Measurement of the Atmospheric Muon Spectrum from 20 to 3000 GeV

The absolute muon flux between 20 GeV and 3000 GeV is measured with the L3 magnetic muon spectrometer for zenith angles ranging from 0 degree to 58 degree. Due to the large exposure of about 150 m2 sr d, and the excellent momentum resolution of the L3 muon chambers, a precision of 2.3 % at 150 GeV in the vertical direction is achieved. The ratio of positive to negative muons is studied between 20 GeV and 500 GeV, and the average vertical muon charge ratio is found to be 1.285 +- 0.003 (stat.) +- 0.019 (syst.).Comment: Total 32 pages, 9Figure

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

An N2: Ch4: H2o Dc Glow Discharge Plasma Probed By Optical And Electric Techniques: Significance To The Radiation Chemistry Of Titan's Upper Atmosphere In The Presence Of Meteoritic Water

This paper presents optical and electrical measurements on plasma generated by DC excited glow discharges in mixtures composed of 95% N2, 4.8% CH4 and 0.2% H2O at pressures varying from 1.064 mbar to 4.0 mbar. The discharges simulate the chemical reactions that may occur in Titan's atmosphere in the presence of meteorites and ice debris coming from Saturn's systems, assisted by cosmic rays and high energy charged particles. The results obtained from actinometric optical emission spectroscopy, combined with the results from a pulsed Langmuir probe, show that chemical species CH, CN, NH and OH are important precursors in the synthesis of the final solid products and that the chemical kinetics is essentially driven by electronic collision processes. It is shown that the presence of water is sufficient to produce complex solid products whose components are important in prebiotic compound synthesis. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.468969974Borucki, W.J., McKay, C.P., Whitten, R.C., Possible production by lightning of aerosol and traces in Titan's atmosphere (1984) Icarus, 60, pp. 260-273Cabane, M., Chassefière, E., Laboratory simulations of Titan's atmosphere: Organic gases and aerosols (1995) Planet. Space Sci., 43, pp. 47-65Chang, S., Prebiotic synthesis in planetary environments (1991) The Chemistry of Life's Origins, 416, pp. 259-299. , eds J. M. Greensberg, C. X. Mendoza-Gómez and V. Pirronello, NATP ASI Series C. Kluwer Academic Publishers, The NetherlandsCherrington, B.E., The use of electrostatic probes for plasma diagnostics - A review (1982) Plasma Chem. Plasma Proc., 2, pp. 113-140Coburn, J.W., Chen, M., Optical emission spectroscopy of reactive plasmas: A method for correlating emission intensities to reactive particle densities (1980) J. Appl. Phys., 51, pp. 3134-3136Coustenis, A., Bèzard, B., Gautier, D., Titan's atmosphere from Voyager infrared observations. I. The gas composition of Titan's equatorial region (1989) Icarus, 80, pp. 54-76Coustenis, A., Bèzard, B., Gautier, D., Titan's atmosphere from Voyager infrared observations. III. Vertical distribution of hydrocarbons and nitriles near Titan's north pole (1991) Icarus, 89, pp. 152-167D'Agostino, R., Cramarossa, F., De Benedictis, S., Ferraro, G., Spectroscopic diagnostics of CF4-O2 plasmas during Si and SiO2 etching processes (1981) J. Appl. Phys., 52, pp. 1259-1265D'Agostino, R., Framarossa, F., De Benedictis, S., Fracassi, F., Láska, L., Mašek, K., On the use of actinometric emission spectroscopy in SF6-O2 radio frequency discharges: Theoretical and experimental analysis (1985) Plasma Chem. Plasma Proc., 5, pp. 239-253Durrant, S.F., Mota, R.P., Moraes, M.A.B., Flu orinated polymer films from RF plasmas containing benzene and sulfur hexafluoride (1992) Thin Solid Films, 220, pp. 295-302Hanel, R., Conrath, B., Flasar, F.M., Kunde, V., Maguire, W., Pearl, J., Pirraglia, J., Ponnamperuma, C., Infrared observations of the Saturnian system from Voyager 1 (1981) Science, 212, pp. 192-200Krimigis, S.M., Armstrong, T.P., Axford, W.I., Bostrom, C.O., Gloekler, G., Keath, E.P., Lanzerotti, L.J., Roelof, E.C., Low-energy charged particles in Saturn's magnetosphere: Results from Voyager 1 (1981) Science, 212, pp. 225-231Krimigis, S.M., Armstrong, T.P., Axford, W.I., Bostrom, C.O., Gloekler, G., Keath, E.P., Lanzerotti, L.J., Roelof, E.C., Low-energy hot plasma and particles in Saturn's magnetosphere (1982) Science, 215, pp. 571-577McDonald, G.D., Thompson, W.R., Heinrich, M., Khare, B., Sagan, C., Chemical investigation on Titan and Triton tholins (1994) Icarus, 108, pp. 137-145Neumann, G., Banzigern, U., Kammeyer, M., Lange, M., Plasma-density measurements by microwave interferometry and Langumuir probes in an RF-discharge (1993) Rev. Sci. Instrum., 64, pp. 19-25Owen, T., How primitive are the gases in Titan's atmosphere (1987) Adv. Space. Res., 7, pp. 51-54Raulin, F., Dubouloz, N., Frère, C., Prebiotic-like organic synthesis in extraterrestrial environments: The case of Titan (1989) Adv. Space Res., 9, pp. 35-47Raulin, F., Frère, C., Paillous, P., De Vanssay, E., Do, L., Khlifi, M., Titan and exobiological aspects of the Cassini-Huygens mission (1992) J. British Interplanetary Soc., 45, pp. 257-271Sagan, C., Khare, B.N., Tholins: Organic chemistry of interstellar grains and gas (1979) Nature, 277, pp. 102-107Sagan, C., Miller, S.L., Molecular synthesis in simulated reducing planetary atmospheres (1960) Astron. J., 65, p. 499Sagan, C., Thompson, W.R., Production and condensation of organic gases in the atmosphere of Titan (1984) Icarus, 59, pp. 133-161Sagan, C., Thompson, W.R., Khare, B.N., Titan: A laboratory for prebiological organic chemistry (1992) Acc. Chem. Res., 25, pp. 286-292Sudit, I.D., Woods, R.C., A workstation based Langmuir probe system for low-pressure DC plasmas (1993) Rev. Sci. Instrum., 64, pp. 2440-2448Vogt, R.E., Chenette, D.L., Cummings, A.C., Garrard, T.L., Stone, E.C., Schardt, A.W., Trainor, J.H., McDonald, F.B., Energetic charged particles in Saturn's magnetosphere: Voyager 1 results (1981) Science, 212, pp. 231-234Vogt, R.E., Chenette, D.L., Cummings, A.C., Garrard, T.L., Stone, E.C., Schardt, A.W., Trainor, J.H., McDonald, F.B., Energetic charged particles in Saturn's magnetosphere: Voyager 2 results (1982) Science, 215, pp. 577-582Thompson, W.R., Henry, T.J., Schwartz, J.M., Khare, B.N., Sagan, C., Plasma discharge in N2 and CH4 at low pressures: Experimental results and application to Titan (1991) Icarus, 90, pp. 57-73Yasuda, H., (1985) Plasma Polymerization, , Academic Press, Inc., Orlando, U.S.AYung, Y.L., An update of nitrile photochemistry on Titan (1987) Icarus, 72, pp. 468-47

Optimization Of The Implosion Phase On Tc-i By Light Emission Analysis

The best operation condition on the field-reversed theta-pinch TC-I at UNICAMP is studied by analysis of the helium-plasma light emission and electromagnetic signals observed during the preionization and implosion phase of FRC plasma. The TC-I device can be operated with a crowbar switch on the preionization and main capacitor banks, in order to fix the number of oscillations as well as the time interval between the end of the preionization and the main discharge phase. A detailed study of the plasma implosion has been carried out by changing the above parameters and also the working gas pressure by using a photodiode, a visible spectrometer, magnetic probes, a Faraday cup and a streak camera. © 1989.2802-3597601NSFC; National Natural Science Foundation of China; Helmholtz AssociationMachida, (1988) Proc. 4th Japan-Brazil Symp. on Science and Technology, 3, p. 348Armstrong, (1981) Phys. Fluids, 24, p. 2068Shimamura, Nogi, (1986) Fusion Technol., 9, p. 6

Properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon films deposited by PECVD and modified by SF6 plasma

AbstractHydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films were grown at room temperature on glass and polished silicon substrates using RF-PECVD (Radio-Frequency Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition). Plasmas composed by 30% of acetylene and 70% of argon were excited by the application of RF signal to the sample holder with power ranging from 5 to 125W. After deposition, the films were submitted to SF6-plasma treatment for 5 minutes. SF6 plasmas were generated at a pressure of 13.3Pa by a RF power supply operating at 13.56MHz with the output fixed at 70W. The resulting films were characterized in terms of their molecular structure, chemical composition, surface morphology, thickness, contact angle, and surface free energy. During the SF6 plasma treatment, fluorine species were incorporated in the film structure causing chemical alterations. The interaction of chemical species generated in the SF6 plasmas with surface species was responsible for the decrease of the film thickness and surface energy, and for the increase of the film roughness and hydrophobicity