503 research outputs found
Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray Nuclei from Individual Magnetized Sources
We investigate the dependence of composition, spectrum and angular
distributions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays above 10^19 eV from individual
sources on their magnetization. We find that, especially for sources within a
few megaparsecs from the observer, observable spectra and composition are
severely modified if the source is surrounded by fields of ~ 10^-7 Gauss on
scales of a few megaparsecs. Low energy particles diffuse over larger distances
during their energy loss time. This leads to considerable hardening of the
spectrum up to the energy where the loss distance becomes comparable to the
source distance. Magnetized sources thus have very important consequences for
observations, even if cosmic rays arrive within a few degrees from the source
direction. At the same time, details in spectra and chemical composition may be
intrinsically unpredictable because they depend on the unknown magnetic field
structure. If primaries are predominantly nuclei of atomic mass A accelerated
up to a maximum energy E_max with spectra not much softer than E^-2, secondary
protons from photo-disintegration can produce a conspicuous peak in the
spectrum at energy ~ E_max/A. A related feature appears in the average mass
dependence on energy.Comment: 15 pages, 16 ps figures, published version with minor changes, see
http://stacks.iop.org/1475-7516/2004/i=08/a=01
Declination dependence of the cosmic-ray flux at extreme energies
We study the large-scale distribution of the arrival directions of the
highest energy cosmic rays observed by various experiments. Despite clearly
insufficient statistics, we find a deficit of cosmic rays at energies higher
than 10^{20} eV from a large part of the sky around the celestial North Pole.
We speculate on possible explanations of this feature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; v2: 11 pages, 4 figures, title changed (to avoid
confusion with the Southern hemisphere), analysis extended, more data
included, results unchanged; to be published in JCA
Upper Bounds on the Neutrino-Nucleon Inelastic Cross Section
Extraterrestrial neutrinos can initiate deeply developing air showers, and
those that traverse the atmosphere unscathed may produce cascades in the ice or
water. Up to now, no such events have been observed. This can be translated
into upper limits on the diffuse neutrino flux. On the other hand, the
observation of cosmic rays with primary energies > 10^{10} GeV suggests that
there is a guaranteed flux of cosmogenic neutrinos, arising from the decay of
charged pions (and their muon daughters) produced in proton interactions with
the cosmic microwave background. In this work, armed with these cosmogenic
neutrinos and the increased exposure of neutrino telescopes we bring up-to-date
model-independent upper bounds on the neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section.
Uncertainties in the cosmogenic neutrino flux are discussed and taken into
account in our analysis. The prospects for improving these bounds with the
Pierre Auger Observatory are also estimated. The unprecedented statistics to be
collected by this experiment in 6 yr of operation will probe the
neutrino-nucleon inelastic cross section at the level of Standard Model
predictions.Comment: To be published in JCA
Constraints on the Local Sources of Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Rays
Ultra high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) are believed to be protons accelerated
in magnetized plasma outflows of extra-Galactic sources. The acceleration of
protons to ~10^{20} eV requires a source power L>10^{47} erg/s. The absence of
steady sources of sufficient power within the GZK horizon of 100 Mpc, implies
that UHECR sources are transient. We show that UHECR "flares" should be
accompanied by strong X-ray and gamma-ray emission, and that X-ray and
gamma-ray surveys constrain flares which last less than a decade to satisfy at
least one of the following conditions: (i) L>10^{50} erg/s; (ii) the power
carried by accelerated electrons is lower by a factor >10^2 than the power
carried by magnetic fields or by >10^3 than the power in accelerated protons;
or (iii) the sources exist only at low redshifts, z<<1. The implausibility of
requirements (ii) and (iii) argue in favor of transient sources with L>10^{50}
erg/s.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to JCA
Amblyopia and quality of life: a systematic review
Background/Aims
Amblyopia is a common condition which can affect up to 5% of the general population. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment have been explored in the literature.
Methods
A systematic literature search was undertaken (16th-30th January 2007) to identify the HRQoL implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment.
Results
A total of 25 papers were included in the literature review. The HRQoL implications of amblyopia related specifically to amblyopia treatment, rather than the condition itself. These included the impact upon family life; social interactions; difficulties undertaking daily activities; and feelings and behaviour. The identified studies adopted a number of methodologies. The study populations included; children with the condition; parents of children with amblyopia; and adults who had undertaken amblyopia treatment as a child. Some studies developed their own measures of HRQoL, and others determined HRQoL through proxy measures.
Conclusions
The reported findings of the HRQoL implications are of importance when considering the management of cases of amblyopia. Further research is required to assess the immediate and long-term effects of amblyopia and/or its treatment upon HRQoL using a more standardised approach
GZK Photons Above 10 EeV
We calculate the flux of "GZK-photons", namely the flux of photons produced
by extragalactic nucleons through the resonant photoproduction of pions, the so
called GZK effect. This flux depends on the UHECR spectrum on Earth, of the
spectrum of nucleons emitted at the sources, which we characterize by its slope
and maximum energy, on the distribution of sources and on the intervening
cosmological backgrounds, in particular the magnetic field and radio
backgrounds. For the first time we calculate the GZK photons produced by
nuclei. We calculate the possible range of the GZK photon fraction of the total
UHECR flux for the AGASA and the HiRes spectra. We find that for nucleons
produced at the sources it could be as large as a few % and as low as 10^{-4}
above 10 EeV. For nuclei produced at the sources the maximum photon fraction is
a factor of 2 to 3 times smaller above 10 EeV but the minimum could be much
smaller than for nucleons. We also comment on cosmogenic neutrino fluxes.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures (21 panels), iopart.cls and iopart12.clo needed
to typese
Composition of UHECR and the Pierre Auger Observatory Spectrum
We fit the recently published Pierre Auger ultra-high energy cosmic ray
spectrum assuming that either nucleons or nuclei are emitted at the sources. We
consider the simplified cases of pure proton, or pure oxygen, or pure iron
injection. We perform an exhaustive scan in the source evolution factor, the
spectral index, the maximum energy of the source spectrum Z E_{max}, and the
minimum distance to the sources. We show that the Pierre Auger spectrum agrees
with any of the source compositions we assumed. For iron, in particular, there
are two distinct solutions with high and low E_{max} (e.g. 6.4 10^{20} eV and 2
10^{19} eV) respectively which could be distinguished by either a large
fraction or the near absence of proton primaries at the highest energies. We
raise the possibility that an iron dominated injected flux may be in line with
the latest composition measurement from the Pierre Auger Observatory where a
hint of heavy element dominance is seen.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures (33 panels)- Uses iopart.cls and iopart12.clo- In
version 2: addition of a few sentences and two reference
A Discrete Event Simulation model to evaluate the treatment pathways of patients with Cataract in the United Kingdom
Background The number of people affected by cataract in the United Kingdom (UK) is growing rapidly due to ageing population. As the only way to treat cataract is through surgery, there is a high demand for this type of surgery and figures indicate that it is the most performed type of surgery in the UK. The National Health Service (NHS), which provides free of charge care in the UK, is under huge financial pressure due to budget austerity in the last decade. As the number of people affected by the disease is expected to grow significantly in coming years, the aim of this study is to evaluate whether the introduction of new processes and medical technologies will enable cataract services to cope with the demand within the NHS funding constraints. Methods We developed a Discrete Event Simulation model representing the cataract services pathways at Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital. The model was inputted with data from national and local sources as well as from a surgery demand forecasting model developed in the study. The model was verified and validated with the participation of the cataract services clinical and management teams. Results Four scenarios involving increased number of surgeries per half-day surgery theatre slot were simulated. Results indicate that the total number of surgeries per year could be increased by 40% at no extra cost. However, the rate of improvement decreases for increased number of surgeries per half-day surgery theatre slot due to a higher number of cancelled surgeries. Productivity is expected to improve as the total number of doctors and nurses hours will increase by 5 and 12% respectively. However, non-human resources such as pre-surgery rooms and post-surgery recovery chairs are under-utilized across all scenarios. Conclusions Using new processes and medical technologies for cataract surgery is a promising way to deal with the expected higher demand especially as this could be achieved with limited impact on costs. Non-human resources capacity need to be evenly levelled across the surgery pathway to improve their utilisation. The performance of cataract services could be improved by better communication with and proactive management of patients.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Prevention of age-related macular degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the developed world. Although effective treatment modalities such as anti-VEGF treatment have been developed for neovascular AMD, there is still no effective treatment for geographical atrophy, and therefore the most cost-effective management of AMD is to start with prevention. This review looks at current evidence on preventive measures targeted at AMD. Modalities reviewed include (1) nutritional supplements such as the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formula, lutein and zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acid, and berry extracts, (2) lifestyle modifications, including smoking and body-mass-index, and (3) filtering sunlight, i.e. sunglasses and blue-blocking intraocular lenses. In summary, the only proven effective preventive measures are stopping smoking and the AREDS formula
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