Possible structure in the cosmic ray electron spectrum measured by the ATIC-2 and ATIC-4 experiments

A strong excess in a form of a wide peak in the energy range of 300-800 GeV was discovered in the first measurements of the electron spectrum in the energy range from 20 GeV to 3 TeV by the balloon-borne experiment ATIC (J. Chang et al. Nature, 2008). The experimental data processing and analysis of the electron spectrum with different criteria for selection of electrons, completely independent of the results reported in (J. Chang et al. Nature, 2008) is employed in the present paper. The new independent analysis generally confirms the results of (J. Chang et al. Nature, 2008), but shows that the spectrum in the region of the excess is represented by a number of narrow peaks. The measured spectrum is compared to the spectrum of (J. Chang et al. Nature, 2008) and to the spectrum of the Fermi/LAT experiment.Comment: LaTeX2e, 10 pages, 4 figures, a paper for ECRS 2010 (Turku, Finland); http://www.astrophys-space-sci-trans.net/7/119/2011

Upturn observed in heavy nuclei to iron ratios by the ATIC-2 experiment

The ratios of fluxes of heavy nuclei from sulfur (Z=16) to chromium (Z=24) to the flux of iron were measured by the ATIC-2 experiment. The ratios are decreasing functions of energy from 5 GeV/n to approximately 80 GeV/n, as expected. However, an unexpected sharp upturn in the ratios are observed for energies above 100 GeV/n for all elements from Z=16 to Z=24. Similar upturn but with lower amplitude was also discovered in the ATIC-2 data for the ratio of fluxes of abundant even nuclei (C, O, Ne, Mg, Si) to the flux of iron. Therefore the spectrum of iron is significantly different from the spectra of other abundant even nuclei.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX2e, a paper for 23rd European Cosmic Ray Symposium (2012

A conceptual basis for surveying fouling communities at exposed and protected sites at sea: Feasible designs with exchangeable test bodies for in-situ biofouling collection

The enhanced inertia load caused by biofouling on device components, such as the foundations of wind turbines or other structures at sea, modifies the hydrodynamic properties, and increases the stress to structures, predominantly in upper water layers with high impact from wave dynamics. This compromises the stability, functioning, operation as well as the durability of these devices especially in exposed environments. A main challenge is the quantification of the impact of hydrodynamic forces on irregular bodies being overgrown by soft- and hard-bodied biofouling organisms. Therefore, test bodies from the upper 1–5 m water depth and thus exposed to the strongest wave actions close to the surface shall be overgrown by biofouling and used in measurement trials in a wave and current flume. These measurements shall shed light on the varying roughness and its influence on the load bearing capacity of foundation piles. Consequently, the main aims of the present work were the development of two independent test stations as holding devices for artificial test bodies for the collection of biofouling organisms during field studies: a carrying unit floating at the surface in an exposed area (System A) and a sampling device with access from a land-based facility (System B). Both systems are relatively easy to access, exhibit straightforward handling, and are reasonable cost-effective. A Test Body Support Unit (TBSU, System A) was designed and mounted on a spare buoy to carry the test bodies (cylinders), which serve as substrate for the fouling. The system was sufficiently robust to withstand several periods of rough sea conditions over the first two years. This system can only be accessed by vessels. System B (MareLift) provided the robustness and functionality needed for areas exhibiting harsh conditions but can be operated from land. The here used test bodies (steel panels) exhibited a sound basis for the monitoring of succession processes in the biofouling development. System B offered the possibility to analyse two habitats (intertidal and subtidal) and revealed clear differences in the composition and development of their fouling communities. Overall, both systems provide advantages in obtaining standardized biofouling samples compared to previous approaches. Such test stations play an important role in the risk management of marine sectors as they could help characterising biofouling communities over different geographical areas. System A and B provide a sound basis for biofouling research but potentially also for other potential research approaches in exposed areas as they provide space for future developments

Relative abundances of cosmic ray nuclei B-C-N-O in the energy region from 10 GeV/n to 300 GeV/n. Results from ATIC-2 (the science flight of ATIC)

The ATIC balloon-borne experiment measures the energy spectra of elements from H to Fe in primary cosmic rays from about 100 GeV to 100 TeV. ATIC is comprised of a fully active bismuth germanate calorimeter, a carbon target with embedded scintillator hodoscopes, and a silicon matrix that is used as the main charge detector. The silicon matrix produces good charge resolution for protons and helium but only partial resolution for heavier nuclei. In the present paper, the charge resolution of ATIC was improved and backgrounds were reduced in the region from Be to Si by using the upper layer of the scintillator hodoscope as an additional charge detector. The flux ratios of nuclei B/C, C/O, N/O in the energy region from about 10 GeV/nucleon to 300 GeV/nucleon obtained from this high-resolution, high-quality charge spectra are presented, and compared with existing theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages,2 figures, a paper for 30-th International Cosmic Rays Conferenc

Collagen type XVIII/endostatin is differentially expressed in primary and metastatic colorectal cancers and ovarian carcinomas

Collagen type XVIII (C18) is a nonfibrillar collagen of basement membranes. Its C-terminal fragment, endostatin, has been identified as an inhibitor of angiogenesis. C18 is predominantly expressed by hepatocytes of normal, cirrhotic and neoplastic liver. We compared the patterns of C18 RNA-expression in colonic adenocarcinoma metastases, which represent the most frequently occurring liver tumours, to normal colon mucosa, to primary colon cancers and to ovarian cancers which are often morphologically similar to colonic cancer or metastasis. Two C18-specific RNA-probes were generated to perform in situ hybridization combined with immunohistochemistry for cytokeratin, vimentin and the endothelial marker CD31, in order to characterize the C18-expressing cells. C18/endostatin protein was localized by immunohistology. In colorectal carcinomas and their liver metastases high levels of C18 transcripts were observed in endothelial cells and fibroblasts/myofibroblasts, whereas C18 RNA was virtually absent from carcinoma cells. Ovarian carcinomas displayed high C18 RNA expression both in carcinoma and stromal cells, indicating that induction of C18 transcription in tumour stromal cells is independent of the ability of carcinoma cells to express C18. While the role of tumour cell derived C18 in cancer growth regulation remains unknown, stimulation of proteolysis of the locally strongly expressed C18 to endostatin could offer an attractive approach for a targeted antineoplastic therapy. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign   http://www.bjcancer.co

Energy dependence of Ti/Fe ratio in the Galactic cosmic rays measured by the ATIC-2 experiment

Titanium is a rare, secondary nucleus among Galactic cosmic rays. Using the Silicon matrix in the ATIC experiment, Titanium has been separated. The energy dependence of the Ti to Fe flux ratio in the energy region from 5 GeV per nucleon to about 500 GeV per nucleon is presented.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter

The Electron Calorimeter (ECAL) Long Duration Balloon Experiment

Accurate measurements of the cosmic ray electron energy spectrum in the energy region 50 GeV to greater than 1 TeV may reveal structure caused by the annihilation of exotic dark matter particles and/or individual cosmic ray sources. Here we describe a new long duration balloon (LDB) experiment, ECAL, optimized to directly measure cosmic ray electrons up to several TeV. ECAL includes a double layer silicon matrix, a scintillating optical fiber track imager, a neutron detector and a fully active calorimeter to identify more than 90% of the incident electrons with an energy resolution of about 1.7% while misidentifying only 1 in 200,000 protons and 0.8% of secondary gamma rays as electrons. Two ECAL flights in Antarctica are planned for a total exposure of 50 days with the first flight anticipate for December 2009

Determining the Detection Efficiency and Background Level of ATIC Electron Observation from Flight Data

Observations of Cosmic-ray electrons are difficult due to the large flux of cosmic ray hadrons. The event selection efficiency and background levels can be estimated from flight data for the ATIC instrument. This reduces the dependence upon Monte Carlo simulations, which show differences between different codes, thereby reducing the systematic errors resulting from analyses that only use simulations. This paper discusses some of the methods used in the ATIC analysis to determine the detection efficiency and background level for the flight data