Magnetospheric transmission function approach to disentangle primary from secondary cosmic ray fluxes in the penumbra region

[1] The AMS-01 observations (in June 1998, on board the space shuttle orbiter Discovery) have shown the presence of primary (PCR) and secondary (SCR) cosmic rays (most of them protons) at a low Earth orbit (about 400 km altitude). The SCRs are mostly created in interactions with the atmosphere by fast PCRs and can be trapped or become reentrant albedo particles. Some of them seem to be sufficiently energetic to populate the "penumbra region" above the local geomagnetic cutoff rigidity. A backtracking procedure of simulated protons entering the AMS-01 spectrometer has provided the fraction of allowed (and hence forbidden) trajectories of PCRs. Consequently, it has allowed the determination of the so-called transmission function (TF) which is able to describe the properties of the PCR transport from the Earth's magnetopause (i.e., the primary spectrum at 1 AU) to the atmosphere and finally the fluxes of the PCRs in the ten geomagnetic regions for AMS-01 observations. In the penumbra regions, the observed spectra of the AMS-01 geomagnetic regions have been found to be larger than those predicted for the PCRs in the penumbra region by means of the TF, i.e., some SCRs (mainly reentrant albedo protons) are also found to populate the rigidity regions above the local geomagnetic cutoff rigidity. The fraction of the secondary to overall particle flux in the penumbra region increases gradually as the geomagnetic latitude increases

Cross-Reactive CD4+ T Cells against One Immunodominant Tumor-Derived Epitope in Melanoma Patients

Abstract TCRs exhibit a high degree of specificity but may also recognize multiple and distinct peptide-MHC complexes, illustrating the so-called cross-reactivity of TCR-peptide-MHC recognition. In this study, we report the first evidence of CD4+ T cells recognizing the same tumor peptide-epitope from NY-ESO-1, in the context of multiple HLA-DR and HLA-DP molecules. These cross-reactive CD4+ T cells recognized not only autologous but also allogenic dendritic cells previously loaded with the relevant protein (i.e., the normally processed and presented epitope). Using clonotypic real-time RT-PCR, we have detected low frequencies of CD4+ T cells expressing one cross-reactive TCR from circulating CD4+ T cells of patients with stage IV melanoma either spontaneously or after immunization but not in normal donors. The maintenance of cross-reactive tumor Ag-specific CD4+ T cells in PBLs of cancer patients required the presence of tumor Ag/epitope in the context of the MHC molecule used to prime the Ag-specific CD4+ T cells. Our findings have significant implications for the optimization of TCR gene transfer immunotherapies widely applicable to cancer patients

Energy loss for electrons in the Heliosphere and local interstellar spectrum for solar modulation

Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) entering the Heliosphere are affected by the solar modulation, which is a combination of diffusion, convection, magnetic drift, and adiabatic energy losses usually seen as a decrease of the flux at low energies (less than 10 GeV). We improved a quasi time-dependent 2D Stochastic Simulation code describing such effects. We focused our attention on the electron modulation, adding energy losses mechanisms in the Heliosphere that can be neglected for protons and ions: inverse Compton, ionization, synchrotron, and bremsstrahlung. These effects have been evaluated in the region affected by the solar magnetic field, up to 100 AU, where the environment conditions are not constant, especially the magnetic field intensity, and the photon density. In our calculation the inverse compton energy losses are dominant, but they contribute only a few percent in comparison with the adiabatic losses. We also compared the Local Interstellar Spectrum (LIS) of primary electrons with experimental data collected in the past years at energies 20 GeV. We found that, inside one standard deviation, LIS fits the data and can be used in a Monte carlo code reproducing CR propagation in the Heliosphere

Utilization of 3D Digital Technologies in the Documentation of Cultural Heritage: A Case Study of the Kunerad Mansion (Slovakia)

Preservation of cultural heritage plays an important role in society, significantly contributing to its sustainability, which is important for human development and quality of life. The issue of cultural heritage digitization has recently been the subject of increasing research and is part of the initiatives of the European Commission for the Promotion of Cultural Heritage. Therefore, it is necessary to define the stages of the digitization process, which is crucial for cultural heritage preservation. The aim of this article was to examine currently used technologies and their role in the digitization workflow, and to present a detailed historical building information model (HBIM) developed during the digitization project at the historic Kunerad Mansion. To meet these goals, we will describe the best practices for each discussed technology. Special attention is paid to data processing at the very end of the object modeling process. Additionally, particular findings alert the reader to the need to create object element databases in terms of effective point cloud modeling and present the advantages of the technologies examined over traditional ways of preserving cultural heritage. In addition to predicting procedures, cooperation at a multidisciplinary level is needed in a narrower context. On the whole, the article provides some useful suggestions for both practitioners and stakeholders

Application of Open Circuit Voltage Decay to the Characterization of p/n+ and n/p+ Epitaxial Layer

High quality silicon epitaxial layers are inevitable in bipolar and/or unipolar technology. However, its properties are not as easy characterized as those of bulk material. The recombination lifetime is dominated by surface/interface recombination for thin layers, which epitaxial ones generally are. We have designed diode structure with n+n/p+and  p+p/n+ epitaxial layer for open circuit voltage decay (OCVD) technigue. In such a structure, injected carriers are constrained within lightly doped base by potential barriers of junction and high-low contact and their concentration can then decrease only by recombination. Carrier lifetime obtained by this manner yields information mainly about the defect properties of epitaxial layer. Performing OCVD measurement for high-level injection condition, also tn and tp could be evaluated

Current approaches in the clinical management of pregnancy-associated breast cancer-pros and cons

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