Muography for Underground Geological Surveys: Ongoing Application at the Lousal Mine (Iberian Pyrite Belt, Portugal)

The use of muons for geophysical surveys has been proved successful in numerous projects around the planet. The use of muography in an underground environment has an easy side, when compared to the surface, due to the absence of the background radiation. On the other hand, the muon flux is much lower than what is measured on the surface. Geological and underground conditions should be considered when defining the required exposure time and developing suitable muon telescopes for the observation. A collaboration has been established between the Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT), University of Evora, the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP), and the Lousal Ciencia Viva Center to develop muon detectors and evaluate the muography potential in the Lousal Mine, with the general aim to create the conditions to use muography as a novel method for geophysical surveys in Portugal. The Lousal Mine (Iberian Pyrite Belt) was exploited until 1988 and is presently an excellent European example of environmental rehabilitation and social improvement based on museum, scientific, and educational activities. The observations are done from the Waldemar mine gallery, about 18 m below the surface. The telescopes, developed by LIP, use robust RPC detectors to observe the crossing muons in real time. The aim is to do a first geological survey of the region with muography, mapping already known structures and ore lenses and measuring their densities. The new data will then be used to improve the existing information, but the full process also serves to test the performance of the muon telescope and of the muography analysis tools. A reference 3D model is being created by joining pre-existing geological and geophysical information and new measurements, done, namely, with seismic refraction and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This model provides a reference against which to compare the muography results. Ideally, muography could be used to produce an equivalent 3D map of densities. This reference 3D model constructed with independent methods will be used to cross-check the muography results.This R&D project is financed by National Funds through the FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, reference EXPL/FIS-OUT/1185/2021. The FCT also finances the Ph.D. scholarship, integrated into the LouMu, reference PD/BD/150490/2019, andwithin the scope of ICT, the project with reference UIDB/04683/2020. A grateful thanks go to the Lousal Ciˆencia Viva team fortheir support of the project

Muography in the university and in the museum

The LouMu team joins together specialists in particle detectors and in cosmic ray analyses, geophysicists and science communicators to muograph an underground gallery of an old mine, now open to visitors of a science museum. The muon telescope is made of Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) developed to operate stably and with low consumption at remote locations, and it has been tested in the Coimbra University, before being moved to an underground gallery in the Lousal Cieˆncia Viva Science Center, in Portugal. In parallel to the scientific goals of surveying the geological faults around the gallery, comparing and combining the information from muography and other techniques, and testing and possibly upgrading these detectors for muography, the project aims to engage students at several levels and the public at large. The telescope was thought to operate in front of visitors, all the project phases will be documented, and the muographic data collected in the university building and the mine gallery will be made available for educational use. Providing an almost online update of simple and complex muographies is a challenge but provides an opportunity for a valued interaction of the public with our usually distant work.The LouMu project would not be possible without the support of the Mine of Science, Centro Cieˆncia Viva do Lousal. LIP sup- ported the first steps of the project with funding and human resources from several groups, in particular from the Education, Communication, and Outreach group. The project is partially funded by Fundac ̧a ̃o para a Cieˆncia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, EXPL/FIS-OUT/1185/2021

Projeto LouMu - Muografia no Lousal

A viabilidade da muografia como técnica de sondagem tem sido demonstrada em diversos trabalhos ao redor do mundo, desde os seus primeiros passos. A muografia com muógrafos em ambiente subterrâneo tem um lado fácil devido à ausência da radiação de fundo, mas, por outro lado, o fluxo de muões é muito menor em comparação com o que é medido na superfície. É uma questão de condições geológicas e subterrâneas, detetores de muões adequados e o tempo de exposição necessário para realizar a observação. Para inovar o panorama dos métodos geofísicos em Portugal, foi estabelecida uma colaboração entre o Instituto de Ciências da Terra (ICT) – Universidade de Évora, o Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP) e o Centro Ciência Viva do Lousal. Esta colaboração reúne-se sob o Projeto LouMu, cujo propósito passa pelo desenvolvimento de telescópios de muões, a sua instalação no local da observação e consequente estudo do potencial da muografia, usando a Mina do Lousal como local de teste desta primeira aplicação. A Mina do Lousal (Faixa Piritosa Ibérica) foi explorada até 1988 e é hoje um excelente exemplo europeu de reabilitação ambiental e melhoria social com base em atividades museológicas, científicas e educativas. A galeria da mina Waldemar é a anfitriã das observações dos muões, cerca de 18 m abaixo da superfície. Os muógrafos, desenvolvidos pelo LIP, usam detetores RPC robustos para fazer a observação em tempo real. A aplicação tem o objetivo de fazer um reconhecimento geológico do terreno entre o nível da galeria e a superfície, contribuindo com novos dados para a informação geológica já existente, ao mesmo tempo em que se coloca à prova o desempenho dos detetores de muões e as ferramentas de análise muográfica. Outros métodos geofísicos, particularmente refração sísmica e radar de penetração no solo (GPR) estão sendo utilizados na superfície do terreno, cujos resultados somados a outras informações geológicas e geofísicas existentes serão utilizados para construir um modelo de referência 3D. O objetivo final é usar a muografia como técnica central, para através da observação do fluxo de muões reproduzir o modelo 3D de referência, como base para outras implementações de muografia

Is upper gastrointestinal radiography a cost-effective alternative to a Helicobacter pylori “Test and Treat” strategy for patients with suspected peptic ulcer disease?

Current clinical consensus supports an initial Helicobacter pylori (HP) “test and treat” approach when compared to immediate endoscopy for patients with suspected peptic ulcer disease. Alternative diagnostic approaches that incorporate upper GI radiography (UGI) have not been previously evaluated. We sought to determine the cost effectiveness of UGI compared to a HP test and treat strategy, incorporating recent data addressing the reduced prevalence of HP, lower cost of diagnostic interventions, and reduced attribution of PUD to HP. METHODS : Using decision analysis, three diagnostic and treatment strategies were evaluated: 1) Test and Treat —initial HP serology, treat patients who test positive with HP eradication and antiulcer therapy; 2) Initial UGI series —treat all patients with documented ulcer disease with HP eradication and antiulcer therapy; and 3) Initial UGI series, HP serology if ulcer present — treat ulcer and HP based on diagnostic test results. RESULTS : The estimated cost per ulcer cured for each strategy were as follows: test and treat, $3,025; initial UGI,$3,690; and UGI with serology, $3,790. The estimated cost per patient treatment were: test and treat,$498; initial UGI, $610; and UGI with serology,$620. When UGI reimbursement was decreased to less than $50, the UGI strategies yielded a lower cost per patient treated than the test and treat strategy. CONCLUSION : At the current level of reimbursement, UGI should not be considered a cost-effective alternative to the HP test and treat strategy for the initial evaluation of patients with suspected peptic ulcer disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73722/1/j.1572-0241.2000.01837.x.pd