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

Toltz, A; Seuntjens, J; Hoesl, M

Purpose: With the aim of reducing acute esophageal radiation toxicity in pediatric patients receiving craniospinal irradiation (CSI), we investigated the implementation of an in-vivo, adaptive proton therapy range verification methodology. Simulation experiments and in-phantom measurements were conducted to validate the range verification technique for this clinical application. Methods: A silicon diode array system has been developed and experimentally tested in phantom for passively scattered proton beam range verification for a prostate treatment case by correlating properties of the detector signal to the water equivalent path length (WEPL). We propose to extend the methodology to verify range distal to the vertebralmore » body for pediatric CSI cases by placing this small volume dosimeter in the esophagus of the anesthetized patient immediately prior to treatment. A set of calibration measurements was performed to establish a time signal to WEPL fit for a “scout” beam in a solid water phantom. Measurements are compared against Monte Carlo simulation in GEANT4 using the Tool for Particle Simulation (TOPAS). Results: Measurements with the diode array in a spread out Bragg peak of 14 cm modulation width and 15 cm range (177 MeV passively scattered beam) in solid water were successfully validated against proton fluence rate simulations in TOPAS. The resulting calibration curve allows for a sensitivity analysis of detector system response with dose rate in simulation and with individual diode position through simulation on patient CT data. Conclusion: Feasibility has been shown for the application of this range verification methodology to pediatric CSI. An in-vivo measurement to determine the WEPL to the inner surface of the esophagus will allow for personalized adjustment of the treatment plan to ensure sparing of the esophagus while confirming target coverage. A Toltz acknowledges partial support by the CREATE Medical Physics Research Training Network grant of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Grant number: 432290)« less

Ageing and proton irradiation damage of a low voltage EMCCD in a CMOS process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunford, A.; Stefanov, K.; Holland, A.

2018-02-01

Electron Multiplying Charge Coupled Devices (EMCCDs) have revolutionised low light level imaging, providing highly sensitive detection capabilities. Implementing Electron Multiplication (EM) in Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) can increase the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) and lead to further developments in low light level applications such as improvements in image contrast and single photon imaging. Demand has grown for EMCCD devices with properties traditionally restricted to Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, such as lower power consumption and higher radiation tolerance. However, EMCCDs are known to experience an ageing effect, such that the gain gradually decreases with time. This paper presents results detailing EM ageing in an Electron Multiplying Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (EMCMOS) device and its effect on several device characteristics such as Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI) and thermal dark signal. When operated at room temperature an average decrease in gain of over 20% after an operational period of 175 hours was detected. With many image sensors deployed in harsh radiation environments, the radiation hardness of the device following proton irradiation was also tested. This paper presents the results of a proton irradiation completed at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) at a 10 MeV equivalent fluence of 4.15× 1010 protons/cm2. The pre-irradiation characterisation, irradiation methodology and post-irradiation results are detailed, demonstrating an increase in dark current and a decrease in its activation energy. Finally, this paper presents a comparison of the damage caused by EM gain ageing and proton irradiation.

Calibration of CT Hounsfield units for proton therapy treatment planning: use of kilovoltage and megavoltage images and comparison of parameterized methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Marzi, L.; Lesven, C.; Ferrand, R.; Sage, J.; Boulé, T.; Mazal, A.

2013-06-01

Proton beam range is of major concern, in particular, when images used for dose computations are artifacted (for example in patients with surgically treated bone tumors). We investigated several conditions and methods for determination of computed tomography Hounsfield unit (CT-HU) calibration curves, using two different conversion schemes. A stoichiometric methodology was used on either kilovoltage (kV) or megavoltage (MV) CT images and the accuracy of the calibration methods was evaluated. We then studied the effects of metal artifacts on proton dose distributions using metallic implants in rigid phantom mimicking clinical conditions. MV-CT images were used to evaluate relative proton stopping power in certain high density implants, and a methodology is proposed for accurate delineation and dose calculation, using a combined set of kV- and MV-CT images. Our results show good agreement between measurements and dose calculations or relative proton stopping power determination (<5%). The results also show that range uncertainty increases when only kV-CT images are used or when no correction is made on artifacted images. However, differences between treatment plans calculated on corrected kV-CT data and MV-CT data remained insignificant in the investigated patient case, even with streak artifacts and volume effects that reduce the accuracy of manual corrections.

Single Event Effect (SEE) Test Planning 101

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Pellish, Jonathan; Berg, Melanie D.

2011-01-01

This is a course on SEE Test Plan development. It is an introductory discussion of the items that go into planning an SEE test that should complement the SEE test methodology used. Material will only cover heavy ion SEE testing and not proton, LASER, or other though many of the discussed items may be applicable. While standards and guidelines for how-to perform single event effects (SEE) testing have existed almost since the first cyclotron testing, guidance on the development of SEE test plans has not been as easy to find. In this section of the short course, we attempt to rectify this lack. We consider the approach outlined here as a "living" document: mission specific constraints and new technology related issues always need to be taken into account. We note that we will use the term "test planning" in the context of those items being included in a test plan.

Synthesis and Process Optimization of Electrospun PEEK-Sulfonated Nanofibers by Response Surface Methodology

PubMed Central

Boaretti, Carlo; Roso, Martina; Lorenzetti, Alessandra; Modesti, Michele

2015-01-01

In this study electrospun nanofibers of partially sulfonated polyether ether ketone have been produced as a preliminary step for a possible development of composite proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. Response surface methodology has been employed for the modelling and optimization of the electrospinning process, using a Box-Behnken design. The investigation, based on a second order polynomial model, has been focused on the analysis of the effect of both process (voltage, tip-to-collector distance, flow rate) and material (sulfonation degree) variables on the mean fiber diameter. The final model has been verified by a series of statistical tests on the residuals and validated by a comparison procedure of samples at different sulfonation degrees, realized according to optimized conditions, for the production of homogeneous thin nanofibers. PMID:28793427

Synthesis and Process Optimization of Electrospun PEEK-Sulfonated Nanofibers by Response Surface Methodology.

PubMed

Boaretti, Carlo; Roso, Martina; Lorenzetti, Alessandra; Modesti, Michele

2015-07-07

In this study electrospun nanofibers of partially sulfonated polyether ether ketone have been produced as a preliminary step for a possible development of composite proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. Response surface methodology has been employed for the modelling and optimization of the electrospinning process, using a Box-Behnken design. The investigation, based on a second order polynomial model, has been focused on the analysis of the effect of both process (voltage, tip-to-collector distance, flow rate) and material (sulfonation degree) variables on the mean fiber diameter. The final model has been verified by a series of statistical tests on the residuals and validated by a comparison procedure of samples at different sulfonation degrees, realized according to optimized conditions, for the production of homogeneous thin nanofibers.

Enantioselective Rhodium Enolate Protonations. A New Methodology for the Synthesis of β2-Amino Acids

PubMed Central

Sibi, Mukund P.; Tatamidani, Hiroto; Patil, Kalyani

2008-01-01

Rhodium catalyzed conjugate addition of an aryl boronic acid to α-methylamino acrylates followed by enantioselective protonation of the oxa-π-allylrhodium intermediate provides access to aryl substituted β2-amino acids. The impact of the different variables of the reaction on the levels of enantioselectivity has been assessed. PMID:15957893

Two solar proton fluence models based on ground level enhancement observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raukunen, Osku; Vainio, Rami; Tylka, Allan J.; Dietrich, William F.; Jiggens, Piers; Heynderickx, Daniel; Dierckxsens, Mark; Crosby, Norma; Ganse, Urs; Siipola, Robert

2018-01-01

Solar energetic particles (SEPs) constitute an important component of the radiation environment in interplanetary space. Accurate modeling of SEP events is crucial for the mitigation of radiation hazards in spacecraft design. In this study we present two new statistical models of high energy solar proton fluences based on ground level enhancement (GLE) observations during solar cycles 19-24. As the basis of our modeling, we utilize a four parameter double power law function (known as the Band function) fits to integral GLE fluence spectra in rigidity. In the first model, the integral and differential fluences for protons with energies between 10 MeV and 1 GeV are calculated using the fits, and the distributions of the fluences at certain energies are modeled with an exponentially cut-off power law function. In the second model, we use a more advanced methodology: by investigating the distributions and relationships of the spectral fit parameters we find that they can be modeled as two independent and two dependent variables. Therefore, instead of modeling the fluences separately at different energies, we can model the shape of the fluence spectrum. We present examples of modeling results and show that the two methodologies agree well except for a short mission duration (1 year) at low confidence level. We also show that there is a reasonable agreement between our models and three well-known solar proton models (JPL, ESP and SEPEM), despite the differences in both the modeling methodologies and the data used to construct the models.

Accelerated radiation damage test facility using a 5 MV tandem ion accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wady, P. T.; Draude, A.; Shubeita, S. M.; Smith, A. D.; Mason, N.; Pimblott, S. M.; Jimenez-Melero, E.

2016-01-01

We have developed a new irradiation facility that allows to perform accelerated damage tests of nuclear reactor materials at temperatures up to 400 °C using the intense proton (<100 μA) and heavy ion (≈10 μA) beams produced by a 5 MV tandem ion accelerator. The dedicated beam line for radiation damage studies comprises: (1) beam diagnosis and focusing optical components, (2) a scanning and slit system that allows uniform irradiation of a sample area of 0.5-6 cm2, and (3) a sample stage designed to be able to monitor in-situ the sample temperature, current deposited on the sample, and the gamma spectrum of potential radio-active nuclides produced during the sample irradiation. The beam line capabilities have been tested by irradiating a 20Cr-25Ni-Nb stabilised stainless steel with a 3 MeV proton beam to a dose level of 3 dpa. The irradiation temperature was 356 °C, with a maximum range in temperature values of ±6 °C within the first 24 h of continuous irradiation. The sample stage is connected to ground through an electrometer to measure accurately the charge deposited on the sample. The charge can be integrated in hardware during irradiation, and this methodology removes uncertainties due to fluctuations in beam current. The measured gamma spectrum allowed the identification of the main radioactive nuclides produced during the proton bombardment from the lifetimes and gamma emissions. This dedicated radiation damage beam line is hosted by the Dalton Cumbrian Facility of the University of Manchester.

A Geant4 simulation of the depth dose percentage in brain tumors treatments using protons and carbon ions

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

Diaz, José A. M., E-mail: joadiazme@unal.edu.co; Torres, D. A., E-mail: datorresg@unal.edu.co

2016-07-07

The deposited energy and dose distribution of beams of protons and carbon over a head are simulated using the free tool package Geant4 and the data analysis package ROOT-C++. The present work shows a methodology to understand the microscopical process occurring in a session of hadron-therapy using advance simulation tools.

Car-Parrinello simulation of hydrogen bond dynamics in sodium hydrogen bissulfate.

PubMed

Pirc, Gordana; Stare, Jernej; Mavri, Janez

2010-06-14

We studied proton dynamics of a short hydrogen bond of the crystalline sodium hydrogen bissulfate, a hydrogen-bonded ferroelectric system. Our approach was based on the established Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) methodology, followed by an a posteriori quantization of the OH stretching motion. The latter approach is based on snapshot structures taken from CPMD trajectory, calculation of proton potentials, and solving of the vibrational Schrodinger equation for each of the snapshot potentials. The so obtained contour of the OH stretching band has the center of gravity at about 1540 cm(-1) and a half width of about 700 cm(-1), which is in qualitative agreement with the experimental infrared spectrum. The corresponding values for the deuterated form are 1092 and 600 cm(-1), respectively. The hydrogen probability densities obtained by solving the vibrational Schrodinger equation allow for the evaluation of potential of mean force along the proton transfer coordinate. We demonstrate that for the present system the free energy profile is of the single-well type and features a broad and shallow minimum near the center of the hydrogen bond, allowing for frequent and barrierless proton (or deuteron) jumps. All the calculated time-averaged geometric parameters were in reasonable agreement with the experimental neutron diffraction data. As the present methodology for quantization of proton motion is applicable to a variety of hydrogen-bonded systems, it is promising for potential use in computational enzymology.

TU-EF-304-10: Efficient Multiscale Simulation of the Proton Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) for DNA Double Strand Break (DSB) Induction and Bio-Effective Dose in the FLUKA Monte Carlo Radiation Transport Code

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

Moskvin, V; Tsiamas, P; Axente, M

2015-06-15

Purpose: One of the more critical initiating events for reproductive cell death is the creation of a DNA double strand break (DSB). In this study, we present a computationally efficient way to determine spatial variations in the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of proton therapy beams within the FLUKA Monte Carlo (MC) code. Methods: We used the independently tested Monte Carlo Damage Simulation (MCDS) developed by Stewart and colleagues (Radiat. Res. 176, 587–602 2011) to estimate the RBE for DSB induction of monoenergetic protons, tritium, deuterium, hellium-3, hellium-4 ions and delta-electrons. The dose-weighted (RBE) coefficients were incorporated into FLUKA to determinemore » the equivalent {sup 6}°60Co γ-ray dose for representative proton beams incident on cells in an aerobic and anoxic environment. Results: We found that the proton beam RBE for DSB induction at the tip of the Bragg peak, including primary and secondary particles, is close to 1.2. Furthermore, the RBE increases laterally to the beam axis at the area of Bragg peak. At the distal edge, the RBE is in the range from 1.3–1.4 for cells irradiated under aerobic conditions and may be as large as 1.5–1.8 for cells irradiated under anoxic conditions. Across the plateau region, the recorded RBE for DSB induction is 1.02 for aerobic cells and 1.05 for cells irradiated under anoxic conditions. The contribution to total effective dose from secondary heavy ions decreases with depth and is higher at shallow depths (e.g., at the surface of the skin). Conclusion: Multiscale simulation of the RBE for DSB induction provides useful insights into spatial variations in proton RBE within pristine Bragg peaks. This methodology is potentially useful for the biological optimization of proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The study highlights the need to incorporate spatial variations in proton RBE into proton therapy treatment plans.« less

Proton Effects and Test Issues for Satellite Designers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Cheryl J.; Marshall, Paul W.

1999-01-01

Microelectronic and photonic systems in the natural space environment are bombarded by a variety of charged particles including electrons, trapped protons, cosmic rays, and solar particles (protons and other heavy ions). These incident particles cause both ionizing and non-ionizing effects when traversing a device, and the effects can be either transient or permanent. The vast majority of the kinetic energy of an incident proton is lost to ionization, creating the single event effects (SEES) and total ionizing dose (TID) effects. However, the small portion of energy lost in non-ionizing processes causes atoms to be removed from their lattice sites and form permanent electrically active defects in semiconductor materials. These defects, i.e., "displacement damage," can significantly degrade device performance. In general, most of the displacement damage effects in the natural space environment can be attributed to protons since they are plentiful and extremely energetic (and therefore not readily shielded against). For this reason, we consider only proton induced displacement damage in this course. (Nevertheless, we identify solar cells as an important example of a case where both electron and proton damage can be important since only very light shielding is feasible.) The interested reader is encouraged to explore the three previous NSREC and RADECS short courses which also treat displacement damage issues for satellite applications. Part A of this segment of the short course introduces the space environment, proton shielding issues, and requirements specifications for proton-rich environments. In order to exercise the displacement damage analysis tools for on-orbit performance predictions, the requirements document must provide the relevant proton spectra in addition to the usual total ionizing dose-depth curves. Ion-solid interactions and the nature of the displacement damage they generate have been studied extensively for over half a century, yet they still remain a subject of investigation. In this section, a description of the mechanisms by which displacement damage is produced will be followed by a summary of the major consequences for device performance in a space environment. Often the degradation of a device parameter can be characterized by a damage factor (measured in a laboratory using monoenergetic protons) that is simply the change in a particular electrical or optical parameter per unit proton fluence. In addition, we will describe the concept of a non-ionizing energy loss rate (NIEL) which quantifies that portion of the energy lost by an incident ion that goes into displacements. It has been calculated as a function of proton energy, and is analogous to (and has the same units as) the linear energy transfer (LET) for ionizing energy. We will discover that, to first order, the calculated NIEL describes the energy dependence of the measured device damage factors. This observation provides the basis for predicting proton induced device degradation in a space environment based on both the calculated NIEL and relatively few laboratory test measurements. The methodology of such on-orbit device performance predictions will be described, as well as the limitations. Several classes of devices for which displacement damage is a significant (if not the dominant) mode of radiation induced degradation will be presented.

Proton Testing: Opportunities, Pitfalls and Puzzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladbury, Raymond

2017-01-01

Although proton SEE testing can place constraints on some heavy-ion SEE susceptibilities, it is important to quantify residual risk that protons may not reveal all SEE susceptibilities in a system. We examine the relative strengths and limitations of proton and heavy-ion SEE testing and how these may be affected by technology scaling and high-Z materials in the device.

A determination of the fragmentation functions of pions, kaons, and protons with faithful uncertainties. The NNPDF Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertone, Valerio; Carrazza, Stefano; Hartland, Nathan P.; Nocera, Emanuele R.; Rojo, Juan

2017-08-01

We present NNFF1.0, a new determination of the fragmentation functions (FFs) of charged pions, charged kaons, and protons/antiprotons from an analysis of single-inclusive hadron production data in electron-positron annihilation. This determination, performed at leading, next-to-leading, and next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative QCD, is based on the NNPDF methodology, a fitting framework designed to provide a statistically sound representation of FF uncertainties and to minimise any procedural bias. We discuss novel aspects of the methodology used in this analysis, namely an optimised parametrisation of FFs and a more efficient χ ^2 minimisation strategy, and validate the FF fitting procedure by means of closure tests. We then present the NNFF1.0 sets, and discuss their fit quality, their perturbative convergence, and their stability upon variations of the kinematic cuts and the fitted dataset. We find that the systematic inclusion of higher-order QCD corrections significantly improves the description of the data, especially in the small- z region. We compare the NNFF1.0 sets to other recent sets of FFs, finding in general a reasonable agreement, but also important differences. Together with existing sets of unpolarised and polarised parton distribution functions (PDFs), FFs and PDFs are now available from a common fitting framework for the first time.

Temperature dependence of (+)-catechin pyran ring proton coupling constants as measured by NMR and modeled using GMMX search methodology

Treesearch

Fred L. Tobiason; Stephen S. Kelley; M. Mark Midland; Richard W. Hemingway

1997-01-01

The pyran ring proton coupling constants for (+)-catechin have been experimentally determined in deuterated methanol over a temperature range of 213 K to 313 K. The experimental coupling constants were simulated to 0.04 Hz on the average at a 90 percent confidence limit using a LAOCOON method. The temperature dependence of the coupling constants was reproduced from the...

Optimized Structures and Proton Affinities of Fluorinated Dimethyl Ethers: An Ab Initio Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orgel, Victoria B.; Ball, David W.; Zehe, Michael J.

1996-01-01

Ab initio methods have been used to investigate the proton affinity and the geometry changes upon protonation for the molecules (CH3)2O, (CH2F)2O, (CHF2)2O, and (CF3)2O. Geometry optimizations were performed at the MP2/3-2 I G level, and the resulting geometries were used for single-point energy MP2/6-31G calculations. The proton affinity calculated for (CH3)2O was 7 Kjoule/mole from the experimental value, within the desired variance of +/- 8Kjoule/mole for G2 theory, suggesting that the methodology used in this study is adequate for energy difference considerations. For (CF3)20, the calculated proton affinity of 602 Kjoule/mole suggests that perfluorinated ether molecules do not act as Lewis bases under normal circumstances; e.g. degradation of commercial lubricants in tribological applications.

Single-event Effect Report for EPC Series eGaN FETs: Proton Testing for SEE and TNID Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scheick, Leif

2014-01-01

Previous testing of the Enhanced Power Conversion (EPC) eGaN FETs showed sensitivity to destructive single-event effects (SEE) effects to heavy ions. The presence of tungsten plugs in the gate area raises concerns that the device may be vulnerable to SEE from protons. Irradiation of biased and unbiased devices with heavy ion has results in some damage suspected of being due to total non-ionizing dose (TNID). Proton irradiation is a better radiation type to study this effect. This study presents the results of testing device with protons for SEE and TNID. No SEE in the EPC2012 device, the most sensitive device to SEE, were seen with 53 MeV protons at several angles. The devices continued to function after 1.5 Mrad (Si) of proton dose with only a slight shift in parameters. These results suggest that gross TNID will not be a factor in using these devices nor suffer from SEE due to protons. However, the device should be tested at with 500 MeV protons to guarantee to immunity proton SEE.

Health economic controversy and cost-effectiveness of proton therapy.

PubMed

Lievens, Yolande; Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon

2013-04-01

Owing to increasing healthcare costs, there is a need to examine whether the benefits of new technologies are worth the extra cost. In proton therapy, where the evidence in favor is limited, it is heavily debated whether the expected benefit justifies the higher capital and operating costs. The aim of this article was to explore the existing methodologies of economic evaluations (EEs) of particle therapy and recommend an approach for future data collection and analysis. We reviewed the published literature on health economics of proton therapy using accepted guidelines on performing EE. Different cost strategies were assessed and comparisons with other treatment modalities were made in terms of cost-effectiveness. Potential bias in the existing studies was identified and new methodologies proposed. The principal cause of bias in EEs of proton therapy is the lack of valid data on effects as well as costs. The introduction of proton therapy may be seriously hampered by the lack of outcome and cost data and the situation is likely to continue not only in terms of justifying the capital investment but also covering the operational costs. We identified an urgent need to collect appropriate data to allow for reimbursement of such novel technology. In the absence of level 1 evidence, well-performed modeling studies taking into account the available cost and outcome parameters, including the current uncertainties, can help to address the problem of limited outcome and health economic data. The approach of coverage with evidence development, in which evidence is collected in an ongoing manner in population-based registries along with dedicated financing, may allow technological advances with limited initial evidence of benefit and value, such as protons, to become available to patients in an early phase of their technology life cycle. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technical Note: Defining cyclotron-based clinical scanning proton machines in a FLUKA Monte Carlo system.

PubMed

Fiorini, Francesca; Schreuder, Niek; Van den Heuvel, Frank

2018-02-01

Cyclotron-based pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton machines represent nowadays the majority and most affordable choice for proton therapy facilities, however, their representation in Monte Carlo (MC) codes is more complex than passively scattered proton system- or synchrotron-based PBS machines. This is because degraders are used to decrease the energy from the cyclotron maximum energy to the desired energy, resulting in a unique spot size, divergence, and energy spread depending on the amount of degradation. This manuscript outlines a generalized methodology to characterize a cyclotron-based PBS machine in a general-purpose MC code. The code can then be used to generate clinically relevant plans starting from commercial TPS plans. The described beam is produced at the Provision Proton Therapy Center (Knoxville, TN, USA) using a cyclotron-based IBA Proteus Plus equipment. We characterized the Provision beam in the MC FLUKA using the experimental commissioning data. The code was then validated using experimental data in water phantoms for single pencil beams and larger irregular fields. Comparisons with RayStation TPS plans are also presented. Comparisons of experimental, simulated, and planned dose depositions in water plans show that same doses are calculated by both programs inside the target areas, while penumbrae differences are found at the field edges. These differences are lower for the MC, with a γ(3%-3 mm) index never below 95%. Extensive explanations on how MC codes can be adapted to simulate cyclotron-based scanning proton machines are given with the aim of using the MC as a TPS verification tool to check and improve clinical plans. For all the tested cases, we showed that dose differences with experimental data are lower for the MC than TPS, implying that the created FLUKA beam model is better able to describe the experimental beam. © 2017 The Authors. Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Towards a Clinical Decision Support System for External Beam Radiation Oncology Prostate Cancer Patients: Proton vs. Photon Radiotherapy? A Radiobiological Study of Robustness and Stability

PubMed Central

Walsh, Seán; Roelofs, Erik; Kuess, Peter; van Wijk, Yvonka; Lambin, Philippe; Jones, Bleddyn; Verhaegen, Frank

2018-01-01

We present a methodology which can be utilized to select proton or photon radiotherapy in prostate cancer patients. Four state-of-the-art competing treatment modalities were compared (by way of an in silico trial) for a cohort of 25 prostate cancer patients, with and without correction strategies for prostate displacements. Metrics measured from clinical image guidance systems were used. Three correction strategies were investigated; no-correction, extended-no-action-limit, and online-correction. Clinical efficacy was estimated via radiobiological models incorporating robustness (how probable a given treatment plan was delivered) and stability (the consistency between the probable best and worst delivered treatments at the 95% confidence limit). The results obtained at the cohort level enabled the determination of a threshold for likely clinical benefit at the individual level. Depending on the imaging system and correction strategy; 24%, 32% and 44% of patients were identified as suitable candidates for proton therapy. For the constraints of this study: Intensity-modulated proton therapy with online-correction was on average the most effective modality. Irrespective of the imaging system, each treatment modality is similar in terms of robustness, with and without the correction strategies. Conversely, there is substantial variation in stability between the treatment modalities, which is greatly reduced by correction strategies. This study provides a ‘proof-of-concept’ methodology to enable the prospective identification of individual patients that will most likely (above a certain threshold) benefit from proton therapy. PMID:29463018

Hydrogen analysis for granite using proton-proton elastic recoil coincidence spectrometry.

PubMed

Komatsubara, T; Sasa, K; Ohshima, H; Kimura, H; Tajima, Y; Takahashi, T; Ishii, S; Yamato, Y; Kurosawa, M

2008-07-01

In an effort to develop DS02, a new radiation dosimetry system for the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, measurements of neutron-induced activities have provided valuable information to reconstruct the radiation situation at the time of the bombings. In Hiroshima, the depth profile of (152)Eu activity measured in a granite pillar of the Motoyasu Bridge (128 m from the hypocenter) was compared with that calculated using the DS02 methodology. For calculation of the (152)Eu production due to the thermal-neutron activation reaction, (151)Eu(n,gamma)(152)Eu, information on the hydrogen content in granite is important because the transport and slowing-down process of neutrons penetrating into the pillar is strongly affected by collisions with the protons of hydrogen. In this study, proton-proton elastic recoil coincidence spectrometry has been used to deduce the proton density in the Motoyasu pillar granite. Slices of granite samples were irradiated by a 20 MeV proton beam, and the energies of scattered and recoil protons were measured with a coincidence method. The water concentration in the pillar granite was evaluated to be 0.30 +/- 0.07%wt. This result is consistent with earlier data on adsorptive water (II) and bound water obtained by the Karl Fisher method.

Development of Technology for Image-Guided Proton Therapy

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

testing proton RBE in the Penn proton beam facility  Assemble equipment and develop data analysis software  Install and test tablet PCs...production  Use dual-energy CT and MRI to determine the composition of materials Year 4 ending 9/30/2011  Measurement of RBE for protons using the...Penn proton beam facility  Measure LET for scattered and scanned beams  Enter forms on tablet PCs Phase 5 Scope of Work Year 1 ending 9

Proton Testing of nVidia GTX 1050 GPU

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyrwas, E. J.

2017-01-01

Single-Event Effects (SEE) testing was conducted on the nVidia GTX 1050 Graphics Processor Unit (GPU); herein referred to as device under test (DUT). Testing was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospitals (MGH) Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center on April 9th, 2017 using 200-MeV protons. This testing trip was purposed to provide a baseline assessment of the radiation susceptibility of the DUT as no previous testing had been conducted on this component.

Proton Testing of nVidia Jetson TX1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyrwas, Edward J.

2017-01-01

Single-Event Effects (SEE) testing was conducted on the nVidia Jetson TX1 System on Chip (SOC); herein referred to as device under test (DUT). Testing was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospitals (MGH) Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center on October 16th, 2016 using 200MeV protons. This testing trip was purposed to provide a baseline assessment of the radiation susceptibility of the DUT as no previous testing had been conducted on this component.

How to Produce a Reactor Neutron Spectrum Using a Proton Accelerator

DOE PAGES

Burns, Kimberly A.; Wootan, David W.; Gates, Robert O.; ...

2015-06-18

A method for reproducing the neutron energy spectrum present in the core of an operating nuclear reactor using an engineered target in an accelerator proton beam is proposed. The protons interact with a target to create neutrons through various (p,n) type reactions. Spectral tailoring of the emitted neutrons can be used to modify the energy of the generated neutron spectrum to represent various reactor spectra. Through the use of moderators and reflectors, the neutron spectrum can be modified to reproduce many different spectra of interest including spectra in small thermal test reactors, large pressurized water reactors, and fast reactors. Themore » particular application of this methodology is the design of an experimental approach for using an accelerator to measure the betas produced during fission to be used to reduce uncertainties in the interpretation of reactor antineutrino measurements. This approach involves using a proton accelerator to produce a neutron field representative of a power reactor, and using this neutron field to irradiate fission foils of the primary isotopes contributing to fission in the reactor, creating unstable, neutron rich fission products that subsequently beta decay and emit electron antineutrinos. A major advantage of an accelerator neutron source over a neutron beam from a thermal reactor is that the fast neutrons can be slowed down or tailored to approximate various power reactor spectra. An accelerator based neutron source that can be tailored to match various reactor neutron spectra provides an advantage for control in studying how changes in the neutron spectra affect parameters such as the resulting fission product beta spectrum.« less

Criticality of Low-Energy Protons in Single-Event Effects Testing of Highly-Scaled Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pellish, Jonathan A.; Marshall, Paul W.; Rodbell, Kenneth P.; Gordon, Michael S.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Schwank, James R.; Dodds, Nathaniel A.; Castaneda, Carlos M.; Berg, Melanie D.; Kim, Hak S.;

A Nuclear Interaction Model for Understanding Results of Single Event Testing with High Energy Protons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culpepper, William X.; ONeill, Pat; Nicholson, Leonard L.

2000-01-01

An internuclear cascade and evaporation model has been adapted to estimate the LET spectrum generated during testing with 200 MeV protons. The model-generated heavy ion LET spectrum is compared to the heavy ion LET spectrum seen on orbit. This comparison is the basis for predicting single event failure rates from heavy ions using results from a single proton test. Of equal importance, this spectra comparison also establishes an estimate of the risk of encountering a failure mode on orbit that was not detected during proton testing. Verification of the general results of the model is presented based on experiments, individual part test results, and flight data. Acceptance of this model and its estimate of remaining risk opens the hardware verification philosophy to the consideration of radiation testing with high energy protons at the board and box level instead of the more standard method of individual part testing with low energy heavy ions.

Proton transport behavior through the influenza A M2 channel: insights from molecular simulation.

PubMed

Chen, Hanning; Wu, Yujie; Voth, Gregory A

2007-11-15

The structural properties of the influenza A virus M2 transmembrane channel in dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayer for each of the four protonation states of the proton-gating His-37 tetrad and their effects on proton transport for this low-pH activated, highly proton-selective channel are studied by classical molecular dynamics with the multistate empirical valence-bond (MS-EVB) methodology. The excess proton permeation free energy profile and maximum ion conductance calculated from the MS-EVB simulation data combined with the Poisson-Nernst-Planck theory indicates that the triply protonated His-37 state is the most likely open state via a significant side-chain conformational change of the His-37 tetrad. This proposed open state of M2 has a calculated proton permeation free energy barrier of 7 kcal/mol and a maximum conductance of 53 pS compared to the experimental value of 6 pS. By contrast, the maximum conductance for Na(+) is calculated to be four orders of magnitude lower, in reasonable agreement with the experimentally observed proton selectivity. The pH value to activate the channel opening is estimated to be 5.5 from dielectric continuum theory, which is also consistent with experimental results. This study further reveals that the Ala-29 residue region is the primary binding site for the antiflu drug amantadine (AMT), probably because that domain is relatively spacious and hydrophobic. The presence of AMT is calculated to reduce the proton conductance by 99.8% due to a significant dehydration penalty of the excess proton in the vicinity of the channel-bound AMT.

Reducing the Matrix Effect in Organic Cluster SIMS Using Dynamic Reactive Ionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Hua; Wucher, Andreas; Winograd, Nicholas

2016-12-01

Dynamic reactive ionization (DRI) utilizes a reactive molecule, HCl, which is doped into an Ar cluster projectile and activated to produce protons at the bombardment site on the cold sample surface with the presence of water. The methodology has been shown to enhance the ionization of protonated molecular ions and to reduce salt suppression in complex biomatrices. In this study, we further examine the possibility of obtaining improved quantitation with DRI during depth profiling of thin films. Using a trehalose film as a model system, we are able to define optimal DRI conditions for depth profiling. Next, the strategy is applied to a multilayer system consisting of the polymer antioxidants Irganox 1098 and 1010. These binary mixtures have demonstrated large matrix effects, making quantitative SIMS measurement not feasible. Systematic comparisons of depth profiling of this multilayer film between directly using GCIB, and under DRI conditions, show that the latter enhances protonated ions for both components by 4- to 15-fold, resulting in uniform depth profiling in positive ion mode and almost no matrix effect in negative ion mode. The methodology offers a new strategy to tackle the matrix effect and should lead to improved quantitative measurement using SIMS.

Internuclear cascade-evaporation model for LET spectra of 200 MeV protons used for parts testing.

PubMed

O'Neill, P M; Badhwar, G D; Culpepper, W X

1998-12-01

The Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectrum produced in microelectronic components during testing with 200 MeV protons is calculated with an intemuclear cascade-evaporation code. This spectrum is compared to the natural space heavy ion environment for various earth orbits. This comparison is used to evaluate the results of proton testing in terms of determining a firm upper bound to the on-orbit heavy ion upset rate and the risk of on-orbit heavy ion failures that would not be detected with protons.

Modelling of the batch biosorption system: study on exchange of protons with cell wall-bound mineral ions.

PubMed

Mishra, Vishal

2015-01-01

The interchange of the protons with the cell wall-bound calcium and magnesium ions at the interface of solution/bacterial cell surface in the biosorption system at various concentrations of protons has been studied in the present work. A mathematical model for establishing the correlation between concentration of protons and active sites was developed and optimized. The sporadic limited residence time reactor was used to titrate the calcium and magnesium ions at the individual data point. The accuracy of the proposed mathematical model was estimated using error functions such as nonlinear regression, adjusted nonlinear regression coefficient, the chi-square test, P-test and F-test. The values of the chi-square test (0.042-0.017), P-test (<0.001-0.04), sum of square errors (0.061-0.016), root mean square error (0.01-0.04) and F-test (2.22-19.92) reported in the present research indicated the suitability of the model over a wide range of proton concentrations. The zeta potential of the bacterium surface at various concentrations of protons was observed to validate the denaturation of active sites.

Star tracker operation in a high density proton field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miklus, Kenneth J.; Kissh, Frank; Flynn, David J.

1993-01-01

Algorithms that reject transient signals due to proton effects on charge coupled device (CCD) sensors have been implemented in the HDOS ASTRA-l Star Trackers to be flown on the TOPEX mission scheduled for launch in July 1992. A unique technique for simulating a proton-rich environment to test trackers is described, as well as the test results obtained. Solar flares or an orbit that passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly can subject the vehicle to very high proton flux levels. There are three ways in which spurious proton generated signals can impact tracker performance: the many false signals can prevent or extend the time to acquire a star; a proton-generated signal can compromise the accuracy of the star's reported magnitude and position; and the tracked star can be lost, requiring reacquisition. Tests simulating a proton-rich environment were performed on two ASTRA-1 Star Trackers utilizing these new algorithms. There were no false acquisitions, no lost stars, and a significant reduction in reported position errors due to these improvements.

Team Update on North American Proton Facilities for Radiation Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas; Haas, Thurman; George, Jeffrey; Moss, Steven; Davis, Scott; Kostic, Andrew; Wie, Brian; Reed, Robert; Guertin, Steven;

Test report: Electron-proton spectrometer qualification test unit, qualification test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vincent, D. L.

1972-01-01

Qualification tests of the electron-proton spectrometer test unit are presented. The tests conducted were: (1) functional, (2) thermal/vacuum, (3) electromagnetic interference, (4) acoustic, (5) shock, (6) vibration, and (7) humidity. Results of each type of test are presented in the form of data sheets.

Characterizing the Radiation Survivability of Space Solar Cell Technologies for Heliospheric Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J. H.; Walker, D.; Mann, C. J.; Yue, Y.; Nocerino, J. C.; Smith, B. S.; Mulligan, T.

2016-12-01

Space solar cells are responsible for powering the majority of heliospheric space missions. This paper will discuss methods for characterizing space solar cell technologies for on-orbit operations that rely on a series of laboratory tests that include measuring the solar cells' beginning of life performance under simulated (e.g. AM0 or air mass zero) sunlight over different operating temperatures and observing their end of life performance following exposure to laboratory-generated charged particle radiation (protons and electrons). The Aerospace Corporation operates a proton implanter as well as electron gun facilities and collaborates with external radiation effects facilities to expose space solar cells or other space technologies to representative space radiation environments (i.e. heliosphere or magnetosphere of Earth or other planets), with goals of characterizing how the technologies perform over an anticipated space mission timeline and, through the application of precision diagnostic capabilities, understanding what part of the solar cell is impacted by varying space radiation environments. More recently, Aerospace has been hosting solar cell flight tests on its previously-flown CubeSat avionics bus, providing opportunities to compare the laboratory tests to on-orbit observations. We hope through discussion of the lessons learned and methods we use to characterize how solar cells perform after space radiation exposure that similar methodology could be adopted by others to improve the state of knowledge on the survivability of other space technologies required for future space missions.

SU-E-T-649: Quality Assurances for Proton Therapy Delivery Equipment

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

Arjomandy, B; Kase, Y; Flanz, J

2015-06-15

Purpose: The number of proton therapy centers has increased dramatically over the past decade. Currently, there is no comprehensive set of guidelines that addresses quality assurance (QA) procedures for the different technologies used for proton therapy. The AAPM has charged task group 224 (TG-224) to provide recommendations for QA required for accurate and safe dose delivery, using existing and next generation proton therapy delivery equipment. Methods: A database comprised of QA procedures and tolerance limits was generated from many existing proton therapy centers in and outside of the US. These consist of proton therapy centers that possessed double scattering, uniformmore » scanning, and pencil beams delivery systems. The diversity in beam delivery systems as well as the existing devices to perform QA checks for different beam parameters is the main subject of TG-224. Based on current practice at the clinically active proton centers participating in this task group, consensus QA recommendations were developed. The methodologies and requirements of the parameters that must be verified for consistency of the performance of the proton beam delivery systems are discussed. Results: TG-224 provides procedures and QA checks for mechanical, imaging, safety and dosimetry requirements for different proton equipment. These procedures are categorized based on their importance and their required frequencies in order to deliver a safe and consistent dose. The task group provides daily, weekly, monthly, and annual QA check procedures with their tolerance limits. Conclusions: The procedures outlined in this protocol provide sufficient information to qualified medical physicists to perform QA checks for any proton delivery system. Execution of these procedures should provide confidence that proton therapy equipment is functioning as commissioned for patient treatment and delivers dose safely and accurately within the established tolerance limits. The report will be published in late 2015.« less

Novel scintillation detector design and performance for proton radiography and computed tomography.

PubMed

Bashkirov, V A; Schulte, R W; Hurley, R F; Johnson, R P; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Zatserklyaniy, A; Plautz, T; Giacometti, V

2016-02-01

Proton computed tomography (pCT) will enable accurate prediction of proton and ion range in a patient while providing the benefit of lower radiation exposure than in x-ray CT. The accuracy of the range prediction is essential for treatment planning in proton or ion therapy and depends upon the detector used to evaluate the water-equivalent path length (WEPL) of a proton passing through the object. A novel approach is presented for an inexpensive WEPL detector for pCT and proton radiography. A novel multistage detector with an aperture of 10 × 37.5 cm was designed to optimize the accuracy of the WEPL measurements while simplifying detector construction and the performance requirements of its components. The design of the five-stage detector was optimized through simulations based on the geant4 detector simulation toolkit, and the fabricated prototype was calibrated in water-equivalent millimeters with 200 MeV protons in the research beam line of the clinical proton synchrotron at Loma Linda University Medical Center. A special polystyrene step phantom was designed and built to speed up and simplify the calibration procedure. The calibrated five-stage detector was tested in the 200 MeV proton beam as part of the pCT head scanner, using a water phantom and polystyrene slabs to verify the WEPL reconstruction accuracy. The beam-test results demonstrated excellent performance of the new detector, in good agreement with the simulation results. The WEPL measurement accuracy is about 3.0 mm per proton in the 0-260 mm WEPL range required for a pCT head scan with a 200 MeV proton beam. The new multistage design approach to WEPL measurements for proton CT and radiography has been prototyped and tested. The test results show that the design is competitive with much more expensive calorimeter and range-counter designs.

Novel scintillation detector design and performance for proton radiography and computed tomography

PubMed Central

Schulte, R. W.; Hurley, R. F.; Johnson, R. P.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Zatserklyaniy, A.; Plautz, T.; Giacometti, V.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Proton computed tomography (pCT) will enable accurate prediction of proton and ion range in a patient while providing the benefit of lower radiation exposure than in x-ray CT. The accuracy of the range prediction is essential for treatment planning in proton or ion therapy and depends upon the detector used to evaluate the water-equivalent path length (WEPL) of a proton passing through the object. A novel approach is presented for an inexpensive WEPL detector for pCT and proton radiography. Methods: A novel multistage detector with an aperture of 10 × 37.5 cm was designed to optimize the accuracy of the WEPL measurements while simplifying detector construction and the performance requirements of its components. The design of the five-stage detector was optimized through simulations based on the geant4 detector simulation toolkit, and the fabricated prototype was calibrated in water-equivalent millimeters with 200 MeV protons in the research beam line of the clinical proton synchrotron at Loma Linda University Medical Center. A special polystyrene step phantom was designed and built to speed up and simplify the calibration procedure. The calibrated five-stage detector was tested in the 200 MeV proton beam as part of the pCT head scanner, using a water phantom and polystyrene slabs to verify the WEPL reconstruction accuracy. Results: The beam-test results demonstrated excellent performance of the new detector, in good agreement with the simulation results. The WEPL measurement accuracy is about 3.0 mm per proton in the 0–260 mm WEPL range required for a pCT head scan with a 200 MeV proton beam. Conclusions: The new multistage design approach to WEPL measurements for proton CT and radiography has been prototyped and tested. The test results show that the design is competitive with much more expensive calorimeter and range-counter designs. PMID:26843230

Criticality of Low-Energy Protons in Single-Event Effects Testing of Highly-Scaled Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pellish, Jonathan Allen; Marshall, Paul W.; Rodbell, K. P.; Gordon, M. S.; LaBel, K. A.; Schwank, J. R.; Dodds, N. A.; Castaneda, C. M.; Berg, M. D.; Kim, H. S.;

SU-F-BRD-04: Robustness Analysis of Proton Breast Treatments Using An Alpha-Stable Distribution Parameterization

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

Van den Heuvel, F; Hackett, S; Fiorini, F

Purpose: Currently, planning systems allow robustness calculations to be performed, but a generalized assessment methodology is not yet available. We introduce and evaluate a methodology to quantify the robustness of a plan on an individual patient basis. Methods: We introduce the notion of characterizing a treatment instance (i.e. one single fraction delivery) by describing the dose distribution within an organ as an alpha-stable distribution. The parameters of the distribution (shape(α), scale(γ), position(δ), and symmetry(β)), will vary continuously (in a mathematical sense) as the distributions change with the different positions. The rate of change of the parameters provides a measure ofmore » the robustness of the treatment. The methodology is tested in a planning study of 25 patients with known residual errors at each fraction. Each patient was planned using Eclipse with an IBA-proton beam model. The residual error space for every patient was sampled 30 times, yielding 31 treatment plans for each patient and dose distributions in 5 organs. The parameters’ change rate as a function of Euclidean distance from the original plan was analyzed. Results: More than 1,000 dose distributions were analyzed. For 4 of the 25 patients the change in scale rate (γ) was considerably higher than the lowest change rate, indicating a lack of robustness. The sign of the shape change rate (α) also seemed indicative but the experiment lacked the power to prove significance. Conclusion: There are indications that this robustness measure is a valuable tool to allow a more patient individualized approach to the determination of margins. In a further study we will also evaluate this robustness measure using photon treatments, and evaluate the impact of using breath hold techniques, and the a Monte Carlo based dose deposition calculation. A principle component analysis is also planned.« less

Identification and quantification of VOCs by proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometry: An experimental workflow for the optimization of specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy

PubMed Central

Hanna, George B.

2018-01-01

Abstract Proton transfer reaction time of flight mass spectrometry (PTR‐ToF‐MS) is a direct injection MS technique, allowing for the sensitive and real‐time detection, identification, and quantification of volatile organic compounds. When aiming to employ PTR‐ToF‐MS for targeted volatile organic compound analysis, some methodological questions must be addressed, such as the need to correctly identify product ions, or evaluating the quantitation accuracy. This work proposes a workflow for PTR‐ToF‐MS method development, addressing the main issues affecting the reliable identification and quantification of target compounds. We determined the fragmentation patterns of 13 selected compounds (aldehydes, fatty acids, phenols). Experiments were conducted under breath‐relevant conditions (100% humid air), and within an extended range of reduced electric field values (E/N = 48–144 Td), obtained by changing drift tube voltage. Reactivity was inspected using H3O+, NO+, and O2 + as primary ions. The results show that a relatively low (<90 Td) E/N often permits to reduce fragmentation enhancing sensitivity and identification capabilities, particularly in the case of aldehydes using NO+, where a 4‐fold increase in sensitivity is obtained by means of drift voltage reduction. We developed a novel calibration methodology, relying on diffusion tubes used as gravimetric standards. For each of the tested compounds, it was possible to define suitable conditions whereby experimental error, defined as difference between gravimetric measurements and calculated concentrations, was 8% or lower. PMID:29336521

Semiclassical study of quantum coherence and isotope effects in ultrafast electron transfer reactions coupled to a proton and a phonon bath.

PubMed

Venkataraman, Charulatha

2011-11-28

The linearized semiclassical initial value representation is employed to describe ultrafast electron transfer processes coupled to a phonon bath and weakly coupled to a proton mode. The goal of our theoretical investigation is to understand the influence of the proton on the electronic dynamics in various bath relaxation regimes. More specifically, we study the impact of the proton on coherences and analyze if the coupling to the proton is revealed in the form of an isotope effect. This will be important in distinguishing reactions in which the proton does not undergo significant rearrangement from those in which the electron transfer is accompanied by proton transfer. Unlike other methodologies widely employed to describe nonadiabatic electron transfer, this approach treats the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom consistently. However, due to the linearized approximation, quantum interference effects are not captured accurately. Our study shows that at small phonon bath reorganization energies, coherent oscillations and isotope effect are observed in both slow and fast bath regimes. The coherences are more substantially damped by deuterium in comparison to the proton. Further, in contrast to the dynamics of the spin-boson model, the coherences are not long-lived. At large bath reorganization energies, the decay is incoherent in the slow and fast bath regimes. In this case, the extent of the isotope effect depends on the relative relaxation timescales of the proton mode and the phonon bath. The isotope effect is magnified for baths that relax on picosecond timescales in contrast to baths that relax in femtoseconds.

A Fast Experimental Scanner for Proton CT: Technical Performance and First Experience with Phantom Scans

PubMed Central

Johnson, Robert P.; Bashkirov, Vladimir; DeWitt, Langley; Giacometti, Valentina; Hurley, Robert F.; Piersimoni, Pierluigi; Plautz, Tia E.; Sadrozinski, Hartmut F.-W.; Schubert, Keith; Schulte, Reinhard; Schultze, Blake; Zatserklyaniy, Andriy

2016-01-01

We report on the design, fabrication, and first tests of a tomographic scanner developed for proton computed tomography (pCT) of head-sized objects. After extensive preclinical testing, pCT is intended to be employed in support of proton therapy treatment planning and pre-treatment verification in patients undergoing particle-beam therapy. The scanner consists of two silicon-strip telescopes that track individual protons before and after the phantom, and a novel multistage scintillation detector that measures a combination of the residual energy and range of the proton, from which we derive the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of the protons in the scanned object. The set of WEPL values and the associated paths of protons passing through the object over a 360° angular scan are processed by an iterative, parallelizable reconstruction algorithm that runs on modern GP-GPU hardware. In order to assess the performance of the scanner, we have performed tests with 200 MeV protons from the synchrotron of the Loma Linda University Medical Center and the IBA cyclotron of the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center. Our first objective was calibration of the instrument, including tracker channel maps and alignment as well as the WEPL calibration. Then we performed the first CT scans on a series of phantoms. The very high sustained rate of data acquisition, exceeding one million protons per second, allowed a full 360° scan to be completed in less than 10 minutes, and reconstruction of a CATPHAN 404 phantom verified accurate reconstruction of the proton relative stopping power in a variety of materials. PMID:27127307

A Fast Experimental Scanner for Proton CT: Technical Performance and First Experience with Phantom Scans.

PubMed

Johnson, Robert P; Bashkirov, Vladimir; DeWitt, Langley; Giacometti, Valentina; Hurley, Robert F; Piersimoni, Pierluigi; Plautz, Tia E; Sadrozinski, Hartmut F-W; Schubert, Keith; Schulte, Reinhard; Schultze, Blake; Zatserklyaniy, Andriy

2016-02-01

We report on the design, fabrication, and first tests of a tomographic scanner developed for proton computed tomography (pCT) of head-sized objects. After extensive preclinical testing, pCT is intended to be employed in support of proton therapy treatment planning and pre-treatment verification in patients undergoing particle-beam therapy. The scanner consists of two silicon-strip telescopes that track individual protons before and after the phantom, and a novel multistage scintillation detector that measures a combination of the residual energy and range of the proton, from which we derive the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of the protons in the scanned object. The set of WEPL values and the associated paths of protons passing through the object over a 360° angular scan are processed by an iterative, parallelizable reconstruction algorithm that runs on modern GP-GPU hardware. In order to assess the performance of the scanner, we have performed tests with 200 MeV protons from the synchrotron of the Loma Linda University Medical Center and the IBA cyclotron of the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center. Our first objective was calibration of the instrument, including tracker channel maps and alignment as well as the WEPL calibration. Then we performed the first CT scans on a series of phantoms. The very high sustained rate of data acquisition, exceeding one million protons per second, allowed a full 360° scan to be completed in less than 10 minutes, and reconstruction of a CATPHAN 404 phantom verified accurate reconstruction of the proton relative stopping power in a variety of materials.

A Fast Experimental Scanner for Proton CT: Technical Performance and First Experience With Phantom Scans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Robert P.; Bashkirov, Vladimir; DeWitt, Langley; Giacometti, Valentina; Hurley, Robert F.; Piersimoni, Pierluigi; Plautz, Tia E.; Sadrozinski, Hartmut F.-W.; Schubert, Keith; Schulte, Reinhard; Schultze, Blake; Zatserklyaniy, Andriy

2016-02-01

We report on the design, fabrication, and first tests of a tomographic scanner developed for proton computed tomography (pCT) of head-sized objects. After extensive preclinical testing, pCT is intended to be employed in support of proton therapy treatment planning and pre-treatment verification in patients undergoing particle-beam therapy. The scanner consists of two silicon-strip telescopes that track individual protons before and after the phantom, and a novel multistage scintillation detector that measures a combination of the residual energy and range of the proton, from which we derive the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of the protons in the scanned object. The set of WEPL values and the associated paths of protons passing through the object over a 360 ° angular scan are processed by an iterative, parallelizable reconstruction algorithm that runs on modern GP-GPU hardware. In order to assess the performance of the scanner, we have performed tests with 200 MeV protons from the synchrotron of the Loma Linda University Medical Center and the IBA cyclotron of the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center. Our first objective was calibration of the instrument, including tracker channel maps and alignment as well as the WEPL calibration. Then we performed the first CT scans on a series of phantoms. The very high sustained rate of data acquisition, exceeding one million protons per second, allowed a full 360 ° scan to be completed in less than 10 minutes, and reconstruction of a CATPHAN 404 phantom verified accurate reconstruction of the proton relative stopping power in a variety of materials.

Influence of Proton Acceptors on the Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Reaction Kinetics of a Ruthenium-Tyrosine Complex.

PubMed

Lennox, J Christian; Dempsey, Jillian L

2017-11-22

A polypyridyl ruthenium complex with fluorinated bipyridine ligands and a covalently bound tyrosine moiety was synthesized, and its photo-induced proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactivity in acetonitrile was investigated with transient absorption spectroscopy. Using flash-quench methodology with methyl viologen as an oxidative quencher, a Ru 3+ species is generated that is capable of initiating the intramolecular PCET oxidation of the tyrosine moiety. Using a series of substituted pyridine bases, the reaction kinetics were found to vary as a function of proton acceptor concentration and identity, with no significant H/D kinetic isotope effect. Through analysis of the kinetics traces and comparison to a control complex without the tyrosine moiety, PCET reactivity was found to proceed through an equilibrium electron transfer followed by proton transfer (ET-PT) pathway in which irreversible deprotonation of the tyrosine radical cation shifts the ET equilibrium, conferring a base dependence on the reaction. Comprehensive kinetics modeling allowed for deconvolution of complex kinetics and determination of rate constants for each elementary step. Across the five pyridine bases explored, spanning a range of 4.2 pK a units, a linear free-energy relationship was found for the proton transfer rate constant with a slope of 0.32. These findings highlight the influence that proton transfer driving force exerts on PCET reaction kinetics.

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

Mundy, D; Tryggestad, E; Beltran, C

Purpose: To develop daily and monthly quality assurance (QA) programs in support of a new spot-scanning proton treatment facility using a combination of commercial and custom equipment and software. Emphasis was placed on efficiency and evaluation of key quality parameters. Methods: The daily QA program was developed to test output, spot size and position, proton beam energy, and image guidance using the Sun Nuclear Corporation rf-DQA™3 device and Atlas QA software. The program utilizes standard Atlas linear accelerator tests repurposed for proton measurements and a custom jig for indexing the device to the treatment couch. The monthly QA program wasmore » designed to test mechanical performance, image quality, radiation quality, isocenter coincidence, and safety features. Many of these tests are similar to linear accelerator QA counterparts, but many require customized test design and equipment. Coincidence of imaging, laser marker, mechanical, and radiation isocenters, for instance, is verified using a custom film-based device devised and manufactured at our facility. Proton spot size and position as a function of energy are verified using a custom spot pattern incident on film and analysis software developed in-house. More details concerning the equipment and software developed for monthly QA are included in the supporting document. Thresholds for daily and monthly tests were established via perturbation analysis, early experience, and/or proton system specifications and associated acceptance test results. Results: The periodic QA program described here has been in effect for approximately 9 months and has proven efficient and sensitive to sub-clinical variations in treatment delivery characteristics. Conclusion: Tools and professional guidelines for periodic proton system QA are not as well developed as their photon and electron counterparts. The program described here efficiently evaluates key quality parameters and, while specific to the needs of our facility, could be readily adapted to other proton centers.« less

Summary of Proton Test on the Actel A1280A at Indiana University

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Richard; LaBel, K.

1998-01-01

A summary of tests performed at the Indiana University Cycl,oltron Facility, on the Actel A1280A circuit device is described. The intent of the study was to investigate the proton response of the hard-wired S-Module flip-flops with a large sample size. This device is sensitive to protons for S-Modules. The device's performance in the test is shown in graphs, and was typical for devices of this class.

The effects of energetic proton bombardment on polymeric materials: Experimental studies and degradation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coulter, D. R.; Gupta, A.; Smith, M. V.; Fornes, R. E.

1986-01-01

This report describes 3 MeV proton bombardment experiments on several polymeric materials of interest to NASA carried out on the Tandem Van De Graff Accelerator at the California Institute of Technology's Kellogg Radiation Laboratory. Model aromatic and aliphatic polymers such as poly(1-vinyl naphthalene) and poly(methyl methacrylate), as well as polymers for near term space applications such as Kapton, Epoxy and Polysulfone, have been included in this study. Chemical and physical characterization of the damage products have been carried out in order to develop a model of the interaction of these polymers with the incident proton beam. The proton bombardment methodology developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and reported here is part of an ongoing study on the effects of space radiation on polymeric materials. The report is intended to provide an overview of the mechanistic, as well as the technical and experimental, issues involved in such work rather than to serve as an exhaustive description of all the results.

Cadmium biosorption rate in protonated Sargassum biomass

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

Yang, J.; Volesky, B.

1999-03-01

Biosorption of the heavy metal ion Cd{sup 2+} by protonated nonliving brown alga Sargassum fluitans biomass was accompanied by the release of hydrogen protons from the biomass. The uptake of cadmium and the release of proton matched each other throughout the biosorption process. The end-point titration methodology was used to maintain the constant pH 4.0 for developing the dynamic sorption rate. The sorption isotherm could be well represented by the Langmuir sorption model. A mass transfer model assuming the intraparticle diffusion in a one-dimensional thin plate as a controlling step was developed to describe the overall biosorption rate of cadmiummore » ions in flat seaweed biomass particles. The overall biosorption mathematical model equations were solved numerically yielding the effective diffusion coefficient D{sub e} about 3.5 {times} 10{sup {minus}6} cm{sup 2}/s. This value matches that obtained for the desorption process and is approximately half of that of the molecular diffusion coefficient for cadmium ions in aqueous solution.« less

Qualification and characterization of electronics of the fast neutron Hodoscope detectors using neutrons from CABRI core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirotta, S.; Guillot, J.; Chevalier, V.; Biard, B.

2018-01-01

The study of Reactivity Initiated Accidents (RIA) is important to determine up to which limits nuclear fuels can withstand such accidents without clad failure. The CABRI International Program (CIP), conducted by IRSN under an OECD/NEA agreement, has been launched to perform representative RIA Integral Effect Tests (IET) on real irradiated fuel rods in prototypical Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) conditions. For this purpose, the CABRI experimental pulse reactor, operated by CEA in Cadarache, France, has been strongly renovated, and equipped with a pressurized water loop. The behavior of the test rod, located in that loop in the center of the driver core, is followed in real time during the power transients thanks to the hodoscope, a unique online fuel motion monitoring system, and one of the major distinctive features of CABRI. The hodoscope measures the fast neutrons emitted by the tested rod during the power pulse with a complete set of 153 Fission Chambers and 153 Proton Recoil Counters. During the CABRI facility renovation, the electronic chain of these detectors has been upgraded. In this paper, the performance of the new system is presented describing gain calibration methodology in order to get maximal Signal/Noise ratio for amplification modules, threshold tuning methodology for the discrimination modules (old and new ones), and linear detectors response limit versus different reactor powers for the whole electronic chain.

CO2 laser annealing of 50-microns-thick silicon solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, F. E.

1979-01-01

A test program is conducted to determine thin solar cell annealing effects using a laser energy source. A CO2 continuous-wave laser was used in annealing experiments on 50 micrometers-thick silicon solar cells after proton irradiation. Test cells were irradiated to a fluence of 1.0 x 10 to the 12th power protons/sq cm with 1.9 MeV protons. After irradiation, those cells receiving full proton dosage were degraded by an average of 30% in output power. In annealing tests laser beam exposure times on the solar cell varied from 2 seconds to 16 seconds reaching cell temperatures of from 400 C to 500 C. Under those conditions annealing test results showed recovery in cell output power of from 33% to 90%.

Capacitive beam position monitors for the low-β beam of the Chinese ADS proton linac

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yong; Wu, Jun-Xia; Zhu, Guang-Yu; Jia, Huan; Xue, Zong-Heng; Zheng, Hai; Xie, Hong-Ming; Kang, Xin-Cai; He, Yuan; Li, Lin; Denard, Jean Claude

2016-02-01

Beam Position Monitors (BPMs) for the low-β beam of the Chinese Accelerator Driven Subcritical system (CADS) Proton linac are of the capacitive pick-up type. They provide higher output signals than that of the inductive type. This paper will describe the design and tests of the capacitive BPM system for the low-β proton linac, including the pick-ups, the test bench and the read-out electronics. The tests done with an actual proton beam show a good agreement between the measurements and the simulations in the time domain. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (11405240) and “Western Light” Talents Training Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Test report: Shock test of the electron/proton spectrometer structural test unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vincent, D. L.

1972-01-01

A shock test of the electron-proton spectrometer structural test unit was conducted. The purpose of the shock test was to verify the structural integrity of the electron-spectrometer design and to obtain data on the shock response of the electronics and electronic housing. The test equipment is described and typical shock response data are provided.

Development of the PEFP's beam line BPM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryu, Jin-Yeong; Kwon, Hyeok-Jung; Jang, Ji-Ho; Kim, Han-Sung; Seol, Kyung-Tae; Cho, Yong-Sub

2013-01-01

The Proton Engineering Frontier Project (PEFP) has 20-MeV and 100-MeV beam lines to supply proton beams to users. A stripline-type Beam Position Monitor (BPM) was designed and fabricated in order to measure the beam's position in the beam line. The RF properties of the BPM were measured and compared with the simulation. After the sensitivity of the BPM at a test stand had been obtained, we performed a beam test in a test beam line of the PEFP 20-MeV proton linac.

The use of experimental design to find the operating maximum power point of PEM fuel cells

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

Crăciunescu, Aurelian; Pătularu, Laurenţiu; Ciumbulea, Gloria

2015-03-10

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells are difficult to model due to their complex nonlinear nature. In this paper, the development of a PEM Fuel Cells mathematical model based on the Design of Experiment methodology is described. The Design of Experiment provides a very efficient methodology to obtain a mathematical model for the studied multivariable system with only a few experiments. The obtained results can be used for optimization and control of the PEM Fuel Cells systems.

Board Level Proton Testing Book of Knowledge for NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guertin, Steven M.

2017-01-01

This book of knowledge (BoK) provides a critical review of the benefits and difficulties associated with using proton irradiation as a means of exploring the radiation hardness of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems. This work was developed for the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Board Level Testing for the COTS task. The fundamental findings of this BoK are the following. The board-level test method can reduce the worst case estimate for a board's single-event effect (SEE) sensitivity compared to the case of no test data, but only by a factor of ten. The estimated worst case rate of failure for untested boards is about 0.1 SEE/board-day. By employing the use of protons with energies near or above 200 MeV, this rate can be safely reduced to 0.01 SEE/board-day, with only those SEEs with deep charge collection mechanisms rising this high. For general SEEs, such as static random-access memory (SRAM) upsets, single-event transients (SETs), single-event gate ruptures (SEGRs), and similar cases where the relevant charge collection depth is less than 10 µm, the worst case rate for SEE is below 0.001 SEE/board-day. Note that these bounds assume that no SEEs are observed during testing. When SEEs are observed during testing, the board-level test method can establish a reliable event rate in some orbits, though all established rates will be at or above 0.001 SEE/board-day. The board-level test approach we explore has picked up support as a radiation hardness assurance technique over the last twenty years. The approach originally was used to provide a very limited verification of the suitability of low cost assemblies to be used in the very benign environment of the International Space Station (ISS), in limited reliability applications. Recently the method has been gaining popularity as a way to establish a minimum level of SEE performance of systems that require somewhat higher reliability performance than previous applications. This sort of application of the method suggests a critical analysis of the method is in order. This is also of current consideration because the primary facility used for this type of work, the Indiana University Cyclotron Facility (IUCF) (also known as the Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) hall), has closed permanently, and the future selection of alternate test facilities is critically important. This document reviews the main theoretical work on proton testing of assemblies over the last twenty years. It augments this with review of reported data generated from the method and other data that applies to the limitations of the proton board-level test approach. When protons are incident on a system for test they can produce spallation reactions. From these reactions, secondary particles with linear energy transfers (LETs) significantly higher than the incident protons can be produced. These secondary particles, together with the protons, can simulate a subset of the space environment for particles capable of inducing single event effects (SEEs). The proton board-level test approach has been used to bound SEE rates, establishing a maximum possible SEE rate that a test article may exhibit in space. This bound is not particularly useful in many cases because the bound is quite loose. We discuss the established limit that the proton board-level test approach leaves us with. The remaining possible SEE rates may be as high as one per ten years for most devices. The situation is actually more problematic for many SEE types with deep charge collection. In cases with these SEEs, the limits set by the proton board-level test can be on the order of one per 100 days. Because of the limited nature of the bounds established by proton testing alone, it is possible that tested devices will have actual SEE sensitivity that is very low (e.g., fewer than one event in 1 × 10(exp 4) years), but the test method will only be able to establish the limits indicated above. This BoK further examines other benefits of proton board-level testing besides hardness assurance. The primary alternate use is the injection of errors. Error injection, or fault injection, is something that is often done in a simulation environment. But the proton beam has the benefit of injecting the majority of actual SEEs without risk of something being missed, and without the risk of simulation artifacts misleading the SEE investigation.

Updated Model of the Solar Energetic Proton Environment in Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiggens, Piers; Heynderickx, Daniel; Sandberg, Ingmar; Truscott, Pete; Raukunen, Osku; Vainio, Rami

2018-05-01

The Solar Accumulated and Peak Proton and Heavy Ion Radiation Environment (SAPPHIRE) model provides environment specification outputs for all aspects of the Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) environment. The model is based upon a thoroughly cleaned and carefully processed data set. Herein the evolution of the solar proton model is discussed with comparisons to other models and data. This paper discusses the construction of the underlying data set, the modelling methodology, optimisation of fitted flux distributions and extrapolation of model outputs to cover a range of proton energies from 0.1 MeV to 1 GeV. The model provides outputs in terms of mission cumulative fluence, maximum event fluence and peak flux for both solar maximum and solar minimum periods. A new method for describing maximum event fluence and peak flux outputs in terms of 1-in-x-year SPEs is also described. SAPPHIRE proton model outputs are compared with previous models including CREME96, ESP-PSYCHIC and the JPL model. Low energy outputs are compared to SEP data from ACE/EPAM whilst high energy outputs are compared to a new model based on GLEs detected by Neutron Monitors (NMs).

⁵¹V NMR Crystallography of Vanadium Chloroperoxidase and Its Directed Evolution P395D/L241V/T343A Mutant: Protonation Environments of the Active Site.

PubMed

Gupta, Rupal; Hou, Guangjin; Renirie, Rokus; Wever, Ron; Polenova, Tatyana

2015-04-29

Vanadium-dependent haloperoxidases (VHPOs) perform two-electron oxidation of halides using hydrogen peroxide. Their mechanism, including the factors determining the substrate specificity and the pH-dependence of the catalytic rates, is poorly understood. The vanadate cofactor in the active site of VHPOs contains "spectroscopically silent" V(V), which does not change oxidation state during the reaction. We employed an NMR crystallography approach based on (51)V magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory, to gain insights into the structure and coordination environment of the cofactor in the resting state of vanadium-dependent chloroperoxidases (VCPO). The cofactor environments in the wild-type VCPO and its P395D/L241V/T343A mutant exhibiting 5-100-fold improved catalytic activity are examined at various pH values. Optimal sensitivity attained due to the fast MAS probe technologies enabled the assignment of the location and number of protons on the vanadate as a function of pH. The vanadate cofactor changes its protonation from quadruply protonated at pH 6.3 to triply protonated at pH 7.3 to doubly protonated at pH 8.3. In contrast, in the mutant, the vanadate protonation is the same at pH 5.0 and 8.3, and the cofactor is doubly protonated. This methodology to identify the distinct protonation environments of the cofactor, which are also pH-dependent, could help explain the different reactivities of the wild-type and mutant VCPO and their pH-dependence. This study demonstrates that (51)V-based NMR crystallography can be used to derive the detailed coordination environments of vanadium centers in large biological molecules.

Optimization, Characterization and Commissioning of a Novel Uniform Scanning Proton Beam Delivery System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascia, Anthony Edward

Purpose: To develop and characterize the required detectors for uniform scanning optimization and characterization, and to develop the methodology and assess their efficacy for optimizing, characterizing and commissioning a novel proton beam uniform scanning system. Methods and Materials: The Multi Layer Ion Chamber (MLIC), a 1D array of vented parallel plate ion chambers, was developed in-house for measurement of longitudinal profiles. The Matrixx detector (IBA Dosimetry, Germany) and XOmat V film (Kodak, USA) were characterized for measurement of transverse profiles. The architecture of the uniform scanning system was developed and then optimized and characterized for clinical proton radiotherapy. Results: The MLIC detector significantly increased data collection efficiency without sacrificing data quality. The MLIC was capable of integrating an entire scanned and layer stacked proton field with one measurement, producing results with the equivalent spatial sampling of 1.0mm. The Matrixx detector and modified 1D water phantom jig improved data acquisition efficiency and complemented the film measurements. The proximal, central and distal proton field planes were measured using these methods, yielding better than 3% uniformity. The binary range modulator was programmed, optimized and characterized such that the proton field ranges were separated by approximately 5.0mm modulation width and delivered with an accuracy of 1.0mm in water. Several wobbling magnet scan patterns were evaluated and the raster pattern, spot spacing, scan amplitude and overscan margin were optimized for clinical use. Conclusion: Novel detectors and methods are required for clinically efficient optimization and characterization of proton beam scanning systems. Uniform scanning produces proton beam fields that are suited for clinical proton radiotherapy.

Coupled, Simultaneous Displacement and Dealloying Reactions into Fe-Ni-Co Nanowires for Thinning Nanowire Segments.

PubMed

Geng, Xiaohua; Podlaha, Elizabeth J

2016-12-14

A new methodology is reported to shape template-assisted electrodeposition of Fe-rich, Fe-Ni-Co nanowires to have a thin nanowire segment using a coupled displacement reaction with a more noble elemental ion, Cu(II), and at the same time dealloying predominantly Fe from Fe-Ni-Co by the reduction of protons (H + ), followed by a subsequent etching step. The displacement/dealloyed layer was sandwiched between two trilayers of Fe-Ni-Co to facilitate the characterization of the reaction front, or penetration length. The penetration length region was found to be a function of the ratio of proton and Cu(II) concentration, and a ratio of 0.5 was found to provide the largest penetration rate, and hence the larger thinned length of the nanowire. Altering the etching time affected the diameter of the thinned region. This methodology presents a new way to thin nanowire segments connected to larger nanowire sections and also introduces a way to study the propagation of a reaction front into a nanowire.

[Influence of proton pump inhibitors on intestinal fermentative profile: a case-control study].

PubMed

Senderovky, Melisa; Lasa, Juan; Dima, Guillermo; Peralta, Daniel; Argüello, Mariano; Soifer, Luis

2014-01-01

Proton pump inhibitors could have an impact on the results of breath tests performed in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. This impact could be due to the development of small intestine bacterial overgrowth. To compare the prevalence of fermentative profile alterations of irritable bowel syndrome patients exposed and not-exposed to proton pump inhibitor therapy. Subjects with irritable bowel syndrome were enrolled. A validated questionnaire assessing symptom severity as well as proton pump inhibitor treatment was delivered. A lactulose breath test was undertaken by each enrolled subject. Fermentative profile (area under the curve of hydrogen excretion/time) was compared between proton pump inhibitors consumers and non-consumers. Furthermore, small intestine bacterial overgrowth prevalence was compared. Two hundred and twenty five patients were enrolled. No significant differences were found on the fermentative profile between groups [AUC mediana 3,776 (rango 2,124-5,571) vs 4,347 (rango 2,038-5,481), P = 0.3]. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth prevalence was similar as well [33% vs 27.5%]. These differences remained non-significant after adjusting for proton pump inhibitor dose and treatment time. Surprisingly, symptom score was significantly higher in those patients under proton pump inhibitor therapy [28.5 (23-26) vs 23 (15-29), P = 0.01]. Proton pump inhibitors have no significant influence on lactulose breath tests, regardless of the dosage and time of administration.

Hardness assurance for proton direct ionization-induced SEEs using a high-energy proton beam

DOE PAGES

Dodds, Nathaniel Anson; Schwank, James R.; Shaneyfelt, Marty R.; ...

2014-11-06

The low-energy proton energy spectra of all shielded space environments have the same shape. This shape is easily reproduced in the laboratory by degrading a high-energy proton beam, producing a high-fidelity test environment. We use this test environment to dramatically simplify rate prediction for proton direct ionization effects, allowing the work to be done at high-energy proton facilities, on encapsulated parts, without knowledge of the IC design, and with little or no computer simulations required. Proton direct ionization (PDI) is predicted to significantly contribute to the total error rate under the conditions investigated. Scaling effects are discussed using data frommore » 65-nm, 45-nm, and 32-nm SOI SRAMs. These data also show that grazing-angle protons will dominate the PDI-induced error rate due to their higher effective LET, so PDI hardness assurance methods must account for angular effects to be conservative. As a result, we show that this angular dependence can be exploited to quickly assess whether an IC is susceptible to PDI.« less

The Search for Proton Decay.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshak, Marvin L.

1984-01-01

Provides the rationale for and examples of experiments designed to test the stability of protons and bound neutrons. Also considers the unification question, cosmological implications, current and future detectors, and current status of knowledge on proton decay. (JN)

A test of Lee's quasi-linear theory of ion acceleration by interplanetary traveling shocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennel, C. F.; Coroniti, F. V.; Scarf, F. L.; Livesey, W. A.; Russell, C. T.; Smith, E. J.

1986-01-01

Lee's (1983) quasi-linear theory of ion acceleration is tested using ISEE-3 measurements of the November 12, 1978 quasi-parallel interplanetary shock. His theory accounts with varying degrees of precision for the energetic proton spatial profiles; the dependence of the spectral index of the power law proton velocity distribution upon the shock compression ratio; the power law dependence of the upstream proton scalelength upon energy; the absolute magnitude of the upstream proton scale length; the behavior of the energetic proton anisotropy upstream and downstream of the shock; the behavior of the alpha-particle proton ratio upstream; the equality of the spatial scale lengths at the shock of the upstream waves and of the protons that resonate with them; and the dependence of the integrated wave energy density upon the proton energy density at the shock. However, the trace magnetic field frequency spectra disagree with his theory in two ways. The part of the spectrum that can resonate with the observed protons via first-order cyclotron resonance is flat, whereas Lee's theory predicts an f exp - 7/4 frequency dependence for the November 12 shock. Higher frequency waves, which could not resonate with the observed upstream protons, increased in amplitude as the shock approached, suggesting that they too were generated by the shock.

Operation of the Preclinical Head Scanner for Proton CT.

PubMed

Sadrozinski, H F-W; Geoghegan, T; Harvey, E; Johnson, R P; Plautz, T E; Zatserklyaniy, A; Bashkirov, V; Hurley, R F; Piersimoni, P; Schulte, R W; Karbasi, P; Schubert, K E; Schultze, B; Giacometti, V

2016-09-21

We report on the operation and performance tests of a preclinical head scanner developed for proton computed tomography (pCT). After extensive preclinical testing, pCT is intended to be employed in support of proton therapy treatment planning and pre-treatment verification in patients undergoing particle-beam therapy. In order to assess the performance of the scanner, we have performed CT scans with 200 MeV protons from both the synchrotron of the Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) and the cyclotron of the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center (NMCPC). The very high sustained rate of data acquisition, exceeding one million protons per second, allowed a full 360° scan to be completed in less than 7 minutes. The reconstruction of various phantoms verified accurate reconstruction of the proton relative stopping power (RSP) and the spatial resolution in a variety of materials. The dose for an image with better than 1% uncertainty in the RSP is found to be close to 1 mGy.

Testing the Tester: Lessons Learned During the Testing of a State-of-the-Art Commercial 14nm Processor Under Proton Irradiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szabo, Carl M., Jr.; Duncan, Adam R.; Label, Kenneth A.

2017-01-01

Testing of an Intel 14nm desktop processor was conducted under proton irradiation. We share lessons learned, demonstrating that complex devices beget further complex challenges requiring practical and theoretical investigative expertise to solve.

Computational Studies of Protein Hydration Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozenko, Aleksandr

It is widely appreciated that water plays a vital role in proteins' functions. The long-range proton transfer inside proteins is usually carried out by the Grotthuss mechanism and requires a chain of hydrogen bonds that is composed of internal water molecules and amino acid residues of the protein. In other cases, water molecules can facilitate the enzymes catalytic reactions by becoming a temporary proton donor/acceptor. Yet a reliable way of predicting water protein interior is still not available to the biophysics community. This thesis presents computational studies that have been performed to gain insights into the problems of fast and accurate prediction of potential water sites inside internal cavities of protein. Specifically, we focus on the task of attainment of correspondence between results obtained from computational experiments and experimental data available from X-ray structures. An overview of existing methods of predicting water molecules in the interior of a protein along with a discussion of the trustworthiness of these predictions is a second major subject of this thesis. A description of differences of water molecules in various media, particularly, gas, liquid and protein interior, and theoretical aspects of designing an adequate model of water for the protein environment are widely discussed in chapters 3 and 4. In chapter 5, we discuss recently developed methods of placement of water molecules into internal cavities of a protein. We propose a new methodology based on the principle of docking water molecules to a protein body which allows to achieve a higher degree of matching experimental data reported in protein crystal structures than other techniques available in the world of biophysical software. The new methodology is tested on a set of high-resolution crystal structures of oligopeptide-binding protein (OppA) containing a large number of resolved internal water molecules and applied to bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase in the fully oxidized state and photosystem II from thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus vulcanus, which both are indispensable for sustaining life on Earth. Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) is the terminal enzyme of the respiratory electron transport chain responsible for biological reduction over ninety percent of atmospheric oxygen by means of pumping protons across the inner mitochondrial or bacterial plasma membrane with the use of energy derived from the reduction of O 2 to H2O. Photosystem II (PSII) is a membrane protein complex located in the thylakoid membranes of oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, and performs a series of light-induced electron transfer reactions leading to the splitting of water into protons and molecular oxygen.

New superconducting cyclotron driven scanning proton therapy systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Hans-Udo; Baumgarten, Christian; Geisler, Andreas; Heese, Jürgen; Hobl, Achim; Krischel, Detlef; Schillo, Michael; Schmidt, Stefan; Timmer, Jan

2005-12-01

Since one and a half decades ACCEL is investing in development and engineering of state of the art particle-therapy systems. A new medical superconducting 250 MeV proton cyclotron with special focus on the present and future beam requirements of fast scanning treatment systems has been designed. The first new ACCEL medical proton cyclotron is under commissioning at PSI for their PROSCAN proton therapy facility having undergone successful factory tests especially of the closed loop cryomagnetic system. The second cyclotron is part of ACCEL's integrated proton therapy system for Europe's first clinical center, RPTC in Munich. The cyclotron, the energy selection system, the beamline as well as the four gantries and patient positioners have been installed. The scanning system and major parts of the control software have already been tested. We will report on the concept of ACCEL's superconducting cyclotron driven scanning proton therapy systems and the current status of the commissioning work at PSI and RPTC.

A Compendium of Recent Optocoupler Radiation Test Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Label, K. A.; Kniffin, S. D.; Reed, R. A.; Kim, H. S.; Wert, J. L.; Oberg, D. L.; Normand, E.; Johnston, A. H.; Lum, G. K.; Koga, R.;

Quantum chemical modeling of enzymatic reactions: the case of 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase.

PubMed

Sevastik, Robin; Himo, Fahmi

2007-12-01

The reaction mechanism of 4-oxalocrotonate tautomerase (4-OT) is studied using the density functional theory method B3LYP. This enzyme catalyzes the isomerisation of unconjugated alpha-keto acids to their conjugated isomers. Two different quantum chemical models of the active site are devised and the potential energy curves for the reaction are computed. The calculations support the proposed reaction mechanism in which Pro-1 acts as a base to shuttle a proton from the C3 to the C5 position of the substrate. The first step (proton transfer from C3 to proline) is shown to be the rate-limiting step. The energy of the charge-separated intermediate (protonated proline-deprotonated substrate) is calculated to be quite low, in accordance with measured pKa values. The results of the two models are used to evaluate the methodology employed in modeling enzyme active sites using quantum chemical cluster models.

A compact electron cyclotron resonance proton source for the Paul Scherrer Institute's proton accelerator facility

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

Baumgarten, C.; Barchetti, A.; Einenkel, H.

2011-05-15

A compact electron cyclotron resonance proton source has been developed and installed recently at thePaul Scherrer Institute's high intensity proton accelerator. Operation at the ion source test stand and the accelerator demonstrates a high reliability and stability of the new source. When operated at a 10 - 12 mA net proton current the lifetime of the source exceeds 2000 h. The essential development steps towards the observed performance are described.

Considerations for a Proton Single Event Effects (SEE) Guideline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.

2010-01-01

The intent of this document is to provide guidance on when and what type of -SEE tests should be performed on a device under test (OUT) based on orbit, technology, existing data, and application. It is NOT intended to provide a detailed guideline for how to perform proton SEE radiation tests on electronics.

Considerations for a Proton Single Event Effects (SEE) Guideline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.

2010-01-01

The intent of this document is to provide guidance on when and what type of SEE tests should be performed on a device under test (DUT) based on orbit, technology, existing data, and application. It is NOT intended to provide a detailed guideline for how to perform proton SEE radiation tests on electronics.

Triprotic site-specific acid-base equilibria and related properties of fluoroquinolone antibacterials.

PubMed

Rusu, Aura; Tóth, Gergő; Szőcs, Levente; Kökösi, József; Kraszni, Márta; Gyéresi, Árpád; Noszál, Béla

2012-07-01

The complete macro- and microequilibrium analyses of six fluoroquinolone drugs - ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, pefloxacin, ofloxacin and moxifloxacin - are presented. Previous controversial literature data are straightened up, the protonation centers are unambiguously identified, and the protonation macro- and microconstant values are reported. The macroconstants were determined by (1)H NMR-pH titrations while the microconstants were determined by a multi-modal spectroscopic-deductive methodology, in which methyl ester derivatives were synthesized and their NMR-pH titration data contributed to the evaluation of all the microconstants. The full (1)H, (13)C and (15)N NMR assignments, NMR-pH profiles, macro- and microprotonation schemes and species-specific diagrams are included. Our studies show that the fluoroquinolones have three protonation centers: the carboxylate group, the N-1' and N-4' piperazine nitrogens and concentration of the uncharged microspecies is way below the values published earlier. The results could be well interpreted in terms of structural properties. The protonation macro- and microconstant values allow the pre-planned method development in techniques such as capillary zone electrophoresis and also, the interpretation of fluoroquinolone mechanism of biological action, including the pharmacokinetic properties, and antibacterial activities that are all heavily influenced by the states of protonation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Canadian Helicobacter Study Group Consensus Conference: Update on the approach to Helicobacter pylori infection in children and adolescents--an evidence-based evaluation.

PubMed

Bourke, Billy; Ceponis, Peter; Chiba, Naoki; Czinn, Steve; Ferraro, Richard; Fischbach, Lori; Gold, Ben; Hyunh, Hien; Jacobson, Kevan; Jones, Nicola L; Koletzko, Sibylle; Lebel, Sylvie; Moayyedi, Paul; Ridell, Robert; Sherman, Philip; van Zanten, Sander; Beck, Ivan; Best, Linda; Boland, Margaret; Bursey, Ford; Chaun, Hugh; Cooper, Geraldine; Craig, Brian; Creuzenet, Carole; Critch, Jeffrey; Govender, Krishnasamy; Hassall, Eric; Kaplan, Alan; Keelan, Monica; Noad, Garth; Robertson, Marli; Smith, Lesley; Stein, Markus; Taylor, Diane; Walters, Thomas; Persaud, Robin; Whitaker, Scott; Woodland, Robert

2005-07-01

As an update to previously published recommendations for the management of Helicobacter pylori infection, an evidence-based appraisal of 14 topics was undertaken in a consensus conference sponsored by the Canadian Helicobacter Study Group. The goal was to update guidelines based on the best available evidence using an established and uniform methodology to address and formulate recommendations for each topic. The degree of consensus for each recommendation is also presented. The clinical issues addressed and recommendations made were: population-based screening for H. pylori in asymptomatic children to prevent gastric cancer is not warranted; testing for H. pylori in children should be considered if there is a family history of gastric cancer; the goal of diagnostic interventions should be to determine the cause of presenting gastrointestinal symptoms and not the presence of H. pylori infection; recurrent abdominal pain of childhood is not an indication to test for H. pylori infection; H. pylori testing is not required in patients with newly diagnosed gastroesophageal reflux disease; H. pylori testing may be considered before the use of long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy; testing for H. pylori infection should be considered in children with refractory iron deficiency anemia when no other cause has been found; when investigation of pediatric patients with persistent or severe upper abdominal symptoms is indicated, upper endoscopy with biopsy is the investigation of choice; the 13C-urea breath test is currently the best noninvasive diagnostic test for H. pylori infection in children; there is currently insufficient evidence to recommend stool antigen tests as acceptable diagnostic tools for H. pylori infection; serological antibody tests are not recommended as diagnostic tools for H. pylori infection in children; first-line therapy for H. pylori infection in children is a twice-daily, triple-drug regimen comprised of a proton pump inhibitor plus two antibiotics (clarithromycin plus amoxicillin or metronidazole); the optimal treatment period for H. pylori infection in children is 14 days; and H. pylori culture and antibiotic sensitivity testing should be made available to monitor population antibiotic resistance and manage treatment failures.

Measurements of the u valence quark distribution function in the proton and u quark fragmentation functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arneodo, M.; Arvidson, A.; Aubert, J. J.; Badelek, B.; Beaufays, J.; Bee, C. P.; Benchouk, C.; Berghoff, G.; Bird, I. G.; Blum, D.; Böhm, E.; De Bouard, X.; Brasse, F. W.; Braun, H.; Broll, C.; Brown, S. C.; Brück, H.; Calen, H.; Chima, J. S.; Ciborowski, J.; Clifft, R.; Coignet, G.; Combley, F.; Coughlan, J.; D'Agostini, G.; Dahlgren, S.; Dengler, F.; Derado, I.; Dreyer, T.; Drees, J.; Düren, M.; Eckardt, V.; Edwards, A.; Edwards, M.; Ernst, T.; Eszes, G.; Favier, J.; Ferrero, M. I.; Figiel, J.; Flauger, W.; Foster, J.; Gabathuler, E.; Gajewski, J.; Gamet, R.; Gayler, J.; Geddes, N.; Grafström, P.; Grard, F.; Haas, J.; Hagberg, E.; Hasert, F. J.; Hayman, P.; Heusse, P.; Jaffre, M.; Jacholkowska, A.; Janata, F.; Jancso, G.; Johnson, A. S.; Kabuss, E. M.; Kellner, G.; Korbel, V.; Krüger, A.; Krüger, J.; Kullander, S.; Landgraf, U.; Lanske, D.; Loken, J.; Long, K.; Maire, M.; Malecki, P.; Manz, A.; Maselli, S.; Mohr, W.; Montanet, F.; Montgomery, H. E.; Nagy, E.; Nassalski, J.; Norton, P. R.; Oakham, F. G.; Osborne, A. M.; Pascaud, C.; Pawlik, B.; Payre, P.; Peroni, C.; Peschel, H.; Pessard, H.; Pettingale, J.; Pietrzyk, B.; Poensgen, B.; Pötsch, M.; Renton, P.; Ribarics, P.; Rith, K.; Rondio, E.; Sandacz, A.; Scheer, M.; Schlagböhmer, A.; Schiemann, H.; Schmitz, N.; Schneegans, M.; Scholz, M.; Schouten, M.; Schröder, T.; Schultze, K.; Sloan, T.; Stier, H. E.; Studt, M.; Taylor, G. N.; Thenard, J. M.; Thompson, J. C.; De la Torre, A.; Toth, J.; Urban, L.; Urban, L.; Wallucks, W.; Whalley, M.; Wheeler, S.; Williams, W. S. C.; Wimpenny, S. J.; Windmolders, R.; Wolf, G.; European Muon Collaboration

1989-07-01

A new determination of the u valence quark distribution function in the proton is obtained from the analysis of identified charged pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons produced in muon-proton and muon-deuteron scattering. The comparison with results obtained in inclusive deep inelastic lepton-nucleon scattering provides a further test of the quark-parton model. The u quark fragmentation functions into positive and negative pions, kaons, protons and antiprotons are also measured.

First observations of power MOSFET burnout with high energy neutrons

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

Oberg, D.L.; Wert, J.L.; Normand, E.

Single event burnout was seen in power MOSFETs exposed to high energy neutrons. Devices with rated voltage {ge}400 volts exhibited burnout at substantially less than the rated voltage. Tests with high energy protons gave similar results. Burnout was also seen in limited tests with lower energy protons and neutrons. Correlations with heavy-ion data are discussed. Accelerator proton data gave favorable comparisons with burnout rates measured on the APEX spacecraft. Implications for burnout at lower altitudes are also discussed.

First observations of power MOSFET burnout with high energy neutrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oberg, D. L.; Wert, J. L.; Normand, E.; Majewski, P. P.; Wender, S. A.

1996-12-01

Single event burnout was seen in power MOSFETs exposed to high energy neutrons. Devices with rated voltage /spl ges/400 volts exhibited burnout at substantially less than the rated voltage. Tests with high energy protons gave similar results. Burnout was also seen in limited tests with lower energy protons and neutrons. Correlations with heavy-ion data are discussed. Accelerator proton data gave favorable comparisons with burnout rates measured on the APEX spacecraft. Implications for burnout at lower altitudes are also discussed.

Proton Single Event Effects (SEE) Testing of the Myrinet Crossbar Switch and Network Interface Card

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, James W., Jr.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Carts, Martin A.; Stattel, Ronald; Irwin, Timothy L.; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

As part of the Remote Exploration and Experimentation Project (REE), work was performed to do a proton SEE (Single Event Effect) evaluation of the Myricom network protocol system (Myrinet). This testing included the evaluation of the Myrinet crossbar switch and the Network Interface Card (NIC). To this end, two crossbar switch devices and five components in the NIC were exposed to the proton beam at the University of California at Davis Crocker Nuclear Laboratory (CNL).

Evaluating Constraints on Heavy-Ion SEE Susceptibility Imposed by Proton SEE Testing and Other Mixed Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladbury, R. L.; Lauenstein, J.-M.

2016-01-01

We develop metrics for assessing the effectiveness of proton SEE data for bounding heavy-ion SEE susceptibility. The metrics range from simple geometric criteria requiring no knowledge of the test articles to bounds of SEE rates.

Scintillating anticoincidence detection elements design and tests with muons and protons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilliot, M.; Chabaud, J.; Baronick, J. P.; Colonges, S.; Laurent, P.

2010-09-01

Design, construction and tests of anticoincidence detection elements are presented. Initially planned to be used as active shielding parts of the anticoincidence detector of the Simbol-X mission, they are aimed to detect cosmic protons and provide veto signal against charged-particle background induced on imaging detectors. The sample is made of a scintillator plate into which grooves are machined and waveshifting fibers glued. The fibers are connected to multianode photomultiplier (PM) tubes. The tubes characteristics have been evaluated for this application. The device has been tested with atmospheric muons that deposit similar energy to that of cosmic protons thanks to a specially designed muon telescope also described in this paper. Tests have also been performed with protons of a tandem accelerator beam line. The response is on average above 10 photoelectrons, which is not complicated to detect, which allows very good detection efficiency as well as very good ability to reject noise. In addition many evolution and performance improvements appear possible.

Proton beam irradiation inhibits the migration of melanoma cells.

PubMed

Jasińska-Konior, Katarzyna; Pochylczuk, Katarzyna; Czajka, Elżbieta; Michalik, Marta; Romanowska-Dixon, Bożena; Swakoń, Jan; Urbańska, Krystyna; Elas, Martyna

2017-01-01

In recent years experimental data have indicated that low-energy proton beam radiation might induce a difference in cellular migration in comparison to photons. We therefore set out to compare the effect of proton beam irradiation and X-rays on the survival and long-term migratory properties of two cell lines: uveal melanoma Mel270 and skin melanoma BLM. Cells treated with either proton beam or X-rays were analyzed for their survival using clonogenic assay and MTT test. Long-term migratory properties were assessed with time-lapse monitoring of individual cell movements, wound test and transpore migration, while the expression of the related proteins was measured with western blot. Exposure to proton beam and X-rays led to similar survival but the quality of the cell colonies was markedly different. More paraclones with a low proliferative activity and fewer highly-proliferative holoclones were found after proton beam irradiation in comparison to X-rays. At 20 or 40 days post-irradiation, migratory capacity was decreased more by proton beam than by X-rays. The beta-1-integrin level was decreased in Mel270 cells after both types of radiation, while vimentin, a marker of EMT, was increased in BLM cells only. We conclude that proton beam irradiation induced long-term inhibition of cellular motility, as well as changes in the level of beta-1 integrin and vimentin. If confirmed, the change in the quality, but not in the number of colonies after proton beam irradiation might favor tumor growth inhibition after fractionated proton therapy.

Correction of stopping power and LET quenching for radiophotoluminescent glass dosimetry in a therapeutic proton beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Weishan; Koba, Yusuke; Katayose, Tetsurou; Yasui, Keisuke; Omachi, Chihiro; Hariu, Masatsugu; Saitoh, Hidetoshi

2017-12-01

To measure the absorbed dose to water D w in proton beams using a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RGD), a method with the correction for the change of the mass stopping power ratio (SPR) and the linear energy transfer (LET) dependence of radiophotoluminescent efficiency \\varepsilon LETRGD is proposed. The calibration coefficient in terms of D w for RGDs (GD-302M, Asahi Techno Glass) was obtained using a 60Co γ-ray. The SPR of water to the RGD was calculated by Monte Carlo simulation, and \\varepsilon LETRGD was investigated experimentally using a 70 MeV proton beam. For clinical usage, the residual range R res was used as a quality index to determine the correction factor for the beam quality kQ,{{Q0}}RGD and the LET quenching effect of the RGD kLETRGD . The proposed method was evaluated by measuring D w at different depths in a 200 MeV proton beam. For both non-modulated and modulated proton beams, kQ,{{Q0}}RGD decreases rapidly where R res is less than 4 cm. The difference in kQ,{{Q0}}RGD between a non-modulated and a modulated proton beam is less than 0.5% for the R res range from 0 cm to 22 cm. \\varepsilon LETRGD decreases rapidly at a LET range from 1 to 2 keV µm-1. In the evaluation experiments, D w using RGDs, Dw,QRGD showed good agreement with that obtained using an ionization chamber and the relative difference was within 3% where R res was larger than 1 cm. The uncertainty budget for Dw,QRGD in a proton beam was estimated to investigate the potential of RGD postal dosimetry in proton therapy. These results demonstrate the feasibility of RGD dosimetry in a therapeutic proton beam and the general versatility of the proposed method. In conclusion, the proposed methodology for RGDs in proton dosimetry is applicable where R res  >  1 cm and the RGD is feasible as a postal audit dosimeter for proton therapy.

Cycling the Hot CNO: A Teaching Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frost-Schenk, J. W.; Diget, C. Aa.; Bentley, M. A.; Tuff, A.

2018-01-01

An interactive activity to teach the hot Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen (HCNO) cycle is proposed. Justification for why the HCNO cycle is important is included via an example of x-ray bursts. The activity allows teaching and demonstration of half-life, nuclear isotopes, nuclear reactions, protons and a-particles, and catalytic processes. Whilst the…

Multielemental analyses of isomorphous Indian garnet gemstones by XRD and external pixe techniques.

PubMed

Venkateswarulu, P; Srinivasa Rao, K; Kasipathi, C; Ramakrishna, Y

2012-12-01

Garnet gemstones were collected from parts of Eastern Ghats geological formations of Andhra Pradesh, India and their gemological studies were carried out. Their study of chemistry is not possible as they represent mixtures of isomorphism nature, and none of the individual specimens indicate independent chemistry. Hence, non-destructive instrumental methodology of external PIXE technique was employed to understand their chemistry and identity. A 3 MeV proton beam was employed to excite the samples. In the present study geochemical characteristics of garnet gemstones were studied by proton induced X-ray emission. Almandine variety of garnet is found to be abundant in the present study by means of their chemical contents. The crystal structure and the lattice parameters were estimated using X-Ray Diffraction studies. The trace and minor elements are estimated using PIXE technique and major compositional elements are confirmed by XRD studies. The technique is found very useful in characterizing the garnet gemstones. The present work, thus establishes usefulness and versatility of the PIXE technique with external beam for research in Geo-scientific methodology. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neutron detection of the Triga Mark III reactor, using nuclear track methodology

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

Espinosa, G., E-mail: espinosa@fisica.unam.mx; Golzarri, J. I.; Raya-Arredondo, R.

Nuclear Track Methodology (NTM), based on the neutron-proton interaction is one often employed alternative for neutron detection. In this paper we apply NTM to determine the Triga Mark III reactor operating power and neutron flux. The facility nuclear core, loaded with 85 Highly Enriched Uranium as fuel with control rods in a demineralized water pool, provide a neutron flux around 2 × 10{sup 12} n cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}, at the irradiation channel TO-2. The neutron field is measured at this channel, using Landauer{sup ®} PADC as neutron detection material, covered by 3 mm Plexiglas{sup ®} as converter. After exposure, plasticmore » detectors were chemically etched to make observable the formed latent tracks induced by proton recoils. The track density was determined by a custom made Digital Image Analysis System. The resulting average nuclear track density shows a direct proportionality response for reactor power in the range 0.1-7 kW. We indicate several advantages of the technique including the possibility to calibrate the neutron flux density measured at low reactor power.« less

Energy Production Demonstrator for Megawatt Proton Beams

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

Pronskikh, Vitaly S.; Mokhov, Nikolai V.; Novitski, Igor

2014-07-16

A preliminary study of the Energy Production Demonstrator (EPD) concept - a solid heavy metal target irradiated by GeV-range intense proton beams and producing more energy than consuming - is carried out. Neutron production, fission, energy deposition, energy gain, testing volume and helium production are simulated with the MARS15 code for tungsten, thorium, and natural uranium targets in the proton energy range 0.5 to 120 GeV. This study shows that the proton energy range of 2 to 4 GeV is optimal for both a natU EPD and the tungsten-based testing station that would be the most suitable for proton acceleratormore » facilities. Conservative estimates, not including breeding and fission of plutonium, based on the simulations suggest that the proton beam current of 1 mA will be sufficient to produce 1 GW of thermal output power with the natU EPD while supplying < 8% of that power to operate the accelerator. The thermal analysis shows that the concept considered has a problem due to a possible core meltdown; however, a number of approaches (a beam rastering, in first place) are suggested to mitigate the issue. The efficiency of the considered EPD as a Materials Test Station (MTS) is also evaluated in this study.« less

Classical Molecular Dynamics with Mobile Protons.

PubMed

Lazaridis, Themis; Hummer, Gerhard

2017-11-27

An important limitation of standard classical molecular dynamics simulations is the inability to make or break chemical bonds. This restricts severely our ability to study processes that involve even the simplest of chemical reactions, the transfer of a proton. Existing approaches for allowing proton transfer in the context of classical mechanics are rather cumbersome and have not achieved widespread use and routine status. Here we reconsider the combination of molecular dynamics with periodic stochastic proton hops. To ensure computational efficiency, we propose a non-Boltzmann acceptance criterion that is heuristically adjusted to maintain the correct or desirable thermodynamic equilibria between different protonation states and proton transfer rates. Parameters are proposed for hydronium, Asp, Glu, and His. The algorithm is implemented in the program CHARMM and tested on proton diffusion in bulk water and carbon nanotubes and on proton conductance in the gramicidin A channel. Using hopping parameters determined from proton diffusion in bulk water, the model reproduces the enhanced proton diffusivity in carbon nanotubes and gives a reasonable estimate of the proton conductance in gramicidin A.

The damage equivalence of electrons, protons, and gamma rays in MOS devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brucker, G. J.; Stassinopoulos, E. G.; Van Gunten, O.; August, L. S.; Jordan, T. M.

1982-01-01

The results of laboratory tests to determine the radiation damage effects induced on MOS devices from Co-60, electron, and proton radiation are reported. The tests are performed to establish the relationship between the Co-60 gamma rays and the level of damage to the MOS devices in regards to different damages which can be expected with the electron and particle bombardments experienced in space applications. CMOS devices were exposed to the Co-60 gamma rays, 1 MeV electrons, and 1 MeV protons while operating at 3, 10, and 15 V. The test data indicated that the Co-60 source was reliable for an initial evaluation of the electron damages up to 2 MeV charge. A correction factor was devised for transferring the Co-60 measurements to proton damages, independent of bias and transistor types, for any orbit or environment.

Proton Upset Monte Carlo Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neill, Patrick M.; Kouba, Coy K.; Foster, Charles C.

2009-01-01

The Proton Upset Monte Carlo Simulation (PROPSET) program calculates the frequency of on-orbit upsets in computer chips (for given orbits such as Low Earth Orbit, Lunar Orbit, and the like) from proton bombardment based on the results of heavy ion testing alone. The software simulates the bombardment of modern microelectronic components (computer chips) with high-energy (.200 MeV) protons. The nuclear interaction of the proton with the silicon of the chip is modeled and nuclear fragments from this interaction are tracked using Monte Carlo techniques to produce statistically accurate predictions.

SU-F-J-187: The Statistical NTCP and TCP Models in the Proton Therapy

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

Jang, S; Frometa, T; Pyakuryal, A

2016-06-15

Purpose: The statistical models (SM) are typically used as a subjective description of a population for which there is only limited sample data, and especially in cases where the relationship between variables is known. The normal tissue complications and tumor control are frequently stochastic effects in the Radiotherapy (RT). Based on probabilistic treatments, it recently has been formulated new NTCP and TCP models for the RT. Investigating the particular requirements for their clinical use in the proton therapy (PT) is the goal of this work. Methods: The SM can be used as phenomenological or mechanistic models. The former way allowsmore » fitting real data and getting theirparameters. In the latter one, we should do efforts for determining the parameters through the acceptable estimations, measurements, and/or simulation experiments. Experimental methodologies for determination of the parameters have been developed from the fraction cells surviving the proton irradiation curves in tumor and OAR, and precise RBE models are used for calculating the variable of effective dose. As the executions of these methodologies have a high costs, so we have developed computer tools enable to perform simulation experiments as complement to limitations of the real ones. Results: The requirements for the use of the SM in the PT, such as validation and improvement of the elaborated and existent methodologies for determining the SM parameters and effective dose respectively, were determined. Conclusion: The SM realistically simulates the main processes in the PT, and for this reason these can be implemented in this therapy, which are simples, computable and they have other advantages over some current models. It has been determined some negative aspects for some currently used probabilistic models in the RT, like the LKB NTCP and others derived from logistic functions; which can be improved with the proposed methods in this study.« less

SU-E-J-213: Imaging and Treatment Isocenter Verification of a Gantry Mounted Proton Therapy System

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

Price, S; Goddu, S; Rankine, L

2014-06-01

Purpose: The Mevion proton therapy machine is the first to feature a gantry mounted sychro-cyclotron. In addition, the system utilizes a 6D motion couch and kV imaging for precise proton therapy. To quantify coincidence between these systems, isocentricity tests were performed based on kV imaging alignment using radiochromic film. Methods: The 100 ton gantry and 6D robotic couch can rotate 190° around isocenter to provide necessary beam angles for treatment. The kV sources and detector panels are deployed as needed to acquire orthogonal portals. Gantry and couch mechanical isocenter were tested using star-shots and radiochromic-film (RCF). Using kV imaging, themore » star-shot phantom was aligned to an embedded fiducial and the isocenter was marked on RCF with a pinprick. The couch and gantry stars were performed by irradiating films at every 45° and 30°, respectively. A proton beam with a range and modulation-width of 18 cm was used. A Winston-Lutz test was also performed at the same gantry and couch rotations using a custom jig holding RCF and a tungsten ball placed at isocenter. A 2 cm diameter circular aperture was used for the irradiation. Results: The couch star-shot indicated a minimum tangent circle of 0.6 mm, with a 0.9 mm offset from the manually marked isocenter. The gantry star-shot showed a 0.6 mm minimum tangent circle with a 0.5 mm offset from the pinprick. The Winston Lutz test performed for gantry rotation showed a maximum deviation from center of 0.5 mm. Conclusion: Based on star-shots and Winston-Lutz tests, the proton gantry and 6D couch isocentricity are within 1 mm. In this study, we have shown that the methods commonly utilized for Linac characterization can be applied to proton therapy. This revolutionary proton therapy system possesses excellent agreement between the mechanical and radiation isocenter, providing highly precise treatment.« less

Energetic Proton Spectra Measured by the Van Allen Probes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Summers, Danny; Shi, Run; Engebretson, Mark J.; Oksavik, Kjellmar; Manweiler, Jerry W.; Mitchell, Donald G.

2017-10-01

We test the hypothesis that pitch angle scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves can limit ring current proton fluxes. For two chosen magnetic storms, during 17-20 March 2013 and 17-20 March 2015, we measure proton energy spectra in the region 3 ≤ L ≤ 6 using the RBSPICE-B instrument on the Van Allen Probes. The most intense proton spectra are observed to occur during the recovery periods of the respective storms. Using proton precipitation data from the POES (NOAA and MetOp) spacecraft, we deduce that EMIC wave action was prevalent at the times and L-shell locations of the most intense proton spectra. We calculate limiting ring current proton energy spectra from recently developed theory. Comparisons between the observed proton energy spectra and the theoretical limiting spectra show reasonable agreement. We conclude that the measurements of the most intense proton spectra are consistent with self-limiting by EMIC wave scattering.

Polybenzimidazole block copolymers for fuel cell: synthesis and studies of block length effects on nanophase separation, mechanical properties, and proton conductivity of PEM.

PubMed

Maity, Sudhangshu; Jana, Tushar

2014-05-14

A series of meta-polybenzimidazole-block-para-polybenzimidazole (m-PBI-b-p-PBI), segmented block copolymers of PBI, were synthesized with various structural motifs and block lengths by condensing the diamine terminated meta-PBI (m-PBI-Am) and acid terminated para-PBI (p-PBI-Ac) oligomers. NMR studies and existence of two distinct glass transition temperatures (Tg), obtained from dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) results, unequivocally confirmed the formation of block copolymer structure through the current polymerization methodology. Appropriate and careful selection of oligomers chain length enabled us to tailor the block length of block copolymers and also to make varieties of structural motifs. Increasingly distinct Tg peaks with higher block length of segmented block structure attributed the decrease in phase mixing between the meta-PBI and para-PBI blocks, which in turn resulted into nanophase segregated domains. The proton conductivities of proton exchange membrane (PEM) developed from phosphoric acid (PA) doped block copolymer membranes were found to be increasing substantially with increasing block length of copolymers even though PA loading of these membranes did not alter appreciably with varying block length. For example when molecular weight (Mn) of blocks were increased from 1000 to 5500 then the proton conductivities at 160 °C of resulting copolymers increased from 0.05 to 0.11 S/cm. Higher block length induced nanophase separation between the blocks by creating less morphological barrier within the block which facilitated the movement of the proton in the block and hence resulting higher proton conductivity of the PEM. The structural varieties also influenced the phase separation and proton conductivity. In comparison to meta-para random copolymers reported earlier, the current meta-para segmented block copolymers were found to be more suitable for PBI-based PEM.

Development of Techniques for Visualization of Scalar and Vector Fields in the Immersive Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bidasaria, Hari B.; Wilson, John W.; Nealy, John E.

2005-01-01

Visualization of scalar and vector fields in the immersive environment (CAVE - Cave Automated Virtual Environment) is important for its application to radiation shielding research at NASA Langley Research Center. A complete methodology and the underlying software for this purpose have been developed. The developed software has been put to use for the visualization of the earth s magnetic field, and in particular for the study of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The methodology has also been put to use for the visualization of geomagnetically trapped protons and electrons within Earth's magnetosphere.

Investigation on using high-energy proton beam for total body irradiation (TBI).

PubMed

Zhang, Miao; Qin, Nan; Jia, Xun; Zou, Wei J; Khan, Atif; Yue, Ning J

2016-09-08

This work investigated the possibility of using proton beam for total body irradia-tion (TBI). We hypothesized the broad-slow-rising entrance dose from a monoen-ergetic proton beam can deliver a uniform dose to patient with varied thickness. Comparing to photon-based TBI, it would not require any patient-specific com-pensator or beam spoiler. The hypothesis was first tested by simulating 250 MeV, 275 MeV, and 300 MeV protons irradiating a wedge-shaped water phantom in a paired opposing arrangement using Monte Carlo (MC) method. To allow ± 7.5% dose variation, the maximum water equivalent thickness (WET) of a treatable patient separation was 29 cm for 250 MeV proton, and > 40 cm for 275 MeV and 300 MeV proton. The compared 6 MV photon can only treat patients with up to 15.5 cm water-equivalent separation. In the second step, we simulated the dose deposition from the same beams on a patient's whole-body CT scan. The maximum patient separation in WET was 23 cm. The calculated whole-body dose variations were ± 8.9%, ± 9.0%, ± 9.6%, and ± 14% for 250 MeV proton, 275 MeV proton, 300 MeV proton, and 6 MV photon. At last, we tested the current machine capability to deliver a monoenergetic proton beam with a large uniform field. Experiments were performed on a compact double scattering single-gantry proton system. With its C-shaped gantry design, the source-to-surface distance (SSD) reached 7 m. The measured dose deposition curve had 22 cm relatively flat entrance region. The full width half maximum field size was measured 105 cm. The current scatter filter had to be redesigned to produce a uniform intensity at such treatment distance. In con-clusion, this work demonstrated the possibility of using proton beam for TBI. The current commercially available proton machines would soon be ready for such task. © 2016 The Authors.

Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc., Proton Exchange Member (PEM) Fuel Cell Engineering Model Powerplant. Test Report: Initial Benchmark Tests in the Original Orientation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loyselle, Patricia; Prokopius, Kevin

2011-01-01

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology is the leading candidate to replace the alkaline fuel cell technology, currently used on the Shuttle, for future space missions. During a 5-yr development program, a PEM fuel cell powerplant was developed. This report details the initial performance evaluation test results of the powerplant.

PEM Fuel Cells Redesign Using Biomimetic and TRIZ Design Methodologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, Keith Kin Kei

Two formal design methodologies, biomimetic design and the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving, TRIZ, were applied to the redesign of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Proof of concept prototyping was performed on two of the concepts for water management. The liquid water collection with strategically placed wicks concept demonstrated the potential benefits for a fuel cell. Conversely, the periodic flow direction reversal concepts might cause a potential reduction water removal from a fuel cell. The causes of this water removal reduction remain unclear. In additional, three of the concepts generated with biomimetic design were further studied and demonstrated to stimulate more creative ideas in the thermal and water management of fuel cells. The biomimetic design and the TRIZ methodologies were successfully applied to fuel cells and provided different perspectives to the redesign of fuel cells. The methodologies should continue to be used to improve fuel cells.

A proton irradiation test facility for space research in Ankara, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gencer, Ayşenur; Yiǧitoǧlu, Merve; Bilge Demirköz, Melahat; Efthymiopoulos, Ilias

2016-07-01

Space radiation often affects the electronic components' performance during the mission duration. In order to ensure reliable performance, the components must be tested to at least the expected dose that will be received in space, before the mission. Accelerator facilities are widely used for such irradiation tests around the world. Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEA) has a 15MeV to 30MeV variable proton cyclotron in Ankara and the facility's main purpose is to produce radioisotopes in three different rooms for different target systems. There is also an R&D room which can be used for research purposes. This paper will detail the design and current state of the construction of a beamline to perform Single Event Effect (SEE) tests in Ankara for the first time. ESA ESCC No.25100 Standard Single Event Effect Test Method and Guidelines is being considered for these SEE tests. The proton beam kinetic energy must be between 20MeV and 200MeV according to the standard. While the proton energy is suitable for SEE tests, the beam size must be 15.40cm x 21.55cm and the flux must be between 10 ^{5} p/cm ^{2}/s to at least 10 ^{8} p/cm ^{2}/s according to the standard. The beam size at the entrance of the R&D room is mm-sized and the current is variable between 10μA and 1.2mA. Therefore, a defocusing beam line has been designed to enlarge the beam size and reduce the flux value. The beam line has quadrupole magnets to enlarge the beam size and the collimators and scattering foils are used for flux reduction. This facility will provide proton fluxes between 10 ^{7} p/cm ^{2}/s and 10 ^{10} p/cm ^{2}/s for the area defined in the standard when completed. Also for testing solar cells developed for space, the proton beam energy will be lowered below 10MeV. This project has been funded by Ministry of Development in Turkey and the beam line construction will finish in two years and SEE tests will be performed for the first time in Turkey.

WE-AB-BRA-07: Quantitative Evaluation of 2D-2D and 2D-3D Image Guided Radiation Therapy for Clinical Trial Credentialing, NRG Oncology/RTOG

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

Giaddui, T; Yu, J; Xiao, Y

Purpose: 2D-2D kV image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) credentialing evaluation for clinical trial qualification was historically qualitative through submitting screen captures of the fusion process. However, as quantitative DICOM 2D-2D and 2D-3D image registration tools are implemented in clinical practice for better precision, especially in centers that treat patients with protons, better IGRT credentialing techniques are needed. The aim of this work is to establish methodologies for quantitatively reviewing IGRT submissions based on DICOM 2D-2D and 2D-3D image registration and to test the methodologies in reviewing 2D-2D and 2D-3D IGRT submissions for RTOG/NRG Oncology clinical trials qualifications. Methods: DICOM 2D-2Dmore » and 2D-3D automated and manual image registration have been tested using the Harmony tool in MIM software. 2D kV orthogonal portal images are fused with the reference digital reconstructed radiographs (DRR) in the 2D-2D registration while the 2D portal images are fused with DICOM planning CT image in the 2D-3D registration. The Harmony tool allows alignment of the two images used in the registration process and also calculates the required shifts. Shifts calculated using MIM are compared with those submitted by institutions for IGRT credentialing. Reported shifts are considered to be acceptable if differences are less than 3mm. Results: Several tests have been performed on the 2D-2D and 2D-3D registration. The results indicated good agreement between submitted and calculated shifts. A workflow for reviewing these IGRT submissions has been developed and will eventually be used to review IGRT submissions. Conclusion: The IROC Philadelphia RTQA center has developed and tested a new workflow for reviewing DICOM 2D-2D and 2D-3D IGRT credentialing submissions made by different cancer clinical centers, especially proton centers. NRG Center for Innovation in Radiation Oncology (CIRO) and IROC RTQA center continue their collaborative efforts to enhance quality assurance services and to be consistently adaptive to the new advances in radiation therapy. This project was supported by NCI grants U10CA180868, U10CA180822, U24CA180803, U24CA12014 and PA CURE Grant.« less

Protocols Utilizing Constant pH Molecular Dynamics to Compute pH-Dependent Binding Free Energies

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

In protein–ligand binding, the electrostatic environments of the two binding partners may vary significantly in bound and unbound states, which may lead to protonation changes upon binding. In cases where ligand binding results in a net uptake or release of protons, the free energy of binding is pH-dependent. Nevertheless, conventional free energy calculations and molecular docking protocols typically do not rigorously account for changes in protonation that may occur upon ligand binding. To address these shortcomings, we present a simple methodology based on Wyman’s binding polynomial formalism to account for the pH dependence of binding free energies and demonstrate its use on cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) host–guest systems. Using constant pH molecular dynamics and a reference binding free energy that is taken either from experiment or from thermodynamic integration computations, the pH-dependent binding free energy is determined. This computational protocol accurately captures the large pKa shifts observed experimentally upon CB[7]:guest association and reproduces experimental binding free energies at different levels of pH. We show that incorrect assignment of fixed protonation states in free energy computations can give errors of >2 kcal/mol in these host–guest systems. Use of the methods presented here avoids such errors, thus suggesting their utility in computing proton-linked binding free energies for protein–ligand complexes. PMID:25134690

Poster - 16: Time-resolved diode dosimetry for in vivo proton therapy range verification: calibration through numerical modeling

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

Toltz, Allison; Hoesl, Michaela; Schuemann, Jan

Purpose: A method to refine the implementation of an in vivo, adaptive proton therapy range verification methodology was investigated. Simulation experiments and in-phantom measurements were compared to validate the calibration procedure of a time-resolved diode dosimetry technique. Methods: A silicon diode array system has been developed and experimentally tested in phantom for passively scattered proton beam range verification by correlating properties of the detector signal to the water equivalent path length (WEPL). The implementation of this system requires a set of calibration measurements to establish a beam-specific diode response to WEPL fit for the selected ‘scout’ beam in a solidmore » water phantom. This process is both tedious, as it necessitates a separate set of measurements for every ‘scout’ beam that may be appropriate to the clinical case, as well as inconvenient due to limited access to the clinical beamline. The diode response to WEPL relationship for a given ‘scout’ beam may be determined within a simulation environment, facilitating the applicability of this dosimetry technique. Measurements for three ‘scout’ beams were compared against simulated detector response with Monte Carlo methods using the Tool for Particle Simulation (TOPAS). Results: Detector response in water equivalent plastic was successfully validated against simulation for spread out Bragg peaks of range 10 cm, 15 cm, and 21 cm (168 MeV, 177 MeV, and 210 MeV) with adjusted R{sup 2} of 0.998. Conclusion: Feasibility has been shown for performing calibration of detector response for a given ‘scout’ beam through simulation for the time resolved diode dosimetry technique.« less

Predictive Quantum Chemistry: A Step Toward ``Chemistry Without Test Tubes''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perera, Ajith

2007-12-01

The merits of the claims made in two recent papers entitled "First generation of pentazole (HN5, pentazolic acid), the final azole, and a zinc pentazolate salt in solution: A new N-dearylation of 1-(p-methoxyphenyl) pyrazoles, a 2-(p-methoxyphenyl) tetrazole and application of the methodology to 1-(p-methoxyphenyl) pentazole" (R. N. Butler, J. C. Stephan and L. A. Burke, J. Chem. Commun. 2003, 1016-1017) and "First generation of the pentazolate anion is solution is far from over" (T. Schroer, R. Haiges, S. Schneider and K. O. Christe, Chem. Commun. 2005, 1607-1609) are verified by predictive quality theoretical methods. Knowing whether the CF3OH in HF solution undergoes protonation to form CF3[OH2]+ is critical to the success of the recently proposed synthetic route to form the prototype perfluorinated alcohol, CF3OH. Chirstie and co-workers first considered the 13C and 19F shielding constants to distinguish CF3OH and CF3[OH2]+, but it turns out that they both have similar chemical shifts. Furthermore, they noted that the computed 13C chemical shifts differ by 11 ppm from the measured ones and claimed that "These findings presented a dilemma because either experimental or the calculated shifts has to be seriously flawed and, therefore chemical shifts alone it was impossible to decide whether CF3OH in liquid HF is protonated or not". Instead of chemical shifts, they propose to use 13C-19F NMR spin-spin coupling constants and argue that the observed 20 Hz difference of 1J(13C-19F) to the increase in the covalent character upon protonation. The reported discrepancy in computed and measured chemical shifts is reexamined and the spin-spin coupling constants results are verified by the predicative-level calculations.

Role of Water in Proton-Hydroxide Conductance Across Model and Biological Membranes.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-10

Arlington, VA 22217-5000 61153N RR04108 441K712 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) Role of water in proton-hydroxide conductance across model and...used the gramicidin channel to test properties of transmembrane strands of hydrogen bonded water which would model such defects. Results are described...Gramicidin as a model "proton wire." 2. Effects of homologous series of alcohols on proton flux in liposomes, and the relationship to their anesthetic

MS/MS Digital Readout: Analysis of Binary Information Encoded in the Monomer Sequences of Poly(triazole amide)s.

PubMed

Amalian, Jean-Arthur; Trinh, Thanh Tam; Lutz, Jean-François; Charles, Laurence

2016-04-05

Tandem mass spectrometry was evaluated as a reliable sequencing methodology to read codes encrypted in monodisperse sequence-coded oligo(triazole amide)s. The studied oligomers were composed of monomers containing a triazole ring, a short ethylene oxide segment, and an amide group as well as a short alkyl chain (propyl or isobutyl) which defined the 0/1 molecular binary code. Using electrospray ionization, oligo(triazole amide)s were best ionized as protonated molecules and were observed to adopt a single charge state, suggesting that adducted protons were located on every other monomer unit. Upon collisional activation, cleavages of the amide bond and of one ether bond were observed to proceed in each monomer, yielding two sets of complementary product ions. Distribution of protons over the precursor structure was found to remain unchanged upon activation, allowing charge state to be anticipated for product ions in the four series and hence facilitating their assignment for a straightforward characterization of any encoded oligo(triazole amide)s.

Comparison of the surface charge behavior of commercial silicon nitride and silicon carbide powders

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitman, Pamela K.; Feke, Donald L.

1988-01-01

The adsorption and desorption of protons from aqueous solution onto the surfaces of a variety of commercial silicon carbide and silicon nitride powders has been examined using a surface titration methodology. This method provides information on some colloidal characteristics, such as the point of zero charge (pzc) and the variation of proton adsorption with dispersion pH, useful for the prediction of optimal ceramic-processing conditions. Qualitatively, the magnitude of the proton adsorption from solution reveals small differences among all of the materials studied. However, the results show that the pzc for the various silicon nitride powders is affected by the powder synthesis route. Complementary investigations have shown that milling can also act to shift the pzc exhibited by silicon nitride powder. Also, studies of the role of the electrolyte in the development of surface charge have indicated no evidence of specific adsorption of ammonium ion on either silicon nitride or silicon carbide powders.

SU-E-CAMPUS-T-04: Statistical Process Control for Patient-Specific QA in Proton Beams

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

LAH, J; SHIN, D; Kim, G

Purpose: To evaluate and improve the reliability of proton QA process, to provide an optimal customized level using the statistical process control (SPC) methodology. The aim is then to suggest the suitable guidelines for patient-specific QA process. Methods: We investigated the constancy of the dose output and range to see whether it was within the tolerance level of daily QA process. This study analyzed the difference between the measured and calculated ranges along the central axis to suggest the suitable guidelines for patient-specific QA in proton beam by using process capability indices. In this study, patient QA plans were classifiedmore » into 6 treatment sites: head and neck (41 cases), spinal cord (29 cases), lung (28 cases), liver (30 cases), pancreas (26 cases), and prostate (24 cases). Results: The deviations for the dose output and range of daily QA process were ±0.84% and ±019%, respectively. Our results show that the patient-specific range measurements are capable at a specification limit of ±2% in all treatment sites except spinal cord cases. In spinal cord cases, comparison of process capability indices (Cp, Cpm, Cpk ≥1, but Cpmk ≤1) indicated that the process is capable, but not centered, the process mean deviates from its target value. The UCL (upper control limit), CL (center line) and LCL (lower control limit) for spinal cord cases were 1.37%, −0.27% and −1.89%, respectively. On the other hands, the range differences in prostate cases were good agreement between calculated and measured values. The UCL, CL and LCL for prostate cases were 0.57%, −0.11% and −0.78%, respectively. Conclusion: SPC methodology has potential as a useful tool to customize an optimal tolerance levels and to suggest the suitable guidelines for patient-specific QA in clinical proton beam.« less

Elucidation of hydrolysis mechanisms for fatty acid amide hydrolase and its Lys142Ala variant via QM/MM simulations.

PubMed

Tubert-Brohman, Ivan; Acevedo, Orlando; Jorgensen, William L

2006-12-27

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a serine hydrolase that degrades anandamide, an endocannabinoid, and oleamide, a sleep-inducing lipid, and has potential applications as a therapeutic target for neurological disorders. Remarkably, FAAH hydrolyzes amides and esters with similar rates; however, the normal preference for esters reemerges when Lys142 is mutated to alanine. To elucidate the hydrolysis mechanisms and the causes behind this variation of selectivity, mixed quantum and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations were carried out to obtain free-energy profiles for alternative mechanisms for the enzymatic hydrolyses. The methodology features free-energy perturbation calculations in Monte Carlo simulations with PDDG/PM3 as the QM method. For wild-type FAAH, the results support a mechanism, which features proton transfer from Ser217 to Lys142, simultaneous proton transfer from Ser241 to Ser217, and attack of Ser241 on the substrate's carbonyl carbon to yield a tetrahedral intermediate, which subsequently undergoes elimination with simultaneous protonation of the leaving group by a Lys142-Ser217 proton shuttle. For the Lys142Ala mutant, a striking multistep sequence is proposed with simultaneous proton transfer from Ser241 to Ser217, attack of Ser241 on the carbonyl carbon of the substrate, and elimination of the leaving group and its protonation by Ser217. Support comes from the free-energy results, which well reproduce the observation that the Lys142Ala mutation in FAAH decreases the rate of hydrolysis for oleamide significantly more than for methyl oleate.

Excitations of one-valence-proton, one-valence-neutron nucleus {sup 210}Bi from cold-neutron capture

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

Cieplicka-Oryńczak, N.; Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, PL-31342 Kraków; Fornal, B.

2015-10-15

The low-spin structure of one-proton, one-neutron {sup 210}Bi nucleus was investigated in cold-neutron capture reaction on {sup 209}Bi. The γ-coincidence measurements were performed with use of EXILL array consisted of 16 HPGe detectors. The experimental results were compared to shell-model calculations involving valence particles excitations. The {sup 210}Bi nucleus offers the potential to test the effective proton-neutron interactions because most of the states should arise from the proton-neutron excitations. Additionally, it was discovered that a few states should come from the couplings of valence particles to the 3{sup −} octupole vibration in {sup 208}Pb which provides also the possibility ofmore » testing the calculations involving the core excitations.« less

What Can We Learn From Proton Recoils about Heavy-Ion SEE Sensitivity?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladbury, Raymond L.

2016-01-01

The fact that protons cause single-event effects (SEE) in most devices through production of light-ion recoils has led to attempts to bound heavy-ion SEE susceptibility through use of proton data. Although this may be a viable strategy for some devices and technologies, the data must be analyzed carefully and conservatively to avoid over-optimistic estimates of SEE performance. We examine the constraints that proton test data can impose on heavy-ion SEE susceptibility.

First observation of proton induced power MOSFET burnout in space: the CRUX experiment on APEX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adolphsen, J. W.; Barth, J. L.; Gee, G. B.

1996-12-01

Ground testing has shown that power MOSFETs are susceptible to burnout when irradiated with heavy ions and protons. Satellite data from the Cosmic Ray Upset Experiment (CRUX) demonstrate that single event burnouts (SEBs) on 100-volt and 200-volt power MOSFETs can and do occur in space. Few SEBs occurred on the 100-volt devices, all at L/sup 1/>3. The 200-volt devices experienced many SEBs at L<3 when drain-to-source voltage (V/sub D-S/) was greater than 85% of maximum rated voltage. CRUX flight lot devices were ground tested with protons. The SEB rates calculated with the cross-sections from the ground tests show close agreement with the measured rates.

Dosimetric assessment of the PRESAGE dosimeter for a proton pencil beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuu, C.-S.; Xu, Y.; Qian, X.; Adamovics, J.; Cascio, E.; Lu, H.-M.

2013-06-01

The objective of this study is to assess the feasibility of using PRESAGE dosimeters for proton pencil beam dosimetry. Two different formulations of phantom materials were tested for their suitability in characterizing a single proton pencil beam. The dosimetric response of PRESAGE was found to be linear up to 4Gy. First-generation optical CT scanner, OCTOPUSTM was used to implement dose distributions for proton pencil beams since it provides most accurate readout. Percentage depth dose curves and beam profiles for two proton energy, 110 MeV, and 93 MeV, were used to evaluate the dosimetric performance of two PRESAGE phantom formulas. The findings from this study show that the dosimetric properties of the phantom materials match with basic physics of proton beams.

Hydrogen blistering under extreme radiation conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sznajder, Maciej; Geppert, Ulrich; Dudek, Miroslaw

2018-01-01

Metallic surfaces, exposed to a proton flux, start to degradate by molecular hydrogen blisters. These are created by recombination of protons with metal electrons. Continued irradiation progresses blistering, which is undesired for many technical applications. In this work, the effect of the proton flux magnitude onto the degradation of native metal oxide layers and its consequences for blister formation has been examined. To study this phenomenon, we performed proton irradiation experiments of aluminium surfaces. The proton kinetic energy was chosen so that all recombined hydrogen is trapped within the metal structure. As a result, we discovered that intense proton irradiation increases the permeability of aluminium oxide layers for hydrogen atoms, thereby counteracting blister formation. These findings may improve the understanding of the hydrogen blistering process, are valid for all metals kept under terrestrial ambient conditions, and important for the design of proton irradiation tests.

YAP(Ce) crystal characterization with proton beam up to 60 MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randazzo, N.; Sipala, V.; Aiello, S.; Lo Presti, D.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Cuttone, G.; Di Rosa, F.

2008-02-01

A YAP(Ce) crystal was characterized with a proton beam up to 60 MeV. Tests were performed to investigate the possibility of using this detector as a proton calorimeter. The size of the crystal was chosen so that the proton energy is totally lost inside the medium. The authors propose to use the YAP(Ce) crystal in medical applications for proton therapy. In particular, in proton computed tomography (pCT) project it is necessary as a calorimeter in order to measure the proton residual energy after the phantom. Energy resolution, linearity, and light yield were measured in the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud with the CATANA proton beam [ http://www.lns.infn.it/CATANA/CATANA] and the results are shown in this paper. The crystal shows a good resolution (3% at 60 MeV proton beam) and it shows good linearity for different proton beam energies (1% at 30-60 MeV energy range). The crystal performances confirm that the YAP(Ce) crystal represents a good solution for these kinds of application.

Proton donor acidity controls selectivity in nonaromatic nitrogen heterocycle synthesis.

PubMed

Duttwyler, Simon; Chen, Shuming; Takase, Michael K; Wiberg, Kenneth B; Bergman, Robert G; Ellman, Jonathan A

2013-02-08

Piperidines are prevalent in natural products and pharmaceutical agents and are important synthetic targets for drug discovery and development. We report on a methodology that provides highly substituted piperidine derivatives with regiochemistry selectively tunable by varying the strength of acid used in the reaction. Readily available starting materials are first converted to dihydropyridines via a cascade reaction initiated by rhodium-catalyzed carbon-hydrogen bond activation. Subsequent divergent regio- and diastereoselective protonation of the dihydropyridines under either kinetic or thermodynamic control provides two distinct iminium ion intermediates that then undergo highly diastereoselective nucleophilic additions. X-ray structural characterization of both the kinetically and thermodynamically favored iminium ions along with density functional theory calculations provide a theoretical underpinning for the high selectivities achieved for the reaction sequences.

Installation and performance of the Budapest Hamburg proton microprobe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, I.; Kocsonya, A.; Kostka, P.; Szőkefalvi-Nagy, Z.; Schrang, K.; Krüger, A.; Niecke, M.

2005-04-01

A new scanning proton microprobe has been installed at the 5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator of the KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics. It is the energy-upgraded version of the Hamburg proton microprobe dismantled in 2001. The probe forming system includes a pair of focusing quadrupoles and an additional quadrupole pair in front of it, which is applied to increase the proton beam divergence. The average probe size at 2.5 MeV proton energy is 2.2 μm × 1.1 μm. The test results on stability and the preliminary experiments on cement corrosion and fish otoliths are also presented.

Nonadiabatic Dynamics of Photoinduced Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer Processes

DTIC Science & Technology

devices and photoelectrochemical cells. Theoretical methodology for simulating the nonadiabatic dynamics of photoinduced PCET reactions in solution has...tuning and control of the ultrafast dynamics is crucial for designing renewable and sustainable energy sources, such as artificial photosynthesis...describes the solute with a multiconfigurational method in a bath of explicit solvent molecules. The transferring hydrogen nucleus is represented as a

Clinical Proton MR Spectroscopy in Central Nervous System Disorders

PubMed Central

Alger, Jeffry R.; Barker, Peter B.; Bartha, Robert; Bizzi, Alberto; Boesch, Chris; Bolan, Patrick J.; Brindle, Kevin M.; Cudalbu, Cristina; Dinçer, Alp; Dydak, Ulrike; Emir, Uzay E.; Frahm, Jens; González, Ramón Gilberto; Gruber, Stephan; Gruetter, Rolf; Gupta, Rakesh K.; Heerschap, Arend; Henning, Anke; Hetherington, Hoby P.; Howe, Franklyn A.; Hüppi, Petra S.; Hurd, Ralph E.; Kantarci, Kejal; Klomp, Dennis W. J.; Kreis, Roland; Kruiskamp, Marijn J.; Leach, Martin O.; Lin, Alexander P.; Luijten, Peter R.; Marjańska, Małgorzata; Maudsley, Andrew A.; Meyerhoff, Dieter J.; Mountford, Carolyn E.; Nelson, Sarah J.; Pamir, M. Necmettin; Pan, Jullie W.; Peet, Andrew C.; Poptani, Harish; Posse, Stefan; Pouwels, Petra J. W.; Ratai, Eva-Maria; Ross, Brian D.; Scheenen, Tom W. J.; Schuster, Christian; Smith, Ian C. P.; Soher, Brian J.; Tkáč, Ivan; Vigneron, Daniel B.; Kauppinen, Risto A.

2014-01-01

A large body of published work shows that proton (hydrogen 1 [1H]) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy has evolved from a research tool into a clinical neuroimaging modality. Herein, the authors present a summary of brain disorders in which MR spectroscopy has an impact on patient management, together with a critical consideration of common data acquisition and processing procedures. The article documents the impact of 1H MR spectroscopy in the clinical evaluation of disorders of the central nervous system. The clinical usefulness of 1H MR spectroscopy has been established for brain neoplasms, neonatal and pediatric disorders (hypoxia-ischemia, inherited metabolic diseases, and traumatic brain injury), demyelinating disorders, and infectious brain lesions. The growing list of disorders for which 1H MR spectroscopy may contribute to patient management extends to neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, and stroke. To facilitate expanded clinical acceptance and standardization of MR spectroscopy methodology, guidelines are provided for data acquisition and analysis, quality assessment, and interpretation. Finally, the authors offer recommendations to expedite the use of robust MR spectroscopy methodology in the clinical setting, including incorporation of technical advances on clinical units. © RSNA, 2014 Online supplemental material is available for this article. PMID:24568703

Defocusing beam line design for an irradiation facility at the TAEA SANAEM Proton Accelerator Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gencer, A.; Demirköz, B.; Efthymiopoulos, I.; Yiğitoğlu, M.

2016-07-01

Electronic components must be tested to ensure reliable performance in high radiation environments such as Hi-Limu LHC and space. We propose a defocusing beam line to perform proton irradiation tests in Turkey. The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority SANAEM Proton Accelerator Facility was inaugurated in May 2012 for radioisotope production. The facility has also an R&D room for research purposes. The accelerator produces protons with 30 MeV kinetic energy and the beam current is variable between 10 μA and 1.2 mA. The beam kinetic energy is suitable for irradiation tests, however the beam current is high and therefore the flux must be lowered. We plan to build a defocusing beam line (DBL) in order to enlarge the beam size, reduce the flux to match the required specifications for the irradiation tests. Current design includes the beam transport and the final focusing magnets to blow up the beam. Scattering foils and a collimator is placed for the reduction of the beam flux. The DBL is designed to provide fluxes between 107 p /cm2 / s and 109 p /cm2 / s for performing irradiation tests in an area of 15.4 cm × 21.5 cm. The facility will be the first irradiation facility of its kind in Turkey.

Design, construction and tests of a 3 GHz proton linac booster (LIBO) for cancer therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berra, Paolo

2007-12-01

In the last ten years the use of proton beams in radiation therapy has become a clinical tool for treatment of deep-seated tumours. LIBO is a RF compact and low cost proton linear accelerator (SCL type) for hadrontherapy. It is conceived by TERA Foundation as a 3 GHz Linac Booster, to be mounted downstream of an existing cyclotron in order to boost the energy of the proton beam up to 200 MeV, needed for deep treatment (~25 cm) in the human body. With this solution it is possible to transform a low energy commercial cyclotron, normally used for eye melanoma therapy, isotope production and nuclear physics research, into an accelerator for deep-seated tumours. A prototype module of LIBO has been built and successfully tested with full RF power at CERN and with proton beam at INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) in Catania, within an international collaboration between TERA Foundation, CERN, the Universities and INFN groups of Milan and Naples. The mid-term aim of the project is the technology transfer of the accumulated know-how to a consortium of companies and to bring this novel medical tool to hospitals. The design, construction and tests of the LIBO prototype are described in detail.

The Single Event Upset (SEU) response to 590 MeV protons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nichols, D. K.; Price, W. E.; Smith, L. S.; Soli, G. A.

1984-01-01

The presence of high-energy protons in cosmic rays, solar flares, and trapped radiation belts around Jupiter poses a threat to the Galileo project. Results of a test of 10 device types (including 1K RAM, 4-bit microP sequencer, 4-bit slice, 9-bit data register, 4-bit shift register, octal flip-flop, and 4-bit counter) exposed to 590 MeV protons at the Swiss Institute of Nuclear Research are presented to clarify the picture of SEU response to the high-energy proton environment of Jupiter. It is concluded that the data obtained should remove the concern that nuclear reaction products generated by protons external to the device can cause significant alteration in the device SEU response. The data also show only modest increases in SEU cross section as proton energies are increased up to the upper limits of energy for both the terrestrial and Jovian trapped proton belts.

Proton Injection into the Fermilab Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA)

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

Prebys, Eric; Antipov, Sergey; Piekarz, Henryk

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) is an experimental synchrotron being built at Fermilab to test the concept of non-linear "integrable optics". These optics are based on a lattice including non-linear elements that satisfies particular conditions on the Hamiltonian. The resulting particle motion is predicted to be stable but without a unique tune. The system is therefore insensitive to resonant instabilities and can in principle store very intense beams, with space charge tune shifts larger than those which are possible in conventional linear synchrotrons. The ring will initially be tested with pencil electron beams, but this poster describes the ultimatemore » plan to install a 2.5 MeV RFQ to inject protons, which will produce tune shifts on the order of unity. Technical details will be presented, as well as simulations of protons in the ring.« less

Proton range shift analysis on brain pseudo-CT generated from T1 and T2 MR.

PubMed

Pileggi, Giampaolo; Speier, Christoph; Sharp, Gregory C; Izquierdo Garcia, David; Catana, Ciprian; Pursley, Jennifer; Amato, Francesco; Seco, Joao; Spadea, Maria Francesca

2018-05-29

In radiotherapy, MR imaging is only used because it has significantly better soft tissue contrast than CT, but it lacks electron density information needed for dose calculation. This work assesses the feasibility of using pseudo-CT (pCT) generated from T1w/T2w MR for proton treatment planning, where proton range comparisons are performed between standard CT and pCT. MR and CT data from 14 glioblastoma patients were used in this study. The pCT was generated by using conversion libraries obtained from tissue segmentation and anatomical regioning of the T1w/T2w MR. For each patient, a plan consisting of three 18 Gy beams was designed on the pCT, for a total of 42 analyzed beams. The plan was then transferred onto the CT that represented the ground truth. Range shift (RS) between pCT and CT was computed at R 80 over 10 slices. The acceptance threshold for RS was according to clinical guidelines of two institutions. A γ-index test was also performed on the total dose for each patient. Mean absolute error and bias for the pCT were 124 ± 10 and -16 ± 26 Hounsfield Units (HU), respectively. The median and interquartile range of RS was 0.5 and 1.4 mm, with highest absolute value being 4.4 mm. Of the 42 beams, 40 showed RS less than the clinical range margin. The two beams with larger RS were both in the cranio-caudal direction and had segmentation errors due to the partial volume effect, leading to misassignment of the HU. This study showed the feasibility of using T1w and T2w MRI to generate a pCT for proton therapy treatment, thus avoiding the use of a planning CT and allowing better target definition and possibilities for online adaptive therapies. Further improvements of the methodology are still required to improve the conversion from MRI intensities to HUs.

Development of Low $$\\beta $$ Single-Spoke Resonators for the Front End of the Proton Improvement Plan-II at Fermilab

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

Awida, Mohamed H.; Passarelli, Donato; Berrutti, Paolo

A total of ten jacketed single-spoke resonators type 1 (SSR1) have been fabricated for Fermilab' injection experiment (PIP2IT). PIP2IT is a test bed for Fermilab's future accelerator named proton improvement plan II that is currently under development. SSR1 cavities operate at 325 MHz to accelerate a proton beam at a relative (to speed of light) velocity (β = 0.22). In this study, we present Fermilab's experience in developing those spoke resonators starting from the design and analysis phase, to fabrication and extensive testing to qualify cavities for cryomodule assembly.

Radiation-hardened backside-illuminated 512 x 512 charge-coupled device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, Philip A.; Levine, Peter A.; Sauer, Donald J.; Hsueh, Fu-Lung; Shallcross, Frank V.; Smeltzer, Ronald K.; Meray, Grazyna M.; Taylor, Gordon C.; Tower, John R.

1995-04-01

A four-port 512 X 512 charge coupled device (CCD) imager hardened against proton displacement damage and total dose degradation has been fabricated and tested. The device is based upon an established thinned, backside illuminated, triple polysilicon, buried channel CCD process technology. The technology includes buried blooming drains. A three step approach has been taken to hardening the device. The first phase addressed hardening against proton displacement damage. The second phase addressed hardening against both proton displacement damage and total dose degradation. The third phase addresses final optimization of the design. Test results from the first and second phase efforts are presented. Plans for the third phase are discussed.

Development of Low $$\\beta $$ Single-Spoke Resonators for the Front End of the Proton Improvement Plan-II at Fermilab

DOE PAGES

Awida, Mohamed H.; Passarelli, Donato; Berrutti, Paolo; ...

2017-08-18

A total of ten jacketed single-spoke resonators type 1 (SSR1) have been fabricated for Fermilab' injection experiment (PIP2IT). PIP2IT is a test bed for Fermilab's future accelerator named proton improvement plan II that is currently under development. SSR1 cavities operate at 325 MHz to accelerate a proton beam at a relative (to speed of light) velocity (β = 0.22). In this study, we present Fermilab's experience in developing those spoke resonators starting from the design and analysis phase, to fabrication and extensive testing to qualify cavities for cryomodule assembly.

Proton irradiation on materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, C. Ken

1993-01-01

A computer code is developed by utilizing a radiation transport code developed at NASA Langley Research Center to study the proton radiation effects on materials which have potential application in NASA's future space missions. The code covers the proton energy from 0.01 Mev to 100 Gev and is sufficient for energetic protons encountered in both low earth and geosynchronous orbits. With some modification, the code can be extended for particles heavier than proton as the radiation source. The code is capable of calculating the range, stopping power, exit energy, energy deposition coefficients, dose, and cumulative dose along the path of the proton in a target material. The target material can be any combination of the elements with atomic number ranging from 1 to 92, or any compound with known chemical composition. The generated cross section for a material is stored and is reused in future to save computer time. This information can be utilized to calculate the proton dose a material would receive in an orbit when the radiation environment is known. It can also be used to determine, in the laboratory, the parameters such as beam current of proton and irradiation time to attain the desired dosage for accelerated ground testing of any material. It is hoped that the present work be extended to include polymeric and composite materials which are prime candidates for use as coating, electronic components, and structure building. It is also desirable to determine, for ground testing these materials, the laboratory parameters in order to simulate the dose they would receive in space environments. A sample print-out for water subject to 1.5 Mev proton is included as a reference.

Proton upsets in LSI memories in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcnulty, P. J.; Wyatt, R. C.; Filz, R. C.; Rothwell, P. L.; Farrell, G. E.

1980-01-01

Two types of large scale integrated dynamic random access memory devices were tested and found to be subject to soft errors when exposed to protons incident at energies between 18 and 130 MeV. These errors are shown to differ significantly from those induced in the same devices by alphas from an Am-241 source. There is considerable variation among devices in their sensitivity to proton-induced soft errors, even among devices of the same type. For protons incident at 130 MeV, the soft error cross sections measured in these experiments varied from 10 to the -8th to 10 to the -6th sq cm/proton. For individual devices, however, the soft error cross section consistently increased with beam energy from 18-130 MeV. Analysis indicates that the soft errors induced by energetic protons result from spallation interactions between the incident protons and the nuclei of the atoms comprising the device. Because energetic protons are the most numerous of both the galactic and solar cosmic rays and form the inner radiation belt, proton-induced soft errors have potentially serious implications for many electronic systems flown in space.

"Radiobiology of Proton Therapy": Results of an international expert workshop.

PubMed

Lühr, Armin; von Neubeck, Cläre; Pawelke, Jörg; Seidlitz, Annekatrin; Peitzsch, Claudia; Bentzen, Søren M; Bortfeld, Thomas; Debus, Jürgen; Deutsch, Eric; Langendijk, Johannes A; Loeffler, Jay S; Mohan, Radhe; Scholz, Michael; Sørensen, Brita S; Weber, Damien C; Baumann, Michael; Krause, Mechthild

2018-05-31

The physical properties of proton beams offer the potential to reduce toxicity in tumor-adjacent normal tissues. Toward this end, the number of proton radiotherapy facilities has steeply increased over the last 10-15 years to currently around 70 operational centers worldwide. However, taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by proton radiation for clinical radiotherapy requires a better understanding of the radiobiological effects of protons alone or combined with drugs or immunotherapy on normal tissues and tumors. This report summarizes the main results of the international expert workshop "Radiobiology of Proton Therapy" that was held in November 2016 in Dresden. It addresses the major topics (1) relative biological effectiveness (RBE) in proton beam therapy, (2) interaction of proton radiobiology with radiation physics in current treatment planning, (3) biological effects in proton therapy combined with systemic treatments, and (4) testing biological effects of protons in clinical trials. Finally, important research avenues for improvement of proton radiotherapy based on radiobiological knowledge are identified. The clinical distribution of radiobiological effectiveness of protons alone or in combination with systemic chemo- or immunotherapies as well as patient stratification based on biomarker expressions are key to reach the full potential of proton beam therapy. Dedicated preclinical experiments, innovative clinical trial designs, and large high-quality data repositories will be most important to achieve this goal. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Comparative Study of Heavy Ion and Proton Induced Bit Error Sensitivity and Complex Burst Error Modes in Commercially Available High Speed SiGe BiCMOS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Paul; Carts, Marty; Campbell, Art; Reed, Robert; Ladbury, Ray; Seidleck, Christina; Currie, Steve; Riggs, Pam; Fritz, Karl; Randall, Barb

2004-01-01

A viewgraph presentation that reviews recent SiGe bit error test data for different commercially available high speed SiGe BiCMOS chips that were subjected to various levels of heavy ion and proton radiation. Results for the tested chips at different operating speeds are displayed in line graphs.

SU-D-BRC-05: Effects of Motion and Variable RBE in a Lung Patient Treated with Passively Scattered Protons

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

Mirkovic, D; Titt, U; Mohan, R

2016-06-15

Purpose: To evaluate effects of motion and variable relative biological effectiveness (RBE) in a lung cancer patient treated with passively scattered proton therapy using dose volume histograms associated with patient dose computed using three different methods. Methods: A proton treatment plan of a lung cancer patient optimized using clinical treatment planning system (TPS) was used to construct a detailed Monte Carlo (MC) model of the beam delivery system and the patient specific aperture and compensator. A phase space file containing all particles transported through the beam line was collected at the distal surface of the range compensator and subsequently transportedmore » through two different patient models. The first model was based on the average CT used by the TPS and the second model included all 10 phases of the corresponding 4DCT. The physical dose and proton linear energy transfer (LET) were computed in each voxel of two models and used to compute constant and variable RBE MC dose on average CT and 4D CT. The MC computed doses were compared to the TPS dose using dose volume histograms for relevant structures. Results: The results show significant differences in doses to the target and critical structures suggesting the need for more accurate proton dose computation methods. In particular, the 4D dose shows reduced coverage of the target and higher dose to the spinal cord, while variable RBE dose shows higher lung dose. Conclusion: The methodology developed in this pilot study is currently used for the analysis of a cohort of ∼90 lung patients from a clinical trial comparing proton and photon therapy for lung cancer. The results from this study will help us in determining the clinical significance of more accurate dose computation models in proton therapy.« less

Wobble↔Watson-Crick tautomeric transitions in the homo-purine DNA mismatches: a key to the intimate mechanisms of the spontaneous transversions.

PubMed

Brovarets', Ol'ha O; Hovorun, Dmytro M

2015-01-01

The intrinsic capability of the homo-purine DNA base mispairs to perform wobble↔Watson-Crick/Topal-Fresco tautomeric transitions via the sequential intrapair double proton transfer was discovered for the first time using QM (MP2/DFT) and QTAIM methodologies that are crucial for understanding the microstructural mechanisms of the spontaneous transversions.

An analytical model of leakage neutron equivalent dose for passively-scattered proton radiotherapy and validation with measurements.

PubMed

Schneider, Christopher; Newhauser, Wayne; Farah, Jad

2015-05-18

Exposure to stray neutrons increases the risk of second cancer development after proton therapy. Previously reported analytical models of this exposure were difficult to configure and had not been investigated below 100 MeV proton energy. The purposes of this study were to test an analytical model of neutron equivalent dose per therapeutic absorbed dose  at 75 MeV and to improve the model by reducing the number of configuration parameters and making it continuous in proton energy from 100 to 250 MeV. To develop the analytical model, we used previously published H/D values in water from Monte Carlo simulations of a general-purpose beamline for proton energies from 100 to 250 MeV. We also configured and tested the model on in-air neutron equivalent doses measured for a 75 MeV ocular beamline. Predicted H/D values from the analytical model and Monte Carlo agreed well from 100 to 250 MeV (10% average difference). Predicted H/D values from the analytical model also agreed well with measurements at 75 MeV (15% average difference). The results indicate that analytical models can give fast, reliable calculations of neutron exposure after proton therapy. This ability is absent in treatment planning systems but vital to second cancer risk estimation.

Sensitivity-enhanced detection of non-labile proton and carbon NMR spectra on water resonances.

PubMed

Novakovic, Mihajlo; Martinho, Ricardo P; Olsen, Gregory L; Lustig, Michael S; Frydman, Lucio

2017-12-20

Chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) experiments enhance the NMR signals of labile protons by continuously transferring these protons' saturation to an abundant solvent pool like water. The present study expands these principles by fusing into these experiments homonuclear isotropic mixing sequences, enabling the water-enhanced detection of non-exchangeable species. Further opportunities are opened by the addition of coupling-mediated heteronuclear polarization transfers, which then impose on the water resonance a saturation stemming from non-labile heteronuclear species like 13 C. To multiplex the ensuing experiments, these relayed approaches are combined with time-domain schemes involving multiple Ramsey-labeling experiments imparting the frequencies of the non-labile sites on the water resonance, via chemical exchange. 13 C and 1 H NMR spectra were detected in this fashion with about two-fold SNR amplification vis-à-vis conventionally detected spectroscopies. When combined with non-uniform sampling principles, this methodology thus becomes a sensitive alternative to detect non-exchangeable species in biomolecules. Still, multiple parameters including the scalar couplings and solvent exchange rates, will affect the efficiency and consequently the practicality of the overall experiment.

Proton radiography in three dimensions: A proof of principle of a new technique

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

Raytchev, Milen; Seco, Joao

2013-10-15

Purpose: Monte Carlo simulations were used to investigate a range of phantom configurations to establish enabling three-dimensional proton radiographic techniques.Methods: A large parameter space of stacked phantom geometries composed of tissue inhomogeneity materials such as lung, bone, and cartilage inserted within water background were simulated using a purposefully modified version of TOPAS, an application running on top of the GEANT4 Monte Carlo code. The phantoms were grouped in two classes, one with the inhomogeneity inserted only half-way in the lateral direction and another with complete inhomogeneity insertion. The former class was used to calculate the track count and the energymore » fluence of the protons as they exit the phantoms either having traversed the inhomogeneity or not. The latter class was used to calculate one yield value accounting for loss of protons due to physical processes only and another yield value accounting for deliberately discarded protons due to large scattering angles. A graphical fingerprinting method was developed to determine the inhomogeneity thickness and location within the phantom based on track count and energy fluence information. Two additional yield values extended this method to the general case which also determines the inhomogeneity material and the phantom thickness.Results: The graphical fingerprinting method was manually validated for two, and automatically tested for all, tissue materials using an exhaustive set of inhomogeneity geometries for 16 cm thick phantoms. Unique recognition of test phantom configurations was achieved in the large majority of cases. The method in the general case was further tested using an exhaustive set of inhomogeneity and phantom tissues and geometries where the phantom thicknesses ranged between 8 and 24 cm. Unique recognition of the test phantom configurations was achieved only for part of the phantom parameter space. The correlations between the remaining false positive recognitions were analyzed.Conclusions: The concept of 3D proton radiography for tissue inhomogeneities of simple geometries was established with the current work. In contrast to conventional 2D proton radiography, the main objective of the demonstrated 3D technique is not proton range. Rather, it is to measure the depth and thickness of an inhomogeneity located in an imaged geometry. Further work is needed to extend and apply the method to more complex geometries.« less

High energy neutrinos from gamma-ray bursts with precursor supernovae.

PubMed

Razzaque, Soebur; Mészáros, Peter; Waxman, Eli

2003-06-20

The high energy neutrino signature from proton-proton and photo-meson interactions in a supernova remnant shell ejected prior to a gamma-ray burst provides a test for the precursor supernova, or supranova, model of gamma-ray bursts. Protons in the supernova remnant shell and photons entrapped from a supernova explosion or a pulsar wind from a fast-rotating neutron star remnant provide ample targets for protons escaping the internal shocks of the gamma-ray burst to interact and produce high energy neutrinos. We calculate the expected neutrino fluxes, which can be detected by current and future experiments.

Single event upset sensitivity of low power Schottky devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Price, W. E.; Nichols, D. K.; Measel, P. R.; Wahlin, K. L.

1982-01-01

Data taken from tests involving heavy ions in the Berkeley 88 in. cyclotron being directed at low power Schottky barrier devices are reported. The tests also included trials in the Harvard cyclotron with 130 MeV protons, and at the U.C. Davis cyclotron using 56 MeV protons. The experiments were performed to study the single event upsets in MSI logic devices containing flip-flops. Results are presented of single-event upsets (SEU) causing functional degradation observed in post-exposure tests of six different devices. The effectiveness of the particles in producing SEUs in logic device functioning was found to be directly proportional to the proton energy. Shielding was determined to offer negligible protection from the particle bombardment. The results are considered significant for the design and fabrication of LS devices for space applications.

The effects of proton exposure on neurochemistry and behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shukitt-Hale, B.; Szprengiel, A.; Pluhar, J.; Rabin, B. M.; Joseph, J. A.

2004-01-01

Future space missions will involve long-term travel beyond the magnetic field of the Earth, where astronauts will be exposed to radiation hazards such as those that arise from galactic cosmic rays. Galactic cosmic rays are composed of protons, alpha particles, and particles of high energy and charge (HZE particles). Research by our group has shown that exposure to HZE particles, primarily 600 MeV/n and 1 GeV/n 56Fe, can produce significant alterations in brain neurochemistry and behavior. However, given that protons can make up a significant portion of the radiation spectrum, it is important to study their effects on neural functioning and on related performance. Therefore, these studies examined the effects of exposure to proton irradiation on neurochemical and behavioral endpoints, including dopaminergic functioning, amphetamine-induced conditioned taste aversion learning, and spatial learning and memory as measured by the Morris water maze. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received a dose of 0, 1.5, 3.0 or 4.0 Gy of 250 MeV protons at Loma Linda University and were tested in the different behavioral tests at various times following exposure. Results showed that there was no effect of proton irradiation at any dose on any of the endpoints measured. Therefore, there is a contrast between the insignificant effects of high dose proton exposure and the dramatic effectiveness of low dose (<0.1 Gy) exposures to 56Fe particles on both neurochemical and behavioral endpoints. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Cavitation Damage Experiments for Mercury Spallation Targets At the LANSCE WNR in 2008

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

Riemer, Bernie; Wendel, Mark W; Felde, David K

2010-01-01

Proton beam experiments investigating cavitation damage in short pulse mercury spallation targets were performed at LANSCE WNR in July of 2008. They included two main areas for investigation: damage dependence on mercury velocity using geometry more prototypic to the SNS target than previously employed and damage dependence on incident proton beam flux intensity. The flow dependence experiment employed six test targets with mercury velocity in the channel ranging from 0 to more than 4 m/s. Each was hit with 100 WNR beam pulses with peak proton flux equivalent to that of SNS operating at 2.7 MW. Damage dependence on incidentmore » proton beam flux intensity was also investigated with three intensity levels used on simple rectangular shaped targets without mercury flow. Intensity variation was imposed by focusing the beam differently while maintaining protons per pulse. This kept total energy deposited in each target constant. A fourth test target was hit with various beams: constant protons and varied spot size; constant spot size and varied protons. No damage will be assessed in this case. Instead, acoustic emissions associated with cavitation collapse were measured by laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) from readings of exterior vessel motions as well as by mercury wetted acoustic transducers. This paper will provide a description of the experiment and present available results. Damage assessment will require several months before surface analysis can be completed and was not available in time for IWSMT-9.« less

Method using gas chromatography to determine the molar flow balance for proton exchange membrane fuel cells exposed to impurities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bender, G.; Angelo, M.; Bethune, K.; Dorn, S.; Thampan, T.; Rocheleau, R.

An understanding of the potentially serious performance degradation effects that trace level contaminants can cause in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is crucial for the successful deployment of PEMFC for commercial applications. An experimental and analytic methodology is described that employs gas chromatography (GC) to accurately determine the concentration of impurity species in the fuel and oxidant streams of a PEMFC. In this paper we further show that the accurate determination of the contaminant concentrations at the anode and cathode inlets and outlets provides a means to quantify reactions of contaminants within the cell and to identify diffusive mass transport across the membrane. High data accuracy down to sub-ppm contaminant levels is required and was achieved by addressing several challenges pertaining to experimental setup and data analysis which are both discussed in detail. The application of the methodology is demonstrated using carbon monoxide and toluene which were injected into the cell at concentrations between 1 and 10 ppm and 20 and 60 ppm, respectively. Both impurities were observed to react in the fuel cell: carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide, and toluene to methylcyclohexane. For both contaminants closure of the molar flow balances to within 3% was achieved even at the low contaminant concentrations. This allowed the extent of both reactions at the applied operating conditions to be quantified. The presented methodology is shown to be a valuable tool for investigating the effects and reactions of trace contaminants in fuel cells and for providing critical insights into the mechanisms responsible for the associated performance degradation.

Measurement and investigation of proton irradiation-induced charge transfer inefficiency in PPD CIS at different integration times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xue, Yuanyuan; Wang, Zujun; Zhang, Fengqi; Bian, Jingying; Yao, Zhibin; He, Baoping; Liu, Minbo; Sheng, Jiangkun; Ma, Wuying; Dong, Guantao; Jin, Junshan

2018-04-01

Charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) is an important parameter for photodiode (PPD) CMOS image sensors (CISs). A test system was built and used to measure the CTI of PPD CIS devices at different integration times. The radiation effects of 3 MeV and 10 MeV protons on the CTI were investigated. The experiments were carried out at the EN Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator at proton fluences in the range 1010 to 1011 p/cm2. The CTI was measured within the 2 h following proton radiations. The dependence of CTI on integration time, proton energy and fluence were investigated. The CTI was observed to increase after proton irradiation: with the effect of irradiation with 3 MeV proton being more severe than that with 10 MeV protons. The CTI was also observed to decrease with increasing integration time, which is thought to be related to the charge density in the space charge region (SCR) of the CIS devices. This work has provided a simple method to measure the CTI and helped us to understand proton radiation effects on the CTI of PPD CISs.

Electron/proton spectrometer certification documentation analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gleeson, P.

1972-01-01

A compilation of analyses generated during the development of the electron-proton spectrometer for the Skylab program is presented. The data documents the analyses required by the electron-proton spectrometer verification plan. The verification plan was generated to satisfy the ancillary hardware requirements of the Apollo Applications program. The certification of the spectrometer requires that various tests, inspections, and analyses be documented, approved, and accepted by reliability and quality control personnel of the spectrometer development program.

Amplitude tests of direct channel resonances: The dibaryon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldstein, G. R.; Moravosik, M. J.; Arash, F.

1985-02-01

A recently formulated polarization amplitude test for the existence of one-particle-exchange mechanisms is modified to deal with direct-channel resonances. The results are applied to proton-proton elastic scattering at and around 800 MeV to test the suggested existence of a dibaryon resonance. This test is sensitive to somewhat different circumstances and parameters than the methods used in the past to find dibaryon resonances. The evidence, on the basis of the SAID data set, is negative for a resonance in any singlet partial wave, but is tantalizingly subliminal for a 3F3 resonance.

Amplitude tests of direct channel resonances: the dibaryon

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

Goldstein, G.R.; Moravcsik, M.J.; Arash, F.

A recently formulated polarization amplitude test for the existence of one-particle-exchange mechanisms is modified to deal with direct-channel resonances. The results are applied to proton-proton elastic scattering at and around 800 MeV to test the suggested existence of a dibaryon resonance. This test is sensitive to somewhat different circumstances and parameters than the methods used in the past to find dibaryon resonances. The evidence, on the basis of the SAID data set, is negative for a resonance in any singlet partial wave, but is tantalizingly subliminal for a /sup 3/F/sub 3/ resonance. 7 refs., 4 figs.

Equivalent electron fluence for space qualification of shallow junction heteroface GaAs solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, J. W.; Stock, L. V.

1984-01-01

It is desirable to perform qualification tests prior to deployment of solar cells in space power applications. Such test procedures are complicated by the complex mixture of differing radiation components in space which are difficult to simulate in ground test facilities. Although it has been shown that an equivalent electron fluence ratio cannot be uniquely defined for monoenergetic proton exposure of GaAs shallow junction cells, an equivalent electron fluence test can be defined for common spectral components of protons found in space. Equivalent electron fluence levels for the geosynchronous environment are presented.

Impact of Jovian radiation environmental hazard on spacecraft and mission development design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Divita, E.

1972-01-01

The environmental impact on the TOPS 12L configuration is discussed. The activities in system environmental design and testing are described, and radiation design restraints based on the upper limit model are given. Range energy cutoffs in aluminum are also presented and the effective shielding thicknesses for electrons and protons of different energies are included. Design integration problems and radiation testing aspects are considered. Data are given for selecting the parts which should be tested in a formal test program, and the piece-part radiation thresholds are tabulated for electrons and protons.

Single-Event Effect Testing of the Vishay Si7414DN n-Type TrenchFET(Registered Trademark) Power MOSFET

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lauenstein, J.-M.; Casey, M. C.; Campola, M. A.; Phan, A. M.; Wilcox, E. P.; Topper, A. D.; Ladbury, R. L.

2017-01-01

This study was being undertaken to determine the single event effect susceptibility of the commercial Vishay 60-V TrenchFET power MOSFET. Heavy-ion testing was conducted at the Texas AM University Cyclotron Single Event Effects Test Facility (TAMU) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory BASE Cyclotron Facility (LBNL). In addition, initial 200-MeV proton testing was conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Francis H. Burr Proton Beam Therapy Center. Testing was performed to evaluate this device for single-event effects from lower-LET, lighter ions relevant to higher risk tolerant space missions.

A scintillator-based online detector for the angularly resolved measurement of laser-accelerated proton spectra.

PubMed

Metzkes, J; Karsch, L; Kraft, S D; Pawelke, J; Richter, C; Schürer, M; Sobiella, M; Stiller, N; Zeil, K; Schramm, U

2012-12-01

In recent years, a new generation of high repetition rate (~10 Hz), high power (~100 TW) laser systems has stimulated intense research on laser-driven sources for fast protons. Considering experimental instrumentation, this development requires online diagnostics for protons to be added to the established offline detection tools such as solid state track detectors or radiochromic films. In this article, we present the design and characterization of a scintillator-based online detector that gives access to the angularly resolved proton distribution along one spatial dimension and resolves 10 different proton energy ranges. Conceived as an online detector for key parameters in laser-proton acceleration, such as the maximum proton energy and the angular distribution, the detector features a spatial resolution of ~1.3 mm and a spectral resolution better than 1.5 MeV for a maximum proton energy above 12 MeV in the current design. Regarding its areas of application, we consider the detector a useful complement to radiochromic films and Thomson parabola spectrometers, capable to give immediate feedback on the experimental performance. The detector was characterized at an electrostatic Van de Graaff tandetron accelerator and tested in a laser-proton acceleration experiment, proving its suitability as a diagnostic device for laser-accelerated protons.

Improved normal tissue protection by proton and X-ray microchannels compared to homogeneous field irradiation.

PubMed

Girst, S; Marx, C; Bräuer-Krisch, E; Bravin, A; Bartzsch, S; Oelfke, U; Greubel, C; Reindl, J; Siebenwirth, C; Zlobinskaya, O; Multhoff, G; Dollinger, G; Schmid, T E; Wilkens, J J

2015-09-01

The risk of developing normal tissue injuries often limits the radiation dose that can be applied to the tumour in radiation therapy. Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT), a spatially fractionated photon radiotherapy is currently tested at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) to improve normal tissue protection. MRT utilizes an array of microscopically thin and nearly parallel X-ray beams that are generated by a synchrotron. At the ion microprobe SNAKE in Munich focused proton microbeams ("proton microchannels") are studied to improve normal tissue protection. Here, we comparatively investigate microbeam/microchannel irradiations with sub-millimetre X-ray versus proton beams to minimize the risk of normal tissue damage in a human skin model, in vitro. Skin tissues were irradiated with a mean dose of 2 Gy over the irradiated area either with parallel synchrotron-generated X-ray beams at the ESRF or with 20 MeV protons at SNAKE using four different irradiation modes: homogeneous field, parallel lines and microchannel applications using two different channel sizes. Normal tissue viability as determined in an MTT test was significantly higher after proton or X-ray microchannel irradiation compared to a homogeneous field irradiation. In line with these findings genetic damage, as determined by the measurement of micronuclei in keratinocytes, was significantly reduced after proton or X-ray microchannel compared to a homogeneous field irradiation. Our data show that skin irradiation using either X-ray or proton microchannels maintain a higher cell viability and DNA integrity compared to a homogeneous irradiation, and thus might improve normal tissue protection after radiation therapy. Copyright © 2015 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bread-Board Testing of the Radiation Hard Electron Monitor (RADEM) being developed for the ESA JUICE Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mrigakshi, Alankrita; Hajdas, Wojtek; Marcinkowski, Radoslaw; Xiao, Hualin; Goncalves, Patricia; Pinto, Marco; Pinto, Costa; Marques, Arlindo; Meier, Dirk

2016-04-01

The RADEM instrument will serve as the radiation monitor for the JUICE spacecraft. It will characterize the highly dynamic radiation environment of the Jovian system by measuring the energy spectra of energetic electrons and protons up to 40 MeV and 250 MeV, respectively. It will also determine the directionality of 0.3-10 MeV electrons. Further goals include the detection of heavy ions, and the determination of the corresponding LET spectra and dose rates. Here, the tests of the Electron and Proton Telescopes, and the Directionality Detector of the RADEM Bread-Board model are described. The objective of these tests is to validate RADEM design and physical concept applied therein. The tests were performed at various irradiation facilities at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) where energy ranges relevant for space applications can be covered (electrons: ≤100 MeV and protons: ≤230 MeV). The measured values are also compared with GEANT4 Monte-Carlo Simulation results.

Geant4 hadronic physics validation with ATLAS Tile Calorimeter test-beam data

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

Alexa, C.; Constantinescu, S.; Dita, S.

We present comparison studies between Geant4 shower packages and ATLAS Tile Calorimeter test-beam data collected at CERN in H8 beam line at the SPS. Emphasis is put on hadronic physics lists and data concerning differences between Tilecal response to pions and protons of same energy. The ratio between the pure hadronic fraction of pion and the pure hadronic fraction of proton F{sub h}{sup {pi}}/F{sub h}{sup p} was estimated with Tilecal test-beam data and compared with Geant4 simulations.

Optimization of an FPGA Trigger Based on an Artificial Neural Network for the Detection of Neutrino-Induced Air Showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szadkowski, Zbigniew; Głas, Dariusz; Pytel, Krzysztof; Wiedeński, Michał

2017-06-01

Neutrinos play a fundamental role in the understanding of the origin of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays. They interact through charged and neutral currents in the atmosphere generating extensive air showers. However, the very low rate of events potentially generated by neutrinos is a significant challenge for detection techniques and requires both sophisticated algorithms and high-resolution hardware. Air showers initiated by protons and muon neutrinos at various altitudes, angles, and energies were simulated in CORSIKA and the Auger OffLine event reconstruction platforms, giving analog-to-digital convertor (ADC) patterns in Auger water Cherenkov detectors on the ground. The proton interaction cross section is high, so proton “old” showers start their development early in the atmosphere. In contrast to this, neutrinos can generate “young” showers deeply in the atmosphere relatively close to the detectors. Differences between “old” proton and “young” neutrino showers are visible in attenuation factors of ADC waveforms. For the separation of “old” proton and “young” neutrino ADC traces, many three-layer artificial neural networks (ANNs) were tested. They were trained in MATLAB (in a dedicated way -only “old” proton and “young” neutrino showers as patterns) by simulated ADC traces according to the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Unexpectedly, the recognition efficiency is found to be almost independent of the size of the networks. The ANN trigger based on a selected 8-6-1 network was tested in the Cyclone V E FPGA 5CEFA9F31I7, the heart of prototype front-end boards developed for testing new algorithms in the Pierre Auger surface detectors.

Timing resolution studies of the optical part of the AFP Time-of-flight detector

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

Chytka, L.; Avoni, G.; Brandt, A.

We present results of the timing performance studies of the optical part and front-end electronics of the time-of-flight subdetector prototype for the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector obtained during the test campaigns at the CERN-SPS test-beam facility (120 GeV π + particles) in July 2016 and October 2016. The time-of-flight (ToF) detector in conjunction with a 3D silicon pixel tracker will tag and measure protons originating in central exclusive interactions p + p → p + X + p, where the two outgoing protons are scattered in the very forward directions. The ToF is required to reduce so-called pileup backgroundsmore » that arise from multiple proton interactions in the same bunch crossing at high luminosity. The background can fake the signal of interest, and the extra rejection from the ToF allows the proton tagger to operate at the high luminosity required for the measurement of the processes. The prototype detector uses fused silica bars emitting Cherenkov radiation as a relativistic particle passes through them. The emitted Cherenkov photons are detected by a multi-anode micro-channel plate photomultiplier tube (MCP-PMT) and processed by fast electronics.« less

Cyclotron-based neutron source for BNCT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitsumoto, T.; Yajima, S.; Tsutsui, H.; Ogasawara, T.; Fujita, K.; Tanaka, H.; Sakurai, Y.; Maruhashi, A.

2013-04-01

Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI) have developed a cyclotron-based neutron source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). It was installed at KURRI in Osaka prefecture. The neutron source consists of a proton cyclotron named HM-30, a beam transport system and an irradiation & treatment system. In the cyclotron, H- ions are accelerated and extracted as 30 MeV proton beams of 1 mA. The proton beams is transported to the neutron production target made by a beryllium plate. Emitted neutrons are moderated by lead, iron, aluminum and calcium fluoride. The aperture diameter of neutron collimator is in the range from 100 mm to 250 mm. The peak neutron flux in the water phantom is 1.8×109 neutrons/cm2/sec at 20 mm from the surface at 1 mA proton beam. The neutron source have been stably operated for 3 years with 30 kW proton beam. Various pre-clinical tests including animal tests have been done by using the cyclotron-based neutron source with 10B-p-Borono-phenylalanine. Clinical trials of malignant brain tumors will be started in this year.

Cyclotron-based neutron source for BNCT

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

Mitsumoto, T.; Yajima, S.; Tsutsui, H.

2013-04-19

Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (SHI) have developed a cyclotron-based neutron source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT). It was installed at KURRI in Osaka prefecture. The neutron source consists of a proton cyclotron named HM-30, a beam transport system and an irradiation and treatment system. In the cyclotron, H- ions are accelerated and extracted as 30 MeV proton beams of 1 mA. The proton beams is transported to the neutron production target made by a beryllium plate. Emitted neutrons are moderated by lead, iron, aluminum and calcium fluoride. The aperture diameter of neutronmore » collimator is in the range from 100 mm to 250 mm. The peak neutron flux in the water phantom is 1.8 Multiplication-Sign 109 neutrons/cm{sup 2}/sec at 20 mm from the surface at 1 mA proton beam. The neutron source have been stably operated for 3 years with 30 kW proton beam. Various pre-clinical tests including animal tests have been done by using the cyclotron-based neutron source with {sup 10}B-p-Borono-phenylalanine. Clinical trials of malignant brain tumors will be started in this year.« less

Evaluation of Space Radiation Effects on HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiode Arrays for Lidar Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Xiaoli; Abshire, James B.; Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Sullivan, William III; Beck, Jeff; Hubbs, John E.

2018-01-01

We report the results from proton and gamma ray radiation testing of HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays developed by Leonardo DRS for space lidar detectors. We tested these devices with both approximately 60 MeV protons and gamma rays, with and without the read out integrated circuit (ROIC). We also measured the transient responses with the device fully powered and with the APD gain from unity to greater than 1000. The detectors produced a large current impulse in response to each proton hit but the response completely recovered within 1 microsecond. The devices started to have persistent damage at a proton fluence of 7e10 protons/cm2, equivalent to 10 krad(Si) total ionization dose. The dark current became much higher after the device was warmed to room temperature and cooled to 80K again, but it completely annealed after baking at 85 C for several hours. These results showed the HgCdTe APD arrays are suitable for use in space lidar for typical Earth orbiting and planetary missions provided that provisions are made to heat the detector chip to 85 C for several hours after radiation damage becomes evident that system performance is impacted.

Timing resolution studies of the optical part of the AFP Time-of-flight detector

DOE PAGES

Chytka, L.; Avoni, G.; Brandt, A.; ...

2018-04-02

We present results of the timing performance studies of the optical part and front-end electronics of the time-of-flight subdetector prototype for the ATLAS Forward Proton (AFP) detector obtained during the test campaigns at the CERN-SPS test-beam facility (120 GeV π + particles) in July 2016 and October 2016. The time-of-flight (ToF) detector in conjunction with a 3D silicon pixel tracker will tag and measure protons originating in central exclusive interactions p + p → p + X + p, where the two outgoing protons are scattered in the very forward directions. The ToF is required to reduce so-called pileup backgroundsmore » that arise from multiple proton interactions in the same bunch crossing at high luminosity. The background can fake the signal of interest, and the extra rejection from the ToF allows the proton tagger to operate at the high luminosity required for the measurement of the processes. The prototype detector uses fused silica bars emitting Cherenkov radiation as a relativistic particle passes through them. The emitted Cherenkov photons are detected by a multi-anode micro-channel plate photomultiplier tube (MCP-PMT) and processed by fast electronics.« less

Ionizing radiation calculations and comparisons with LDEF data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Armstrong, T. W.; Colborn, B. L.; Watts, J. W., Jr.

1992-01-01

In conjunction with the analysis of LDEF ionizing radiation dosimetry data, a calculational program is in progress to aid in data interpretation and to assess the accuracy of current radiation models for future mission applications. To estimate the ionizing radiation environment at the LDEF dosimeter locations, scoping calculations for a simplified (one dimensional) LDEF mass model were made of the primary and secondary radiations produced as a function of shielding thickness due to trapped proton, galactic proton, and atmospheric (neutron and proton cosmic ray albedo) exposures. Preliminary comparisons of predictions with LDEF induced radioactivity and dose measurements were made to test a recently developed model of trapped proton anisotropy.

Proton permeation of lipid bilayers.

PubMed

Deamer, D W

1987-10-01

Proton permeation of the lipid bilayer barrier has two unique features. First, permeability coefficients measured at neutral pH ranges are six to seven orders of magnitude greater than expected from knowledge of other monovalent cations. Second, proton conductance across planar lipid bilayers varies at most by a factor of 10 when pH is varied from near 1 to near 11. Two mechanisms have been proposed to account for this anomalous behavior: proton conductance related to contaminants of lipid bilayers, and proton translocation along transient hydrogen-bonded chains (tHBC) of associated water molecules in the membrane. The weight of evidence suggests that trace contaminants may contribute to proton conductance across planar lipid membranes at certain pH ranges, but cannot account for the anomalous proton flux in liposome systems. Two new results will be reported here which were designed to test the tHBC model. These include measurements of relative proton/potassium permeability in the gramicidin channel, and plots of proton flux against the magnitude of pH gradients. (1) The relative permeabilities of protons and potassium through the gramicidin channel, which contains a single strand of hydrogen-bonded water molecules, were found to differ by at least four orders of magnitude when measured at neutral pH ranges. This result demonstrates that a hydrogen-bonded chain of water molecules can provide substantial discrimination between protons and other cations. It was also possible to calculate that if approximately 7% of bilayer water was present in a transient configuration similar to that of the gramicidin channel, it could account for the measured proton flux. (2) The plot of proton conductance against pH gradient across liposome membranes was superlinear, a result that is consistent with one of three alternative tHBC models for proton conductance described by Nagle elsewhere in this volume.

Rectified Proton Grotthuss Conduction Across a Long Water-Wire in the Test Nanotube of the Polytheonamide B Channel.

PubMed

Matsuki, Yuka; Iwamoto, Masayuki; Mita, Kenichiro; Shigemi, Kenji; Matsunaga, Shigeki; Oiki, Shigetoshi

2016-03-30

A hydrogen-bonded water-chain in a nanotube is highly proton conductive, and examining the proton flux under electric fields is crucial to understanding the one-dimensional Grotthuss conduction. Here, we exploited a nanotube-forming natural product, the peptide polytheonamide B (pTB), to examine proton conduction mechanisms at a single-molecule level. The pTB nanotube has a length of ∼40 Å that spans the membrane and a uniform inner diameter of 4 Å that holds a single-file water-chain. Single-channel proton currents were measured using planar lipid bilayers in various proton concentrations and membrane potentials (±400 mV). We found, surprisingly, that the current-voltage curves were asymmetric with symmetric proton concentrations in both solutions across the membrane (rectification). The proton flux from the C-terminal to the N-terminal end was 1.6 times higher than that from the opposite. At lower proton concentrations, the degree of rectification was attenuated, but with the addition of a pH-buffer (dichloroacetate) that supplies protons near the entrance, the rectification emerged. These results indicate that the permeation processes inside the pore generate the rectification, which is masked at low concentrations by the diffusion-limited access of protons to the pore entrance. The permeation processes were characterized by a discrete-state Markov model, in which hops of a proton followed by water-chain turnovers were implemented. The optimized model revealed that the water-chain turnover exhibited unusual voltage dependence, and the distinct voltage-dependencies of the forward and backward transition rates yielded the rectification. The pTB nanotube serves as a rectified proton conductor, and the design principles can be exploited for proton-conducting materials.

The controlled relay of multiple protons required at the active site of nitrogenase.

PubMed

Dance, Ian

2012-07-07

The enzyme nitrogenase, when reducing natural and unnatural substrates, requires large numbers of protons per chemical catalytic cycle. The active face of the catalytic site (the FeMo-cofactor, FeMo-co) is situated in a protein domain which is largely hydrophobic and anhydrous, and incapable of serial provision of multiple protons. Through detailed analysis of the high quality protein crystal structures available the characteristics of a chain of water molecules leading from the protein surface to a key sulfur atom (S3B) of FeMo-co are described. The first half of the water chain from the surface inwards is branched, slightly variable, and able to accommodate exogenous small molecules: this is dubbed the proton bay. The second half, from the proton bay to S3B, is comprised of a single chain of eight hydrogen bonded water molecules. This section is strictly conserved, and is intimately involved in hydrogen bonds with homocitrate, an essential component that chelates Mo. This is the proton wire, and a detailed Grotthuss mechanism for serial translocation of protons through this proton wire to S3B is proposed. This controlled serial proton relay from the protein surface to S3B is an essential component of the intramolecular hydrogenation paradigm for the complete chemical mechanisms of nitrogenase. Each proton reaching S3B, instigated by electron transfer to FeMo-co, becomes a hydrogen atom that migrates to other components of the active face of FeMo-co and to bound substrates and intermediates, allowing subsequent multiple proton transfers along the proton wire. Experiments to test the proposed mechanism of proton supply are suggested. The water chain in nitrogenase is comparable with the purported proton pumping pathway of cytochrome c oxidase.

Fingerprints of Both Watson-Crick and Hoogsteen Isomers of the Isolated (Cytosine-Guanine)H+ Pair.

PubMed

Cruz-Ortiz, Andrés F; Rossa, Maximiliano; Berthias, Francis; Berdakin, Matías; Maitre, Philippe; Pino, Gustavo A

2017-11-16

 Gas phase protonated guanine-cytosine (CGH + ) pair was generated using an electrospray ionization source from solutions at two different pH (5.8 and 3.2). Consistent evidence from MS/MS fragmentation patterns and differential ion mobility spectra (DIMS) point toward the presence of two isomers of the CGH + pair, whose relative populations depend strongly on the pH of the solution. Gas phase infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy in the 900-1900 cm -1 spectral range further confirms that the Watson-Crick isomer is preferentially produced (91%) at pH = 5.8, while the Hoogsteen isomer predominates (66%) at pH = 3.2). These fingerprint signatures are expected to be useful for the development of new analytical methodologies and to trigger isomer selective photochemical studies of protonated DNA base pairs.

Predicting Catalytic Proton Donors and Nucleophiles in Enzymes: How Adding Dynamics Helps Elucidate the Structure-Function Relationships.

PubMed

Huang, Yandong; Yue, Zhi; Tsai, Cheng-Chieh; Henderson, Jack A; Shen, Jana

2018-03-15

Despite the relevance of understanding structure-function relationships, robust prediction of proton donors and nucleophiles in enzyme active sites remains challenging. Here we tested three types of state-of-the-art computational methods to calculate the p K a 's of the buried and hydrogen bonded catalytic dyads in five enzymes. We asked the question what determines the p K a order, i.e., what makes a residue proton donor vs a nucleophile. The continuous constant pH molecular dynamics simulations captured the experimental p K a orders and revealed that the negative nucleophile is stabilized by increased hydrogen bonding and solvent exposure as compared to the proton donor. Surprisingly, this simple trend is not apparent from crystal structures and the static structure-based calculations. While the generality of the findings awaits further testing via a larger set of data, they underscore the role of dynamics in bridging enzyme structures and functions.

First experimental evidence of hydrodynamic tunneling of ultra-relativistic protons in extended solid copper target at the CERN HiRadMat facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, R.; Blanco Sancho, J.; Burkart, F.; Grenier, D.; Wollmann, D.; Tahir, N. A.; Shutov, A.; Piriz, A. R.

2014-08-01

A novel experiment has been performed at the CERN HiRadMat test facility to study the impact of the 440 GeV proton beam generated by the Super Proton Synchrotron on extended solid copper cylindrical targets. Substantial hydrodynamic tunneling of the protons in the target material has been observed that leads to significant lengthening of the projectile range, which confirms our previous theoretical predictions [N. A. Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.-Accel. Beams 15, 051003 (2012)]. Simulation results show very good agreement with the experimental measurements. These results have very important implications on the machine protection design for powerful machines like the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the future High Luminosity LHC, and the proposed huge 80 km circumference Future Circular Collider, which is currently being discussed at CERN. Another very interesting outcome of this work is that one may also study the field of High Energy Density Physics at this test facility.

Radiation Tests of Single Photon Avalanche Diode for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moscatelli, Francesco; Marisaldi, Martino; MacCagnani, Piera; Labanti, Claudio; Fuschino, Fabio; Prest, Michela; Berra, Alessandro; Bolognini, Davide; Ghioni, Massimo; Rech, Ivan;

Highly Conformal Craniospinal Radiotherapy Techniques Can Underdose the Cranial Clinical Target Volume if Leptomeningeal Extension through Skull Base Exit Foramina is not Contoured.

PubMed

Noble, D J; Ajithkumar, T; Lambert, J; Gleeson, I; Williams, M V; Jefferies, S J

2017-07-01

Craniospinal irradiation (CSI) remains a crucial treatment for patients with medulloblastoma. There is uncertainty about how to manage meningeal surfaces and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that follows cranial nerves exiting skull base foramina. The purpose of this study was to assess plan quality and dose coverage of posterior cranial fossa foramina with both photon and proton therapy. We analysed the radiotherapy plans of seven patients treated with CSI for medulloblastoma and primitive neuro-ectodermal tumours and three with ependymoma (total n = 10). Four had been treated with a field-based technique and six with TomoTherapy™. The internal acoustic meatus (IAM), jugular foramen (JF) and hypoglossal canal (HC) were contoured and added to the original treatment clinical target volume (Plan_CTV) to create a Test_CTV. This was grown to a test planning target volume (Test_PTV) for comparison with a Plan_PTV. Using Plan_CTV and Plan_PTV, proton plans were generated for all 10 cases. The following dosimetry data were recorded: conformity (dice similarity coefficient) and homogeneity index (D 2  - D 98 /D 50 ) as well as median and maximum dose (D 2% ) to Plan_PTV, V 95% and minimum dose (D 99.9% ) to Plan_CTV and Test_CTV and Plan_PTV and Test_PTV, V 95% and minimum dose (D 98% ) to foramina PTVs. Proton and TomoTherapy™ plans were more conformal (0.87, 0.86) and homogeneous (0.07, 0.04) than field-photon plans (0.79, 0.17). However, field-photon plans covered the IAM, JF and HC PTVs better than proton plans (P = 0.002, 0.004, 0.003, respectively). TomoTherapy™ plans covered the IAM and JF better than proton plans (P = 0.000, 0.002, respectively) but the result for the HC was not significant. Adding foramen CTVs/PTVs made no difference for field plans. The mean D min dropped 3.4% from Plan_PTV to Test_PTV for TomoTherapy™ (not significant) and 14.8% for protons (P = 0.001). Highly conformal CSI techniques may underdose meninges and CSF in the dural reflections of posterior fossa cranial nerves unless these structures are specifically included in the CTV. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water at hydrophobic interfaces delays proton surface-to-bulk transfer and provides a pathway for lateral proton diffusion

PubMed Central

Zhang, Chao; Knyazev, Denis G.; Vereshaga, Yana A.; Ippoliti, Emiliano; Nguyen, Trung Hai; Carloni, Paolo; Pohl, Peter

2012-01-01

Fast lateral proton migration along membranes is of vital importance for cellular energy homeostasis and various proton-coupled transport processes. It can only occur if attractive forces keep the proton at the interface. How to reconcile this high affinity to the membrane surface with high proton mobility is unclear. Here, we tested whether a minimalistic model interface between an apolar hydrophobic phase (n-decane) and an aqueous phase mimics the biological pathway for lateral proton migration. The observed diffusion span, on the order of tens of micrometers, and the high proton mobility were both similar to the values previously reported for lipid bilayers. Extensive ab initio simulations on the same water/n-decane interface reproduced the experimentally derived free energy barrier for the excess proton. The free energy profile GH+ adopts the shape of a well at the interface, having a width of two water molecules and a depth of 6 ± 2RT. The hydroniums in direct contact with n-decane have a reduced mobility. However, the hydroniums in the second layer of water molecules are mobile. Their in silico diffusion coefficient matches that derived from our in vitro experiments, (5.7 ± 0.7) × 10-5 cm2 s-1. Conceivably, these are the protons that allow for fast diffusion along biological membranes. PMID:22675120

Dosimetric investigation of proton therapy on CT-based patient data using Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chongsan, T.; Liamsuwan, T.; Tangboonduangjit, P.

2016-03-01

The aim of radiotherapy is to deliver high radiation dose to the tumor with low radiation dose to healthy tissues. Protons have Bragg peaks that give high radiation dose to the tumor but low exit dose or dose tail. Therefore, proton therapy is promising for treating deep- seated tumors and tumors locating close to organs at risk. Moreover, the physical characteristic of protons is suitable for treating cancer in pediatric patients. This work developed a computational platform for calculating proton dose distribution using the Monte Carlo (MC) technique and patient's anatomical data. The studied case is a pediatric patient with a primary brain tumor. PHITS will be used for MC simulation. Therefore, patient-specific CT-DICOM files were converted to the PHITS input. A MATLAB optimization program was developed to create a beam delivery control file for this study. The optimization program requires the proton beam data. All these data were calculated in this work using analytical formulas and the calculation accuracy was tested, before the beam delivery control file is used for MC simulation. This study will be useful for researchers aiming to investigate proton dose distribution in patients but do not have access to proton therapy machines.

Correlation of electron and proton irradiation-induced damage in InP solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walters, Robert J.; Summers, Geoffrey P.; Messenger, Scott R.; Burke, Edward A.

1995-01-01

When determining the best solar cell technology for a particular space flight mission, accurate prediction of solar cell performance in a space radiation environment is essential. The current methodology used to make such predictions requires extensive experimental data measured under both electron and proton irradiation. Due to the rising cost of accelerators and irradiation facilities, such extensive data sets are expensive to obtain. Moreover, with the rapid development of novel cell designs, the necessary data are often not available. Therefore, a method for predicting cell degradation based on limited data is needed. Such a method has been developed at the Naval Research Laboratory based on damage correlation using 'displacement damage dose' which is the product of the non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) and the particle fluence. Displacement damage dose is a direct analog of the ionization dose used to correlate the effects of ionizing radiations. In this method, the performance of a solar cell in a complex radiation environment can be predicted from data on a single proton energy and two electron energies, or one proton energy, one electron energy, and Co(exp 60) gammas. This method has been used to accurately predict the extensive data set measured by Anspaugh on GaAs/Ge solar cells under a wide range of electron and proton energies. In this paper, the method is applied to InP solar cells using data measured under 1 MeV electron and 3 MeV proton irradiations, and the calculations are shown to agree well with the measured data. In addition to providing accurate damage predictions, this method also provides a basis for quantitative comparisons of the performance of different cell technologies. The performance of the present InP cells is compared to that published for GaAs/Ge cells. The results show InP to be inherently more resistant to displacement energy deposition than GaAs/Ge.

Correlated stopping, proton clusters and higher order proton cumulants

DOE PAGES

Bzdak, Adam; Koch, Volker; Skokov, Vladimir

2017-05-05

Here, we investigate possible effects of correlations between stopped nucleons on higher order proton cumulants at low energy heavy-ion collisions. We find that fluctuations of the number of wounded nucleons N part lead to rather nontrivial dependence of the correlations on the centrality; however, this effect is too small to explain the large and positive four-proton correlations found in the preliminary data collected by the STAR collaboration at √s = 7.7 GeV. We further demonstrate that, by taking into account additional proton clustering, we are able to qualitatively reproduce the preliminary experimental data. We speculate that this clustering may originatemore » either from collective/multi-collision stopping which is expected to be effective at lower energies or from a possible first-order phase transition, or from (attractive) final state interactions. To test these ideas we propose to measure a mixed multi-particle correlation between stopped protons and a produced particle (e.g. pion, antiproton).« less

Results from a Prototype Proton-CT Head Scanner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. P.; Bashkirov, V. A.; Coutrakon, G.; Giacometti, V.; Karbasi, P.; Karonis, N. T.; Ordoñez, C. E.; Pankuch, M.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.; Schubert, K. E.; Schulte, R. W.

We are exploring low-dose proton radiography and computed tomography (pCT) as techniques to improve the accuracy of proton treatment planning and to provide artifact-free images for verification and adaptive therapy at the time of treatment. Here we report on comprehensive beam test results with our prototype pCT head scanner. The detector system and data acquisition attain a sustained rate of more than a million protons individually measured per second, allowing a full CT scan to be completed in six minutes or less of beam time. In order to assess the performance of the scanner for proton radiography as well as computed tomography, we have performed numerous scans of phantoms at the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center including a custom phantom designed to assess the spatial resolution, a phantom to assess the measurement of relative stopping power, and a dosimetry phantom. Some images, performance, and dosimetry results from those phantom scans are presented together with a description of the instrument, the data acquisition system, and the calibration methods.

Influence of protonation, tautomeric, and stereoisomeric states on protein-ligand docking results.

PubMed

ten Brink, Tim; Exner, Thomas E

2009-06-01

In this work, we present a systematical investigation of the influence of ligand protonation states, stereoisomers, and tautomers on results obtained with the two protein-ligand docking programs GOLD and PLANTS. These different states were generated with a fully automated tool, called SPORES (Structure PrOtonation and Recognition System). First, the most probable protonations, as defined by this rule based system, were compared to the ones stored in the well-known, manually revised CCDC/ASTEX data set. Then, to investigate the influence of the ligand protonation state on the docking results, different protonation states were created. Redocking and virtual screening experiments were conducted demonstrating that both docking programs have problems in identifying the correct protomer for each complex. Therefore, a preselection of plausible protomers or the improvement of the scoring functions concerning their ability to rank different molecules/states is needed. Additionally, ligand stereoisomers were tested for a subset of the CCDC/ASTEX set, showing similar problems regarding the ranking of these stereoisomers as the ranking of the protomers.

Quantitative Assessment of Normal Fetal Brain Myelination Using Fast Macromolecular Proton Fraction Mapping.

PubMed

Yarnykh, V L; Prihod'ko, I Y; Savelov, A A; Korostyshevskaya, A M

2018-05-10

Fast macromolecular proton fraction mapping is a recently emerged MRI method for quantitative myelin imaging. Our aim was to develop a clinically targeted technique for macromolecular proton fraction mapping of the fetal brain and test its capability to characterize normal prenatal myelination. This prospective study included 41 pregnant women (gestational age range, 18-38 weeks) without abnormal findings on fetal brain MR imaging performed for clinical indications. A fast fetal brain macromolecular proton fraction mapping protocol was implemented on a clinical 1.5T MR imaging scanner without software modifications and was performed after a clinical examination with an additional scan time of <5 minutes. 3D macromolecular proton fraction maps were reconstructed from magnetization transfer-weighted, T1-weighted, and proton density-weighted images by the single-point method. Mean macromolecular proton fraction in the brain stem, cerebellum, and thalamus and frontal, temporal, and occipital WM was compared between structures and pregnancy trimesters using analysis of variance. Gestational age dependence of the macromolecular proton fraction was assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient ( r ). The mean macromolecular proton fraction in the fetal brain structures varied between 2.3% and 4.3%, being 5-fold lower than macromolecular proton fraction in adult WM. The macromolecular proton fraction in the third trimester was higher compared with the second trimester in the brain stem, cerebellum, and thalamus. The highest macromolecular proton fraction was observed in the brain stem, followed by the thalamus, cerebellum, and cerebral WM. The macromolecular proton fraction in the brain stem, cerebellum, and thalamus strongly correlated with gestational age ( r = 0.88, 0.80, and 0.73; P < .001). No significant correlations were found for cerebral WM regions. Myelin is the main factor determining macromolecular proton fraction in brain tissues. Macromolecular proton fraction mapping is sensitive to the earliest stages of the fetal brain myelination and can be implemented in a clinical setting. © 2018 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Fluorescence High-Throughput Screening for Inhibitors of TonB Action.

PubMed

Nairn, Brittany L; Eliasson, Olivia S; Hyder, Dallas R; Long, Noah J; Majumdar, Aritri; Chakravorty, Somnath; McDonald, Peter; Roy, Anuradha; Newton, Salete M; Klebba, Phillip E

2017-05-15

Gram-negative bacteria acquire ferric siderophores through TonB-dependent outer membrane transporters (TBDT). By fluorescence spectroscopic hgh-throughput screening (FLHTS), we identified inhibitors of TonB-dependent ferric enterobactin (FeEnt) uptake through Escherichia coli FepA (EcoFepA). Among 165 inhibitors found in a primary screen of 17,441 compounds, we evaluated 20 in secondary tests: TonB-dependent ferric siderophore uptake and colicin killing and proton motive force-dependent lactose transport. Six of 20 primary hits inhibited TonB-dependent activity in all tests. Comparison of their effects on [ 59 Fe]Ent and [ 14 C]lactose accumulation suggested several as proton ionophores, but two chemicals, ebselen and ST0082990, are likely not proton ionophores and may inhibit TonB-ExbBD. The facility of FLHTS against E. coli led us to adapt it to Acinetobacter baumannii We identified its FepA ortholog (AbaFepA), deleted and cloned its structural gene, genetically engineered 8 Cys substitutions in its surface loops, labeled them with fluorescein, and made fluorescence spectroscopic observations of FeEnt uptake in A. baumannii Several Cys substitutions in AbaFepA (S279C, T562C, and S665C) were readily fluoresceinated and then suitable as sensors of FeEnt transport. As in E. coli , the test monitored TonB-dependent FeEnt uptake by AbaFepA. In microtiter format with A. baumannii , FLHTS produced Z' factors 0.6 to 0.8. These data validated the FLHTS strategy against even distantly related Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Overall, it discovered agents that block TonB-dependent transport and showed the potential to find compounds that act against Gram-negative CRE (carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae) /ESKAPE ( Enterococcus faecium , Staphylococcus aureus , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and Enterobacter species) pathogens. Our results suggest that hundreds of such chemicals may exist in larger compound libraries. IMPORTANCE Antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has spurred efforts to find novel compounds against new targets. The CRE/ESKAPE pathogens are resistant bacteria that include Acinetobacter baumannii , a common cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia and sepsis. We performed fluorescence high-throughput screening (FLHTS) against Escherichia coli to find inhibitors of TonB-dependent iron transport, tested them against A. baumannii , and then adapted the FLHTS technology to allow direct screening against A. baumannii This methodology is expandable to other drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Compounds that block TonB action may interfere with iron acquisition from eukaryotic hosts and thereby constitute bacteriostatic antibiotics that prevent microbial colonization of human and animals. The FLHTS method may identify both species-specific and broad-spectrum agents against Gram-negative bacteria. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Test of New Readout Electronics for the BONuS12 Experiment

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

Ehrhart, Mathieu

For decades, electron-proton scattering experiments have been providing a large amount of data on the proton structure function. However, because of the instability of free neutrons, fewer experiments have been able to study the neutron structure function. The BONuS collaboration at Jefferson Laboratory addresses this challenge by scattering electrons off a deuterium target, using a RTPC capable of detecting the low-momentum spectator protons near the target. Events of electrons scattering on almost free neutrons are selected by constraining the spectator protons to very low momenta and very backward scattering angles. In 2005, BONuS successfully measured the neutron structure with scatteringmore » electrons of up to 5.3 GeV energy. An extension of this measurement has been approved using the newly upgraded 12 GeV electron beam and CLAS12 (CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer). For this new set of measurements, a new RTPC detector using GEM trackers is being developed to allow measurements of spectator protons with momenta as low as 70 MeV/c. The new RTPC will use a new readout electronic system, which is also used by other trackers in CLAS12. This thesis will present the first tests of this electronics using a previously built RTPC of similar design.« less

Test of New Readout Electronics for the Bonus12 Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehrhart, Mathieu

For decades, electron-proton scattering experiments have been providing a large amount of data on the proton structure function. However, because of the instability of free neutrons, fewer experiments have been able to study the neutron structure function. The BONuS collaboration at Jefferson Laboratory addresses this challenge by scattering electrons off a deuterium target, using a RTPC capable of detecting the low-momentum spectator protons near the target. Events of electrons scattering on almost free neutrons are selected by constraining the spectator protons to very low momenta and very backward scattering angles. In 2005, BONuS successfully measured the neutron structure with scattering electrons of up to 5.3 GeV energy. An extension of this measurement has been approved using the newly upgraded 12 GeV electron beam and CLAS12 (CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer). For this new set of measurements, a new RTPC detector using GEM trackers is being developed to allow measurements of spectator protons with momenta as low as 70 MeV/c. The new RTPC will use a new readout electronic system, which is also used by other trackers in CLAS12. This thesis will present the first tests of this electronics using a previously built RTPC of similar design.

Pendant dual sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for fuel cell application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Minh Dat Thinh; Yang, Sungwoo; Kim, Dukjoon

2016-10-01

Poly(arylene ether ketone) (PAEK) possessing carboxylic groups at the pendant position is synthesized, and the substitution degree of pendant carboxylic groups is controlled by adjusting the ratio of 4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)valeric acid and 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane. Dual sulfonated 3,3-diphenylpropylamine (SDPA) is grafted onto PAEK as a proton-conducting moiety via the amidation reaction with carboxylic groups. The transparent and flexible membranes with different degrees of sulfonation are fabricated so that we can test and compare their structure and properties with a commercial Nafion® 115 membrane for PEMFC applications. All prepared PAEK-SDPA membranes exhibit good oxidative and hydrolytic stability from Fenton's and high temperature water immersion test. SAXS analysis illustrates an excellent phase separation between the hydrophobic backbone and hydrophilic pendant groups, resulting in big ionic clusters. The proton conductivity was measured at different relative humidity, and its behavior was analyzed by hydration number of the membrane. Among a series of membranes, some samples (including B20V80-SDPA) show not only higher proton conductivity, but also higher integrated cell performance than those of Nafion® 115 at 100% relative humidity, and thus we expect these to be good candidate membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).

Poster - 40: Treatment Verification of a 3D-printed Eye Phantom for Proton Therapy

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

Dunning, Chelsea; Lindsay, Clay; Unick, Nick

Purpose: Ocular melanoma is a form of eye cancer which is often treated using proton therapy. The benefit of the steep proton dose gradient can only be leveraged for accurate patient eye alignment. A treatment-planning program was written to plan on a 3D-printed anatomical eye-phantom, which was then irradiated to demonstrate the feasibility of verifying in vivo dosimetry for proton therapy using PET imaging. Methods: A 3D CAD eye model with critical organs was designed and voxelized into the Monte-Carlo transport code FLUKA. Proton dose and PET isotope production were simulated for a treatment plan of a test tumour, generatedmore » by a 2D treatment-planning program developed using NumPy and proton range tables. Next, a plastic eye-phantom was 3D-printed from the CAD model, irradiated at the TRIUMF Proton Therapy facility, and imaged using a PET scanner. Results: The treatment-planning program prediction of the range setting and modulator wheel was verified in FLUKA to treat the tumour with at least 90% dose coverage for both tissue and plastic. An axial isotope distribution of the PET isotopes was simulated in FLUKA and converted to PET scan counts. Meanwhile, the 3D-printed eye-phantom successfully yielded a PET signal. Conclusions: The 2D treatment-planning program can predict required parameters to sufficiently treat an eye tumour, which was experimentally verified using commercial 3D-printing hardware to manufacture eye-phantoms. Comparison between the simulated and measured PET isotope distribution could provide a more realistic test of eye alignment, and a variation of the method using radiographic film is being developed.« less

Improving proton therapy accessibility through seamless electronic integration of remote treatment planning sites.

PubMed

Belard, Arnaud; Dolney, Derek; Zelig, Tochner; McDonough, James; O'Connell, John

2011-06-01

Proton radiotherapy is a relatively scarce treatment modality in radiation oncology, with only nine centers currently operating in the United States. Funded by Public Law 107-248, the University of Pennsylvania and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center have developed a remote proton radiation therapy solution with the goals of improving access to proton radiation therapy for Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries while minimizing treatment delays and time spent away from home/work (time savings of up to 3 weeks per patient). To meet both Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines and the more stringent security restrictions imposed by the DoD, our program developed a hybrid remote proton radiation therapy solution merging a CITRIX server with a JITIC-certified (Joint Interoperability Test Command) desktop videoconferencing unit. This conduit, thoroughly tested over a period of 6 months, integrates both institutions' radiation oncology treatment planning infrastructures into a single entity for DoD patients' treatment planning and delivery. This telemedicine solution enables DoD radiation oncologists and medical physicists the ability to (1) remotely access a proton therapy treatment planning platform, (2) transfer patient plans securely to the University of Pennsylvania patient database, and (3) initiate ad-hoc point-to-point and multipoint videoconferences to dynamically optimize and validate treatment plans. Our robust and secure remote treatment planning solution grants DoD patients not only access to a state-of-the-art treatment modality, but also participation in the treatment planning process by Walter Reed Army Medical Center radiation oncologists and medical physicists. This telemedicine system has the potential to lead to a greater integration of military treatment facilities and/or satellite clinics into regional proton therapy centers.

TU-FG-BRB-05: A 3 Dimensional Prompt Gamma Imaging System for Range Verification in Proton Radiotherapy

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

Draeger, E; Chen, H; Polf, J

2016-06-15

Purpose: To report on the initial developments of a clinical 3-dimensional (3D) prompt gamma (PG) imaging system for proton radiotherapy range verification. Methods: The new imaging system under development consists of a prototype Compton camera to measure PG emission during proton beam irradiation and software to reconstruct, display, and analyze 3D images of the PG emission. For initial test of the system, PGs were measured with a prototype CC during a 200 cGy dose delivery with clinical proton pencil beams (ranging from 100 MeV – 200 MeV) to a water phantom. Measurements were also carried out with the CC placedmore » 15 cm from the phantom for a full range 150 MeV pencil beam and with its range shifted by 2 mm. Reconstructed images of the PG emission were displayed by the clinical PG imaging software and compared to the dose distributions of the proton beams calculated by a commercial treatment planning system. Results: Measurements made with the new PG imaging system showed that a 3D image could be reconstructed from PGs measured during the delivery of 200 cGy of dose, and that shifts in the Bragg peak range of as little as 2 mm could be detected. Conclusion: Initial tests of a new PG imaging system show its potential to provide 3D imaging and range verification for proton radiotherapy. Based on these results, we have begun work to improve the system with the goal that images can be produced from delivery of as little as 20 cGy so that the system could be used for in-vivo proton beam range verification on a daily basis.« less

HiRadMat at CERN SPS - A test facility with high intensity beam pulses to material samples

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

Charitonidis, N.; Fabich, A.; Efthymiopoulos, I.

2015-07-01

HiRadMat (High Irradiation to Materials) is a facility at CERN designed to provide high-intensity pulsed beams to an irradiation area where material samples as well as accelerator component assemblies (e.g. vacuum windows, shock tests on high power targets, collimators) can be tested. The beam parameters (SPS 440 GeV protons with a pulse energy of up to 3.4 MJ, or alternatively lead/argon ions at the proton equivalent energy) can be tuned to match the needs of each experiment. It is a test area designed to perform single pulse experiments to evaluate the effect of high-intensity pulsed beams on materials in amore » dedicated environment, excluding long-time irradiation studies. The facility is designed for a 10{sup 16} maximum number of protons per year, in order to limit the activation to acceptable levels for human intervention. This paper will demonstrate the possibilities for research using this facility and showing examples of upcoming experiments scheduled in the beam period 2014/2015. (authors)« less

Status and Planned Experiments of the Hiradmat Pulsed Beam Material Test Facility at CERN SPS

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

Charitonidis, Nikolaos; Efthymiopoulos, Ilias; Fabich, Adrian

2015-06-01

HiRadMat (High Irradiation to Materials) is a facility at CERN designed to provide high-intensity pulsed beams to an irradiation area where material samples as well as accelerator component assemblies (e.g. vacuum windows, shock tests on high power targets, collimators) can be tested. The beam parameters (SPS 440 GeV protons with a pulse energy of up to 3.4 MJ, or alternatively lead/argon ions at the proton equivalent energy) can be tuned to match the needs of each experiment. It is a test area designed to perform single pulse experiments to evaluate the effect of high-intensity pulsed beams on materials in amore » dedicated environment, excluding long-time irradiation studies. The facility is designed for a maximum number of 1016 protons per year, in order to limit the activation of the irradiated samples to acceptable levels for human intervention. This paper will demonstrate the possibilities for research using this facility and go through examples of upcoming experiments scheduled in the beam period 2015/2016.« less

Lorentz-Symmetry Test at Planck-Scale Suppression With a Spin-Polarized 133Cs Cold Atom Clock.

PubMed

Pihan-Le Bars, H; Guerlin, C; Lasseri, R-D; Ebran, J-P; Bailey, Q G; Bize, S; Khan, E; Wolf, P

2018-06-01

We present the results of a local Lorentz invariance (LLI) test performed with the 133 Cs cold atom clock FO2, hosted at SYRTE. Such a test, relating the frequency shift between 133 Cs hyperfine Zeeman substates with the Lorentz violating coefficients of the standard model extension (SME), has already been realized by Wolf et al. and led to state-of-the-art constraints on several SME proton coefficients. In this second analysis, we used an improved model, based on a second-order Lorentz transformation and a self-consistent relativistic mean field nuclear model, which enables us to extend the scope of the analysis from purely proton to both proton and neutron coefficients. We have also become sensitive to the isotropic coefficient , another SME coefficient that was not constrained by Wolf et al. The resulting limits on SME coefficients improve by up to 13 orders of magnitude the present maximal sensitivities for laboratory tests and reach the generally expected suppression scales at which signatures of Lorentz violation could appear.

Proof of principle study of the use of a CMOS active pixel sensor for proton radiography.

PubMed

Seco, Joao; Depauw, Nicolas

2011-02-01

Proof of principle study of the use of a CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) in producing proton radiographic images using the proton beam at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). A CMOS APS, previously tested for use in s-ray radiation therapy applications, was used for proton beam radiographic imaging at the MGH. Two different setups were used as a proof of principle that CMOS can be used as proton imaging device: (i) a pen with two metal screws to assess spatial resolution of the CMOS and (ii) a phantom with lung tissue, bone tissue, and water to assess tissue contrast of the CMOS. The sensor was then traversed by a double scattered monoenergetic proton beam at 117 MeV, and the energy deposition inside the detector was recorded to assess its energy response. Conventional x-ray images with similar setup at voltages of 70 kVp and proton images using commercial Gafchromic EBT 2 and Kodak X-Omat V films were also taken for comparison purposes. Images were successfully acquired and compared to x-ray kVp and proton EBT2/X-Omat film images. The spatial resolution of the CMOS detector image is subjectively comparable to the EBT2 and Kodak X-Omat V film images obtained at the same object-detector distance. X-rays have apparent higher spatial resolution than the CMOS. However, further studies with different commercial films using proton beam irradiation demonstrate that the distance of the detector to the object is important to the amount of proton scatter contributing to the proton image. Proton images obtained with films at different distances from the source indicate that proton scatter significantly affects the CMOS image quality. Proton radiographic images were successfully acquired at MGH using a CMOS active pixel sensor detector. The CMOS demonstrated spatial resolution subjectively comparable to films at the same object-detector distance. Further work will be done in order to establish the spatial and energy resolution of the CMOS detector for protons. The development and use of CMOS in proton radiography could allow in vivo proton range checks, patient setup QA, and real-time tumor tracking.

SU-E-T-660: Quantitative Fault Testing for Commissioning of Proton Therapy Machines

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

Reilly, M; Rankine, L; Grantham, K

2015-06-15

Purpose: To ensure proper fault testing for the first single room proton therapy machine by establishing a common set of acceptance testing and commissioning parameters with the manufacturer. The following work details the parameters tested and associated results. Methods: Dose rates in service mode were varied to ensure that when the threshold for maximum or minimum MU/min was met, the beam promptly shut off. The flatness parameter was tested by purposely assigning an incorrect secondary scatter, to ensure the beam shut off when detecting a heterogeneous profile. The beam symmetry parameter was tested by altering the steering coil up tomore » 3.0A, thereby forcing the beam to be asymmetric and shut off. Lastly, the quench system was tested by ramping down the magnet to 5% capacity, whereby the quench button was engaged to bring down the magnet current to a safe level. Results: A dose rate increase or decrease in excess of 10% shut the beam off within 5 seconds as observed by the current on a Matrixx ionization chamber array (IBA Dosimetry, Bartlett, TN) A 3.0A change in the beam steering coil introduced a 2% change in the flatness and symmetry profiles with respect to baseline measurements resulting in the beam shutting off within 5 seconds. An incorrect 2nd scatterer introduced a flatness of 4.1% and symmetry of 6.4% which immediately triggered a beam shut off. Finally, the quench system worked as expected during the ramp down procedure. Conclusion: A fault testing plan to check dosimetric faults and the quench system was performed for the first single room proton therapy system. All dosimetric parameters and machine conditions were met to our satisfaction. We propose that the same type of fault testing should be applied to any proton system during commissioning, including scanning beam systems.« less

Proton dose distribution measurements using a MOSFET detector with a simple dose-weighted correction method for LET effects.

PubMed

Kohno, Ryosuke; Hotta, Kenji; Matsuura, Taeko; Matsubara, Kana; Nishioka, Shie; Nishio, Teiji; Kawashima, Mitsuhiko; Ogino, Takashi

2011-04-04

We experimentally evaluated the proton beam dose reproducibility, sensitivity, angular dependence and depth-dose relationships for a new Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) detector. The detector was fabricated with a thinner oxide layer and was operated at high-bias voltages. In order to accurately measure dose distributions, we developed a practical method for correcting the MOSFET response to proton beams. The detector was tested by examining lateral dose profiles formed by protons passing through an L-shaped bolus. The dose reproducibility, angular dependence and depth-dose response were evaluated using a 190 MeV proton beam. Depth-output curves produced using the MOSFET detectors were compared with results obtained using an ionization chamber (IC). Since accurate measurements of proton dose distribution require correction for LET effects, we developed a simple dose-weighted correction method. The correction factors were determined as a function of proton penetration depth, or residual range. The residual proton range at each measurement point was calculated using the pencil beam algorithm. Lateral measurements in a phantom were obtained for pristine and SOBP beams. The reproducibility of the MOSFET detector was within 2%, and the angular dependence was less than 9%. The detector exhibited a good response at the Bragg peak (0.74 relative to the IC detector). For dose distributions resulting from protons passing through an L-shaped bolus, the corrected MOSFET dose agreed well with the IC results. Absolute proton dosimetry can be performed using MOSFET detectors to a precision of about 3% (1 sigma). A thinner oxide layer thickness improved the LET in proton dosimetry. By employing correction methods for LET dependence, it is possible to measure absolute proton dose using MOSFET detectors.

Proton dose distribution measurements using a MOSFET detector with a simple dose‐weighted correction method for LET effects

PubMed Central

Hotta, Kenji; Matsuura, Taeko; Matsubara, Kana; Nishioka, Shie; Nishio, Teiji; Kawashima, Mitsuhiko; Ogino, Takashi

2011-01-01

We experimentally evaluated the proton beam dose reproducibility, sensitivity, angular dependence and depth‐dose relationships for a new Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) detector. The detector was fabricated with a thinner oxide layer and was operated at high‐bias voltages. In order to accurately measure dose distributions, we developed a practical method for correcting the MOSFET response to proton beams. The detector was tested by examining lateral dose profiles formed by protons passing through an L‐shaped bolus. The dose reproducibility, angular dependence and depth‐dose response were evaluated using a 190 MeV proton beam. Depth‐output curves produced using the MOSFET detectors were compared with results obtained using an ionization chamber (IC). Since accurate measurements of proton dose distribution require correction for LET effects, we developed a simple dose‐weighted correction method. The correction factors were determined as a function of proton penetration depth, or residual range. The residual proton range at each measurement point was calculated using the pencil beam algorithm. Lateral measurements in a phantom were obtained for pristine and SOBP beams. The reproducibility of the MOSFET detector was within 2%, and the angular dependence was less than 9%. The detector exhibited a good response at the Bragg peak (0.74 relative to the IC detector). For dose distributions resulting from protons passing through an L‐shaped bolus, the corrected MOSFET dose agreed well with the IC results. Absolute proton dosimetry can be performed using MOSFET detectors to a precision of about 3% (1 sigma). A thinner oxide layer thickness improved the LET in proton dosimetry. By employing correction methods for LET dependence, it is possible to measure absolute proton dose using MOSFET detectors. PACS number: 87.56.‐v

Fault detection and isolation of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack under the influence of degradation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeppesen, Christian; Araya, Samuel Simon; Sahlin, Simon Lennart; Thomas, Sobi; Andreasen, Søren Juhl; Kær, Søren Knudsen

2017-08-01

This study proposes a data-drive impedance-based methodology for fault detection and isolation of low and high cathode stoichiometry, high CO concentration in the anode gas, high methanol vapour concentrations in the anode gas and low anode stoichiometry, for high temperature PEM fuel cells. The fault detection and isolation algorithm is based on an artificial neural network classifier, which uses three extracted features as input. Two of the proposed features are based on angles in the impedance spectrum, and are therefore relative to specific points, and shown to be independent of degradation, contrary to other available feature extraction methods in the literature. The experimental data is based on a 35 day experiment, where 2010 unique electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were recorded. The test of the algorithm resulted in a good detectability of the faults, except for high methanol vapour concentration in the anode gas fault, which was found to be difficult to distinguish from a normal operational data. The achieved accuracy for faults related to CO pollution, anode- and cathode stoichiometry is 100% success rate. Overall global accuracy on the test data is 94.6%.

Analysis of 440 GeV proton beam-matter interaction experiments at the High Radiation Materials test facility at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkart, F.; Schmidt, R.; Raginel, V.; Wollmann, D.; Tahir, N. A.; Shutov, A.; Piriz, A. R.

2015-08-01

In a previous paper [Schmidt et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 080701 (2014)], we presented the first results on beam-matter interaction experiments that were carried out at the High Radiation Materials test facility at CERN. In these experiments, extended cylindrical targets of solid copper were irradiated with beam of 440 GeV protons delivered by the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The beam comprised of a large number of high intensity proton bunches, each bunch having a length of 0.5 ns with a 50 ns gap between two neighboring bunches, while the length of this entire bunch train was about 7 μs. These experiments established the existence of the hydrodynamic tunneling phenomenon the first time. Detailed numerical simulations of these experiments were also carried out which were reported in detail in another paper [Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. E 90, 063112 (2014)]. Excellent agreement was found between the experimental measurements and the simulation results that validate our previous simulations done using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beam of 7 TeV protons [Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.--Accel. Beams 15, 051003 (2012)]. According to these simulations, the range of the full LHC proton beam and the hadronic shower can be increased by more than an order of magnitude due to the hydrodynamic tunneling, compared to that of a single proton. This effect is of considerable importance for the design of machine protection system for hadron accelerators such as SPS, LHC, and Future Circular Collider. Recently, using metal cutting technology, the targets used in these experiments have been dissected into finer pieces for visual and microscopic inspection in order to establish the precise penetration depth of the protons and the corresponding hadronic shower. This, we believe will be helpful in studying the very important phenomenon of hydrodynamic tunneling in a more quantitative manner. The details of this experimental work together with a comparison with the numerical simulations are presented in this paper.

Use of Proton SEE Data as a Proxy for Bounding Heavy-Ion SEE Susceptibility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ladbury, Raymond L.; Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Hayes, Kathryn P.

2015-01-01

Although heavy-ion single-event effects (SEE) pose serious threats to semiconductor devices in space, many missions face difficulties testing such devices at heavy-ion accelerators. Low-cost missions often find such testing too costly. Even well funded missions face issues testing commercial off the shelf (COTS) due to packaging and integration. Some missions wish to fly COTS systems with little insight into their components. Heavy-ion testing such parts and systems requires access to expensive and hard-to-access ultra-high energy ion accelerators, or significant system modification. To avoid these problems, some have proposed using recoil ions from high-energy protons as a proxy to bound heavy-ion SEE rates.

A novel source of MeV positron bunches driven by energetic protons for PAS application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Zongquan; Xu, Wenzhen; Liu, Yanfen; Xiao, Ran; Kong, Wei; Ye, Bangjiao

2014-11-01

This paper proposes a novel methodology of MeV positrons generation for PAS application. Feasibility of this proposal analyzed by G4Beamline and Transport have shown reasonable success. Using 2 Hz, 1.6 GeV, 100 ns and 1.5 μC/bunch proton bunches for bombarding a graphite target, about 100 ns e+ bunches are generated. Quasi-monochromatic positrons in the range of 1-10 MeV included in these bunches have a flux of >107/s, peak brightness of 1014/s. A magnetic-confinement beamline is utilized to transport the positrons and a "Fast Beam Chopper" is unprecedentedly extended to chop those relativistic bunches. The positron beam can be finally characterized by the energy range of 1-10 MeV and bunch width from one hundred ps up to 1 ns. Such ultrashort bunches can be useful in tomography-type positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) as well as other applications.

Exploratory Study of 4D Versus 3D Robust Optimization in Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy for Lung Cancer

PubMed Central

Liu, Wei; Schild, Steven E.; Chang, Joe Y.; Liao, Zhongxing; Chang, Yu-Hui; Wen, Zhifei; Shen, Jiajian; Stoker, Joshua B.; Ding, Xiaoning; Hu, Yanle; Sahoo, Narayan; Herman, Michael G.; Vargas, Carlos; Keole, Sameer; Wong, William; Bues, Martin

2015-01-01

Background To compare the impact of uncertainties and interplay effect on 3D and 4D robustly optimized intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans for lung cancer in an exploratory methodology study. Methods IMPT plans were created for 11 non-randomly selected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases: 3D robustly optimized plans on average CTs with internal gross tumor volume density overridden to irradiate internal target volume, and 4D robustly optimized plans on 4D CTs to irradiate clinical target volume (CTV). Regular fractionation (66 Gy[RBE] in 33 fractions) were considered. In 4D optimization, the CTV of individual phases received non-uniform doses to achieve a uniform cumulative dose. The root-mean-square-dose volume histograms (RVH) measured the sensitivity of the dose to uncertainties, and the areas under the RVH curve (AUCs) were used to evaluate plan robustness. Dose evaluation software modeled time-dependent spot delivery to incorporate interplay effect with randomized starting phases of each field per fraction. Dose-volume histogram indices comparing CTV coverage, homogeneity, and normal tissue sparing were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results 4D robust optimization plans led to smaller AUC for CTV (14.26 vs. 18.61 (p=0.001), better CTV coverage (Gy[RBE]) [D95% CTV: 60.6 vs 55.2 (p=0.001)], and better CTV homogeneity [D5%–D95% CTV: 10.3 vs 17.7 (p=0.002)] in the face of uncertainties. With interplay effect considered, 4D robust optimization produced plans with better target coverage [D95% CTV: 64.5 vs 63.8 (p=0.0068)], comparable target homogeneity, and comparable normal tissue protection. The benefits from 4D robust optimization were most obvious for the 2 typical stage III lung cancer patients. Conclusions Our exploratory methodology study showed that, compared to 3D robust optimization, 4D robust optimization produced significantly more robust and interplay-effect-resistant plans for targets with comparable dose distributions for normal tissues. A further study with a larger and more realistic patient population is warranted to generalize the conclusions. PMID:26725727

Enhancement of proton transfer in ion channels by membrane phosphate headgroups.

PubMed

Wyatt, Debra L; de Godoy, Carlos Marcelo G; Cukierman, Samuel

2009-05-14

The transfer of protons (H+) in gramicidin (gA) channels is markedly distinct in monoglyceride and phospholipid membranes. In this study, the molecular groups that account for those differences were investigated using a new methodology. The rates of H+ transfer were measured in single gA channels reconstituted in membranes made of plain ceramides or sphingomyelins and compared to those in monoglyceride and phospholipid bilayers. Single-channel conductances to protons (gH) were significantly larger in sphingomyelin than in ceramide membranes. A novel and unsuspected finding was that H+ transfer was heavily attenuated or completely blocked in ceramide (but not in sphingomyelin) membranes in low-ionic-strength solutions. It is reasoned that H-bond dynamics at low ionic strengths between membrane ceramides and gA makes channels dysfunctional. The rate of H+ transfer in gA channels in ceramide membranes is significantly higher than that in monoglyceride bilayers. This suggests that solvation of the hydrophobic surface of gA channels by two acyl chains in ceramides stabilizes the gA channels and the water wire inside the pore, leading to an enhancement of H+ transfer in relation to that occurring in monoglyceride membranes. gH values in gA channels are similar in ceramide and monoglyceride bilayers and in sphingomyelin and phospholipid membranes. It is concluded that phospho headgroups in membranes have significant effects on the rate of H+ transfer at the membrane gA channel/solution interfaces, enhancing the entry and exit rates of protons in channels.

Selective robust optimization: A new intensity-modulated proton therapy optimization strategy

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

Li, Yupeng; Niemela, Perttu; Siljamaki, Sami

2015-08-15

Purpose: To develop a new robust optimization strategy for intensity-modulated proton therapy as an important step in translating robust proton treatment planning from research to clinical applications. Methods: In selective robust optimization, a worst-case-based robust optimization algorithm is extended, and terms of the objective function are selectively computed from either the worst-case dose or the nominal dose. Two lung cancer cases and one head and neck cancer case were used to demonstrate the practical significance of the proposed robust planning strategy. The lung cancer cases had minimal tumor motion less than 5 mm, and, for the demonstration of the methodology,more » are assumed to be static. Results: Selective robust optimization achieved robust clinical target volume (CTV) coverage and at the same time increased nominal planning target volume coverage to 95.8%, compared to the 84.6% coverage achieved with CTV-based robust optimization in one of the lung cases. In the other lung case, the maximum dose in selective robust optimization was lowered from a dose of 131.3% in the CTV-based robust optimization to 113.6%. Selective robust optimization provided robust CTV coverage in the head and neck case, and at the same time improved controls over isodose distribution so that clinical requirements may be readily met. Conclusions: Selective robust optimization may provide the flexibility and capability necessary for meeting various clinical requirements in addition to achieving the required plan robustness in practical proton treatment planning settings.« less

Multipolar Electrostatic Energy Prediction for all 20 Natural Amino Acids Using Kriging Machine Learning.

PubMed

Fletcher, Timothy L; Popelier, Paul L A

2016-06-14

A machine learning method called kriging is applied to the set of all 20 naturally occurring amino acids. Kriging models are built that predict electrostatic multipole moments for all topological atoms in any amino acid based on molecular geometry only. These models then predict molecular electrostatic interaction energies. On the basis of 200 unseen test geometries for each amino acid, no amino acid shows a mean prediction error above 5.3 kJ mol(-1), while the lowest error observed is 2.8 kJ mol(-1). The mean error across the entire set is only 4.2 kJ mol(-1) (or 1 kcal mol(-1)). Charged systems are created by protonating or deprotonating selected amino acids, and these show no significant deviation in prediction error over their neutral counterparts. Similarly, the proposed methodology can also handle amino acids with aromatic side chains, without the need for modification. Thus, we present a generic method capable of accurately capturing multipolar polarizable electrostatics in amino acids.

Results of some initial space qualification testing on triple junction a-Si and CuInSe2 thin film solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert L.; Anspaugh, Bruce E.

1993-01-01

A series of environmental tests were completed on one type of triple junction a-Si and two types of CuInSe2 thin film solar cells. The environmental tests include electron irradiation at energies of 0.7, 1.0, and 2.0 MeV, proton irradiation at energies of 0.115, 0.24, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 MeV, post-irradiation annealing at temperatures between 20 C and 60 C, long term exposure to air mass zero (AM0) photons, measurement of the cells as a function of temperature and illumination intensity, and contact pull strength tests. As expected, the cells are very resistant to electron and proton irradiation. However, when a selected cell type is exposed to low energy protons designed to penetrate to the junction region, there is evidence of more significant damage. A significant amount of recovery was observed after annealing in several of the cells. However, it is not permanent and durable, but merely a temporary restoration, later nullified with additional irradiation. Contact pull strengths measured on the triple junction a-Si cells averaged 667 grams, and pull strengths measured on the Boeing CuInSe2 cells averaged 880 grams. Significant degradation of all cell types was observed after exposure to a 580 hour photon degradation test, regardless of whether the cells had been unirradiated or irradiated (electrons or protons). Although one cell from one manufacturer lost approximately 60 percent of its power after the photon test, several other cells from this manufacturer did not degrade at all.

Tests of a Compton imaging prototype in a monoenergetic 4.44 MeV photon field—a benchmark setup for prompt gamma-ray imaging devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golnik, C.; Bemmerer, D.; Enghardt, W.; Fiedler, F.; Hueso-González, F.; Pausch, G.; Römer, K.; Rohling, H.; Schöne, S.; Wagner, L.; Kormoll, T.

2016-06-01

The finite range of a proton beam in tissue opens new vistas for the delivery of a highly conformal dose distribution in radiotherapy. However, the actual particle range, and therefore the accurate dose deposition, is sensitive to the tissue composition in the proton path. Range uncertainties, resulting from limited knowledge of this tissue composition or positioning errors, are accounted for in the form of safety margins. Thus, the unverified particle range constrains the principle benefit of proton therapy. Detecting prompt γ-rays, a side product of proton-tissue interaction, aims at an on-line and non-invasive monitoring of the particle range, and therefore towards exploiting the potential of proton therapy. Compton imaging of the spatial prompt γ-ray emission is a promising measurement approach. Prompt γ-rays exhibit emission energies of several MeV. Hence, common radioactive sources cannot provide the energy range a prompt γ-ray imaging device must be designed for. In this work a benchmark measurement-setup for the production of a localized, monoenergetic 4.44 MeV γ-ray source is introduced. At the Tandetron accelerator at the HZDR, the proton-capture resonance reaction 15N(p,α γ4.439)12C is utilized. This reaction provides the same nuclear de-excitation (and γ-ray emission) occurrent as an intense prompt γ-ray line in proton therapy. The emission yield is quantitatively described. A two-stage Compton imaging device, dedicated for prompt γ-ray imaging, is tested at the setup exemplarily. Besides successful imaging tests, the detection efficiency of the prototype at 4.44 MeV is derived from the measured data. Combining this efficiency with the emission yield for prompt γ-rays, the number of valid Compton events, induced by γ-rays in the energy region around 4.44 MeV, is estimated for the prototype being implemented in a therapeutic treatment scenario. As a consequence, the detection efficiency turns out to be a key parameter for prompt γ-rays Compton imaging limiting the applicability of the prototype in its current realization.

Weapon Simulator Test Methodology Investigation: Comparison of Live Fire and Weapon Simulator Test Methodologies and the Effects of Clothing and Individual Equipment on Marksmanship

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-15

METHODOLOGY INVESTIGATION: COMPARISON OF LIVE FIRE AND WEAPON SIMULATOR TEST METHODOLOGIES AND THE EFFECTS OF CLOTHING AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT ON...2. REPORT TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) October 2014 – August 2015 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE WEAPON SIMULATOR TEST METHODOLOGY INVESTIGATION...COMPARISON OF LIVE FIRE AND WEAPON SIMULATOR TEST METHODOLOGIES AND THE EFFECTS OF CLOTHING AND INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT ON MARKSMANSHIP 5a. CONTRACT

MINERvA neutrino detector response measured with test beam data

DOE PAGES

Aliaga, L.; Altinok, O.; Araujo Del Castillo, C.; ...

2015-04-11

The MINERvA collaboration operated a scaled-down replica of thesolid scintillator tracking and sampling calorimeter regions of the MINERvA detector in a hadron test beam at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. This paper reports measurements with samples of protons, pions, and electrons from 0.35 to 2.0 GeV/c momentum. The calorimetric response to protons, pions, and electrons is obtained from these data. A measurement of the parameter in Birks' law and an estimate of the tracking efficiency are extracted from the proton sample. Overall the data are well described by a Geant4-based Monte Carlo simulation of the detector and particle interactions withmore » agreements better than 4% for the calorimetric response, though some features of the data are not precisely modeled. Furthermore, these measurements are used to tune the MINERvA detector simulation and evaluate systematic uncertainties in support of the MINERvA neutrino cross-section measurement program.« less

Doppler broadening in the β-proton- γ decay sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, Sarah; Wrede, C.; Bennett, M. B.; Liddick, S. N.; Perez-Loureiro, D.; Bowe, A.; Chen, A. A.; Chipps, K. A.; Cooper, N.; Irvine, D.; McNeice, E.; Montes, F.; Naqvi, F.; Ortez, R.; Pain, S. D.; Pereira, J.; Prokop, C.; Quaglia, J.; Quinn, S. J.; Sakstrup, J.; Santia, M.; Shanab, S.; Simon, A.; Spyrou, A.; Thiagalingam, E.

2015-10-01

We report the first observation of Doppler-broadening in β delayed proton- γ decay. The broadening occurs because the daughter nucleus γ decays while recoiling from proton emission. A method to analyze β delayed nucleon emission was applied to two Doppler-broadened 25Al peaks from the 26P(βpγ)25Al decay. The method was first tested on the broad 1613 keV γ-ray peak using known center-of-mass proton energies as constraints. The method was then applied to the 1776 keV γ-ray peak from the 2720 keV excited state of 25Al. The broadening was used to determine a 26Si excitation energy of 13.3 +/- 1.0 (stat.) +/- 0.7 (syst.) MeV. This energy is consistent with proton emission from the known T = 2 isobaric analog state of 26P in 26Si.

Compendium of Single Event Effects, Total Ionizing Dose, and Displacement Damage for Candidate Spacecraft Electronics for NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; O'Bryan, Martha V.; Chen, Dakai; Campola, Michael J.; Casey, Megan C.; Pellish, Jonathan A.; Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Wilcox, Edward P.; Topper, Alyson D.; Ladbury, Raymond L.;

[Proton pump inhibitors in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: what is the further step?].

PubMed

Simon, Mireille; Zerbib, Frank

2013-01-01

Optimisation of proton pump inhibitors use may improve reflux symptoms in 20-25% of the patients. Pathological gastro-oesophageal reflux should be documented in a patient with refractory reflux symptoms using upper endoscopy and/or pH testing. While on proton pump inhibitors twice daily, persistent symptoms are not related to gastro-oesophageal refluxdisease(GERD) in 50% of the patients. The new anti-reflux compounds have yet a limited efficacy and side effects that currently limit their development. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

First experimental evidence of hydrodynamic tunneling of ultra–relativistic protons in extended solid copper target at the CERN HiRadMat facility

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

Schmidt, R.; Grenier, D.; Wollmann, D.

2014-08-15

A novel experiment has been performed at the CERN HiRadMat test facility to study the impact of the 440 GeV proton beam generated by the Super Proton Synchrotron on extended solid copper cylindrical targets. Substantial hydrodynamic tunneling of the protons in the target material has been observed that leads to significant lengthening of the projectile range, which confirms our previous theoretical predictions [N. A. Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.-Accel. Beams 15, 051003 (2012)]. Simulation results show very good agreement with the experimental measurements. These results have very important implications on the machine protection design for powerful machines like themore » Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the future High Luminosity LHC, and the proposed huge 80 km circumference Future Circular Collider, which is currently being discussed at CERN. Another very interesting outcome of this work is that one may also study the field of High Energy Density Physics at this test facility.« less

Selective heteronuclear Hartmann-Hahn: A multiple-pulse sequence for selective magnetization transfer in the structural elucidation of “isotagged” oligosaccharides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Xi; Nguyen, William H.; Nowick, James S.; Shaka, A. J.

2010-03-01

A new selective heteronuclear Hartmann-Hahn (SHEHAHA) multiple-pulse mixing sequence is proposed for the solution structure elucidation of milligram amounts of peracetylated oligosaccharides in which the acetyl groups are enriched in carbon-13, so-called “isotags”. SHEHAHA accomplishes exclusive in-phase magnetization transfer between the isotag carbonyl 13C and the proximal proton on the sugar ring. Relayed transfer around the sugar rings by proton-proton TOCSY is suppressed, while the heteronuclear transfer from the labeled carbonyl carbon to the proximal ring proton is maintained. The sequence is broadband in the sense that all acetyl groups simultaneously give good signal transfer to their respective nearest proton neighbors. The 1H-detected spectra have decent sensitivity and excellent resolution, giving patterns that unambiguously identify common structural subunits in human glycans. Peracetylated maltitol is shown as a test case of the method. Lineshapes are pure absorption, allowing facile measurement of vicinal proton-proton couplings. Linkage points can be deduced, and the 2D correlation spectra may be useful for more ambitious prediction algorithms and machine identification by a spectral database.

Fast and Reliable Thermodynamic Approach for Determining the Protonation State of the Asp Dyad.

PubMed

Huang, Jinfeng; Sun, Bin; Yao, Yuan; Liu, Junjun

2017-09-25

The protonation state of the asp dyad is significantly important in revealing enzymatic mechanisms and developing drugs. However, it is hard to determine by calculating free energy changes between possible protonation states, because the free energy changes due to protein conformational flexibility are usually much larger than those originating from different locations of protons. Sophisticated and computationally expensive methods such as free energy perturbation, thermodynamic integration (TI), and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics are therefore usually used for this purpose. In the present study, we have developed a simple thermodynamic approach to effectively eliminating the free energy changes arising from protein conformational flexibility and estimating the free energy changes only originated from the locations of protons, which provides a fast and reliable method for determining the protonation state of asp dyads. The test of this approach on a total of 15 asp dyad systems, including BACE-1 and HIV-1 protease, shows that the predictions from this approach are all consistent with experiments or with the computationally expensive TI calculations. It is clear that our thermodynamic approach could be used to rapidly and reliably determine the protonation state of the asp dyad.

Image analysis of single event transient effects on charge coupled devices irradiated by protons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zujun; Xue, Yuanyuan; Liu, Jing; He, Baoping; Yao, Zhibin; Ma, Wuying

2016-10-01

The experiments of single event transient (SET) effects on charge coupled devices (CCDs) irradiated by protons are presented. The radiation experiments have been carried out at the accelerator protons with the energy of 200 MeV and 60 MeV.The incident angles of the protons are at 30°and 90° to the plane of the CCDs to obtain the images induced by the perpendicularity and incline incident angles. The experimental results show that the typical characteristics of the SET effects on a CCD induced by protons are the generation of a large number of dark signal spikes (hot pixels) which are randomly distributed in the "pepper" images. The characteristics of SET effects are investigated by observing the same imaging area at different time during proton radiation to verify the transient effects. The experiment results also show that the number of dark signal spikes increases with increasing integration time during proton radiation. The CCDs were tested at on-line and off-line to distinguish the radiation damage induced by the SET effects or DD effects. The mechanisms of the dark signal spike generation induced by the SET effects and the DD effects are demonstrated respectively.

Acute changes in the central nervous system of monkeys exposed to protons.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haymaker, W.; Ibrahim, M. Z. M.; Miquel, J.; Call, N.; Noden, P.; Ashley, W.; Ballinger, E. R.; Ghidoni, J.; Lindsay, I. R.; Behar, A. J.

1972-01-01

Study of the changes occurring in simian brain exposed to protons of varied energy, given in wide dose and dose-rate ranges. Results show that inflammatory reaction and glycogen accumulation in astrocytes occurred practically in all animals. Cerebral cortical necrosis, granule cell pyknosis, and inflammatory reaction occurred at doses far lower than effective for high-energy gamma radiation given other series of monkeys at comparable dose rates. Metallic impregnation, carried out in virtually all the animals tested, revealed a wide variation in glial response even at equal doses and dose rates in the same proton energy series. Proton energy effect, dose effect, dose-time effect, and dose-rate effect were evident in the various morphological categories investigated, but inconsistencies were encountered.

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

Lin, L; Huang, S; Kang, M

Purpose: The purpose of this manuscript is to demonstrate the utility of a comprehensive test pattern in validating calculation models of the low-dose tails of proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) spots. Such a pattern has been used previously for quality assurance purposes to assess spot shape and location, and for determining monitor units. Methods: In this study, a scintillation detector was used to measure the test pattern in air at isocenter for two proton beam energies (115 and 225 MeV) of two IBA universal nozzles (UN). Planar measurements were compared with calculated dose distribution based on the weighted superposition ofmore » spot profiles previously measured using a pair-magnification method. Results: Including the halo component below 1% of the central dose is shown to improve the gamma-map comparison between calculation and measurement from 94.9% to 98.4% using 2 mm/2% criteria for the 115 MeV proton beam of UN #1. In contrast, including the halo component below 1% of the central dose does not improve the gamma agreement for the 115 MeV proton beam of UN #2, due to the cutoff of the halo component at off-axis locations. When location-dependent spot profiles are used for calculation instead of spot profiles at central axis, the gamma agreement is improved from 98.0% to 99.5% using 2 mm/2% criteria. The cutoff of the halo component is smaller at higher energies, and is not observable for the 225 MeV proton beam for UN #2. Conclusion: In conclusion, the use of a comprehensive test pattern can facilitate the validation of the halo component of proton PBS spots at off axis locations. The cutoff of the halo component should be taken into consideration for large fields or PBS systems that intend to trim spot profiles using apertures. This work was supported by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command under Contract Agreement No. DAMD17-W81XWH-07-2-0121 and W81XWH-09-2-0174.« less

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

Lin, Liyong, E-mail: linl@uphs.upenn.edu; Huang, Sheng; Kang, Minglei

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of a comprehensive test pattern in validating calculation models that include the halo component (low-dose tails) of proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) spots. Such a pattern has been used previously for quality assurance purposes to assess spot shape, position, and dose. Methods: In this study, a scintillation detector was used to measure the test pattern in air at isocenter for two proton beam energies (115 and 225 MeV) of two IBA universal nozzles (UN #1 and UN #2). Planar measurements were compared with calculated dose distributions based on themore » weighted superposition of location-independent (UN #1) or location-dependent (UN #2) spot profiles, previously measured using a pair-magnification method and between two nozzles. Results: Including the halo component below 1% of the central dose is shown to improve the gamma-map comparison between calculation and measurement from 94.9% to 98.4% using 2 mm/2% criteria for the 115 MeV proton beam of UN #1. In contrast, including the halo component below 1% of the central dose does not improve the gamma agreement for the 115 MeV proton beam of UN #2, due to the cutoff of the halo component at off-axis locations. When location-dependent spot profiles are used for calculation instead of spot profiles at central axis, the gamma agreement is improved from 98.0% to 99.5% using 2 mm/2% criteria. The two nozzles clearly have different characteristics, as a direct comparison of measured data shows a passing rate of 89.7% for the 115 MeV proton beam. At 225 MeV, the corresponding gamma comparisons agree better between measurement and calculation, and between measurements in the two nozzles. Conclusions: In addition to confirming the primary component of individual PBS spot profiles, a comprehensive test pattern is useful for the validation of the halo component at off-axis locations, especially for low energy protons.« less

Unique Proton Transportation Pathway in a Robust Inorganic Coordination Polymer Leading to Intrinsically High and Sustainable Anhydrous Proton Conductivity.

PubMed

Gui, Daxiang; Dai, Xing; Tao, Zetian; Zheng, Tao; Wang, Xiangxiang; Silver, Mark A; Shu, Jie; Chen, Lanhua; Wang, Yanlong; Zhang, Tiantian; Xie, Jian; Zou, Lin; Xia, Yuanhua; Zhang, Jujia; Zhang, Jin; Zhao, Ling; Diwu, Juan; Zhou, Ruhong; Chai, Zhifang; Wang, Shuao

2018-05-16

Although comprehensive progress has been made in the area of coordination polymer (CP)/metal-organic framework (MOF)-based proton-conducting materials over the past decade, searching for a CP/MOF with stable, intrinsic, high anhydrous proton conductivity that can be directly used as a practical electrolyte in an intermediate-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cell assembly for durable power generation remains a substantial challenge. Here, we introduce a new proton-conducting CP, (NH 4 ) 3 [Zr(H 2/3 PO 4 ) 3 ] (ZrP), which consists of one-dimensional zirconium phosphate anionic chains and fully ordered charge-balancing NH 4 + cations. X-ray crystallography, neutron powder diffraction, and variable-temperature solid-state NMR spectroscopy suggest that protons are disordered within an inherent hydrogen-bonded infinite chain of acid-base pairs (N-H···O-P), leading to a stable anhydrous proton conductivity of 1.45 × 10 -3 S·cm -1 at 180 °C, one of the highest values among reported intermediate-temperature proton-conducting materials. First-principles and quantum molecular dynamics simulations were used to directly visualize the unique proton transport pathway involving very efficient proton exchange between NH 4 + and phosphate pairs, which is distinct from the common guest encapsulation/dehydration/superprotonic transition mechanisms. ZrP as the electrolyte was further assembled into a H 2 /O 2 fuel cell, which showed a record-high electrical power density of 12 mW·cm -2 at 180 °C among reported cells assembled from crystalline solid electrolytes, as well as a direct methanol fuel cell for the first time to demonstrate real applications. These cells were tested for over 15 h without notable power loss.

Proton radiography and fluoroscopy of lung tumors: A Monte Carlo study using patient-specific 4DCT phantoms

PubMed Central

Han, Bin; Xu, X. George; Chen, George T. Y.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Monte Carlo methods are used to simulate and optimize a time-resolved proton range telescope (TRRT) in localization of intrafractional and interfractional motions of lung tumor and in quantification of proton range variations. Methods: The Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code with a particle tracking feature was employed to evaluate the TRRT performance, especially in visualizing and quantifying proton range variations during respiration. Protons of 230 MeV were tracked one by one as they pass through position detectors, patient 4DCT phantom, and finally scintillator detectors that measured residual ranges. The energy response of the scintillator telescope was investigated. Mass density and elemental composition of tissues were defined for 4DCT data. Results: Proton water equivalent length (WEL) was deduced by a reconstruction algorithm that incorporates linear proton track and lateral spatial discrimination to improve the image quality. 4DCT data for three patients were used to visualize and measure tumor motion and WEL variations. The tumor trajectories extracted from the WEL map were found to be within ∼1 mm agreement with direct 4DCT measurement. Quantitative WEL variation studies showed that the proton radiograph is a good representation of WEL changes from entrance to distal of the target. Conclusions:MCNPX simulation results showed that TRRT can accurately track the motion of the tumor and detect the WEL variations. Image quality was optimized by choosing proton energy, testing parameters of image reconstruction algorithm, and comparing to ground truth 4DCT. The future study will demonstrate the feasibility of using the time resolved proton radiography as an imaging tool for proton treatments of lung tumors. PMID:21626923

National Cancer Database Analysis of Proton Versus Photon Radiation Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

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

Higgins, Kristin A., E-mail: kristin.higgins@emory.edu; Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; O'Connell, Kelli

Purpose: To analyze outcomes and predictors associated with proton radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the National Cancer Database. Methods and Materials: The National Cancer Database was queried to capture patients with stage I-IV NSCLC treated with thoracic radiation from 2004 to 2012. A logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors for utilization of proton radiation therapy. The univariate and multivariable association with overall survival were assessed by Cox proportional hazards models along with log–rank tests. A propensity score matching method was implemented to balance baseline covariates and eliminate selection bias. Results: A total of 243,822more » patients (photon radiation therapy: 243,474; proton radiation therapy: 348) were included in the analysis. Patients in a ZIP code with a median income of <$46,000 per year were less likely to receive proton treatment, with the income cohort of $30,000 to $35,999 least likely to receive proton therapy (odds ratio 0.63 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44-0.90]; P=.011). On multivariate analysis of all patients, non-proton therapy was associated with significantly worse survival compared with proton therapy (hazard ratio 1.21 [95% CI 1.06-1.39]; P<.01). On propensity matched analysis, proton radiation therapy (n=309) was associated with better 5-year overall survival compared with non-proton radiation therapy (n=1549), 22% versus 16% (P=.025). For stage II and III patients, non-proton radiation therapy was associated with worse survival compared with proton radiation therapy (hazard ratio 1.35 [95% CI 1.10-1.64], P<.01). Conclusions: Thoracic radiation with protons is associated with better survival in this retrospective analysis; further validation in the randomized setting is needed to account for any imbalances in patient characteristics, including positron emission tomography–computed tomography staging.« less

Using gEUD based plan analysis method to evaluate proton vs. photon plans for lung cancer radiation therapy.

PubMed

Xiao, Zhiyan; Zou, Wei J; Chen, Ting; Yue, Ning J; Jabbour, Salma K; Parikh, Rahul; Zhang, Miao

2018-03-01

The goal of this study was to exam the efficacy of current DVH based clinical guidelines draw from photon experience for lung cancer radiation therapy on proton therapy. Comparison proton plans and IMRT plans were generated for 10 lung patients treated in our proton facility. A gEUD based plan evaluation method was developed for plan evaluation. This evaluation method used normal lung gEUD(a) curve in which the model parameter "a" was sampled from the literature reported value. For all patients, the proton plans delivered lower normal lung V 5 Gy with similar V 20 Gy and similar target coverage. Based on current clinical guidelines, proton plans were ranked superior to IMRT plans for all 10 patients. However, the proton and IMRT normal lung gEUD(a) curves crossed for 8 patients within the tested range of "a", which means there was a possibility that proton plan would be worse than IMRT plan for lung sparing. A concept of deficiency index (DI) was introduced to quantify the probability of proton plans doing worse than IMRT plans. By applying threshold on DI, four patients' proton plan was ranked inferior to the IMRT plan. Meanwhile if a threshold to the location of curve crossing was applied, 6 patients' proton plan was ranked inferior to the IMRT plan. The contradictory ranking results between the current clinical guidelines and the gEUD(a) curve analysis demonstrated there is potential pitfalls by applying photon experience directly to the proton world. A comprehensive plan evaluation based on radio-biological models should be carried out to decide if a lung patient would really be benefit from proton therapy. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Summary of Proton Test on the Quick Logic QL3025 at Indiana University

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Richard

1998-01-01

This issue of the Programmable Logic Application Notes is a compilation of topics: (1) Proton irradiation tests were performed on the Quick Logic QL3025 at the Indian University Cyclotron facility. The devices, tests, and results are discussed; (2) The functional failure of EEPROM's in heavy ion environment is presented; (3) the Act 1 architecture is summarized; (4) Antifuse hardness and hardness testing is updated; the single even upset (SEU) response of hardwired flip-flops is also presented; (4) Total dose results of the ACT 2 and ACT 3 circuits is presented in a chart; (5) Recent sub-micron devices testing of total dose is presented in a chart along with brief discussion; and (6) a reference to the WWW site for more articles of interest.

Fissile interrogation using gamma rays from oxygen

DOEpatents

Smith, Donald; Micklich, Bradley J.; Fessler, Andreas

2004-04-20

The subject apparatus provides a means to identify the presence of fissionable material or other nuclear material contained within an item to be tested. The system employs a portable accelerator to accelerate and direct protons to a fluorine-compound target. The interaction of the protons with the fluorine-compound target produces gamma rays which are directed at the item to be tested. If the item to be tested contains either a fissionable material or other nuclear material the interaction of the gamma rays with the material contained within the test item with result in the production of neutrons. A system of neutron detectors is positioned to intercept any neutrons generated by the test item. The results from the neutron detectors are analyzed to determine the presence of a fissionable material or other nuclear material.

Calibration and GEANT4 Simulations of the Phase II Proton Compute Tomography (pCT) Range Stack Detector

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

Uzunyan, S. A.; Blazey, G.; Boi, S.

Northern Illinois University in collaboration with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) and Delhi University has been designing and building a proton CT scanner for applications in proton treatment planning. The Phase II proton CT scanner consists of eight planes of tracking detectors with two X and two Y coordinate measurements both before and after the patient. In addition, a range stack detector consisting of a stack of thin scintillator tiles, arranged in twelve eight-tile frames, is used to determine the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of each track through the patient. The X-Y coordinates and WEPL are required input formore » image reconstruction software to find the relative (proton) stopping powers (RSP) value of each voxel in the patient and generate a corresponding 3D image. In this Note we describe tests conducted in 2015 at the proton beam at the Central DuPage Hospital in Warrenville, IL, focusing on the range stack calibration procedure and comparisons with the GEANT~4 range stack simulation.« less

Timing Comparisons for GLEs and High-energy Proton Events using GPS Proton Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernstein, V.; Winter, L. M.; Carver, M.; Morley, S.

2017-12-01

The newly released LANL GPS particle sensor data offers a unique snapshot of access of relativistic particles into the geomagnetic field. Currently, 23 of the 31 operational GPS satellites host energetic particle detectors which can detect the arrival of high-energy solar protons associated with Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs). We compare the timing profiles of solar energetic proton detections from GPS satellites as well as from ground-based Neutron Monitors and GOES spacecraft at geostationary orbit in order to understand how high-energy protons from the Sun enter the geomagnetic field and investigate potential differences in arrival time of energetic protons at GPS satellites as a function of location. Previous studies could only use one or two spacecraft at a similar altitude to track the arrival of energetic particles. With GPS data, we can now test whether the particles arrive isotropically, as assumed, or whether there exist differences in the timing and energetics viewed by each of the individual satellites. Extensions of this work could lead to improvements in space weather forecasting that predict more localized risk estimates for space-based technology.

Linking Chemical Electron–Proton Transfer to Proton Pumping in Cytochrome c Oxidase: Broken-Symmetry DFT Exploration of Intermediates along the Catalytic Reaction Pathway of the Iron–Copper Dinuclear Complex

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

After a summary of the problem of coupling electron and proton transfer to proton pumping in cytochrome c oxidase, we present the results of our earlier and recent density functional theory calculations for the dinuclear Fe-a3–CuB reaction center in this enzyme. A specific catalytic reaction wheel diagram is constructed from the calculations, based on the structures and relative energies of the intermediate states of the reaction cycle. A larger family of tautomers/protonation states is generated compared to our earlier work, and a new lowest-energy pathway is proposed. The entire reaction cycle is calculated for the new smaller model (about 185–190 atoms), and two selected arcs of the wheel are chosen for calculations using a larger model (about 205 atoms). We compare the structural and redox energetics and protonation calculations with available experimental data. The reaction cycle map that we have built is positioned for further improvement and testing against experiment. PMID:24960612

Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE): Determining the Concentration of Samples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, Mallory; Rodriguez Manso, Alis; Pajouhafsar, Yasmin; J Yennello, Sherry

2017-09-01

We used Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) as an analysis technique to determine the composition of samples, in particular, the elemental constituents and the concentrations. Each of the samples are bombarded with protons, which in result displaces a lower level electron and causes a higher level electron to fall into its place. This displacement produces characteristic x-rays that are `fingerprints' for each element. The protons supplied for the bombardment are produced and accelerated by the K150 proton beam in the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University. The products are detected by three x-ray detectors: XR-100CR Si-PIN, XR-100SDD, and XR-100T CdTe. The peaks of the spectrum are analyzed using a software analysis tool, GUPIXWIN, to determine the concentration of the known elements of each particular sample. The goals of this work are to test run the Proton Induced X-Ray Emission experimental set up at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and to determine the concentration of thin films containing KBr given by the TAMU Chemical Engineering Department.

Computer simulation of ion channel gating: the M(2) channel of influenza A virus in a lipid bilayer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schweighofer, K. J.; Pohorille, A.

2000-01-01

The transmembrane fragment of the influenza virus M(2) protein forms a homotetrameric channel that transports protons. In this paper, we use molecular dynamics simulations to help elucidate the mechanism of channel gating by four histidines that occlude the channel lumen in the closed state. We test two competing hypotheses. In the "shuttle" mechanism, the delta nitrogen atom on the extracellular side of one histidine is protonated by the incoming proton, and, subsequently, the proton on the epsilon nitrogen atom is released on the opposite side. In the "water-wire" mechanism, the gate opens because of electrostatic repulsion between four simultaneously biprotonated histidines. This allows for proton transport along the water wire that penetrates the gate. For each system, composed of the channel embedded in a hydrated phospholipid bilayer, a 1.3-ns trajectory was obtained. It is found that the states involved in the shuttle mechanism, which contain either single-protonated histidines or a mixture of single-protonated histidines plus one biprotonated residue, are stable during the simulations. Furthermore, the orientations and dynamics of water molecules near the gate are conducive to proton transfer. In contrast, the fully biprotonated state is not stable. Additional simulations show that if only two histidines are biprotonated, the channel deforms but the gate remains closed. These results support the shuttle mechanism but not the gate-opening mechanism of proton gating in M(2).

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

Poivey, C.; Notebaert, O.; Garnier, P.

The ARIANE5 On Board Computer (OBC) and Inertial Reference System (SRI) are based on Motorola MC68020 processor and MC68882 coprocessor. The SRI data acquisition board also uses the DSP TMS320C25 from Texas Instruments. These devices were characterized to proton induced SEUs. But representativeness of SEU test results on processors was questioned during ARIANE5 studies. Protons test of these devices were also performed in the actual equipments with flight (or representative of) softwares. The results show that the On Board Computer and the Inertial Reference System can satisfy the requirements of the ARIANE5 missions.

Nonvolatile Memory Technology for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oldham, Timothy R.; Irom, Farokh; Friendlich, Mark; Nguyen, Duc; Kim, Hak; Berg, Melanie; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews several forms of nonvolatile memory for use in space applications. The intent is to: (1) Determine inherent radiation tolerance and sensitivities, (2) Identify challenges for future radiation hardening efforts, (3) Investigate new failure modes and effects, and technology modeling programs. Testing includes total dose, single event (proton, laser, heavy ion), and proton damage (where appropriate). Test vehicles are expected to be a variety of non-volatile memory devices as available including Flash (NAND and NOR), Charge Trap, Nanocrystal Flash, Magnetic Memory (MRAM), Phase Change--Chalcogenide, (CRAM), Ferroelectric (FRAM), CNT, and Resistive RAM.

Recent Radiation Damage and Single Event Effect Results for Candidate Spacecraft Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

OBryan, Martha V.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Reed, Robert A.; Ladbury, Ray L.; Howard, James W., Jr.; Buchner, Stephen P.; Barth, Janet L.; Kniffen, Scott D.; Seidleck, Christina M.; Marshall, Cheryl J.;

Current Single Event Effects and Radiation Damage Results for Candidate Spacecraft Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

OBryan, Martha V.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Reed, Robert A.; Ladbury, Ray L.; Howard, James W., Jr.; Kniffin, Scott D.; Poivey, Christian; Buchner, Stephen P.; Bings, John P.; Titus, Jeff L.

2002-01-01

We present data on the vulnerability of a variety of candidate spacecraft electronics to proton and heavy ion induced single event effects, total ionizing dose and proton-induced damage. Devices tested include optoelectronics, digital, analog, linear bipolar, hybrid devices, Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs), Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs), and DC-DC converters, among others.

An evaluation of two flat-black silicone paints for space application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clatterbuck, Carroll H.; Scialdone, John J.

1990-01-01

Tests were conducted on two flat-black silicone paints suggested for space applications to determine their optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. Three different types of substrate materials were chosen for these paint tests; the application of the paints onto the primed substrates was carried out by spray coating. The adhesion properties were verified by thermal shock and sudden immersion into liquid nitrogen. A controlled thermal vacuum tests was also carried out by varying the temperature of the paint from -100 to 225 C. The measured optical properties included normal and hemispherical emittance, and solar absorption/reflectance. A simultaneous exposure to low-energy proton/UV irradiation in vacuum, and high-energy proton/electron irradiation was carried out. Additional tests of the paints are described.

The contribution of low-energy protons to the total on-orbit SEU rate

DOE PAGES

Dodds, Nathaniel Anson; Martinez, Marino J.; Dodd, Paul E.; ...

2015-11-10

Low- and high-energy proton experimental data and error rate predictions are presented for many bulk Si and SOI circuits from the 20-90 nm technology nodes to quantify how much low-energy protons (LEPs) can contribute to the total on-orbit single-event upset (SEU) rate. Every effort was made to predict LEP error rates that are conservatively high; even secondary protons generated in the spacecraft shielding have been included in the analysis. Across all the environments and circuits investigated, and when operating within 10% of the nominal operating voltage, LEPs were found to increase the total SEU rate to up to 4.3 timesmore » as high as it would have been in the absence of LEPs. Therefore, the best approach to account for LEP effects may be to calculate the total error rate from high-energy protons and heavy ions, and then multiply it by a safety margin of 5. If that error rate can be tolerated then our findings suggest that it is justified to waive LEP tests in certain situations. Trends were observed in the LEP angular responses of the circuits tested. As a result, grazing angles were the worst case for the SOI circuits, whereas the worst-case angle was at or near normal incidence for the bulk circuits.« less

Proof of principle study of the use of a CMOS active pixel sensor for proton radiography

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

Seco, Joao; Depauw, Nicolas

2011-02-15

Purpose: Proof of principle study of the use of a CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) in producing proton radiographic images using the proton beam at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Methods: A CMOS APS, previously tested for use in s-ray radiation therapy applications, was used for proton beam radiographic imaging at the MGH. Two different setups were used as a proof of principle that CMOS can be used as proton imaging device: (i) a pen with two metal screws to assess spatial resolution of the CMOS and (ii) a phantom with lung tissue, bone tissue, and water to assess tissuemore » contrast of the CMOS. The sensor was then traversed by a double scattered monoenergetic proton beam at 117 MeV, and the energy deposition inside the detector was recorded to assess its energy response. Conventional x-ray images with similar setup at voltages of 70 kVp and proton images using commercial Gafchromic EBT 2 and Kodak X-Omat V films were also taken for comparison purposes. Results: Images were successfully acquired and compared to x-ray kVp and proton EBT2/X-Omat film images. The spatial resolution of the CMOS detector image is subjectively comparable to the EBT2 and Kodak X-Omat V film images obtained at the same object-detector distance. X-rays have apparent higher spatial resolution than the CMOS. However, further studies with different commercial films using proton beam irradiation demonstrate that the distance of the detector to the object is important to the amount of proton scatter contributing to the proton image. Proton images obtained with films at different distances from the source indicate that proton scatter significantly affects the CMOS image quality. Conclusion: Proton radiographic images were successfully acquired at MGH using a CMOS active pixel sensor detector. The CMOS demonstrated spatial resolution subjectively comparable to films at the same object-detector distance. Further work will be done in order to establish the spatial and energy resolution of the CMOS detector for protons. The development and use of CMOS in proton radiography could allow in vivo proton range checks, patient setup QA, and real-time tumor tracking.« less

Cavitation damage prediction for spallation target vessels by assessment of acoustic vibration

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

Futakawa, Masatoshi; Kogawa, Hiroyuki; Hasegawa, Shoichi

2008-01-01

Liquid-mercury target systems for MW-class spallation neutron sources are being developed around the world. Proton beams are used to induce the spallation reaction. At the moment the proton beam hits the target, pressure waves are generated in the mercury because of the abrupt heat deposition. The pressure waves interact with the target vessel leading to negative pressure that may cause cavitation along the vessel wall. In order to estimate the cavitation erosion, i.e. the pitting damage formed by the collapse of cavitation bubbles, off-beam tests were performed by using an electric magnetic impact testing machine (MIMTM), which can impose equivalentmore » pressure pulses in mercury. The damage potential was defined based on the relationship between the pitting damage and the time-integrated acoustic vibration induced by impact due to the bubble collapses. Additionally, the damage potential was measured in on-beam tests carried out by using the proton beam at WNR (Weapons Neutron Research) facility in Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). In this paper, the concept of the damage potential, the relationship between the pitting damage formation and the damage potential both in off-beam and on-beam tests is shown.« less

Design, test, and calibration of an electrostatic beam position monitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen-Solal, Maurice

2010-03-01

The low beta of proton or ion beams favors an electrostatic pickup to measure the transverse beam centroid position. Often papers on beam position monitors (BPM) are focused on a particular aspect of the problem; however, it is important to consider all various issues of a position measurement system. Based on our experience at the IPHI (high intensity injector proton) facility at CEA-Saclay, this paper will address all aspects to design, test, and calibrate a BPM for proton linear accelerators, while emphasizing the determination of the absolute beam position. We present details of the readout electronics, and describe the calibration of the BPM using a test station. For calculation and simulation of the electrical signals we developed a Mathematica script. The error analysis presented, on the basis of six BPMs installed in the high energy section of IPHI, demonstrates the expected accuracy of the position measurement. These studies also identify the parameters that could improve the performance of the beam position control. The experience from these developments is currently being used for the BPM design and test stand dedicated to the Spiral2 accelerator at Ganil-Caen which will deliver heavy ion beams.

TAC Proton Accelerator Facility: The Status and Road Map

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

Algin, E.; Akkus, B.; Caliskan, A.

2011-06-28

Proton Accelerator (PA) Project is at a stage of development, working towards a Technical Design Report under the roof of a larger-scale Turkish Accelerator Center (TAC) Project. The project is supported by the Turkish State Planning Organization. The PA facility will be constructed in a series of stages including a 3 MeV test stand, a 55 MeV linac which can be extended to 100+ MeV, and then a full 1-3 GeV proton synchrotron or superconducting linac. In this article, science applications, overview, and current status of the PA Project will be given.

The application of Dow Chemical's perfluorinated membranes in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eisman, G. A.

1989-01-01

Dow Chemical's research activities in fuel cells revolve around the development of perfluorosulfonic acid membranes useful as the proton transport medium and separator. Some of the performance characteristics which are typical for such membranes are outlined. The results of tests utilizing a new experimental membrane useful in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells are presented. The high voltage at low current densities can lead to higher system efficiencies while, at the same time, not sacrificing other critical properties pertinent to membrane fuel cell operation. A series of tests to determine response times indicated that on-off cycles are on the order of 80 milliseconds to reach 90 percent of full power. The IR free voltage at 100 amps/sq ft was determined and the results indicating a membrane/electrode package resistance to be .15 ohm-sq cm at 100 amps/sq ft.

Double-trap measurement of the proton magnetic moment at 0.3 parts per billion precision.

PubMed

Schneider, Georg; Mooser, Andreas; Bohman, Matthew; Schön, Natalie; Harrington, James; Higuchi, Takashi; Nagahama, Hiroki; Sellner, Stefan; Smorra, Christian; Blaum, Klaus; Matsuda, Yasuyuki; Quint, Wolfgang; Walz, Jochen; Ulmer, Stefan

2017-11-24

Precise knowledge of the fundamental properties of the proton is essential for our understanding of atomic structure as well as for precise tests of fundamental symmetries. We report on a direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment μ p of the proton in units of the nuclear magneton μ N The result, μ p = 2.79284734462 (±0.00000000082) μ N , has a fractional precision of 0.3 parts per billion, improves the previous best measurement by a factor of 11, and is consistent with the currently accepted value. This was achieved with the use of an optimized double-Penning trap technique. Provided a similar measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment can be performed, this result will enable a test of the fundamental symmetry between matter and antimatter in the baryonic sector at the 10 -10 level. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Recovery of damage in rad-hard MOS devices during and after irradiation by electrons, protons, alphas, and gamma rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brucker, G. J.; Van Gunten, O.; Stassinopoulos, E. G.; Shapiro, P.; August, L. S.; Jordan, T. M.

1983-01-01

This paper reports on the recovery properties of rad-hard MOS devices during and after irradiation by electrons, protons, alphas, and gamma rays. The results indicated that complex recovery properties controlled the damage sensitivities of the tested parts. The results also indicated that damage sensitivities depended on dose rate, total dose, supply bias, gate bias, transistor type, radiation source, and particle energy. The complex nature of these dependencies make interpretation of LSI device performance in space (exposure to entire electron and proton spectra) difficult, if not impossible, without respective ground tests and analyses. Complete recovery of n-channel shifts was observed, in some cases within hours after irradiation, with equilibrium values of threshold voltages greater than their pre-irradiation values. This effect depended on total dose, radiation source, and gate bias during exposure. In contrast, the p-channel shifts recovered only 20 percent within 30 days after irradiation.

Ion Beam Facility at the University of Chile; Applications and Basic Research

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

Miranda, P. A.; Morales, J. R.; Cancino, S.

2010-08-04

The main characteristics of the ion beam facility based on a 3.75 MeV Van de Graaff accelerator at the University of Chile are described at this work. Current activities are mainly focused on the application of the Ion Beam Analysis techniques for environmental, archaeological, and material science analysis. For instance, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) is applied to measure thin gold film thickness which are used to determine their resistivity and other electrical properties. At this laboratory the Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) and Proton Elastic Scattering Analysis (PESA) methodologies are extensively used for trace element analysis of urban aerosols (Santiago,more » Ciudad de Mexico). A similar study is being carried out at the Antarctica Peninsula. Characterization studies on obsidian and vitreous dacite samples using PIXE has been also perform allowing to match some of these artifacts with geological source sites in Chile.Basic physics research is being carried out by measuring low-energy cross section values for the reactions {sup 63}Cu(d,p){sup 64}Cu and {sup Nat}Zn(p,x){sup 67}Ga. Both radionuclide {sup 64}Cu and {sup 67}Ga are required for applications in medicine. Ongoing stopping power cross section measurements of proton and alphas on Pd, Cu, Bi and Mylar are briefly discussed.« less

Ion Beam Facility at the University of Chile; Applications and Basic Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miranda, P. A.; Morales, J. R.; Cancino, S.; Dinator, M. I.; Donoso, N.; Sepúlveda, A.; Ortiz, P.; Rojas, S.

2010-08-01

The main characteristics of the ion beam facility based on a 3.75 MeV Van de Graaff accelerator at the University of Chile are described at this work. Current activities are mainly focused on the application of the Ion Beam Analysis techniques for environmental, archaeological, and material science analysis. For instance, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) is applied to measure thin gold film thickness which are used to determine their resistivity and other electrical properties. At this laboratory the Proton Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE) and Proton Elastic Scattering Analysis (PESA) methodologies are extensively used for trace element analysis of urban aerosols (Santiago, Ciudad de Mexico). A similar study is being carried out at the Antarctica Peninsula. Characterization studies on obsidian and vitreous dacite samples using PIXE has been also perform allowing to match some of these artifacts with geological source sites in Chile. Basic physics research is being carried out by measuring low-energy cross section values for the reactions 63Cu(d,p)64Cu and NatZn(p,x)67Ga. Both radionuclide 64Cu and 67Ga are required for applications in medicine. Ongoing stopping power cross section measurements of proton and alphas on Pd, Cu, Bi and Mylar are briefly discussed.

Modeling and optimization of a time-resolved proton radiographic imaging system for proton cancer treatment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Bin

This dissertation describes a research project to test the clinical utility of a time-resolved proton radiographic (TRPR) imaging system by performing comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations of a physical device coupled with realistic lung cancer patient anatomy defined by 4DCT for proton therapy. A time-resolved proton radiographic imaging system was modeled through Monte Carlo simulations. A particle-tracking feature was employed to evaluate the performance of the proton imaging system, especially in its ability to visualize and quantify proton range variations during respiration. The Most Likely Path (MLP) algorithm was developed to approximate the multiple Coulomb scattering paths of protons for the purpose of image reconstruction. Spatial resolution of ˜ 1 mm and range resolution of 1.3% of the total range were achieved using the MLP algorithm. Time-resolved proton radiographs of five patient cases were reconstructed to track tumor motion and to calculate water equivalent length variations. By comparing with direct 4DCT measurement, the accuracy of tumor tracking was found to be better than 2 mm in five patient cases. Utilizing tumor tracking information to reduce margins to the planning target volume, a gated treatment plan was compared with un-gated treatment plan. The equivalent uniform dose (EUD) and the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) were used to quantify the gain in the quality of treatments. The EUD of the OARs was found to be reduced up to 11% and the corresponding NTCP of organs at risk (OARs) was found to be reduced up to 16.5%. These results suggest that, with image guidance by proton radiography, dose to OARs can be reduced and the corresponding NTCPs can be significantly reduced. The study concludes that the proton imaging system can accurately track the motion of the tumor and detect the WEL variations, leading to potential gains in using image-guided proton radiography for lung cancer treatments.

An image-guided precision proton radiation platform for preclinical in vivo research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, E.; Emery, R.; Huff, D.; Narayanan, M.; Schwartz, J.; Cao, N.; Meyer, J.; Rengan, R.; Zeng, J.; Sandison, G.; Laramore, G.; Mayr, N.

2017-01-01

There are many unknowns in the radiobiology of proton beams and other particle beams. We describe the development and testing of an image-guided low-energy proton system optimized for radiobiological research applications. A 50 MeV proton beam from an existing cyclotron was modified to produce collimated beams (as small as 2 mm in diameter). Ionization chamber and radiochromic film measurements were performed and benchmarked with Monte Carlo simulations (TOPAS). The proton beam was aligned with a commercially-available CT image-guided x-ray irradiator device (SARRP, Xstrahl Inc.). To examine the alternative possibility of adapting a clinical proton therapy system, we performed Monte Carlo simulations of a range-shifted 100 MeV clinical beam. The proton beam exhibits a pristine Bragg Peak at a depth of 21 mm in water with a dose rate of 8.4 Gy min-1 (3 mm depth). The energy of the incident beam can be modulated to lower energies while preserving the Bragg peak. The LET was: 2.0 keV µm-1 (water surface), 16 keV µm-1 (Bragg peak), 27 keV µm-1 (10% peak dose). Alignment of the proton beam with the SARRP system isocenter was measured at 0.24 mm agreement. The width of the beam changes very little with depth. Monte Carlo-based calculations of dose using the CT image data set as input demonstrate in vivo use. Monte Carlo simulations of the modulated 100 MeV clinical proton beam show a significantly reduced Bragg peak. We demonstrate the feasibility of a proton beam integrated with a commercial x-ray image-guidance system for preclinical in vivo studies. To our knowledge this is the first description of an experimental image-guided proton beam for preclinical radiobiology research. It will enable in vivo investigations of radiobiological effects in proton beams.

A Test of the Interstellar Boundary EXplorer Ribbon Formation in the Outer Heliosheath

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

Gamayunov, Konstantin V.; Rassoul, Hamid; Heerikhuisen, Jacob, E-mail: kgamayunov@fit.edu

NASA’s Interstellar Boundary EXplorer ( IBEX ) mission is imaging energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) propagating to Earth from the outer heliosphere and local interstellar medium (LISM). A dominant feature in all ENA maps is a ribbon of enhanced fluxes that was not predicted before IBEX . While more than a dozen models of the ribbon formation have been proposed, consensus has gathered around the so-called secondary ENA model. Two classes of secondary ENA models have been proposed; the first class assumes weak scattering of the energetic pickup protons in the LISM, and the second class assumes strong but spatially localizedmore » scattering. Here we present a numerical test of the “weak scattering” version of the secondary ENA model using our gyro-averaged kinetic model for the evolution of the phase-space distribution of protons in the outer heliosheath. As input for our test, we use distributions of the primary ENAs from our MHD-plasma/kinetic-neutral model of the heliosphere-LISM interaction. The magnetic field spectrum for the large-scale interstellar turbulence and an upper limit for the amplitude of small-scale local turbulence (SSLT) generated by protons are taken from observations by Voyager 1 in the LISM. The hybrid simulations of energetic protons are also used to set the bounding wavenumbers for the spectrum of SSLT. Our test supports the “weak scattering” version. This makes an additional solid step on the way to understanding the origin and formation of the IBEX ribbon and thus to improving our understanding of the interaction between the heliosphere and the LISM.« less

A pH-dependent conformational ensemble mediates proton transport through the influenza A/M2 protein†

PubMed Central

Polishchuk, Alexei L.; Lear, James D.; Ma, Chunlong; Lamb, Robert A.; Pinto, Lawrence H.; DeGrado, William F.

2010-01-01

The influenza A M2 protein exhibits inwardly rectifying, pH-activated proton transport that saturates at low pH. A comparison of high-resolution structures of the transmembrane domain at high and low pH suggests that pH-dependent conformational changes may facilitate proton conduction by alternately changing the accessibility of the N-terminal and C-terminal regions of the channel as a proton transits through the transmembrane domain. Here, we show that M2 functionally reconstituted in liposomes populates at least three different conformational states over a physiologically relevant pH range, with transition midpoints that are consistent with previously reported His37 pKas. We then develop and test two similar, quantitative mechanistic models of proton transport, where protonation shifts the equilibrium between structural states having different proton affinities and solvent accessibilities. The models account well for a collection of experimental data sets over a wide range of pHs and voltages and require only a small number of adjustable parameters to accurately describe the data. While the kinetic models do not require any specific conformation for the protein, they nevertheless are consistent with a large body of structural information based on high-resolution NMR and crystallographic structures, optical spectroscopy, and MD calculations. PMID:20968306

Molecular Dynamics Studies of Proton Transport in Hydrogenase and Hydrogenase Mimics.

PubMed

Ginovska, B; Raugei, S; Shaw, W J

2016-01-01

There is extensive interest in hydrogenases based on their ability to rapidly and efficiently interconvert H2 with protons and electrons, and their (typically) superior function relative to molecular mimics. Understanding the function of enzymes is one approach to implementing design features to make better catalysts and is an approach we have implemented in our work. In this review, we will discuss our efforts to develop design principles from enzymes, with specific focus on proton transport. We will also present computational studies of the mimics we have investigated with similar methodologies. We will discuss the mechanisms used by small scaffolds on molecular mimics which in many cases are surprisingly similar to those used by nature, while in other cases, computational analysis allowed us to reveal an unexpected role. Computational methods provide one of the best ways, and in some cases, the only way, to gain insight into the mechanistic details of enzymes. In this review, we illustrate the general computational strategy we used to study the proton pathway of [FeFe]-hydrogenase, and the similar strategy to investigate small molecules. We present the main results we obtained and how our computational work stimulated or worked in concert with experimental investigations. We also focus on estimation of errors and convergence of properties in the simulations. These studies demonstrate the powerful results that can be obtained by the close pairing of experimental and theoretical approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Battelle, operator of PNNL, under Contract No: DE-AC05-76RL01830 with US DoE.

β decay of the exotic Tz=-2 nuclei 48Fe,52Ni , and 56Zn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orrigo, S. E. A.; Rubio, B.; Fujita, Y.; Gelletly, W.; Agramunt, J.; Algora, A.; Ascher, P.; Bilgier, B.; Blank, B.; Cáceres, L.; Cakirli, R. B.; Ganioǧlu, E.; Gerbaux, M.; Giovinazzo, J.; Grévy, S.; Kamalou, O.; Kozer, H. C.; Kucuk, L.; Kurtukian-Nieto, T.; Molina, F.; Popescu, L.; Rogers, A. M.; Susoy, G.; Stodel, C.; Suzuki, T.; Tamii, A.; Thomas, J. C.

2016-04-01

The results of a study of the β decays of three proton-rich nuclei with Tz=-2 , namely 48Fe,52Ni , and 56Zn, produced in an experiment carried out at GANIL, are reported. In all three cases we have extracted the half-lives and the total β -delayed proton emission branching ratios. We have measured the individual β -delayed protons and β -delayed γ rays and the branching ratios of the corresponding levels. Decay schemes have been determined for the three nuclei, and new energy levels are identified in the daughter nuclei. Competition between β -delayed protons and γ rays is observed in the de-excitation of the T =2 isobaric analog states in all three cases. Absolute Fermi and Gamow-Teller transition strengths have been determined. The mass excesses of the nuclei under study have been deduced. In addition, we discuss in detail the data analysis taking as a test case 56Zn, where the exotic β -delayed γ -proton decay has been observed.

Report on the flight data of the Goddard, University of Maryland Proton Helium Spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodman, J. A.; Yodh, G. B.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Streitmatter, R. E.; Balasubrahmanyan, U. K.; Ormes, J. F.; Vishwanath, P. R.

1982-01-01

The Goddard, University of Maryland Proton Helium Spectrometer (GUMPHS) was flown on June 13, 1979 from Palestine, Texas. The flight lasted 90 minutes and reached an altitude of 58,000 feet. The exposure, while short, was sufficient to test the capabilities of the instrument up to energies of the order of 7 TeV.

Storing Data from Qweak--A Precision Measurement of the Proton's Weak Charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pote, Timothy

2008-10-01

The Qweak experiment will perform a precision measurement of the proton's parity violating weak charge at low Q-squared. The experiment will do so by measuring the asymmetry in parity-violating electron scattering. The proton's weak charge is directly related to the value of the weak mixing angle--a fundamental quantity in the Standard Model. The Standard Model makes a firm prediction for the value of the weak mixing angle and thus Qweak may provide insight into shortcomings in the SM. The Qweak experiment will run at Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, VA. A database was designed to hold data directly related to the measurement of the proton's weak charge such as detector and beam monitor yield, asymmetry, and error as well as control structures such as the voltage across photomultiplier tubes and the temperature of the liquid hydrogen target. In order to test the database for speed and stability, it was filled with fake data that mimicked the data that Qweak is expected to collect. I will give a brief overview of the Qweak experiment and database design, and present data collected during these tests.

SU-F-BRD-09: A Random Walk Model Algorithm for Proton Dose Calculation

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

Yao, W; Farr, J

2015-06-15

Purpose: To develop a random walk model algorithm for calculating proton dose with balanced computation burden and accuracy. Methods: Random walk (RW) model is sometimes referred to as a density Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. In MC proton dose calculation, the use of Gaussian angular distribution of protons due to multiple Coulomb scatter (MCS) is convenient, but in RW the use of Gaussian angular distribution requires an extremely large computation and memory. Thus, our RW model adopts spatial distribution from the angular one to accelerate the computation and to decrease the memory usage. From the physics and comparison with the MCmore » simulations, we have determined and analytically expressed those critical variables affecting the dose accuracy in our RW model. Results: Besides those variables such as MCS, stopping power, energy spectrum after energy absorption etc., which have been extensively discussed in literature, the following variables were found to be critical in our RW model: (1) inverse squared law that can significantly reduce the computation burden and memory, (2) non-Gaussian spatial distribution after MCS, and (3) the mean direction of scatters at each voxel. In comparison to MC results, taken as reference, for a water phantom irradiated by mono-energetic proton beams from 75 MeV to 221.28 MeV, the gamma test pass rate was 100% for the 2%/2mm/10% criterion. For a highly heterogeneous phantom consisting of water embedded by a 10 cm cortical bone and a 10 cm lung in the Bragg peak region of the proton beam, the gamma test pass rate was greater than 98% for the 3%/3mm/10% criterion. Conclusion: We have determined key variables in our RW model for proton dose calculation. Compared with commercial pencil beam algorithms, our RW model much improves the dose accuracy in heterogeneous regions, and is about 10 times faster than MC simulations.« less

ASTRO-H CdTe detectors proton irradiation at PIF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limousin, O.; Renaud, D.; Horeau, B.; Dubos, S.; Laurent, P.; Lebrun, F.; Chipaux, R.; Boatella Polo, C.; Marcinkowski, R.; Kawaharada, M.; Watanabe, S.; Ohta, M.; Sato, G.; Takahashi, T.

2015-07-01

ASTRO-H will be operated in a Low Earth Orbit with a 31° inclination at 550 km altitude, thus passing daily through the South Atlantic Anomaly radiation belt, a specially harsh environment where the detectors are suffering the effect of the interaction with trapped high energy protons. As CdTe detector performance might be affected by the irradiation, we investigate the effect of the accumulated proton fluence on their spectral response. To do so, we have characterized and irradiated representative samples of SGD and HXI detector under different conditions. The detectors in question, from ACRORAD, are single-pixels having a size of 2 mm by 2 mm and 750 μm thick. The Schottky contact is either made of an Indium or Aluminum for SGD and HXI respectively. We ran the irradiation test campaign at the Proton Irradiation Facility (PIF) at PSI, and ESA approved equipment to evaluate the radiation hardness of flight hardware. We simulated the proton flux expected on the sensors over the entire mission, and secondary neutrons flux due to primary proton interactions into the surrounding BGO active shielding. We eventually characterized the detector response evolution, emphasizing each detector spectral response as well as its stability by studying the so-called Polarization effect. The latter is provoking a spectral response degradation against time as a charge accumulation process occurs in Schottky type CdTe sensors. In this paper, we report on the test campaigns at PIF and will show up our experimental setup. We will pursue describing the irradiation conditions associated with our GEANT 4 predictions and finally, we report the main results of our campaigns concluding that the proton effect does not severely affect the CdTe response neither the detector stability while the secondary neutrons might be more active to reduce the performance on the long run.

End-to-end test of the electron-proton spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cash, B. L.

1972-01-01

A series of end-to-end tests were performed to demonstrate the proper functioning of the complete Electron-Proton Spectrometer (EPS). The purpose of the tests was to provide experimental verification of the design and to provide a complete functional performance check of the instrument from the excitation of the sensors to and including the data processor and equipment test set. Each of the channels of the EPS was exposed to a calibrated beam of energetic particles, and counts were accumulated for a predetermined period of time for each of several energies. The counts were related to the known flux of particles to give a monodirectional response function for each channel. The measured response function of the test unit was compared to the response function determined for the calibration sensors from the data taken from the calibration program.

Analysis of 440 GeV proton beam–matter interaction experiments at the High Radiation Materials test facility at CERN

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

Burkart, F.; Schmidt, R.; Wollmann, D.

2015-08-07

In a previous paper [Schmidt et al., Phys. Plasmas 21, 080701 (2014)], we presented the first results on beam–matter interaction experiments that were carried out at the High Radiation Materials test facility at CERN. In these experiments, extended cylindrical targets of solid copper were irradiated with beam of 440 GeV protons delivered by the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). The beam comprised of a large number of high intensity proton bunches, each bunch having a length of 0.5 ns with a 50 ns gap between two neighboring bunches, while the length of this entire bunch train was about 7 μs. These experiments established the existencemore » of the hydrodynamic tunneling phenomenon the first time. Detailed numerical simulations of these experiments were also carried out which were reported in detail in another paper [Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. E 90, 063112 (2014)]. Excellent agreement was found between the experimental measurements and the simulation results that validate our previous simulations done using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) beam of 7 TeV protons [Tahir et al., Phys. Rev. Spec. Top.--Accel. Beams 15, 051003 (2012)]. According to these simulations, the range of the full LHC proton beam and the hadronic shower can be increased by more than an order of magnitude due to the hydrodynamic tunneling, compared to that of a single proton. This effect is of considerable importance for the design of machine protection system for hadron accelerators such as SPS, LHC, and Future Circular Collider. Recently, using metal cutting technology, the targets used in these experiments have been dissected into finer pieces for visual and microscopic inspection in order to establish the precise penetration depth of the protons and the corresponding hadronic shower. This, we believe will be helpful in studying the very important phenomenon of hydrodynamic tunneling in a more quantitative manner. The details of this experimental work together with a comparison with the numerical simulations are presented in this paper.« less

SU-C-204-02: Behavioral and Pathologic Differences in Mice Exposed to Proton Minibeam Arrays Versus Proton Broad Beams

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

Eley, J; Zhang, C; Wolfe, T

Purpose: Minibeam therapy using protons or light-ions offers a theoretical reduction of biologic damage to tissues upstream of a tumor compared to broad-beam therapy while providing equal tumor control. The purpose of this study was to investigate behavioral and pathologic differences in mice after exposure of healthy brain to proton minibeam arrays versus proton broad beams. Methods: Twenty-four C57BL/6J juvenile mice were divided into 5 study arms: sham irradiation (NoRT), broad-beam 10 Gy (BB10), minibeam 10Gy (MB10), broad-beam 30 Gy (BB30), and minibeam 30 Gy (MB30), approximate integral entrance doses. Circular beams of 100 MeV protons with 7-mm diameter weremore » delivered laterally through the brain, either as broad beams or as planar minibeam arrays having 300-micron beam width and 1-mm spacing on center. Mice were followed for 8 months using standard behavioral tests. Pathologic studies were carried out at 8 months after irradiation. Results: Peak entrance doses were 10.0, 23.8, 30.0, and 71.3 Gy for mice in BB10, MB10, BB30, and MB30, respectively. Despite the high single-fraction doses, no animals showed signs of radiation sickness or neurophysical impairment over the 8-month study duration. The Morris water maze alternate-starting-position trial showed significant evidence of better spatial learning for mice in MB10 versus BB10 (p=0.026), but other behavioral tests showed no significant differences. Glial fibrillary acidic protein stains showed gliosis in arms BB10, BB30, and MB30 but not in NoRT or MB10. A secondary finding was categorically higher epilation in broad-beam arms compared with their minibeam dose counterparts. Conclusion: Our findings indicate trends that, despite the higher peak doses, proton minibeam therapy can reduce radiation side effects in shallow tissue and brain compared to proton broadbeam therapy. As the behavioral findings were mixed, confirmation studies are needed with larger numbers of animals. AAPM Research Seed Funding Grant.« less

Dosimetric characterization of a synthetic single crystal diamond detector in a clinical 62 MeV ocular therapy proton beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinelli, Marco; Pompili, F.; Prestopino, G.; Verona, C.; Verona-Rinati, G.; Cirrone, G. A. P.; Cuttone, G.; La Rosa, R. M.; Raffaele, L.; Romano, F.; Tuvè, C.

2014-12-01

A synthetic single crystal diamond based Schottky photodiode was tested at INFN-LNS on the proton beam line (62 MeV) dedicated to the radiation treatment of ocular disease. The diamond detector response was studied in terms of pre-irradiation dose, linearity with dose and dose rate, and angular dependence. Depth dose curves were measured for the 62 MeV pristine proton beam and for three unmodulated range-shifted proton beams; furthermore, the spread-out Bragg peak was measured for a modulated therapeutic proton beam. Beam parameters, recommended by the ICRU report 78, were evaluated to analyze depth-dose curves from diamond detector. Measured dose distributions were compared with the corresponding dose distributions acquired with reference plane-parallel ionization chambers. Field size dependence of the output factor (dose per monitor unit) in a therapeutic modulated proton beam was measured with the diamond detector over the range of ocular proton therapy collimator diameters (5-30 mm). Output factors measured with the diamond detector were compared to the ones by a Markus ionization chamber, a Scanditronix Hi-p Si stereotactic diode and a radiochromic EBT2 film. Signal stability within 0.5% was demonstrated for the diamond detector with no need of any pre-irradiation dose. Dose and dose rate dependence of the diamond response was measured: deviations from linearity resulted to be within ±0.5% over the investigated ranges of 0.5-40.0 Gy and 0.3-30.0 Gy/min respectively. Output factors from diamond detector measured with the smallest collimator (5 mm in diameter) showed a maximum deviation of about 3% with respect to the high resolution radiochromic EBT2 film. Depth-dose curves measured by diamond for unmodulated and modulated beams were in good agreement with those from the reference plane-parallel Markus chamber, with relative differences lower than ±1% in peak-to-plateau ratios, well within experimental uncertainties. A 2.5% variation in diamond detector response was observed in angular dependence measurements carried-out by varying the proton beam incidence angle in the polar direction. The dosimetric characterization of the tested synthetic single crystal diamond detector clearly indicates its suitability for relative dosimetry in ocular therapy proton beams, with no need of any correction factors accounting for dose rate and linear energy transfer dependence.

Alpha-helical hydrophobic polypeptides form proton-selective channels in lipid bilayers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliver, A. E.; Deamer, D. W.

1994-01-01

Proton translocation is important in membrane-mediated processes such as ATP-dependent proton pumps, ATP synthesis, bacteriorhodopsin, and cytochrome oxidase function. The fundamental mechanism, however, is poorly understood. To test the theoretical possibility that bundles of hydrophobic alpha-helices could provide a low energy pathway for ion translocation through the lipid bilayer, polyamino acids were incorporated into extruded liposomes and planar lipid membranes, and proton translocation was measured. Liposomes with incorporated long-chain poly-L-alanine or poly-L-leucine were found to have proton permeability coefficients 5 to 7 times greater than control liposomes, whereas short-chain polyamino acids had relatively little effect. Potassium permeability was not increased markedly by any of the polyamino acids tested. Analytical thin layer chromatography measurements of lipid content and a fluorescamine assay for amino acids showed that there were approximately 135 polyleucine or 65 polyalanine molecules associated with each liposome. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that a major fraction of the long-chain hydrophobic peptides existed in an alpha-helical conformation. Single-channel recording in both 0.1 N HCl and 0.1 M KCl was also used to determine whether proton-conducting channels formed in planar lipid membranes (phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylethanolamine, 1:1). Poly-L-leucine and poly-L-alanine in HCl caused a 10- to 30-fold increase in frequency of conductive events compared to that seen in KCl or by the other polyamino acids in either solution. This finding correlates well with the liposome observations in which these two polyamino acids caused the largest increase in membrane proton permeability but had little effect on potassium permeability. Poly-L-leucine was considerably more conductive than poly-L-alanine due primarily to larger event amplitudes and, to a lesser extent, a higher event frequency. Poly-L-leucine caused two populations of conductive events, one in the 0.1-0.5 pA range, and one in the 1.0-5.0 pA range, whereas nearly all events caused by poly-L-alanine were in the 0.1-0.5 pA range at an applied voltage of +60 mV. The channel-like activity appeared to switch between conductive and nonconductive states, with most open-times in the range of 50-200 ms. We conclude that hydrophobic polyamino acids produce proton-conducting defects in lipid bilayers that may be used to model functional proton channels in biological membranes.

SU-E-T-264: Preliminary Results On New Optically Stimulated Luminescent Materials for Proton Therapy Dosimetry

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

Doull, B; Zheng, Y; Procure Proton Therapy Center, Oklahoma City, OK

2014-06-01

Purpose: The objective of this work is to test the premise that luminescence materials with less under-response to proton beams can be identified by testing their dose response to low-LET radiation. The goal is to develop new Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) materials with improved response for proton therapy dosimetry. Methods: We first measured the dose response of new OSL materials, synthesized in our laboratory, to low-LET radiation (beta rays from a {sup 90}Sr/{sup 90}Y source) and selected two materials having different OSL saturation characteristics and good dosimetric properties, namely MgB4O7:Ce,Li and MgO:Li. Commercial Al2O3:C was also used for comparison. Thesemore » materials were then irradiated at several depths along a pristine proton beam. The luminescence responses of the materials, relative to the entrance response, were compared with the depth dose profile measured by a multiple-layer ion chamber. Results: The OSL signals of MgB4O7:Ce,Li and MgO:Li were characterized for signal stability, dose response, and response to a clinical proton beam. The materials were also compared with the commercial Al2O3:C. The signals from both MgB4O7:Ce,Li and MgO:Li were relatively stable after a one day delay following irradiation. The low-LET dose response of the materials showed that, over the dose range investigated (up to ∼800 Gy), MgB4O7:Ce,Li did not saturate, whereas MgO:Li and Al2O3:C saturated at doses of ∼100 Gy. MgB4O7:Ce,Li showed less underresponse to proton beams than MgO:Li and Al2O3:C. Conclusion: In general the material with the highest saturation doses for low-LET radiation (MgB4O7:Ce,Li) showed the least under-response to proton beams, which suggests that it may be possible to develop better OSL materials for proton dosimetry if the dose response can be controlled during synthesis. Nevertheless, the degree in which the response to proton beams can be controlled remains to be determined. The research is funded by the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST), project number HR12-055.« less

Highly durable, coking and sulfur tolerant, fuel-flexible protonic ceramic fuel cells.

PubMed

Duan, Chuancheng; Kee, Robert J; Zhu, Huayang; Karakaya, Canan; Chen, Yachao; Ricote, Sandrine; Jarry, Angelique; Crumlin, Ethan J; Hook, David; Braun, Robert; Sullivan, Neal P; O'Hayre, Ryan

2018-05-01

Protonic ceramic fuel cells, like their higher-temperature solid-oxide fuel cell counterparts, can directly use both hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels to produce electricity at potentially more than 50 per cent efficiency 1,2 . Most previous direct-hydrocarbon fuel cell research has focused on solid-oxide fuel cells based on oxygen-ion-conducting electrolytes, but carbon deposition (coking) and sulfur poisoning typically occur when such fuel cells are directly operated on hydrocarbon- and/or sulfur-containing fuels, resulting in severe performance degradation over time 3-6 . Despite studies suggesting good performance and anti-coking resistance in hydrocarbon-fuelled protonic ceramic fuel cells 2,7,8 , there have been no systematic studies of long-term durability. Here we present results from long-term testing of protonic ceramic fuel cells using a total of 11 different fuels (hydrogen, methane, domestic natural gas (with and without hydrogen sulfide), propane, n-butane, i-butane, iso-octane, methanol, ethanol and ammonia) at temperatures between 500 and 600 degrees Celsius. Several cells have been tested for over 6,000 hours, and we demonstrate excellent performance and exceptional durability (less than 1.5 per cent degradation per 1,000 hours in most cases) across all fuels without any modifications in the cell composition or architecture. Large fluctuations in temperature are tolerated, and coking is not observed even after thousands of hours of continuous operation. Finally, sulfur, a notorious poison for both low-temperature and high-temperature fuel cells, does not seem to affect the performance of protonic ceramic fuel cells when supplied at levels consistent with commercial fuels. The fuel flexibility and long-term durability demonstrated by the protonic ceramic fuel cell devices highlight the promise of this technology and its potential for commercial application.

Observation of Doppler broadening in β -delayed proton- γ decay

DOE PAGES

Schwartz, S. B.; Wrede, C.; Bennett, M. B.; ...

2015-09-14

Background: The Doppler broadening of gamma-ray peaks is due to nuclear recoil from beta-delayed nucleon emission can be used to measure the energies of the nucleons. This method has never been tested using beta-delayed proton emission or applied to a recoil heavier than A = 10. Purpose: To test and apply this Doppler broadening method using gamma-ray peaks from the P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay sequence. Methods: A fast beam of P-26 was implanted into a planar Ge detector, which was used as a P-26 beta-decay trigger. The SeGA array of high-purity Ge detectors was used to detect gamma rays frommore » the P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay sequence. Results: Radiative Doppler broadening in beta-delayed proton-gamma decay was observed for the first time. Moreover, the Doppler broadening analysis method was verified using the 1613-keV gamma-ray line for which the proton energies were previously known. The 1776-keV gamma ray de-exciting the 2720 keV Al-25 level was observed in P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay for the first time and used to determine that the center-of-mass energy of the proton emission feeding the 2720-keV level is 5.1 +/- 1.0 (stat.) +/- 0.6 (syst.) MeV, corresponding to a Si-26 excitation energy of 13.3 +/- 1.0 (stat.) +/- 0.6 (syst.) MeV for the proton-emitting level. Conclusions: Finally, the Doppler broadening method has been demonstrated to provide practical measurements of the energies for beta-delayed nucleon emissions populating excited states of nuclear recoils at least as heavy as A = 25.« less

Observation of Doppler broadening in β -delayed proton-γ decay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, S. B.; Wrede, C.; Bennett, M. B.; Liddick, S. N.; Pérez-Loureiro, D.; Bowe, A.; Chen, A. A.; Chipps, K. A.; Cooper, N.; Irvine, D.; McNeice, E.; Montes, F.; Naqvi, F.; Ortez, R.; Pain, S. D.; Pereira, J.; Prokop, C.; Quaglia, J.; Quinn, S. J.; Sakstrup, J.; Santia, M.; Shanab, S.; Simon, A.; Spyrou, A.; Thiagalingam, E.

2015-09-01

Background: The Doppler broadening of γ -ray peaks due to nuclear recoil from β -delayed nucleon emission can be used to measure the energies of the nucleons. This method has never been tested using β -delayed proton emission or applied to a recoil heavier than A =10 . Purpose: To test and apply this Doppler broadening method using γ -ray peaks from the 26P(β p γ )25Al decay sequence. Methods: A fast beam of 26P was implanted into a planar Ge detector, which was used as a 26P β -decay trigger. The SeGA array of high-purity Ge detectors was used to detect γ rays from the 26P(β p γ )25Al decay sequence. Results: Radiative Doppler broadening in β -delayed proton-γ decay was observed for the first time. The Doppler broadening analysis method was verified using the 1613-keV γ -ray line for which the proton energies were previously known. The 1776-keV γ ray de-exciting the 2720 keV 25Al level was observed in 26P(β p γ )25Al decay for the first time and used to determine that the center-of-mass energy of the proton emission feeding the 2720-keV level is 5.1 ±1.0 (stat.) ±0.6 (syst.) MeV, corresponding to a 26Si excitation energy of 13.3 ±1.0 (stat.) ±0.6 (syst.) MeV for the proton-emitting level. Conclusions: The Doppler broadening method has been demonstrated to provide practical measurements of the energies for β -delayed nucleon emissions populating excited states of nuclear recoils at least as heavy as A =25 .

Mitigating Upsets in SRAM Based FPGAs from the Xilinix Virtex 2 Family

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swift, Gary M.; Yui, Candice C.; Carmichael, Carl; Koga, Rocky; George, Jeffrey S.

2003-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the single event upset static testing of the Virtex II field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) that were tested in protons and heavy-ions. The test designs and static and dynamic test results are reviewed.

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

Parodi, K; Dauvergne, D; Kruse, J

In this first inaugural joint ESTRO-AAPM session we will attempt to provide some answers to the problems encountered in the clinical application of particle therapy. Indeed the main advantage is that the physical properties of ion beams offer high ballistic accuracy for tightly conformal irradiation of the tumour volume, with excellent sparing of surrounding healthy tissue and critical organs, This also its Achilles' heel calling for an increasing role of imaging to ensure safe application of the intended dose to the targeted area during the entire course of fractionated therapy. We have three distinguished speakers addressing possible solutions. Katia Parodimore » (Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany) To date, Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is the only technique which has been already clinically investigated for in-vivo visualization of the beam range during or shortly after ion beam delivery. The method exploits the transient amount of β{sup 2}-activity induced in nuclear interactions between the primary beam and the irradiated tissue, depending on the ion beam species, the tissue elemental composition and physiological properties (in terms of biological clearance), as well as the time course of irradiation and imaging. This contribution will review initial results, ongoing methodological developments and remaining challenges related to the clinical usage of viable but often suboptimal instrumentation and workflows of PET-based treatment verification. Moreover, it will present and discuss promising new detector developments towards next-generation dedicated PET scanners relying on full-ring or dual-head designs for in-beam quasi real-time imaging. Denis Dauvergne (Institut de Physique Nucleaire de Lyon, Lyon, France) Prompt gamma radiation monitoring of hadron therapy presents the advantage of real time capability to measure the ion range. Both simulations and experiments show that millimetric verification of the range can be achieved at the pencil beam scale for active proton beam delivery in homogenous targets. The development of gamma cameras, that has been studied by several groups worldwide over the last years, now reaches - for some of them - the stage of being applicable in clinical conditions, with real size prototypes and count rate capability matching the therapeutic beam intensities. We will review the different concepts of gamma cameras, the advantages and limitations of this method, and the main challenges that should still be overcome before the widespread of prompt gamma quality assurance for proton and hadrontherapy. Jon Kruse (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA) Treatment simulation images for proton therapy are used to determine proton stopping power and range in the patient. This talk will discuss the careful control of CT numbers and conversion of CT number to stopping power required in proton therapy. Imaging for treatment guidance of proton therapy also presents unique challenges which will be addressed. Among them are the enhanced relationship between internal anatomy changes and dosimetry, the need for imaging to support adaptive planning protocols, and high operational efficiency. Learning Objectives: To learn about the possibilities of using activation products to determine the range of particle beams in a patient treatment setting To be informed on an alternative methodology using prompt gamma detectors To understand the impact of the accuracy of the knowledge of the patient information with respect to the delivered treatment.« less

Occupational Airborne Contact Dermatitis From Proton Pump Inhibitors.

PubMed

DeKoven, Joel G; Yu, Ashley M

2015-01-01

Few published reports have described occupational contact dermatitis from proton pump inhibitor (PPI) exposure in the literature. We present an additional case of a 58-year-old male pharmaceutical worker with an occupational airborne allergic contact dermatitis to PPIs confirmed by patch testing. This is a novel report of workplace exposure to dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole PPIs with resultant clinical contact allergy and relevant positive patch test results to these 2 agents. A literature review of all previously reported cases of occupational contact dermatitis to PPI is summarized. The case also emphasizes the importance of even minute exposures when considering workplace accommodation.

The role of a microDiamond detector in the dosimetry of proton pencil beams.

PubMed

Gomà, Carles; Marinelli, Marco; Safai, Sairos; Verona-Rinati, Gianluca; Würfel, Jan

2016-03-01

In this work, the performance of a microDiamond detector in a scanned proton beam is studied and its potential role in the dosimetric characterization of proton pencil beams is assessed. The linearity of the detector response with the absorbed dose and the dependence on the dose-rate were tested. The depth-dose curve and the lateral dose profiles of a proton pencil beam were measured and compared to reference data. The feasibility of calibrating the beam monitor chamber with a microDiamond detector was also studied. It was found the detector reading is linear with the absorbed dose to water (down to few cGy) and the detector response is independent of both the dose-rate (up to few Gy/s) and the proton beam energy (within the whole clinically-relevant energy range). The detector showed a good performance in depth-dose curve and lateral dose profile measurements; and it might even be used to calibrate the beam monitor chambers-provided it is cross-calibrated against a reference ionization chamber. In conclusion, the microDiamond detector was proved capable of performing an accurate dosimetric characterization of proton pencil beams. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

SU-F-T-131: No Increase in Biological Effectiveness Through Collimator Scattered Low Energy Protons

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

Matsuura, T; Takao, S; Matsuzaki, Y

Purpose: To reduce the lateral penumbra of low-energy proton beams, brass collimators are often used in spot-scanning proton therapy (SSPT). This study investigates the increase in biological effectiveness through collimator scattered protons in SSPT. Methods: The SSPT system of the Hokkaido University Hospital Proton Beam Therapy Center, which consists of a scanning nozzle, a 2-cm thick brass collimator, and a 4-cm thick energy absorber, was simulated with our validated Geant4 Monte Carlo code (ver. 9.3). A water phantom was irradiated with proton pencil beams of 76, 110, and 143 MeV. The tested collimator opening areas (COA) were 5×5, 10×10, andmore » 15×15 cm{sup 2}. Comparisons were made among the dose-averaged LET values of protons that hit the collimators (LETDColl), protons that did not hit the collimators (LETDNoColl), and all protons (LETDTotal). X-ray equivalent doses (Deq) were calculated using the linear-quadratic model with LETDNoColl and LETDTotal, and their maximum difference was determined over regions where the physical dose was greater than 10% of the peak dose of 2 Gy. Results: The ratio of the dose contribution of collimator scattered protons to that of all protons, defined as λ, was large at high proton energies and large COAs. The maximum λ value ranged from 3% (76 MeV, 5×5 cm{sup 2}) to 29% (143 MeV, 15×15 cm{sup 2}). Moreover, a large difference between LETDColl and LETDNoColl was only found in regions where λ was below 20% (ΔLETD > 2 keV/µm) and 8% (ΔLETD > 5 keV/µm). Consequently, the maximum difference between LETDNoColl and LETDTotal was as small as 0.8 keV/µm in all simulated voxels, and the difference of Deq reached a maximum of 1.5% that of the peak dose obtained at the water surface with a 76 MeV beam. Conclusion: Although collimator scattered protons have high LET, they only increase the physical dose, not the biological effectiveness.« less

Application of nuclear physics in medical physics and nuclear medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoehr, Cornelia

2016-09-01

Nuclear physics has a long history of influencing and advancing medical fields. At TRIUMF we use the applications of nuclear physics to diagnose several diseases via medical isotopes and treat cancer by using proton beams. The Life Science division has a long history of producing Positron Emission Tomography (PET) isotopes but we are also investigating the production of SPECT and PET isotopes with a potential shortage for clinical operation or otherwise limited access to chemists, biologists and medical researchers. New targets are being developed, aided by a simulation platform investigating the processes inside a target under proton irradiation - nuclear, thermodynamic, and chemical. Simulations also aid in the development of new beam-shaping devices for TRIUMF's Proton Therapy facility, Canada's only proton therapy facility, as well as new treatment testing systems. Both promise improved treatment delivery for cancer patients.

Development of a tritium monitor combined with an electrochemical tritium pump using a proton conducting oxide

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

Tanaka, M.; Sugiyama, T.

2015-03-15

The detection of low level tritium is one of the key issues for tritium management in tritium handling facilities. Such a detection can be performed by tritium monitors based on proton conducting oxide technique. We tested a tritium monitoring system composed of a commercial proportional counter combined with an electrochemical hydrogen pump equipped with CaZr{sub 0.9}In{sub 0.1}O{sub 3-α} as proton conducting oxide. The hydrogen pump operated at 973 K under electrolysis conditions using tritiated water vapor (HTO). The proton conducting oxide extracts tritium molecules (HT) from HTO and tritium concentration is measured by the proportional counter. The advantage of themore » proposed tritium monitoring system is that it is able to convert HTO into molecular hydrogen.« less

Radiation tests of the EMU spacesuit for the International SpaceStation using energetic protons

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

Zeitlin, C.; Heilbronn, L.; Miller, J.

2001-06-04

Measurements using silicon detectors to characterize theradiation transmitted through the EMU spacesuit and a human phantom havebeen performed using 155 and 250 MeV proton beams at the Loma LindaUniversity Medical Center (LLUMC). The beams simulate radiationencountered in space, where trapped protons having kinetic energies onthe order of 100 MeV are copious. Protons with 100 MeV kinetic energy andabove can penetrate many centimeters of water of other light materials,so that astronauts exposed to such energetic particles will receive dosesto their internal organs. This dose can be enhanced or reduced byshielding - either from the spacesuit or the self-shielding of the bodymore » -but minimization of the risk depends on details of the incident particleflux (in particular the energy spectrum) and on the dose responses of thevarious critical organs.« less

The evolution of Saturn's radiation belts modulated by changes in radial diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollmann, P.; Roussos, E.; Kotova, A.; Paranicas, C.; Krupp, N.

2017-12-01

Globally magnetized planets, such as the Earth1 and Saturn2, are surrounded by radiation belts of protons and electrons with kinetic energies well into the million electronvolt range. The Earth's proton belt is supplied locally from galactic cosmic rays interacting with the atmosphere3, as well as from slow inward radial transport4. Its intensity shows a relationship with the solar cycle4,5 and abrupt dropouts due to geomagnetic storms6,7. Saturn's proton belts are simpler than the Earth's because cosmic rays are the principal source of energetic protons8 with virtually no contribution from inward transport, and these belts can therefore act as a prototype to understand more complex radiation belts. However, the time dependence of Saturn's proton belts had not been observed over sufficiently long timescales to test the driving mechanisms unambiguously. Here we analyse the evolution of Saturn's proton belts over a solar cycle using in-situ measurements from the Cassini Saturn orbiter and a numerical model. We find that the intensity in Saturn's proton radiation belts usually rises over time, interrupted by periods that last over a year for which the intensity is gradually dropping. These observations are inconsistent with predictions based on a modulation in the cosmic-ray source, as could be expected4,9 based on the evolution of the Earth's proton belts. We demonstrate that Saturn's intensity dropouts result instead from losses due to abrupt changes in magnetospheric radial diffusion.

Characteristics of fiber-optic radiation sensor for passive scattering proton beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Son, J.; Kim, M.; Jeong, J.; Lim, Y.; Lee, S. B.; Shin, D.; Yoon, M.

2017-11-01

The aims of this study were to investigate the characteristics of a fiber-optic radiation sensor (FORS) that detects the fluorescence light produced by proton beam and to verify its effectiveness in proton therapy quality assurance (QA). Various characteristics of the FORS were investigated, such as the linearity of its relationships to the sensitive length of fiber for the proton beams of intermediate ranges (165.46 and 178.37 MeV) and to the measured dose, as well as its dose rate dependence. In addition, patient specific precription dose QA was conducted for five patients actually undergoing proton therapy and the results were compared with the doses measured using an ion chamber. The results show that the signal of the FORS is linearly related to the sensitive length of fiber and to the irradiated dose in the range from 1 to 500 cGy. The QA results obtained using the FORS system showed good agreement with the corresponding ion chamber results, with an average difference of 0.40% and a standard deviation of 0.35%. The FORS was dose-rate independent for proton currents up to 5 Gy/min. The profiles of various proton beams obtained using an array of FORS, which were measured as an application of the developed dosimetric system, closely agreed with the profiles acquired using EBT3 film. In summary, the experimental results of FORS demonstrated its effectiveness for use in various proton therapy QA tests.

First test of the prompt gamma ray timing method with heterogeneous targets at a clinical proton therapy facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hueso-González, Fernando; Enghardt, Wolfgang; Fiedler, Fine; Golnik, Christian; Janssens, Guillaume; Petzoldt, Johannes; Prieels, Damien; Priegnitz, Marlen; Römer, Katja E.; Smeets, Julien; Vander Stappen, François; Wagner, Andreas; Pausch, Guntram

2015-08-01

Ion beam therapy promises enhanced tumour coverage compared to conventional radiotherapy, but particle range uncertainties significantly blunt the achievable precision. Experimental tools for range verification in real-time are not yet available in clinical routine. The prompt gamma ray timing method has been recently proposed as an alternative to collimated imaging systems. The detection times of prompt gamma rays encode essential information about the depth-dose profile thanks to the measurable transit time of ions through matter. In a collaboration between OncoRay, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and IBA, the first test at a clinical proton accelerator (Westdeutsches Protonentherapiezentrum Essen, Germany) with several detectors and phantoms is performed. The robustness of the method against background and stability of the beam bunch time profile is explored, and the bunch time spread is characterized for different proton energies. For a beam spot with a hundred million protons and a single detector, range differences of 5 mm in defined heterogeneous targets are identified by numerical comparison of the spectrum shape. For higher statistics, range shifts down to 2 mm are detectable. A proton bunch monitor, higher detector throughput and quantitative range retrieval are the upcoming steps towards a clinically applicable prototype. In conclusion, the experimental results highlight the prospects of this straightforward verification method at a clinical pencil beam and settle this novel approach as a promising alternative in the field of in vivo dosimetry.

Using the water signal to detect invisible exchanging protons in the catalytic triad of a serine protease

PubMed Central

Lauzon, Carolyn B.; van Zijl, Peter; Stivers, James T.

2011-01-01

Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) is an MRI approach that can indirectly detect exchange broadened protons that are invisible in traditional NMR spectra. We modified the CEST pulse sequence for use on high-resolution spectrometers and developed a quantitative approach for measuring exchange rates based upon CEST spectra. This new methodology was applied to the rapidly exchanging Hδ1 and Hε2 protons of His57 in the catalytic triad of bovine chymotrypsinogen-A (bCT-A). CEST enabled observation of Hε2 at neutral pH values, and also allowed measurement of solvent exchange rates for His57-Hδ1 and His57-Hε2 across a wide pH range (3–10). Hδ1 exchange was only dependent upon the charge state of the His57 (kex,Im+ = 470 s−1, kex,Im = 50 s−1), while Hε2 exchange was found to be catalyzed by hydroxide ion and phosphate base (kOH− = 1.7 × 1010 M−1s−1, kHPO42−=1.7×106M−1s−1), reflecting its greater exposure to solute catalysts. Concomitant with the disappearance of the Hε2 signal as the pH was increased above its pKa, was the appearance of a novel signal (δ = 12 ppm), which we assigned to Hγ of the nearby Ser195 nucleophile, that is hydrogen bonded to Nε2 of neutral His57. The chemical shift of Hγ is about 7 ppm downfield from a typical hydroxyl proton, suggesting a highly polarized O-Hγ bond. The significant alkoxide character of Oγ indicates that Ser195 is preactivated for nucleophilic attack before substrate binding. CEST should be generally useful for mechanistic investigations of many enzymes with labile protons involved in active site chemistry. PMID:21809183

SU-F-J-57: Effectiveness of Daily CT-Based Three-Dimensional Image Guided and Adaptive Proton Therapy

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

Moriya, S; National Cancer Center, Kashiwa, Chiba; Tachibana, H

Purpose: Daily CT-based three-dimensional image-guided and adaptive (CTIGRT-ART) proton therapy system was designed and developed. We also evaluated the effectiveness of the CTIGRT-ART. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed in three lung cancer patients: Proton treatment planning was performed using CT image datasets acquired by Toshiba Aquilion ONE. Planning target volume and surrounding organs were contoured by a well-trained radiation oncologist. Dose distribution was optimized using 180-deg. and 270-deg. two fields in passive scattering proton therapy. Well commissioned Simplified Monte Carlo algorithm was used as dose calculation engine. Daily consecutive CT image datasets was acquired by an in-room CT (Toshiba Aquilionmore » LB). In our in-house program, two image registrations for bone and tumor were performed to shift the isocenter using treatment CT image dataset. Subsequently, dose recalculation was performed after the shift of the isocenter. When the dose distribution after the tumor registration exhibits change of dosimetric parameter of CTV D90% compared to the initial plan, an additional process of was performed that the range shifter thickness was optimized. Dose distribution with CTV D90% for the bone registration, the tumor registration only and adaptive plan with the tumor registration was compared to the initial plan. Results: In the bone registration, tumor dose coverage was decreased by 16% on average (Maximum: 56%). The tumor registration shows better coverage than the bone registration, however the coverage was also decreased by 9% (Maximum: 22%) The adaptive plan shows similar dose coverage of the tumor (Average: 2%, Maximum: 7%). Conclusion: There is a high possibility that only image registration for bone and tumor may reduce tumor coverage. Thus, our proposed methodology of image guidance and adaptive planning using the range adaptation after tumor registration would be effective for proton therapy. This research is partially supported by Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).« less

Coral reef calcification: carbonate, bicarbonate and proton flux under conditions of increasing ocean acidification.

PubMed

Jokiel, P L

2013-08-07

Data on calcification rate of coral and crustose coralline algae were used to test the proton flux model of calcification. There was a significant correlation between calcification (G) and the ratio of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to proton concentration ([DIC] : [H(+)] ratio). The ratio is tightly correlated with [CO3(2-)] and with aragonite saturation state (Ωa). An argument is presented that correlation does not prove cause and effect, and that Ωa and [CO3(2-)] have no basic physiological meaning on coral reefs other than a correlation with [DIC] : [H(+)] ratio, which is the driver of G.

Proton irradiation of malignant melanoma of the ciliary body.

PubMed Central

Gragoudas, E S; Goitein, M; Koehler, A; Wagner, M S; Verhey, L; Tepper, J; Suit, H D; Schneider, R J; Johnson, K N

1979-01-01

This is our first case of malignant melanoma of the ciliary body treated with proton beam irradiation, a technique that we developed for irradiating choroidal melanomas. After 21 months of follow-up no growth of the tumour has been observed, and shrinkage of the tumour was noted on the follow-up photographs and by ultrasonography. The 32P uptake test, which was positive before treatment, turned negative 14 months after irradiation. The described technique of proton beam irradiation might offer an alternative for the treatment of ciliary body melanomas when the present techniques of iridocyclectomy cannot be applied because of the size of the lesion. Images PMID:106873

Proton-irradiation technology for high-frequency high-current silicon welding diode manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lagov, P. B.; Drenin, A. S.; Zinoviev, M. A.

2017-05-01

Different proton irradiation regimes were tested to provide more than 20 kHz-frequency, soft reverse recovery “snap-less” behavior, low forward voltage drop and leakage current for 50 mm diameter 7 kA/400 V welding diode Al/Si/Mo structure. Silicon diode with such parameters is very suitable for high frequency resistance welding machines of new generation for robotic welding.

WE-F-16A-02: Design, Fabrication, and Validation of a 3D-Printed Proton Filter for Range Spreading

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

Remmes, N; Courneyea, L; Corner, S

2014-06-15

Purpose: To design, fabricate and test a 3D-printed filter for proton range spreading in scanned proton beams. The narrow Bragg peak in lower-energy synchrotron-based scanned proton beams can result in longer treatment times for shallow targets due to energy switching time and plan quality degradation due to minimum monitor unit limitations. A filter with variable thicknesses patterned on the same scale as the beam's lateral spot size will widen the Bragg peak. Methods: The filter consists of pyramids dimensioned to have a Gaussian distribution in thickness. The pyramids are 2.5mm wide at the base, 0.6 mm wide at the peak,more » 5mm tall, and are repeated in a 2.5mm pseudo-hexagonal lattice. Monte Carlo simulations of the filter in a proton beam were run using TOPAS to assess the change in depth profiles and lateral beam profiles. The prototypes were constrained to a 2.5cm diameter disk to allow for micro-CT imaging of promising prototypes. Three different 3D printers were tested. Depth-doses with and without the prototype filter were then measured in a ~70MeV proton beam using a multilayer ion chamber. Results: The simulation results were consistent with design expectations. Prototypes printed on one printer were clearly unacceptable on visual inspection. Prototypes on a second printer looked acceptable, but the micro-CT image showed unacceptable voids within the pyramids. Prototypes from the third printer appeared acceptable visually and on micro-CT imaging. Depth dose scans using the prototype from the third printer were consistent with simulation results. Bragg peak width increased by about 3x. Conclusions: A prototype 3D printer pyramid filter for range spreading was successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The filter has greater design flexibility and lower prototyping and production costs compared to traditional ridge filters. Printer and material selection played a large role in the successful development of the filter.« less

Mitigation of solvent interference using a short packed column prior to ion mobility spectrometry.

PubMed

Jafari, Mohammad T; Saraji, Mohammad; Mossaddegh, Mehdi

2017-05-15

This paper introduces a novel approach to overcome the solvent interference in corona discharge-ion mobility spectrometry (CD-IMS) based on the time-resolved signals of the solvent and the analyte. To that end, a short Teflon tube was filled with a low amount of squalene or OV-1, which was prepared and located between the injection port and the entrance of the CD-IMS cell. Through this procedure, a sufficient delay (~5s) was obtained between the introduction of the solvent and the analyte into the reaction region of IMS. This resulted in removing the proton by solvent molecules, as well as increasing the effective collision during the analyte ionization, thereby providing an analysis with more sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. To show the column efficiency, ethion and diazinon (organophosphorus pesticides) were selected as the test compounds and their solutions were analyzed by the proposed method. The amount of sorbent, carrier gas flow rate, and the sorbent temperature affecting the sorbent efficiency were optimized by employing the response surface methodology and the central composite design. The proposed method was exhaustively validated in terms of sensitivity, linearity, and repeatability. In particular, the feasibility of direct injection was successfully verified by the satisfactory results, as compared with those achieved without the prior column. The methodology used in this study is very simple and inexpensive, which can overcome the solvent interference when a solution is directly injected into the CD-IMS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Individual Basepair Stability of DNA and RNA Studied by NMR-Detected Solvent Exchange

PubMed Central

Steinert, Hannah S.; Rinnenthal, Jörg; Schwalbe, Harald

2012-01-01

In this study, we have optimized NMR methodology to determine the thermodynamic parameters of basepair opening in DNA and RNA duplexes by characterizing the temperature dependence of imino proton exchange rates of individual basepairs. Contributions of the nuclear Overhauser effect to exchange rates measured with inversion recovery experiments are quantified, and the influence of intrinsic and external catalysis exchange mechanisms on the imino proton exchange rates is analyzed. Basepairs in DNA and RNA have an approximately equal stability, and the enthalpy and entropy values of their basepair dissociation are correlated linearly. Furthermore, the compensation temperature, Tc, which is derived from the slope of the correlation, coincides with the melting temperature, and duplex unfolding occurs at that temperature where all basepairs are equally thermodynamically stable. The impact of protium-deuterium exchange of the imino hydrogen on the free energy of RNA basepair opening is investigated, and it is found that two A·U basepairs show distinct fractionation factors. PMID:22713572

Comparison of functional group selective ion-molecule reactions of trimethyl borate in different ion trap mass spectrometers

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

Habicht, S C; Vinueza, Nelson R; Amundson, Lucas M

2011-02-01

We report here a comparison of the use of diagnostic ion–molecule reactions for the identification of oxygen-containing functional groups in Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) and linear quadrupole ion trap (LQIT) mass spectrometers. The ultimate goal of this research is to be able to identify functionalities in previously unknown analytes by using many different types of mass spectrometers. Previous work has focused on the reactions of various boron reagents with protonated oxygen-containing analytes in FTICR mass spectrometers. By using a LQIT modified to allow the introduction of neutral reagents into the helium buffer gas, this methodology has been successfully implementedmore » to this type of an ion trap instrument. The products obtained from the reactions of trimethyl borate (TMB) with various protonated analytes are compared for the two instruments. Finally, the ability to integrate these reactions into LC-MS experiments on the LQIT is demonstrated.« less

Spatial distribution of intra-molecular water and polymeric components in polyelectrolyte dendrimers revealed by small angle scattering investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Bin; Li, Xin; Do, Changwoo; Kim, Tae-Hwan; Shew, Chwen-Yang; Liu, Yun; Yang, Jun; Hong, Kunlun; Porcar, Lionel; Chen, Chun-Yu; Liu, Emily L.; Smith, Gregory S.; Herwig, Kenneth W.; Chen, Wei-Ren

2011-10-01

An experimental scheme using contrast variation small angle neutron scattering technique is developed to investigate the structural characteristics of amine-terminated poly(amidoamine) dendrimers solutions. Using this methodology, we present the dependence of both the intra-dendrimer water and the polymer distribution on molecular protonation, which can be precisely adjusted by tuning the pH of the solution. Assuming spherical symmetry of the spatial arrangement of the constituent components of dendrimer, and that the atomic ratio of hydrogen-to-deuterium for the solvent residing within the cavities of dendrimer is identical to that for the solvent outside the dendrimer, the intra-dendrimer water distribution along the radial direction is determined. Our result clearly reveals an outward relocation of the peripheral groups, as well as enhanced intra-dendrimer hydration, upon increasing the molecular protonation and, therefore, allows the determination of segmental backfolding in a quantitative manner. The connection between these charge-induced structural changes and our recently observed progressively active segmental dynamics is also discussed.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell diagnosis by spectral characterization of the electrochemical noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maizia, R.; Dib, A.; Thomas, A.; Martemianov, S.

2017-02-01

Electrochemical noise analysis (ENA) has been performed for the diagnosis of proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) under various operating conditions. Its interest is related with the possibility of a non-invasive on-line diagnosis of a commercial fuel cell. A methodology of spectral analysis has been developed and an evaluation of the stationarity of the signal has been proposed. It has been revealed that the spectral signature of fuel cell, is a linear slope with a fractional power dependence 1/fα where α = 2 for different relative humidities and current densities. Experimental results reveal that the electrochemical noise is sensitive to the water management, especially under dry conditions. At RHH2 = 20% and RHair = 20%, spectral analysis shows a three linear slopes signature on the spectrum at low frequency range (f < 100 Hz). This results indicates that power spectral density, calculated thanks to FFT, can be used for the detection of an incorrect fuel cell water balance.

Hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding of transition metal hydrides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobsen, Heiko

2008-04-01

Intermolecular interactions between a prototypical transition metal hydride WH(CO) 2NO(PH 3) 2 and a small proton donor H 2O have been studied using DFT methodology. The hydride, nitrosyl and carbonyl ligand have been considered as site of protonation. Further, DFT-D calculations in which empirical corrections for the dispersion energy are included, have been carried out. A variety of pure and hybrid density functionals (BP86, PW91, PBE, BLYP, OLYP, B3LYP, B1PW91, PBE0, X3LYP) have been considered, and our calculations indicate the PBE functional and its hybrid variation are well suited for the calculation of transition metal hydride hydrogen and dihydrogen bonding. Dispersive interactions make up for a sizeable portion of the intermolecular interaction, and amount to 20-30% of the bond energy and to 30-40% of the bond enthalpy. An energy decomposition analysis reveals that the H⋯H bond of transition metal hydrides contains both covalent and electrostatic contributions.

Simulated Space Environmental Testing on Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Dennis A.; Fogdall, Larry B.; Bohnhoff-Hlavacek, Gail; Connell, John W. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

An exploratory program has been conducted, to irradiate some mature commercial and some experimental polymer films with radiation simulating certain Earth orbits, and to obtain data about the response of each test film's reflective and tensile properties. Protocols to conduct optimized tests were considered and developed to a "prototype" level during this program. Fifteen polymer film specimens were arranged on a specially designed test fixture. The fixture featured controlled exposure areas, and protected the ends of the samples for later gripping in tensile tests. The fixture featured controlled exposure areas, and protected the ends of the samples for later gripping in tensile tests. The fixture containing the films was installed in a clean vacuum chamber where protons, electrons and solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation could simultaneously irradiate the specimens. Near realtime UV rates were used, whereas proton and electron rates were accelerated appreciably to simulate 5 years in orbit during a two month test. Periodically, the spectral reflectance of each film was measured in situ. After the end of the irradiation, final reflectance measurements were made in situ, and solar absorptance values were derived for each specimen. These samples were then measured in air for thermal emittance and for tensile strength. Most specimens withstood the irradiation intact, but with reduced reflectance (increased solar absorptance). Thermal emittance changed slightly in several materials, as did their tensile strength and elongation at break. Conclusions are drawn about the performance of the films. Simulated testing to an expected 5 year dose of electrons and protons consistent with those expected at L2 and 0.98 AU orbits and 100 equivalent solar hours exposure.

Biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, Zufira; Arcana, I. Made

2014-03-01

Sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) can be applied as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell due to its fairly good chemical stability. In order to be applied as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), membrane polymer should have a good ionic conductivity, high proton conductivity, and high mechanical strength. Lignosulfonate (LS) is a complex biopolymer which has crosslinks and sulfonate groups. SPS-LS blends with addition of SiO2 are used to increase the proton conductivity and to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability. However, the biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends is required to determine whether the application of these membranes to be applied as an environmentally friendly membrane. In this study, had been done the synthesis of SPS, biodegradability test of SPS-LS blends with variations of LS and SiO2 compositions. The biodegradation test was carried out in solid medium of Luria Bertani (LB) with an activated sludge used as a source of microorganism at incubation temperature of 37°C. Based on the results obtained indicated that SPS-LS-SiO2 blends are more decomposed by microorganism than SPS-LS blends. This result is supported by analysis of weight reduction percentage, functional groups with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and morphological surface with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

A Neural Network Approach for Identifying Particle Pitch Angle Distributions in Van Allen Probes Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Souza, V. M.; Vieira, L. E. A.; Medeiros, C.; Da Silva, L. A.; Alves, L. R.; Koga, D.; Sibeck, D. G.; Walsh, B. M.; Kanekal, S. G.; Jauer, P. R.;

Investigation of a novel protonic/electronic ceramic composite material as a candidate for hydrogen separation membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fish, Jason S.

A novel ceramic protonic/electronic conductor composite BaCe 0.2Zr0.7Y0.1O3-delta / Sr0.95 Ti0.9Nb0.1O3-delta (BCZY27/STN95: BS27) has been synthesized, and its electrical properties and hydrogen permeability have been investigated. The volume ratio of the STN95 phase was varied from 50 - 70 % to test the effects on conductivity and hydrogen permeability. BCZY27 and STN95 powders were prepared by solid-state reaction, and membrane samples were fabricated through conventional and spark plasma sintering techniques. The phase composition, density, and microstructure were compared between the sintering methodologies. Total conductivities of 0.01 - 0.06 S·cm -1 were obtained in wet (+1 % H2O) dilute H2/(N 2, He, Ar) from 600 - 800 °C for 50 volume % STN95. With increasing STN content (60 and 70 volume %), conductivity generally increased, though remained lower than predicted by standard effective medium models, even at 70 volume % STN95. A new effective medium model was proposed, which accounted for an interfacial resistance term associated with the heterojunctions formed between the BCZY27 and STN95 phases. Better fits for the measured data were achieved with this new method, although some effects remain unexplained. Discrepancies between the model and experiment were attributed to space charge effects, grain boundary resistances, and insulating impurity phase formation during synthesis. Dense BS27 samples were tested for high-temperature hydrogen permeation and a measured flux of 0.006 mumol·cm-2·s -1 was recorded for a 50 volume % STN95 sample at 700 °C, using dry argon as a sweep gas. This value represents a modest improvement on other ceramic composite membranes, but remains short of targets for commercialization. Persistent leaks in the flux experiments generated a shallower hydrogen gradient across the samples, although this p(H2) on the sweep side simultaneously decreased the oxygen partial pressure gradient across the sample and preserved the reduced state of the membrane. The addition of thin palladium layers (100 nm) to another 50 volume % STN95 sample increased the flux five-fold to 0.026 mumol·cm-2·s -1 at 700 °C. Experiments on 60 and 70 volume % STN95 samples revealed no measurable hydrogen flux, which was attributed to the proton-conducting BCZY27 phase being non-percolating for these compositions.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Engineering Model Powerplant. Test Report: Benchmark Tests in Three Spatial Orientations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loyselle, Patricia; Prokopius, Kevin

2011-01-01

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology is the leading candidate to replace the aging alkaline fuel cell technology, currently used on the Shuttle, for future space missions. This test effort marks the final phase of a 5-yr development program that began under the Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Program, transitioned into the Next Generation Launch Technologies (NGLT) Program, and continued under Constellation Systems in the Exploration Technology Development Program. Initially, the engineering model (EM) powerplant was evaluated with respect to its performance as compared to acceptance tests carried out at the manufacturer. This was to determine the sensitivity of the powerplant performance to changes in test environment. In addition, a series of tests were performed with the powerplant in the original standard orientation. This report details the continuing EM benchmark test results in three spatial orientations as well as extended duration testing in the mission profile test. The results from these tests verify the applicability of PEM fuel cells for future NASA missions. The specifics of these different tests are described in the following sections.

RHrFPGA Radiation-Hardened Re-programmable Field-Programmable Gate Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanders, A. B.; LaBel, K. A.; McCabe, J. F.; Gardner, G. A.; Lintz, J.; Ross, C.; Golke, K.; Burns, B.; Carts, M. A.; Kim, H. S.

2004-01-01

Viewgraphs on the development of the Radiation-Hardened Re-programmable Field-Programmable Gate Array (RHrFPGA) are presented. The topics include: 1) Radiation Test Suite; 2) Testing Interface; 3) Test Configuration; 4) Facilities; 5) Test Programs; 6) Test Procedure; and 7) Test Results. A summary of heavy ion and proton testing is also included.

Lithium target for accelerator based BNCT neutron source: Influence by the proton irradiation on lithium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, R.; Imahori, Y.; Nakakmura, M.; Takada, M.; Kamada, S.; Hamano, T.; Hoshi, M.; Sato, H.; Itami, J.; Abe, Y.; Fuse, M.

2012-12-01

The neutron source for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is in the transition stage from nuclear reactor to accelerator based neutron source. Generation of low energy neutron can be achieved by 7Li (p, n) 7Be reaction using accelerator based neutron source. Development of small-scale and safe neutron source is within reach. The melting point of lithium that is used for the target is low, and durability is questioned for an extended use at a high current proton beam. In order to test its durability, we have irradiated lithium with proton beam at the same level as the actual current density, and found no deterioration after 3 hours of continuous irradiation. As a result, it is suggested that lithium target can withstand proton irradiation at high current, confirming suitability as accelerator based neutron source for BNCT.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulmer, S.; Mooser, A.; Nagahama, H.; Sellner, S.; Smorra, C.

2018-03-01

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge-parity-time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue `Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons.

PubMed

Ulmer, S; Mooser, A; Nagahama, H; Sellner, S; Smorra, C

2018-03-28

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge-parity-time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'. © 2018 The Authors.

Methylmercury chloride damage to the adult rat hippocampus cannot be detected by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Lu, Zhiyan; Wu, Jinwei; Cheng, Guangyuan; Tian, Jianying; Lu, Zeqing; Bi, Yongyi

2014-01-01

Previous studies have found that methylmercury can damage hippocampal neurons and accordingly cause cognitive dysfunction. However, a non-invasive, safe and accurate detection method for detecting hippocampal injury has yet to be developed. This study aimed to detect methylmercury-induced damage on hippocampal tissue using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Rats were given a subcutaneous injection of 4 and 2 mg/kg methylmercury into the neck for 50 consecutive days. Water maze and pathology tests confirmed that cognitive function had been impaired and that the ultrastructure of hippocampal tissue was altered after injection. The results of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that the nitrogen-acetyl aspartate/creatine, choline complex/creatine and myoinositol/creatine ratio in rat hippocampal tissue were unchanged. Therefore, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy can not be used to determine structural damage in the adult rat hippocampus caused by methylmercury chloride. PMID:25368649

A radiation belt monitor for the High Energy Transient Experiment Satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, D. H.; Wenzel, K. W.; Petrasso, R. D.; Prigozhin, G. Y.; Doty, J.; Ricker, G.

1993-01-01

A Radiation Belt Monitor (RBM) sensitive to protons and electrons with energy approximately greater than 0.5 MeV has been designed for the High Energy Transient Experiment (HETE) satellite in order to: first, control the on-off configuration of the experiments (i.e. those susceptible to proton damage); and second, to indicate the presence of proton and/or electron events that could masquerade as legitimate high energy photon events. One of the two RBM channels has an enhanced sensitivity to electrons. Each channel of the RBM, based on a PIN silicon diode, requires a typical power of 6 milliwatts. Tests have been performed with protons with energies from approximately 0.1 to 2.5 MeV (generated by a Cockcroft-Walton linear accelerator via the d(d,p)t reaction), and with electrons with energies up to 1 MeV (from a 1.0 microcurie Bi-207 source).

1999 NSREC Short Course: Proton Effects and Test Issues for Satellite Designers: Displacement Effects. Section 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Cheryl J.; Marshall, Paul W.

1999-01-01

This portion of the Short Course is divided into two segments to separately address the two major proton-related effects confronting satellite designers: ionization effects and displacement damage effects. While both of these topics are deeply rooted in "traditional" descriptions of space radiation effects, there are several factors at play to cause renewed concern for satellite systems being designed today. For example, emphasis on Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies in both commercial and government systems increases both Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Single Event Effect (SEE) concerns. Scaling trends exacerbate the problems, especially with regard to SEEs where protons can dominate soft error rates and even cause destructive failure. In addition, proton-induced displacement damage at fluences encountered in natural space environments can cause degradation in modern bipolar circuitry as well as in many emerging electronic and opto-electronic technologies.

A simplified analytical random walk model for proton dose calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Weiguang; Merchant, Thomas E.; Farr, Jonathan B.

2016-10-01

We propose an analytical random walk model for proton dose calculation in a laterally homogeneous medium. A formula for the spatial fluence distribution of primary protons is derived. The variance of the spatial distribution is in the form of a distance-squared law of the angular distribution. To improve the accuracy of dose calculation in the Bragg peak region, the energy spectrum of the protons is used. The accuracy is validated against Monte Carlo simulation in water phantoms with either air gaps or a slab of bone inserted. The algorithm accurately reflects the dose dependence on the depth of the bone and can deal with small-field dosimetry. We further applied the algorithm to patients’ cases in the highly heterogeneous head and pelvis sites and used a gamma test to show the reasonable accuracy of the algorithm in these sites. Our algorithm is fast for clinical use.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons

PubMed Central

Mooser, A.; Nagahama, H.; Sellner, S.; Smorra, C.

2018-01-01

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge–parity–time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Antiproton physics in the ELENA era’. PMID:29459414

Colloidal characterization of ultrafine silicon carbide and silicon nitride powders

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitman, Pamela K.; Feke, Donald L.

1986-01-01

The effects of various powder treatment strategies on the colloid chemistry of aqueous dispersions of silicon carbide and silicon nitride are examined using a surface titration methodology. Pretreatments are used to differentiate between the true surface chemistry of the powders and artifacts resulting from exposure history. Silicon nitride powders require more extensive pretreatment to reveal consistent surface chemistry than do silicon carbide powders. As measured by titration, the degree of proton adsorption from the suspending fluid by pretreated silicon nitride and silicon carbide powders can both be made similar to that of silica.

Imaging and characterization of primary and secondary radiation in ion beam therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Granja, Carlos; Martisikova, Maria; Jakubek, Jan; Opalka, Lukas; Gwosch, Klaus

2016-07-01

Imaging in ion beam therapy is an essential and increasingly significant tool for treatment planning and radiation and dose deposition verification. Efforts aim at providing precise radiation field characterization and online monitoring of radiation dose distribution. A review is given of the research and methodology of quantum-imaging, composition, spectral and directional characterization of the mixed-radiation fields in proton and light ion beam therapy developed by the IEAP CTU Prague and HIT Heidelberg group. Results include non-invasive imaging of dose deposition and primary beam online monitoring.

Increased water retention in polymer electrolyte membranes at elevated temperatures assisted by capillary condensation.

PubMed

Park, Moon Jeong; Downing, Kenneth H; Jackson, Andrew; Gomez, Enrique D; Minor, Andrew M; Cookson, David; Weber, Adam Z; Balsara, Nitash P

2007-11-01

We establish a new systematic methodology for controlling the water retention of polymer electrolyte membranes. Block copolymer membranes comprising hydrophilic phases with widths ranging from 2 to 5 nm become wetter as the temperature of the surrounding air is increased at constant relative humidity. The widths of the moist hydrophilic phases were measured by cryogenic electron microscopy experiments performed on humid membranes. Simple calculations suggest that capillary condensation is important at these length scales. The correlation between moisture content and proton conductivity of the membranes is demonstrated.

WORKER INHALATION DOSE COEFFICIENTS FOR RADIONUCLIDES NOT PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED IN ICRP PUBLICATION 68

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

McLaughlin, David A; Schwahn, Scott O

2011-01-01

While inhalation dose coefficients are provided for about 800 radionuclides in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 68, many radionuclides of practical dosimetric interest for facilities such as high-energy proton accelerators are not specifically addressed, nor are organ-specific dose coefficients tabulated. The ICRP Publication 68 methodology is used, along with updated radiological decay data and metabolic data, to identify committed equivalent dose coefficients [hT(50)] and committed effective dose coefficients [e(50)] for radionuclides produced at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory s Spallation Neutron Source.

Probing short-range correlations in asymmetric nuclei with quasi-free pair knockout reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Sam; Ryckebusch, Jan; Cosyn, Wim; Waets, Andreas

2018-02-01

Short-range correlations (SRC) in asymmetric nuclei with an unusual neutron-to-proton ratio can be studied with quasi-free two-nucleon knockout processes following the collision between accelerated ions and a proton target. We derive an approximate factorized cross section for those SRC-driven p (A ,p‧N1N2) reactions. Our reaction model hinges on the factorization properties of SRC-driven A (e ,e‧N1N2) reactions for which strong indications are found in theory-experiment comparisons. In order to put our model to the test we compare its predictions with results of 12C (p ,p‧ pn) measurements conducted at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and find a fair agreement. The model can also reproduce characteristic features of SRC-driven two-nucleon knockout reactions, like back-to-back emission of the correlated nucleons. We study the asymmetry dependence of nuclear SRC by providing predictions for the ratio of proton-proton to proton-neutron knockout cross sections for the carbon isotopes 9-15C thereby covering neutron excess values (N - Z) / Z between -0.5 and +0.5.

GIAO-DFT calculation of 15 N NMR chemical shifts of Schiff bases: Accuracy factors and protonation effects.

PubMed

Semenov, Valentin A; Samultsev, Dmitry O; Krivdin, Leonid B

2018-02-09

15 N NMR chemical shifts in the representative series of Schiff bases together with their protonated forms have been calculated at the density functional theory level in comparison with available experiment. A number of functionals and basis sets have been tested in terms of a better agreement with experiment. Complimentary to gas phase results, 2 solvation models, namely, a classical Tomasi's polarizable continuum model (PCM) and that in combination with an explicit inclusion of one molecule of solvent into calculation space to form supermolecule 1:1 (SM + PCM), were examined. Best results are achieved with PCM and SM + PCM models resulting in mean absolute errors of calculated 15 N NMR chemical shifts in the whole series of neutral and protonated Schiff bases of accordingly 5.2 and 5.8 ppm as compared with 15.2 ppm in gas phase for the range of about 200 ppm. Noticeable protonation effects (exceeding 100 ppm) in protonated Schiff bases are rationalized in terms of a general natural bond orbital approach. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prediction Accuracy of Error Rates for MPTB Space Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buchner, S. P.; Campbell, A. B.; Davis, D.; McMorrow, D.; Petersen, E. L.; Stassinopoulos, E. G.; Ritter, J. C.

1998-01-01

This paper addresses the accuracy of radiation-induced upset-rate predictions in space using the results of ground-based measurements together with standard environmental and device models. The study is focused on two part types - 16 Mb NEC DRAM's (UPD4216) and 1 Kb SRAM's (AMD93L422) - both of which are currently in space on board the Microelectronics and Photonics Test Bed (MPTB). To date, ground-based measurements of proton-induced single event upset (SEM cross sections as a function of energy have been obtained and combined with models of the proton environment to predict proton-induced error rates in space. The role played by uncertainties in the environmental models will be determined by comparing the modeled radiation environment with the actual environment measured aboard MPTB. Heavy-ion induced upsets have also been obtained from MPTB and will be compared with the "predicted" error rate following ground testing that will be done in the near future. These results should help identify sources of uncertainty in predictions of SEU rates in space.

First experience with carbon stripping foils for the 160 MeV H- injection into the CERN PSB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weterings, Wim; Bracco, Chiara; Jorat, Louise; Noulibos, Remy; van Trappen, Pieter

2018-05-01

160 MeV H- beam will be delivered from the new CERN linear accelerator (Linac4) to the Proton Synchrotron Booster (PSB), using a H- charge-exchange injection system. A 200 µg/cm2 carbon stripping foil will convert H- into protons by stripping off the electrons. The H- charge-exchange injection principle will be used for the first time in the CERN accelerator complex and involves many challenges. In order to gain experience with the foil changing mechanism and the very fragile foils, in 2016, prior to the installation in the PSB, a stripping foil test stand has been installed in the Linac4 transfer line. In addition, parts of the future PSB injection equipment are also temporarily installed in the Linac4 transfer line for tests with a 160 MeV H- commissioning proton beam. This paper describes the foil changing mechanism and control system, summarizes the practical experience of gluing and handling these foils and reports on the first results with beam.

Evolution of Proton and Alpha Particle Velocities through the Solar Cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ďurovcová, T.; Šafránková, J.; Němeček, Z.; Richardson, J. D.

2017-12-01

Relative properties of solar wind protons and α particles are often used as indicators of a source region on the solar surface, and analysis of their evolution along the solar wind path tests our understanding of physics of multicomponent magnetized plasma. The paper deals with the comprehensive analysis of the difference between proton and α particle bulk velocities at 1 au with a special emphasis on interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). A comparison of about 20 years of Wind observations at 1 au with Helios measurements closer to the Sun (0.3-0.7 au) generally confirms the present knowledge that (1) the differential speed between both species increases with the proton speed; (2) the differential speed is lower than the local Alfvén speed; (3) α particles are faster than protons near the Sun, and this difference decreases with the increasing distance. However, we found a much larger portion of observations with protons faster than α particles in Wind than in Helios data and attributed this effect to a preferential acceleration of the protons in the solar wind. A distinct population characterized by a very small differential velocity and nearly equal proton and α particle temperatures that is frequently observed around the maximum of solar activity was attributed to ICMEs. Since this population does not exhibit any evolution with increasing collisional age, we suggest that, by contrast to the solar wind from other sources, ICMEs are born in an equilibrium state and gradually lose this equilibrium due to interactions with the ambient solar wind.

Design of the Experimental Exposure Conditions to Simulate Ionizing Radiation Effects on Candidate Replacement Materials for the Hubble Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, L. Montgomery

1998-01-01

In this effort, experimental exposure times for monoenergetic electrons and protons were determined to simulate the space radiation environment effects on Teflon components of the Hubble Space Telescope. Although the energy range of the available laboratory particle accelerators was limited, optimal exposure times for 50 keV, 220 keV, 350 keV, and 500 KeV electrons were calculated that produced a dose-versus-depth profile that approximated the full spectrum profile, and were realizable with existing equipment. For the case of proton exposure, the limited energy range of the laboratory accelerator restricted simulation of the dose to a depth of .5 mil. Also, while optimal exposure times were found for 200 keV, 500 keV and 700 keV protons that simulated the full spectrum dose-versus-depth profile to this depth, they were of such short duration that the existing laboratory could not be controlled to within the required accuracy. In addition to the obvious experimental issues, other areas exist in which the analytical work could be advanced. Improved computer codes for the dose prediction- along with improved methodology for data input and output- would accelerate and make more accurate the calculational aspects. This is particularly true in the case of proton fluxes where a paucity of available predictive software appears to exist. The dated nature of many of the existing Monte Carlo particle/radiation transport codes raises the issue as to whether existing codes are sufficient for this type of analysis. Other areas that would result in greater fidelity of laboratory exposure effects to the space environment is the use of a larger number of monoenergetic particle fluxes and improved optimization algorithms to determine the weighting values.

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 .

Tunneling dynamics of double proton transfer in formic acid and benzoic acid dimers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smedarchina, Zorka; Fernández-Ramos, Antonio; Siebrand, Willem

2005-04-01

Direct dynamics calculations based on instanton techniques are reported of tunneling splittings due to double proton transfer in formic and benzoic acid dimers. The results are used to assign the observed splittings to levels for which the authors of the high-resolution spectra could not provide a definitive assignment. In both cases the splitting is shown to be due mainly to the zero-point level rather than to the vibrationally or electronically excited level whose spectrum was investigated. This leads to zero-point splittings of 375MHz for (DCOOH)2 and 1107MHz for the benzoic acid dimer. Thus, contrary to earlier calculations, it is found that the splitting is considerably larger in the benzoic than in the formic acid dimer. The calculations are extended to solid benzoic acid where the asymmetry of the proton-transfer potential induced by the crystal can be overcome by suitable doping. This has allowed direct measurement of the interactions responsible for double proton transfer, which were found to be much larger than those in the isolated dimer. To account for this observation both static and dynamic effects of the crystal forces on the intradimer hydrogen bonds are included in the calculations. The same methodology, extended to higher temperatures, is used to calculate rate constants for HH, HD, and DD transfers in neat benzoic acid crystals. The results are in good agreement with reported experimental rate constants measured by NMR relaxometry and, if allowance is made for small structural changes induced by doping, with the transfer matrix elements observed in doped crystals. Hence the method used allows a unified description of tunneling splittings in the gas phase and in doped crystals as well as of transfer rates in neat crystals.

SU-F-T-160: Commissioning of a Single-Room Double-Scattering Proton Therapy System

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

Jin, H; Ahmad, S; Chen, Y

2016-06-15

Purpose: To report the detailed commissioning experience for a compact double-scattering Mevion S250 proton therapy system at a University Cancer Center site. Methods: The commissioning of the proton therapy system mainly consisted of ensuring integrity of mechanical and imaging system, beam data collection, and commissioning of a treatment planning system (TPS). First, mechanical alignment and imaging were tested including safety, interlocks, positional accuracy of couch and gantry, image quality, mechanical and imaging isocenter and so on. Second, extensive beam data (outputs, PDDs, and profiles) were collected and analyzed through effective sampling of range (R) and modulation width (M) from 24more » beam options. Three different output (cGy/MU) prediction models were also commissioned as primary and secondary MU calculation tool. Third, the Varian Eclipse TPS was commissioned through five sets of data collections (in-water Bragg peak scans, in-air longitudinal fluence scans, in-air lateral profiles, in-air half-beam profiles, and an HU-to-stopping-power conversion curve) and accuracy of TPS calculation was tested using in-water scans and dose measurements with a 2D array detector with block and range compensator. Finally, an anthropomorphic phantom was scanned and heterogeneity effects were tested by inserting radiochromic films in the phantom and PET activation scans for range verification in conjunction with end-to-end test. Results: Beam characteristics agreed well with the vendor specifications; however, minor mismatches in R and M were found in some measurements during the beam data collection. These were reflected into the TPS commissioning such that the TPS could accurately predict the R and M within tolerance levels. The output models had a good agreement with measured outputs (<3% error). The end-to-end test using the film and PET showed reasonably the TPS predicted dose, R and M in heterogeneous medium. Conclusion: The proton therapy system was successfully commissioned and was released for clinical use.« less

The structure of the proton in the LHC precision era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jun; Harland-Lang, Lucian; Rojo, Juan

2018-05-01

We review recent progress in the determination of the parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton, with emphasis on the applications for precision phenomenology at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First of all, we introduce the general theoretical framework underlying the global QCD analysis of the quark and gluon internal structure of protons. We then present a detailed overview of the hard-scattering measurements, and the corresponding theory predictions, that are used in state-of-the-art PDF fits. We emphasize here the role that higher-order QCD and electroweak corrections play in the description of recent high-precision collider data. We present the methodology used to extract PDFs in global analyses, including the PDF parametrization strategy and the definition and propagation of PDF uncertainties. Then we review and compare the most recent releases from the various PDF fitting collaborations, highlighting their differences and similarities. We discuss the role that QED corrections and photon-initiated contributions play in modern PDF analysis. We provide representative examples of the implications of PDF fits for high-precision LHC phenomenological applications, such as Higgs coupling measurements and searches for high-mass New Physics resonances. We conclude this report by discussing some selected topics relevant for the future of PDF determinations, including the treatment of theoretical uncertainties, the connection with lattice QCD calculations, and the role of PDFs at future high-energy colliders beyond the LHC.

Incorporating BIRD-based homodecoupling in the dual-optimized, inverted 1 JCC 1,n-ADEQUATE experiment.

PubMed

Saurí, Josep; Bermel, Wolfgang; Parella, Teodor; Thomas Williamson, R; Martin, Gary E

2018-03-13

1,n-ADEQUATE is a powerful NMR technique for elucidating the structure of proton-deficient small molecules that can help establish the carbon skeleton of a given molecule by providing long-range three-bond 13 C─ 13 C correlations. Care must be taken when using the experiment to identify the simultaneous presence of one-bond 13 C─ 13 C correlations that are not filtered out, unlike the HMBC experiment that has a low-pass J-filter to filter 1 J CH responses out. Dual-optimized, inverted 1 J CC 1,n-ADEQUATE is an improved variant of the experiment that affords broadband inversion of direct responses, obviating the need to take additional steps to identify these correlations. Even though ADEQUATE experiments can now be acquired in a reasonable amount of experimental time if a cryogenic probe is available, low sensitivity is still the main impediment limiting the application of this elegant experiment. Here, we wish to report a further refinement that incorporates real-time bilinear rotation decoupling-based homodecoupling methodology into the dual-optimized, inverted 1 J CC 1,n-ADEQUATE pulse sequence. Improved sensitivity and resolution are achieved by collapsing homonuclear proton-proton couplings from the observed multiplets for most spin systems. The application of the method is illustrated with several model compounds. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SU-E-T-268: Proton Radiosurgery End-To-End Testing Using Lucy 3D QA Phantom

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

Choi, D; Gordon, I; Ghebremedhin, A

2014-06-01

Purpose: To check the overall accuracy of proton radiosurgery treatment delivery using ready-made circular collimator inserts and fixed thickness compensating boluses. Methods: Lucy 3D QA phantom (Standard Imaging Inc. WI, USA) inserted with GaFchromicTM film was irradiated with laterally scattered and longitudinally spread-out 126.8 MeV proton beams. The tests followed every step in the proton radiosurgery treatment delivery process: CT scan (GE Lightspeed VCT), target contouring, treatment planning (Odyssey 5.0, Optivus, CA), portal calibration, target localization using robotic couch with image guidance and dose delivery at planned gantry angles. A 2 cm diameter collimator insert in a 4 cm diametermore » radiosurgery cone and a 1.2 cm thick compensating flat bolus were used for all beams. Film dosimetry (RIT114 v5.0, Radiological Imaging Technology, CO, USA) was used to evaluate the accuracy of target localization and relative dose distributions compared to those calculated by the treatment planning system. Results: The localization accuracy was estimated by analyzing the GaFchromic films irradiated at gantry 0, 90 and 270 degrees. We observed 0.5 mm shift in lateral direction (patient left), ±0.9 mm shift in AP direction and ±1.0 mm shift in vertical direction (gantry dependent). The isodose overlays showed good agreement (<2mm, 50% isodose lines) between measured and calculated doses. Conclusion: Localization accuracy depends on gantry sag, CT resolution and distortion, DRRs from treatment planning computer, localization accuracy of image guidance system, fabrication of ready-made aperture and cone housing. The total deviation from the isocenter was 1.4 mm. Dose distribution uncertainty comes from distal end error due to bolus and CT density, in addition to localization error. The planned dose distribution was well matched (>90%) to the measured values 2%/2mm criteria. Our test showed the robustness of our proton radiosurgery treatment delivery system using ready-made collimator inserts and fixed thickness compensating boluses.« less

Preliminary test of the MONDO project secondary fast and ultrafast neutrons tracker response using protons and MIP particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Traini, G.; Battistoni, G.; Giacometti, V.; Gioscio, E.; Marafini, M.; Mirabelli, R.; Pinci, D.; Sarti, A.; Sciubba, A.; Patera, V.

2018-04-01

The risk of developing a second malignant cancer as a late time consequence of undergoing a treatment, is one of the main concerns in particle therapy (PT). Since neutrons can release a significant dose far away from the tumour region, a precise characterisation of their production point, kinetic energy and abundance is eagerly needed. The treatment planning system (TPS) software that predicts the normal tissue toxicity in the target region and the risk of late complications in the whole body is currently based on the poorly known production cross-sections and will greatly benefit from improved precision double differential measurements. The MONDO (MOnitor for Neutron Dose in hadrOntherapy) project aims to build an ultrafast neutron tracker that could be used to characterise the production of secondary neutrons with energies in the 20–400 MeV range. The neutron tracking will proceed via the detection of recoil protons produced in two consecutive (n, p) elastic scattering interactions. The MONDO detector consists of a 10 × 10 × 20 cm3 matrix of thin scintillating fibres, arranged in orthogonally oriented layers. A compact read-out sensor with single photon detection capabilities employing the CMOS SPAD technology has been developed in collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK). The detector will be completed by the end of 2018. A 4 × 4 × 4.8 cm3 prototype has been built using 250 μ m thick scintillating fibres of squared section and was tested using a proton beam and minimum ionising particles. In this contribution we present the experimental results related to the prototype test performed with a proton beam at the Proton Therapy Centre of the Trento Hospital (PTC) in May 2017. The results are compared with the results of a Monte Carlo simulation performed with the FLUKA software.

Single Event Effects Testing For Low Earth Orbit Missions with Neutrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reddell, Brandon; O'Neill, Pat; Bailey, Chuck; Nguyen, Kyson

2015-01-01

Neutrons can effectively be used to screen electronic parts intended to be used in Low Earth Orbit. This paper compares neutron with proton environments in spacecraft and discusses recent comparison testing.

Compton Camera and Prompt Gamma Ray Timing: Two Methods for In Vivo Range Assessment in Proton Therapy

PubMed Central

Hueso-González, Fernando; Fiedler, Fine; Golnik, Christian; Kormoll, Thomas; Pausch, Guntram; Petzoldt, Johannes; Römer, Katja E.; Enghardt, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

Proton beams are promising means for treating tumors. Such charged particles stop at a defined depth, where the ionization density is maximum. As the dose deposit beyond this distal edge is very low, proton therapy minimizes the damage to normal tissue compared to photon therapy. Nevertheless, inherent range uncertainties cast doubts on the irradiation of tumors close to organs at risk and lead to the application of conservative safety margins. This constrains significantly the potential benefits of protons over photons. In this context, several research groups are developing experimental tools for range verification based on the detection of prompt gammas, a nuclear by-product of the proton irradiation. At OncoRay and Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, detector components have been characterized in realistic radiation environments as a step toward a clinical Compton camera. On the one hand, corresponding experimental methods and results obtained during the ENTERVISION training network are reviewed. On the other hand, a novel method based on timing spectroscopy has been proposed as an alternative to collimated imaging systems. The first tests of the timing method at a clinical proton accelerator are summarized, its applicability in a clinical environment for challenging the current safety margins is assessed, and the factors limiting its precision are discussed. PMID:27148473

Analytical probabilistic proton dose calculation and range uncertainties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bangert, M.; Hennig, P.; Oelfke, U.

2014-03-01

We introduce the concept of analytical probabilistic modeling (APM) to calculate the mean and the standard deviation of intensity-modulated proton dose distributions under the influence of range uncertainties in closed form. For APM, range uncertainties are modeled with a multivariate Normal distribution p(z) over the radiological depths z. A pencil beam algorithm that parameterizes the proton depth dose d(z) with a weighted superposition of ten Gaussians is used. Hence, the integrals ∫ dz p(z) d(z) and ∫ dz p(z) d(z)2 required for the calculation of the expected value and standard deviation of the dose remain analytically tractable and can be efficiently evaluated. The means μk, widths δk, and weights ωk of the Gaussian components parameterizing the depth dose curves are found with least squares fits for all available proton ranges. We observe less than 0.3% average deviation of the Gaussian parameterizations from the original proton depth dose curves. Consequently, APM yields high accuracy estimates for the expected value and standard deviation of intensity-modulated proton dose distributions for two dimensional test cases. APM can accommodate arbitrary correlation models and account for the different nature of random and systematic errors in fractionated radiation therapy. Beneficial applications of APM in robust planning are feasible.

Mechanisms of proton transfer in Nafion: elementary reactions at the sulfonic acid groups.

PubMed

Sagarik, Kritsana; Phonyiem, Mayuree; Lao-ngam, Charoensak; Chaiwongwattana, Sermsiri

2008-04-21

Proton transfer reactions at the sulfonic acid groups in Nafion were theoretically studied, using complexes formed from triflic acid (CF3SO3H), H3O+ and H2O, as model systems. The investigations began with searching for potential precursors and transition states at low hydration levels, using the test-particle model (T-model), density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio calculations. They were employed as starting configurations in Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations at 298 K, from which elementary reactions were analyzed and categorized. For the H3O+-H2O complexes, BOMD simulations suggested that a quasi-dynamic equilibrium could be established between the Eigen and Zundel complexes, and that was considered to be one of the most important elementary reactions in the proton transfer process. The average lifetime of H3O+ obtained from BOMD simulations is close to the lowest limit, estimated from low-frequency vibrational spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that proton transfer reactions at -SO3H are not concerted, due to the thermal energy fluctuation and the existence of various quasi-dynamic equilibria, and -SO3H could directly and indirectly mediate proton transfer reactions through the formation of proton defects, as well as the -SO3- and -SO3H2+ transition states.

Next-to-leading-order QCD and electroweak corrections to WWW production at proton-proton colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dittmaier, Stefan; Huss, Alexander; Knippen, Gernot

2017-09-01

Triple-W-boson production in proton-proton collisions allows for a direct access to the triple and quartic gauge couplings and provides a window to the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking. It is an important process to test the Standard Model (SM) and might be background to physics beyond the SM. We present a calculation of the next-to-leading order (NLO) electroweak corrections to the production of WWW final states at proton-proton colliders with on-shell W bosons and combine the electroweak with the NLO QCD corrections. We study the impact of the corrections to the integrated cross sections and to kinematic distributions of the W bosons. The electroweak corrections are generically of the size of 5-10% for integrated cross sections and become more pronounced in specific phase-space regions. The real corrections induced by quark-photon scattering turn out to be as important as electroweak loops and photon bremsstrahlung corrections, but can be reduced by phase-space cuts. Considering that prior determinations of the photon parton distribution function (PDF) involve rather large uncertainties, we compare the results obtained with different photon PDFs and discuss the corresponding uncertainties in the NLO predictions. Moreover, we determine the scale and total PDF uncertainties at the LHC and a possible future 100 TeV pp collider.

Geant4 simulations of soft proton scattering in X-ray optics. A tentative validation using laboratory measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fioretti, Valentina; Mineo, Teresa; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Dondero, Paolo; Ivanchenko, Vladimir; Lei, Fan; Lotti, Simone; Macculi, Claudio; Mantero, Alfonso

2017-12-01

Low energy protons (< 300 keV) can enter the field of view of X-ray telescopes, scatter on their mirror surfaces at small incident angles, and deposit energy on the detector. This phenomenon can cause intense background flares at the focal plane decreasing the mission observing time (e.g. the XMM-Newton mission) or in the most extreme cases, damaging the X-ray detector. A correct modelization of the physics process responsible for the grazing angle scattering processes is mandatory to evaluate the impact of such events on the performance (e.g. observation time, sensitivity) of future X-ray telescopes as the ESA ATHENA mission. The Remizovich model describes particles reflected by solids at glancing angles in terms of the Boltzmann transport equation using the diffuse approximation and the model of continuous slowing down in energy. For the first time this solution, in the approximation of no energy losses, is implemented, verified, and qualitatively validated on top of the Geant4 release 10.2, with the possibility to add a constant energy loss to each interaction. This implementation is verified by comparing the simulated proton distribution to both the theoretical probability distribution and with independent ray-tracing simulations. Both the new scattering physics and the Coulomb scattering already built in the official Geant4 distribution are used to reproduce the latest experimental results on grazing angle proton scattering. At 250 keV multiple scattering delivers large proton angles and it is not consistent with the observation. Among the tested models, the single scattering seems to better reproduce the scattering efficiency at the three energies but energy loss obtained at small scattering angles is significantly lower than the experimental values. In general, the energy losses obtained in the experiment are higher than what obtained by the simulation. The experimental data are not completely representative of the soft proton scattering experienced by current X-ray telescopes because of the lack of measurements at low energies (< 200 keV) and small reflection angles, so we are not able to address any of the tested models as the one that can certainly reproduce the scattering behavior of low energy protons expected for the ATHENA mission. We can, however, discard multiple scattering as the model able to reproduce soft proton funnelling, and affirm that Coulomb single scattering can represent, until further measurements at lower energies are available, the best approximation of the proton scattered angular distribution at the exit of X-ray optics.

The Nab Spectrometer, Precision Field Mapping, and Associated Systematic Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fry, Jason; Nab Collaboration

2017-09-01

The Nab experiment will make precision measurements of a, the e- ν correlation parameter, and b, the Fierz interference term, in neutron beta decay, aiming to deliver an independent determination of the ratio λ =GA /GV to sensitively test CKM unitarity. Nab utilizes a novel, long asymmetric spectrometer to measure the proton TOF and electron energy. We extract a from the slope of the measured TOF distribution for different electron energies. A reliable relation of the measured proton TOF to a requires detailed knowledge of the effective proton pathlength, which in turn imposes further requirements on the precision of the magnetic fields in the Nab spectrometer. The Nab spectrometer, magnetometry, and associated systematics will be discussed.

Pion Total Cross Section in Nucleon - Nucleon Collisions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norbury, John W.

2009-01-01

Total cross section parameterizations for neutral and charged pion production in nucleon - nucleon collisions are compared to experimental data over the projectile momentum range from threshold to 300 GeV. Both proton - proton and proton - neutron reactions are considered. Overall excellent agreement between parameterizations and experiment is found, except for notable disagreements near threshold. In addition, the hypothesis that the neutral pion production cross section can be obtained from the average charged pion cross section is checked. The theoretical formulas presented in the paper obey this hypothesis for projectile momenta below 500 GeV. The results presented provide a test of engineering tools used to calculate the pion component of space radiation.

Exploratory Study of 4D versus 3D Robust Optimization in Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Lung Cancer

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

Liu, Wei, E-mail: Liu.Wei@mayo.edu; Schild, Steven E.; Chang, Joe Y.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the impact of uncertainties and interplay on 3-dimensional (3D) and 4D robustly optimized intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) plans for lung cancer in an exploratory methodology study. Methods and Materials: IMPT plans were created for 11 nonrandomly selected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases: 3D robustly optimized plans on average CTs with internal gross tumor volume density overridden to irradiate internal target volume, and 4D robustly optimized plans on 4D computed tomography (CT) to irradiate clinical target volume (CTV). Regular fractionation (66 Gy [relative biological effectiveness; RBE] in 33 fractions) was considered.more » In 4D optimization, the CTV of individual phases received nonuniform doses to achieve a uniform cumulative dose. The root-mean-square dose-volume histograms (RVH) measured the sensitivity of the dose to uncertainties, and the areas under the RVH curve (AUCs) were used to evaluate plan robustness. Dose evaluation software modeled time-dependent spot delivery to incorporate interplay effect with randomized starting phases of each field per fraction. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) indices comparing CTV coverage, homogeneity, and normal tissue sparing were evaluated using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: 4D robust optimization plans led to smaller AUC for CTV (14.26 vs 18.61, respectively; P=.001), better CTV coverage (Gy [RBE]) (D{sub 95%} CTV: 60.6 vs 55.2, respectively; P=.001), and better CTV homogeneity (D{sub 5%}-D{sub 95%} CTV: 10.3 vs 17.7, resspectively; P=.002) in the face of uncertainties. With interplay effect considered, 4D robust optimization produced plans with better target coverage (D{sub 95%} CTV: 64.5 vs 63.8, respectively; P=.0068), comparable target homogeneity, and comparable normal tissue protection. The benefits from 4D robust optimization were most obvious for the 2 typical stage III lung cancer patients. Conclusions: Our exploratory methodology study showed that, compared to 3D robust optimization, 4D robust optimization produced significantly more robust and interplay-effect-resistant plans for targets with comparable dose distributions for normal tissues. A further study with a larger and more realistic patient population is warranted to generalize the conclusions.« less

SU-E-T-470: Beam Performance of the Radiance 330 Proton Therapy System

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

Nazaryan, H; Nazaryan, V; Wang, F

2014-06-01

Purpose: The ProTom Radiance 330 proton radiotherapy system is a fully functional, compact proton radiotherapy system that provides advanced proton delivery capabilities. It supports three-dimensional beam scanning with energy and intensity modulation. A series of measurements have been conducted to characterize the beam performance of the first installation of the system at the McLaren Proton Therapy Center in Flint, Michigan. These measurements were part of the technical commissioning of the system. Select measurements and results are presented. Methods: The Radiance 330 proton beam energy range is 70–250 MeV for treatment, and up to 330 MeV for proton tomography and radiography.more » Its 3-D scanning capability, together with a small beam emittance and momentum spread, provides a highly efficient beam delivery. During the technical commissioning, treatment plans were created to deliver uniform maps at various energies to perform Gamma Index analysis. EBT3 Gafchromic films were irradiated using the Planned irradiation maps. Bragg Peak chamber was used to test the dynamic range during a scan in one layer for high (250 MeV) and Low (70 MeV) energies. The maximum and minimum range, range adjustment and modulation, distal dose falloff (80%–20%), pencil beam spot size, spot placement accuracy were also measured. The accuracy testing included acquiring images, image registration, receiving correction vectors and applying the corrections to the robotic patient positioner. Results: Gamma Index analysis of the Treatment Planning System (TPS) data vs. Measured data showed more than 90% of points within (3%, 3mm) for the maps created by the TPS. At Isocenter Beam Size (One sigma) < 3mm at highest energy (250 MeV) in air. Beam delivery was within 0.6 mm of the intended target at the entrance and the exit of the beam, through the phantom. Conclusion: The Radiance 330 Beam Performance Measurements have confirmed that the system operates as designed with excellent clinical performance specifications. Hovakim Nazaryan, Vahagn Nazaryan and Fuhua Wang are employees of ProTom International, Inc. who contributed to the development and completed the technical commissioning of the Radiance 330 proton therapy delivery system manufactured by ProTom International.« less

Structure Determination of Natural Products by Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Biemann, Klaus

2015-01-01

I review laboratory research on the development of mass spectrometric methodology for the determination of the structure of natural products of biological and medical interest, which I conducted from 1958 to the end of the twentieth century. The methodology was developed by converting small peptides to their corresponding polyamino alcohols to make them amenable to mass spectrometry, thereby making it applicable to whole proteins. The structures of alkaloids were determined by analyzing the fragmentation of a known alkaloid and then using the results to deduce the structures of related compounds. Heparin-like structures were investigated by determining their molecular weights from the mass of protonated molecular ions of complexes with highly basic, synthetic peptides. Mass spectrometry was also employed in the analysis of lunar material returned by the Apollo missions. A miniaturized gas chromatograph mass spectrometer was sent to Mars on board of the two Viking 1976 spacecrafts.

MM/PBSA analysis of molecular dynamics simulations of bovine beta-lactoglobulin: free energy gradients in conformational transitions?

PubMed

Fogolari, Federico; Moroni, Elisabetta; Wojciechowski, Marcin; Baginski, Maciej; Ragona, Laura; Molinari, Henriette

2005-04-01

The pH-driven opening and closure of beta-lactoglobulin EF loop, acting as a lid and closing the internal cavity of the protein, has been studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and free energy calculations based on molecular mechanics/Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) solvent-accessible surface area (MM/PBSA) methodology. The forms above and below the transition pH differ presumably only in the protonation state of residue Glu89. MM/PBSA calculations are able to reproduce qualitatively the thermodynamics of the transition. The analysis of MD simulations using a combination of MM/PBSA methodology and the colony energy approach is able to highlight the driving forces implied in the transition. The analysis suggests that global rearrangements take place before the equilibrium local conformation is reached. This conclusion may bear general relevance to conformational transitions in all lipocalins and proteins in general. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Proton Radiotherapy for Pediatric Bladder/Prostate Rhabdomyosarcoma: Clinical Outcomes and Dosimetry Compared to Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

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

Cotter, Shane E.; Herrup, David A.; Friedmann, Alison

Purpose: In this study, we report the clinical outcomes of 7 children with bladder/prostate rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) treated with proton radiation and compare proton treatment plans with matched intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans, with an emphasis on dose savings to reproductive and skeletal structures. Methods and Materials: Follow-up consisted of scheduled clinic appointments at our institution or direct communication with the treating physicians for referred patients. Each proton radiotherapy plan used for treatment was directly compared to an IMRT plan generated for the study. Clinical target volumes and normal tissue volumes were held constant to facilitate dosimetric comparisons. Each plan wasmore » optimized for target coverage and normal tissue sparing. Results: Seven male patients were treated with proton radiotherapy for bladder/prostate RMS at the Massachusetts General Hospital between 2002 and 2008. Median age at treatment was 30 months (11-70 months). Median follow-up was 27 months (10-90 months). Four patients underwent a gross total resection prior to radiation, and all patients received concurrent chemotherapy. Radiation doses ranged from 36 cobalt Gray equivalent (CGE) to 50.4 CGE. Five of 7 patients were without evidence of disease and with intact bladders at study completion. Target volume dosimetry was equivalent between the two modalities for all 7 patients. Proton radiotherapy led to a significant decrease in mean organ dose to the bladder (25.1 CGE vs. 33.2 Gy; p = 0.03), testes (0.0 CGE vs. 0.6 Gy; p = 0.016), femoral heads (1.6 CGE vs. 10.6 Gy; p = 0.016), growth plates (21.7 CGE vs. 32.4 Gy; p = 0.016), and pelvic bones (8.8 CGE vs. 13.5 Gy; p = 0.016) compared to IMRT. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of significant dose savings to normal structures with proton radiotherapy compared to IMRT and is well tolerated in this patient population. The long-term impact of these reduced doses can be tested in future studies incorporating extended follow-up, objective outcome measures, and quality-of-life analyses.« less

SU-E-CAMPUS-T-03: Development and Implementation of An Anthropomorphic Pediatric Spine Phantom for the Assessment of Craniospinal Irradiation Procedures in Proton Therapy

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

Lewis, D; Summers, P; Followill, D

Purpose: To design an anthropomorphic pediatric spine phantom for use in the evaluation of proton therapy facilities for clinical trial participation by the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Houston QA Center (formerly RPC). Methods: This phantom was designed to perform an end-to-end audit of the proton spine treatment process, including simulation, dose calculation by the treatment planning system (TPS), and proton treatment delivery. The design incorporated materials simulating the thoracic spinal column of a pediatric patient, along with two thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD)-100 capsules and radiochromic film embedded in the phantom for dose evaluation. Fourteen potential materials were tested tomore » determine relative proton stopping power (RSP) and Hounsfield unit (HU) values. Each material was CT scanned at 120kVp, and the RSP was obtained from depth ionization scans using the Zebra multilayer ion chamber (MLIC) at two energies: 160 MeV and 250 MeV. To determine tissue equivalency, the measured RSP for each material was compared to the RSP calculated by the Eclipse TPS for a given HU. Results: The materials selected as bone, tissue, and cartilage substitutes were Techron HPV Bearing Grade (Boedeker Plastics, Inc.), solid water, and blue water, respectively. The RSP values did not differ by more than 1.8% between the two energies. The measured RSP for each selected material agreed with the RSP calculated by the Eclipse TPS within 1.2%. Conclusion: An anthropomorphic pediatric proton spine phantom was designed to evaluate proton therapy delivery. The inclusion of multiple tissue substitutes increases heterogeneity and the level of difficulty for institutions to successfully treat the phantom. The following attributes will be evaluated: absolute dose agreement, distal range, field width, junction match and right/left dose profile alignment. The phantom will be tested at several institutions using a 5% dose agreement criterion, and a 5%/3mm gamma analysis criterion for the film planes. Work supported by grants CA10953, CA059267, and CA81647 (NCI, DHHS)« less

A quantum chemical study of the mechanism for proton-coupled electron transfer leading to proton pumping in cytochrome c oxidase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blomberg, Margareta R. A.; Siegbahn, Per E. M.

2010-10-01

The proton pumping mechanism in cytochrome c oxidase, the terminal enzyme in the respiratory chain, has been investigated using hybrid DFT with large chemical models. In previous studies, a gating mechanism was suggested based on electrostatic interpretations of kinetic experiments. The predictions from that analysis are tested here. The main result is that the suggestion of a positively charged transition state for proton transfer is confirmed, while some other suggestions for the gating are not supported. It is shown that a few critical relative energy values from the earlier studies are reproduced with quite high accuracy using the present model calculations. Examples are the forward barrier for proton transfer from the N-side of the membrane to the pump-loading site when the heme a cofactor is reduced, and the corresponding back leakage barrier when heme a is oxidised. An interesting new finding is an unexpected double-well potential for proton transfer from the N-side to the pump-loading site. In the intermediate between the two transition states found, the proton is bound to PropD on heme a. A possible purpose of this type of potential surface is suggested here. The accuracy of the present values are discussed in terms of their sensitivity to the choice of dielectric constant. Only one energy value, which is not critical for the present mechanism, varies significantly with this choice and is therefore less certain.

Viability of a human melanoma cell after single and combined treatment with fotemustine, dacarbazine, and proton irradiation.

PubMed

Petrović, Ivan M; Korićanac, Lela B; Todorović, Danijela V; Ristić-Fira, Aleksandra M; Valastro, Lucia M; Privitera, Giuseppe; Cuttone, Giacomo

2007-01-01

Viability of human HTB140 melanoma cells after being exposed to fotemustine (FM) and dacarbazine (DTIC) as well as to proton irradiation was studied. Effects of 100 and 250 microM drugs were assessed after incubation of 6, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. Irradiations were performed with 62 MeV therapeutic protons, delivering to the cell monolayer single doses of 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 Gy. Viability was evaluated 7 days after irradiation. Inactivation level was estimated using microtetrasolium (MTT) and sulforhodamine B (SRB) assays. Combined effects of each drug and protons, were carried out using the same drug concentrations. Proton doses applied were those used in therapy, that is, 12 and 16 Gy. With the increase of drug concentration or irradiation dose, level of cell inactivation reached approximately 60%, 48 h after drug treatment or 7 days after irradiation at 16 Gy. Considering the rate of drug concentrations used, as well as the level of doses applied, it appears that HTB140 cells are more resistant to proton irradiation than to alkylating agents tested. The combined treatment with FM or DTIC and protons did not show significant changes of cell viability as compared to the effects of single agents. Since the time point for measuring cumulative effects of drug and irradiation was 48 h post irradiation, it seems that the obtained level of viability could be attributed primarily to the effects of drugs.

TOPAS/Geant4 configuration for ionization chamber calculations in proton beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulff, Jörg; Baumann, Kilian-Simon; Verbeek, Nico; Bäumer, Christian; Timmermann, Beate; Zink, Klemens

2018-06-01

Monte Carlo (MC) calculations are a fundamental tool for the investigation of ionization chambers (ICs) in radiation fields, and for calculations in the scope of IC reference dosimetry. Geant4, as used for the toolkit TOPAS, is a major general purpose code, generally suitable for investigating ICs in primary proton beams. To provide reliable results, the impact of parameter settings and the limitations of the underlying condensed history (CH) algorithm need to be known. A Fano cavity test was implemented in Geant4 (10.03.p1) for protons, based on the existing version for electrons distributed with the Geant4 release. This self-consistent test allows the calculation to be compared with the expected result for the typical IC-like geometry of an air-filled cavity surrounded by a higher density material. Various user-selectable parameters of the CH implementation in the EMStandardOpt4 physics-list were tested for incident proton energies between 30 and 250 MeV. Using TOPAS (3.1.p1) the influence of production cuts was investigated for bare air-cavities in water, irradiated by primary protons. Detailed IC geometries for an NACP-02 plane-parallel chamber and an NE2571 Farmer-chamber were created. The overall factor f Q as a ratio between the dose-to-water and dose to the sensitive air-volume was calculated for incident proton energies between 70 and 250 MeV. The Fano test demonstrated the EMStandardOpt4 physics-list with the WentzelIV multiple scattering model as appropriate for IC calculations. If protons start perpendicular to the air cavity, no further step-size limitations are required to pass the test within 0.1%. For an isotropic source, limitations of the maximum step length within the air cavity and its surrounding as well as a limitation of the maximum fractional energy loss per step were required to pass within 0.2%. A production cut of  ⩽5 μm or  ∼15 keV for all particles yielded a constant result for f Q of bare air-filled cavities. The overall factor f Q for the detailed NACP-02 and NE2571 chamber models calculated with TOPAS agreed with the values of Gomà et al (2016 Phys. Med. Biol. 61 2389) within statistical uncertainties (1σ) of  <0.3% for almost all energies with a maximum deviation of 0.6% at 250 MeV for the NE2571. The selection of hadronic scattering models (QGSP_BIC versus QGSP_BERT) in TOPAS impacted the results at the highest energies by 0.3%  ±  0.1%. Based on the Fano cavity test, the Geant4/TOPAS Monte Carlo code, in its investigated version, can provide reliable results for IC calculations. Agreement with the detailed IC models and the published values of Gomà et al can be achieved when production cuts are reduced from the TOPAS default values. The calculations confirm the reported agreement of Gomà et al for with IAEA-TRS398 values within the given uncertainties. An additional uncertainty for the MC-calculated of  ∼0.3% by hadronic interaction models should be considered.

TOPAS/Geant4 configuration for ionization chamber calculations in proton beams.

PubMed

Wulff, Jörg; Baumann, Kilian-Simon; Verbeek, Nico; Bäumer, Christian; Timmermann, Beate; Zink, Klemens

2018-06-07

Monte Carlo (MC) calculations are a fundamental tool for the investigation of ionization chambers (ICs) in radiation fields, and for calculations in the scope of IC reference dosimetry. Geant4, as used for the toolkit TOPAS, is a major general purpose code, generally suitable for investigating ICs in primary proton beams. To provide reliable results, the impact of parameter settings and the limitations of the underlying condensed history (CH) algorithm need to be known. A Fano cavity test was implemented in Geant4 (10.03.p1) for protons, based on the existing version for electrons distributed with the Geant4 release. This self-consistent test allows the calculation to be compared with the expected result for the typical IC-like geometry of an air-filled cavity surrounded by a higher density material. Various user-selectable parameters of the CH implementation in the EMStandardOpt4 physics-list were tested for incident proton energies between 30 and 250 MeV. Using TOPAS (3.1.p1) the influence of production cuts was investigated for bare air-cavities in water, irradiated by primary protons. Detailed IC geometries for an NACP-02 plane-parallel chamber and an NE2571 Farmer-chamber were created. The overall factor f Q as a ratio between the dose-to-water and dose to the sensitive air-volume was calculated for incident proton energies between 70 and 250 MeV. The Fano test demonstrated the EMStandardOpt4 physics-list with the WentzelIV multiple scattering model as appropriate for IC calculations. If protons start perpendicular to the air cavity, no further step-size limitations are required to pass the test within 0.1%. For an isotropic source, limitations of the maximum step length within the air cavity and its surrounding as well as a limitation of the maximum fractional energy loss per step were required to pass within 0.2%. A production cut of  ⩽5 μm or  ∼15 keV for all particles yielded a constant result for f Q of bare air-filled cavities. The overall factor f Q for the detailed NACP-02 and NE2571 chamber models calculated with TOPAS agreed with the values of Gomà et al (2016 Phys. Med. Biol. 61 2389) within statistical uncertainties (1σ) of  <0.3% for almost all energies with a maximum deviation of 0.6% at 250 MeV for the NE2571. The selection of hadronic scattering models (QGSP_BIC versus QGSP_BERT) in TOPAS impacted the results at the highest energies by 0.3%  ±  0.1%. Based on the Fano cavity test, the Geant4/TOPAS Monte Carlo code, in its investigated version, can provide reliable results for IC calculations. Agreement with the detailed IC models and the published values of Gomà et al can be achieved when production cuts are reduced from the TOPAS default values. The calculations confirm the reported agreement of Gomà et al for [Formula: see text] with IAEA-TRS398 values within the given uncertainties. An additional uncertainty for the MC-calculated [Formula: see text] of  ∼0.3% by hadronic interaction models should be considered.

Proton pump inhibitors versus histamine 2 receptor antagonists for stress ulcer prophylaxis in critically ill patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Alhazzani, Waleed; Alenezi, Farhan; Jaeschke, Roman Z; Moayyedi, Paul; Cook, Deborah J

2013-03-01

Critically ill patients may develop bleeding caused by stress ulceration. Acid suppression is commonly prescribed for patients at risk of stress ulcer bleeding. Whether proton pump inhibitors are more effective than histamine 2 receptor antagonists is unclear. To determine the efficacy and safety of proton pump inhibitors vs. histamine 2 receptor antagonists for the prevention of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in the ICU. We searched Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ACPJC, CINHAL, online trials registries (clinicaltrials.gov, ISRCTN Register, WHO ICTRP), conference proceedings databases, and reference lists of relevant articles. Randomized controlled parallel group trials comparing proton pump inhibitors to histamine 2 receptor antagonists for the prevention of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in critically ill patients, published before March 2012. Two reviewers independently applied eligibility criteria, assessed quality, and extracted data. The primary outcomes were clinically important upper gastrointestinal bleeding and overt upper gastrointestinal bleeding; secondary outcomes were nosocomial pneumonia, ICU mortality, ICU length of stay, and Clostridium difficile infection. Trial authors were contacted for additional or clarifying information. Fourteen trials enrolling a total of 1,720 patients were included. Proton pump inhibitors were more effective than histamine 2 receptor antagonists at reducing clinically important upper gastrointestinal bleeding (relative risk 0.36; 95% confidence interval 0.19-0.68; p = 0.002; I = 0%) and overt upper gastrointestinal bleeding (relative risk 0.35; 95% confidence interval 0.21-0.59; p < 0.0001; I = 15%). There were no differences between proton pump inhibitors and histamine 2 receptor antagonists in the risk of nosocomial pneumonia (relative risk 1.06; 95% confidence interval 0.73-1.52; p = 0.76; I = 0%), ICU mortality (relative risk 1.01; 95% confidence interval 0.83-1.24; p = 0.91; I = 0%), or ICU length of stay (mean difference -0.54 days; 95% confidence interval -2.20 to 1.13; p = 0.53; I = 39%). No trials reported on C. difficile infection. In critically ill patients, proton pump inhibitors seem to be more effective than histamine 2 receptor antagonists in preventing clinically important and overt upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The robustness of this conclusion is limited by the trial methodology, differences between lower and higher quality trials, sparse data, and possible publication bias. We observed no differences between drugs in the risk of pneumonia, death, or ICU length of stay.

Polarization Facilities at COSY

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

Eversheim, Dieter

2008-02-06

The cooler synchrotron COSY at the Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany has been equipped with all necessary tools to accelerate polarized protons and deuterons to their maximum energy. For the EDDA and ANKE experiments two atomic beam targets for polarized protons and deuterons have been installed in the COSY-ring. Tests of the RF Spin-Flipper have been very successful. Externally polarization experiments are carried out by the TOF spectrometer. The performance of the relevant components and experiments is discussed.

Pion and proton showers in the CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilki, B.; Repond, J.; Xia, L.; Eigen, G.; Thomson, M. A.; Ward, D. R.; Benchekroun, D.; Hoummada, A.; Khoulaki, Y.; Chang, S.; Khan, A.; Kim, D. H.; Kong, D. J.; Oh, Y. D.; Blazey, G. C.; Dyshkant, A.; Francis, K.; Lima, J. G. R.; Salcido, R.; Zutshi, V.; Salvatore, F.; Kawagoe, K.; Miyazaki, Y.; Sudo, Y.; Suehara, T.; Tomita, T.; Ueno, H.; Yoshioka, T.; Apostolakis, J.; Dannheim, D.; Folger, G.; Ivantchenko, V.; Klempt, W.; Lucaci-Timoce, A.-I.; Ribon, A.; Schlatter, D.; Sicking, E.; Uzhinskiy, V.; Giraud, J.; Grondin, D.; Hostachy, J.-Y.; Morin, L.; Brianne, E.; Cornett, U.; David, D.; Ebrahimi, A.; Falley, G.; Gadow, K.; Göttlicher, P.; Günter, C.; Hartbrich, O.; Hermberg, B.; Karstensen, S.; Krivan, F.; Krüger, K.; Lu, S.; Lutz, B.; Morozov, S.; Morgunov, V.; Neubüser, C.; Reinecke, M.; Sefkow, F.; Smirnov, P.; Tran, H. L.; Buhmann, P.; Garutti, E.; Laurien, S.; Matysek, M.; Ramilli, M.; Briggl, K.; Eckert, P.; Harion, T.; Munwes, Y.; Schultz-Coulon, H.-Ch.; Shen, W.; Stamen, R.; Norbeck, E.; Northacker, D.; Onel, Y.; van Doren, B.; Wilson, G. W.; Wing, M.; Combaret, C.; Caponetto, L.; Eté, R.; Grenier, G.; Han, R.; Ianigro, J. C.; Kieffer, R.; Laktineh, I.; Lumb, N.; Mathez, H.; Mirabito, L.; Petrukhin, A.; Steen, A.; Berenguer Antequera, J.; Calvo Alamillo, E.; Fouz, M.-C.; Marin, J.; Puerta-Pelayo, J.; Verdugo, A.; Corriveau, F.; Bobchenko, B.; Chistov, R.; Chadeeva, M.; Danilov, M.; Drutskoy, A.; Epifantsev, A.; Markin, O.; Mironov, D.; Mizuk, R.; Novikov, E.; Rusinov, V.; Tarkovsky, E.; Besson, D.; Buzhan, P.; Ilyin, A.; Popova, E.; Gabriel, M.; Kiesling, C.; van der Kolk, N.; Simon, F.; Soldner, C.; Szalay, M.; Tesar, M.; Weuste, L.; Amjad, M. S.; Bonis, J.; Callier, S.; Conforti di Lorenzo, S.; Cornebise, P.; Dulucq, F.; Fleury, J.; Frisson, T.; Martin-Chassard, G.; Pöschl, R.; Raux, L.; Richard, F.; Rouëné, J.; Seguin-Moreau, N.; de la Taille, Ch.; Anduze, M.; Boudry, V.; Brient, J.-C.; Clerc, C.; Cornat, R.; Frotin, M.; Gastaldi, F.; Matthieu, A.; Mora de Freitas, P.; Musat, G.; Ruan, M.; Videau, H.; Zacek, J.; Cvach, J.; Gallus, P.; Havranek, M.; Janata, M.; Kvasnicka, J.; Lednicky, D.; Marcisovsky, M.; Polak, I.; Popule, J.; Tomasek, L.; Tomasek, M.; Sicho, P.; Smolik, J.; Vrba, V.; Zalesak, J.; Jeans, D.; Weber, S.

2015-04-01

Showers produced by positive hadrons in the highly granular CALICE scintillator-steel analogue hadron calorimeter were studied. The experimental data were collected at CERN and FNAL for single particles with initial momenta from 10 to 80 GeV/c. The calorimeter response and resolution and spatial characteristics of shower development for proton- and pion-induced showers for test beam data and simulations using GEANT4 version 9.6 are compared.

Polarization Facilities at COSY

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eversheim, Dieter

2008-02-01

The cooler synchrotron COSY at the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany has been equipped with all necessary tools to accelerate polarized protons and deuterons to their maximum energy. For the EDDA and ANKE experiments two atomic beam targets for polarized protons and deuterons have been installed in the COSY-ring. Tests of the RF Spin-Flipper have been very successful. Externally polarization experiments are carried out by the TOF spectrometer. The performance of the relevant components and experiments is discussed.

12 CFR 46.6 - Stress test methodologies and practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Stress test methodologies and practices. 46.6 Section 46.6 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ANNUAL STRESS TEST § 46.6 Stress test methodologies and practices. (a) Potential impact on capital. During each quarter of...

12 CFR 46.6 - Stress test methodologies and practices.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 12 Banks and Banking 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Stress test methodologies and practices. 46.6 Section 46.6 Banks and Banking COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY ANNUAL STRESS TEST § 46.6 Stress test methodologies and practices. (a) Potential impact on capital. During each quarter of...

Parameterization of DFTB3/3OB for Sulfur and Phosphorus for Chemical and Biological Applications

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We report the parametrization of the approximate density functional tight binding method, DFTB3, for sulfur and phosphorus. The parametrization is done in a framework consistent with our previous 3OB set established for O, N, C, and H, thus the resulting parameters can be used to describe a broad set of organic and biologically relevant molecules. The 3d orbitals are included in the parametrization, and the electronic parameters are chosen to minimize errors in the atomization energies. The parameters are tested using a fairly diverse set of molecules of biological relevance, focusing on the geometries, reaction energies, proton affinities, and hydrogen bonding interactions of these molecules; vibrational frequencies are also examined, although less systematically. The results of DFTB3/3OB are compared to those from DFT (B3LYP and PBE), ab initio (MP2, G3B3), and several popular semiempirical methods (PM6 and PDDG), as well as predictions of DFTB3 with the older parametrization (the MIO set). In general, DFTB3/3OB is a major improvement over the previous parametrization (DFTB3/MIO), and for the majority cases tested here, it also outperforms PM6 and PDDG, especially for structural properties, vibrational frequencies, hydrogen bonding interactions, and proton affinities. For reaction energies, DFTB3/3OB exhibits major improvement over DFTB3/MIO, due mainly to significant reduction of errors in atomization energies; compared to PM6 and PDDG, DFTB3/3OB also generally performs better, although the magnitude of improvement is more modest. Compared to high-level calculations, DFTB3/3OB is most successful at predicting geometries; larger errors are found in the energies, although the results can be greatly improved by computing single point energies at a high level with DFTB3 geometries. There are several remaining issues with the DFTB3/3OB approach, most notably its difficulty in describing phosphate hydrolysis reactions involving a change in the coordination number of the phosphorus, for which a specific parametrization (3OB/OPhyd) is developed as a temporary solution; this suggests that the current DFTB3 methodology has limited transferability for complex phosphorus chemistry at the level of accuracy required for detailed mechanistic investigations. Therefore, fundamental improvements in the DFTB3 methodology are needed for a reliable method that describes phosphorus chemistry without ad hoc parameters. Nevertheless, DFTB3/3OB is expected to be a competitive QM method in QM/MM calculations for studying phosphorus/sulfur chemistry in condensed phase systems, especially as a low-level method that drives the sampling in a dual-level QM/MM framework. PMID:24803865

Protons Offer Reduced Normal-Tissue Exposure for Patients Receiving Postoperative Radiotherapy for Resected Pancreatic Head Cancer

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

Nichols, Romaine C., E-mail: rnichols@floridaproton.org; Huh, Soon N.; Prado, Karl L.

2012-05-01

Purpose: To determine the potential role for adjuvant proton-based radiotherapy (PT) for resected pancreatic head cancer. Methods and Materials: Between June 2008 and November 2008, 8 consecutive patients with resected pancreatic head cancers underwent optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment planning. IMRT plans used between 10 and 18 fields and delivered 45 Gy to the initial planning target volume (PTV) and a 5.4 Gy boost to a reduced PTV. PTVs were defined according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9704 radiotherapy guidelines. Ninety-five percent of PTVs received 100% of the target dose and 100% of the PTVs received 95% of themore » target dose. Normal tissue constraints were as follows: right kidney V18 Gy to <70%; left kidney V18 Gy to <30%; small bowel/stomach V20 Gy to <50%, V45 Gy to <15%, V50 Gy to <10%, and V54 Gy to <5%; liver V30 Gy to <60%; and spinal cord maximum to 46 Gy. Optimized two- to three-field three-dimensional conformal proton plans were retrospectively generated on the same patients. The team generating the proton plans was blinded to the dose distributions achieved by the IMRT plans. The IMRT and proton plans were then compared. A Wilcoxon paired t-test was performed to compare various dosimetric points between the two plans for each patient. Results: All proton plans met all normal tissue constraints and were isoeffective with the corresponding IMRT plans in terms of PTV coverage. The proton plans offered significantly reduced normal-tissue exposure over the IMRT plans with respect to the following: median small bowel V20 Gy, 15.4% with protons versus 47.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0156); median gastric V20 Gy, 2.3% with protons versus 20.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0313); and median right kidney V18 Gy, 27.3% with protons versus 50.5% with IMRT (p = 0.0156). Conclusions: By reducing small bowel and stomach exposure, protons have the potential to reduce the acute and late toxicities of postoperative chemoradiation in this setting.« less

Characterization of the microbunch time structure of proton pencil beams at a clinical treatment facility.

PubMed

Petzoldt, J; Roemer, K E; Enghardt, W; Fiedler, F; Golnik, C; Hueso-González, F; Helmbrecht, S; Kormoll, T; Rohling, H; Smeets, J; Werner, T; Pausch, G

2016-03-21

Proton therapy is an advantageous treatment modality compared to conventional radiotherapy. In contrast to photons, charged particles have a finite range and can thus spare organs at risk. Additionally, the increased ionization density in the so-called Bragg peak close to the particle range can be utilized for maximum dose deposition in the tumour volume. Unfortunately, the accuracy of the therapy can be affected by range uncertainties, which have to be covered by additional safety margins around the treatment volume. A real-time range and dose verification is therefore highly desired and would be key to exploit the major advantages of proton therapy. Prompt gamma rays, produced in nuclear reactions between projectile and target nuclei, can be used to measure the proton's range. The prompt gamma-ray timing (PGT) method aims at obtaining this information by determining the gamma-ray emission time along the proton path using a conventional time-of-flight detector setup. First tests at a clinical accelerator have shown the feasibility to observe range shifts of about 5 mm at clinically relevant doses. However, PGT spectra are smeared out by the bunch time spread. Additionally, accelerator related proton bunch drifts against the radio frequency have been detected, preventing a potential range verification. At OncoRay, first experiments using a proton bunch monitor (PBM) at a clinical pencil beam have been conducted. Elastic proton scattering at a hydrogen-containing foil could be utilized to create a coincident proton-proton signal in two identical PBMs. The selection of coincident events helped to suppress uncorrelated background. The PBM setup was used as time reference for a PGT detector to correct for potential bunch drifts. Furthermore, the corrected PGT data were used to image an inhomogeneous phantom. In a further systematic measurement campaign, the bunch time spread and the proton transmission rate were measured for several beam energies between 69 and 225 MeV as well as for variable momentum limiting slit openings. We conclude that the usage of a PBM increases the robustness of the PGT method in clinical conditions and that the obtained data will help to create reliable range verification procedures in clinical routine.

Protons offer reduced normal-tissue exposure for patients receiving postoperative radiotherapy for resected pancreatic head cancer.

PubMed

Nichols, Romaine C; Huh, Soon N; Prado, Karl L; Yi, Byong Y; Sharma, Navesh K; Ho, Meng W; Hoppe, Bradford S; Mendenhall, Nancy P; Li, Zuofeng; Regine, William F

2012-05-01

To determine the potential role for adjuvant proton-based radiotherapy (PT) for resected pancreatic head cancer. Between June 2008 and November 2008, 8 consecutive patients with resected pancreatic head cancers underwent optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment planning. IMRT plans used between 10 and 18 fields and delivered 45 Gy to the initial planning target volume (PTV) and a 5.4 Gy boost to a reduced PTV. PTVs were defined according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 9704 radiotherapy guidelines. Ninety-five percent of PTVs received 100% of the target dose and 100% of the PTVs received 95% of the target dose. Normal tissue constraints were as follows: right kidney V18 Gy to <70%; left kidney V18 Gy to <30%; small bowel/stomach V20 Gy to <50%, V45 Gy to <15%, V50 Gy to <10%, and V54 Gy to <5%; liver V30 Gy to <60%; and spinal cord maximum to 46 Gy. Optimized two- to three-field three-dimensional conformal proton plans were retrospectively generated on the same patients. The team generating the proton plans was blinded to the dose distributions achieved by the IMRT plans. The IMRT and proton plans were then compared. A Wilcoxon paired t-test was performed to compare various dosimetric points between the two plans for each patient. All proton plans met all normal tissue constraints and were isoeffective with the corresponding IMRT plans in terms of PTV coverage. The proton plans offered significantly reduced normal-tissue exposure over the IMRT plans with respect to the following: median small bowel V20 Gy, 15.4% with protons versus 47.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0156); median gastric V20 Gy, 2.3% with protons versus 20.0% with IMRT (p = 0.0313); and median right kidney V18 Gy, 27.3% with protons versus 50.5% with IMRT (p = 0.0156). By reducing small bowel and stomach exposure, protons have the potential to reduce the acute and late toxicities of postoperative chemoradiation in this setting. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fatigue and creep to leak tests of proton exchange membranes using pressure-loaded blisters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yongqiang; Dillard, David A.; Case, Scott W.; Ellis, Michael W.; Lai, Yeh-Hung; Gittleman, Craig S.; Miller, Daniel P.

In this study, three commercially available proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are biaxially tested using pressure-loaded blisters to characterize their resistance to gas leakage under either static (creep) or cyclic fatigue loading. The pressurizing medium, air, is directly used for leak detection. These tests are believed to be more relevant to fuel cell applications than quasi-static uniaxial tensile-to-rupture tests because of the use of biaxial cyclic and sustained loading and the use of gas leakage as the failure criterion. They also have advantages over relative humidity cycling test, in which a bare PEM or catalyst coated membrane is clamped with gas diffusion media and flow field plates and subjected to cyclic changes in relative humidity, because of the flexibility in allowing controlled mechanical loading and accelerated testing. Nafion ® NRE-211 membranes are tested at three different temperatures and the time-temperature superposition principle is used to construct stress-lifetime master curve. Tested at 90 °C, 2%RH extruded Ion Power ® N111-IP membranes have a longer lifetime than Gore™-Select ® 57 and Nafion ® NRE-211 membranes.

Performance of the CMS precision electromagnetic calorimeter at LHC Run II and prospects for High-Luminosity LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhicai

2018-04-01

Many physics analyses using the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the LHC require accurate, high-resolution electron and photon energy measurements. Following the excellent performance achieved during LHC Run I at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) is operating at the LHC with proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV center-of-mass energy. The instantaneous luminosity delivered by the LHC during Run II has achieved unprecedented levels. The average number of concurrent proton-proton collisions per bunch-crossing (pileup) has reached up to 40 interactions in 2016 and may increase further in 2017. These high pileup levels necessitate a retuning of the ECAL readout and trigger thresholds and reconstruction algorithms. In addition, the energy response of the detector must be precisely calibrated and monitored. We present new reconstruction algorithms and calibration strategies that were implemented to maintain the excellent performance of the CMS ECAL throughout Run II. We will show performance results from the 2015-2016 data taking periods and provide an outlook on the expected Run II performance in the years to come. Beyond the LHC, challenging running conditions for CMS are expected after the High-Luminosity upgrade of the LHC (HL-LHC) . We review the design and R&D studies for the CMS ECAL and present first test beam studies. Particular challenges at HL-LHC are the harsh radiation environment, the increasing data rates, and the extreme level of pile-up events, with up to 200 simultaneous proton-proton collisions. We present test beam results of hadron irradiated PbWO crystals up to fluences expected at the HL-LHC . We also report on the R&D for the new readout and trigger electronics, which must be upgraded due to the increased trigger and latency requirements at the HL-LHC.

SU-E-T-628: Predicted Risk of Post-Irradiation Cerebral Necrosis in Pediatric Brain Cancer Patients: A Treatment Planning Comparison of Proton Vs. Photon Therapy

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

Freund, D; Zhang, R; Sanders, M

Purpose: Post-irradiation cerebral necrosis (PICN) is a severe late effect that can Result from brain cancers treatment using radiation therapy. The purpose of this study was to compare the treatment plans and predicted risk of PICN after volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to the risk after passively scattered proton therapy (PSPT) and intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) in a cohort of pediatric patients. Methods: Thirteen pediatric patients with varying age and sex were selected for this study. A clinical treatment volume (CTV) was constructed for 8 glioma patients and 5 ependymoma patients. Prescribed dose was 54 Gy over 30 fractionsmore » to the planning volume. Dosimetric endpoints were compared between VMAT and proton plans. The normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) following VMAT and proton therapy planning was also calculated using PICN as the biological endpoint. Sensitivity tests were performed to determine if predicted risk of PICN was sensitive to positional errors, proton range errors and selection of risk models. Results: Both PSPT and IMPT plans resulted in a significant increase in the maximum dose and reduction in the total brain volume irradiated to low doses compared with the VMAT plans. The average ratios of NTCP between PSPT and VMAT were 0.56 and 0.38 for glioma and ependymoma patients respectively and the average ratios of NTCP between IMPT and VMAT were 0.67 and 0.68 for glioma and ependymoma plans respectively. Sensitivity test revealed that predicted ratios of risk were insensitive to range and positional errors but varied with risk model selection. Conclusion: Both PSPT and IMPT plans resulted in a decrease in the predictive risk of necrosis for the pediatric plans studied in this work. Sensitivity analysis upheld the qualitative findings of the risk models used in this study, however more accurate models that take into account dose and volume are needed.« less

MO-FG-CAMPUS-TeP3-05: Limitations of the Dose Weighted LET Concept for Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy in the Distal Falloff Region and Beyond

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

Moskvin, V; Pirlepesov, F; Farr, J

2016-06-15

Purpose: Dose-weighted linear energy transfer (dLET) has been shown to be useful for the analysis of late effects in proton therapy. This study presents the results of the testing of the dLET concept for intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) with a discrete spot scanning beam system without use of an aperture or compensator (AC). Methods: IMPT (no AC) and broad beams (BB) with (AC) were simulated in the TOPAS and FLUKA code systems. Information from the independently tested Monte Carlo Damage Simulation (MCDS) was integrated into the FLUKA code systems to account for spatial variations in the RBE for protonsmore » and other light ions using an endpoint of DNA double strand break (DSB) induction. Results: The proton spectra for IMPT beams at the depths beyond the distal edge contain a tail of high energy protons up to 100 MeV. The integral from the tail is compatible with the number of 5–8 MeV protons at the tip of the Bragg peak (BP). The dose averaged energy (dEav) decreases to 7 MeV at the tip of (BP) and then increases to about 15 MeV beyond the distal edge. Neutrons produced in the nozzle are two orders of magnitude higher for BB with AC than for IMPT in low energy part of the spectra. The dLET values beyond of the distal edge of the BP are 5 times larger for the IMPT than for BB with the AC. Contrarily, negligible differences are seen in the RBE estimates for IMPT and BB with AC beyond the distal edge of the BP. Conclusion: The analysis of late effects in IMPT with a spot scanning and double scattering or scanning techniques with AC may requires both dLET and RBE as quantitative parameters to characterize effects beyond the distal edge of the BP.« less

Particle identification in ALICE: a Bayesian approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adam, J.; Adamová, D.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Agnello, M.; Agrawal, N.; Ahammed, Z.; Ahmad, S.; Ahn, S. U.; Aiola, S.; Akindinov, A.; Alam, S. N.; Albuquerque, D. S. D.; Aleksandrov, D.; Alessandro, B.; Alexandre, D.; Alfaro Molina, R.; Alici, A.; Alkin, A.; Almaraz, J. R. M.; Alme, J.; Alt, T.; Altinpinar, S.; Altsybeev, I.; Alves Garcia Prado, C.; Andrei, C.; Andronic, A.; Anguelov, V.; Antičić, T.; Antinori, F.; Antonioli, P.; Aphecetche, L.; Appelshäuser, H.; Arcelli, S.; Arnaldi, R.; Arnold, O. W.; Arsene, I. C.; Arslandok, M.; Audurier, B.; Augustinus, A.; Averbeck, R.; Azmi, M. D.; Badalà, A.; Baek, Y. W.; Bagnasco, S.; Bailhache, R.; Bala, R.; Balasubramanian, S.; Baldisseri, A.; Baral, R. C.; Barbano, A. M.; Barbera, R.; Barile, F.; Barnaföldi, G. G.; Barnby, L. S.; Barret, V.; Bartalini, P.; Barth, K.; Bartke, J.; Bartsch, E.; Basile, M.; Bastid, N.; Basu, S.; Bathen, B.; Batigne, G.; Batista Camejo, A.; Batyunya, B.; Batzing, P. C.; Bearden, I. G.; Beck, H.; Bedda, C.; Behera, N. K.; Belikov, I.; Bellini, F.; Bello Martinez, H.; Bellwied, R.; Belmont, R.; Belmont-Moreno, E.; Belyaev, V.; Benacek, P.; Bencedi, G.; Beole, S.; Berceanu, I.; Bercuci, A.; Berdnikov, Y.; Berenyi, D.; Bertens, R. A.; Berzano, D.; Betev, L.; Bhasin, A.; Bhat, I. R.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattacharjee, B.; Bhom, J.; Bianchi, L.; Bianchi, N.; Bianchin, C.; Bielčík, J.; Bielčíková, J.; Bilandzic, A.; Biro, G.; Biswas, R.; Biswas, S.; Bjelogrlic, S.; Blair, J. T.; Blau, D.; Blume, C.; Bock, F.; Bogdanov, A.; Bøggild, H.; Boldizsár, L.; Bombara, M.; Book, J.; Borel, H.; Borissov, A.; Borri, M.; Bossú, F.; Botta, E.; Bourjau, C.; Braun-Munzinger, P.; Bregant, M.; Breitner, T.; Broker, T. A.; Browning, T. A.; Broz, M.; Brucken, E. J.; Bruna, E.; Bruno, G. E.; Budnikov, D.; Buesching, H.; Bufalino, S.; Buncic, P.; Busch, O.; Buthelezi, Z.; Butt, J. B.; Buxton, J. T.; Cabala, J.; Caffarri, D.; Cai, X.; Caines, H.; Calero Diaz, L.; Caliva, A.; Calvo Villar, E.; Camerini, P.; Carena, F.; Carena, W.; Carnesecchi, F.; Castillo Castellanos, J.; Castro, A. J.; Casula, E. A. R.; Ceballos Sanchez, C.; Cepila, J.; Cerello, P.; Cerkala, J.; Chang, B.; Chapeland, S.; Chartier, M.; Charvet, J. L.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chauvin, A.; Chelnokov, V.; Cherney, M.; Cheshkov, C.; Cheynis, B.; Chibante Barroso, V.; Chinellato, D. D.; Cho, S.; Chochula, P.; Choi, K.; Chojnacki, M.; Choudhury, S.; Christakoglou, P.; Christensen, C. H.; Christiansen, P.; Chujo, T.; Chung, S. U.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Cindolo, F.; Cleymans, J.; Colamaria, F.; Colella, D.; Collu, A.; Colocci, M.; Conesa Balbastre, G.; Conesa del Valle, Z.; Connors, M. E.; Contreras, J. G.; Cormier, T. M.; Corrales Morales, Y.; Cortés Maldonado, I.; Cortese, P.; Cosentino, M. R.; Costa, F.; Crochet, P.; Cruz Albino, R.; Cuautle, E.; Cunqueiro, L.; Dahms, T.; Dainese, A.; Danisch, M. C.; Danu, A.; Das, D.; Das, I.; Das, S.; Dash, A.; Dash, S.; De, S.; De Caro, A.; de Cataldo, G.; de Conti, C.; de Cuveland, J.; De Falco, A.; De Gruttola, D.; De Marco, N.; De Pasquale, S.; Deisting, A.; Deloff, A.; Dénes, E.; Deplano, C.; Dhankher, P.; Di Bari, D.; Di Mauro, A.; Di Nezza, P.; Diaz Corchero, M. A.; Dietel, T.; Dillenseger, P.; Divià, R.; Djuvsland, Ø.; Dobrin, A.; Domenicis Gimenez, D.; Dönigus, B.; Dordic, O.; Drozhzhova, T.; Dubey, A. K.; Dubla, A.; Ducroux, L.; Dupieux, P.; Ehlers, R. J.; Elia, D.; Endress, E.; Engel, H.; Epple, E.; Erazmus, B.; Erdemir, I.; Erhardt, F.; Espagnon, B.; Estienne, M.; Esumi, S.; Eum, J.; Evans, D.; Evdokimov, S.; Eyyubova, G.; Fabbietti, L.; Fabris, D.; Faivre, J.; Fantoni, A.; Fasel, M.; Feldkamp, L.; Feliciello, A.; Feofilov, G.; Ferencei, J.; Fernández Téllez, A.; Ferreiro, E. G.; Ferretti, A.; Festanti, A.; Feuillard, V. J. G.; Figiel, J.; Figueredo, M. A. S.; Filchagin, S.; Finogeev, D.; Fionda, F. M.; Fiore, E. M.; Fleck, M. G.; Floris, M.; Foertsch, S.; Foka, P.; Fokin, S.; Fragiacomo, E.; Francescon, A.; Frankenfeld, U.; Fronze, G. G.; Fuchs, U.; Furget, C.; Furs, A.; Fusco Girard, M.; Gaardhøje, J. J.; Gagliardi, M.; Gago, A. M.; Gallio, M.; Gangadharan, D. R.; Ganoti, P.; Gao, C.; Garabatos, C.; Garcia-Solis, E.; Gargiulo, C.; Gasik, P.; Gauger, E. F.; Germain, M.; Gheata, A.; Gheata, M.; Ghosh, P.; Ghosh, S. K.; Gianotti, P.; Giubellino, P.; Giubilato, P.; Gladysz-Dziadus, E.; Glässel, P.; Goméz Coral, D. M.; Gomez Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, A. S.; Gonzalez, V.; González-Zamora, P.; Gorbunov, S.; Görlich, L.; Gotovac, S.; Grabski, V.; Grachov, O. A.; Graczykowski, L. K.; Graham, K. L.; Grelli, A.; Grigoras, A.; Grigoras, C.; Grigoriev, V.; Grigoryan, A.; Grigoryan, S.; Grinyov, B.; Grion, N.; Gronefeld, J. M.; Grosse-Oetringhaus, J. F.; Grosso, R.; Guber, F.; Guernane, R.; Guerzoni, B.; Gulbrandsen, K.; Gunji, T.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, R.; Haake, R.; Haaland, Ø.; Hadjidakis, C.; Haiduc, M.; Hamagaki, H.; Hamar, G.; Hamon, J. C.; Harris, J. W.; Harton, A.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hayashi, S.; Heckel, S. T.; Hellbär, E.; Helstrup, H.; Herghelegiu, A.; Herrera Corral, G.; Hess, B. A.; Hetland, K. F.; Hillemanns, H.; Hippolyte, B.; Horak, D.; Hosokawa, R.; Hristov, P.; Humanic, T. J.; Hussain, N.; Hussain, T.; Hutter, D.; Hwang, D. S.; Ilkaev, R.; Inaba, M.; Incani, E.; Ippolitov, M.; Irfan, M.; Ivanov, M.; Ivanov, V.; Izucheev, V.; Jacazio, N.; Jacobs, P. M.; Jadhav, M. B.; Jadlovska, S.; Jadlovsky, J.; Jahnke, C.; Jakubowska, M. J.; Jang, H. J.; Janik, M. A.; Jayarathna, P. H. S. Y.; Jena, C.; Jena, S.; Jimenez Bustamante, R. T.; Jones, P. G.; Jusko, A.; Kalinak, P.; Kalweit, A.; Kamin, J.; Kang, J. H.; Kaplin, V.; Kar, S.; Karasu Uysal, A.; Karavichev, O.; Karavicheva, T.; Karayan, L.; Karpechev, E.; Kebschull, U.; Keidel, R.; Keijdener, D. L. D.; Keil, M.; Mohisin Khan, M.; Khan, P.; Khan, S. A.; Khanzadeev, A.; Kharlov, Y.; Kileng, B.; Kim, D. W.; Kim, D. J.; Kim, D.; Kim, H.; Kim, J. S.; Kim, M.; Kim, S.; Kim, T.; Kirsch, S.; Kisel, I.; Kiselev, S.; Kisiel, A.; Kiss, G.; Klay, J. L.; Klein, C.; Klein, J.; Klein-Bösing, C.; Klewin, S.; Kluge, A.; Knichel, M. L.; Knospe, A. G.; Kobdaj, C.; Kofarago, M.; Kollegger, T.; Kolojvari, A.; Kondratiev, V.; Kondratyeva, N.; Kondratyuk, E.; Konevskikh, A.; Kopcik, M.; Kostarakis, P.; Kour, M.; Kouzinopoulos, C.; Kovalenko, O.; Kovalenko, V.; Kowalski, M.; Koyithatta Meethaleveedu, G.; Králik, I.; Kravčáková, A.; Krivda, M.; Krizek, F.; Kryshen, E.; Krzewicki, M.; Kubera, A. M.; Kučera, V.; Kuhn, C.; Kuijer, P. G.; Kumar, A.; Kumar, J.; Kumar, L.; Kumar, S.; Kurashvili, P.; Kurepin, A.; Kurepin, A. B.; Kuryakin, A.; Kweon, M. J.; Kwon, Y.; La Pointe, S. L.; La Rocca, P.; Ladron de Guevara, P.; Lagana Fernandes, C.; Lakomov, I.; Langoy, R.; Lara, C.; Lardeux, A.; Lattuca, A.; Laudi, E.; Lea, R.; Leardini, L.; Lee, G. R.; Lee, S.; Lehas, F.; Lemmon, R. C.; Lenti, V.; Leogrande, E.; León Monzón, I.; León Vargas, H.; Leoncino, M.; Lévai, P.; Li, S.; Li, X.; Lien, J.; Lietava, R.; Lindal, S.; Lindenstruth, V.; Lippmann, C.; Lisa, M. A.; Ljunggren, H. M.; Lodato, D. F.; Loenne, P. I.; Loginov, V.; Loizides, C.; Lopez, X.; López Torres, E.; Lowe, A.; Luettig, P.; Lunardon, M.; Luparello, G.; Lutz, T. H.; Maevskaya, A.; Mager, M.; Mahajan, S.; Mahmood, S. M.; Maire, A.; Majka, R. D.; Malaev, M.; Maldonado Cervantes, I.; Malinina, L.; Mal'Kevich, D.; Malzacher, P.; Mamonov, A.; Manko, V.; Manso, F.; Manzari, V.; Marchisone, M.; Mareš, J.; Margagliotti, G. V.; Margotti, A.; Margutti, J.; Marín, A.; Markert, C.; Marquard, M.; Martin, N. A.; Martin Blanco, J.; Martinengo, P.; Martínez, M. I.; Martínez García, G.; Martinez Pedreira, M.; Mas, A.; Masciocchi, S.; Masera, M.; Masoni, A.; Mastroserio, A.; Matyja, A.; Mayer, C.; Mazer, J.; Mazzoni, M. A.; Mcdonald, D.; Meddi, F.; Melikyan, Y.; Menchaca-Rocha, A.; Meninno, E.; Mercado Pérez, J.; Meres, M.; Miake, Y.; Mieskolainen, M. M.; Mikhaylov, K.; Milano, L.; Milosevic, J.; Mischke, A.; Mishra, A. N.; Miśkowiec, D.; Mitra, J.; Mitu, C. M.; Mohammadi, N.; Mohanty, B.; Molnar, L.; Montaño Zetina, L.; Montes, E.; Moreira De Godoy, D. A.; Moreno, L. A. P.; Moretto, S.; Morreale, A.; Morsch, A.; Muccifora, V.; Mudnic, E.; Mühlheim, D.; Muhuri, S.; Mukherjee, M.; Mulligan, J. D.; Munhoz, M. G.; Munzer, R. H.; Murakami, H.; Murray, S.; Musa, L.; Musinsky, J.; Naik, B.; Nair, R.; Nandi, B. K.; Nania, R.; Nappi, E.; Naru, M. U.; Natal da Luz, H.; Nattrass, C.; Navarro, S. R.; Nayak, K.; Nayak, R.; Nayak, T. K.; Nazarenko, S.; Nedosekin, A.; Nellen, L.; Ng, F.; Nicassio, M.; Niculescu, M.; Niedziela, J.; Nielsen, B. S.; Nikolaev, S.; Nikulin, S.; Nikulin, V.; Noferini, F.; Nomokonov, P.; Nooren, G.; Noris, J. C. C.; Norman, J.; Nyanin, A.; Nystrand, J.; Oeschler, H.; Oh, S.; Oh, S. K.; Ohlson, A.; Okatan, A.; Okubo, T.; Olah, L.; Oleniacz, J.; Oliveira Da Silva, A. C.; Oliver, M. H.; Onderwaater, J.; Oppedisano, C.; Orava, R.; Oravec, M.; Ortiz Velasquez, A.; Oskarsson, A.; Otwinowski, J.; Oyama, K.; Ozdemir, M.; Pachmayer, Y.; Pagano, D.; Pagano, P.; Paić, G.; Pal, S. K.; Pan, J.; Pandey, A. K.; Papikyan, V.; Pappalardo, G. S.; Pareek, P.; Park, W. J.; Parmar, S.; Passfeld, A.; Paticchio, V.; Patra, R. N.; Paul, B.; Pei, H.; Peitzmann, T.; Pereira Da Costa, H.; Peresunko, D.; Pérez Lara, C. E.; Perez Lezama, E.; Peskov, V.; Pestov, Y.; Petráček, V.; Petrov, V.; Petrovici, M.; Petta, C.; Piano, S.; Pikna, M.; Pillot, P.; Pimentel, L. O. D. L.; Pinazza, O.; Pinsky, L.; Piyarathna, D. B.; Płoskoń, M.; Planinic, M.; Pluta, J.; Pochybova, S.; Podesta-Lerma, P. L. M.; Poghosyan, M. G.; Polichtchouk, B.; Poljak, N.; Poonsawat, W.; Pop, A.; Porteboeuf-Houssais, S.; Porter, J.; Pospisil, J.; Prasad, S. K.; Preghenella, R.; Prino, F.; Pruneau, C. A.; Pshenichnov, I.; Puccio, M.; Puddu, G.; Pujahari, P.; Punin, V.; Putschke, J.; Qvigstad, H.; Rachevski, A.; Raha, S.; Rajput, S.; Rak, J.; Rakotozafindrabe, A.; Ramello, L.; Rami, F.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Räsänen, S. S.; Rascanu, B. T.; Rathee, D.; Read, K. F.; Redlich, K.; Reed, R. J.; Rehman, A.; Reichelt, P.; Reidt, F.; Ren, X.; Renfordt, R.; Reolon, A. R.; Reshetin, A.; Reygers, K.; Riabov, V.; Ricci, R. A.; Richert, T.; Richter, M.; Riedler, P.; Riegler, W.; Riggi, F.; Ristea, C.; Rocco, E.; Rodríguez Cahuantzi, M.; Rodriguez Manso, A.; Røed, K.; Rogochaya, E.; Rohr, D.; Röhrich, D.; Ronchetti, F.; Ronflette, L.; Rosnet, P.; Rossi, A.; Roukoutakis, F.; Roy, A.; Roy, C.; Roy, P.; Rubio Montero, A. J.; Rui, R.; Russo, R.; Ryabinkin, E.; Ryabov, Y.; Rybicki, A.; Saarinen, S.; Sadhu, S.; Sadovsky, S.; Šafařík, K.; Sahlmuller, B.; Sahoo, P.; Sahoo, R.; Sahoo, S.; Sahu, P. K.; Saini, J.; Sakai, S.; Saleh, M. A.; Salzwedel, J.; Sambyal, S.; Samsonov, V.; Šándor, L.; Sandoval, A.; Sano, M.; Sarkar, D.; Sarkar, N.; Sarma, P.; Scapparone, E.; Scarlassara, F.; Schiaua, C.; Schicker, R.; Schmidt, C.; Schmidt, H. R.; Schuchmann, S.; Schukraft, J.; Schulc, M.; Schutz, Y.; Schwarz, K.; Schweda, K.; Scioli, G.; Scomparin, E.; Scott, R.; Šefčík, M.; Seger, J. E.; Sekiguchi, Y.; Sekihata, D.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Senosi, K.; Senyukov, S.; Serradilla, E.; Sevcenco, A.; Shabanov, A.; Shabetai, A.; Shadura, O.; Shahoyan, R.; Shahzad, M. I.; Shangaraev, A.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, M.; Sharma, N.; Sheikh, A. I.; Shigaki, K.; Shou, Q.; Shtejer, K.; Sibiriak, Y.; Siddhanta, S.; Sielewicz, K. M.; Siemiarczuk, T.; Silvermyr, D.; Silvestre, C.; Simatovic, G.; Simonetti, G.; Singaraju, R.; Singh, R.; Singha, S.; Singhal, V.; Sinha, B. C.; Sinha, T.; Sitar, B.; Sitta, M.; Skaali, T. B.; Slupecki, M.; Smirnov, N.; Snellings, R. J. M.; Snellman, T. W.; Song, J.; Song, M.; Song, Z.; Soramel, F.; Sorensen, S.; Souza, R. D. de; Sozzi, F.; Spacek, M.; Spiriti, E.; Sputowska, I.; Spyropoulou-Stassinaki, M.; Stachel, J.; Stan, I.; Stankus, P.; Stenlund, E.; Steyn, G.; Stiller, J. H.; Stocco, D.; Strmen, P.; Suaide, A. A. P.; Sugitate, T.; Suire, C.; Suleymanov, M.; Suljic, M.; Sultanov, R.; Šumbera, M.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Szabo, A.; Szanto de Toledo, A.; Szarka, I.; Szczepankiewicz, A.; Szymanski, M.; Tabassam, U.; Takahashi, J.; Tambave, G. J.; Tanaka, N.; Tarhini, M.; Tariq, M.; Tarzila, M. G.; Tauro, A.; Tejeda Muñoz, G.; Telesca, A.; Terasaki, K.; Terrevoli, C.; Teyssier, B.; Thäder, J.; Thakur, D.; Thomas, D.; Tieulent, R.; Timmins, A. R.; Toia, A.; Trogolo, S.; Trombetta, G.; Trubnikov, V.; Trzaska, W. H.; Tsuji, T.; Tumkin, A.; Turrisi, R.; Tveter, T. S.; Ullaland, K.; Uras, A.; Usai, G. L.; Utrobicic, A.; Vala, M.; Valencia Palomo, L.; Vallero, S.; Van Der Maarel, J.; Van Hoorne, J. W.; van Leeuwen, M.; Vanat, T.; Vande Vyvre, P.; Varga, D.; Vargas, A.; Vargyas, M.; Varma, R.; Vasileiou, M.; Vasiliev, A.; Vauthier, A.; Vechernin, V.; Veen, A. M.; Veldhoen, M.; Velure, A.; Vercellin, E.; Vergara Limón, S.; Vernet, R.; Verweij, M.; Vickovic, L.; Viesti, G.; Viinikainen, J.; Vilakazi, Z.; Villalobos Baillie, O.; Villatoro Tello, A.; Vinogradov, A.; Vinogradov, L.; Vinogradov, Y.; Virgili, T.; Vislavicius, V.; Viyogi, Y. P.; Vodopyanov, A.; Völkl, M. A.; Voloshin, K.; Voloshin, S. A.; Volpe, G.; von Haller, B.; Vorobyev, I.; Vranic, D.; Vrláková, J.; Vulpescu, B.; Wagner, B.; Wagner, J.; Wang, H.; Wang, M.; Watanabe, D.; Watanabe, Y.; Weber, M.; Weber, S. G.; Weiser, D. F.; Wessels, J. P.; Westerhoff, U.; Whitehead, A. M.; Wiechula, J.; Wikne, J.; Wilk, G.; Wilkinson, J.; Williams, M. C. S.; Windelband, B.; Winn, M.; Yang, H.; Yang, P.; Yano, S.; Yasin, Z.; Yin, Z.; Yokoyama, H.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yoon, J. H.; Yurchenko, V.; Yushmanov, I.; Zaborowska, A.; Zaccolo, V.; Zaman, A.; Zampolli, C.; Zanoli, H. J. C.; Zaporozhets, S.; Zardoshti, N.; Zarochentsev, A.; Závada, P.; Zaviyalov, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zgura, I. S.; Zhalov, M.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, C.; Zhigareva, N.; Zhou, D.; Zhou, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zichichi, A.; Zimmermann, A.; Zimmermann, M. B.; Zinovjev, G.; Zyzak, M.

2016-05-01

We present a Bayesian approach to particle identification (PID) within the ALICE experiment. The aim is to more effectively combine the particle identification capabilities of its various detectors. After a brief explanation of the adopted methodology and formalism, the performance of the Bayesian PID approach for charged pions, kaons and protons in the central barrel of ALICE is studied. PID is performed via measurements of specific energy loss ( d E/d x) and time of flight. PID efficiencies and misidentification probabilities are extracted and compared with Monte Carlo simulations using high-purity samples of identified particles in the decay channels K0S → π-π+, φ→ K-K+, and Λ→ p π- in p-Pb collisions at √{s_{NN}}=5.02 TeV. In order to thoroughly assess the validity of the Bayesian approach, this methodology was used to obtain corrected pT spectra of pions, kaons, protons, and D0 mesons in pp collisions at √{s}=7 TeV. In all cases, the results using Bayesian PID were found to be consistent with previous measurements performed by ALICE using a standard PID approach. For the measurement of D0 → K-π+, it was found that a Bayesian PID approach gave a higher signal-to-background ratio and a similar or larger statistical significance when compared with standard PID selections, despite a reduced identification efficiency. Finally, we present an exploratory study of the measurement of Λc+ → p K-π+ in pp collisions at √{s}=7 TeV, using the Bayesian approach for the identification of its decay products.

Biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

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

Putri, Zufira, E-mail: zufira.putri@gmail.com, E-mail: arcana@chem.itb.ac.id; Arcana, I Made, E-mail: zufira.putri@gmail.com, E-mail: arcana@chem.itb.ac.id

Sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) can be applied as a proton exchange membrane fuel cell due to its fairly good chemical stability. In order to be applied as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), membrane polymer should have a good ionic conductivity, high proton conductivity, and high mechanical strength. Lignosulfonate (LS) is a complex biopolymer which has crosslinks and sulfonate groups. SPS-LS blends with addition of SiO{sub 2} are used to increase the proton conductivity and to improve the mechanical properties and thermal stability. However, the biodegradation test of SPS-LS blends is required to determine whether the application of these membranes tomore » be applied as an environmentally friendly membrane. In this study, had been done the synthesis of SPS, biodegradability test of SPS-LS blends with variations of LS and SiO{sub 2} compositions. The biodegradation test was carried out in solid medium of Luria Bertani (LB) with an activated sludge used as a source of microorganism at incubation temperature of 37°C. Based on the results obtained indicated that SPS-LS-SiO{sub 2} blends are more decomposed by microorganism than SPS-LS blends. This result is supported by analysis of weight reduction percentage, functional groups with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and morphological surface with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)« less

Jet energy measurement and its systematic uncertainty in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ATLAS detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aad, G.; Abajyan, T.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdel Khalek, S.; Abdinov, O.; Aben, R.; Abi, B.; Abolins, M.; AbouZeid, O. S.; Abramowicz, H.; Abreu, H.; Abulaiti, Y.; Acharya, B. S.; Adamczyk, L.; Adams, D. L.; Addy, T. N.; Adelman, J.; Adomeit, S.; Adye, T.; Aefsky, S.; Agatonovic-Jovin, T.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A.; Agustoni, M.; Ahlen, S. P.; Ahmad, A.; Ahmadov, F.; Aielli, G.; Åkesson, T. P. A.; Akimoto, G.; Akimov, A. V.; Alam, M. A.; Albert, J.; Albrand, S.; Alconada Verzini, M. J.; Aleksa, M.; Aleksandrov, I. N.; Alessandria, F.; Alexa, C.; Alexander, G.; Alexandre, G.; Alexopoulos, T.; Alhroob, M.; Aliev, M.; Alimonti, G.; Alio, L.; Alison, J.; Allbrooke, B. M. M.; Allison, L. J.; Allport, P. P.; Allwood-Spiers, S. E.; Almond, J.; Aloisio, A.; Alon, R.; Alonso, A.; Alonso, F.; Altheimer, A.; Alvarez Gonzalez, B.; Alviggi, M. G.; Amako, K.; Amaral Coutinho, Y.; Amelung, C.; Ammosov, V. V.; Amor Dos Santos, S. P.; Amorim, A.; Amoroso, S.; Amram, N.; Amundsen, G.; Anastopoulos, C.; Ancu, L. S.; Andari, N.; Andeen, T.; Anders, C. F.; Anders, G.; Anderson, K. J.; Andreazza, A.; Andrei, V.; Anduaga, X. S.; Angelidakis, S.; Anger, P.; Angerami, A.; Anghinolfi, F.; Anisenkov, A. V.; Anjos, N.; Annovi, A.; Antonaki, A.; Antonelli, M.; Antonov, A.; Antos, J.; Anulli, F.; Aoki, M.; Aperio Bella, L.; Apolle, R.; Arabidze, G.; Aracena, I.; Arai, Y.; Arce, A. T. H.; Arfaoui, S.; Arguin, J.-F.; Argyropoulos, S.; Arik, E.; Arik, M.; Armbruster, A. J.; Arnaez, O.; Arnal, V.; Arslan, O.; Artamonov, A.; Artoni, G.; Asai, S.; Asbah, N.; Ask, S.; Åsman, B.; Asquith, L.; Assamagan, K.; Astalos, R.; Astbury, A.; Atkinson, M.; Atlay, N. B.; Auerbach, B.; Auge, E.; Augsten, K.; Aurousseau, M.; Avolio, G.; Azuelos, G.; Azuma, Y.; Baak, M. A.; Bacci, C.; Bach, A. M.; Bachacou, H.; Bachas, K.; Backes, M.; Backhaus, M.; Backus Mayes, J.; Badescu, E.; Bagiacchi, P.; Bagnaia, P.; Bai, Y.; Bailey, D. 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S.; Schott, M.; Schouten, D.; Schovancova, J.; Schram, M.; Schramm, S.; Schreyer, M.; Schroeder, C.; Schroer, N.; Schuh, N.; Schultens, M. J.; Schultz-Coulon, H.-C.; Schulz, H.; Schumacher, M.; Schumm, B. A.; Schune, Ph.; Schwartzman, A.; Schwegler, Ph.; Schwemling, Ph.; Schwienhorst, R.; Schwindling, J.; Schwindt, T.; Schwoerer, M.; Sciacca, F. G.; Scifo, E.; Sciolla, G.; Scott, W. G.; Scutti, F.; Searcy, J.; Sedov, G.; Sedykh, E.; Seidel, S. C.; Seiden, A.; Seifert, F.; Seixas, J. M.; Sekhniaidze, G.; Sekula, S. J.; Selbach, K. E.; Seliverstov, D. M.; Sellers, G.; Seman, M.; Semprini-Cesari, N.; Serfon, C.; Serin, L.; Serkin, L.; Serre, T.; Seuster, R.; Severini, H.; Sforza, F.; Sfyrla, A.; Shabalina, E.; Shamim, M.; Shan, L. Y.; Shank, J. T.; Shao, Q. T.; Shapiro, M.; Shatalov, P. B.; Shaw, K.; Sherwood, P.; Shimizu, S.; Shimojima, M.; Shin, T.; Shiyakova, M.; Shmeleva, A.; Shochet, M. J.; Short, D.; Shrestha, S.; Shulga, E.; Shupe, M. A.; Shushkevich, S.; Sicho, P.; Sidorov, D.; Sidoti, A.; Siegert, F.; Sijacki, Dj.; Silbert, O.; Silva, J.; Silver, Y.; Silverstein, D.; Silverstein, S. B.; Simak, V.; Simard, O.; Simic, Lj.; Simion, S.; Simioni, E.; Simmons, B.; Simoniello, R.; Simonyan, M.; Sinervo, P.; Sinev, N. B.; Sipica, V.; Siragusa, G.; Sircar, A.; Sisakyan, A. N.; Sivoklokov, S. Yu.; Sjölin, J.; Sjursen, T. B.; Skinnari, L. A.; Skottowe, H. P.; Skovpen, K. Yu.; Skubic, P.; Slater, M.; Slavicek, T.; Sliwa, K.; Smakhtin, V.; Smart, B. H.; Smestad, L.; Smirnov, S. Yu.; Smirnov, Y.; Smirnova, L. N.; Smirnova, O.; Smith, K. M.; Smizanska, M.; Smolek, K.; Snesarev, A. A.; Snidero, G.; Snow, J.; Snyder, S.; Sobie, R.; Socher, F.; Sodomka, J.; Soffer, A.; Soh, D. A.; Solans, C. A.; Solar, M.; Solc, J.; Soldatov, E. Yu.; Soldevila, U.; Solfaroli Camillocci, E.; Solodkov, A. A.; Solovyanov, O. V.; Solovyev, V.; Soni, N.; Sood, A.; Sopko, V.; Sopko, B.; Sosebee, M.; Soualah, R.; Soueid, P.; Soukharev, A. M.; South, D.; Spagnolo, S.; Spanò, F.; Spearman, W. R.; Spighi, R.; Spigo, G.; Spousta, M.; Spreitzer, T.; Spurlock, B.; St. Denis, R. D.; Stahlman, J.; Stamen, R.; Stanecka, E.; Stanek, R. W.; Stanescu, C.; Stanescu-Bellu, M.; Stanitzki, M. M.; Stapnes, S.; Starchenko, E. A.; Stark, J.; Staroba, P.; Starovoitov, P.; Staszewski, R.; Stavina, P.; Steele, G.; Steinbach, P.; Steinberg, P.; Stekl, I.; Stelzer, B.; Stelzer, H. J.; Stelzer-Chilton, O.; Stenzel, H.; Stern, S.; Stewart, G. A.; Stillings, J. A.; Stockton, M. C.; Stoebe, M.; Stoerig, K.; Stoicea, G.; Stonjek, S.; Stradling, A. R.; Straessner, A.; Strandberg, J.; Strandberg, S.; Strandlie, A.; Strauss, E.; Strauss, M.; Strizenec, P.; Ströhmer, R.; Strom, D. M.; Stroynowski, R.; Stucci, S. A.; Stugu, B.; Stumer, I.; Stupak, J.; Sturm, P.; Styles, N. A.; Su, D.; Su, J.; Subramania, HS.; Subramaniam, R.; Succurro, A.; Sugaya, Y.; Suhr, C.; Suk, M.; Sulin, V. V.; Sultansoy, S.; Sumida, T.; Sun, X.; Sundermann, J. E.; Suruliz, K.; Susinno, G.; Sutton, M. R.; Suzuki, Y.; Svatos, M.; Swedish, S.; Swiatlowski, M.; Sykora, I.; Sykora, T.; Ta, D.; Tackmann, K.; Taenzer, J.; Taffard, A.; Tafirout, R.; Taiblum, N.; Takahashi, Y.; Takai, H.; Takashima, R.; Takeda, H.; Takeshita, T.; Takubo, Y.; Talby, M.; Talyshev, A. A.; Tam, J. Y. C.; Tamsett, M. C.; Tan, K. G.; Tanaka, J.; Tanaka, R.; Tanaka, S.; Tanaka, S.; Tanasijczuk, A. J.; Tani, K.; Tannoury, N.; Tapprogge, S.; Tarem, S.; Tarrade, F.; Tartarelli, G. F.; Tas, P.; Tasevsky, M.; Tashiro, T.; Tassi, E.; Tavares Delgado, A.; Tayalati, Y.; Taylor, C.; Taylor, F. E.; Taylor, G. N.; Taylor, W.; Teischinger, F. A.; Teixeira Dias Castanheira, M.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Temming, K. K.; Ten Kate, H.; Teng, P. K.; Terada, S.; Terashi, K.; Terron, J.; Terzo, S.; Testa, M.; Teuscher, R. J.; Therhaag, J.; Theveneaux-Pelzer, T.; Thoma, S.; Thomas, J. P.; Thompson, E. N.; Thompson, P. D.; Thompson, P. D.; Thompson, A. S.; Thomsen, L. A.; Thomson, E.; Thomson, M.; Thong, W. M.; Thun, R. P.; Tian, F.; Tibbetts, M. J.; Tic, T.; Tikhomirov, V. O.; Tikhonov, Yu. A.; Timoshenko, S.; Tiouchichine, E.; Tipton, P.; Tisserant, S.; Todorov, T.; Todorova-Nova, S.; Toggerson, B.; Tojo, J.; Tokár, S.; Tokushuku, K.; Tollefson, K.; Tomlinson, L.; Tomoto, M.; Tompkins, L.; Toms, K.; Topilin, N. D.; Torrence, E.; Torres, H.; Torró Pastor, E.; Toth, J.; Touchard, F.; Tovey, D. R.; Tran, H. L.; Trefzger, T.; Tremblet, L.; Tricoli, A.; Trigger, I. M.; Trincaz-Duvoid, S.; Tripiana, M. F.; Triplett, N.; Trischuk, W.; Trocmé, B.; Troncon, C.; Trottier-McDonald, M.; Trovatelli, M.; True, P.; Trzebinski, M.; Trzupek, A.; Tsarouchas, C.; Tseng, J. C.-L.; Tsiareshka, P. V.; Tsionou, D.; Tsipolitis, G.; Tsirintanis, N.; Tsiskaridze, S.; Tsiskaridze, V.; Tskhadadze, E. G.; Tsukerman, I. I.; Tsulaia, V.; Tsung, J.-W.; Tsuno, S.; Tsybychev, D.; Tua, A.; Tudorache, A.; Tudorache, V.; Tuggle, J. M.; Tuna, A. N.; Tupputi, S. A.; Turchikhin, S.; Turecek, D.; Turk Cakir, I.; Turra, R.; Tuts, P. M.; Tykhonov, A.; Tylmad, M.; Tyndel, M.; Uchida, K.; Ueda, I.; Ueno, R.; Ughetto, M.; Ugland, M.; Uhlenbrock, M.; Ukegawa, F.; Unal, G.; Undrus, A.; Unel, G.; Ungaro, F. C.; Unno, Y.; Urbaniec, D.; Urquijo, P.; Usai, G.; Usanova, A.; Vacavant, L.; Vacek, V.; Vachon, B.; Valencic, N.; Valentinetti, S.; Valero, A.; Valery, L.; Valkar, S.; Valladolid Gallego, E.; Vallecorsa, S.; Valls Ferrer, J. A.; Van Berg, R.; Van Der Deijl, P. C.; van der Geer, R.; van der Graaf, H.; Van Der Leeuw, R.; van der Ster, D.; van Eldik, N.; van Gemmeren, P.; Van Nieuwkoop, J.; van Vulpen, I.; van Woerden, M. C.; Vanadia, M.; Vandelli, W.; Vaniachine, A.; Vankov, P.; Vannucci, F.; Vardanyan, G.; Vari, R.; Varnes, E. W.; Varol, T.; Varouchas, D.; Vartapetian, A.; Varvell, K. E.; Vassilakopoulos, V. I.; Vazeille, F.; Vazquez Schroeder, T.; Veatch, J.; Veloso, F.; Veneziano, S.; Ventura, A.; Ventura, D.; Venturi, M.; Venturi, N.; Venturini, A.; Vercesi, V.; Verducci, M.; Verkerke, W.; Vermeulen, J. C.; Vest, A.; Vetterli, M. C.; Viazlo, O.; Vichou, I.; Vickey, T.; Vickey Boeriu, O. E.; Viehhauser, G. H. A.; Viel, S.; Vigne, R.; Villa, M.; Villaplana Perez, M.; Vilucchi, E.; Vincter, M. G.; Vinogradov, V. B.; Virzi, J.; Vitells, O.; Viti, M.; Vivarelli, I.; Vives Vaque, F.; Vlachos, S.; Vladoiu, D.; Vlasak, M.; Vogel, A.; Vokac, P.; Volpi, G.; Volpi, M.; Volpini, G.; von der Schmitt, H.; von Radziewski, H.; von Toerne, E.; Vorobel, V.; Vos, M.; Voss, R.; Vossebeld, J. H.; Vranjes, N.; Vranjes Milosavljevic, M.; Vrba, V.; Vreeswijk, M.; Vu Anh, T.; Vuillermet, R.; Vukotic, I.; Vykydal, Z.; Wagner, W.; Wagner, P.; Wahrmund, S.; Wakabayashi, J.; Walch, S.; Walder, J.; Walker, R.; Walkowiak, W.; Wall, R.; Waller, P.; Walsh, B.; Wang, C.; Wang, H.; Wang, H.; Wang, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, K.; Wang, R.; Wang, S. M.; Wang, T.; Wang, X.; Warburton, A.; Ward, C. P.; Wardrope, D. R.; Warsinsky, M.; Washbrook, A.; Wasicki, C.; Watanabe, I.; Watkins, P. M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, I. J.; Watson, M. F.; Watts, G.; Watts, S.; Waugh, A. T.; Waugh, B. M.; Webb, S.; Weber, M. S.; Weber, S. W.; Webster, J. S.; Weidberg, A. R.; Weigell, P.; Weingarten, J.; Weiser, C.; Weits, H.; Wells, P. S.; Wenaus, T.; Wendland, D.; Weng, Z.; Wengler, T.; Wenig, S.; Wermes, N.; Werner, M.; Werner, P.; Wessels, M.; Wetter, J.; Whalen, K.; White, A.; White, M. J.; White, R.; White, S.; Whiteson, D.; Whittington, D.; Wicke, D.; Wickens, F. J.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wielers, M.; Wienemann, P.; Wiglesworth, C.; Wiik-Fuchs, L. A. M.; Wijeratne, P. A.; Wildauer, A.; Wildt, M. A.; Wilhelm, I.; Wilkens, H. G.; Will, J. Z.; Williams, H. H.; Williams, S.; Willis, W.; Willocq, S.; Wilson, J. A.; Wilson, A.; Wingerter-Seez, I.; Winkelmann, S.; Winklmeier, F.; Wittgen, M.; Wittig, T.; Wittkowski, J.; Wollstadt, S. J.; Wolter, M. W.; Wolters, H.; Wong, W. C.; Wosiek, B. K.; Wotschack, J.; Woudstra, M. J.; Wozniak, K. W.; Wraight, K.; Wright, M.; Wu, S. L.; Wu, X.; Wu, Y.; Wulf, E.; Wyatt, T. R.; Wynne, B. M.; Xella, S.; Xiao, M.; Xu, C.; Xu, D.; Xu, L.; Yabsley, B.; Yacoob, S.; Yamada, M.; Yamaguchi, H.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamamoto, K.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamamura, T.; Yamanaka, T.; Yamauchi, K.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yan, Z.; Yang, H.; Yang, H.; Yang, U. K.; Yang, Y.; Yanush, S.; Yao, L.; Yasu, Y.; Yatsenko, E.; Yau Wong, K. H.; Ye, J.; Ye, S.; Yen, A. L.; Yildirim, E.; Yilmaz, M.; Yoosoofmiya, R.; Yorita, K.; Yoshida, R.; Yoshihara, K.; Young, C.; Young, C. J. S.; Youssef, S.; Yu, D. R.; Yu, J.; Yu, J.; Yuan, L.; Yurkewicz, A.; Zabinski, B.; Zaidan, R.; Zaitsev, A. M.; Zaman, A.; Zambito, S.; Zanello, L.; Zanzi, D.; Zaytsev, A.; Zeitnitz, C.; Zeman, M.; Zemla, A.; Zengel, K.; Zenin, O.; Ženiš, T.; Zerwas, D.; Zevi della Porta, G.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, Z.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zhong, J.; Zhou, B.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, N.; Zhu, C. G.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zhuang, X.; Zibell, A.; Zieminska, D.; Zimine, N. I.; Zimmermann, C.; Zimmermann, R.; Zimmermann, S.; Zimmermann, S.; Zinonos, Z.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zitoun, R.; Zobernig, G.; Zoccoli, A.; zur Nedden, M.; Zurzolo, G.; Zutshi, V.; Zwalinski, L.

2015-01-01

The jet energy scale (JES) and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector using proton-proton collision data with a centre-of-mass energy of TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of . Jets are reconstructed from energy deposits forming topological clusters of calorimeter cells using the anti- algorithm with distance parameters or , and are calibrated using MC simulations. A residual JES correction is applied to account for differences between data and MC simulations. This correction and its systematic uncertainty are estimated using a combination of in situ techniques exploiting the transverse momentum balance between a jet and a reference object such as a photon or a boson, for and pseudorapidities . The effect of multiple proton-proton interactions is corrected for, and an uncertainty is evaluated using in situ techniques. The smallest JES uncertainty of less than 1 % is found in the central calorimeter region () for jets with . For central jets at lower , the uncertainty is about 3 %. A consistent JES estimate is found using measurements of the calorimeter response of single hadrons in proton-proton collisions and test-beam data, which also provide the estimate for TeV. The calibration of forward jets is derived from dijet balance measurements. The resulting uncertainty reaches its largest value of 6 % for low- jets at . Additional JES uncertainties due to specific event topologies, such as close-by jets or selections of event samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks or gluons, are also discussed. The magnitude of these uncertainties depends on the event sample used in a given physics analysis, but typically amounts to 0.5-3 %.

Comparison of the microstructure, deformation and crack initiation behavior of austenitic stainless steel irradiated in-reactor or with protons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephenson, Kale J.; Was, Gary S.

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare the microstructures, microchemistry, hardening, susceptibility to IASCC initiation, and deformation behavior resulting from proton or reactor irradiation. Two commercial purity and six high purity austenitic stainless steels with various solute element additions were compared. Samples of each alloy were irradiated in the BOR-60 fast reactor at 320 °C to doses between approximately 4 and 12 dpa or by a 3.2 MeV proton beam at 360 °C to a dose of 5.5 dpa. Irradiated microstructures consisted mainly of dislocation loops, which were similar in size but lower in density after proton irradiation. Both irradiation types resulted in the formation of Ni-Si rich precipitates in a high purity alloy with added Si, but several other high purity neutron irradiated alloys showed precipitation that was not observed after proton irradiation, likely due to their higher irradiation dose. Low densities of small voids were observed in several high purity proton irradiated alloys, and even lower densities in neutron irradiated alloys, implying void nucleation was in process. Elemental segregation at grain boundaries was very similar after each irradiation type. Constant extension rate tensile experiments on the alloys in simulated light water reactor environments showed excellent agreement in terms of the relative amounts of intergranular cracking, and an analysis of localized deformation after straining showed a similar response of cracking to surface step height after both irradiation types. Overall, excellent agreement was observed after proton and reactor irradiation, providing additional evidence that proton irradiation is a useful tool for accelerated testing of irradiation effects in austenitic stainless steel.

Impact of the NTCP modeling on medical decision to select eligible patient for proton therapy: the usefulness of EUD as an indicator to rank modern photon vs proton treatment plans.

PubMed

Chaikh, Abdulhamid; Calugaru, Valentin; Bondiau, Pierre-Yves; Thariat, Juliette; Balosso, Jacques

2018-06-07

The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of normal tissue complication probability (NTCP)-based radiobiological models on the estimated risk for late radiation lung damages. The second goal is to propose a medical decision-making approach to select the eligible patient for particle therapy. 14 pediatric patients undergoing cranio-spinal irradiation were evaluated. For each patient, two treatment plans were generated using photon and proton therapy with the same dose prescriptions. Late radiation damage to lung was estimated using three NTCP concepts: the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman, the equivalent uniform dose (EUD) and the mean lung dose according to the quantitative analysis of normal tissue effects in the clinic QUANTEC review. Wilcoxon paired test was used to calculate p-value. Proton therapy achieved lower lung EUD (Gy). The average NTCP values were significantly lower with proton plans, p < 0.05, using the three NTCP concepts. However, applying the same TD 50/5 using radiobiological models to compare NTCP from proton and photon therapy, the ΔNTCP was not a convincing method to measure the potential benefit of proton therapy. Late radiation pneumonitis estimated from the mean lung dose model correlated with QUANTEC data better. treatment effectiveness assessed on NTCP reduction depends on radiobiological predictions and parameters used as inputs for in silico evaluation. Since estimates of absolute NTCP values from LKB and GN models are imprecise due to EUD ≪ TD 50/5 , a reduction of the EUD value with proton plans would better predict a reduction of dose/toxicity. The EUD concept appears as a robust radiobiological surrogate of the dose distribution to select the optimal patient's plan.

A methodology of SiP testing based on boundary scan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, He; Quan, Haiyang; Han, Yifei; Zhu, Tianrui; Zheng, Tuo

2017-10-01

System in Package (SiP) play an important role in portable, aerospace and military electronic with the microminiaturization, light weight, high density, and high reliability. At present, SiP system test has encountered the problem on system complexity and malfunction location with the system scale exponentially increase. For SiP system, this paper proposed a testing methodology and testing process based on the boundary scan technology. Combining the character of SiP system and referencing the boundary scan theory of PCB circuit and embedded core test, the specific testing methodology and process has been proposed. The hardware requirement of the under test SiP system has been provided, and the hardware platform of the testing has been constructed. The testing methodology has the character of high test efficiency and accurate malfunction location.

Prevalence of Creatine Deficiency Syndromes in Children With Nonsyndromic Autism.

PubMed

Schulze, Andreas; Bauman, Margaret; Tsai, Anne Chun-Hui; Reynolds, Ann; Roberts, Wendy; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Cameron, Jessie; Nozzolillo, Alixandra A; Chen, Shiyi; Kyriakopoulou, Lianna; Scherer, Stephen W; Loh, Alvin

2016-01-01

Creatine deficiency may play a role in the neurobiology of autism and may represent a treatable cause of autism. The goal of the study was to ascertain the prevalence of creatine deficiency syndromes (CDSs) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a prospective multicenter study, 443 children were investigated after a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. Random spot urine screening for creatine metabolites (creatine, guanidinoacetate, creatinine, and arginine) with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and second-tier testing with high-performance liquid chromatography methodology was followed by recall testing in 24-hour urines and confirmatory testing by Sanger-based DNA sequencing of GAMT, GATM, and SLC6A8 genes. Additional diagnostic tests included plasma creatine metabolites and in vivo brain proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The creatine metabolites in spot urine in the autism group were compared with 128 healthy controls controlled for age. In 443 subjects with ASD investigated for CDS, we had 0 events (event: 0, 95% confidence interval 0-0.0068), therefore with 95% confidence the prevalence of CDS is <7 in 1000 children with ASD. The autism and control groups did not vary in terms of creatine metabolites (P > .0125) in urine. Our study revealed a very low prevalence of CDS in children with nonsyndromic ASD and no obvious association between creatine metabolites and autism. Unlike our study population, we expect more frequent CDS among children with severe developmental delay, speech impairment, seizures, and movement disorders in addition to impairments in social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Moderator Demonstration Facility Design and Optimization

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

McClanahan, Tucker C.; Gallmeier, Franz X.; Iverson, Erik B.

2017-02-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is implementing a Moderator Demonstration Facility (MDF) to demonstrate the performance characteristics of advanced moderators central to the Second Target Station (STS) for SNS. The MDF will use the "spare" front-end installation within the SNS accelerator support complex – an ion source, radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator, and medium-energy beam transport (MEBT) chopper - to provide a 2.5 MeV proton beam of peak current 50 mA and maximum pulse length of less than 10 s at a repetition rate of no more than 60 Hz to a suitable neutron-producingmore » target to demonstrate those aspects of moderator performance necessary to meet the goals of the STS design e ort. The accelerator beam parameters are not open to variation beyond that described above - they are fixed by the nature of the spare front-end installation (the Integrated Test Stand Facility; ITSF). Accordingly, there are some neutronic challenges in developing prototypic moderator illumination from a very non-prototypic primary neutron source; the spallation source we are attempting to mimic has an extended neutron source volume approximately 40 cm long (in the direction of the proton beam), approximately 10 cm wide (horizontally transverse to the proton beam) and approximately 5 cm high (vertically transverse to the proton beam), and an isotropic evaporation energy spectrum with mean energy above 1 MeV. In contrast, the primary neutron source available from the 7Li(p,n) reaction (the most prolific at 2.5 MeV proton energy by more than an order of magnitude) is strongly anisotropic, with an energy spectrum that is both strongly dependent on emission angle and kinematically limited to less than 700 keV, and the interaction zone between the incident protons and any target material (neutron-producing or not) is intrinsically limited to a few tens of microns. The MDF will be unique and innovative amongst the world’s moderator test facilities in that it will be intended to be very prototypic in terms of "moderator illumination" - the spatial variation of the neutron flux entering the moderator itself - as well as capable of testing so-called high-brightness moderators in a wing configuration.« less

Compendium of Single Event Effects (SEE) Test Results for COTS and Standard Electronics for Low Earth Orbit and Deep Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reddell, Brandon; Bailey, Chuck; Nguyen, Kyson; O'Neill, Patrick; Gaza, Razvan; Patel, Chirag; Cooper, Jaime; Kalb, Theodore

2017-01-01

We present the results of SEE testing with high energy protons and with low and high energy heavy ions. This paper summarizes test results for components considered for Low Earth Orbit and Deep Space applications.

Radiation Test Results on COTS and non-COTS Electronic Devices for NASA-JSC Space Flight Projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allums, Kimberly K.; O'Neill, P. M.; Reddell, B. D.; Nguyen, K. V.; Bailey, C. R.

2012-01-01

This presentation reports the results of recent proton and heavy ion Single Event Effect (SEE) testing on a variety of COTS and non-COTs electronic devices and assemblies tested for the Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV).

Persistent gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms despite proton pump inhibitor therapy

PubMed Central

Ang, Daphne; How, Choon How; Ang, Tiing Leong

2016-01-01

About one-third of patients with suspected gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) do not respond symptomatically to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Many of these patients do not suffer from GERD, but may have underlying functional heartburn or atypical chest pain. Other causes of failure to respond to PPIs include inadequate acid suppression, non-acid reflux, oesophageal hypersensitivity, oesophageal dysmotility and psychological comorbidities. Functional oesophageal tests can exclude cardiac and structural causes, as well as help to confi rm or exclude GERD. The use of PPIs should only be continued in the presence of acid reflux or oesophageal hypersensitivity for acid reflux-related events that is proven on functional oesophageal tests. PMID:27779277

Persistent gastro-oesophageal reflux symptoms despite proton pump inhibitor therapy.

PubMed

Ang, Daphne; How, Choon How; Ang, Tiing Leong

2016-10-01

About one-third of patients with suspected gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) do not respond symptomatically to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Many of these patients do not suffer from GERD, but may have underlying functional heartburn or atypical chest pain. Other causes of failure to respond to PPIs include inadequate acid suppression, non-acid reflux, oesophageal hypersensitivity, oesophageal dysmotility and psychological comorbidities. Functional oesophageal tests can exclude cardiac and structural causes, as well as help to confi rm or exclude GERD. The use of PPIs should only be continued in the presence of acid reflux or oesophageal hypersensitivity for acid reflux-related events that is proven on functional oesophageal tests. Copyright: © Singapore Medical Association.

Bottom quark anti-quark production and mixing in proton anti-proton collisions

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

Yu, Zhaoou

2003-03-01

The studies of bottom quark-antiquark production in proton-antiproton collisions play an important role in testing perturbative QCD. Measuring the mixing parameter of B mesons imposes constraints on the quark mixing (CKM) matrix and enhances the understanding of the Standard Model. Multi-GeV pmore » $$\\bar{p}$$ colliders produce a significant amount of b$$\\bar{b}$$ pairs and thus enable studies in both of these fields. This thesis presents results of the b$$\\bar{b}$$ production cross section from p$$\\bar{p}$$ collisions at √s = 1.8 TeV and the time-integrated average B$$\\bar{B}$$ mixing parameter ($$\\bar{χ}$$) using highmass dimuon d a ta collected by CDF during its Run IB.« less

Measurement of neutrino flux from the primary proton-proton fusion process in the Sun with Borexino detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, O. Yu.; Agostini, M.; Appel, S.; Bellini, G.; Benziger, J.; Bick, D.; Bonfini, G.; Bravo, D.; Caccianiga, B.; Calaprice, F.; Caminata, A.; Cavalcante, P.; Chepurnov, A.; Choi, K.; D'Angelo, D.; Davini, S.; Derbin, A.; Di Noto, L.; Drachnev, I.; Empl, A.; Etenko, A.; Fomenko, K.; Franco, D.; Gabriele, F.; Galbiati, C.; Ghiano, C.; Giammarchi, M.; Goeger-Neff, M.; Goretti, A.; Gromov, M.; Hagner, C.; Hungerford, E.; Ianni, Aldo; Ianni, Andrea; Jedrzejczak, K.; Kaiser, M.; Kobychev, V.; Korablev, D.; Korga, G.; Kryn, D.; Laubenstein, M.; Lehnert, B.; Litvinovich, E.; Lombardi, F.; Lombardi, P.; Ludhova, L.; Lukyanchenko, G.; Machulin, I.; Manecki, S.; Maneschg, W.; Marcocci, S.; Meroni, E.; Meyer, M.; Miramonti, L.; Misiaszek, M.; Mosteiro, P.; Muratova, V.; Neumair, B.; Oberauer, L.; Obolensky, M.; Ortica, F.; Otis, K.; Pagani, L.; Pallavicini, M.; Papp, L.; Perasso, L.; Pocar, A.; Ranucci, G.; Razeto, A.; Re, A.; Romani, A.; Roncin, R.; Rossi, N.; Schönert, S.; Semenov, D.; Simgen, H.; Skorokhvatov, M.; Sotnikov, A.; Sukhotin, S.; Suvorov, Y.; Tartaglia, R.; Testera, G.; Thurn, J.; Toropova, M.; Unzhakov, E.; Vogelaar, R. B.; von Feilitzsch, F.; Wang, H.; Weinz, S.; Winter, J.; Wojcik, M.; Wurm, M.; Yokley, Z.; Zaimidoroga, O.; Zavatarelli, S.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2016-11-01

Neutrino produced in a chain of nuclear reactions in the Sun starting from the fusion of two protons, for the first time has been detected in a real-time detector in spectrometric mode. The unique properties of the Borexino detector provided an oppurtunity to disentangle pp-neutrino spectrum from the background components. A comparison of the total neutrino flux from the Sun with Solar luminosity in photons provides a test of the stability of the Sun on the 105 years time scale, and sets a strong limit on the power production in the unknown energy sources in the Sun of no more than 4% of the total energy production at 90% C.L.

Electrode materials: a challenge for the exploitation of protonic solid oxide fuel cells

PubMed Central

Fabbri, Emiliana; Pergolesi, Daniele; Traversa, Enrico

2010-01-01

High temperature proton conductor (HTPC) oxides are attracting extensive attention as electrolyte materials alternative to oxygen-ion conductors for use in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating at intermediate temperatures (400–700 °C). The need to lower the operating temperature is dictated by cost reduction for SOFC pervasive use. The major stake for the deployment of this technology is the availability of electrodes able to limit polarization losses at the reduced operation temperature. This review aims to comprehensively describe the state-of-the-art anode and cathode materials that have so far been tested with HTPC oxide electrolytes, offering guidelines and possible strategies to speed up the development of protonic SOFCs. PMID:27877342

Protons, Aerospace, and Electronics: A National Interest

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Label, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas L.

2017-01-01

The aerospace and semiconductor industries lost 2000 hours annually of research access when IUCF closed. An ad hoc team between the U.S. government and industry was formed to evaluate other facility options. In this presentation, we will discuss: 1) Why aerospace, semiconductor manufacturers, and others are interested in proton facility access, as well as, 2) Some of the basics of a typical test for electronics, and 3) We'll conclude with the brief current status on progress.

Protons, Aerospace, and Electronics: A National Interest

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas L.

2018-01-01

The aerospace and semiconductor industries lost approximately 2000 hours annually of research access when IUCF closed. An ad hoc team between the U.S. government and industry was formed to evaluate other facility options. In this presentation, we will discuss: 1) Why aerospace, semiconductor manufacturers, and others are interested in proton facility access, as well as, 2) Some of the basics of a typical tests for electronics, and 3) We'll conclude with the brief current status on progress.

Protons, Aerospace, and Electronics: A National Interest

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

LaBel, Kenneth A.; Turflinger, Thomas L.

2018-01-01

The aerospace and semiconductor industries lost approx. 2000 hours annually of research access when IUCF closed. An ad hoc team between the U.S. government and industry was formed to evaluate other facility options. In this presentation, we will discuss: 1) Why aerospace, semiconductor manufacturers, and others are interested in proton facility access, as well as, 2) Some of the basics of a typical test for electronics, and 3) We"ll conclude with the brief current status on progress.

Measuring Interference of Drug-Like Molecules with the Respiratory Chain: Toward the Early Identification of Mitochondrial Uncouplers in Lead Finding

PubMed Central

Matter, Hans; Diekert, Kerstin; Dörner, Wolfgang; Dröse, Stefan; Licher, Thomas

2013-01-01

Abstract The electron transport chain (ETC) couples electron transfer between donors and acceptors with proton transport across the inner mitochondrial membrane. The resulting electrochemical proton gradient is used to generate chemical energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Proton transfer is based on the activity of complex I–V proteins in the ETC. The overall electrical activity of these proteins can be measured by proton transfer using Solid Supported Membrane technology. We tested the activity of complexes I, III, and V in a combined assay, called oxidative phosphorylation assay (oxphos assay), by activating each complex with the corresponding substrate. The oxphos assay was used to test in-house substances from different projects and several drugs currently available on the market that have reported effects on mitochondrial functions. The resulting data were compared to the influence of the respective compounds on mitochondria as determined by oxygen consumption and to data generated with an ATP depletion assay. The comparison shows that the oxidative phosphorylation assay provides both a rapid approach for detecting interaction of compounds with respiratory chain proteins and information on their mode of interaction. Therefore, the oxphos assay is a useful tool to support structure activity relationship studies by allowing early identification of mitotoxicity and for analyzing the outcome of phenotypic screens that are susceptible to the generation of mitotoxicity-related artifacts. PMID:23992120

New frontiers in H-Beta auroral photometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Unick, C.; Donovan, E.; Connors, M. G.; Spanswick, E.; Jackel, B. J.; Greffen, M. J.; Wilson, C.; Little, J.; Chaddock, D.; Schofield, I.; MacRae, A.; Chen, S.; Crowther, A.; James, S.; Read, A.; Willis, T.

2013-12-01

The proton aurora provides valuable information about magnetotail structure and dynamics. For example, the location of the equatorward boundary of the proton aurora is a robust indicator of magnetotail stretching. Also, proton auroral luminosities combined with in situ ion measurements provide important information about magnetic mapping between the inner CPS and the auroral ionosphere. In this paper, we present a new and innovative proton-auroral (H-Beta) meridian-scanning photometer (MSP) capable of higher spatial and temporal resolution than has been achieved in the past. This H-Beta MSP is the first of a new dual-wavelength (signal/background) MSP design with a single scanning mirror and no other moving parts. The novel filtering architecture allows for a near 100% duty cycle with a 30-second meridian scan and configurable operating modes. The new design is significantly more sensitive than the legacy CANOPUS MSPs. The increased SNR can be employed in a variety of ways, such as to achieve significantly higher time resolution. Here, we present the new instrument design, test data from a commissioning campaign in Athabasca, and some thoughts on how the enhance proton auroral capability can increase the science value of these measurements.

Fast Magnetosonic Waves Observed by Van Allen Probes: Testing Local Wave Excitation Mechanism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Kyungguk; Liu, Kaijun; Wang, Xueyi; Chen, Lunjin; Denton, Richard E.

2018-01-01

Linear Vlasov theory and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations for electromagnetic fluctuations in a homogeneous, magnetized, and collisionless plasma are used to investigate a fast magnetosonic wave event observed by the Van Allen Probes. The fluctuating magnetic field observed exhibits a series of spectral peaks at harmonics of the proton cyclotron frequency Ωp and has a dominant compressional component, which can be classified as fast magnetosonic waves. Furthermore, the simultaneously observed proton phase space density exhibits positive slopes in the perpendicular velocity space, ∂fp/∂v⊥>0, which can be a source for these waves. Linear theory analyses and PIC simulations use plasma and field parameters measured in situ except that the modeled proton distribution is modified to have larger ∂fp/∂v⊥ under the assumption that the observed distribution corresponds to a marginally stable state when the distribution has already been scattered by the excited waves. The results show that the positive slope is the source of the proton cyclotron harmonic waves at propagation quasi-perpendicular to the background magnetic field, and as a result of interactions with the excited waves the evolving proton distribution progresses approximately toward the observed distribution.

An analysis of the impact of LHC Run I proton-lead data on nuclear parton densities.

PubMed

Armesto, Néstor; Paukkunen, Hannu; Penín, José Manuel; Salgado, Carlos A; Zurita, Pía

2016-01-01

We report on an analysis of the impact of available experimental data on hard processes in proton-lead collisions during Run I at the large hadron collider on nuclear modifications of parton distribution functions. Our analysis is restricted to the EPS09 and DSSZ global fits. The measurements that we consider comprise production of massive gauge bosons, jets, charged hadrons and pions. This is the first time a study of nuclear PDFs includes this number of different observables. The goal of the paper is twofold: (i) checking the description of the data by nPDFs, as well as the relevance of these nuclear effects, in a quantitative manner; (ii) testing the constraining power of these data in eventual global fits, for which we use the Bayesian reweighting technique. We find an overall good, even too good, description of the data, indicating that more constraining power would require a better control over the systematic uncertainties and/or the proper proton-proton reference from LHC Run II. Some of the observables, however, show sizeable tension with specific choices of proton and nuclear PDFs. We also comment on the corresponding improvements as regards the theoretical treatment.

Improvement in the mechanical properties, proton conductivity, and methanol resistance of highly branched sulfonated poly(arylene ether)/graphene oxide grafted with flexible alkylsulfonated side chains nanocomposite membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Dong; Peng, Jinhua; Li, Zhuoyao; Liu, Bin; Wang, Lei

2018-02-01

Sulfonated polymer/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites exhibit excellent properties as proton exchange membranes. However, few investigations on highly branched sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s (HBSPE)/GO nanocomposites as proton exchange membranes are reported. In order to obtain HBSPE-based nanocomposite membranes with better dispersibility and properties, a novel GO containing flexible alkylsulfonated side chains (SGO) is designed and prepared for the first time in this work. The HBSPE/SGO nanocomposite membranes with excellent dispersibility are successfully prepared. The properties of these membranes, including the mechanical properties, ion-exchange capacity, water uptake, proton conductivity, and methanol resistance, are characterized. The nanocomposite membranes exhibit higher tensile strength (32.67 MPa), higher proton conductivity (0.39 S cm-1 at 80 °C) and lower methanol permeability (4.89 × 10-7 cm2 s-1) than the pristine membrane. The nanocomposite membranes also achieve a higher maximum power density (82.36 mW cm-2) than the pristine membrane (67.85 mW cm-2) in single-cell direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) tests, demonstrating their considerable potential for applications in DMFCs.

Influence of isovector pairing and particle-number projection effects on spectroscopic factors for one-pair like-particle transfer reactions in proton-rich even-even nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benbouzid, Y.; Allal, N. H.; Fellah, M.; Oudih, M. R.

2018-04-01

Isovector neutron-proton (np) pairing and particle-number fluctuation effects on the spectroscopic factors (SF) corresponding to one-pair like-particle transfer reactions in proton-rich even-even nuclei are studied. With this aim, expressions of the SF corresponding to two-neutron stripping and two-proton pick-up reactions, which take into account the isovector np pairing effect, are established within the generalized BCS approach, using a schematic definition proposed by Chasman. Expressions of the same SF which strictly conserve the particle number are also established within the Sharp-BCS (SBCS) discrete projection method. In both cases, it is shown that these expressions generalize those obtained when only the pairing between like particles is considered. First, the formalism is tested within the Richardson schematic model. Second, it is applied to study even-even proton-rich nuclei using the single-particle energies of a Woods-Saxon mean-field. In both cases, it is shown that the np pairing effect and the particle-number projection effect on the SF values are important, particularly in N = Z nuclei, and must then be taken into account.

Experimental validation of a Monte Carlo proton therapy nozzle model incorporating magnetically steered protons.

PubMed

Peterson, S W; Polf, J; Bues, M; Ciangaru, G; Archambault, L; Beddar, S; Smith, A

2009-05-21

The purpose of this study is to validate the accuracy of a Monte Carlo calculation model of a proton magnetic beam scanning delivery nozzle developed using the Geant4 toolkit. The Monte Carlo model was used to produce depth dose and lateral profiles, which were compared to data measured in the clinical scanning treatment nozzle at several energies. Comparisons were also made between measured and simulated off-axis profiles to test the accuracy of the model's magnetic steering. Comparison of the 80% distal dose fall-off values for the measured and simulated depth dose profiles agreed to within 1 mm for the beam energies evaluated. Agreement of the full width at half maximum values for the measured and simulated lateral fluence profiles was within 1.3 mm for all energies. The position of measured and simulated spot positions for the magnetically steered beams agreed to within 0.7 mm of each other. Based on these results, we found that the Geant4 Monte Carlo model of the beam scanning nozzle has the ability to accurately predict depth dose profiles, lateral profiles perpendicular to the beam axis and magnetic steering of a proton beam during beam scanning proton therapy.

SU-F-T-212: A Comparison of Treatment Strategies for Intracranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery

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

Lamberton, T; Slater, J; Wroe, A

2016-06-15

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery is an effective and noninvasive treatment for intracranial lesions that uses highly focused radiation beams in a single treatment fraction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dosimetric differences between the treatment brain metastasis with a proton beam vs. intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods: Ten separate brain metastasis targets where chosen and treatment plans were created for each, using three different strategies: custom proton beam shaping devices, standardized proton beam shaping devices, and IMRT. Each plan was required to satisfy set parameters for providing adequate coverage and minimizing risk to adjacent tissues. The effectivenessmore » of each plan was calculated by comparing the homogeneity index, conformity index, and V12 for each target using a paired one tailed T-test (α=0.05). Specific comparison of the conformity indices was also made using a subcategory containing targets with volume>1cc. Results: There was no significant difference between the homogeneity indices of the three plans (p>0.05), showing that each plan has the capability of adequately covering the targets. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.01) between the conformity indices of the custom and the standard proton plan, as with the custom proton and IMRT (p<0.01), with custom proton showing stronger conformity to the target in both cases. There was also a statistical difference between the V12 of all three plans (Custom v. Standardized: p=0.02, Custom v. IMRT: p<0.01, Standardized v. IMRT: p<0.01) with custom proton supplying the lowest dose to surrounding tissues. For large targets (volume>1cc) there was no statistical difference between the proton plans and the IMRT treatment for the conformity index. Conclusion: A custom proton plan is the recommended treatment explored in this study as it is the most reliable way of effectively treating the target while sparing the maximum amount of normal tissue.« less

Neutrons in proton pencil beam scanning: parameterization of energy, quality factors and RBE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Uwe; Hälg, Roger A.; Baiocco, Giorgio; Lomax, Tony

2016-08-01

The biological effectiveness of neutrons produced during proton therapy in inducing cancer is unknown, but potentially large. In particular, since neutron biological effectiveness is energy dependent, it is necessary to estimate, besides the dose, also the energy spectra, in order to obtain quantities which could be a measure of the biological effectiveness and test current models and new approaches against epidemiological studies on cancer induction after proton therapy. For patients treated with proton pencil beam scanning, this work aims to predict the spatially localized neutron energies, the effective quality factor, the weighting factor according to ICRP, and two RBE values, the first obtained from the saturation corrected dose mean lineal energy and the second from DSB cluster induction. A proton pencil beam was Monte Carlo simulated using GEANT. Based on the simulated neutron spectra for three different proton beam energies a parameterization of energy, quality factors and RBE was calculated. The pencil beam algorithm used for treatment planning at PSI has been extended using the developed parameterizations in order to calculate the spatially localized neutron energy, quality factors and RBE for each treated patient. The parameterization represents the simple quantification of neutron energy in two energy bins and the quality factors and RBE with a satisfying precision up to 85 cm away from the proton pencil beam when compared to the results based on 3D Monte Carlo simulations. The root mean square error of the energy estimate between Monte Carlo simulation based results and the parameterization is 3.9%. For the quality factors and RBE estimates it is smaller than 0.9%. The model was successfully integrated into the PSI treatment planning system. It was found that the parameterizations for neutron energy, quality factors and RBE were independent of proton energy in the investigated energy range of interest for proton therapy. The pencil beam algorithm has been extended using the developed parameterizations in order to calculate the neutron energy, quality factor and RBE.

Neutrons in proton pencil beam scanning: parameterization of energy, quality factors and RBE.

PubMed

Schneider, Uwe; Hälg, Roger A; Baiocco, Giorgio; Lomax, Tony

2016-08-21

The biological effectiveness of neutrons produced during proton therapy in inducing cancer is unknown, but potentially large. In particular, since neutron biological effectiveness is energy dependent, it is necessary to estimate, besides the dose, also the energy spectra, in order to obtain quantities which could be a measure of the biological effectiveness and test current models and new approaches against epidemiological studies on cancer induction after proton therapy. For patients treated with proton pencil beam scanning, this work aims to predict the spatially localized neutron energies, the effective quality factor, the weighting factor according to ICRP, and two RBE values, the first obtained from the saturation corrected dose mean lineal energy and the second from DSB cluster induction. A proton pencil beam was Monte Carlo simulated using GEANT. Based on the simulated neutron spectra for three different proton beam energies a parameterization of energy, quality factors and RBE was calculated. The pencil beam algorithm used for treatment planning at PSI has been extended using the developed parameterizations in order to calculate the spatially localized neutron energy, quality factors and RBE for each treated patient. The parameterization represents the simple quantification of neutron energy in two energy bins and the quality factors and RBE with a satisfying precision up to 85 cm away from the proton pencil beam when compared to the results based on 3D Monte Carlo simulations. The root mean square error of the energy estimate between Monte Carlo simulation based results and the parameterization is 3.9%. For the quality factors and RBE estimates it is smaller than 0.9%. The model was successfully integrated into the PSI treatment planning system. It was found that the parameterizations for neutron energy, quality factors and RBE were independent of proton energy in the investigated energy range of interest for proton therapy. The pencil beam algorithm has been extended using the developed parameterizations in order to calculate the neutron energy, quality factor and RBE.

Joint Test Protocol: Environmentally Friendly Zirconium Oxide Pretreatment Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

coatings . Loss of paint adhesion is the primary failure mode on aluminum and steel. 3.7.3 Test Methodology The test methodology for pencil hardness...conversion pretreatment coatings . Loss of paint adhesion is the primary failure mode on aluminum and steel. 3.8.3 Test Methodology The test...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT There is a need to implement innovative and cost- effective replacement technologies to address the multiple health, safety

An end-to-end assessment of range uncertainty in proton therapy using animal tissues.

PubMed

Zheng, Yuanshui; Kang, Yixiu; Zeidan, Omar; Schreuder, Niek

2016-11-21

Accurate assessment of range uncertainty is critical in proton therapy. However, there is a lack of data and consensus on how to evaluate the appropriate amount of uncertainty. The purpose of this study is to quantify the range uncertainty in various treatment conditions in proton therapy, using transmission measurements through various animal tissues. Animal tissues, including a pig head, beef steak, and lamb leg, were used in this study. For each tissue, an end-to-end test closely imitating patient treatments was performed. This included CT scan simulation, treatment planning, image-guided alignment, and beam delivery. Radio-chromic films were placed at various depths in the distal dose falloff region to measure depth dose. Comparisons between measured and calculated doses were used to evaluate range differences. The dose difference at the distal falloff between measurement and calculation depends on tissue type and treatment conditions. The estimated range difference was up to 5, 6 and 4 mm for the pig head, beef steak, and lamb leg irradiation, respectively. Our study shows that the TPS was able to calculate proton range within about 1.5% plus 1.5 mm. Accurate assessment of range uncertainty in treatment planning would allow better optimization of proton beam treatment, thus fully achieving proton beams' superior dose advantage over conventional photon-based radiation therapy.

Integration of a 'proton antenna' facilitates transport activity of the monocarboxylate transporter MCT4.

PubMed

Noor, Sina Ibne; Pouyssegur, Jacques; Deitmer, Joachim W; Becker, Holger M

2017-01-01

Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) mediate the proton-coupled transport of high-energy metabolites like lactate and pyruvate and are expressed in nearly every mammalian tissue. We have shown previously that transport activity of MCT4 is enhanced by carbonic anhydrase II (CAII), which has been suggested to function as a 'proton antenna' for the transporter. In the present study, we tested whether creation of an endogenous proton antenna by introduction of a cluster of histidine residues into the C-terminal tail of MCT4 (MCT4-6xHis) could facilitate MCT4 transport activity when heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Our results show that integration of six histidines into the C-terminal tail does indeed increase transport activity of MCT4 to the same extent as did coexpression of MCT4-WT with CAII. Transport activity of MCT4-6xHis could be further enhanced by coexpression with extracellular CAIV, but not with intracellular CAII. Injection of an antibody against the histidine cluster into MCT4-expressing oocytes decreased transport activity of MCT4-6xHis, while leaving activity of MCT4-WT unaltered. Taken together, these findings suggest that transport activity of the proton-coupled monocarboxylate transporter MCT4 can be facilitated by integration of an endogenous proton antenna into the transporter's C-terminal tail. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Development of proton computed tomography detectors for applications in hadron therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bashkirov, Vladimir A.; Johnson, Robert P.; Sadrozinski, Hartmut F.-W.; Schulte, Reinhard W.

2016-02-01

Radiation therapy with protons and heavier ions is an attractive form of cancer treatment that could enhance local control and survival of cancers that are currently difficult to cure and lead to less side effects due to sparing of normal tissues. However, particle therapy faces a significant technical challenge because one cannot accurately predict the particle range in the patient using data provided by existing imaging technologies. Proton computed tomography (pCT) is an emerging imaging modality capable of improving the accuracy of range prediction. In this paper, we describe the successive pCT scanners designed and built by our group with the goal to support particle therapy treatment planning and image guidance by reconstructing an accurate 3D map of the stopping power relative to water in patient tissues. The pCT scanners we have built to date consist of silicon telescopes, which track the proton before and after the object to be reconstructed, and an energy or range detector, which measures the residual energy and/or range of the protons used to evaluate the water equivalent path length (WEPL) of each proton in the object. An overview of a decade-long evolution of the conceptual design of pCT scanners and their calibration is given. Results of scanner performance tests are presented, which demonstrate that the latest pCT scanner approaches readiness for clinical applications in hadron therapy.

Calibration of the Solar Orbiter Energetic Particle Detector Suite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wimmer-Schweingruber, R. F.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, J.; Martin-Garcia, C.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Panitzsch, L.; Boettcher, S.; Mason, G. M.; Kohler, J.; Ho, G. C.; Boden, S.; Grunau, J.; Steinhagen, J.; Terasa, C.; Yu, J.; Prieto, M.; Gomez-Herrero, R.; Blanco, J.

2013-12-01

We present the current status and plans for the calibration of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) suite on ESA's Solar Orbiter mission. Solar Orbiter is scheduled to launch in January 2017, instrument delivery in January 2015. EPD consists of four sensors: the SupraThermal Electron and Proton (STEP) sensor covers electrons (protons) from 2 (3) keV up to 100 keV, the Electron Proton Telescope (EPT) from 20 to 300 (7000) keV, the Suprathermal Ion Spectrograph (SIS) determines the ionic composition from ~0.05 to ~10 MeV/nuc (species dependent), and the High Energy Telescope (HET) measures electrons and protons (ions) from 0.3 to 30 and 10 to >100 MeV/nuc (20 - 200 MeV/nuc species dependent). EPT, HET, and SIS have two approximately opposite-facing fields of view, EPT, and HET share a common electronics box, two EPT/HET sensors allow the determination of second-order anisotropies (a total of 4 FoVs). Apart from the use of radioactive sources, STEP will be calibrated at the Kiel calibration facilities, EPT both at Kiel (electrons and low-energy protons) as well as at PTB in Braunschweig. SIS will undergo calibration at the LBL 88' cyclotron, HET at HIMAC in Chiba, Japan. Tests of the electron/protons discrimination of EPT show the expected behavior, HET prototypes have already been calibrated and the results will be shown.

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

Schwartz, S. B.; Wrede, C.; Bennett, M. B.

Background: The Doppler broadening of gamma-ray peaks is due to nuclear recoil from beta-delayed nucleon emission can be used to measure the energies of the nucleons. This method has never been tested using beta-delayed proton emission or applied to a recoil heavier than A = 10. Purpose: To test and apply this Doppler broadening method using gamma-ray peaks from the P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay sequence. Methods: A fast beam of P-26 was implanted into a planar Ge detector, which was used as a P-26 beta-decay trigger. The SeGA array of high-purity Ge detectors was used to detect gamma rays frommore » the P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay sequence. Results: Radiative Doppler broadening in beta-delayed proton-gamma decay was observed for the first time. Moreover, the Doppler broadening analysis method was verified using the 1613-keV gamma-ray line for which the proton energies were previously known. The 1776-keV gamma ray de-exciting the 2720 keV Al-25 level was observed in P-26(beta p gamma)Al-25 decay for the first time and used to determine that the center-of-mass energy of the proton emission feeding the 2720-keV level is 5.1 +/- 1.0 (stat.) +/- 0.6 (syst.) MeV, corresponding to a Si-26 excitation energy of 13.3 +/- 1.0 (stat.) +/- 0.6 (syst.) MeV for the proton-emitting level. Conclusions: Finally, the Doppler broadening method has been demonstrated to provide practical measurements of the energies for beta-delayed nucleon emissions populating excited states of nuclear recoils at least as heavy as A = 25.« less

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

Zhang, R; Jee, K; Sharp, G

Purpose: Proton radiography, which images the patients with the same type of particles that they are to be treated with, is a promising approach for image guidance and range uncertainties reduction. This study aimed to realize quality proton radiography by measuring dose rate functions (DRF) in time domain using a single flat panel and retrieve water equivalent path length (WEPL) from them. Methods: An amorphous silicon flat panel (PaxScan™ 4030CB, Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, CA) was placed behind phantoms to measure DRFs from a proton beam modulated by the modulator wheel. To retrieve WEPL and RSP, calibration modelsmore » based on the intensity of DRFs only, root mean square (RMS) of DRFs only and the intensity weighted RMS were tested. The quality of obtained WEPL images (in terms of spatial resolution and level of details) and the accuracy of WEPL were compared. Results: RSPs for most of the Gammex phantom inserts were retrieved within ± 1% errors by calibration models based on the RMS and intensity weighted RMS. The mean percentage error for all inserts was reduced from 1.08% to 0.75% by matching intensity in the calibration model. In specific cases such as the insert with a titanium rod, the calibration model based on RMS only fails while the that based on intensity weighted RMS is still valid. The quality of retrieved WEPL images were significantly improved for calibration models including intensity matching. Conclusion: For the first time, a flat panel, which is readily available in the beamline for image guidance, was tested to acquire quality proton radiography with WEPL accurately retrieved from it. This technique is promising to be applied for image-guided proton therapy as well as patient specific RSP determination to reduce uncertainties of beam ranges.« less

SU-E-J-158: Experimental Investigation of Proton Radiography Based On Time-Resolved Dose Measurements

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

Testa, M; Paganetti, H; Lu, H-M

2014-06-01

Purpose: To use proton radiography for i) in-vivo range verification of the brain fields of medulloblastoma patients in order to reduce the exit dose to the cranial skin and thus the risk of permanent alopecia; ii) for performing patient specific optimization of the calibration from CT-Hounsfield units to proton relative stopping power in order to minimize uncertainties of proton rang Methods: We developed and tested a prototype proton radiography system based on a single-plane scintillation screen coupled with a fast CCD camera (1ms sampling rate, 0.29x0.29 mm{sup 2} pixel size, 30×30 cm{sup 2} field of view). The method is basedmore » on the principle that, for passively scattered beams, the radiological depth of any point in the plateau of a spread-out Bragg-Peak (SOBP) can be inferred from the time-pattern of the dose rate measurements. We performed detector characterization measurements using complex-shape homogeneous phantoms and an Alderson phanto Results: Detector characterization tests confirmed the robustness of the technique. The results of the phantom measurements are encouraging in terms of achievable accuracy of the water equivalent thickness. A technique to minimize the degradation of spatial resolution due to multiple Coulomb scattering is discussed. Our novel radiographic technique is rapid (100 ms) and simultaneous over the whole field. The dose required to produce one radiograph, with the current settings, is ∼3 cG Conclusion: The results obtained with this simple and innovative radiography method are promising and motivate further development of technique. The system requires only a single-plane 2D dosimeter and it uses the clinical beam for a fraction of second with low dose to the patient.« less

Study of the radiation damage effect on Titanium metastable beta alloy by high intensity proton beam

DOE PAGES

Ishida, Taku; Wakai, E.; Hagiwara, M.; ...

2018-04-26

Here, a foil of a metastable β Titanium alloy Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al was irradiated at the J-PARC neutrino experimental facility with 1.4 × 10 20 30 GeV protons at low temperature (100–130°C at most), and microstructural characterization and hardness testing were conducted as an initial study on the radiation damage effects of Titanium alloy by the high energy proton beam exposure. Expected radiation damage at the beam center is about 0.06–0.12 displacement per atom. A high density (> 10 23 m –3) of a nanometer-sized precipitate was observed by TEM studies, which would be identified as martensite α-phase and athermal ω-phase formedmore » during the solution-treatment process to fabricate metastable β alloy. They did not appear to change substantially after irradiation with protons. In the irradiated specimen, we could not identify an obvious signature of radiation damage distributed along the proton beam profile. Very small, nanometer-scale black dots were present at a low density in the most highly irradiated region, and may be small dislocation loops formed during irradiation. The micro-indentation test indicated that the radiation exposure led to tiny increase in Vickers micro-hardness of ΔH V= 20 at beam center. Atom probe tomography reveals compositional fluctuations that reach a maximum amplitude of 10 at% Ti within a space of < 5 nm both before and after irradiation, which may also indicate presence of rich precipitates. These experimental results suggest this specific β alloy may exhibit radiation damage resistance due to the existence of a high density of nano-scale precipitates, but further studies with higher exposure are required to explore this possibility.« less

Infrared focal plane performance in the South Atlantic anomaly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Junga, Frank A.

1989-01-01

Proton-induced pulse height distributions (PHD's) in Si:XX detectors were studied analytically and experimentally. In addition, a preliminary design for a flight experiment to characterize the response of Si:XX detectors to the trapped proton environment and verify PHD models was developed. PHD's were computed for two orbit altitudes for a variety of shielding configurations. Most of the proton-induced pulses have amplitudes less that about 3.5 x 10(exp 5) e-h pairs. Shielding has a small effect on the shape of the PHD's. The primary effect of shielding is to reduce the total number of pulses produced. Proton-induced PHD's in a Si:Sb focal plane array bombarded by a unidirectional 67-MeV beam were measured. The maximum pulse height recorded was 6 x 10(exp 5) pairs. The distribution had two peaks: the larger peak corresponded to 3.8 x 10(exp 5) pairs and the smaller peak to 1.2 x 10(exp 5) pairs. The maximum pulse height and the larger peak are within a factor of two of predicted values. The low-energy peak was not expected, but is believed to be an artifact of inefficient charge collection in the detector. The planned flight experiment will be conducted on a Space Shuttle flight. Lockheed's helium extended life dewar (HELD) will be used to provide the required cryogenic environment for the detector. Two bulk Si:Sb arrays and two Si:As impurity band conduction arrays will be tested. The tests will be conducted while the Space Shuttle passes through the South Atlantic Anomaly. PHD's will be recorded and responsivity changes tracked. This experiment will provide a new database on proton-induced PHD's, compare two infrared detector technologies in a space environment, and provide the data necessary to validate PHD modeling.

Study of the radiation damage effect on Titanium metastable beta alloy by high intensity proton beam

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

Ishida, Taku; Wakai, E.; Hagiwara, M.

Here, a foil of a metastable β Titanium alloy Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al was irradiated at the J-PARC neutrino experimental facility with 1.4 × 10 20 30 GeV protons at low temperature (100–130°C at most), and microstructural characterization and hardness testing were conducted as an initial study on the radiation damage effects of Titanium alloy by the high energy proton beam exposure. Expected radiation damage at the beam center is about 0.06–0.12 displacement per atom. A high density (> 10 23 m –3) of a nanometer-sized precipitate was observed by TEM studies, which would be identified as martensite α-phase and athermal ω-phase formedmore » during the solution-treatment process to fabricate metastable β alloy. They did not appear to change substantially after irradiation with protons. In the irradiated specimen, we could not identify an obvious signature of radiation damage distributed along the proton beam profile. Very small, nanometer-scale black dots were present at a low density in the most highly irradiated region, and may be small dislocation loops formed during irradiation. The micro-indentation test indicated that the radiation exposure led to tiny increase in Vickers micro-hardness of ΔH V= 20 at beam center. Atom probe tomography reveals compositional fluctuations that reach a maximum amplitude of 10 at% Ti within a space of < 5 nm both before and after irradiation, which may also indicate presence of rich precipitates. These experimental results suggest this specific β alloy may exhibit radiation damage resistance due to the existence of a high density of nano-scale precipitates, but further studies with higher exposure are required to explore this possibility.« less

Nucleon Polarisabilities and Effective Field Theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griesshammer, Harald W.

2017-09-01

Low-energy Compton scattering probes the nucleon's two-photon response to electric and magnetic fields at fixed photon frequency and multipolarity. It tests the symmetries and strengths of the interactions between constituents, and with photons. For convenience, this energy-dependent information is often compressed into the two scalar dipole polarisabilities αE 1 and βM 1 at zero photon energy. These are fundamental quantities, and important for the proton charge radius puzzle and the Lamb shift of muonic hydrogen. Combined with emerging lattice QCD computations, they provide stringent tests for our understanding of hadron structure. Extractions of the proton and neutron polarisabilities from all published elastic data below 300 MeV in Chiral Effective Field Theory with explicit Δ (1232) are now available. This talk emphasises χEFT as natural bridge between lattice QCD and ongoing or approved efforts at HI γS, MAMI and MAX-lab. Chiral lattice extrapolations from mπ > 200 MeV to the physical point compare well to lattice computations. Combining χEFT with high-intensity experiments with polarised targets and polarised beams will extract not only scalar polarisabilities, but in particular the four so-far poorly explored spin-polarisabilities. These parametrise the stiffness of the spin in external electro-magnetic fields (nucleonic bi-refringence/Faraday effect). New chiral predictions for proton, deuteron and 3He observables show intriguing sensitivities on spin and neutron polarisabilities. Data consistency and a model-independent quantification of residual theory uncertainties by Bayesian analysis are also discussed. Proton-neutron differences explore the interplay between chiral symmetry breaking and short-distance Physics. Finally, I address their impact on the neutron-proton mass difference, big-bang nucleosynthesis, and their relevance for anthropic arguments. Supported in part by DOE DE-SC0015393 and George Washington University.

Commercial CMOS image sensors as X-ray imagers and particle beam monitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castoldi, A.; Guazzoni, C.; Maffessanti, S.; Montemurro, G. V.; Carraresi, L.

2015-01-01

CMOS image sensors are widely used in several applications such as mobile handsets webcams and digital cameras among others. Furthermore they are available across a wide range of resolutions with excellent spectral and chromatic responses. In order to fulfill the need of cheap systems as beam monitors and high resolution image sensors for scientific applications we exploited the possibility of using commercial CMOS image sensors as X-rays and proton detectors. Two different sensors have been mounted and tested. An Aptina MT9v034, featuring 752 × 480 pixels, 6μm × 6μm pixel size has been mounted and successfully tested as bi-dimensional beam profile monitor, able to take pictures of the incoming proton bunches at the DeFEL beamline (1-6 MeV pulsed proton beam) of the LaBeC of INFN in Florence. The naked sensor is able to successfully detect the interactions of the single protons. The sensor point-spread-function (PSF) has been qualified with 1MeV protons and is equal to one pixel (6 mm) r.m.s. in both directions. A second sensor MT9M032, featuring 1472 × 1096 pixels, 2.2 × 2.2 μm pixel size has been mounted on a dedicated board as high-resolution imager to be used in X-ray imaging experiments with table-top generators. In order to ease and simplify the data transfer and the image acquisition the system is controlled by a dedicated micro-processor board (DM3730 1GHz SoC ARM Cortex-A8) on which a modified LINUX kernel has been implemented. The paper presents the architecture of the sensor systems and the results of the experimental measurements.

Assessing the Impact of Clothing and Individual Equipment (CIE) on Soldier Physical, Biomechanical, and Cognitive Performance Part 1: Test Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-02-01

29 during Soldier Equipment Configuration Impact on Performance: Establishing a Test Methodology for the...Performance of Medium Rucksack Prototypes An investigation: Comparison of live-fire and weapon simulator test methodologies and the of three extremity armor

On-Orbit Teflon FEP Degradation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hansen, Patricia A.; Dever, Joyce A.

1998-01-01

During the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Second Servicing Mission (SM2), degradation of unsupported Teflon' FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), used as the outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, was evident as large cracks on the telescope light shield. A sample of the degraded outer layer was retrieved during the mission and returned to Earth for ground testing and evaluation. The results of the Teflon FEP sample evaluation and additional testing of pristine Teflon FEP led the investigative team to theorize that the HST damage was caused by thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation which allowed the propagation of cracks along stress concentrations, and that the damage increased with the combined total dose of electrons, protons, LTV and x-rays along with thermal cycling. This paper discusses the testing and evaluation of the Teflon FEP.

On-Orbit Teflon(trademark) FEP Degradation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Jacqueline; Hansen, Patricia A.; Dever, Joyce A.

1999-01-01

During the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Second Servicing Mission (SM2), degradation of unsupported Teflon(trademark) FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), used as the outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, was evident as large cracks on the telescope light shield. A sample of the degraded outer layer was retrieved during the mission and returned to Earth for ground testing and evaluation. The results of the Teflon(trademark) FEP sample evaluation and additional testing of pristine Teflon FEP led the investigative team to theorize that the HST damage was caused by thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation which allowed the propagation of cracks along stress concentrations, and that the damage increased with the combined total dose of electrons, protons, UV and x-rays along with thermal cycling. This paper discusses the testing and evaluation of the Teflon(trademark) FEP.

Development of the integrated control system for the microwave ion source of the PEFP 100-MeV proton accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Young-Gi; Seol, Kyung-Tae; Jang, Ji-Ho; Kwon, Hyeok-Jung; Cho, Yong-Sub

2012-07-01

The Proton Engineering Frontier Project (PEFP) 20-MeV proton linear accelerator is currently operating at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The ion source of the 100-MeV proton linac needs at least a 100-hour operation time. To meet the goal, we have developed a microwave ion source that uses no filament. For the ion source, a remote control system has been developed by using experimental physics and the industrial control system (EPICS) software framework. The control system consists of a versa module europa (VME) and EPICS-based embedded applications running on a VxWorks real-time operating system. The main purpose of the control system is to control and monitor the operational variables of the components remotely and to protect operators from radiation exposure and the components from critical problems during beam extraction. We successfully performed the operation test of the control system to confirm the degree of safety during the hardware performance.

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves stimulated by modest magnetospheric compressions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, B. J.; Hamilton, D. C.

1993-01-01

AMPTE/CCE magnetic field and particle data are used to test the suggestion that increased hot proton temperature anisotropy resulting from convection during magnetospheric compression is responsible for the enhancement in Pc 1 emission via generation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the dayside outer equatorial magnetosphere. The relative increase in magnetic field is used to gauge the strength of the compression, and an image dipole model is used to estimate the motion of the plasma during compression. Proton data are used to analyze the evolution of the proton distribution and the corresponding changes in EMIC wave activity expected during the compression. It is suggested that enhancements in dynamic pressure pump the energetic proton distributions in the outer magnetosphere, driving EMIC waves. Waves are expected to be generated most readily close to the magnetopause, and transient pressure pulses may be associated with bursts of EMIC waves, which would be observed on the ground in association with ionospheric transient signatures.

Research activities at the Loma Linda University and Proton Treatment Facility--an overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, G. A.; Green, L. M.; Gridley, D. S.; Archambeau, J. O.; Slater, J. M.

2001-01-01

The Loma Linda University (LLU) Radiobiology Program coordinates basic research and proton beam service activities for the university and extramural communities. The current focus of the program is on the biological and physical properties of protons and the operation of radiobiology facilities for NASA-sponsored projects. The current accelerator, supporting facilities and operations are described along with a brief review of extramural research projects supported by the program. These include space craft electronic parts and shielding testing as well as tumorigenesis and animal behavior experiments. An overview of research projects currently underway at LLU is also described. These include: 1) acute responses of the C57Bl/6 mouse immune system, 2) modulation of gene expression in the nematode C. elegans and rat thyroid cells, 3) quantitation of dose tolerance in rat CNS microvasculature, 4) behavioral screening of whole body proton and iron ion-irradiated C57Bl/6 mice, and 5) investigation of the role of cell integration into epithelial structures on responses to radiation.

Measuring radial profiles of nuclear burn in ICF implosions at OMEGA and the NIF using proton emission imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seguin, F. H.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Rosenberg, M.; Zylstra, A.; Frenje, J.; Li, C. K.; Petrasso, R.; Marshall, F. J.; Sangster, T. C.; Hoffman, N. M.; Amendt, P. A.; Bellei, C.; Le Pape, S.; Wilks, S. C.

2014-10-01

Fusion reactions in ICF implosions of D3He-filled capsules produce 14.7-MeV D3He protons and 3-MeV DD protons. Measurements of the spatial distributions of the D3He and DD reactions are studied with a penumbral imaging system that utilizes a CR-39-based imaging detector to simultaneously record separate penumbral images of the two types of protons. Measured burn profiles are useful for studying implosion physics and provide a critical test for benchmarking simulations. Recent implosions at OMEGA of CD capsules containing 3He gas fill and SiO2 capsules containing low-pressure D3He gas were expected to have hollow D3He burn profiles (in the 3He-filled capsule, due to fuel-shell mix), but penumbral imaging showed that the reactions were centrally peaked due to enhanced ion diffusion. The imaging technique is to be implemented soon on the NIF. This work was supported in part by NLUF, DOE, and LLE.

Search for supersymmetry in events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least one tau lepton in 7 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector

DOE PAGES

Aad, G.; Abajyan, T.; Abbott, B.; ...

2012-11-20

A search for supersymmetry (SUSY) in events with large missing transverse momentum, jets, and at least one hadronically decaying τ lepton, with zero or one additional light lepton (e/μ), has been performed using 4.7 fb -1 of proton-proton collision data at √s = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation is observed and a 95 % confidence level visible cross-section upper limit for new phenomena is set. In the framework of gauge-mediated SUSY-breaking models, lower limits on the mass scale Λ are set at 54 TeV inmore » the regions where the τ 1 is the next-to-lightest SUSY particle (tanβ > 20). These limits provide the most stringent tests to date of GMSB models in a large part of the parameter space considered.« less

Semi-interpenetrating polymer network proton exchange membranes with narrow and well-connected hydrophilic channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Chunliu; Toh, Xin Ni; Yao, Qiaofeng; Julius, David; Hong, Liang; Lee, Jim Yang

2013-03-01

Four series of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (SIPN) membranes are fabricated by thermally cross-linking aminated BPPO (brominated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)) with different epoxide cross-linkers in the presence of sulfonated PPO (SPPO). The cross-link structure and hydrophobicity are found to impact the membrane morphology strongly - smaller and more hydrophobic cross-links form narrow and well-connected hydrophilic channels whereas bulky and less hydrophobic cross-links form wide but less-connected hydrophilic channels. The membranes of the former can support facile proton transport and suppress methanol crossover to result in higher proton conductivity and lower methanol permeability than the membranes of the latter. The membranes are also fabricated into membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and tested in single-stack direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). It is found that some of these SIPN membranes can surpass Nafion® 117 in maximum power density, demonstrating their potential as a proton exchange membrane (PEM) for the DMFCs.

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at √s =8 TeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.; Tumasyan, A.; Adam, W.; Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Erö, J.; Fabjan, C.; Friedl, M.; Frühwirth, R.; Ghete, V. M.; Hartl, C.; Hörmann, N.; Hrubec, J.; Jeitler, M.; Kiesenhofer, W.; Knünz, V.; Krammer, M.; Krätschmer, I.; Liko, D.; Mikulec, I.; Rabady, D.; Rahbaran, B.; Rohringer, H.; Schöfbeck, R.; Strauss, J.; Taurok, A.; Treberer-Treberspurg, W.; Waltenberger, W.; Wulz, C.-E.; Mossolov, V.; Shumeiko, N.; Suarez Gonzalez, J.; Alderweireldt, S.; Bansal, M.; Bansal, S.; Cornelis, T.; De Wolf, E. A.; Janssen, X.; Knutsson, A.; Luyckx, S.; Ochesanu, S.; Roland, B.; Rougny, R.; Van De Klundert, M.; Van Haevermaet, H.; Van Mechelen, P.; Van Remortel, N.; Van Spilbeeck, A.; Blekman, F.; Blyweert, S.; D'Hondt, J.; Daci, N.; Heracleous, N.; Kalogeropoulos, A.; Keaveney, J.; Kim, T. J.; Lowette, S.; Maes, M.; Olbrechts, A.; Python, Q.; Strom, D.; Tavernier, S.; Van Doninck, W.; Van Mulders, P.; Van Onsem, G. P.; Villella, I.; Caillol, C.; Clerbaux, B.; De Lentdecker, G.; Dobur, D.; Favart, L.; Gay, A. P. R.; Grebenyuk, A.; Léonard, A.; Mohammadi, A.; Perniè, L.; Reis, T.; Seva, T.; Thomas, L.; Vander Velde, C.; Vanlaer, P.; Wang, J.; Adler, V.; Beernaert, K.; Benucci, L.; Cimmino, A.; Costantini, S.; Crucy, S.; Dildick, S.; Fagot, A.; Garcia, G.; Klein, B.; Mccartin, J.; Ocampo Rios, A. A.; Ryckbosch, D.; Salva Diblen, S.; Sigamani, M.; Strobbe, N.; Thyssen, F.; Tytgat, M.; Yazgan, E.; Zaganidis, N.; Basegmez, S.; Beluffi, C.; Bruno, G.; Castello, R.; Caudron, A.; Ceard, L.; Da Silveira, G. G.; Delaere, C.; du Pree, T.; Favart, D.; Forthomme, L.; Giammanco, A.; Hollar, J.; Jez, P.; Komm, M.; Lemaitre, V.; Liao, J.; Nuttens, C.; Pagano, D.; Pin, A.; Piotrzkowski, K.; Popov, A.; Quertenmont, L.; Selvaggi, M.; Vidal Marono, M.; Vizan Garcia, J. M.; Beliy, N.; Caebergs, T.; Daubie, E.; Hammad, G. H.; Alves, G. A.; Correa Martins Junior, M.; Dos Reis Martins, T.; Pol, M. E.; Aldá Júnior, W. L.; Carvalho, W.; Chinellato, J.; Custódio, A.; Da Costa, E. M.; De Jesus Damiao, D.; De Oliveira Martins, C.; Fonseca De Souza, S.; Malbouisson, H.; Malek, M.; Matos Figueiredo, D.; Mundim, L.; Nogima, H.; Prado Da Silva, W. L.; Santaolalla, J.; Santoro, A.; Sznajder, A.; Tonelli Manganote, E. J.; Vilela Pereira, A.; Bernardes, C. A.; Dias, F. A.; Fernandez Perez Tomei, T. R.; Gregores, E. M.; Mercadante, P. G.; Novaes, S. F.; Padula, Sandra S.; Aleksandrov, A.; Genchev, V.; Iaydjiev, P.; Marinov, A.; Piperov, S.; Rodozov, M.; Sultanov, G.; Vutova, M.; Dimitrov, A.; Glushkov, I.; Hadjiiska, R.; Kozhuharov, V.; Litov, L.; Pavlov, B.; Petkov, P.; Bian, J. G.; Chen, G. M.; Chen, H. S.; Chen, M.; Du, R.; Jiang, C. H.; Liang, D.; Liang, S.; Plestina, R.; Tao, J.; Wang, X.; Wang, Z.; Asawatangtrakuldee, C.; Ban, Y.; Guo, Y.; Li, Q.; Li, W.; Liu, S.; Mao, Y.; Qian, S. J.; Wang, D.; Zhang, L.; Zou, W.; Avila, C.; Chaparro Sierra, L. F.; Florez, C.; Gomez, J. P.; Gomez Moreno, B.; Sanabria, J. C.; Godinovic, N.; Lelas, D.; Polic, D.; Puljak, I.; Antunovic, Z.; Kovac, M.; Brigljevic, V.; Kadija, K.; Luetic, J.; Mekterovic, D.; Sudic, L.; Attikis, A.; Mavromanolakis, G.; Mousa, J.; Nicolaou, C.; Ptochos, F.; Razis, P. A.; Bodlak, M.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Assran, Y.; Elgammal, S.; Mahmoud, M. A.; Radi, A.; Kadastik, M.; Murumaa, M.; Raidal, M.; Tiko, A.; Eerola, P.; Fedi, G.; Voutilainen, M.; Härkönen, J.; Karimäki, V.; Kinnunen, R.; Kortelainen, M. J.; Lampén, T.; Lassila-Perini, K.; Lehti, S.; Lindén, T.; Luukka, P.; Mäenpää, T.; Peltola, T.; Tuominen, E.; Tuominiemi, J.; Tuovinen, E.; Wendland, L.; Tuuva, T.; Besancon, M.; Couderc, F.; Dejardin, M.; Denegri, D.; Fabbro, B.; Faure, J. L.; Favaro, C.; Ferri, F.; Ganjour, S.; Givernaud, A.; Gras, P.; Hamel de Monchenault, G.; Jarry, P.; Locci, E.; Malcles, J.; Nayak, A.; Rander, J.; Rosowsky, A.; Titov, M.; Baffioni, S.; Beaudette, F.; Busson, P.; Charlot, C.; Dahms, T.; Dalchenko, M.; Dobrzynski, L.; Filipovic, N.; Florent, A.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Mastrolorenzo, L.; Miné, P.; Mironov, C.; Naranjo, I. N.; Nguyen, M.; Ochando, C.; Paganini, P.; Salerno, R.; Sauvan, J. B.; Sirois, Y.; Veelken, C.; Yilmaz, Y.; Zabi, A.; Agram, J.-L.; Andrea, J.; Aubin, A.; Bloch, D.; Brom, J.-M.; Chabert, E. C.; Collard, C.; Conte, E.; Fontaine, J.-C.; Gelé, D.; Goerlach, U.; Goetzmann, C.; Le Bihan, A.-C.; Van Hove, P.; Gadrat, S.; Beauceron, S.; Beaupere, N.; Boudoul, G.; Brochet, S.; Carrillo Montoya, C. A.; Chasserat, J.; Chierici, R.; Contardo, D.; Depasse, P.; El Mamouni, H.; Fan, J.; Fay, J.; Gascon, S.; Gouzevitch, M.; Ille, B.; Kurca, T.; Lethuillier, M.; Mirabito, L.; Perries, S.; Ruiz Alvarez, J. D.; Sabes, D.; Sgandurra, L.; Sordini, V.; Vander Donckt, M.; Verdier, P.; Viret, S.; Xiao, H.; Tsamalaidze, Z.; Autermann, C.; Beranek, S.; Bontenackels, M.; Calpas, B.; Edelhoff, M.; Feld, L.; Hindrichs, O.; Klein, K.; Ostapchuk, A.; Perieanu, A.; Raupach, F.; Sammet, J.; Schael, S.; Sprenger, D.; Weber, H.; Wittmer, B.; Zhukov, V.; Ata, M.; Caudron, J.; Dietz-Laursonn, E.; Duchardt, D.; Erdmann, M.; Fischer, R.; Güth, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heidemann, C.; Hoepfner, K.; Klingebiel, D.; Knutzen, S.; Kreuzer, P.; Merschmeyer, M.; Meyer, A.; Olschewski, M.; Padeken, K.; Papacz, P.; Reithler, H.; Schmitz, S. A.; Sonnenschein, L.; Teyssier, D.; Thüer, S.; Weber, M.; Cherepanov, V.; Erdogan, Y.; Flügge, G.; Geenen, H.; Geisler, M.; Haj Ahmad, W.; Hoehle, F.; Kargoll, B.; Kress, T.; Kuessel, Y.; Lingemann, J.; Nowack, A.; Nugent, I. M.; Perchalla, L.; Pooth, O.; Stahl, A.; Asin, I.; Bartosik, N.; Behr, J.; Behrenhoff, W.; Behrens, U.; Bell, A. J.; Bergholz, M.; Bethani, A.; Borras, K.; Burgmeier, A.; Cakir, A.; Calligaris, L.; Campbell, A.; Choudhury, S.; Costanza, F.; Diez Pardos, C.; Dooling, S.; Dorland, T.; Eckerlin, G.; Eckstein, D.; Eichhorn, T.; Flucke, G.; Garay Garcia, J.; Geiser, A.; Gunnellini, P.; Hauk, J.; Hellwig, G.; Hempel, M.; Horton, D.; Jung, H.; Kasemann, M.; Katsas, P.; Kieseler, J.; Kleinwort, C.; Krücker, D.; Lange, W.; Leonard, J.; Lipka, K.; Lobanov, A.; Lohmann, W.; Lutz, B.; Mankel, R.; Marfin, I.; Melzer-Pellmann, I.-A.; Meyer, A. B.; Mnich, J.; Mussgiller, A.; Naumann-Emme, S.; Novgorodova, O.; Nowak, F.; Ntomari, E.; Perrey, H.; Pitzl, D.; Placakyte, R.; Raspereza, A.; Ribeiro Cipriano, P. M.; Ron, E.; Sahin, M. Ö.; Salfeld-Nebgen, J.; Saxena, P.; Schmidt, R.; Schoerner-Sadenius, T.; Schröder, M.; Spannagel, S.; Vargas Trevino, A. D. R.; Walsh, R.; Wissing, C.; Aldaya Martin, M.; Blobel, V.; Centis Vignali, M.; Erfle, J.; Garutti, E.; Goebel, K.; Görner, M.; Gosselink, M.; Haller, J.; Höing, R. S.; Kirschenmann, H.; Klanner, R.; Kogler, R.; Lange, J.; Lapsien, T.; Lenz, T.; Marchesini, I.; Ott, J.; Peiffer, T.; Pietsch, N.; Rathjens, D.; Sander, C.; Schettler, H.; Schleper, P.; Schlieckau, E.; Schmidt, A.; Seidel, M.; Sibille, J.; Sola, V.; Stadie, H.; Steinbrück, G.; Troendle, D.; Usai, E.; Vanelderen, L.; Barth, C.; Baus, C.; Berger, J.; Böser, C.; Butz, E.; Chwalek, T.; De Boer, W.; Descroix, A.; Dierlamm, A.; Feindt, M.; Hartmann, F.; Hauth, T.; Husemann, U.; Katkov, I.; Kornmayer, A.; Kuznetsova, E.; Lobelle Pardo, P.; Mozer, M. U.; Müller, Th.; Nürnberg, A.; Quast, G.; Rabbertz, K.; Ratnikov, F.; Röcker, S.; Simonis, H. J.; Stober, F. M.; Ulrich, R.; Wagner-Kuhr, J.; Wayand, S.; Weiler, T.; Wolf, R.; Anagnostou, G.; Daskalakis, G.; Geralis, T.; Giakoumopoulou, V. A.; Kyriakis, A.; Loukas, D.; Markou, A.; Markou, C.; Psallidas, A.; Topsis-Giotis, I.; Gouskos, L.; Panagiotou, A.; Saoulidou, N.; Stiliaris, E.; Aslanoglou, X.; Evangelou, I.; Flouris, G.; Foudas, C.; Kokkas, P.; Manthos, N.; Papadopoulos, I.; Paradas, E.; Bencze, G.; Hajdu, C.; Hidas, P.; Horvath, D.; Sikler, F.; Veszpremi, V.; Vesztergombi, G.; Zsigmond, A. J.; Beni, N.; Czellar, S.; Karancsi, J.; Molnar, J.; Palinkas, J.; Szillasi, Z.; Raics, P.; Trocsanyi, Z. L.; Ujvari, B.; Swain, S. K.; Beri, S. B.; Bhatnagar, V.; Dhingra, N.; Gupta, R.; Kalsi, A. K.; Kaur, M.; Mittal, M.; Nishu, N.; Singh, J. B.; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, S.; Bhardwaj, A.; Choudhary, B. C.; Kumar, A.; Malhotra, S.; Naimuddin, M.; Ranjan, K.; Sharma, V.; Banerjee, S.; Bhattacharya, S.; Chatterjee, K.; Dutta, S.; Gomber, B.; Jain, Sa.; Jain, Sh.; Khurana, R.; Modak, A.; Mukherjee, S.; Roy, D.; Sarkar, S.; Sharan, M.; Abdulsalam, A.; Dutta, D.; Kailas, S.; Kumar, V.; Mohanty, A. K.; Pant, L. M.; Shukla, P.; Topkar, A.; Aziz, T.; Banerjee, S.; Chatterjee, R. M.; Dewanjee, R. K.; Dugad, S.; Ganguly, S.; Ghosh, S.; Guchait, M.; Gurtu, A.; Kole, G.; Kumar, S.; Maity, M.; Majumder, G.; Mazumdar, K.; Mohanty, G. B.; Parida, B.; Sudhakar, K.; Wickramage, N.; Bakhshiansohi, H.; Behnamian, H.; Etesami, S. M.; Fahim, A.; Goldouzian, R.; Jafari, A.; Khakzad, M.; Mohammadi Najafabadi, M.; Naseri, M.; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, S.; Safarzadeh, B.; Zeinali, M.; Felcini, M.; Grunewald, M.; Abbrescia, M.; Barbone, L.; Calabria, C.; Chhibra, S. S.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; De Filippis, N.; De Palma, M.; Fiore, L.; Iaselli, G.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; My, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pompili, A.; Pugliese, G.; Radogna, R.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Singh, G.; Venditti, R.; Verwilligen, P.; Zito, G.; Abbiendi, G.; Benvenuti, A. C.; Bonacorsi, D.; Braibant-Giacomelli, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Campanini, R.; Capiluppi, P.; Castro, A.; Cavallo, F. R.; Codispoti, G.; Cuffiani, M.; Dallavalle, G. M.; Fabbri, F.; Fanfani, A.; Fasanella, D.; Giacomelli, P.; Grandi, C.; Guiducci, L.; Marcellini, S.; Masetti, G.; Montanari, A.; Navarria, F. L.; Perrotta, A.; Primavera, F.; Rossi, A. M.; Rovelli, T.; Siroli, G. P.; Tosi, N.; Travaglini, R.; Albergo, S.; Cappello, G.; Chiorboli, M.; Costa, S.; Giordano, F.; Potenza, R.; Tricomi, A.; Tuve, C.; Barbagli, G.; Ciulli, V.; Civinini, C.; D'Alessandro, R.; Focardi, E.; Gallo, E.; Gonzi, S.; Gori, V.; Lenzi, P.; Meschini, M.; Paoletti, S.; Sguazzoni, G.; Tropiano, A.; Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Fabbri, F.; Piccolo, D.; Ferro, F.; Lo Vetere, M.; Robutti, E.; Tosi, S.; Dinardo, M. E.; Fiorendi, S.; Gennai, S.; Gerosa, R.; Ghezzi, A.; Govoni, P.; Lucchini, M. T.; Malvezzi, S.; Manzoni, R. A.; Martelli, A.; Marzocchi, B.; Menasce, D.; Moroni, L.; Paganoni, M.; Pedrini, D.; Ragazzi, S.; Redaelli, N.; Tabarelli de Fatis, T.; Buontempo, S.; Cavallo, N.; Di Guida, S.; Fabozzi, F.; Iorio, A. O. M.; Lista, L.; Meola, S.; Merola, M.; Paolucci, P.; Azzi, P.; Bacchetta, N.; Bisello, D.; Branca, A.; Carlin, R.; Dall'Osso, M.; Dorigo, T.; Galanti, M.; Gasparini, F.; Giubilato, P.; Gozzelino, A.; Kanishchev, K.; Lacaprara, S.; Margoni, M.; Meneguzzo, A. T.; Montecassiano, F.; Passaseo, M.; Pazzini, J.; Pozzobon, N.; Ronchese, P.; Simonetto, F.; Torassa, E.; Tosi, M.; Vanini, S.; Zotto, P.; Zucchetta, A.; Zumerle, G.; Gabusi, M.; Ratti, S. P.; Riccardi, C.; Salvini, P.; Vitulo, P.; Biasini, M.; Bilei, G. M.; Ciangottini, D.; Fanò, L.; Lariccia, P.; Mantovani, G.; Menichelli, M.; Romeo, F.; Saha, A.; Santocchia, A.; Spiezia, A.; Androsov, K.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, G.; Bernardini, J.; Boccali, T.; Broccolo, G.; Castaldi, R.; Ciocci, M. A.; Dell'Orso, R.; Donato, S.; Fiori, F.; Foà, L.; Giassi, A.; Grippo, M. T.; Ligabue, F.; Lomtadze, T.; Martini, L.; Messineo, A.; Moon, C. S.; Palla, F.; Rizzi, A.; Savoy-Navarro, A.; Serban, A. T.; Spagnolo, P.; Squillacioti, P.; Tenchini, R.; Tonelli, G.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P. G.; Vernieri, C.; Barone, L.; Cavallari, F.; Del Re, D.; Diemoz, M.; Grassi, M.; Jorda, C.; Longo, E.; Margaroli, F.; Meridiani, P.; Micheli, F.; Nourbakhsh, S.; Organtini, G.; Paramatti, R.; Rahatlou, S.; Rovelli, C.; Santanastasio, F.; Soffi, L.; Traczyk, P.; Amapane, N.; Arcidiacono, R.; Argiro, S.; Arneodo, M.; Bellan, R.; Biino, C.; Cartiglia, N.; Casasso, S.; Costa, M.; Degano, A.; Demaria, N.; Finco, L.; Mariotti, C.; Maselli, S.; Migliore, E.; Monaco, V.; Musich, M.; Obertino, M. M.; Ortona, G.; Pacher, L.; Pastrone, N.; Pelliccioni, M.; Pinna Angioni, G. L.; Potenza, A.; Romero, A.; Ruspa, M.; Sacchi, R.; Solano, A.; Staiano, A.; Tamponi, U.; Belforte, S.; Candelise, V.; Casarsa, M.; Cossutti, F.; Della Ricca, G.; Gobbo, B.; La Licata, C.; Marone, M.; Montanino, D.; Schizzi, A.; Umer, T.; Zanetti, A.; Chang, S.; Kropivnitskaya, A.; Nam, S. K.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, G. N.; Kim, M. S.; Kong, D. J.; Lee, S.; Oh, Y. D.; Park, H.; Sakharov, A.; Son, D. C.; Kim, J. Y.; Song, S.; Choi, S.; Gyun, D.; Hong, B.; Jo, M.; Kim, H.; Kim, Y.; Lee, B.; Lee, K. S.; Park, S. K.; Roh, Y.; Choi, M.; Kim, J. H.; Park, I. C.; Park, S.; Ryu, G.; Ryu, M. S.; Choi, Y.; Choi, Y. K.; Goh, J.; Kwon, E.; Lee, J.; Seo, H.; Yu, I.; Juodagalvis, A.; Komaragiri, J. R.; Castilla-Valdez, H.; De La Cruz-Burelo, E.; Heredia-de La Cruz, I.; Lopez-Fernandez, R.; Sanchez-Hernandez, A.; Carrillo Moreno, S.; Vazquez Valencia, F.; Pedraza, I.; Salazar Ibarguen, H. A.; Casimiro Linares, E.; Morelos Pineda, A.; Krofcheck, D.; Butler, P. H.; Reucroft, S.; Ahmad, A.; Ahmad, M.; Hassan, Q.; Hoorani, H. R.; Khalid, S.; Khan, W. A.; Khurshid, T.; Shah, M. A.; Shoaib, M.; Bialkowska, H.; Bluj, M.; Boimska, B.; Frueboes, T.; Górski, M.; Kazana, M.; Nawrocki, K.; Romanowska-Rybinska, K.; Szleper, M.; Zalewski, P.; Brona, G.; Bunkowski, K.; Cwiok, M.; Dominik, W.; Doroba, K.; Kalinowski, A.; Konecki, M.; Krolikowski, J.; Misiura, M.; Olszewski, M.; Wolszczak, W.; Bargassa, P.; Beirão Da Cruz E Silva, C.; Faccioli, P.; Ferreira Parracho, P. 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V.; Vinogradov, A.; Belyaev, A.; Boos, E.; Dubinin, M.; Dudko, L.; Ershov, A.; Gribushin, A.; Klyukhin, V.; Kodolova, O.; Lokhtin, I.; Obraztsov, S.; Petrushanko, S.; Savrin, V.; Snigirev, A.; Azhgirey, I.; Bayshev, I.; Bitioukov, S.; Kachanov, V.; Kalinin, A.; Konstantinov, D.; Krychkine, V.; Petrov, V.; Ryutin, R.; Sobol, A.; Tourtchanovitch, L.; Troshin, S.; Tyurin, N.; Uzunian, A.; Volkov, A.; Adzic, P.; Dordevic, M.; Ekmedzic, M.; Milosevic, J.; Alcaraz Maestre, J.; Battilana, C.; Calvo, E.; Cerrada, M.; Chamizo Llatas, M.; Colino, N.; De La Cruz, B.; Delgado Peris, A.; Domínguez Vázquez, D.; Escalante Del Valle, A.; Fernandez Bedoya, C.; Fernández Ramos, J. P.; Flix, J.; Fouz, M. C.; Garcia-Abia, P.; Gonzalez Lopez, O.; Goy Lopez, S.; Hernandez, J. M.; Josa, M. I.; Merino, G.; Navarro De Martino, E.; Pérez-Calero Yzquierdo, A.; Puerta Pelayo, J.; Quintario Olmeda, A.; Redondo, I.; Romero, L.; Soares, M. S.; Albajar, C.; de Trocóniz, J. 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I.; Vlimant, J. R.; Wardle, N.; Wöhri, H. K.; Zeuner, W. D.; Bertl, W.; Deiters, K.; Erdmann, W.; Horisberger, R.; Ingram, Q.; Kaestli, H. C.; König, S.; Kotlinski, D.; Langenegger, U.; Renker, D.; Rohe, T.; Bachmair, F.; Bäni, L.; Bianchini, L.; Bortignon, P.; Buchmann, M. A.; Casal, B.; Chanon, N.; Deisher, A.; Dissertori, G.; Dittmar, M.; Donegà, M.; Dünser, M.; Eller, P.; Grab, C.; Hits, D.; Lustermann, W.; Mangano, B.; Marini, A. C.; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, P.; Meister, D.; Mohr, N.; Nägeli, C.; Nef, P.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Pandolfi, F.; Pauss, F.; Peruzzi, M.; Quittnat, M.; Rebane, L.; Ronga, F. J.; Rossini, M.; Starodumov, A.; Takahashi, M.; Theofilatos, K.; Wallny, R.; Weber, H. A.; Amsler, C.; Canelli, M. F.; Chiochia, V.; De Cosa, A.; Hinzmann, A.; Hreus, T.; Ivova Rikova, M.; Kilminster, B.; Millan Mejias, B.; Ngadiuba, J.; Robmann, P.; Snoek, H.; Taroni, S.; Verzetti, M.; Yang, Y.; Cardaci, M.; Chen, K. H.; Ferro, C.; Kuo, C. M.; Lin, W.; Lu, Y. J.; Volpe, R.; Yu, S. 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D.; Symonds, P.; Teodorescu, L.; Turner, M.; Dittmann, J.; Hatakeyama, K.; Kasmi, A.; Liu, H.; Scarborough, T.; Charaf, O.; Cooper, S. I.; Henderson, C.; Rumerio, P.; Avetisyan, A.; Bose, T.; Fantasia, C.; Heister, A.; Lawson, P.; Richardson, C.; Rohlf, J.; Sperka, D.; St. John, J.; Sulak, L.; Alimena, J.; Bhattacharya, S.; Christopher, G.; Cutts, D.; Demiragli, Z.; Ferapontov, A.; Garabedian, A.; Heintz, U.; Jabeen, S.; Kukartsev, G.; Laird, E.; Landsberg, G.; Luk, M.; Narain, M.; Segala, M.; Sinthuprasith, T.; Speer, T.; Swanson, J.; Breedon, R.; Breto, G.; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, M.; Chauhan, S.; Chertok, M.; Conway, J.; Conway, R.; Cox, P. T.; Erbacher, R.; Gardner, M.; Ko, W.; Lander, R.; Miceli, T.; Mulhearn, M.; Pellett, D.; Pilot, J.; Ricci-Tam, F.; Searle, M.; Shalhout, S.; Smith, J.; Squires, M.; Stolp, D.; Tripathi, M.; Wilbur, S.; Yohay, R.; Cousins, R.; Everaerts, P.; Farrell, C.; Hauser, J.; Ignatenko, M.; Rakness, G.; Takasugi, E.; Valuev, V.; Weber, M.; Babb, J.; Clare, R.; Ellison, J.; Gary, J. W.; Hanson, G.; Heilman, J.; Jandir, P.; Kennedy, E.; Lacroix, F.; Liu, H.; Long, O. R.; Luthra, A.; Malberti, M.; Nguyen, H.; Shrinivas, A.; Sturdy, J.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Wimpenny, S.; Andrews, W.; Branson, J. G.; Cerati, G. B.; Cittolin, S.; D'Agnolo, R. 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I.; Maruyama, S.; Mason, D.; McBride, P.; Mishra, K.; Mrenna, S.; Musienko, Y.; Nahn, S.; Newman-Holmes, C.; O'Dell, V.; Prokofyev, O.; Sexton-Kennedy, E.; Sharma, S.; Soha, A.; Spalding, W. J.; Spiegel, L.; Taylor, L.; Tkaczyk, S.; Tran, N. V.; Uplegger, L.; Vaandering, E. W.; Vidal, R.; Whitbeck, A.; Whitmore, J.; Yang, F.; Acosta, D.; Avery, P.; Bourilkov, D.; Carver, M.; Cheng, T.; Curry, D.; Das, S.; De Gruttola, M.; Di Giovanni, G. P.; Field, R. D.; Fisher, M.; Furic, I. K.; Hugon, J.; Konigsberg, J.; Korytov, A.; Kypreos, T.; Low, J. F.; Matchev, K.; Milenovic, P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Muniz, L.; Rinkevicius, A.; Shchutska, L.; Skhirtladze, N.; Snowball, M.; Yelton, J.; Zakaria, M.; Gaultney, V.; Hewamanage, S.; Linn, S.; Markowitz, P.; Martinez, G.; Rodriguez, J. L.; Adams, T.; Askew, A.; Bochenek, J.; Diamond, B.; Haas, J.; Hagopian, S.; Hagopian, V.; Johnson, K. F.; Prosper, H.; Veeraraghavan, V.; Weinberg, M.; Baarmand, M. M.; Hohlmann, M.; Kalakhety, H.; Yumiceva, F.; Adams, M. R.; Apanasevich, L.; Bazterra, V. E.; Berry, D.; Betts, R. R.; Bucinskaite, I.; Cavanaugh, R.; Evdokimov, O.; Gauthier, L.; Gerber, C. E.; Hofman, D. J.; Khalatyan, S.; Kurt, P.; Moon, D. H.; O'Brien, C.; Silkworth, C.; Turner, P.; Varelas, N.; Albayrak, E. A.; Bilki, B.; Clarida, W.; Dilsiz, K.; Duru, F.; Haytmyradov, M.; Merlo, J.-P.; Mermerkaya, H.; Mestvirishvili, A.; Moeller, A.; Nachtman, J.; Ogul, H.; Onel, Y.; Ozok, F.; Penzo, A.; Rahmat, R.; Sen, S.; Tan, P.; Tiras, E.; Wetzel, J.; Yetkin, T.; Yi, K.; Barnett, B. A.; Blumenfeld, B.; Bolognesi, S.; Fehling, D.; Gritsan, A. V.; Maksimovic, P.; Martin, C.; Swartz, M.; Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Benelli, G.; Bruner, C.; Gray, J.; Kenny, R. P.; Murray, M.; Noonan, D.; Sanders, S.; Sekaric, J.; Stringer, R.; Wang, Q.; Wood, J. S.; Barfuss, A. F.; Chakaberia, I.; Ivanov, A.; Khalil, S.; Makouski, M.; Maravin, Y.; Saini, L. K.; Shrestha, S.; Svintradze, I.; Gronberg, J.; Lange, D.; Rebassoo, F.; Wright, D.; Baden, A.; Calvert, B.; Eno, S. C.; Gomez, J. A.; Hadley, N. J.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kolberg, T.; Lu, Y.; Marionneau, M.; Mignerey, A. C.; Pedro, K.; Skuja, A.; Tonjes, M. B.; Tonwar, S. C.; Apyan, A.; Barbieri, R.; Bauer, G.; Busza, W.; Cali, I. A.; Chan, M.; Di Matteo, L.; Dutta, V.; Gomez Ceballos, G.; Goncharov, M.; Gulhan, D.; Klute, M.; Lai, Y. S.; Lee, Y.-J.; Levin, A.; Luckey, P. D.; Ma, T.; Paus, C.; Ralph, D.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stöckli, F.; Sumorok, K.; Velicanu, D.; Veverka, J.; Wyslouch, B.; Yang, M.; Zanetti, M.; Zhukova, V.; Dahmes, B.; De Benedetti, A.; Gude, A.; Kao, S. C.; Klapoetke, K.; Kubota, Y.; Mans, J.; Pastika, N.; Rusack, R.; Singovsky, A.; Tambe, N.; Turkewitz, J.; Acosta, J. G.; Oliveros, S.; Avdeeva, E.; Bloom, K.; Bose, S.; Claes, D. R.; Dominguez, A.; Gonzalez Suarez, R.; Keller, J.; Knowlton, D.; Kravchenko, I.; Lazo-Flores, J.; Malik, S.; Meier, F.; Snow, G. R.; Dolen, J.; Godshalk, A.; Iashvili, I.; Kharchilava, A.; Kumar, A.; Rappoccio, S.; Alverson, G.; Barberis, E.; Baumgartel, D.; Chasco, M.; Haley, J.; Massironi, A.; Morse, D. M.; Nash, D.; Orimoto, T.; Trocino, D.; Wood, D.; Zhang, J.; Hahn, K. A.; Kubik, A.; Mucia, N.; Odell, N.; Pollack, B.; Pozdnyakov, A.; Schmitt, M.; Stoynev, S.; Sung, K.; Velasco, M.; Won, S.; Brinkerhoff, A.; Chan, K. M.; Drozdetskiy, A.; Hildreth, M.; Jessop, C.; Karmgard, D. J.; Kellams, N.; Lannon, K.; Luo, W.; Lynch, S.; Marinelli, N.; Pearson, T.; Planer, M.; Ruchti, R.; Valls, N.; Wayne, M.; Wolf, M.; Woodard, A.; Antonelli, L.; Brinson, J.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Flowers, S.; Hill, C.; Hughes, R.; Kotov, K.; Ling, T. Y.; Puigh, D.; Rodenburg, M.; Smith, G.; Vuosalo, C.; Winer, B. L.; Wolfe, H.; Wulsin, H. W.; Berry, E.; Driga, O.; Elmer, P.; Hebda, P.; Hunt, A.; Koay, S. A.; Lujan, P.; Marlow, D.; Medvedeva, T.; Mooney, M.; Olsen, J.; Piroué, P.; Quan, X.; Saka, H.; Stickland, D.; Tully, C.; Werner, J. S.; Zenz, S. C.; Zuranski, A.; Brownson, E.; Mendez, H.; Ramirez Vargas, J. E.; Alagoz, E.; Barnes, V. E.; Benedetti, D.; Bolla, G.; Bortoletto, D.; De Mattia, M.; Everett, A.; Hu, Z.; Jha, M. K.; Jones, M.; Jung, K.; Kress, M.; Leonardo, N.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Maroussov, V.; Merkel, P.; Miller, D. H.; Neumeister, N.; Radburn-Smith, B. C.; Shipsey, I.; Silvers, D.; Svyatkovskiy, A.; Wang, F.; Xie, W.; Xu, L.; Yoo, H. D.; Zablocki, J.; Zheng, Y.; Parashar, N.; Stupak, J.; Adair, A.; Akgun, B.; Ecklund, K. M.; Geurts, F. J. M.; Li, W.; Michlin, B.; Padley, B. P.; Redjimi, R.; Roberts, J.; Zabel, J.; Betchart, B.; Bodek, A.; Covarelli, R.; de Barbaro, P.; Demina, R.; Eshaq, Y.; Ferbel, T.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Goldenzweig, P.; Han, J.; Harel, A.; Khukhunaishvili, A.; Miner, D. C.; Petrillo, G.; Vishnevskiy, D.; Ciesielski, R.; Demortier, L.; Goulianos, K.; Lungu, G.; Mesropian, C.; Arora, S.; Barker, A.; Chou, J. P.; Contreras-Campana, C.; Contreras-Campana, E.; Duggan, D.; Ferencek, D.; Gershtein, Y.; Gray, R.; Halkiadakis, E.; Hidas, D.; Lath, A.; Panwalkar, S.; Park, M.; Patel, R.; Rekovic, V.; Salur, S.; Schnetzer, S.; Seitz, C.; Somalwar, S.; Stone, R.; Thomas, S.; Thomassen, P.; Walker, M.; Rose, K.; Spanier, S.; York, A.; Bouhali, O.; Eusebi, R.; Flanagan, W.; Gilmore, J.; Kamon, T.; Khotilovich, V.; Krutelyov, V.; Montalvo, R.; Osipenkov, I.; Pakhotin, Y.; Perloff, A.; Roe, J.; Rose, A.; Safonov, A.; Sakuma, T.; Suarez, I.; Tatarinov, A.; Akchurin, N.; Cowden, C.; Damgov, J.; Dragoiu, C.; Dudero, P. R.; Faulkner, J.; Kovitanggoon, K.; Kunori, S.; Lee, S. W.; Libeiro, T.; Volobouev, I.; Appelt, E.; Delannoy, A. G.; Greene, S.; Gurrola, A.; Johns, W.; Maguire, C.; Mao, Y.; Melo, A.; Sharma, M.; Sheldon, P.; Snook, B.; Tuo, S.; Velkovska, J.; Arenton, M. W.; Boutle, S.; Cox, B.; Francis, B.; Goodell, J.; Hirosky, R.; Ledovskoy, A.; Li, H.; Lin, C.; Neu, C.; Wood, J.; Gollapinni, S.; Harr, R.; Karchin, P. E.; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, C.; Lamichhane, P.; Belknap, D. A.; Carlsmith, D.; Cepeda, M.; Dasu, S.; Duric, S.; Friis, E.; Hall-Wilton, R.; Herndon, M.; Hervé, A.; Klabbers, P.; Klukas, J.; Lanaro, A.; Lazaridis, C.; Levine, A.; Loveless, R.; Mohapatra, A.; Ojalvo, I.; Perry, T.; Pierro, G. A.; Polese, G.; Ross, I.; Sarangi, T.; Savin, A.; Smith, W. H.; Woods, N.; CMS Collaboration

2014-08-01

The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale.

Search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy with 36 pb-1 of 7 TeV proton-proton collision data with the ATLAS detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdelalim, A. A.; Abdesselam, A.; Abdinov, O.; Abi, B.; Abolins, M.; Abramowicz, H.; Abreu, H.; Acerbi, E.; Acharya, B. S.; Adams, D. L.; Addy, T. N.; Adelman, J.; Aderholz, M.; Adomeit, S.; Adragna, P.; Adye, T.; Aefsky, S.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A.; Aharrouche, M.; Ahlen, S. P.; Ahles, F.; Ahmad, A.; Ahsan, M.; Aielli, G.; Akdogan, T.; Åkesson, T. P. A.; Akimoto, G.; Akimov, A. V.; Akiyama, A.; Alam, M. S.; Alam, M. A.; Albert, J.; Albrand, S.; Aleksa, M.; Aleksandrov, I. N.; Alessandria, F.; Alexa, C.; Alexander, G.; Alexandre, G.; Alexopoulos, T.; Alhroob, M.; Aliev, M.; Alimonti, G.; Alison, J.; Aliyev, M.; Allport, P. P.; Allwood-Spiers, S. E.; Almond, J.; Aloisio, A.; Alon, R.; Alonso, A.; Alviggi, M. G.; Amako, K.; Amaral, P.; Amelung, C.; Ammosov, V. V.; Amorim, A.; Amorós, G.; Amram, N.; Anastopoulos, C.; Andari, N.; Andeen, T.; Anders, C. F.; Anderson, K. J.; Andreazza, A.; Andrei, V.; Andrieux, M.-L.; Anduaga, X. S.; Angerami, A.; Anghinolfi, F.; Anjos, N.; Annovi, A.; Antonaki, A.; Antonelli, M.; Antonov, A.; Antos, J.; Anulli, F.; Aoun, S.; Aperio Bella, L.; Apolle, R.; Arabidze, G.; Aracena, I.; Arai, Y.; Arce, A. T. H.; Archambault, J. P.; Arfaoui, S.; Arguin, J.-F.; Arik, E.; Arik, M.; Armbruster, A. J.; Arnaez, O.; Arnault, C.; Artamonov, A.; Artoni, G.; Arutinov, D.; Asai, S.; Asfandiyarov, R.; Ask, S.; Åsman, B.; Asquith, L.; Assamagan, K.; Astbury, A.; Astvatsatourov, A.; Atoian, G.; Aubert, B.; Auerbach, B.; Auge, E.; Augsten, K.; Aurousseau, M.; Austin, N.; Avramidou, R.; Axen, D.; Ay, C.; Azuelos, G.; Azuma, Y.; Baak, M. A.; Baccaglioni, G.; Bacci, C.; Bach, A. M.; Bachacou, H.; Bachas, K.; Bachy, G.; Backes, M.; Backhaus, M.; Badescu, E.; Bagnaia, P.; Bahinipati, S.; Bai, Y.; Bailey, D. C.; Bain, T.; Baines, J. T.; Baker, O. K.; Baker, M. D.; Baker, S.; Dos Santos Pedrosa, F. Baltasar; Banas, E.; Banerjee, P.; Banerjee, Sw.; Banfi, D.; Bangert, A.; Bansal, V.; Bansil, H. S.; Barak, L.; Baranov, S. P.; Barashkou, A.; Barbaro Galtieri, A.; Barber, T.; Barberio, E. L.; Barberis, D.; Barbero, M.; Bardin, D. Y.; Barillari, T.; Barisonzi, M.; Barklow, T.; Barlow, N.; Barnett, B. M.; Barnett, R. M.; Baroncelli, A.; Barone, G.; Barr, A. J.; Barreiro, F.; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, J.; Barrillon, P.; Bartoldus, R.; Barton, A. E.; Bartsch, D.; Bartsch, V.; Bates, R. L.; Batkova, L.; Batley, J. R.; Battaglia, A.; Battistin, M.; Battistoni, G.; Bauer, F.; Bawa, H. S.; Beare, B.; Beau, T.; Beauchemin, P. H.; Beccherle, R.; Bechtle, P.; Beck, H. P.; Beckingham, M.; Becks, K. H.; Beddall, A. J.; Beddall, A.; Bedikian, S.; Bednyakov, V. A.; Bee, C. P.; Begel, M.; Harpaz, S. Behar; Behera, P. K.; Beimforde, M.; Belanger-Champagne, C.; Bell, P. J.; Bell, W. H.; Bella, G.; Bellagamba, L.; Bellina, F.; Bellomo, M.; Belloni, A.; Beloborodova, O.; Belotskiy, K.; Beltramello, O.; Ami, S. Ben; Benary, O.; Benchekroun, D.; Benchouk, C.; Bendel, M.; Benedict, B. H.; Benekos, N.; Benhammou, Y.; Benjamin, D. P.; Benoit, M.; Bensinger, J. R.; Benslama, K.; Bentvelsen, S.; Berge, D.; Bergeaas Kuutmann, E.; Berger, N.; Berghaus, F.; Berglund, E.; Beringer, J.; Bernardet, K.; Bernat, P.; Bernhard, R.; Bernius, C.; Berry, T.; Bertin, A.; Bertinelli, F.; Bertolucci, F.; Besana, M. I.; Besson, N.; Bethke, S.; Bhimji, W.; Bianchi, R. M.; Bianco, M.; Biebel, O.; Bieniek, S. P.; Biesiada, J.; Biglietti, M.; Bilokon, H.; Bindi, M.; Binet, S.; Bingul, A.; Bini, C.; Biscarat, C.; Bitenc, U.; Black, K. M.; Blair, R. E.; Blanchard, J.-B.; Blanchot, G.; Blazek, T.; Blocker, C.; Blocki, J.; Blondel, A.; Blum, W.; Blumenschein, U.; Bobbink, G. J.; Bobrovnikov, V. B.; Bocchetta, S. S.; Bocci, A.; Boddy, C. R.; Boehler, M.; Boek, J.; Boelaert, N.; Böser, S.; Bogaerts, J. A.; Bogdanchikov, A.; Bogouch, A.; Bohm, C.; Boisvert, V.; Bold, T.; Boldea, V.; Bolnet, N. M.; Bona, M.; Bondarenko, V. G.; Boonekamp, M.; Boorman, G.; Booth, C. N.; Bordoni, S.; Borer, C.; Borisov, A.; Borissov, G.; Borjanovic, I.; Borroni, S.; Bos, K.; Boscherini, D.; Bosman, M.; Boterenbrood, H.; Botterill, D.; Bouchami, J.; Boudreau, J.; Bouhova-Thacker, E. V.; Boulahouache, C.; Bourdarios, C.; Bousson, N.; Boveia, A.; Boyd, J.; Boyko, I. R.; Bozhko, N. I.; Bozovic-Jelisavcic, I.; Bracinik, J.; Braem, A.; Branchini, P.; Brandenburg, G. W.; Brandt, A.; Brandt, G.; Brandt, O.; Bratzler, U.; Brau, B.; Brau, J. E.; Braun, H. M.; Brelier, B.; Bremer, J.; Brenner, R.; Bressler, S.; Breton, D.; Britton, D.; Brochu, F. M.; Brock, I.; Brock, R.; Brodbeck, T. J.; Brodet, E.; Broggi, F.; Bromberg, C.; Brooijmans, G.; Brooks, W. K.; Brown, G.; Brown, H.; Bruckman de Renstrom, P. A.; Bruncko, D.; Bruneliere, R.; Brunet, S.; Bruni, A.; Bruni, G.; Bruschi, M.; Buanes, T.; Bucci, F.; Buchanan, J.; Buchanan, N. J.; Buchholz, P.; Buckingham, R. M.; Buckley, A. G.; Buda, S. I.; Budagov, I. A.; Budick, B.; Büscher, V.; Bugge, L.; Buira-Clark, D.; Bulekov, O.; Bunse, M.; Buran, T.; Burckhart, H.; Burdin, S.; Burgess, T.; Burke, S.; Busato, E.; Bussey, P.; Buszello, C. P.; Butin, F.; Butler, B.; Butler, J. M.; Buttar, C. M.; Butterworth, J. M.; Buttinger, W.; Byatt, T.; Cabrera Urbán, S.; Caforio, D.; Cakir, O.; Calafiura, P.; Calderini, G.; Calfayan, P.; Calkins, R.; Caloba, L. P.; Caloi, R.; Calvet, D.; Calvet, S.; Camacho Toro, R.; Camarri, P.; Cambiaghi, M.; Cameron, D.; Campana, S.; Campanelli, M.; Canale, V.; Canelli, F.; Canepa, A.; Cantero, J.; Capasso, L.; Capeans Garrido, M. D. M.; Caprini, I.; Caprini, M.; Capriotti, D.; Capua, M.; Caputo, R.; Caramarcu, C.; Cardarelli, R.; Carli, T.; Carlino, G.; Carminati, L.; Caron, B.; Caron, S.; Carrillo Montoya, G. D.; Carter, A. A.; Carter, J. R.; Carvalho, J.; Casadei, D.; Casado, M. P.; Cascella, M.; Caso, C.; Castaneda Hernandez, A. M.; Castaneda-Miranda, E.; Castillo Gimenez, V.; Castro, N. F.; Cataldi, G.; Cataneo, F.; Catinaccio, A.; Catmore, J. R.; Cattai, A.; Cattani, G.; Caughron, S.; Cauz, D.; Cavalleri, P.; Cavalli, D.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Cavasinni, V.; Ceradini, F.; Cerqueira, A. S.; Cerri, A.; Cerrito, L.; Cerutti, F.; Cetin, S. A.; Cevenini, F.; Chafaq, A.; Chakraborty, D.; Chan, K.; Chapleau, B.; Chapman, J. D.; Chapman, J. W.; Chareyre, E.; Charlton, D. G.; Chavda, V.; Barajas, C. A. Chavez; Cheatham, S.; Chekanov, S.; Chekulaev, S. V.; Chelkov, G. A.; Chelstowska, M. A.; Chen, C.; Chen, H.; Chen, S.; Chen, T.; Chen, X.; Cheng, S.; Cheplakov, A.; Chepurnov, V. F.; Cherkaoui El Moursli, R.; Chernyatin, V.; Cheu, E.; Cheung, S. L.; Chevalier, L.; Chiefari, G.; Chikovani, L.; Childers, J. T.; Chilingarov, A.; Chiodini, G.; Chizhov, M. V.; Choudalakis, G.; Chouridou, S.; Christidi, I. A.; Christov, A.; Chromek-Burckhart, D.; Chu, M. L.; Chudoba, J.; Ciapetti, G.; Ciba, K.; Ciftci, A. K.; Ciftci, R.; Cinca, D.; Cindro, V.; Ciobotaru, M. D.; Ciocca, C.; Ciocio, A.; Cirilli, M.; Ciubancan, M.; Clark, A.; Clark, P. J.; Cleland, W.; Clemens, J. C.; Clement, B.; Clement, C.; Clifft, R. W.; Coadou, Y.; Cobal, M.; Coccaro, A.; Cochran, J.; Coe, P.; Cogan, J. G.; Coggeshall, J.; Cogneras, E.; Cojocaru, C. D.; Colas, J.; Colijn, A. P.; Collard, C.; Collins, N. J.; Collins-Tooth, C.; Collot, J.; Colon, G.; Conde Muiño, P.; Coniavitis, E.; Conidi, M. C.; Consonni, M.; Consorti, V.; Constantinescu, S.; Conta, C.; Conventi, F.; Cook, J.; Cooke, M.; Cooper, B. D.; Cooper-Sarkar, A. M.; Cooper-Smith, N. J.; Copic, K.; Cornelissen, T.; Corradi, M.; Corriveau, F.; Cortes-Gonzalez, A.; Cortiana, G.; Costa, G.; Costa, M. J.; Costanzo, D.; Costin, T.; Côté, D.; Coura Torres, R.; Courneyea, L.; Cowan, G.; Cowden, C.; Cox, B. E.; Cranmer, K.; Crescioli, F.; Cristinziani, M.; Crosetti, G.; Crupi, R.; Crépé-Renaudin, S.; Cuciuc, C.-M.; Almenar, C. Cuenca; Cuhadar Donszelmann, T.; Cuneo, S.; Curatolo, M.; Curtis, C. J.; Cwetanski, P.; Czirr, H.; Czyczula, Z.; D'Auria, S.; D'Onofrio, M.; D'Orazio, A.; Da Silva, P. V. M.; Da Via, C.; Dabrowski, W.; Dai, T.; Dallapiccola, C.; Dam, M.; Dameri, M.; Damiani, D. S.; Danielsson, H. O.; Dannheim, D.; Dao, V.; Darbo, G.; Darlea, G. L.; Daum, C.; Dauvergne, J. P.; Davey, W.; Davidek, T.; Davidson, N.; Davidson, R.; Davies, E.; Davies, M.; Davison, A. R.; Davygora, Y.; Dawe, E.; Dawson, I.; Dawson, J. W.; Daya, R. K.; De, K.; de Asmundis, R.; De Castro, S.; De Castro Faria Salgado, P. E.; De Cecco, S.; de Graat, J.; De Groot, N.; de Jong, P.; De La Taille, C.; De la Torre, H.; De Lotto, B.; De Mora, L.; De Nooij, L.; De Oliveira Branco, M.; De Pedis, D.; de Saintignon, P.; De Salvo, A.; De Sanctis, U.; De Santo, A.; De Vivie De Regie, J. B.; Dean, S.; Dedovich, D. V.; Degenhardt, J.; Dehchar, M.; Deile, M.; Del Papa, C.; Del Peso, J.; Del Prete, T.; Deliyergiyev, M.; Dell'Acqua, A.; Dell'Asta, L.; Della Pietra, M.; della Volpe, D.; Delmastro, M.; Delpierre, P.; Delruelle, N.; Delsart, P. A.; Deluca, C.; Demers, S.; Demichev, M.; Demirkoz, B.; Deng, J.; Denisov, S. P.; Derendarz, D.; Derkaoui, J. E.; Derue, F.; Dervan, P.; Desch, K.; Devetak, E.; Deviveiros, P. O.; Dewhurst, A.; DeWilde, B.; Dhaliwal, S.; Dhullipudi, R.; Di Ciaccio, A.; Di Ciaccio, L.; Di Girolamo, A.; Di Girolamo, B.; Di Luise, S.; Di Mattia, A.; Di Micco, B.; Di Nardo, R.; Di Simone, A.; Di Sipio, R.; Diaz, M. A.; Diblen, F.; Diehl, E. B.; Dietrich, J.; Dietzsch, T. A.; Diglio, S.; Dindar Yagci, K.; Dingfelder, J.; Dionisi, C.; Dita, P.; Dita, S.; Dittus, F.; Djama, F.; Djobava, T.; do Vale, M. A. B.; Do Valle Wemans, A.; Doan, T. K. O.; Dobbs, M.; Dobinson, R.; Dobos, D.; Dobson, E.; Dobson, M.; Dodd, J.; Doglioni, C.; Doherty, T.; Doi, Y.; Dolejsi, J.; Dolenc, I.; Dolezal, Z.; Dolgoshein, B. A.; Dohmae, T.; Donadelli, M.; Donega, M.; Donini, J.; Dopke, J.; Doria, A.; Dos Anjos, A.; Dosil, M.; Dotti, A.; Dova, M. T.; Dowell, J. D.; Doxiadis, A. D.; Doyle, A. T.; Drasal, Z.; Drees, J.; Dressnandt, N.; Drevermann, H.; Driouichi, C.; Dris, M.; Dubbert, J.; Dubbs, T.; Dube, S.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Dudarev, A.; Dudziak, F.; Dührssen, M.; Duerdoth, I. P.; Duflot, L.; Dufour, M.-A.; Dunford, M.; Yildiz, H. Duran; Duxfield, R.; Dwuznik, M.; Dydak, F.; Dzahini, D.; Düren, M.; Ebenstein, W. L.; Ebke, J.; Eckert, S.; Eckweiler, S.; Edmonds, K.; Edwards, C. A.; Edwards, N. C.; Ehrenfeld, W.; Ehrich, T.; Eifert, T.; Eigen, G.; Einsweiler, K.; Eisenhandler, E.; Ekelof, T.; El Kacimi, M.; Ellert, M.; Elles, S.; Ellinghaus, F.; Ellis, K.; Ellis, N.; Elmsheuser, J.; Elsing, M.; Ely, R.; Emeliyanov, D.; Engelmann, R.; Engl, A.; Epp, B.; Eppig, A.; Erdmann, J.; Ereditato, A.; Eriksson, D.; Ernst, J.; Ernst, M.; Ernwein, J.; Errede, D.; Errede, S.; Ertel, E.; Escalier, M.; Escobar, C.; Espinal Curull, X.; Esposito, B.; Etienne, F.; Etienvre, A. I.; Etzion, E.; Evangelakou, D.; Evans, H.; Fabbri, L.; Fabre, C.; Fakhrutdinov, R. M.; Falciano, S.; Fang, Y.; Fanti, M.; Farbin, A.; Farilla, A.; Farley, J.; Farooque, T.; Farrington, S. M.; Farthouat, P.; Fassnacht, P.; Fassouliotis, D.; Fatholahzadeh, B.; Favareto, A.; Fayard, L.; Fazio, S.; Febbraro, R.; Federic, P.; Fedin, O. L.; Fedorko, W.; Fehling-Kaschek, M.; Feligioni, L.; Fellmann, D.; Felzmann, C. U.; Feng, C.; Feng, E. J.; Fenyuk, A. B.; Ferencei, J.; Ferland, J.; Fernando, W.; Ferrag, S.; Ferrando, J.; Ferrara, V.; Ferrari, A.; Ferrari, P.; Ferrari, R.; Ferrer, A.; Ferrer, M. L.; Ferrere, D.; Ferretti, C.; Ferretto Parodi, A.; Fiascaris, M.; Fiedler, F.; Filipčič, A.; Filippas, A.; Filthaut, F.; Fincke-Keeler, M.; Fiolhais, M. C. N.; Fiorini, L.; Firan, A.; Fischer, G.; Fischer, P.; Fisher, M. J.; Fisher, S. M.; Flechl, M.; Fleck, I.; Fleckner, J.; Fleischmann, P.; Fleischmann, S.; Flick, T.; Flores Castillo, L. R.; Flowerdew, M. J.; Föhlisch, F.; Fokitis, M.; Martin, T. Fonseca; Forbush, D. A.; Formica, A.; Forti, A.; Fortin, D.; Foster, J. M.; Fournier, D.; Foussat, A.; Fowler, A. J.; Fowler, K.; Fox, H.; Francavilla, P.; Franchino, S.; Francis, D.; Frank, T.; Franklin, M.; Franz, S.; Fraternali, M.; Fratina, S.; French, S. T.; Froeschl, R.; Froidevaux, D.; Frost, J. A.; Fukunaga, C.; Fullana Torregrosa, E.; Fuster, J.; Gabaldon, C.; Gabizon, O.; Gadfort, T.; Gadomski, S.; Gagliardi, G.; Gagnon, P.; Galea, C.; Gallas, E. J.; Gallas, M. V.; Gallo, V.; Gallop, B. J.; Gallus, P.; Galyaev, E.; Gan, K. K.; Gao, Y. S.; Gapienko, V. A.; Gaponenko, A.; Garberson, F.; Garcia-Sciveres, M.; García, C.; Navarro, J. E. García; Gardner, R. W.; Garelli, N.; Garitaonandia, H.; Garonne, V.; Garvey, J.; Gatti, C.; Gaudio, G.; Gaumer, O.; Gaur, B.; Gauthier, L.; Gavrilenko, I. L.; Gay, C.; Gaycken, G.; Gayde, J.-C.; Gazis, E. N.; Ge, P.; Gee, C. N. P.; Geerts, D. A. A.; Geich-Gimbel, Ch.; Gellerstedt, K.; Gemme, C.; Gemmell, A.; Genest, M. H.; Gentile, S.; George, M.; George, S.; Gerlach, P.; Gershon, A.; Geweniger, C.; Ghazlane, H.; Ghez, P.; Ghodbane, N.; Giacobbe, B.; Giagu, S.; Giakoumopoulou, V.; Giangiobbe, V.; Gianotti, F.; Gibbard, B.; Gibson, A.; Gibson, S. M.; Gilbert, L. M.; Gilchriese, M.; Gilewsky, V.; Gillberg, D.; Gillman, A. R.; Gingrich, D. 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R.; Nickerson, R. B.; Nicolaidou, R.; Nicolas, L.; Nicquevert, B.; Niedercorn, F.; Nielsen, J.; Niinikoski, T.; Nikiforov, A.; Nikolaenko, V.; Nikolaev, K.; Nikolic-Audit, I.; Nikolics, K.; Nikolopoulos, K.; Nilsen, H.; Nilsson, P.; Ninomiya, Y.; Nisati, A.; Nishiyama, T.; Nisius, R.; Nodulman, L.; Nomachi, M.; Nomidis, I.; Nordberg, M.; Nordkvist, B.; Norton, P. R.; Novakova, J.; Nozaki, M.; Nožička, M.; Nozka, L.; Nugent, I. M.; Nuncio-Quiroz, A.-E.; Nunes Hanninger, G.; Nunnemann, T.; Nurse, E.; Nyman, T.; O'Brien, B. J.; O'Neale, S. W.; O'Neil, D. C.; O'Shea, V.; Oakham, F. G.; Oberlack, H.; Ocariz, J.; Ochi, A.; Oda, S.; Odaka, S.; Odier, J.; Ogren, H.; Oh, A.; Oh, S. H.; Ohm, C. C.; Ohshima, T.; Ohshita, H.; Ohska, T. K.; Ohsugi, T.; Okada, S.; Okawa, H.; Okumura, Y.; Okuyama, T.; Olcese, M.; Olchevski, A. G.; Oliveira, M.; Damazio, D. Oliveira; Garcia, E. Oliver; Olivito, D.; Olszewski, A.; Olszowska, J.; Omachi, C.; Onofre, A.; Onyisi, P. U. E.; Oram, C. J.; Oreglia, M. 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Perez; Perini, L.; Pernegger, H.; Perrino, R.; Perrodo, P.; Persembe, S.; Peshekhonov, V. D.; Peters, O.; Petersen, B. A.; Petersen, J.; Petersen, T. C.; Petit, E.; Petridis, A.; Petridou, C.; Petrolo, E.; Petrucci, F.; Petschull, D.; Petteni, M.; Pezoa, R.; Phan, A.; Phillips, A. W.; Phillips, P. W.; Piacquadio, G.; Piccaro, E.; Piccinini, M.; Pickford, A.; Piec, S. M.; Piegaia, R.; Pilcher, J. E.; Pilkington, A. D.; Pina, J.; Pinamonti, M.; Pinder, A.; Pinfold, J. L.; Ping, J.; Pinto, B.; Pirotte, O.; Pizio, C.; Placakyte, R.; Plamondon, M.; Plano, W. G.; Pleier, M.-A.; Pleskach, A. V.; Poblaguev, A.; Poddar, S.; Podlyski, F.; Poggioli, L.; Poghosyan, T.; Pohl, M.; Polci, F.; Polesello, G.; Policicchio, A.; Polini, A.; Poll, J.; Polychronakos, V.; Pomarede, D. M.; Pomeroy, D.; Pommès, K.; Pontecorvo, L.; Pope, B. G.; Popeneciu, G. A.; Popovic, D. S.; Poppleton, A.; Portell Bueso, X.; Porter, R.; Posch, C.; Pospelov, G. E.; Pospisil, S.; Potrap, I. N.; Potter, C. J.; Potter, C. 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L.; Renaud, A.; Renkel, P.; Rescigno, M.; Resconi, S.; Resende, B.; Reznicek, P.; Rezvani, R.; Richards, A.; Richter, R.; Richter-Was, E.; Ridel, M.; Rieke, S.; Rijpstra, M.; Rijssenbeek, M.; Rimoldi, A.; Rinaldi, L.; Rios, R. R.; Riu, I.; Rivoltella, G.; Rizatdinova, F.; Rizvi, E.; Robertson, S. H.; Robichaud-Veronneau, A.; Robinson, D.; Robinson, J. E. M.; Robinson, M.; Robson, A.; Rocha de Lima, J. G.; Roda, C.; Dos Santos, D. Roda; Rodier, S.; Rodriguez, D.; Garcia, Y. Rodriguez; Roe, A.; Roe, S.; Røhne, O.; Rojo, V.; Rolli, S.; Romaniouk, A.; Romanov, V. M.; Romeo, G.; Romero Maltrana, D.; Roos, L.; Ros, E.; Rosati, S.; Rosbach, K.; Rose, M.; Rosenbaum, G. A.; Rosenberg, E. I.; Rosendahl, P. L.; Rosselet, L.; Rossetti, V.; Rossi, E.; Rossi, L. P.; Rossi, L.; Rotaru, M.; Roth, I.; Rothberg, J.; Rousseau, D.; Royon, C. R.; Rozanov, A.; Rozen, Y.; Ruan, X.; Rubinskiy, I.; Ruckert, B.; Ruckstuhl, N.; Rud, V. 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M.; Tykhonov, A.; Tylmad, M.; Tyndel, M.; Tyrvainen, H.; Tzanakos, G.; Uchida, K.; Ueda, I.; Ueno, R.; Ugland, M.; Uhlenbrock, M.; Uhrmacher, M.; Ukegawa, F.; Unal, G.; Underwood, D. G.; Undrus, A.; Unel, G.; Unno, Y.; Urbaniec, D.; Urkovsky, E.; Urrejola, P.; Usai, G.; Uslenghi, M.; Vacavant, L.; Vacek, V.; Vachon, B.; Vahsen, S.; Valenta, J.; Valente, P.; Valentinetti, S.; Valkar, S.; Valladolid Gallego, E.; Vallecorsa, S.; Valls Ferrer, J. A.; van der Graaf, H.; van der Kraaij, E.; Van Der Leeuw, R.; van der Poel, E.; van der Ster, D.; Van Eijk, B.; van Eldik, N.; van Gemmeren, P.; van Kesteren, Z.; van Vulpen, I.; Vandelli, W.; Vandoni, G.; Vaniachine, A.; Vankov, P.; Vannucci, F.; Varela Rodriguez, F.; Vari, R.; Varnes, E. W.; Varouchas, D.; Vartapetian, A.; Varvell, K. E.; Vassilakopoulos, V. I.; Vazeille, F.; Vegni, G.; Veillet, J. 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K.; Wotschack, J.; Woudstra, M. J.; Wraight, K.; Wright, C.; Wrona, B.; Wu, S. L.; Wu, X.; Wu, Y.; Wulf, E.; Wunstorf, R.; Wynne, B. M.; Xaplanteris, L.; Xella, S.; Xie, S.; Xie, Y.; Xu, C.; Xu, D.; Xu, G.; Yabsley, B.; Yamada, M.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamamoto, K.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamamura, T.; Yamaoka, J.; Yamazaki, T.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yan, Z.; Yang, H.; Yang, U. K.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Z.; Yanush, S.; Yao, W.-M.; Yao, Y.; Yasu, Y.; Ybeles Smit, G. V.; Ye, J.; Ye, S.; Yilmaz, M.; Yoosoofmiya, R.; Yorita, K.; Yoshida, R.; Young, C.; Youssef, S.; Yu, D.; Yu, J.; Yu, J.; Yuan, L.; Yurkewicz, A.; Zaets, V. G.; Zaidan, R.; Zaitsev, A. M.; Zajacova, Z.; Zalite, Yo. K.; Zanello, L.; Zarzhitsky, P.; Zaytsev, A.; Zeitnitz, C.; Zeller, M.; Zemla, A.; Zendler, C.; Zenin, A. V.; Zenin, O.; Ženiš, T.; Zenonos, Z.; Zenz, S.; Zerwas, D.; della Porta, G. Zevi; Zhan, Z.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, L.; Zhao, T.; Zhao, Z.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zheng, S.; Zhong, J.; Zhou, B.; Zhou, N.; Zhou, Y.; Zhu, C. G.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zhuang, X.; Zhuravlov, V.; Zieminska, D.; Zimmermann, R.; Zimmermann, S.; Zimmermann, S.; Ziolkowski, M.; Zitoun, R.; Živković, L.; Zmouchko, V. V.; Zobernig, G.; Zoccoli, A.; Zolnierowski, Y.; Zsenei, A.; zur Nedden, M.; Zutshi, V.; Zwalinski, L.

2011-10-01

Making use of 36 pb-1 of proton-proton collision data at sqrt{s} =7 TeV, the ATLAS Collaboration has performed a search for diphoton events with large missing transverse energy. Observing no excess of events above the Standard Model prediction, a 95% Confidence Level (CL) upper limit is set on the cross section for new physics of σ<0.38-0.65 pb in the context of a generalised model of gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking (GGM) with a bino-like lightest neutralino, and of σ<0.18-0.23 pb in the context of a specific model with one universal extra dimension (UED). A 95% CL lower limit of 560 GeV, for bino masses above 50 GeV, is set on the GGM gluino mass, while a lower limit of 1/ R>961 GeV is set on the UED compactification radius R. These limits provide the most stringent tests of these models to date.

On the Preparation and Testing of Fuel Cell Catalysts Using the Thin Film Rotating Disk Electrode Method.

PubMed

Inaba, Masanori; Quinson, Jonathan; Bucher, Jan Rudolf; Arenz, Matthias

2018-03-16

We present a step-by-step tutorial to prepare proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) catalysts, consisting of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) supported on a high surface area carbon, and to test their performance in thin film rotating disk electrode (TF-RDE) measurements. The TF-RDE methodology is widely used for catalyst screening; nevertheless, the measured performance sometimes considerably differs among research groups. These uncertainties impede the advancement of new catalyst materials and, consequently, several authors discussed possible best practice methods and the importance of benchmarking. The visual tutorial highlights possible pitfalls in the TF-RDE testing of Pt/C catalysts. A synthesis and testing protocol to assess standard Pt/C catalysts is introduced that can be used together with polycrystalline Pt disks as benchmark catalysts. In particular, this study highlights how the properties of the catalyst film on the glassy carbon (GC) electrode influence the measured performance in TF-RDE testing. To obtain thin, homogeneous catalyst films, not only the catalyst preparation, but also the ink deposition and drying procedures are essential. It is demonstrated that an adjustment of the ink's pH might be necessary, and how simple control measurements can be used to check film quality. Once reproducible TF-RDE measurements are obtained, determining the Pt loading on the catalyst support (expressed as Pt wt%) and the electrochemical surface area is necessary to normalize the determined reaction rates to either surface area or Pt mass. For the surface area determination, so-called CO stripping, or the determination of the hydrogen underpotential deposition (Hupd) charge, are standard. For the determination of the Pt loading, a straightforward and cheap procedure using digestion in aqua regia with subsequent conversion of Pt(IV) to Pt(II) and UV-vis measurements is introduced.

On the Preparation and Testing of Fuel Cell Catalysts Using the Thin Film Rotating Disk Electrode Method

PubMed Central

Inaba, Masanori; Quinson, Jonathan; Bucher, Jan Rudolf; Arenz, Matthias

2018-01-01

We present a step-by-step tutorial to prepare proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) catalysts, consisting of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) supported on a high surface area carbon, and to test their performance in thin film rotating disk electrode (TF-RDE) measurements. The TF-RDE methodology is widely used for catalyst screening; nevertheless, the measured performance sometimes considerably differs among research groups. These uncertainties impede the advancement of new catalyst materials and, consequently, several authors discussed possible best practice methods and the importance of benchmarking. The visual tutorial highlights possible pitfalls in the TF-RDE testing of Pt/C catalysts. A synthesis and testing protocol to assess standard Pt/C catalysts is introduced that can be used together with polycrystalline Pt disks as benchmark catalysts. In particular, this study highlights how the properties of the catalyst film on the glassy carbon (GC) electrode influence the measured performance in TF-RDE testing. To obtain thin, homogeneous catalyst films, not only the catalyst preparation, but also the ink deposition and drying procedures are essential. It is demonstrated that an adjustment of the ink's pH might be necessary, and how simple control measurements can be used to check film quality. Once reproducible TF-RDE measurements are obtained, determining the Pt loading on the catalyst support (expressed as Pt wt%) and the electrochemical surface area is necessary to normalize the determined reaction rates to either surface area or Pt mass. For the surface area determination, so-called CO stripping, or the determination of the hydrogen underpotential deposition (Hupd) charge, are standard. For the determination of the Pt loading, a straightforward and cheap procedure using digestion in aqua regia with subsequent conversion of Pt(IV) to Pt(II) and UV-vis measurements is introduced. PMID:29608166

A methodology for investigating new nonprecious metal catalysts for PEM fuel cells.

PubMed

Susac, D; Sode, A; Zhu, L; Wong, P C; Teo, M; Bizzotto, D; Mitchell, K A R; Parsons, R R; Campbell, S A

2006-06-08

This paper reports an approach to investigate metal-chalcogen materials as catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The methodology is illustrated with reference to Co-Se thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering onto a glassy-carbon substrate. Scanning Auger microscopy (SAM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used, in parallel with electrochemical activity and stability measurements, to assess how the electrochemical performance relates to chemical composition. It is shown that Co-Se thin films with varying Se are active for oxygen reduction, although the open circuit potential (OCP) is lower than for Pt. A kinetically controlled process is observed in the potential range 0.5-0.7 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) for the thin-film catalysts studied. An initial exposure of the thin-film samples to an acid environment served as a pretreatment, which modified surface composition prior to activity measurements with the rotating disk electrode (RDE) method. Based on the SAM characterization before and after electrochemical tests, all surfaces demonstrating activity are dominated by chalcogen. XRD shows that the thin films have nanocrystalline character that is based on a Co(1-x)Se phase. Parallel studies on Co-Se powder supported on XC72R carbon show comparable OCP, Tafel region, and structural phase as for the thin-film model catalysts. A comparison for ORR activity has also been made between this Co-Se powder and a commercial Pt catalyst.

Improvements of PKU PMECRIS for continuous hundred hours CW proton beam operation

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

Peng, S. X., E-mail: sxpeng@pku.edu.cn; Ren, H. T.; Zhang, T.

2016-02-15

In order to improve the source stability, a long term continuous wave (CW) proton beam experiment has been carried out with Peking University compact permanent magnet 2.45 GHz ECR ion source (PKU PMECRIS). Before such an experiment a lot of improvements and modifications were completed on the source body, the Faraday cup and the PKU ion source test bench. At the beginning of 2015, a continuous operation of PKU PMECRIS for 306 h with more than 50 mA CW beam was carried out after success of many short term tests. No plasma generator failure or high voltage breakdown was observedmore » during that running period and the proton source reliability is near 100%. Total beam availability, which is defined as 35-keV beam-on time divided by elapsed time, was higher than 99% [S. X. Peng et al., Chin. Phys. B 24(7), 075203 (2015)]. A re-inspection was performed after another additional 100 h operation (counting time) and no obvious sign of component failure was observed. Counting the previous source testing time together, this PMECRs longevity is now demonstrated to be greater than 460 h. This paper is mainly concentrated on the improvements for this long term experiment.« less

Non-traditional applications of laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McAlpin, Casey R.

Seven studies were carried out using laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI MS) to develop enhanced methodologies for a variety of analyte systems by investigating analyte chemistries, ionization processes, and elimination of spectral interferences. Applications of LDI and matrix assisted laser/desorption/ionization (MALDI) have been previously limited by poorly understood ionization phenomena, and spectral interferences from matrices. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization MS is well suited to the analysis of proteins. However, the proteins associated with bacteriophages often form complexes which are too massive for detection with a standard MALDI mass spectrometer. As such, methodologies for pretreatment of these samples are discussed in detail in the first chapter. Pretreatment of bacteriophage samples with reducing agents disrupted disulfide linkages and allowed enhanced detection of bacteriophage proteins. The second chapter focuses on the use of MALDI MS for lipid compounds whose molecular mass is significantly less than the proteins for which MALDI is most often applied. The use of MALDI MS for lipid analysis presented unique challenges such as matrix interference and differential ionization efficiencies. It was observed that optimization of the matrix system, and addition of cationization reagents mitigated these challenges and resulted in an enhanced methodology for MALDI MS of lipids. One of the challenges commonly encountered in efforts to expand MALDI MS applications is as previously mentioned interferences introduced by organic matrix molecules. The third chapter focuses on the development of a novel inorganic matrix replacement system called metal oxide laser ionization mass spectrometry (MOLI MS). In contrast to other matrix replacements, considerable effort was devoted to elucidating the ionization mechanism. It was shown that chemisorption of analytes to the metal oxide surface produced acidic adsorbed species which then protonated free analyte molecules. Expanded applications of MOLI MS were developed following description of the ionization mechanism. A series of experiments were carried out involving treatment of metal oxide surfaces with reagent molecules to expand MOLI MS and develop enhanced MOLI MS methodologies. It was found that treatment of the metal oxide surface with a small molecule to act as a proton source expanded MOLI MS to analytes which did not form acidic adsorbed species. Proton-source pretreated MOLI MS was then used for the analysis of oils obtained from the fast, anoxic pyrolysis of biomass (py-oil). These samples are complex and produce MOLI mass spectra with many peaks. In this experiment, methods of data reduction including Kendrick mass defects and nominal mass z*-scores, which are commonly used for the study of petroleum fractions, were used to interpret these spectra and identify the major constituencies of py-oils. Through data reduction and collision induced dissociation (CID), homologous series of compounds were rapidly identified. The final chapter involves using metal oxides to catalytically cleave the ester linkage on lipids containing fatty acids in addition to ionization. The cleavage process results in the production of spectra similar to those observed with saponification/methylation. Fatty acid profiles were generated for a variety of micro-organisms to differentiate between bacterial species. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Proton pump inhibitor-induced tumour cell death by inhibition of a detoxification mechanism.

PubMed

Fais, S

2010-05-01

This review presents a possible new approach against cancer, as represented by inhibition of proton pumps, a mechanism used by tumour cells to avoid intracellular accumulation of toxic substances. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) belong to a family of pro-drugs that are currently used in the treatment of peptic diseases needing acidity to be activated. PPIs target the acidic tumour mass, where they are metabolized, thus blocking proton traffic. Proton pump inhibition triggers a rapid cell death as a result of intracellular acidification, caspase activation and early accumulation of reactive oxygen species into tumour cells. As a whole, the devastating effect of PPIs on tumour cells suggest the triggering of a fatal cell toxification. Many human tumours, including melanoma, osteosarcoma, lymphomas and various adenocarcinomas are responsive to PPIs. This appears highly conceivable, in as much as almost all human tumours are acidic and express high levels of proton pumps. Paradoxically, metastatic tumours appear to be more responsive to PPIs being more acidic than the majority of primary tumours. However, two clinical trials test the effectiveness of PPIs in chemosensitizing melanoma and osteosarcoma patients. Indeed, tumour acidity represents a very potent mechanism of chemoresistance. A majority of cytotoxic agents, being weak bases, are quickly protonated outside and do not enter the cells, thus preventing drugs to reach specific cellular targets. Clinical data will provide the proof of concept on the use of PPIs as a new class of antitumour agent with a very low level of systemic toxicity as compared with standard chemotherapeutic agents.

Hybrid MC/QC simulations of water-assisted proton transfer in nucleosides. Guanosine and its analog acyclovir.

PubMed

Markova, Nadezhda; Pejov, Ljupco; Stoyanova, Nina; Enchev, Venelin

2017-05-01

To provide an in-depth insight into the molecular basis of spontaneous tautomerism in DNA and RNA base pairs, a hybrid Monte Carlo (MC)-quantum chemical (QC) methodology is implemented to map two-dimensional potential energy surfaces along the reaction coordinates of solvent-assisted proton transfer processes in guanosine and its analog acyclovir in aqueous solution. The solvent effects were simulated by explicit inclusion of water molecules that model the relevant part of the first hydration shell around the solute. The position of these water molecules was estimated by carrying out a classical Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation of dilute water solutions of the guanosine (Gs) and acyclovir (ACV) and subsequently analyzing solute-solvent intermolecular interactions in the statistically-independent MC-generated configurations. The solvent-assisted proton transfer processes were further investigated using two different ab initio MP2 quantum chemical approaches. In the first one, potential energy surfaces of the 'bare' finite solute-solvent clusters containing Gs/ACV and four water molecules (MP2/6-31+G(d,p) level) were explored, while within the second approach, these clusters were embedded in 'bulk' solvent treated as polarizable continuum (C-PCM/MP2/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory). It was found that in the gas phase and in water solution, the most stable tautomer for guanosine and acyclovir is the 1H-2-amino-6-oxo form followed by the 2-amino-6-(sZ)-hydroxy form. The energy barriers of the water-assisted proton transfer reaction in guanosine and in acyclovir are found to be very similar - 11.74 kcal mol -1 for guanosine and 11.16 kcal mol -1 for acyclovir, and the respective rate constants (k = 1.5 × 10 1 s -1 , guanosine and k = 4.09 × 10 1 s -1 , acyclovir), are sufficiently large to generate the 2-amino-6-(sZ)-hydroxy tautomer. The analysis of the reaction profiles in both compounds shows that the proton transfer processes occur through the asynchronous concerted mechanism.

Overhauser Geomagnetic Sensor Based on the Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Effect for Magnetic Prospecting

PubMed Central

Ge, Jian; Dong, Haobin; Liu, Huan; Yuan, Zhiwen; Dong, He; Zhao, Zhizhuo; Liu, Yonghua; Zhu, Jun; Zhang, Haiyang

2016-01-01

Based on the dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) effect, an alternative design of an Overhauser geomagnetic sensor is presented that enhances the proton polarization and increases the amplitude of the free induction decay (FID) signal. The short-pulse method is adopted to rotate the enhanced proton magnetization into the plane of precession to create an FID signal. To reduce the negative effect of the powerful electromagnetic interference, the design of the anti-interference of the pick-up coil is studied. Furthermore, the radio frequency polarization method based on the capacitive-loaded coaxial cavity is proposed to improve the quality factor of the resonant circuit. In addition, a special test instrument is designed that enables the simultaneous testing of the classical proton precession and the Overhauser sensor. Overall, comparison experiments with and without the free radical of the Overhauser sensors show that the DNP effect does effectively improve the amplitude and quality of the FID signal, and the magnetic sensitivity, resolution and range reach to 10 pT/Hz1/2@1 Hz, 0.0023 nT and 20–100 μT, respectively. PMID:27258283

Lorentz-symmetry test at Planck-scale suppression with nucleons in a spin-polarized 133Cs cold atom clock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pihan-Le Bars, H.; Guerlin, C.; Lasseri, R.-D.; Ebran, J.-P.; Bailey, Q. G.; Bize, S.; Khan, E.; Wolf, P.

2017-04-01

We introduce an improved model that links the frequency shift of the 133Cs hyperfine Zeeman transitions |F =3 ,mF ⟩↔|F =4 ,mF ⟩ to the Lorentz-violating Standard Model extension (SME) coefficients of the proton and neutron. The new model uses Lorentz transformations developed to second order in boost and additionally takes the nuclear structure into account, beyond the simple Schmidt model used previously in Standard Model extension analyses, thereby providing access to both proton and neutron SME coefficients including the isotropic coefficient c˜T T. Using this new model in a second analysis of the data delivered by the FO2 dual Cs/Rb fountain at Paris Observatory and previously analyzed in [1], we improve by up to 13 orders of magnitude the present maximum sensitivities for laboratory tests [2] on the c˜Q, c˜T J, and c˜T T coefficients for the neutron and on the c˜Q coefficient for the proton, reaching respectively 10-20, 10-17, 10-13, and 10-15 GeV .

Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Evolution from DNA Sequences

PubMed Central

Penny, David

2013-01-01

We demonstrate quantitatively that, as predicted by evolutionary theory, sequences of homologous proteins from different species converge as we go further and further back in time. The converse, a non-evolutionary model can be expressed as probabilities, and the test works for chloroplast, nuclear and mitochondrial sequences, as well as for sequences that diverged at different time depths. Even on our conservative test, the probability that chance could produce the observed levels of ancestral convergence for just one of the eight datasets of 51 proteins is ≈1×10−19 and combined over 8 datasets is ≈1×10−132. By comparison, there are about 1080 protons in the universe, hence the probability that the sequences could have been produced by a process involving unrelated ancestral sequences is about 1050 lower than picking, among all protons, the same proton at random twice in a row. A non-evolutionary control model shows no convergence, and only a small number of parameters are required to account for the observations. It is time that that researchers insisted that doubters put up testable alternatives to evolution. PMID:23950906

Cycling the hot CNO: a teaching methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frost-Schenk, J. W.; Diget, C. Aa; Bentley, M. A.; Tuff, A.

2018-03-01

An interactive activity to teach the hot Carbon, Nitrogen and Oxygen (HCNO) cycle is proposed. Justification for why the HCNO cycle is important is included via an example of x-ray bursts. The activity allows teaching and demonstration of half-life, nuclear isotopes, nuclear reactions, protons and α-particles, and catalytic processes. Whilst the process example is specific to astrophysics it may be used to teach more broadly about catalytic processes. This practical is designed for use with 10-20 participants, with the intention that the exercise will convey nuclear physics principles in a fun and interactive manner.

Computing nucleon EDM on a lattice

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

Abramczyk, Michael; Izubuchi, Taku

I will discuss briefly recent changes in the methodology of computing the baryon EDM on a lattice. The associated correction substantially reduces presently existing lattice values for the proton and neutron theta-induced EDMs, so that even the most precise previous lattice results become consistent with zero. On one hand, this change removes previous disagreements between these lattice results and the phenomenological estimates of the nucleon EDM. On the other hand, the nucleon EDM becomes much harder to compute on a lattice. In addition, I will review the progress in computing quark chromo-EDM-induced nucleon EDM using chiral quark action.

Effect of Intramuscular Protons, Lactate, and ATP on Muscle Hyperalgesia in Rats.

PubMed

Gregory, Nicholas S; Whitley, Phillip E; Sluka, Kathleen A

2015-01-01

Chronic muscle pain is a significant health problem leading to disability[1]. Muscle fatigue can exacerbate muscle pain. Metabolites, including ATP, lactate, and protons, are released during fatiguing exercise and produce pain in humans. These substances directly activate purinergic (P2X) and acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) on muscle nociceptors, and when combined, produce a greater increase in neuron firing than when given alone. Whether the enhanced effect of combining protons, lactate, and ATP is the sum of individual effects (additive) or more than the sum of individual effects (synergistic) is unknown. Using a rat model of muscle nociceptive behavior, we tested each of these compounds individually over a range of physiologic and supra-physiologic concentrations. Further, we combined all three compounds in a series of dilutions and tested their effect on muscle nociceptive behavior. We also tested a non-hydrolyzable form of ATP (α,β-meATP) alone and in combination with lactate and acidic pH. Surprisingly, we found no dose-dependent effect on muscle nociceptive behavior for protons, lactate, or ATP when given alone. We similarly found no effect after application of each two-metabolite combination. Only pH 4 saline and α,β-meATP produced hyperalgesia when given alone. When all 3 substances were combined, however, ATP (2.4μm), lactate (10mM), and acidic pH (pH 6.0) produced an enhanced effect greater than the sum of the effects of the individual components, i.e. synergism. α,β me ATP (3nmol), on the other hand, showed no enhanced effects when combined with lactate (10mM) or acidic pH (pH 6.0), i.e. additive. These data suggest that combining fatigue metabolites in muscle produces a synergistic effect on muscle nociception.

Effect of Intramuscular Protons, Lactate, and ATP on Muscle Hyperalgesia in Rats

PubMed Central

Gregory, Nicholas S.; Whitley, Phillip E.; Sluka, Kathleen A.

2015-01-01

Chronic muscle pain is a significant health problem leading to disability[1]. Muscle fatigue can exacerbate muscle pain. Metabolites, including ATP, lactate, and protons, are released during fatiguing exercise and produce pain in humans. These substances directly activate purinergic (P2X) and acid sensing ion channels (ASICs) on muscle nociceptors, and when combined, produce a greater increase in neuron firing than when given alone. Whether the enhanced effect of combining protons, lactate, and ATP is the sum of individual effects (additive) or more than the sum of individual effects (synergistic) is unknown. Using a rat model of muscle nociceptive behavior, we tested each of these compounds individually over a range of physiologic and supra-physiologic concentrations. Further, we combined all three compounds in a series of dilutions and tested their effect on muscle nociceptive behavior. We also tested a non-hydrolyzable form of ATP (α,β-meATP) alone and in combination with lactate and acidic pH. Surprisingly, we found no dose-dependent effect on muscle nociceptive behavior for protons, lactate, or ATP when given alone. We similarly found no effect after application of each two-metabolite combination. Only pH 4 saline and α,β-meATP produced hyperalgesia when given alone. When all 3 substances were combined, however, ATP (2.4μm), lactate (10mM), and acidic pH (pH 6.0) produced an enhanced effect greater than the sum of the effects of the individual components, i.e. synergism. α,β me ATP (3nmol), on the other hand, showed no enhanced effects when combined with lactate (10mM) or acidic pH (pH 6.0), i.e. additive. These data suggest that combining fatigue metabolites in muscle produces a synergistic effect on muscle nociception. PMID:26378796

SU-C-207A-01: A Novel Maximum Likelihood Method for High-Resolution Proton Radiography/proton CT

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

Collins-Fekete, C; Centre Hospitalier University de Quebec, Quebec, QC; Mass General Hospital

2016-06-15

Purpose: Multiple Coulomb scattering is the largest contributor to blurring in proton imaging. Here we tested a maximum likelihood least squares estimator (MLLSE) to improve the spatial resolution of proton radiography (pRad) and proton computed tomography (pCT). Methods: The object is discretized into voxels and the average relative stopping power through voxel columns defined from the source to the detector pixels is optimized such that it maximizes the likelihood of the proton energy loss. The length spent by individual protons in each column is calculated through an optimized cubic spline estimate. pRad images were first produced using Geant4 simulations. Anmore » anthropomorphic head phantom and the Catphan line-pair module for 3-D spatial resolution were studied and resulting images were analyzed. Both parallel and conical beam have been investigated for simulated pRad acquisition. Then, experimental data of a pediatric head phantom (CIRS) were acquired using a recently completed experimental pCT scanner. Specific filters were applied on proton angle and energy loss data to remove proton histories that underwent nuclear interactions. The MTF10% (lp/mm) was used to evaluate and compare spatial resolution. Results: Numerical simulations showed improvement in the pRad spatial resolution for the parallel (2.75 to 6.71 lp/cm) and conical beam (3.08 to 5.83 lp/cm) reconstructed with the MLLSE compared to averaging detector pixel signals. For full tomographic reconstruction, the improved pRad were used as input into a simultaneous algebraic reconstruction algorithm. The Catphan pCT reconstruction based on the MLLSE-enhanced projection showed spatial resolution improvement for the parallel (2.83 to 5.86 lp/cm) and conical beam (3.03 to 5.15 lp/cm). The anthropomorphic head pCT displayed important contrast gains in high-gradient regions. Experimental results also demonstrated significant improvement in spatial resolution of the pediatric head radiography. Conclusion: The proposed MLLSE shows promising potential to increase the spatial resolution (up to 244%) in proton imaging.« less

A 1 GeV CW FFAG High Intensity Proton Driver

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

Johnstone, C.; Sheehy, S. L.

2012-05-01

The drive for high beam power, high duty cycle, and reliable beams at reasonable cost has focused world attention on fixed-field accelerators, notably Fixed-Field Alternating Gradient accelerators (FFAGs). High-intensity GeV proton drivers are of particular interest, as these encounter duty cycle and space-charge limits in the synchrotron and machine size concerns in the weaker-focusing cyclotron. Recently, the concept of isochronous orbits has been explored and developed for non-scaling FFAGs using powerful new methodologies in FFAG accelerator design. These new breeds of FFAGs have been identified by international collaborations for serious study thanks to their potential applications including Accelerator Driven Subcriticalmore » Reactors (ADS) a nd Accelerator Transmutation of Waste. The extreme reliability requirements for ADS mandate CW operation capability and the FFAG s strong focusing, particularly in the vertical, will serve to mitigate the effect of space charge (as compared with the weak- focusing cyclotron). This paper reports on these new advances in FFAG accelerator technology and presents a stable, 0.25-1GeV isochronous FFAG for an accelerator driven subcritical reactor.« less

Stereology techniques in radiation biology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kubinova, Lucie; Mao, XiaoWen; Janacek, Jiri; Archambeau, John O.; Nelson, G. A. (Principal Investigator)

2003-01-01

Clinicians involved in conventional radiation therapy are very concerned about the dose-response relationships of normal tissues. Before proceeding to new clinical protocols, radiation biologists involved with conformal proton therapy believe it is necessary to quantify the dose response and tolerance of the organs and tissues that will be irradiated. An important focus is on the vasculature. This presentation reviews the methodology and format of using confocal microscopy and stereological methods to quantify tissue parameters, cell number, tissue volume and surface area, and vessel length using the microvasculature as a model tissue. Stereological methods and their concepts are illustrated using an ongoing study of the dose response of the microvessels in proton-irradiated hemibrain. Methods for estimating the volume of the brain and the brain cortex, the total number of endothelial cells in cortical microvessels, the length of cortical microvessels, and the total surface area of cortical microvessel walls are presented step by step in a way understandable for readers with little mathematical background. It is shown that stereological techniques, based on a sound theoretical basis, are powerful and reliable and have been used successfully.

Efficient Synthesis of Molecular Precursors for Para-Hydrogen-Induced Polarization of Ethyl Acetate-1-(13) C and Beyond.

PubMed

Shchepin, Roman V; Barskiy, Danila A; Coffey, Aaron M; Manzanera Esteve, Isaac V; Chekmenev, Eduard Y

2016-05-10

A scalable and versatile methodology for production of vinylated carboxylic compounds with (13) C isotopic label in C1 position is described. It allowed synthesis of vinyl acetate-1-(13) C, which is a precursor for preparation of (13) C hyperpolarized ethyl acetate-1-(13) C, which provides a convenient vehicle for potential in vivo delivery of hyperpolarized acetate to probe metabolism in living organisms. Kinetics of vinyl acetate molecular hydrogenation and polarization transfer from para-hydrogen to (13) C via magnetic field cycling were investigated. Nascent proton nuclear spin polarization (%PH ) of ca. 3.3 % and carbon-13 polarization (%P13C ) of ca. 1.8 % were achieved in ethyl acetate utilizing 50 % para-hydrogen corresponding to ca. 50 % polarization transfer efficiency. The use of nearly 100% para-hydrogen and the improvements of %PH of para-hydrogen-nascent protons may enable production of (13) C hyperpolarized contrast agents with %P13C of 20-50 % in seconds using this chemistry. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Strangeness Production in Jets with ALICE at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Chrismond; Harton, Austin; Garcia, Edmundo; Alice Collaboration

2016-03-01

The study of strange particle production is an important tool for understanding the properties of the hot and dense QCD medium created in heavy-ion collisions at ultra-relativistic energies. The study of strange particles in these collisions provides information on parton fragmentation, a fundamental QCD process. While measurements at low and intermediate pT, are already in progress at the LHC, the study of high momentum observables is equally important for a complete understanding of the QCD matter, this can be achieved by studying jet interactions. We propose the measurement of the characteristics of the jets containing strange particles. Starting with proton-proton collisions, we have calculated the inclusive pTJet spectra and the spectra for jets containing strange particles (K-short or lambda), and we are extending this analysis to lead-lead collisions. In this talk the ALICE experiment will be described, the methodology used for the data analysis and the available results will be discussed. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants PHY-1305280 and PHY-1407051.

Inspection of anode and field wires for the COMPASS drift chamber, DC5, with Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyuzuzo, Sonia

2014-09-01

The COMPASS experiment at CERN uses a secondary pion beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN to explore the spin structure of nucleons. A new drift chamber, DC5, will be integrated into the COMPASS spectrometer to replace an aging straw tube detector. DC5 will detect muon pairs from Drell-Yan scattering of a pion-beam off a transversely polarized proton target. This data will be used to determine the correlation between transverse proton spin and the intrinsic transverse momentum of up-quarks inside the proton, the Sivers effect. DC5 is a large area planar drift chamber with 8 layers of anode-frames made of G10 fiberglass-epoxy. The G10 frames support printed circuit boards for soldering 20 μm diameter anode and 100 μm diameter field wires. The anode planes are sandwiched by 13 graphite coated Mylar cathode planes. To ensure a well-functioning of DC5, the wires were carefully tested. An optical inspection and a spectral analysis was performed with an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) to verify the composition and dimensions and the integrity of the gold plating on the surface of these wires. The spectra of the wires were studied at 10 and 30 keV. The COMPASS experiment at CERN uses a secondary pion beam from the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN to explore the spin structure of nucleons. A new drift chamber, DC5, will be integrated into the COMPASS spectrometer to replace an aging straw tube detector. DC5 will detect muon pairs from Drell-Yan scattering of a pion-beam off a transversely polarized proton target. This data will be used to determine the correlation between transverse proton spin and the intrinsic transverse momentum of up-quarks inside the proton, the Sivers effect. DC5 is a large area planar drift chamber with 8 layers of anode-frames made of G10 fiberglass-epoxy. The G10 frames support printed circuit boards for soldering 20 μm diameter anode and 100 μm diameter field wires. The anode planes are sandwiched by 13 graphite coated Mylar cathode planes. To ensure a well-functioning of DC5, the wires were carefully tested. An optical inspection and a spectral analysis was performed with an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) to verify the composition and dimensions and the integrity of the gold plating on the surface of these wires. The spectra of the wires were studied at 10 and 30 keV. Acknowledging NSF and UIUC.

75 FR 62403 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-08

... Project: 2011-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Methodological Field Tests (OMB No. 0930-0290..., SAMHSA received a three-year renewal of its generic clearance for methodological field tests. This will be a request for another renewal of the generic approval to continue methodological tests over the...

Eye-Tracking as a Tool in Process-Oriented Reading Test Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solheim, Oddny Judith; Uppstad, Per Henning

2011-01-01

The present paper addresses the continuous need for methodological reflection on how to validate inferences made on the basis of test scores. Validation is a process that requires many lines of evidence. In this article we discuss the potential of eye tracking methodology in process-oriented reading test validation. Methodological considerations…

Performance of the PHENIX NCC Prototype

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

O'Brien, E.; Kistenev, E.; Li, Z.

2006-10-27

The first prototype of NCC Si-W electromagnetic calorimeter have been built and tested at U-70 accelerator (IHEP, Protvino). Tests have been performed for 10 GeV electrons and 70 GeV protons.This paper describes design and construction of the prototype and tests results. Final prototype energy resolution is about 11% at 90% CL.

Radiation Damage and Single Event Effect Results for Candidate Spacecraft Electronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

OBryan, Martha V.; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Reed, Robert A.; Howard, James W., Jr.; Ladbury, Ray L.; Barth, Janet L.; Kniffin, Scott D.; Seidleck, Christina M.; Marshall, Paul W.; Marshall, Cheryl J.;

Performance of the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, G.; Ellison, S.; Gould, R.; Granger, D.; Guzik, T. G.; Isbert, J.; Price, B.; Stewart, M.; Wefel, J. P.; Adams, J. H.;

Fragmentation study of iridoid glucosides through positive and negative electrospray ionization, collision-induced dissociation and tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Es-Safi, Nour-Eddine; Kerhoas, Lucien; Ducrot, Paul-Henri

2007-01-01

Mass spectrometric methodology based on the combined use of positive and negative electrospray ionization, collision-induced dissociation (CID) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has been applied to the mass spectral study of a series of six naturally occurring iridoids through in-source fragmentation of the protonated [M+H]+, deprotonated [M--H]- and sodiated [M+Na]+ ions. This led to the unambiguous determination of the molecular masses of the studied compounds and allowed CID spectra of the molecular ions to be obtained. Valuable structural information regarding the nature of both the glycoside and the aglycone moiety was thus obtained. Glycosidic cleavage and ring cleavages of both aglycone and sugar moieties were the major fragmentation pathways observed during CID, where the losses of small molecules, the cinnamoyl and the cinnamate parts were also observed. The formation of the ionized aglycones, sugars and their product ions was thus obtained giving information on their basic skeleton. The protonated, i.e. [M+H]+ and deprotonated [M--H]-, ions were found to fragment mainly by glycosidic cleavages. MS/MS spectra of the [M+Na]+ ions gave complementary information for the structural characterization of the studied compounds. Unlike the dissociation of protonated molecular ions, that of sodiated molecules also provided sodiated sugar fragments where the C0+ fragment corresponding to the glucose ion was obtained as base peak for all the studied compounds. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Molecular simulation of water and hydration effects in different environments: challenges and developments for DFTB based models.

PubMed

Goyal, Puja; Qian, Hu-Jun; Irle, Stephan; Lu, Xiya; Roston, Daniel; Mori, Toshifumi; Elstner, Marcus; Cui, Qiang

2014-09-25

We discuss the description of water and hydration effects that employs an approximate density functional theory, DFTB3, in either a full QM or QM/MM framework. The goal is to explore, with the current formulation of DFTB3, the performance of this method for treating water in different chemical environments, the magnitude and nature of changes required to improve its performance, and factors that dictate its applicability to reactions in the condensed phase in a QM/MM framework. A relatively minor change (on the scale of kBT) in the O-H repulsive potential is observed to substantially improve the structural properties of bulk water under ambient conditions; modest improvements are also seen in dynamic properties of bulk water. This simple change also improves the description of protonated water clusters, a solvated proton, and to a more limited degree, a solvated hydroxide. By comparing results from DFTB3 models that differ in the description of water, we confirm that proton transfer energetics are adequately described by the standard DFTB3/3OB model for meaningful mechanistic analyses. For QM/MM applications, a robust parametrization of QM-MM interactions requires an explicit consideration of condensed phase properties, for which an efficient sampling technique was developed recently and is reviewed here. The discussions help make clear the value and limitations of DFTB3 based simulations, as well as the developments needed to further improve the accuracy and transferability of the methodology.

Neurocognitive Effects of Radiotherapy

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

performance of the two groups on the Audiovisual Attentional Shift Test did not differ. These tests have not been used previously within the proton...Timing Functions, Serial Response, and Audiovisual Attentional Shift) Table 2. Organs at Risk. #The percent of patients with radiation doses exceeding the

End-to-end tests using alanine dosimetry in scanned proton beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlino, A.; Gouldstone, C.; Kragl, G.; Traneus, E.; Marrale, M.; Vatnitsky, S.; Stock, M.; Palmans, H.

2018-03-01

This paper describes end-to-end test procedures as the last fundamental step of medical commissioning before starting clinical operation of the MedAustron synchrotron-based pencil beam scanning (PBS) therapy facility with protons. One in-house homogeneous phantom and two anthropomorphic heterogeneous (head and pelvis) phantoms were used for end-to-end tests at MedAustron. The phantoms were equipped with alanine detectors, radiochromic films and ionization chambers. The correction for the ‘quenching’ effect of alanine pellets was implemented in the Monte Carlo platform of the evaluation version of RayStation TPS. During the end-to-end tests, the phantoms were transferred through the workflow like real patients to simulate the entire clinical workflow: immobilization, imaging, treatment planning and dose delivery. Different clinical scenarios of increasing complexity were simulated: delivery of a single beam, two oblique beams without and with range shifter. In addition to the dose comparison in the plastic phantoms the dose obtained from alanine pellet readings was compared with the dose determined with the Farmer ionization chamber in water. A consistent systematic deviation of about 2% was found between alanine dosimetry and the ionization chamber dosimetry in water and plastic materials. Acceptable agreement of planned and delivered doses was observed together with consistent and reproducible results of the end-to-end testing performed with different dosimetric techniques (alanine detectors, ionization chambers and EBT3 radiochromic films). The results confirmed the adequate implementation and integration of the new PBS technology at MedAustron. This work demonstrates that alanine pellets are suitable detectors for end-to-end tests in proton beam therapy and the developed procedures with customized anthropomorphic phantoms can be used to support implementation of PBS technology in clinical practice.

Modified Helicobacter test using a new test meal and a 13C-urea breath test in Helicobacter pylori positive and negative dyspepsia patients on proton pump inhibitors.

PubMed

Tepeš, Bojan; Malfertheiner, Peter; Labenz, Joachim; Aygen, Sitke

2017-08-28

To determine the sensitivity and specificity of the 13 C-urea breath test (UBT) in patients taking proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), using a new test meal Refex. One hundred and fourteen consecutive patients with dyspepsia, 53 Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) positive, 49 H. pylori negative, were included in the study. The patients were then given esomeprazole 40 mg for 29 consecutive days, and the 13 C-UBT with the new test meal was performed the next morning. The sensitivity of the 13 C-UBT with a cut off 2.5‰ was 92.45% (95%CI: 81.79%-97.91%) by per-protocol (PP) analysis and 78.13% (95%CI: 66.03%-87.49%) by intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. The specificity of the 13 C-UBT test was 96.00% in the ITT population (95%CI: 86.29%-99.51%) and 97.96% in the PP population (95%CI: 89.15%-99.95%). The new test meal based 13 C-UBT is highly accurate in patients on PPIs and can be used in those unable to stop their PPI treatment.

Calibration of a proton beam energy monitor.

PubMed

Moyers, M F; Coutrakon, G B; Ghebremedhin, A; Shahnazi, K; Koss, P; Sanders, E

2007-06-01

Delivery of therapeutic proton beams requires an absolute energy accuracy of +/-0.64 to 0.27 MeV for patch fields and a relative energy accuracy of +/-0.10 to 0.25 MeV for tailoring the depth dose distribution using the energy stacking technique. Achromatic switchyard tunes, which lead to better stability of the beam incident onto the patient, unfortunately limit the ability of switchyard magnet tesla meters to verify the correct beam energy within the tolerances listed above. A new monitor to measure the proton energy before each pulse is transported through the switchyard has been installed into a proton synchrotron. The purpose of this monitor is to correct and/or inhibit beam delivery when the measured beam energy is outside of the tolerances for treatment. The monitor calculates the beam energy using data from two frequency and eight beam position monitors that measure the revolution frequency of the proton bunches and the effective offset of the orbit from the nominal radius of the synchrotron. The new energy monitor has been calibrated by measuring the range of the beam through water and comparing with published range-energy tables for various energies. A relationship between depth dose curves and range-energy tables was first determined using Monte Carlo simulations of particle transport and energy deposition. To reduce the uncertainties associated with typical scanning water phantoms, a new technique was devised in which the beam energy was scanned while fixed thickness water tanks were sandwiched between two fixed parallel plate ionization chambers. Using a multitude of tank sizes, several energies were tested to determine the nominal accelerator orbit radius. After calibration, the energy reported by the control system matched the energy derived by range measurements to better than 0.72 MeV for all nine energies tested between 40 and 255 MeV with an average difference of -0.33 MeV. A study of different combinations of revolution frequency and radial offsets to test the envelope of algorithm accuracy demonstrated a relative accuracy of +/-0.11 MeV for small energy changes between 126 and 250 MeV. These new measurements may serve as a data set for benchmarking range-energy relationships.

Force on Force Modeling with Formal Task Structures and Dynamic Geometry

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-24

task framework, derived using the MMF methodology to structure a complex mission. It further demonstrated the integration of effects from a range of...application methodology was intended to support a combined developmental testing (DT) and operational testing (OT) strategy for selected systems under test... methodology to develop new or modify existing Models and Simulations (M&S) to: • Apply data from multiple, distributed sources (including test

Precise Measurement of Long-Range Heteronuclear Coupling Constants by a Novel Broadband Proton–Proton-Decoupled CPMG-HSQMBC Method

PubMed Central

Timári, István; Illyés, Tünde Z; Adams, Ralph W; Nilsson, Mathias; Szilágyi, László; Morris, Gareth A; Kövér, Katalin E

2015-01-01

A broadband proton–proton-decoupled CPMG-HSQMBC method for the precise and direct measurement of long-range heteronuclear coupling constants is presented. The Zangger–Sterk-based homodecoupling scheme reported herein efficiently removes unwanted proton–proton splittings from the heteronuclear multiplets, so that the desired heteronuclear couplings can be determined simply by measuring frequency differences between singlet maxima in the resulting spectra. The proposed pseudo-1D/2D pulse sequences were tested on nucleotides, a metal complex incorporating P heterocycles, and diglycosyl (di)selenides, as well as on other carbohydrate derivatives, for the extraction of nJ(1H,31P), nJ(1H,77Se), and nJ(1H,13C) values, respectively. PMID:25573660

Production, formation, and transport of high-brightness atomic hydrogen beam studies for the relativistic heavy ion collider polarized source upgrade.

PubMed

Kolmogorov, A; Atoian, G; Davydenko, V; Ivanov, A; Ritter, J; Stupishin, N; Zelenski, A

2014-02-01

The RHIC polarized H(-) ion source had been successfully upgraded to higher intensity and polarization by using a very high brightness fast atomic beam source developed at BINP, Novosibirsk. In this source the proton beam is extracted by a four-grid multi-aperture ion optical system and neutralized in the H2 gas cell downstream from the grids. The proton beam is extracted from plasma emitter with a low transverse ion temperature of ∼0.2 eV which is formed by plasma jet expansion from the arc plasma generator. The multi-hole grids are spherically shaped to produce "geometrical" beam focusing. Proton beam formation and transport of atomic beam were experimentally studied at test bench.

Laser-driven injector of electrons for IOTA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romanov, Aleksandr

2017-03-01

Fermilab is developing the Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) ring for experiments on nonlinear integrable optics. The machine will operate with either electron beams of 150 MeV or proton beams of 2.5 MeV energies, respectively. The stability of integrable optics depends critically on the precision of the magnetic lattice, which demands the use of beam-based lattice measurements for optics correction. In the proton mode, the low-energy proton beam does not represent a good probe for this application; hence we consider the use of a low-intensity reverse-injected electron beam of matched momentum (70 MeV). Such an injector could be implemented with the use of laser-driven acceleration techniques. This report presents the consideration for a laser-plasma injector for IOTA and discusses the requirements determined by the ring design.

Field Test of the Methodology for Succession Planning for Technical Experts

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

Cain, Ronald A.; Kirk, Bernadette Lugue; Agreda, Carla L.

This report complements A Methodology for Succession Planning for Technical Experts (Ron Cain, Shaheen Dewji, Carla Agreda, Bernadette Kirk, July 2017), which describes a methodology for identifying and evaluating the loss of key technical skills at nuclear operations facilities. This report targets the methodology for identifying critical skills, hereafter referred to as “core competencies”. The methodology has been field tested by interviewing selected retiring subject matter experts (SMEs).

Test of Time-Reversal Invariance at COSY (TRIC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eversheim, D.; Valdau, Yu.; Lorentz, B.

2016-02-01

At the Cooler Synchrotron COSY a novel (P-even, T-odd) null test of time-reversal invariance to an accuracy of 10-6 is planned as an internal target transmission experiment. The parity conserving time-reversal violating observable is the total cross-section asymmetry Ay,xz. This quantity is measured using a polarized proton beam with an energy of 135 MeV and an internal tensor polarized deuteron target from the PAX atomic beam source. The reaction rate will be determined by the lifetime of the beam. Consequently, the accuracy of the current measurement of the circulating proton beam is crucial for this experiment. Thus, the cooler synchroton ring serves as an ideal forward spectrometer, as a detector, and an accelerator.

Stress Optical Coefficient, Test Methodology, and Glass Standard Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-01

identifying and mapping flaw size distributions on glass surfaces for predicting mechanical response. International Journal of Applied Glass ...ARL-TN-0756 ● MAY 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Stress Optical Coefficient, Test Methodology, and Glass Standard Evaluation...Stress Optical Coefficient, Test Methodology, and Glass Standard Evaluation by Clayton M Weiss Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

75 FR 78720 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-16

.... Proposed Project: 2011-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Methodological Field Tests (OMB No..., SAMHSA received a 3-year renewal of its generic clearance for methodological field tests. This will be a request for another renewal of the generic approval to continue methodological tests over the next 3 years...

Axial Magneto-Inductive Effect in Soft Magnetic Microfibers, Test Methodology, and Experiments

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-24

NUWC-NPT Technical Report 12,186 24 March 2016 Axial Magneto-Inductive Effect in Soft Magnetic Microfibers, Test Methodology , and...Microfibers, Test Methodology , and Experiments 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Anthony B...5 4 MEASUREMENTS AND EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS ...........................................9 5 SAMPLE PREPARATION

TESTING TREE-CLASSIFIER VARIANTS AND ALTERNATE MODELING METHODOLOGIES IN THE EAST GREAT BASIN MAPPING UNIT OF THE SOUTHWEST REGIONAL GAP ANALYSIS PROJECT (SW REGAP)

EPA Science Inventory

We tested two methods for dataset generation and model construction, and three tree-classifier variants to identify the most parsimonious and thematically accurate mapping methodology for the SW ReGAP project. Competing methodologies were tested in the East Great Basin mapping un...

76 FR 67515 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Order...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-01

..., determined by the Clearing House using stress test methodology equal to the theoretical two largest IRS Clearing Member losses produced by such stress test or such other methodology determined by the IRS Risk... portion, determined by the Clearing House using stress test methodology equal to the theoretical third and...

Monte Carlo simulations of soft proton flares: testing the physics with XMM-Newton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fioretti, Valentina; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Malaguti, Giuseppe; Spiga, Daniele; Tiengo, Andrea

2016-07-01

Low energy protons (< 100 - 300 keV) in the Van Allen belt and the outer regions can enter the field of view of X-ray focusing telescopes, interact with the Wolter-I optics, and reach the focal plane. The funneling of soft protons was discovered after the damaging of the Chandra/ACIS Front-Illuminated CCDs in September 1999 after the first passages through the radiation belt. The use of special filters protects the XMM-Newton focal plane below an altitude of 70000 km, but above this limit the effect of soft protons is still present in the form of sudden ares in the count rate of the EPIC instruments that can last from hundreds of seconds to hours and can hardly be disentangled from X-ray photons, causing the loss of large amounts of observing time. The accurate characterization of (i) the distribution of the soft proton population, (ii) the physics interaction at play, and (iii) the effect on the focal plane, are mandatory to evaluate the background and design the proton magnetic diverter on board future X-ray focusing telescopes (e.g. ATHENA). Several solutions have been proposed so far for the primary population and the physics interaction, however the difficulty in precise angle and energy measurements in laboratory makes the smoking gun still unclear. Since the only real data available is the XMM-Newton spectrum of soft proton flares in orbit, we try to characterize the input proton population and the physics interaction by simulating, using the BoGEMMS framework, the proton interaction with a simplified model of the X-ray mirror module and the focal plane, and comparing the result with a real observation. The analysis of ten orbits of observations of the EPIC/pn instrument show that the detection of flares in regions far outside the radiation belt is largely influenced by the different orientation of the Earth's magnetosphere respect with XMM-Newton'os orbit, confirming the solar origin of the soft proton population. The Equator-S proton spectrum at 70000 km altitude is used for the proton population entering the optics, where a combined multiple and Firsov scattering is used as physics interaction. If the thick filter is used, the soft protons in the 30-70 keV energy range are the main contributors to the simulated spectrum below 10 keV. We are able to reproduce the proton vignetting observed in real data-sets, with a 50% decrease from the inner to the outer region, but a maximum flux of 0:01 counts cm2 s-1 keV-1 is obtained below 10 keV, about 5 times lower than the EPIC/MOS detection and 100 times lower than the EPIC/pn one. Given the high variability of the are intensity, we conclude that an average spectrum, based on the analysis of a full season of soft proton events is required to compare Monte Carlo simulations with real events.

On-Orbit Teflon(trademark) FEP Degradation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Townsend, Jacqueline A.; Hansen, Patricia A.; Dever, Joyce A.

1998-01-01

During the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Second Servicing Mission (SM2), degradation of unsupported Teflon(trademark) FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene), used as the outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets, was evident as large cracks on the telescope light shield. A sample of the degraded outer layer was retrieved during the mission and returned to Earth for ground testing and evaluation. The results of the Teflon(trademark) FEP sample evaluation and additional testing of pristine Teflon(trademark) FEP led the investigative team to theorize that the HST damage was caused by thermal cycling with deep-layer damage from electron and proton radiation which allowed the propagation of cracks along stress concentrations, and that the damage increased with the combined total dose of electrons, protons, UV and x-rays along with thermal cycling. This paper discusses the testing and evaluation of the Teflon(trademark) FEP.

Radiation Response of Emerging High Gain, Low Noise Detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Heidi N.; Farr, William H; Zhu, David Q.

2007-01-01

Data illustrating the radiation response of emerging high gain, low noise detectors are presented. Ionizing dose testing of silicon internal discrete avalanche photodiodes, and 51-MeV proton testing of InGaAs/InAlAs avalanche photodiodes operated in Geiger mode are discussed.

Differentiating Sudden Loss Mechanisms of Inner-belt Protons from Multisatellite Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Henderson, M. G.; Reeves, G. D.; Baker, D. N.; Lanzerotti, L. J.; Blake, J. B.; Mazur, J. E.; Spence, H.; Mitchell, D. G.

2013-12-01

Energetic protons (with kinetic energy from several to ~100 MeV) residing in the inner Van Allen belt region are usually stable except when disturbed by transient events such as interplanetary (IP) shocks. When a strong IP shock accompanied by a large population of solar energetic protons impinges the Earth's magnetosphere, it is often observed that a new proton belt emerges at L-shells ~2.5-3.5. One plausible explanation for these new protons is that, after the penetrating solar protons load a seed population at medium L-shells, those protons are promptly transported inward to low L-shells by impulsive shock-induced electric fields and adiabatically accelerated to higher energies. However, the mechanism for the sudden loss--i.e., the new proton belt may disappear with another impinging IP shock--it is still an open question, and three hypotheses currently exist. The first is the loss due to strengthened scattering from the build-up of the ring current. Another mechanism is that the shock-induced electric field will further move preexisting protons toward the Earth, causing the apparent sudden losses at some L-shells. The third loss process is that shock-induced ULF waves may outward diffuse protons along the direction of radial gradient in the proton distribution. A systematic examination of particle and field observations is required to differentiate among these three loss hypotheses. Here we analyze two sets of satellite observations: One is from past missions including HEO-3 (measuring at low-latitude), Polar (mid-latitude), and SAMPEX (high-latitude); the other set is from the operating Van Allen Probes mission. The first data set covers a long time interval (1998-2007), including a list of loss events, and the multi-point measurements enable us to investigate the pitch-angle- and energy- dependences of losses in the inner belt region. The second data set has the most comprehensive coverage of energy and pitch-angle as well as very high time resolutions, which allow us to derive proton phase space density profiles before and after loss events. Furthermore, in-situ magnetic and electric field measurements from Van Allen Probes facilitate detection of field line stretching as well as the existence and intensity of induced electric fields. Through carefully examining several selected loss events, this work will test existing loss hypotheses and help pinpoint the dominant loss mechanism(s) by combining observations from multiple space missions.

Tests of a Roman Pot prototype for the TOTEM experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deile, M.; Alagoz, E.; Anelli, G.; Antchev, G.; Ayache, M.; Caspers, F.; Dimovasili, E.; Dinapoli, R.; Drouhin, F.; Eggert, K.; Escourrou, J.L; Fochler, O.; Gill, K.; Grabit, R.; Haung, F.; Jarron, P.; Kaplon, J.; Kroyer, T.; Luntama, T.; Macina, D.; Mattelon, E.; Niewiadomski, H.; Mirabito, L.; Noschis, E.P.; Oriunno, M.; Park, a.; Perrot, A.-L.; Pirotte, O.; Quetsch, J.M.; Regnier, F.; Ruggiero, G.; Saramad, S.; Siegrist, P.; Snoeys, W.; sSouissi, T.; Szczygiel, R.; Troska, J.; Vasey, F.; Verdier, A.; Da Vià, C.; Hasi, J.; Kok, A.; Watts, S.; Kašpar, J.; Kundrát, V.; Lokajíček, M.V.; Smotlacha, J.; Avati, V.; Järvinen, M.; Kalliokoski, M.; Kalliopuska, J.; Kurvinen, K.; Lauhakangas, R.; Oljemark, F.; Orava, R.; Österberg, K.; Palmieri, V.; Saarikko, H.; Soininen, A.; Boccone, V.; Bozzo, M.; Buzzo, A.; Cuneo, S.; Ferro, F.; Macrí, M.; Minutoli, S.; Morelli, A.; Musico, P.; Negri, M.; Santroni, A.; Sette, G.; Sobol, A.; sBerardi, V.; Catanesi, M.G.; Radicioni, E.

The TOTEM collaboration has developed and tested the first prototype of its Roman Pots to be operated in the LHC. TOTEM Roman Pots contain stacks of 10 silicon detectors with strips oriented in two orthogonal directions. To measure proton scattering angles of a few microradians, the detectors will approach the beam centre to a distance of 10 sigma + 0.5 mm (= 1.3 mm). Dead space near the detector edge is minimised by using two novel "edgeless" detector technologies. The silicon detectors are used both for precise track reconstruction and for triggering. The first full-sized prototypes of both detector technologies as well as their read-out electronics have been developed, built and operated. The tests took place first in a fixed-target muon beam at CERN's SPS, and then in the proton beam-line of the SPS accelerator ring. We present the test beam results demonstrating the successful functionality of the system despite slight technical shortcomings to be improved in the near future.

Stability test for power converters in high-powered operations for J-PARC MR main magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morita, Yuichi; Kurimoto, Yoshinori; Miura, Kazuki; Sagawa, Ryu; Shimogawa, Tetsushi

2017-10-01

The Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) aims at achieving a megawatt-class proton accelerator facility. One promising method for increasing the beam power is to shorten the repetition cycle of the main ring from the current cycle of 2.48 s to 1.3 s. In this scheme, however, the increase in the output voltage and the power variation of the electric system are serious concerns for the power supplies of the main magnets. We have been developing a new power supply that provides solutions to these issues. Recently, we proposed a new method for high-powered tests of the converter that does not require a large-scale load and power source. We carried out a high-powered test of ∼100 kVA for the prototype DC/DC converters of the new power supply with this method. This paper introduces the design of the power supply and the results of the high-powered test for the prototype DC/DC converters.

Increased bone density in mice lacking the proton receptor, OGR1

PubMed Central

Krieger, Nancy S.; Yao, Zhenqiang; Kyker-Snowman, Kelly; Kim, Min Ho; Boyce, Brendan F.; Bushinsky, David A.

2016-01-01

Chronic metabolic acidosis stimulates cell-mediated calcium efflux from bone through osteoblastic prostaglandin E2-induced stimulation of RANKL leading to increased osteoclastic bone resorption. Osteoblasts express the proton-sensing G-protein coupled receptor, OGR1, which activates IP3-mediated intracellular calcium. Proton-induced osteoblastic intracellular calcium signaling requires OGR1, suggesting OGR1 is the sensor activated during acidosis to cause bone resorption. Growing mice produce large amounts of metabolic acids which must be buffered, primarily by bone, prior to excretion by the kidney. Here we tested whether lack of OGR1 inhibits proton-induced bone resorption by measuring bone mineral density by μCT and histomorphometry in 8 week old male OGR1−/− and C57/Bl6 wild type mice. OGR1−/− mice have normal skeletal development with no atypical gross phenotype. Trabecular and cortical bone volume was increased in tibiae and vertebrae from OGR1−/−. There were increased osteoblast numbers on the cortical and trabecular surfaces of tibiae from OGR1−/− mice, increased endocortical and trabecular bone formation rates, and osteoblastic gene expression. Osteoclast numbers and surface were increased in tibiae of OGR1−/− mice. Thus, in rapidly growing mice, lack of OGR1 leads to increased bone mass with increased bone turnover and a greater increase in bone formation than resorption. This supports the important role of the proton receptor, OGR1, in the response of bone to protons. PMID:26880453

Lifetimes of low-lying excited states in 50 36 86Kr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, J.; Chester, A.; Ball, G. C.; Caballero-Folch, R.; Domingo, T.; Drake, T. E.; Evitts, L. J.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Hackman, G.; Hallam, S.; Moukaddam, M.; Ruotsalainen, P.; Smallcombe, J.; Smith, J. K.; Starosta, K.; Svensson, C. E.; Williams, J.

2018-04-01

Background: The evolution of nuclear magic numbers at extremes of isospin is a topic at the forefront of contemporary nuclear physics. N =50 is a prime example, with increasing experimental data coming to light on potentially doubly magic 100Sn and 78Ni at the proton-rich and proton-deficient extremes, respectively; however, experimental discrepancies exist in the data for less exotic systems. Purpose: In 86Kr the B (E 2 ;21+→01+) value—a key indicator of shell evolution—has been experimentally determined by two different methodologies, with the results deviating by 3 σ . Here, we report on a new high-precision measurement of this value, as well as the first measured lifetimes and hence transition strengths for the 22+ and 3(2) - states in the nucleus. Methods: The Doppler-shift attenuation method was implemented using the TRIUMF-ISAC γ -ray escape-suppressed spectrometer (TIGRESS) γ -ray spectrometer and the TIGRESS integrated plunger device. High-statistics Monte Carlo simulations were utilized to extract lifetimes in accordance with state-of-the-art methodologies. Results: Lifetimes of τ (21+)=336 ±4 (stat.)±20 (sys.) fs, τ (22+)=263 ±9 (stat.)±19 (sys.) fs, and τ (3(2) -)=73 ±6 (stat.)±32 (sys.) fs were extracted. This yields a transition strength for the first-excited state of B (E 2 ;21+→01+)=259 ±3 (stat.)±16 (sys.) e2 fm4. Conclusions: The measured lifetime disagrees with the previous Doppler-shift attenuation method measurement by more than 3 σ , while agreeing well with a previous value extracted from Coulomb excitation. The newly extracted B (E 2 ;21+→01+) value indicates a more significant reduction in the N =50 isotones approaching Z =40 .

Rapid acceleration of protons upstream of earthward propagating dipolarization fronts

PubMed Central

Ukhorskiy, AY; Sitnov, MI; Merkin, VG; Artemyev, AV

2013-01-01

[1] Transport and acceleration of ions in the magnetotail largely occurs in the form of discrete impulsive events associated with a steep increase of the tail magnetic field normal to the neutral plane (Bz), which are referred to as dipolarization fronts. The goal of this paper is to investigate how protons initially located upstream of earthward moving fronts are accelerated at their encounter. According to our analytical analysis and simplified two-dimensional test-particle simulations of equatorially mirroring particles, there are two regimes of proton acceleration: trapping and quasi-trapping, which are realized depending on whether the front is preceded by a negative depletion in Bz. We then use three-dimensional test-particle simulations to investigate how these acceleration processes operate in a realistic magnetotail geometry. For this purpose we construct an analytical model of the front which is superimposed onto the ambient field of the magnetotail. According to our numerical simulations, both trapping and quasi-trapping can produce rapid acceleration of protons by more than an order of magnitude. In the case of trapping, the acceleration levels depend on the amount of time particles stay in phase with the front which is controlled by the magnetic field curvature ahead of the front and the front width. Quasi-trapping does not cause particle scattering out of the equatorial plane. Energization levels in this case are limited by the number of encounters particles have with the front before they get magnetized behind it. PMID:26167430

Short Carboxylic Acid–Carboxylate Hydrogen Bonds Can Have Fully Localized Protons

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

Lin, Jiusheng; Pozharski, Edwin; Wilson, Mark A.

Short hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) have been proposed to play key functional roles in several proteins. The location of the proton in short H-bonds is of central importance, as proton delocalization is a defining feature of low-barrier hydrogen bonds (LBHBs). Experimentally determining proton location in H-bonds is challenging. Here, bond length analysis of atomic (1.15–0.98 Å) resolution X-ray crystal structures of the human protein DJ-1 and its bacterial homologue, YajL, was used to determine the protonation states of H-bonded carboxylic acids. DJ-1 contains a buried, dimer-spanning 2.49 Å H-bond between Glu15 and Asp24 that satisfies standard donor–acceptor distance criteria for amore » LBHB. Bond length analysis indicates that the proton is localized on Asp24, excluding a LBHB at this location. However, similar analysis of the Escherichia coli homologue YajL shows both residues may be protonated at the H-bonded oxygen atoms, potentially consistent with a LBHB. A Protein Data Bank-wide screen identifies candidate carboxylic acid H-bonds in approximately 14% of proteins, which are typically short [O–O> = 2.542(2) Å]. Chemically similar H-bonds between hydroxylated residues (Ser/Thr/Tyr) and carboxylates show a trend of lengthening O–O distance with increasing H-bond donor pK a. This trend suggests that conventional electronic effects provide an adequate explanation for short, charge-assisted carboxylic acid–carboxylate H-bonds in proteins, without the need to invoke LBHBs in general. This study demonstrates that bond length analysis of atomic resolution X-ray crystal structures provides a useful experimental test of certain candidate LBHBs.« less

Future of medical physics: Real-time MRI-guided proton therapy.

PubMed

Oborn, Bradley M; Dowdell, Stephen; Metcalfe, Peter E; Crozier, Stuart; Mohan, Radhe; Keall, Paul J

2017-08-01

With the recent clinical implementation of real-time MRI-guided x-ray beam therapy (MRXT), attention is turning to the concept of combining real-time MRI guidance with proton beam therapy; MRI-guided proton beam therapy (MRPT). MRI guidance for proton beam therapy is expected to offer a compelling improvement to the current treatment workflow which is warranted arguably more than for x-ray beam therapy. This argument is born out of the fact that proton therapy toxicity outcomes are similar to that of the most advanced IMRT treatments, despite being a fundamentally superior particle for cancer treatment. In this Future of Medical Physics article, we describe the various software and hardware aspects of potential MRPT systems and the corresponding treatment workflow. Significant software developments, particularly focused around adaptive MRI-based planning will be required. The magnetic interaction between the MRI and the proton beamline components will be a key area of focus. For example, the modeling and potential redesign of a magnetically compatible gantry to allow for beam delivery from multiple angles towards a patient located within the bore of an MRI scanner. Further to this, the accuracy of pencil beam scanning and beam monitoring in the presence of an MRI fringe field will require modeling, testing, and potential further development to ensure that the highly targeted radiotherapy is maintained. Looking forward we envisage a clear and accelerated path for hardware development, leveraging from lessons learnt from MRXT development. Within few years, simple prototype systems will likely exist, and in a decade, we could envisage coupled systems with integrated gantries. Such milestones will be key in the development of a more efficient, more accurate, and more successful form of proton beam therapy for many common cancer sites. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Preliminary study of a new gamma imager for on-line proton range monitoring during proton radiotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennati, P.; Dasu, A.; Colarieti-Tosti, M.; Lönn, G.; Larsson, D.; Fabbri, A.; Galasso, M.; Cinti, M. N.; Pellegrini, R.; Pani, R.

2017-05-01

We designed and tested new concept imaging devices, based on a thin scintillating crystal, aimed at the online monitoring of the range of protons in tissue during proton radiotherapy. The proposed crystal can guarantee better spatial resolution and lower sensitivity with respect to a thicker one, at the cost of a coarser energy resolution. Two different samples of thin crystals were coupled to a position sensitive photo multiplier tube read out by 64 independent channels electronics. The detector was equipped with a knife-edge Lead collimator that defined a reasonable field of view of about 10 cm in the target. Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations were used to optimize the design of the experimental setup and assess the accuracy of the results. Experimental measurements were carried out at the Skandion Clinic, the recently opened proton beam facility in Uppsala, Sweden. PMMA and water phantoms studies were performed with a first prototype based on a round 6.0 mm thick Cry019 crystal and with a second detector based on a thinner 5 × 5 cm2, 2.0 mm thick LFS crystal. Phantoms were irradiated with mono-energetic proton beams whose energy was in the range between 110 and 160 MeV. According with the simulations and the experimental data, the detector based on LFS crystal seems able to identify the peak of prompt-gamma radiation and its results are in fair agreement with the expected shift of the proton range as a function of energy. The count rate remains one of the most critical limitations of our system, which was able to cope with only about 20% of the clinical dose rate. Nevertheless, we are confident that our study might provide the basis for developing a new full-functional system.

New measurement of G_E/GM for the proton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segel, Ralph

2003-10-01

Recent polarization transfer measurements of the ratio of the proton electric to magnetic form factor, G E /G_M, find μ_pG E /GM = 1 - 0.13Q ^2 while a long series of L-T separations are fit by μ_pG_E/GM ≈ 1. Jefferson Lab experiment E01-001 used a new technique for making L-T separations that greatly reduces the dominant systematic uncertainties present in previous determinations. Protons from ep scattering were measured over a wide range in ɛ at Q^2 = 2.64, 3.20 and 4.10 GeV^2 and, simultaneously, protons scattered at Q^2 = 0.5 GeV^2 were measured over a small range in ɛ. The Q^2 = 0.5 GeV^2 measurements provided an internal monitor and only kinematic factors and ratios of simultaneously measured cross sections enter into the determinations of G_E/G_M. Measuring the proton cross sections has the advantage that for the same Q^2, count rates change very little with ɛ and also proton momentum is the same at all ɛ thus eliminating the effect of any momentum-dependent inefficiencies. Neither of these is true for L-T separations performed by measuring electron cross sections. Furthermore, the radiative corrections for the proton cross sections are a factor of about 2.5 smaller. All previous L-T separations measured electron cross sections and none had the advantage of an internal monitor. Therefore, the results of E01-001 stringently test whether systematic uncertainties in previous L-T separations may have been sufficient to explain the discrepancy with the recent polarization transfer results.

Proton irradiation effects on beryllium – A macroscopic assessment

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

Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong

Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting itsmore » lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This study focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.« less

Proton irradiation effects on beryllium – A macroscopic assessment

DOE PAGES

Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; ...

2016-07-01

Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting itsmore » lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This study focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.« less

Accelerator-based validation of shielding codes

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

Zeitlin, Cary; Heilbronn, Lawrence; Miller, Jack

2002-08-12

The space radiation environment poses risks to astronaut health from a diverse set of sources, ranging from low-energy protons and electrons to highly-charged, high-energy atomic nuclei and their associated fragmentation products, including neutrons. The low-energy protons and electrons are the source of most of the radiation dose to Shuttle and ISS crews, while the more energetic particles that comprise the Galactic Cosmic Radiation (protons, He, and heavier nuclei up to Fe) will be the dominant source for crews on long-duration missions outside the earth's magnetic field. Because of this diversity of sources, a broad ground-based experimental effort is required tomore » validate the transport and shielding calculations used to predict doses and dose-equivalents under various mission scenarios. The experimental program of the LBNL group, described here, focuses principally on measurements of charged particle and neutron production in high-energy heavy-ion fragmentation. Other aspects of the program include measurements of the shielding provided by candidate spacesuit materials against low-energy protons (particularly relevant to extra-vehicular activities in low-earth orbit), and the depth-dose relations in tissue for higher-energy protons. The heavy-ion experiments are performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron and the Heavy-Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba in Japan. Proton experiments are performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88'' Cyclotron with a 55 MeV beam, and at the Loma Linda University Proton Facility with 100 to 250 MeV beam energies. The experimental results are an important component of the overall shielding program, as they allow for simple, well-controlled tests of the models developed to handle the more complex radiation environment in space.« less

Short Carboxylic Acid-Carboxylate Hydrogen Bonds Can Have Fully Localized Protons.

PubMed

Lin, Jiusheng; Pozharski, Edwin; Wilson, Mark A

2017-01-17

Short hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) have been proposed to play key functional roles in several proteins. The location of the proton in short H-bonds is of central importance, as proton delocalization is a defining feature of low-barrier hydrogen bonds (LBHBs). Experimentally determining proton location in H-bonds is challenging. Here, bond length analysis of atomic (1.15-0.98 Å) resolution X-ray crystal structures of the human protein DJ-1 and its bacterial homologue, YajL, was used to determine the protonation states of H-bonded carboxylic acids. DJ-1 contains a buried, dimer-spanning 2.49 Å H-bond between Glu15 and Asp24 that satisfies standard donor-acceptor distance criteria for a LBHB. Bond length analysis indicates that the proton is localized on Asp24, excluding a LBHB at this location. However, similar analysis of the Escherichia coli homologue YajL shows both residues may be protonated at the H-bonded oxygen atoms, potentially consistent with a LBHB. A Protein Data Bank-wide screen identifies candidate carboxylic acid H-bonds in approximately 14% of proteins, which are typically short [⟨d O-O ⟩ = 2.542(2) Å]. Chemically similar H-bonds between hydroxylated residues (Ser/Thr/Tyr) and carboxylates show a trend of lengthening O-O distance with increasing H-bond donor pK a . This trend suggests that conventional electronic effects provide an adequate explanation for short, charge-assisted carboxylic acid-carboxylate H-bonds in proteins, without the need to invoke LBHBs in general. This study demonstrates that bond length analysis of atomic resolution X-ray crystal structures provides a useful experimental test of certain candidate LBHBs.

Proton irradiation effects on beryllium - A macroscopic assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; Camino, Fernando

2016-10-01

Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting its lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This paper focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.

Accurate thermochemistry and spectroscopy of the oxygen-protonated sulfur dioxide isomers.

PubMed

Puzzarini, Cristina

2011-12-28

Despite the promising relevance of protonated sulfur dioxide in astrophysical and atmospheric fields, its thermochemical and spectroscopic characterization is very limited. High-level quantum-chemical calculations have shown that the most stable isomer is the cis oxygen-protonated sulfur dioxide, HOSO(+), while the trans form is about 2 kcal mol(-1) less stable; even less stable (by about 42 kcal mol(-1)) is the S-protonated isomer [V. Lattanzi et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2010, 133, 194305]. The enthalpy of formation for the cis- and trans-HOSO(+) is presented, based on the well tested HEAT protocol [A. Tajti et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2004, 121, 11599]. Systematically extrapolated ab initio energies, accounting for electron correlation through coupled cluster theory, including up to single, double, triple and quadruple excitations, have been corrected for core-electron correlation, anharmonic zero-point vibrational energy, diagonal Born-Oppenheimer and scalar relativistic effects. As a byproduct, proton affinity of sulfur dioxide and atomization energies have also been obtained at the same levels of theory. Vibrational and rotational spectroscopic properties have been investigated by means of composite schemes that allow us to account for truncation of basis set as well as core correlation. Where available, for both thermochemistry and spectroscopy, very good agreement with experimental data has been observed.

A high intensity 200 mA proton source for the FRANZ-Project (Frankfurt-Neutron-Source at the Stern-Gerlach-Center)

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

Schweizer, W., E-mail: schweizer@physik.uni-frankfurt.de; Ratzinger, U.; Klump, B.

At the University of Frankfurt a high current proton source has been developed and tested for the FRANZ-Project [U. Ratzinger, L. P. Chau, O. Meusel, A. Schempp, K. Volk, M. Heil, F. Käppeler, and R. Stieglitz, “Intense pulsed neutron source FRANZ in the 1–500 keV range,” ICANS-XVIII Proceedings, Dongguan, April 2007, p. 210]. The ion source is a filament driven arc discharge ion source. The new design consists of a plasma generator, equipped with a filter magnet to produce nearly pure proton beams (92 %), and a compact triode extraction system. The beam current density has been enhanced up tomore » 521 mA/cm{sup 2}. Using an emission opening radius of 4 mm, a proton beam current of 240 mA at 50 keV beam energy in continuous wave mode (cw) has been extracted. This paper will present the current status of the proton source including experimental results of detailed investigations of the beam composition in dependence of different plasma parameters. Both, cw and pulsed mode were studied. Furthermore, the performance of the ion source was studied with deuterium as working gas.« less

Differentiation of protonated aromatic regioisomers related to lignin by reactions with trimethylborate in a fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

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

Somuramasami, J; Duan, P; Amundson, Lucas M

2011-04-06

Several lignin model compounds were examined to test whether gas-phase ion–molecule reactions of trimethylborate (TMB) in a FTICR can be used to differentiate the ortho-, meta-, and para-isomers of protonated aromatic compounds, such as those formed during degradation of lignin. All three regioisomers could be differentiated for methoxyphenols and hydroxyphenols. However, only the differentiation of the ortho-isomer from the meta- and para-isomers was possible for hydroxyacetophenones and hydroxybenzoic acids. Consideration of the previously reported proton affinities at all basic sites in the isomeric hydroxyphenols, and the calculated proton affinities at all basic sites in the three methoxyphenol isomers, revealed thatmore » the proton affinities of the analytes relative to that of TMB play an important role in determining whether and how they react with TMB. The loss of two methanol molecules (instead of one) from the adducts formed with TMB either during ion–molecule reactions, or during sustained-off resonance irradiated collision-activated dissociation of the ion–molecule reaction products, revealed the presence of two functionalities in almost all the isomers. This finding supports earlier results suggesting that TMB can be used to count the functionalities in unknown oxygen-containing analytes.« less

Abscisic acid accumulation modulates auxin transport in the root tip to enhance proton secretion for maintaining root growth under moderate water stress.

PubMed

Xu, Weifeng; Jia, Liguo; Shi, Weiming; Liang, Jiansheng; Zhou, Feng; Li, Qianfeng; Zhang, Jianhua

2013-01-01

Maintenance of root growth is essential for plant adaptation to soil drying. Here, we tested the hypothesis that auxin transport is involved in mediating ABA's modulation by activating proton secretion in the root tip to maintain root growth under moderate water stress. Rice and Arabidopsis plants were raised under a hydroponic system and subjected to moderate water stress (-0.47 MPa) with polyethylene glycol (PEG). ABA accumulation, auxin transport and plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase activity at the root tip were monitored in addition to the primary root elongation and root hair density. We found that moderate water stress increases ABA accumulation and auxin transport in the root apex. Additionally, ABA modulation is involved in the regulation of auxin transport in the root tip. The transported auxin activates the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase to release more protons along the root tip in its adaption to moderate water stress. The proton secretion in the root tip is essential in maintaining or promoting primary root elongation and root hair development under moderate water stress. These results suggest that ABA accumulation modulates auxin transport in the root tip, which enhances proton secretion for maintaining root growth under moderate water stress. © 2012 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.

MO-F-CAMPUS-T-04: Utilization of Optical Dosimeter for Modulated Spot-Scanning Particle Beam

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

Hsi, W; Li, Y; Huang, Z

Purpose: To present the utilization of an optical dosimeter for modulated spot-scanning carbon-ion and proton beams during the acceptance test of Siemens IONTRIS system. Method and Materials: An optical dosimeter using phosphor scintillation was developed to map and interactively analyze the shapes and sizes of spots over 190 energies for ProTom modulated-scanning system. The dose response to proton had been characterized with proper pixel calibration at ProTom system. The dose response was further studied at 0.7 cm depths by uniform 8cm in-diameter fields of 424.89 MeV/u (E290) carbon-ions and 215.18MeV (E282) protons at IONTRIS system. The virtual source axial distancesmore » (vSAD) of carbonions and protons of IONTRIS system was investigated by measuring either variations of spot position or field size at five different locations to Isocenter. By measuring lateral profiles of uniform doses with varied thin-thicknesses of chest-board pattern and placing the scintillation plate at near to the distal edge, range variations at different off-axis-distances (rOAD) were examined. Relative accuracy and reproducibility of beam range were measured for three beam ranges with a ramping block at front of scintillation plate. Results: Similar dose response was observed for high energies of carbon ions and protons. Mean vSAD at X and Y axes were 744.1 cm and 807.4cm with deviation of 7.4cm and 7.7cm, respectively. Variation of rOAD was within 0.35 mm over 10cm for both protons and carbon ions. Accuracy of measuring relative distal range using the ramping block was 0.2mm. Measured range over repeated three times for each range were within 0.25mm at same room, and within 1.0mm between four rooms. Conclusions: The optical dosimeter could efficiently measure the virtual source distance. And, to measure small range variation at different off-axial locations, and for the relative beam range between rooms during acceptance test of a modulated spot-scanning particle system.« less

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

Plautz, Tia E.; Johnson, R. P.; Sadrozinski, H. F.-W.

Purpose: To characterize the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the pre-clinical (phase II) head scanner developed for proton computed tomography (pCT) by the pCT collaboration. To evaluate the spatial resolution achievable by this system. Methods: Our phase II proton CT scanner prototype consists of two silicon telescopes that track individual protons upstream and downstream from a phantom, and a 5-stage scintillation detector that measures a combination of the residual energy and range of the proton. Residual energy is converted to water equivalent path length (WEPL) of the protons in the scanned object. The set of WEPL values and associated pathsmore » of protons passing through the object over a 360° angular scan is processed by an iterative parallelizable reconstruction algorithm that runs on GP-GPU hardware. A custom edge phantom composed of water-equivalent polymer and tissue-equivalent material inserts was constructed. The phantom was first simulated in Geant4 and then built to perform experimental beam tests with 200 MeV protons at the Northwestern Medicine Chicago Proton Center. The oversampling method was used to construct radial and azimuthal edge spread functions and modulation transfer functions. The spatial resolution was defined by the 10% point of the modulation transfer function in units of lp/cm. Results: The spatial resolution of the image was found to be strongly correlated with the radial position of the insert but independent of the relative stopping power of the insert. The spatial resolution varies between roughly 4 and 6 lp/cm in both the the radial and azimuthal directions depending on the radial displacement of the edge. Conclusion: The amount of image degradation due to our detector system is small compared with the effects of multiple Coulomb scattering, pixelation of the image and the reconstruction algorithm. Improvements in reconstruction will be made in order to achieve the theoretical limits of spatial resolution.« less

TU-G-BRCD-01: Will the High Cost of Proton Therapy Facilities Limit the Availability of Proton Therapy Treatment?

PubMed

Maughan, R

2012-06-01

The potential dose distribution advantages associated with proton therapy, and particularly with pencil beam scanning (PBS) techniques, have lead to considerable interest in this modality in recent years. However, the large capital expenditure necessary for such a project requires careful financial consideration and business planning. The complexity of the beam delivery systems impacts the capital expenditure and the PBS only systems presently being advocated can reduce these costs. Also several manufacturers are considering "one-room" facilities as less expensive alternatives to multi-room facilities. This presentation includes a brief introduction to beam delivery options (passive scattering, uniform and modulated scanning) and some of the new technologies proposed for providing less expensive proton therapy systems. Based on current experience, data on proton therapy center start-up costs, running costs and the financial challenges associated with making this highly conformal therapy more widely available will be discussed. Issues associated with proton therapy implementation that are key to project success include strong project management, vendor cooperation and collaboration, staff recruitment and training. Time management during facility start up is a major concern, particularly in multi-room systems, where time must be shared between continuing vendor system validation, verification and acceptance testing, and user commissioning and patient treatments. The challenges associated with facility operation during this period and beyond are discussed, focusing on how standardization of process, downtime and smart scheduling can influence operational efficiency. 1. To understand the available choices for proton therapy facilities, the different beam delivery systems and the financial implications associated with these choices. 2. To understand the key elements necessary for successfully implementing a proton therapy program. 3. To understand the challenges associated with on-going facility management to achieve an efficient fully operational system. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

SU-C-204-02: Improved Patient-Specific Optimization of the Stopping Power Calibration for Proton Therapy Planning Using a Single Proton Radiography

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

Rinaldi, I; Ludwig Maximilian University, Garching, DE; Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, DE

2015-06-15

Purpose: We present an improved method to calculate patient-specific calibration curves to convert X-ray computed tomography (CT) Hounsfield Unit (HU) to relative stopping powers (RSP) for proton therapy treatment planning. Methods: By optimizing the HU-RSP calibration curve, the difference between a proton radiographic image and a digitally reconstructed X-ray radiography (DRR) is minimized. The feasibility of this approach has previously been demonstrated. This scenario assumes that all discrepancies between proton radiography and DRR originate from uncertainties in the HU-RSP curve. In reality, external factors cause imperfections in the proton radiography, such as misalignment compared to the DRR and unfaithful representationmore » of geometric structures (“blurring”). We analyze these effects based on synthetic datasets of anthropomorphic phantoms and suggest an extended optimization scheme which explicitly accounts for these effects. Performance of the method is been tested for various simulated irradiation parameters. The ultimate purpose of the optimization is to minimize uncertainties in the HU-RSP calibration curve. We therefore suggest and perform a thorough statistical treatment to quantify the accuracy of the optimized HU-RSP curve. Results: We demonstrate that without extending the optimization scheme, spatial blurring (equivalent to FWHM=3mm convolution) in the proton radiographies can cause up to 10% deviation between the optimized and the ground truth HU-RSP calibration curve. Instead, results obtained with our extended method reach 1% or better correspondence. We have further calculated gamma index maps for different acceptance levels. With DTA=0.5mm and RD=0.5%, a passing ratio of 100% is obtained with the extended method, while an optimization neglecting effects of spatial blurring only reach ∼90%. Conclusion: Our contribution underlines the potential of a single proton radiography to generate a patient-specific calibration curve and to improve dose delivery by optimizing the HU-RSP calibration curve as long as all sources of systematic incongruence are properly modeled.« less

Time-resolved imaging of prompt-gamma rays for proton range verification using a knife-edge slit camera based on digital photon counters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cambraia Lopes, Patricia; Clementel, Enrico; Crespo, Paulo; Henrotin, Sebastien; Huizenga, Jan; Janssens, Guillaume; Parodi, Katia; Prieels, Damien; Roellinghoff, Frauke; Smeets, Julien; Stichelbaut, Frederic; Schaart, Dennis R.

2015-08-01

Proton range monitoring may facilitate online adaptive proton therapy and improve treatment outcomes. Imaging of proton-induced prompt gamma (PG) rays using a knife-edge slit collimator is currently under investigation as a potential tool for real-time proton range monitoring. A major challenge in collimated PG imaging is the suppression of neutron-induced background counts. In this work, we present an initial performance test of two knife-edge slit camera prototypes based on arrays of digital photon counters (DPCs). PG profiles emitted from a PMMA target upon irradiation with a 160 MeV proton pencil beams (about 6.5   ×   109 protons delivered in total) were measured using detector modules equipped with four DPC arrays coupled to BGO or LYSO : Ce crystal matrices. The knife-edge slit collimator and detector module were placed at 15 cm and 30 cm from the beam axis, respectively, in all cases. The use of LYSO : Ce enabled time-of-flight (TOF) rejection of background events, by synchronizing the DPC readout electronics with the 106 MHz radiofrequency signal of the cyclotron. The signal-to-background (S/B) ratio of 1.6 obtained with a 1.5 ns TOF window and a 3 MeV-7 MeV energy window was about 3 times higher than that obtained with the same detector module without TOF discrimination and 2 times higher than the S/B ratio obtained with the BGO module. Even 1 mm shifts of the Bragg peak position translated into clear and consistent shifts of the PG profile if TOF discrimination was applied, for a total number of protons as low as about 6.5   ×   108 and a detector surface of 6.6 cm  ×  6.6 cm.

SU-E-J-121: Measuring Prompt Gamma Emission Profiles with a Multi-Stage Compton Camera During Proton Beam Irradiation: Initial Studies

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

Polf, J; McCleskey, M; Brown, S

2014-06-01

Purpose: Recent studies have suggested that the characteristics of prompt gammas (PG) emitted during proton beam irradiation are advantageous for determining beam range during treatment delivery. The purpose of this work was to determine the feasibility of determining the proton beam range from PG data measured with a prototype Compton camera (CC) during proton beam irradiation. Methods: Using a prototype multi-stage CC the PG emission from a water phantom was measured during irradiation with clinical proton therapy beams. The measured PG emission data was used to reconstruct an image of the PG emission using a backprojection reconstruction algorithm. One dimensionalmore » (1D) profiles extracted from the PG images were compared to: 1) PG emission data measured at fixed depths using collimated high purity Germanium and Lanthanum Bromide detectors, and 2) the measured depth dose profiles of the proton beams. Results: Comparisons showed that the PG emission profiles reconstructed from CC measurements agreed very well with the measurements of PG emission as a function of depth made with the collimated detectors. The distal falloff of the measured PG profile was between 1 mm to 4 mm proximal to the distal edge of the Bragg peak for proton beam ranges from 4 cm to 16 cm in water. Doses of at least 5 Gy were needed for the CC to measure sufficient data to image the PG profile and localize the distal PG falloff. Conclusion: Initial tests of a prototype CC for imaging PG emission during proton beam irradiation indicated that measurement and reconstruction of the PG profile was possible. However, due to limitations of the operational parameters (energy range and count rate) of the current CC prototype, doses of greater than a typical treatment dose (∼2 Gy) were needed to measure adequate PG signal to reconstruct viable images. Funding support for this project provided by a grant from DoD.« less

PERPENDICULAR ION HEATING BY LOW-FREQUENCY ALFVEN-WAVE TURBULENCE IN THE SOLAR WIND

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

Chandran, Benjamin D. G.; Germaschewski, Kai; Li Bo

We consider ion heating by turbulent Alfven waves (AWs) and kinetic Alfven waves (KAWs) with wavelengths (measured perpendicular to the magnetic field) that are comparable to the ion gyroradius and frequencies {omega} smaller than the ion cyclotron frequency {Omega}. We focus on plasmas in which {beta} {approx}< 1, where {beta} is the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure. As in previous studies, we find that when the turbulence amplitude exceeds a certain threshold, an ion's orbit becomes chaotic. The ion then interacts stochastically with the time-varying electrostatic potential, and the ion's energy undergoes a random walk. Using phenomenological arguments,more » we derive an analytic expression for the rates at which different ion species are heated, which we test by simulating test particles interacting with a spectrum of randomly phased AWs and KAWs. We find that the stochastic heating rate depends sensitively on the quantity {epsilon} = {delta}v {sub {rho}/}v{sub perpendicular}, where v{sub perpendicular} (v {sub ||}) is the component of the ion velocity perpendicular (parallel) to the background magnetic field B {sub 0}, and {delta}v {sub {rho}} ({delta}B {sub {rho}}) is the rms amplitude of the velocity (magnetic-field) fluctuations at the gyroradius scale. In the case of thermal protons, when {epsilon} << {epsilon}{sub crit}, where {epsilon}{sub crit} is a constant, a proton's magnetic moment is nearly conserved and stochastic heating is extremely weak. However, when {epsilon}>{epsilon}{sub crit}, the proton heating rate exceeds half the cascade power that would be present in strong balanced KAW turbulence with the same value of {delta}v {sub {rho}}, and magnetic-moment conservation is violated even when {omega} << {Omega}. For the random-phase waves in our test-particle simulations, {epsilon}{sub crit} = 0.19. For protons in low-{beta} plasmas, {epsilon} {approx_equal} {beta}{sup -1/2{delta}}B{sub {rho}/}B {sub 0}, and {epsilon} can exceed {epsilon}{sub crit} even when {delta}B{sub {rho}/}B {sub 0} << {epsilon}{sub crit}. The heating is anisotropic, increasing v {sup 2}{sub perpendicular} much more than v {sup 2}{sub ||} when {beta} << 1. (In contrast, at {beta} {approx}> 1 Landau damping and transit-time damping of KAWs lead to strong parallel heating of protons.) At comparable temperatures, alpha particles and minor ions have larger values of {epsilon} than protons and are heated more efficiently as a result. We discuss the implications of our results for ion heating in coronal holes and the solar wind.« less

Structural Biology of Supramolecular Assemblies by Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Quinn, Caitlin M.; Polenova, Tatyana

2017-01-01

In recent years, exciting developments in instrument technology and experimental methodology have advanced the field of magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR to new heights. Contemporary MAS NMR yields atomic-level insights into structure and dynamics of an astounding range of biological systems, many of which cannot be studied by other methods. With the advent of fast magic angle spinning, proton detection, and novel pulse sequences, large supramolecular assemblies, such as cytoskeletal proteins and intact viruses, are now accessible for detailed analysis. In this review, we will discuss the current MAS NMR methodologies that enable characterization of complex biomolecular systems and will present examples of applications to several classes of assemblies comprising bacterial and mammalian cytoskeleton as well as HIV-1 and bacteriophage viruses. The body of work reviewed herein is representative of the recent advancements in the field, with respect to the complexity of the systems studied, the quality of the data, and the significance to the biology. PMID:28093096

Production of Chitin from Penaeus vannamei By-Products to Pilot Plant Scale Using a Combination of Enzymatic and Chemical Processes and Subsequent Optimization of the Chemical Production of Chitosan by Response Surface Methodology.

PubMed

Vázquez, José A; Ramos, Patrícia; Mirón, Jesús; Valcarcel, Jesus; Sotelo, Carmen G; Pérez-Martín, Ricardo I

2017-06-16

The waste generated from shrimp processing contains valuable materials such as protein, carotenoids, and chitin. The present study describes a process at pilot plant scale to recover chitin from the cephalothorax of Penaeus vannamei using mild conditions. The application of a sequential enzymatic-acid-alkaline treatment yields 30% chitin of comparable purity to commercial sources. Effluents from the process are rich in protein and astaxanthin, and represent inputs for further by-product recovery. As a last step, chitin is deacetylated to produce chitosan; the optimal conditions are established by applying a response surface methodology (RSM). Under these conditions, deacetylation reaches 92% as determined by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹H-NMR), and the molecular weight (Mw) of chitosan is estimated at 82 KDa by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Chitin and chitosan microstructures are characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).

Proton Irradiation of the 16GB Intel Optane SSD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wyrwas, E. J.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this test is to assess the single event effects (SEE) and radiation susceptibility of the Intel Optane Memory device (SSD) containing the 3D Xpoint phase change memory (PCM) technology. This test is supported by the NASA Electronics Parts and Packaging Program (NEPP).

76 FR 50993 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request-Generic Clearance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-17

...: Proposed Collection; Comment Request--Generic Clearance to Conduct Methodological Testing, Surveys, Focus... proposed information collection. This information collection will conduct research by methodological... Methodological Testing, Surveys, Focus Groups, and Related Tools to Improve the Management of Federal Nutrition...

Analysis of Two Advanced Smoothing Algorithms.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

59 B. METHODOLOGY . ......... ........... 60 6 C. TESTING AND RESULTS ---- LINEAR UNDERLYING FUNCTION...SMOOTHING ALGORITHMS ...... .................... 94 A. GENERAL ......... ....................... .. 94 B. METHODOLOGY ............................ .95 C...to define succinctly. 59 B. METHODOLOGY There is no established procedure to follow in testing the efficiency and effectiveness of a smoothing

Proposed Objective Odor Control Test Methodology for Waste Containment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vos, Gordon

2010-01-01

The Orion Cockpit Working Group has requested that an odor control testing methodology be proposed to evaluate the odor containment effectiveness of waste disposal bags to be flown on the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. As a standardized "odor containment" test does not appear to be a matter of record for the project, a new test method is being proposed. This method is based on existing test methods used in industrial hygiene for the evaluation of respirator fit in occupational settings, and takes into consideration peer reviewed documentation of human odor thresholds for standardized contaminates, industry stardnard atmostpheric testing methodologies, and established criteria for laboratory analysis. The proposed methodology is quantitative, though it can readily be complimented with a qualitative subjective assessment. Isoamyl acetate (IAA - also known at isopentyl acetate) is commonly used in respirator fit testing, and there are documented methodologies for both measuring its quantitative airborne concentrations. IAA is a clear, colorless liquid with a banana-like odor, documented detectable smell threshold for humans of 0.025 PPM, and a 15 PPB level of quantation limit.

Time-resolved diode dosimetry calibration through Monte Carlo modeling for in vivo passive scattered proton therapy range verification.

PubMed

Toltz, Allison; Hoesl, Michaela; Schuemann, Jan; Seuntjens, Jan; Lu, Hsiao-Ming; Paganetti, Harald

2017-11-01

Our group previously introduced an in vivo proton range verification methodology in which a silicon diode array system is used to correlate the dose rate profile per range modulation wheel cycle of the detector signal to the water-equivalent path length (WEPL) for passively scattered proton beam delivery. The implementation of this system requires a set of calibration data to establish a beam-specific response to WEPL fit for the selected 'scout' beam (a 1 cm overshoot of the predicted detector depth with a dose of 4 cGy) in water-equivalent plastic. This necessitates a separate set of measurements for every 'scout' beam that may be appropriate to the clinical case. The current study demonstrates the use of Monte Carlo simulations for calibration of the time-resolved diode dosimetry technique. Measurements for three 'scout' beams were compared against simulated detector response with Monte Carlo methods using the Tool for Particle Simulation (TOPAS). The 'scout' beams were then applied in the simulation environment to simulated water-equivalent plastic, a CT of water-equivalent plastic, and a patient CT data set to assess uncertainty. Simulated detector response in water-equivalent plastic was validated against measurements for 'scout' spread out Bragg peaks of range 10 cm, 15 cm, and 21 cm (168 MeV, 177 MeV, and 210 MeV) to within 3.4 mm for all beams, and to within 1 mm in the region where the detector is expected to lie. Feasibility has been shown for performing the calibration of the detector response for three 'scout' beams through simulation for the time-resolved diode dosimetry technique in passive scattered proton delivery. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Proton Radiotherapy for High-Risk Pediatric Neuroblastoma: Early Outcomes and Dose Comparison

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

Hattangadi, Jona A.; Rombi, Barbara; Provincial Agency for Proton Therapy, Trento

2012-07-01

Purpose: To report the early outcomes for children with high-risk neuroblastoma treated with proton radiotherapy (RT) and to compare the dose distributions for intensity-modulated photon RT (IMRT), three-dimensional conformal proton RT (3D-CPT), and intensity-modulated proton RT to the postoperative tumor bed. Methods and Materials: All patients with high-risk (International Neuroblastoma Staging System Stage III or IV) neuroblastoma treated between 2005 and 2010 at our institution were included. All patients received induction chemotherapy, surgical resection of residual disease, high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue, and adjuvant 3D-CPT to the primary tumor sites. The patients were followed with clinical examinations, imaging, andmore » laboratory testing every 6 months to monitor disease control and side effects. IMRT, 3D-CPT, and intensity-modulated proton RT plans were generated and compared for a representative case of adjuvant RT to the primary tumor bed followed by a boost. Results: Nine patients were treated with 3D-CPT. The median age at diagnosis was 2 years (range 10 months to 4 years), and all patients had Stage IV disease. All patients had unfavorable histologic characteristics (poorly differentiated histologic features in 8, N-Myc amplification in 6, and 1p/11q chromosomal abnormalities in 4). The median tumor size at diagnosis was 11.4 cm (range 7-16) in maximal dimension. At a median follow-up of 38 months (range 11-70), there were no local failures. Four patients developed distant failure, and, of these, two died of disease. Acute side effects included Grade 1 skin erythema in 5 patients and Grade 2 anorexia in 2 patients. Although comparable target coverage was achieved with all three modalities, proton therapy achieved substantial normal tissue sparing compared with IMRT. Intensity-modulated proton RT allowed additional sparing of the kidneys, lungs, and heart. Conclusions: Preliminary outcomes reveal excellent local control with proton therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma, although distant failures continu to occur. Dosimetric comparisons demonstrate the advantage of proton RT compared with IMRT in this setting, allowing more conformal treatment and better normal tissue sparing.« less

Establishing Cost-Effective Allocation of Proton Therapy for Breast Irradiation

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

Mailhot Vega, Raymond B.; Ishaq, Omar; Raldow, Ann

Purpose: Cardiac toxicity due to conventional breast radiation therapy (RT) has been extensively reported, and it affects both the life expectancy and quality of life of affected women. Given the favorable oncologic outcomes in most women irradiated for breast cancer, it is increasingly paramount to minimize treatment side effects and improve survivorship for these patients. Proton RT offers promise in limiting heart dose, but the modality is costly and access is limited. Using cost-effectiveness analysis, we provide a decision-making tool to help determine which breast cancer patients may benefit from proton RT referral. Methods and Materials: A Markov cohort model wasmore » constructed to compare the cost-effectiveness of proton versus photon RT for breast cancer management. The model was analyzed for different strata of women based on age (40 years, 50 years, and 60 years) and the presence or lack of cardiac risk factors (CRFs). Model entrants could have 1 of 3 health states: healthy, alive with coronary heart disease (CHD), or dead. Base-case analysis assumed CHD was managed medically. No difference in tumor control was assumed between arms. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to test model robustness and the influence of including catheterization as a downstream possibility within the health state of CHD. Results: Proton RT was not cost-effective in women without CRFs or a mean heart dose (MHD) <5 Gy. Base-case analysis noted cost-effectiveness for proton RT in women with ≥1 CRF at an approximate minimum MHD of 6 Gy with a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/quality-adjusted life-year. For women with ≥1 CRF, probabilistic sensitivity analysis noted the preference of proton RT for an MHD ≥5 Gy with a similar willingness-to-pay threshold. Conclusions: Despite the cost of treatment, scenarios do exist whereby proton therapy is cost-effective. Referral for proton therapy may be cost-effective for patients with ≥1 CRF in cases for which photon plans are unable to achieve an MHD <5 Gy.« less

Effect of long-term proton pump inhibitor administration on gastric mucosal atrophy: A meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Li, Zhong; Wu, Cong; Li, Ling; Wang, Zhaoming; Xie, Haibin; He, Xiaozhou; Feng, Jin

2017-01-01

Background/Aims: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for the treatment of acid-related gastrointestinal diseases. Recently, some studies have reported that PPIs can alter the gastric mucosal architecture; however, the relationship remains controversial. This meta-analysis study was designed to quantify the association between long-term PPI administration and gastric atrophy. Materials and Methods: A PubMed search was conducted to identify studies using the keywords proton pump inhibitors or PPI and gastric atrophy or atrophic gastritis; the timeframe of publication searched was up to May 2016. Heterogeneity among studies was tested with the Q test; odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. P values were calculated by I2 tests and regarded as statistically significant when <0.05. Results: We identified 13 studies that included 1465 patients under long-term PPI therapy and 1603 controls, with a total gastric atrophy rate of 14.50%. There was a higher presence of gastric atrophy (15.84%; statistically significant) in PPI group compared to the control group (13.29%) (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.00–2.41). Conclusions: The pooled data suggest that long-term PPI use is associated with increased rates of gastric atrophy. Large-scale multicenter studies should be conducted to further investigate the relationship between acid suppressants and precancerous diseases. PMID:28721975

Water equivalent thickness values of materials used in beams of protons, helium, carbon and iron ions.

PubMed

Zhang, Rui; Taddei, Phillip J; Fitzek, Markus M; Newhauser, Wayne D

2010-05-07

Heavy charged particle beam radiotherapy for cancer is of increasing interest because it delivers a highly conformal radiation dose to the target volume. Accurate knowledge of the range of a heavy charged particle beam after it penetrates a patient's body or other materials in the beam line is very important and is usually stated in terms of the water equivalent thickness (WET). However, methods of calculating WET for heavy charged particle beams are lacking. Our objective was to test several simple analytical formulas previously developed for proton beams for their ability to calculate WET values for materials exposed to beams of protons, helium, carbon and iron ions. Experimentally measured heavy charged particle beam ranges and WET values from an iterative numerical method were compared with the WET values calculated by the analytical formulas. In most cases, the deviations were within 1 mm. We conclude that the analytical formulas originally developed for proton beams can also be used to calculate WET values for helium, carbon and iron ion beams with good accuracy.

Water equivalent thickness values of materials used in beams of protons, helium, carbon and iron ions

PubMed Central

Zhang, Rui; Taddei, Phillip J; Fitzek, Markus M; Newhauser, Wayne D

2010-01-01

Heavy charged particle beam radiotherapy for cancer is of increasing interest because it delivers a highly conformal radiation dose to the target volume. Accurate knowledge of the range of a heavy charged particle beam after it penetrates a patient’s body or other materials in the beam line is very important and is usually stated in terms of the water equivalent thickness (WET). However, methods of calculating WET for heavy charged particle beams are lacking. Our objective was to test several simple analytical formulas previously developed for proton beams for their ability to calculate WET values for materials exposed to beams of protons, helium, carbon and iron ions. Experimentally measured heavy charged particle beam ranges and WET values from an iterative numerical method were compared with the WET values calculated by the analytical formulas. Inmost cases, the deviations were within 1 mm. We conclude that the analytical formulas originally developed for proton beams can also be used to calculate WET values for helium, carbon and iron ion beams with good accuracy. PMID:20371908

New insights into proton surface mobility processes in PEMFC catalysts using isotopic exchange methods.

PubMed

Ferreira-Aparicio, Paloma

2009-09-01

The surface chemistry and the adsorption/desorption/exchange behavior of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell catalyst are analyzed as a case study for the development of tailor-made support materials of enhanced performance and stability. By using H2, D2, and CO as probe molecules, the relevance of some surface functional groups of the catalyst support on several diffusion processes taking place during the adsorption is shown. Sulfonic groups associated with the vulcanized carbon black surface have been detected by means of spectroscopic techniques (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) and by analysis of the desorbed products during temperature-programmed desorption tests by mass spectrometry. Such hydrophilic species have been observed to favor proton surface mobility and exchange with Pt-adsorbed deuterium even in the presence of adsorbed CO. This behavior is relevant both for the proper characterization of these kinds of catalysts using adsorption probes and for the design of new surface-modified carbon supports, enabling alternative proton-transfer pathways throughout the catalytic layers toward the membrane.

Proton Transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pohorille, Andrew; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The transport of protons across membranes is an essential process for both bioenergetics of modern cells and the origins of cellular life. All living systems make use of proton gradients across cell walls to convert environmental energy into a high-energy chemical compound, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), synthesized from adenosine diphosphate. ATP, in turn, is used as a source of energy to drive many cellular reactions. The ubiquity of this process in biology suggests that even the earliest cellular systems were relying on proton gradient for harvesting environmental energy needed to support their survival and growth. In contemporary cells, proton transfer is assisted by large, complex proteins embedded in membranes. The issue addressed in this Study was: how the same process can be accomplished with the aid of similar but much simpler molecules that could have existed in the protobiological milieu? The model system used in the study contained a bilayer membrane made of phospholipid, dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) which is a good model of the biological membranes forming cellular boundaries. Both sides of the bilayer were surrounded by water which simulated the environment inside and outside the cell. Embedded in the membrane was a fragment of the Influenza-A M$_2$ protein and enough sodium counterions to maintain system neutrality. This protein has been shown to exhibit remarkably high rates of proton transport and, therefore, is an excellent model to study the formation of proton gradients across membranes. The Influenza M$_2$ protein is 97 amino acids in length, but a fragment 25 amino acids long. which contains a transmembrane domain of 19 amino acids flanked by three amino acids on each side. is sufficient to transport protons. Four identical protein fragments, each folded into a helix, aggregate to form small channels spanning the membrane. Protons are conducted through a narrow pore in the middle of the channel in response to applied voltage. This channel is large enough to contain water molecules. and is normally filled with water. In analogy to the mechanism of proton transfer in some other channels, it has been postulated that protons are translocated along the network of water molecules filling the pore of the channel. This mechanism, however, must involve an additional important step because the channel contains four histidine amino acid residues, one from each of the helices, which are sufficiently large to occlude the pore and interrupt the water network. The histidine residues ensure channel selectivity by blocking transport of small ions, such as sodium or potassium. They have been also implicated in gating protons due to the ability of each histidine to become positively charged by accepting an additional proton. Two mechanisms of gating have been proposed. In one mechanism, all four histidines acquire an additional proton and, due to repulsion between their positive charges, move away from one another, thus opening the channel. The alternative mechanism relies of the ability of protons to move between different atoms in a molecule (tautomerization). Thus, a proton is captured on one side of the gate while another proton is released from the opposite side, and the molecule returns to the initial state through tautomerization. The simulations were designed to test these two mechanisms. Large-scale, atomic-level molecular dynamics simulations of the channel with the histidine residues in different protonation states revealed that all intermediate states of the system involved in the tautomerization mechanism are structurally stable and the arrangement of water molecules in the channel is conducive to the proton transport. In contrast, in the four-protonated state, postulated to exist in the gate-opening mechanism, the electrostatic repulsion between the histidine residues appears to be so large that the channel loses its structural integrity and one helix moves away from the remaining three. Additional information is contained within the original extended abstract.

A methodology for testing fault-tolerant software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrews, D. M.; Mahmood, A.; Mccluskey, E. J.

1985-01-01

A methodology for testing fault tolerant software is presented. There are problems associated with testing fault tolerant software because many errors are masked or corrected by voters, limiter, or automatic channel synchronization. This methodology illustrates how the same strategies used for testing fault tolerant hardware can be applied to testing fault tolerant software. For example, one strategy used in testing fault tolerant hardware is to disable the redundancy during testing. A similar testing strategy is proposed for software, namely, to move the major emphasis on testing earlier in the development cycle (before the redundancy is in place) thus reducing the possibility that undetected errors will be masked when limiters and voters are added.