434 research outputs found
Fibrous mineral detection in natural soil and risk mitigation (1(st) paper)
The paper describes a fibrous mineral detection methodology, which is based on the use of alternating rotary motion sieving equipment. The equipment was redesigned to meet additional requirements with respect to initial ones. Under this methodology, the fine fraction passing through the sieves was recovered and analysed to determine the sedimentology, mineralogy and morphology of the potentially particulating fraction. Reliance was made on the following analytical techniques: laser granulometry, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS) and polarised and phase contrast light microscopy (PLM, PCLM) for fibrous mineral identification and Walton-Beckett / whole field fibre counting. The samples for the analyses came from known areas with fibrous minerals, e.g. Lauria (Basilicata), and less known areas, e.g. the Natural Reserve of Mt. Rufeno (Latium) and Biancavilla (Sicily). With this methodology, fibres may be directly detected in both farmed and unfarmed soil with fibrous minerals and the process may be repeated in the various stages of farming or during works for creation of fire barriers or lanes, hydrogeological restoration etc. The goal is to identify risks arising from the natural occurrence of asbestos upon atypical activities, such as farming and forestry. With regard to exposure, consideration was given to fibrous minerals not currently classified in the relevant legislation, thus going beyond the search for asbestiform minerals in quarry sites located in ophiolite outcrop areas
Study of the Fusion-Fission Process in the Reaction
Fusion-fission and fully energy-damped binary processes of the
Cl+Mg reaction were investigated using particle-particle
coincidence techniques at a Cl bombarding energy of E
8 MeV/nucleon. Inclusive data were also taken in order to determine the partial
wave distribution of the fusion process. The fragment-fragment correlation data
show that the majority of events arises from a binary-decay process with a
relatively large multiplicity of secondary light-charged particles emitted by
the two primary excited fragments in the exit channel. No evidence is observed
for ternary-breakup processes, as expected from the systematics recently
established for incident energies below 15 MeV/nucleon and for a large number
of reactions. The binary-process results are compared with predictions of
statistical-model calculations. The calculations were performed using the
Extended Hauser-Feshbach method, based on the available phase space at the
scission point of the compound nucleus. This new method uses
temperature-dependent level densities and its predictions are in good agreement
with the presented experimental data, thus consistent with the fusion-fission
origin of the binary fully-damped yields.Comment: 30 pages standard REVTeX file, 10 eps Figures; to be published at the
European Physical Journal A - Hadrons and Nucle
Eta photoproduction off the neutron at GRAAL: Evidence for a resonant structure at W=1.67 GeV
New (preliminary) data on eta photoproduction off the neutron are presented.
These data reveal a resonant structure at W=1.67 GeV.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Published in Proceedings of Workshop on the
Physics of Excited Nucleons NSTAR2004, Grenoble, France, March 24 - 27,
pg.19
Eta photoproduction off the neutron at GRAAL
The gamma n -> eta n quasi-free cross section reveals a resonant structure at
W ~ 1.675 GeV. This structure may be a manifestation of a baryon resonance. A
priori its properties, the possibly narrow width and the strong photocoupling
to the neutron, look surprising. This structure may also signal the existence
of a narrow state.Comment: To appear in Proceedings of Workshop on the Physics of Excited
Nucleons NSTAR2005, 12 - 15 October 2005, Tallahassee, Florida, US
Eta photoproduction on the neutron at GRAAL: Measurement of the differential cross section
In this contribution, we will present our first preliminary measurement of
the differential cross section for the reaction gamma+n->eta+n. Comparison of
the reactions gamma+p->eta+p for free and bound proton (D2 target) will also be
discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium
on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon, August
29-September 4 2004, Beijing, Chin
Lowering the Light Speed Isotropy Limit: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Measurements
The measurement of the Compton edge of the scattered electrons in GRAAL
facility in European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble with
respect to the Cosmic Microwave Background dipole reveals up to 10 sigma
variations larger than the statistical errors. We now show that the variations
are not due to the frequency variations of the accelerator. The nature of
Compton edge variations remains unclear, thus outlining the imperative of
dedicated studies of light speed anisotropy
A new limit on the light speed isotropy from the GRAAL experiment at the ESRF
When the electrons stored in the ring of the European Synchrotron Radiation
Facility (ESRF, Grenoble) scatter on a laser beam (Compton scattering in
flight) the lower energy of the scattered electron spectra, the Compton Edge
(CE), is given by the two body photon-electron relativistic kinematics and
depends on the velocity of light. A precision measurement of the position of
this CE as a function of the daily variations of the direction of the electron
beam in an absolute reference frame provides a one-way test of Relativistic
Kinematics and the isotropy of the velocity of light. The results of GRAAL-ESRF
measurements improve the previously existing one-way limits, thus showing the
efficiency of this method and the interest of further studies in this
direction.Comment: Proceed. MG12 meeting, Paris, July, 200
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Estimating survival in patients with gastrointestinal cancers and brain metastases: An update of the graded prognostic assessment for gastrointestinal cancers (GI-GPA).
BackgroundPatients with gastrointestinal cancers and brain metastases (BM) represent a unique and heterogeneous population. Our group previously published the Diagnosis-Specific Graded Prognostic Assessment (DS-GPA) for patients with GI cancers (GI-GPA) (1985-2007, n = 209). The purpose of this study is to update the GI-GPA based on a larger contemporary database.MethodsAn IRB-approved consortium database analysis was performed using a multi-institutional (18), multi-national (3) cohort of 792 patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, with newly-diagnosed BM diagnosed between 1/1/2006 and 12/31/2017. Survival was measured from date of first treatment for BM. Multiple Cox regression was used to select and weight prognostic factors in proportion to their hazard ratios. These factors were incorporated into the updated GI-GPA.ResultsMedian survival (MS) varied widely by primary site and other prognostic factors. Four significant factors (KPS, age, extracranial metastases and number of BM) were used to formulate the updated GI-GPA. Overall MS for this cohort remains poor; 8 months. MS by GPA was 3, 7, 11 and 17 months for GPA 0-1, 1.5-2, 2.5-3.0 and 3.5-4.0, respectively. >30% present in the worst prognostic group (GI-GPA of ≤1.0).ConclusionsBrain metastases are not uncommon in GI cancer patients and MS varies widely among them. This updated GI-GPA index improves our ability to estimate survival for these patients and will be useful for therapy selection, end-of-life decision-making and stratification for future clinical trials. A user-friendly, free, on-line app to calculate the GPA score and estimate survival for an individual patient is available at brainmetgpa.com
Limits on light-speed anisotropies from Compton scattering of high-energy electrons
The possibility of anisotropies in the speed of light relative to the
limiting speed of electrons is considered. The absence of sidereal variations
in the energy of Compton-edge photons at the ESRF's GRAAL facility constrains
such anisotropies representing the first non-threshold collision-kinematics
study of Lorentz violation. When interpreted within the minimal Standard-Model
Extension, this result yields the two-sided limit of 1.6 x 10^{-14} at 95%
confidence level on a combination of the parity-violating photon and electron
coefficients kappa_{o+} and c. This new constraint provides an improvement over
previous bounds by one order of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Multifragmentation threshold in ^{93}Nb+{nat}Mg collisions at 30 MeV/nucleon
We analyzed the on reaction at 30 MeV/nucleon in the aim
of disentangling binary sequential decay and multifragmentation decay close to
the energy threshold, i.e. MeV/nucleon. Using the backtracing
technique applied to the statistical models GEMINI and SMM we reconstruct
simulated charge, mass and excitation energy distributions and compare them to
the experimental ones. We show that data are better described by SMM than by
GEMINI in agreement with the fact that multifragmentation is responsible for
fragment production at excitation energies around 3 MeV/nucleon.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, 5 tables Soumis \`a Nuclear Physics
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