PADC-NTM Applied in 7Li+Pb at 31 MeV Reaction Products Study

Passive nuclear track methodology (NTM) is applied to study charged particles products of the reaction 7Li+Pb at ~ 31 MeV. It is a contribution to the 8pLP Project (LNL-INFN-Italy) in where we show an alternative approach to register charged particle from reaction fragments by PADC detection. The main advantage is that the passive system integrates data over the whole experiment and has its importance for low rate reaction processes. Reaction products as well as scattered beam particles are determined from track shape analysis. Some limitations are inherent to NTM since a priori knowledge is required to correlate track size distribution given by each type of particle emerging from the target. Results show that the passive technique gives useful information when applied in reaction data interpretation for a relatively large range of particle types

Growth Characters of Nerica Rice (O.sativa × O.glaberrima) as Affected by Cowdung and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Mubi Adamawa State Nigeria

Field experiment were conducted during the 2011 and 2012 cropping seasons at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Agriculture Technology. Federal Polytechnic Mubi to study the effects of different levels of cowdung and nitrogen on the growth of NERICA rice. The experiments were laid out in a split plot design with cowdung levels (0,1,2 and 3 t/ha) assigned to the main plots and collected on growth characters were subjected to analysis of variance. Significant different means were separated using least significant difference (LSD). Results obtained showed significant (P =0.01) effect on plant heights at 6,9 and 12 weeks after sowing in 2012 season while there were no significant (P=0.05) effect on plant heights at 6,9 and 12 weeks after sowing in 2011 season. It was observed that tallest plants were recorded from application of cowdung and nitrogen at the rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha (99.92 cm and 109.25 cm) respectively while the shortest plant were recorded from 0 t/ha and 0 kg N/ha (75.92 cm and 64.17 cm) respectively. The highest weight of dry matter per plant and weight of dry matter per plot were obtained from application of cowdung and nitrogen at the rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha in both seasons, while the least were obtained from 0 t/ha and 120 kg N/ha. Based on the findings, it would be concluded that optimum growth of NERICA-3 rice in Mubi agro ecological zone would be obtained by a combined rate of 3 t/ha and 180 kg N/ha. Keywords: NERICA, Cowdung, Nitrogen, Growth, Yield, Fertilizer

Filling holes under non-linear constraints

Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).In this paper we handle the problem of filling the hole in the graphic of a surface by means of a patch that joins the original surface with C1-smoothness and fulfills an additional non-linear geometrical constraint regarding its area or its mean curvature at some points. Furthermore, we develop a technique to estimate the optimum area that the filling patch is expected to have that will allow us to determine optimum filling patches by means of a system of linear and quadratic equations. We present several numerical and graphical examples showing the effectiveness of the proposed method.publishersversionpublishe

Alpha Emitter Intrinsic Concentration in Copper required for Nuclear Spectrometry Application

Low-level radioactivity content in copper are employed for bolometric thermal radiation sensors and astro-nuclear spectrometers. The required lowest achievable alpha emitters concentration, for treated and untreated surfaces, are measured by Double Sided Silicon Strip Detectors in a high vacuum chamber and provide information on its intrinsic NORM content. Results shows that copper alpha emitters content can be achieved in the range below 0.01 (counts. keV-¹·kg-¹·y-¹) adequate for specific nuclear spectrometry applications

Simulation of Dose Estimations from Solar Protons: A PMMA-Bi2O3 Shielding Model for Space Exploration

Adverse effects of long-term exposure to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) pose a non negligible obstacle for future space exploration programs; the high-LET-particle-rich environment has an adverse effect on human health. Concomitant to GCR we have as well solar particle radiation. Long term space exploration will rely on adequate and highly efficient shielding materials that will reduce exposure of both biosystems and electronic equipment to GCR and solar particles. The shield must attenuate efficiently heavy GCR ions, by breaking them up into less-damaging fragments and secondary radiation: biologically damaging energetic neutrons and highly charged and energetic HZE- particles. An approach to this problem is the development of shielding compounds. Shielding materials should address the conditions of different aspects of a given mission, e.g. time duration and travel path. The Monte Carlo method (GEANT4) is here employed to estimate the effects of a shielding material based on the recently developed Bi2O3-based compound (Cao et al., 2020). In the present study GEANT4 code is used to make estimations of attenuation of solar protons. The objective is to provide some insight about the effect of the new composite shield that has an intrinsic capability for dose reduction

On the Equivalent Sources and Geometric Factor Calculation for a Circular Detection Case

In all absolute measurements of the intensity of the radioactive materials and calibration of the detectors, it is essential the knowledge of the geometric efficiency. This work describes how to obtain the sources with different geometries and equal geometric efficiency (equivalent sources for geometric factor), corresponding to a linear, circumferential and circular homogeneous sources parallel to a circular detector. It is estimated the geometric factor of them by the Monte Carlo method. The results are compared with the published in the literature, thus confirming the validity of this method

Filling holes under non-linear constraints

In this paper we handle the problem of filling the hole in the graphic of a surface by means of a patch that joins the original surface with C1-smoothness and fulfills an additional non-linear geometrical constraint regarding its area or its mean curvature at some points. Furthermore, we develop a technique to estimate the optimum area that the filling patch is expected to have that will allow us to determine optimum filling patches by means of a system of linear and quadratic equations. We present several numerical and graphical examples showing the effectiveness of the proposed method.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/CBUANational funds through the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a TecnologiaProjects UIDB/00297/2020 and UIDP/00297/2020 (Center for Mathematics and Applications

Correlation Between Underground Radon Gas and Dormant Geological Faults

This work studies the concentration of radon in soil around a fault in the East Franklin Mountains in the El Paso area in West Texas. It is found that the in-soil production of radon is correlated to the existence of a fault even if it has not had any recorded activity in recent geological times. This adds to previous observations that link the production of radon to seismic activity, and seems to indicate that in non-active faults the radon production is due mainly to the radioactivity of the top soil and to the transport properties of the medium and not to deeper seismic activity. These results open the possibility of using in-soil radon gas concentrations as an examination tool of dormant faults

A giant hydronephrotic pelvic kidney mimicking an ovarian cyst in a 34-week pregnancy

Background: A giant hydronephrosis is defined as a dilated pelvi-calyceal system with an amount of urine exceeding one Litre in the urinary tract of an adult. It can mimic several other clinical conditions including a huge ovarian cyst. An ectopic pelvic kidney with hydronephrosis in pregnancy is a rare occurrence.Aim: This study documents a case of giant hydronephrosis that was wrongly diagnosed as an ovarian cyst. Findings: A 36-year old primiparous with a giant hydronephrosis which was initially diagnosed as an ovarian cyst. She was planned for a laparotomy with caesarean section and ovarian cystectomy at 34 weeks gestation. She was delivered of a live female neonate. Further exploration was done which revealed a left ectopic kidney. She had a left simple nephrectomy because the kidney appeared totally unhealthy.Conclusion: There is a need to be careful when dealing with cystic lesions of the abdomen. A high index of suspicion is required and further imaging other than ultrasound scan such as computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging may be necessary to make accurate diagnosis.Keywords: Caesarean section, ectopic gestation, hydronephrosis, urinary tract, cystectomy, ovarian cyst