Radio signals from very large showers

Radio signals from air showers with electron sizes in the range 1 x 10 to the 7th power to 2 x 10 to the 9th power were detected at 50kHz, 170kHz, and 1,647kHz at large core distances in the Akeno square kilometers air-shower array. The field strength is higher than that expected from any mechanisms hitherto proposed

Arrival time distributions of electrons in air showers with primary energies above 10 (18)eV observed at 900m above sea level

Detection of air showers with primary energies above 10 to the 19th power eV with sufficient statistics is extremely important in an astrophysical aspect related to the Greisen cut off and the origin of such high energy cosmic rays. Recently, a method is proposed to observe such giant air showers by measuring the arrival time distributions of air-shower particles at large core distances with a mini array. Experiments to measure the arrival time distributions of muons were started in 1981 and those of electrons in early 1983 in the Akeno air-shower array (930 gcm cm squared atmospheric depth, 900m above sea level). During the time of observation, the detection area of the Akeno array was expanded from 1 sq km to sq km in 1982 and to 20 sq km in 1984. Now the arrival time distribution of electrons and muons can be measured for showers with primary energies above 1019eV at large core distances

Longitudinal development of muons in large air showers studies from the arrival time distributions measured at 900m above sea level

The arrival time distributions of muons with energies above 1.0GeV and 0.5GeV have been measured in the Akeno air-shower array to study the longitudinal development of muons in air showers with primary energies in the range 10 to the 17th power to 10 to the 18th power ev. The average rise times of muons with energies above 1.0GeV at large core distances are consistent with those expected from very high multiplicity models and, on the contrary, with those expected from the low multiplicity models at small core distances. This implies that the longitudinal development at atmospheric depth smaller than 500 cm square is very fast and that at larger atmospheric depths is rather slow

Arrival directions of large air showers, low-mu showers and old-age low-mu air showers observed at St. Chacaltaya

Arrival directions of air showers with primary energies in the range 10 to the 16.5 power eV to 10 to the 18th power eV show the first harmonic in right ascension (RA) with amplitude of 2.7 + or - 1.0% and phase of 13-16h. However, the second harmonic in RA slightly seen for showers in the range 10 to the 18th power eV to 10 to the 19th power eV disappeared by accumulation of observed showers. The distribution of arrival directions of low-mu air showers with primary energies around 10 to the 15th power eV observed at Chacaltaya from 1962 to 1967 is referred to, relating to the above-mentioned first harmonic. Also presented in this paper are arrival directions of old-age low-mu air showers observed at Chacaltaya from 1962 to 1967, for recent interest in gamma-ray air showers

Energetic delayed hadrons in large air showers observed at 5200m above sea level

Energetic delayed hadrons in air showers with electron sizes in the range 10 to the 6th power to 10 to the 9th power were studied by observing the delayed bursts produced in the shield of nine square meter scintillation detectors in the Chacaltaya air-shower array. The frequency of such delayed burst is presented as a function of electron size, core distance and sec theta

Pickoff and spin-conversion quenchings of ortho-positronium in oxygen

The quenching processes of the thermalized ortho-positronium(o-Ps) on an oxygen molecule have been studied by the positron annihilation age-momentum correlation techinique(AMOC). The Doppler broadening spectrum of the 511 keV gamma-rays from the 2gamma annihilation of o-Ps in O_2 has been measured as a function of the o-Ps age. The rate of the quenching, consisting of the pickoff and the spin-conversion, is estimated from the positron lifetime spectrum. The ratio of the pickoff quenching rate to the spin-conversion rate is deduced from the Doppler broadening of the 511 keV gamma-rays from the annihilation of the o-Ps. The pickoff parameter ^1Z_eff, the effective number of the electrons per molecule which contribute to the pickoff quenching, for O_2 is determined to be 0.6 +- 0.4. The cross-section for the elastic spin-conversion quenching is determined to be (1.16 +- 0.01) * 10^{-19} cm^2.Comment: 4 pages with 5 eps figures, LaTeX2e(revtex4

An evaluation of a refresher training intervention for HIV lay counsellors in Chongwe District, Zambia

To address a severe shortage of human resources for health, the Zambian Ministry of Health has begun to make use of lay counsellors for HIV counselling and testing. However, their skills and knowledge rarely have been reviewed or refreshed. We conducted a two-day refresher workshop for lay counsellors to review their performance and refresh their skills and knowledge. The objective of this study was to evaluate the refresher training intervention for HIV lay counsellors in the rural district of Chongwe in Zambia. The two-day refreshertraining workshop was held in November 2009. Twenty-five lay counsellors were selected by District Health Office and participated in the workshop. The workshop included: the opening, a pre-training exercise, lectures on quality assurance with regard to testing and safety precautions, lectures on counselling, filling the gap/Q&A session, and a post-training exercise. In both the pre- and post-trainingexercise, participants answered 25 true/false questions and tested 10 blood panel samples to demonstrate their knowledge and skill on HIV counselling and testing. The average overall knowledge test score  increased from 79% to 95% (p<0.001). At the baseline, knowledgetest scores in topic of standard precaution and post-exposure prophylaxis were relatively low (58%) but rose to 95% after the training (p<0.001). The per cent agreement of HIV testing by lay counsellors with reference laboratory was 99.2%. Participants’ knowledge was improved during the workshop and skill at HIV testing was found to remain at a high level of accuracy. Relatively weak knowledge of standard precautions and post-exposure prophylaxis suggests that lay counsellors are at risk of nosocomial infections, particularly in the absence of refresher training interventions. We conclude that the refresher training was effective for improving the knowledge and skills of lay counsellors and provided an opportunity to monitor their performance

The effectiveness of mouthwashes in alleviating radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients: A systematic review

Objective The aim of the study was to perform a systematic literature search and meta-analysis to reveal the most effective mouthwash for head and neck cancer patients who are experiencing radiation therapy-induced mucositis. Methods Using two electronic databases, a literature search and data interpretation were systematically performed as follows: (i) problem specification, (ii) devising of a literature search plan, (iii) literature search and retrieval of publications, and (iv) meta-analysis and data interpretation. The main problem was specified as follows: what mouthwash is effective in alleviating oral mucositis for head and neck cancer patients who are undergoing radiotherapy? Results The literature search yielded 354 titles and abstracts. After reviewing the extracted literature, 25 publications met the inclusion criteria for this study and 17 of 25 were eventually evaluated in the meta-analysis. Conclusion The results of the meta-analysis indicated that the use of a mouthwash that includes anti-inflammatory properties contributes the most to alleviating oral mucositis in patients who are undergoing radiotherapy to treat head and neck cancer

Intraoral ultrasonographic features of tongue cancer and the incidence of cervical lymph node metastasis

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the visual characteristics of tongue lesion images obtained through intraoral ultrasonographic examination and the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with tongue cancer. Patients and Methods: This study investigated patients with primary tongue cancer who were examined using intraoral ultrasonography at Hiroshima University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2017. The inclusion criteria were squamous cell carcinoma, curative treatment administration, lateral side of tongue, surgery or brachytherapy alone, no cervical lymph node or distant metastasis as primary treatment, and treatment in our hospital. The exclusion criteria were carcinoma in situ, palliative treatment, dorsum of tongue, and multiple primary cancers. The follow-up period was more than 1 year. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis, and the primary predictor variables were age, gender, longest diameter, thickness, margin or border shapes of the lesion, and treatment methods. The relationship between the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis and the longest diameter, thickness, margin types, and border types as evaluated through intraoral ultrasonography were assessed. The data were collected through a retrospective chart review. Results: Fifty-four patients were included in this study. The analysis indicated that irregular lesion margins were significantly associated with the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis (P < .0001). The cutoff value for late cervical lymph node metastasis was 21.2 mm for the longest diameter and 3.9 mm for the thickness. Conclusions: The results of this study indicates that the irregular lesion margin assessed using intraoral ultrasonography may serve as an effective predictor of late cervical lymph node metastasis in N0 cases. (C) 2020 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Nonpolar optical scattering of positronium in magnesium fluoride

We report the results of the analysis of the temperature broadening of the momentum distribution of delocalized Positronium (Ps) in Magnesium Fluoride in terms of optical deformation-potential scattering model (long-wavelength optical phonons). The Ps optical deformation-potential coupling constant $D_{o}$ in MgF$_{2}$ has been determined to be $(1.8\pm0.3)\times10^{9}$ eV/cm. We also show that the Ps momentum distribution is sensitive to second-order phase transitions in those crystals where optical deformation-potential scattering is allowed in one and forbidden in another crystalline phase