Conceptual design of the early implementation of the NEutron Detector Array (NEDA) with AGATA

The NEutron Detector Array (NEDA) project aims at the construction of a new high-efficiency compact neutron detector array to be coupled with large (Formula presented.) -ray arrays such as AGATA. The application of NEDA ranges from its use as selective neutron multiplicity filter for fusion-evaporation reaction to a large solid angle neutron tagging device. In the present work, possible configurations for the NEDA coupled with the Neutron Wall for the early implementation with AGATA has been simulated, using Monte Carlo techniques, in order to evaluate their performance figures. The goal of this early NEDA implementation is to improve, with respect to previous instruments, efficiency and capability to select multiplicity for fusion-evaporation reaction channels in which 1, 2 or 3 neutrons are emitted. Each NEDA detector unit has the shape of a regular hexagonal prism with a volume of about 3.23l and it is filled with the EJ301 liquid scintillator, that presents good neutron- (Formula presented.) discrimination properties. The simulations have been performed using a fusion-evaporation event generator that has been validated with a set of experimental data obtained in the 58Ni + 56Fe reaction measured with the Neutron Wall detector array

AN EMPIRICAL NOTE ON CRITICAL COMMENTARY IN AUSTRALIAN ECONOMICS JOURNALS

A substantial empirical literature exists on ranking the published research output of individual academic economists and individual university Economics departments, including Australian work in Economics. However, very little corresponding effort has been directed at examining trends in the nature of published articles, and this embryonic literature is exclusively focused on a handful of top-ranked journals to the exclusion of Australian Economics journals. This note seeks to fill this gap by adopting the methodology developed by Coelho et al. (2005) in their analysis of the decline in critical commentary and applying it to Australian Economics journals for the period 1962 to 2005. Copyright 2007 The Authors Journal compilation 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/University of Adelaide and Flinders University .

Boron Thin Films And Cr-39 Detectors In Bnct: A Method To Measure The 10b(n,α)7li Reaction Rate

The working principle of the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is the selective delivery of a greater amount of boron to the tumor cells than to the healthy ones, followed by the neutron irradiation that will induce the emission of α-particles and recoil 7Li nuclei through the 10B(n,α)7Li reaction. The objective of this work is to present a setup composed of a boron thin film coupled with CR-39. Alpha and 7Li particle coming from the boron films are used to quantify neutron boron reaction and are detected by CR-39. The nuclei compounding of this detector, H, C and O, will undergo fast neutrons reactions, which will be detected in the CR-39 itself. In this way, the 10B(n,α) 7Li reaction and the contribution of fast neutrons to the flux can be determined at the same time. These measurements are essential for treatment planning as well as for studies of the biodistribution of 10B-carrier drugs and tissue microdosimetry. The boron films were deposited on stainless steel substrates through the sputtering technique and irradiated with thermal neutrons at the reactor IEA-R1 located at IPEN, São Paulo/SP, Brazil. Here we show the first results on the characterization of these thin films and calibration of the proposed setup. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.50181186Altieri, S., Bortolussi, S., Bruschi, P., Chiari, P., Fossati, F., Stella, S., Prati, U., Pinelli, T., Neutron autoradiography imaging of selective boron uptake in human metastatic tumours (2008) Appl. Radiat. Isot., 66, pp. 1850-1855Barth, R., Coderre, J.A., Vicente, M.G.H., Blue, T.E., Boron neutron capture therapy of cancer: Current status and future prospects (2005) Clin. Cancer Res., 11, pp. 3987-4002Behrisch, R., (1981) Sputtering by Particle Bombardment I: Physical Sputtering of Single-Element Solids, , Springer Berlin 3540105212Bigazzi, G., Hadler, J.C., Iunes, P.J., Mineral dating by the fission track method: Neutron dosimetry by thin film of natural uranium (1993) Revista de Física Aplicada e Instrumentação, 8, pp. 13-23Bigazzi, G., Hadler, J.C., Iunes, P.J., Mello, T.C.W.P., Navia, L.M.S., Paulo, S.R., Zúñiga, A., Employment of thin thorium films in fission track neutron dosimetry (1995) Braz. J. Phys., pp. 246-251Bigazzi, G., Hadler, J.C., Iunes, P.J., Oddone, M., Paulo, S.R., Zúñiga, A., Absolute thermal neutron fluence determination by thin film of natural uranium (1995) Nucl. Instrum. Meth. Phys. Res., 352 A, pp. 588-591Bigazzi, G., Guedes, S., Hadler, J.C., Iunes, P.J., Oddone, M., Osorio, A.M., Paulo, S.R., Zúñiga, A., Potentialities and practical limitations of an absolute neutron dosimetry using thin films of uranium and thorium applied to the Fission Track Method (1999) Radiat. Meas., 31, pp. 651-656Coderre, J.A., Morris, G.M., The radiation biology of boron neutron capture therapy (1999) Radiat. Res., 151, pp. 1-18Deevband, M.R., Abdolmaleki, P., Kardan, M.R., Khosravi, H.R., Taheri, M., An investigation on the response of PADC detectors to neutrons (2011) Appl. Radiat. Isot., 69, pp. 340-345Durham, J.S., Blue, T.E., Wehring, B.W., Ragheb, M.H., Blue, J.W., Microdosimetry in fast-neutron therapy by automatic readout of CR-39 solid state nuclear track detectors (1989) Nuc. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res., 36 B, pp. 319-331Quantification and reporting of low-dose and other heterogeneous exposures (2011) J. ICRU, 11, pp. 1-77Iunes, P.J., Hadler, J.C., Bigazzi, G., Guedes, S., Zúñiga, A., Paulo, S.R., Tello, S.C.A., Uranium and thorium thin film calibrations by particle track techniques (2004) J. Radioanalytical Nucl. Chem., 262, pp. 461-468Smilgys, B., Guedes, S., Hadler, J.C., Coelho, P.R.P., Alencar, I., Soares, C.J., Salim, L.A., Manufacturing of boron thin films for the measurement of the 10B(n,α)7Li reaction in BNCT (2011) Proc. Sci., , XXXIV BWN