6,745 research outputs found
Performance Studies of a Micromegas Chamber in the ATLAS Environment
Five small prototype micromegas detectors were positioned in the ATLAS
detector during Large Hadron Collider running at and . A double drift gap detector was
placed in front of the electromagnetic calorimeter and four detectors on the ATLAS Small Wheel, the first station of the
forward muon spectrometer. The one attached to the calorimeter was exposed to
interaction rates of about at
two orders of magnitude
higher than the rates in the Small Wheel. We present the results from
performance studies carried out using data collected with these detectors and
we also compare the currents drawn by the detector installed in front of the
electromagnetic calorimeter with the luminosity measurement in ATLAS.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
X-ray and Radio Follow-up Observations of High-Redshift Blazar Candidates in the Fermi-LAT Unassociated Source Population
We report on the results of X-ray and radio follow-up observations of two GeV
gamma-ray sources 2FGL J0923.5+1508 and 2FGL J1502.1+5548, selected as
candidates for high-redshift blazars from unassociated sources in the {\it
Fermi} Large Area Telescope Second Source Catalog. We utilize the Suzaku
satellite and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA) telescopes for
X-ray and radio observations, respectively. For 2FGL J0923.5+1508, a possible
radio counterpart NVSS J092357+150518 is found at 1.4 GHz from an existing
catalog, but we do not detect any X-ray emission from it and derive a flux
upper limit 1.37 10 erg cm
s. Radio observations at 6.7 GHz also result in an upper limit of
19 mJy, implying a steep radio spectrum that is not
expected for a blazar. On the other hand, we detect X-rays from NVSS
J150229+555204, the potential 1.4 GHz radio counterpart of 2FGL J1502.1+5548.
The X-ray spectrum can be fitted with an absorbed power-law model with a photon
index =1.8 and the unabsorbed flux is =4.3 10 erg cm s. Moreover,
we detect unresolved radio emission at 6.7 GHz with flux =30.1
mJy, indicating a compact, flat-spectrum radio source. If NVSS J150229+555204
is indeed associated with 2FGL J1502.1+5548, we find that its multiwavelength
spectrum is consistent with a blazar at redshift .Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Comparative Study on the Inhibitory Effects of α-Tocopherol and Radon on Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Renal Damage
Since the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, the effects of low-dose irradiation, especially internal exposure, are at the forefront of everyone’s attention. However, low-dose radiation induced various stimulating effects such as activation of antioxidative and immune functions. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the quantitative effects of the activation of antioxidative activities in kidney induced by radon inhalation on carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced renal damage. Mice were subjected to intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of CCl4 after inhaling approximately 1000 or 2000 Bq/m3 radon for 24 h, or immediately after i.p. injection of α-tocopherol (100, 300, or 500 mg/kg bodyweight). In case of renal function, radon inhalation at a concentration of 2000 Bq/m3 has the inhibitory effects similar to α-tocopherol treatment at a dose of 300–500 mg/kg bodyweight. The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase in kidneys were significantly higher in mice exposed to radon as compared to mice treated with CCl4 alone. These findings suggest that radon inhalation has an antioxidative effect against CCl4-induced renal damage similar to the antioxidative effects of α-tocopherol due to induction of antioxidative functions
Studies on possibility for alleviation of lifestyle diseases by low-dose irradiation or radon inhalation
Our previous studies showed the possibility that activation of the antioxidative function alleviates various oxidative damages, which are related to lifestyle diseases. Results showed that, low-dose X-ray irradiation activated superoxide dismutase and inhibits oedema following ischaemia-reperfusion. To alleviate ischaemia-reperfusion injury with transplantation, the changes of the antioxidative function in liver graft using low-dose X-ray irradiation immediately after exenteration were examined. Results showed that liver grafts activate the antioxidative function as a result of irradiation. In addition, radon inhalation enhances the antioxidative function in some organs, and alleviates alcohol-induced oxidative damage of mouse liver. Moreover, in order to determine the most effective condition of radon inhalation, mice inhaled radon before or after carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) administration. Results showed that radon inhalation alleviates CCl4-induced hepatopathy, especially prior inhalation. It is highly possible that adequate activation of antioxidative functions induced by low-dose irradiation can contribute to preventing or reducing oxidative damages, which are related to lifestyle diseases
Evidence of non-thermal X-ray emission from radio lobes of Cygnus A
Using deep Chandra ACIS observation data for Cygnus A, we report evidence of
non-thermal X-ray emission from radio lobes surrounded by a rich intra-cluster
medium (ICM). The diffuse X-ray emission, which are associated with the eastern
and western radio lobes, were observed in a 0.7--7 keV Chandra$ ACIS image. The
lobe spectra are reproduced with not only a single-temperature Mekal model,
such as that of the surrounding ICM component, but also an additional power-law
(PL) model. The X-ray flux densities of PL components for the eastern and
western lobes at 1 keV are derived as 77.7^{+28.9}_{-31.9} nJy and
52.4^{+42.9}_{-42.4} nJy, respectively, and the photon indices are
1.69^{+0.07}_{-0.13} and 1.84^{+2.90}_{-0.12}, respectively. The non-thermal
component is considered to be produced via the inverse Compton (IC) process, as
is often seen in the X-ray emission from radio lobes. From a re-analysis of
radio observation data, the multiwavelength spectra strongly suggest that the
seed photon source of the IC X-rays includes both cosmic microwave background
radiation and synchrotron radiation from the lobes. The derived parameters
indicate significant dominance of the electron energy density over the magnetic
field energy density in the Cygnus A lobes under the rich ICM environment.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Inter-Intra Molecular Dynamics as an Iterated Function System
The dynamics of units (molecules) with slowly relaxing internal states is
studied as an iterated function system (IFS) for the situation common in e.g.
biological systems where these units are subjected to frequent collisional
interactions. It is found that an increase in the collision frequency leads to
successive discrete states that can be analyzed as partial steps to form a
Cantor set. By considering the interactions among the units, a self-consistent
IFS is derived, which leads to the formation and stabilization of multiple such
discrete states. The relevance of the results to dynamical multiple states in
biomolecules in crowded conditions is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. submitted to Europhysics Letter
Protective Effects of Radon Inhalation on Carrageenan-Induced Inflammatory Paw Edema in Mice
We assessed whether radon inhalation inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammation in mice. Carrageenan (1% v/v) was injected subcutaneously into paws of mice that had or had not inhaled approximately 2,000 Bq/m3 of radon for 24 h. Radon inhalation significantly increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities and significantly decreased lipid peroxide levels in mouse paws, indicating that radon inhalation activates antioxidative functions. Carrageenan administration induced paw edema and significantly increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and nitric oxide in serum. However, radon inhalation significantly reduced carrageenan-induced paw edema. Serum TNF-α levels were lower in the radon-treated mice than in sham-treated mice. In addition, SOD and catalase activities in paws were significantly higher in the radon-treated mice than in the sham-treated mice. These findings indicated that radon inhalation had anti-inflammatory effects and inhibited carrageenan-induced inflammatory paw edema
Effect of co-doping of donor and acceptor impurities in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Zn1-xCrxTe studied by soft x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
We have performed x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and x-ray magnetic
circular dichroism (XMCD) studies of the diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor
ZnCrTe doped with iodine (I) or nitrogen (N),
corresponding to electron or hole doping, respectively. From the shape of the
Cr absorption peak in the XAS spectra, it was concluded that Cr ions in
the undoped, I-doped and lightly N-doped samples are divalent (Cr),
while Cr and trivalent (Cr) coexist in the heavily N-doped
sample. This result indicates that the doped nitrogen atoms act as acceptors
but that doped holes are located on the Cr ions. In the magnetic-field
dependence of the XMCD signal at the Cr absorption edge, ferromagnetic
behaviors were observed in the undoped, I-doped, and lightly N-doped samples,
while ferromagnetism was considerably suppressed in heavily N-doped sample,
which is consistent with the results of magnetization measurements.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte
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