Gas electron tracking detector for beta decay experiments

For identification and 3D-tracking of low-energy electrons a new type of gas-based detector was designed that minimizes scattering and energy loss. The current version of the detector is a combination of a plastic scintillator, serving as a trigger source and energy detector, and a hexagonally structured multi-wire drift chamber (MWDC), filled with a mixture of helium and isobutane gas. The drift time information is used to track particles in the plane perpendicular to the wires, while a charge division technique provides spatial information along the wires. The gas tracker was successfully used in the miniBETA project as a beta spectrometer for a measurement of the weak magnetism form factor in nuclear beta decay. The precision of the three-dimensional electron tracking, in combination with low-mass, low-Z materials and identification of backscattering from scintillator, facilitated a reduction of the main systematics effects. At certain conditions, a spatial resolution better than 0.5 mm was obtained in the plane perpendicular to the wires, while resolutions of about 6 mm were achieved along wires. Thanks to precise tracking information, it is possible to eliminate electrons and other particles not originating from the desired decay with high efficiency. Additionally, using the coincidence between MWDC and scintillator, background from gamma emission typically accompanying radioactive decays, was highly suppressed. An overview of different event topologies is presented together with the tracker's ability to correctly recognize them. The analysis is supported by Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4 and Garfield++ packages. Finally, the preliminary results from the 114In spectrum study are presented.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in JINST - PSD12(2021

Modulation of metabolic activity of phagocytes by antihistamines

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of H1-antihistamines of the 1st generation (antazoline, bromadryl, brompheniramine, dithiaden, cyclizine, chlorcyclizine, chlorpheniramine, clemastine) and the 2nd generation (acrivastine, ketotifen, and loratadine) on the respiratory burst of phagocytes. Reactive oxygen species generation in neutrophils isolated from rat blood was measured using luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. Changes in nitrite formation and iNOS protein expression by RAW 264.7 macrophages were analysed using Griess reaction and Western blotting. The antioxidative properties of drugs in cell-free systems were detected spectrophotometrically, luminometrically, fluorimetrically, and amperometrically. The majority of the H1-antihistamines tested (bromadryl, brompheniramine, chlorcyclizine, chlorpheniramine, clemastine, dithiaden, and ketotifen) exhibited a significant inhibitory effect on the chemiluminescence activity of phagocytes. H1-antihistamines did not show significant scavenging properties against superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical, thus this could not contribute to the inhibition of chemiluminescence. H1-antihistamines had a different ability to modulate nitric oxide production by LPS-stimulated macrophages. Bromadryl, clemastine, and dithiaden were the most effective since they inhibited iNOS expression, which was followed by a significant reduction in nitrite levels. H1-antihistamines had no scavenging activity against nitric oxide. It can be concluded that the effects observed in the H1-antihistamines tested are not mediated exclusively via H1-receptor pathway or by direct antioxidative properties. Based on our results, antihistamines not interfering with the microbicidal mechanisms of leukocytes (antazoline, acrivastine and cyclizine) could be used preferentially in infections. Other antihistamines should be used, under pathological conditions accompanied by the overproduction of reactive oxygen species

NA61/SHINE measurements of anisotropic flow relative to the spectator plane in Pb+Pb collisions at 30A GeV/c

We present an analysis of the anisotropic flow harmonics in Pb+Pb collisions at beam momenta of 30A GeV/c collected by the NA61/SHINE experiment in the year 2016. Directed and elliptic flow coefficients are measured relative to the spectator plane estimated with the Projectile Spectators Detector (PSD). The flow coefficients are reported as a function of transverse momentum in different classes of collision centrality. The results are compared with a new analysis of the NA49 data for Pb+Pb collisions at 40A GeV using forward calorimeters (VCal and RCal) for event plane estimation

Search for the critical point by the NA61/SHINE experiment

NA61/SHINE is a fixed target experiment operating at CERN SPS. Its main goals are to search for the critical point of stronglyinteractingmatterandtostudytheonsetofdeconfinement. Forthesegoalsascanofthetwodimensionalphase diagram (T-μB) is being performed at the SPS by measurements of hadron production in proton-proton, proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus interactions as a function of collision energy. In this paper the status of the search for the critical point of strongly interacting matter by the NA61/SHINE Collaboration is presented including recent results on proton intermittency, strongly intensive fluctuation observables of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations. These measurements are expected to be sensitive to the correlation length and, therefore, have the ability to reveal the existence of the critical point via possible non-monotonic behavior. The new NA61/SHINE results are compared to the model predictions

Functional and neuroanatomical analysis of extralinguistic disorders in right hemisphere-damaged patients

The purpose of this article was to determine the prevalence of extralinguistic (non-aphasic) disorders, its clinical picture, and neuroanatomical correlates in right hemisphere – damaged patients. The cerebral perfusion pattern was determined by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in a group of 40 stroke patients with damage to the right hemisphere (RHD). The ontrol group included 60 healthy subjects. The Polish version of the Right Hemisphere Language Battery (RHLB-PL) was used in the study. The group of RHD patients was not homogeneous with respect to character and severity of language disturbances. Some patients show very mild and selective linguistic disturbances, while others demonstrate more serious and generalized difficulties. The RHD patients, in comparison to healthy individuals, exhibited several communicative impairments, “apragmatic” in nature, including difficulties in performing tests assessing inferential reasoning, lexical-semantic processes, metaphor comprehension, and receptive prosody. Discourse ability seems to be particularly susceptible to damage since 95% of patients obtained abnormal scores for Discourse Analysis. Language disorders assessed by the RHLB-PL were associated with a variety of SPECT findings: language difficulties coexisted with perfusion defects within RH mostly involving the frontal cortex and thalamus

Front-end electronics and data acquisition system for a multi-wire 3D gas tracker

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. This paper presents the design and implementation of the front-end electronics and the data acquisition (DAQ) system for readout of multi-wire drift chambers (MWDC). Apart of the conventional drift time measurement the system delivers the hit position along the wire utilizing the charge division technique. The system consists of preamplifiers, and analog and digital boards sending data to a back-end computer via an Ethernet interface. The data logging software formats the received data and enables an easy access to the data analysis software. The use of specially designed preamplifiers and peak detectors allows the charge-division readout of the low resistance signal wire. The implication of the charge-division circuitry onto the drift time measurement was studied and the overall performance of the electronic system was evaluated in dedicated off-line tests.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Front-end electronics and data acquisition system for a multi-wire 3D gas tracker journaltitle: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2015.08.058 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Właściwa opieka nad psem z perspektywy właścicieli

Proper care of dogs from their owner's perspective. The aim of the study was to examine the level of awareness of dog owners regarding the needs of dogs and ways of providing them with proper care. In order to provide dogs with proper care one needs to consider both the specific requirements of the species, as well as the expectations of the owners. The owner (in Poland) awareness survey was carried out by means of an internet diagnostic survey. The survey was performed on a group of 424 people currently owning dogs. Surveyed were asked 12 questions. The results of the survey were processed statistically (SPSS 23.0 statistical package). In order to divide the respondents into groups of various awareness of dog welfare, a clustering analysis was performed using k-means clustering. In order to estimate the differences in several independent variable samples the Kruskal-Wallis test was used. The respondents attributed the largest weight to medical costs (0.847) and physical activity associated with owning a dog (0.844). They regarded the costs of keep least important (0.548). The differences were confirmed statistically. Already during the phase of making the decision about owning a dog the more aware persons search for information about the animal. Such people declare o greater weight of all elements of dog care associated with welfare. This relation is evident in case of grooming and providing the dog with walks. The obtained results of the survey show that the majority of the respondents are people knowing the needs of their dogs.Właściwa opieka nad psem z perspektywy właścicieli.Celem pracy było zbadanie poziomu świadomości właścicieli psów, na temat potrzeb psów i sposobu zapewnienia im właściwej opieki. Aby zapewnić psom odpowiednią opiekę należy wziąć pod uwagę zarówno specyficzne wymogi gatunku, jak i oczekiwania właścicieli. Badanie świadomości właścicieli przeprowadzono za pomocą internetowego sondażu diagnostycznego. Ankietę przeprowadzono w Polsce, na grupie 424 osób, aktualnie posiadających psy. Ankietowanym zadano 12 pytań. Wyniki ankiety opracowano statystycznie (pakiet statystyczny SPSS 23.0). W celu podzielenia respondentów na grupy o różnej świadomości w zakresie dobrostanu psów, zastosowano analizę skupień metodą k-średnich. Do oszacowania różnic w kilku próbach zmiennych niezależnych wykorzystano test Kruskala-Wallisa.Respondenci największą wagę przywiązywali do kosztów leczenia (0,847) i aktywności fizycznej związanej z posiadaniem psa (0,844). Za najmniej istotne uznali koszty utrzymania (0,548). Różnice zostały potwierdzone statystycznie. Już na etapie podejmowania decyzji o posiadaniu psa osoby bardziej świadome poszukują pełnych informacji o zwierzęciu. Takie osoby deklarują większą wagę wszystkich elementów opieki nad psem związanych z dobrostanem. Zależność ta jest wyraźna w przypadku pielęgnacji i zapewnienia psu spacerów. Uzyskane wyniki badania ankietowego wskazują, że większość respondentów to osoby znające potrzeby psów

Rail transportation of Fernald remediation waste

Remediation of the Department of Energy (DOE) Fernald site located north of Cincinnati will generate large quantities of low-level radwaste. This volume includes approximately 1,050,000 tons of material to be removed from eight waste pits comprising Operable Unit 1 (OU-1). The remedial alternative selected includes waste material excavation, drying and transportation by rail to a burial site in the arid west for disposal. Rail transportation was selected not only because rail transportation is safer than truck transportation, but also because of the sheer magnitude of the project and the availability of bulk rail car unloading facilities at a representative disposal site. Based upon current waste quantity estimates as presented in the Feasibility Study for OUI, a fully-loaded 47-car unit train would depart the Fernald site weekly for five years. This paper illustrates the steps taken to obtain agency and public acceptance of the Record of Decision for the remedy which hinged on rail transportation. A preliminary, but detailed, rail transportation plan was prepared for the project to support a series of CERCLA public meetings conducted in late 1994. Some of the major issues addressed in the plan included the following: (1) Scope of project leading to selection of rail transportation; (2) Waste classification; (3) Rail Company overview; (4) Train configuration and rail car selection; (5) Routing; (6) Safety; (7) Prior Notification Requirements (8) Emergency Response. A series of three public meetings identified a number of issues of prime concern to Fernald stakeholders. Following resolution of these issues during the public comment period, a Record of Decision (ROD) approving implementation of the rail transportation strategy was approved pending incorporation of EPA and State of Ohio comments on December 22, 1994