Heavy ion measurement on LDEF

A stack of CR-39 and Kodak CN track detectors was exposed on the NASA satellite LDEF and recovered after almost six years in space. The quick look analysis yielded heavy ion tracks on a background of low energy secondaries from proton interaction. The detected heavy ions show a steep energy spectrum which indicates a radiation belt origin

Measurement of low energy cosmic rays aboard Spacelab-1

In December 1983 the first Spacelab mission was launched for a duration of 10 days. Aboard was the Kiel experiment Isotopic Stack designed for measurement of heavy cosmic ray nuclei with nuclear charge equal to or greater than 3 and energies up to some 100MeV/nuc. One part of the stack was rotated in well defined steps registered by an angle encoder to receive information on impact times of the nuclei. Using this time resolving system geomagnetically forbidden particles can be detected. The chemical composition and energy spectra of mainly CNO particles are examined using a rotated 300 microns m thick CR-39 foil beneath a fixed 100 microns m thick Kodak-Cellulose Nitrate foil. About 600 sq cm have been scanned yielding nearly 100 nuclear tracks within an energy range of approximately 8 to 30 MeV/nuc. The calibration is done by means of a postflight irradiation with 410 MeV/nuc Fe-56 at Berkeley Laboratory, California, USA. Relative abundances and energy spectra are presented

Cornering New Physics in b --> s Transitions

We derive constraints on Wilson coefficients of dimension-six effective operators probing the b --> s transition, using recent improved measurements of the rare decays Bs --> mu+mu-, B --> K mu+mu- and B --> K* mu+mu- and including all relevant observables in inclusive and exclusive decays. We consider operators present in the SM as well as their chirality-flipped counterparts and scalar operators. We find good agreement with the SM expectations. Compared to the situation before winter 2012, we find significantly more stringent constraints on the chirality-flipped coefficients due to complementary constraints from B --> K mu+mu- and B --> K* mu+mu- and due to the LHCb measurement of the angular observable S_3 in the latter decay. We also list the full set of observables sensitive to new physics in the low recoil region of B --> K* mu+mu-.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables. v3: typos correcte

Cosmic ray LET spectra and doses on board Cosmos-2044 biosatellite

Results of the experiments on board Cosmos-2044 (Biosatellite 9) are presented. Various nuclear track detectors (NTD) (dielectric, AgCl-based, nuclear emulsions) were used to obtain the Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectra inside and outside the satellite. The spectra from the different NTDs have proved to be in general agreement. The results of LET spectra calculations using two different models are also presented. The resultant LET distributions are used to calculate the absorbed and equivalent doses and the orbit-averaged quality factors (QF) of the cosmic rays (CR). Absorbed dose rates inside (approximately 20 g cm (exp -2) shielding) and outside (1 g cm(exp -2) the spacecraft, omitting electrons, were found to be 4.8 and 8.6 mrad d (exp -1), respectively, while the corresponding equivalent doses were 8.8 and 19.7 mrem d(exp -1). The effects of the flight parameters on the total fluence of, and on the dose from the CR particles are analyzed. Integral dose distributions of the detected particles are also determined. The LET values which separate absorbed and equivalent doses into 50% intervals are estimated. The CR-39 dielectric NTD is shown to detect 20-30% of the absorbed dose and 60-70% of the equivalent dose in the Cosmos-2044 orbit. The influence of solar activity phase on the magnitude of CR flux is discussed

The ALTCRISS project on board the International Space Station

The Altcriss project aims to perform a long term survey of the radiation environment on board the International Space Station. Measurements are being performed with active and passive devices in different locations and orientations of the Russian segment of the station. The goal is to perform a detailed evaluation of the differences in particle fluence and nuclear composition due to different shielding material and attitude of the station. The Sileye-3/Alteino detector is used to identify nuclei up to Iron in the energy range above 60 MeV/n. Several passive dosimeters (TLDs, CR39) are also placed in the same location of Sileye-3 detector. Polyethylene shielding is periodically interposed in front of the detectors to evaluate the effectiveness of shielding on the nuclear component of the cosmic radiation. The project was submitted to ESA in reply to the AO in the Life and Physical Science of 2004 and data taking began in December 2005. Dosimeters and data cards are rotated every six months: up to now three launches of dosimeters and data cards have been performed and have been returned with the end of expedition 12 and 13.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.04.03

Bayesian Fit of Exclusive b→sℓˉℓb \to s \bar\ell\ell Decays: The Standard Model Operator Basis

We perform a model-independent fit of the short-distance couplings $C_{7,9,10}$ within the Standard Model set of $b\to s\gamma$ and $b\to s\bar\ell\ell$ operators. Our analysis of $B \to K^* \gamma$, $B \to K^{(*)} \bar\ell\ell$ and $B_s \to \bar\mu\mu$ decays is the first to harness the full power of the Bayesian approach: all major sources of theory uncertainty explicitly enter as nuisance parameters. Exploiting the latest measurements, the fit reveals a flipped-sign solution in addition to a Standard-Model-like solution for the couplings $C_i$. Each solution contains about half of the posterior probability, and both have nearly equal goodness of fit. The Standard Model prediction is close to the best-fit point. No New Physics contributions are necessary to describe the current data. Benefitting from the improved posterior knowledge of the nuisance parameters, we predict ranges for currently unmeasured, optimized observables in the angular distributions of $B\to K^*(\to K\pi)\,\bar\ell\ell$.Comment: 42 pages, 8 figures; v2: Using new lattice input for f_Bs, considering Bs-mixing effects in BR[B_s->ll]. Main results and conclusion unchanged, matches journal versio

Implications from clean observables for the binned analysis of B -> K*ll at large recoil

We perform a frequentist analysis of q^2-dependent B-> K*(->Kpi)ll angular observables at large recoil, aiming at bridging the gap between current theoretical analyses and the actual experimental measurements. We focus on the most appropriate set of observables to measure and on the role of the q^2-binning. We highlight the importance of the observables P_i exhibiting a limited sensitivity to soft form factors for the search for New Physics contributions. We compute predictions for these binned observables in the Standard Model, and we compare them with their experimental determination extracted from recent LHCb data. Analyzing b->s and b->sll transitions within four different New Physics scenarios, we identify several New Physics benchmark points which can be discriminated through the measurement of P_i observables with a fine q^2-binning. We emphasise the importance (and risks) of using observables with (un)suppressed dependence on soft form factors for the search of New Physics, which we illustrate by the different size of hadronic uncertainties attached to two related observables (P_1 and S_3). We illustrate how the q^2-dependent angular observables measured in several bins can help to unravel New Physics contributions to B-> K*(->Kpi)ll, and show the extraordinary constraining power that the clean observables will have in the near future. We provide semi-numerical expressions for these observables as functions of the relevant Wilson coefficients at the low scale.Comment: 50 pages, 21 figures. Improved form factor analysis, conclusions unchanged. Plots with full resolution. Version published in JHE

Prevention of tick bites: an evaluation of a smartphone app.

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is the most common reported tick-borne infection in Europe, and involves transmission of Borrelia by ticks. As long as a vaccine is not available and effective measures for controlling tick populations are insufficient, LB control is focused on preventive measures to avoid tick bites. To inform citizens about the risk of ticks, motivate them to check for tick bites, and encourage them to remove any attached tick as quickly as possible, a mobile app called 'Tekenbeet' (Dutch for 'tick bite') was developed and released. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usage and user satisfaction of the 'Tekenbeet' app and to investigate whether it affects users' knowledge, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, response efficacy, current behavior and intention to comply with preventive measures

Ring-Like Distribution of Constitutive Heterochromatin in Bovine Senescent Cells

Background: Cells that reach ‘‘Hayflick limit’ ’ of proliferation, known as senescent cells, possess a particular type of nuclear architecture. Human senescent cells are characterized by the presence of highly condensed senescent associated heterochromatin foci (SAHF) that can be detected both by immunostaining for histone H3 three-methylated at lysine 9 (H3K9me3) and by DAPI counterstaining. Methods: We have studied nuclear architecture in bovine senescent cells using a combination of immunofluorescence and 3D fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH). Results: Analysis of heterochromatin distribution in bovine senescent cells using fluorescent in situ hybridization for pericentric chromosomal regions, immunostaining of H3K9me3, centromeric proteins CENP A/B and DNA methylation showed a lower level of heterochromatin condensation as compared to young cells. No SAHF foci were observed. Instead, we observed fibrous ring-like or ribbon-like heterochromatin patterns that were undetectable with DAPI counterstaining. These heterochromatin fibers were associated with nucleoli