, Sergei I.

2006-12-01

It was shown earlier that the ionisation propagation in a gas at about the atmospheric pressure may proceed due to the multiplication of the existing electrons with a low background density rather than the transfer of electrons or photons. We consider the feasibility of using the plasma produced in the afterglow of this background-electron multiplication wave for pumping plasma lasers (in particular, Xe2* xenon excimer lasers) as well as excilamps. Simulations show that it is possible to achieve the laser effect at λapprox172 nm as well as to substantially improve the peak specific power of the spontaneous radiation of xenon lamps.

Do nuisance alarms decrease functionality of smoke alarms near the kitchen? Findings from a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Yang, Jingzhen; Jones, Michael P; Cheng, Gang; Ramirez, Marizen; Taylor, Craig; Peek-Asa, Corinne

2011-06-01

Many home fires begin in the kitchen. Kitchen smoke alarms are more likely to produce nuisance alarms, but few previous studies have examined the role of alarm sensor and battery types on the functionality of smoke alarms located nearest to the kitchen. Data were analysed from a 2×2 factorial randomised controlled trial conducted in rural Iowa homes (n=628). Enrolled households were randomly assigned into one of four smoke alarm/battery combinations: ionisation/zinc, ionisation/lithium, photoelectric/zinc and photoelectric/lithium. Alarm functionality was determined using a smoke test. Alarm type and battery type were compared using an intent-to-treat analysis. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that might impact the functionality of smoke alarms located nearest to the kitchen 42 months after installation. Photoelectric alarms with lithium batteries had the highest rate of functionality (90.2%), whereas ionisation alarms with carbon/zinc batteries had the lowest (76.5%). Forty-two months following installation, 6.4% more of photoelectric alarms were functional than ionisation alarms, and 7.9% more of alarms with lithium batteries were functional than those with carbon/zinc batteries. Logistic regression revealed that when the indicator of nuisance alarms was included, the effect of alarm type became statistically insignificant and ionisation alarms were less likely to be functional at 42 months, partly due to increased nuisance alarms. Alarm type is an important consideration for certain locations. Photoelectric alarms may be more appropriate for installation nearest to the kitchen despite their increased cost. These findings can help guide consumer choices to increase protection against home fire-related injuries and deaths.

Full Ionisation In Binary-Binary Encounters With Small Positive Energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sweatman, W. L.

2006-08-01

Interactions between binary stars and single stars and binary stars and other binary stars play a key role in the dynamics of a dense stellar system. Energy can be transferred between the internal dynamics of a binary and the larger scale dynamics of the interacting objects. Binaries can be destroyed and created by the interaction. In a binary-binary encounter, full ionisation occurs when both of the binary stars are destroyed in the interaction to create four single stars. This is only possible when the total energy of the system is positive. For very small energies the probability of this occurring is very low and it tends towards zero as the total energy tends towards zero. Here the case is considered for which all the stars have equal masses. An asymptotic power law is predicted relating the probability of full ionisation with the total energy when this latter quantity is small. The exponent, which is approximately 2.31, is compared with the results from numerical scattering experiments. The theoretical approach taken is similar to one used previously in the three-body problem. It makes use of the fact that the most dramatic changes in scale and energies of a few-body system occur when its components pass near to a central configuration. The position, and number, of these configurations is not known for the general four-body problem, however, with equal masses there are known to be exactly five different cases. Separate consideration and comparison of the properties of orbits close to each of these five central configurations enables the prediction of the form of the cross-section for full ionisation for the case of small positive total energy. This is the relation between total energy and the probability of total ionisation described above.

Occupational exposure to ionising radiation and mortality among workers of the former Spanish Nuclear Energy Board.

PubMed Central

Rodríguez Artalejo, F; Castaño Lara, S; de Andrés Manzano, B; García Ferruelo, M; Iglesias Martín, L; Calero, J R

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Firstly, to ascertain whether mortality among workers of the former Spanish Nuclear Energy Board (Junta de Energía Nuclear-JEN) was higher than that for the Spanish population overall; and secondly, if this were so, to ascertain whether this difference was associated with exposure to ionising radiation. METHODS: A retrospective follow up of a cohort of 5657 workers was carried out for the period 1954-92. Cohort mortality was compared with that for the Spanish population overall, with standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) adjusted for sex, age, and calendar period. Also, Poisson models were used to analyse mortality from lung cancer in the cohort by level of exposure to ionising radiation. RESULTS: Workers' median and mean cumulative exposures were 4.04 and 11.42 mSv, respectively. Mean annual exposure was 1.33 mSv. Excess mortality due to bone tumours was found for the cohort as a whole (six deaths observed; SMR 2.95; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.08 to 6.43). Among miners, excess mortality was found for non-malignant respiratory diseases (SMR 2.94; 95% CI 2.27 to 3.75), and for lung cancer bordering on statistical significance (SMR 1.50; 95% CI 0.96 to 2.23; P = 0.055). Relative risks of dying of lung cancer from ionising radiation in the dose quartiles 2, 3, and 4 versus the lowest dose quartile, were 1.00, 1.64, and 0.94, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Excess mortality from lung cancer was found among JEN miners. Nevertheless, no clear relation was found between mortality from lung cancer and level of exposure to ionising radiation in the JEN cohort. Continued follow up of the cohort is required to confirm excess mortality from bone tumours. PMID:9155782

Fully kinetic simulations of magnetic reconnection in partially ionised gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Innocenti, M. E.; Jiang, W.; Lapenta, G.; Markidis, S.

2016-12-01

Magnetic reconnection has been explored for decades as a way to convert magnetic energy into kinetic energy and heat and to accelerate particles in environments as different as the solar surface, planetary magnetospheres, the solar wind, accretion disks, laboratory plasmas. When studying reconnection via simulations, it is usually assumed that the plasma is fully ionised, as it is indeed the case in many of the above-mentioned cases. There are, however, exceptions, the most notable being the lower solar atmosphere. Small ionisation fractions are registered also in the warm neutral interstellar medium, in dense interstellar clouds, in protostellar and protoplanetary accreditation disks, in tokamak edge plasmas and in ad-hoc laboratory experiments [1]. We study here how magnetic reconnection is modified by the presence of a neutral background, i.e. when the majority of the gas is not ionised. The ionised plasma is simulated with the fully kinetic Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code iPic3D [2]. Collisions with the neutral background are introduced via a Monte Carlo plug-in. The standard Monte Carlo procedure [3] is employed to account for elastic, excitation and ionization electron-neutral collisions, as well as for elastic scattering and charge exchange ion-neutral collisions. Collisions with the background introduce resistivity in an otherwise collisionless plasma and modifications of the particle distribution functions: particles (and ions at a faster rate) tend to thermalise to the background. To pinpoint the consequences of this, we compare reconnection simulations with and without background. References [1] E E Lawrence et al. Physical review letters, 110(1):015001, 2013. [2] S Markidis et al. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation, 80(7):1509-1519, 2010. [3] K Nanbu. IEEE Transactions on plasma science, 28(3):971-990, 2000.

Occupational exposure to ionising radiation and mortality among workers of the former Spanish Nuclear Energy Board.

PubMed

Rodríguez Artalejo, F; Castaño Lara, S; de Andrés Manzano, B; García Ferruelo, M; Iglesias Martín, L; Calero, J R

1997-03-01

Firstly, to ascertain whether mortality among workers of the former Spanish Nuclear Energy Board (Junta de Energía Nuclear-JEN) was higher than that for the Spanish population overall; and secondly, if this were so, to ascertain whether this difference was associated with exposure to ionising radiation. A retrospective follow up of a cohort of 5657 workers was carried out for the period 1954-92. Cohort mortality was compared with that for the Spanish population overall, with standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) adjusted for sex, age, and calendar period. Also, Poisson models were used to analyse mortality from lung cancer in the cohort by level of exposure to ionising radiation. Workers' median and mean cumulative exposures were 4.04 and 11.42 mSv, respectively. Mean annual exposure was 1.33 mSv. Excess mortality due to bone tumours was found for the cohort as a whole (six deaths observed; SMR 2.95; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.08 to 6.43). Among miners, excess mortality was found for non-malignant respiratory diseases (SMR 2.94; 95% CI 2.27 to 3.75), and for lung cancer bordering on statistical significance (SMR 1.50; 95% CI 0.96 to 2.23; P = 0.055). Relative risks of dying of lung cancer from ionising radiation in the dose quartiles 2, 3, and 4 versus the lowest dose quartile, were 1.00, 1.64, and 0.94, respectively. Excess mortality from lung cancer was found among JEN miners. Nevertheless, no clear relation was found between mortality from lung cancer and level of exposure to ionising radiation in the JEN cohort. Continued follow up of the cohort is required to confirm excess mortality from bone tumours.

VLT/X-Shooter spectroscopy of the afterglow of the Swift GRB 130606A. Chemical abundances and reionisation at z ~ 6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartoog, O. E.; Malesani, D.; Fynbo, J. P. U.; Goto, T.; Krühler, T.; Vreeswijk, P. M.; De Cia, A.; Xu, D.; Møller, P.; Covino, S.; D'Elia, V.; Flores, H.; Goldoni, P.; Hjorth, J.; Jakobsson, P.; Krogager, J.-K.; Kaper, L.; Ledoux, C.; Levan, A. J.; Milvang-Jensen, B.; Sollerman, J.; Sparre, M.; Tagliaferri, G.; Tanvir, N. R.; de Ugarte Postigo, A.; Vergani, S. D.; Wiersema, K.; Datson, J.; Salinas, R.; Mikkelsen, K.; Aghanim, N.

2015-08-01

Context. The reionisation of the Universe is a process that is thought to have ended around z ~ 6, as inferred from spectroscopy of distant bright background sources, such as quasars (QSO) and gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows. Furthermore, spectroscopy of a GRB afterglow provides insight in its host galaxy, which is often too dim and distant to study otherwise. Aims: For the Swift GRB 130606A at z = 5.913 we have obtained a high S/N spectrum covering the full optical and near-IR wavelength region at intermediate spectral resolution with VLT/X-Shooter. We aim to measure the degree of ionisation of the intergalactic medium (IGM) between z = 5.02-5.84 and to study the chemical abundance pattern and dust content of its host galaxy. Methods: We estimated the UV continuum of the GRB afterglow using a power-law extrapolation, then measured the flux decrement due to absorption at Lyα,β, and γ wavelength regions. Furthermore, we fitted the shape of the red damping wing of Lyα. The hydrogen and metal absorption lines formed in the host galaxy were fitted with Voigt profiles to obtain column densities. We investigated whether ionisation corrections needed to be applied. Results: Our measurements of the Lyα-forest optical depth are consistent with previous measurements of QSOs, but have a much smaller uncertainty. The analysis of the red damping wing yields a neutral fraction xH i< 0.05 (3σ). We obtain column density measurements of H, Al, Si, and Fe; for C, O, S and Ni we obtain limits. The ionisation due to the GRB is estimated to be negligible (corrections <0.03 dex), but larger corrections may apply due to the pre-existing radiation field (up to 0.4 dex based on sub-DLA studies). Assuming that [ Si/Fe ] = +0.79 ± 0.13 is due to dust depletion, the dust-to-metal ratio is similar to the Galactic value. Conclusions: Our measurements confirm that the Universe is already predominantly ionised over the redshift range probed in this work, but was slightly more neutral at z> 5.6. GRBs are useful probes of the ionisation state of the IGM in the early Universe, but because of internal scatter we need a larger statistical sample to draw robust conclusions. The high [Si/Fe] in the host can be due to dust depletion, α-element enhancement, or a combination of both. The very high value of [ Al/Fe ] = 2.40 ± 0.78 might be due to a proton capture process and is probably connected to the stellar population history. We estimate the host metallicity to be -1.7 < [ M/H ] < -0.9 (2%-13% of solar). Based on observations carried out under prog. ID 091.C-0934(C) with the X-Shooter spectrograph installed at the Cassegrain focus of the Very Large Telescope (VLT), Unit 2 - Kueyen, operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Cerro Paranal, Chile. Partly based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. Partly based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Fundación Galileo Galilei of the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, under programme A26TAC_63.Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgThe reduced spectrum (FITS file) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/580/A139

Genotoxic effects of high dose rate X-ray and low dose rate gamma radiation in ApcMin/+ mice.

PubMed

Graupner, Anne; Eide, Dag M; Brede, Dag A; Ellender, Michele; Lindbo Hansen, Elisabeth; Oughton, Deborah H; Bouffler, Simon D; Brunborg, Gunnar; Olsen, Ann Karin

2017-10-01

Risk estimates for radiation-induced cancer in humans are based on epidemiological data largely drawn from the Japanese atomic bomb survivor studies, which received an acute high dose rate (HDR) ionising radiation. Limited knowledge exists about the effects of chronic low dose rate (LDR) exposure, particularly with respect to the application of the dose and dose rate effectiveness factor. As part of a study to investigate the development of colon cancer following chronic LDR vs. acute HDR radiation, this study presents the results of genotoxic effects in blood of exposed mice. CBAB6 F1 Apc +/+ (wild type) and Apc Min/+ mice were chronically exposed to estimated whole body absorbed doses of 1.7 or 3.2 Gy 60 Co-γ-rays at a LDR (2.2 mGy h -1 ) or acutely exposed to 2.6 Gy HDR X-rays (1.3 Gy min -1 ). Genotoxic endpoints assessed in blood included chromosomal damage (flow cytometry based micronuclei (MN) assay), mutation analyses (Pig-a gene mutation assay), and levels of DNA lesions (Comet assay, single-strand breaks (ssb), alkali labile sites (als), oxidized DNA bases). Ionising radiation (ca. 3 Gy) induced genotoxic effects dependent on the dose rate. Chromosomal aberrations (MN assay) increased 3- and 10-fold after chronic LDR and acute HDR, respectively. Phenotypic mutation frequencies as well as DNA lesions (ssb/als) were modulated after acute HDR but not after chronic LDR. The Apc Min/+ genotype did not influence the outcome in any of the investigated endpoints. The results herein will add to the scant data available on genotoxic effects following chronic LDR of ionising radiation. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:560-569, 2017. © 2017 The Authors Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society. © 2017 The Authors Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society.

Genotoxic effects of high dose rate X‐ray and low dose rate gamma radiation in ApcMin/+ mice

PubMed Central

Eide, Dag M.; Brede, Dag A.; Ellender, Michele; Lindbo Hansen, Elisabeth; Oughton, Deborah H.; Bouffler, Simon D.; Brunborg, Gunnar; Olsen, Ann Karin

2017-01-01

Risk estimates for radiation‐induced cancer in humans are based on epidemiological data largely drawn from the Japanese atomic bomb survivor studies, which received an acute high dose rate (HDR) ionising radiation. Limited knowledge exists about the effects of chronic low dose rate (LDR) exposure, particularly with respect to the application of the dose and dose rate effectiveness factor. As part of a study to investigate the development of colon cancer following chronic LDR vs. acute HDR radiation, this study presents the results of genotoxic effects in blood of exposed mice. CBAB6 F1 Apc+/+ (wild type) and ApcMin/+ mice were chronically exposed to estimated whole body absorbed doses of 1.7 or 3.2 Gy 60Co‐γ‐rays at a LDR (2.2 mGy h−1) or acutely exposed to 2.6 Gy HDR X‐rays (1.3 Gy min−1). Genotoxic endpoints assessed in blood included chromosomal damage (flow cytometry based micronuclei (MN) assay), mutation analyses (Pig‐a gene mutation assay), and levels of DNA lesions (Comet assay, single‐strand breaks (ssb), alkali labile sites (als), oxidized DNA bases). Ionising radiation (ca. 3 Gy) induced genotoxic effects dependent on the dose rate. Chromosomal aberrations (MN assay) increased 3‐ and 10‐fold after chronic LDR and acute HDR, respectively. Phenotypic mutation frequencies as well as DNA lesions (ssb/als) were modulated after acute HDR but not after chronic LDR. The ApcMin/+ genotype did not influence the outcome in any of the investigated endpoints. The results herein will add to the scant data available on genotoxic effects following chronic LDR of ionising radiation. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:560–569, 2017. © 2017 The Authors Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society PMID:28856770

A novel flexible field-aligned coordinate system for tokamak edge plasma simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leddy, J.; Dudson, B.; Romanelli, M.; Shanahan, B.; Walkden, N.

2017-03-01

Tokamak plasmas are confined by a magnetic field that limits the particle and heat transport perpendicular to the field. Parallel to the field the ionised particles can move freely, so to obtain confinement the field lines are "closed" (i.e. form closed surfaces of constant poloidal flux) in the core of a tokamak. Towards, the edge, however, the field lines intersect physical surfaces, leading to interaction between neutral and ionised particles, and the potential melting of the material surface. Simulation of this interaction is important for predicting the performance and lifetime of future tokamak devices such as ITER. Field-aligned coordinates are commonly used in the simulation of tokamak plasmas due to the geometry and magnetic topology of the system. However, these coordinates are limited in the geometry they allow in the poloidal plane due to orthogonality requirements. A novel 3D coordinate system is proposed herein that relaxes this constraint so that any arbitrary, smoothly varying geometry can be matched in the poloidal plane while maintaining a field-aligned coordinate. This system is implemented in BOUT++ and tested for accuracy using the method of manufactured solutions. A MAST edge cross-section is simulated using a fluid plasma model and the results show expected behaviour for density, temperature, and velocity. Finally, simulations of an isolated divertor leg are conducted with and without neutrals to demonstrate the ion-neutral interaction near the divertor plate and the corresponding beneficial decrease in plasma temperature.

Multi-directional radiation detector using photographic film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junet, L. K.; Majid, Z. A. Abdul; Sapuan, A. H.; Sayed, I. S.; Pauzi, N. F.

2014-11-01

Ionising radiation has always been part of our surrounding and people are continuously exposed to it. Ionising radiation is harmful to human health, thus it is vital to monitor the radiation. To monitor radiation, there are three main points that should be observed cautiously, which are energy, quantity, and direction of the radiation sources. A three dimensional (3D) dosimeter is an example of a radiation detector that provide these three main points. This dosimeter is able to record the radiation dose distribution in 3D. Applying the concept of dose detection distribution, study has been done to design a multi-directional radiation detector of different filter thicknesses. This is obtained by designing a cylinder shaped aluminum filter with several layers of different thickness. Black and white photographic material is used as a radiation-sensitive material and a PVC material has been used as the enclosure. The device is then exposed to a radiation source with different exposure factors. For exposure factor 70 kVp, 16 mAs; the results have shown that optical density (OD) value at 135° is 1.86 higher compared with an OD value at 315° which is 0.71 as the 135° area received more radiation compare to 315° region. Furthermore, with an evidence of different angle of film give different value of OD shows that this device has a multidirectional ability. Materials used to develop this device are widely available in the market, thus reducing the cost of development and making it suitable for commercialisation.

The nature of the ionised nebula surrounding the red supergiant W26

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wesson, Roger

2015-08-01

The red supergiant W26 in the massive star cluster Westerlund 1 is surrounded by a compact ionised nebula. This is unique among RSGs, and the excitation mechanism of the nebula is not yet known - it may be ionised by an unseen compact companion, or by a nearby blue supergiant. We present new observations of the nebula: high resolution spatially resolved spectra taken with FLAMES at the VLT show that the nebula is a ring, with velocities consistent with that expected for red supergiant ejecta, and ruling out the possibility of a Luminous Blue Variable-type eruption preceding the RSG phase as the origin of the nebula. A triangular patch of nebulosity outside the ring appears to be associated with W26, and may be material stripped from the expanding ring by the cumulative cluster wind and radiation field.

Comparing the statistics of interstellar turbulence in simulations and observations. Solenoidal versus compressive turbulence forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Federrath, C.; Roman-Duval, J.; Klessen, R. S.; Schmidt, W.; Mac Low, M.-M.

2010-03-01

Context. Density and velocity fluctuations on virtually all scales observed with modern telescopes show that molecular clouds (MCs) are turbulent. The forcing and structural characteristics of this turbulence are, however, still poorly understood. Aims: To shed light on this subject, we study two limiting cases of turbulence forcing in numerical experiments: solenoidal (divergence-free) forcing and compressive (curl-free) forcing, and compare our results to observations. Methods: We solve the equations of hydrodynamics on grids with up to 10243 cells for purely solenoidal and purely compressive forcing. Eleven lower-resolution models with different forcing mixtures are also analysed. Results: Using Fourier spectra and Δ-variance, we find velocity dispersion-size relations consistent with observations and independent numerical simulations, irrespective of the type of forcing. However, compressive forcing yields stronger compression at the same rms Mach number than solenoidal forcing, resulting in a three times larger standard deviation of volumetric and column density probability distributions (PDFs). We compare our results to different characterisations of several observed regions, and find evidence of different forcing functions. Column density PDFs in the Perseus MC suggest the presence of a mainly compressive forcing agent within a shell, driven by a massive star. Although the PDFs are close to log-normal, they have non-Gaussian skewness and kurtosis caused by intermittency. Centroid velocity increments measured in the Polaris Flare on intermediate scales agree with solenoidal forcing on that scale. However, Δ-variance analysis of the column density in the Polaris Flare suggests that turbulence is driven on large scales, with a significant compressive component on the forcing scale. This indicates that, although likely driven with mostly compressive modes on large scales, turbulence can behave like solenoidal turbulence on smaller scales. Principal component analysis of G216-2.5 and most of the Rosette MC agree with solenoidal forcing, but the interior of an ionised shell within the Rosette MC displays clear signatures of compressive forcing. Conclusions: The strong dependence of the density PDF on the type of forcing must be taken into account in any theory using the PDF to predict properties of star formation. We supply a quantitative description of this dependence. We find that different observed regions show evidence of different mixtures of compressive and solenoidal forcing, with more compressive forcing occurring primarily in swept-up shells. Finally, we emphasise the role of the sonic scale for protostellar core formation, because core formation close to the sonic scale would naturally explain the observed subsonic velocity dispersions of protostellar cores. A movie is only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Energy dependent track structure parametrisations for protons and carbon ions based on nanometric simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Frauke; Villagrasa, Carmen; Rabus, Hans; Wilkens, Jan J.

2015-09-01

The BioQuaRT project within the European Metrology Research Programme aims at correlating ion track structure characteristics with the biological effects of radiation and develops measurement and simulation techniques for determining ion track structure on different length scales from about 2 nm to about 10 μm. Within this framework, we investigate methods to translate track-structure quantities derived on a nanometre scale to macroscopic dimensions. Input data sets were generated by simulations of ion tracks of protons and carbon ions in liquid water using the Geant 4 Monte Carlo toolkit with the Geant4-DNA processes. Based on the energy transfer points - recorded with nanometre resolution - we investigated parametrisations of overall properties of ion track structure. Three different track structure parametrisations have been developed using the distances to the 10 next neighbouring ionisations, the radial energy distribution and ionisation cluster size distributions. These parametrisations of nanometric track structure build a basis for deriving biologically relevant mean values which are essential in the clinical situation where each voxel is exposed to a mixed radiation field. Contribution to the Topical Issue "COST Action Nano-IBCT: Nano-scale Processes Behind Ion-Beam Cancer Therapy", edited by Andrey Solov'yov, Nigel Mason, Gustavo García, Eugene Surdutovich.

The Insidious Nature of "Hard-Core" Alternative Conceptions: Implications for the Constructivist Research Programme of Patterns in High School Students' and Pre-Service Teachers' Thinking about Ionisation Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Keith S.; Tan, Kim Chwee Daniel

2011-01-01

The present study contributes to the constructivist research programme (RP) into learning science by comparing patterns in responses from two groups of learners--senior high school students and pre-service teachers--in the same educational context (Singapore), to a diagnostic instrument relating to the topic of ionisation energies. This topic is…

Analysis of oak tannins by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Mämmelä, P; Savolainen, H; Lindroos, L; Kangas, J; Vartiainen, T

2000-09-01

Extractable tannins were analysed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry in two oak species, North American white oak (Quercus alba) and European red oak (Quercus robur). They mainly included various glucose gallic and ellagic acid esters. The structures were partially determined, and they included grandinin/roburin E, castalagin/vescalagin, gallic acid, valoneic acid bilactone, monogalloyl glucose, digalloyl glucose, trigalloyl glucose, ellagic acid rhamnose, quercitrin and ellagic acid.

Determination of acrylamide in coffee and chocolate by pressurised fluid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Pardo, O; Yusà, V; Coscollà, C; León, N; Pastor, A

2007-07-01

A selective and sensitive procedure has been developed and validated for the determination of acrylamide in difficult matrices, such as coffee and chocolate. The proposed method includes pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) with acetonitrile, florisil clean-up purification inside the PFE extraction cell and detection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to atmospheric pressure ionisation in positive mode tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS-MS). Comparison of ionisation sources (atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI), atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and the combined APCI/APPI) and clean-up procedures were carried out to improve the analytical signal. The main parameters affecting the performance of the different ionisation sources were previously optimised using statistical design of experiments (DOE). PFE parameters were also optimised by DOE. For quantitation, an isotope dilution approach was used. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 1 microg kg(-1) for coffee and 0.6 microg kg(-1) for chocolate. Recoveries ranged between 81-105% in coffee and 87-102% in chocolate. The accuracy was evaluated using a coffee reference test material FAPAS T3008. Using the optimised method, 20 coffee and 15 chocolate samples collected from Valencian (Spain) supermarkets, were investigated for acrylamide, yielding median levels of 146 microg kg(-1) in coffee and 102 microg kg(-1) in chocolate.

VLT/MUSE illuminates possible channels for Lyman continuum escape in the halo of SBS 0335-52E

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herenz, E. C.; Hayes, M.; Papaderos, P.; Cannon, J. M.; Bik, A.; Melinder, J.; Östlin, G.

2017-10-01

We report on the discovery of ionised gas filaments in the circum-galactic halo of the extremely metal-poor compact starburst SBS 0335-052E in a 1.5 h integration with the MUSE integral-field spectrograph. We detect these features in Hα and [O III] emission down to a limiting surface-brightness of 5 × 10-19 erg s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2. The filaments have projected diameters of 2.1 kpc and extend more than 9 kpc to the north and north-west from the main stellar body. We also detect extended nebular He II λ4686 emission that brightens towards the north-west at the rim of a starburst driven super-shell. We also present a velocity field of the ionised gas. The filaments appear to connect seamlessly in velocity space to the kinematical disturbances caused by the shell. Similar to high-z star-forming galaxies, the ionised gas in this galaxy is dispersion dominated. We argue that the filaments were created via feedback from the starburst and that these ionised structures in the halo may act as escape channels for Lyman continuum radiation in this gas-rich system. Based on observations collected at the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programme 096.B-0690.

Filaments, ridges and a mini-starburst - HOBYS' view of high mass star formation with Herschel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, T.; Motte, F.; Didelon, P.

2012-03-01

With its unprecedented spatial resolution and high sensitivity, Herschel is revolutionising our understanding of high mass star formation and the interstellar medium (ISM). In particular, Herschel is unveiling the filamentary structure and molecular cloud constituents of the ISM where star formation takes place. The Herschel Imaging Survey of OB Young Stellar objects (HOBYS; Motte, Zavagno, Bontemps, see http://www.herschel.fr/cea/hobys/en/index.php) key program targets burgeoning young stellar objects with the aim of characterising them and the environments in which they form. HOBYS has already proven fruitful with many clear examples of high-mass star formation in nearby molecular cloud complexes (e.g. Motte et al., 2010). Through multi-wavelength Herschel observations I will introduce select regions of the HOBYS program, including Vela C, M16 and W48 to start. These data are rich with filamentary structures and a wealth of sources which span a large mass range including, low, intermediate and high-mass objects in the pre-collapse or protostellar phase of formation, many of which will proceed to form stars. The natal filaments themselves come in many shapes and sizes, they can form thick ridge-like structures, be dispersed in low column density regions or cluster in higher density regions. In Vela C, high-mass star formation proceeds preferentially in high column density supercritical filaments, called ridges, which may result from the constructive convergence of flows (Hill et al., 2011). I will present other examples of ridges identified in HOBYS regions. In addition, I will present the latest results on the Eagle Nebula (M16). This region was made iconic by Hubble, but only Herschel can trace the cold, dense early prestellar phases of star formation, and their natal interstellar filaments, in this infamous star-forming complex. The cavity ionised by the nearby OB cluster in M16 serves to heat the Pillars of Creation and the surrounding interstellar filaments. We draw hypotheses regarding the long, cold resilient (enduring) filament in the eastern portion of M16, offset from the ionised cavity. In W48, the IRDC G035.39-00.33 is likely undergoing a mini star-burst of star formation (Nuygen-Luong et al., 2011).

Magnetic fields in giant planet formation and protoplanetary discs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keith, Sarah Louise

2015-12-01

Protoplanetary discs channel accretion onto their host star. How this is achieved is critical to the growth of giant planets which capture their massive gaseous atmosphere from the surrounding flow. Theoretical studies find that an embedded magnetic field could power accretion by hydromagnetic turbulence or torques from a large-scale field. This thesis presents a study of the inuence of magnetic fields in three key aspects of this process: circumplanetary disc accretion, gas flow across gaps in protoplanetary discs, and magnetic-braking in accretion discs. The first study examines the conditions needed for self-consistent accretion driven by magnetic fields or gravitational instability. Models of these discs typically rely on hydromagnetic turbulence as the source of effective viscosity. However, magnetically coupled,accreting regions may be so limited that the disc may not support sufficient inflow. An improved Shakura-Sunyaev ? disc is used to calculate the ionisation fraction and strength of non-ideal effects. Steady magnetically-driven accretion is limited to the thermally ionised, inner disc so that accretion in the remainder of the disc is time-dependent. The second study addresses magnetic flux transport in an accretion gap evacuated by a giant planet. Assuming the field is passively drawn along with the gas, the hydrodynamical simulation of Tanigawa, Ohtsuki & Machida (2012) is used for an a posteriori analysis of the gap field structure. This is used to post-calculate magnetohydrodynamical quantities. This assumption is self-consistent as magnetic forces are found to be weak, and good magnetic coupling ensures the field is frozen into the gas. Hall drift dominates across much of the gap, with the potential to facilitate turbulence and modify the toroidal field according to the global field orientation. The third study considers the structure and stability of magnetically-braked accretion discs. Strong evidence for MRI dead-zones has renewed interest in accretion powered by large-scale fields. An equilibrium model is presented for the radial structure of an axisymmetric, magnetically-braked accretion disc connected to a force-free external field. The accretion rate is multivalued at protoplanetary disc column densities, featuring an `S-curve' associated with models of accretion outbursting. A local, linear analysis of the stability of radial modes finds that the rapidly accreting, middle and upper solution branches are unstable, further highlighting the potential for eruptive accretion events.

Mass spectrometry in plant metabolomics strategies: from analytical platforms to data acquisition and processing.

PubMed

Ernst, Madeleine; Silva, Denise Brentan; Silva, Ricardo Roberto; Vêncio, Ricardo Z N; Lopes, Norberto Peporine

2014-06-01

Covering: up to 2013. Plant metabolomics is a relatively recent research field that has gained increasing interest in the past few years. Up to the present day numerous review articles and guide books on the subject have been published. This review article focuses on the current applications and limitations of the modern mass spectrometry techniques, especially in combination with electrospray ionisation (ESI), an ionisation method which is most commonly applied in metabolomics studies. As a possible alternative to ESI, perspectives on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) in metabolomics studies are introduced, a method which still is not widespread in the field. In metabolomics studies the results must always be interpreted in the context of the applied sampling procedures as well as data analysis. Different sampling strategies are introduced and the importance of data analysis is illustrated in the example of metabolic network modelling.

Impact ionisation in Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 for Sb-based avalanche photodiodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, X.; Craig, A. P.; Roblin, T.; Marshall, A. R. J.

2018-01-01

We report the impact ionisation coefficients of the quaternary alloy Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 lattice matched to GaSb substrates within the field range of 150 to 550 kV cm-1 using p-i-n and n-i-p diodes of various intrinsic thicknesses. The coefficients were found with an evolutionary fitting algorithm using a non-local recurrence based multiplication model and a variable electric field profile. These coefficients indicate that an avalanche photodiode not only can be designed to be a function in the mid-wave infrared but also can be operated at lower voltages. This is due to the high magnitude of the impact ionisation coefficients at relatively low fields compared to other III-V materials typically used in avalanche multiplication regions.

Radiation-MHD Simulations of Pillars and Globules in HII Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackey, J.

2012-07-01

Implicit and explicit raytracing-photoionisation algorithms have been implemented in the author's radiation-magnetohydrodynamics code. The algorithms are described briefly and their efficiency and parallel scaling are investigated. The implicit algorithm is more efficient for calculations where ionisation fronts have very supersonic velocities, and the explicit algorithm is favoured in the opposite limit because of its better parallel scaling. The implicit method is used to investigate the effects of initially uniform magnetic fields on the formation and evolution of dense pillars and cometary globules at the boundaries of HII regions. It is shown that for weak and medium field strengths an initially perpendicular field is swept into alignment with the pillar during its dynamical evolution, matching magnetic field observations of the ‘Pillars of Creation’ in M16. A strong perpendicular magnetic field remains in its initial configuration and also confines the photoevaporation flow into a bar-shaped, dense, ionised ribbon which partially shields the ionisation front.

Energetic particle influences in Earth's atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aplin, Karen; Harrison, R. Giles; Nicoll, Keri; Rycroft, Michael; Briggs, Aaron

2016-04-01

Energetic particles from outer space, known as galactic cosmic rays, constantly ionise the entire atmosphere. During strong solar storms, solar energetic particles can also reach the troposphere and enhance ionisation. Atmospheric ionisation generates cluster ions. These facilitate current flow in the global electric circuit, which arises from charge separation in thunderstorms driven by meteorological processes. Energetic particles, whether solar or galactic in origin, may influence the troposphere and stratosphere through a range of different mechanisms, each probably contributing a small amount. Some of the suggested processes potentially acting over a wide spatial area in the troposphere include enhanced scavenging of charged aerosol particles, modification of droplet or droplet-droplet behavior by charging, and the direct absorption of infra-red radiation by the bending and stretching of hydrogen bonds inside atmospheric cluster-ions. As well as reviewing the proposed mechanisms by which energetic particles modulate atmospheric properties, we will also discuss new instrumentation for measurement of energetic particles in the atmosphere.

Ionised Jets Associated With Massive Young Stellar Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purser, Simon John Derek

2017-09-01

This thesis focuses on the phenomena of ionised jets associated with massive young stellar objects. Firstly a study was conducted with the aim to establish a statistical sample of such objects. Radio observations towards a sample of 49 MYSOs resulted in the detection of 28 objects classified as ionised jets. The jets’ radio luminosities scaled with their MYSOs’ bolometric luminosities in the same way as for low-mass examples. This infers that the jet launching and collimation mechanisms of high-mass jets are very similar to that in their low-mass counterparts and they are ejected for the last ≤65000 yr of the MYSO phase. Interestingly non-thermal emission was regularly detected towards spatially distinct radio lobes (associated with ˜50% of the jets), suggesting the presence of synchrotron emission and therefore, magnetic fields. With an average spectral index of ¯α=‑0. 55 (indicative of the 1st order Fermi acceleration mechanism) it is concluded these lobes are the result of shocks in the jets’ stream. My second science chapter is a study of radio variability, precession and proper motions towards a subset of objects from the first chapter. Over a two year time period, no significant variability and only one example of proper motion (1800±600 km s‑1) was detected. Precession was found to be commonplace however and if it arises as the result of binary interactions, we infer orbital radii between 30 and 1800 au for the binary companions. Lastly, high-resolution, VLA observations at C and Q-bands were analysed to extend the known sample of MYSOs harbouring ionised jets into the northern hemisphere. Only 3 radio sources were detected possessing jet-like characteristics towards the work’s sub-sample of 8 IRDCs containing 44 mm-cores (in our field of view), highlighting the radio-quiet (≳30μJy) nature of this early phase in massive star formation. Towards the RMS survey derived sample of 48 MYSOs, a total of 38 radio sources with jet-like characteristics were detected, of which 14 were bona-fide jets (10 of which were associated with shock-ionised lobes). Comparing the analysis of the MYSO sample to statistical surveys of molecular outflows, it was inferred from their total momenta that the jets alone are mechanically capable of entraining the outflows. Measurement of the physical extent of the radio emission showed no evolution of the opening angle with bolometric luminosity, and that a trapped Hii region alone was not enough to explain the radio emission. Most interestingly, jets associated with shock ionised lobes were found to occupy later evolutionary IR colours than those without, suggesting them to be an evolutionary stage in ionised jet, and MYSO, evolution.

The properties of the extended warm ionised gas around low-redshift QSOs and the lack of extended high-velocity outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husemann, B.; Wisotzki, L.; Sánchez, S. F.; Jahnke, K.

2013-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of a large sample of 31 low-redshift, mostly radio-quiet type 1 quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) observed with integral field spectroscopy to study their extended emission-line regions (EELRs). We focus on the ionisation state of the gas, size and luminosity of extended narrow line regions (ENLRs), which corresponds to those parts of the EELR dominated by ionisation from the QSO, as well as the kinematics of the ionised gas. We detect EELRs around 19 of our 31 QSOs (61%) after deblending the unresolved QSO emission and the extended host galaxy light in the integral field data with a new dedicated algorithm. Based on standard emission-line diagnostics we identify 13 EELRs to be entirely ionised by the QSO radiation, 3 EELRs are composed of H ii regions and 3 EELRs display signatures of both ionisation mechanisms at different locations. The typical size of the ENLR is ~10 kpc at a median nuclear [O iii] luminosity of log (L([O iii])/ [ergs-1]) = 42.7 ± 0.15. We show that the ENLR sizes are least a factor of ~2 larger than determined with the Hubble Space Telescope, but are consistent with those of recently reported type 2 QSOs at matching [O iii] luminosities. The ENLR of type 1 and type 2 QSOs therefore appear to follow the same size-luminosity relation. Furthermore, we show for the first time that the ENLR size is much better correlated with the QSO continuum luminosity than with the total/nuclear [O iii] luminosity. We show that ENLR luminosity and radio luminosity are correlated, and argue that radio jets even in radio-quiet QSOs are important for shaping the properties of the ENLR. Strikingly, the kinematics of the ionised gas is quiescent and likely gravitationally driven in the majority of cases and we find only 3 objects with radial gas velocities exceeding >400 km s-1 in specific regions of the EELR that can be associate with radio jets. In general, these are significantly lower outflow velocities and detection rates compared to starburst galaxies or radio-loud QSOs. This represent a challenge for some theoretical feedback models in which luminous QSOs are expected to radiatively drive an outflow out to scales of the entire host galaxy. Based on observations collected at the Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA) at Calar Alto, operated jointly by the Max- Planck-Institut für Astronomie and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC).Tables 3, 4, and 7 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Physical properties of the jet from DG Tauri on sub-arcsecond scales with HST/STIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maurri, L.; Bacciotti, F.; Podio, L.; Eislöffel, J.; Ray, T. P.; Mundt, R.; Locatelli, U.; Coffey, D.

2014-05-01

Context. Stellar jets are believed to play a key role in star formation, but the question of how they originate is still being debated. Aims: We derive the physical properties at the base of the jet from DG Tau both along and across the flow and as a function of velocity. Methods: We analysed seven optical spectra of the DG Tau jet, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The spectra were obtained by placing a long-slit parallel to the jet axis and stepping it across the jet width. The resulting position-velocity diagrams in optical forbidden emission lines allowed access to plasma conditions via calculation of emission line ratios. In this way, we produced a 3D map (2D in space and 1D in velocity) of the jet's physical parameters i.e. electron density ne, hydrogen ionisation fraction xe, and total hydrogen density nH. The method used is a new version of the BE-technique. Results: A fundamental improvement is that the new diagnostic method allows us to overcome the upper density limit of the standard [S ii] diagnostics. As a result, we find at the base of the jet high electron density, ne ~ 105, and very low ionisation, xe ~ 0.02-0.05, which combine to give a total density up to nH ~ 3 × 106. This analysis confirms previous reports of variations in plasma parameters along the jet, (i.e. decrease in density by several orders of magnitude, increase of xe from 0.05 to a plateau at 0.7 downstream at 2'' from the star). Furthermore, a spatial coincidence is revealed between sharp gradients in the total density and supersonic velocity jumps. This strongly suggests that the emission is caused by shock excitation. No evidence was found of variations in the parameters across the jet, within a given velocity interval. The position-velocity diagrams indicate the presence of both fast accelerating gas and slower, less collimated material. We derive the mass outflow rate, Ṁj, in the blue-shifted lobe in different velocity channels, that contribute to a total of Ṁj ~ 8±4 × 10-9 M⊙ yr-1. We estimate that a symmetric bipolar jet would transport at the low and intermediate velocities probed by rotation measurements, an angular momentum flux of L˙j ~ 2.9 ± 1.5 × 10-6 M⊙ yr-1 AU km s-1. We discuss implications of these findings for jet launch theories. Conclusions: The derived properties of the DG Tau jet are demonstrated to be consistent with magneto-centrifugal theory. However, non-stationary modelling is required in order to explain all of the features revealed at high resolution. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.Figures 16-18 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Radiated Power and Impurity Concentrations in the EXTRAP-T2R Reversed-Field Pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corre, Y.; Rachlew, E.; Cecconello, M.; Gravestijn, R. M.; Hedqvist, A.; Pégourié, B.; Schunke, B.; Stancalie, V.

2005-01-01

A numerical and experimental study of the impurity concentration and radiation in the EXTRAP-T2R device is reported. The experimental setup consists of an 8-chord bolometer system providing the plasma radiated power and a vacuum-ultraviolet spectrometer providing information on the plasma impurity content. The plasma emissivity profile as measured by the bolometric system is peaked in the plasma centre. A one dimensional Onion Skin Collisional-Radiative model (OSCR) has been developed to compute the density and radiation distributions of the main impurities. The observed centrally peaked emissivity profile can be reproduced by OSCR simulations only if finite particle confinement time and charge-exchange processes between plasma impurities and neutral hydrogen are taken into account. The neutral hydrogen density profile is computed with a recycling code. Simulations show that recycling on metal first wall such as in EXTRAP-T2R (stainless steel vacuum vessel and molybdenum limiters) is compatible with a rather high neutral hydrogen density in the plasma centre. Assuming an impurity concentration of 10% for oxygen and 3% for carbon compared with the electron density, the OSCR calculation including lines and continuum emission reproduces about 60% of the total radiated power with a similarly centrally peaked emissivity profile. The centrally peaked emissivity profile is due to low ionisation stages and strongly radiating species in the plasma core, mainly O4+ (Be-like) and C3+ Li-like.

The Radiobiology of Proton Therapy: Challenges and Opportunities Around Relative Biological Effectiveness.

PubMed

Jones, B; McMahon, S J; Prise, K M

2018-05-01

With the current UK expansion of proton therapy there is a great opportunity for clinical oncologists to develop a translational interest in the associated scientific base and clinical results. In particular, the underpinning controversy regarding the conversion of photon dose to proton dose by the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) must be understood, including its important implications. At the present time, the proton prescribed dose includes an RBE of 1.1 regardless of tissue, tumour and dose fractionation. A body of data has emerged against this pragmatic approach, including a critique of the existing evidence base, due to choice of dose, use of only acute-reacting in vivo assays, analysis methods and the reference radiations used to determine the RBE. Modelling systems, based on the best available scientific evidence, and which include the clinically useful biological effective dose (BED) concept, have also been developed to estimate proton RBEs for different dose and linear energy transfer (LET) values. The latter reflect ionisation density, which progressively increases along each proton track. Late-reacting tissues, such as the brain, where α/β = 2 Gy, show a higher RBE than 1.1 at a low dose per fraction (1.2-1.8 Gy) at LET values used to cover conventional target volumes and can be much higher. RBE changes with tissue depth seem to vary depending on the method of beam delivery used. To reduce unexpected toxicity, which does occasionally follow proton therapy, a more rational approach to RBE allocation, using a variable RBE that depends on dose per fraction and the tissue and tumour radiobiological characteristics such as α/β, is proposed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Characterization of the polyphenolic composition of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

PubMed

Rauha, J P; Wolfender, J L; Salminen, J P; Pihlaja, K; Hostettmann, K; Vuorela, H

2001-01-01

Phenolic compounds of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) were analysed by the use of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) equipped with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) and electrospray ionisation (ESI). The presence of vitexin and orientin as well as their isomers, isovitexin and isoorientin, were confirmed using ion trap multiple stage LC/MS3 analysis. Several phenolic acids and tannins were also detected. Ellagitannins, vescalagin and pedunculagin, are reported from the plant for the first time.

Equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for ionised states with spin-orbit coupling using open-shell reference wavefunction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhifan; Wang, Fan

2018-04-01

The equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method for ionised states at the singles and doubles level (EOM-IP-CCSD) with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) included in post-Hartree-Fock (HF) steps is extended to spatially non-degenerate open-shell systems such as high spin states of s1, p3, σ1 or π2 configuration in this work. Pseudopotentials are employed to treat relativistic effects and spin-unrestricted scalar relativistic HF determinant is adopted as reference in calculations. Symmetry is not exploited in the implementation since both time-reversal and spatial symmetry is broken due to SOC. IPs with the EOM-IP-CCSD approach are those from the 3Σ1- states for high spin state of π2 configuration, while the ground state is the 3Σ0- state. When removing an electron from the high spin state of p3 configuration, only the 3P2 state can be reached. The open-shell EOM-IP-CCSD approach with SOC was employed in calculating IPs of some open-shell atoms with s1 configuration, diatomic molecules with π2 configuration and SOC splitting of the ionised π1 state, as well as IPs of VA atoms with p3 configuration. Our results demonstrate that this approach can be applied to ionised states of spatially non-degenerate open-shell states containing heavy elements with reasonable accuracy.

Radiation safety knowledge and practices among Irish orthopaedic trainees.

PubMed

Nugent, M; Carmody, O; Dudeney, S

2015-06-01

Fluoroscopy is frequently used in orthopaedic surgery, particularly in a trauma setting. Exposure of patients and staff to ionising radiation has been studied extensively; however, little work has been done to evaluate current knowledge and practices among orthopaedic trainees. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge and practices of Irish orthopaedic trainees regarding use of ionising radiation. A confidential internet-based survey on workplace radiation safety practices was distributed via email to 40 higher specialist trainees. Questions included related to radiation safety training and regular work practices. A total of 26 trainees completed the questionnaire (65% response rate). All reported regular exposure to ionising radiation. Compliance with body shields was high (25, 96%), however, other protective measures such as thyroid shields were less frequently employed. The 'as low as reasonably achievable principle' was practised regularly by 14 (54%). Radiation safety training was variable-while just over half (14) respondents felt adequately trained in radiation safety, 17 (65%) had attended a radiation protection course. Use of dosimeters was particularly poor, with only 4 (15%) using them regularly and most citing lack of availability as the main barrier. Although most Irish orthopaedic trainees have some knowledge regarding radiation safety, many do not regularly use all available measures to reduce exposure to ionising radiation. Barriers to use of protective mechanisms include lack of availability and perceived impracticality.

Studies of LSO:Tb radio-luminescence properties using white beam hard X-ray synchrotron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cecilia, A.; Rack, A.; Pelliccia, D.; Douissard, P.-A.; Martin, T.; Couchaud, M.; Dupré, K.; Baumbach, T.

A radio-luminescence set-up was installed at the synchrotron light source ANKA to characterise scintillators under the high X-ray photon flux density of white beam synchrotron radiation. The system allows for investigating the radio-luminescence spectrum of the material under study as well as analysing in situ changes of its scintillation behaviour (e.g. under heat load and/or intensive ionising radiation). In this work we applied the radio-luminescence set-up for investigating the radiation damage effects on the luminescence properties of a new kind of thin single crystal scintillator for high resolution X-ray imaging based on a layer of modified Lu2SiO5 grown by liquid phase epitaxy on a dedicated substrate within the framework of an EC project (SCINTAX).

The effects of UV light on calcium metabolism in ball pythons (Python regius).

PubMed

Hedley, J; Eatwell, K

2013-10-12

Despite the popularity of keeping snakes in captivity, there has been limited investigation into the effects of UV radiation on vitamin D levels in snakes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of UV-b radiation on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and ionised calcium concentrations in ball pythons (Python regius). Blood samples were taken from 14 ball pythons, which had never been exposed to UV-b light, to obtain baseline 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels and ionised calcium concentrations. Blood samples were then taken again from the same snakes 70 days later after one group (Group 1, n=6 females) were exposed to UV-b radiation daily, and the other group (Group 2, n=5 males and 3 females) were exposed to no UV-b radiation. Mean±sd 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels on day 0 in Group 1 were 197±35 nmol/l, and on day 70 were 203.5±13.8 nmol/l. Mean±sd 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels in Group 2 on day 0 were 77.7±41.5 nmol/l, and on day 70 were 83.0±41.9 nmol/l. Mean±sd ionised calcium levels at day 0 were 1.84±0.05 mmol/l for Group 1, and on day 70 were 1.78±0.07 mmol/l. Mean±sd ionised calcium levels at day 0 were 1.79±0.07 mmol/l for Group 2, and on day 70 were 1.81±0.05 mmol/l. No association was demonstrated between exposure to UV-b radiation and plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and ionised calcium concentrations. These results may provide baseline parameters for future studies in this and other snake species to determine ability to utilise UV-b light for vitamin D production.

Prevalence of working smoke alarms in local authority inner city housing: randomised controlled trial

PubMed Central

Rowland, Diane; DiGuiseppi, Carolyn; Roberts, Ian; Curtis, Katherine; Roberts, Helen; Ginnelly, Laura; Sculpher, Mark; Wade, Angela

2002-01-01

Objectives To identify which type of smoke alarm is most likely to remain working in local authority inner city housing, and to identify an alarm tolerated in households with smokers. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Two local authority housing estates in inner London. Participants 2145 households. Intervention Installation of one of five types of smoke alarm (ionisation sensor with a zinc battery; ionisation sensor with a zinc battery and pause button; ionisation sensor with a lithium battery and pause button; optical sensor with a lithium battery; or optical sensor with a zinc battery). Main outcome measure Percentage of homes with any working alarm and percentage in which the alarm installed for this study was working after 15 months. Results 54.4% (1166/2145) of all households and 45.9% (465/1012) of households occupied by smokers had a working smoke alarm. Ionisation sensor, lithium battery, and there being a smoker in the household were independently associated with whether an alarm was working (adjusted odds ratios 2.24 (95% confidence interval 1.75 to 2.87), 2.20 (1.77 to 2.75), and 0.62 (0.52 to 0.74)). The most common reasons for non-function were missing battery (19%), missing alarm (17%), and battery disconnected (4%). Conclusions Nearly half of the alarms installed were not working when tested 15 months later. Type of alarm and power source are important determinants of whether a household had a working alarm. What is already known on this topicFunctioning smoke alarms can reduce the risk of death in the event of a house fireMany local authorities install smoke alarms in their propertiesSeveral different types of smoke alarm are availableWhat this study addsOnly half of the smoke alarms installed in local authority housing were still working 15 months laterIonising smoke alarms with long life lithium batteries were most likely to remain functioningInstalling smoke alarms may not be an effective use of resources PMID:12411356

Ionisation and discharge in cloud-forming atmospheres of brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helling, Ch; Rimmer, P. B.; Rodriguez-Barrera, I. M.; Wood, Kenneth; Robertson, G. B.; Stark, C. R.

2016-07-01

Brown dwarfs and giant gas extrasolar planets have cold atmospheres with rich chemical compositions from which mineral cloud particles form. Their properties, like particle sizes and material composition, vary with height, and the mineral cloud particles are charged due to triboelectric processes in such dynamic atmospheres. The dynamics of the atmospheric gas is driven by the irradiating host star and/or by the rotation of the objects that changes during its lifetime. Thermal gas ionisation in these ultra-cool but dense atmospheres allows electrostatic interactions and magnetic coupling of a substantial atmosphere volume. Combined with a strong magnetic field \\gg {{B}\\text{Earth}} , a chromosphere and aurorae might form as suggested by radio and x-ray observations of brown dwarfs. Non-equilibrium processes like cosmic ray ionisation and discharge processes in clouds will increase the local pool of free electrons in the gas. Cosmic rays and lighting discharges also alter the composition of the local atmospheric gas such that tracer molecules might be identified. Cosmic rays affect the atmosphere through air showers in a certain volume which was modelled with a 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to be able to visualise their spacial extent. Given a certain degree of thermal ionisation of the atmospheric gas, we suggest that electron attachment to charge mineral cloud particles is too inefficient to cause an electrostatic disruption of the cloud particles. Cloud particles will therefore not be destroyed by Coulomb explosion for the local temperature in the collisional dominated brown dwarf and giant gas planet atmospheres. However, the cloud particles are destroyed electrostatically in regions with strong gas ionisation. The potential size of such cloud holes would, however, be too small and might occur too far inside the cloud to mimic the effect of, e.g. magnetic field induced star spots.

Subclinical hypocalcaemia in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).

PubMed

van der Kolk, J H; van Leeuwen, J P T M; van den Belt, A J M; van Schaik, R H N; Schaftenaar, W

2008-04-12

The hypothesis that hypocalcaemia may play a role in dystocia in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) was investigated. The objectives of the study were to measure the total calcium concentration in elephant plasma; assess the changes in parameters of calcium metabolism during a feeding trial; investigate a possible relationship between calcium metabolism and dystocia; and assess bone mineralisation in captive Asian elephants in vivo. The following parameters were measured: total and ionised calcium, inorganic phosphorous and magnesium, the fractional excretions of these minerals, intact parathyroid hormone, 25-OH-D(3) and 1,25-OH-D(3). Radiographs were taken from tail vertebrae for assessment of bone mineralisation. The mean (sd) heparinised plasma total calcium concentration was 2.7 (0.33) mmol/l (n=43) ranging from 0.84 to 3.08 mmol/l in 11 Asian elephants. There was no significant correlation between plasma total calcium concentration and age. Following feeding of a calcium rich ration to four captive Asian elephant cows, plasma total and ionised calcium peaked at 3.6 (0.24) mmol/l (range 3.4 to 3.9 mmol/l) and 1.25 (0.07) mmol/l (range 1.17 to 1.32 mmol/l), respectively. Plasma ionised calcium concentrations around parturition in four Asian elephant cows ranged from 0.37 to 1.1 mmol/l only. The present study indicates that captive Asian elephants might be hypocalcaemic, and that, in captive Asian elephants, the normal plasma concentration of total calcium should actually be around 3.6 mmol/l and normal plasma concentration of ionised calcium around 1.25 mmol/l. Given the fact that elephants absorb dietary calcium mainly from the intestine, it could be concluded that elephants should be fed calcium-rich diets at all times, and particularly around parturition. In addition, normal values for ionised calcium in captive Asian elephants should be reassessed.

Defects, optical absorption and electron mobility in indium and gallium nitrides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tansley, T. L.; Egan, R. J.

1993-04-01

We review the experimental evidence for the origin and location of the four native point defects in the wide gap semiconducting indium and gallium nitrides and compare then with experimental predictions. The donor triplets associated with nitrogen vacancies and the deep compensating centres ascribed to the antisite substitutional defects appear to have the greatest effect on macroscopic properties, apparently including the four luminescent bands in GaN. Calculated mobilities in InN and GaN depend principally on ionised impurity and polar-mode phonon scattering. We reconcile these results with experimental data and point out the consequences for improvements in material growth.

Beta-decay measurements of neutron-rich thallium, lead, and bismuth by means of resonant laser ionisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franchoo, S.; de Witte, H.; Andreyev, A. N.; Cederka¨Ll, J.; Dean, S.; de Smet, A.; Eeckhaudt, S.; Fedorov, D. V.; Fedosseev, V. N.; G´Rska, M.; Huber, G.; Huyse, M.; Janas, Z.; Ko¨Ster, U.; Kurcewicz, W.; Kurpeta, J.; Mayer, P.; Płchocki, A.; van de Vel, K.; van Duppen, P.; Weissman, L.; Isolde Collaboration

2004-04-01

Neutron-rich thallium, lead, and bismuth isotopes were investigated at the ISOLDE facility. After mass separation and resonant laser ionisation of the produced activity, new spectroscopic data were obtained for 215,218Bi and 215Pb. An attempt to reach heavy thallium had to be abandoned because of a strong francium component in the beam that gave rise to a neutron background through (α,n) reactions on the aluminium walls of the experimental chamber.

Analytical pyrolysis mass spectrometry: new vistas opened by temperature-resolved in-source PYMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boon, Jaap J.

1992-09-01

Analytical pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PYMS) is introduced and its applications to the analysis of synthetic polymers, biopolymers, biomacromolecular systems and geomacromolecules are critically reviewed. Analytical pyrolysis inside the ionisation chamber of a mass spectrometer, i.e. in-source PYMS, gives a complete inventory of the pyrolysis products evolved from a solid sample. The temperature-resolved nature of the experiment gives a good insight into the temperature dependence of the volatilisation and pyrolytic dissociation processes. Chemical ionisation techniques appear to be especially suitable for the analysis of oligomeric fragments released in early stages of the pyrolysis of polymer systems. Large oligomeric fragments were observed for linear polymers such as cellulose (pentadecamer), polyhydroxyoctanoic acid (tridecamer) and polyhydroxybutyric acid (heneicosamer). New in-source PYMS data are presented on artists' paints, the plant polysaccharides cellulose and xyloglucan, several microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates, wood and enzyme-digested wood, biodegraded roots and a fossil cuticle of Miocene age. On-line and off-line pyrolysis chromatography mass spectrometric approaches are also discussed. New data presented on high temperature gas chromatography--mass spectrometry of deuterio-reduced permethylated pyrolysates of cellulose lead to a better understanding of polysaccharide dissociation mechanisms. Pyrolysis as an on-line sample pretreatment method for organic macromolecules in combination with MS techniques is a very challenging field of mass spectrometry. Pyrolytic dissociation and desorption is not at all a chaotic process but proceeds according to very specific mechanisms.

Time-resolved analysis of the emission of sidestream smoke (SSS) from cigarettes during smoking by photo ionisation/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-TOFMS): towards a better description of environmental tobacco smoke.

PubMed

Streibel, T; Mitschke, S; Adam, T; Zimmermann, R

2013-09-01

In this study, the chemical composition of sidestream smoke (SSS) emissions of cigarettes are characterised using a laser-based single-photon ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometer. SSS is generated from various cigarette types (2R4F research cigarette; Burley, Oriental and Virginia single-tobacco-type cigarettes) smoked on a single-port smoking machine and collected using a so-called fishtail chimney device. Using this setup, a puff-resolved quantification of several SSS components was performed. Investigations of the dynamics of SSS emissions show that concentration profiles of various substances can be categorised into several groups, either depending on the occurrence of a puff or uninfluenced by the changes in the burning zone during puffing. The SSS emissions occurring directly after a puff strongly resemble the composition of mainstream smoke (MSS). In the smouldering phase, clear differences between MSS and SSS are observed. The changed chemical profiles of SSS and MSS might be also of importance on environmental tobacco smoke which is largely determined by SSS. Additionally, the chemical composition of the SSS is strongly affected by the tobacco type. Hence, the higher nitrogen content of Burley tobacco leads to the detection of increased amounts of nitrogen-containing substances in SSS.

Benchmarking the Fundamental Electronic Properties of small TiO 2 Nanoclusters by GW and Coupled Cluster Theory Calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berardo, Enrico; Kaplan, Ferdinand; Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran

We study the vertical ionisation potential, electron affinity, fundamental gap and exciton binding energy values of small bare and hydroxylated TiO 2 nanoclusters to understand how the excited state properties change as a function of size and hydroxylation. In addition, we have employed a range of many-body methods; including G 0 W 0, qs GW, EA/IP-EOM-CCSD and DFT (B3LYP, PBE), to compare the performance and predictions of the different classes of methods. We demonstrate that for bare (i.e. non-hydroxylated) clusters all many-body methods predict the same trend with cluster size. The highest occupied and lowest unoccupied DFT orbitals follow themore » same trends as the electron affinity and ionisation potentials predicted by the many-body methods but are generally far too shallow and deep respectively in absolute terms. In contrast, the ΔDFT method is found to yield values in the correct energy window. However, its predictions depend on the functional used and do not necessarily follow trends based on the many-body methods. The effect of hydroxylation of the clusters is to open up both the optical and fundamental gap. In conclusion, a simple microscopic explanation for the observed trends with cluster size and upon hydroxylation is proposed in terms of the Madelung onsite potential.« less

[Nonionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields].

PubMed

Bernhardt, J H

1991-01-01

Nonionising radiation comprises all kinds of radiation and fields of the electromagnetic spectrum where biological matter is not ionised, as well as mechanical waves such as infrasound and ultrasound. The electromagnetic spectrum is subdivided into individual sections and includes: Static and low-frequency electric and magnetic fields including technical applications of energy with mains frequency, radio frequency fields, microwaves and optic radiation (infrared, visible light, ultraviolet radiation including laser). The following categories of persons can be affected by emissions by non-ionising radiation: Persons in the environment and in the household, workers, patients undergoing medical diagnosis or treatment. If the radiation is sufficiently intense, or if the fields are of appropriate strength, a multitude of effects can occur (depending on the type of radiation), such as heat and stimulating or irritating action, inflammations of the skin or eyes, changes in the blood picture, burns or in some cases cancer as a late sequel. The ability of radiation to penetrate into the human body, as well as the types of interaction with biological tissue, with organs and organisms, differs significantly for the various kinds of nonionising radiation. The following aspects of nonionising radiation are discussed: protection of humans against excessive sunlight rays when sunbathing and when exposed to UV radiation (e.g. in solaria); health risks of radio and microwaves (safety of microwave cookers and mobile radio units); effects on human health by electric and magnetic fields in everyday life.

Benchmarking the Fundamental Electronic Properties of small TiO 2 Nanoclusters by GW and Coupled Cluster Theory Calculations

DOE PAGES

Berardo, Enrico; Kaplan, Ferdinand; Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran; ...

2017-06-19

We study the vertical ionisation potential, electron affinity, fundamental gap and exciton binding energy values of small bare and hydroxylated TiO 2 nanoclusters to understand how the excited state properties change as a function of size and hydroxylation. In addition, we have employed a range of many-body methods; including G 0 W 0, qs GW, EA/IP-EOM-CCSD and DFT (B3LYP, PBE), to compare the performance and predictions of the different classes of methods. We demonstrate that for bare (i.e. non-hydroxylated) clusters all many-body methods predict the same trend with cluster size. The highest occupied and lowest unoccupied DFT orbitals follow themore » same trends as the electron affinity and ionisation potentials predicted by the many-body methods but are generally far too shallow and deep respectively in absolute terms. In contrast, the ΔDFT method is found to yield values in the correct energy window. However, its predictions depend on the functional used and do not necessarily follow trends based on the many-body methods. The effect of hydroxylation of the clusters is to open up both the optical and fundamental gap. In conclusion, a simple microscopic explanation for the observed trends with cluster size and upon hydroxylation is proposed in terms of the Madelung onsite potential.« less

Study of the uncertainty in estimation of the exposure of non-human biota to ionising radiation.

PubMed

Avila, R; Beresford, N A; Agüero, A; Broed, R; Brown, J; Iospje, M; Robles, B; Suañez, A

2004-12-01

Uncertainty in estimations of the exposure of non-human biota to ionising radiation may arise from a number of sources including values of the model parameters, empirical data, measurement errors and biases in the sampling. The significance of the overall uncertainty of an exposure assessment will depend on how the estimated dose compares with reference doses used for risk characterisation. In this paper, we present the results of a study of the uncertainty in estimation of the exposure of non-human biota using some of the models and parameters recommended in the FASSET methodology. The study was carried out for semi-natural terrestrial, agricultural and marine ecosystems, and for four radionuclides (137Cs, 239Pu, 129I and 237Np). The parameters of the radionuclide transfer models showed the highest sensitivity and contributed the most to the uncertainty in the predictions of doses to biota. The most important ones were related to the bioavailability and mobility of radionuclides in the environment, for example soil-to-plant transfer factors, the bioaccumulation factors for marine biota and the gut uptake fraction for terrestrial mammals. In contrast, the dose conversion coefficients showed low sensitivity and contributed little to the overall uncertainty. Radiobiological effectiveness contributed to the overall uncertainty of the dose estimations for alpha emitters although to a lesser degree than a number of transfer model parameters.

Determination of excipient based solubility increases using the CheqSol method.

PubMed

Etherson, Kelly; Halbert, Gavin; Elliott, Moira

2014-04-25

Aqueous solubility is an essential characteristic assessed during drug development to determine a compound's drug-likeness since solubility plays an important pharmaceutical role. However, nearly half of the drug candidates discovered today display poor water solubility; therefore methods have to be applied to increase solubility. Solubility determination using the CheqSol method is a novel rapid solubility screening technique for ionisable compounds. The aim of this study is to determine if the CheqSol method can be employed to determine solubility increases of four test drugs (ibuprofen, gliclazide, atenolol and propranolol) induced by non-ionising excipients such as hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and poloxamers 407 and 188. CheqSol assays were performed for the drugs alone or in combination with varying solubiliser concentrations. The measured intrinsic solubility of all four drugs increased with all the excipients tested in an excipient concentration dependent manner providing results consistent with previous literature. The results demonstrate that it may be possible to use this method to determine the solubility increases induced by non-ionic solubilising excipients with results that are comparable to standard equilibrium based solubility techniques. Since the technique is automated and requires only small drug quantities it may serve as a useful solubility or formulation screening tool providing more detailed physicochemical information than multiwell plate or similar visual systems. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Biophysical modelling of early and delayed radiation damage at chromosome level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreev, S.; Eidelman, Y.

Exposure by ionising radiation increases cancer risk in human population Cancer is thought to originate from an altered expression of certain number of specific genes It is now widely recognised that chromosome aberrations CA are involved in stable change in expression of genes by gain or loss of their functions Thus CA can contribute to initiation or progression of cancer Therefore understanding mechanisms of CA formation in the course of cancer development might be valuable tool for quantification and prognosis of different stages of radiation carcinogenesis Early CA are defined as aberrations induced in first post-irradiation mitotic cycle The present work describes the original biophysical technique for early CA modelling It includes the following simulation steps the ionising particle track structure the structural organisation of all chromosomes in G 0 G 1 cell nucleus spatial distribution of radiation induced DNA double-strand breaks dsb within chromosomes dsb rejoining and misrejoining modelling cell cycle taking into account mitotic delay which results in complex time dependence of aberrant cells in first mitosis The results on prediction of dose-response curves for simple and complex CA measured in cells undergoing first division cycle are presented in comparison with recent experimental data There is increasing evidence that CA are also observed in descendents of irradiated cells many generations after direct DNA damage These delayed CA or chromosome instability CI are thought to be a manifestation of genome

A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of salicylic, jasmonic and abscisic acids in Coffea arabica leaves.

PubMed

de Sá, Marta; Ferreira, João P; Queiroz, Vagner T; Vilas-Boas, Luís; Silva, Maria C; Almeida, Maria H; Guerra-Guimarães, Leonor; Bronze, Maria R

2014-02-01

Plants have developed an efficient system of recognition that induces a complex network of signalling molecules such as salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in case of a pathogenic infection. The use of specific and sensitive methods is mandatory for the analysis of compounds in these complex samples. In this study a liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of SA, JA and ABA in Coffea arabica (L.) leaves in order to understand the role of these phytohormones in the signalling network involved in the coffee defence response against Hemileia vastatrix. The results showed that the method was specific, linear (r ≥ 0.99) in the range 0.125-1.00 µg mL⁻¹ for JA and ABA and 0.125-5.00 µg mL⁻¹ for SA, and precise (relative standard deviation ≤11%), and the limit of detection (0.010 µg g⁻¹ fresh weight) was adequate for quantifying these phytohormones in this type of matrix. In comparison with healthy leaves, those infected with H. vastatrix (resistance reaction) displayed an increase in SA level 24 h after inoculation, suggesting the involvement of an SA-dependent pathway in coffee resistance. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

ALPIDE: the Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor for the ALICE ITS upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šuljić, M.

2016-11-01

The upgrade of the ALICE vertex detector, the Inner Tracking System (ITS), is scheduled to be installed during the next long shutdown period (2019-2020) of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) . The current ITS will be replaced by seven concentric layers of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) with total active surface of ~10 m2, thus making ALICE the first LHC experiment implementing MAPS detector technology on a large scale. The ALPIDE chip, based on TowerJazz 180 nm CMOS Imaging Process, is being developed for this purpose. A particular process feature, the deep p-well, is exploited so the full CMOS logic can be implemented over the active sensor area without impinging on the deposited charge collection. ALPIDE is implemented on silicon wafers with a high resistivity epitaxial layer. A single chip measures 15 mm by 30 mm and contains half a million pixels distributed in 512 rows and 1024 columns. In-pixel circuitry features amplification, shaping, discrimination and multi-event buffering. The readout is hit driven i.e. only addresses of hit pixels are sent to the periphery. The upgrade of the ITS presents two different sets of requirements for sensors of the inner and of the outer layers due to the significantly different track density, radiation level and active detector surface. The ALPIDE chip fulfils the stringent requirements in both cases. The detection efficiency is higher than 99%, fake-hit probability is orders of magnitude lower than the required 10-6 and spatial resolution within the required 5 μm. This performance is to be maintained even after a total ionising does (TID) of 2.7 Mrad and a non-ionising energy loss (NIEL) fluence of 1.7 × 1013 1 MeV neq/cm2, which is above what is expected during the detector lifetime. Readout rate of 100 kHz is provided and the power density of ALPIDE is less than 40 mW/cm2. This contribution will provide a summary of the ALPIDE features and main test results.

Breast fat volume measurement using wide-bore 3 T MRI: comparison of traditional mammographic density evaluation with MRI density measurements using automatic segmentation.

PubMed

Petridou, E; Kibiro, M; Gladwell, C; Malcolm, P; Toms, A; Juette, A; Borga, M; Dahlqvist Leinhard, O; Romu, T; Kasmai, B; Denton, E

2017-07-01

To compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived breast density measurements using automatic segmentation algorithms with radiologist estimations using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data Systems (BI-RADS) density classification. Forty women undergoing mammography and dynamic breast MRI as part of their clinical management were recruited. Fat-water separated MRI images derived from a two-point Dixon technique, phase-sensitive reconstruction, and atlas-based segmentation were obtained before and after intravenous contrast medium administration. Breast density was assessed using software from Advanced MR Analytics (AMRA), Linköping, Sweden, with results compared to the widely used four-quartile quantitative BI-RADS scale. The proportion of glandular tissue in the breast on MRI was derived from the AMRA sequence. The mean unenhanced breast density was 0.31±0.22 (mean±SD; left) and 0.29±0.21 (right). Mean breast density on post-contrast images was 0.32±0.19 (left) and 0.32±0.2 (right). There was "almost perfect" correlation between pre- and post-contrast breast density quantification: Spearman's correlation rho=0.98 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.97-0.99; left) and rho=0.99 (95% CI: 0.98-0.99; right). The 95% limits of agreement were -0.11-0.08 (left) and -0.08-0.03 (right). Interobserver reliability for BI-RADS was "substantial": weighted Kappa k=0.8 (95% CI: 0.74-0.87). The Spearman correlation coefficient between BI-RADS and MRI breast density was rho=0.73 (95% CI: 0.60-0.82; left) and rho=0.75 (95% CI: 0.63-0.83; right) which was also "substantial". The AMRA sequence provides a fully automated, reproducible, objective assessment of fibroglandular breast tissue proportion that correlates well with mammographic assessment of breast density with the added advantage of avoidance of ionising radiation. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. All rights reserved.

A comprehensive metabolite profiling of Isatis tinctoria leaf extracts.

PubMed

Mohn, Tobias; Plitzko, Inken; Hamburger, Matthias

2009-05-01

A broad-based characterisation of a pharmacologically active dichloromethane extract from Isatis tinctoria leaves was carried out. For a comprehensive picture we also included the polar constituents of I. tinctoria (MeOH extract) and for comparative purposes, the taxonomically closely related plant I. indigotica. Diode array detector, evaporative light scattering detector, atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry, and electrospray ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry detectors were used in parallel to ensure a wide coverage of secondary metabolites with highly diverging analytical properties. Off-line microprobe nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy after peak purification by semi-preparative high-pressure liquid chromatography served for structure elucidation of some minor constituents. More than 65 compounds belonging to various structural classes such as alkaloids, flavonoids, fatty acids, porphyrins, lignans, carotenoids, glucosinolates and cyclohexenones were unambiguously identified, and tentative structures were proposed for additional compounds. Numerous compounds were identified for the first time in the genus Isatis, and an indolic alkaloid was discovered.

Nonlinear collisionless electron cyclotron interaction in the pre-ionisation stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farina, D.

2018-06-01

Electron cyclotron (EC) wave-particle interaction is theoretically investigated in the pre-ionisation phase, much before collisions and other mechanisms can play a role. In the very first phase of a plasma discharge with EC-assisted breakdown, the motion of an electron at room temperature in a static magnetic field under the action of a localised microwave beam is nonlinear, and transition to states of larger energy can occur via wave trapping. Within a Hamiltonian adiabatic formalism, the conditions at which the particles gain energy in single beam crossing are derived in a rigorous way, and the energy variation is characterized quantitatively as a function of the wave frequency, harmonic number, polarisation and EC power and beam width. Estimates of interest for applications to tokamak start-up are obtained for the first, second and third cyclotron harmonic. The investigation confirms that electrons can easily gain energies well above the ionisation energy in most conditions at the first two harmonics, while not at the third harmonic, as observed in experiments.

Using corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometry for detection of 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole.

PubMed

Lichvanová, Zuzana; Ilbeigi, Vahideh; Sabo, Martin; Tabrizchi, Mahmoud; Matejčík, Stefan

2014-09-01

In this work possible application of the corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometer (CD-IMS) for detection of 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA) has been investigated. We applied CD-IMS interfaced with orthogonal acceleration time of flight mass spectrometer (CD-IMS-oaTOF) to study the ion processes within the CD-IMS technique. The CD-IMS instrument was operated in two modes, (i) standard and (ii) reverse flow modes resulting in different chemical ionisation schemes by NO3(-)(HNO3)n (n=0,1,2) and O2(-)(H2O)n (n=0,1,2), respectively. The O2(-)(H2O)n ionisation was associated with formation of Cl(-) and (TCA-CH3)(-) ions from TCA. The NO3(-)(HNO3)n ionisation, resulted in formation of NO3(-)(HNO3)(TCA-Cl) adduct ions. Limit of detection (LOD) for TCA was determined in gas (100 ppb) and solid phases (150 ng). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanodosimetric track structure in homogeneous extended beams.

PubMed

Conte, V; Moro, D; Colautti, P; Grosswendt, B

2015-09-01

Physical aspects of particle track structure are important in determining the induction of clustered damage in relevant subcellular structures like the DNA and higher-order genomic structures. The direct measurement of track-structure properties of ionising radiation is feasible today by counting the number of ionisations produced inside a small gas volume. In particular, the so-called track-nanodosimeter, installed at the TANDEM-ALPI accelerator complex of LNL, measures ionisation cluster-size distributions in a simulated subcellular structure of dimensions 20 nm, corresponding approximately to the diameter of the chromatin fibre. The target volume is irradiated by pencil beams of primary particles passing at specified impact parameter. To directly relate these measured track-structure data to radiobiological measurements performed in broad homogeneous particle beams, these data can be integrated over the impact parameter. This procedure was successfully applied to 240 MeV carbon ions and compared with Monte Carlo simulations for extended fields. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Identification of amino acids by material enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MELDI-MS) in positive- and negative-ion mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashir, Muhammad Ahsan; Stecher, Guenther; Mayr, Stefan; Bonn, Guenther K.

2009-01-01

In the present study, different silica gel modifications were evaluated for their application as target surface for material enhanced laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometric (MELDI-MS) investigation of amino acids. 4,4'-Azodianiline (ADA-silica) modified silica gel was successfully employed for the qualitative analysis of amino acids in positive- and in negative-ion mode. Further no derivatisation of amino acids was necessary, as the introduced system allowed the direct analysis of targets and delivered spectra with excellent signal intensity and signal-to-noise ratio within a few minutes. The influence of surface chemistry, ionisation mode and the nature of analytes on signal intensity was studied and discussed. Detection limit of 2.10 pg (10 fmol) was achieved by employing ADA-silica in positive-ion mode. Finally, xylem saps from different types of trees were analysed. This proved the high performance and excellent behaviour of the introduced target surface material.

Simulation and measurements of the response of an air ionisation chamber exposed to a mixed high-energy radiation field.

PubMed

Vincke, Helmut; Forkel-Wirth, Doris; Perrin, Daniel; Theis, Chris

2005-01-01

CERN's radiation protection group operates a network of simple and robust ionisation chambers that are installed inside CERN's accelerator tunnels. These ionisation chambers are used for the remote reading of ambient dose rate equivalents inside the machines during beam-off periods. This Radiation Protection Monitor for dose rates due to Induced Radioactivity ('PMI', trade name: PTW, Type 34031) is a non-confined air ionisation plastic chamber which is operated under atmospheric pressure. Besides its current field of operation it is planned to extend the use of this detector in the Large Hadron Collider to measure radiation under beam operation conditions to obtain an indication of the machine performance. Until now, studies of the PMI detector have been limited to the response to photons. In order to evaluate its response to other radiation components, this chamber type was tested at CERF, the high-energy reference field facility at CERN. Six PMI detectors were installed around a copper target being irradiated by a mixed hadron beam with a momentum of 120 GeV c(-1). Each of the chosen detector positions was defined by a different radiation field, varying in type and energy of the incident particles. For all positions, detailed measurements and FLUKA simulations of the detector response were performed. This paper presents the promising comparison between the measurements and simulations and analyses the influence of the different particle types on the resulting detector response.

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XVII. Physical and wind properties of massive stars at the top of the main sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bestenlehner, J. M.; Gräfener, G.; Vink, J. S.; Najarro, F.; de Koter, A.; Sana, H.; Evans, C. J.; Crowther, P. A.; Hénault-Brunet, V.; Herrero, A.; Langer, N.; Schneider, F. R. N.; Simón-Díaz, S.; Taylor, W. D.; Walborn, N. R.

2014-10-01

The evolution and fate of very massive stars (VMS) is tightly connected to their mass-loss properties. Their initial and final masses differ significantly as a result of mass loss. VMS have strong stellar winds and extremely high ionising fluxes, which are thought to be critical sources of both mechanical and radiative feedback in giant H ii regions. However, how VMS mass-loss properties change during stellar evolution is poorly understood. In the framework of the VLT-Flames Tarantula Survey (VFTS), we explore the mass-loss transition region from optically thin O star winds to denser WNh Wolf-Rayet star winds, thereby testing theoretical predictions. To this purpose we select 62 O, Of, Of/WN, and WNh stars, an unprecedented sample of stars with the highest masses and luminosities known. We perform a spectral analysis of optical VFTS as well as near-infrared VLT/SINFONI data using the non-LTE radiative transfer code CMFGEN to obtain both stellar and wind parameters. For the first time, we observationally resolve the transition between optically thin O star winds and optically thick hydrogen-rich WNh Wolf-Rayet winds. Our results suggest the existence of a "kink" between both mass-loss regimes, in agreement with recent Monte Carlo simulations. For the optically thick regime, we confirm the steep dependence on the classical Eddington factor Γe from previous theoretical and observational studies. The transition occurs on the main sequence near a luminosity of 106.1L⊙, or a mass of 80 ... 90 M⊙. Above this limit, we find that - even when accounting for moderate wind clumping (with fv = 0.1) - wind mass-loss rates are enhanced with respect to standard prescriptions currently adopted in stellar evolution calculations. We also show that this results in substantial helium surface enrichment. Finally, based on our spectroscopic analyses, we are able to provide the most accurate ionising fluxes for VMS known to date, confirming the pivotal role of VMS in ionising and shaping their environments. Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

A detection algorithm for scale analysis of post-sunset low-latitude plasma depletions as observed by the Swarm constellation mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kervalishvili, Guram; Stolle, Claudia; Xiong, Chao

2016-04-01

ESA's constellation mission Swarm was successfully launched on 22 November 2013. The three satellites achieved their final constellation on 17 April 2014 and since then Swarm-A and Swarm-C orbiting the Earth at about 470 km (flying side-by-side) and Swarm-B at about 520 km altitude. The satellites carry instruments to monitor the F-region electron density with a sampling frequency of 2 Hz. This paper will present a detection algorithm for low-latitude post-sunset plasma bubbles (depletions), which uses local minima and maxima to detect depletions directly from electron density readings from Swarm. Our analyses were performed in the magnetic latitude (MLat) and local time (MLT) coordinate system. The detection procedure also captures the amplitude of depletion, which is called depth in the following. The width of a bubble corresponds to the length the satellite is located inside a depletion. We discuss the global distribution of depth and width of plasma bubbles and its seasonal and local time dependence for all three Swarm satellites from April 2015 through September 2015. As expected, on global average the bubble occurrence rate is highest for combined equinoxes (Mar, Apr, Sep, and Oct) and smallest for June solstice (May, Jun, Jul, and Aug). MLT distribution of the bubble occurrence number shows a sharp increase at about 19 MLT and decreases towards post-midnight hours. Interestingly, there is an inverse relation between depth and width of bubbles as function of MLT. This is true for all seasons and for all Swarm satellites. The bubble depth (width) is decreasing (increasing) from post-sunset to post-midnight for December solstice (Jan, Feb, Nov, and Dec) and combined equinoxes with about the same amplitude values for bubbles depth (width). Therefore we suggest that at post midnight when the depletions are less steep the structures of the depletions is broader than early after sunset. However for June solstice the depletions are less deep and the bubble depth and width do not change significantly throughout the evening. Deepest depletions occur at around +/- 10° magnetic latitude that is at the inner edge of the ionisation anomaly with density maxima at around 15° MLat. Therefore, the level of background electron density does not only determine the depth of a post-sunset depletion.

Design and performance of an ionisation chamber for the measurement of low alpha-activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, A.; Hutsch, J.; Krüger, F.; Sobiella, M.; Wilsenach, H.; Zuber, K.

2016-04-01

A new ionisation chamber for alpha-spectroscopy has been built from radio-pure materials for the purpose of investigating long lived alpha-decays. The measurement makes use of pulse shape analysis to discriminate between signal and background events. The design and performance of the chamber is described in this paper. A background rate of (10.9 ± 0.6) counts per day in the energy region of 1-9 MeV was achieved with a run period of 30.8 days. The background is dominantly produced by radon daughters.

Electron removal from H and He atoms in collisions with C q+ , O q+ ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janev, R. K.; McDowell, M. R. C.

1984-06-01

Cross sections for electron capture and ionisation in collision of partially and completely stripped C q+ , N q+ and O q+ ions with hydrogen and helium atoms have been calculated at selected energies. The classical trajectory Monte Carlo method was used with a variable-charge pseudopotential to describe the interaction of the active electron with the projectile ion. A scalling relationship has been derived for the electron removal (capture and ionisation) cross section which allows a unifield representation of the data.

Biological Effects of Ionising Radiation and Countermeasures (Les effets biologiques des rayonnements ionisants et leurs contre-mesures)

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-01-01

promote cooperative research and information exchange, and secondly an in-house delivery business model where S&T activities are conducted in a NATO...Panel These Panels and Group are the power-house of the collaborative model and are made up of national representatives as well as recognised world...of Radiation Injury and Recovery 1-31 1.3.3.2 Mini-Pig Model of Acute Radiation Syndrome ( ARS ) 1-31 1.3.3.3 Medical Countermeasures (MedCM) 1-32

Current status of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry in the clinical microbiology laboratory.

PubMed

Kok, Jen; Chen, Sharon C A; Dwyer, Dominic E; Iredell, Jonathan R

2013-01-01

The integration of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) into many clinical microbiology laboratories has revolutionised routine pathogen identification. MALDI-TOF MS complements and has good potential to replace existing phenotypic identification methods. Results are available in a more clinically relevant timeframe, particularly in bacteraemic septic shock. Novel applications include strain typing and the detection of antimicrobial resistance, but these are not widely used. This review discusses the technical aspects, current applications, and limitations of MALDI-TOF MS.

Single event upsets in semiconductor devices induced by highly ionising particles.

PubMed

Sannikov, A V

2004-01-01

A new model of single event upsets (SEUs), created in memory cells by heavy ions and high energy hadrons, has been developed. The model takes into account the spatial distribution of charge collection efficiency over the cell area not considered in previous approaches. Three-dimensional calculations made by the HADRON code have shown good agreement with experimental data for the energy dependence of proton SEU cross sections, sensitive depths and other SEU observables. The model is promising for prediction of SEU rates for memory chips exposed in space and in high-energy experiments as well as for the development of a high-energy neutron dosemeter based on the SEU effect.

Investigation of the distribution of localised and extended states in amorphous MoOx

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dizayee, Wala; Ying, Minju; Griffin, Jonathan; Alqahtani, Mohammed S.; Buckley, Alastair; Fox, A. Mark; Gehring, Gillian A.

2018-05-01

Amorphous films of MoOx have both structural disorder and also chemical disorder for x<3. We have shown that this disorder can introduce localised states in thin films and have shown that the existence of localised states can be deduced from the XPS data that identifies the relevant occupations of different ionisation states of the Mo ions. This effect, which depends on both the oxygen concentration and the method of fabrication, is more important than electron-electron interactions in producing the observed localisation. We have also shown that magneto-optical dichroism is also a powerful technique to determine the energy distribution of localised and delocalised states.

In-situ, time resolved monitoring of uranium in BFS:OPC grout. Part 2: Corrosion in water.

PubMed

Stitt, C A; Paraskevoulakos, C; Banos, A; Harker, N J; Hallam, K R; Pullin, H; Davenport, A; Street, S; Scott, T B

2018-06-18

To reflect potential conditions in a geological disposal facility, uranium was encapsulated in grout and submersed in de-ionised water for time periods between 2-47 weeks. Synchrotron X-ray Powder Diffraction and X-ray Tomography were used to identify the dominant corrosion products and measure their dimensions. Uranium dioxide was observed as the dominant corrosion product and time dependent thickness measurements were used to calculate oxidation rates. The effectiveness of physical and chemical grout properties to uranium corrosion and mobilisation is discussed and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry was used to measure 238 U (aq) content in the residual water of several samples.

[Statistical process control applied to intensity modulated radiotherapy pretreatment controls with portal dosimetry].

PubMed

Villani, N; Gérard, K; Marchesi, V; Huger, S; François, P; Noël, A

2010-06-01

The first purpose of this study was to illustrate the contribution of statistical process control for a better security in intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatments. This improvement is possible by controlling the dose delivery process, characterized by pretreatment quality control results. So, it is necessary to put under control portal dosimetry measurements (currently, the ionisation chamber measurements were already monitored by statistical process control thanks to statistical process control tools). The second objective was to state whether it is possible to substitute ionisation chamber with portal dosimetry in order to optimize time devoted to pretreatment quality control. At Alexis-Vautrin center, pretreatment quality controls in IMRT for prostate and head and neck treatments were performed for each beam of each patient. These controls were made with an ionisation chamber, which is the reference detector for the absolute dose measurement, and with portal dosimetry for the verification of dose distribution. Statistical process control is a statistical analysis method, coming from industry, used to control and improve the studied process quality. It uses graphic tools as control maps to follow-up process, warning the operator in case of failure, and quantitative tools to evaluate the process toward its ability to respect guidelines: this is the capability study. The study was performed on 450 head and neck beams and on 100 prostate beams. Control charts, showing drifts, both slow and weak, and also both strong and fast, of mean and standard deviation have been established and have shown special cause introduced (manual shift of the leaf gap of the multileaf collimator). Correlation between dose measured at one point, given with the EPID and the ionisation chamber has been evaluated at more than 97% and disagreement cases between the two measurements were identified. The study allowed to demonstrate the feasibility to reduce the time devoted to pretreatment controls, by substituting the ionisation chamber's measurements with those performed with EPID, and also that a statistical process control monitoring of data brought security guarantee. 2010 Société française de radiothérapie oncologique (SFRO). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

The evolution of young HII regions. I. Continuum emission and internal dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaassen, P. D.; Johnston, K. G.; Urquhart, J. S.; Mottram, J. C.; Peters, T.; Kuiper, R.; Beuther, H.; van der Tak, F. F. S.; Goddi, C.

2018-04-01

Context. High-mass stars form in much richer environments than those associated with isolated low-mass stars, and once they reach a certain mass, produce ionised (HII) regions. The formation of these pockets of ionised gas are unique to the formation of high-mass stars (M > 8 M⊙), and present an excellent opportunity to study the final stages of accretion, which could include accretion through the HII region itself. Aim. This study of the dynamics of the gas on both sides of these ionisation boundaries in very young HII regions aims to quantify the relationship between the HII regions and their immediate environments. Methods: We present high-resolution ( 0.5″) ALMA observations of nine HII regions selected from the red MSX source survey with compact radio emission and bolometric luminosities greater than 104 L⊙. We focus on the initial presentation of the data, including initial results from the radio recombination line H29α, some complementary molecules, and the 256 GHz continuum emission. Results: Of the six (out of nine) regions with H29α detections, two appear to have cometary morphologies with velocity gradients across them, and two appear more spherical with velocity gradients suggestive of infalling ionised gas. The remaining two were either observed at low resolution or had signals that were too weak to draw robust conclusions. We also present a description of the interactions between the ionised and molecular gas (as traced by CS (J = 5 - 4)), often (but not always) finding the HII region had cleared its immediate vicinity of molecules. Conclusions: Of our sample of nine, the observations of the two clusters expected to have the youngest HII regions (from previous radio observations) are suggestive of having infalling motions in the H29α emission, which could be indicative of late stage accretion onto the stars despite the presence of an HII region. Table A.2 is also available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/611/A99

The nature of luminous Lyα emitters at z ˜ 2-3: maximal dust-poor starbursts and highly ionising AGN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobral, David; Matthee, Jorryt; Darvish, Behnam; Smail, Ian; Best, Philip N.; Alegre, Lara; Röttgering, Huub; Mobasher, Bahram; Stroe, Ana Paulino-Afonso Andra; Oteo, Iván

2018-03-01

Deep narrow-band surveys have revealed a large population of faint Lyα emitters (LAEs) in the distant Universe, but relatively little is known about the most luminous sources (L_Lyα {≳} 10^{42.7} erg s-1; L_Lyα {≳} L^*_{Lyα }). Here we present the spectroscopic follow-up of 21 luminous LAEs at z ˜ 2 - 3 found with panoramic narrow-band surveys over five independent extragalactic fields (≈4 × 106 Mpc3 surveyed at z ˜ 2.2 and z ˜ 3.1). We use WHT/ISIS, Keck/DEIMOS and VLT/X-SHOOTER to study these sources using high ionisation UV lines. Luminous LAEs at z ˜ 2-3 have blue UV slopes (β =-2.0^{+0.3}_{-0.1}), high Lyα escape fractions (50^{+20}_{-15}%) and span five orders of magnitude in UV luminosity (M_{UV}≈ -19 to -24). Many (70%) show at least one high ionisation rest-frame UV line such as CIV, NV, CIII], HEII or OIII], typically blue-shifted by ≈100 - 200 km s-1 relative to Lyα. Their Lyα profiles reveal a wide variety of shapes, including significant blue-shifted components and widths from 200 to 4000 km s-1. Overall, 60 ± 11 % appear to be AGN dominated, and at L_{Lyα }>10^{43.3} erg s-1 and/or M_{UV}<-21.5 virtually all LAEs are AGN with high ionisation parameters (log U = 0.6 ± 0.5) and with metallicities of ≈0.5 - 1 Z⊙. Those lacking signatures of AGN (40 ± 11 %) have lower ionisation parameters (log U=-3.0^{+1.6}_{-0.9} and log ξion = 25.4 ± 0.2) and are apparently metal-poor sources likely powered by young, dust-poor "maximal" starbursts. Our results show that luminous LAEs at z ˜ 2-3 are a diverse population and that 2 × L^*_{Lyα } and 2 × M_UV^* mark a sharp transition in the nature of LAEs, from star formation dominated to AGN dominated.

The WISSH quasars project. I. Powerful ionised outflows in hyper-luminous quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bischetti, M.; Piconcelli, E.; Vietri, G.; Bongiorno, A.; Fiore, F.; Sani, E.; Marconi, A.; Duras, F.; Zappacosta, L.; Brusa, M.; Comastri, A.; Cresci, G.; Feruglio, C.; Giallongo, E.; La Franca, F.; Mainieri, V.; Mannucci, F.; Martocchia, S.; Ricci, F.; Schneider, R.; Testa, V.; Vignali, C.

2017-02-01

Models and observations suggest that both the power and effects of AGN feedback should be maximised in hyper-luminous (LBol > 1047 erg s-1) quasars, I.e. objects at the brightest end of the AGN luminosity function. In this paper, we present the first results of a multiwavelength observing programme, focusing on a sample of WISE/SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) broad-line quasars at z ≈ 1.5-5. The WISSH quasars project has been designed to reveal the most energetic AGN-driven outflows, estimate their occurrence at the peak of quasar activity, and extend the study of correlations between outflows and nuclear properties up to poorly investigated, extreme AGN luminosities, I.e. LBol 1047 - 1048 erg s-1. We present near-infrared, long-slit LBT/LUCI1 spectroscopy of five WISSH quasars at z ≈ 2.3 - 3.5, showing prominent [OIII] emission lines with broad (FWHM 1200-2200 km s-1) and skewed profiles. The luminosities of these broad [OIII] wings are the highest measured so far, with L[OIII]broad ≳ 5 × 1044 erg s-1, and reveal the presence of powerful ionised outflows with associated mass outflow rates Ṁ ≳ 1700M⊙ yr-1 and kinetic powers Ėkin ≳ 1045 erg s-1. Although these estimates are affected by large uncertainties because of the use of [OIII] as a tracer of ionised outflows and the very basic outflow model adopted here, these results suggest that in our hyper-luminous targets the AGN is highly efficient at pushing large amounts of ionised gas outwards. Furthermore, the mechanical outflow luminosities measured for WISSH quasars correspond to higher percentages ( 1-3%) of LBol than those derived for AGN with lower LBol. Our targets host very massive (MBH ≳ 2 × 109M⊙) black holes that are still accreting at a high rate (I.e. a factor of 0.4-3 of the Eddington limit). These findings clearly demonstrate that WISSH quasars offer the opportunity to probe the extreme end of both luminosity and supermassive black holes (SMBH) mass functions and revealing powerful ionised outflows that are able to affect the evolution of their host galaxies.

[Serum PTH levels as a predictive factor of hypocalcaemia after total thyroidectomy].

PubMed

Díez Alonso, Manuel; Sánchez López, José Daniel; Sánchez-Seco Peña, María Isabel; Ratia Jiménez, Tomás; Arribas Gómez, Ignacio; Rodríguez Pascual, Angel; Martín-Duce, Antonio; Guadalix Hidalgo, Gregorio; Hernández Domínguez, Sara; Granell Vicent, Javier

2009-02-01

Postoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels as a predictor of hypocalcaemia in patients subjected to total thyroidectomy is analyzed. Prospective study involving 67 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy due to a benign disease. Serum PTH and ionised calcium were measured 20 h after surgery. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of PTH and ionised calcium levels were calculated to predict clinical and analytical hypocalcaemia. A total of 42 (62.7%) patients developed hypocalcaemia (ionised calcium<0.95 mmol/l), but only 20 (29.9%) presented with symptoms. PTH concentration the day after surgery was significantly lower in the group that developed symptomatic hypocalcaemia (5.57+/-6.4 pg/ml) than in the asymptomatic (21.5+/-15.3 pg/ml) or normocalcaemic (26.8+/-24.9 pg/ml) groups (p=0.001). Taking the value of 13 pg/ml as a cut-off point of PTH levels, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 54%, 72%, 76% and 48%, respectively. On the other hand, sensitivity for predicting symptomatic hypocalcaemia was 95% and specificity was 76%. The test showed a high incidence of false positives (11/30, 36%). Negative predictive value was 97% and positive predictive value was 65%. In multivariate analysis, PTH and ionised calcium were the only perioperative factors that showed an independent predictive value as risk indicators of symptomatic hypocalcaemia. Normal PTH levels 20 h after surgery practically rule out the subsequent appearance of hypocalcaemia symptoms. On the other hand, low PTH levels are not necessarily associated to symptomatic hypocalcaemia due to the high number of false positives.

Common strategic research agenda for radiation protection in medicine.

PubMed

2017-04-01

Reflecting the change in funding strategies for European research projects, and the goal to jointly improve medical radiation protection through sustainable research efforts, five medical societies involved in the application of ionising radiation (European Association of Nuclear Medicine, EANM; European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics. EFOMP; European Federation of Radiographer Societies, EFRS; European Society of Radiology, ESR; European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, ESTRO) have identified research areas of common interest and developed this first edition of the Common Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) for medical radiation protection. The research topics considered necessary and most urgent for effective medical care and efficient in terms of radiation protection are summarised in five main themes: 1. Measurement and quantification in the field of medical applications of ionising radiation 2. Normal tissue reactions, radiation-induced morbidity and long-term health problems 3. Optimisation of radiation exposure and harmonisation of practices 4. Justification of the use of ionising radiation in medical practice 5. Infrastructures for quality assurance The SRA is a living document; thus comments and suggestions by all stakeholders in medical radiation protection are welcome and will be dealt with by the European Alliance for Medical Radiation Protection Research (EURAMED) established by the above-mentioned societies. • Overcome the fragmentation of medical radiation protection research in Europe • Identify research areas of joint interest in the field of medical radiation protection • Improve the use of ionising radiation in medicine • Collect stakeholder feedback and seek consensus • Emphasise importance of clinical translation and evaluation of research results.

Space science applications for conducting polymer particles: synthetic mimics for cosmic dust and micrometeorites.

PubMed

Fielding, Lee A; Hillier, Jon K; Burchell, Mark J; Armes, Steven P

2015-12-11

Over the last decade or so, a range of polypyrrole-based particles have been designed and evaluated for space science applications. This electrically conductive polymer enables such particles to efficiently acquire surface charge, which in turn allows their acceleration up to the hypervelocity regime (>1 km s(-1)) using a Van de Graaff accelerator. Either organic latex (e.g. polystyrene or poly(methyl methacrylate)) or various inorganic materials (such as silica, olivine or pyrrhotite) can be coated with polypyrrole; these core-shell particles are useful mimics for understanding the hypervelocity impact ionisation behaviour of micro-meteorites (a.k.a. cosmic dust). Impacts on metal targets at relatively low hypervelocities (<10 km s(-1)) generate ionic plasma composed mainly of molecular fragments, whereas higher hypervelocities (>10 km s(-1)) generate predominately atomic species, since many more chemical bonds are cleaved if the particles impinge with higher kinetic energy. Such fundamental studies are relevant to the calibration of the cosmic dust analyser (CDA) onboard the Cassini spacecraft, which was designed to determine the chemical composition of Saturn's dust rings. Inspired by volcanism observed for one of the Jupiter's moons (Io), polypyrrole-coated sulfur-rich latexes have also been designed to help space scientists understand ionisation spectra originating from sulfur-rich dust particles. Finally, relatively large (20 μm diameter) polypyrrole-coated polystyrene latexes have proven to be useful for understanding the extent of thermal ablation of organic projectiles when fired at ultralow density aerogel targets at up to 6.1 km s(-1) using a Light Gas Gun. In this case, the sacrificial polypyrrole overlayer simply provides a sensitive spectroscopic signature (rather than a conductive overlayer), and the scientific findings have important implications for the detection of organic dust grains during the Stardust space mission.

Space Environment Information System (SPENVIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglanski, M.; Messios, N.; de Donder, E.; Gamby, E.; Calders, S.; Hetey, L.; Evans, H.

2009-04-01

SPENVIS is an ESA operational software developed and maintained at BIRA-IASB since 1996. It provides standardized access to most of the recent models of the hazardous space environment, through a user-friendly Web interface (http://www.spenvis.oma.be/). The system allows spacecraft engineers to perform a rapid analysis of environmental problems related to natural radiation belts, solar energetic particles, cosmic rays, plasmas, gases, magnetic fields and micro-particles. Various reporting and graphical utilities and extensive help facilities are included to allow engineers with relatively little familiarity to produce reliable results. SPENVIS also contains an active, integrated version of the ECSS Space Environment Standard and access to in-flight data on the space environment. Although SPENVIS in the first place is designed to help spacecraft engineers, it is also used by technical universities in their educational programs. At present more than 4000 users are registered. With SPENVIS, one can generate a spacecraft trajectory or a coordinate grid and then calculate: geomagnetic coordinates; trapped proton and electron fluxes; solar proton fluences; cosmic ray fluxes; radiation doses (ionising and non-ionising) for simple geometries; a sectoring analysis for dose calculations in more complex geometries; damage equivalent fluences for Si, GaAs and multi-junction solar cells; Geant4 Monte Carlo analysis for doses and pulse height rates in planar and spherical shields; ion LET and flux spectra and single event upset rates; trapped proton flux anisotropy; atmospheric and ionospheric densities and temperatures; atomic oxygen erosion depths; surface and internal charging characteristics; solar array current collections and power losses; wall damage. The new version of SPENVIS (to be released in January 2009) also allows mission analysis for Mars and Jupiter.

Electron heating and the Electrical Asymmetry Effect in capacitively coupled RF discharges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulze, Julian

2011-10-01

For applications of capacitive radio frequency discharges, the control of particle distribution functions at the substrate surface is essential. Their spatio-temporal shape is the result of complex heating mechanisms of the respective species. Enhanced process control, therefore, requires a detailed understanding of the heating dynamics. There are two known modes of discharge operation: α- and γ-mode. In α-mode, most ionization is caused by electron beams generated by the expanding sheaths and field reversals during sheath collapse, while in γ-mode secondary electrons dominate the ionisation. In strongly electronegative discharges, a third heating mode is observed. Due to the low electron density in the discharge center the bulk conductivity is reduced and a high electric field is generated to drive the RF current through the discharge center. In this field, electrons are accelerated and cause significant ionisation in the bulk. This bulk heating mode is observed experimentally and by PIC simulations in CF4 discharges. The electron dynamics and mode transitions as a function of driving voltage and pressure are discussed. Based on a detailed understanding of the heating dynamics, the concept of separate control of the ion mean energy and flux in classical dual-frequency discharges is demonstrated to fail under process relevant conditions. To overcome these limitations of process control, the Electrical Asymmetry Effect (EAE) is proposed in discharges driven at multiple consecutive harmonics with adjustable phase shifts between the driving frequencies. Its concept and a recipe to optimize the driving voltage waveform are introduced. The functionality of the EAE in different gases and first applications to large area solar cell manufacturing are discussed. Finally, limitations caused by the bulk heating in strongly electronegative discharges are outlined.

Simulating Negative Pickup Ions and Ion Cyclotron Wave Generation at Europa (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, R. T.; Cowee, M.; Gary, S. P.; Wei, H.; Coates, A. J.; Kataria, D. O.; Fu, X.

2015-12-01

The mass loading of space environments through the ionisation of planetary atmospheres is a fundamental process governing the plasma interactions and long term evolution of celestial bodies across the solar system. Regions containing significant pickup ion populations have been observed to exhibit a rich variety of electromagnetic plasma wave phenomena, the characteristics and properties of which can be used to infer the ion species present, their spatial and temporal distributions, and the global ionisation rates of the neutral material. In this study we present hybrid (kinetic ion, massless fluid electron) simulations of ion pickup and Ion Cyclotron (IC) waves observed in the Jovian magnetosphere and draw comparisons to sub-alfvénic pickup observed by Cassini in the Saturnian system, and also to supra-alfvénic pickup at planetary bodies immersed directly in the solar wind. At Jupiter, Europa has been identified as the secondary mass loader in the magnetosphere, orbiting within a neutral gas torus at ~9.38 Rj. Near Europa, Galileo magnetometer observations displayed bursty IC wave characteristics at the gyrofrequency of a number of species including SO2, K, Cl, O2, and Na, suggesting a complex mass loading environment. A particular deduction from the dataset was the presence of both positively and negatively charged pickup ions, inferred from the left and right hand polarisations of the transverse waves. Using hybrid simulations for both positively and negatively charged Cl pickup ions we are able to self-consistently reproduce the growth of both right and left hand near-circularly polarised waves in agreement with linear theory and, using the observed wave amplitudes, estimate Cl pickup ion densities at Europa.

EDDIX--a database of ionisation double differential cross sections.

PubMed

MacGibbon, J H; Emerson, S; Liamsuwan, T; Nikjoo, H

2011-02-01

The use of Monte Carlo track structure is a choice method in biophysical modelling and calculations. To precisely model 3D and 4D tracks, the cross section for the ionisation by an incoming ion, double differential in the outgoing electron energy and angle, is required. However, the double differential cross section cannot be theoretically modelled over the full range of parameters. To address this issue, a database of all available experimental data has been constructed. Currently, the database of Experimental Double Differential Ionisation Cross sections (EDDIX) contains over 1200 digitalised experimentally measured datasets from the 1960s to present date, covering all available ion species (hydrogen to uranium) and all available target species. Double differential cross sections are also presented with the aid of an eight parameter functions fitted to the cross sections. The parameters include projectile species and charge, target nuclear charge and atomic mass, projectile atomic mass and energy, electron energy and deflection angle. It is planned to freely distribute EDDIX and make it available to the radiation research community for use in the analytical and numerical modelling of track structure.

Occupational external exposure to ionising radiation in France (2005-2011).

PubMed

Feuardent, J; Scanff, P; Crescini, D; Rannou, A

2013-12-01

The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) produces the French annual report on occupational exposure to ionising radiation, collecting all national data and aggregating the results according to a unique activity classification expected to be shared by all involved in personal dosimetric monitoring (employers, external dosimetry services and IRSN). Nearly 344,000 monitored workers were counted in France in 2011, with a collective dose of 64.24 man.Sv. The average annual dose (as calculated over the number of measurably exposed workers) differed among the main activity fields: 0.54 mSv in medical and veterinary activities, 1.18 mSv in the nuclear field, 1.60 mSv in non-nuclear industry and 0.47 mSv in research activities. Because of improved knowledge about worker activities, the results for year 2011 are detailed per activity sectors in each field. Lasting limitations prevent from having complete and reliable worker activity information. Solutions are considered to reduce the inaccuracy in the annually published statistics. The evolution of occupational external exposure to ionising radiation from 2005 to 2011 in France is then presented for the main activity fields.

Prediction of intestinal absorption and metabolism of pharmacologically active flavones and flavanones.

PubMed

Serra, H; Mendes, T; Bronze, M R; Simplício, Ana Luísa

2008-04-01

Three glycosilated flavonoids (diosmin, hesperidin and naringin) and respective aglycones were characterized in terms of their apparent ionisation constants and bidirectional permeability using the cellular model Caco-2 as well as the artificial membrane model PAMPA. Ionisation curves were established by capillary electrophoresis. It was confirmed that significant amounts of the aglycones are ionised at physiological pH whereas the glycosides are in the neutral form. Permeation was not detected for the glycosides in either the apical-to-basolateral or basolateral-to-apical directions confirming the need for metabolism before absorption through the intestinal membrane. The aglycones permeated in both directions with apparent permeabilities (P(app)) in the range of 1-8x10(-5) cm/s. The results from both in vitro methods correlated providing some evidence of passive transport; however, the hypothesis of active transport cannot be excluded particularly in the case of diosmetin. Metabolism of the aglycones was detected with the cell model, more extensively when loading in the apical side. Some of the metabolites were identified as glucuronide conjugates by enzymatic hydrolysis.

Explosive detection using a novel dielectric barrier discharge ionisation source for mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Fletcher, Carl; Sleeman, Richard; Luke, John; Luke, Peter; Bradley, James W

2018-03-01

The detection of explosives is of great importance, as is the need for sensitive, reliable techniques that require little or no sample preparation and short run times for high throughput analysis. In this work, a novel ionisation source is presented based on a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). This not only affects desorption and ionisation but also forms an ionic wind, providing mass transportation of ions towards the mass spectrometer. Furthermore, the design incorporates 2 asymmetric alumina sheets, each containing 3 DBDs, so that a large surface area can be analysed. The DBD operates in ambient air, overcoming the limitation of other plasma-based techniques which typically analyse smaller surface areas and require solvents or gases. A range of explosives across 4 different functional groups was analysed using the DBD with low limits of detection for cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (RDX) (100 pg), pentaerythritol trinitrate (PETN) (100 pg), hexamethylene triperoxide diamide (HMTD) (1 ng), and trinitrotoluene (TNT) (5 ng). Detection was achieved without any sample preparation or the addition of reagents to facilitate adduct formation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Application of positive mode atmospheric chemical ionisation to distinguish epimeric oleanolic and ursolic acids.

PubMed

Townley, Chloe; Brettell, Rhea C; Bowen, Richard D; Gallagher, Richard T; Martin, William H C

2015-01-01

A new and more reliable method is reported for distinguishing the equatorial and axial epimers of oleanolic and ursolic acids and related triterpenoids based primarily on the relative abundance of the [M+H](+) and [M+-H(2)O](+) signals in their positive mode atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectra. The rate of elimination of water, which is the principal primary fragmentation of protonated oleanolic and ursolic acids, depends systematically on the stereochemistry of the hydroxyl group in the 3 position. For the b-epimer, in which the 3-hydroxyl substituent is in an equatorial position,[M+-H(2)O](+) is the base peak. In contrast, for the α-epimer, where the 3-hydroxyl group is axial, [M + H](+) is the base peak. This trend, which is general for a range of derivatives of oleanolic and ursolic acids, including the corresponding methyl esters, allows epimeric triterpenoids in these series to be securely differentiated. Confirmatory information is available from the collision-induced dissociation of the [M+-H(2)O](+) primary fragment ions, which follow different pathways for the species derived from axial and equatorial epimers of oleanolic and ursolic acids. These two pieces of independent spectral information permit the stereochemistry of epimeric oleanolic and ursolic acids (and selected derivatives) to be assigned with confidence without relying either on chromatographic retention times or referring to the spectra or other properties of authentic samples of these triterpenoids.

Headspace analysis of new psychoactive substances using a Selective Reagent Ionisation-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometer

PubMed Central

Acton, W. Joe; Lanza, Matteo; Agarwal, Bishu; Jürschik, Simone; Sulzer, Philipp; Breiev, Kostiantyn; Jordan, Alfons; Hartungen, Eugen; Hanel, Gernot; Märk, Lukas; Mayhew, Chris A.; Märk, Tilmann D.

2014-01-01

The rapid expansion in the number and use of new psychoactive substances presents a significant analytical challenge because highly sensitive instrumentation capable of detecting a broad range of chemical compounds in real-time with a low rate of false positives is required. A Selective Reagent Ionisation-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (SRI-ToF-MS) instrument is capable of meeting all of these requirements. With its high mass resolution (up to m/Δm of 8000), the application of variations in reduced electric field strength (E/N) and use of different reagent ions, the ambiguity of a nominal (monoisotopic) m/z is reduced and hence the identification of chemicals in a complex chemical environment with a high level of confidence is enabled. In this study we report the use of a SRI-ToF-MS instrument to investigate the reactions of H3O+, O2+, NO+ and Kr+ with 10 readily available (at the time of purchase) new psychoactive substances, namely 4-fluoroamphetamine, methiopropamine, ethcathinone, 4-methylethcathinone, N-ethylbuphedrone, ethylphenidate, 5-MeO-DALT, dimethocaine, 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran and nitracaine. In particular, the dependence of product ion branching ratios on the reduced electric field strength for all reagent ions was investigated and is reported here. The results reported represent a significant amount of new data which will be of use for the development of drug detection techniques suitable for real world scenarios. PMID:25844048

Development of a Primary Standard for Calibration of [18F]FDG Activity Measurement Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capogni, M.; DeFelice, P.; Fazio, A.; Simonelli, F.; D'Ursi, V.; Pecorale, A.; Giliberti, C.; Abbas, K.

2006-05-01

The 18F national primary standard was developed by the INMRI-ENEA using the 4πβ Liquid Scintillation Spectrometry Method with 3H-Standard Efficiency Tracing. Measurements were performed at JRCIspra under a scientific collaboration between the Institute for Health and Consumer Production, the Amersham Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention (ISPESL). The goal of the work was to calibrate, with minimum uncertainty, the INMRI-ENEA transfer standard portable well-type ionisation chamber as well as other JRC-Ispra and Amersham Health reference Ionising Chambers used for FDG activity measurement.

The low dose gamma ionising radiation impact upon cooperativity of androgen-specific proteins.

PubMed

Filchenkov, Gennady N; Popoff, Eugene H; Naumov, Alexander D

2014-01-01

The paper deals with effects of the ionising radiation (γ-IR, 0.5 Gy) upon serum testosterone (T), characteristics of testosterone-binding globulin (TeBG) and androgen receptor (AR) in parallel with observation of androgen (A) responsive enzyme activity - hexokinase (HK). The interdependence or relationships of T-levels with parameters of the proteins that provide androgenic regulation are consequently analyzed in post-IR dynamics. The IR-stress adjustment data reveal expediency of TeBG- and AR-cooperativity measurements for more precise assessments of endocrine A-control at appropriate emergencies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Threshold law for positron-atom impact ionisation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Temkin, A.

1982-01-01

The threshold law for ionisation of atoms by positron impact is adduced in analogy with our approach to the electron-atom ionization. It is concluded the Coulomb-dipole region of the potential gives the essential part of the interaction in both cases and leads to the same kind of result: a modulated linear law. An additional process which enters positron ionization is positronium formation in the continuum, but that will not dominate the threshold yield. The result is in sharp contrast to the positron threshold law as recently derived by Klar on the basis of a Wannier-type analysis.

Nanodosimetry of electrons: analysis by experiment and modelling.

PubMed

Bantsar, A; Pszona, S

2015-09-01

Nanodosimetry experiments for high-energy electrons from a (131)I radioactive source interacting with gaseous nitrogen with sizes on a scale equivalent to the mass per area of a segment of DNA and nucleosome are described. The discrete ionisation cluster-size distributions were measured in experiments carried out with the Jet Counter. The experimental results were compared with those obtained by Monte Carlo modelling. The descriptors of radiation damages have been derived from the data obtained from ionisation cluster-size distributions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Antioxidant behavior of mearnsetin and myricetin flavonoid compounds — A DFT study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadasivam, K.; Kumaresan, R.

2011-06-01

The molecular characteristics of two naturally occurring flavonoid compounds mearnsetin and myricetin have been computed using density functional theory (DFT) approach with B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory. The computation and analysis of bond dissociation enthalpy magnitudes for all the OH sites for both the compounds clearly denotes the contribution of the B-ring for the antioxidant activity. The analysis has also indicated the higher values of BDE on the C5-OH radical species in both the compounds. The computed vibrational frequency analysis indicates the absence of imaginary frequency in the neutral as well as radical species of both the flavonoid compounds. The ionisation potential (IP) analysis was found to be within the range of the IP of synthetic food additives. In addition, various molecular descriptors such as electron affinity, hardness, softness, electronegativity, electrophilic index have also been calculated and the validity of Koopman's theorem is verified. The plot of frontier molecular orbital and spin density distribution analysis for neutral and the corresponding radical species for both the compounds have been computed and interpreted. The polar nature and their polarizing capacity are well established through the analysis of dipole moment and polarisability magnitudes.

Generation and confinement of microwave gas-plasma in photonic dielectric microstructure.

PubMed

Debord, B; Jamier, R; Gérôme, F; Leroy, O; Boisse-Laporte, C; Leprince, P; Alves, L L; Benabid, F

2013-10-21

We report on a self-guided microwave surface-wave induced generation of ~60 μm diameter and 6 cm-long column of argon-plasma confined in the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. At gas pressure of 1 mbar, the micro-confined plasma exhibits a stable transverse profile with a maximum gas-temperature as high as 1300 ± 200 K, and a wall-temperature as low as 500 K, and an electron density level of 10¹⁴ cm⁻³. The fiber guided fluorescence emission presents strong Ar⁺ spectral lines in the visible and near UV. Theory shows that the observed combination of relatively low wall-temperature and high ionisation rate in this strongly confined configuration is due to an unprecedentedly wide electrostatic space-charge field and the subsequent ion acceleration dominance in the plasma-to-gas power transfer.

The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey. XI. A census of the hot luminous stars and their feedback in 30 Doradus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doran, E. I.; Crowther, P. A.; de Koter, A.; Evans, C. J.; McEvoy, C.; Walborn, N. R.; Bastian, N.; Bestenlehner, J. M.; Gräfener, G.; Herrero, A.; Köhler, K.; Maíz Apellániz, J.; Najarro, F.; Puls, J.; Sana, H.; Schneider, F. R. N.; Taylor, W. D.; van Loon, J. Th.; Vink, J. S.

2013-10-01

Context. The VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey has an extensive view of the copious number of massive stars in the 30 Doradus (30 Dor) star forming region of the Large Magellanic Cloud. These stars play a crucial role in our understanding of the stellar feedback in more distant, unresolved star forming regions. Aims: The first comprehensive census of hot luminous stars in 30 Dor is compiled within a 10 arcmin (150 pc) radius of its central cluster, R136. We investigate the stellar content and spectroscopic completeness of the early type stars. Estimates were made for both the integrated ionising luminosity and stellar wind luminosity. These values were used to re-assess the star formation rate (SFR) of the region and determine the ionising photon escape fraction. Methods: Stars were selected photometrically and combined with the latest spectral classifications. Spectral types were estimated for stars lacking spectroscopy and corrections were made for binary systems, where possible. Stellar calibrations were applied to obtain their physical parameters and wind properties. Their integrated properties were then compared to global observations from ultraviolet (UV) to far-infrared (FIR) imaging as well as the population synthesis code, Starburst99. Results: Our census identified 1145 candidate hot luminous stars within 150 pc of R136 of which >700 were considered to be genuine early type stars and contribute to feedback. We assess the survey to be spectroscopically complete to 85% in the outer regions (>5 pc) but only 35% complete in the region of the R136 cluster, giving a total of 500 hot luminous stars in the census which had spectroscopy. Only 31 were found to be Wolf-Rayet (W-R) or Of/WN stars, but their contribution to the integrated ionising luminosity and wind luminosity was ~40% and ~50%, respectively. Similarly, stars with Minit > 100 M⊙ (mostly H-rich WN stars) also showed high contributions to the global feedback, ~25% in both cases. Such massive stars are not accounted for by the current Starburst99 code, which was found to underestimate the integrated ionising luminosity of R136 by a factor ~2 and the wind luminosity by a factor ~9. The census inferred a SFR for 30 Dor of 0.073 ± 0.04 M⊙ yr-1. This was generally higher than that obtained from some popular SFR calibrations but still showed good consistency with the far-UV luminosity tracer as well as the combined Hα and mid-infrared tracer, but only after correcting for Hα extinction. The global ionising output was also found to exceed that measured from the associated gas and dust, suggesting that ~6+55-6 % of the ionising photons escape the region. Conclusions: When studying the most luminous star forming regions, it is essential to include their most massive stars if one is to determine a reliable energy budget. Photon leakage becomes more likely after including their large contributions to the ionising output. If 30 Dor is typical of other massive star forming regions, estimates of the SFR will be underpredicted if this escape fraction is not accounted for. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory under programme ID 182.D-0222.Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.orgFull Tables D1 and D2 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/558/A134

Density regulation in Northeast Atlantic fish populations: Density dependence is stronger in recruitment than in somatic growth.

PubMed

Zimmermann, Fabian; Ricard, Daniel; Heino, Mikko

2018-05-01

Population regulation is a central concept in ecology, yet in many cases its presence and the underlying mechanisms are difficult to demonstrate. The current paradigm maintains that marine fish populations are predominantly regulated by density-dependent recruitment. While it is known that density-dependent somatic growth can be present too, its general importance remains unknown and most practical applications neglect it. This study aimed to close this gap by for the first time quantifying and comparing density dependence in growth and recruitment over a large set of fish populations. We fitted density-dependent models to time-series data on population size, recruitment and age-specific weight from commercially exploited fish populations in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. Data were standardized to enable a direct comparison within and among populations, and estimated parameters were used to quantify the impact of density regulation on population biomass. Statistically significant density dependence in recruitment was detected in a large proportion of populations (70%), whereas for density dependence in somatic growth the prevalence of density dependence depended heavily on the method (26% and 69%). Despite age-dependent variability, the density dependence in recruitment was consistently stronger among age groups and between alternative approaches that use weight-at-age or weight increments to assess growth. Estimates of density-dependent reduction in biomass underlined these results: 97% of populations with statistically significant parameters for growth and recruitment showed a larger impact of density-dependent recruitment on population biomass. The results reaffirm the importance of density-dependent recruitment in marine fishes, yet they also show that density dependence in somatic growth is not uncommon. Furthermore, the results are important from an applied perspective because density dependence in somatic growth affects productivity and catch composition, and therefore the benefits of maintaining fish populations at specific densities. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Forensic applications of desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (DESI-MS).

PubMed

Morelato, Marie; Beavis, Alison; Kirkbride, Paul; Roux, Claude

2013-03-10

Desorption electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) is an emerging analytical technique that enables in situ mass spectrometric analysis of specimens under ambient conditions. It has been successfully applied to a large range of forensically relevant materials. This review assesses and highlights forensic applications of DESI-MS including the analysis and detection of illicit drugs, explosives, chemical warfare agents, inks and documents, fingermarks, gunshot residues and drugs of abuse in urine and plasma specimens. The minimal specimen preparation required for analysis and the sensitivity of detection achieved offer great advantages, especially in the field of forensic science. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterisation of the muon beams for the Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment

DOE PAGES

Adams, D.; Adey, D.; Alekou, A.; ...

2013-10-01

A novel single-particle technique to measure emittance has been developed and used to characterise seventeen different muon beams for the Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment (MICE). The muon beams, whose mean momenta vary from 171 to 281 MeV/c, have emittances of approximately 1.2-2.3 π mm-rad horizontally and 0.6-1.0 π mm-rad vertically, a horizontal dispersion of 90-190 mm and momentum spreads of about 25 MeV/c. There is reasonable agreement between the measured parameters of the beams and the results of simulations. The beams are found to meet the requirements of MICE.

Non-volatile analysis in fruits by laser resonant ionization spectrometry: application to resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) in grapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montero, C.; Orea, J. M.; Soledad Muñoz, M.; Lobo, R. F. M.; González Ureña, A.

A laser desorption (LD) coupled with resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation (REMPI) and time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) technique for non-volatile trace analysis compounds is presented. Essential features are: (a) an enhanced desorption yield due to the mixing of metal powder with the analyte in the sample preparation, (b) a high resolution, great sensitivity and low detection limit due to laser resonant ionisation and mass spectrometry detection. Application to resveratrol content in grapes demonstrated the capability of the analytical method with a sensitivity of 0.2 pg per single laser shot and a detection limit of 5 ppb.

Analysis of a measurement scheme for ultrafast hole dynamics by few femtosecond resolution X-ray pump-probe Auger spectroscopy.

PubMed

Cooper, Bridgette; Kolorenč, Přemysl; Frasinski, Leszek J; Averbukh, Vitali; Marangos, Jon P

2014-01-01

Ultrafast hole dynamics created in molecular systems as a result of sudden ionisation is the focus of much attention in the field of attosecond science. Using the molecule glycine we show through ab initio simulations that the dynamics of a hole, arising from ionisation in the inner valence region, evolves with a timescale appropriate to be measured using X-ray pulses from the current generation of SASE free electron lasers. The examined pump-probe scheme uses X-rays with photon energy below the K edge of carbon (275-280 eV) that will ionise from the inner valence region. A second probe X-ray at the same energy can excite an electron from the core to fill the vacancy in the inner-valence region. The dynamics of the inner valence hole can be tracked by measuring the Auger electrons produced by the subsequent refilling of the core hole as a function of pump-probe delay. We consider the feasibility of the experiment and include numerical simulation to support this analysis. We discuss the potential for all X-ray pump-X-ray probe Auger spectroscopy measurements for tracking hole migration.

Evolution in population parameters: density-dependent selection or density-dependent fitness?

PubMed

Travis, Joseph; Leips, Jeff; Rodd, F Helen

2013-05-01

Density-dependent selection is one of earliest topics of joint interest to both ecologists and evolutionary biologists and thus occupies an important position in the histories of these disciplines. This joint interest is driven by the fact that density-dependent selection is the simplest form of feedback between an ecological effect of an organism's own making (crowding due to sustained population growth) and the selective response to the resulting conditions. This makes density-dependent selection perhaps the simplest process through which we see the full reciprocity between ecology and evolution. In this article, we begin by tracing the history of studying the reciprocity between ecology and evolution, which we see as combining the questions of evolutionary ecology with the assumptions and approaches of ecological genetics. In particular, density-dependent fitness and density-dependent selection were critical concepts underlying ideas about adaptation to biotic selection pressures and the coadaptation of interacting species. However, theory points to a critical distinction between density-dependent fitness and density-dependent selection in their influences on complex evolutionary and ecological interactions among coexisting species. Although density-dependent fitness is manifestly evident in empirical studies, evidence of density-dependent selection is much less common. This leads to the larger question of how prevalent and important density-dependent selection might really be. Life-history variation in the least killifish Heterandria formosa appears to reflect the action of density-dependent selection, and yet compelling evidence is elusive, even in this well-studied system, which suggests some important challenges for understanding density-driven feedbacks between ecology and evolution.

Long-term variations of polar mesospheric summer echoes observed at Andøya (69°N)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latteck, R.; Bremer, J.

2017-10-01

Polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) are strong radar signals received at very high radar frequencies at altitudes between about 80 and 95 km at polar latitudes during summer. PMSE are caused by inhomogeneities in the electron density of the radar Bragg scale within the plasma of the cold summer mesopause region in the presence of negatively charged ice particles. Therefore, the occurrence of PMSE depends on the ionisation due to solar wave radiation and precipitating high energetic particle fluxes but also contains information about mesospheric temperature and water vapour content. Long-time observations of these echoes can be used to conclude on long-term changes of these atmospheric parameters. Continuous observations of PMSE have been carried out on the North-Norwegian island And/oya (69.3°N, 16.0°E) using the ALOMAR SOUSY radar (1994-1997), the ALWIN VHF radar (1999-2008) and the Middle Atmosphere Alomar Radar System MAARSY (since 2011). Since both the ALWIN radar and MAARSY are calibrated systems, the received echo strength of PMSE from 17 years of mesospheric observations (1999-2016) could be converted into absolute signal power. This data series could be extended to the years 1994 until 1997 on the basis of signal-to-noise ratio values derived during the years between 1994 and 2008. Seasonal mean values of PMSE occurrence for the time period from 1 June until 31 July have been derived and the resulting 23 years long data set was analyzed in dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity as well as analyzed for long-term trends. The PMSE occurrence rate is positively correlated with the solar Lyman α radiation (however low significance level) and the geomagnetic Ap index. After elimination of the solar and geomagnetically induced parts using different regression analysis methods, the PMSE data show a significant (χ = 92%-97%) positive trend during the observation period 1994 until 2016.

Density-dependence interacts with extrinsic mortality in shaping life histories

PubMed Central

Burger, Oskar; Kozłowski, Jan

2017-01-01

The role of extrinsic mortality in shaping life histories is poorly understood. However, substantial evidence suggests that extrinsic mortality interacts with density-dependence in crucial ways. We develop a model combining Evolutionarily Stable Strategies with a projection matrix that allows resource allocation to growth, tissue repairs, and reproduction. Our model examines three cases, with density-dependence acting on: (i) mortality, (ii) fecundity, and (iii) production rate. We demonstrate that density-independent extrinsic mortality influences the rate of aging, age at maturity, growth rate, and adult size provided that density-dependence acts on fertility or juvenile mortality. However, density-independent extrinsic mortality has no effect on these life history traits when density-dependence acts on survival. We show that extrinsic mortality interacts with density-dependence via a compensation mechanism: the higher the extrinsic mortality the lower the strength of density-dependence. However, this compensation fully offsets the effect of extrinsic mortality only if density-dependence acts on survival independently of age. Both the age-pattern and the type of density-dependence are crucial for shaping life history traits. PMID:29049399

Platelet-, leucocyte- and red cell-derived microparticles in stored whole blood, with and without leucofiltration, with and without ionising radiation.

PubMed

Saito, Shunnichi; Nollet, Kenneth E; Ngoma, Alain M; Ono, Takako; Ohto, Hitoshi

2018-02-01

Storage lesion, including microparticle formation, has been partially characterised in whole blood, but not in all combinations of pre-storage leucofiltration and/or irradiation. Single-donor whole blood products were processed into four subunits: with and without leucofiltration, with and without X-irradiation (25 Gy). Platelet-, leucocyte-, and erythrocyte-derived microparticles and free haemoglobin were measured periodically throughout 42 days of storage. Pre-storage leucofiltration substantially reduced platelet- and leucocyte-derived microparticle counts throughout storage. Irradiation, in contrast, had no significant effect on microparticle counts. A gate for all microparticles showed a substantial time-dependent increase in unfiltered whole blood. A time-dependent increase in free haemoglobin was greatest in unfiltered, irradiated whole blood. This study indicates that leucofiltration can prevent the formation of leucocyte- and platelet-derived microparticles, and might reduce haemolysis in irradiated whole blood, either by removing factors that provoke haemolysis, or by selective retention of senescent or effete red cells most prone to haemolysis.

Powerloads on the front end components and the duct of the heating and diagnostic neutral beam lines at ITER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, M. J.; Boilson, D.; Hemsworth, R. S.

2015-04-08

The heating and current drive beam lines (HNB) at ITER are expected to deliver ∼16.7 MW power per beam line for H beams at 870 keV and D beams at 1 MeV during the H-He and the DD/DT phases of ITER operation respectively. On the other hand the diagnostic neutral beam (DNB) line shall deliver ∼2 MW power for H beams at 100 keV during both the phases. The path lengths over which the beams from the HNB and DNB beam lines need to be transported are 25.6 m and 20.7 m respectively. The transport of the beams over these path lengths resultsmore » in beam losses, mainly by the direct interception of the beam with the beam line components and reionisation. The lost power is deposited on the surfaces of the various components of the beam line. In order to ensure the survival of these components over the operational life time of ITER, it is important to determine to the best possible extent the operational power loads and power densities on the various surfaces which are impacted by the beam in one way or the other during its transport. The main factors contributing to these are the divergence of the beamlets and the halo fraction in the beam, the beam aiming, the horizontal and vertical misalignment of the beam, and the gas profile along the beam path, which determines the re-ionisation loss, and the re-ionisation cross sections. The estimations have been made using a combination of the modified version of the Monte Carlo Gas Flow code (MCGF) and the BTR code. The MCGF is used to determine the gas profile in the beam line and takes into account the active gas feed into the ion source and neutraliser, the HNB-DNB cross over, the gas entering the beamline from the ITER machine, the additional gas atoms generated in the beam line due to impacting ions and the pumping speed of the cryopumps. The BTR code has been used to obtain the power loads and the power densities on the various surfaces of the front end components and the duct modules for different scenarios of ITER operation. The gas profile and the magnetic field distribution for each scenario has been considered in these evaluations. The worst case power loads and power densities for each surface have been used to study their thermo-mechanical behaviour and manufacturing feasibility. The details of these calculations and results obtained are presented and discussed.« less

Recombination in liquid filled ionisation chambers with multiple charge carrier species: Theoretical and numerical results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguiar, P.; González-Castaño, D. M.; Gómez, F.; Pardo-Montero, J.

2014-10-01

Liquid-filled ionisation chambers (LICs) are used in radiotherapy for dosimetry and quality assurance. Volume recombination can be quite important in LICs for moderate dose rates, causing non-linearities in the dose rate response of these detectors, and needs to be corrected for. This effect is usually described with Greening and Boag models for continuous and pulsed radiation respectively. Such models assume that the charge is carried by two different species, positive and negative ions, each of those species with a given mobility. However, LICs operating in non-ultrapure mode can contain different types of electronegative impurities with different mobilities, thus increasing the number of different charge carriers. If this is the case, Greening and Boag models can be no longer valid and need to be reformulated. In this work we present a theoretical and numerical study of volume recombination in parallel-plate LICs with multiple charge carrier species, extending Boag and Greening models. Results from a recent publication that reported three different mobilities in an isooctane-filled LIC have been used to study the effect of extra carrier species on recombination. We have found that in pulsed beams the inclusion of extra mobilities does not affect volume recombination much, a behaviour that was expected because Boag formula for charge collection efficiency does not depend on the mobilities of the charge carriers if the Debye relationship between mobilities and recombination constant holds. This is not the case in continuous radiation, where the presence of extra charge carrier species significantly affects the amount of volume recombination.

Bone mineral status and metabolism in patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome.

PubMed

Stagi, Stefano; Manoni, Cristina; Scalini, Perla; Chiarelli, Francesco; Verrotti, Alberto; Cecchi, Cecilia; Lapi, Elisabetta; Giglio, Sabrina; Romano, Silvia; de Martino, Maurizio

2016-07-01

To evaluate bone mineral status and metabolism in a cohort of patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS). Thirty-one children (15 females, 16 males; mean age 9.6±2.74 years) and 10 young adults (6 females, 4 males; mean age 21.4±5.11 years) with WBS were cross-sectionally evaluated and compared with two age-, sex-, and body-size-matched paediatric (155 subjects, 75 females and 80 males; mean age 9.7±2.93 years) and adult (50 subjects, 30 females and 20 males; mean age 22.3±5.42 years) healthy controls. We evaluated ionised and total calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, osteocalcin, bone alkaline phosphatase levels, and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations. We also calculated the phalangeal amplitude-dependent speed of sound (AD-SoS) and the bone transmission time (BTT) z-scores. WBS patients showed a significantly reduced AD-SoS z-score (p <0.001) and BTT z-score (p <0.001) compared with the controls. This finding persisted when we divided the sample into paediatric and adult patients. WBS patients also had significantly higher ionised (p <0.001) and total calcium (p <0.001) levels as well as higher PTH levels (p <0.001) compared with the controls. Furthermore, WBS children and adolescents had significantly lower serum osteocalcin levels (p <0.001) and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations (p <0.001) than controls. WBS subjects exhibit a significant reduction in bone mineral status and impaired bone metabolism. These findings point to the need for close monitoring of WBS patients.

A SIFT study of the reactions of H2ONO+ ions with several types of organic molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, David; Wang, Tianshu; Spanel, Patrik

2003-11-01

A selected ion flow tube (SIFT) study has been carried out of the reactions of hydrated nitrosonium ions, NO+H2O, which theory has equated to protonated nitrous acid ions, H2ONO+. One objective of this study was to investigate if this ion exhibits the properties of both a cluster ion and a protonated acid in their reactions with a variety of organic molecules. The chosen reactant molecules comprise two each of the following types--amines, terpenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes and alcohols. The reactant H2ONO+ (NO+H2O) ions are formed in a discharge ion source and injected into helium carrier gas where they are partially vibrationally excited and partially dissociated to NO+ ions. Hence, the reactions of the H2ONO+ ions had to be studies simultaneously with NO+ ions, the reactions of the latter ions readily being studied by selectively injecting NO+ ions into the carrier gas. The results of this study indicate that the H2ONO+ ions undergo a wide variety of reaction processes that depend on the properties of the reactant molecules such as their ionisation energies and proton affinities. These processes include charge transfer with compounds, M, that have low ionisation energies (producing M+), proton transfer with compounds possessing large proton affinities (MH+), hydride ion transfer (M---H+), alkyl radical (M---R+), alkoxide radical transfer (M---OR+), ion-molecule association (NO+H2OM) and ligand switching (NO+M), producing the ions given in parentheses.

Whole mouse blood microRNA as biomarkers for exposure to γ-rays and 56Fe ions

PubMed Central

Templin, Thomas; Amundson, Sally A.; Brenner, David J.; Smilenov, Lubomir B.

2013-01-01

Purpose Biomarkers of ionising radiation exposure are useful in a variety of scenarios, such as medical diagnostic imaging, occupational exposures, and spaceflight. This study investigates to what extent microRNA (miRNA) expression signatures in mouse peripheral blood can be used as biomarkers for exposures to radiation with low and high linear energy transfers. Materials and methods Mice were irradiated with doses of 0.5, 1.5, or 5.0 Gy γ-rays (dose rate of 0.0136 Gy/s) or with doses of 0.1 or 0.5 Gy 56Fe ions (dose rate of 0.00208 Gy/s). Total RNA was isolated from whole blood at 6 h or 24 h after irradiation. Three animals per irradiation condition were used. Differentially expressed miRNA were determined by means of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results miRNA expression signatures were radiation type-specific and dose- and time-dependent. The differentially expressed miRNA were expressed in either one condition (71%) or multiple conditions (29%). Classifiers based on the differentially expressed miRNA predicted radiation type or dose with accuracies between 75% and 100%. Gene-ontology analyses show that miRNA induced by irradiation are involved in the control of several biological processes, such as mRNA transcription regulation, nucleic-acid metabolism, and development. Conclusion miRNA signatures induced by ionising radiation in mouse blood are radiation type- and radiation dose-specific. These findings underline the complexity of the radiation response and the importance of miRNA in it. PMID:21271940

Liquid chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric method for the simultaneous determination of alkylphenols polyethoxylates, alkylphenoxy carboxylates and alkylphenols in wastewater and surface-water.

PubMed

Ciofi, L; Ancillotti, C; Chiuminatto, U; Fibbi, D; Checchini, L; Orlandini, S; Del Bubba, M

2014-10-03

Four different pellicular stationary phases (i.e. octadecylsilane, octasilane, Phenyl-Hexyl and pentafluorophenyl) were investigated for the chromatographic resolution of alkylphenols (APs), alkylphenols polyethoxylates (APnEOs) and alkylphenoxy carboxylates (APECs) using mixtures of water and organic solvents (i.e. methanol, acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran) as eluents, in order to obtain their determination by a single LC-MS/MS run. In fact, alkylphenols and alkylphenoxy carboxylates must be analysed in negative ion mode, whereas alkylphenols polyethoxylates undergo ionisation only in positive ion mode, and therefore, two distinct LC-MS/MS analysis are commonly adopted. The best resolution among the aforementioned target analytes was achieved on the pentafluorophenyl column, eluting with an acidified water-acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran mixture and using the post column addition of an ammonia solution in methanol for the detection of positively ionisable compounds. Under these optimized chromatographic conditions the investigated compounds were determined via a single chromatographic run, with only one polarity switch, in 15min, achieving the following instrumental detection limits: 600pg for AP1EOs, 0.8-14pg for AP2EOs, 10.4-150pg for APs and 4.4-4.8pg for APECs. The chromatographic method was coupled with solid-phase extraction and clean-up procedures and successfully applied to the analysis of wastewater and surface water samples, highlighting mean concentration ranging from 6ng/L for 4-t-OP1EC to 1434ng/L for 4-NP1121EC, depending on the sample analysed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Metabolic profiling using direct infusion electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry for the characterisation of olive oils.

PubMed

Goodacre, Royston; Vaidyanathan, Seetharaman; Bianchi, Giorgio; Kell, Douglas B

2002-11-01

There is a continuing need for improved methods for assessing the adulteration of foodstuffs. We report some highly encouraging data, where we have developed direct infusion electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) together with chemometrics as a novel, rapid (1 min per sample) and powerful technique to elucidate key metabolite differences in vegetable and nut oils. Principal components analysis of these ESI-MS spectra show that the reproducibility of this approach is high and that olive oil can be discriminated from oils which are commonly used as adulterants. These adulterants include refined hazelnut oil, which is particularly challenging given its chemical similarity to olive oils.

Capillary electrophoresis with electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry for the characterisation of degradation products in aged papers.

PubMed

Dupont, Anne-Laurence; Seemann, Agathe; Lavédrine, Bertrand

2012-01-30

A methodology for capillary electrophoresis/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (CE/ESI-MS) was developed for the simultaneous analysis of degradation products from paper among two families of compounds: low molar mass aliphatic organic acids, and aromatic (phenolic and furanic) compounds. The work comprises the optimisation of the CE separation and the ESI-MS parameters for improved sensitivity with model compounds using two successive designs of experiments. The method was applied to the analysis of lignocellulosic paper at different stages of accelerated hygrothermal ageing. The compounds of interest were identified. Most of them could be quantified and several additional analytes were separated. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The use of ionisation chambers for dose rate measurements at industrial irradiation plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sephton, J. P.; Sharpe, P. H. G.; Chu, R. D. H.

2002-03-01

The use of ionisation chambers to measure dose rate at industrial irradiation plants has been studied as part of a wider project on real time dosimetry. The characteristics required of such a chamber are discussed. These include the ability to withstand operation at high cumulative doses (up to 5 MGy) and dose rates of up to about 150 kGy h -1. Other desirable features are water equivalence and immunity to environmental conditions such as temperature, pressure and humidity. A number of chambers have been assessed experimentally and a suitable chamber selected. The dosimetric characteristics of the chosen chamber have been assessed by comparison with absorbed dose measurements made using chemical dosimeters.

Plasma concentrations of parathyroid hormone-related protein in dogs with potential disorders of calcium metabolism.

PubMed

Mellanby, R J; Craig, R; Evans, H; Herrtage, M E

2006-12-16

The plasma concentrations of total calcium, ionised calcium, albumin, parathyroid hormone and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrp) were measured in 25 dogs with lymphoma, nine dogs with primary hyperparathyroidism and seven dogs with adenocarcinoma of the apocrine gland of the anal sac. Plasma total calcium, ionised calcium, albumin and parathyroid hormone-related protein were measured in 18 clinically normal control dogs. The concentration of PTHrp was high in 12 of the 14 dogs that were hypercalcaemic because of an underlying malignancy but was within the reference range in all the control dogs, in the 17 normocalcaemic dogs with lymphoma and in the seven dogs which were hypercalcaemic because of a parathyroid adenoma.

The combined effects of high-energy shock waves and ionising radiation on a human bladder cancer cell line.

PubMed

Fickweiler, S; Steinbach, P; Wörle, K; Hofstädter, F

1996-01-01

The effects of high-energy shock waves (HESW) generated by an experimental Siemens lithotripter in combination with 137Cs gamma-rays were examined in vitro. Proliferation after treatment of immobilised pellets of either single cells or multicellular spheroids of the bladder cancer cell line RT4 was determined using colony-forming assays and cell cycle analysis. Surviving and cell cycle fractions were calculated for each shock wave and radiation application mode separately, and for sequential combination in different successions for the purpose of characterizing the interaction of both treatment modalities. Combination of HESW and ionising radiation turned out to act additively or slightly supra-additively on both biologic models.

A drift chamber tracking system for muon scattering tomography applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burns, J.; Quillin, S.; Stapleton, M.; Steer, C.; Snow, S.

2015-10-01

Muon scattering tomography (MST) allows the identification of shielded high atomic number (high-Z) materials by measuring the scattering angle of cosmic ray muons passing through an inspection region. Cosmic ray muons scatter to a greater degree due to multiple Coulomb scattering in high-Z materials than low-Z materials, which can be measured as the angular difference between the incoming and outgoing trajectories of each muon. Measurements of trajectory are achieved by placing position sensitive particle tracking detectors above and below the inspection volume. By localising scattering information, the point at which a series of muons scatter can be used to reconstruct an image, differentiating high, medium and low density objects. MST is particularly useful for differentiating between materials of varying density in volumes that are difficult to inspect visually or by other means. This paper will outline the experimental work undertaken to develop a prototype MST system based on drift chamber technology. The planar drift chambers used in this prototype measure the longitudinal interaction position of an ionising particle from the time taken for elections, liberated in the argon (92.5%), carbon dioxide (5%), methane (2.5%) gas mixture, to reach a central anode wire. Such a system could be used to enhance the detection of shielded radiological material hidden within regular shipping cargo.

The density dilemma: limitations on juvenile production in threatened salmon populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walters, Annika W.; Copeland, Timothy; Venditti, David A.

2013-01-01

Density-dependent processes have repeatedly been shown to have a central role in salmonid population dynamics, but are often assumed to be negligible for populations at low abundances relative to historical records. Density dependence has been observed in overall spring/summer Snake River Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha production, but it is not clear how patterns observed at the aggregate level relate to individual populations within the basin. We used a Bayesian hierarchical modelling approach to explore the degree of density dependence in juvenile production for nine Idaho populations. Our results indicate that density dependence is ubiquitous, although its strength varies between populations. We also investigated the processes driving the population-level pattern and found density-dependent growth and mortality present for both common life-history strategies, but no evidence of density-dependent movement. Overwinter mortality, spatial clustering of redds and limited resource availability were identified as potentially important limiting factors contributing to density dependence. The ubiquity of density dependence for these threatened populations is alarming as stability at present low abundance levels suggests recovery may be difficult without major changes. We conclude that density dependence at the population level is common and must be considered in demographic analysis and management.

Use of radionuclides in cancer research and treatment.

PubMed

Macías, M T

2009-03-01

Cancer occurs as a result of misregulation of cell growth, which appears to be a consequence of alteration in the function of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Ionising radiation has been used, since the discovery of X-rays in 1896 by Roentgen, both in cancer research and treatment of the disease. The main purpose of cancer research is to understand the molecular alterations involved in the development and progression of the disease in order to improve diagnosis and develop personalised therapies, by focusing on the features of the tumoral cell and the biological events associated to carcinogenesis. Radioisotopic techniques have been used routinely for in vitro research in the molecular and cellular biology of cancer for more than 20 years and are in the process of being substituted by alternative non-radioactive techniques. However in vivo techniques such as irradiation of cells in culture and/or experimental animal models and radioactive labelling are in development, due in part to advances in molecular imaging technologies. The objective of this review is to analyse in an integrative way the applications of ionising radiation in cancer research and therapy. It had been divided into two parts. The first one will approach the techniques applied to cancer research and the second will summarise how ionising radiation is applied to the treatment of neoplastic disease.

Thermally annealed gold nanoparticles for surface-assisted laser desorption ionisation-mass spectrometry of low molecular weight analytes.

PubMed

Pilolli, Rosa; Ditaranto, Nicoletta; Di Franco, Cinzia; Palmisano, Francesco; Cioffi, Nicola

2012-10-01

Metal nanomaterials have an emerging role in surface-assisted laser desorption ionisation-mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) providing a useful tool to overcome some limitations intrinsically related to the use of conventional organic matrices in matrix-assisted LDI-MS. In this contribution, the possibility to use a stainless-steel-supported gold nanoparticle (AuNP) film as a versatile platform for SALDI-MS was assessed. A sacrificial anode electrosynthetic route was chosen in order to obtain morphologically controlled core-shell AuNPs; the colloidal AuNPs were, thereafter, drop cast onto a stainless-steel sample plate and the resulting AuNP film was thermally annealed in order to improve its effectiveness as LDI-MS promoter. Spectroscopic characterization of the nanostructured film by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was crucial for understanding how annealing induced changes in the surface chemistry and influenced the performance of AuNPs as desorption/ionisation promoter. In particular, it was demonstrated that the post-deposition treatments were essential to enhance the AuNP core/analyte interaction, thus resulting in SALDI-MS spectra of significantly improved quality. The AuNP films were applied to the detection of three different classes of low molecular weight (LMW) analytes, i.e. amino acids, peptides and LMW polymers, in order to demonstrate the versatility of this nanostructured material.

Real-time analysis of aromatics in combustion engine exhaust by resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (REMPI-TOF-MS): a robust tool for chassis dynamometer testing.

PubMed

Adam, T W; Clairotte, M; Streibel, T; Elsasser, M; Pommeres, A; Manfredi, U; Carriero, M; Martini, G; Sklorz, M; Krasenbrink, A; Astorga, C; Zimmermann, R

2012-07-01

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (REMPI-TOF-MS) is a robust method for real-time analysis of monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in complex emissions. A mobile system has been developed which enables direct analysis on site. In this paper, we utilize a multicomponent calibration scheme based on the analytes' photo-ionisation cross-sections relative to a calibrated species. This allows semi-quantification of a great number of components by only calibrating one compound of choice, here toluene. The cross-sections were determined by injecting nebulised solutions of aromatic compounds into the TOF-MS ion source with the help of a HPLC pump. Then, REMPI-TOF-MS was implemented at various chassis dynamometers and test cells and the exhaust of the following vehicles and engines investigated: a compression ignition light-duty (LD) passenger car, a compression ignition LD van, two spark ignition LD passenger cars, 2 two-stroke mopeds, and a two-stroke engine of a string gas trimmer. The quantitative time profiles of benzene are shown. The results indicate that two-stroke engines are a significant source for toxic and cancerogenic compounds. Air pollution and health effects caused by gardening equipment might still be underestimated.

Solvent Separating Secondary Metabolites Directly from Biosynthetic Tissue for Surface-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Mass Spectrometry

PubMed Central

Rudd, David; Benkendorff, Kirsten; Voelcker, Nicolas H.

2015-01-01

Marine bioactive metabolites are often heterogeneously expressed in tissues both spatially and over time. Therefore, traditional solvent extraction methods benefit from an understanding of the in situ sites of biosynthesis and storage to deal with heterogeneity and maximize yield. Recently, surface-assisted mass spectrometry (MS) methods namely nanostructure-assisted laser desorption ionisation (NALDI) and desorption ionisation on porous silicon (DIOS) surfaces have been developed to enable the direct detection of low molecular weight metabolites. Since direct tissue NALDI-MS or DIOS-MS produce complex spectra due to the wide variety of other metabolites and fragments present in the low mass range, we report here the use of “on surface” solvent separation directly from mollusc tissue onto nanostructured surfaces for MS analysis, as a mechanism for simplifying data annotation and detecting possible artefacts from compound delocalization during the preparative steps. Water, ethanol, chloroform and hexane selectively extracted a range of choline esters, brominated indoles and lipids from Dicathais orbita hypobranchial tissue imprints. These compounds could be quantified on the nanostructured surfaces by comparison to standard curves generated from the pure compounds. Surface-assisted MS could have broad utility for detecting a broad range of secondary metabolites in complex marine tissue samples. PMID:25786067

An important step forward in continuous spectroscopic imaging of ionising radiations using ASICs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fessler, P.; Coffin, J.; Eberlé, H.; de Raad Iseli, C.; Hilt, B.; Huss, D.; Krummenacher, F.; Lutz, J. R.; Prévot, G.; Renouprez, A.; Sigward, M. H.; Schwaller, B.; Voltolini, C.

1999-01-01

Characterization results are given for an original ASIC allowing continuous acquisition of ionising radiation images in spectroscopic mode. Ionising radiation imaging in general and spectroscopic imaging in particular must primarily be guided by the attempt to decrease statistical noise, which requires detection systems designed to allow very high counting rates. Any source of dead time must therefore be avoided. Thus, the use of on-line corrections of the inevitable dispersion of characteristics between the large number of electronic channels of the detection system, shall be precluded. Without claiming to achieve ultimate noise levels, the work described is focused on how to prevent good individual acquisition channel noise performance from being totally destroyed by the dispersion between channels without introducing dead times. With this goal, we developed an automatic charge amplifier output voltage offset compensation system which operates regardless of the cause of the offset (detector or electronic). The main performances of the system are the following: the input equivalent noise charge is 190 e rms (input non connected, peaking time 500 ns), the highest gain is 255 mV/fC, the peaking time is adjustable between 200 ns and 2 μs and the power consumption is 10 mW per channel. The agreement between experimental data and theoretical simulation results is excellent.

A centre-triggered magnesium fuelled cathodic arc thruster uses sublimation to deliver a record high specific impulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumann, Patrick R. C.; Bilek, Marcela; McKenzie, David R.

2016-08-01

The cathodic arc is a high current, low voltage discharge that operates in vacuum and provides a stream of highly ionised plasma from a solid conducting cathode. The high ion velocities, together with the high ionisation fraction and the quasineutrality of the exhaust stream, make the cathodic arc an attractive plasma source for spacecraft propulsion applications. The specific impulse of the cathodic arc thruster is substantially increased when the emission of neutral species is reduced. Here, we demonstrate a reduction of neutral emission by exploiting sublimation in cathode spots and enhanced ionisation of the plasma in short, high-current pulses. This, combined with the enhanced directionality due to the efficient erosion profiles created by centre-triggering, substantially increases the specific impulse. We present experimentally measured specific impulses and jet power efficiencies for titanium and magnesium fuels. Our Mg fuelled source provides the highest reported specific impulse for a gridless ion thruster and is competitive with all flight rated ion thrusters. We present a model based on cathode sublimation and melting at the cathodic arc spot explaining the outstanding performance of the Mg fuelled source. A further significant advantage of an Mg-fuelled thruster is the abundance of Mg in asteroidal material and in space junk, providing an opportunity for utilising these resources in space.

Accumulation and dissipation of positive charges induced on a PMMA build-up cap of an ionisation chamber by (60)Co gamma-ray irradiation.

PubMed

Morishita, Y; Takata, N

2013-07-01

The signal current from an ionisation chamber with a PMMA build-up cap decreases with irradiation time due to electric fields produced by positive charges induced on the cap. In the present study, it was confirmed that the signal current decreases faster for irradiation using narrower (60)Co gamma-ray beams. This is because the number of secondary electrons that are emitted from surrounding materials and penetrate the build-up cap is smaller in a narrower gamma-ray beam, so that fewer positive charges are neutralised. The ionisation chamber was first subjected to continuous gamma-ray irradiation for 24 h, following which it was irradiated with shorter periodic gamma-ray bursts while measuring the current signal. This allowed the coefficients of positive charge accumulation and dissipation to be determined. It was found that the dissipation coefficient has a large constant value during gamma-ray irradiation and decreases asymptotically to a small value after irradiation is stopped. From the coefficients, the minimum signal current was calculated, which is the value when accumulation and dissipation balance each other under continuous irradiation. The time required for the signal current to recover following irradiation was also calculated.

Electron impact ionisation cross sections of iron oxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Stefan E.; Mauracher, Andreas; Sukuba, Ivan; Urban, Jan; Maihom, Thana; Probst, Michael

2017-12-01

We report electron impact ionisation cross sections (EICSs) of iron oxide molecules, FexOx and FexOx+1 with x = 1, 2, 3, from the ionisation threshold to 10 keV, obtained with the Deutsch-Märk (DM) and binary-encounter-Bethe (BEB) methods. The maxima of the EICSs range from 3.10 to 9 . 96 × 10-16 cm2 located at 59-72 eV and 5.06 to 14.32 × 10-16 cm2 located at 85-108 eV for the DM and BEB approaches, respectively. The orbital and kinetic energies required for the BEB method are obtained by employing effective core potentials for the inner core electrons in the quantum chemical calculations. The BEB cross sections are 1.4-1.7 times larger than the DM cross sections which can be related to the decreasing population of the Fe 4s orbitals upon addition of oxygen atoms, together with the different methodological foundations of the two methods. Both the DM and BEB cross sections can be fitted excellently to a simple analytical expression used in modelling and simulation codes employed in the framework of nuclear fusion research. Supplementary material in the form of one pdf file available from the Journal web page at http://https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2017-80308-2.

The X-ray spectra of the black hole candidate 4U 1630-47 during its 2012 outburst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Y.; Mendez, M.

2015-07-01

Diaz Trigo et al. (2013) reported the detection of three Doppler-shifted emission lines arising from baryonic matter in the jet of 4U 1630-47 during its 2012 outburst. Here we propose an alternative model that, without the need of the lines from the jet, and with less free parameters, fits the same data equally well. In our model we allow the abundances of S and Fe in the interstellar medium to vary; the best-fitting values are, respectively, 1.5 and 0.5 times solar, consistent with recent findings. Our model also includes a moderately broad emission line and a narrow absorption line due to highly ionised Fe. (These lines are also present in the other observations of this source during the 2012 outburst.) This model fits well all the XMM-Newton observations of this source, both in burst and timing mode. In addition to the components that we fitted to the burst-mode data, the timing-mode observations show several absorption features due to ionised Fe and Ni, which reveal the presence of a highly-ionised absorber close to the source. Our model also fits well the burst-mode data using the most recent calibration files (March 2015), whereas the model from Diaz Trigo et al. does not.

A simple model for molecular hydrogen chemistry coupled to radiation hydrodynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nickerson, Sarah; Teyssier, Romain; Rosdahl, Joakim

2018-06-01

We introduce non-equilibrium molecular hydrogen chemistry into the radiation-hydrodynamics code RAMSES-RT. This is an adaptive mesh refinement grid code with radiation hydrodynamics that couples the thermal chemistry of hydrogen and helium to moment-based radiative transfer with the Eddington tensor closure model. The H2 physics that we include are formation on dust grains, gas phase formation, formation by three-body collisions, collisional destruction, photodissociation, photoionisation, cosmic ray ionisation and self-shielding. In particular, we implement the first model for H2 self-shielding that is tied locally to moment-based radiative transfer by enhancing photo-destruction. This self-shielding from Lyman-Werner line overlap is critical to H2 formation and gas cooling. We can now track the non-equilibrium evolution of molecular, atomic, and ionised hydrogen species with their corresponding dissociating and ionising photon groups. Over a series of tests we show that our model works well compared to specialised photodissociation region codes. We successfully reproduce the transition depth between molecular and atomic hydrogen, molecular cooling of the gas, and a realistic Strömgren sphere embedded in a molecular medium. In this paper we focus on test cases to demonstrate the validity of our model on small scales. Our ultimate goal is to implement this in large-scale galactic simulations.

Triply differential (e,2e) studies of phenol.

PubMed

da Silva, G B; Neves, R F C; Chiari, L; Jones, D B; Ali, E; Madison, D H; Ning, C G; Nixon, K L; Lopes, M C A; Brunger, M J

2014-09-28

We have measured (e,2e) triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for the electron-impact ionisation of phenol with coplanar asymmetrical kinematics for an incident electron energy of 250 eV. Experimental measurements of the angular distribution of the slow outgoing electrons at 20 eV are obtained when the incident electron scatters through angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°, respectively. The TDCS data are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. In this case, a mixed level of agreement, that was dependent on the kinematical condition being probed, was observed between the theoretical and experimental results in the binary peak region. The experimental intensity of the recoil features under all kinematical conditions was relatively small, but was still largely underestimated by the theoretical calculations.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Silva, G. B. da; Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Barra do Garças, MT 78600-000; Neves, R. F. C.

We have measured (e,2e) triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for the electron-impact ionisation of phenol with coplanar asymmetrical kinematics for an incident electron energy of 250 eV. Experimental measurements of the angular distribution of the slow outgoing electrons at 20 eV are obtained when the incident electron scatters through angles of −5°, −10°, and −15°, respectively. The TDCS data are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. In this case, a mixed level of agreement, that was dependent on the kinematical condition being probed, was observed between the theoretical and experimental results in the binary peakmore » region. The experimental intensity of the recoil features under all kinematical conditions was relatively small, but was still largely underestimated by the theoretical calculations.« less

Influence of thermal quenching on the thermostimulated processes in alpha-Al2O3. Role of F and F+ centres.

PubMed

Vincellér, S; Molnár, G; Berkane-Krachai, A; Iacconi, P

2002-01-01

Anion deficient alpha-Al2O3 is highly sensitive to ionising radiations and is widely used as a thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence dosemeter in environmental monitoring. Two types of alpha alumina were studied and it was observed that both were affected by thermal quenching of luminescence. This effect, which manifests itself by the decay of the TL response when the heating rate increases, can be described by the Mott-Seitz theory. It was observed that thermostimulated exoemission response increased when the heating rate increased, whereas thermostimulated conductivity remained constant. However, none of the available theories could explain the dependence of the F- centre emission on the heating rate. A model is proposed to describe simultaneously the various thermally stimulated processes.

Triply differential (e,2e) studies of phenol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Silva, G. B.; Neves, R. F. C.; Chiari, L.; Jones, D. B.; Ali, E.; Madison, D. H.; Ning, C. G.; Nixon, K. L.; Lopes, M. C. A.; Brunger, M. J.

2014-09-01

We have measured (e,2e) triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for the electron-impact ionisation of phenol with coplanar asymmetrical kinematics for an incident electron energy of 250 eV. Experimental measurements of the angular distribution of the slow outgoing electrons at 20 eV are obtained when the incident electron scatters through angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°, respectively. The TDCS data are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. In this case, a mixed level of agreement, that was dependent on the kinematical condition being probed, was observed between the theoretical and experimental results in the binary peak region. The experimental intensity of the recoil features under all kinematical conditions was relatively small, but was still largely underestimated by the theoretical calculations.

Experimental Examination of Intraspecific Density-Dependent Competition during the Breeding Period in Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus)

PubMed Central

Flockhart, D. T. Tyler; Martin, Tara G.; Norris, D. Ryan

2012-01-01

A central goal of population ecology is to identify the factors that regulate population growth. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in eastern North America re-colonize the breeding range over several generations that result in population densities that vary across space and time during the breeding season. We used laboratory experiments to measure the strength of density-dependent intraspecific competition on egg laying rate and larval survival and then applied our results to density estimates of wild monarch populations to model the strength of density dependence during the breeding season. Egg laying rates did not change with density but larvae at high densities were smaller, had lower survival, and weighed less as adults compared to lower densities. Using mean larval densities from field surveys resulted in conservative estimates of density-dependent population reduction that varied between breeding regions and different phases of the breeding season. Our results suggest the highest levels of population reduction due to density-dependent intraspecific competition occur early in the breeding season in the southern portion of the breeding range. However, we also found that the strength of density dependence could be almost five times higher depending on how many life-stages were used as part of field estimates. Our study is the first to link experimental results of a density-dependent reduction in vital rates to observed monarch densities in the wild and show that the effects of density dependent competition in monarchs varies across space and time, providing valuable information for developing robust, year-round population models in this migratory organism. PMID:22984614

Impact ionisation mass spectrometry of platinum-coated olivine and magnesite-dominated cosmic dust analogues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hillier, Jon K.; Sternovsky, Z.; Kempf, S.; Trieloff, M.; Guglielmino, M.; Postberg, F.; Price, M. C.

2018-07-01

Impact ionisation mass spectrometry enables the composition of cosmic dust grains to be determined in situ by spacecraft-based instrumentation. The proportion of molecular ions in the impact plasma is a function of the impact velocity, making laboratory calibration vital for the interpretation of the mass spectra, particularly at the low velocities typical of lunar or asteroid encounters. Here we present an analysis of laboratory impact ionisation mass spectra from primarily low (<15 km s-1) velocity impacts of both olivine and magnesite-dominated particles onto the SUrface Dust Mass Analyzer (SUDA) laboratory mass spectrometer. The cation mass spectra show characteristic peaks due to their constituent elements, with Mg, Al, Si, C, Ca, O and Fe frequently present. Contaminant species from the conductive coating process (B, Na, K, C, Pt) also occur, at varying frequencies. Possible saponite or talc inclusions in the magnesite particles are revealed by the presence of Si, Fe, Ca and Al in the magnesite mass spectra. Magnesium is clearly present at the lowest impact velocities (3 km s-1), at which alkali metals were presumed to dominate. Peaks attributed to very minor amounts of water or hydroxyl present in the grains are also seen at low velocities in both cation and anion mass spectra, demonstrating the feasibility of impact ionisation mass spectrometry in identifying hydrated or hydrous minerals, during very low velocity encounters or with very low abundances of water or hydroxy groups, in the impinging grains. Velocity thresholds for the reliable identification of the major elements within the magnesite and olivine cation spectra are presented. Additionally, relative sensitivity factors for Mg (5.1), Fe (1.5) and O (0.6) with respect to Si, in the olivine particles, at impact speeds >19 km s-1, were found to be very similar to those previously determined for orthopyroxene-dominated particles, despite different target and projectile materials. This confirms that quantitative analyses of mineral dust grain composition in space is viable despite initially poorly-constrained mineralogy.

Comprehensive chemical comparison of fuel composition and aerosol particles emitted from a ship diesel engine by gas chromatography atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry with improved data processing routines.

PubMed

Rüger, Christopher P; Schwemer, Theo; Sklorz, Martin; O'Connor, Peter B; Barrow, Mark P; Zimmermann, Ralf

2017-02-01

The analysis of petrochemical materials and particulate matter originating from combustion sources remains a challenging task for instrumental analytical techniques. A detailed chemical characterisation is essential for addressing health and environmental effects. Sophisticated instrumentation, such as mass spectrometry coupled with chromatographic separation, is capable of a comprehensive characterisation, but needs advanced data processing methods. In this study, we present an improved data processing routine for the mass chromatogram obtained from gas chromatography hyphenated to atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and ultra high resolution mass spectrometry. The focus of the investigation was the primary combustion aerosol samples, i.e. particulate matter extracts, as well as the corresponding fossil fuels fed to the engine. We demonstrate that utilisation of the entire transient and chromatographic information results in advantages including minimisation of ionisation artefacts and a reliable peak assignment. A comprehensive comparison of the aerosol and the feed fuel was performed by applying intensity weighted average values, compound class distribution and principle component analysis. Certain differences between the aerosol generated with the two feed fuels, diesel fuel and heavy fuel oil, as well as between the aerosol and the feed were revealed. For the aerosol from heavy fuel oil, oxidised species from the CHN and CHS class precursors of the feed were predominant, whereas the CHO x class is predominant in the combustion aerosol from light fuel oil. Furthermore, the complexity of the aerosol increases significantly compared to the feed and incorporating a higher chemical space. Coupling of atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation to gas chromatography was found to be a useful additional approach for characterisation of a combustion aerosol, especially with an automated utilisation of the information from the ultra-high resolution mass spectrometer and the chromatographic separation.

AGN feedback on molecular gas reservoirs in quasars at z 2.4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carniani, S.; Marconi, A.; Maiolino, R.; Feruglio, C.; Brusa, M.; Cresci, G.; Cano-Díaz, M.; Cicone, C.; Balmaverde, B.; Fiore, F.; Ferrara, A.; Gallerani, S.; La Franca, F.; Mainieri, V.; Mannucci, F.; Netzer, H.; Piconcelli, E.; Sani, E.; Schneider, R.; Shemmer, O.; Testi, L.

2017-09-01

We present new ALMA observations aimed at mapping molecular gas reservoirs through the CO(3-2) transition in three quasars at z ≃ 2.4, LBQS 0109+0213, 2QZ J002830.4-281706, and [HB89] 0329-385. Previous [Oiii]λ5007 observations of these quasars showed evidence for ionised outflows quenching star formation in their host galaxies. Systemic CO(3-2) emission has been detected only in one quasar, LBQS 0109+0213, where the CO(3-2) emission is spatially anti-correlated with the ionised outflow, suggesting that most of the molecular gas may have been dispersed or heated in the region swept by the outflow. In all three sources, including the one detected in CO, our constraints on the molecular gas mass indicate a significantly reduced reservoir compared to main-sequence galaxies at the same redshift, supporting a negative feedback scenario. In the quasar 2QZ J002830.4-281706, we tentatively detect an emission line blob blue-shifted by v - 2000 km s-1 with respect to the galaxy systemic velocity and spatially offset by 0.2'' (1.7 kpc) with respect to the ALMA continuum peak. Interestingly, such emission feature is coincident in both velocity and space with the ionised outflow as seen in [Oiii]λ5007. This tentative detection must be confirmed with deeper observations but, if real, it could represent the molecular counterpart of the ionised gas outflow driven by the Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). Finally, in all ALMA maps we detect the presence of serendipitous line emitters within a projected distance 160 kpc from the quasars. By identifying these features with the CO(3-2) transition, we find that the serendipitous line emitters would be located within | Δv | < 500 km s-1 from the quasars, hence suggesting an overdensity of galaxies in two out of three quasars.

Mass dependence of calcium isotope fractionations in crown-ether resin chromatography.

PubMed

Fujii, Yasuhiko; Nomura, Masao; Kaneshiki, Tositaka; Sakuma, Yoichi; Suzuki, Tatsuya; Umehara, Saori; Kishimoto, Tadahumi

2010-06-01

Benzo 18-crown-6-ether resin was synthesised by the phenol condensation polymerisation process in porous silica beads, of which particle diameter was ca 60micro Calcium adsorption chromatography was performed with the synthesised resin packed in a glass column. The effluent was sampled in fractions, and the isotopic abundance ratios of (42)Ca, (43)Ca, (44)Ca, and (48)Ca against (40)Ca were measured by a thermo-ionisation mass spectrometer. The enrichment of heavier calcium isotopes was observed at the front boundary of calcium adsorption chromatogram. The mass dependence of mutual separation of calcium isotopes was analysed by using the three-isotope-plots method. The slopes of three-isotope-plots indicate the relative values of mutual separation coefficients for concerned isotopic pairs. The results have shown the normal mass dependence; isotope fractionation is proportional to the reduced mass difference, (M - M')/MM', where M and M' are masses of heavy and light isotope, respectively. The mass dependence clarifies that the isotope fractionations are originated from molecular vibration. The observed separation coefficient epsilon is 3.1x10(-3) for the pair of (40)Ca and (48)Ca. Productivity of enriched (48)Ca by crown-ether-resin was discussed as the function of the separation coefficient and the height equivalent to the theoretical plate.

SpaceInn hare-and-hounds exercise: Estimation of stellar properties using space-based asteroseismic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reese, D. R.; Chaplin, W. J.; Davies, G. R.; Miglio, A.; Antia, H. M.; Ball, W. H.; Basu, S.; Buldgen, G.; Christensen-Dalsgaard, J.; Coelho, H. R.; Hekker, S.; Houdek, G.; Lebreton, Y.; Mazumdar, A.; Metcalfe, T. S.; Silva Aguirre, V.; Stello, D.; Verma, K.

2016-07-01

Context. Detailed oscillation spectra comprising individual frequencies for numerous solar-type stars and red giants are either currently available, e.g. courtesy of the CoRoT, Kepler, and K2 missions, or will become available with the upcoming NASA TESS and ESA PLATO 2.0 missions. The data can lead to a precise characterisation of these stars thereby improving our understanding of stellar evolution, exoplanetary systems, and the history of our galaxy. Aims: Our goal is to test and compare different methods for obtaining stellar properties from oscillation frequencies and spectroscopic constraints. Specifically, we would like to evaluate the accuracy of the results and reliability of the associated error bars, and to see where there is room for improvement. Methods: In the context of the SpaceInn network, we carried out a hare-and-hounds exercise in which one group, the hares, simulated observations of oscillation spectra for a set of ten artificial solar-type stars, and a number of hounds applied various methods for characterising these stars based on the data produced by the hares. Most of the hounds fell into two main groups. The first group used forward modelling (I.e. applied various search/optimisation algorithms in a stellar parameter space) whereas the second group relied on acoustic glitch signatures. Results: Results based on the forward modelling approach were accurate to 1.5% (radius), 3.9% (mass), 23% (age), 1.5% (surface gravity), and 1.8% (mean density), as based on the root mean square difference. Individual hounds reached different degrees of accuracy, some of which were substantially better than the above average values. For the two 1M⊙ stellar targets, the accuracy on the age is better than 10% thereby satisfying the requirements for the PLATO 2.0 mission. High stellar masses and atomic diffusion (which in our models does not include the effects of radiative accelerations) proved to be sources of difficulty. The average accuracies for the acoustic radii of the base of the convection zone, the He II ionisation, and the Γ1 peak located between the two He ionisation zones were 17%, 2.4%, and 1.9%, respectively. The results from the forward modelling were on average more accurate than those from the glitch fitting analysis as the latter seemed to be affected by aliasing problems for some of the targets. Conclusions: Our study indicates that forward modelling is the most accurate way of interpreting the pulsation spectra of solar-type stars. However, given its model-dependent nature, this method needs to be complemented by model-independent results from, e.g. glitch analysis. Furthermore, our results indicate that global rather than local optimisation algorithms should be used in order to obtain robust error bars.

Density dependence in demography and dispersal generates fluctuating invasion speeds

PubMed Central

Li, Bingtuan; Miller, Tom E. X.

2017-01-01

Density dependence plays an important role in population regulation and is known to generate temporal fluctuations in population density. However, the ways in which density dependence affects spatial population processes, such as species invasions, are less understood. Although classical ecological theory suggests that invasions should advance at a constant speed, empirical work is illuminating the highly variable nature of biological invasions, which often exhibit nonconstant spreading speeds, even in simple, controlled settings. Here, we explore endogenous density dependence as a mechanism for inducing variability in biological invasions with a set of population models that incorporate density dependence in demographic and dispersal parameters. We show that density dependence in demography at low population densities—i.e., an Allee effect—combined with spatiotemporal variability in population density behind the invasion front can produce fluctuations in spreading speed. The density fluctuations behind the front can arise from either overcompensatory population growth or density-dependent dispersal, both of which are common in nature. Our results show that simple rules can generate complex spread dynamics and highlight a source of variability in biological invasions that may aid in ecological forecasting. PMID:28442569

The formation and evolution of reconnection-driven, slow-mode shocks in a partially ionised plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hillier, A.; Takasao, S.; Nakamura, N.

2016-06-01

The role of slow-mode magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shocks in magnetic reconnection is of great importance for energy conversion and transport, but in many astrophysical plasmas the plasma is not fully ionised. In this paper, we use numerical simulations to investigate the role of collisional coupling between a proton-electron, charge-neutral fluid and a neutral hydrogen fluid for the one-dimensional (1D) Riemann problem initiated in a constant pressure and density background state by a discontinuity in the magnetic field. This system, in the MHD limit, is characterised by two waves. The first is a fast-mode rarefaction wave that drives a flow towards a slow-mode MHD shock wave. The system evolves through four stages: initiation, weak coupling, intermediate coupling, and a quasi-steady state. The initial stages are characterised by an over-pressured neutral region that expands with characteristics of a blast wave. In the later stages, the system tends towards a self-similar solution where the main drift velocity is concentrated in the thin region of the shock front. Because of the nature of the system, the neutral fluid is overpressured by the shock when compared to a purely hydrodynamic shock, which results in the neutral fluid expanding to form the shock precursor. Once it has formed, the thickness of the shock front is proportional to ξ I-1.2 , which is a smaller exponent than would be naively expected from simple scaling arguments. One interesting result is that the shock front is a continuous transition of the physical variables of subsonic velocity upstream of the shock front (a c-shock) to a sharp jump in the physical variables followed by a relaxation to the downstream values for supersonic upstream velocity (a j-shock). The frictional heating that results from the velocity drift across the shock front can amount to ~2 per cent of the reference magnetic energy.

Charge transport, interfacial interactions and synergistic mechanisms in BiNbO4/MWO4 (M = Zn and Cd) heterostructures for hydrogen production: insights from a DFT+U study.

PubMed

Opoku, Francis; Kuben Govender, Krishna; van Sittert, Cornelia Gertina Catharina Elizabeth; Poomani Govender, Penny

2017-10-25

In the 21st century, the growing demand of global energy is one of the key challenges. The photocatalytic generation of hydrogen has attracted extensive attention to discuss the increasing global demand for sustainable and clean energy. However, hydrogen evolution reactions normally use the economically expensive rare noble metals and the processes remain a challenge. Herein, low-cost BiNbO 4 /MWO 4 (010) heterostructures are studied for the first time to check their suitability towards photocatalytic hydrogen production. A theoretical study with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) is used to investigate the synergistic effect, ionisation energy, electron affinities, charge transfer, electronic properties and the underlying mechanism for hydrogen generation of BiNbO 4 /MWO 4 (010) heterostructures. The experimental band gaps of bulk ZnWO 4 , CdWO 4 and BiNbO 4 are well reproduced using the DFT+U method. The calculated band edge position shows a type-II staggered band alignment and the charge transfer between BiNbO 4 and MWO 4 monolayers results in a large interfacial built-in potential, which will favour the separation of charge carriers in the heterostructures. The effective mass of the photoinduced holes is higher compared to the electrons, making the heterostructures useful in hydrogen production. The relatively low ionisation energy and electron affinity for the heterostructures compared to the monolayers make them ideal for photocatalysis applications due to their small energy barrier for the injection of electrons and creation of holes. The BiNbO 4 /MWO 4 (010) heterostructures are more suitable for photocatalytic hydrogen production due to their strong reducing power relative to the H + /H 2 O potential. This study sheds light on the less known BiNbO 4 /ZnWO 4 (010) heterostructures and the fully explored electronic and optical properties will pave way for future photocatalytic water splitting applications.

End-group characterisation of poly(propylene glycol)s by means of electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS).

PubMed

Jackson, Anthony T; Slade, Susan E; Thalassinos, Konstantinos; Scrivens, James H

2008-10-01

The end-group functionalisation of a series of poly(propylene glycol)s has been characterised by means of electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). A series of peaks with mass-to-charge ratios that are close to that of the precursor ion were used to generate information on the end-group functionalities of the poly(propylene glycol)s. Fragment ions resulting from losses of both of the end groups were noted from some of the samples. An example is presented of how software can be used to significantly reduce the length of time involved in data interpretation (which is typically the most time-consuming part of the analysis).

Surface analysis using a new plasma assisted desorption/ionisation source for mass spectrometry in ambient air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowfield, A.; Barrett, D. A.; Alexander, M. R.; Ortori, C. A.; Rutten, F. M.; Salter, T. L.; Gilmore, I. S.; Bradley, J. W.

2012-06-01

The authors report on a modified micro-plasma assisted desorption/ionisation (PADI) device which creates plasma through the breakdown of ambient air rather than utilising an independent noble gas flow. This new micro-PADI device is used as an ion source for ambient mass spectrometry to analyse species released from the surfaces of polytetrafluoroethylene, and generic ibuprofen and paracetamol tablets through remote activation of the surface by the plasma. The mass spectra from these surfaces compare favourably to those produced by a PADI device constructed using an earlier design and confirm that the new ion source is an effective device which can be used to achieve ambient mass spectrometry with improved spatial resolution.

The bipolar jet of the symbiotic star R Aquarii: A study of its morphology using the high-resolution HST WFC3/UVIS camera

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melnikov, Stanislav; Stute, Matthias; Eislöffel, Jochen

2018-04-01

Context. R Aqr is a symbiotic binary system consisting of a Mira variable with a pulsation period of 387 days and a hot companion which is presumably a white dwarf with an accretion disk. This binary system is the source of a prominent bipolar gaseous outflow. Aims: We use high spatial resolution and sensitive images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to identify and investigate the different structural components that form the complex morphology of the R Aqr jet. Methods: We present new high-resolution HST WFC3/UVIS narrow-band images of the R Aqr jet obtained in 2013/14 using the [OIII]λ5007, [OI]λ6300, [NII]λ6583, and Hα emission lines. These images also allow us to produce detailed maps of the jet flow in several line ratios such as [OIII]λ5007/[OI]λ6300 and [NII]λ6583/[OI]λ6300 which are sensitive to the outflow temperature and its hydrogen ionisation fraction. The new emission maps together with archival HST data are used to derive and analyse the proper motion of prominent emitting features which can be traced over 20 years with the HST observations. Results: The images reveal the fine gas structure of the jet out to distances of a few tens of arcseconds from the central region, as well as in the innermost region, within a few arcseconds around the stellar source. They reveal for the first time the straight, highly collimated jet component which can be traced to up to 900 AU in the NE direction. Images in [OIII]λ5007, [OI]λ6300, and [NII]λ6583 clearly show a helical pattern in the jet beams which may derive from the small-scale precession of the jet. The highly collimated jet is accompanied by a wide opening angle outflow which is filled by low excitation gas. The position angles of the jet structures as well as their opening angles are calculated. Our measurements of the proper motions of some prominent emission knots confirm the scenario of gas acceleration during the propagation of the outflow. Finally, we produce several detailed line ratio maps which present a mosaic combined from the large field and the PSF-subtracted inner region. Conclusions: The high signal-to-noise HST WFC3/UVIS images provide powerful tools for the study of the jet morphology and also bring detailed information about the physical jet gas conditions. The simultaneous observations of [OIII], [OI], [NII], and [SII] would allow us to measure basic parameters of the ionised gas in the R Aqr outflow such as electron density, electron temperature and hydrogen ionisation fraction, and compare them with other stellar jets.

Theoretical study on the electronic structures and phosphorescent properties of four Ir(III) complexes with different substituents on the ancillary ligand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Deming; Shang, Xiaohong; Zhang, Gang; Zhao, Lihui

2013-12-01

The geometry structures, electronic structures, absorption and phosphorescent properties of four Ir(III) complexes {[(F2-ppy)2Ir(pta-X)], where F2-ppy = (2,4-difluoro)phenylpyridine; pta = pyridine-1,2,4-triazole; X = -CF3; -H; -CH3; -N(CH3)2}, are investigated using the density functional method. The results reveal that the electron-accepting group -CF3 has no obvious effect on absorption and emission properties, while the substitutive group -N(CH3)2 with strong electron-donating ability has obvious effect on the emission properties. The mobility of hole and electron were studied computationally based on the Marcus-Hush theory. Calculations of ionisation potential and electron affinity were used to evaluate the injection abilities of holes and electrons into these complexes. We hope that this theoretical work can provide a suitable guide to the future design and synthesis of novel phosphorescent materials for use in the organic light-emitting diodes.

Unveiling the X-ray/UV properties of disk winds in active galactic nuclei using broad and mini-broad absorption line quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giustini, M.

2016-05-01

We present the results of the uniform analysis of 46 XMM-Newton observations of six BAL and seven mini-BAL QSOs belonging to the Palomar-Green Quasar catalogue. Moderate-quality X-ray spectroscopy was performed with the EPIC-pn, and allowed to characterise the general source spectral shape to be complex, significantly deviating from a power law emission. A simple power law analysis in different energy bands strongly suggests absorption to be more significant than reflection in shaping the spectra. If allowing for the absorbing gas to be either partially covering the continuum emission source or to be ionised, large column densities of the order of 1022-1024 cm-2 are inferred. When the statistics was high enough, virtually every source was found to vary in spectral shape on various time scales, from years to hours. All in all these observational results are compatible with radiation driven accretion disk winds shaping the spectra of these intriguing cosmic sources.

Immigration Rates during Population Density Reduction in a Coral Reef Fish

PubMed Central

Turgeon, Katrine; Kramer, Donald L.

2016-01-01

Although the importance of density-dependent dispersal has been recognized in theory, few empirical studies have examined how immigration changes over a wide range of densities. In a replicated experiment using a novel approach allowing within-site comparison, we examined changes in immigration rate following the gradual removal of territorial damselfish from a limited area within a much larger patch of continuous habitat. In all sites, immigration occurred at intermediate densities but did not occur before the start of removals and only rarely as density approached zero. In the combined data and in 5 of 7 sites, the number of immigrants was a hump-shaped function of density. This is the first experimental evidence for hump-shaped, density-dependent immigration. This pattern may be more widespread than previously recognized because studies over more limited density ranges have identified positive density dependence at low densities and negative density dependence at high densities. Positive density dependence at low density can arise from limits to the number of potential immigrants and from behavioral preferences for settling near conspecifics. Negative density dependence at high density can arise from competition for resources, especially high quality territories. The potential for non-linear effects of local density on immigration needs to be recognized for robust predictions of conservation reserve function, harvest impacts, pest control, and the dynamics of fragmented populations. PMID:27271081

Serum amyloid beta peptides in patients with dementia and age-matched non-demented controls as detected by surface-enhanced laser desorption ionisation-time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS).

PubMed

Frankfort, Suzanne V; van Campen, Jos P C M; Tulner, Linda R; Beijnen, Jos H

2008-09-01

By using surface enhanced laser desorption/ionisation- time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) an amyloid beta (Abeta) profile was shown in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with dementia. To investigate the Abeta-profile in serum with SELDI-TOF MS, to evaluate if this profile resembles CSF profiles and to investigate the correlation between intensity of Abeta-peptide-peaks in serum and clinical, demographical and genetic variables. Duplicate profiling of Abeta by an SELDI-TOF MS immunocapture assay was performed in 106 patients, suffering from Alzheimer's Disease or Vascular Dementia and age-matched non-demented control patients. Linear regression analyses were performed to investigate the intensities of four selected Abeta peaks as dependent variables in relation to the independent clinical, demographic or genetic variables. Abeta37, Abeta38 and Abeta40 were found among additional unidentified Abeta peptides, with the most pronounced Abeta peak at a molecular mass of 7752. This profile partly resembled the CSF profile. The clinical diagnosis was not a predictive independent variable, however ABCB1 genotypes C1236T, G2677T/A, age and creatinine level showed to be related to Abeta peak intensities in multivariate analyses. We found an Abeta profile in serum that partly resembled the CSF profile in demented patients. Age, creatinine levels, presence of the APOE epsilon4 allele and ABCB1 genotypes (C1236T and G2677T/A) were correlated with the Abeta serum profile. The role of P-gp as an Abeta transporter and the role of ABCB1 genotypes deserves further research. The investigated serum Abeta profile is probably not useful in the diagnosis of dementia.

Uptake of pesticides from water by curly waterweed Lagarosiphon major and lesser duckweed Lemna minor.

PubMed

de Carvalho, Renato F; Bromilow, Richard H; Greenwood, Richard

2007-08-01

The uptake of pesticides from water by two aquatic plants, the submersed Lagarosiphon major (Ridley) Moss and the floating duckweed Lemna minor L., was measured over periods of up to 72 h. Twelve non-ionised pesticides and analogues, chosen to span a wide range of physicochemical properties, and one analogue (3,5-D) of the phenoxyacetic acid herbicide 2,4-D were studied. Concentrations of the parent compound were determined in the plants following extraction and separation by chromatography. Quantification was by liquid scintillation counting for the (14)C-labelled compounds and by high-performance liquid chromatography for the four non-radiolabelled commercial pesticides. Uptake for all compound and plant combinations had reached equilibrium by 24 h. Accumulation of compound in the plant could be described well for most non-ionised compounds by equilibration into the aqueous phase in the plant cells together with partitioning onto the plant solids, this latter process becoming dominant in Lagarosiphon for compounds with log K(ow) > 1 and in Lemna for compounds with log K(ow) > 1.8. Lipophilic compounds with log K(ow) > 4 were concentrated more than 100-fold on a fresh-weight basis. However, the uptake of isoproturon and chlorotoluron was up to threefold less than expected from their K(ow) values, and their behaviour was better explained using solvation descriptors. Uptake of the acid 3,5-D was dependent on solution pH, this compound being strongly taken up at lower pH by the process of ion trapping, as previously observed in barley roots. Aquatic vegetation can thus rapidly accumulate pesticides, and could be an important sink especially for lipophilic pesticides reaching well-vegetated waters. Copyright (c) 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

Spoke rotation reversal in magnetron discharges of aluminium, chromium and titanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hecimovic, A.; Maszl, C.; Schulz-von der Gathen, V.; Böke, M.; von Keudell, A.

2016-06-01

The rotation of localised ionisation zones, i.e. spokes, in magnetron discharge are frequently observed. The spokes are investigated by measuring floating potential oscillations with 12 flat probes placed azimuthally around a planar circular magnetron. The 12-probe setup provides sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to observe the properties of various spokes, such as rotation direction, mode number and angular velocity. The spokes are investigated as a function of discharge current, ranging from 10 mA (current density 0.5 mA cm-2) to 140 A (7 A cm-2). In the range from 10 mA to 600 mA the plasma was sustained in DC mode, and in the range from 1 A to 140 A the plasma was pulsed in high-power impulse magnetron sputtering mode. The presence of spokes throughout the complete discharge current range indicates that the spokes are an intrinsic property of a magnetron sputtering plasma discharge. The spokes may disappear at discharge currents above 80 A for Cr, as the plasma becomes homogeneously distributed over the racetrack. Up to discharge currents of several amperes (the exact value depends on the target material), the spokes rotate in a retrograde \\mathbf{E}× \\mathbf{B} direction with angular velocity in the range of 0.2-4 km s-1. Beyond a discharge current of several amperes, the spokes rotate in a \\mathbf{E}× \\mathbf{B} direction with angular velocity in the range of 5-15 km s-1. The spoke rotation reversal is explained by a transition from Ar-dominated to metal-dominated sputtering that shifts the plasma emission zone closer to the target. The spoke itself corresponds to a region of high electron density and therefore to a hump in the electrical potential. The electric field around the spoke dominates the spoke rotation direction. At low power, the plasma is further away from the target and it is dominated by the electric field to the anode, thus retrograde \\mathbf{E}× \\mathbf{B} rotation. At high power, the plasma is closer to the target and it is dominated by the electric field pointing to the target, thus \\mathbf{E}× \\mathbf{B} rotation.

Gastrointestinal radiation injury: prevention and treatment.

PubMed

Shadad, Abobakr K; Sullivan, Frank J; Martin, Joseph D; Egan, Laurence J

2013-01-14

With the recent advances in detection and treatment of cancer, there is an increasing emphasis on the efficacy and safety aspects of cancer therapy. Radiation therapy is a common treatment for a wide variety of cancers, either alone or in combination with other treatments. Ionising radiation injury to the gastrointestinal tract is a frequent side effect of radiation therapy and a considerable proportion of patients suffer acute or chronic gastrointestinal symptoms as a result. These side effects often cause morbidity and may in some cases lower the efficacy of radiotherapy treatment. Radiation injury to the gastrointestinal tract can be minimised by either of two strategies: technical strategies which aim to physically shift radiation dose away from the normal intestinal tissues, and biological strategies which aim to modulate the normal tissue response to ionising radiation or to increase its resistance to it. Although considerable improvement in the safety of radiotherapy treatment has been achieved through the use of modern optimised planning and delivery techniques, biological techniques may offer additional further promise. Different agents have been used to prevent or minimize the severity of gastrointestinal injury induced by ionising radiation exposure, including biological, chemical and pharmacological agents. In this review we aim to discuss various technical strategies to prevent gastrointestinal injury during cancer radiotherapy, examine the different therapeutic options for acute and chronic gastrointestinal radiation injury and outline some examples of research directions and considerations for prevention at a pre-clinical level.

Improved communication, understanding of risk perception and ethics related to ionising radiation.

PubMed

Perko, Tanja; Raskob, Wolfgang; Jourdain, Jean-Rene

2016-06-06

In Europe today, institutions, media and the general public exchange information about ionizing radiation and associated risks. However, communication about ionising radiation with the general public has to be further improved, as has been previously highlighted by international responses to the 2011 accident in Japan. This article reports the main activities and findings in this field from the following three FP7 projects: EAGLE, PREPARE and OPERRA and discussed by a broad spectrum of stakeholders at the conference RICOMET 2015. These projects, among other aims, also investigate how communication about ionising radiation in different fields could be improved and harmonised, how radiological risks are perceived, how to encourage ethical considerations in all fields of nuclear applications and what kind of transdisciplinary research is needed. The projects relate to several domains; the first relates to education, training and communication, the second to nuclear emergency preparedness and response, and the third to research and development in the radiation protection field. Incorporation of stakeholder engagement activities such as the RICOMET conference broadens social and ethical aspects and takes them into account during coordination activities as well as during core scientific and nuclear research and development performed in the projects. These activities offered opportunities for moving closer to a citizen-centred ideal of risk communication in particular and nuclear research and development in general.

Radiative precursors driven by converging blast waves in noble gases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burdiak, G. C.; Lebedev, S. V.; Harvey-Thompson, A. J.

2014-03-15

A detailed study of the radiative precursor that develops ahead of converging blast waves in gas-filled cylindrical liner z-pinch experiments is presented. The experiment is capable of magnetically driving 20 km s{sup −1} blast waves through gases of densities of the order 10{sup −5} g cm{sup −3} (see Burdiak et al. [High Energy Density Phys. 9(1), 52–62 (2013)] for a thorough description). Data were collected for Ne, Ar, and Xe gas-fills. The geometry of the setup allows a determination of the plasma parameters both in the precursor and across the shock, along a nominally uniform line of sight that is perpendicularmore » to the propagation of the shock waves. Radiation from the shock was able to excite NeI, ArII, and XeII/XeIII precursor spectral features. It is shown that the combination of interferometry and optical spectroscopy data is inconsistent with upstream plasmas being in LTE. Specifically, electron density gradients do not correspond to any apparent temperature change in the emission spectra. Experimental data are compared to 1D radiation hydrodynamics HELIOS-CR simulations and to PrismSPECT atomic physics calculations to assist in a physical interpretation of the observations. We show that upstream plasma is likely in the process of being radiatively heated and that the emission from a small percentage of ionised atoms within a cool background plasma dominates the emission spectra. Experiments were carried out on the MAGPIE and COBRA pulsed-power facilities at Imperial College London and Cornell University, respectively.« less

Dynamics, magnetic properties, and electron binding energies of H2O2 in water.

PubMed

C Cabral, Benedito J

2017-06-21

Results for the magnetic properties and electron binding energies of H 2 O 2 in liquid water are presented. The adopted methodology relies on the combination of Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics and electronic structure calculations. The Keal-Tozer functional was applied for predicting magnetic shieldings and H 2 O 2 intramolecular spin-spin coupling constants. Electron binding energies were calculated with electron propagator theory. In water, H 2 O 2 is a better proton donor than proton acceptor, and the present results indicate that this feature is important for understanding magnetic properties in solution. In comparison with the gas-phase, H 2 O 2 atoms are deshielded in water. For oxygen atoms, the deshielding is mainly determined by structural/conformational changes. Hydrogen-bond interactions explain the deshielding of protons in water. The predicted chemical shift for the H 2 O 2 protons in water (δ∼11.8 ppm) is in good agreement with experimental information (δ=11.2 ppm). The two lowest electron binding energies of H 2 O 2 in water (10.7±0.5 and 11.2±0.5 eV) are in reasonable agreement with experiment. In keeping with data from photoelectron spectroscopy, an ∼1.6 eV red-shift of the two first ionisation energies relative to the gas-phase is observed in water. The strong dependence of magnetic properties on changes of the electronic density in the nuclei environment is illustrated by a correlation between the σ( 17 O) magnetic shielding constant and the energy gap between the [2a] lowest valence and [1a] core orbitals of H 2 O 2 .

Congestion relaxation due to density-dependent junction rules in TASEP network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tannai, Takahiro; Nishinari, Katsuhiro

2017-09-01

We now consider a small network module of Totally Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process with branching and aggregation points, and rules of junctions dependent on the densities of segments of the network module. We also focus on the interaction among junctions which are branching and aggregation. The interaction among junctions with density-dependent rules possesses more complexity than those with density-independent rules studied in the previous papers. In conclusion, we confirm the result that density-dependent rules enable vehicles to move more effectively than the density-independent rules.

Charcateristics of Plasma Waves Excited During Gas Release and Plasma Injection Into The Ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klos, Z.; Gdalevich, G. L.; Mikhailov, I.

Waves in broad frequency range are generated during the injection of fast plasma as well as release of neutral gas into ionosphere from the spacecraft. The excited wave modes depend on the environmental plasma parameters, geometry of injection as well as on the rate of ionisation of plasma in the stream. The neutral xenon gas was released from the board of the ACTIVE satellite (in 1989) and parallel with the release process the VLF as well as HF waves were diagnosed. On the other hand the xenon plasma from gun generator was injected into the ionosphere from the board of APEX satellite (in 1991) and also broad frequency range of emission was registered. In the present paper are compared the plasma waves characteristics observed in these two types of experiments.

Platelet-, leucocyte- and red cell-derived microparticles in stored whole blood, with and without leucofiltration, with and without ionising radiation

PubMed Central

Saito, Shunnichi; Ngoma, Alain M.; Ono, Takako; Ohto, Hitoshi

2018-01-01

Background Storage lesion, including microparticle formation, has been partially characterised in whole blood, but not in all combinations of pre-storage leucofiltration and/or irradiation. Materials and methods Single-donor whole blood products were processed into four subunits: with and without leucofiltration, with and without X-irradiation (25 Gy). Platelet-, leucocyte-, and erythrocyte-derived microparticles and free haemoglobin were measured periodically throughout 42 days of storage. Results Pre-storage leucofiltration substantially reduced platelet- and leucocyte-derived microparticle counts throughout storage. Irradiation, in contrast, had no significant effect on microparticle counts. A gate for all microparticles showed a substantial time-dependent increase in unfiltered whole blood. A time-dependent increase in free haemoglobin was greatest in unfiltered, irradiated whole blood. Discussion This study indicates that leucofiltration can prevent the formation of leucocyte- and platelet-derived microparticles, and might reduce haemolysis in irradiated whole blood, either by removing factors that provoke haemolysis, or by selective retention of senescent or effete red cells most prone to haemolysis. PMID:27893349

Population-Level Density Dependence Influences the Origin and Maintenance of Parental Care

PubMed Central

Reyes, Elijah; Thrasher, Patsy; Bonsall, Michael B.; Klug, Hope

2016-01-01

Parental care is a defining feature of animal breeding systems. We now know that both basic life-history characteristics and ecological factors influence the evolution of care. However, relatively little is known about how these factors interact to influence the origin and maintenance of care. Here, we expand upon previous work and explore the relationship between basic life-history characteristics (stage-specific rates of mortality and maturation) and the fitness benefits associated with the origin and the maintenance of parental care for two broad ecological scenarios: the scenario in which egg survival is density dependent and the case in which adult survival is density dependent. Our findings suggest that high offspring need is likely critical in driving the origin, but not the maintenance, of parental care regardless of whether density dependence acts on egg or adult survival. In general, parental care is more likely to result in greater fitness benefits when baseline adult mortality is low if 1) egg survival is density dependent or 2) adult mortality is density dependent and mutant density is relatively high. When density dependence acts on egg mortality, low rates of egg maturation and high egg densities are less likely to lead to strong fitness benefits of care. However, when density dependence acts on adult mortality, high levels of egg maturation and increasing adult densities are less likely to maintain care. Juvenile survival has relatively little, if any, effect on the origin and maintenance of egg-only care. More generally, our results suggest that the evolution of parental care will be influenced by an organism’s entire life history characteristics, the stage at which density dependence acts, and whether care is originating or being maintained. PMID:27093056

Density-dependent seedling mortality varies with light availability and species abundance in wet and dry Hawaiian forests

Treesearch

Faith Inman-Narahari; Rebecca Ostertag; Stephen P. Hubbell; Christian P. Giardina; Susan Cordell; Lawren Sack; Andrew MacDougall

2016-01-01

Conspecific density may contribute to patterns of species assembly through negative density dependence (NDD) as predicted by the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, or through facilitation (positive density dependence; PDD). Conspecific density effects are expected to be more negative in darker and wetter environments due to higher pathogen abundance and...

RF System for the MICE Demonstration of Ionisation Cooling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronald, K.; et al.

2017-04-01

Muon accelerators offer an attractive option for a range of future particle physics experiments. They can enable high energy (TeV+) high energy lepton colliders whilst mitigating the difficulty of synchrotron losses, and can provide intense beams of neutrinos for fundamental physics experiments investigating the physics of flavor. The method of production of muon beams results in high beam emittance which must be reduced for efficient acceleration. Conventional emittance control schemes take too long, given the very short (2.2 microsecond) rest lifetime of the muon. Ionisation cooling offers a much faster approach to reducing particle emittance, and the international MICE collaborationmore » aims to demonstrate this technique for the first time. This paper will present the MICE RF system and its role in the context of the overall experiment.« less

Direct atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation ion trap mass spectrometry for aroma analysis: Speed, sensitivity and resolution of isobaric compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jublot, Lionel; Linforth, Robert S. T.; Taylor, Andrew J.

2005-06-01

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) sources were developed for real time analysis of volatile release from foods using an ion trap (IT) mass spectrometer (MS). Key objectives were spectral simplicity (minimal fragmentation), response time and signal to noise ratio. The benefits of APCI-IT-MS were assessed by comparing the performance for in vivo and headspace analyses with that obtained using APCI coupled to a quadrupole mass analyser. Using MS-MS, direct APCI-IT-MS was able to differentiate mixtures of some C6 and terpene isobaric aroma compounds. Resolution could be achieved for some compounds by monitoring specific secondary ions. Direct resolution was also achieved with two of the three isobaric compounds released from chocolate with time as the sample was eaten.

Radiation protection and safety in medical use of ionising radiation in Republic of Bulgaria--harmonization of the national legislation with Euratom directives.

PubMed

Ingilizova, K; Vassileva, J; Rupova, I; Pavlova, A

2005-01-01

From February 2002 to November 2003 the National Centre of Radiobiology and Radiation Protection conducted a PHARE twinning project 'Radiation Protection and Safety at Medical Use of Ionising Radiation'. The main purposes of the project were the harmonization of Bulgarian legislation in the field of radiation protection with EC Directives 96/29 and 97/43 Euratom, and the establishment of appropriate institutional infrastructure and administrative framework for their implementation. This paper presents the main results of the project: elaboration of Ordinance for Protection of Individuals from Medical Exposure; performance of a national survey of distribution of patient doses in diagnostic radiology and of administered activities in nuclear medicine and establishment of national reference levels for the most common diagnostic procedures.

Rapid screening of illicit additives in weight loss dietary supplements with desorption corona beam ionisation (DCBI) mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Wang, H; Wu, Y; Zhao, Y; Sun, W; Ding, L; Guo, B; Chen, B

2012-08-01

Desorption corona beam ionisation (DCBI), the relatively novel ambient mass spectrometry (MS) technique, was utilised to screen for illicit additives in weight-loss food. The five usually abused chemicals - fenfluramine, N-di-desmethyl sibutramine, N-mono-desmethyl sibutramine, sibutramine and phenolphthalein - were detected with the proposed DCBI-MS method. Fast single-sample and high-throughput analysis was demonstrated. Semi-quantification was accomplished based on peak areas in the ion chromatograms. Four illicit additives were identified and semi-quantified in commercial samples. As there was no tedious sample pre-treatment compared with conventional HPLC methods, high-throughput analysis was achieved with DCBI. The results proved that DCBI-MS is a powerful tool for the rapid screening of illicit additives in weight-loss dietary supplements.

[Specific and non-specific electromagnetic irradiation effects on biological objects].

PubMed

Berezovs'kyĭ, V Ia

2003-01-01

There are the pecularities of the biophysical influence of the ultraviolet, light and infra-red irradiation in connection with their frequent and energetic characteristics. The specific resonant and non-specific heating effects are educed (distinguished). [table: see text] It is shown that the radial area of electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to the non-ionising. Sun irradiation, contains the evolutionary fixed molecular mechanisms of the energy acception activizing biochemical and biophysical metabolic reactions. The living beings, deprived of heliofugal influences (cave and deep-watered specimen objects) reached only the primitive development stages. The dosed wage of the non-ionising radiation generators in the clinic medicine promotes the restoration of the self sanogenic mechanisms and deficit restoration of the natural influences caused by the contemporary human being's mode of life changes.

Density-Dependent Growth in Invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans)

PubMed Central

Benkwitt, Cassandra E.

2013-01-01

Direct demographic density dependence is necessary for population regulation and is a central concept in ecology, yet has not been studied in many invasive species, including any invasive marine fish. The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is an invasive predatory marine fish that is undergoing exponential population growth throughout the tropical western Atlantic. Invasive lionfish threaten coral-reef ecosystems, but there is currently no evidence of any natural population control. Therefore, a manipulative field experiment was conducted to test for density dependence in lionfish. Juvenile lionfish densities were adjusted on small reefs and several demographic rates (growth, recruitment, immigration, and loss) were measured throughout an 8-week period. Invasive lionfish exhibited direct density dependence in individual growth rates, as lionfish grew slower at higher densities throughout the study. Individual growth in length declined linearly with increasing lionfish density, while growth in mass declined exponentially with increasing density. There was no evidence, however, for density dependence in recruitment, immigration, or loss (mortality plus emigration) of invasive lionfish. The observed density-dependent growth rates may have implications for which native species are susceptible to lionfish predation, as the size and type of prey that lionfish consume is directly related to their body size. The absence of density-dependent loss, however, contrasts with many native coral-reef fish species and suggests that for the foreseeable future manual removals may be the only effective local control of this invasion. PMID:23825604

Density-dependent growth in invasive Lionfish (Pterois volitans).

PubMed

Benkwitt, Cassandra E

2013-01-01

Direct demographic density dependence is necessary for population regulation and is a central concept in ecology, yet has not been studied in many invasive species, including any invasive marine fish. The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is an invasive predatory marine fish that is undergoing exponential population growth throughout the tropical western Atlantic. Invasive lionfish threaten coral-reef ecosystems, but there is currently no evidence of any natural population control. Therefore, a manipulative field experiment was conducted to test for density dependence in lionfish. Juvenile lionfish densities were adjusted on small reefs and several demographic rates (growth, recruitment, immigration, and loss) were measured throughout an 8-week period. Invasive lionfish exhibited direct density dependence in individual growth rates, as lionfish grew slower at higher densities throughout the study. Individual growth in length declined linearly with increasing lionfish density, while growth in mass declined exponentially with increasing density. There was no evidence, however, for density dependence in recruitment, immigration, or loss (mortality plus emigration) of invasive lionfish. The observed density-dependent growth rates may have implications for which native species are susceptible to lionfish predation, as the size and type of prey that lionfish consume is directly related to their body size. The absence of density-dependent loss, however, contrasts with many native coral-reef fish species and suggests that for the foreseeable future manual removals may be the only effective local control of this invasion.

Multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 509. XI. Reverberation of the Fe Kα line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponti, G.; Cappi, M.; Costantini, E.; Bianchi, S.; Kaastra, J. S.; De Marco, B.; Fender, R. P.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Kriss, G. A.; Steenbrugge, K. C.; Arav, N.; Behar, E.; Branduardi-Raymont, G.; Dadina, M.; Ebrero, J.; Lubiński, P.; Mehdipour, M.; Paltani, S.; Pinto, C.; Tombesi, F.

2013-01-01

Context. We report on a detailed study of the Fe K emission/absorption complex in the nearby, bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509. The study is part of an extensive XMM-Newton monitoring consisting of 10 pointings (~60 ks each) about once every 4 days, and includes a reanalysis of previous XMM-Newton and Chandra observations. Aims: We aim at understanding the origin and location of the Fe K emission and absorption regions. Methods: We combine the results of time-resolved spectral analysis on both short and long time-scales including model-independent rms spectra. Results: Mrk 509 shows a clear (EW = 58 ± 4 eV) neutral Fe Kα emission line that can be decomposed into a narrow (σ = 0.027 keV) component (found in the Chandra HETG data) plus a resolved (σ = 0.22 keV) component. We find the first successful measurement of a linear correlation between the intensity of the resolved line component and the 3-10 keV flux variations on time scales of years down to a few days. The Fe Kα reverberates the hard X-ray continuum without any measurable lag, suggesting that the region producing the resolved Fe Kα component is located within a few light days to a week (r ≲ 103rg) from the black hole (BH). The lack of a redshifted wing in the line poses a lower limit of ≥40 rg for its distance from the BH. The Fe Kα could thus be emitted from the inner regions of the BLR, i.e. within the ~80 light days indicated by the Hβ line measurements. In addition to these two neutral Fe Kα components, we confirm the detection of weak (EW ~ 8-20 eV) ionised Fe K emission. This ionised line can be modelled with either a blend of two narrow Fe xxv and Fe xxvi emission lines (possibly produced by scattering from distant material) or with a single relativistic line produced, in an ionised disc, down to a few rg from the BH. In the latter interpretation, the presence of an ionised standard α-disc, down to a few rg, is consistent with the source high Eddington ratio. Finally, we observe a weakening/disappearing of the medium- and high-velocity high-ionisation Fe K wind features found in previous XMM-Newton observations. Conclusions: This campaign has made the first reverberation measurement of the resolved component of the Fe Kα line possible, from which we can infer a location for the bulk of its emission at a distance of r ~ 40-1000 rg from the BH.

Ionising radiation-free whole-body MRI versus (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scans for children and young adults with cancer: a prospective, non-randomised, single-centre study.

PubMed

Klenk, Christopher; Gawande, Rakhee; Uslu, Lebriz; Khurana, Aman; Qiu, Deqiang; Quon, Andrew; Donig, Jessica; Rosenberg, Jarrett; Luna-Fineman, Sandra; Moseley, Michael; Daldrup-Link, Heike E

2014-03-01

Imaging tests are essential for staging of children with cancer. However, CT and radiotracer-based imaging procedures are associated with substantial exposure to ionising radiation and risk of secondary cancer development later in life. Our aim was to create a highly effective, clinically feasible, ionising radiation-free staging method based on whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI and the iron supplement ferumoxytol, used off-label as a contrast agent. We compared whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI with standard clinical (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) PET/CT scans in children and young adults with malignant lymphomas and sarcomas. Whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images were generated by coregistration of colour-encoded ferumoxytol-enhanced whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI scans for tumour detection with ferumoxytol-enhanced T1-weighted MRI scans for anatomical orientation, similar to the concept of integrated (18)F-FDG PET/CT scans. Tumour staging results were compared using Cohen's κ statistics. Histopathology and follow-up imaging served as the standard of reference. Data was assessed in the per-protocol population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01542879. 22 of 23 recruited patients were analysed because one patient discontinued before completion of the whole-body scan. Mean exposure to ionising radiation was 12·5 mSv (SD 4·1) for (18)F-FDG PET/CT compared with zero for whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI. (18)F-FDG PET/CT detected 163 of 174 malignant lesions at 1325 anatomical regions and whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI detected 158. Comparing (18)F-FDG PET/CT to whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI, sensitivities were 93·7% (95% CI 89·0-96·8) versus 90·8% (85·5-94·7); specificities 97·7% (95% CI 96·7-98·5) versus 99·5% (98·9-99·8); and diagnostic accuracies 97·2% (93·6-99·4) versus 98·3% (97·4-99·2). Tumour staging results showed very good agreement between both imaging modalities with a κ of 0·93 (0·81-1·00). No adverse events after administration of ferumoxytol were recorded. Ferumoxytol-enhanced whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI could be an alternative to (18)F-FDG PET/CT for staging of children and young adults with cancer that is free of ionising radiation. This new imaging test might help to prevent long-term side-effects from radiographic staging procedures. Thrasher Research Fund and Clinical Health Research Institute at Stanford University. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Deployment of the FIGAERO Iodide Time of flight (ToF)-Chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (CIMS) using X-ray ionisation in Manaus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bannan, T.; Bacak, A.; Priestley, M.; Adelstein, E.; Worrall, S.; Artaxo, P.; Carbone, S.; Topping, D. O.; Allan, J. D.; Coe, H.; Percival, C.

2017-12-01

Here the deployment of the The Filter Inlet for Gases and AEROsols (FIGAERO) coupled with the Aerodyne High Resolution (HR)-Time of flight (ToF)-Chemical ionisation mass spectrometer (CIMS) in Manaus is presented. This project utilised the Tofwerk X-ray ionisation source in the tropical rainforest in close proximity to Manaus, Brazil, at the ZF2 measurement site. The FIGAERO is a filter based technique that provides simultaneous molecular information of both the gas and particle phase. When analysing particles that have been collected the evolution of the MS signals from different compounds change independently as a function of temperature; creating a thermogram that is m/z specific. The temperature for which the desorbed signal shows a maximum for each compound has been used previously to extract vapour pressure information in laboratory characterisatio. Krieger et al. (2017) defined the homologous series of polyethylene glycols as a series of compounds that showed a very good agreement over a wide range of atmospherically relevant vapour pressures between different experimental setups. PEG samples therefore provide an ideal bench mark for characterising individual FIGAERO inlets to give vapour pressure information essential for partitioning characterisation. The PEG calibration curve has been used to validate vapour pressure measurements in a well-defined single component bases and in simple chamber experiments, results of which are presented. With a high reactivity and large ubiquitous global source, isoprene has a profound effect upon atmospheric chemistry and composition. Despite this there are still significant gaps in the understanding of the processes that lead to isoprene derived secondary organic aerosol (SOA). This project aims to provide insights into the role of isoprene in the mechanisms of production of SOA and its importance in the particulate mass budgets in the tropics and the fundamental chemical processes. The volatility and composition of isoprene oxidation products is shown for numerous isoprene oxidation products identified and concentrations of the C5 oxidation products in the low ppt level are reported. Total organic compounds measured in the particle phase with the FIGAERO are compared with the organic ACSM showing a good agreement throughout.

Electro-optic and radiation damage performance of the CIS115, an imaging sensor for the JANUS optical camera onboard JUICE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soman, M. R.; Allanwood, E. A. H.; Holland, A. D.; Stefanov, K.; Pratlong, J.; Leese, M.; Gow, J. P. D.; Smith, D. R.

2016-08-01

The Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) has been officially adopted as the next Large class mission by the European Space Agency, with a launch date of 2022. The science payload includes an optical camera, JANUS, which will perform imaging and mapping observations of Jupiter, its moons and icy rings. A 13 slot filter wheel will be used to provide spectral information in order for the JANUS experiment to study the geology and physical properties of Ganymede, Europa and Io, and to investigate processes and structures in the atmosphere of Jupiter. The sensor selected for JANUS is the back-thinned CIS115, a 3 MPixel CMOS Image Sensor from e2v technologies. The CIS115 has a 4-Transistor pixel design with a pinned photodiode to improve signal to noise performance by reducing dark current and allowing for reset level subtraction. The JUICE mission will consist of an 8 year cruise phase followed by a 3 year science phase in the Jovian system. Models of the radiation environment throughout the JUICE mission predict that the End of Life (EOL) non-ionising damage will be equivalent to 1010 protons cm-2 (10 MeV) and the EOL ionising dose will be 100 krad(Si), once the shielding from the spacecraft and instrument design is taken into account. An extensive radiation campaign is therefore being carried out to qualify and characterise the CIS115 for JANUS, as well as other space and terrestrial applications. Radiation testing to take the CIS115 to twice the ionising dose and displacement damage levels was completed in 2015 and the change in sensor performance has been characterised. Good sensor performance has been observed following irradiation and a summary of the key results from the campaign using gamma irradiation (ionising dose) will be presented here, including its soft X-ray detection capabilities, flat-band voltage shift and readout noise. In 2016, further radiation campaigns on flight-representative CIS115s will be undertaken and their results will be disseminated in future publications.

Population Density Modulates Drug Inhibition and Gives Rise to Potential Bistability of Treatment Outcomes for Bacterial Infections.

PubMed

Karslake, Jason; Maltas, Jeff; Brumm, Peter; Wood, Kevin B

2016-10-01

The inoculum effect (IE) is an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of an antibiotic as a function of the initial size of a microbial population. The IE has been observed in a wide range of bacteria, implying that antibiotic efficacy may depend on population density. Such density dependence could have dramatic effects on bacterial population dynamics and potential treatment strategies, but explicit measures of per capita growth as a function of density are generally not available. Instead, the IE measures MIC as a function of initial population size, and population density changes by many orders of magnitude on the timescale of the experiment. Therefore, the functional relationship between population density and antibiotic inhibition is generally not known, leaving many questions about the impact of the IE on different treatment strategies unanswered. To address these questions, here we directly measured real-time per capita growth of Enterococcus faecalis populations exposed to antibiotic at fixed population densities using multiplexed computer-automated culture devices. We show that density-dependent growth inhibition is pervasive for commonly used antibiotics, with some drugs showing increased inhibition and others decreased inhibition at high densities. For several drugs, the density dependence is mediated by changes in extracellular pH, a community-level phenomenon not previously linked with the IE. Using a simple mathematical model, we demonstrate how this density dependence can modulate population dynamics in constant drug environments. Then, we illustrate how time-dependent dosing strategies can mitigate the negative effects of density-dependence. Finally, we show that these density effects lead to bistable treatment outcomes for a wide range of antibiotic concentrations in a pharmacological model of antibiotic treatment. As a result, infections exceeding a critical density often survive otherwise effective treatments.

Population Density Modulates Drug Inhibition and Gives Rise to Potential Bistability of Treatment Outcomes for Bacterial Infections

PubMed Central

Maltas, Jeff; Brumm, Peter; Wood, Kevin B.

2016-01-01

The inoculum effect (IE) is an increase in the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of an antibiotic as a function of the initial size of a microbial population. The IE has been observed in a wide range of bacteria, implying that antibiotic efficacy may depend on population density. Such density dependence could have dramatic effects on bacterial population dynamics and potential treatment strategies, but explicit measures of per capita growth as a function of density are generally not available. Instead, the IE measures MIC as a function of initial population size, and population density changes by many orders of magnitude on the timescale of the experiment. Therefore, the functional relationship between population density and antibiotic inhibition is generally not known, leaving many questions about the impact of the IE on different treatment strategies unanswered. To address these questions, here we directly measured real-time per capita growth of Enterococcus faecalis populations exposed to antibiotic at fixed population densities using multiplexed computer-automated culture devices. We show that density-dependent growth inhibition is pervasive for commonly used antibiotics, with some drugs showing increased inhibition and others decreased inhibition at high densities. For several drugs, the density dependence is mediated by changes in extracellular pH, a community-level phenomenon not previously linked with the IE. Using a simple mathematical model, we demonstrate how this density dependence can modulate population dynamics in constant drug environments. Then, we illustrate how time-dependent dosing strategies can mitigate the negative effects of density-dependence. Finally, we show that these density effects lead to bistable treatment outcomes for a wide range of antibiotic concentrations in a pharmacological model of antibiotic treatment. As a result, infections exceeding a critical density often survive otherwise effective treatments. PMID:27764095

Spatial variation and density-dependent dispersal in competitive coexistence.

PubMed Central

Amarasekare, Priyanga

2004-01-01

It is well known that dispersal from localities favourable to a species' growth and reproduction (sources) can prevent competitive exclusion in unfavourable localities (sinks). What is perhaps less well known is that too much emigration can undermine the viability of sources and cause regional competitive exclusion. Here, I investigate two biological mechanisms that reduce the cost of dispersal to source communities. The first involves increasing the spatial variation in the strength of competition such that sources can withstand high rates of emigration; the second involves reducing emigration from sources via density-dependent dispersal. I compare how different forms of spatial variation and modes of dispersal influence source viability, and hence source-sink coexistence, under dominance and pre-emptive competition. A key finding is that, while spatial variation substantially reduces dispersal costs under both types of competition, density-dependent dispersal does so only under dominance competition. For instance, when spatial variation in the strength of competition is high, coexistence is possible (regardless of the type of competition) even when sources experience high emigration rates; when spatial variation is low, coexistence is restricted even under low emigration rates. Under dominance competition, density-dependent dispersal has a strong effect on coexistence. For instance, when the emigration rate increases with density at an accelerating rate (Type III density-dependent dispersal), coexistence is possible even when spatial variation is quite low; when the emigration rate increases with density at a decelerating rate (Type II density-dependent dispersal), coexistence is restricted even when spatial variation is quite high. Under pre-emptive competition, density-dependent dispersal has only a marginal effect on coexistence. Thus, the diversity-reducing effects of high dispersal rates persist under pre-emptive competition even when dispersal is density dependent, but can be significantly mitigated under dominance competition if density-dependent dispersal is Type III rather than Type II. These results lead to testable predictions about source-sink coexistence under different regimes of competition, spatial variation and dispersal. They identify situations in which density-independent dispersal provides a reasonable approximation to species' dispersal patterns, and those under which consideration of density-dependent dispersal is crucial to predicting long-term coexistence. PMID:15306322

When can a single-species, density-dependent model capture the dynamics of a consumer-resource system?

PubMed

Reynolds, Sara A; Brassil, Chad E

2013-12-21

Single-species population models often include density-dependence phenomenologically in order to approximate higher order mechanisms. Here we consider the common scenario in which density-dependence acts via depletion of a renewed resource. When the response of the resource is very quick relative to that of the consumer, the consumer dynamics can be captured by a single-species, density-dependent model. Time scale separation is used to show analytically how the shape of the density-dependent relationship depends on the type of resource and the form of the functional response. Resource types of abiotic, biotic, and biotic with migration are considered, in combination with linear and saturating functional responses. In some cases, we derive familiar forms of single-species models, adding to the justification for their use. In other scenarios novel forms of density-dependence are derived, for example an abiotic resource and a saturating functional response can result in a nonlinear density-dependent relationship in the associated single-species model of the consumer. In this case, the per capita relationship has both concave-up and concave-down sections. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parasitism and a shortage of refuges jointly mediate the strength of density dependence in a reef fish.

PubMed

Forrester, Graham E; Finley, Rachel J

2006-05-01

Various predator-prey, host-pathogen, and competitive interactions can combine to cause density dependence in population growth. Despite this possibility, most empirical tests for density-dependent interactions have focused on single mechanisms. Here we tested the hypothesis that two mechanisms of density dependence, parasitism and a shortage of refuges, jointly influence the strength of density-dependent mortality. We used mark-recapture analysis to estimate mortality of the host species, the bridled goby (Coryphopterus glaucofraenum). Sixty-three marked gobies were infected with a copepod gill parasite (Pharodes tortugensis), and 188 were uninfected. We used the spatial scale at which gobies were clustered naturally (approximately 4 m2) as an ecologically relevant neighborhood and measured goby density and the availability of refuges from predators within each goby's neighborhood. Goby survival generally declined with increasing density, and this decline was steeper for gobies with access to few refuges than for gobies in neighborhoods where refuges were common. The negative effects of high density and refuge shortage were also more severe for parasitized gobies than for gobies free of parasites. This parasite has characteristics typical of emerging diseases and appears to have altered the strength of a preexisting density-dependent interaction.

Characterisation of soy isoflavones and screening for novel malonyl glycosides using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Gu, L; Gu, W

2001-01-01

HPLC combined with electrospray ionisation (ESI)-MS and photodiode array detection has been employed to study the isoflavone components of soy. All of the known soy isoflavones separated by HPLC were identified and characterised, and three novel isoflavones were detected and screened out. These minor isoflavones were deduced to be isomers of 6"-O-malonyl isoflavone glycosides, based on the ESI-MS and UV data, in which the malonyl group is attached at a position other than the 6" position of the glycosyl moiety of the molecule. These novel malonyl glycosides are as thermally labile as the 6"-O-malonyl glycosides, being converted into known isoflavone glycosides after heating in aqueous ethanol. The advantages of HPLC-ESI-MS in detection of novel isoflavones from plant extracts are reviewed.

Qualitative and quantitative determination of yohimbine in authentic yohimbe bark and in commercial aphrodisiacs by HPLC-UV-API/ MS methods.

PubMed

Zanolari, Boris; Ndjoko, Karine; Ioset, Jean-Robert; Marston, Andrew; Hostettmann, Kurt

2003-01-01

The development and validation of a rapid qualitative and quantitative method based on an HPLC-UV-MS technique with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation and electrospray ionisation for the analysis of yohimbine in a number of commercial aphrodisiac products is reported. HPLC with multiple-stage mass spectrometry experiments allowed the identification of the target compound and increased the selectivity of complex analyses such as those involved with multi-botanical preparations. The precision and the robustness of the method were improved by the use of two internal standards: codeine for UV detection and deuterium-labelled yohimbine for MS detection. Twenty commercial aphrodisiac preparations were analysed and the amount of yohimbine measured and expressed as the maximal dose per day suggested on product labels ranged from 1.32 to 23.16 mg.

Radiochromic 3D Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oldham, Mark

2015-01-01

Radiochromic materials exhibit a colour change when exposed to ionising radiation. Radiochromic film has been used for clinical dosimetry for many years and increasingly so recently, as films of higher sensitivities have become available. The two principle advantages of radiochromic dosimetry include greater tissue equivalence (radiologically) and the lack of requirement for development of the colour change. In a radiochromic material, the colour change arises direct from ionising interactions affecting dye molecules, without requiring any latent chemical, optical or thermal development, with important implications for increased accuracy and convenience. It is only relatively recently however, that 3D radiochromic dosimetry has become possible. In this article we review recent developments and the current state-of-the-art of 3D radiochromic dosimetry, and the potential for a more comprehensive solution for the verification of complex radiation therapy treatments, and 3D dose measurement in general.

Tools to discover anionic and nonionic polyfluorinated alkyl surfactants by liquid chromatography electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Trier, Xenia; Granby, Kit; Christensen, Jan H

2011-10-07

A tiered approach is proposed for the discovery of unknown anionic and nonionic polyfluorinated alkyl surfactants (PFASs) by reversed phase ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)--negative electrospray ionisation--quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI(-)-QTOF-MS). The chromatographic separation, ionisation and detection of PFASs mixtures, was achieved at high pH (pH=9.7) with NH(4)OH as additive. To distinguish PFASs from other chemicals we used the characteristic negative mass defects of PFASs, their specific losses of 20 Da (HF) and the presence of series of chromatographic peaks, belonging to homologues series with m/z of n×50 Da (CF(2)) or n×100 Da (CF(2)CF(2)). The elemental composition of the precursor ions were deducted from the accurate m/z values of the deprotonated molecules [M-H](-). In case of in-source fragmentation, the presence of dimers, e.g. [M(2)-H](-) and adduct ions such as [M-H+solvent](-) and [(M-H)(M-H+Na)(n)](-) were used to confirm the identity of the precursor ions. In relation to quantification of PFASs, we discuss how their surfactancy influence the ESI processes, challenge their handling in solution and choices of precursor-to-product ions for MSMS of e.g., structural PFAS isomers. The method has been used to discover PFASs in industrial blends and in extracts from food contact materials. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Use of high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to electrospray-Qq-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the direct characterization of the phenolic fraction in organic commercial juices.

PubMed

Rodríguez-Medina, I C; Segura-Carretero, A; Fernández-Gutiérrez, A

2009-06-05

We have developed a direct method for the qualitative analysis of polyphenols in commercial organic fruit juices. The juices were diluted with water (50/50), filtered and directly injected. The analysis of phenolic compounds was carried out by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) coupled to photodiode array detection (DAD) and electrospray ionisation-Qq-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Qq-TOF-MS). A unique gradient program has been optimized for the separation of several phenolic classes and the analysis time was only 5 min. The fruit juice samples were successfully analysed in positive and negative ionisation modes. In positive mode the anthocyanins were identified whereas the vast majority of polyphenols were identified using the negative ionisation mode. The sensitivity, together with mass accuracy and true isotopic pattern of the Qq-TOF-MS, allowed the identification of the phenolic compounds. Moreover, the advantage of the proposed method is the combined search of MS and MS/MS spectra, which improves the identification of compounds considerably, reducing ambiguities and false positive hits. Therefore the total fragmentation of the compound ion leading to the aglycone ion or other fragments was corroborated by MS-MS. The method was successfully employed to characterize diverse phenolic families in commercially available organic juices from four different fruits and consequently could be used in the future for the quantification purposes to compare different content of polyphenols in juices.

Rationale and design of the NO-PARTY trial: near-zero fluoroscopic exposure during catheter ablation of supraventricular arrhythmias in young patients.

PubMed

Casella, Michela; Dello Russo, Antonio; Pelargonio, Gemma; Bongiorni, Maria Grazia; Del Greco, Maurizio; Piacenti, Marcello; Andreassi, Maria Grazia; Santangeli, Pasquale; Bartoletti, Stefano; Moltrasio, Massimo; Fassini, Gaetano; Marini, Massimiliano; Di Cori, Andrea; Di Biase, Luigi; Fiorentini, Cesare; Zecchi, Paolo; Natale, Andrea; Picano, Eugenio; Tondo, Claudio

2012-10-01

Radiofrequency catheter ablation is the mainstay of therapy for supraventricular tachyarrhythmias. Conventional radiofrequency catheter ablation requires the use of fluoroscopy, thus exposing patients to ionising radiation. The feasibility and safety of non-fluoroscopic radiofrequency catheter ablation has been recently reported in a wide range of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias using the EnSite NavX™ mapping system. The NO-PARTY is a multi-centre, randomised controlled trial designed to test the hypothesis that catheter ablation of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias guided by the EnSite NavX™ mapping system results in a clinically significant reduction in exposure to ionising radiation compared with conventional catheter ablation. The study will randomise 210 patients undergoing catheter ablation of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias to either a conventional ablation technique or one guided by the EnSite NavX™ mapping system. The primary end-point is the reduction of the radiation dose to the patient. Secondary end-points include procedural success, reduction of the radiation dose to the operator, and a cost-effectiveness analysis. In a subgroup of patients, we will also evaluate the radiobiological effectiveness of dose reduction by assessing acute chromosomal DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes. NO-PARTY will determine whether radiofrequency catheter ablation of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias guided by the EnSite NavX™ mapping system is a suitable and cost-effective approach to achieve a clinically significant reduction in ionising radiation exposure for both patient and operator.

Mass spectral analysis and imaging of tissue by ToF-SIMS--The role of buckminsterfullerene, C60+, primary ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Emrys A.; Lockyer, Nicholas P.; Vickerman, John C.

2007-02-01

Recent developments in desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry techniques have made their application to biological analysis a realistic and successful proposition. Developments in primary ion source technology, mainly through the advent of polyatomic ion beams, have meant that the technique of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) can now access the depths of information required to allow biological imaging to be a viable option. Here the role of the primary ion C60+ is assessed with regard to molecular imaging of lipids and pharmaceuticals within tissue sections. High secondary ion yields and low surface damage accumulation are demonstrated on both model and real biological samples, indicating the high secondary ion efficiency afforded to the analyst by this primary ion when compared to other cluster ion beams used in imaging. The newly developed 40 keV C60+ ion source allows the beam to be focused such that high resolution imaging is demonstrated on a tissue sample, and the greater yields allow the molecular signal from the drug raclopride to be imaged within tissue section following in vivo dosing. The localisation shown for this drug alludes to issues regarding the chemical environment affecting the ionisation probability of the molecule; the importance of this effect is demonstrated with model systems and the possibility of using laser post-ionisation as a method for reducing this consequence of bio-sample complexity is demonstrated and discussed.

Pterodon pubescens oil: characterisation, certification of origin and quality control via mass spectrometry fingerprinting analysis.

PubMed

Cabral, E C; Sevart, L; Spindola, H M; Coelho, M B; Sousa, I M O; Queiroz, N C A; Foglio, M A; Eberlin, M N; Riveros, J M

2013-02-01

The oil obtained from Pterodon pubescens (Leguminosae) seeds are known to display anti-cancer, anti-dermatogenic and anti-nociceptive activitiy. Phytochemical studies have demonstrated that its main constituents are diterpenoids with voucapan skeletons. Considering the potential biological activities of the oil, rapid and efficient methods for assessing its quality would facilitate certification and quality control. To develop a direct mass spectrometric fingerprinting method for the P. pubescens seed oil that would focus on the major diterpenoids constituents, enabling quality control, origin certification and recognition of marker species in commercially available products. Two techniques were used: (i) direct infusion electrospray ionisation (ESI) mass spectrometry after solvent extraction and dilution and (ii) ambient desorption/ionisation via easy ambient sonic-spray ionisation, EASI(+)-MS, performed directly on the seed surface or at a paper surface imprinted with the oil. From a combination of ESI-MS, HRESI-MS and ESI-MS/MS data, 12 diterpenes were characterised, and typical profiles were obtained for the oil extract or the crude oil via both ESI-MS and EASI-MS. These techniques require no or very simple sample preparation protocols and the whole analytical processes with spectra acquisition take just a few minutes. Both techniques, but particularly EASI-MS, provide simple, fast and efficient MS fingerprinting methodologies to characterise the P. pubescens oil with typical (di)terpene profiles being applicable to quality control and certification of authenticity and origin. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characterisation of ionisation chambers for a mixed radiation field and investigation of their suitability as radiation monitors for the LHC.

PubMed

Theis, C; Forkel-Wirth, D; Perrin, D; Roesler, S; Vincke, H

2005-01-01

Monitoring of the radiation environment is one of the key tasks in operating a high-energy accelerator such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The radiation fields consist of neutrons, charged hadrons as well as photons and electrons with energy spectra extending from those of thermal neutrons up to several hundreds of GeV. The requirements for measuring the dose equivalent in such a field are different from standard uses and it is thus necessary to investigate the response of monitoring devices thoroughly before the implementation of a monitoring system can be conducted. For the LHC, it is currently foreseen to install argon- and hydrogen-filled high-pressure ionisation chambers as radiation monitors of mixed fields. So far their response to these fields was poorly understood and, therefore, further investigation was necessary to prove that they can serve their function well enough. In this study, ionisation chambers of type IG5 (Centronic Ltd) were characterised by simulating their response functions by means of detailed FLUKA calculations as well as by calibration measurements for photons and neutrons at fixed energies. The latter results were used to obtain a better understanding and validation of the FLUKA simulations. Tests were also conducted at the CERF facility at CERN in order to compare the results with simulations of the response in a mixed radiation field. It is demonstrated that these detectors can be characterised sufficiently enough to serve their function as radiation monitors for the LHC.

Etude des mécanismes d'ionisation de H{2}O par interaction He^{*}(2 ^1S, 2 ^3S)/Ne^{*}(^3P{0}, ^3P{2})+H{2}O

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Nadan, André; Sinou, Guillaume; Tuffin, Firmin

1993-06-01

Experimental observations of Penning ionisation of H{2}O by the helium metastables 21S and 23S and by the neon metastables ^3P{0} and ^3P{2} are reported. The kinetic energies of the ions created during the collision process (both parent and fragment) are analysed. Certain particularities of the experimental results are explained by involving the hypothesis of transfers of vibrational energy to kinetic energy. Furthermore, the forms of the energy distributions of the fragment ions are explained by th predissociation of the ^2B{2} state of H{2}O+. Nous avons étudié l'ionisation Penning de H{2}O par des métastables 21S et 23S de l'hélium, ainsi que ^3P{0} et ^3P{2} du néon. Nous avons analysé l'énergie cinétique des ions créés au cours de la collision (parents et fragments). Afin d'interpréter certaines particularités expérimentales, l'hypothèse de transferts d'énergie de vibration en énergie cinétique est proposées. Par ailleurs, les caractéristiques des distributions en énergie des ions fragments sont expliquées par la prédissociation de l'état ^2B{2} de H{2}O+.

Density-dependent effects on physical condition and reproduction in North American elk: an experimental test.

Treesearch

Kelley M. Stewart; R. Terry Bowyer; Brian L. Dick; Bruce K. Johnson; John G. Kie

2005-01-01

Density dependence plays a key role in life-history characteristics and population ecology of large, herbivorous mammals. We designed a manipulative experiment to test hypotheses relating effects of density-dependent mechanisms on physical condition and fecundity of North American elk (Cervus elaphus) by creating populations at low and high density...

Density-Dependent Effects on Group Size Are Sex-Specific in a Gregarious Ungulate

PubMed Central

Vander Wal, Eric; van Beest, Floris M.; Brook, Ryan K.

2013-01-01

Density dependence can have marked effects on social behaviors such as group size. We tested whether changes in population density of a large herbivore (elk, Cervus canadensis) affected sex-specific group size and whether the response was density- or frequency-dependent. We quantified the probability and strength of changes in group sizes and dispersion as population density changed for each sex. We used group size data from a population of elk in Manitoba, Canada, that was experimentally reduced from 1.20 to 0.67 elk/km2 between 2002 and 2009. Our results indicated that functional responses of group size to population density are sex-specific. Females showed a positive density-dependent response in group size at population densities ≥0.70 elk/km2 and we found evidence for a minimum group size at population density ≤0.70 elk/km2. Changes in male group size were also density-dependent; however, the strength of the relationship was lower than for females. Density dependence in male group size was predominantly a result of fusion of solitary males into larger groups, rather than fusion among existing groups. Our study revealed that density affects group size of a large herbivore differently between males and females, which has important implications for the benefits e.g., alleviating predation risk, and costs of social behaviors e.g., competition for resources and mates, and intra-specific pathogen transmission. PMID:23326502

Causes and consequences of complex population dynamics in an annual plant, Cardamine pensylvanica

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crone, E.E.

1995-11-08

The relative importance of density-dependent and density-independent factors in determining the population dynamics of plants has been widely debated with little resolution. In this thesis, the author explores the effects of density-dependent population regulation on population dynamics in Cardamine pensylvanica, an annual plant. In the first chapter, she shows that experimental populations of C. pensylvanica cycled from high to low density in controlled constant-environment conditions. These cycles could not be explained by external environmental changes or simple models of direct density dependence (N{sub t+1} = f[N{sub t}]), but they could be explained by delayed density dependence (N{sub t+1} = f[N{submore » t}, N{sub t+1}]). In the second chapter, she shows that the difference in the stability properties of population growth models with and without delayed density dependence is due to the presence of Hopf as well as slip bifurcations from stable to chaotic population dynamics. She also measures delayed density dependence due to effects of parental density on offspring quality in C. pensylvanica and shows that this is large enough to be the cause of the population dynamics observed in C. pensylvanica. In the third chapter, the author extends her analyses of density-dependent population growth models to include interactions between competing species. In the final chapter, she compares the effects of fixed spatial environmental variation and variation in population size on the evolutionary response of C. pensylvanica populations.« less

Measurement of changes in impedance of DNA nanowires due to radiation induced structural damage. A novel approach for a DNA-based radiosensitive device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heimbach, Florian; Arndt, Alexander; Nettelbeck, Heidi; Langner, Frank; Giesen, Ulrich; Rabus, Hans; Sellner, Stefan; Toppari, Jussi; Shen, Boxuan; Baek, Woon Yong

2017-08-01

The ability of DNA to conduct electric current has been the topic of numerous investigations over the past few decades. Those investigations indicate that this ability is dependent on the molecular structure of the DNA. Radiation-induced damages, which lead to an alteration of the molecular structure, should therefore change the electrical impedance of a DNA molecule. In this paper, the damage due to ionising radiation is shown to have a direct effect on the electrical transport properties of DNA. Impedance measurements of DNA samples were carried out by an AC impedance spectrometer before, during and after irradiation. The samples comprised of DNA segments, which were immobilized between gold electrodes with a gap of 12 μm. The impedance of all DNA samples exhibited rising capacitive behaviour with increasing absorbed dose.

Risk of ionising radiation to trainee orthopaedic surgeons.

PubMed

Khan, Ishrat A; Kamalasekaran, Senthil; Fazal, M Ali

2012-02-01

We undertook this study to determine the amount of scattered radiation received by the primary surgeon, assistant and patient during dynamic hip screw fixation for proximal femoral fractures. Data was collected from fifty patients. Five registrars were included as operating surgeon and four senior house officers as assistant surgeon. Radiation was monitored by thermo luminescent dosimeters placed on the surgeon and assistant. The approximate distance of surgeon and assistant from the operative site was measured. A dosimeter on the unaffected hip of patients measured the radiation to the patient. The results show that the surgeon's dominant hand receives the highest dose of radiation and radiation exposure is dependent on the experience of the operator. Our study concludes that exposure to radiation during this procedure is well below the toxic levels; however greater awareness is needed for harmful effects of exposure to long term low dose radiation.

Cytogenetic biodosimetry: what it is and how we do it.

PubMed

Wong, K F; Siu, Lisa L P; Ainsbury, E; Moquet, J

2013-04-01

Dicentric assay is the international gold standard for cytogenetic biodosimetry after radiation exposure, despite being very labour-intensive, time-consuming, and highly expertise-dependent. It involves the identification of centromeres and structure of solid-stained chromosomes and the enumeration of dicentric chromosomes in a large number of first-division metaphases of cultured T lymphocytes. The dicentric yield is used to estimate the radiation exposure dosage according to a statistically derived and predetermined dose-response curve. It can be used for population triage after large-scale accidental over-exposure to ionising radiation or with a view to making clinical decisions for individual patients receiving substantial radiation. In this report, we describe our experience in the establishment of a cytogenetic biodosimetry laboratory in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong. This was part of the contingency plan for emergency measures against radiation accidents at nuclear power stations.

Public safety assessment of electromagnetic radiation exposure from mobile base stations.

PubMed

Alhekail, Z O; Hadi, M A; Alkanhal, M A

2012-09-01

Exposure of the general public to electromagnetic radiation originating from randomly selected GSM/WCDMA base stations in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been assessed in the context of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. The purpose of the measurement was to record the maximum power density of signals to estimate possible worst case exposure at each measurement location. These power density measurements were carried out at 60 mobile base stations located in different regions of the city. For each of these sites, three sectors were operational, yielding a total of 180 sectors. Two positions were identified per site with the greatest power density values. Exposures from these base stations were generally found to be in the range of 0.313 to 0.00000149% of the ICNIRP general public reference level, and the greatest exposure near any of the base stations was 21.96 mW m(-2) for a wideband measurement in the 75-3000 MHz frequency range. Analysis of the measured data reveals several trends for different mobile bands with respect to maximum exposure in those locations. Additionally, a simplified calculation method for the electromagnetic fields was used to compare calculated and the measured data. It was determined, on the basis of both results of the measurements and calculations carried out for these selected base stations, that members of the public would not be exposed to in excess of a small fraction of the ICNIRP guidelines at any of those sites. These are first such measurements to be made in the Middle East and provide assurance that exposures in this region of the world do not seem to be any greater than elsewhere.

Some experiments with the tunnel probe in a low temperature magnetized plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovačič, J.; Gyergyek, T.; Kavaš, B.; Vodnik, M.; Kavčič, J.; Gunn, J. P.

2018-02-01

Experiments were performed using a Tunnel Probe (TP) inside the weakly-ionised plasma of the Linear Magnetized Plasma Device (LMPD). The TP is designed as a concave probe, which should annihilate the problem of sheath expansion in the ion branch of the I-V characteristic. As the ion saturation current is consequently well defined, the ion parallel current and plasma density can be more accurately calculated. Furthermore the ratio between the ion saturation currents on the two collectors (tunnel ring and the back-plate) can be used to derive the electron temperature. The TP has been repeatedly used with success on the former Castor and Tore-Supra tokamaks and will be used on the upgraded version of Tore-supra, namely the WEST tokamak, as well [1, 2]. It was however never used successfully in a low-temperature plasma. We studied the feasibility of the TP use in a low-temperature plasma for direct measurements of plasma temperature and density. The various probe characteristic dimensions, such as the distance between the two collectors, the aperture size and the probe radius were varied to see influence of the individual probe feature. We also varied the level of magnetization of the charged particle species, the background gas pressure (which influences the electron energy distribution function), the plasma density (important for the ratio between the λ D and the ion Larmor radius). The sensitivity of the probe alignment to the magnetic field lines was also studied. We found, that the ion saturation current does not necessarily saturate and that the probe works according to expectations only in a limited amount of regimes.

Density Dependence and Growth Rate: Evolutionary Effects on Resistance Development to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis).

PubMed

Martinez, Jeannette C; Caprio, Michael A; Friedenberg, Nicholas A

2018-02-09

It has long been recognized that pest population dynamics can affect the durability of a pesticide, but dose remains the primary component of insect resistance management (IRM). For transgenic pesticidal traits such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae)), dose (measured as the mortality of susceptibles caused by a toxin) is a relatively fixed characteristic and often falls below the standard definition of high dose. Hence, it is important to understand how pest population dynamics modify durability and what targets they present for IRM. We used a deterministic model of a generic arthropod pest to examine how timing and strength of density dependence interacted with population growth rate and Bt mortality to affect time to resistance. As in previous studies, durability typically reached a minimum at intermediate doses. However, high population growth rates could eliminate benefits of high dose. The timing of density dependence had a more subtle effect. If density dependence operated simultaneously with Bt mortality, durability was insensitive to its strengths. However, if density dependence was driven by postselection densities, decreasing its strength could increase durability. The strength of density dependence could affect durability of both single traits and pyramids, but its influence depended on the timing of density dependence and size of the refuge. Our findings suggest the utility of a broader definition of high dose, one that incorporates population-dynamic context. That maximum growth rates and timing and strength of interactions causing density dependent mortality can all affect durability, also highlights the need for ecologically integrated approaches to IRM research. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effective size of density-dependent two-sex populations: the effect of mating systems.

PubMed

Myhre, A M; Engen, S; SAEther, B-E

2017-08-01

Density dependence in vital rates is a key feature affecting temporal fluctuations of natural populations. This has important implications for the rate of random genetic drift. Mating systems also greatly affect effective population sizes, but knowledge of how mating system and density regulation interact to affect random genetic drift is poor. Using theoretical models and simulations, we compare N e in short-lived, density-dependent animal populations with different mating systems. We study the impact of a fluctuating, density-dependent sex ratio and consider both a stable and a fluctuating environment. We find a negative relationship between annual N e /N and adult population size N due to density dependence, suggesting that loss of genetic variation is reduced at small densities. The magnitude of this decrease was affected by mating system and life history. A male-biased, density-dependent sex ratio reduces the rate of genetic drift compared to an equal, density-independent sex ratio, but a stochastic change towards male bias reduces the N e /N ratio. Environmental stochasticity amplifies temporal fluctuations in population size and is thus vital to consider in estimation of effective population sizes over longer time periods. Our results on the reduced loss of genetic variation at small densities, particularly in polygamous populations, indicate that density regulation may facilitate adaptive evolution at small population sizes. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Density-dependent nest predation in waterfowl: the relative importance of nest density versus nest dispersion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ackerman, Joshua T.; Ringelman, Kevin M.; Eadie, J.M.

2012-01-01

When nest predation levels are very high or very low, the absolute range of observable nest success is constrained (a floor/ceiling effect), and it may be more difficult to detect density-dependent nest predation. Density-dependent nest predation may be more detectable in years with moderate predation rates, simply because there can be a greater absolute difference in nest success between sites. To test this, we replicated a predation experiment 10 years after the original study, using both natural and artificial nests, comparing a year when overall rates of nest predation were high (2000) to a year with moderate nest predation (2010). We found no evidence for density-dependent predation on artificial nests in either year, indicating that nest predation is not density-dependent at the spatial scale of our experimental replicates (1-ha patches). Using nearest-neighbor distances as a measure of nest dispersion, we also found little evidence for “dispersion-dependent” predation on artificial nests. However, when we tested for dispersion-dependent predation using natural nests, we found that nest survival increased with shorter nearest-neighbor distances, and that neighboring nests were more likely to share the same nest fate than non-adjacent nests. Thus, at small spatial scales, density-dependence appears to operate in the opposite direction as predicted: closer nearest neighbors are more likely to be successful. We suggest that local nest dispersion, rather than larger-scale measures of nest density per se, may play a more important role in density-dependent nest predation.

The Plasma Environment at Enceladus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rymer, Abigail; Morooka, Michiko; Persoon, Ann

2016-10-01

The plasma environment near Enceladus is complex. The well documented Enceladus plumes create a dusty, asymmetric exosphere in which electrons can attach to small ice particles - forming anions, and negatively charged nanograins and dust - to the extent that cations can be the lightest charged particles present and, as a result, the dominant current carriers. Several instruments on the Cassini spacecraft are able to measure this environment in both expected and unexpected ways. Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) is designed and calibrated to measure the thermal plasma ions and electrons and also measures the energy/charge of charged nanograins when present. Cassini Radio Plasma Wave Sensor (RPWS) measures electron density as derived from the 'upper hybrid frequency' which is a function of the total free electron density and magnetic field strength and provides a vital ground truth measurement for Cassini calibration when the density is sufficiently high for it to be well measured. Cassini Langmuir Probe (LP) measures the electron density and temperature via direct current measurement, and both CAPS and LP can provide estimates for the spacecraft potential which we compare. Cassini Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) directly measures energetic particles that are manifest in the CAPS measurements as penetrating background in this region and, while not particularly efficient ionisers, create sputtering and surface weathering of Enceladus surface, MIMI also measures energetic neutral atoms produced during the charge exchange interactions in and near the plumes.In this presentation we exploit two almost identical Cassini-Enceladus flybys 'E17' and 'E18' which took place in March/April 2012. We present a detailed comparison of data from these Cassini sensors in order to assess the plasma environment observed by the different instruments, discuss what is consistent and otherwise, and the implications for the plasma environment at Enceladus in the context of work to date as well as implications for future studies.

High population density enhances recruitment and survival of a harvested coral reef fish.

PubMed

Wormald, Clare L; Steele, Mark A; Forrester, Graham E

2013-03-01

A negative relationship between population growth and population density (direct density dependence) is necessary for population regulation and is assumed in most models of harvested populations. Experimental tests for density dependence are lacking for large-bodied, harvested fish because of the difficulty of manipulating population density over large areas. We studied a harvested coral reef fish, Lutjanus apodus (schoolmaster snapper), using eight large, isolated natural reefs (0.4-1.6 ha) in the Bahamas as replicates. An initial observational test for density dependence was followed by a manipulation of population density. The manipulation weakened an association between density and shelter-providing habitat features and revealed a positive effect of population density on recruitment and survival (inverse density dependence), but no effect of density on somatic growth. The snappers on an individual reef were organized into a few shoals, and we hypothesize that large shoals on high-density reefs were less vulnerable to large piscivores (groupers and barracudas) than the small shoals on low-density reefs. Reductions in predation risk for individuals in large social groups are well documented, but because snapper shoals occupied reefs the size of small marine reserves, these ecological interactions may influence the outcome of management actions.

Regulation of Aedes aegypti Population Dynamics in Field Systems: Quantifying Direct and Delayed Density Dependence

PubMed Central

Walsh, Rachael K.; Aguilar, Cristobal L.; Facchinelli, Luca; Valerio, Laura; Ramsey, Janine M.; Scott, Thomas W.; Lloyd, Alun L.; Gould, Fred

2013-01-01

Transgenic strains of Aedes aegypti have been engineered to help control transmission of dengue virus. Although resources have been invested in developing the strains, we lack data on the ecology of mosquitoes that could impact the success of this approach. Although studies of intra-specific competition have been conducted using Ae. aegypti larvae, none of these studies examine mixed age cohorts at densities that occur in the field, with natural nutrient levels. Experiments were conducted in Mexico to determine the impact of direct and delayed density dependence on Ae. aegypti populations. Natural water, food, and larval densities were used to estimate the impacts of density dependence on larval survival, development, and adult body size. Direct and delayed density-dependent factors had a significant impact on larval survival, larval development, and adult body size. These results indicate that control methods attempting to reduce mosquito populations may be counteracted by density-dependent population regulation. PMID:23669230

Self-indicating radiation alert dosemeter (SIRAD).

PubMed

Riel, Gordon K; Winters, Patrick; Patel, Gordhan; Patel, Paresh

2006-01-01

In an event of a nuclear or dirty bomb explosion and a radiological accident, there is a need for self-indicating instant radiation dosemeter for monitoring radiation exposure. The self-indicating instant radiation alert dosemeter (SIRAD) is a credit card size radiation dosemeter for monitoring ionising radiation from a few hundredths of a Gray to a few Gray. It is always active and is ready to use. It needs no battery. The dosemeter develops colour instantly upon exposure, and the colour intensifies with dose. It has a colour chart so that the dose on the active element may be read by matching its colour with the chart that is printed next to it on the card. However, in this work, the dose is measured by the optical density of the element. The dosemeter cannot be reset. The response changes by <1% per degrees C from -20 to +60 degrees C. The shelf-life is >3 y at room temperature. It contains no hazardous materials. The dosemeter would meet the requirements of instantly monitoring high dose in an event of a nuclear or dirty bomb explosion or a radiation accident.

Anomalous cross-B field transport and spokes in HiPIMS plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hecimovic, Ante; Maszl, Christian; Schulz-von der Gathen, Volker; von Keudell, Achim

2016-09-01

The rotation of localised ionisation zones, i.e. spokes, in magnetron discharge is investigated as a function of discharge current, ranging from 10 mA (current density 0.5 mA cm-2) to 140 A (7 A cm-2) . The presence of spokes throughout the complete discharge current range indicates that the spokes are an intrinsic property of a magnetron sputtering plasma discharge. Up to discharge currents of several amperes, the spokes rotate in a retrograde ExB direction and beyond the spokes rotate in a ExB direction. In this contribution we present experimental evidence that anomalous diffusion is triggered by the appearance of spokes rotating in the ExB direction. The Hall parameter ωceτc , product of the electron cyclotron frequency and the classical collision time, reduces from Bohm diffusion values (16 and higher) down to the value of 3 as spokes appear, indicating anomalous cross-B field transport. The ion diffusion coefficients calculated from a sideways image of the spoke is six times higher than Bohm diffusion coefficients, which is consistent with the reduction of the Hall parameter.

A new candidate for a powerful wind detected in a bright IR-galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braito, V.; Reeves, J.; Severgnini, P.; Della Ceca, R.; Matzeu, G.; Ballo, L.; Nardini, E.

2017-10-01

We report the discovery of a new candidate for a powerful disk wind, in a nearby and bright starburst-AGN system: MCG-03-58-007. The winds strongly resembles the case of PDS456. MCG-03-58-007 is a relatively X-ray bright Seyfert 2 galaxy for which a deep Suzaku observation unveiled a highly curved spectrum due to a high column density absorber and an extremely steep intrinsic photon index (Gamma = 3). A detailed analysis showed that the steep spectrum is mainly driven by the presence of a deep absorption trough at 7.5-9 keV. This could be accounted for by the presence of a high ionisation, fast (v up to 0.2c) outflowing wind launched from within a few 100Rg from the black hole, whose kinetic output matches the prescription for significant feedback. New deep simultaneous XMM-Newton and NuSTAR observations provided the first direct measurement of the AGN luminosity and more importantly confirms the presence of a powerful X-ray wind. The new observations show rapid spectral variability, whose main driver appears to be the wind itself.

Evolution of complex density-dependent dispersal strategies.

PubMed

Parvinen, Kalle; Seppänen, Anne; Nagy, John D

2012-11-01

The question of how dispersal behavior is adaptive and how it responds to changes in selection pressure is more relevant than ever, as anthropogenic habitat alteration and climate change accelerate around the world. In metapopulation models where local populations are large, and thus local population size is measured in densities, density-dependent dispersal is expected to evolve to a single-threshold strategy, in which individuals stay in patches with local population density smaller than a threshold value and move immediately away from patches with local population density larger than the threshold. Fragmentation tends to convert continuous populations into metapopulations and also to decrease local population sizes. Therefore we analyze a metapopulation model, where each patch can support only a relatively small local population and thus experience demographic stochasticity. We investigated the evolution of density-dependent dispersal, emigration and immigration, in two scenarios: adult and natal dispersal. We show that density-dependent emigration can also evolve to a nonmonotone, "triple-threshold" strategy. This interesting phenomenon results from an interplay between the direct and indirect benefits of dispersal and the costs of dispersal. We also found that, compared to juveniles, dispersing adults may benefit more from density-dependent vs. density-independent dispersal strategies.

Rapid characterisation and identification of compounds in Saposhnikoviae Radix by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Chen, Luxiao; Chen, Xiangyang; Su, Lei; Jiang, Yanyan; Liu, Bin

2018-04-01

Saposhnikoviae Radix (SR), the dried root of Saposhnikovia divaricata (Turcz.) Schischk. (Umbelliferae), is commonly used as a traditional Chinese medicine. In this study, a rapid and accurate method was firstly, developed for the qualitative analysis of SR by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS). A total of 45 compounds were identified or tentatively characterised, including 13 chromones, 28 coumarins and four others. Among them, 16 compounds were identified from SR for the first time. In addition, six chromones reference standards, including two isolated compounds of 3'-O-angeloylhamaudol and norcimifugin from the extraction of SR, were used to study the fragmentation pathways of chromones. The developed method was effective for characterising the compounds of SR, and the results of the study enriched the understanding of the chemical connotation.

Application of thoron interference as a tool for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron with a pulse ionisation chamber.

PubMed

Tripathi, R M; Sumesh, C G; Vinod Kumar, A; Puranik, V D

2013-07-01

Pulse ionisation chamber (PIC)-based monitors measuring radioactive gas radon ((222)Rn) without energy discrimination will have interference due to thoron ((220)Rn) present in the atmosphere. A technique has been developed to use this property of interference for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron gas. These monitors work on the principle of counting of gross alphas emitted from radon and its progeny. A theoretical model has been developed for the variation of thoron sensitivity with respect to the flow rate of gas through the monitor. The thoron sensitivity of the monitor is found to vary with the flow rate of gas through the monitor. Using this sensitivity, the sampling procedure has been developed and verified for simultaneous measurement of radon and thoron. The PIC-measured radon and thoron concentration using this procedure agrees well with those measured by using standard radon and thoron discriminating monitor.

Test beam results of micro channel plates in 'ionisation mode' for the detection of single charged particle and electromagnetic showers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnyakov, A.; Barnyakov, M.; Novosibirsk State University, str. Pirogova 2, Novosibirsk,

2015-07-01

IMCP is an R and D project aimed at the exploitation of secondary emission of electrons from the surface of microchannel plates (MCP) for fast timing of showers in high rate environments. The usage of MCPs in 'ionisation' mode has long been proposed and is used extensively in ion time-of-flight mass spectrometers. What has not been investigated in depth is their use to detect the ionizing component of showers. The fast time resolution of MCPs exceeds anything that has been previously used in calorimeters, and, if exploited effectively, could aid in the event reconstruction at high luminosities. Results from testsmore » with electrons with energies up to 150 GeV of MCP devices with different characteristics will be presented, in particular detection efficiency and time resolution. (authors)« less

Analysis of dose-LET distribution in the human body irradiated by high energy hadrons.

PubMed

Sato, T; Tsuda, S; Sakamoto, Y; Yamaguchi, Y; Niita, K

2003-01-01

For the purposes of radiological protection, it is important to analyse profiles of the particle field inside a human body irradiated by high energy hadrons, since they can produce a variety of secondary particles which play an important role in the energy deposition process, and characterise their radiation qualities. Therefore Monte Carlo calculations were performed to evaluate dose distributions in terms of the linear energy transfer of ionising particles (dose-LET distribution) using a newly developed particle transport code (Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System, PHITS) for incidences of neutrons, protons and pions with energies from 100 MeV to 200 GeV. Based on these calculations, it was found that more than 80% and 90% of the total deposition energies are attributed to ionisation by particles with LET below 10 keV microm(-1) for the irradiations of neutrons and the charged particles, respectively.

¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁵N HMBC, and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopic characterisation of seized flephedrone, cut with benzocaine.

PubMed

Alotaibi, Majdah R; Husbands, Stephen M; Blagbrough, Ian S

2015-03-25

Flephedrone (4-fluoromethcathinone, 4-FMC) was analysed using (1)H, (13)C, (15)N HMBC, and (19)F observe spectroscopy, gas chromatography-flame ionisation detection (GC-FID), and electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Analysis of four 4-FMC samples (from a Bristol nightclub in 2013) showed that they all contained benzocaine as the cutting agent present in different amounts from 5 to 12%. Using these methods, we successfully differentiated between flephedrone regioisomers and mephedrone in an analytical method validated for flephedrone as a substituted cathinone. The data show that these now illegal cathinone-derived stimulants (highs) are now being cut; users cannot be certain of the purity of the drug they are taking. Furthermore, there are risks from the pharmaceutically active cutting agents themselves. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The calibration of plane parallel ionisation chambers for the measurement of absorbed dose in electron beams of low to medium energies. Part 2: The PTW/MARKUS chamber.

PubMed

Cross, P; Freeman, N

1997-06-01

The purpose of Part 2 study of calibration methods for plane parallel ionisation chambers was to determine the feasibility of using beams of calibration of the MARKUS chamber other than the standard AAPM TG39 reference beams of 60Co and a high energy electron beam (E0 > or = 15 MeV). A previous study of the NACP chamber had demonstrated an acceptable level of accuracy with corresponding spread of -0.5% to +0.8% for its calibration in non-standard situations (medium to low energy electron and photon beams). For non-standard situations the spread in NDMARKUS values was found to be +/-2.5%. The results suggest that user calibrations of the MARKUS chamber in non-standard situations are associated with more uncertainties than is the case with the NACP chamber.

Electron ionisation induced fragmentation of ethyl 5(1H)-oxo- and 7(1H)-oxo-1-aryl-2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-a]-pyrimidine-6-carboxylates: evidence for an unusually regioselective rearrangement of M(+*) ions.

PubMed

Ovcharenko, V V; Pihlaja, K; Matosiuk, D

2001-01-01

The 70-eV electron ionisation (EI) mass spectra of the title compounds show clear differences between the 5-oxo and 7-oxo isomers due to regioselective fragmentations involving the ester function. Exceptionally abundant metastable peaks due to molecular ions fragmenting to [M -CO2](+.) were observed exclusively for the 7-oxo isomers, suggesting that the sufficiently long-lived molecular ions undergo a slow rearrangement preceding this fragmentation reaction. The results are contrasted to the available literature data on the ester group fragmentations involving the loss of CO2 and the EI mass spectrometry of pyrimidone beta-oxo esters. A reaction mechanism is proposed for the elimination of CO2 following ethyl group migration to the pyrimidone carbonyl oxygen. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An evaluation of radiation damage to solid state components flown in low earth orbit satellites.

PubMed

Shin, Myung-Won; Kim, Myung-Hyun

2004-01-01

The effects of total ionising radiation dose upon commercial off-the-shelf semiconductors fitted to satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO) conditions was evaluated. The evaluation was performed for the Korea Institute of Technology SATellite-1, (KITSAT-1) which was equipped with commercial solid state components. Two approximate calculation models for space radiation shielding were developed. Verification was performed by comparing the results with detailed three-dimensional calculations using the Monte-Carlo method and measured data from KITSAT-1. It was confirmed that the developed approximate models were reliable for satellite shielding calculations. It was also found that commercial semiconductor devices, which were not radiation hardened, could be damaged within their lifetime due to the total ionising dose they are subject to in the LEO environment. To conclude, an intensive shielding analysis should be considered when commercial devices are used.

Identification of the isomers using principal component analysis (PCA) method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kepceoǧlu, Abdullah; Gündoǧdu, Yasemin; Ledingham, Kenneth William David; Kilic, Hamdi Sukur

2016-03-01

In this work, we have carried out a detailed statistical analysis for experimental data of mass spectra from xylene isomers. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify the isomers which cannot be distinguished using conventional statistical methods for interpretation of their mass spectra. Experiments have been carried out using a linear TOF-MS coupled to a femtosecond laser system as an energy source for the ionisation processes. We have performed experiments and collected data which has been analysed and interpreted using PCA as a multivariate analysis of these spectra. This demonstrates the strength of the method to get an insight for distinguishing the isomers which cannot be identified using conventional mass analysis obtained through dissociative ionisation processes on these molecules. The PCA results dependending on the laser pulse energy and the background pressure in the spectrometers have been presented in this work.

[Magnetic resonance enterography: technique and indications. Findings in Crohn's disease].

PubMed

Torregrosa, A; Pallardó, Y; Hinojosa, J; Insa, S; Molina, R

2013-09-01

Radiology with oral contrast, or enteroclysis, have traditionally been the techniques of choice in the examination of the small intestine, due to the excellent visualisation of the mucosal pattern. However, the absence of extra-luminal information and the use of ionising radiation have replaced these examinations with sectional techniques which enable the abdominal cavity to be viewed with good resolution. Magnetic resonance enterography is a simple technique, with no ionising radiation, provided quality images, distends the intestinal lumen well by the administration of non-reabsorbable oral substances, minimises peristalsis, and establishes a protocol which includes sequences with intravenous contrast. These properties can be used in patients with Crohn's disease, achieving good diagnostic precision in the assessment of activity and monitoring of treatment, in intestinal obstruction, in the suspicion of small intestine tumours, and in paediatric patients due to it being harmless. Copyright © 2011 SERAM. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

How fast can an AGN shut down? XMM-Newton observation of IC 2497

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schawinski, Kevin

2008-10-01

We propose to observe IC 2497 with XMM-Newton to detect, or rule out, an obscured AGN that might account for the illumination of `Hanny's Voorwerp'. The Voorwerp is a highly ionised cloud of gas extended over 15-25 kpc next to the spiral galaxy IC 2497. There is no source of ionisation within the Voorwerp, implicating a luminous 1E44 erg/s AGN in IC 2497 as the source. Swift XRT observations do not yield a detection, allowing the presence of a highly obscured, sufficiently luminous AGN. With 34 ksec of XMM observations, we could detect an obscured AGN down to 1E42 erg/s. We can thus either locate an obscured AGN, or we can for the first time constrain the shutdown time scale for a powerful AGN, as it drops by a factor of 100 in luminosity in 1E5 years.

End-to-end system test for solid-state microdosemeters.

PubMed

Pisacane, V L; Dolecek, Q E; Malak, H; Dicello, J F

2010-08-01

The gold standard in microdosemeters has been the tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) that utilises a gas cavity. An alternative is the solid-state microdosemeter that replaces the gas with a condensed phase (silicon) detector with microscopic sensitive volumes. Calibrations of gas and solid-state microdosemeters are generally carried out using radiation sources built into the detector that impose restrictions on their handling, transportation and licensing in accordance with the regulations from international, national and local nuclear regulatory bodies. Here a novel method is presented for carrying out a calibration and end-to-end system test of a microdosemeter using low-energy photons as the initiating energy source, thus obviating the need for a regulated ionising radiation source. This technique may be utilised to calibrate both a solid-state microdosemeter and, with modification, a TEPC with the higher average ionisation energy of a gas.

Brain Radiation Information Data Exchange (BRIDE): integration of experimental data from low-dose ionising radiation research for pathway discovery.

PubMed

Karapiperis, Christos; Kempf, Stefan J; Quintens, Roel; Azimzadeh, Omid; Vidal, Victoria Linares; Pazzaglia, Simonetta; Bazyka, Dimitry; Mastroberardino, Pier G; Scouras, Zacharias G; Tapio, Soile; Benotmane, Mohammed Abderrafi; Ouzounis, Christos A

2016-05-11

The underlying molecular processes representing stress responses to low-dose ionising radiation (LDIR) in mammals are just beginning to be understood. In particular, LDIR effects on the brain and their possible association with neurodegenerative disease are currently being explored using omics technologies. We describe a light-weight approach for the storage, analysis and distribution of relevant LDIR omics datasets. The data integration platform, called BRIDE, contains information from the literature as well as experimental information from transcriptomics and proteomics studies. It deploys a hybrid, distributed solution using both local storage and cloud technology. BRIDE can act as a knowledge broker for LDIR researchers, to facilitate molecular research on the systems biology of LDIR response in mammals. Its flexible design can capture a range of experimental information for genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. The data collection is available at: .

Characteristics of Polarisation in the Ramsauer-Townsend Minima in Strongly Coupled Semiclassic Plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Myoung-Jae; Jung, Young-Dae

2017-10-01

The influence of quantum shielding on the Ramsauer-Townsend phenomena for the total electron-atom polarisation collision cross-section is investigated in partially ionised strongly coupled semiclassic plasmas. The result shows that the quantum shielding effect changes the position of the Ramsauer energy in partially ionised strongly coupled plasmas. It is also found that the quantum shielding effect enhances the total electron-atom collision cross-section when the collision energy is greater than the Ramsauer energy; however, it suppresses the collision cross-section when the collision energy is smaller than the Ramsauer energy. In addition, it is shown that the plasma screening effect significantly changes the position of the Ramsauer energy and the influence of plasma screening on the magnitude of the collision cross-section is more significant near the Ramsauer energy domain. The variations of the Ramsauer energy and the collision cross-section due to the quantum shielding effect are also discussed.

Disentangling density-dependent dynamics using full annual cycle models and Bayesian model weight updating

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Orin J.; McGowan, Conor P.; Devers, Patrick K.

2017-01-01

Density dependence regulates populations of many species across all taxonomic groups. Understanding density dependence is vital for predicting the effects of climate, habitat loss and/or management actions on wild populations. Migratory species likely experience seasonal changes in the relative influence of density dependence on population processes such as survival and recruitment throughout the annual cycle. These effects must be accounted for when characterizing migratory populations via population models.To evaluate effects of density on seasonal survival and recruitment of a migratory species, we used an existing full annual cycle model framework for American black ducks Anas rubripes, and tested different density effects (including no effects) on survival and recruitment. We then used a Bayesian model weight updating routine to determine which population model best fit observed breeding population survey data between 1990 and 2014.The models that best fit the survey data suggested that survival and recruitment were affected by density dependence and that density effects were stronger on adult survival during the breeding season than during the non-breeding season.Analysis also suggests that regulation of survival and recruitment by density varied over time. Our results showed that different characterizations of density regulations changed every 8–12 years (three times in the 25-year period) for our population.Synthesis and applications. Using a full annual cycle, modelling framework and model weighting routine will be helpful in evaluating density dependence for migratory species in both the short and long term. We used this method to disentangle the seasonal effects of density on the continental American black duck population which will allow managers to better evaluate the effects of habitat loss and potential habitat management actions throughout the annual cycle. The method here may allow researchers to hone in on the proper form and/or strength of density dependence for use in models for conservation recommendations.

Characterization of emitted light from travelling Gunn domains in Al0.08Ga0.92As alloy based Gunn devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cetinkaya, Caglar; Mutlu, Selman; Donmez, Omer; Erol, Ayse

2017-11-01

We report room temperature operation of light emitters based on Al0.08Ga0.92As Gunn devices fabricated in a simple bar geometry with wedged-shaped electrodes. High-speed I-V measurements reveal that, at the threshold of negative differential resistance region at around 3.8 kV/cm, current instabilities, i.e., Gunn oscillations, are created with a 3.8 ns period. Both edge and surface light emission are observed when the device is biased at an electric field of onset of the negative differential resistance (NDR) region at around 3.8 kV/cm and the intensity of the light exponentially increases at applied fields just above NDR threshold likewise in a conventional laser. The origin of the light emission, which has peak wavelength is around 816 nm corresponds to the band-gap energy of Al0.08Ga0.92As, is recombination of electrons and holes generated by impact ionisation process in travelling space charge domains, i.e., Gunn domains. We demonstrate that, with increasing applied field, the amplitude of Gunn domains increases which is a result of the enhanced generation of electrons and holes via impact ionisation. The intensity of the emitted light is observed to be dependent on applied electric field. At low electric fields, light intensity increases linearly then, when applied electric field reaches the onset of NDR region, increases exponentially. Besides, as applied field is increased, full width at half maximum (FWHM) of emitted light decreases to 56.5 nm from 62 nm, evolving into higher selective emission line in wavelength. The light emission from the device is determined to be independent of the polarity of the applied voltage. A comparison of surface emission and edge emission characteristics of the waveguided device are different from each other. Edge emission has higher electroluminescence intensity and better spectral purity than surface emission with well-defined longitudinal modes of Fabry-Pérot cavity, which indicates that, in such a device, lasing action arises from the recombination of excess carriers generated via impact ionisation in travelling Gunn domains. Besides, the edge emission peak of waveguided Al0.08Ga0.92As Gunn device at 4.1 kV/cm is split into two peaks with FWHM of 8 and 6 nm as well as neighbouring sharper minor peaks due to stimulated emission dominates by building-up photons in the cavity. Our results reveal that the proposed Gunn device can be a promising alternative to conventional diode lasers with its simpler design, only one type doped active region and voltage polarity-independent operation, but the duty cycle has to be chosen small enough to make the device operate at room temperature.

Experimental evidence that density dependence strongly influences plant invasions through fragmented landscapes.

PubMed

Williams, Jennifer L; Levine, Jonathan M

2018-04-01

Populations of range expanding species encounter patches of both favorable and unfavorable habitat as they spread across landscapes. Theory shows that increasing patchiness slows the spread of populations modeled with continuously varying population density when dispersal is not influence by the environment or individual behavior. However, as is found in uniformly favorable landscapes, spread remains driven by fecundity and dispersal from low density individuals at the invasion front. In contrast, when modeled populations are composed of discrete individuals, patchiness causes populations to build up to high density before dispersing past unsuitable habitat, introducing an important influence of density dependence on spread velocity. To test the hypothesized interaction between habitat patchiness and density dependence, we simultaneously manipulated these factors in a greenhouse system of annual plants spreading through replicated experimental landscapes. We found that increasing the size of gaps and amplifying the strength of density dependence both slowed spread velocity, but contrary to predictions, the effect of amplified density dependence was similar across all landscape types. Our results demonstrate that the discrete nature of individuals in spreading populations has a strong influence on how both landscape patchiness and density dependence influence spread through demographic and dispersal stochasticity. Both finiteness and landscape structure should be critical components to theoretical predictions of future spread for range expanding native species or invasive species colonizing new habitat. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

pi-eta mixing and charge symmetry violating NN potential in matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biswas, Subhrajyoti; Roy, Pradip; Dutt-Mazumder, Abhee K.

2010-06-15

We construct density-dependent class III charge symmetry violating (CSV) potential caused by the mixing of pi-eta mesons with off-shell corrections. The density dependence enters through the nonvanishing pi-eta mixing driven by both the neutron-proton mass difference and their asymmetric density distribution. The contribution of density-dependent mixing to the CSV potential is found to be appreciably larger than that of the vacuum part.

Estimation of the peak entrance surface air kerma for patients undergoing computed tomography-guided procedures.

PubMed

Avilés Lucas, P; Dance, D R; Castellano, I A; Vañó, E

2005-01-01

The purpose of this work was to develop a method for estimating the patient peak entrance surface air kerma from measurements using a pencil ionisation chamber on dosimetry phantoms exposed in a computed tomography (CT) scanner. The method described is especially relevant for CT fluoroscopy and CT perfusion procedures where the peak entrance surface air kerma is the risk-related quantity of primary concern. Pencil ionisation chamber measurements include scattered radiation, which is outside the primary radiation field, and that must be subtracted in order to derive the peak entrance surface air kerma. A Monte Carlo computer model has therefore been used to calculate correction factors, which may be applied to measurements of the CT dose index obtained using a pencil ionisation chamber in order to estimate the peak entrance surface air kerma. The calculations were made for beam widths of 5, 7, 10 and 20 mm, for seven positions of the phantom, and for the geometry of a GE HiSpeed CT/i scanner. The program was validated by comparing measurements and calculations of CTDI for various vertical positions of the phantom and by directly estimating the peak ESAK using the program. Both validations showed agreement within statistical uncertainties (standard deviation of 2.3% or less). For the GE machine, the correction factors vary by approximately 10% with slice width for a fixed phantom position, being largest for the 20 mm beam width, and at that beam width range from 0.87 when the phantom surface is at the isocentre to 1.23 when it is displaced vertically by 24 cm.

Cosmic rays, gas and dust in nearby anticentre clouds. I. CO-to-H2 conversion factors and dust opacities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remy, Q.; Grenier, I. A.; Marshall, D. J.; Casandjian, J. M.

2017-05-01

Aims: We aim to explore the capabilities of dust emission and γ rays for probing the properties of the interstellar medium in the nearby anti-centre region, using γ-ray observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), and the thermal dust optical depth inferred from Planck and IRAS observations. We also aim to study massive star-forming clouds including the well known Taurus, Auriga, Perseus, and California molecular clouds, as well as a more diffuse structure which we refer to as Cetus. In particular, we aim at quantifying potential variations in cosmic-ray density and dust properties per gas nucleon across the different gas phases and different clouds, and at measuring the CO-to-H2 conversion factor, XCO, in different environments. Methods: We have separated six nearby anti-centre clouds that are coherent in velocities and distances, from the Galactic-disc background in H I 21-cm and 12CO 2.6-mm line emission. We have jointly modelled the γ-ray intensity recorded between 0.4 and 100 GeV, and the dust optical depth τ353 at 353 GHz as a combination of H I-bright, CO-bright, and ionised gas components. The complementary information from dust emission and γ rays was used to reveal the gas not seen, or poorly traced, by H I, free-free, and 12CO emissions, namely (I) the opaque H iand diffuse H2 present in the Dark Neutral Medium at the atomic-molecular transition, and (II) the dense H2 to be added where 12CO lines saturate. Results: The measured interstellar γ-ray spectra support a uniform penetration of the cosmic rays with energies above a few GeV through the clouds, from the atomic envelopes to the 12CO-bright cores, and with a small ± 9% cloud-to-cloud dispersion in particle flux. We detect the ionised gas from the H iiregion NGC 1499 in the dust and γ-ray emissions and measure its mean electron density and temperature. We find a gradual increase in grain opacity as the gas (atomic or molecular) becomes more dense. The increase reaches a factor of four to six in the cold molecular regions that are well shielded from stellar radiation. Consequently, the XCO factor derived from dust is systematically larger by 30% to 130% than the γ-ray estimate. We also evaluate the average γ-ray XCO factor for each cloud, and find that XCO tends to decrease from diffuse to more compact molecular clouds, as expected from theory. We find XCO factors in the anti-centre clouds close to or below 1020 cm-2 K-1 km-1 s, in agreement with other estimates in the solar neighbourhood. Together, they confirm the long-standing unexplained discrepancy, by a factor of two, between the mean XCO values measured at parsec scales in nearby clouds and those obtained at kiloparsec scale in the Galaxy. Our results also highlight large quantitative discrepancies in 12CO intensities between simulations and observations at low molecular gas densities.

Exploring variable patterns of density-dependent larval settlement among corals with distinct and shared functional traits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doropoulos, Christopher; Gómez-Lemos, Luis A.; Babcock, Russell C.

2018-03-01

Coral settlement is a key process for the recovery and maintenance of coral reefs, yet interspecific variations in density-dependent settlement are unknown. Settlement of the submassive Goniastrea retiformis and corymbose Acropora digitifera and A. millepora was quantified at densities ranging from 1 to 50 larvae per 20 mL from 110 to 216 h following spawning. Settlement patterns were distinct for each species. Goniastrea settlement was rapid and increased linearly with time, whereas both Acropora spp. hardly settled until crustose coralline algae was provided. Both Goniastrea and A. digitifera showed positive density-dependent settlement, but the relationship was exponential for Goniastrea but linear for A. digitifera. Settlement was highest but density independent in A. millepora. Our results suggest that larval density can have significant effects on settler replenishment, and highlight variability in density-dependent settlement among corals with distinct functional traits as well as those with similar functional forms.

Teaching about Radioactivity and Ionising Radiation: An Alternative Approach.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Millar, Robin; And Others

1990-01-01

Children's ideas about radiation and radioactivity are reviewed and several common areas of misunderstanding are identified. An approach to teaching the topic at the secondary school level which seeks to specifically address known difficulties is outlined. (CW)

Dependence of SOL widths on plasma current and density in NSTX H-mode plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, J.-W.; Maingi, R.; Boedo, J. A.; Soukhanovskii, V.; NSTX Team

2009-06-01

The dependence of various SOL widths on the line-averaged density ( n) and plasma current ( Ip) for the quiescent H-mode plasmas with Type-V ELMs in the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) was investigated. It is found that the heat flux SOL width ( λq), measured by the IR camera, is virtually insensitive to n and has a strong negative dependence on Ip. This insensitivity of λq to n¯e is consistent with the scaling law from JET H-mode plasmas that shows a very weak dependence on the upstream density. The electron temperature, ion saturation current density, electron density, and electron pressure decay lengths ( λTe, λjsat, λne, and λpe, respectively) measured by the probe showed that λTe and λjsat have strong negative dependence on Ip, whereas λne and λpe revealed only a little or no dependence. The dependence of λTe on Ip is consistent with the scaling law in the literature, while λne and λpe dependence shows a different trend.

Determining the functional form of density dependence: deductive approaches for consumer-resource systems having a single resource.

PubMed

Abrams, Peter A

2009-09-01

Consumer-resource models are used to deduce the functional form of density dependence in the consumer population. A general approach to determining the form of consumer density dependence is proposed; this involves determining the equilibrium (or average) population size for a series of different harvest rates. The relationship between a consumer's mortality and its equilibrium population size is explored for several one-consumer/one-resource models. The shape of density dependence in the resource and the shape of the numerical and functional responses all tend to be "inherited" by the consumer's density dependence. Consumer-resource models suggest that density dependence will very often have both concave and convex segments, something that is impossible under the commonly used theta-logistic model. A range of consumer-resource models predicts that consumer population size often declines at a decelerating rate with mortality at low mortality rates, is insensitive to or increases with mortality over a wide range of intermediate mortalities, and declines at a rapidly accelerating rate with increased mortality when mortality is high. This has important implications for management and conservation of natural populations.

The dependence of stellar properties on initial cloud density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Michael O.; Bate, Matthew R.

2018-05-01

We investigate the dependence of stellar properties on the initial mean density of the molecular cloud in which stellar clusters form using radiation hydrodynamical simulations that resolve the opacity limit for fragmentation. We have simulated the formation of three star clusters from the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds whose densities vary by a factor of a hundred. As with previous calculations including radiative feedback, we find that the dependence of the characteristic stellar mass, Mc, on the initial mean density of the cloud, ρ, is weaker than the dependence of the thermal Jeans mass. However, unlike previous calculations, which found no statistically significant variation in the median mass with density, we find a weak dependence approximately of the form Mc∝ρ-1/5. The distributions of properties of multiple systems do not vary significantly between the calculations. We compare our results to the result of observational surveys of star-forming regions, and suggest that the similarities between the properties of our lowest density calculation and the nearby Taurus-Auriga region indicate that the apparent excess of solar-type stars observed may be due to the region's low density.

Active Space Dependence in Multiconfiguration Pair-Density Functional Theory.

PubMed

Sharma, Prachi; Truhlar, Donald G; Gagliardi, Laura

2018-02-13

In multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT), multiconfiguration self-consistent-field calculations and on-top density functionals are combined to describe both static and dynamic correlation. Here, we investigate how the MC-PDFT total energy and its components depend on the active space choice in the case of the H 2 and N 2 molecules. The active space dependence of the on-top pair density, the total density, the ratio of on-top pair density to half the square of the electron density, and the satisfaction of the virial theorem are also explored. We find that the density and on-top pair density do not change significantly with changes in the active space. However, the on-top ratio does change significantly with respect to active space change, and this affects the on-top energy. This study provides a foundation for designing on-top density functionals and automatizing the active space choice in MC-PDFT.

Dependences of contraction/expansion of stacking faults on temperature and current density in 4H-SiC p–i–n diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, Aoi; Nishio, Johji; Iijima, Ryosuke; Ota, Chiharu; Goryu, Akihiro; Miyazato, Masaki; Ryo, Mina; Shinohe, Takashi; Miyajima, Masaaki; Kato, Tomohisa; Yonezawa, Yoshiyuki; Okumura, Hajime

2018-06-01

To investigate the mechanism of contraction/expansion behavior of Shockley stacking faults (SSFs) in 4H-SiC p–i–n diodes, the dependences of the SSF behavior on temperature and injection current density were investigated by electroluminescence image observation. We investigated the dependences of both triangle- and bar-shaped SSFs on the injection current density at four temperature levels. All SSFs in this study show similar temperature and injection current density dependences. We found that the expansion of SSFs at a high current density was converted to contraction at a certain value as the current decreased and that the value is temperature-dependent. It has been confirmed that SSF behavior, which was considered complex or peculiar, might be explained mainly by the energy change caused by SSFs.

Spatially varying density dependence drives a shifting mosaic of survival in a recovering apex predator (Canis lupus).

PubMed

O'Neil, Shawn T; Bump, Joseph K; Beyer, Dean E

2017-11-01

Understanding landscape patterns in mortality risk is crucial for promoting recovery of threatened and endangered species. Humans affect mortality risk in large carnivores such as wolves ( Canis lupus ), but spatiotemporally varying density dependence can significantly influence the landscape of survival. This potentially occurs when density varies spatially and risk is unevenly distributed. We quantified spatiotemporal sources of variation in survival rates of gray wolves ( C. lupus ) during a 21-year period of population recovery in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. We focused on mapping risk across time using Cox Proportional Hazards (CPH) models with time-dependent covariates, thus exploring a shifting mosaic of survival. Extended CPH models and time-dependent covariates revealed influences of seasonality, density dependence and experience, as well as individual-level factors and landscape predictors of risk. We used results to predict the shifting landscape of risk at the beginning, middle, and end of the wolf recovery time series. Survival rates varied spatially and declined over time. Long-term change was density-dependent, with landscape predictors such as agricultural land cover and edge densities contributing negatively to survival. Survival also varied seasonally and depended on individual experience, sex, and resident versus transient status. The shifting landscape of survival suggested that increasing density contributed to greater potential for human conflict and wolf mortality risk. Long-term spatial variation in key population vital rates is largely unquantified in many threatened, endangered, and recovering species. Variation in risk may indicate potential for source-sink population dynamics, especially where individuals preemptively occupy suitable territories, which forces new individuals into riskier habitat types as density increases. We encourage managers to explore relationships between adult survival and localized changes in population density. Density-dependent risk maps can identify increasing conflict areas or potential habitat sinks which may persist due to high recruitment in adjacent habitats.

Feedback by massive stars and the emergence of superbubbles. I. Energy efficiency and Vishniac instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krause, M.; Fierlinger, K.; Diehl, R.; Burkert, A.; Voss, R.; Ziegler, U.

2013-02-01

Context. Massive stars influence their environment through stellar winds, ionising radiation, and supernova explosions. This is signified by observed interstellar bubbles. Such feedback is an important factor for galaxy evolution theory and galactic wind models. The efficiency of the energy injection into the interstellar medium (ISM) via bubbles and superbubbles is uncertain, and is usually treated as a free parameter for galaxy scale effects. In particular, since many stars are born in groups, it is interesting to study the dependence of the effective energy injection on the concentration of the stars. Aims: We aim to reproduce observations of superbubbles, their relation to the energy injection of the parent stars, and to understand their effective energy input into the ISM, as a function of the spatial configuration of the group of parent stars. Methods: We study the evolution of isolated and merging interstellar bubbles of three stars (25, 32, and 60 M⊙) in a homogeneous background medium with a density of 10mp cm-3 via 3D-hydrodynamic simulations with standard ISM thermodynamics (optically thin radiative cooling and photo-electric heating) and time-dependent energy and mass input according to stellar evolutionary tracks. We vary the position of the three stars relative to each other to compare the energy response for cases of isolated, merging and initially cospatial bubbles. Results: Mainly due to the Vishniac instability, our simulated bubbles develop thick shells and filamentary internal structures in column density. The shell widths reach tens of per cent of the outer bubble radius, which compares favourably to observations. More energy is retained in the ISM for more closely packed groups, by up to a factor of three and typically a factor of two for intermediate times after the first supernova. Once the superbubble is established, different positions of the contained stars make only a minor difference to the energy tracks. For our case of three massive stars, the energy deposition varies only very little for distances up to about 30 pc between the stars. Energy injected by supernovae is entirely dissipated in a superbubble on a timescale of about 1 Myr, which increases slightly with the superbubble size at the time of the explosion. Conclusions: The Vishniac instability may be responsible for the broadening of the shells of interstellar bubbles. Massive star winds are significant energetically due to their - in the long run - more efficient, steady energy injection and because they evacuate the space around the massive stars. For larger scale simulations, the feedback effect of close groups of stars or clusters may be subsumed into one effective energy input with insignificant loss of energy accuracy. The movie associated to Fig. 3 is available at http://www.aanda.org

Search for magnetic monopoles with the MoEDAL prototype trapping detector in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Acharya, B.; Alexandre, J.; Bendtz, K.; Benes, P.; Bernabéu, J.; Campbell, M.; Cecchini, S.; Chwastowski, J.; Chatterjee, A.; de Montigny, M.; Derendarz, D.; De Roeck, A.; Ellis, J. R.; Fairbairn, M.; Felea, D.; Frank, M.; Frekers, D.; Garcia, C.; Giacomelli, G.; Hasegan, D.; Kalliokoski, M.; Katre, A.; Kim, D.-W.; King, M. G. L.; Kinoshita, K.; Lacarrère, D. H.; Lee, S. C.; Leroy, C.; Lionti, A.; Margiotta, A.; Mauri, N.; Mavromatos, N. E.; Mermod, P.; Milstead, D.; Mitsou, V. A.; Orava, R.; Parker, B.; Pasqualini, L.; Patrizii, L.; Păvălas, G. E.; Pinfold, J. L.; Platkevič, M.; Popa, V.; Pozzato, M.; Pospisil, S.; Rajantie, A.; Sahnoun, Z.; Sakellariadou, M.; Sarkar, S.; Semenoff, G.; Sirri, G.; Sliwa, K.; Soluk, R.; Spurio, M.; Srivastava, Y. N.; Staszewski, R.; Suk, M.; Swain, J.; Tenti, M.; Togo, V.; Trzebinski, M.; Tuszynski, J. A.; Vento, V.; Vives, O.; Vykydal, Z.; Whyntie, T.; Widom, A.; Willems, G.; Yoon, J. H.

2016-08-01

The MoEDAL experiment is designed to search for magnetic monopoles and other highly-ionising particles produced in high-energy collisions at the LHC. The largely passive MoEDAL detector, deployed at Interaction Point 8 on the LHC ring, relies on two dedicated direct detection techniques. The first technique is based on stacks of nucleartrack detectors with surface area ~18m2, sensitive to particle ionisation exceeding a high threshold. These detectors are analysed offline by optical scanning microscopes. The second technique is based on the trapping of charged particles in an array of roughly 800 kg of aluminium samples. These samples are monitored offline for the presence of trapped magnetic charge at a remote superconducting magnetometer facility. We present here the results of a search for magnetic monopoles using a 160 kg prototype MoEDAL trapping detector exposed to 8TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC, for an integrated luminosity of 0.75 fb-1. No magnetic charge exceeding 0:5 g D (where g D is the Dirac magnetic charge) is measured in any of the exposed samples, allowing limits to be placed on monopole production in the mass range 100 GeV≤ m ≤ 3500 GeV. Model-independent cross-section limits are presented in fiducial regions of monopole energy and direction for 1 g D ≤ | g| ≤ 6 g D, and model-dependent cross-section limits are obtained for Drell-Yan pair production of spin-1/2 and spin-0 monopoles for 1 g D ≤ | g| ≤ 4 g D. Under the assumption of Drell-Yan cross sections, mass limits are derived for | g| = 2 g D and | g| = 3 g D for the first time at the LHC, surpassing the results from previous collider experiments.

Dose-effect relationships, epidemiological analysis and the derivation of low dose risk.

PubMed

Leenhouts, H P; Chadwick, K H

2011-03-01

This paper expands on our recent comments in a letter to this journal about the analysis of epidemiological studies and the determination of low dose RBE of low LET radiation (Chadwick and Leenhouts 2009 J. Radiol. Prot. 29 445-7). Using the assumption that radiation induced cancer arises from a somatic mutation (Chadwick and Leenhouts 2011 J. Radiol. Prot. 31 41-8) a model equation is derived to describe cancer induction as a function of dose. The model is described briefly, evidence is provided in support of it, and it is applied to a set of experimental animal data. The results are compared with a linear fit to the data as has often been done in epidemiological studies. The article presents arguments to support several related messages which are relevant to epidemiological analysis, the derivation of low dose risk and the weighting factor of sparsely ionising radiations. The messages are: (a) cancer incidence following acute exposure should, in principle, be fitted to a linear-quadratic curve with cell killing using all the data available; (b) the acute data are dominated by the quadratic component of dose; (c) the linear fit of any acute data will essentially be dependent on the quadratic component and will be unrelated to the effectiveness of the radiation at low doses; consequently, (d) the method used by ICRP to derive low dose risk from the atomic bomb survivor data means that it is unrelated to the effectiveness of the hard gamma radiation at low radiation doses; (e) the low dose risk value should, therefore, not be used as if it were representative for hard gamma rays to argue for an increased weighting factor for tritium and soft x-rays even though there are mechanistic reasons to expect this; (f) epidemiological studies of chronically exposed populations supported by appropriate cellular radiobiological studies have the best chance of revealing different RBE values for different sparsely ionising radiations.

Optical emission spectroscopy of point-plane corona and back-corona discharges in air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czech, T.; Sobczyk, A. T.; Jaworek, A.

2011-12-01

Results of spectroscopic investigations and current-voltage characteristics of corona discharge and back discharge on fly-ash layer, generated in point-plane electrode geometry in air at atmospheric pressure are presented in the paper. The characteristics of both discharges are similar but differ in the current and voltage ranges of all the discharge forms distinguished during the experiments. Three forms of back discharge, for positive and negative polarity, were investigated: glow, streamer and low-current back-arc. In order to characterize ionisation and excitation processes in back discharge, the emission spectra were measured and compared with those obtained for normal corona discharge generated in the same electrode configuration but with fly ash layer removed. The emission spectra were measured in two discharge zones: near the tip of needle electrode and near the plate. Visual forms of the discharge were recorded with digital camera and referred to current-voltage characteristics and emission spectra. The measurements have shown that spectral lines emitted by back discharge depend on the form of discharge and the discharge current. From the comparison of the spectral lines of back and normal discharges an effect of fly ash layer on the discharge morphology can be determined. The recorded emission spectra formed by ionised gas and plasma near the needle electrode and fly ash layer are different. It should be noted that in back arc emission, spectral lines of fly ash layer components can be distinguished. On the other hand, in needle zone, the emission of high intensity N2 second positive system and NO γ lines can be noticed. Regardless of these gaseous lines, also atomic lines of dust layer were present in the spectrum. The differences in spectra of back discharge for positive and negative polarities of the needle electrode have been explained by considering the kind of ions generated in the crater in fly ash layer. The aim of these studies is to better understand the discharge processes encountered in electrostatic precipitators.

Characterisation of exposure to non-ionising electromagnetic fields in the Spanish INMA birth cohort: study protocol.

PubMed

Gallastegi, Mara; Guxens, Mònica; Jiménez-Zabala, Ana; Calvente, Irene; Fernández, Marta; Birks, Laura; Struchen, Benjamin; Vrijheid, Martine; Estarlich, Marisa; Fernández, Mariana F; Torrent, Maties; Ballester, Ferrán; Aurrekoetxea, Juan J; Ibarluzea, Jesús; Guerra, David; González, Julián; Röösli, Martin; Santa-Marina, Loreto

2016-02-18

Analysis of the association between exposure to electromagnetic fields of non-ionising radiation (EMF-NIR) and health in children and adolescents is hindered by the limited availability of data, mainly due to the difficulties on the exposure assessment. This study protocol describes the methodologies used for characterising exposure of children to EMF-NIR in the INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente- Environment and Childhood) Project, a prospective cohort study. Indirect (proximity to emission sources, questionnaires on sources use and geospatial propagation models) and direct methods (spot and fixed longer-term measurements and personal measurements) were conducted in order to assess exposure levels of study participants aged between 7 and 18 years old. The methodology used varies depending on the frequency of the EMF-NIR and the environment (homes, schools and parks). Questionnaires assessed the use of sources contributing both to Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) and Radiofrequency (RF) exposure levels. Geospatial propagation models (NISMap) are implemented and validated for environmental outdoor sources of RFs using spot measurements. Spot and fixed longer-term ELF and RF measurements were done in the environments where children spend most of the time. Moreover, personal measurements were taken in order to assess individual exposure to RF. The exposure data are used to explore their relationships with proximity and/or use of EMF-NIR sources. Characterisation of the EMF-NIR exposure by this combination of methods is intended to overcome problems encountered in other research. The assessment of exposure of INMA cohort children and adolescents living in different regions of Spain to the full frequency range of EMF-NIR extends the characterisation of environmental exposures in this cohort. Together with other data obtained in the project, on socioeconomic and family characteristics and development of the children and adolescents, this will enable to evaluate the complex interaction between health outcomes in children and adolescents and the various environmental factors that surround them.

Non-conventional apoptotic response to ionising radiation mediated by N-methyl D-aspartate receptors in immature neuronal cells

PubMed Central

SAMARI, NADA; DE SAINT-GEORGES, LOUIS; PANI, GIUSEPPE; BAATOUT, SARAH; LEYNS, LUC; BENOTMANE, MOHAMMED ABDERRAFI

2013-01-01

During cortical development, N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are highly involved in neuronal maturation and synapse establishment. Their implication in the phenomenon of excitotoxicity has been extensively described in several neurodegenerative diseases due to the permissive entry of Ca2+ ions and massive accumulation in the intracellular compartment, which is highly toxic to cells. Ionising radiation is also a source of stress to the cells, particularly immature neurons. Their capacity to induce cell death has been described for various cell types either by directly damaging the DNA or indirectly through the generation of reactive oxygen species responsible for the activation of a battery of stress response effectors leading in certain cases, to cell death. In this study, in order to determine whether a link exists between NMDA receptors-mediated excitotoxicity and radiation-induced cell death, we evaluated radiation-induced cell death in vitro and in vivo in maturing neurons during the fetal period. Cell death induction was assessed by TUNEL, caspase-3 activity and DNA ladder assays, with or without the administration of dizocilpine (MK-801), a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist which blocks neuronal Ca2+ influx. To further investigate the possible involvement of Ca2+-dependent enzyme activation, known to occur at high Ca2+ concentrations, we examined the protective effect of a calpain inhibitor on cell death induced by radiation. Doses ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 Gy of X-rays elicited a clear apoptotic response that was prevented by the injection of dizocilpine (MK-801) or calpain inhibitor. These data demonstrate the involvement of NMDA receptors in radiation-induced neuronal death by the activation of downstream effectors, including calpain-related pathways. An increased apoptotic process elicited by radiation, occurring independently of the normal developmental scheme, may eliminate post-mitotic but immature neuronal cells and deeply impair the establishment of the neuronal network, which in the case of cortical development is critical for cognitive capacities. PMID:23338045

Deer density and disease prevalence influence transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease in White-tailed Deer

USGS Publications Warehouse

Samuel, Michael D.; Richards, Bryan J.; Storm, Daniel J.; Rolley, Robert E.; Shelton, Paul; Nicholas S. Keuler,; Timothy R. Van Deelen,

2013-01-01

Host-parasite dynamics and strategies for managing infectious diseases of wildlife depend on the functional relationship between disease transmission rates and host density. However, the disease transmission function is rarely known for free-living wildlife, leading to uncertainty regarding the impacts of diseases on host populations and effective control actions. We evaluated the influence of deer density, landscape features, and soil clay content on transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in young (<2-year-old) white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in south-central Wisconsin, USA. We evaluated how frequency-dependent, density-dependent, and intermediate transmission models predicted CWD incidence rates in harvested yearling deer. An intermediate transmission model, incorporating both disease prevalence and density of infected deer, performed better than simple density- and frequency-dependent models. Our results indicate a combination of social structure, non-linear relationships between infectious contact and deer density, and distribution of disease among groups are important factors driving CWD infection in young deer. The landscape covariates % deciduous forest cover and forest edge density also were positively associated with infection rates, but soil clay content had no measurable influences on CWD transmission. Lack of strong density-dependent transmission rates indicates that controlling CWD by reducing deer density will be difficult. The consequences of non-linear disease transmission and aggregation of disease on cervid populations deserves further consideration.

Ionisation of atomic hydrogen by positron impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spicher, Gottfried; Olsson, Bjorn; Raith, Wilhelm; Sinapius, Guenther; Sperber, Wolfgang

1990-01-01

With the crossed beam apparatus the relative impact-ionization cross section of atomic hydrogen by positron impact was measured. A layout of the scattering region is given. The first measurements on the ionization of atomic hydrogen by positron impact are also given.

Density-dependent intraspecific aggression regulates survival in northern Yellowstone wolves (Canis lupus).

PubMed

Cubaynes, Sarah; MacNulty, Daniel R; Stahler, Daniel R; Quimby, Kira A; Smith, Douglas W; Coulson, Tim

2014-11-01

Understanding the population dynamics of top-predators is essential to assess their impact on ecosystems and to guide their management. Key to this understanding is identifying the mechanisms regulating vital rates. Determining the influence of density on survival is necessary to understand the extent to which human-caused mortality is compensatory or additive. In wolves (Canis lupus), empirical evidence for density-dependent survival is lacking. Dispersal is considered the principal way in which wolves adjust their numbers to prey supply or compensate for human exploitation. However, studies to date have primarily focused on exploited wolf populations, in which density-dependent mechanisms are likely weak due to artificially low wolf densities. Using 13 years of data on 280 collared wolves in Yellowstone National Park, we assessed the effect of wolf density, prey abundance and population structure, as well as winter severity, on age-specific survival in two areas (prey-rich vs. prey-poor) of the national park. We further analysed cause-specific mortality and explored the factors driving intraspecific aggression in the prey-rich northern area of the park. Overall, survival rates decreased during the study. In northern Yellowstone, density dependence regulated adult survival through an increase in intraspecific aggression, independent of prey availability. In the interior of the park, adult survival was less variable and density-independent, despite reduced prey availability. There was no effect of prey population structure in northern Yellowstone, or of winter severity in either area. Survival was similar among yearlings and adults, but lower for adults older than 6 years. Our results indicate that density-dependent intraspecific aggression is a major driver of adult wolf survival in northern Yellowstone, suggesting intrinsic density-dependent mechanisms have the potential to regulate wolf populations at high ungulate densities. When low prey availability or high removal rates maintain wolves at lower densities, limited inter-pack interactions may prevent density-dependent survival, consistent with our findings in the interior of the park. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2014 British Ecological Society.

The role of density dependence in growth patterns of ceded territory walleye populations of northern Wisconsin: Effects of changing management regimes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sass, G.G.; Hewett, S.W.; Beard, T.D.; Fayram, A.H.; Kitchell, J.F.

2004-01-01

We assessed density-related changes in growth of walleye Sander vitreus in the ceded territory of northern Wisconsin from 1977 to 1999. We used asymptotic length (Lz), growth rate near t0 (??), and body condition as measures of walleye growth to determine the relationship between growth and density. Among lakes, there was weak evidence of density-dependent growth: adult density explained only 0-6% of the variability in the growth metrics. Within lakes, growth was density dependent. Lz, ??, and body condition of walleyes changing with density for 69, 28, and 62% of the populations examined, respectively. Our results suggest that walleye growth was density dependent within individual lakes. However, growth was not coherently density dependent among lakes, which was possibly due to inherent differences in the productivity, surface area, forage base, landscape position, species composition, and management regime of lakes in the ceded territory. Densities of adult walleyes averaged 8.3 fish/ha and did not change significantly during 1990-1999. Mean Lz and body condition of walleyes were signilicantly higher before 1990 than after 1990, which may indicate an increase in density due to changes in management regimes. The observed growth changes do not appear to be a consequence of the statewide 15-in minimum size limit adopted in 1990 but rather a response to the treaty rights management regime. We conclude that walleye growth has the potential to predict regional-scale adult walleye densities if lake-specific variables are included in a model to account for regional-scale differences among walleye populations and lakes.

Watching excitons move: the time-dependent transition density matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullrich, Carsten

2012-02-01

Time-dependent density-functional theory allows one to calculate excitation energies and the associated transition densities in principle exactly. The transition density matrix (TDM) provides additional information on electron-hole localization and coherence of specific excitations of the many-body system. We have extended the TDM concept into the real-time domain in order to visualize the excited-state dynamics in conjugated molecules. The time-dependent TDM is defined as an implicit density functional, and can be approximately obtained from the time-dependent Kohn-Sham orbitals. The quality of this approximation is assessed in simple model systems. A computational scheme for real molecular systems is presented: the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equations are solved with the OCTOPUS code and the time-dependent Kohn-Sham TDM is calculated using a spatial partitioning scheme. The method is applied to show in real time how locally created electron-hole pairs spread out over neighboring conjugated molecular chains. The coupling mechanism, electron-hole coherence, and the possibility of charge separation are discussed.

Density dependence in a recovering osprey population: demographic and behavioural processes.

PubMed

Bretagnolle, V; Mougeot, F; Thibault, J-C

2008-09-01

1. Understanding how density-dependent and independent processes influence demographic parameters, and hence regulate population size, is fundamental within population ecology. We investigated density dependence in growth rate and fecundity in a recovering population of a semicolonial raptor, the osprey Pandion haliaetus [Linnaeus, 1758], using 31 years of count and demographic data in Corsica. 2. The study population increased from three pairs in 1974 to an average of 22 pairs in the late 1990s, with two distinct phases during the recovery (increase followed by stability) and contrasted trends in breeding parameters in each phase. 3. We show density dependence in population growth rate in the second phase, indicating that the stabilized population was regulated. We also show density dependence in productivity (fledging success between years and hatching success within years). 4. Using long-term data on behavioural interactions at nest sites, and on diet and fish provisioning rate, we evaluated two possible mechanisms of density dependence in productivity, food depletion and behavioural interference. 5. As density increased, both provisioning rate and the size of prey increased, contrary to predictions of a food-depletion mechanism. In the time series, a reduction in fledging success coincided with an increase in the number of non-breeders. Hatching success decreased with increasing local density and frequency of interactions with conspecifics, suggesting that behavioural interference was influencing hatching success. 6. Our study shows that, taking into account the role of non-breeders, in particular in species or populations where there are many floaters and where competition for nest sites is intense, can improve our understanding of density-dependent processes and help conservation actions.

Prophylactic intravenous calcium therapy for exchange blood transfusion in the newborn.

PubMed

Ogunlesi, Tinuade A; Lesi, Foluso Ea; Oduwole, Olabisi

2017-10-12

Exchange blood transfusion (EBT) is a form of whole blood transfusion in which the total blood volume is replaced within a few hours. In perinatal and neonatal medicine, EBT is most often used in the management of severe anaemia or severe hyperbilirubinaemia in the first week of life. Hypocalcaemia, one of the common morbidities associated with EBT, is thought to arise from the chelating effects of the citrate commonly used as an anticoagulant in the donor's blood. This disorder manifests with muscular and nervous irritability and cardiac arrhythmias. To determine whether the use of prophylactic calcium reduces the risk of hypocalcaemia-related morbidities and death among newborn infants receiving EBT. We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review group to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2016, Issue 5), MEDLINE via PubMed (1966 to 29 June 2016), Embase (1980 to 29 June 2016), and CINAHL (1982 to 29 June 2016). We also searched clinical trials databases, conference proceedings, and the reference lists of retrieved articles for randomised controlled trials and quasi-randomised trials. All randomised and quasi-randomised trials of prophylactic intravenous calcium in EBT for newborns. Two review authors independently assessed and extracted data on methods, participants, interventions, and outcomes (mean total and ionised serum calcium before and after EBT and the presence of adverse events such as hypoglycaemia, apnoea, cardiac arrest, and death immediately after EBT). We reported results as means difference (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for continuous outcomes and risk ratio (RR) and risk differences (RD) and 95% CIs for dichotomous outcomes. We assessed quality using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' assessment tool and the GRADE system. We found only one quasi-randomised trial with 30 participants that met our inclusion criteria. In the small trial, total and ionised serum calcium levels were measured immediately before and immediately after EBT. All the participants were included in the final analysis and all the important outcomes were reported. Primary outcomesThere was one death in each group (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.07 to 14.55; RD 0.00, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.18; participants = 30; studies = 1). The study did not report the presence of cardiac arrhythmias within one week of EBT and the number of infants with serum calcium levels (total less than 8 mg/dL (2 mmol/L) or ionised less than 4.4 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/L)).Pair-wise comparison of EBT with intravenous 10% calcium gluconate versus EBT without intravenous calcium (change from baseline) showed mean total serum calcium was raised in the intervention group compared to the control group (MD -0.46, 95% CI -0.81 to -0.11; participants = 30; studies = 1). Very low-quality evidence also indicated an increase in the levels of mean ionised serum calcium in the intervention group compared to the control group (MD -0.22, 95% CI -0.33 to -0.11; participants = 30; studies = 1). Secondary outcomesAdverse reactions to intravenous calcium therapy included cardiac arrest in one neonate in the intervention arm (RR 3.00, 95% CI 0.13 to 68.26; RD 0.07, 95% CI -0.10 to 0.23; participants = 30; studies = 1). There was apnoea and hypoglycaemia (RR 1.00, 95% CI 0.07 to 14.55; RD 0.00, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.18; participants = 30; studies = 1) in the two neonates who died. Data were not available for other major secondary outcomes such as the number of infants with reduced serum magnesium, reduced parathormone, increased calcitonin, presence of seizures, carpopedal spasm, jitteriness and prolonged QTc interval on electrocardiography within one week of EBT. Very low-quality data from one quasi-randomised controlled trial suggested that the mean serum total and ionised calcium increased in the study group but decreased in the control group immediately after EBT. However, the mean values of total and ionised calcium in both arms of studies remained within international reference ranges. Unfortunately, data were not available to assess the trend of total and ionised serum calcium to the end of the first week after EBT. Therefore, due to the very low quality of evidence available, it is difficult to support or reject the continual use of prophylactic intravenous calcium in newborn infants receiving EBT. Researchers are encouraged to conduct more robustly designed trials with larger numbers of participants, and particularly, addressing the pattern of differences based on gestational age of participants, type of anticoagulant used, and the volume of blood used.

Partitioning the sources of demographic variation reveals density-dependent nest predation in an island bird population

PubMed Central

Sofaer, Helen R; Sillett, T Scott; Langin, Kathryn M; Morrison, Scott A; Ghalambor, Cameron K

2014-01-01

Ecological factors often shape demography through multiple mechanisms, making it difficult to identify the sources of demographic variation. In particular, conspecific density can influence both the strength of competition and the predation rate, but density-dependent competition has received more attention, particularly among terrestrial vertebrates and in island populations. A better understanding of how both competition and predation contribute to density-dependent variation in fecundity can be gained by partitioning the effects of density on offspring number from its effects on reproductive failure, while also evaluating how biotic and abiotic factors jointly shape demography. We examined the effects of population density and precipitation on fecundity, nest survival, and adult survival in an insular population of orange-crowned warblers (Oreothlypis celata) that breeds at high densities and exhibits a suite of traits suggesting strong intraspecific competition. Breeding density had a negative influence on fecundity, but it acted by increasing the probability of reproductive failure through nest predation, rather than through competition, which was predicted to reduce the number of offspring produced by successful individuals. Our results demonstrate that density-dependent nest predation can underlie the relationship between population density and fecundity even in a high-density, insular population where intraspecific competition should be strong. PMID:25077023

Partitioning the sources of demographic variation reveals density-dependent nest predation in an island bird population.

PubMed

Sofaer, Helen R; Sillett, T Scott; Langin, Kathryn M; Morrison, Scott A; Ghalambor, Cameron K

2014-07-01

Ecological factors often shape demography through multiple mechanisms, making it difficult to identify the sources of demographic variation. In particular, conspecific density can influence both the strength of competition and the predation rate, but density-dependent competition has received more attention, particularly among terrestrial vertebrates and in island populations. A better understanding of how both competition and predation contribute to density-dependent variation in fecundity can be gained by partitioning the effects of density on offspring number from its effects on reproductive failure, while also evaluating how biotic and abiotic factors jointly shape demography. We examined the effects of population density and precipitation on fecundity, nest survival, and adult survival in an insular population of orange-crowned warblers (Oreothlypis celata) that breeds at high densities and exhibits a suite of traits suggesting strong intraspecific competition. Breeding density had a negative influence on fecundity, but it acted by increasing the probability of reproductive failure through nest predation, rather than through competition, which was predicted to reduce the number of offspring produced by successful individuals. Our results demonstrate that density-dependent nest predation can underlie the relationship between population density and fecundity even in a high-density, insular population where intraspecific competition should be strong.

Investigation of diamond-like carbon samples as a charge state conversion surface for neutral atom imaging detectors in space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brigitte Neuland, Maike; Riedo, Andreas; Scheer, Jürgen; Wurz, Peter

2014-05-01

The detection of energetic neutral atoms is a substantial requirement on every space mission mapping particle populations of a planetary magnetosphere or plasma of the interstellar medium. For imaging neutrals, these first have to be ionized. Regarding the constraints of weight, volume and power consumption, the technique of surface ionization complies with all specifications of a space mission. Particularly low energy neutral atoms, which cannot be ionized by passing through a foil, are ionized by scattering on a charge state conversion surface. Since more than 30 years intense research work is done to find suitable materials for use as charge state conversion surfaces. Crucial parameters are the ionisation efficiency of the surface material and the scattering properties. Against all expectations, insulators showed very promising characteristics for serving as conversion surfaces. Particularly diamond-like carbon was proven advantageously: While efficiently ionising incoming neutral atoms, diamond stands out by its durability and chemical inertness. In the IBEX-Lo sensor, a diamond-like carbon surface is used for ionisation of neutral atoms. Energy resolved maps of neutral atoms from the IBEX mission revealed phenomena of the interaction between heliosphere and local interstellar medium (LISM) that demand for new theory and explanations [McComas et al., 2011]. Building on the successes of the IBEX mission, a follow up mission concept to further explore the boundaries of the heliosphere already exists. The Interstellar MApping Probe (IMAP) is planned to map neutral atoms in a larger energy range and with a distinct better angular resolution and sensitivity than IBEX [McComas et al.]. The aspired performance of the IMAP sensors implies also for charge state conversion surfaces with improved characteristics. We investigated samples of diamond-like carbon, manufactured by the chemical vapour and pulsed laser deposition method, regarding their ionisation efficiency, scattering and reflexion properties. Experiments were carried out at the ILENA facility [Wahlström et al., 2013] with hydrogen and oxygen atoms, which are the species of main interest in magnetospheric research [Wurz et al., 1997]. Results of very narrow scattering cones and sufficient ionisation efficiency show that diamond-like carbon still is the preferred material for charge state conversion surfaces. But our measurements show that new surface technologies offer improved diamond conversion surfaces with different properties and hence the possibility for improvement of the performance of neutral atom imaging instruments. References: [McComas et al., 2011] D.J. McComas, H.O. Funsten, S.A. Fuselier, W.S. Lewis, E. Möbius and N.A. Schwadron, IBEX observations of Heliospheric energetic neutral atoms: Current understanding and future directions, Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L18101, 2011 [McComas et al.] Interstellar Mapping Probe (IMAP) mission concept: Illuminating the dark boundaries at the edge of our solar system, decadal survey white paper [Wahlström et al., 2013] P. Wahlström, J.A. Scheer, A. Riedo, P. Wurz and M. Wieser, J. Spacecr. Rockets 50 (2), 402-410 [Wurz et al., 1997] P. Wurz, R. Schletti, M.R. Aellig, Hydrogen and oxygen negative ion production by surface ionization using diamond surfaces, Surf. Sci. 373, 56-66, 1997.

Prevalence and strength of density-dependent tree recruitment

Treesearch

Kai Zhu; Christopher W. Woodall; Joao V.D. Monteiro; James S. Clark

2015-01-01

Density dependence could maintain diversity in forests, but studies continue to disagree on its role. Part of the disagreement results from the fact that different studies have evaluated different responses (survival, recruitment, or growth) of different stages (seeds, seedlings, or adults) to different inputs (density of seedlings, density or distance to adults). Most...

Modeling ecological traps for the control of feral pigs

PubMed Central

Dexter, Nick; McLeod, Steven R

2015-01-01

Ecological traps are habitat sinks that are preferred by dispersing animals but have higher mortality or reduced fecundity compared to source habitats. Theory suggests that if mortality rates are sufficiently high, then ecological traps can result in extinction. An ecological trap may be created when pest animals are controlled in one area, but not in another area of equal habitat quality, and when there is density-dependent immigration from the high-density uncontrolled area to the low-density controlled area. We used a logistic population model to explore how varying the proportion of habitat controlled, control mortality rate, and strength of density-dependent immigration for feral pigs could affect the long-term population abundance and time to extinction. Increasing control mortality, the proportion of habitat controlled and the strength of density-dependent immigration decreased abundance both within and outside the area controlled. At higher levels of these parameters, extinction was achieved for feral pigs. We extended the analysis with a more complex stochastic, interactive model of feral pig dynamics in the Australian rangelands to examine how the same variables as the logistic model affected long-term abundance in the controlled and uncontrolled area and time to extinction. Compared to the logistic model of feral pig dynamics, the stochastic interactive model predicted lower abundances and extinction at lower control mortalities and proportions of habitat controlled. To improve the realism of the stochastic interactive model, we substituted fixed mortality rates with a density-dependent control mortality function, empirically derived from helicopter shooting exercises in Australia. Compared to the stochastic interactive model with fixed mortality rates, the model with the density-dependent control mortality function did not predict as substantial decline in abundance in controlled or uncontrolled areas or extinction for any combination of variables. These models demonstrate that pest eradication is theoretically possible without the pest being controlled throughout its range because of density-dependent immigration into the area controlled. The stronger the density-dependent immigration, the better the overall control in controlled and uncontrolled habitat combined. However, the stronger the density-dependent immigration, the poorer the control in the area controlled. For feral pigs, incorporating environmental stochasticity improves the prospects for eradication, but adding a realistic density-dependent control function eliminates these prospects. PMID:26045954

Adaptive nest clustering and density-dependent nest survival in dabbling ducks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ringelman, Kevin M.; Eadie, John M.; Ackerman, Joshua T.

2014-01-01

Density-dependent population regulation is observed in many taxa, and understanding the mechanisms that generate density dependence is especially important for the conservation of heavily-managed species. In one such system, North American waterfowl, density dependence is often observed at continental scales, and nest predation has long been implicated as a key factor driving this pattern. However, despite extensive research on this topic, it remains unclear if and how nest density influences predation rates. Part of this confusion may have arisen because previous studies have studied density-dependent predation at relatively large spatial and temporal scales. Because the spatial distribution of nests changes throughout the season, which potentially influences predator behavior, nest survival may vary through time at relatively small spatial scales. As such, density-dependent nest predation might be more detectable at a spatially- and temporally-refined scale and this may provide new insights into nest site selection and predator foraging behavior. Here, we used three years of data on nest survival of two species of waterfowl, mallards and gadwall, to more fully explore the relationship between local nest clustering and nest survival. Throughout the season, we found that the distribution of nests was consistently clustered at small spatial scales (˜50–400 m), especially for mallard nests, and that this pattern was robust to yearly variation in nest density and the intensity of predation. We demonstrated further that local nest clustering had positive fitness consequences – nests with closer nearest neighbors were more likely to be successful, a result that is counter to the general assumption that nest predation rates increase with nest density.

Nonlinear effects of climate and density in the dynamics of a fluctuating population of reindeer.

PubMed

Tyler, Nicholas J C; Forchhammer, Mads C; Øritsland, Nils Are

2008-06-01

Nonlinear and irregular population dynamics may arise as a result of phase dependence and coexistence of multiple attractors. Here we explore effects of climate and density in the dynamics of a highly fluctuating population of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) on Svalbard observed over a period of 29 years. Time series analyses revealed that density dependence and the effects of local climate (measured as the degree of ablation [melting] of snow during winter) on numbers were both highly nonlinear: direct negative density dependence was found when the population was growing (Rt > 0) and during phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) characterized by winters with generally high (1979-1995) and low (1996-2007) indices, respectively. A growth-phase-dependent model explained the dynamics of the population best and revealed the influence of density-independent processes on numbers that a linear autoregressive model missed altogether. In particular, the abundance of reindeer was enhanced by ablation during phases of growth (Rt > 0), an observation that contrasts with the view that periods of mild weather in winter are normally deleterious for reindeer owing to icing of the snowpack. Analyses of vital rates corroborated the nonlinearity described in the population time series and showed that both starvation mortality in winter and fecundity were nonlinearly related to fluctuations in density and the level of ablation. The erratic pattern of growth of the population of reindeer in Adventdalen seems, therefore, to result from a combination of the effects of nonlinear density dependence, strong density-dependent mortality, and variable density independence related to ablation in winter.

Finite metapopulation models with density-dependent migration and stochastic local dynamics

PubMed Central

Saether, B.-E.; Engen, S.; Lande, R.

1999-01-01

The effects of small density-dependent migration on the dynamics of a metapopulation are studied in a model with stochastic local dynamics. We use a diffusion approximation to study how changes in the migration rate and habitat occupancy affect the rates of local colonization and extinction. If the emigration rate increases or if the immigration rate decreases with local population size, a positive expected rate of change in habitat occupancy is found for a greater range of habitat occupancies than when the migration is density-independent. In contrast, the reverse patterns of density dependence in respective emigration and immigration reduce the range of habitat occupancies where the metapopulation will be viable. This occurs because density-dependent migration strongly influences both the establishment and rescue effects in the local dynamics of metapopulations.

Global analysis of Skyrme forces with higher-order density dependencies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Zhi-Wei; Pei, Jun-Chen; Xiong, Xue-Yu; Zhu, Yi

2018-05-01

The density-dependent term in Skyrme forces is essential to simulate three-body and many-body correlations beyond the low-momentum two-body interaction. We speculate that a single density term may be insufficient and a higher-order density dependent term is added. The present work investigates the influence of higher-order density dependencies based on extended UNEDF0 and SkM* forces. Global descriptions of nuclear masses and charge radii are presented. The extended UNEDF0 force gives a global rms error on binding energies of 1.29 MeV. The influence on fission barriers and equation of state are also investigated. Perspectives to improve Skyrme forces are discussed, including global center-of-mass corrections and Lipkin-Nogami pairing corrections. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11522538)

Founder takes all: density-dependent processes structure biodiversity.

PubMed

Waters, Jonathan M; Fraser, Ceridwen I; Hewitt, Godfrey M

2013-02-01

Density-dependent processes play a key role in the spatial structuring of biodiversity. Specifically, interrelated demographic processes, such as gene surfing, high-density blocking, and competitive exclusion, can generate striking geographic contrasts in the distributions of genes and species. Here, we propose that well-studied evolutionary and ecological biogeographic patterns of postglacial recolonization, progressive island colonization, microbial sectoring, and even the 'Out of Africa' pattern of human expansion, are fundamentally similar, underpinned by a 'founder takes all' density-dependent principle. Additionally, we hypothesize that older historic constraints of density-dependent processes are seen today in the dramatic biogeographic shifts that occur in response to human-mediated extinction events, whereby surviving lineages rapidly expand their ranges to replace extinct sister taxa. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecological drivers of guanaco recruitment: variable carrying capacity and density dependence.

PubMed

Marino, Andrea; Pascual, Miguel; Baldi, Ricardo

2014-08-01

Ungulates living in predator-free reserves offer the opportunity to study the influence of food limitation on population dynamics without the potentially confounding effects of top-down regulation or livestock competition. We assessed the influence of relative forage availability and population density on guanaco recruitment in two predator-free reserves in eastern Patagonia, with contrasting scenarios of population density. We also explored the relative contribution of the observed recruitment to population growth using a deterministic linear model to test the assumption that the studied populations were closed units. The observed densities increased twice as fast as our theoretical populations, indicating that marked immigration has taken place during the recovery phase experienced by both populations, thus we rejected the closed-population assumption. Regarding the factors driving variation in recruitment, in the low- to medium-density setting, we found a positive linear relationship between recruitment and surrogates of annual primary production, whereas no density dependence was detected. In contrast, in the high-density scenario, both annual primary production and population density showed marked effects, indicating a positive relationship between recruitment and per capita food availability above a food-limitation threshold. Our results support the idea that environmental carrying capacity fluctuates in response to climatic variation, and that these fluctuations have relevant consequences for herbivore dynamics, such as amplifying density dependence in drier years. We conclude that including the coupling between environmental variability in resources and density dependence is crucial to model ungulate population dynamics; to overlook temporal changes in carrying capacity may even mask density dependence as well as other important processes.

Laboratory spectroscopy and astronomical significance of the fully-benzenoid PAH triphenylene and its cation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kofman, V.; Sarre, P. J.; Hibbins, R. E.; ten Kate, I. L.; Linnartz, H.

2017-06-01

Triphenylene (C18H12) is a highly symmetric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecule with a 'fully-benzenoid' electronic structure. This confers a high chemical stability compared with PAHs of similar size. Although numerous infrared and UV-vis experimental spectroscopic and theoretical studies of a wide range PAHs in an astrophysical context have been conducted, triphenylene and its radical cation have received almost no attention. There exists a huge body of spectroscopic evidence for neutral and ionised PAHs in astrophysical sources, obtained principally through detection of infrared emission features that are characteristic of PAHs as a chemical class. However, it has so far not proved possible to identify spectroscopically a single isolated PAH in space, although PAHs including triphenylene have been detected mass spectrometrically in meteorites. In this work we focus on recording laboratory electronic spectra of neutral and ionised triphenylene between 220 and 780 nm, trapped in H2O ice and solid argon at 12 K. The studies are motivated by the potential for spectroscopic astronomical detection of electronic absorption spectra of PAHs in ice mantles on interstellar grains as discussed by Linnartz (2014), and were performed also in a cold Ar matrix to provide guidance as to whether triphenylene (particularly in its singly positively ionised form) could be a viable candidate for any of the unidentified diffuse interstellar absorption bands. Based on the argon-matrix experimental results, comparison is made with previously unpublished astronomical spectra near 400 nm which contain broad interstellar absorption features consistent with the predictions from the laboratory matrix spectra, thus providing motivation for the recording of gas-phase electronic spectra of the internally cold triphenylene cation.

Quantitative determination of sulfisoxazole and its three N-acetylated metabolites using HPLC-MS/MS, and the saturable pharmacokinetics of sulfisoxazole in mice.

PubMed

Oh, Kyungsoo; Baek, Moon-Chang; Kang, Wonku

2016-09-10

Sulfisoxazole (SFX) is still used in combination with trimethoprim in cattle despite adverse drug reactions (e.g., urolithiasis). Recently, SFX is known to be a promising repositioned drug candidate for pulmonary hypertension and cancer. We developed a simultaneous determination method of SFX and its N-acetylated metabolites (N(1)-acetyl SFX, N1AS; N(4)-acetyl SFX, N4AS; diacetyl SFX, DAS) using HPLC-MS/MS for the first time, and examined the pharmacokinetics of SFX in mice. N1AS and DAS were converted rapidly to SFX and N4AS, respectively, in mouse plasma. The time courses of plasma SFX and N4AS concentrations were well-characterised following the oral administration of SFX to mice. The absorption, metabolism, and/or excretion of SFX given at >700mg/kg may be saturable, and in contrast to humans and rats, the extent of systemic exposure of mice to N4AS was much greater than that of SFX. Interestingly, the acetyl groups at both N1- and N4-positions were degraded during the ionisation required to generate precursor ions. In additional experiments the carboxyl group of N-acetyl-5-aminosalicylic acid (NA5AS) was lost instead of the acetyl group during the ionisation, and acetaminophen (AAP) appeared. As the acetyl and carboxyl groups of some substances can be degraded during ionisation in the mass spectrometer, caution is appropriate when it is sought to simultaneously quantify similar structures containing these moieties; chromatographic separation is essential. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

N-deethylation and N-oxidation of etamiphylline: identification of etamiphylline-N-oxide in greyhound urine by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Dumasia, M C; Teale, P

2005-01-04

Millophyline-V, (etamiphylline camsylate) was administered intramuscularly to two racing greyhounds at a dose of 10 mg kg(-1). Unhydrolysed pre- and post-administration urine samples were extracted using mixed mode solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges, the basic isolates derivatised as trimethylsilyl ethers and analysed by positive ion electron ionisation gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/EI+/MS). The parent drug and one metabolite, N-desethyletamiphylline, were detected in urine for up to 72 h. For semi-quantification, urine samples were extracted on-line using a Prospekt sample handler. The analytes retained on the C2 SPE cartridge were eluted by the mobile phase directly on to the analytical high performance liquid chromatography column and analysed by positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (LC/APCI+) MS in the multiple selective-ion recording mode. A major peak containing both ions (m/z) 280 and (m/z) 252 was observed. Full scan LC/APCI+/MS of the unknown indicated that the ion at (m/z) 280 was formed by the loss of an oxygen atom [MH+ -->(MH+-O)]. Samples were analysed by positive ion electrospray ionisation LC/MS on two different instruments and the unknown compound was identified as an N-oxide of the tert. nitrogen atom of the 2-(diethylamino)ethyl substituent on N7 of the theophylline nucleus. This compound has not been reported previously either as an in vivo or in vitro metabolite of etamiphylline in any species. Thermal decomposition of the N-oxide could lead to an increase the detection period of the parent drug during routine GC/MS screening of post-competition greyhound urine samples.

Negative-ion atmospheric pressure ionisation of semi-volatile fluorinated compounds for ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis.

PubMed

Ayala-Cabrera, Juan F; Javier Santos, F; Moyano, Encarnación

2018-05-24

In this work, the feasibility of negative-ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) and atmospheric pressure photoionisation (APPI) for ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) determination of fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), fluorinated octanesulfonamides (FOSAs) and fluorinated octanesulfonamido-ethanols (FOSEs) was evaluated. The study of the effect of mobile phase composition on the atmospheric pressure ionisation of these compounds indicated that methanol/water mixtures provided the best responses in APCI, while acetonitrile/water with a post-column addition of toluene as dopant was the most appropriated mixture in APPI. Under the optimal working conditions, most of the target compounds produced the ion [M-H] - as base peak, although in-source collision-induced dissociation fragment ions in APCI and APPI and superoxide adduct ions [M+O 2 ] -• in APPI were also present. These ions proved to be more useful as precursor ions for MS/MS determination than the adduct ions generated in electrospray. Although the UHPLC-APCI-MS/MS method allowed the determination of these semi-volatile compounds at low concentration levels, the analysis by UHPLC-APPI-MS/MS provided the lowest limits of detection and it was applied to the analysis of water samples in combination with solid-phase extraction. Quality parameters demonstrated the good performance of the proposed method, providing low method limits of detection (0.3-6 ng L -1 ), good precision (RSD % < 5%) and an accurate quantification (relative error % < 14%). Among the river water samples analysed by the developed method, 4:2 FTOH and N-EtFOSA were determined at 30 and 780 ng L -1 , respectively.

Identification of substances migrating from plastic baby bottles using a combination of low-resolution and high-resolution mass spectrometric analysers coupled to gas and liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Onghena, Matthias; Van Hoeck, Els; Van Loco, Joris; Ibáñez, María; Cherta, Laura; Portolés, Tania; Pitarch, Elena; Hernandéz, Félix; Lemière, Filip; Covaci, Adrian

2015-11-01

This work presents a strategy for elucidation of unknown migrants from plastic food contact materials (baby bottles) using a combination of analytical techniques in an untargeted approach. First, gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) in electron ionisation mode was used to identify migrants through spectral library matching. When no acceptable match was obtained, a second analysis by GC-(electron ionisation) high resolution mass spectrometry time of flight (TOF) was applied to obtain accurate mass fragmentation spectra and isotopic patterns. Databases were then searched to find a possible elemental composition for the unknown compounds. Finally, a GC hybrid quadrupole-TOF-MS with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation source was used to obtain the molecular ion or the protonated molecule. Accurate mass data also provided additional information on the fragmentation behaviour as two acquisition functions with different collision energies were available (MS(E) approach). In the low-energy function, limited fragmentation took place, whereas for the high-energy function, fragmentation was enhanced. For less volatile unknowns, ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole-TOF-MS was additionally applied. Using a home-made database containing common migrating compounds and plastic additives, tentative identification was made for several positive findings based on accurate mass of the (de)protonated molecule, product ion fragments and characteristic isotopic ions. Six illustrative examples are shown to demonstrate the modus operandi and the difficulties encountered during identification. The combination of these techniques was proven to be a powerful tool for the elucidation of unknown migrating compounds from plastic baby bottles. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Increased frequency of chromosome translocations in airline pilots with long-term flying experience

PubMed Central

Yong, L C; Sigurdson, A J; Ward, E M; Waters, M A; Whelan, E A; Petersen, M R; Bhatti, P; Ramsey, M J; Ron, E; Tucker, J D

2008-01-01

Background Chromosome translocations are an established biomarker of cumulative exposure to external ionising radiation. Airline pilots are exposed to cosmic ionising radiation, but few flight crew studies have examined translocations in relation to flight experience. Methods We determined the frequency of translocations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 83 airline pilots and 50 comparison subjects (mean age 47 and 46 years, respectively). Translocations were scored in an average of 1039 cell equivalents (CE) per subject using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) whole chromo-some painting and expressed per 100 CE. Negative binomial regression models were used to assess the relationship between translocation frequency and exposure status and flight years, adjusting for age, diagnostic x ray procedures, and military flying. Results There was no significant difference in the adjusted mean translocation frequency of pilots and comparison subjects (0.37 (SE 0.04) vs 0.38 (SE 0.06) translocations/100 CE, respectively). However, among pilots, the adjusted translocation frequency was significantly associated with flight years (p = 0.01) with rate ratios of 1.06 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.11) and 1.81 (95% CI 1.16 to 2.82) for a 1- and 10-year incremental increase in flight years, respectively. The adjusted rate ratio for pilots in the highest compared to the lowest quartile of flight years was 2.59 (95% CI 1.26 to 5.33). Conclusions This data suggests that pilots with long-term flying experience may be exposed to biologically significant doses of ionising radiation. Epidemiological studies with longer follow-up of larger cohorts of pilots with a wide range of radiation exposure levels are needed to clarify the relationship between cosmic radiation exposure and cancer risk. PMID:19074211

Analytical mass spectrometry of poly(ethylene glycol) additives in artists' acrylic emulsion media, artists' paints, and microsamples from acrylic paintings using MALDI-MS and nanospray-ESI-MS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoogland, F. G.; Boon, J. J.

2009-07-01

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) compounds in artists' acrylic emulsion paint products from different paint manufacturers, ranging from base emulsions (Rohm and Haas, Röhm and Scott Bader), to modified emulsions and complete paints (Rowney, Winsor and Newton, Golden, Liquitex, Lascaux), were characterised with a newly developed mass spectrometric method which combines data from Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and nano-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (nano-ESI-MS(MS)). MALDI-MS was used for the determination of the molar mass distribution (MMD) and calculation of the molar mass averages (Mw and Mn), the polydispersity index (D) and the relative amount of a specific distribution if multiple PEGs were present. Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry was used for the end-group analysis. Three different classes of polymers was found being PEG, polypropylene glycol (PPG) and a block copolymer of polyethylene glycol/polypropylene glycol (PEG/PPG) with molar mass averages ranging from 400 to 4200 Da. PEG compounds with a nonylphenyl or an octylphenyl hydrophobic end-group are most common. The hydrophilic end-groups observed are hydroxide and/or sulphate. Water extracts of microsamples from a palette by David Hockney dating from 1970 and samples paintings by Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005) and John Hoyland (born in 1934) were investigated with the same technique. Although some artist paint manufacturers use the same specific base emulsions to make their paints, the composition of the PEG compounds present in the water extracts of the palette and paintings samples made it possible, in some cases, to suggest a specific brand of paint used by the artist.

Increased frequency of chromosome translocations in airline pilots with long-term flying experience.

PubMed

Yong, L C; Sigurdson, A J; Ward, E M; Waters, M A; Whelan, E A; Petersen, M R; Bhatti, P; Ramsey, M J; Ron, E; Tucker, J D

2009-01-01

Chromosome translocations are an established biomarker of cumulative exposure to external ionising radiation. Airline pilots are exposed to cosmic ionising radiation, but few flight crew studies have examined translocations in relation to flight experience. We determined the frequency of translocations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 83 airline pilots and 50 comparison subjects (mean age 47 and 46 years, respectively). Translocations were scored in an average of 1039 cell equivalents (CE) per subject using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) whole chromosome painting and expressed per 100 CE. Negative binomial regression models were used to assess the relationship between translocation frequency and exposure status and flight years, adjusting for age, diagnostic x ray procedures, and military flying. There was no significant difference in the adjusted mean translocation frequency of pilots and comparison subjects (0.37 (SE 0.04) vs 0.38 (SE 0.06) translocations/100 CE, respectively). However, among pilots, the adjusted translocation frequency was significantly associated with flight years (p = 0.01) with rate ratios of 1.06 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.11) and 1.81 (95% CI 1.16 to 2.82) for a 1- and 10-year incremental increase in flight years, respectively. The adjusted rate ratio for pilots in the highest compared to the lowest quartile of flight years was 2.59 (95% CI 1.26 to 5.33). Our data suggests that pilots with long-term flying experience may be exposed to biologically significant doses of ionising radiation. Epidemiological studies with longer follow-up of larger cohorts of pilots with a wide range of radiation exposure levels are needed to clarify the relationship between cosmic radiation exposure and cancer risk.

An X-Ray/SDSS Sample: Observational Characterization of The Outflowing Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perna, Michele; Brusa, M.; Lanzuisi, G.; Mignoli, M.

2016-10-01

Powerful ionised AGN-driven outflows, commonly detected both locally and at high redshift, are invoked to contribute to the co-evolution of SMBH and galaxies through feedback phenomena. Our recent works (Brusa+2015; 2016; Perna+2015a,b) have shown that the XMM-COSMOS targets with evidence of outflows collected so far ( 10 sources) appear to be associated with low X-ray kbol corrections (Lbol /LX ˜ 18), in spite of their spread in obscuration, in the locations on the SFR-Mstar diagram, in their radio emission. A higher statistical significance is required to validate a connection between outflow phenomena and a X-ray loudness. Moreover, in order to validate their binding nature to the galaxy fate, it is crucial to correctly determine the outflow energetics. This requires time consuming integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations, which are, at present, mostly limited to high luminosity objectsThe study of SDSS data offers a complementary strategy to IFS efforts. I will present physical and demographic characterization of the AGN-galaxy system during the feedback phase obtained studying a sample of 500 X-ray/SDSS AGNs, at z<0.8. Outflow velocity inferred from [OIII]5007 emission line profile has been related to optical (e.g., [OIII] and bolometric luminosities, Eddington ratio, stellar velocity dispersion) and X-ray properties (intrinsic X-ray luminosity, obscuration and X-ray kbol correction), to determine what drives ionised winds. Several diagnostic line ratios have been used to infer the physical properties of the ionised outflowing gas. The knowledge of these properties can reduce the actual uncertainties in the outflow energetics by a factor of ten, pointing to improve our understanding of the AGN outflow phenomenon and its impact on galaxy evolution.

A sensitive multi-residue method for the determination of 35 micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, iodinated contrast media and pesticides in water.

PubMed

Valls-Cantenys, Carme; Scheurer, Marco; Iglesias, Mònica; Sacher, Frank; Brauch, Heinz-Jürgen; Salvadó, Victoria

2016-09-01

A sensitive, multi-residue method using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed to determine a representative group of 35 analytes, including corrosion inhibitors, pesticides and pharmaceuticals such as analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, five iodinated contrast media, β-blockers and some of their metabolites and transformation products in water samples. Few other methods are capable of determining such a broad range of contrast media together with other analytes. We studied the parameters affecting the extraction of the target analytes, including sorbent selection and extraction conditions, their chromatographic separation (mobile phase composition and column) and detection conditions using two ionisation sources: electrospray ionisation (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI). In order to correct matrix effects, a total of 20 surrogate/internal standards were used. ESI was found to have better sensitivity than APCI. Recoveries ranging from 79 to 134 % for tap water and 66 to 144 % for surface water were obtained. Intra-day precision, calculated as relative standard deviation, was below 34 % for tap water and below 21 % for surface water, groundwater and effluent wastewater. Method quantification limits (MQL) were in the low ng L(-1) range, except for the contrast agents iomeprol, amidotrizoic acid and iohexol (22, 25.5 and 17.9 ng L(-1), respectively). Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of 56 real water samples as part of the validation procedure. All of the compounds were detected in at least some of the water samples analysed. Graphical Abstract Multi-residue method for the determination of micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, iodinated contrast media and pesticides in waters by LC-MS/MS.

A peptidomic approach for monitoring and characterising peptide cyanotoxins produced in Italian lakes by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Ferranti, Pasquale; Nasi, Antonella; Bruno, Milena; Basile, Adriana; Serpe, Luigi; Gallo, Pasquale

2011-05-15

In recent years, the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic freshwaters has been described all over the world, including most European countries. Blooms of cyanobacteria may produce mixtures of toxic secondary metabolites, called cyanotoxins. Among these, the most studied are microcystins, a group of cyclic heptapeptides, because of their potent hepatotoxicity and activity as tumour promoters. Other peptide cyanotoxins have been described whose structure and toxicity have not been thoroughly studied. Herein we present a peptidomic approach aimed to characterise and quantify the peptide cyanotoxins produced in two Italian lakes, Averno and Albano. The procedure was based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis for rapid detection and profiling of the peptide mixture complexity, combined with liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of- flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS) which provided unambiguous structural identification of the main compounds, as well as accurate quantitative analysis of microcystins. In the case of Lake Averno, a novel variant of microcystin-RR and two novel anabaenopeptin variants (Anabaenopeptins B(1) and Anabaenopeptin F(1)), presenting homoarginine in place of the commonly found arginine, were detected and characterised. In Lake Albano, the peculiar peptide patterns in different years were compared, as an example of the potentiality of the peptidomic approach for fast screening analysis, prior to fine structural analysis and determination of cyanotoxins, which included six novel aeruginosin variants. This approach allows for wide range monitoring of cyanobacteria blooms, and to collect data for evaluating possible health risks to consumers, through the panel of the compounds produced along different years. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stochastic seasonality and nonlinear density-dependent factors regulate population size in an African rodent

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leirs, H.; Stenseth, N.C.; Nichols, J.D.; Hines, J.E.; Verhagen, R.; Verheyen, W.

1997-01-01

Ecology has long been troubled by the controversy over how populations are regulated. Some ecologists focus on the role of environmental effects, whereas others argue that density-dependent feedback mechanisms are central. The relative importance of both processes is still hotly debated, but clear examples of both processes acting in the same population are rare. Keyfactor analysis (regression of population changes on possible causal factors) and time-series analysis are often used to investigate the presence of density dependence, but such approaches may be biased and provide no information on actual demographic rates. Here we report on both density-dependent and density-independent effects in a murid rodent pest species, the multimammate rat Mastomys natalensis (Smith, 1834), using statistical capture-recapture models. Both effects occur simultaneously, but we also demonstrate that they do not affect all demographic rates in the same way. We have incorporated the obtained estimates of demographic rates in a population dynamics model and show that the observed dynamics are affected by stabilizing nonlinear density-dependent components coupled with strong deterministic and stochastic seasonal components.

Parametric dependence of density limits in the Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR): Comparison of thermal instability theory with experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, F. A.; Stacey, W. M.; Rapp, J.

2001-11-01

The observed dependence of the TEXTOR [Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research: E. Hintz, P. Bogen, H. A. Claassen et al., Contributions to High Temperature Plasma Physics, edited by K. H. Spatschek and J. Uhlenbusch (Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1994), p. 373] density limit on global parameters (I, B, P, etc.) and wall conditioning is compared with the predicted density limit parametric scaling of thermal instability theory. It is necessary first to relate the edge parameters of the thermal instability theory to n¯ and the other global parameters. The observed parametric dependence of the density limit in TEXTOR is generally consistent with the predicted density limit scaling of thermal instability theory. The observed wall conditioning dependence of the density limit can be reconciled with the theory in terms of the radiative emissivity temperature dependence of different impurities in the plasma edge. The thermal instability theory also provides an explanation of why symmetric detachment precedes radiative collapse for most low power shots, while a multifaceted asymmetric radiation from the edge MARFE precedes detachment for most high power shots.

Dependence of Plastic TATB Shock-Wave Sensitivity on Temperature, Density and Technology Factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasov, Yu. A.; Kosolapov, V. B.; Fomicheva, L. V.; Khabarov, I. P.

1999-06-01

Mixed TATB-based HE is the most perspective because of the manufacture and exploitation safety of its items. At the same time the safety of these explosive, at high temperatures, which take place at emergencies, causes the certain anxiety. Plastic TATB shock-wave sensitivity (SWS) researches has shown that temperature as one of the important factors of external influence is not always the determining reason of SWS change. It is known that density influence on SWS significantly. At the same time density depends on temperature and technology of details manufacturing. In this connection in this work the temperature dependence of plastic TATB SWS was studied in view of convertible and irreversible changes of density (p) under heating at -50[C up to 90[C . It is shown that during these influences the dependence of threshold pressure of initiation (P) from temperature is explained, first of all, by change of HE density, caused by its thermal expansion (compression), and also by irreversible changes of p and HE structure, arising at heating. It is found also that the share of irreversible change of density depends on technology of HE details manufacturing and is explained by relaxation of residual pressure in them. The mentioned relaxation is finished after the first cycles of thermal influence. The value of density change, caused by this factor, depends on temperature and duration of heating.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Complete texts of 123 communications to the Congress (in the original language; the majority in English, some in Russian, French), on the following topics; radiation perspective in the U.S., radiation and man, non-ionising radiation, radiation effects on animals, radiation quantities, radioecology, reactor experience, late radiation effects, dose calculations and radiation accidents.

PAH Formation in O-rich Evolved Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzman-Ramirez, L.; Lagadec, E.; Jones, D.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Gesicki, K.

2015-08-01

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been observed in O-rich planetary nebulae. This combination of oxygen-rich and carbon-rich material, known as dual-dust or mixed chemistry, is not expected to be seen around these objects. We recently proposed that PAHs could be formed from the photodissociation of CO in dense tori. Using VISIR/VLT, we spatially resolved the emission of the PAH bands and ionised emission from the [S IV] line, confirming the presence of dense central tori in all the observed O-rich objects. Furthermore, we show that for most of the objects, PAHs are located at the outer edge of these dense/compact tori, while the ionised material is mostly present in the inner parts, consistent with our hypothesis for the formation of PAHs in these systems. The presence of a dense torus has been strongly associated with the action of a central binary star and, as such, the rich chemistry seen in these regions may also be related to the formation of exoplanets in post-common-envelope binary systems.

Determination of patulin in apple and derived products by UHPLC-MS/MS. Study of matrix effects with atmospheric pressure ionisation sources.

PubMed

Beltrán, Eduardo; Ibáñez, María; Sancho, Juan Vicente; Hernández, Félix

2014-01-01

Sensitive and reliable analytical methodology has been developed for the measurement of patulin in regulated foodstuffs by using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) with triple quadrupole analyser. Solid samples were extracted with ethyl acetate, while liquid samples were directly injected into the chromatographic system after dilution and filtration without any clean-up step. Chromatographic separation was achieved in less than 4min. Electrospray (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) sources were evaluated, in order to assess matrix effects. The use of ESI source caused strong signal suppression in samples; however, matrix effect was negligible using APCI, allowing quantification with calibration standards prepared in solvent. The method was validated in four different apple matrices (juice, fruit, puree and compote) at two concentrations at the low μgkg(-1) level. Average recoveries (n=5) ranged from 71% to 108%, with RSDs lower than 14%. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inaccurate official assessment of radiofrequency safety by the Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation.

PubMed

Starkey, Sarah J

2016-12-01

The Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation (AGNIR) 2012 report forms the basis of official advice on the safety of radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic fields in the United Kingdom and has been relied upon by health protection agencies around the world. This review describes incorrect and misleading statements from within the report, omissions and conflict of interest, which make it unsuitable for health risk assessment. The executive summary and overall conclusions did not accurately reflect the scientific evidence available. Independence is needed from the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the group that set the exposure guidelines being assessed. This conflict of interest critically needs to be addressed for the forthcoming World Health Organisation (WHO) Environmental Health Criteria Monograph on Radiofrequency Fields. Decision makers, organisations and individuals require accurate information about the safety of RF electromagnetic signals if they are to be able to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities and protect those for whom they have legal responsibility.

Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry facilitates detection of fibrinogen (Bbeta 14 Arg --> Cys) mutation in a family with thrombosis.

PubMed

Brennan, S O; Hammonds, B; Spearing, R; George, P M

1997-12-01

We report the first direct detection of a fibrinogen mutation by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The propositus, from a family with a history of thrombosis, came to attention after a pulmonary embolism subsequent to a spontaneous abortion. Prolonged thrombin (41 s) and reptilase times (26 s) together with an impairment of fibrinopeptide B release suggested a mutation at the thrombin cleavage site of the Bbeta chain. Direct mass analysis of purified fibrin chains from a thrombin induced clot showed that 50% of the Bbeta chains remained uncleaved. The measured mass of the mono sialo isoform of this uncleaved chain was 54150 Da, compared to a value of 54198 Da for normal Bbeta chains. This decrease of 48 Da in the intact protein is indicative of either a Bbeta 14 Arg to Cys, or Arg to Leu substitution. Heterozygosity for the Bbeta 14 Arg --> Cys mutation was verified by PCR amplification and DNA sequence analysis.

Protection from radon exposure at home and at work in the directive 2013/59/Euratom.

PubMed

Bochicchio, F

2014-07-01

In recent years, international organisations involved in radiation protection and public health have produced new guidance, recommendations and requirements aiming better protection from radon exposure. These organisations have often worked in close collaboration in order to facilitate the establishment of harmonised standards. This paper deals with such standards and specifically with the new European Council Directive of 5 December 2013 on basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation (2013/59/Euratom). This new Directive has established a harmonised framework for the protection against ionising radiations, including protection from radon exposure. Requirements for radon in workplace are much more tightening than in previous Directive, and exposures to radon in dwellings are regulated for the first time in a Directive. Radon-related articles of this Directive are presented and discussed in this paper, along with some comparisons with other relevant international standards. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Influence du traitement ionisant par rayonnement γ sur le pouvoir antioxydant de fractions polyphénoliques issues de substances d'origine végétale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stuyck, S.; Connaulte, J.; Lesgards, G.; Prost, M.; Raffi, J.

1998-04-01

Ionizing radiation of vegetables is a cleaning up and preservation physical treatment which consists in submitting them to γ radiation, X radiation or electrons beam. This study deals with the influence of γ radiation on antioxidative effect of vegetables polyphenolic parts. In that purpose, we use a simple biological test based on erythrocytes haemolysis. Le traitement ionisant des produits végétaux est un procédé physique d'assainissement et de conservation qui consiste à les soumettre à l'action de rayonnements γ, de rayons X ou de faisceaux d'électrons. Ce travail porte sur l'étude de l'influence des rayonnements γ sur le pouvoir antioxydant de fractions polyphénoliques issues de substances d'origine végétale. Pour cela, un test biologique basé sur l'hémolyse d'érythrocytes est utilisé.

"Soft"or "hard" ionisation? Investigation of metastable gas temperature effect on direct analysis in real-time analysis of Voriconazole.

PubMed

Lapthorn, Cris; Pullen, Frank

2009-01-01

The performance of the direct analysis in real-time (DART) technique was evaluated across a range of metastable gas temperatures for a pharmaceutical compound, Voriconazole, in order to investigate the effect of metastable gas temperature on molecular ion intensity and fragmentation. The DART source has been used to analyse a range of analytes and from a range of matrices including drugs in solid tablet form and preparations, active ingredients in ointment, naturally occurring plant alkaloids, flavours and fragrances, from thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates, melting point tubes and biological matrices including hair, urine and blood. The advantages of this technique include rapid analysis time (as little as 5 s), a reduction in sample preparation requirements, elimination of mobile phase requirement and analysis of samples not typically amenable to atmospheric pressure ionisation (API) techniques. This technology has therefore been proposed as an everyday tool for identification of components in crude organic reaction mixtures.

Feedback and Feeding in the Context of Galaxy Evolution with SPICA: Direct Characterisation of Molecular Outflows and Inflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Alfonso, E.; Armus, L.; Carrera, F. J.; Charmandaris, V.; Efstathiou, A.; Egami, E.; Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A.; Fischer, J.; Granato, G. L.; Gruppioni, C.; Hatziminaoglou, E.; Imanishi, M.; Isobe, N.; Kaneda, H.; Koziel-Wierzbowska, D.; Malkan, M. A.; Martín-Pintado, J.; Mateos, S.; Matsuhara, H.; Miniutti, G.; Nakagawa, T.; Pozzi, F.; Rico-Villas, F.; Rodighiero, G.; Roelfsema, P.; Spinoglio, L.; Spoon, H. W. W.; Sturm, E.; van der Tak, F.; Vignali, C.; Wang, L.

2017-11-01

A far-infrared observatory such as the SPace Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics, with its unprecedented spectroscopic sensitivity, would unveil the role of feedback in galaxy evolution during the last 10 Gyr of the Universe (z = 1.5-2), through the use of far- and mid-infrared molecular and ionic fine structure lines that trace outflowing and infalling gas. Outflowing gas is identified in the far-infrared through P-Cygni line shapes and absorption blueshifted wings in molecular lines with high dipolar moments, and through emission line wings of fine-structure lines of ionised gas. We quantify the detectability of galaxy-scale massive molecular and ionised outflows as a function of redshift in AGN-dominated, starburst-dominated, and main-sequence galaxies, explore the detectability of metal-rich inflows in the local Universe, and describe the most significant synergies with other current and future observatories that will measure feedback in galaxies via complementary tracers at other wavelengths.

Feline chronic renal failure: calcium homeostasis in 80 cases diagnosed between 1992 and 1995.

PubMed

Barber, P J; Elliott, J

1998-03-01

Eighty cats with chronic renal failure (CRF) were evaluated in a prospective study to investigate the prevalence and aetiopathogenesis of renal secondary hyperparathyroidism (RHPTH), using routine plasma biochemistry and assays of parathyroid hormone (PTH), blood ionised calcium and 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25[OH]2D3). Hyperparathyroidism was a frequent sequela of CRF, affecting 84 per cent of cats with CRF, the severity and prevalence of RHPTH increasing with the degree of renal dysfunction. Compared with an age-matched control population, plasma concentrations of phosphate and PTH were significantly higher and 1,25(OH)2D3 concentrations were significantly lower in the two groups of cats presenting with clinical signs of CRF. Significant ionised hypocalcaemia was present only in cats with end-stage renal failure. However, a number of cats were hyperparathyroid in the absence of abnormalities in the parameters of calcium homeostasis measured in this study. There was a significant correlation between plasma phosphate and PTH concentrations.

Characterization of peeled and unpeeled almond (Prunus amygdalus) flour after electron beam processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanza, C. M.; Mazzaglia, A.; Paladino, R.; Auditore, L.; Barnà, R. C.; Loria, D.; Trifirò, A.; Trimarchi, M.; Bellia, G.

2013-05-01

Flours of unpeeled and peeled almond seeds have been irradiated with ionising radiation at 1.5 kGy dose by means of 5 MeV energy electron beam. The effects of ionising radiation have been studied concerning microbiological parameters, such as total mesophilic counts, mould, yeast, enterobacters, coliform bacteria, as well as physicochemical parameters, free fatty acid, peroxide number, humidity, activity water, aflatoxin, pesticides, and sensory evaluation of attributes regarding only appearance, olfactory and rheological aspects in accordance with the prescription of Italian laws about the consumption of irradiated food. The results, compared with non-irradiated samples from the same supply, show a sharp decrease of pathogen loads while no significant variations of physicochemical parameters and sensory descriptors have been noticed. These results indicate that irradiation at 1.5 kGy dose, lower than values usually reported in literature, seems to be still a suitable sanitation treatment to extend the shelf-life of this kind of foodstuff while maintaining its nutritional, safe and sensory characteristics.

Accurate mass measurement by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. II. Measurement of negative radical ions using porphyrin and fullerene standard reference materials.

PubMed

Shao, Zhecheng; Wyatt, Mark F; Stein, Bridget K; Brenton, A Gareth

2010-10-30

A method for the accurate mass measurement of negative radical ions by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) is described. This is an extension to our previously described method for the accurate mass measurement of positive radical ions (Griffiths NW, Wyatt MF, Kean SD, Graham AE, Stein BK, Brenton AG. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2010; 24: 1629). The porphyrin standard reference materials (SRMs) developed for positive mode measurements cannot be observed in negative ion mode, so fullerene and fluorinated porphyrin compounds were identified as effective SRMs. The method is of immediate practical use for the accurate mass measurement of functionalised fullerenes, for which negative ion MALDI-TOFMS is the principal mass spectrometry characterisation technique. This was demonstrated by the accurate mass measurement of six functionalised C(60) compounds. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new processing scheme for ultra-high resolution direct infusion mass spectrometry data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zielinski, Arthur T.; Kourtchev, Ivan; Bortolini, Claudio; Fuller, Stephen J.; Giorio, Chiara; Popoola, Olalekan A. M.; Bogialli, Sara; Tapparo, Andrea; Jones, Roderic L.; Kalberer, Markus

2018-04-01

High resolution, high accuracy mass spectrometry is widely used to characterise environmental or biological samples with highly complex composition enabling the identification of chemical composition of often unknown compounds. Despite instrumental advancements, the accurate molecular assignment of compounds acquired in high resolution mass spectra remains time consuming and requires automated algorithms, especially for samples covering a wide mass range and large numbers of compounds. A new processing scheme is introduced implementing filtering methods based on element assignment, instrumental error, and blank subtraction. Optional post-processing incorporates common ion selection across replicate measurements and shoulder ion removal. The scheme allows both positive and negative direct infusion electrospray ionisation (ESI) and atmospheric pressure photoionisation (APPI) acquisition with the same programs. An example application to atmospheric organic aerosol samples using an Orbitrap mass spectrometer is reported for both ionisation techniques resulting in final spectra with 0.8% and 8.4% of the peaks retained from the raw spectra for APPI positive and ESI negative acquisition, respectively.

An improved dispersive solid-phase extraction clean-up method for the gas chromatography-negative chemical ionisation tandem mass spectrometric determination of multiclass pesticide residues in edible oils.

PubMed

Deme, Pragney; Azmeera, Tirupathi; Prabhavathi Devi, B L A; Jonnalagadda, Padmaja R; Prasad, R B N; Vijaya Sarathi, U V R

2014-01-01

An improved sample preparation using dispersive solid-phase extraction clean-up was proposed for the trace level determination of 35 multiclass pesticide residues (organochlorine, organophosphorus and synthetic pyrethroids) in edible oils. Quantification of the analytes was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in negative chemical ionisation mode (GC-NCI-MS/MS). The limit of detection and limit of quantification of residues were in the range of 0.01-1ng/g and 0.05-2ng/g, respectively. The analytes showed recoveries between 62% and 110%, and the matrix effect was observed to be less than 25% for most of the pesticides. Crude edible oil samples showed endosulfan isomers, p,p'-DDD, α-cypermethrin, chlorpyrifos, and diazinon residues in the range of 0.56-2.14ng/g. However, no pesticide residues in the detection range of the method were observed in refined oils. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A system for protecting the environment from ionising radiation: selecting reference fauna and flora, and the possible dose models and environmental geometries that could be applied to them.

PubMed

Pentreath, R J; Woodhead, D S

2001-09-28

In order to demonstrate, explicitly, that the environment can be protected with respect to controlled sources of ionising radiation, it is essential to have a systematic framework within which dosimetry models for fauna and flora can be used. And because of the practical limitations on what could reasonably be modelled and the amount of information that could reasonably be obtained, it is also necessary to limit the application of such models to a 'set' of fauna and flora within a reference' context. This paper, therefore, outlines the factors that will need to be considered to select such 'reference' fauna and flora, and describes some of the factors and constraints necessary to develop the associated dosimetry models. It also describes some of the most basic environmental geometrics within which the dose models could be set in order to make comparisons amongst different radiation sources.

Chemical profile of mango (Mangifera indica L.) using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS).

PubMed

Oliveira, Bruno G; Costa, Helber B; Ventura, José A; Kondratyuk, Tamara P; Barroso, Maria E S; Correia, Radigya M; Pimentel, Elisângela F; Pinto, Fernanda E; Endringer, Denise C; Romão, Wanderson

2016-08-01

Mangifera indica L., mango fruit, is consumed as a dietary supplement with purported health benefits; it is widely used in the food industry. Herein, the chemical profile of the Ubá mango at four distinct maturation stages was evaluated during the process of growth and maturity using negative-ion mode electrospray ionisation Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI(-)FT-ICR MS) and physicochemical characterisation analysis (total titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), TSS/TA ratio, and total polyphenolic content). Primary (organic acids and sugars) and secondary metabolites (polyphenolic compounds) were mostly identified in the third maturation stage, thus indicating the best stage for harvesting and consuming the fruit. In addition, the potential cancer chemoprevention of the secondary metabolites (phenolic extracts obtained from mango samples) was evaluated using the induction of quinone reductase activity, concluding that fruit polyphenols have the potential for cancer chemoprevention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term persistence, density dependence and effects of climate change on rosyside dace (Cyprinidae)

Treesearch

Gary D. Grossman; Gary Sundin; Robert E. Ratajczak

2016-01-01

SummaryWe used long-term population data for rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides), a numerically dominant member of a stochastically organised fish assemblage, to evaluate the relative importance of density-dependent and density-independent processes to population...

Density Dependent Functional Forms Drive Compensation in Populations Exposed to Stressors

EPA Science Inventory

The interaction between density dependence (DD) and environmental stressors can result in a compensatory or synergistic response in population growth, and population models that use density-independent demographic rates or generic DD functions may be introducing bias into managem...

Density functional and theoretical study of the temperature and pressure dependency of the plasmon energy of solids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Attarian Shandiz, M., E-mail: mohammad.attarianshandiz@mail.mcgill.ca; Gauvin, R.

The temperature and pressure dependency of the volume plasmon energy of solids was investigated by density functional theory calculations. The volume change of crystal is the major factor responsible for the variation of valence electron density and plasmon energy in the free electron model. Hence, to introduce the effect of temperature and pressure for the density functional theory calculations of plasmon energy, the temperature and pressure dependency of lattice parameter was used. Also, by combination of the free electron model and the equation of state based on the pseudo-spinodal approach, the temperature and pressure dependency of the plasmon energy wasmore » modeled. The suggested model is in good agreement with the results of density functional theory calculations and available experimental data for elements with the free electron behavior.« less

Intramolecular Vibrational Energy Redistribution (ivr) in Selected S_{1} Levels above 1000 cm^{-1} in Para-Fluorotoluene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whalley, Laura E.; Gardner, Adrian M.; Tuttle, William Duncan; Davies, Julia A.; Reid, Katharine L.; Wright, Timothy G.

2017-06-01

With increasing vibrational wavenumber, the density of states of a molecule is expected to rise dramatically, especially so when low wavenumber torsions (internal rotations) are present, as in the case of para-fluorotoluene (pFT). This in turn is expected to lead to more opportunities for coupling between vibrational modes, which is the driving force for intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR). Previous studies at higher energies have focussed on the two close lying vibrational levels at 1200 cm^{-1} in the S_{1} electronic state of pFT which were assigned to two zero-order bright states (ZOBSs), whose characters predominantly involve C-CH_{3} and C-F stretching modes. A surprising result of these studies was that the photoelectron spectra showed evidence that IVR is more extensive following excitation of the C-F mode than it is following excitation of the C-CH_{3} mode, despite these levels being separated by only 35 cm^{-1}. This observation provides evidence that the IVR dynamics are mode-specific, which in turn may be a consequence of the IVR route being dependent on couplings to nearby states that are only available to the C-F mode. In this work, in order to further investigate this behaviour, we have employed resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionisation (REMPI) spectroscopy and zero-kinetic-energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy to probe S_{1} levels above 1000 cm^{-1} in pFT. Such ZEKE spectra have been recorded via a number of S_{1} intermediate levels allowing the character and coupling between vibrations to be unravelled; the consequence of this coupling will be discussed with a view to understanding any IVR dynamics seen. C. J. Hammond, V. L. Ayles, D. E. Bergeron, K. L. Reid and T. G. Wright, J. Chem. Phys., 125, 124308 (2006) J. A. Davies, A. M. Green, A. M. Gardner, C. D. Withers, T. G. Wright and K. L. Reid, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 16, 430 (2014)

Anthropogenically-Mediated Density Dependence in a Declining Farmland Bird

PubMed Central

Dunn, Jenny C.; Hamer, Keith C.; Benton, Tim G.

2015-01-01

Land management intrinsically influences the distribution of animals and can consequently alter the potential for density-dependent processes to act within populations. For declining species, high densities of breeding territories are typically considered to represent productive populations. However, as density-dependent effects of food limitation or predator pressure may occur (especially when species are dependent upon separate nesting and foraging habitats), high territory density may limit per-capita productivity. Here, we use a declining but widespread European farmland bird, the yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella L., as a model system to test whether higher territory densities result in lower fledging success, parental provisioning rates or nestling growth rates compared to lower densities. Organic landscapes held higher territory densities, but nests on organic farms fledged fewer nestlings, translating to a 5 times higher rate of population shrinkage on organic farms compared to conventional. In addition, when parental provisioning behaviour was not restricted by predation risk (i.e., at times of low corvid activity), nestling provisioning rates were higher at lower territory densities, resulting in a much greater increase in nestling mass in low density areas, suggesting that food limitation occurred at high densities. These findings in turn suggest an ecological trap, whereby preferred nesting habitat does not provide sufficient food for rearing nestlings at high population density, creating a population sink. Habitat management for farmland birds should focus not simply on creating a high nesting density, but also on ensuring heterogeneous habitats to provide food resources in close proximity to nesting birds, even if this occurs through potentially restricting overall nest density but increasing population-level breeding success. PMID:26431173

Detection of density dependence requires density manipulations and calculation of lambda.

PubMed

Fowler, N L; Overath, R Deborah; Pease, Craig M

2006-03-01

To investigate density-dependent population regulation in the perennial bunchgrass Bouteloua rigidiseta, we experimentally manipulated density by removing adults or adding seeds to replicate quadrats in a natural population for three annual intervals. We monitored the adjacent control quadrats for 14 annual intervals. We constructed a population projection matrix for each quadrat in each interval, calculated lambda, and did a life table response experiment (LTRE) analysis. We tested the effects of density upon lambda by comparing experimental and control quadrats, and by an analysis of the 15-year observational data set. As measured by effects on lambda and on N(t+1/Nt in the experimental treatments, negative density dependence was strong: the population was being effectively regulated. The relative contributions of different matrix elements to treatment effect on lambda differed among years and treatments; overall the pattern was one of small contributions by many different life cycle stages. In contrast, density dependence could not be detected using only the observational (control quadrats) data, even though this data set covered a much longer time span. Nor did experimental effects on separate matrix elements reach statistical significance. These results suggest that ecologists may fail to detect density dependence when it is present if they have only descriptive, not experimental, data, do not have data for the entire life cycle, or analyze life cycle components separately.

Intraspecific density dependence and a guild of consumers coexisting on one resource.

PubMed

McPeek, Mark A

2012-12-01

The importance of negative intraspecific density dependence to promoting species coexistence in a community is well accepted. However, such mechanisms are typically omitted from more explicit models of community dynamics. Here I analyze a variation of the Rosenzweig-MacArthur consumer-resource model that includes negative intraspecific density dependence for consumers to explore its effect on the coexistence of multiple consumers feeding on a single resource. This analysis demonstrates that a guild of multiple consumers can easily coexist on a single resource if each limits its own abundance to some degree, and stronger intraspecific density dependence permits a wider variety of consumers to coexist. The mechanism permitting multiple consumers to coexist works in a fashion similar to apparent competition or to each consumer having its own specialized predator. These results argue for a more explicit emphasis on how negative intraspecific density dependence is generated and how these mechanisms combine with species interactions to shape overall community structure.

Does the galaxy-halo connection vary with environment?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dragomir, Radu; Rodríguez-Puebla, Aldo; Primack, Joel R.; Lee, Christoph T.

2018-05-01

(Sub)halo abundance matching (SHAM) assumes that one (sub) halo property, such as mass Mvir or peak circular velocity Vpeak, determines properties of the galaxy hosted in each (sub) halo such as its luminosity or stellar mass. This assumption implies that the dependence of galaxy luminosity functions (GLFs) and the galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) on environmental density is determined by the corresponding halo density dependence. In this paper, we test this by determining from a Sloan Digital Sky Survey sample the observed dependence with environmental density of the ugriz GLFs and GSMF for all galaxies, and for central and satellite galaxies separately. We then show that the SHAM predictions are in remarkable agreement with these observations, even when the galaxy population is divided between central and satellite galaxies. However, we show that SHAM fails to reproduce the correct dependence between environmental density and g - r colour for all galaxies and central galaxies, although it better reproduces the colour dependence on environmental density of satellite galaxies.

Inner-shell excitation and ionic fragmentation of molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hitchcock, A.P.; Tyliszczak, T.; Cavell, R.G.

1997-04-01

Inner-shell excitation and associated decay spectroscopies are site specific probes of electronic and geometrical structure and photoionization dynamics. X-ray absorption probes the geometric and electronic structure, while time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multi-coincidence detection provides information on the photofragmentation dynamics of the initially produced inner-shell state. Auger decay of inner-shell excited and ionised states is an efficient source of multiply charged ions. The charge separation and fragmentation of these species, studied by photoelectron-photoion-photoion coincidence (also called charge separation mass spectrometry) gives insights into bonding and electronic structure. In molecules, the dependence of the fragmentation process on the X-ray energy can revealmore » cases of site and/or state selective fragmentation. At the ALS the authors have examined the soft X-ray spectroscopy and ionic fragmentation of a number of molecules, including carboranes, silylenes, phosphorus halides, SF{sub 6} and CO{sub 2}. Their work is illustrated using results from the carborane and PF{sub 3} studies.« less

Chemical Speciation and Bond Lengths of Organic Solutes by Core-Level Spectroscopy: pH and Solvent Influence on p-Aminobenzoic Acid.

PubMed

Stevens, Joanna S; Gainar, Adrian; Suljoti, Edlira; Xiao, Jie; Golnak, Ronny; Aziz, Emad F; Schroeder, Sven L M

2015-05-04

Through X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies, the chemical, electronic and structural properties of organic species in solution can be observed. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements at the nitrogen K-edge of para-aminobenzoic acid reveal both pH- and solvent-dependent variations in the ionisation potential (IP), 1s→π* resonances and HOMO-LUMO gap. These changes unequivocally identify the chemical species (neutral, cationic or anionic) present in solution. It is shown how this incisive chemical state sensitivity is further enhanced by the possibility of quantitative bond length determination, based on the analysis of chemical shifts in IPs and σ* shape resonances in the NEXAFS spectra. This provides experimental access to detecting even minor variations in the molecular structure of solutes in solution, thereby providing an avenue to examining computational predictions of solute properties and solute-solvent interactions. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Radioactivity of natural medicinal preparations contained extracts from peat mud available in retail trade used externally.

PubMed

Karpińska, Maria; Kapała, Jacek; Raciborska, Agnieszka; Kulesza, Grzegorz; Milewska, Anna; Mnich, Stanisław

2017-08-01

In this work were identified and measured the activity of radioactive isotopes present in medicinal preparations from peat mud and estimated the doses obtained from them during therapy. Radioactivity of 22 preparations from peat mud and 20 water samples from water of the North-East region of Poland was studied. The median of the total activity was 24.8 Bq kg -1 . Total maximal isotope activity was observed in the Iwonicka Cube 146 Bq kg -1 while considerable amounts of isotopes were found in the Kolobrzeska Peat Mud Paste 112 Bq kg -1 . The doses obtained during therapy were within the range of 11 nSv-13 μSv depending on extracts of medicinal preparations from peat mud. The probability that such a small dose would stimulate biological effects is low. However, some clinicians believe that one of the possible therapeutic mechanisms in the treatment of rheumatoid disorders is the induction of immune response by ionising radiation.

Developing an in silico model of the modulation of base excision repair using methoxyamine for more targeted cancer therapeutics.

PubMed

Gurkan-Cavusoglu, Evren; Avadhani, Sriya; Liu, Lili; Kinsella, Timothy J; Loparo, Kenneth A

2013-04-01

Base excision repair (BER) is a major DNA repair pathway involved in the processing of exogenous non-bulky base damages from certain classes of cancer chemotherapy drugs as well as ionising radiation (IR). Methoxyamine (MX) is a small molecule chemical inhibitor of BER that is shown to enhance chemotherapy and/or IR cytotoxicity in human cancers. In this study, the authors have analysed the inhibitory effect of MX on the BER pathway kinetics using a computational model of the repair pathway. The inhibitory effect of MX depends on the BER efficiency. The authors have generated variable efficiency groups using different sets of protein concentrations generated by Latin hypercube sampling, and they have clustered simulation results into high, medium and low efficiency repair groups. From analysis of the inhibitory effect of MX on each of the three groups, it is found that the inhibition is most effective for high efficiency BER, and least effective for low efficiency repair.

Chemical Speciation and Bond Lengths of Organic Solutes by Core-Level Spectroscopy: pH and Solvent Influence on p -Aminobenzoic Acid

DOE PAGES

Stevens, Joanna S.; Gainar, Adrian; Suljoti, Edlira; ...

2015-03-18

Through X-ray absorption and emission spectroscopies, the chemical, electronic and structural properties of organic species in solution can be observed. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) measurements at the nitrogen K-edge of para-aminobenzoic acid reveal both pH- and solvent-dependent variations in the ionisation potential (IP), 1s→π* resonances and HOMO–LUMO gap. These changes unequivocally identify the chemical species (neutral, cationic or anionic) present in solution. It is shown how this incisive chemical state sensitivity is further enhanced by the possibility of quantitative bond length determination, based on the analysis of chemical shifts in IPs andmore » σ* shape resonances in the NEXAFS spectra. Finally, this provides experimental access to detecting even minor variations in the molecular structure of solutes in solution, thereby providing an avenue to examining computational predictions of solute properties and solute–solvent interactions.« less

European SpaceCraft for the study of Atmospheric Particle Escape (ESCAPE): a planetary mission to Earth, proposed in response to the ESA M5-call

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dandouras, I.; Yamauchi, M.; Rème, H.; De Keyser, J.; Marghitu, O.; Fazakerley, A.; Grison, B.; Kistler, L.; Milillo, A.; Nakamura, R.; Paschalidis, N.; Paschalis, A.; Pinçon, J.-L.; Sakanoi, T.; Wieser, M.; Wurz, P.; Yoshikawa, I.; Häggström, I.; Liemohn, M.; Tian, F.

2017-09-01

ESCAPE is a mission proposed in response to the ESA-M5 call that will quantitatively estimate the amount of escaping particles of the major atmospheric components (nitrogen and oxygen), as neutral and ionised species, escaping from the Earth as a magnetised planet. The goal is to understand the importance of each escape mechanism, its dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity, and to infer the history of the Earth's atmospheric composition over a long (geological scale) time period. Since the solar EUV and solar wind conditions during solar maximum at present are comparable to the solar minimum conditions 1-2 billion years ago, the escaping amount and the isotope and N/O ratios should be obtained as a function of external forcing (solar and geomagnetic conditions) to allow a scaling to the past. The result will be used as a reference to understand the atmospheric/ionospheric evolution of magnetised planets, which is essential for habitability.

Measurements of C6-C8 hydrocarbons at a UK rural site during January 1999. Site evaluation and correlations between species.

PubMed

Hopkins, J R; Barnett, C J; Lewis, A C; Seakins, P W

2003-02-01

Ambient concentrations of C6-C8 aromatic hydrocarbons and n-heptane, determined by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection, are presented from a winter campaign during January 1999 at a rural site near Leeds. Absolute concentrations are significantly lower than those obtained from the only designated UK rural site (Harwell) in the automated UK hydrocarbon network. Both absolute and relative concentrations of hydrocarbons measured at the site have been interpreted in terms of the arriving back-trajectories. The site is subject to two main airflows during the winter months; relatively polluted air from the southwest and much cleaner air from the northwest. Ratios of hydrocarbon concentrations show evidence of significant chemical processing consistent with chemical removal by OH. Uncertainties in the ages of the trajectories prevent a reliable estimation of the average OH concentration over the trajectory. The dependence of the variance of the hydrocarbon concentrations with their lifetime with respect to removal by OH does not show the expected behaviour.

Quercetin solubilisation in bile salts: A comparison with sodium dodecyl sulphate.

PubMed

Buchweitz, Maria; Kroon, Paul A; Rich, Gillian T; Wilde, Peter J

2016-11-15

To understand the bioaccessibility of the flavonoid quercetin we studied its interaction with bile salt micelles. The environmental sensitivity of quercetin's UV-visible absorption spectrum gave information about quercetin partitioning. Two quercetin absorption peaks gave complementary information: Peak A (240-280nm) on the intermicellar phase and Peak B (340-440nm) on the micellar phase. Thus, by altering pH, we showed that only non-ionised quercetin partitions into micelles. We validated our interpretation by studying quercetin's interaction with SDS micelles. Pyrene fluorescence and the quercetin UV-visible spectra show that the adsorption site for pyrene and quercetin in bile salt micelles is more hydrophobic than that for SDS micelles. Also, both quercetin and pyrene reported a higher critical micelle concentration for bile salts than for SDS. Our method of using a flavonoid as an intrinsic probe, is generally applicable to other lipophilic bioactives, whenever they have observable environmental dependent properties. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Complex life cycles and density dependence: assessing the contribution of egg mortality to amphibian declines.

PubMed

Vonesh, James R; De la Cruz, Omar

2002-11-01

In the last decade there has been increasing evidence of amphibian declines from relatively pristine areas. Some declines are hypothesized to be the result of egg mortality caused by factors such as elevated solar UV-B irradiation, chemical pollutants, pathogenic fungi, and climate change. However, the population-level consequences of egg mortality have not been examined explicitly, and may be complicated by density dependence in intervening life-history stages. Here we develop a demographic model for two amphibians with contrasting life-history strategies, Bufo boreas and Ambystoma macrodactylum. We then use the complementary approaches of elasticity and limitation to examine the relationships among stage-specific survival rates, larval-stage density dependence and amphibian population dynamics. Elasticity analyses showed that for a range of density dependence scenarios both species were more sensitive to changes in post-embryonic survival parameters, particularly juvenile survival, than to egg survival, suggesting that mortality of later stages may play an important role in driving declines. Limitation analyses revealed that larval density dependence can dramatically alter the consequences of early mortality, reducing or even reversing the expected population-level effects of egg mortality. Thus, greater focus on later life stages and density dependence is called for to accurately assess how stressors are likely to affect amphibian populations of conservation concern.

Air density dependence of the response of the PTW SourceCheck 4pi ionization chamber for 125I brachytherapy seeds.

PubMed

Torres Del Río, J; Tornero-López, A M; Guirado, D; Pérez-Calatayud, J; Lallena, A M

2017-06-01

To analyze the air density dependence of the response of the new SourceCheck 4pi ionization chamber, manufactured by PTW. The air density dependence of three different SourceCheck 4pi chambers was studied by measuring 125 I sources. Measurements were taken by varying the pressure from 746.6 to 986.6hPa in a pressure chamber. Three different HDR 1000 Plus ionization chambers were also analyzed under similar conditions. A linear and a potential-like function of the air density were fitted to experimental data and their achievement in describing them was analyzed. SourceCheck 4pi chamber response showed a residual dependence on the air density once the standard pressure and temperature factor was applied. The chamber response was overestimated when the air density was below that under normal atmospheric conditions. A similar dependence was found for the HDR 1000 Plus chambers analyzed. A linear function of the air density permitted a very good description of this residual dependence, better than with a potential function. No significant variability between the different specimens of the same chamber model studied was found. The effect of overestimation observed in the chamber responses once they are corrected for the standard pressure and temperature may represent a non-negligible ∼4% overestimation in high altitude cities as ours (700m AMSL). This overestimation behaves linearly with the air density in all cases analyzed. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Population-regulating processes during the adult phase in flatfish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rijnsdorp, A. D.

Flatfish support major fisheries and the study of regulatory processes are of paramount importance for evaluating the resilience of the resource to exploitation. This paper reviews the evidence for processes operating during the adult phase that may 1. generate interannual variability in recruitment; 2. contribute to population regulation through density-dependent growth, density-dependent ripening of adults and density-dependent egg production. With regard to (1), there is evidence that in the adult phase processes do occur that may generate recruitment variability through variation in size-specific fecundity, contraction of spawning season, reduction in egg quality, change in sex ratio and size composition of the adult population. However, time series of recruitment do not provide support for this hypothesis. With regard to (2), there is ample evidence that exploitation of flatfish coincides with an increase in growth, although the mechanisms involved are not always clear. The presence of density-dependent growth in the adult phase of unexploited populations appears to be the most likely explanation in some cases. From the early years of exploitation of flatfish stocks inhabiting cold waters, evidence exists that adult fish do not spawn each year. Fecundity schedules show annual variations, but the available information suggests that size-specific fecundity is stable over a broad range of population abundance and may only decrease at high population abundance. The analysis is complicated by the possibility of a trade-off between egg numbers and egg size. Nevertheless, a density-dependent decrease in growth will automatically result in a decrease in absolute fecundity because of the reduced body size. The potential contribution of these regulatory effects on population regulation is explored. Results indicate that density-dependent ripening and absolute fecundity, mediated through density-dependent growth, may control recruitment at high levels of population abundance. The effect of a density-dependent decrease in size-specific fecundity seems to play a minor role, although this role may become important at extremely high levels of population abundance.

Predation and fragmentation portrayed in the statistical structure of prey time series

PubMed Central

Hendrichsen, Ditte K; Topping, Chris J; Forchhammer, Mads C

2009-01-01

Background Statistical autoregressive analyses of direct and delayed density dependence are widespread in ecological research. The models suggest that changes in ecological factors affecting density dependence, like predation and landscape heterogeneity are directly portrayed in the first and second order autoregressive parameters, and the models are therefore used to decipher complex biological patterns. However, independent tests of model predictions are complicated by the inherent variability of natural populations, where differences in landscape structure, climate or species composition prevent controlled repeated analyses. To circumvent this problem, we applied second-order autoregressive time series analyses to data generated by a realistic agent-based computer model. The model simulated life history decisions of individual field voles under controlled variations in predator pressure and landscape fragmentation. Analyses were made on three levels: comparisons between predated and non-predated populations, between populations exposed to different types of predators and between populations experiencing different degrees of habitat fragmentation. Results The results are unambiguous: Changes in landscape fragmentation and the numerical response of predators are clearly portrayed in the statistical time series structure as predicted by the autoregressive model. Populations without predators displayed significantly stronger negative direct density dependence than did those exposed to predators, where direct density dependence was only moderately negative. The effects of predation versus no predation had an even stronger effect on the delayed density dependence of the simulated prey populations. In non-predated prey populations, the coefficients of delayed density dependence were distinctly positive, whereas they were negative in predated populations. Similarly, increasing the degree of fragmentation of optimal habitat available to the prey was accompanied with a shift in the delayed density dependence, from strongly negative to gradually becoming less negative. Conclusion We conclude that statistical second-order autoregressive time series analyses are capable of deciphering interactions within and across trophic levels and their effect on direct and delayed density dependence. PMID:19419539

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of as-synthesised N,N'-dimethylformamide-stabilised gold nanoclusters product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Shunping; Paau, Man Chin; Zhang, Yan; Shuang, Shaomin; Chan, Wan; Choi, Martin M. F.

2012-08-01

Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) separation and analysis of polydisperse water-soluble gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) stabilised with N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) were investigated. Under optimal elution gradient conditions, the separation of DMF-AuNCs was monitored by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The UV-vis spectral characteristics of the separated DMF-AuNCs have been captured and they do not possess distinct surface plasmon resonance bands, indicating that all DMF-AuNCs are small AuNCs. The photoluminescence emission spectra of the separated DMF-AuNCs are in the blue-light region. Moreover, cationic DMF-AuNCs are for the first time identified by ion chromatography. Our proposed RP-HPLC methodology has been successfully applied to separate AuNCs of various Au atoms as well as DMF-stabilised ligands. Finally, the composition of the separated DMF-AuNCs was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry, proving that the as-synthesised DMF-AuNCs product consists of Au10+, Au10, Au11, Au12, Au13, and Au14 NCs stabilised with various numbers of DMF ligands.Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) separation and analysis of polydisperse water-soluble gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) stabilised with N,N'-dimethylformamide (DMF) were investigated. Under optimal elution gradient conditions, the separation of DMF-AuNCs was monitored by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The UV-vis spectral characteristics of the separated DMF-AuNCs have been captured and they do not possess distinct surface plasmon resonance bands, indicating that all DMF-AuNCs are small AuNCs. The photoluminescence emission spectra of the separated DMF-AuNCs are in the blue-light region. Moreover, cationic DMF-AuNCs are for the first time identified by ion chromatography. Our proposed RP-HPLC methodology has been successfully applied to separate AuNCs of various Au atoms as well as DMF-stabilised ligands. Finally, the composition of the separated DMF-AuNCs was confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry, proving that the as-synthesised DMF-AuNCs product consists of Au10+, Au10, Au11, Au12, Au13, and Au14 NCs stabilised with various numbers of DMF ligands. This article was submitted as part of a Themed Issue on metallic clusters. Other papers on this topic can be found in issue 14 of vol. 4 (2012). This issue can be found from the Nanoscale homepage [http://www.rsc.org/nanoscale].

Globules and pillars in Cygnus X. II. Massive star formation in the globule IRAS 20319+3958

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djupvik, A. A.; Comerón, F.; Schneider, N.

2017-03-01

Globules and pillars, impressively revealed by the Spitzer and Herschel satellites, for example, are pervasive features found in regions of massive star formation. Studying their embedded stellar populations can provide an excellent laboratory to test theories of triggered star formation and the features that it may imprint on the stellar aggregates resulting from it. We studied the globule IRAS 20319+3958 in Cygnus X by means of visible and near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, complemented with mid-infrared Spitzer/IRAC imaging, in order to obtain a census of its stellar content and the nature of its embedded sources. Our observations show that the globule contains an embedded aggregate of about 30 very young (≲1 Myr) stellar objects, for which we estimate a total mass of 90 M⊙. The most massive members are three systems containing early B-type stars. Two of them most likely produced very compact H II regions, one of them being still highly embedded and coinciding with a peak seen in emission lines characterising the photon dominated region (PDR). Two of these three systems are resolved binaries, and one of those contains a visible Herbig Be star. An approximate derivation of the mass function of the members of the aggregate gives hints of a slope at high masses shallower than the classical Salpeter slope, and a peak of the mass distribution at a mass higher than that at which the widely adopted log-normal initial mass function peaks. The emission distribution of H2 and Brγ, tracing the PDR and the ionised gas phase, respectively, suggests that molecular gas is distributed as a shell around the embedded aggregate, filled with centrally-condensed ionised gas. Both, the morphology and the low excitation of the H II region, indicate that the sources of ionisation are the B stars of the embedded aggregate, rather than the external UV field caused by the O stars of Cygnus OB2. The youth of the embedded cluster, combined with the isolation of the globule, suggests that star formation in the globule was triggered by the passage of the ionisation front. Based on observations from the Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA) at Calar Alto, the Nordic Optical Telescope, La Palma, and the IAC80 telescope, Tenerife.Full Table 3 is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/599/A37

Trivial constraints on orbital-free kinetic energy density functionals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Kai; Trickey, S. B.

2018-03-01

Approximate kinetic energy density functionals (KEDFs) are central to orbital-free density functional theory. Limitations on the spatial derivative dependencies of KEDFs have been claimed from differential virial theorems. We identify a central defect in the argument: the relationships are not true for an arbitrary density but hold only for the minimizing density and corresponding chemical potential. Contrary to the claims therefore, the relationships are not constraints and provide no independent information about the spatial derivative dependencies of approximate KEDFs. A simple argument also shows that validity for arbitrary v-representable densities is not restored by appeal to the density-potential bijection.

Radiation in the workplace-a review of studies of the risks of occupational exposure to ionising radiation.

PubMed

Wakeford, Richard

2009-06-01

Many individuals are, or have been, exposed to ionising radiation in the course of their work and the epidemiological study of occupationally irradiated groups offers an important opportunity to complement the estimates of risks to health resulting from exposure to radiation that are obtained from other populations, such as the Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Moreover, workplace exposure to radiation usually involves irradiation conditions that are of direct relevance to the principal concern of radiological protection: protracted exposure to low level radiation. Further, some workers have been exposed to radioactive material that has been inadvertently taken into the body, and the study of these groups leads to risk estimates derived directly from the experience of those irradiated by these 'internal emitters', intakes of alpha-particle-emitters being of particular interest. Workforces that have been the subject of epidemiological study include medical staff, aircrews, radium dial luminisers, underground hard-rock miners, Chernobyl clean-up workers, nuclear weapons test participants and nuclear industry workers. The first solid epidemiological evidence of the stochastic effects of irradiation came from a study of occupational exposure to medical x-rays that was reported in 1944, which demonstrated a large excess risk of leukaemia among US radiologists; but the general lack of dose records for early medical staff who tended to experience the highest exposures hampers the derivation of risks per unit dose received by medical workers. The instrument dial luminisers who inadvertently ingested large amounts of radium-based paint and underground hard-rock miners who inhaled large quantities of radon and its decay products suffered markedly raised excess risks of, respectively, bone and lung cancers; the miner studies have provided standard risk estimates for radon-induced lung cancer. The large numbers of nuclear industry workers around the world present a possibility of deriving risk coefficients of direct relevance to radiological protection, and the recently published study of workers from 15 countries illustrates what can be achieved by international collaboration. However, it would appear that there are some problems with this study that require attention before reliance can be placed upon the results. Early workers from the Mayak plutonium production facility in Russia were heavily exposed to external sources of penetrating radiation and to plutonium, and appreciable effort has been expended in obtaining dependable risk estimates from this scientifically valuable group of workers. Those occupationally exposed to low levels of radiation also present an opportunity of studying possible somatic health effects other than cancer, such as heart disease and eye cataracts, that are the subject of much discussion at present. Overall, studies of exposure to ionising radiation in the workplace provide a valuable support to studies of those groups exposed under other circumstances, and in some instances (such as exposure to plutonium) effectively offer the only direct source of epidemiological evidence on risks.

LIAD-fs scheme for studies of ultrafast laser interactions with gas phase biomolecules.

PubMed

Calvert, C R; Belshaw, L; Duffy, M J; Kelly, O; King, R B; Smyth, A G; Kelly, T J; Costello, J T; Timson, D J; Bryan, W A; Kierspel, T; Rice, P; Turcu, I C E; Cacho, C M; Springate, E; Williams, I D; Greenwood, J B

2012-05-14

Laser induced acoustic desorption (LIAD) has been used for the first time to study the parent ion production and fragmentation mechanisms of a biological molecule in an intense femtosecond (fs) laser field. The photoacoustic shock wave generated in the analyte substrate (thin Ta foil) has been simulated using the hydrodynamic HYADES code, and the full LIAD process has been experimentally characterised as a function of the desorption UV-laser pulse parameters. Observed neutral plumes of densities >10(9) cm(-3) which are free from solvent or matrix contamination demonstrate the suitability and potential of the source for studying ultrafast dynamics in the gas phase using fs laser pulses. Results obtained with phenylalanine show that through manipulation of fundamental femtosecond laser parameters (such as pulse length, intensity and wavelength), energy deposition within the molecule can be controlled to allow enhancement of parent ion production or generation of characteristic fragmentation patterns. In particular by reducing the pulse length to a timescale equivalent to the fastest vibrational periods in the molecule, we demonstrate how fragmentation of the molecule can be minimised whilst maintaining a high ionisation efficiency. This journal is © the Owner Societies 2012

Laser ablation synthesis of arsenic-phosphide Asm Pn clusters from As-P mixtures. Laser desorption ionisation with quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry: The mass spectrometer as a synthesizer.

PubMed

Kubáček, Pavel; Prokeš, Lubomír; Pamreddy, Annapurna; Peña-Méndez, Eladia María; Conde, José Elias; Alberti, Milan; Havel, Josef

2018-05-30

Only a few arsenic phosphides are known. A high potential for the generation of new compounds is offered by Laser Ablation Synthesis (LAS) and when Laser Desorption Ionization (LDI) is coupled with simultaneous Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOFMS), immediate identification of the clusters can be achieved. LAS was used for the generation of arsenic phosphides via laser ablation of phosphorus-arsenic mixtures while quadrupole ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QIT-TOFMS) was used to acquire the mass spectra. Many new As m P n ± clusters (479 binary and 369 mono-elemental) not yet described in the literature were generated in the gas phase and their stoichiometry determined. The likely structures for some of the observed clusters arbitrary selected (20) were computed by density functional theory (DFT) optimization. LAS is an advantageous approach for the generation of new As m P n clusters, while mass spectrometry was found to be an efficient technique for the determination of cluster stoichiometry. The results achieved might inspire the synthesis of new materials. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

CMB anisotropies from patchy reionisation and diffuse Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fidler, Christian; Ringeval, Christophe, E-mail: christophe.ringeval@uclouvain.be, E-mail: christian.fidler@uclouvain.be

Anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) can be induced during the later stages of cosmic evolution, and in particular during and after the Epoch of Reionisation. Inhomogeneities in the ionised fraction, but also in the baryon density, in the velocity fields and in the gravitational potentials are expected to generate correlated CMB perturbations. We present a complete relativistic treatment of all these effects, up to second order in perturbation theory, that we solve using the numerical Boltzmann code (\\SONG). The physical origin and relevance of all second order terms are carefully discussed. In addition to collisional and gravitational contributions,more » we identify the diffuse analogue of the blurring and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effects. Our approach naturally includes the correlations between the imprint from patchy reionisation and the diffuse SZ effects thereby allowing us to derive reliable estimates of the induced temperature and polarisation CMB angular power spectra. In particular, we show that the B -modes generated at intermediate length-scales (ℓ ≅ 100) have the same amplitude as the B -modes coming from primordial gravitational waves with a tensor-to-scalar ratio r =10{sup −4}.« less

Quantum chemical study on the NLO and NBO properties of 4-hydroxy quinoline-2-carboxylic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattanayak, Subrat Kumar

2018-05-01

The nonlinear optical properties and natural bond analysis properties, different global chemical reactivity properties of the compound 4-hydroxy quinoline-2-carboxylic acid are studied by density function theory. The dipole moment (μ) and linear polarizability are found 1.60259 D and 15.138×10-24esu respectively. A comparatively greater value dipole moment 1.46154 D is obtained in direction of μy. It was observed the interaction energies of acceptor of NBO C1 - C2 and donor C5 - C6, NBO of C13 - N15 and C9 - C12, NBO of C13 - N15 and C18 - O21, NBO of O19 and C18 - O21 are 30.92, 358.86, 320.39, 58.55 Kcal/mol. We are getting the low ionization energy 7.033 electron volt (eV) for the studied molecule, which indicates the high inhibition efficiency. Here we note that, high value of ionisation energy indicating the high stability as well as inertness of that molecule. The HOMO and LUMO energies are found -7.033 eV and -2.5212 eV respectively.

Investigation on the photoreactions of nitrate and nitrite ions with selected azaarenes in water

PubMed

Beitz; Bechmann; Mitzner

1999-01-01

The photoreactions of selected azaarenes with nitrate and nitrite ions were investigated under irradiation at lambda = 313 nm. The excitation of both anions leads to several photochemical reactions forming mainly hydroxyl radicals and nitrogen oxides. The purification capability of natural waters i.e. the oxidation of inorganic and organic substances results from the formation of hydroxyl radicals. Nitrated isomers of azaarenes were found among the main products of the investigated photoreactions. The nitrogen oxides were responsible for the production of nitrated derivatives which possess a high toxic potential. Their formation was explained by the parallel occurance of two mechanism, a molecular and a radical one. The molecular mechanism became more important with increasing ionisation potentials of the azaarenes. The spectrum of oxidized products corresponded to the one got in the photoreactions of azaarenes with hydrogen peroxide. The formation of several oxidation and nitration products of the pyridine ring with its low electron density was explained by the reaction of excited states of azaarenes. The photoreactions with nitrite ions only led to the formation of oxidized and nitrated products. Nitroso products were not formed. The reactivity of nitrogen monoxide is too low for its reaction with the azaarenes.

The limits of the Bohm criterion in collisional plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Valentini, H.-B.; Kaiser, D.

2015-05-15

The sheath formation within a low-pressure collisional plasma is analysed by means of a two-fluid model. The Bohm criterion takes into account the effects of the electric field and the inertia of the ions. Numerical results yield that these effects contribute to the space charge formation, only, if the collisionality is lower than a relatively small threshold. It follows that a lower and an upper limit of the drift speed of the ions exist where the effects treated by Bohm can form a sheath. This interval becomes narrower as the collisionality increases and vanishes at the mentioned threshold. Above themore » threshold, the sheath is mainly created by collisions and the ionisation. Under these conditions, the sheath formation cannot be described by means of Bohm like criteria. In a few references, a so-called upper limit of the Bohm criterion is stated for collisional plasmas where the momentum equation of the ions is taken into account, only. However, the present paper shows that this limit results in an unrealistically steep increase of the space charge density towards the wall, and, therefore, it yields no useful limit of the Bohm velocity.« less

Homologous recombination mediates S-phase-dependent radioresistance in cells deficient in DNA polymerase eta.

PubMed

Nicolay, Nils H; Carter, Rebecca; Hatch, Stephanie B; Schultz, Niklas; Prevo, Remko; McKenna, W Gillies; Helleday, Thomas; Sharma, Ricky A

2012-11-01

DNA polymerase eta (pol η) is the only DNA polymerase causally linked to carcinogenesis in humans. Inherited deficiency of pol η in the variant form of xeroderma pigmentosum (XPV) predisposes to UV-light-induced skin cancer. Pol η-deficient cells demonstrate increased sensitivity to cisplatin and oxaliplatin chemotherapy. We have found that XP30R0 fibroblasts derived from a patient with XPV are more resistant to cell kill by ionising radiation (IR) than the same cells complemented with wild-type pol η. This phenomenon has been confirmed in Burkitt's lymphoma cells, which either expressed wild-type pol η or harboured a pol η deletion. Pol η deficiency was associated with accumulation of cells in S-phase, which persisted after IR. Cells deficient in pol η demonstrated increased homologous recombination (HR)-directed repair of double strand breaks created by IR. Depletion of the HR protein, X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 3 (XRCC3), abrogated the radioresistance observed in pol η-deficient cells as compared with pol η-complemented cells. These findings suggest that HR mediates S-phase-dependent radioresistance associated with pol η deficiency. We propose that pol η protein levels in tumours may potentially be used to identify patients who require treatment with chemo-radiotherapy rather than radiotherapy alone for adequate tumour control.

Modelling of hydrogen transport in silicon solar cell structures under equilibrium conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamer, P.; Hallam, B.; Bonilla, R. S.; Altermatt, P. P.; Wilshaw, P.; Wenham, S.

2018-01-01

This paper presents a model for the introduction and redistribution of hydrogen in silicon solar cells at temperatures between 300 and 700 °C based on a second order backwards difference formula evaluated using a single Newton-Raphson iteration. It includes the transport of hydrogen and interactions with impurities such as ionised dopants. The simulations lead to three primary conclusions: (1) hydrogen transport across an n-type emitter is heavily temperature dependent; (2) under equilibrium conditions, hydrogen is largely driven by its charged species, with the switch from a dominance of negatively charged hydrogen (H-) to positively charged hydrogen (H+) within the emitter region critical to significant transport across the junction; and (3) hydrogen transport across n-type emitters is critically dependent upon the doping profile within the emitter, and, in particular, the peak doping concentration. It is also observed that during thermal processes after an initial high temperature step, hydrogen preferentially migrates to the surface of a phosphorous doped emitter, drawing hydrogen out of the p-type bulk. This may play a role in several effects observed during post-firing anneals in relation to the passivation of recombination active defects and even the elimination of hydrogen-related defects in the bulk of silicon solar cells.

Linear-response time-dependent density-functional theory with pairing fields.

PubMed

Peng, Degao; van Aggelen, Helen; Yang, Yang; Yang, Weitao

2014-05-14

Recent development in particle-particle random phase approximation (pp-RPA) broadens the perspective on ground state correlation energies [H. van Aggelen, Y. Yang, and W. Yang, Phys. Rev. A 88, 030501 (2013), Y. Yang, H. van Aggelen, S. N. Steinmann, D. Peng, and W. Yang, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 174110 (2013); D. Peng, S. N. Steinmann, H. van Aggelen, and W. Yang, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 104112 (2013)] and N ± 2 excitation energies [Y. Yang, H. van Aggelen, and W. Yang, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 224105 (2013)]. So far Hartree-Fock and approximated density-functional orbitals have been utilized to evaluate the pp-RPA equation. In this paper, to further explore the fundamentals and the potential use of pairing matrix dependent functionals, we present the linear-response time-dependent density-functional theory with pairing fields with both adiabatic and frequency-dependent kernels. This theory is related to the density-functional theory and time-dependent density-functional theory for superconductors, but is applied to normal non-superconducting systems for our purpose. Due to the lack of the proof of the one-to-one mapping between the pairing matrix and the pairing field for time-dependent systems, the linear-response theory is established based on the representability assumption of the pairing matrix. The linear response theory justifies the use of approximated density-functionals in the pp-RPA equation. This work sets the fundamentals for future density-functional development to enhance the description of ground state correlation energies and N ± 2 excitation energies.

Influence of field dependent critical current density on flux profiles in high Tc superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takacs, S.

1990-01-01

The field distribution for superconducting cylinders and slabs with field dependent critical current densities in combined DC and AC magnetic fields and the corresponding magnetic fluxes are calculated. It is shown that all features of experimental magnetic-field profile measurements can be explained in the framework of field dependent critical current density. Even the quantitative agreement between the experimental and theoretical results using Kim's model is very good.

Maximum likelihood clustering with dependent feature trees

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chittineni, C. B. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The decomposition of mixture density of the data into its normal component densities is considered. The densities are approximated with first order dependent feature trees using criteria of mutual information and distance measures. Expressions are presented for the criteria when the densities are Gaussian. By defining different typs of nodes in a general dependent feature tree, maximum likelihood equations are developed for the estimation of parameters using fixed point iterations. The field structure of the data is also taken into account in developing maximum likelihood equations. Experimental results from the processing of remotely sensed multispectral scanner imagery data are included.

Simulating the evolution of optically dark HI clouds in the Virgo cluster : will no-one rid me of this turbulent sphere ?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, R.; Wünsch, R.; Palouš, J.

2018-05-01

Most detected neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) at low redshift is associated with optically bright galaxies. However, a handful of HI clouds are known which appear to be optically dark and have no nearby potential progenitor galaxies, making tidal debris an unlikely explanation. In particular, 6 clouds identified by the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey are interesting due to the combination of their small size, isolation, and especially their broad line widths atypical of other such clouds. A recent suggestion is that these clouds exist in pressure equilibrium with the intracluster medium, with the line width arising from turbulent internal motions. Here we explore that possibility by using the FLASH code to perform a series of 3D hydro simulations. Our clouds are modelled using spherical Gaussian density profiles, embedded in a hot, low-density gas representing the intracluster medium. The simulations account for heating and cooling of the gas, and we vary the structure and strength of their internal motions. We create synthetic HI spectra, and find that none of our simulations reproduce the observed cloud parameters for longer than ˜100 Myr : the clouds either collapse, disperse, or experience rapid heating which would cause ionisation and render them undetectable to HI surveys. While the turbulent motions required to explain the high line widths generate structures which appear to be inherently unstable, making this an unlikely explanation for the observed clouds, these simulations demonstrate the importance of including the intracluster medium in any model seeking to explain the existence of these objects.

X-Raying the Coronae of HD 155555

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lalitha, S.; Singh, K.P.; Drake, S. A.; Kashyap, V.

2015-01-01

We present an analysis of the high-resolution Chandra observation of the multiple system, HD 155555 (an RS CVn type binary system, HD 155555 AB, and its spatially resolved low-mass companion HD 155555 C). This is an intriguing system which shows properties of both an active pre-main sequence star and a synchronised (main sequence) binary. We obtain the emission measure distribution, temperature structures, plasma densities, and abundances of this system and compare them with the coronal properties of other young/active stars. HD 155555 AB and HD 155555 C produce copious X-ray emission with log L(sub x) of 30.54 and 29.30, respectively, in the 0.3-6.0 kiloelectronvolt energy band. The light curves of individual stars show variability on timescales of few minutes to hours. We analyse the dispersed spectra and reconstruct the emission measure distribution using spectral line analysis. The resulting elemental abundances exhibit inverse first ionisation potential effect in both cases. An analysis of He-like triplets yields a range of coronal electron densities 1010 - 1013 per cubic centimeter. Since HD 155555 AB is classified both as an RS CVn and a PMS star, we compare our results with those of other slightly older active main-sequence stars and T Tauri stars, which indicates that the coronal properties of HD 155555 AB closely resemble that of an older RS CVn binary rather than a younger PMS star. Our results also suggests that the properties of HD 155555 C is very similar to those of other active M dwarfs.

Outdoor radiofrequency radiation levels in the West Bank-Palestine.

PubMed

Lahham, Adnan; Hammash, Alaa

2012-05-01

This work presents the results of exposure levels to radio frequency (RF) emission from different sources in the environment of the West Bank-Palestine. These RF emitters include FM and TV broadcasting stations and mobile phone base stations. Power densities were measured at 65 locations distributed over the West Bank area. These locations include mainly centres of the major cities. Also a 24 h activity level was investigated for a mobile phone base station to determine the maximum activity level for this kind of RF emitters. All measurements were conducted at a height of 1.7 m above ground level using hand held Narda SRM 3000 spectrum analyzer with isotropic antenna capable of collecting RF signals in the frequency band from 75 MHz to 3 GHz. The average value of power density resulted from FM radio broadcasting in all investigated locations was 0.148 μW cm(-2), from TV broadcasting was 0.007 μW cm(-2) and from mobile phone base station was 0.089 μW cm(-2). The maximum total exposure evaluated at any location was 3.86 μW cm(-2). The corresponding exposure quotient calculated for this site was 0.02. This value is well below unity indicating compliance with the International Commission on non-ionising Radiation protection guidelines. Contributions from all relevant RF sources to the total exposure were evaluated and found to be ~62 % from FM radio, 3 % for TV broadcasting and 35 % from mobile phone base stations. The average total exposure from all investigated RF sources was 0.37 μW cm(-2).

Quasars at the High Redshift Frontier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosman, Sarah E. I.

2017-11-01

In recent years the formation of primordial galaxies, cosmic metal enrichment, and hydrogen reionisation have been studied using both refined observations and powerful numerical simulations. High-redshift quasars have become a ubiquitous tool in the study of this era with more than 115 quasars now spectroscopically confirmed at z>6.0. In this thesis, I use spectra of high-redshift quasars to provide improved observational constraints through a mixture of existing and new techniques. I first investigate the claim of neutral gas around the most distant known quasar, ULASJ1120+0641(J1120), with a cosmological redshift of z=7.1. Its spectrum shows a relatively weak Lyman-α emission line, which has been interpreted as evidence of absorption by neutral gas. Attributing this to a Gunn-Peterson damping wing has led to claims that the intergalactic medium is at least 10% neutral at that redshift. However, these claims rely on a reconstruction of the unabsorbed quasar emission. Initial attempts using composite spectra of lower-redshift quasars mismatched the CIV emission line of J1120, a feature known to correlate with Lyman-α and which is strongly blueshifted in J1120. I attempt to establish whether this mismatch could explain the apparently weak Lyman-α emission line. I find that among a C IV-matched sample the Lyman-α line of J1120 is not anomalous. This raises doubts as to the interpretation of absorbed Lyman-α emission lines in the context of reionisation. I then use a high quality X-Shooter spectrum of the same z=7 quasar to measure the abundances of diffuse metals within one billion years of the Big Bang. I measure the occurrence rates of CIV, CII, SiII, FeII and MgII, producing the first measurement at z>6 for many of these ions. I find that the incidence of CIV systems is consistent with a continuing decline in the total mass density of highly ionized metals, a trend seen at lower redshifts. The ratio CII/CIV, however, seems to remain constant or increase with redshift, in line with predictions from models which include a decline of the ionising ultraviolet background. The evolution in MgII appears somewhat more complex; while the number density of strong systems continues to decline at high redshift,the number density of weak systems remains high and may even increase. This could signal an increase with redshift in the cross-section of low-ionisation metals. Large numbers of weak MgII systems are also seen at z˜2, suggesting they were already in place when reionisation was ending. I use this X-Shooter spectrum to study metal absorbers associated with the z=7 quasar itself. I find that one such absorber shows signs of only partially covering the line-of-sight, and investigate the possible implications for the quasar's environment. Finally, I investigate the evolution of the intergalactic medium's Lyman-α opacity using spectra of quasars at 5.7

Seed-predator satiation and Janzen-Connell effects vary with spatial scales for seed-feeding insects.

PubMed

Xiao, Zhishu; Mi, Xiangcheng; Holyoak, Marcel; Xie, Wenhua; Cao, Ke; Yang, Xifu; Huang, Xiaoqun; Krebs, Charles J

2017-01-01

The Janzen-Connell model predicts that common species suffer high seed predation from specialized natural enemies as a function of distance from parent trees, and consequently as a function of conspecific density, whereas the predator satiation hypothesis predicts that seed attack is reduced due to predator satiation at high seed densities. Pre-dispersal predation by insects was studied while seeds are still on parent trees, which represents a frequently overlooked stage in which seed predation occurs. Reproductive tree density and seed production were investigated from ten Quercus serrata populations located in south-west China, quantifying density-dependent pre-dispersal seed predation over two years by three insect groups. Acorn infestation was nearly twice as high in the low-seed year as that in the high-seed year, with considerable spatio-temporal variation in the direction and magnitude of density-dependent pre-dispersal seed predation evident. Across whole populations of trees, a high density of reproductive trees caused predator satiation and reduced insect attack in the high-seed year. Within individual trees, and consistent with the Janzen-Connell model, overall insect seed predation was positively correlated with seed production in the low-seed year. In addition, there was variation among insect taxa, with positive density-dependent seed predation by Curculio weevils in the high-seed year and moths in the low-seed year, but apparent density independence by Cyllorhynchites weevils in both years. The overall trend of negative density-dependent, pre-dispersal seed predation suggests that predator satiation limited the occurrence of Janzen-Connell effects across Q. serrata populations. Such effects may have large impacts on plant population dynamics and tree diversity, depending on the extent to which they are reduced by counteracting positive density-dependent predation for seeds on individual trees and other factors affecting successful recruitment. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Viking Doppler noise used to determine the radial dependence of electron density in the extended corona

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berman, A. L.; Wackley, J. A.; Rockwell, S. T.; Kwan, M.

1977-01-01

The common form for radial dependence of electron density in the extended corona is given. By assuming proportionality between Doppler noise and integrated signal path electron density, Viking Doppler noise can be used to solve for a numerical value of X.

Brevicoryne brassicae aphids interfere with transcriptome responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to feeding by Plutella xylostella caterpillars in a density-dependent manner.

PubMed

Kroes, Anneke; Broekgaarden, Colette; Castellanos Uribe, Marcos; May, Sean; van Loon, Joop J A; Dicke, Marcel

2017-01-01

Plants are commonly attacked by multiple herbivorous species. Yet, little is known about transcriptional patterns underlying plant responses to multiple insect attackers feeding simultaneously. Here, we assessed transcriptomic responses of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to simultaneous feeding by Plutella xylostella caterpillars and Brevicoryne brassicae aphids in comparison to plants infested by P. xylostella caterpillars alone, using microarray analysis. We particularly investigated how aphid feeding interferes with the transcriptomic response to P. xylostella caterpillars and whether this interference is dependent on aphid density and time since aphid attack. Various JA-responsive genes were up-regulated in response to feeding by P. xylostella caterpillars. The additional presence of aphids, both at low and high densities, clearly affected the transcriptional plant response to caterpillars. Interestingly, some important modulators of plant defense signalling, including WRKY transcription factor genes and ABA-dependent genes, were differentially induced in response to simultaneous aphid feeding at low or high density compared with responses to P. xylostella caterpillars feeding alone. Furthermore, aphids affected the P. xylostella-induced transcriptomic response in a density-dependent manner, which caused an acceleration in plant response against dual insect attack at high aphid density compared to dual insect attack at low aphid density. In conclusion, our study provides evidence that aphids influence the caterpillar-induced transcriptional response of A. thaliana in a density-dependent manner. It highlights the importance of addressing insect density to understand how plant responses to single attackers interfere with responses to other attackers and thus underlines the importance of the dynamics of transcriptional plant responses to multiple herbivory.

Nasal Electrophoresis

DTIC Science & Technology

1960-10-06

wadding turundaf? into the n^sal cavity, the location of the indifferent electrode in the region of the occipital ’foramen, etc.)« On the "basis of our... neuralgias öf the trieeKinal nerve. In these cases we use Ionisation with a solution of novocaine (4$) and dijnedrol (0.5*) according to the; second

Sexual segregation in North American elk: the role of density dependence

PubMed Central

Stewart, Kelley M; Walsh, Danielle R; Kie, John G; Dick, Brian L; Bowyer, R Terry

2015-01-01

We investigated how density-dependent processes and subsequent variation in nutritional condition of individuals influenced both timing and duration of sexual segregation and selection of resources. During 1999–2001, we experimentally created two population densities of North American elk (Cervus elaphus), a high-density population at 20 elk/km2, and a low-density population at 4 elk/km2 to test hypotheses relative to timing and duration of sexual segregation and variation in selection of resources. We used multi-response permutation procedures to investigate patterns of sexual segregation, and resource selection functions to document differences in selection of resources by individuals in high- and low-density populations during sexual segregation and aggregation. The duration of sexual segregation was 2 months longer in the high-density population and likely was influenced by individuals in poorer nutritional condition, which corresponded with later conception and parturition, than at low density. Males and females in the high-density population overlapped in selection of resources to a greater extent than in the low-density population, probably resulting from density-dependent effects of increased intraspecific competition and lower availability of resources. PMID:25691992

Roles of density-dependent growth and life history evolution in accounting for fisheries-induced trait changes.

PubMed

Eikeset, Anne Maria; Dunlop, Erin S; Heino, Mikko; Storvik, Geir; Stenseth, Nils C; Dieckmann, Ulf

2016-12-27

The relative roles of density dependence and life history evolution in contributing to rapid fisheries-induced trait changes remain debated. In the 1930s, northeast Arctic cod (Gadus morhua), currently the world's largest cod stock, experienced a shift from a traditional spawning-ground fishery to an industrial trawl fishery with elevated exploitation in the stock's feeding grounds. Since then, age and length at maturation have declined dramatically, a trend paralleled in other exploited stocks worldwide. These trends can be explained by demographic truncation of the population's age structure, phenotypic plasticity in maturation arising through density-dependent growth, fisheries-induced evolution favoring faster-growing or earlier-maturing fish, or a combination of these processes. Here, we use a multitrait eco-evolutionary model to assess the capacity of these processes to reproduce 74 y of historical data on age and length at maturation in northeast Arctic cod, while mimicking the stock's historical harvesting regime. Our results show that model predictions critically depend on the assumed density dependence of growth: when this is weak, life history evolution might be necessary to prevent stock collapse, whereas when a stronger density dependence estimated from recent data is used, the role of evolution in explaining fisheries-induced trait changes is diminished. Our integrative analysis of density-dependent growth, multitrait evolution, and stock-specific time series data underscores the importance of jointly considering evolutionary and ecological processes, enabling a more comprehensive perspective on empirically observed stock dynamics than previous studies could provide.

Verification of the modelling of the main ionospheric trough by the Electron Density Assimilative Model (EDAM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, James; Pryse, Eleri; Jackson-Booth, Natasha

2017-04-01

The main ionospheric trough is a large-scale spatial depletion in the ionospheric electron density that commonly separates the auroral and mid-latitude regions. The feature covers several degrees in latitude and is extended in longitude. It exhibits substantial day-to-day variability in both the location of its minimum ionisation density and in its latitudinal structure. Observations from the UK have shown the trough to be a night-time feature, appearing in early evening to the north of the mainland and progressing equatorward during the course of the night. At dawn, photoionisation fills in the feature. Under increasing levels of geomagnetic activity, the trough moves progressively to lower latitudes. Steep gradients on the trough walls and their variability can cause problems for radio applications. EDAM can be used to model the ionosphere at the trough latitudes by assimilating ionospheric observations from this region into the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI). In this study troughs modelled by EDAM, assimilating data for a period from September to December 2002, are presented and are verified by comparisons with independent observations. Measurements of slant total electron content (sTEC) between GPS satellites and forty ground receivers in Europe were assimilated into EDAM to model the ionospheric electron density. The Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) was then calculated through the model, with the values at the longitude of 0.0E considered to obtain statistical characteristics of identified troughs parameters. Comparisons of the parameters with those obtained previously, using transmissions from the satellites of NIMS (Navy Ionospheric Monitoring System) orbiting at altitudes lower than GPS, revealed consistent results. Further support for the EDAM trough was obtained by comparisons of the model with independent GPS measurements. For this a GPS ground station not used in the assimilation was used to observe the sTEC to this "truth" station. Comparisons of these independent truth data with sTEC calculated through the model were used to determine the accuracy of EDAM in the vicinity of the trough.

Nuclear symmetry energy in terms of single-nucleon potential and its effect on the proton fraction of β-stable npeμ matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sahoo, Babita, E-mail: patra-babita@rediffmail.com; Chakraborty, Suparna, E-mail: banerjee.suparna@hotmail.com; Sahoo, Sukadev, E-mail: sukadevsahoo@yahoo.com

2016-01-15

Momentum and density dependence of single-nucleon potential u{sub τ} (k, ρ, β) is analyzed using a density dependent finite range effective interaction of the Yukawa form. Depending on the choice of the strength parameters of exchange interaction, two different trends of the momentum dependence of nuclear symmetry potential are noticed which lead to two opposite types of neutron and proton effective mass splitting. The 2nd-order and 4th-order symmetry energy of isospin asymmetric nuclear matter are expressed analytically in terms of the single-nucleon potential. Two distinct behavior of the density dependence of 2nd-order and 4th-order symmetry energy are observed depending onmore » neutron and proton effective mass splitting. It is also found that the 4th-order symmetry energy has a significant contribution towards the proton fraction of β-stable npeμ matter at high densities.« less

Predator-Prey Interactions are Context Dependent in a Grassland Plant-Grasshopper-Wolf Spider Food Chain.

PubMed

Laws, Angela N; Joern, Anthony

2015-06-01

Species interactions are often context dependent, where outcomes vary in response to one or more environmental factors. It remains unclear how abiotic conditions like temperature combine with biotic factors such as consumer density or food quality to affect resource availability or influence species interactions. Using the large grasshopper Melanoplus bivittatus (Say) and a common wolf spider [Rabidosa rabida (Walkenaer)], we conducted manipulative field experiments in tallgrass prairie to examine how spider-grasshopper interactions respond to manipulations of temperature, grasshopper density, and food quality. Grasshopper survival was density dependent, as were the effects of spider presence and food quality in context-dependent ways. In high grasshopper density treatments, predation resulted in increased grasshopper survival, likely as a result of reduced intraspecific competition in the presence of spiders. Spiders had no effect on grasshopper survival when grasshoppers were stocked at low densities. Effects of the experimental treatments were often interdependent so that effects were only observed when examined together with other treatments. The occurrence of trophic cascades was context dependent, where the effects of food quality and spider presence varied with temperature under high-density treatments. Temperature weakly affected the impact of spider presence on M. bivittatus survivorship when all treatments were considered simultaneously, but different context-dependent responses to spider presence and food quality were observed among the three temperature treatments under high-density conditions. Our results indicate that context-dependent species interactions are common and highlight the importance of understanding how key biotic and abiotic factors combine to influence species interactions. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evidence for density dependence in foraging and migratory behavior of a subtropical nearshore seabird

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lamb, Juliet S.; Satgé, Yvan G.; Jodice, Patrick G. R.

2017-01-01

Density-dependent competition for food resources influences both foraging ecology and reproduction in a variety of animals. The relationship between colony size, local prey depletion, and reproductive output in colonial central-place foragers has been extensively studied in seabirds; however, most studies have focused on effects of intraspecific competition during the breeding season, while little is known about whether density-dependent resource depletion influences individual migratory behavior outside the breeding season. Using breeding colony size as a surrogate for intraspecific resource competition, we tested for effects of colony size on breeding home range, nestling health, and migratory patterns of a nearshore colonial seabird, the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), originating from seven breeding colonies of varying sizes in the subtropical northern Gulf of Mexico. We found evidence for density-dependent effects on foraging behavior during the breeding season, as individual foraging areas increased linearly with the number of breeding pairs per colony. Contrary to our predictions, however, nestlings from more numerous colonies with larger foraging ranges did not experience either decreased condition or increased stress. During nonbreeding, individuals from larger colonies were more likely to migrate, and traveled longer distances, than individuals from smaller colonies, indicating that the influence of density-dependent effects on distribution persists into the nonbreeding period. We also found significant effects of individual physical condition, particularly body size, on migratory behavior, which in combination with colony size suggesting that dominant individuals remain closer to breeding sites during winter. We conclude that density-dependent competition may be an important driver of both the extent of foraging ranges and the degree of migration exhibited by brown pelicans. However, the effects of density-dependent competition on breeding success and population regulation remain uncertain in this system.

Density-dependent natural selection and trade-offs in life history traits.

PubMed

Mueller, L D; Guo, P Z; Ayala, F J

1991-07-26

Theories of density-dependent natural selection state that at extreme population densities evolution produces alternative life histories due to trade-offs. The trade-offs are presumed to arise because those genotypes with highest fitness at high population densities will not also have high fitness at low density and vice-versa. These predictions were tested by taking samples from six populations of Drosophila melanogaster kept at low population densities (r-populations) for nearly 200 generations and placing them in crowded cultures (K-populations). After 25 generations in the crowded cultures, the derived K-populations showed growth rate and productivity that at high densities were elevated relative to the controls, but at low density were depressed.

Why Density Dependent Propulsion?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robertson, Glen A.

2011-01-01

In 2004 Khoury and Weltman produced a density dependent cosmology theory they call the Chameleon, as at its nature, it is hidden within known physics. The Chameleon theory has implications to dark matter/energy with universe acceleration properties, which implies a new force mechanism with ties to the far and local density environment. In this paper, the Chameleon Density Model is discussed in terms of propulsion toward new propellant-less engineering methods.

Demographic models reveal the shape of density dependence for a specialist insect herbivore on variable host plants.

PubMed

Miller, Tom E X

2007-07-01

1. It is widely accepted that density-dependent processes play an important role in most natural populations. However, persistent challenges in our understanding of density-dependent population dynamics include evaluating the shape of the relationship between density and demographic rates (linear, concave, convex), and identifying extrinsic factors that can mediate this relationship. 2. I studied the population dynamics of the cactus bug Narnia pallidicornis on host plants (Opuntia imbricata) that varied naturally in relative reproductive effort (RRE, the proportion of meristems allocated to reproduction), an important plant quality trait. I manipulated per-plant cactus bug densities, quantified subsequent dynamics, and fit stage-structured models to the experimental data to ask if and how density influences demographic parameters. 3. In the field experiment, I found that populations with variable starting densities quickly converged upon similar growth trajectories. In the model-fitting analyses, the data strongly supported a model that defined the juvenile cactus bug retention parameter (joint probability of surviving and not dispersing) as a nonlinear decreasing function of density. The estimated shape of this relationship shifted from concave to convex with increasing host-plant RRE. 4. The results demonstrate that host-plant traits are critical sources of variation in the strength and shape of density dependence in insects, and highlight the utility of integrated experimental-theoretical approaches for identifying processes underlying patterns of change in natural populations.

The Physics of the Dense Z-Pinch in Theory and in Experiment With Application to Fusion Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, M. G.

1982-01-01

A new generation of Z-pinches employing high voltage, high current pulsed lines as power sources produce dense hot plasmas with enhanced stability properties. Three methods of Z-pinch formation are currently in use: (1) cylindrical collapse and compression of a pre-ionised gas; (2) laser initiation and Joule heating of a gas embedded pinch, and (3) hollow gas puff and subsequent collapse to the axis. The first method shows no dynamic bounce and no instability over about ten radial Alfvén transit times. The laser initiated Z-pinch shows benign helical structures, whilst the gas puff experiments are known for their high X-ray energy conversion associated with m = 0 instabilities. The first two experimental conditions are relevant for fusion. A calculation of energy balance for satisfying Lawson conditions with axial and radial energy losses and radiation loss shows that a current I of ~ 106 A and a line density N of 6 × 1018m-1 are required. This leads to two coincidences of physical quantities that are very favourable for controlled fusion. The first is that at this line density and under pressure balance the ratio of the ion Larmor radius to pinch radius is of order 1 so that a marked stabilisation of the configuration is expected. The second coincidence is that the current is only just below the Pease-Braginskii limit; this will permit the possibility of radiative collapse to attain the high density (~ 4 × 1027 m-3) and small radius (~ 20 μm) required for a compact (0.1 m long) discharge. The confining self-magnetic field is 104 T, the confinement time ~ 100 ns, and a matrix of pulsed discharges is envisaged in a moderator and breeding medium which does not have the wall-loading limitations of tokamaks.

Cholinium-amino acid based ionic liquids: a new method of synthesis and physico-chemical characterization.

PubMed

De Santis, Serena; Masci, Giancarlo; Casciotta, Francesco; Caminiti, Ruggero; Scarpellini, Eleonora; Campetella, Marco; Gontrani, Lorenzo

2015-08-28

In the present work we report the synthesis and physico-chemical characterization in terms of the viscosity and density of a wide series of cholinium-amino acid based room temperature ionic liquids ([Ch][AA] RTILs). 18 different amino acids were used to obtain 14 room temperature ILs. Among the most common AAs, only valine did not form an RTIL but it is a liquid above 80 °C. With respect to the methods reported in the literature we propose a synthesis based on potentiometric titration which has several advantages such as shorter preparation time, stoichiometry within ±1%, very high yields (close to 100%), high reproducibility, and no use of organic solvents, thus being more environmentally friendly. We tried to prepare dianionic ILs with some AAs with two potentially ionisable groups but in all cases the salts were solids at room temperature. All the ILs were characterized by (1)H NMR to confirm the stoichiometry. Physico-chemical properties such as density, viscosity, refractive index and conductivity were measured as a function of temperature and correlated with empirical equations. The values were compared with the data already reported in the literature for some [Ch][AA] ILs. The thermal expansion coefficient αp and the molar volume Vm were also calculated from the experimental density values. Due to the high number of AAs explored and their structural heterogeneity we have been able to find some interesting correlations between the data obtained and the structural features of the AAs in terms of the alkyl chain length, hydrogen bonding ability, stacking and cyclization. Some parameters were also found to be in good agreement with those reported for other ILs. We think that these data can give an important contribution to the understanding of the structure-property relationship of ILs because they focused on the structural effect of the anions, while most data in the literature are focussed on the cations.

Cold and warm electrons at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eriksson, A. I.; Engelhardt, I. A. D.; André, M.; Boström, R.; Edberg, N. J. T.; Johansson, F. L.; Odelstad, E.; Vigren, E.; Wahlund, J.-E.; Henri, P.; Lebreton, J.-P.; Miloch, W. J.; Paulsson, J. J. P.; Simon Wedlund, C.; Yang, L.; Karlsson, T.; Jarvinen, R.; Broiles, T.; Mandt, K.; Carr, C. M.; Galand, M.; Nilsson, H.; Norberg, C.

2017-09-01

Context. Strong electron cooling on the neutral gas in cometary comae has been predicted for a long time, but actual measurements of low electron temperature are scarce. Aims: Our aim is to demonstrate the existence of cold electrons in the inner coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and show filamentation of this plasma. Methods: In situ measurements of plasma density, electron temperature and spacecraft potential were carried out by the Rosetta Langmuir probe instrument, LAP. We also performed analytical modelling of the expanding two-temperature electron gas. Results: LAP data acquired within a few hundred km from the nucleus are dominated by a warm component with electron temperature typically 5-10 eV at all heliocentric distances covered (1.25 to 3.83 AU). A cold component, with temperature no higher than about 0.1 eV, appears in the data as short (few to few tens of seconds) pulses of high probe current, indicating local enhancement of plasma density as well as a decrease in electron temperature. These pulses first appeared around 3 AU and were seen for longer periods close to perihelion. The general pattern of pulse appearance follows that of neutral gas and plasma density. We have not identified any periods with only cold electrons present. The electron flux to Rosetta was always dominated by higher energies, driving the spacecraft potential to order - 10 V. Conclusions: The warm (5-10 eV) electron population observed throughout the mission is interpreted as electrons retaining the energy they obtained when released in the ionisation process. The sometimes observed cold populations with electron temperatures below 0.1 eV verify collisional cooling in the coma. The cold electrons were only observed together with the warm population. The general appearance of the cold population appears to be consistent with a Haser-like model, implicitly supporting also the coupling of ions to the neutral gas. The expanding cold plasma is unstable, forming filaments that we observe as pulses.

Muon reactivation in muon-catalyzed D-T fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafelski, H. E.; Müller, B.; Rafelski, J.; Trautmann, D.; Viollier, R. D.

We comprehensively reanalyze and search for the density dependence of the effective muon alpha sticking fraction ωsff observed experimentally in muon catalyzed deuterium-tritium fusion. In our work particular emphasis has been put on the density dependent dense hydrogen stopping power. The main technical details and improvements in this work are: The (αμ) + 2s and 2p states are treated independently and are assigned individual reaction rates. The essential muonic excitation rates have been recalculated taking into account finite nuclear mass effects. The stopping power for a charged projectile in liquid heavy hydrogen is modified to account for dynamic screening effects and a density dependent effective ionization potential. It is shown that the medium dependent stopping power for the (αμ) + ion is the crucial factor controlling the density dependence of the effective sticking fraction. It is also pointed out that the muonic helium K α X-ray yield and the sticking fraction at high density can not be simultaneously brought into agreement with the experimental results without invoking novel mechanisms suppressing Stark mixing in the (Heμ) L-shell.

Low-frequency radio absorption in Cassiopeia A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias, M.; Vink, J.; de Gasperin, F.; Salas, P.; Oonk, J. B. R.; van Weeren, R. J.; van Amesfoort, A. S.; Anderson, J.; Beck, R.; Bell, M. E.; Bentum, M. J.; Best, P.; Blaauw, R.; Breitling, F.; Broderick, J. W.; Brouw, W. N.; Brüggen, M.; Butcher, H. R.; Ciardi, B.; de Geus, E.; Deller, A.; van Dijk, P. C. G.; Duscha, S.; Eislöffel, J.; Garrett, M. A.; Grießmeier, J. M.; Gunst, A. W.; van Haarlem, M. P.; Heald, G.; Hessels, J.; Hörandel, J.; Holties, H. A.; van der Horst, A. J.; Iacobelli, M.; Juette, E.; Krankowski, A.; van Leeuwen, J.; Mann, G.; McKay-Bukowski, D.; McKean, J. P.; Mulder, H.; Nelles, A.; Orru, E.; Paas, H.; Pandey-Pommier, M.; Pandey, V. N.; Pekal, R.; Pizzo, R.; Polatidis, A. G.; Reich, W.; Röttgering, H. J. A.; Rothkaehl, H.; Schwarz, D. J.; Smirnov, O.; Soida, M.; Steinmetz, M.; Tagger, M.; Thoudam, S.; Toribio, M. C.; Vocks, C.; van der Wiel, M. H. D.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Wucknitz, O.; Zarka, P.; Zucca, P.

2018-05-01

Context. Cassiopeia A is one of the best-studied supernova remnants. Its bright radio and X-ray emission is due to shocked ejecta. Cas A is rather unique in that the unshocked ejecta can also be studied: through emission in the infrared, the radio-active decay of 44Ti, and the low-frequency free-free absorption caused by cold ionised gas, which is the topic of this paper. Aims: Free-free absorption processes are affected by the mass, geometry, temperature, and ionisation conditions in the absorbing gas. Observations at the lowest radio frequencies can constrain a combination of these properties. Methods: We used Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Low Band Antenna observations at 30-77 MHz and Very Large Array (VLA) L-band observations at 1-2 GHz to fit for internal absorption as parametrised by the emission measure. We simultaneously fit multiple UV-matched images with a common resolution of 17″ (this corresponds to 0.25 pc for a source at the distance of Cas A). The ample frequency coverage allows us separate the relative contributions from the absorbing gas, the unabsorbed front of the shell, and the absorbed back of the shell to the emission spectrum. We explored the effects that a temperature lower than the 100-500 K proposed from infrared observations and a high degree of clumping can have on the derived physical properties of the unshocked material, such as its mass and density. We also compiled integrated radio flux density measurements, fit for the absorption processes that occur in the radio band, and considered their effect on the secular decline of the source. Results: We find a mass in the unshocked ejecta of M = 2.95 ± 0.48 M⊙ for an assumed gas temperatureof T = 100 K. This estimate is reduced for colder gas temperatures and, most significantly, if the ejecta are clumped. We measure the reverse shock to have a radius of 114″± 6″ and be centred at 23:23:26, +58:48:54 (J2000). We also find that a decrease in the amount of mass in the unshocked ejecta (as more and more material meets the reverse shock and heats up) cannot account for the observed low-frequency behaviour of the secular decline rate. Conclusions: To reconcile our low-frequency absorption measurements with models that reproduce much of the observed behaviour in Cas A and predict little mass in the unshocked ejecta, the ejecta need to be very clumped or the temperature in the cold gas needs to be low ( 10 K). Both of these options are plausible and can together contribute to the high absorption value that we find. The 9 LBA narrow-band images and the VLA image are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/612/A110